Wonderful! Is he walking or cruising? This is when babyproofing gets serious. Walking and climbing open up whole new worlds!
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For the Love of Old Spice - Illini's Shave Journal
- Thread starter Fightingillini22
- Start date
Glad to hear you are doing well after the kidney stone. I feel your pain, I have passed stones on three different occasions, none of these experiences are anything that I would ever want to repeat, but I had it much easier than some people do. 2 guys I know well had way worse experiences than I did. Hope this was your only time.
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
He's cruising around a little now, most of the time still just wants to stand and bounce but the wife and I have been babyproofing for what feels like months! It's much more than what I know my parents ever did - they just threw up baby gates and called it a day. Having to secure dressers, night stands, TVs, etc, it's a process!
Ha! Definitely not the news I was hoping for, but like I said it could always be much worse and I'm thankful for that much.
I'm hoping that my lifestyle changes in the last 6 months which has both resulted in weight loss and a huge water intake uptick will mean that the 2mm stone sitting in the left kidney won't get any bigger and I won't have them form in the future! Unfortunately already knowing that there's one there that at some point will have to be passed is a bit of a downer but what can you do.
It's is crazy to believe that a year ago this evening, my wife's water broke. He was 5 weeks early, so it wasn't anything we were prepared for (looking back, I'm not sure you can truly be fully prepared to become a parent!) Thankfully my wife is a massive planner and already had lists for the hospital bag so we weren't completely flying by the seat of our pants, but there was a lot here at the house that wasn't ready, like his nursery! On the way to the hospital, we stopped for Portillo's, which is a Chicago food staple (hot dogs, Italian beef, etc.) since my wife had been told to grab something to eat before arriving at the hospital since once you're there, no food until the baby comes. This was the first time we had eaten any form of takeout in nearly 2.5 months, since even after the official lock downs ended, my wife and I wanted to play it safe with her being very pregnant. Such a wild world it was then and continues to be.
This morning's shave was back to B&M Sunny Lane, and I've figured out using a synthetic brush makes a huge difference in lather for me with this base. Last time I used a boar and the lather was just foamy and very lackluster, which didn't seem to align to shaves prior to that. Especially felt weird since if anything, boars pick up more product than synths so should have had no issue with lack of soap. Used a synthetic again today and the lather was back to being fantastic. Very counterintuitive but whatever works, works!
Wednesday May 5th, 2021
Razor : Canadian Gillette Prewar Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (72)
Brush : Yaqi Barberpole Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : B&M Sunny Lane
Post : 50:50 blend of Osage & Barbasol Brisk
Razor : Canadian Gillette Prewar Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (72)
Brush : Yaqi Barberpole Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : B&M Sunny Lane
Post : 50:50 blend of Osage & Barbasol Brisk
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
Well today is our son's first birthday! It's hard to believe that it's been a full year already. Needless to say, his first year of life wasn't exactly what we (or anyone) had planned but the joy and love he brought to our home made the last year the best of my life.
In order to properly celebrate I broke out the "good stuff." My first and most treasured vintage razor, a '59 Fat Boy. My custom pink Rudy Vey brush. Vintage Colgate Barber soap, a gift I received years ago courtesy of @CBLindsay, which quite frankly is probably the best performing soap in the den. And chased with my wedding aftershave, Pitralon Original. Couldn't ask for a better shave to celebrate the son I didn't know I could possibly love this much.
In order to properly celebrate I broke out the "good stuff." My first and most treasured vintage razor, a '59 Fat Boy. My custom pink Rudy Vey brush. Vintage Colgate Barber soap, a gift I received years ago courtesy of @CBLindsay, which quite frankly is probably the best performing soap in the den. And chased with my wedding aftershave, Pitralon Original. Couldn't ask for a better shave to celebrate the son I didn't know I could possibly love this much.
Thursday May 6th, 2021
Razor : '59 Gillette Fat Boy
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (73)
Brush : Rudy Vey Custom with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Vintage Colgate Barber Soap
Post : Pitralon Original
Razor : '59 Gillette Fat Boy
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (73)
Brush : Rudy Vey Custom with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Vintage Colgate Barber Soap
Post : Pitralon Original
What a wonderful day for you and your family!
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
It was Bruce, thanks!
Before our wedding I took my wife to Q Brothers in Chicago and we unanimously agreed that it was our favorite splash after smelling what only could have been 50+! It's just fresh, clean and all-around awesome.
Ha, ain't that the truth! We're having a family birthday party next weekend and we're really looking forward to spending time together with the extended family for the first time since the whole world shut down.Kid birthdays...aka give the parents an excuse to get together and have some beers
Hope it’s going well!
Thursday was cold any rainy, so not the best weather for the zoo but the little guy still loved seeing the dolphins and penguins so that's what matters. He also had a "smash cupcake" and it was the first time he had refined sugar. He loved it, didn't hesitate when we placed it in front of him and ate the whole thing. Pretty awesome to see his face register a cupcake with frosting and realize what we had been holding out on him!
Friday we had a small family photo session with a local photographer as a Mother's Day gift. My wife has been taking fantastic photos of our son every month with her DSLR but wanted some more "professional" ones of the 3 of us. Price was extremely reasonable and our son did extremely well for the camera which made mom happy. Photos turned out great too, so everyone is happy! Shave was a simple but effective one that left me looking real good for the photos!
Friday May 7th, 2021
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (74)
Brush : Razorock Beehive
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Soap Commander Endurance Balm
Yesterday I was up early to work out before we spent most of the day at my in-laws celebrating my sister-in-laws birthday as well as Mother's Day. Mother-in-law is a fantastic cook and lunch consisted of both steak and salmon, so hard to argue with that! Didn't love waking up so early on a Saturday but definitely needed it before all the food. Morning shave was back to the Hawk and CBL i Coloniali project soap. Can't wait to give this one the faux-3017 treatment in the near future.Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (74)
Brush : Razorock Beehive
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Soap Commander Endurance Balm
Saturday May 8th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (16)
Brush : Stirling Kong
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL i Coloniali Project Soap
Post : Soap Commander Endurance Balm
Mother's Day today has been a bit of a wash out, although weather looks better this afternoon so hoping to squeeze in a walk. Made the wife french toast and bacon for breakfast in bed and I'm on dad duty all day (all diapers, feedings, etc.) to give her the day off. Early afternoon shower while the little man took a nap, and squeezed in a shave too. Seeing daylight through the bottom of the CBL BAB tub, so think it might give up the ghost this week. Time will tell, but lathers and shaves continue to be awesome.Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (16)
Brush : Stirling Kong
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL i Coloniali Project Soap
Post : Soap Commander Endurance Balm
Hoping everyone is having a great weekend and honoring their Mothers!
Sunday May 9th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (17)
Brush : Yaqi Barbershop Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Dickinson's WH and 50:50 blend of Osage and Skin Bracer
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (17)
Brush : Yaqi Barbershop Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Dickinson's WH and 50:50 blend of Osage and Skin Bracer
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
Happy Monday, Cadre. Can't say I'm excited for another work week, but here we are! Had a nice workout this morning and a great shave with SC Endurance. Just a great take on the Old Spice profile and performance is top notch. Threw in a new Feather AC Pro blade into the Hawk and it was the best shave I've had with it so far. Hoping that I can get more than 17 shaves out of one of these blades going forward, though, since they are not cheap.
Monday May 10th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (1)
Brush : Omega Proraso Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Soap Commander Endurance
Post : Soap Commander Endurance
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (1)
Brush : Omega Proraso Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Soap Commander Endurance
Post : Soap Commander Endurance
I haven't had an "Old Spice" shave in a while.. May have to use my SC Endurance tomorrow.
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
SC was one of those brands that withered on my wish list for a long time but kept getting pushed for other things. Then a Rudolph package came from a certain Alabama-based gentlemen and now it's made a place in the den it will never give up! I try and keep a minimal amount of non-seasonal soaps and SC Endurance became my Old Spice scented soap (won't mention the one that got oustedI haven't had an "Old Spice" shave in a while.. May have to use my SC Endurance tomorrow.
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SC was one of those brands that withered on my wish list for a long time but kept getting pushed for other things. Then a Rudolph package came from a certain Alabama-based gentlemen and now it's made a place in the den it will never give up! I try and keep a minimal amount of non-seasonal soaps and SC Endurance became my Old Spice scented soap (won't mention the one that got ousted
Old Spice - a classic scent that has aged well. 
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
17 is pretty darn good for an AC blade! My usual usage was 10-15 per blade.
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
Ya know, my expectations might be a little skewed right now since I'm at 74 shaves on a single Lab Blue DE blade and still chugging along. However, since the AC blades are around 5x the cost of a normal DE blade, I was hoping to get ~5x the longevity, with the 5 shaves on a DE extrapolating out to 25 shaves on a AC SE. 17 isn't bad, 20 would be better, 25+ would be price parity so we'll see. I'm not going to *not* buy AC SE blades since it's such a fun departure from a DE, just hoping the math turns a little more in my favor!
It really has, despite them changing the profile a bit over the years. I am partial to the older profile since it's what I associate with my father, but even the newest stuff from P&G is still great IMHO.Old Spice - a classic scent that has aged well.
Warm[er] weather and sunshine has finally returned to Chicagoland! We had some sun over the weekend but it has been unseasonably cool here recently. Most of April was unseasonably warm then suddenly pivoted hard in the other direction for the past couple weeks. Outlook looks very nice, and will be great for the lawn as we got 2+" of rain on Sunday. Makes me happy as we have my son's birthday party on Saturday and I'll have a great canvas to "paint" some stripes on Friday afternoon to wow my wife's father and grandfathers
It's been a while since I did a superlather, so added some Gillette Pure cream to my face before lathering up CBL BAB this morning. The shave felt amazing but I got a nice weeper on my neck that even styptic didn't seem to stop. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had a weeper much less one that was fairly bloody. Just strange since I didn't feel anything that alerted me that the shave was anything but flawless. Annoying! Still love the Gillette Pure cream though, and might try to power through it this summer at some point.
Tuesday May 11th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (2)
Brush : Stirling Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Gillette Pure and CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Nivea Cooling Balm
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (2)
Brush : Stirling Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Gillette Pure and CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Nivea Cooling Balm
Here's a lawn to emulate:Makes me happy as we have my son's birthday party on Saturday and I'll have a great canvas to "paint" some stripes on Friday afternoon to wow my wife's father and grandfathers
Red Sox on National Nurses Day. What more could you want in a lawn?
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
Ha! The fans here nicknamed the head groundskeeper at Sox Park "The Sodfather" and he has such a strong following that they even released a giveaway bobble of him.
Reached for the MWF this morning since I saw her sitting in the bottom of the shave soap box and felt bad! Rubbed some Gillette Lime cream into the whiskers before face lathering up the Fat and wow was it a great combo! Brilliant performance as always from MWF and the added lime scent from the Gillette cream had me smiling and ready for summer. Really glugged on the Skin Bracer after the shave and was ready to face hump day. Need to remember this super lather win when I'm looking for more lime-y shaves later this summer.
Wednesday May 12th, 2021
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (75)
Brush : Ever Ready 100T with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : MWF and Gillette Lime
Post : Skin Bracer
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (75)
Brush : Ever Ready 100T with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : MWF and Gillette Lime
Post : Skin Bracer
Very old school shave, Ryan. Nice.