Red Hot Tacoma

I can't believe I have gone so long without talking about one of my favorite places in Tacoma - The Red Hot. I am pretty sure that I have been going to The Red Hot at least 2 or 3 times a month since they opened just over a year ago and I just don't seem to get tired of it.

I proudly admit to loving hot dogs. I grew up on Fenway Franks and Kasem's natural casing hot dogs. I made the trek out to Nathan's on Coney Island whenever I could. I'd get a hot dog from street vendors in Central Park when guests joined me for my 'walk the tourists feet off' tours. The Red Hot has made it unnecessary for me to keep hot dogs in my fridge.

When the eatery opened, they had a menu of about 13 dogs (including turkey dogs, not dogs, bratwurst and polish sausage), and a handful of sides.. Now, there 13 dogs, 3 sausage/ bratwursts, 2 vegetarian options, and Italian beef sammies (the sides remain).

You can order a hot dog any way you like or add or subtract as necessary to their existing dogs. I like to mix it up by getting.a 6th Ave Strut (cream cheese, tomato and onion) with bacon or a Tacoma Boys BLT (bacon, lotta tomato and some mayo) with onions. I also love the Ruston Ragin' Cajun just as it is (andouille sausage, BBQ sauce, coleslaw and cayenne pepper), but I know MANY who love to throw a little bacon on that sucker.

Going 'low-carb'? Get the Naked Narrows (2 hot dogs on sticks served over a pool of ketchup and mustard). The Not Brat is a little mushy, but tasty. Overall, I'd always rather the all-beef hot dog they serve. Turkey dogs may have less calories but there's more sodium (also why I skip the turkey bacon). A hot dog or two a month won't kill you, but I just can't see how some folks have been able to survive The Gauntlet - all 13 hot dogs on side one of the menu eaten in order (a total of 15 hot dogs and 13 buns). Done it they have- one person completed it in less than 90 minutes!

Not only does this place have great eats, they're also a great spot for micro brew snobs. They rotate their handles a fair amount , but you'll.always find Vitamin R on one (Rainier Beer, for those not in the know). They also have a good bottle selection. In these trying economic times, the Red Hot is one of the best deals in town!

Brush-a, Brush-a, Brush-a!

In my early product slut-dom, I used whatever tools came with my cosmetics. If they didn't come with a brush, I used cotton swabs or my fingers. While I still rely on both of those tools, I have ditched the teeny travel brushes and too small blush brushes for the Real Deal. Now, my brush roll is as necessary to me as my small Chanel make-up bag (the current Desert Island collection, if you will).

As promised, here's the dirt on my new NARS brushes. First up is the large dome eye brush. It's good for doing a soft wash of color over my whole eye lid or you can load it up with dark shadow for a serious evening eye - one my friend Matt Brown refers to as "Hey, goth girl!" I love using this brush to blend after I do a multiple color application. It breaks up that powdery finish and gets any excess off before it migrates to your cheeks.

NARS has a new collection of Kabuki Artisan brushes. I saw the Yachiyo brush and had to have it, if only for the aesthetics of it. The handle is wrapped in black wisteria and the bristles are deeply rounded. I love the way it feels in my hand and on my face. I use it to apply powder blush mostly, but it's also good for highlighting, bronzing and blending. The $50 price tag may put most people off adding this brush to their collection, especially since I can't say this is better than every powder brush I've ever used, but it's SO pretty and it does grab color nicely while remaining soft on my skin.

I've saved the best for last- the smudge brush. Up until recently I had assumed that smudge brushes were all foam/sponge based. As I get older, I find those types of applicators drag on my lids - and we all know tugging on your eyelids is bad for them (at least I hope we all know that). This brush looks like a normal eye shadow brush, but the bristles are very short and rounded. It is so easy to use and allows me to get liner shadow really close to my lash line. It never skips across my lid or leaves blank spots in the teeny wrinkles. It's great for both precise application and for its intended purpose of smudging. Since I bought mine, I have seen that other companies make similar brushes (Smashbox comes to mind), so if you only purchase one makeup brush this year, get one like this!*

*Unless you're opposed to using animal fur in any form. These brushes are made of squirrel, goat and horse hair respectively. NARS cosmetics say they don't test their products on animals, but the jury is still out if the hair on their brushes is harvested humanely. If you're looking for good synthetic brushes, check with Urban Decay or Aveda. The Body Shop also makes synthetic hair brushes, but I find the bristles too smooth to grab color properly.

Are you still indulging yourself?

I got an email from one of the beauty message boards that I belong to asking if I was cutting back on my beauty spending due to the economy. I'm not, though I am cutting back on other luxuries so I can continue to spend what I do on products. I can spend almost $2000 a year on once or twice daily lattes OR I could buy one lipstick or mascara a week for the same money. (I know my friends with kids/houses are gagging over that amount right now.)



I guess I have economized on my cosmetic shopping by no longer buying color cosmetics anywhere except department stores and Sephora. I do dearly love the cosmetics aisle at Bartell's and Walgreen's, but ever since I found a skin care regimen that I both love AND use daily, I find myself blithely ignoring the siren call of the pre-pack displays and the L'oreal wall (and stunning my boyfriend by doing so). It's not that there's anything wrong with drugstore makeup- it's just that I am a sucker for the personalized service at the cosmetic counters of Nordstrom's.



As far as other beauty purchases go, I have always been pretty low-maintenance. I have never had. a blow-out, I don't do body-waxes, I only get facials twice yearly and I don't want or need Botox. I love to look at fashion but I don't need to buy it. .



What's your indulgence that you would never give up in a million years?

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Who's a NARS girl now? I am!

I've dabbled in NARS cosmetics about three times before now. I loved the color of my lip gloss in Scandal (a clear, juicy red) but didn't love the stickiness. My single eye shadow in Nightbreed is a versatile sparkly black, but I didn't like how the shadow seeped out of the case into my makeup bag. I saw this amazing red lip in a Sephora holiday catalog and had to have the lip stain/gloss combo in Indian Red/Moonfleet. Not only is this my absolute favorite lip stain ever, but the gold Moonfleet makes it easy to create a sexy little pout.

In fact, I loved this product so much, I was inspired to make my other NARS purchases work for me. A little lip balm under the lip gloss lessens the sticky factor without diluting the gloss color. Also, never chuck the protective film that comes with your NARS shadows and blushes. I know they are only meant to protect the product prior to purchase, but they work really well at eliminating product seepage and keep the included mirrors clean.

At the cosmetic trend show back in November, I decided to try the NARS counter for my makeup application. I had one instruction for my makeup artist: no Oompa Loompa line from the foundation. She assured me that she'd take care of me and indeed she did.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I am a natural dark blonde who currently rocks black hair. I love the makeup color options this hair color affords me, but I must admit that I'd been ignoring the warm colors other than peaches. My makeup artist revealed my error by giving me the most stunning smoky eye using coppers, bronzes and chocolates. I am 100 percent hooked on these colors right now!

Usually when I go to these trend shows, I already know what I am going to buy and usually get my planned purchases and perhaps one new thing that the makeup artist suggested. Not this time! Sadly, I committed the cardinal sin of the Product Slut and left my credit card at home (quelle horreur!) I asked my artist to write out all the products she used. At home, I went to NARScosmetics.com and dutifully ordered eye shadow duos in Isolde and Cordura, blush in Orgasm (though I swore I ordered Deep Throat instead) and an assortment of brushes.

Let's talk about Orgasm for a moment. I had long avoided this cult product for no other reason than I like to search out new stuff for myself. Well, like Benefit's Dandelion and Benetint, there is a reason that Orgasm is a cult product. This pretty peach perks up my complexion with ease. A little Orgasm, mascara and Scandal gloss gives you a freshly tumbled out of bed (you know-not after sleeping) look that I find irresistible.

I haven't even begun to go on about the brushes I got, but I'll save that for another day.

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