Skip to main content

SOCIAL MEDIA

2022: In the Books! *plus* Our New Year's Eve Tablescape

Saturday, December 31, 2022



Happy New Year, My Lovelies!  How is your Christmas Season so far?  Today is the Seventh Day of Christmas and New Year's Eve.  I changed our decor from Christmas to New Year's in our dining room: I went for more of a white, silver, and green scheme.  I'll show more photos at the end of this post, but first, I'd like to talk a little bit about 2022.

This is the first time in my life I'm actually HAPPY about the end of the year.  December 27, 2021 I started chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.  It continued into June of 2022.  Then I had surgery followed by radiation treatment.  Now I'm in PT, but I'm not complaining about it.  I have been extremely blessed to have the best cancer team at Grandview Medical Center's Cancer Center.  

Y'all have also blessed me with your prayers, cards, texts. emails, and calls.  Jeanie, your prayer books have meant so much to me!  Thank you all!

In June, our church family was attacked by a madman.  He shot and killed three people at a dinner in our parish hall.  They were kind to him and had invited him to eat with them at their table.  It has been a hard year for my church family.  I am blessed to be a part of St. Stephens, and I want to thank them for their prayers, flowers, cards, and support during treatment.  

My year was basically composed of two things:  reading and skincare.  I didn't do much else, but I was able to take my art classes most weeks via ZOOM until I could go back to class in person.  I stopped painting because I didn't want to expose myself to the solvents and heavy metals in oil paints.  Instead I've been drawing!

This is my favorite drawing of the year.  It's drawn with Prismacolor Colored Pencils on Strathmore Colored Pencil Paper.  It's mainly hydrangea petals floating in milk.



Twenty twenty-two was definitely the year for skincare.  I tried so many different things, mostly via samples and my breast cancer concierge, who was fantastic!  I want to share with you the products that worked well for me.  I'm not claiming they will work well for you, but they might.  My skin changed drastically during treatment, so I needed all the help I could get!

This is a photo of me two months before treatment:


I had hair!  And eyebrows and eyelashes!  
My natural hair color is the darker auburn on the left.  

This is what I looked like during treatment and this afternoon:


In the during treatment photo I'd already lost all my hair, my eyelashes, and most of my eyebrows.
Now, my hair is strange because it's a cool tone rather than warm, it isn't as straight, and I have less gray.  But my eyelashes are longer and thicker than before cancer so that's one good thing.


Here are my recommendations for skincare:


Best facial cleanser


From top to bottom, left to right:
The Fresh Floral Recovery Calming Mask is one of the best masks I've ever tried, and it's gentle enough for everyday.
The Cetaphil Healthy Radiance Whipped Day Cream with SPF 30 makes your skin glow, making foundation unnecessary.  That's all I have on my skin in today's photo, above.
The Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid Peptide Cream is one of the cleanest, most effective moisturizers on the market.  I wear it around the house when I'm not going anywhere and at night.
The Ordinary's Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Eye Serum is the best and most affordable eye serum on the market.  It is so good that some days I can leave off under eye concealer.
The Fresh Tea Elixir is very pricey, but it is an extremely good serum.  I had to wait and purchase it when it went on sale.  I tried a sample of it and wanted it.
The Chantecaille Sheer Glow Rose Face Tint is very similar to the Cetaphil Healthy Radiance, but it has a more rosy color than the Cetaphil, and it doesn't have any sunscreen in it.  I like to wear it at night when I want to look pretty.  It is also very pricey, but since I didn't go to my stylist for almost a year, I indulged myself.


These are my favorite lip treatments from Fresh.  The first one is a treatment, and I like to wear it to sleep.  The middle one is a treatment that smells like mint.  I really like it!  The third one is a tinted lip balm in the Rosé color.  I wear it like lipstick.  I'm wearing it in my during treatment photo.
Both my daughters prefer Laneige lip treatments and masks.  I like them, too.



Hands down the Dove Sensitive Skin Shower Wash is the best for dry and sensitive skin.  I also like the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream best because it soaks in and doesn't feel greasy.  


I like to share products that work well; I hope I'm not boring you with this!  :D

Below is a breakdown of my year of reading:

My Year in Books
20,103
pages read
Ricki Treleaven
67
books read



Average book length in 2022
 
300
pages






2022 Reading ChallengeImg rccompleted
2022 READING
CHALLENGE
You read 67 out of 36 books.
 
186%
Congratulations! You're really good at reading, and probably a lot of other things, too!



I'm a slow reader, and this is the most I've ever read.  Plus, I read the entire Bible, the OT and NT simultaneously.  I finished today, and I used an app for my reading plan.

Here are my favorite books of 2022:


It was a great year for books! 



You can read my review for Other Birds HERE.
It's literary, set in the South, with a wee bit of magical realism.






Midnight in Everwood is a young adult novel.  It's a retelling of The Nutcracker, and it is a very creative story.  You can read my review HERE.


Sadly, I didn't review Thank You for Listening, but I might take care of that in a week or so.  It's a romance, but it's much more literary than most romances.  It's a great story with one of the best heroines I've ever read in any book.

I didn't review many books this year because I just wasn't up to it.

I know I won't read as many books in 2023.  I want to be very selective and only read about two or three books per month.

I'm so happy about ringing in the New Year tonight.

Here are the photos of our table:














Happy New Year!
Thank you for reading my blog.
I hope that your 2023 is healthy and happy!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill



12 comments

  1. Ricki Jill, can't say that 2022 was a good year for me, though I'm quietly ushering it out. I think about you and all you had to deal with the past 12 months. Grateful for your successful treatment. It's an added layer of stress to have to face the physical appearance aspect that treatment throws at you. You faced it with grace. I think you are a beautiful individual, inside and out. Thank you for sharing this post. It's an honest look at cancer. May 2023 be a wonderful year of renewed health and a life filled with the art and literature that you thrive on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your new year tables cape. Just beautiful. You have had a very challenging year and with such grace you managed it all. You look beautiful with the before and after pics. I am glad you have found great skin care to help and make your skin feel fresh and pretty. Let's pray that 2023 will be a better year for your health and of course always lets wish for peace and happiness and pure joy each day. Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart and prayerful care through friendship. I have so appreciated our prayer warriors and all we have accomplished this year and hope for more in the coming year. Happy New Year. xoxo Kris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy 2023 Ricki Jill! Your bravery and strength battling your cancer has been so admirable and inspiring...you are a true hero in my book and I am so proud to call you my friend. Your post today is so honest and from your heart, thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you for the skin care recommendations, I look forward to checking them out. I hope your new year is full of happiness and blessings! And lunches with Emily and me!!
    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy New year my friend. You are beautiful no matter and I know God and your family has helped you through a difficult year. I'm hoping you are blessed with good health and happiness in the year to come. You've shared your beautiful spirit with us during this terrible year and you are such a wonderful example of a Christian...led by God's spirit. Sweet hugs, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Woman/friend/prayer warrior/survivor - you are BEAUTIFUL! I am so glad you shared the before, during and after photos. Honestly, your beauty shines in each and every one. Some changes, yes, but still, the beauty shines through. I know your inner light shines bright, and I am so grateful you opened your heart to letting us walk alongside your trials of 2022. Onward! Let us pray for good health in 2023. Your creativity was still an inspiration in 2022 also, whether it was sharing your art studio works, your tablescapes (lovely NYE table), your landscape, your book reads and your recommended recipes and products. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I LOVE your white and green. And your new short hair is just darling -- I absolutely adore it! It's a wonderful, young and fresh look. You're gorgeou!

    I, too, will be glad to see 2022 behind us and look forward to 2023. I'm just grateful you have completed your treatment, made it through and now onward! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Ricki Jill! Thank you for your beautiful self and sharing what you faced with such grace in 2022. I appreciate your before and after photos, your favorite beauty products and all the books you read. I did the Bible in a year, the year before. I know 2023 will be a happy, healthy one for you. I’m thankful for getting to know you and sharing faith and prayers. God bless you.
    P. S. Your table looked calming and serene!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy New Year!!! Continuing to pray for you beautiful friend.
    I love your table!!! Perfect.
    xx oo
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ricki Jill, I love the new blog look.Happy New Year and I know that 2023 will be a happy, healthy one for you. 2022 was a trying year for me losing my sister. We are stronger than we think when faced with such hurdles, and I admire you for sharing your photos and skincare products that helped you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Blessings to you Ricki. Bless your heart! You are a warrior. I am so glad you fought the big "C". I had lost my hair, eye lashes and eyebrows too. You look beautiful. The beauty products are wonderful. How special your New years table is. Your new blog design is awesome. Cheers to a brand new year filled with love, good health, peace and hope.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy New Year, Ricki Jill, I think you are amazing and you{ and your table 😉} are gorgeous! I will continue to keep you in my prayers for a happy and healthy 2023, my friend. Thanks also for the skincare tips. My daughter tried some of The Ordinary products recently and loved them. I may have to order that serum. Big hugs!! Kim

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ricki, I'm sorry that 2022 was so difficult. Thank you for sharing this post. Wishing you a brand new year full of blessings. ((hugs))

    ReplyDelete

Comments are friendly!


Hello!

I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

Follow me on Instagram