I love visiting my parents

I'm visiting my parents in Delaware this week. I grew up here, though not in this house. I couldn't get away fast enough after high school, but now I come back and appreciate it in ways that I didn't then. Of course, things have changed. My parents moved to a much nicer and feng-shui-ier house that is somehow totally calming. There's something about the East Coast that always makes me feel slightly inadequate - like my regular granola gear isn't good enough and I should be spending inordinate amounts of time doing my hair and makeup. I've only been here since Friday and I've already shaved my legs after not having shaved them for 4 years. But ... I like it! I love looking down and seeing my smooth legs. I used my mom's electric razor/trimmer thing and totally got a thrill from seeing the somewhat huge pile of hair that was left when I was done. This time it's not because I felt compelled by some outside pressure though. I've just been feeling so depressed recently. No surprise - I had a baby 5 months ago and haven't really put any effort into taking care of myself since. It's finally gotten to me - I was feeling so frumpy. And I am not ready to be a Gwendolyn yet! Gwendolyn is what my mom calls the women who she thinks don't put any effort into their appearance and buy ceramic figurines on QVC. My mom is strangely fascinated by QVC and watches it regularly, shaking her head at other people's mysterious bad taste.
I love visiting my parents because I get to enjoy their neat house full of nice design-y furniture and stuff that I can't afford. Is it weird that I like my parents so much? It's not like we never disagree, but I pretty much think they're great. I love their style and their way of life. It's not really for me, not entirely. But its so nice to visit.
And my mom has all these beauty products! I love visiting anyone, actually, for this - trying out new beauty products without have to buy them. My mom has been into these grapeseed extract creams and things. And she has this facial peel cream that heats up. So I did a facial peel (heated peel = awesome), then tried all the grape products. How could I resist? While the peel-off mask was drying I gave myself a pedicure and read an interview with Ashley Judd (who I just think is the cutest) in an old issue of More magazine. This is the kind of thing that I never do at home. I painted my toenails sparkly gold!
At home I'm all crunchy-granola. I don't wear makeup, I don't paint my toenails, I don't read magazines. But being here has reminded me that I can do paint my toenails and still be serious. In other words, I don't have to take myself quite so seriously. I've been lightening up a lot recently and I really like it.