Thursday, December 29, 2011

LUSH storage

I received many LUSH goodies for Christmas! Their products are always exciting... This is just a post to show how I'm storing some of them. I put several things in their individual Hefty ziplock bag. I did keep some items in their original yellow baggies.

Anyway... I would love to have to upgrade to bigger storages! Haha, LUSH makes for very expensive baths... ;)

Xx

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve! I remember being so excited this day every year when I was younger. As I'm becoming wiser (;P) I'm more appreciative of this time of year. I like giving more than receiving. I look back to the entire year and realize the things I've accomplished. The people I've met. The great things in life. It feels nice to live another year and just to be happy.

Nicole and I took Tristan to see our father, his grandpa. He was shy at first, but after some grandparently spoiling of juice, cookies and toys, he became his hyper self. He got a 6-lane Hot Wheels racetrack and wouldn't stop playing with it. Namely the hamburger truck... haha. It was very interesting to see how I actually enjoyed seeing Tristan play with his new toys more than I was excited about receiving a gift. I've been this way for a couple of years now, but I guess since Tristan is now 2 and a half, he's enjoying presents so there is a new thrill to this time of year.

Anyway... tomorrow is Bryce's extended family Christmas and then my Japanese Christmas. I can't wait to give Tristan all his gifts from me and Bryce! :)

I'll admit though, I'm pretty damn excited to receive a Kindle Fire.... IF that's what I get... ;)

Merry Christmas, EVERYONE!

M

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Nails!

Many people have asked me how I did my nails. It's great for Christmas. Simple!



Bottom: one coat of OPI's Ali's Big Break. You can use any red or burgundy color
Middle: two coats of Deborah Lippmann's Do Ya' Think I'm Sexy?
Top: one coat of Seche Vite Top Coat





Enjoy, merry Christmas!

xx,
M

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas Presents

I've done ALL of my Christmas shopping! Over a week ago I ordered my last present and it still hasn't come in the mail... GRRR...

I'm excited to get my Kindle Fire! I hope my mother actually got it for me. It's the only thing I asked for. There are a few books I want to buy, but refused to until I get my e-reader!

I think I'll head for bed.

xoxo

PS I'm addicted to Pinterest

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

CARPET HELL

I'm living in carpet hell! I live in an apartment I LOVE! I have TONS o' space, a fairly spacious, personal backyard for the pups, bottom floor, live on a corner, blah blah... but it has CARPET. I've done steam cleaning every 6 months. Until recently, that was keeping me happy. For whatever reason the carpet has been susceptible to DIRTY, DIRTY DIRT! I can smell Milton and Andrew when I walk in the apartment. It's the carpet, damnit! If I lie down (this is so very rare) onto my floor, I can smell dander. The boyfriend's "studio area" smells of boy and dog. I'm anal about a candle being lit in his stink-quarters. Living in Houston, I swear I can feel humidity on the carpet, which I swear exacerbates the boy/dog stink.

I vacuumed when I had Bryce return my nephew to my sister. Even though a freshly vacuumed floor alleviates my carpet anxieties, I still can't get over little marks here and there on the carpet that are too stubborn for Resolve.

Sometime after the New Year I'll be getting the carpet professionally steam cleaned. I hope this helps. Bryce and I cannot afford to buy our own place, so we're stuck renting. We've discussed looking for somewhere with hardwood floors, but we're afraid we'll miss our space and backyard. Boo. I asked the leasing office if we could get hardwood, they said as long as we paid for it... bah.

I SHOULD JUST GET PREGNANT SO MY PARENTS WILL HOUSE ME IN A TOWNHOUSE!

xox,
M

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

Quick review! Got the strips in Misbehaved which is a fishnet stockings pattern. Theyre real nailpolish.

They look super cool. I've received many compliments. And that's about where my raves end.

The application is tedious and takes eight times longer than me applying 2 coats and a top coat. Yes, eight. The sides of the polish don't stick nicely to your nail so get caught in hair easily. Even with a top coat. This one manicure set cost me about $7. I could get a bottle of nail polish for about the same.

I'm tempted to peel these off! They look amazing, but for a crazy girl like me I am itching to peel them off!

Have to finish packing for California!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Xox

Monday, November 14, 2011

Book Review: Loose Girl

By Kerry Cohen. Eh... It was alright. I finished it in a matter of 5 days. This is Cohen's memoir of promiscuity. It wasn't amazing, but not totally terrible. It was sad little rich girl growing up thinking her parents don't love her enough. Zzzz… there wasn't anything that really sucked you in. Nothing incredibly shocking.

There was one part where Cohen describes a memory of her mother groping her older sister's breasts while watching television, letting that daughter know that feeling her breasts can be a source of pleasure. This particular thing is never mentioned again. Perhaps it was Cohen's way of showing her readers that Tyler, older sister, was the mother's favorite. But it was an abrupt addition to the book, which I couldn't follow and was left thinking, "WTF?!"

Starting another memoir tonight called Bloodletting... I hope it delves deep! In comparison anyway...


Xx

Tiny Betsey Johnson Haul!

I got a few things at Betsey Johnson the other day because they were having a 30% off everything sale! Bryce have me permission on both jewelry pieces. So, naturally, as an addict I went through with it...

I originally only wanted the bear ring, but as a necklace, which does not exist. I was extremely hesitant on buying the ring set since they sit so high. I just love bears too much to pass. A couple nicknames from Bryce to me are "baby bear cat" and "bunny". It was difficult to wear the fawn with the two, so I gave that run to a co-worker.

Robot necklace.... Bryce made me get! :P I've not worn it yet! But it's stinking cute! The heart on a chain is actually connected to a part inside the robot and can be tucked away inside.

The house shoes are whatever. Comfy, kind of cute. I just needed house shoes and they were 30% off!


Xox!!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

LUSH Haul!

Holidays are here! And that means Lush's holiday products are here, too! Last year I was too late to get much... but I grabbed a thing or two this past week. LOVES.

Starting with the blue and white man... ABOMBNIBALL! Haha. This big, cute guy is a bath bomb is very pepperminty, with notes of vanilla and a tiny bit of orange. There's a surprise in this guy! When you shake it, you can hear it moving around. I'm going to wait to use this one for when I'm feeling sluggish and or sore... seems like it'll be invigorating.

Cinnamon roll is called Three Gold Rings. It's a bubble bath bar. You crumble it up under your faucet and should create luxurious bubbles. It smells strongly of vanilla with the tiniest note of myrrh.

Snowman guy is the Snowman bath melt. You can drop the bath melt in a hot bath and it's essential oils will soothe your skin. This guy shea butter, cocoa butter, which should be very moisturizing for the skin!

The heart is the Heavanilli massage bar. This is in their permanent line, but I mentioned in a previous blog that the check-out forgot to put it in my bag. My skin feels extra dry lately, so I've been using this. You just massage your arms or legs (dry) and the bar immediately melts onto your skin. I also have the vanilla dusting powder so I'm not walking around with shea, cocoa butter visible on my skin. This product also has jasmine and vanilla.

The two golden balls is CINDERS bath bombs! I really, really wanted to try this bath bomb last year, but they sold out by the time I tried to purchase.You drop Cinders into your bath tub and it fizzles away and the red bits on top are little pop rocks. The scent is a very sweet cinnamon. Not very spicy smelling. I used this bath bomb this morning. This one honestly fizzes very quickly. Your bath turns an orange-ish gold. Does not stain your bathtubs, by the way. I love, love the smell. There is almond oil and cinnamon oil in this particular bath bomb, which really softened my skin nicely. I enjoyed a long bath while reading. I got out of my bath around 8am. Took a mini nap around 1pm and still smelled the light fragrance of sweet cinnamon on my skin. By the time I woke up, almost 2pm, the scent was a lot lighter. I can still smell it if I smell my arm. I'm happy I bought two! I will repurchase!

Now the next bath bomb is called Lil' Lush Pud. This is what Lush says, "Sinking into a steamy LUSH Pud bath is like curling up next to the fire on a freezing winter evening. Clove powder warms you up when you're chilled to the bone, while aloe vera extract and rose absolute soothe dry, winter skin. Inspired by traditional British Christmas pudding made of figs (and often served flaming), our LUSH Pud is more satisfying than dessert (although, admittedly we don't serve ours aflame). Oh, did we mention it has the scrumptious almond-icing scent of our beloved Snowcake soap? Yum!" There is also a note of clove, which I'm not 100% sure if I love the scent. But I thought, heck, why not try it?

Now last, but CERTAINLY not least, the pretty gold-dusted soap is called Snowcake. It smells JUST like marzipan and is seriously my most favorite scent I've encountered ALL YEAR! This soap has Rose Absolute in it which is supposed to really help dry skin and keep it smooth. I haven't used it yet, since I've been working on Honey I Washed the Kids soap. But I'm thinking of wrapping that one up and putting it aside so I can begin using Snowcake.

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Aqua Net Diaries by Jennifer Niven review

After taking over a month to read Wicked (loved!), I opted for my next book to be a quick fun read. And ta-da! I chose correctly! I finished in 5 days.

The Aqua Net Diaries was a very cute memoir where author, Jennifer Niven McJunkin, recalled her high school days. It was very, very 80's-heavy! I'd say those who went to high school during then would feel great nostalgia and relateability. I was in high school 20-ish years later, but still found the general idea relatable.

Jennifer was kind of an outcast, but well-liked. Incredibly outgoing, creative, boy-crazy and wanted to get the hell out of small town Richmond, OH. And her sidekick was Joey, token gay best friend. Definitely related to that one. ;)

The book goes through stories of first love, extracurricular activities, partying, fake ID's, parents separating and her first heartbreak.

It wasn't the best book I read, but a light and fun bubblebath read. I'd recommend it to people if they see it for sale. Like I did at Borders (sad moment of silence………) for under $3.


Next book: Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen! I expect this to be another fast read, but a but darker. ;)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

WICKED!

Finished reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire this weekend. IMPRESSIVE!



Bryce asked me to read it awhile ago, since it's one of his favorite books... I finally got around to starting it mid-September. Honestly, I'm more of a biography, memoir, history, non-fiction fan when it comes to books. The beginning was really difficult to grasp for me, because it seemed completely fantasy and I had a hard time getting past the word "dragon". I admit, there was a great handfuls of time where I was bored of it, when Maguire was introducing new environments and new characters. I was HOOKED when reading about the interactions with the main character, the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba.

Wicked is a parallel story to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. You get to know Elphaba's story from before she was even born. Bratty baby to outcast at school, to political activist, mistress, Auntie... victim...

I seriously never had an interest in this book before, but am very glad I read it before ever seeing the Broadway play. I knew it was a tragedy, but never thought I would be emotionally attached. I was SO, SO wrong! In the end, I was reading without being able the put the book down, and kept thinking in my head, I wasn't going to get emotional. I kept thinking about all of Elphaba's story and could not help but CRY at the end of the book.

I HIGHLY recommend Wicked to anyone who hasn't read it. Again, I admit there were some bits that bore me to pieces, but when it all comes together you'll be taken aback.

After taking so long to read this book, I've started on a light-hearted quick read. Aqua Net Diaries by Jennifer Niven

Sunday, October 23, 2011

ORGANIZED!

Today I used my Sunday to start organizing my make-up, nail stuff and a tiny bit of skincare.

I threw away a LOT of old items. Now I feel like I have to replenish! I also feel like I want some more eyeshadow palettes... I keep finding more items here and there. I even found a $20 bill in a purse, woohoo! Haha. I don't like the desk I own right now. I'm thinking of MAYBE painting it white. I'll get a white vanity if it makes more sense. Research.

Either later tonight or tomorrow I'll organize all my bath products, skincare and haircare. I initially dreaded it, but truly I did an organizational day for those products not terribly long ago, so it's really a matter of getting rid of the old and making room for the new! ;P Kidding aside, I do need to inventory my products so I use them before they're too old. And use them before I purchase more!

SAVINGS!

xox

Friday, October 21, 2011

Sephora Haul + Quick Opinions

I meant to write this two weeks ago...! I was home sick today, so I figure I should do something productive!

I'd read about Soap & Glory being a pretty good line that Target once carried, but now has been taken over to Sephora. For whatever reason I thought I'd be able to still get my hands on it at Target. So, I got organizational things, I still have yet to set up... ha. I went to Sephora and may have gotten a tiny bit carried away, BUT it was my birthday. ;)

Here ya' go:

Top right going clockwise: Soap & Glory: Clean Girls body wash, The Scrub of Your Life,
Super-Colour Sexy Mother Pucker plumping gloss, Heel Genius foot creme, Make Yourself Youthful eyecreme. Urban Decay's The Black Palette. Philosophy's birthday bubble bath. Stila's Stay All Day waterproof liquid eyeliner. Make Up For Ever's Aqua Eyes eyeliner. Last but not least, Benefit's They're Real! mascara.
Here's a peek inside The Black Palette.

Starting with the UD palette.... I've only tried Libertine and Jet. These colors are FABULOUS but definitely for the lady who wants dark, smoldering eyes. I suppose that's why it's called The Black Palette. The colors are extremely pigmented and rich. The first two times I used Libertine I had to blend in a lot of a highlight color just to balance the bold color. Less is more! Oops... But the colors are absolutely fabulous! Seriously though, if you love a smoky eye, this palette is heaven! I cannot wait to play with it more! :) Oh and the eyeliner 24/7 glide-on pencil.. NICE! It glides on extremely creamy. It has a good staying power. Since it's a travel size I can carry it around easily and touch up on my water line. (although, admittedly I rarely touch up anything, which I SHOULD)

I think I'm smitten with Soap & Glory.  I suppose I'm guilty for being a sucker for packaging. This is how I ended up getting grabby and impulsive, haha. I first tried the Mother Pucker plumping lipgloss. I normally don't like plumping glosses because they make my sensitive lips uneven, yuck haha. This gloss tingles like CRAZY, which I actually love! The only thing is, it didn't plump my lips. The gloss in itself is good quality. It's thick but not crudy, short-lasting, or messy. Very smooth and glossy. I'd repurchase even if I didn't see the plumping. The Heel Genius is wonderful! My feet feel softer. I think I've found pedicure foot in a tube (plus Ped Egg)! :) It's pretty light and leave a silky feel behind rather than sticky. I've noticed after the day after I use this creme, my hands are really soft, too!

My undereyes had felt sensitive in recent months. I figured it comes with aging, but I've not been taking care of that extremely sensitive area. I LITERALLY had flashes of my face with wrinkles when I'd be removing my raccoon markings at night. I could feel the tugging at my eyes. I've been using the eyecream for about a week now. It says AM and PM, but I just use in the PM before I go to bed. I lightly dab the TINIEST amount and I don't feel like I have the same sensitivity when I wash my face anymore! It's light and silky as well. I'll probably update on this eyecream after a month's use, too.

Clean Girls body wash smells so amazing! As do all the other products by Soap & Glory I've tried. Sephora says, "This body wash softens and soothes with its natural vanilla fruit, orchid extracts, and built-in moisturizing matrix.This body wash contains Mist You Madly's™ beautiful notes of bergamot, black currant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla, and musk." My skin feels incredibly soft after my showers when using this body wash. But it also gives me that squeaky clean I LOVE. I don't know how it does it, but it's super cleansing and moisturizing at once. I normally feel moisturizing body washes leave residue. Not this baby. ;)


I've yet to use the scrub...


I do like They're Real mascara... I don't know yet if it will be repurchased, only because I've been realizing a lot of drug store brands are pretty great and comparable to higher end mascaras. 


xox

Monday, October 3, 2011

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I have watched 50/50, 500 Days of Summer and Inception in the last 24 hours... Mmmm...

I really felt like trying out my blogger app on my iPhone. Ta-da!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

SCENT Haul!

My friend, Andrea, let me know that Bath & Body Works has their 2 3-wick candle for $20 sale! The sales girl told me today was the end of the sale... but they typically have great sales. I went a little crazy! For the past year I've been in love with their candles. They last a long time and smell great. Here goes:

 Clockwise starting at top-left. Cinnamon Sugared Donut. It smells like sugary vanilla doughnut. I don't really smell much cinnamon, but it's super sweet and delicious smelling! The Halloween-themed candle was bought for Bryce, since he likes lime green and its scent is Spiced Cider. YUM! It smells just as it would seem. He loved cider, so I figure he'd enjoy that for his desk during the approaching fall months. Leaves. This is a limited edition scent that I've heard smells great, so I definitely had to get my hands on it. B&BW states: Autumnal notes of golden nectar, juicy mandarin and red delicious apple are paired with toasted cinnamon stick, mulled cider spices and freshly harvested red berries. This is accurate! When I first heard of the scent I didn't think I'd really enjoy it since I like sweet or clean smells. But this rich scent does really make you want to enjoy Autumn. Last but not least, Eucalyptus Spearmint. I think this is my ultimate new favorite scent. It's part of the stress relief line, and it smells CLEAN and FRESH. I think it slightly reminds me of Bumble and bumble's Thickening line, which I love, love, love. I'm excited to burn this before bed while I'm reading. Or while I'm in a bubble bath reading.







I then spotted the Wallflowers! They were mix-and-match 6 for $24. So, of course, I had to get that deal! They're wall plug-ins. At the moment they have a lot of fall-related plug-in decorations. I got two of Frosted Cupcake, because I love that scent, too. And own a couple of those candles. I plugged the raccoon in our bedroom, with the Leaves scent. We oftentimes leave our back sliding glass door (which is one of our bedroom walls, essentially) so I thought a nice breeze with the Leaves scent would be nice. We also have the Leaves candle burning. I plugged the flower Wallflower with Frosted Cupcake in the bathroom.

I bought Bryce this Wallflower plug-in, since he loves lime green and bats. So that has Cinnamon Sugared Donut in it. And he has his Spiced Cider candle burning on his desk.

As I was checking out I heard a girl ask about this line...

Paris Amour! I tested the lotion on my hand when my lady was packing up my first goodie haul. I reeeeally liked it instantly! It smells light, sweet and feminine. It claims white tulips and pink champagne. The lady said it was a continuation (??) of Japanese Cherry Blossoms, which is the scent I use as our air freshener in the bathroom, haha. But I guess I'll be using this now! The sale was buy 3 get 2 for free. I'll give my sister a lotion and glitter mist.


On my way out of the Galleria, I wanted to smell Betsey Johnson's new Too Too perfume that came out this week. I LOVE IT! I couldn't justify spending much more money, so I just got the rollerball.
Quoted from BJ's website, this new perfume smells like... The vibrant scent is comprised of sweet passion fruit, sparkling mandarin, ginger, and strawberry leaves spun together with an underlying delicate pink musk that suggests femininity and warmth. To round it out, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, patchouli, sandalwood, and vanilla add just the right touch of radiance.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mini EOS Lip Balm "haul"

I can't resist these little nuggets of goodness!!!!


Who could for only $3.79?! They last so long and make your lips smooth and smell derricious! :)

I need to get to reading Wicked or Bryce may kill me. Or break up with me.

xox

SKINSONIC HAS ARRIVED!

I waited and waited for my new best friend. It had turned out that it was waiting in my leasing office. Apparently you have to just check every day if it's not certified mail. WHATEVER! Worth the wait!


I bought my Sirius Skin Sonic on their site HERE. I paid $49.95. No tax. No shipping. It comes with 5 different heads. "Normal brush" "Sensitive Brush" "Hydration Applicator" "Exfoliation Applicator" and "Massage Applicator"

Applying facial cleanser on brush or on directly onto your skin. I choose my brush. Using circular motions,  spend 20 seconds on forehead, 10 seconds on each cheek, 10 seconds on your nose area, 10 seconds on your chin. I add 5-10 seconds on my lips, too.

First, I tried the normal head, because I figured I could take it on... I'm no wuss. So, I learned that the normal is definitely someone with less sensitive skin than mine. Ha. It just felt like an extreme exfoliation. Which, I honestly think I'll be using two times a week and just using this head instead of even bothering with an exfoliator. This gets a super deep cleanse and I can tell my pores get cleaned out!

The second day I used the sensitive head. It was perfect. I used this for a couple days.

I had been SO impressed with the results that I took it upon myself to test out the normal head again and really focus on my forehead area. The area I'm starting to get extremely conscious that I'm not 15 anymore. I haven't a clue what I was daydreaming about, but I must have spent at least 2 minutes on just my forehead! MISTAKE! My forehead burned at slight touch. I have been moisturizing the shit out of my forehead but I'm fairly certain I was too abrasive and buffed off a layer of skin, haha.

I like the hydration applicator, because I go to bed when moisturizer that feels like it's been penetrated in my skin, rather than sitting there and ready to be smeared off by my pillow. My face isn't wet and sticky after using my SkinSonic used in my moisturizing routine.

The massage applicator felt SO weird the first time I used it. I had so much tension in my face, specifically my jaw. I've been clenching my jaw a lot lately. 

I LOVE MY SKINSONIC!

I can feel how much smoother my face is. I am so shocked when I have manually washed my face before using my SkinSonic to remove the bulk of my makeup. BABY BOTTOM!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

This and That, These and Those

Quick, little entry. I felt like updating my blog but don't really have a set topic to ramble about. So here goes many:

Things I'm really enjoying lately:

Kitty Camera app. See: my facebook.

OPI's Mermaid Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection! It's a mint with a slight hint of.... milky grey, haha. I didn't even have to get off my ass to go look up the name of the color. I just used my nifty OPI iPhone app. Which, I some times wonder if I'm one of 3 girls who have that on their phones...  I have the color on my fingers AND toes! I rarely match them up. Loving it!

Summer dresses on the weekends. They're so comfortable that I fall asleep in them Sunday nights and then continue to wear them on Mondays, ha.

My current bubblebath read: Exes & Ohs: A Downtown Girl's Mostly Awkward Tales of Love, Lust, Revenge and a little facebook stalking. Very cute and funny.

Braids without having to use any hair accessory and it actually holding! I'll post a blog and vlog of a girl I learned this from later on!

Things I'm looking forward to:

Seeing the results of using my new facial cleanser! Arcona's Raspberry Acne Bar. I admit I purchased this particular bar based on the scent, but I thought as it's summer, it couldn't hurt to get this extra deep cleanse. I've been using it for almost a week now. Liking it a lot! I love the squeaky clean feel, and it certainly gives that. So far not too drying.

Skinsonic!!!! I ordered this last week and I cannot wait to get it in the mail and test this baby out! I've heard nothing but RAVE reviews.

Bryce's birthday!!!! He turns 29 on the 23rd. ;)

Spending Thanksgiving with my half-sister, Michelle (reconnected recently and haven't seen in at least 15 years!!!), and her family (and Bryce), in California. :)

HALLOWEEN. I'm already scheming for ideas for couples.

Random:

I HATE SUMMER. I'M SO OVER THE HOT, HUMID WEATHER!!!!

I'm so proud of and IMPRESSED by The Do Bar, sister salon to the one I work at. :) :) :)

I bought rocky road ice cream and rootbeer to make a special root beer float. Maybe tomorrow night. I'm TUCKERED OUT!

Good night.




Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Self-Waxing (Warning: TMI)

JUST DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!

If it's a brazilian.

Holy crap! What was I thinking?

I used to get a full brazilian wax every 4 weeks. Rarely any issues when my normal girl was the one taking care of me. For whatever insane reason I used to find getting waxed soothing. So, for the past year or so I was in the stage of getting laser hair removal. Having some good treatments and some not great, I've been left with just a little bit of business needing to be taken care of. I don't HAVE to shave any more, so I wanted to jump back into waxing.

Not wanting to pay $50-70 for a session when I have barely anything there, I decided to research at-home alternatives. I bought the Gigi brazilian waxing kit after much research. The first day I got it, I wasn't ready to use it yet. I tested on my arms. Meh. I figured it was the wrong wax, so wasn't that impressed nor really disappointed.

So, I was home alone Sunday morning, watching season 1 of Teen Mom and decided to go for it. I soon discovered I really needed some sort of mirror to see where I was applying the wax. I basically was causing myself unnecessary effort by applying wax to areas that were bare. UGH! Using the mirror, I located the hairs, but oh God! I used the muslin strips people had suggested on reviews, even though the soft wax doesn't require it. The whole ordeal reminded me of a session I had with a girl who tugged out hair-by-hair, I kept yelling obscenities. This was the only time I'd ever had a bad waxing.

Anywho, back to Sunday morning. The pain was so torturous by the time I got to a very sensitive area, I could literally not inflict any more pain upon myself. I doused myself in "Wax Off" to try and loosen the wax. It truly just made my skin all greasy feeling. I had to be super careful and CUT wax off.

I sat in a warm bath then shaved.

I hate shaving. What's a girl to do?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Crave Sushi

I had purchased Groupons for Bryce and me to try out Crave Sushi, located in Midtown on Travis St., a while ago. We'd past it quite a few times in the past and put it on our 'restaurants to try out' list. The two times we tried to go they were closed. They have those lunch hours, closed, then dinner hours.

We finally picked a day to go, which was a Wednesday or Thursday night, I believe. We walked into a pretty sparsely-filled restaurant, were asked if we had reservations, no, then told "hmm... it may be awhile..." Really??? She then said we could take up a big table if we wanted. I asked if we could just sit at the sushi bar. She took us over there. The decor is decent.

The service... HORRIFIC! Our waiter didn't smile once, didn't look us in the eyes or even our general direction. I guess since some sports thing was playing on the TV he was more interested in that. We ordered our drinks. I wasn't feeling all too well since my sinuses were going berserk so I ordered hot green tea. For our appetizer we ordered the gyoza. About 5 minutes later the waiter HANDS me the plate so I can set it down. Annoying. It was OK, but it definitely was filled as little as possible.

I really wanted something with hot broth like udon or ramen, buuuut... they didn't have any of that. And their miso soup was served with mushrooms, so I just ordered a salmon temaki and a specialty roll called "pink panther." It actually took me about 5 times of reading the entire menu to settle on that roll because all of them sounded pretty unappetizing and nearly all of them had some kind of mayo on it, which I hate. The "chefs" at the sushi bar not once looked up and asked us if we wanted anything. I had to say "excuse me!" to ask if they had any oh toro. They didn't. That's all of the interaction we had with the chefs. I noticed a huge slab of salmon in front of me that they were cutting off of and it was... I don't know what was wrong with it but it seemed to have a strange white discoloration and film on it. Brother.

Over 30 minutes later Bryce and I got our specialty rolls. I had to be handed the plates and decide where I wanted to place them, again. And I had to hand the waiter our used plate from the gyoza of half an hour prior. I ate a few bites of my roll, but couldn't really take it any more so I just ate the peppered tuna and spicy scallop mix off the top and just ate that and let Bryce had whatever was inside it. All I could say is it was unidentified-looking and tasting. Bryce got the Cheetah roll which had crushed Flaming Hot Cheetohs on it, but he said it was too light, not spicy and not that good. We then got our temaki and unagi. Bryce said the unagi was good. My temaki... bleh. The salmon wasn't that good at all and the nori was soggy to the point that it was chewy!!!!

When we asked for the check, we thought he would eagerly bring it out since he didn't seem to want us there, but no. He forgot so we waited some more.

I'm really not surprised that this restaurant has some pretty poor reviews. I will never go back. The atmosphere is lame. The service is terrible. The menu is sad. The food is crap. I can't understand why lame Midtown yuppies keep that place in business.

One positive, the bus boy/beverage refiller-upper was always on his game and friendly. Maybe the rest of the staff can take notes.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

COUPONISTA!!!!

I have been completely inspired to start using coupons and promo codes! I've never before but a friend from high school recently had been posting her accomplishments of savings. I'm there! She linked me to: Adventures of a Couponista  to get more information. She also suggested coupons.com, target.com's coupons and the Sunday paper's coupons. I'm excited for Sunday! Haha.

There were many coupons for Kate Spade, Sephora, Folica, groceries, etc... I actually got hung up on looking at a lot of jewelery due to a 75% off code at ICE.com . Here are some of those codes.

My first savings was today. Bryce and I have been talking about ordering Papa Johns pizza for the past week, so I decided to look up some promo codes and we saved $10! Yay. :)

I'll keep updating about my couponista adventures! Hehe.

Take care.

PS My tummy has been tainted by bad ground beef from Bryce's spaghetti. :(

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

OPI: Simply Smash-ing!





This is OPI's Simply Smash-ing! It was a color that I felt was an ugly pea/puke green that came paired with my Shatter. Serena Williams or the other one was part of it's marketing. I got into conversation about nailpolishes and Shatter with a client the other day and I mentioned this ugly color, she was like, "NO! Try it! I got that pair, too and the green comes out a pretty gold." So that following Monday I gave it a try. Me likey! In person, (have I mentioned I hate Blackberry's camera?!) the color definitely has a green tinge to it, but it's still pretty in my opinion. Shimmery golden peas, I guess. Haha. So this time I tried Seche Vite top coat with capping the ends of my nails and even painting slightly underneath my nail and NO SHRINKAGE! Pleased. Pretty pleased. Okay, I admit it, when I took the photo with a flash I noticed on my thumb on the side there's a tiny shrinkage. But I'm cool with it. Seche Vite honestly made my two coats of color and thick coat of SV dry in about 2 minutes to the point where I could grab shit out of my paper jungle of a purse if I needed to. Anyway. My skin is pretty prune-y in the photo because it was taken in a bubblebath, but ew... cuticles! I'm thinking I need cuticle oil. I can always see them like sore thumbs in my photos. Advice? :)

I took a peek at Essie's new summer collection dedicated to colors of Brazil. I'm PRETTY sure that I have to buy at least two of the colors. The extremely pale sea foam green color and the main color of the collection, a pretty orange with hints of silvery shimmer. I actually want to get that as a gift for someone, too, because I totally thought of her when I saw it! I'm purdy excited for Sunday to come around so I can see Whitney and possibly shop. Yay! :)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

UPDATE: Seche Vite Fast Drying Top Coat

As I was enjoying a steam... scalding hot bubble bath, I was surveying my nails and have realized I have experienced shrinkage! This is when a coat of nail polish dries and no longer fits on your nail nicely. In my case, and in many people's cases the very tips of your nails become bare. The average person doesn't care or notice, but I'm kind of obsessive when it comes to nail and hand crap.

So, I got my trusty Blackberry out and googled "seche vite reviews" and read the beauty review bible, makeupalley.com. Sure enough there were quite a few mentions of shrinkage. But their solution was to make sure you coat the tips of your nails where some manicurist "cap" your nail tip. I'll be trying this next time.

I swear if I easily master avoiding shrinkage this top coat will be my holy grail top coat. The shine is glassy. My nails dried so quickly when I applied. And day 3, no chips, no peels, no cracks, no yellow. I recommend it even with the shrinkage I've experienced!

Okay, need to dry my hair then hit my pillows.

FAT! Working out, yet again...

Some times I cannot believe I actually used to be OBSESSED with working out. I'd have friends who'd beg me to go out and do things on Fridays and Saturdays and I'd say, "I can't, I have to work out, but afterward... maybe." Monica today is all, "Sure! Can we have really fattening food and gorge, too?"

Living with my boyfriend certainly hasn't helped. When I'm bored I just want to cuddle and sit around with him. And my new found obsession, ice cream. Or mashed potatoes. Ha. I was already slacking prior to that, but didn't feel as bad as I am now.

A week ago, Bryce and I took the boys to the Allen Parkway bark park, and there was a TINY incline, which I actually felt like I exerted energy walking up. Not huffing and puffing at all, but I definitely felt something! Terrible. That made me determined to come up with an idea of how to get into some decent shape.

I have a gym membership. I never go now. I always excuse not going because I'd rather spend some time with Bryce after work. I recalled our apartment complex said we could pay a fee to get a fob at a different location of our apartments and use the gym there. A few days ago, I purchased one. Yay! So now Bryce and I can go work out together and get back into shape.

My goal for us is to work out 5 times a week, at least for an hour each time. We already discussed our schedule. I can't wait for getting back to a point where I go to the gym for like 3 hours without flinching.

GO AWAY TUMMY AND THIGHS!!!!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Gradient Nails


Tonight was my first attempt at doing a gradient style nail polish look. From more of a distance the effect looks really cool. It looks really messy upclose. Maybe I just need more practice. Well, obviously that.

I started with 2 coats of OPI's Nail Envy for a base coat. Then I used Lippmann Collection in Sarah Smile as my base color. 2 coats. With a beauty wedge sponge I dabbed the bottom 3/4ths of my nails with Chanel's Orange Fizz, which in person is a salmon rather than straight orange. I then sponged on OPI's OPI On Collins Ave on the bottom half of my nail. Then I went and took that same color and painted my tips with the normal brush applicator. I finished it off with Seche Vite Top Coat.

I'm liking this effect! I think I'll try another look using dark colors some time. It felt time-consuming, but only because my lippmann color seemed to take an hour or more to dry!!!

This is my first time using Seche Vite. I loooove it! Super glossy and dries quickly!

Went shopping today. Got some stuff from Bath and Body Works. Japanese Cherry Blossom candle. Lavender vanilla candle. Lavendar vanilla pillow mist. And some free spray. Went to MAC and got two items from the Quite Cute collection: In Synch lip pencil which is a baby pink. Naked Liner lip pencil which is a super light nude. I also got Budding Beauty lipgelee from the Fashion Flower collection. It's a pretty coral pink with pink and gold micro glitters. I also got three lipsticks: Viva La Glam GaGa 2, Plaid Pink and Mlle from the Fashion Flower collection. They're all three fairly light colors. GaGa 2 is a slightly brownish nude that I'm going to pair with lighter lip liners and/or glosses to mute the brown tone. Plaid Pink is a matte and muted barbie pink which I'm really loving! It feels really nice on the lips. And Mlle is a pretty baby pink nude that I'm pretty excited to try!

Bryce and I started painting our bedroom--- FINALLY! But it looks like we'll need another gallon of paint. Cannot wait until that is complete. :)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Bumble and bumble!

We, the salon, are officially Bumble and bumble blessed! I started 2 months ago, and from the first day I started my boss asked what I thought about Bb and I jumped to, "WE MUST HAVE IT!" There are so many products I love, like and some times like, but Bb as a whole are my faaaaavorite hair product line. It's not just their products, but it's the entire Bb culture. I'm extremely excited for this new addition to the salon. Great things have been happening, and boy did I miss seeing Bumble everyday (aside from inside my bathroom....).

I'm pretty tired from a long day of work.

Bumble and bumble's Shine line review will be posted soon. A review I've been meaning to get around to for... oh say 3 months.

Random: Milton enjoying A/C in the car.


I'm on the second chapter of Catching Fire... dun dun dun! Exciting reads. Who all has read or is reading The Hunger Games trilogy?

Goodnight.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Hunger Games

I've been listening to Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games on my ipod. Even though it's a young adult novel, I'm ADDICTED! I have 2 hours left.

... I recommend it!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Product Review: Biotin


I'm still experiencing hair depression, but I think I've found my cure. Since March 29th I've been taking Super Biotin 6000 vitamins. I bought it immediately after my locks were chopped off. I got it at GNC for about $30. There are 150 tablets and you take one a day. Well worth the money spent.  I can tell you I have probably gone a total of a week with forgetting to take them, but still in this short time I am pleased with the results! I have almost an inch of growth.

The vitamin claims to promote healthy hair, skin and nails. I've not really given two shits about the health of my nails or skin when it's come to the Biotin, but I definitely didn't experience any bad side effects.

An inch in a month is grand and dandy to me. So, I guess by the end of the year I'll have my hair back. And I'll be damned if any scissors come near it!!!! Ha.

I got featherhead extensions put in right after it was cut, and since the growth has been fairly rapid, I have had to get my extensions adjusted. Pretty pleased! :) I'll update at some point again to compare the progress. I'm curious if Biotin keeps working over longer periods of time.

Anyone else try something that wow'ed them? Prenatal vitamins?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Product Review: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

I didn't realize that May 1st was here. So, I guess I lied when I said all the reviews would be ready before May. I'll try to make a post a day. I still need to read The Dark Side of Camelot and I only have one more day left to my weekend, then back to a busy work week! :)

I've been a pretty consistent MAC Studio Fix user for the past... 9 years or so! I'm an NW20. I've never absolutely loved Studio Fix, only because I would experience some oxidation throughout the day at times and would feel orangey. Gross. I've tried other brands like Shiseido, Chanel, YSL, Lancome, L'oreal, etc... I always went back to MAC.



After many good reviews, I decided to get my hands on Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain (I recently realized this was probably one color too light). I actually used it for a couple months and really liked it. It wasn't nearly as amazing as I feel everyone else finds it. I actually find that it doesn't have enough moisture for me. I did like it better than MAC Studio Fix, but I started to pair them together.

FINALLY, I found my HOLY GRAIL FOUNDATION!!!!! Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation!!! WOW! Blair Fowler on YouTube swore by this foundation, her sister, Elle, too. So, I decided to go ahead and try it-- $42. I got mine in Rose Ivory which feels like an exact match. The first time I used this product, I definitely used a little too much. A small bit of this foundation really does the job. I have had my first tube for 4 months now, and I still have at least a half of a tube left. So, even though $42 is on the more expensive side, I think it's worth it. Lasts long and is a great quality. The Silk Creme Foundation literally feels like silk being rubbed onto my skin. Amaaaazing!

I squeeze out a dab onto the tip of my middle finger, take little bits of it with my right hand fingers and start blending onto my face with my finger tips. When I have just a little bit left on my left middle finger, I spread it on the half ends of my fingers and just blend all over my face to get a smooth blending. I feel like the color just melts in perfectly with my skin!

I am often a glasses wearer and the ONLY thing I have noticed, living in Houston, and if I get really hot I can begin to see lines where my glasses sit on the bridge of my nose. It's easily blended away, but I have found if I set my foundation with my Studio Fix, this prevents the problem. The only thing is I love how the Silk Creme Foundation is so light, adding Studio Fix gives me a feeling of wearing make-up. I typically, on a hot day, just set my foundation on my nose area.

Girls, this foundation is amazing! Will be purchasing for many years to come! I can almost guarantee this!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Product Review: Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover

Almost 2 months ago I purchased a bunch of affordable beauty buys and Sonia Kashuk's eye makeup remover was one of them. It's been a product that beauty gurus tend to favor and  I understand why.



I got it at Target for $9.99. The remover claims that it's OK for contact-wearers and those with sensitive skin. The solution appears to be purple liquid on the bottom and white liquid floating on the top. The directions say to "gently shake bottle, then apply small amount to cotton pad. Wipe gently from the inside of the eye to the outer corner to remove regular and waterproof eye makeup. Rinse your eyes with cool water. Leaves a refreshing feeling." When you shake the solution it becomes a milky lilac color.

 I've not done the tip for the refreshing feeling, because after I've wiped my eyes with this solution, I've felt it's so light that I can't feel anything left behind. Typically, I'll wash my face like normal. Which is a double cleanse with facial cleanser. Then I will do three dabs of the remover on a cotton pad then remove my eye makeup. It gets all my eye makeup off with any irritation!

On the rare day I feel like just getting my eye makeup off without going through my whole face routine, it takes at least 2 cotton pads to remove all my eye makeup. Tonight, I wanted to take off my eye makeup before cleansing my face, and it took 3 pads since I was wearing heavy dark eyeshadow, liquid liner, and two coats of mascara. Even though 3 pads seem like a lot to use at one cleansing, it honestly doesn't take much product.

There was 4.75fl oz in the bottle. In 2 months, I still have slightly over half the bottle left. So, I'm quite pleased with the fact that it lasts long.

I'll definitely be purchasing this again and recommend everyone to try it!

--
Here's a peek at my nails this week! I had just the base color Charged Up Cherry by OPI on my ring fingers and turquoise & caicos by Essie on the rest of my nails. I fell asleep when they were wet. I woke up with ugly bed sheet imprints on every single nail, so I applied OPI's shatter polish and added a top coat. Which was actually a strengthener by OPI, Nail Envy. When I'm busy pecking away on my Blackberry I keep thinking how much my thumbs look like they have robin's eggs on them.



Good night!

PS Season 3 of The Tudors SUCKS!!!!!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Does lower case "t" icon mean tumblr?

Lately I'm itching for a new phone. I've had my Blackberry Curve 8900 for awhile now. I just updated all my little apps and whatnot, but I want the cuter white Storm. Or maybe it's the Bold? In any case, I want cute! But I'm also thinking, maybe I actually care about the technology behind my phone... dun dun DUN! I had to text Eric to find out what 3g and 4g meant. Ha. That's how technologically I'm lacking. Perhaps I'll ponder for a MONTH and then make a decision. I think that's a smart idea. Indeed.

Life's pretty good. Although I'm starting to feel like I may come down with a deathly tonsil illness, life still remains good. I'm still happy with work. I'm excited to be taking over as sole manager soon. I'm excited for addition staff, a couple or so whom I've worked with at my old salon. Also excited over getting Bumble and bumble. Excited for the new salon that started construction last week! (Blowout bar salon my boss is opening up in June). Things are just going great.

I have a reviews that I swear I'll get done by the end of this month... make-up remover, foundation, vitamins, and hair products!

I'm going to hop in bed with The Darkside of Camelot. Maybe I'll finish that book one day. Infact! I'm going to be sure to finish it by.... May 18th! Random date that sounds nice in my head.

Good read and good night!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Chicago Trip-- Day 6

Hello, tired as hell!

The original plans of waking up early and heading to the Field Museum then heading for O'hare kind of went out of the window when Bryce and I woke up with only having got 15 minutes of decent sleep. I hate Hotel 71's air conditioning system!!!! Since it was hot out, the a/c seemed to keep at the same temperature. The back of my shirt was literally soaked since the room was so hot. Anywho, so we got our overstuffed bags, checked out and I was honest when they asked how my stay was. It was only ALRIGHT and I hate their air conditioning system. And the noise!

We went to Corner Cafe and ate breakfast. I had a yummy panini  with scrabbled eggs, tiny bacon bits, green onions and avocado. It was quite delicious. Bryce was in a piss-poor mood because he was sleep-deprived, stuck in a busy cafe, and had tons o' baggage. He was a bad boy. Didn't even take off his sunglasses and hat. Ha. We ate at a slow pace, then headed for the Blue Line CLARK/LAKE not STATE/LAKE (I hate googlemaps). We headed to O'hare like 6 hours early. We decided to see if we could catch an earlier flight and luckily we got tickets for the 5pm flight and the $50 fees were waived because our ticket counter lady said she knew that there would be a delay since all the flights were delayed. None of the Houston flights were delayed, but hey... not going to complain. So we went through security, and I managed to beat the system and didn't have to go through the TSA scanner. I walked through the metal detector with all these flight attendants and pilots I let cut ahead of me in line. More like they just said it'd be easier if they all went ahead of me... whatever logic that is.

We went to gate B22, the last gate... waited there for about 2 hours. I went to the ladies room, and walked slowly back to Bryce. He's waving at me to "come here" and he shows me our boarding pass. We're supposed to be at gate B2, we're in aisle 22! So LITERALLY, we're on one end of the airport, and we speed-walk/jog to B2! I kept thinking, "we can tell people we're on The Amazing Race so they'll stay out of our way" we made it to the gate right after 4:30pm, and just had called "aisles 25 and higher" one minute later, we're boarding. Phew!

Slept part of the flight. It's good to be home. I'm not excited about going back to work, but Monica's got to replenish her bank account!

Blurry ass photo of a lamer downtown than Chicago's:

Chicago Trip-- Day 5

I'M SO TIRED AND SLEEPY!!!!

After Bryce and I woke up, he decided to climb the neighboring building and take pictures of our hotel room from the rooftop. That was his favorite adventure of the entire trip. He looked pretty cool doing it too. Even though it was hell waiting in the window for him, because it was 80 fucking degrees!!!!!!!!!!! I hate you, Sun.

For lunch we ate at Gino's East.... DERRICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! The best freaking pizza I've ever had. The pizza sauce was out of this world deliciousness. Completely worth the 45 minute wait!


Went shopping at the other, bigger, H&M today. Really didn't see anything I liked, except a camel colored dress that I bought yesterday but in teal. So, I got that. I stopped into a cute baby/children's store called "Kooky" and got Tristan a onesie that says something like "Stop Texting And Change Me" hahaha. Cute. In Victoria's Secret I got a couple Cubs tops and a sequined Cubs hat. I got Nicole some shorts, but White Sox, because they only had large left in the Cubs shorts. Anywhoozle...

We caught the bus for the Lincoln Park Zoo, just to get there and realize it was already closed. By this point I was already pissy pants and disgruntled about the whole day. I hated what I was wearing. My hair felt dirty. I felt dirty. It was hot and humid out. So we waited at the bus stop while a bag lady harassed us and ate and drank out of the trashcan.Of course, there were a billion annoying children on the bus to top that shit off.

When we got back to the hotel, we google map'ed crepe places nearby. We walk. They were closed. Then the near by pub was closed. Starbucks was closed. McDonald's was closed. It was so hot and gross out. I think I even at one point stopped and screamed. I was so grumpy!!!! We ended up stopping at Johnny fucking Rockets. Fake Chicago-style hot dog and a runny chocolate malt. Whatevz.

We napped for a second or two. Then went to Emerald Loop, which was SO hot inside and someone had ordered tuna fish or something, so the entire bar/restaurant stunk. While waiting for my hummus wrap to arrive, it began to smell of a public restroom in a train station in Tokyo, so we got our shit to go and left the shitty waitress a shitty tip. I'm in a shitty mood today.

When we got back to the hotel room I took a bath and thought about how little I rested and how much everything was go, go, go and very little relaxation. Tomorrow is our check-out, so we'll have to get our asses out and we have the Field Museum planned, which I'm looking forward to, however it's more walking, walking, walking. Then Tuesday is bright and early for work... Bleh.

I miss Milton.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Chicago Trip-- Day 4

Another day that can be summed up simply: eat, shop, shop, shop eat!

Firstly, I went to Akira, shoe store, that I had seen days before. I got 2 pairs of shoes! One pair which are really cute and interesting by Irregular Choice. The other were Betsey Johnson nude platform pumps with a sexy lace up the back on the heel. Then, we spent over 2 hours at h&m. Fack, should have realized a Saturday would be packed! Got myself 4 belts, 2 tops, a skirt, a dress, a cardigan and Nicole 2 pairs of jeans and a cute top. I still want to check out the other h&m which is the location with many reviews, so I'm hoping it's even grander. I want more!!!! Haha.



Bryce and I then went to Elephant and Castle to grab a bite and drink, nachos and Strongbow. We stopped by American Apparel to find a decent blazer for Bryce, no such luck. And wow... their clothes are uglier than ever right now!

We stopped in Puma and Anthropologie before our actual shopping. I'm actually extremely pleased I didn't find anything I wanted there!

We stopped by 7-11 to get ice cream. I wasn't into mine so Bryce ate at both of ours and has had a tummyache for over 2 hours now. Poor Babizzle Cream.

I ordered a salmon loin from room service because I was craving something savory. Meeeh... I can't help but feel I wasted money. Oh well. C'est la vie.

There was no rain today, and it actually was cool with strong sunlight. I even got a sunburn on the part in my hair! Ha.

I hope there's no rain tomorrow... Zoo and more shopping!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Chicago Trip-- Day 3

It's only slightly past 11pm and I am TIRED!

Basically today consisted of the Shedd Aquarium and eating. We went to Lou Malnati's for lunch and boy did Bryce drop the ball! He ordered a pizza with MUSHROOMS, which we both detest (it took me 10 minutes to pick them out of the one slice I ate) and it had NO SAUCE, which is our favorite part!!!! Luckily, the waitress was so nice that she didn't charge us. The salad was really good. It was lettuce, bacon bits, diced tomatoes, black olives, Gorgonzola cheese and a sweet dressing. I'm not fond of sweet dressings, but Bryce love, love, loved it. So, that was good.

We walked our way to the aquarium  in the misting rain (btw, it started raining yesterday, boo!) and for nearly $60(for us both) it was quite disappointing. No penguins. No dolphins. One otter. And toooons 'o fish. It definitely was packed with a lot of life, in comparison to Moody Gardens in Houston, where things are a little more spread and it seems the tanks are larger for the animals. Maybe I'm mistaken. I thought I had read about awesome rides and some crap. GUUUUESS NOT!



Walked back to the train, ventured back to the hotel. We kind of relaxed for awhile and researched steakhouses around the area, because I was wanting a steak dinner! We booked 7:30pm reservations at Sullivan's which took less than 10 minutes to walk to. After our meal, we certainly weren't walking back. FOOD COMA! Bread, salad, oysters on a half shell, oysters rockefeller, steak (Thai scallops for Bryce), white cheddar au gratin potatoes AND cheesecake (banana foster's bread pudding with ice cream for Bryce) along with two cocktails each. Gaaah.... SO FUCKING DELICIOUS!!!! I figured out there's a Sullivan's in Houston, but oh well. It was worth it. We spent $220!!!! I think that's the most I've ever paid for my own dinner, haha. Tomorrow's Bryce's day to pay for food, and I'm feeeeling CHEAP. :)

We've been lounging in the bed letting our food babies digest and I've been uploading today's photos while he reads Breaking the Spell. Since I've already washed my face I think I may just go ahead and crash. OOOOR... pick at my leftover dinner and dessert... nyum nyum.... Hope it doesn't rain and/or mist tomorrow! Sh-sh-sh-shopping! :D

Chicago Trip-- Day 2

I discovered the one thing I actually like about the hotel room.... the bath/shower. It's fairly big, for a short person, and the shower has a powerful stream which felt great on my back after a day of walking in platforms!

We ventured out fairly late, 1ish, and hit a few art galleries. Eh, so so. There were several to choose from. We didn't have much time because we'd planned on getting to the Museum of Contemporary Art by 2pm. For those of you who were as dumb as Bryce and I: if you try to get on the train and figure out it's going the wrong way, don't leave the station and try to get on the other side of the platform. In Chicago you have to wait 30 minutes to use your card after you've used it (at the same platform). Bryce claimed he knew that, but... whatever! So, we ended up hailing a cab and getting a $4.25 ride to the MCA. I asked the cabbie what people do in our situations. He told us next time ride the train to the next station then get off and get on the proper platform. Duh. How did we not think of that? It's probably because he was being MEAN and we were fighting most of the day.

ANYWAY, MCA was good! Quite impressed! I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did, because I rarely hear people saying "YOU MUST SEE!" I took a lot of photos, especially of the Jim Nutt exhibit, which Bryce was extremely excited to see since he'd just accidentally discovered him.

We hung out in the gift shop for awile, I got a book on street artists, Bryce got a couple criticism books. There were a lot of awesome things to buy, but I was careful not to be fooled into buying a library!

We went for a late lunch at Kamehachi and had deeeelicious sushi and udon. It was perfect since it was so chilly outside. The sushi chef was nice and explained how they were one of the last traditional Japanese restaurants around. It was slow during the time we were there, but I thought it was a good sign that there was a table of Japanese men and a few more tables were filled when we left.

We ventured to the Art Institute, after much bickering and Bryce being an ass. And we pretty much had to rush through the modern, which had a collection of really quirky and interesting photographs using sausage and at-home products and utensils. Then we went to look at water colors and finally the impressionists. I thought the collection was pretty impressive in comparison to Houston's current exhibit. Bryce disagrees. He always does. And he's always wrong.


Speaking of which, we caught a cab in the rain and went to the AMC theatre near our hotel and watched Insidious. Bryce and I disagree on the ending. He's wrong. :) The movie was fairly good. It definitely was scary and made me scream a couple times. The acting and dialogue was pretty subpar, borderline horrible which made it amusing. Wan used some classic horror movie themes which was pretty cool. Go see it, and tell me just the dad or the son and the dad!

We went to Emerald Loop again and shared the curry burger then went back to the hotel. I was dead asleep by 1am.

Today should be exciting........!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Chicago Trip-- Day 1

Packed and ready to go at 8am, Bryce and I headed to Bush Intercontinental Airport to catch a 10:20am flight. We had about a 20 minute wait after everything was all checked in and bodies and baggages were scanned (or 'thoroughly patted down'). As we waited to board our flight a 5 or 6 year old Chicagoan boy declared to everyone he bought a stuffed animal deer for $10. Better yet, that his mother bought it. The same mother who disappeared for 10ish minutes leaving the boy asking where his mom went. I think she felt guilty for trying to leave the boy at an airport since she eventually did return. And just my luck, his seat on the airplane was EXACTLY BEHIND ME! I guess karma got me for suggesting he had a mental retardation or some sort of social disorder. Bryce claimed I kept "eyeballing" him. Whatever. We had a really sweet older woman sitting in our row who talked about how she liked to paint "after the war" Bryce asked which war? "The marriage war" hahaha. Ahh... She kept poking us to have conversation, including Sex and the City 1 and 2, sewing Easter shit, asking if we could see the lake yet, and mistaking the plane's wing for the lake. Hahaha, I love her.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Bryce kept putting on his ipod so I had to keep getting his attention and repeating myself while we were trying to find our way anywhere and everywhere. He was so annoying!!!! Until he took out his ipod (finally!) I trekked most of the day in my nearly 6 inch Jeffrey Campbell platforms, woooow, the balls of my feet felt that.

 In anycase, found the hotel (Hotel 71) and found out that even though I paid for our room February 15th, I still had to get charged $360 I guess because my card I paid with was a debit instead of credit. WHAT?! But apparently if I don't damage the room or use room service, I get the full $360 back. DUMB!!!! That's my shopping money! FORTUNATELY... minutes after this happened my mother sent me an e-mail letting me know she deposited some spending money in my bank account, because she's a sweet and nice mama! THANK GOODNESS! Also, I was pretty relieved that I had $340 in cash for food, transportation and admission fees. Smart Moni, smart!

The hotel is... meh. I've seen much better. I'm pretty peeved by the ridiculous "deposit" but aside from that the room is so basic. No one helped us up to our room. There's not even a mini-bar in here!!! :( not that I'd waste my money on it, but STILL! The closet is in the bathroom-- weird! The only thing that makes this seem even remotely like a luxury boutique hotel is the damn animal print chaise by our window. Dumb! But our window has a decent view. It's a "city view" which is a view of buildings. I'm not going to hate on it, because the architecture here in Chicago is so brilliant and beautiful.


After bitching about my "deposit" and transferring money over from my savings to my checkings, Bryce and I decided to hit some food! Pizzzzaaaaaaaa! Nyum nyum! We went to Pizano's Pizza and Pasta. We ordered Blue Moons and calamari, which was good. Not too fried. Infact big cuts of squid with light fried batter. However, the serving was so big that by the time our pizza came, I was already feeling the stop point. But of course I couldn't stop. We had a small deep dish "Mark's Special" which was tons of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and tons of pizza sauce. Delicious, delicious! I'm surprised I didn't enter a food coma.

 We headed to H&M and Urban Outfitters, because I decided I wanted a hat. Found a cute one at Urban, as well as some flats that tie up my ankle by Kimchi Blue. Saw many things at H&M that I plan to splurge on later this week.

We bounded over to Millennium Park, but stopped on the steps of the Art Institute because the balls of my feet were on fire, so I had to switch into my new nun-looking ballet flats. Ahhh... Relief. We took photos of MP. Gorgeous, gorgeous structures! My face and thighs started to get really cold at this point, so I suggested that Bryce and I head to Harris Theatre to get our tickets for "Death and the Powers: The Robots' Opera". We had 30 minutes to kill, so headed to Starbucks and I nearly fell asleep sitting up. Zzzzz...

The Opera... The effects and technology was AMAZING! So innovative, creative and stunning. I was insanely impressed by how much work must have gone into creating the set and the robots. The opera singers... Eh... One was extremely talented, but I don't know, I felt dialogue was really weak and so was a couple of their performances. Oh well, I'd still suggest it to anyone, just for the robots and set!

Headed to the hotel pondered what to do or to eat. Blahdy blah... We eventually ended up at a bar and grill right around the corner called Emerald Loop. Derrrrricious! I had a "Chirish" burger which was a burger with Irish Cheddar (one of my faaaaves) and american bacon, with onions, lettuce, tomato, etc. It was so fabulous! I cut it in half and am already pleased by the thought that I'll be eating that for breakfast. Ha! I think we're going to go back at least one more time while we're here to try something else off the menu, because damn did it look good! Curry burger... Drool!

I'm lying in bed now and am pretty sure I'll be getting a good night's sleep. Zzzzz... Sweet dreams!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Hair Depression

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I got 5-7inches of hair cut off when the max I wanted off was 3 inches. Just get rid of the dry ends. My stylist has known me for about 2 years and couldn't have possibly have thought that I'd be OK and/or happy with hair a few inches longer than my shoulders.

Last night I kept waking up from odd dreams and immediately feeling a sense of distress and depression over my short hair. Bah.

I bought Super Biotin vitamins today at GNC. So, day 1. I hope I see a significant growth within a month. I'll be sad if it takes a year to grow back the length I had.

I got a Fine Featherhead extension put in today, so I'll easily be able to gauge my progress.

I'm going to order DS Laboratories  Rivita shampoo. I googled where I could buy some in the Houston area. One place. 8181 El Mundo St. AHH. It was scary. In an apartment complex which was next door neighbors to a complex surrounded by barbed wire. Bryce wouldn't let me go in to ask if they sold the shampoo. If Bryce wasn't there I would have gone in. Girl on a hair mission. Ordering tomorrow.

A few people have also recommended prenatal vitamins. I suppose I can research how Biotin and prenatal vitamins may work with one another.

In any case... I'm not cutting my hair for a year. And I'm going back to being super anal about how and what people cut of my hair.

Goodnight.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Review: Clean & Clear morning burst facial scrub



Clean & Clear claims this product is good for daily use. Hmm... The first time I used it, a few weeks ago, I thought it was fun and worked decently. The beads sure did exfoliate my face and there was a sense of "waking up" and nice citrus. Bryce hated it from the get-go. He said the beads stuck into his beard and he was pretty frustrated by the product.

There is far too much exfoliation in this product for someone to use daily. I can't even imagine someone with extremely oily skin liking this. To compensate for the dry and flaky skin I was starting to get in my more sensitive areas of my face I had to use a heavier moisturizer.

The actual cleanser of this product doesn't seem to make my face "squeaky clean" like my normal products do. I honestly felt like I had a cheap anti-bacterial hand soap on my face with added granules and beads. I had 4 blemishes in the time I used the morning burst. Normally in this period of time I may have 1, if that.

The morning burst beads lost their 'fun' quickly. I noticed that beads would stick to the bathtub, so every time I'd get in for a bath I'd have previous used beads covering my ass and legs. Extreeeemely irritating and uncomfortable!

I will not be buying Clean & Clean's morning burst facial scrub again. I was really disappointed with the lackluster cleansing ability aside from rubbing off the first layer of my face. I got sick of the gimmicky burst beads after day 1. I wanted to give this product a fair test, but my Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel and Daily Microfoliant are back out and in use.

There must be drugstore brand that does a great job!

PS I got at least 6 inches cut off my very long hair today. I'm sad my hair is gone. It's cute cut. It's all healthy now, but I won't cut it for a year! My next mission is to find the miracle hair grower. Bryce always used to want me to cut my hair, but now says it should be long. I have an average girl's hair cut now. I have the Rachel. :(

Monday, March 21, 2011

Convey Sushi

One of my favorite things to do in Tokyo is go to sushi-jins with conveyor belts. The chef puts assortments of different sushi on plates and as the conveyor belt rolls you grab the sushi that appeals to your hunger. It's good for a quick bite or can cause you to get a wee-bit out of control if you're like me and just impulsively grab, grab, grab!

Convey Sushi is run by a half Japanese and half Greek guy named Kevin. His restaurant is located at 801 Congress St. Parking is downtown is always a horrible bitch, but Bryce and I got lucky and found parking just a minute away. When you walk in, it seems there is confusion as to whether you wait to be seated or seat yourself. There is no sign, however, you're supposed to seat yourself. You have the option of sitting around the conveyor belt or at a table. You can tell that the place isn't 100% finished. It seems like a rough finish. It can be made a lot nicer. The bathroom was quite shocking to me because it was so simple with the toilet paper holder/dispenser(?) positioned in an awkwardly position in the middle of the bathroom. Needs major work.

The owner was very nice and welcoming from the get-go. Asked where we'd heard of the restaurant. He took our drink orders, Blue Moons, and offered us hot sake on the house. Sweet!

The plates range from $5, $4.5, $4 and $3 (I believe). The way you know is how it's colored. Pink plates are $5. You can grab off the conveyor or place an order. BUSINESS IS TOUGH! Kevin's normal waiter was out sick, so he was scrambling around the restaurant trying to keep up but failed on a few occasions. They were out of cucumber, asari (clams) and I believe out of something else because I kept getting "we're out of that, too" response. They need to better stock up on Saturdays!

The same white fishes, plate of tempura and a specialty roll went around on the conveyor for about 20 minutes. I got to the point where I was pretty pissed and told Bryce that after I was done with my beer I was asking for the check unless other sushi started getting added the the belt. Especially since he went around getting everyone's requests earlier, but nothing was appearing! He was very apologetic when he asked me if I was "still good?" and I told him that I was just still waiting on other items, since the same things had been going for 20 minutes. We'd placed an order for a specialty roll, which we'd not received either.

Maybe 5 more minutes passed and finally there was more salmon, eel, tuna, and seared tuna. The cuts were generous. I love salmon. Even though it wasn't the absolute BEST, it was still pretty good. Bryce enjoyed his eel. We ordered spicy scallops and squid. The rice was undercooked. Bryce liked the spicy scallops however. The squid was good, but slightly dry. I'm guessing the squid sat for too long. I ordered agedashi tofu, which was pretty good! I liked how they were cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces, because normally they seem to be served in two large blocks where everyone just breaks bits off. Seared pepper tuna was delicious. And so was our specialty roll. I was extremely impressed by this roll! It was called the Congress, I believe. It had garlic, asparagus, daikon sprouts, seared rib-eye beef, avocado and scallions. WOW, was this delicious or what! It was very "green" tasting. The beef did not take away from the fresh tasting veggies in this roll. The daikon sprouts really made this dish, in my opinion. I'll definitely be ordering this every visit.

The owner gave us the hot sake and agedashi tofu on the house and our beers at happy hour prices since he was sorry for the "kinks" that needed to be worked out.

-Needs a faster kitchen. There were 5 men back there, it was inexcusable that the same fish was on the belt for about 20 minutes.
-They need to pay attention to what items have sat for too long. Those same unwanted fish were on the belt when we left, about an hour and a half plus. Bad.
-Need to make sure they have everything in stock on Saturdays.

There were many shortcomings with Convey, but they have been only open for 6 weeks and I believe that they're going to work on the kinks and I hope this restaurant gains some success. We'll be going back in about a month to see if it's progressed and HOPEFULLY the waiter will not be sick! Poor boss.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

More Hello Kitty Nail Decals

Meow!

Nicole by OPI: Miss Independent.

In person it looks more silvery than pinky with silver. I actually like the color with the Blackberry's camera better because it looks pink and you can see the nail art. Cute.

I ordered a cute coat from Betsy Johnson the other day, and it was pending in my bank account, but suddenly the transaction wasn't there the next day!!!! I checked the ruelala.com to make sure they didn't cancel my order, which they didn't! So, I'm not sure what's going on! I'm planning on taking it with me to Chicago in 3 weeks. So, I hope it arrives! And I hope it fits well. It's kind of a cut that typically is cut and/or looks good with small-breasted women... :\ But I'll see if/when it gets here! I hope it's as cute in the picture. If it's a success I'll take the time to paste a photo into my blog.

A review coming soon...!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Nails-- Hello Kitty

Meow. I finally used my Hello Kitty nail art that I purchased from sephora.com a couple of months ago. VERY CUTE!

When  went on my affordable beauty shopping I  got many  new polishes! The one photographed above is Essie's Turquoise and Caicos. It's a soft turquoise even though my Blackberry camera captured a sweet mint color.

I painted my nails on Sunday. Let's see how long it'll be before I get a chip. So far good. I'm sure I'll have to spot touch once or twice before I change out my nailpolish this weekend. I think that I'll try to use more of my Hello Kitty nail art! EXCITING!!!!... ;)

My mother, Bryce and I are going to head out for oysters soon, mmmm... Delicious. I smell payday coming, too... Tomorrow? It'll be my first payday at the new salon. Pretty excited... to crunch numbers and all that geeky jazz.

Good evening!