René of the Day // 11.4.11 // Kiehl's

I'm not a beauty junkie - a girl who collects make-up and lotions and potions and half empty pots of gunk that clutter my drawers. I like to keep it simple - one bottle of everything, discard and replace as needed. (Living in a studio apartment has really trained me to be this way.) But, I do have a few things by which I swear. Kiehl's products are among them.

The desire began from some beauty magazine when I was in high school. I don't read them anymore (every year, every month is the same issue - summer - diet, skin and nail tips! Nothing new to be said) but it was either advertised or listed in one of their must-have product pages or a celebrity claimed it to be their favorite. At any rate, I was in South Beach Miami, FL for spring break my freshman year of college and approached my first Kiehl's store experience. I bought their classic lip balm #1 and never bought a tube of Carmex or a stick of Soflips again. To this day, I have some by my bed, in my bathroom and in my handbag. It's odor-free, smooth, not oily. It lasts quite a while and does such a phenomenal job (it will transform dry skin or lips overnight), it's worth the few extra dollars.

So when I discovered they sold Kiehl's products at Saks in downtown Cincinnati, I splurged on shampoo and conditioner. Mind you, with my out-of-control curly hair, I've received recommendations for more special product lines than you can shake your straightener at. I've been disappointed by many. Kiehl's doesn't carry a curly line so I tried the formula for dry hair - Olive Oil Fruit Nourishing shampoo and conditioner. WOW!!! It makes my hair soft, easy to comb through when it's wet and beautiful when it's dry. It's moisturized and easy to work with and looks nice for days (you know I can't wash this rats nest every day, fools. Let's be real.)

I don't buy this stuff every month - it's usually a treat. I'd bought Aussie because it was cheap and smelled great and it made my hair as dry as the sand on the beaches in Sydney - not okay. So when I was at Green Hills Mall (fabulous!) in Nashville in October, I popped into the store and had to buy it to save my head - and it has. Seeing as I don't dye my hair or pay to have it cut or style (I trim the ends on my own), I can justify the expense (~$18/bottle).

If you order online, they send you wonderful samples of their other product! Give it a shot - it's natural and luxurious without being froofy. And I adore the nostalgic, clean, apothecary branding. Try something and see if you're able to resist addiction.

René of the Day // 7.27.11 // Wasson Way Project

This incredible idea was first brought to my attention on Facebook - how amazing would it be to have a trail similar to the Loveland Bike Trail that I grew up on, here in the Hyde Park area? With the multitudes of people walking their dogs, running with their jogging strollers and walking with friends around the neighborhoods, it would surely receive high foot and bike traffic. What better to do with 6.5 miles of unused railroads? This would be perfect for Bob Ronnecker's runners training for races...

"Like" it and learn more about turning these abandoned tracks into a recreational trail! A project of this magnitude needs all the local support it can muster up.

UPDATE: My step-dad, Chip, just told me about the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - perhaps they can link up with them to continue rolling it forward.

René of the Day // 7.20.11 // Small Spaces

I love my small space. I do - how else could I spend 5 years in a studio apartment and add a 15-pound Westie and host a big burly boy a few weekends every month? It's cute, cozy, quaint - it's me. Today I saw this helpful article on Twitter from House Beautiful for decorating ideas for small spaces: "11 Essential Organizing Tips for Small Spaces."

I'm an organiz-aholic. It's one of my favorite stress busters and even when I was a child, I'd sit in my mom's grocery chart and organize the items into categories - box, cans, produce, etc. I thought I'd share some of my favorite notes from the article since small spaces must be neat spaces or they become nasty places. Just sayin'.

Organize furniture into mini rooms - that I have! The back of the couch separates the dining table and kitchen from the living room/bedroom area of my studio - which is in tandem with idea #3, to float furniture in the middle of the room. It really does break it up and makes it feel larger - and serves as an additional entertaining area, as idea #10 suggests.

I would LOVE to have floor-to-ceiling bookcases like they mention in idea #5... my goal is to have a "library" when I have a house and if I were re-designing the studio, I'd put in a wall of them. I could certainly fill them with my crazy collection of books! And my furniture does match the wall color - my tufted headboard is a very similar shade to open up the sandy Ralph Lauren painted walls.

It's incredible how personal and lovely a small space can be made if thought through... hope sharing this article is helpful to other small-space dwellers.

René of the Day // 5.23.11 // Bathroom Makeover

It's hard to believe I've lived in "The Studio" for almost 5 years (in August)! It's well-known that I truly adore this space, even if it's small and lacks closet space... The beautiful hardwood floors, the charming built-in desk and the location a block away from Hyde Park Square is unbeatable. I plan to live here until I either buy and move into a house or move out of Cincinnati - neither of which will be happening for at least a year. Thus, it needs a little bit of a facelift. I still love the tan Ralph Lauren walls in the main living space. So I've decided to revamp the restroom.

I painted the walls a deep red about three years ago to match the fashion-inspired LIFE magazine cover shower curtain - I needed a creative outlet and a friend had leftover paint. But I'm short and was impatient so there are strips of white wall left above the shower - it looks janky. And although it was all quite cute at some point, I've grown of out the French fashion artwork and dark walls. It needs to be lightened up!

MR said he'd be happy to help so I've started pulling ideas together. I'm liking the idea of light gray walls - this may not have to be painted over when I move so it's deposit-return safe, which the red is not! I've found a few light, airy shower curtains and would like two simple pieces of work for the walls, above the toilet and across the wall from it above the towel rack.

I put together this "mood board" with some of the paint colors (left blocks), shower curtains (right blocks) and art (bottom blocks) that have caught my eye as I've been browsing. Feel free to leave a comment and note your favorites! I'm going to ponder them for a few weeks then hopefully make it happen... MR, get your paint brush ready buddy ;)