September, September!

Hello, hello!

Happy Labor Day out there to everyone... September is going to be a big month for me! I have been inspired by Shay Carl to set a few goals to accomplish in the month of September. I am pumped! I've gotten Bryce to join me in this, too. I also got a couple co-workers to set some goals, too. October 6th is my 27th birthday!!!! I'd like to feel like I used my last month of being 26 in a positive way. Here go my 3 goals:

(a few places I posted my goals)

1) Be down 45lbs! At this very moment I am down 33lbs. That means I am upping my past goals of losing 10lbs in a month to 12lbs. In order to reach this goal I've set some sub-goals, which is written on my calendar. 

      -NO CHEAT MEALS!!!! Just day 3, this one has been a temptation! I have considered breaking this rule every day, ha. So far, I'm holding strong. It's just not worth it!!!!

      -Drink more water. I tend to slack on this at times.

      -Drink my Shakeology once a day.

      -Workout 6 days a week and push myself without breaking myself.

2) No buying beauty products! I have a horrible habit of wasting $$$ on beauty products. 

      -Avoid e-window shopping

      -Don't go into a retailer unless I need something specific.

      -When grocery shopping, avoid the cosmetics area.

      -Put extra money into savings so I'm not tempted to spend it.

3) Finish 3 books! For a little bit there I slacked in feeding my brain and imagination with reading. It took me quite a long time to finish Middlesex even though I loved the book. I don't know why I was doing that. I used to read a book every week... My three books are The Kill Order (20% done already), Clean and 50 Shades of Grey.

      -Bring book in bubblebath, instead of being glued to my iphone.

      -Bring Kindle to the gym some times.

      -Use reading as a winding down tool in bed before sleep.

      -When bored, pick up one of the books instead of going for NetFlix, YouTube, etc...

I hope some other people would like to set achievable goals for the month of September! 27... here I come!!!!

xoxxx,

M

Health Journey: Month Four

Hello, hello! I'm updating from a hot, epsom salt-filled bath due to the fact my right knee is acting up again! I was having issues with it during my first month, too. I hope it's just a tiny hiccup because I don't want to slow down! ;)

I've noticed a pattern with my weightloss. Two weeks struggle with losing anything, then two weeks I shed. I'm not complaining, but I need to remind myself when I'm frustrated feeling like "it's not working." It is! So last month I said I was hoping to lose another 10lbs (making a total of 31) in a month, but that didn't happen. I also set out what I thought was an achievable goal at total loss of 29lbs. TWENTY-EIGHT! One pound! Boo.

I'm actually FINE with it. Normally, I'd be beating myself up, but I'm proud at the loss so far. I am really getting to a point where I'm reading my body better. Which is why I can tell I've been retaining water. I've made it a new "goal" to pay closer attention to my sodium intake to avoid holding onto water weight. It's all good. :)

My eating has been pretty on-point, but in the past two weeks I've been struggling with funky sleeping (lack of) and not feeling like spending hour upon hour at the gym. I guess I've been going through cycles! Today, a start of a brand new two weeks, I'm planning on putting in extra gym time. Last week I put in about seven, this week I'm aiming for ten.

Ah, back to the 8lbs lost... My trainer said all of that loss was fat and not muscle! Woohoo! In the past I've lost lean muscle here and there. I'm also down 16".

Even though the scale measures my accomplishments, right now I'm focused on BACKFAT! Ha. I am hoping to not see a hunk of fat back there soon! Soon... Or in the next few months. ;P

I have two sessions left with my trainer. I won't be continuing with her for the time being since it's costly, I feel like I've learned invaluable things from her, and I have a good support system which also helps with accountability.

Anywho! I'm feeling good, feeling proud, clothes are fitting better and still feel determined.

Switching to shower-mode!

Xx,
M

Quinoa Recipe

Saw this on YouTube by ShayCarl, I think on his ShayLoss channel... Bryce, my co-workers and I thoroughly enjoyed this delicious quinoa recipe! I can't wait to make it again. :)

This makes huge 8 servings, I'd say if I had eaten the bowl alone it would have been more than 12 servings.

2 cups of quinoa

1 large tomato 

1 onion

1 jalepeno

1 can of corn (you can use fresh)

1 1 can of black beans (you can use fresh)

2 bushes of cilantro

5 cloves of garlic

3 small limes

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tblsp salt

1 tspn cumin

Boil quinoa as per instructions in a covered pot.

During boil dice up tomato, onion, and cilantro in a BIG bowl. Finely chop jalepeno and garlic add to bowl. If using canned corn and beans, RINSE/strain, add to bowl. In a small bowl mix olive oil, salt, cumin and squeeze in lime juice, mix well with a fork.

 

 

 

 Add quinoa to the bowl and mix around with the veggies. Add the lime juice mixture on top of quinoa and mix thoroughly.

 

 

You can eat this with tortilla chips, on soft tortillas (I used small whole grain) and add guacamole, sour cream, salsa etc... You can also eat it alone! Enjoy :)

 

 

I added low-fat shredded cheese, salsa and a quarter avocado! It was DELICIOUS!

xox,
M

 

 

 

Health Journey: Month Three

Last month I posted that my goal for July 17th was to be down 21lbs, total. Who was down 21 lbs on that date? THIS GIRL!

In the last two weeks I lost 7 of those 9 lbs. In the last two weeks I have really upped my gym time. Last week I spent 10 hours at the gym total. I'm going to try and keep up that work... I need to figure out my workout schedule a little better so I'm not doing 3 hours of cardio in one day... Gah.

Am I crazy to set my next goal to be 31lbs down by August 14th? Maybe so. I'll put out 29lbs or 31lbs out there.

I'm feeling really good about my progress. After my training session today my trainer asked if I wanted to take a spin class with her. HOLY CRAP! I lasted... and I use the word "lasted" very loosely, for 20 minutes! Boo. Haha. No thank you. I felt like my quads were bulking insanely.

I have a new rule for drinking out at restaurants... Keep it limited to 2 drinks and cut back on the food during that meal if I'm drinking. Last night for Tristan's birthday dinner approximately 5 glasses of different varieties of wine exceeded 700cals! I was pretty horrified when I was entering my dinner in myfitnesspal. After having worked out for THREE hours at the gym, my damn dinner of sushi and wine made me feel like my progress was spoiled. BUT... myfitnesspal said I could technically consume 1,800 more calories.

ANYWAY! I would love to go for a month of not eating bad at all. Month three had 4 bad days. Let's see! August 14th, I'm coming for you!

xx
M

Little Haul...

I treated myself to some beauty shopping the other day since I feel like I haven't splurged in awhile.

First stop was Lush! I got a foot mask that the sales girl just sold to me. It smells like a yummy cinnamon and papaya. Will try soon. I got the Eau Roma Water - my favorite toner! And my new favorite shower gel The Olive Branch. I would like every product in life to smell like this shower gel, ha.

My next stop was at Sephora. Needed a new powder brush. A couple face primers. I've been using Benefit's The Porefessional. I like it, but I'm interested in seeing if I like Smashbox's better or not. I also grabbed a Nars Laguna bronzer since I'm nearly out. A very good bronzer for fairer-skinned folks like myself.

I got this little kit from Benefit with some nice goodies. $38 for an $86 value, yes please! I've been enjoying the Stay Don't Stray primer. I didn't like Eye Bright years ago when I tried it, but I've actually taken a liking to it! I like to use it on my inner corner then pat a little bit of Urban Decay's Virgin on top. High Beam is a nice highlight. And Bella Bamba blush is gorgeous!

Thaaat's about it.

xx
M

Nosebleeds, Rave Product aaannndddd...

I'm going to be brief with each thing I want to mention.

1) Can getting nosebleeds be in my genes? It seems to be something I got from my mother. My sister gets nosebleeds easily, too. I hate when I'm in the shower and the warm water trickles down my face. I'm CONSTANTLY checking for blood! Ha. What are different reasons for nosebleeds? I try to drink or eat oranges, I hear that stops it back on like that "olympic"/"warrior" show where people compete on different obstacle courses. Am I crazy or does someone know what I'm talking about? American gladiator???

2)
I LOVE THIS SHOWER GEL!!!! It smells DELICIOUS (light sweet) and doesn't dry out my skin. I got the travel size to try out, but I will definitely be repurchasing on the largest bottle!

3) I'm trying out a month supply of Shakelogy. I've been making shakes for almost a week now. I was having one for breakfast, but I've switched to post-workouts instead for the convenience of time in the morning. I'll get back on what my thoughts are about this product in a later blog!

4)
OBSESSED. I can't get enough of watermelon! I've been replacing late night snacks with watermelon. YUM! Bryce is out getting me some at nearly midnight. Ha. Aw. :)

xox,
M

Health Journey: Month Two

Hey guys!

Another month has passed... This morning was weigh-in and measurements. I'm down a total of 12lbs!!!! My next goal is to be down a total of 21lbs by July 16th. I CAN and WILL do this!

I still have ten more sessions with my personal trainer and am seriously so thankful for her! After my sessions are over, I'm going to just fly solo. As for my own workouts I've been really noticing how easier things are becoming. The machine I hate MOST, the jacobs ladder, I could barely do 2 minutes straight, I did 15 minutes straight yesterday! My goal was 10 minutes. It was a very proud moment for me.

Starting tomorrow I will be increasing my resistance and intensity so I avoid hitting a plateau. I really want to hit -21lbs next measurements!

Nutrition has been a struggle a couple times this past month. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that my receptionist has been off for her pregnancy, so I've not prepared properly for meals and snacks during the day, so when I get home for dinner I get the mentality of, "well I barely ate anything today... straying from healthy eating will be OK" I have removed that from my mentality!!!! I feel so motivated for this month.

Trying not to be too hard on myself for not losing numbers as fast as I have in the past. I'm doing it healthily this time!

xox,
M

Deborah Lippmann The Stripper

Nail Polish Junkies,

Ever have to give your nails time to "breathe"? I used to think that my nails needed breathing breaks from wearing polish because my fingers/nails would feel a dull ache for at least 12 hours. Birchbox sent me a sample of Deborah Lippmann's The Stripper  (to-go). I noticed the smell was very pleasant. Lavender. Not the harsh, "who the hell is using nail polish remover?!" smell.The little mitt got my glitter off SO well! But 6 mitts (one mitt can remove both hands) is $12 and that's just RIDICULOUS.


Beauty.com e-mailed me with an offer of a free DL polish if I spent $10 so I decided to try out the full-size of The Stripper. With a price tag of $18 for 4oz... yikes! I may have 5 uses left in my current bottle. So that will have been a total of 3 months, maybe 3 and a half. That's kind of steep for nailpolish remover. But I can tell you I have noticed a huge difference in my nails. No pain. No irritation. And frankly, it does work better than the removers I buy from the drug store. I will be repurchasing, but also researching alternative removers with lavender and aloe in their formulas.

xx,
Fellow Junkie

Nailpolish Shelves

There are a lot of important things happening in the world... and clearly the fact that my nailpolish shelves are built and finished IS blog-worthy!

A couple of weeks ago I was researching storage options for my nailpolish. I was getting sick of blindly pulling colors and ruining the order of my "beauty table." I was willing to fork over the $100 for a typical clear, plastic polish display until I came across a random fellow lacquer-lover's blog. She had her boyfriend build her some wooden shelves and painted them. AHA! Brilliant!

Luckily, Bryce uses all those manly tools for his job installing art. He cut the wood and did all that drilling business. I chose my colors:

I decided I wanted ROSE GOLD GLITTER with an accent of blue-ish.

After a lot of nagging, I finally got my shelves!

and more...

Okay! I'll stop.

It took me quite awhile to go through all my polish and throw away the ones that were looking retired. Then I had to decide the color-coding... White people problems. Ha. I had to keep shifting the colors around once I'd find more reds or what have you. ANYWAY, those are my babies.

What do I do when I get more polish? I MIGHT be able to use two and half of the shelves with appliances and utensils on it. Did I already mention white people problems? HAHA! On second thought: nailpolish... Asian people problems. Ba-da-bump!

xx,
M

Health Journey (Once upon a time...)

I've probably sufficiently annoyed Facebookers with all my gym check-ins and talk about working out. Oh, but I'm not finished! Ha.

A month ago, I suckered myself into trying the Blue Print Cleanse and figured, "EFF IT! You started, you're going to continue...!" Continue with looking out for my health. I signed up for a membership at a fitness club in literal walking distance and began working out that very afternoon.

I got my free 1-hour personal training session... HOW DEPRESSING! We did a weigh-in, measurements, including FAT measurements. I died. Seriously. I'm still carrying that dead Monica inside me. I will get rid of that ho. We talked about my terrible eating habits (two big not-so-nutritious meals toward the end of the day + nighttime dessert with B) and what I should be doing. The trainer kicked my ass.

I decided to ask my parents to early birthday gift me a package of ten sessions with Nicole, my personal trainer. Sweet. I really didn't want to fork over the $750.

She set up a general workout regimen for me when I'm not working out with her. She's got me consuming a lot more protein throughout the day and loading me up with water. I feel great. I've only very recently started craving pizza, ha. At the moment I'm seeing her Monday and Wednesday. She kicks my ass so badly I wobble home. Every two weeks we weigh. Every four weeks we do all weighing and measuring. I have lost a total of 5lbs in FAT (+gained lean muscle) in this first month.

I'm kind of proud. I'm mostly very disappointed, haha. I know I'm consuming more, but creating muscle which will effectively burn off the fat "for good" as opposed to near starving myself and losing a lot of weight faster. It's SO tempting to do the latter. But she actually caught that I wasn't consuming as much protein when she did my measurements. I didn't think it'd matter, but I felt like a dumbass when I was caught, haha.

Another HUGE disappointment is throughout this month I've truly gotten to see how terribly out of shape I've gotten in these past few years. Nicole has me run up and down two flights of stairs three times, mixed with some freaking jumping jacks and I'm already wishing our hour was up! DYING. I freaking hate our routines with those damn stairs, haha. As well as the Jacobs Ladder. I'm on there for 3 minutes and I'm sweating. My ankles kill. My calves kill. My spirit deadens. Haha.

I think of how a little over a year ago I was getting back into working out because at that moment I was the most out of shape I had been (HAAA). I quit my job and for the past year I've just been gaining weight like a hungry madman (a tiny fuc...thank you to birthcontrol). I quickly gained that 15-20lbs back and why the hell not gain some more, Monica. Not to mention like 6 years ago when I was obsessed with working out and dropped 40lbs but my boobs went up a cup. Haha. Oh to be young... Now I'm working my ass of like crazy to do it healthily and kick my 18-20 year old self for falling off the wagon. I swear it sneaks up on you!

I did this to me. I'm undoing this to me.

xox,
M

Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream

This eye cream is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This year I've really noticed tiny, fine lines underneath my lower lash line. ALSO, the skin under my eye feeling dry and sensitive. I suppose all the years of rubbing make-up off with regular skin cleanser. Accepting the fact that I'm 26 years old and probably should be loading my eyes with a great eye cream got me on the hunt!

Bobbi Brown's EXTRA Eye Repair Cream was that answer! The cream is $68, HOWEVER, I've been using it for two months and I've skimmed the top. I can see this product lasting 8 months, used during the day under your makeup and at night.

I've been using this cream mainly during my night routine. It's a thick, luxurious cream that can be used very sparingly. I lightly tap a thin coverage with my ring finger, let it absorb for a couple minutes the continue with my routine.

This cream WORKS! Even though I didn't start with many lines, I'd say at LEAST 90% is gone. My under eye area doesn't feel sensitive nor dry. It's what I wanted and that's what it delivered.

xox,
M

Blue Print Cleanse

I tried what the call "the cleanse for foodies" after my good (and very tiny) friend, Andrea, mentioned her experience. She lost 5 lbs and said it wasn't too bad. Of course, I think "shit I have way more to lose!" and the packaging is adorable. Yes, I'm a big S-U-C-K-E-R! To be fair, she said it wasn't like the holy experience that many reviewers tend to claim, just that it was relatively easy and she lost some weight.

There are three different levels of the cleanse Renovation (beginners), Foundation (intermediate), and Excavation (advanced). You can do as many days as you like, I went with the most they allow you to buy at once, three days. Renovation! Three days plus $10 shipping cost me $225!!!! Boo.

My biggest concerns:
-How the hell am I going to stomach cashew milk? I vehemently HATE white drinks, especially MILK drinks. 
-Will I be dying of hunger?

First concern, Blue Print Cleanse does have an option of claiming to be allergic to nuts. At first I hopped on that, but right before I was going to submit my credit card information I decided that I was just going to do what they really recommend. For those who really are allergic, or can't stomach white drinks (ha), they will send you two #4's.

Second concern, I truly was not hungry AT ALL. But my cravings were insane. I wanted pizza. I wanted oysters. I wanted sushi. I wanted steak. I wanted ramen. I wanted oranges. I wanted pickles. I wanted SOLIDS! Just the very fact that I knew I couldn't eat food made me want it so badly. 

My cooler box arrived Friday morning, but since I had a lunch date with my friend Jessica, I decided to start Saturday. Well, being as I'm off Sunday and Monday, I wish I would have just juice'd it up at lunch with Jess. Oh well. Haha.
Juices:
1&3) Green: romaine lettuce, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley and lemon. This juice was my least favorite. It wasn't terrible. It tasted like tangy cucumber. I wish that they wouldn't put the apple in this one, I'd have liked it a lot better. The tangy taste was slightly off-putting.
2) P.A.M.(gold): pineapple, apple, and mint. YUMMY! This juice tasted like minty pineapple juice. I love pineapple juice. I could see myself grabbing this drink at Whole Foods just for the delicious taste.
4) Spicy Lemonade (yellow): water, lemon, agave nectar, and cayenne. YUMMY! x's 10! Had I known I'd love this juice so much, I would have just taken a gander at the Master Cleanse where it's nothing but this! (btw my friend Jessica did this for 40 days... she's a badass!)
5) C.A.B. (red): carrot, apple, beet, lemon, ginger. This one was OK. I liked the ginger in it, but all in all I was indifferent toward this juice.
6) Cashew Milk (white): cashew, water, vanilla, cinnamon, and agave. Dun, dun, DUN! I actually LOVED it! I think the fact that there was a slight gritty consistency (and I drank it in the dark...) really helped! It was really delicious. I imagine all sweet-tooth folks would like this one the best.


Day 1: Easy. Though, I did have a killer headache all day. I started around 12pm and it took about an hour to drink them since they were 16oz and I wasn't particularly hungry. I did crave food like I've mentioned.

Day 2: Didn't wake up hungry at all. Killer headache second half of the day. Didn't drink the cashew milk since I was tired and had 5 and 6 left, so I chugged #5 and was too full, so gave Bryce the cashew milk.

Day 3: OVER THE JUICE. No headache or anything. Before going to the gym I told Bryce I didn't want my juices anymore so he drank #5 and #6! Ha. Thanks...

Anyway, I honestly wouldn't recommend. Won't repurchase. It was a nice waste of money. Haha. I lost 5lbs, but after doing research I wish I would have done the Master Cleanse because that was so yummy!

No thanks to cleanse!

xox

Couch and Cajun

After waiting over 4 months, I finally got a couch! But it wasn't from the original furniture store. I've had the WORST buying experience with Fingers Furniture. I won't even go into the details, because I'll probably get irrationally annoyed and itchy. With the awesome advice of Austin Payne, I decided to take my business Gallery Furniture and got my new couch day of purchase! And spent a fraction of the price. They SAVED me MONEY! Can't beat that. Fingers still owes me $500. Gah.

(Camera focused on lamp...)

It's super comfy. The boys aren't allowed to get their stinky selves on the couch. We need some kind of rug, I think! AND Bryce needs to hang all our art, as you can see. It's embarrassing and ironic that Bryce is an ART INSTALLER! Anyway. Somehow already there is a smidge of INK on the couch. Anyone know of ways to remove? If not, I'll google soon. Fantastic does NOT work, ha. 

Lately I am OBSESSED with crawfish. I used to just avoid it, since it seemed like a pain in the ass to eat. It's still a pain in the ass, but I have cravings, damnit! The other day, I ordered crawfish to go, and peeled away, sucked brains happily while watching random Tyra Show clips (gay for pay, anyone?!) but I couldn't help but notice the little bastards ruined my nailpolish! Can one wear latex gloves to break open mudbugs?

 My other (life) obsession has been oysters. I've always loved raw oysters, so I've been eating more than my fair share of that. Did you know, you can eat almost 81 lbs of raw oysters a week before worrying about mercury poisoning? Google told me! How tempting that sounds... Slurp, slurp! There are only a couple more weeks of April left, then it's the dreaded months without "r"! :( If I weren't going on a juice cleanse this weekend, I'd be crawfish, shrimp and oystering it up! I guess I'll "ease" into solids by eating oysters. Heee. :)

xx,

Moni

NOTD

Nails Of The Day! Haha. I'm sure there are other people who truly keep up with all their nail looks. My goal is to do two different looks a week, because FRANKLY I have way too much nail polish not to change it out at least twice a week! The downfall... my new favorite nail polish remover (The Stripper) is $18 for 4oz. Ha. Seriously, Monica? Seriously.

Speaking of goals, I failed blogging every day for a month. I made it exactly 2 weeks. Womp womp...

Onto the nails! Main color + accent photo.

Hello Kitty- Minty (crappy brush and a bit streaky)

Ring finger: butter LONDON's Henley Regatta (lovey)

+ Seche Vite's fast drying topcoat (THE best!)

xx,

M

Swinging in the park...

 ;)

Bryce and I watched some Harry Potter tonight, ate Crave cupcakes (red velvet MMM!), and then had the joy of cleaning up a bit! Milton chewed up Sorrel, my alligator claw back scratched (UGH!!!) so that caused me to want to clean up our bedroom. Not to mention my clothes were exploded everywhere.

Thinking it was cool out, I suggested we hop over to Menil park and hang out and listen to our ipods and stuff.  I pushed Bryce on the red swing for a minute. I hopped on and two minutes later a douchey cop in a truck obnoxiously shown his bright light on us until we walked over to our car. I guess the park is closed by 10:30pm? Whatever. We didn't get to make the park pretty.

Bryce and I decided to go to the swings on Allen Parkway, but then the place we needed to make the block was closed off. So, we went home. Bryce was frustrated and a poop.

xx,

BBC ;)

Books. Omg, books.

Ha.

I've been very reading lazy lately. I think for half of March! I downloaded a book 2 weeks ago. I read... A page? I'm listening to an audio book. Well, I started listening, but outside noise prevented me from making to chapter 3.

Last but not least, I still haven't gotten past Catherine of Aragon in the mini textbook of Henry 8ths baby mammas.

My weekend will have a good bit of time dedicated to reading. I may be getting dumberz.

Xoxox

Lottery

If it gets to the $billions do they just keep going???

I hope one of my friends wins! ;)

Xx

Still feeling crappy *TMI*

Last night I went to bed feeling extremely queasy, hoping I'd sleep it off. In the morning I had an unpleasant bathroom experience. I felt the bubble guts ALL DAY, but luckily didn't have to deal with any action, so to speak. Ha. Lying in bed after work, the horrible nausea comes back! Great. Bryce joined me to cuddle and decompress... UUuuuuggghhh... I felt so terrible even my PIMPLE was causing me pain. Haha. As expected, VOMIT. Goodbye, sandwich.

It smelled like ponzu sauce.

xx,
M

Queasy

I'm feeling sick, but said I'd blog once a day for a month.

Snoop bloggy blog.

Watching season 1 of Amazing Race again this evening... :)

xox,
M

China Glaze Hunger Games Collection

My Hunger Games nailpolish came in today! They're cute!

Luxe and Lush, Fast Track

Smoke and Ashes, Riveting

I'm excited to try these out!

I'm watching season 1 of The Amazing Race... wow! Haha. How technology and accents have changed!

xox,

M

Lazy Monday

I joked yesterday that I wasn't going to get out of bed all day. I pretty much upheld that joke.

I slept... I watched some YouTube, Jerseylicious, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Celebrity Apprentice and now I'm watching The Amazing Race. And I ate.

I'd love to be on The Amazing Race.


xx,
M

Tomato Basil Shrimp

I made some tomato basil kebabs for Andrea's new (free!) grill. I was really worried that it was going to taste gross because I used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce.

I didn't really measure any ingredients. I just used olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, tomato paste and chopped basil.  The smell of tomato paste and and cayenne pepper was so pungent in my apartment I was worried the shrimp would taste too tomatoey.

I didn't get a picture after they were grilled, but they did turn out okay! Maybe I won't start measuring ingredients... yet!

xx
M

Finally! Saw The Hunger Games

After obsessive anticipation, I finally got to see The Hunger Games last night at 7pm! I loved it!

The movie was nearly 2 and a half hours, but did feel like only an hour. I felt like all the pieces of the book happened so quickly. I feel like they did as much as they could in the time they had to tell the story. It didn't feel like they delved deep into any points from the book. I almost wish it could have been a two-part movie, but oh well.

The acting was IMPECCABLE! I admit, I wasn't thrilled to hear the casting when the actors were first announced, but I was shown I was wrong. The camera work was great, too. I felt the sense of urgency and anxiety at many parts inside the game.

I honestly am glad I knew the entire story from reading the book, because I definitely understood how important and meaningful certain things were that they didn't dive deeper into.  I think if I were someone who hadn't read the books, I would have wondered why people were sososo into the trilogy.

I think Catching Fire is going to be great! I hope it will explain the Districts and the Capitol relation a lot better. I cannot wait! :)

xox
M

PS I cried! SPOILER ALERT (for those that didn't read the book): I cried when Katniss volunteered for Prim. I cried when Roo died. I cried when District 11 rebelled.

PPS "I feel..." "I felt..." "I feel..." "I feel..." Haha.

19 hours to go...

I'm excited for Hunger Games at 7pm!

Not much to talk about... I changed my polish to have a slight Hunger Games feel. They're still drying, but I'll describe! Bright orange (Essie) with olive-gold tips. And ring fingers are orange with glittery green-blue tips. The orange is for Katniss's outfits and description before and after the annual hunger game (even though red would have been more fitting). The dark olive-gold is for district 12 being the coal mining district. And the blue glitter is "flame" for her public persona.

Haha. Dork.

Goodnight!

Butter London polish

I am in love with these Butter London nail polishes! I was told by Rosi (go visit and buy stuff from her at Fixed Gear!) that Butter London polishes were good. I'd been seeing them around, but just never tried them out. WELL! I was scheduling an appointment with our new friends at Cameo ( Dr. Roth  ), I spotted Butter London in their cosmetics area. I opted to try out a soft pink. THRILLED! The application feels like butter. Super smooth!  When I went in for a quick appointment, I grabbed three more polishes. 25% off retail from our friends is generous and outright awesome. :) If anyone cares, Butter London is 3-Free AKA non-toxic.

Pink Ribbon (feminine, soft pink)

Henley Regatta (green-blue glitter), Jaffa (bright orange), Wallis (metallic olive-gold)

I'll have to report back after I've tried all the colors! I also did purchase 4 of the Hunger Games collection by China Glaze...   ........................... Seriously. No more polish until the end of JUNE, unless it's from my monthly Julep Maven box.

xx

M

Julep Maven Boxes

Since January I have been enrolled to get Julep Maven boxes. They're a monthly beauty box with mani and pedi goodies. You get a $40 (+)  value for $19.99. The box you get depends on your profiled style. I am the "It Girl" and it tends to send three full-sized bottles of nailpolish, which is a $42 value. Sometimes there will be extra goodies added. I just love these boxes! I get Birchbox and so far I've been kind of disappointed...

Julep nailpolish is 3-Free (safe for your precious fingers). They always have new colors introduced, which is great. The quality is pretty good. I definitely make sure to have a good top coat (Seche Vite). Lately I've noticed some chipping toward the end of my week, which isn't normal for me. I think it's because my nails are dry. Anyone?

For St. Patrick's Day they offered a mystery box, so I couldn't resist!

In the box I got: four milk chocolate coins, awesome emery board, glycolic hand scrub, hand brightener, a basecoat, Rachel (coppery shimmer hint of brown), Sofia (spring green with aqua glitter) and Charlotte (lavender).

xox

Over Convey

Last year I was excited and happy to support a new restaurant in Houston called Convey. It's a sushi joint that has sushi delivered on a conveyor belt. The owner was nice and wanted to preserve authentic Japanese dishes on his menu. After several visits I became to realize a lack of prompt service wasn't just because they were a new restaurant. A waitress had a visible crappy attitude every visit, one was too shy to even talk to guests, and the sweet one worthy of a 50% tip each time seemed to have disappeared after the first few months. The quality was great. Fresh fish. Really clean tasting specialty rolls.

Even though it took them ages to get their liquor license they supplemented by offering complimentary sake.

My last two visits made me think there might be a new owner since it was staff I didn't recognize. The second to last left me feeling like this may be a positive thing. My food arrived fairly quickly, the sushi chef was in a great mood which felt addictive.  Our waiter was on point, engaging and extremely friendly.

Last visit were the same staff, and ugh... First, there was NO ONE in the restaurant, so I went to sit at the beginning of the conveyor belt, but they asked me to sit somewhere else because they were expecting someone. Well, fine. This didn't bother me at first. Only after realizing that this person they were expecting didn't even like sushi much did I get slightly annoyed. They were out of squid. Out of shrimp. Out of egg omelet. And they served me dead clams in my miso soup. UGH! The service was ridiculously slow, which I cannot begin to understand as Bryce and I were the first patrons. The "person" and his date were the only others in the restaurant during that evening.

I'm mostly disappointed  because I was so excited to see this place take off. The owner was really cool and I feel nostalgic toward the concept. The food quality was magnifique! I used to recommend the place to everyone and gush about loving in. Now, not so much.

I won't be returning on my own. :/

xox

It's been over a month...

DAMN! I've not blogged in over a month!

I've been trying out this new thing for a little more than a week. It may seem simple, but I'm appreciating life. I was outside returning from transporting my laundry to the laundry room and decided to enjoy the rain. Normally I'd dread being outside in the rain, but instead I chose to jump into each puddle on my return to my apartment. Simply paying attention to my surroundings, taking a moment to take a deep breath... it all has felt nice.

I've been catching up on Gossip Girl. It's seriously my guilty pleasure! I'm all caught up on Breaking Bad. Season 4 was A-MAZING!

I've spent my first nights away from Bryce in nearly years! I was in Dallas for a 3-day Bumble and bumble business immersion class. Learned many great tools. Missed my boyfriend. It was nice returning home. To my boys.

I got my tickets for Summer Fest! Snoop Dogg!

Bryce is invading my space now... I shall sign off!

xox

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have a huge headache but wanted to share my Valentine's goodie I got from Julep! About $250 for $19.95! Yay :)

The chocolate heart is missing... I couldn't resist eating it! ;)

I'll post about the colors later when my head isn't a killer!

I WANT TO SHOP!!!!

I have watched a haul video on YouTube, been browsing the 'Hair & Beauty' section on Pinterest, and browsing cosmetics generally... AH!!!!

A couple of days ago I FINALLY purchased Urban Decay's Naked Palette. I originally really wanted to purchase the new Naked2 Palette, but it's difficult to get your hands on it right now! I settled. I need both anyway... Ha!


With the UD theme, I got two gel liners, black and purple, since they were 50% off on Hautelook. Are these discontinued? AND a UD Primer Potion in Eden. I've been using a sample size in that color and I loooove it.

Anyway, I still want to shop! I want a couple lipsticks, a new mascara, and for sure a new nail polish by Deborah Lippmann called Mermaid's Dream. TO DIE FOR!

I will definitely be getting the polish when it's out. And make sure I use up at least one beauty product before buying anything else. It'll be difficult!


Yes, this entire post was about my thirst to shop. Thank goodness my Birchbox and Julep Maven Valentine's mystery box is on their way to my doorstep!

xox
M

JULEP MAVEN INTRO BOX!!!!

I just received my first Julep Maven box!!!! Julep Maven is a mani/pedi-related program you can get monthly. Normally it's $19.99 a month for at least $40 worth of retail. You take a style quiz, to determine which style you fit into. I actually took it twice because I had different answers and it only let me choose one at a time in most categories. I got "American Beauty" and "It Girl." I decided to get 3 months of "It Girl" because it looked most fun in the previews of past months and the intro box.

If you sign up now, you can use the promocode "JANUARY" and get your first box for $5. If you don't like the next month's preview, you can SKIP that month, with no charge. You can pull another "style's" box for the month. You can even cancel at any time. I'm THOROUGHLY excited to be receiving monthly goodies!

I received my intro box today!

Normally a bottle of Julep nail polish retails at $14. So, I received a $54 value for $5 this month. Woohoo! You get full sizes of each product. I've heard the quality is good. They're BIG 3 FREE :) So no harsh chemicals. It's a small company based in Seattle.

Sleepy and excited... Which color should I use next week? Leah, Megan or Hayden?!

Organizing... again!

Blogging from the bathtub. Someone should seriously invent a waterproof laptop. Does that exist? *google later*

Yesterday I went to Target to get some organizers for my beauty crapolla. I was running out of room for my nail polishes. As usual, the $1 section at the entrance of Target trapped me! For a good 10-15 minutes. Despite Bryce's efforts to pull the cart away, I managed to get a good $25-30 worth of cute (Valentine's-themed) crap. Did you know there are $2.50 items in that section?! Who would have known... Before having buyer's remorse (YES, I BOUGHT A GIRL'S XS SHIRT WITH A COOL LOOKING YORKIE ON IT FOR MY NON-EXISTENT CHILD!) I decided to shove half of my $1-2.50 items on a random shelf. I got 5 new organizing bins, containers, whatever you'd like to call them.

I recently signed up for a year's subscription of Birchbox, so I knew I needed to make more room on my desk for those goodies I'll be getting. ALSO, I signed up for three months of Julep Maven boxes, which are mani/pedi items (Click that link and use promocode of "JANUARY" and get your first box for $5). So, I know my nail polish collection will start to grow, too. I also am using a small bedside table to the right of my desk, which I'll be using more since I only have that one row of room in the photo.

Why do I get so excited about organizing this stuff? Underneath my sink has tons of hair and skin goodies that I like to reorganize once in awhile... freak!

xoxx

PS Not planning to have a kid any time soon. But I also bought cool pacifiers I saw at HEB. Bryce is going to lose his mind if  I buy another thing like that. Ha!

The Maze Runner- James Dashner

WHOA, WHOA! The Maze Runner, a young adult, dystopian,sci-fi, by James Dashner was wonderful! This past week, I spent a couple of days at home since I was sick. This allowed me to just drown myself in my kindle! Specifically The Maze Runner.

Those who say if you like The Hunger Games then you'll like The Maze Runner are right!

Thomas, 16, the main character, wakes up in an elevator, known as the Box with no memories. He enters a world where other teenage boys have gone through the same memory wipe and have learned to live in the place they have been sent, called the Glade. The boys have taken it upon themselves to take on roles in order to survive. Some of these roles are cooks, gardeners, slaughterhouse workers, cleaners, medics, etc... One role Thomas is completely drawn to is being a Runner. The Glade is surrounded by a maze. The Runners are the smartest of the bunch. Their part is to run around their assigned section, which is miles upon miles, all day and memorize what position the walls have moved into during the night in hopes of finding the exit. The Runners have been charting out the maze for two years and cannot figure out the exit, but they keep at it regardless. They have to get back to Glade by a certain time at night, BEFORE the maze walls close, or they have to face a Griever.

Grievers are slug-like machine monsters that have saws, claws, and other tools for arms. No one has ever survived being trapped in the maze over night. During the day, if you've gotten stung by a Griever you have to get back to the Glade and get an injection of Grief Serum, which is one of the items the Creators send the boys. The healing person goes through the Changing, which is a gruesome toll on the body and flashes of memories from "the real world."

Since Thomas's arrival, things start to shake up the Gladers' routines. He makes a friend, friends-ish friends, and enemies. He regains very vague memories of things, but can't figure out where the memory comes from. Even though the Gladers receive a new boy in the Box every month, the day after Thomas's arrival the Box brings them a girl in a coma. She wakes up for seconds and tells the boys that the ending is here. She falls back into the coma...

This is the very beginning of the Maze Runner... highly recommended read! I hope they do make the trilogy into a movie. I have begun The Scorch Trials. So far, it's great!

xx

PS I did finish that hoarders book before I got sucked into the Maze Runner. Ha.

The Maze Runner

I downloaded my first book on my Kindle Fire... The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I've actually been avoiding reading the book since I'm in the middle of a self-help book about hoarders. Sadly, that book has lost my attention. It's a lot less interesting than I'd expected it to be. I have a weird thing about not wanting to start a new book until I've read the previous one. I've made an exception!

The Maze Runner is a page-turner! If you like the Hunger Games series, I think you'll enjoy it. That's what I had heard, and I agree! So far, Thomas is the main character, about 16 years old, most of his memory has been wiped. He appears in a place called "the Glade" and meets an array of other teenage boys. He's learning about the place, the people and is drawn to the Maze. Only "Runners" can go out into the maze, whose walls change overnight, and Thomas is certain he needs to be a Runner. He has a vague feeling he's been in this strange land before, but keeps that to himself, except for when he mentioned it to his half-asleep friend, Chuck. A newbie shows up once a month, but where I just left off, a new boy has arrived just one day after Thomas, so the group of boys are shocked and confused...

I'm excited! I'm sick in bed, so I'll probably read all night. I may actually finish that book about hoarders so I can stop thinking about it, ha.

Happy New Year!

xx