She's Little and Lovely

To Buy or Not to Buy: Satin, Suede Shoes

2009-09-09T00:50:00.000-04:00

After a day of heavy cleaning in my mom's house yesterday, I spent a couple of hours today at the huge Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY. I got some jeans I'd been lusting after for a while from Delia's, finally got my skin color-matched at MAC (NC 20), and found a killed pair of shoes I'm still debating whether to buy or not...

Steve Madden's LAADY shoes in purple. Regularly $100, but there's a promotion ending tomorrow in which you spin a wheel in the store to "win" a percent discount off your purchase....So I could probably end up getting them for around $80.

The shoes are pricey, but it was love at first sight. On one hand...where am I going to wear them? Not to my new job! On the other...they are so awesome looking.

What do you think?

Crazy Awesome Couple of Days

2009-09-05T16:55:00.008-04:00

Quick status update...so much to post, so little time to get everything in my life done! I'm still in New York vacationing with my family (well, staying with them in my childhood home) and I've had a great week.

After dropping my sister off at school in Vermont, I paid a quick visit to a friend up in New England. Back in NY I went to the beach, walked around a cute little local town and had dinner with my best friend, who is in for a few weeks from her Peace Corps assignment in Zambia.

Last night I had a crazy night with another friend who is about to move to Pennsylvania. We went to a huge Korean club in Manhattan and were initially rejected...most likely cuz I'm white. (Yes, seriously! I was sooo pissed since I'd been looking forward to seeing this place for months. Of course, we ended up there on the day there's some obnoxious new lady working the door.)

But a few hours later her friends who are regulars there showed up and we got in...and wow, it was something! I've never seen a club with a live saxophone player jamming along with the DJ. There were fog machines and fake snow and strobes and thumping music and tons of people having fun. (Once I was in the club, none of the patrons seemed to care that much that I wasn't Asian. Plus, my friend's friends were really cool and made me feel totally comfortable, which doesn't always happen when you're out with people you don't know.) We danced until 4:30 am, then went out for Pho in Ktown, and the friends went uptown while my friend and I hopped the rail road back to Long Island...at daylight.

Yesterday I also went out to lunch with my Dad, and it was good to spend some quality time with him. The day before I took my Boston Terrier to the vet -- she's got allergies that are making her paws itch! And on the way back home, we passed my grandmother's house while she was sitting on her porch. So Bon Bon and I paid a visit to Grandma, which she appreciated very much.

In beauty news...my skin is finally clearing up, thanks to cutting back on harsh detergents and treating it with more care. I've started using a new facewash and moisturizer that I am very happy with. I've also been trying out a new mascara, which is going well so far. And after my vacation and a trip to the hair salon, I'm a bit tanner and blonder than I had been before.

It's also been good to indulge myself in good food. It's nice to not have to go food shopping for myself all the time or cook dinner every night. Among the meals my mom has prepared has been lobster....mmm...for a dinner and for lunch, cooked perfectly on our gas grill. I don't know how or why people go out to restaurants to get it because it's such a messy food and expensive to eat out...but our local supermarket sometimes has it on sale for $4.99 lb., which makes it a luxury within reach.

Tonight I'm hanging out with another best friend of mine, the girl I stayed with in Boston, who is back in NY for the Labor Day weekend. I hope you're enjoying the long weekend too!

Nails: Bewitching Polka Dots

2009-08-28T20:54:00.001-04:00

I was restless painting my nails last night. I tried several different colors and designs before settling on this black and silvery-purple polka dot pattern....and I've decided I'm definitely a fan on polka dot nails.

Polka dots are a particular favorite of mine to begin with, and they're very easy to do free hand on your nails. I started with a base coat, followed by one coat of Zoya's Raven -- a dark black with very subtle shimmer to it. (This is the first Zoya polish I've ever tried, actually. I ordered three bottles during a promotion the company had a few weeks back, and I'm sure I'll get to reviewing them all at some point.)

The dots were made with Orly's Spellbound, which is more silvery than the picture of the bottle bellow illustrates. It's also very shimmery.

I started my dots by the base of the nail (just by dotting the regular polish brush, not using a special one) and worked my way up to the tip. The dots aren't all uniform in size, but I kind of like it that way, I think it looks visually interesting.

After hearing so many great reviews, I also decided to splurge on a bottle of Seche Vite dry fast top coat. While I'm happy with how it's kept my nails from getting dents or accidentally being imprinted by fabric textures, so far I'm not super impressed with the shine or keeping my nails from chipping. Maybe I'm doing something wrong in my application?

I've been having problems lately with my nail polish chipping or peeling at the tips very shortly after application. I think it might be a basecoat problem....that I need to find a good one, other than the sever year old bottle of Jordana base coat I've been using. Anyone have suggestions?

Help Me Find a Place to Live in Northern Virginia!

2009-08-25T22:27:00.002-04:00

Exactly what the post title says -- anyone have advice on moving to Northern Virginia?? I'm looking for an apartment or houseshare there beginning in mid-September.

I'm very easy to get along with...willing to live with guys or girls...I'm no neat freak but I keep common areas clean...I work an office job so I want somewhere that's relatively calm on weeknights...I don't smoke or own pets...I do own a car.

My ideal roommate situation is one where I can come and go with freedom and live my own life, but be around friendly, laid-back, upbeat people who want to hang out sometimes.

Needs: Available parking space; within .75 miles walking distance of an orange line Metro; no drugs or cats in the home.

Budget: $900 maximum.

Drop me a line if you can help! :)

Food + Masks from the Asian Supermarket

2009-08-24T19:52:00.001-04:00

I'm staying with my family on Long Island, NY, and took a trip to a local Korean supermarket this afternoon to feed my Asian food craving. The store, H and Y Supermarket, isn't as charmingly sketchy as the Asian groceries I frequent in Maryland, but it was alright. I got two containers of sushi, miso broth, Concord grapes (tart black grapes with seeds, yum), kiwis, a salad and...these good things:

Chapagetti. Strange name, tasty instant noodles. Ever since my Korean friend made some for me in Maryland I keep getting the occasional craving for it.

"Men's" Pocky?? I didn't know biscuits could have a gender! I guess it's more masculine than those Lotte cookies with strawberry koalas on them, but still...these are covered in bitter chocolate and taste very good.

Korean face masks. (My poodle Chestnut felt this would be a good time to hop on my bed and get in the shot, hehe.)

Five of them are made by Dermal, one is made by Tundisi. I've seen other bloggers use them so figured it can't hurt to try one myself. I've highlighted the different varieties below:

I don't know what "charcoal collagen" means...or how my skin will react to any of these...I'll post a review once I try one.

Casual Mens Clothes Shopping Adventure

2009-08-22T22:45:00.001-04:00

I recently went clothes shopping with a male friend who has little (read: almost no) interest in fashion. Sure, he cares about how he looks -- something he lacked when we met as teens, though has happily grown into in his 20s -- but he was clueless about where to get clothing or what to try on.

Thankfully, he was an eager and willing participant when it came to trying on plenty of clothes during our shopping adventure.

Over the course of two days, we went to several affordably-priced retailers with heaps of men's clothes. We saw it all -- from shirts labeled "medium" that looked more like XXL at the regional department store Bon Ton, to turquoise, acid-washed men's skinny jeans at Pac Sun.

Despite its poor size selection, Bon Ton was still the first place he made a purchase: a pair of Calvin Klein jeans with a low-rise waist, straight leg, medium wash. The pants have a grayish/rusted wash which is stylish but subtle. And they are cut much less baggy around the hip area than most of his other jeans, making them significantly more flattering to his physique.

The next day he got a black button down shirt and a plaid short sleeved button down at Sears. Pretty standard fair, but keep in mind we were looking for additions to a wardrobe largely comprised of polo shirts purchased by his mom and screen print tees that went out of style after high school.

The patterns on these shirts look more subtle in person, I took the photos in a dark room so the colors are skewed.

(This would look great with a suit jacket and jeans.)

(Dark jean friendly -- didn't look as good with the new CK jeans, since it was too gray all over.)

Finally, we hit the jackpot when it came to our main quest for the trip -- t-shirts. My friend wanted casual t-shirts he can throw on to go to school instead of wearing one of the aforementioned polos every day. (He says his screen print tees are relegated to in-house wear and don't see the light of day. Probably a wise move.)

And we found them at (drum roll please)...Old Navy. Five dollar tees that look awesome and feel awesome.

For $25 he left with five well-fitting, attractive, versatile shirts. In black and light gray he got this classic tee with a round neck, though it's also available with a v neck.

My favorite shirt though was this ringer tee with contrast trim that he got in greenish turquoise, charcoal gray and navy blue. It feels soft and really makes the shoulders look broad. I think it's one of the most flattering, effortlessly cool things I've ever seen my friend wear.

And to think he was relucatant to go into Old Navy! It typically isn't the first store I hit either, but from what I recently saw, I think their quality has significantly improved in the past few years.

Nails: Make Mine Mango

2009-08-15T22:12:00.001-04:00

I finally got tired of Shrimply Divine after retouching it a couple of times over a week or two. So on a whim I picked up three bottles of Revlon polish on sale for $3 each at a Target. I picked these colors because they were bright, summery and I think they're appropriate enough to wear to work. :)

I also got some polish removing pads, figuring they'd be more convenient than getting a bottle of remover and cotton balls while traveling. I was wrong! These felt pads precoated in acetone remover were AWFUL -- first, because I prefer using non-acetone remover since it's more gentle on my natural nails, and second, and most importantly, they didn't work.

Each pad said it would do ten nails. I barely got through two or three. I held them on each nail for a minute or so and they still didn't work well. The pads dried out very quickly. I ended up going through five of the six packets in the box to do both hands. :( Maybe other people have had better luck with pads like this?

Anyway back to the goods:

Make Mine Mango, Red Hot Tamale and Cherry Berry. I packed these with me and brought them to Maine, where I am currently on the second leg of my trip.

Though orange is my favorite color, it doesn't look particularly good on my skin. But Make Mine Mango has a lot of peach and persimmon undertones that I think make it versatile for a number of complexions, including pale, rosy ones like mine.

I also like that it's tropical yet understated -- not a loud, brash orange, but a soft, gentle, breezy and relaxed color, in my opinion. Something that says "I'm having an effortlessly fun vacation and enjoying sunshine"....which, well, I am!

Boston, Here I Am!

2009-08-13T08:34:00.015-04:00

I've spent the last couple of days in Boston, Massachusetts, soaking up history and culture, and spending time with one of my oldest friends. I ate delicious lobster bisque in Fanuiel Hall

took a DUCK tour (the bus, a converted former military vehicle, takes you by land and *by sea* past some of the city's highlights)

saw sea lions chilling in a tank outside the aquarium

visited the U.S.S. Constitution (named by George Washington, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794)

ate my first Tibetan food (yak dumplings)

took a Sam Adams Brewery tour

visited the birth sites of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams

took a trolley around Lexington and Concord (where the first battles of the Revolutionary War began -- the photo is of a statue of a Minute Man that is featured on the Mass. state quarter)

hung out with my friend during her new band's practice, and went out to dinner with her and another high school friend, followed by a walk past Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

And I did a bunch more stuff too...wow, and my vacation is only half way through! Now I'm on to Maine and New Hampshire, the plan being to play it by ear. :)

Brazilian Carnanval Inspired FOTD

2009-08-07T10:57:00.002-04:00

Alexandra Dean over at All Things Girly is hosting an international-themed contest, asking participants to do a look inspired by a particular country. My inspiration was Brazil -- specifically, Brazilian carnaval. I embraced the green, blue and yellow of the country's flag for my makeup, and feathers, bright fabrics, shine and jewels for the rest of my outfit. (Even though I'm much more low key than the real celebration, of course!)

Shrimply Divine Nails

2009-08-05T23:58:00.000-04:00

This is two coats of Sally Hansen's "Shrimply Divine" -- a true bubblegum, Barbie pink that, well, lacks the coral/orange undertones of real shrimp. It's still a lovely color, very bold, bright and fun.

I'm not thrilled with the formula, though. In fact, I've found the quality of all the polishes I've tried from Sally Hansen's Salon Nail Lacquer line to be hit or miss. Some, like this, are too thin. Others are too thick. Some, like "Wine Not," are just right. It's too bad, since the line has lots of attractive and work-appropriate colors. (Though I wear whatever polish I feel like to the office! But if you're in a more conservative environment, this line has many options for you.)

In terms of polish quality, I'm more a fan of the company's Hard As Nails Xtream Wear line. I've found it to be more consistent. It also offers a wider assortment of colors, which is good if you like funky ones like I do, but might not be good if you prefer sticking to pinks and nudes.

Blonder Ambition

2009-08-04T17:01:00.001-04:00

I had light blond highlights in my hair for about four years. I loved the look, but decided to grow it out about a year and a half ago, figuring that it'd be nice to have a change of pace.

By the way, I've had practically the same haircut since I was a young kid -- side part, worn curly. Over the years it's gained and lost layers, highlights, and side-bangs, but for all intents and purposes it's always been pretty similar!

So...I have an appointment to get my hair cut and highlighted this Friday and as usual, I'm not exactly sure what to do. How much shorter and how much lighter to make it.

My hair is currently a bit above my shoulders in the front and an inch or two below my shoulders in the back:

This is how it looked the last time I got a haircut, in Dec. 2008 (the bottom still has old highlights):

My highlighted hair about two to three years ago:

And my hair when I dyed it brown in summer 2007 (semi-permanent, made my hair too dry):

I need a style that is relatively low-maintenance, since I only get my hair cut twice a year and don't want it to look super weird when the highlights start to grow out. Suggestions?

Thrifted Finds

2009-07-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

Many of the thrift stores I've gone to have been of the megamart variety, filled with musty air and racks upon racks of well-worn, outdated clothing. (Or clothing that never was stylish.) Others have been upscale little vintage places so expensive you'd hardly believe that the wares are second-hand.

On a recent lunch break from work, I discovered a delightful place in Kensington, Md. that falls somewhere in the middle. Of course, I can't find my receipt and remember its name right now...it's a small store on a side street, just a short walk away from some sandwich joints, a gas station and a CVS. It's not a place you'd necessarily expect a cute thrift boutique in part of an old converted house, well-lit with natural light, clean, and accented by charmingly creaky wooden floors. It felt like I was browsing through someone's personal closet.

The women's things were mostly in one bedroom-sized room. Not a huge selection but a diverse one, from Guess jeans and Ralph Lauren shirts to shoes from Target. I tried on a bunch of things and ended up with this:

FCUK jeans with embroidery -- $17

Very comfy! I love the weathering on these jeans and the awesome embroidery. Even though they were labeled as capris, they fit me as full-length pants. :)

Express pink suede skirt -- $4

This skirt was on clearance after originally having been $18. It's real suede and has a lining, too. It fits very well, so even though I'm not yet sure *how* I will wear a pink suede skirt...I'll find a way. Probably with black heels and a black sweater. In the photos I have it paired with chocolate brown. (And below...that's me standing on the side of my bathtub, lol, facing the only full-length mirror in my aparment.)

Lady GaGa, gone ga ga

2009-07-23T08:52:00.004-04:00

I like Lady Gaga's edgy, over-the-top, artsy style, but is nothing sacred? Not even poor Kermit the Frogs?!

LG wore this to an interview in Germany. It's her second Muppet-themed outfit in recent memory -- both of which are the creations of fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and debuted at this year's fashion week in Paris. (*Click on the links for photo sources.)

She said in an interview that, "My friends and I in New York dress this way because it’s the way we live...We believe in vanity."

"I dress this way because my whole life is art, and my whole life is performance."

This particular Kermit outfit is still too "out there" for me. But she has a point. LG is 23. I'm 23. She's roaming the world dressed however she pleases, and I'm spending my days sitting behind a desk dressed in ill-fitting "work clothes" more suited for a middle aged mom. (Okay, not all the time...today I'm wearing dark skinny jeans, a stylish green button-down shirt and a delicate gold-colored necklace with light brown gemstone petals. But you get the idea...)

And look, I really like being a journalist and for the most part, am very happy at my job. (I only have a week and a half left though, actually!) But it wouldn't kill me to cut loose a bit more on ocassion. For all of us to be inspired to take more risks. Have more fun with fashion. :)

Hooray! Goodbye Crocs?

2009-07-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to see articles declaring that the era of Crocs may be over. The company is hitting financial straits and has reportedly laid off a third of its employees.

Google "Crocs" and you'll find articles like "Once Trendy Crocs Could Be on Their Last Legs" from the Washington Post on Thursday, July 16. Or "Crocs face extinction as maker faces bankruptcy" from the UK Telegraph on Friday, July 17.

Or my personal favorite title - "Crocs May Return To The Nowhere From Whence They Came" in something called Media Post, also from Thursday. Right on.

Frankly, I don't see Crocs as being like bell bottoms or day-glo clothes, trends that were attractive and fresh when they came out, then managed to make a semi-nostalgia-fueled comeback. Because Crocs were never attractive to me. When were they trendy?? Please tell, me WashPost...or don't because I'm glad I missed that era.

Are the shoes useful? Maybe you could argue that. But as far as I recall, no one older than five ever rocked Crocs as the hottest fashion statement. I don't own a pair and really don't have a desire to. If they are comfortable in the privacy of one's own home or garden that is reasonable. But it's like slippers...I put on real shoes if I'm going outside.

Finally, a Fox News article sums up how I think we'll reflect on Crocs in decades to come:

Perhaps the biggest "problem" with Crocs? Their high quality. Designed to be practically indestructible, consumers apparently find little need to ever buy a second pair.

But while one expert told the Post that the company is “dead and they don’t know it,” CEO John Duerden isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.

"The bottom line is, people talk about Crocs," he said. "They either love them or hate them, but it's in the vernacular."

As were Hammer pants.

Audrina Patridge 1.0??

2009-07-13T22:58:00.006-04:00

I don't know how I stumbled upon this photo, but it's of a woman named Michelle DellaFave who was apparently a regular on The Dean Martin Show in the late 60s and early 70s.

My first thought was that she looks like a blonde version of Hills star/occasional actress/Justin-Bobby dater Audrina Patridge. (Though with teeth that are less blindingly white.) Come on, that's the same face Audrina always makes on the show, right?!

Audrina:

By the way, Audrina is reportedly already filming her own reality show. I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly interested. Best of luck to her, though. I'm not even sure I'm going to watch the Hills now that Lauren is gone.

My First Chopsticks (Sort Of)

2009-07-11T12:38:00.001-04:00

When I first moved to Maryland last September, I rented a room in a communal house. My incredibly sweet landlady allowed me to use all the fully-furnished common areas, including the kitchen. There was no need for me to bring my own cookware or utensils since they were all provided.

Well, this past April, I spread my little wings and moved into my first real apartment. (Okay, technically it's a condo I split with the new landlord's in-laws...but it is a big change from living in a communal house, since the kitchen is the only shared room here, and we even have our own garbage cans in there.)

Because of the communal house situation, I had almost no kitchen supplies when I moved into my new place. And while I've acquired some pots, pans, cups, bowls and other kitchen tools, I never got around to getting real utensils or plates. I'm moving again in the fall and don't really want to invest in real stuff. It's just more to pack up and move. And part of me, perhaps in a strange way, wants to wait to buy utensils and plates for the day when I can stock them on the shelves of a real 'home'...not like where I live now, which, in spite of its good points, is merely a place where I'm living short-term.

So, I've been using paper plates and plastic utensils. Yep....a bit embarrassing, since I love to cook, do it quite frequently, and then serve my food on all these disposable things! Like I said, I have some bowls, I have some sharp knives for cutting, two miso soup spoons, big plastic spoons and spatulas...and yesterday, I added chopsticks to the mix.

I cook quite a bit of Asian-inspired food and was running low on disposal wooden chopsticks (waribashi) I'd gotten along with meals various take-out places. I picked up a package of Korean metal chopsticks and then I spotted this set:

So pretty! With their own plastic case! Only $5!

Now, these are far from the first chopsticks I've ever used or had in my possession. In fact, my mom has at least a few pairs of attractive, reusable chopsticks in the home where I grew up. But these are the first chopsticks that are mine, all mine! And since they have a case they will be easy to store flat, instead of ending up shoved with pens and pencils in some mug on my desk. (I don't have any drawers allocated for my use in the kitchen...)

Plus, I feel like they add a little bit of beauty in my life, albeit in plastic, mass-produced form. :)

I'm Back x2...And This Time I'm Bringing Sexy With Me

2009-07-08T21:55:00.001-04:00

Heard that song on the radio today, lol...So, it's been a while. I just haven't been in the mood to write lately, particularly about beauty. My life hasn't felt very beautiful lately. It's sadly just trudging along, waiting for the right time for lots of good things to happen. Namely, once this month ends and I can go home to New York and do some traveling and prepare for the next phase of my life's journey.

I have gotten back into art lately -- making greeting cards. Oh my gosh, I've turned my bathroom into a spray paint studio! I will definitely post some of my work up here in the future.

I've also started watching Asian dramas and am totally hooked! I'm currently watching the Taiwanese version of "Meteor Garden," a show about a poor girl who becomes the rival-turned-love-interest of the richest boy in their very affluent college. It's got drama, romance, humor and more. I'd definitely recommend it! This show and more are available for free -- for those of you who don't know -- on MySoju.com.

Anyway, on to the sexiness...I was in a good mood after conducting an interview for my job today. (The interview had nothing to do with sexy-anything, to make that clear!) I met with a man to discuss his volunteer work as a court advocate for children for a story I'm writing. During the discussion, he explained that he'd decided while he was still working full-time that once he hit retirement, he would devote half his time to volunteer work and half to personal time.

Now that he's retired, he said he does just that. He volunteers with a slew of other organization, he and his wife travel, he reads books, he exercises, etc. What he kept saying is that when it comes to what someone gets involved in, it's all a matter of priorities; What's important to you to get done? It might not be the same goals as your neighbor or your friend, and that's fine. It's about determining what matters most to you and making it happen.

We all only have 24 hours in a day. We can't change the past, whether it was good or bad. What do you make priorities in your life from this point on?

This made me realize that I was putting too much of my energy into wasteful and silly things when I have to keep my head focused on the game, on the bigger picture. It made me think how sometimes I let important matters fall to the wayside. I'm not directionless by any means, but admittedly, since leaving college I've had lots of aspirations and barely know where to start. It's definitely comforting and empowering for me to consider the fact that I really can do a lot to influence my destiny. And I think an important step is defining some of my priorities and continuing to let those aspirations guide me in a positive way, instead of succumbing to anxiety about what I messed up in the past or what I'm afraid I can't do.

I left the interview feeling pumped -- the guy was really, really nice too, so it was enjoyable to lunch with him -- spent a hot hour on the Metro, and got back to the shopping mall where I was parked. I try not to shop on a whim but I fell in love with two rings in Charlotte Rousse today.

Forgive the lackluster photos, but let me share some sexy with you:

And by sexy I mean glamorous, empowered, bold, happy. I never wear rings on my pointer finger but that's where it fit best, and there's something I like about it there. I rarely wear big rings like this either, but hey, sometimes it just works!

The ring looks like the petals are lacquered. I think it's kind of retro-feeling. It cost $4.

The polish, which did not photograph well, is "Feverish Rose" by Sally Hansen. It's a dark-Barbie-esque pink. I topped it with a sparkly clear polish by Wet 'n Wild, which is subtle but noticeable. So these nails are quite girly!

Combine the ring, the nails, and a dose of self-confidence and...for a moment, I feel like I could take on anything in this world. :)

I'm Back....With A Charming Blog Award

2009-07-01T20:02:00.001-04:00

The very lovely Crystal at Brunette on a Budget passed this award on to me. What a nice gesture, especially since I've been a bit down/stressed lately, and uninspired to blog...though I have a lot of entries planned for the near future! Anyway on to the goods...

About the Award:

Apparently this award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this text into the body of their award.

I just love passing on love. Too many haters in this world...so thanks, my blog sisters, for sharing positivity and making me smile!

Ahleessa
Beautiful with Brains
Icey
If the shoe fits...
Peace Love Makeup
Vanity Treasure

Gold Digga Contest Look

2009-06-24T20:20:00.008-04:00

Whitney over at Whitz World of Makeup is having a "Gold Digga" contest that ends tomorrow, Jun. 25. I had a lot of fun putting this look together and adding the captions to my photos. Coming up with slogans about greed wasn't as easy as one would think...

Jimmy Choo for H&M

2009-06-23T13:04:00.004-04:00

H&M is teaming up with Jimmy Choo to release a line of strappy stiletto shoes this fall. The retailer said in a press release that the shoes will be available starting Nov. 14 in about 200 stores across the world.

There will be a dozen women's styles and four for men's, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch blog. Prices for the women's shoe line are expected run between 40 euros/$55 U.S. and 100 euros/$138 U.S. There will also be a line of accessories and bags, some of which could cost as much as 200 euros/$276 U.S.

(Press photo from H&M linked from the Vancouver Sun.)

(Btw, I didn't realize that Jimmy Choo -- which will always be linked to "Sex and the City" in my mind -- only launched in 1996. And H&M, which has featured clothes by designers like Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli, says this is its first designer shoe line.)

Those prices aren't cheap, but they are attainable for a young professional like myself. And the shoes pictured above look pretty awesome. I'd love to see the full line in person to feel what the construction is like and check out the stiching. It'd be very poor form for either company to release a sub-par product just because it's not going to cost $600 U.S. like a typical Jimmy Choo, though.

Which makes me wonder, would we be as excited about this line if it didn't have the flashy name attached? Of course the answer is probably 'no.' While the shoes pictured above do look a lot more intricate than, say, a Payless or Forever21 knock-off version (and no hating, I buy there too!), the aura of the Jimmy Choo brand makes them even more desirable. Like anyone could put these on and pretend to be Carrie Bradshaw for a little while.

The bigger question though is, would you actually wear these shoes...and be able to walk? Since a beautiful shoe is meant to be displayed in its full glory on your feet, not hidden away in some (albeit well-organized, spacious, sigh) closet.

And that leads to the epic shoe question -- pretty shoes or comfortable shoes? And can there be both?

Fashion Tips for the Office Gal

2009-06-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

As easy as it is to just throw on black slacks, a shirt and call it an outfit, there's more to dressing like a professional woman than that. But I didn't have any resources to regularly reference for this kind of attire until I came across Corporette.com.

"Corporette is a fashion and lifestyle blog for women lawyers, bankers, MBAs, consultants, and otherwise overachieving chicks who work in conservative offices and need to look professional, but want to be fashionable," the site says.

Its posts are descriptive but succinct, and often feature one specific item of clothing (ie: St. John's paisley print top) to highlight general style tips (the kinds of things you can wear with said top). There are also posts with reader questions, interesting links from other blogs and a 'suit of the week.' They also suggest pieces in a variety of price ranges throughout the week, starting with a splurge and ending with a bargain. (Which can still be a bit pricey, such as a $44 sweater on sale at the Gap, but I figure that anyone can take the ideas and work with them. And maybe once I've been in the working world a few more years, those prices will seem more attainable?)

Corporette's aesthetic is in line with Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, J.Crew, the Gap, etc. Professional, polished, a little bit fun, feminine, confident. I will definitely be checking it out for attire ideas that are both office- and style-friendly.

Would You Get Married in a Pantsuit?

2009-06-14T14:40:00.002-04:00

I was clicking through articles on the Daily Mail's TV&Showbiz section and happened upon this story about a German tennis star and his Dutch model bride, who wore a white pantsuit to the wedding.

Other than this article, I don't know anything about this couple (Boris Becker and Lilly Kerssenberg) or why she may have chosen this unconventional look. After debating how I felt about it in my head, I've decided I actually quite like it. It's very effortlessly chic and striking. It looks comfortable too! And it brings out her natural beauty. I don't like seeing brides who are so made up with pounds of makeup and hairspray that they don't even look like themselves!

(I do think the pants look too long, though. Click on the story link above to see more photos and you'll see what I mean.)

By the way, I definitely prefer this look to the ones that came up when I googled her...Exhibit A:

Yeesh. It was for some sort of event but still, too much there...

I don't know if I'd wear a pantsuit to get married in, though. I've ever only thought about your stereotypical beautiful white dress -- though I'd love something with a bit of a twist, like some colored detail around the waist or in the train.

My mind goes back and forth when it comes to what I'd envision for my ideal wedding. On the subject of attire...on one hand, a wedding dress is probably something you'll only wear one day of your life, and it's really the marriage that matters, not the party, so why go for an over-the-top gown? On the other hand, it is a big milestone in life and worth celebrating in style, right?

Is a pantsuit or a more subtle outfit more appropriate when it's a second marriage? I don't know if this model had been married before but the tennis star has, and has two children.

What do you think? What did you wear or what do you want to wear to your wedding?

Eki's Cosplay Contest Entry!

2009-06-13T14:05:00.002-04:00

I whipped out my pink wig again to do this look for Ekimura's cosplay contest, which is running until Sunday, June 14.

My inspiration was the below photo meets Lady Gaga.

And here's meeeeee:

The goods:

Different lighting:

I Quit My Job

2009-06-10T12:52:00.001-04:00

I gave my seven week notice yesterday. In August, I'm officially leaving my first full-time job as a newspaper reporter.

For weeks I'd struggled thinking about how I'd tell my immediate boss the news. And then it just happened - I pulled her into my office after she put a frozen meal in the microwave and said that I'd been offered another job. She knew it was a possibility, since my new employer actually interviewed her a few months ago before I was officially offered a position. She said she didn't expect that me leaving would happen so soon. And that was really all there was to the conversation.

I hoped that by giving early notice I could help prepare my materials for my successor. What concerns me is that our publisher is probably not going to hire a replacement for me, meaning that my editor will have a whole lot more work dumped on her. I know this isn't my problem. But it bothers me that this company's product, the newspaper, takes a back seat to marketing and networking. I think it will be a real shame if they don't bring a new editorial person in. Especially if they hire a new sales person instead of putting that money toward a new reporter.

Other than that, I feel pretty good. I'm writing my third and last cover story this month about people over 50 who use social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. I'm taking more than five weeks of vacation between my new jobs, too, so I hope to write, spend time with my family, and travel. My tentative plan is to be willing to travel just about anywhere a friend will offer me free lodging (and in exchange I will cook!).

So yes, that brings me to the fact that I do have a new job lined up as an editor. It's a much more lucrative job with a lot of potential for advancement. How much I will enjoy it remains to be seen -- as is the case with any new endeavor -- but I'm excited to take this next step in my life.

I kind of feel like Lauren Conrad in the Hills season finale (I haven't watched the whole thing yet!Couldn't bring myself to...) when she says that for once, she doesn't know what comes next. It's scary, it's exciting, and a few weeks from now, it's where I'll be. :)

Crystal Chrome Nails

2009-06-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

The Milani black cherry polish I recently sported didn't stain my nails and lasted more than a week without chipping. Even though the weather is getting warmer, the dark color really grew on me, too. But I felt like a change so applied Sally Hansen's crystal chrome polish in "Baby Blue Crystal" a few days ago. It looked fantastic right after application, however the love-affair didn't last.

The polish is a great platinum color. The first and second coats go on somewhat sheer, but after a third coat it looked pretty great.

Unfortunately, it already started chipping the day after application. (By the way, I used the same base coat and top coat for this manicure as I did for the black cherry nails.) Because the formula is so thin, I had to apply several additional coats to cover the chips, and it still didn't look very smooth.

Today, a day after touching up my nails, the polish started to peel off. And my nails are stained red! Yuck.

I believe this is a discontinued product, and maybe the fact that it's quite old is why it left a bad residue. Has any one else had a similar experience?

Vermont-ing

2009-06-04T20:08:00.007-04:00

Hello hello! I've been having a crazy/busy/fun week, after being in New York last weekend and returning on Wednesday so I could drive up to Vermont this afternoon. My sister is a sophomore in college up here, and she, my mom and I are packing her stuff up from her dorm and going back home tomorrow in the early afternoon. I wish I had more time to spend since it's so beautiful. I adore New England charm. This place smells of delicious pine trees...hopefully I can come back in autumn to get some maple syrup! :)

I snapped a few quick pics with my web cam. Nothing very good, but just to give you an idea...(forgive me for looking tired, I just drove five hours).

My Wonderful Hello Kitty-filled Life

2009-05-30T15:36:00.001-04:00

Nee over at Simply Nee is having an *amazing* Hello Kitty contest -- a lot of fun/creative contests going on right now -- which calls for participants to share what is their favorite HK item. (Mine is listed at the very bottom of the post, btw.) The contest runs till June 5.

This is difficult for me to answer because...the more I think about it, there is probably far too much HK in my life. Uhhh well you see...my *mom* loves HK. Something she picked up after my sister and I left for college. So our family home is filled with lots of little HK touches. And I happen to be in NY visiting this weekend, so let me share (just) some with you...

The HK products that mean the most to me are the ones that I share with my mom -- like we have matching bracelets and lockets. I keep a HK bracelet clasped around the clothing bar in my apartment's closet, for example, because it's a happy reminder of my family.

I don't have a pic, but the HK product I use most often is my lap desk. It stays close to my bed and I grab it in a pinch to have a flat surface for my laptop, a bowl of cereal or a note pad.

But my FAVORITE HK product??

My Hello Kitty toaster. Hands down. It's just so adorable and useful and kind of crazy in a fun way. My mom and I both have HK toasters too!

It burns little HK faces into toast. Yummm toast. (Hers is packed away, sadly, plus I can't take a good photo of it with the toast like that, so I used this official Sanrio pic.) This thing kept me with lots of toast all throughout college. :)

Tinkerbell Inspired FOTD Contest Entry

2009-05-27T22:06:00.000-04:00

This is my entry for Sarah's Disney Inspired contest, which is running until June 1. Since I recently purchased a short blonde wig, I figured it would be perfect to use for my Tinkerbell inspired look!

I applied a light beige shimmer to the inner corners of my eyes, followed by a light green on the middle and darker green on the outer V. A light touch of blush on the cheeks, and a swipe of pale pinkish lip gloss topped things off. Oh, and lots of mascara!

The goods:

I feel pretty, oh so pretty...

Black Cherry Nails

2009-05-27T00:44:00.001-04:00

Not easy to photograph, but very lovely in person. This is Milani's black cherry nail polish, which looks just like the fruit for which it's named. On my ring finger is a white flower decal with a crystal in the middle.

Two coats gives a nice, rich color. My only complaint is that the polish consistency can be a bit runny and gloppy during application, making the first coat a bit uneven. I've found this with other Milani polishes and though it's somewhat of a pain, it's not bad enough to prevent me from purchasing them in the future.

With a good topcoat, black cherry shines like dark glass on my fingertips; it's chic and packs a subtle punch of spice. I'm not planning to wear dark colors all summer long, though, and I'm already imagining how smashing this would look on a winter pedicure!

Milani's black cherry is available for between $3 to $5 at national drug store chains.

It's Alive!

2009-05-25T14:41:00.009-04:00

I revamped the look of the site on a whim today, mwah hah hah! (Evil scientist laugh.) It feels like a very good use of my day off from work -- I'm really digging it. Thoughts?

And Happy Memorial Day! (Some interesting facts about it, for other history nerds out there.)

I'm Not a Big Fan of Renee Z. But...

2009-05-23T14:10:00.000-04:00

I think this Carolina Herrera gown is fantastic. The silver is just dark enough to compliment her uber-fair skin, and the cut highlights her strong shoulders. Zellweger wore it to the 69th Annual American Spring Gala in New York on Monday, May 18. (Photo from WENN via Radar Online.)

On the topic...I also love the color of Mariska Hargitay's dress, but don't think the fit is quite right, or maybe it's her pose. Her hair and necklace are great, though. As with above, the dress is Carolina Herrera. (Photo from PR Photos via Monsters and Critics.)

The Worst Eyeliner I've Ever Purchased

2009-05-22T15:21:00.000-04:00

I'm no eyeliner connoisseur but I've tried my hands (no pun intended) with all different kinds -- blacks, browns, blues, golds and greens, liquid and pencil, from a variety of drugstore and beauty supply brands. Some that rub off too quickly, others that won't come off without scrubbing.

I've never used a liner that disappointed me as quickly as this one did. It's L'Oreal's voluminous line marker in "true brown."

I had high hopes that it would combine the ease of a pencil liner with the precision and color-intensity of a liquid. The felt tip, reminiscent of a calligraphy pen, isn't something I'd used before.

Unfortunately, it was a let-down from the time I first tried it on my skin. "True brown" is too sheer and muted to be a liner, in my opinion, and the coolness of the applicator didn't make up for that. Since I couldn't manipulate the marker to give me the color I wanted, I just ended up with a thick line of lackluster color. (And I'm very pale, so I can't imagine how this would come out -- or, rather, not come out -- on someone with a darker complexion.)

I've read mixed reviews about this product. Some people found it smudgy and didn't like the applicator while others (including Vanessa at Necessary Makeup, a fav of mine) found the applicator to be quite easy.

I think the color I tried could be very much to blame. I'd probably buy this again in black (not black brown though, for fear that it'd be too light too) -- but only if I found it on sale. (It retails for between $7-9 at drugstores.)

I definitely would not recommend it in "true brown" if you're looking for a liner to define your eyes. It lacks the impact needed.

Zebra Skirt <3

2009-05-18T15:00:00.002-04:00

I don't wear this very often, but I love it. It's too bold for too often. Catch me in the right mood, though, and putting this on makes me feel sexy in a sophisticated way.

It's made of soft, fine wool. A $170 skirt I got for $17 at a Lord and Taylor outlet. (My mouth almost gaped open when I got to the register.) Fits very well.

Even though it's mid-May, I'm planning to wear this baby to the office sometime this week.

Is It Weird...

2009-05-16T17:37:00.003-04:00

I kind of like this dress.

It was featured on Yahoo's OMG entertainment news site in the "What were they thinking" category.

To me, though, the textures are interesting, the colors work, and the whole look comes across as effortlessly pretty and fun. I don't know who the actress is or if it's necessarily red carpet appropriate, but I think she pulls it off. I especially like how the white contrasts with the black accessories and her dark hair. What a lovely face too.

I'll admit that the top looks a bit strange -- I wonder what that mesh-like material is. And it's not that I'd ever wear this dress, or can't see how people might say 'wow, that's bizarre looking.'

But there's just something about it that I like.

Pretty in Gray

2009-05-13T15:03:00.001-04:00

Yesterday morning I did something cool at work for once -- went to a press screening of the Luis Melendez exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Melendez is regarded as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. His paintings of cheeses, vegetables, breads and other staples of Spanish cuisine looks so realistic you just want to grab them off the canvas! And his mastery with a brush was such that your eye is drawn to the textures of the foods, not the brush strokes on the canvas themselves.

Anyway, I'm no master of self-photography, but I felt very cute in the pictured outfit. Instead of wearing a suit, I opted for a feminine gray sweater-shirt (with white blouse sleeves and a white tie at the top) and a gray-and-black sweater. (From Target, no less!) I wore it with black slacks and brick red maryjane flats, for a subdued pop of color.

It was a good outfit for the event and for enjoying yesterday's beautiful weather while strolling through the city.

Six Things: Birthday, Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:55:00.000-04:00

Six things for which I'm thankful this week:

--Good friends and family.
--Especially those who wished me a happy birthday today. ;)
--And my mom, without whom none of my life would have been possible, literally. Happy mother's day to all the awesome moms out there!
--$10 golden caviar from Harris Teeter that put the finishing touch on my dinner menu tonight: shrimp and pasta with champagne-ginger sauce, sashimi tuna salad and cucumber topped with cream and caviar.
--My new blonde wig, which I will show off on the blog shortly.
--Being able to sleep diagonally on my full-sized bed, swaddled in many blankets. Until 10 a.m. on Sunday. Days like this almost make me forget about the drab of the work week. :P Which I'm back to when I wake up tomorrow...

EOTD: Silver Smokey Eye

2009-05-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

I wore this look out to a club last weekend and to dinner this weekend. It's a silver/black smokey eye based on a video by Francine of Frantastic Makeup, whose site you should definitely check out. Her videos are easy to follow and show you how to achieve complex looks with relatively simple steps. Plus, her tone is authoritative yet fun. She's very likable.

(I took these photos post dinner, so that's why I probably look tired! The color was more intense and made my eyes pop more in person.)

Basically, the video's instructions call to divide the eye by thirds -- the part closest to the tear duct is the lightest silver color, the center of the eye is a medium silver, and the corner 'V' is black. I found it useful to see how much color she applied and how she blended it. Her blending tips were definitely the most helpful part of the video for me and really made my look polished.

I even got compliments on how well my makeup was blended! This is certainly one of the cleanest smokey eyes I've ever done.

For even more 'wow,' follow the clip below.

Potential Birthday Wishlist (Vote in the Poll)

2009-05-07T23:38:00.000-04:00

My 23rd birthday (gasp, wow!) is this Sunday, May 10 -- yep, Mother's day. Sadly, I won't be home with my mom and grandma (or friends from home) because traveling from DC to NY will be too hectic with the holiday.

I'm not big on holiday presents, and more into "just because" little presents. I'm the type of girl who likes going out to a nice dinner on a random week night or buying someone flowers as a surprise. I would rather just give/get gifts when the spirit moves me. And thankfully, I'm not normally for want of anything.

But this birthday, I'll admit that I do kind of want a nice present. I don't need to get it on my birthday itself -- in fact, I'd rather get it a few days/weeks later, to feel as if my birthday celebration is continuing, hehe ;) But now, the question is, what kind of present do I want?

I've narrowed it down to six items. As you can probably tell, I'm very indecisive -- that's why I'm still making up my mind three days before my birthday -- and that's why I'd like your opinions on which gift I should get myself/ask for from my fam.

In no particular order:

Bamboo Fun Tablet ($99 - $199)
From the company's site:"Bamboo Fun makes your computer your canvas, allowing you to freely express yourself by simply touching the pen tip to the tablet. Touch up digital photos, draw by hand, create artwork and paintings, and even write in your own handwriting."
Pros: Very cool, and it comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements and some other programs to do creative work on the computer.
Cons: How often am I going to use it?

Wii ($250+)
I don't have a TV/cable in my new place, so a video game console seems like a fun thing to do as a replacement. I've played Wii sports before and it was a blast -- it's active and engaging. Plus, I can take the console with me when I move in a couple of months.
Pros: A more engaging replacement for television and lots of fun.
Cons: Expensive -- games add up in price. I don't have a TV so I'd have to hook it up to my 15 inch spare computer monitor. And will I get bored of it quickly? Maybe I'd be better off getting a Netflix subscription.

Compact digital camera ($99+)
I use my 7.2 megapixel Casio camera for work and play...but in three years it's gotten pretty beat up, and has started to give me some errors.
Pros: I'd love a camera that's smaller, sleeker and has better picture-quality than my current camera. It's an item I'd definitely use a lot, and a smaller camera would be easier to carry around.
Cons: My current camera is still pretty good.

SLR digital camera ($500-ish)
Pros: This would be awesome to help me further pursue my interest in personal and professional photography. (I sometimes take pictures for the newspaper I currently work at.) I could probably easily get a refurbished camera.
Cons: Expensive. I'm changing jobs in a few months (shh on the DL, haven't told my bosses yet...) and won't be using it at my next gig. So by the time it'd be worth it to use a camera like this for work, the one I get now will probably be outdated.

Memory foam pillow ($15 - $100)
Pros: We spend about a third of our lives sleeping. Why not do it comfortably? These pillows are freaking amazing, I feel so rested after I sleep on one.
Cons: None, except even though I know I'm going to spend a third of my life asleep, I'm too cheap to invest in a nice pillow.

iPod touch ($250+)
Music, apps, a nice big screen, planner, etc. This was a last minute thought, but...another cool item that I'd like to research more.
Pros: Works as a music and game player, as well as an electronic appointment book. Sleeker and slimmer than my current iPod (a video iPod that's about 2/3 years old) with more features and a bigger screen.
Cons: Smaller memory than my current iPod. I don't watch a lot of videos on my current player. And again, my iPod isn't broken. An upgrade would be really nice, but isn't necessary. (Guess I could sell my old one?)

Now that I think about it...I don't really need any of these things. But if I were to get one...which do you think I should go for? Comment or vote in the poll on the right.

Six Things For Which I'm Grateful: Empanadas, Dancing

2009-05-03T20:54:00.001-04:00

--Good friends and family.
--GPS is my buddy.
--Hole-in-the-wall Bolivian restaurants with amazing empanadas (salteñas) and peach cider.
--Carefree nights spent dancing with friends. (I went clubbing in D.C. last night...such a nice change of pace.)
--Eyelash curlers. A few pumps makes my eyes look so big and awake! (Like last night, when I was exhausted before going to the club...I'd slept four hours on my mini sofa in the living room the night before because there was a hornet in my bedroom. And I'm crazy. Blah.)
--Sighs of relief followed by laughter.

...That ring is a bit big for me...I'm thinking about giving it to my mom for mother's day, since she is very full of laughter and life :)

Volume Fail Mascara

2009-05-01T23:19:00.002-04:00

I didn't know what to expect when I purchased Rimmel's Volume Flash (waterproof) mascara the other day at Target. I'd heard good things about other Rimmel mascaras and am reasonably happy with the company's Lash Maxxx, but I didn't recall hearing much about this particular product.

Now I know why. It boasts that it is instantly thickening and volumizing. I got nothing of the sort.

You know how your hair looks 10 hours after you put it up for a fancy occasion -- prom, a wedding, etc. -- once the environment and festivities have begun to take a toll? When your coif is still decent but more frizzy and worn-in than when you started the day? That's how this mascara made my eyelashes look. Not clumpy-icky, nor making me wonder if I had any mascara on. Just, it made my lashes look stringy and tired.

It's too bad because the sparkling blue tube is very pretty.

The wand, however, doesn't live up to expectations. I expected it to be a lot less clumped with product, based on the picture on the box. I was disappointed with how short the bristles are, because it's difficult for them to coat the lashes thoroughly. (Maybe why I didn't get the volume I was promised.) The mascara formula doesn't seem like anything special, though it deposited a decent amount of color and didn't easily smudge. It smells a bit funny from up close.

From a distance, my lashes looked fine with this mascara. I could see it working for people who want something low maintenance and waterproof. And hey, maybe your eyelashes are different than mine and this would fit you great!

But if you're looking for full, lush lashes, I'd still recommend trying something else. There are so many drug store mascaras out there, including others by Rimmel with great reviews, so I keep my bar high. (This mascara is listed at $7.49 at drugstore.com, but I got it cheaper at Target.)

Tagged!

2009-04-30T14:15:00.002-04:00

What is your current obsession?
Figuring out my mess of a love life. :P Other than that, probably taking bathes. I bring over a stand for my computer to sit on by the edge of the tub and read my favorite blogs while relaxing! I kid you not. Or I watch The Colbert Report.

What is your weirdest obsession?
Organizing my clothing. (Might be from my stint in retail.) I hang my pants up by type and color, and I'm very particular about how I fold shirts.

What are you wearing today?
Black pants, black tank, turquoise-blue sweater, and a light blue bead necklace.

What's your favorite comfort food?
Mashed potatoes.

What would make today special?
Wow, what a curious question. I guess for everything to run smoothly at work before my newspaper goes to press, and for things to run smoothly in life. Not getting myself worked up over things I can't change.

What would you like to learn to do?
Direct music videos.

What's the last thing you bought?
Kumquats -- and I won a sandwich for lunch from the local supermarket.

What are you listening to right now?
The white noise of our office server buzzing.

What is your favorite weather?
Warm and sunny with a slight breeze, but not too hot.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Learning to build an independent life, away from my family...being invested enough in this new phase to be happy, but not too invested, since a new job in Sept. will take me to a new state. (Sounds unnecessarily complicated, yah?)

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Maayari is a really sweet, cool chick, and her reviews are awesome. She really lives up to what she said in her 'why did you start your blog' section -- she helps readers know what products work and which might be worth avoiding.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Being practical, I'd say in New York, close to my friends and family. But if it's a total dream scenario, probably Spain (never been but my sis loved it) or Melbourne, Australia (have been, loved it).

If you could swap lives with anyone for one day who would it be & why?
Martha Stewart or Lady Gaga. Their lives seem artistically crafted to such an extreme...I'd be curious to shadow them for a day.

If you would go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Zambia, to visit my friend stationed there with the Peace Corps.

Which language do you wanna learn?
Japanese, which I know nothing about linguistically. And I'd want to continue learning Russian and Spanish.

What do you look for in a friend?
Someone who is genuine, self-reflective, intelligent (not necessarily book smart, but thinks critical and comes up with his own ideas), and not judgmental.

Who do you want to meet in person?
I agree with Maayari that an East Coast blogger meetup would be great!

What's your dream job?
To be a presidential historian. Or a screenwriter. Can I be both?

If you had $100 now what would you spend on it?
I'd buy flowers for my friends.

Things you wish you could change in the past?
Not being honest with an important person in my life.

Fashion Pet Peeve?
Crocs. Leave them in the garden or at home.

Do you admire anyone's style?
Rihanna and Gwen Stefani are both edgy but still feminine.

Describe your personal style.
Work in progress! Classic with a modern twist.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate and peanut butter, or vanilla with chocolate covered pretzels.

What's your favorite makeup brand?
Don't have one...yet.

Do you get enough beauty sleep? yes or no? why?
No way. My 9-5 work schedule isn't conducive to my natural night-owl self.

Why did you start your (beauty) blog?
Reading other beauty blogs inspired me to take a stab at it. It seemed like a fun way to channel my creative energies, push myself to write on a regular basis, and to connect with a diverse group of cool people.

So now that that's done...I'm going to tag some my google followers with their own blogs (if you've already been tagged, just consider it some extra love):

Marjo (check out her pretty blue-grey smokey eye look)
Vanity Treasure (her pets are so freaking cute)
Neeyuh (always has informative tips)
Kim (a potpourri of topics)
Imee (never boring)

Thanks, blog readers, I really appreciate your support. :)

Rude Shoppers and Fun Purchases

2009-04-27T23:55:00.002-04:00

I went to Kohl's this weekend looking for undies, a picture frame and whatever else caught my eye. They had a promotion in which if you spent $50 you'd get a $10 coupon off a future purchase, so that's what I did. The promotion ended Monday in stores, but is still running online until April 29.

I have a love/hate relationship with Kohl's...err, as much as one can have with a store. I like that they offer lots of good deals and have begun stocking relatively more upscale goods -- ie: with a Vera Wang clothing line and Food Network kitchenware -- while maintaining reasonable prices. The problem is that you have to do a lot of digging to find the hidden gems. I'd say overall Kohl's hit-or-miss on quality, and that over the past few years, prices have gone up while overall quality of the merchandise has not.

Maybe it's because my scope of the store has expanded beyond the juniors section.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to enter my local Kohl's a see a huge, attractive display of beauty products. They looked nice, but not tempting enough to lure me in...though I could hardly believe their wide range of fancy perfumes, including my beloved "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs, which I gave to my little sis for the holidays.

I went home with:
A copper picture frame to go on my fireplace mantel; gold-plated flower earrings; a lion broach.

A (much-needed) black bra; three pairs of undies; and a pink and black hoodie (from Avril Lavigne's line...makes me shudder a bit, but it looks really cute on).

Nothing to wear to work, but fun things to jazz up under and around my 9-to-5 outfits.. I've already worn most of the items and have the picture frame -- still empty, sadly -- on my mantle.

Lastly, the "rude shoppers." I was at the register behind a group of teens and two women, who already had one or two purchases rung up separately. The women were also buying about 20 watches in individual boxes. They'd put on some fuss before I got on line, and then more of a fuss with the watches -- to the point that the teens left for another line.

After the cashier rung the women up, they suddenly started asking how to remove the watches from the boxes. They said that in the past, they haven't been able to remove the zip ties holding the watches into the box. They asked the clerk to show them how to do it. How to cut a zip tie. After they'd held up the line and had 20 boxes rung up.

So the clerk took out a scissors but (smartly) refused to try cutting herself, and asked them to try. After a half-assed attempt, they requested a manager.

A manager came over and told them to cut with a scissors or a knife or a razor at home. They looked dumbfounded when it came to this suggestion until the manager had repeated herself half a dozen times.

They finally left (in their matching "Princess" shirts) and I got up to the register and said to the cashier 'wow, that was kind of obnoxious.' Like the manager really had a better idea to open the package?

One of These Nails is Not Like the Other

2009-04-22T23:50:00.004-04:00

And yet, it belongs. Well, maybe.

A few weeks ago I saw a picture on some celebrity site featuring a female starlette (no one I remember) sporting silver nails with one white one. I tried the look a few days ago with pink/silver, and tonight, with grayish silver and gold. It looks better in person because the gray has little sparkles in it, but here's a photo to give you the idea:

I like that it's funky in a subtle way. Something a bit quirky that is easily wearable to the office.

The main color is Wild and Crazy's w235/Anchorage. This is a very inexpensive brand, but I really like the coverage. It's thick and matte with little sparkles in it. The bottle says sinfulcolors.com on the back, so I'm assuming it has an affiliation with that company...whose nail polishes I also like for being inexpensive yet very pigmented. I'd agree with many reviews on Makeup Alley though, that Wild and Crazy's polishes can be hit-or-miss.

The gold is OPI's Needles in a Haystack. Very pretty, I can see myself wearing this on its own sometime.

Do you think this idea a lost cause? Might it look better with different colors? I like how it looks better in person than in the picture. Anyway, thank goodness nail polish is so easy to change :) Though for now, I'm happy with this.

Saturday's Six Things For Which I'm Grateful

2009-04-18T22:33:00.001-04:00

I'm not much of a daily affirmations gal, but today, I feel like briefly reflecting on some of the things that make my life a bit brighter. In no particular order:

--Good friends and family.
--Nice weather! Seventy five degrees and sunny inspired me to put on capri pants and go for a few strolls today.
--Crosswalks. Since they make it so much easier to be a pedestrian, both in downtown D.C. (where I grabbed lunch this afternoon) and by my apartment in suburban Maryland.
--NYX lip gloss with shine in Crystal Soda. It's a salmony pink color that makes my lips look juicy.
--Wireless Internet. I can blog at my desk, on my bed, in the kitchen, in my bathtub. Amen to that.
--Bubble tea. And the cute guy who works at the bubble tea kiosk in my local mall. ;)

Outfit: Hip Yet Work Appropriate

2009-04-17T16:19:00.001-04:00

Here's me feeling a bit clever the other day in dark skinny jeans, a patterned shirt and a black suit jacket.

This was after a long day at the office and 40 mins in traffic, so my mug wasn't much to look at, hehe.

I love dark jeans with suit jackets. I think the combination looks polished but fun. It certainly beats the khakis and sweater sets I usually wear to work; not that there's anything wrong with them, but sometimes I like dressing with some spunk too. At 22, I'm half the age of most of my coworkers, and more than that, I work around senior and baby boomer issues all day...and it's easy to forget that I should be enjoying my youth!

The shirt I purchased on my recent outlet mall excursion at Ann Taylor. The jacket is also Ann Taylor -- one of my first two jackets, I got it when I was 16 or 17. It fit my body shape back then, but the many buttons don't flatter my bustier frame now, so I'm hopefully going to replace it soon. The jeans are "Morgan" from Delia's (I wrote about them in one of my first posts, awww).

re: Heidi and Spencer "drama"

2009-04-14T23:34:00.000-04:00

Are any other watchers of The Hills as baffled as I am at how Heidi and Spencer are always on the brink of a breakup on the show, but for the past year or so, not a week has gone by without them flaunting for paparazzi?

When do they have time to act -- er I mean, argue, in between shooting her music videos and staging cheesy photo-ops?

A season or two ago I chalked it up to them putting on a happy face for the time being, and that the charade would fade. But at this point, it seems like they're really sticking with this remaining-in-the-spotlight thing.

I was willing to suspend belief up until the Mexican wedding debacle...which just seemed absurd to me, how they 'really got married' after the tequila shots, except that it happened at least several hours later when it was light out, and when they'd both primped. And of course, all their insisting it was real only led to it being not valid, surprise surprise.

I just watched the most recent Hills (season 5, episode 3, thank goodness for that show being available online!) and I was entertained. And that's what I'm looking for out of The Hills -- I'm interested in the characters, I want them to look beautiful and to lead exciting lives. I'll admit, I'm even looking forward to the Brody/Audrina thing and Spencer calling Lauren. I will be watching!

But believe that Spencer is really flirting with a bartender with no idea of the ramifications? Uh, no. Still mildly entertaining, just not 'real'.

And for my part, not entertaining enough to necessarily make me want to watch the show post-Lauren. We'll see what MTV does at the end of the season...would you keep watching if The Hills went on without her?

The Best Part of Being Home

2009-04-12T01:17:00.000-04:00

....is being beside my four-legged best friend, Bon Bon!

She wasn't in much of a photo mood today, and my camera was being finicky, so these aren't the best photos, but I'm sure you get the idea.

She's a spunky 7-year-old Boston Terrier, who loves to lick my face (just mine) and sleep on my bed....usually at the foot, but when she gets the chance, she likes to pretend that my pillow is hers too!

Of course good friends, good family and good food also make being home in New York enjoyable, but there's just something about this dog that's just the icing on the cake. She's very sweet, playful and yet well-behaved -- even though she loves food and is on the stocky side, today she listened when I said 'no' to her sniffing some food that I was about to nosh on my bed. She just slept on the floor instead.

I could just go on and on about my Bonbee baby! (Yes, my silly nickname for my dog.) But since I head back to Maryland tomorrow, I'm just going to relish in my last few hours of this mini-vacation while my pooch snores on my bed. :) Ah, this is the life...

Mission: Bikini Body

2009-04-07T13:17:00.001-04:00

Unlike most years, when I'd only start thinking about this topic in mid-July once it's practically too late, this year I'm setting a goal to get in *great* shape by the time warm weather rolls around. Not just bikini-wearing shape, but proudly-taking-photos-in-my-bikini shape. (I just love the print of this orange swimsuit from my-wardrobe.com, btw...I could use something exciting in my closet.)

My hope is that publicly making this resolution, on this blog where I can easily check back on what I pledged, will serve as a reminder to not let myself down!

I'm in decent shape to begin with. I maintain a fairly healthy diet and have a strong core from years of staying active. But back in high school I was dancing/playing sports several times a week, and in college, I was dancing plus walking most places I needed to go. Now that I live in the suburbs and work a 9 to 5, things aren't as easily foot-accessible and I'm basically chained to a desk all day. I haven't joined a dance studio or a pilates class. I've fallen into a funk.

Which is too bad, because I'd say I'm piqued to be in my best shape ever. I'm finally over teenage awkwardness and that whole transition phase of college. I'm starting to feel like a real adult, with some self-confidence and maturity to match. Plus, since I can't just throw on jeans and a t-shirt for work, I'm starting to develop a sense of style that compliments my body instead of just covering it.

I'm sleeping more, cooking more, treating my body better. I think increased exercise would push me over the edge, to make me stronger and more toned. Off the top of my head, I've come up with a few easy ways to add more activity into my life:

1. Walk during lunch, not drive. I often pack lunch, but on days that I didn't last fall, I walked to the local supermarket for food. This wasn't very appealing in the cold winter but I'm going to try it again this spring. That adds 2/3 of a mile of walking into my life five days a week.

Even if I pack my lunch, I can still just go for a walk. It's refreshing break from sitting at a computer all day.

2. Bike to work. This one is going to be more difficult to take on. I don't yet have much biking stamina -- bought the thing in December -- and I'm kind of worried about biking down busy streets. But hey, practice makes perfect...and it's only three miles each way.

3. Dance. I love to dance and I miss dancing. Maybe I'll sign up for a class, maybe I'll just follow along with some fitness videos, maybe I'll plug in my iPod and rock out while cleaning my room. I don't know yet. But I know it makes me feel great and helps me stay trim.

4. Push ups. They're so damn good for you, targeting both the upper and lower body, and require no equipment. Aerobic exercises like the ones above will help me stay slim, but what I really want is to gain definition. And the areas I'd most like to work on are my upper arms and my abs, so push ups are a good start. For the next month, I pledge to do 30 push ups a day. (I did 15 today at work already. Yes, really.)

5. Any suggestions??

Waiting to Crack Out This Summer Bag

2009-04-05T14:04:00.008-04:00

I'm waiting for summer to roll around for a couple of reasons. At this very moment, it's because I want this 'waiting' phase of my life to end and for the rest of my personal and professional life to begin. I'm stuck in blah April showers. Even though I know this waiting is what needs to happen, like I said in my last post, it's not the most enjoyable time!

For now, a pick-me-up is thinking about all the great things I'll be doing when the weather gets warm. Swimming (hopefully), biking, hiking, wearing light, breezy clothes to the office and carrying a stylish bright bag!

The picture doesn't do this bag justice. It's a shiny, textured dark turquoise. It's not dirty the way it looks in the photo, in person that looks like a subtle gradient.

One of my favorite parts is the black/white/gray checkered interior:

It's big enough to fit a laptop, but not too wide that I couldn't stuff it with a book and some sunscreen and take it on a walk to a park to read.

The maker is Rampage, and I bought the bag at Marshall's. The material is a sturdy faux-leather.

Wake me up when June ends, okay? I'll pack my bag now so it's ready to go. ;)

Writing is Cathartic

2009-04-03T11:53:00.003-04:00

A quick entry, since I'm at work...

I've faced a lot of changes recently, both good and bad. I feel like I've left a nice, cozy place in my life and am traveling through a winter storm on the path to the place I need to be next. Even though it's hard to be trudging across snow and cold, I know it's what I have to do to move forward.

Doesn't mean it's easy!

Thankfully, there's lots of good stuff heading my way, I'll elaborate more in the future. Anyway, I just wanted to put in a quick entry since I have no Internet at my new apartment yet.

Hopefully I'll have it set up this weekend (before I gnaw away a hole in the wall from withdrawal).

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a lot of thinking, and maybe even some writing. It's a good way to let out frustrations and channel my energy in a positive way. Maybe I'll do some crafting and makeup-ing too -- no big cooking though since the kitchen isn't stocked yet. And I'll be sure to take pics.

Isn't it strange how beauty can be inspired by heartbreak?

Shoes.

2009-03-28T23:46:00.000-04:00

I've been to the mall. And no matter what Kelly says (see video below), it was pretty awesome.

An old roommate and I met up today at Potomac Mills, a shopping mecca with lots of outlet stores outside of Washington D.C. The mall itself is literally a mile long (all one level) and has more than 200 retailers. Plus, the surrounding area has practically any store you can think of, from Costco to Petsmart to Ikea -- not like we had time for those, since six hours was barely enough time to visit the most interesting mall stores and grab lunch at the food court. (Mmm, bourbon chicken.)

I'll write more about the trip later, but first, I wanted to show off some shoes I saw today. From the moment I saw this first pair, I knew I wanted to blog about it...since I can't decide if I think they are attractive or over-the-top:

Aiko, Betsyville by Betsy Johnson, $69.90

I like them better looking at the picture. They looked stranger in person. What outfit would these go with?

The next shoes are only related because they follow the white-flanked-by-dark trend.

Klarice Spectator Pump, Predictions at Payless, $16.00

I'm not super thrilled by this Payless shoe. I think it would look better in canvas, because it doesn't look very formal to me and I don't think the faux-patent leather helps. But it's not too bad. (Especially if you could have seen some of the high-end shoes I saw. Ie: gold + leopard print + red + patent leather + buckles = 30 percent off clearance price).

Anyway, my new goal is to inject some color into my wardrobe with colored shoes. In which case neither of these fit the bill. Since I always reach for black or brown, I'm going to start by trying subdued colors, like burnt orange.

Though no more clothes shopping for a bit, since I did nicely on this trip. I'll post soon...

Unfree To Buy Undewear

2009-03-26T00:08:00.017-04:00

A group of women in Saudi Arabia launched a campaign this week to boycott lingerie stores until they employ women, according to the Associated Press.

But this isn't just about hiring women. In a country in which the genders are very strictly segregated in public, it's also about how uncomfortable it is for women to buy underwear in an all male-staffed shops.

I still get bashful perusing the lingerie sections of departments stores. I can't imagine if Victoria's Secret was staffed by all dudes. And, more than that, the salesmen who are sizing these women up can't see much more than their eyes.

Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic law, women are required to cover themselves head-to-toe in black robes in public. But in the privacy of their own homes — and bedrooms — they can wear whatever they want, and sexy undergarments are popular.

But buying them is another story. Fitting rooms are banned in the kingdom — the idea of a woman undressing in a public place with men just outside is unthinkable. So a woman is never sure she has chosen the right size until she gets it home.

Sounds like an uncomfortable crap shoot.

With the way things are, the salesmen are embarrassed, the female customers are embarrassed, their (non-mandatory but common) male chaperons are embarrassed. Could you take your brother thong shopping??

Women supporting the boycott campaign want enforcement of a 2006 law which says that all female staff can be employed in women's apparel stores.

The law has never been put into effect, partly due to hard-liners in the religious establishment who oppose employing women in mixed environments like malls, where religious police are always on the lookout to keep men and women from interacting.

Hiring women would also deprive men of jobs in a country where more than 10 percent of men are unemployed.

The campaign [also] calls on women to shop at the country's few women-only lingerie stores. Usually stand-alone boutiques or located in malls that have women-only sections, these shops have no windows to ensure passing men cannot look in — and giving women the freedom to actually try things on.

I'm not surprised that attractive lingerie is popular in a place where women have to hide in public, though -- it seems to me like there'd be a lot of people itching for a little bit of independence, to make themselves feel beautiful and feminine even if it must be hidden. And it certainly makes me think a bit differently about my ability to go into any number of malls and stores and buy whatever underwear I want, largely unnoticed.

Pink Leopard Print Nails

2009-03-23T19:04:00.001-04:00

My first attempt in quite a while to do some nail art. I'm pretty happy with the results.

The tools:

Instructions:
--Apply base coat, followed by one or two coats of light-colored polish.
For these pink leopard nails, I used Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat (I'd definitely recommend) and Sally Hansen Maximum Growth plus Nourishing Nail Color in 15 Fair Fawn.

--Apply darker dots on nails. Allow to dry.
I found that the bottom part of my polish brush made nice-sized dots, the key is to be very careful when pressing it down! I used Maybelline Forever Strong + iron in 60 Wonder Melon.

--Using a thin brush, draw black lines around the pink dots. Add a few small, random black spots/lines around the larger dots, if you'd like.
I suggest doing two or three lines around each big pink dot, not making them close all the way. The other little dots I just found added a bit more character, mimicking the real animal.

--Once everything is dry, add top coat, and voila!

Check out this link and this YouTube video for more inspiration.

An Award and a New Attitude

2009-03-21T17:55:00.003-04:00

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won.You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sidebar letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

I'm about to run out to have dinner with a friend and see a midnight showing of Fight Club, but I wanted to post this and thank Maayari for the love. Since so many of my favorite beauty bloggers have already received this award, I'm going to cop out and say that if *you* are a blogger doing your own awesome thing, you're tagged!

So, seven things I love...

1) Staying up late watching TV snuggled under a blanket, knowing I can wake up late the next day. (Oh, the days before an office job...)

2) Dancing, especially salsa, samba, tap, and most things with my friends in a club.

3) Crafting, especially crocheting and making greeting cards.

4) Reading news online, from newspapers like the Washington Post to magazines like Slate to lots of blogs -- TMZ, Gawker, etc.

5) Taking good care of my teeth. I used to have bad gums, and I floss pretty regularly.

6) New lip glosses and balms. The beauty product I use most often.

7) Singing in my car!

In other news...I am planning to revamp the look of this site and I signed the lease/paid the deposit for my new apartment today! I move in April 1. So if my posting continues to be light, it's in preparation for the move to my own first place. I'm getting pretty excited. And hopefully the new layout will be up around that time too.

Already, moving to a new place is helping me gain a new, reinvigorated spirit. It will be out here soon...

Have a good weekend!

Yum: Grilled Eel, Cheesecake Brownies

2009-03-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

No, I didn't eat these together...But I figured I'd explain more about my eel adventure and share with you all a delicious, super easy and attractive dessert.

First, the eel: I purchased it pre-grilled and frozen from a local Korean supermarket. All I had to do was boil it in its plastic package for about 10 minutes and mmmmm, it came out really well. I served it with a side of jasmine rice (thank goodness for my $12 CVS rice maker) topped with frozen peas and flavored with soy sauce.

Sadly, I didn't take a photo of the meal -- a norm for me -- because I was so hungry that I forgot! I took a picture of the package (upside down) in water though. What you can't see is that 'rice wine' is misspelled as 'bice wine' on the wrapper, and the serving size is miscalculated in the nutrition facts. Oddly enough, I think this gave me more hope for the food. I can't read Korean, but assuming that is the native language of whoever produced this food made me hopeful that it would be at least a little bit authentic tasting. Then again, maybe I should have just assumed it was the work of careless people and been wary of its quality...But hey, I lived, and it was tasty, so it's all good. :)

Second, you should run out and make these wonderful cheesecake brownies. They have been a favorite treat of mine ever since I first tasted them about four or five years ago. This version, adapted from AllRecipes.com, can easily be whipped up within an hour or two.

Ingredients:
--1 package of cream cheese (8 oz)
--1 egg
--1/3 cup white sugar
--1 box of brownies mix (19.8 oz) [and ingredients necessary to make mix per-manufacturer's instructions...probably vegetable oil and eggs]

First, prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box. Pour about 3/4 of the mix into a greased pan.

Then, combine egg, sugar and cream cheese. Beat until smooth. This is easiest with an electric mixer, but can be done (vigorously) by hand.

Spoon cream cheese mixture onto brownie mix in the pan. Then top with the remaining brownie mix, and swirl together with a skewer or fork.

Bake according to manufacturer's instructions. Brownies are ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Thanfully, these brownies look as good as they taste and are practically foolproof. Let them cool, cut them up and share them with friends. My housemates and coworkers liked them, and I think people around you will too. Enjoy.

EOTD: Gold and Green Revisited

2009-03-15T15:50:00.006-04:00

I wanted to put together a teal look but couldn't find that shadow, so I ended up with a gold/green combo.

Talk about if looks could kill...um, why do I look so serious in the first picture?? Reminds me of Tyra telling the Top Model contestants to 'smile with their eyes.' I'm not doing that in the pic, but I am cooking eel for dinner so I'll be smiling in a bit :)

The look: "Beware the ides of March"

The products:

But shhh...the reality is, I don't have the courage to wear such bright colors out in public!

Summer Daydreams

2009-03-14T23:33:00.007-04:00

Thanks to Polyvore for making my summer dreams into a virtual reality.

Really, wouldn't it be great to be sassy and soaking up sun at this very moment? (With sunblock on, of course! See bottom left.)

At least it's the weekend...

If you could drop all your obligations tomorrow (school, work, etc.), what would you do and where would you go?

Changes

2009-03-13T00:14:00.002-04:00

I think that I'm going to sign the lease to move into my first real apartment tomorrow.

Well, technically, it's a loft within a condo that I will share with an older Peruvian couple.

But it means moving out from the nice, single-family home which I've called *my* home for six months. Just as the icky smoking situation was resolved (I don't smoke, my two roomies do) and we were all getting along really well.

I really love this place.

I guess it's time for a big, new adventure, though.

**So that's why I'm kind of behind on posting and the like! Plus, I'm finally catching up on things at my job, which is very important and taking up extra time.**

Does Size Matter?

2009-03-10T23:14:00.001-04:00

After years of reading it, and even reciting it as a sales associate at a clothing store, a little part of me remains unconvinced that size doesn't matter.

Clothing size, of course.

The topic came to my mind over lunch this weekend. I was sitting in a casual restaurant across from a 30-something couple with two young children. The littlest was probably no older than 2 and still in a stroller. Dad looked fine, but mom was squeezed into clothes that looked like they were pre-maternity.

She wasn't heavy-set, just looked like a woman who'd recently had a baby and hadn't yet dropped all the weight. I probably wouldn't have noticed her if not for her outfit: a boxy-yet-clingy floral shirt and flimsy gray cargo flood pants (the kind that look good on almost no one) that were clinging to her hips within an inch of their life.

Well, I really noticed when she turned around to wrangle the kids and flashed a foot's worth of her back, love handles spilling over her pants in full-glory.

Clothes are understandably not the first thing on a mother-of-two's mind. And I don't know anything else about this woman's life or budget. But what I do know is that this is a look I've seen before -- women of all shapes and sizes squeezing themselves into clothes that are too small. (I know oversized is also an issue, but that's a blog for another day...)

Sometimes clothes shrink in the dryer. Sometimes you gain weight. Sometimes your body changes along with hormonal changes, like after having a baby or hitting puberty. Sometimes your size doesn't change at all, but one company's "small" is another company's "large."

Size doesn't matter, it's what looks good! Whatever the reason, when you're poking through your closet or out shopping, you really shouldn't fall victim to thinking a lower number is better. Frankly, no one knows what size you wear unless she looks inside the label! So if you want a number to be concerned with, focus on reaching a healthy Body Mass Index. And leave the clothing to what fits and what flatters your body.

Next time I have the little size voice pop up in my head, I'm just going to try remembering how foolish I could look in overly tight clothes and how uncomfortable they would be...and find something in whatever my size is that day from that particular brand. :)

Thwarted, then Impressed, by HiP Jelly Balms

2009-03-07T10:51:00.003-05:00

I'd wanted to try L'Oreal HiP Jelly Balms for a long time, but never got around to picking them up at any of the drugstore BoGo sales. Plus, none of the CVS stores around me seem to carry these products. (That's not what I mean by "thwarted" though. I'll explain at the end.)

Finally, seeing them on sale at Target inspired me to take the plunge. And I'm very happy I did!

I went for "Delectable," a candy-red color that makes me look like I've just eaten a bunch of strawberries. (In a good way.) It's not as dark red as I expected on my lips -- more of a natural blush. The swatch looks almost berry-colored on my hand, which is okay since those shades work for me.

It is very shiny, not at all shimmery. It glides on well, almost too well -- this isn't a pot in which you have to swirl your finger around to dig out an application, I found that after a few wears, a thin layer of already-soft goop remained on the top of the balm.

Jelly Balms retail for between $7 and 9. I got mine on sale at Target for $5 or 5.50. I will probably buy this again in other colors, and layer it over lip balms, lip pencil and possibly lipstick, to give a finishing oomph of shine and color.

You might like Jelly Balm if: you want sheer, shiny color that feels smooth on your lips. **My tip is to layer it on top of some lip balm for an extra-smooth experience.

You might not like it if: you want full coverage color, SPF sun protection and dislike balms that come in pots. **SPF if something I try to look for when I can.

Okay, lastly, "thwarted"...After purchasing it at Target I skipped to my car and eagerly ripped off the seal, wanting to try it after months of anticipation. And the jar wouldn't open!! I had *three* male friends try it over the next week and none could get it either. One even got out a pliers and almost busted the thing. (Thankfully, the pliers wasn't big enough. At the time it seemed like a good idea in desperation though.) I finally exchanged the damn jar, where the woman at the returns desk was also unable to open it. She ended up labeling it as defective...so it will thwart no other well-meaning consumer, I hope. :)

Why I'm Glad I Finally Got Boots

2009-03-02T22:50:00.003-05:00

I'm feeling in an alliterative mood, so it comes down to this: Fashion, Function and Fit. That's what I realized this morning when I thought about how glad I am to have my new boots!

They are all black, leather, shin-high boots with flat fur on the outside (not as garish as it sounds) and suede trim around the laces. The inside is plush, warm wool. The sole is synthetic with a two-inch platform heel and has surprisingly good traction.

It was love at first sight. They were strewn on a table with about two dozen other assorted pairs at the front of Marshalls as part of a season-end clearance, and since I'd been looking for boots for at least a year or two, this was like a dream come true. I tried on several pairs but these definitely stuck out. However, I wasn't quite ready to spend $110 on shoes on a whim the first time I saw them. Plus, they felt a bit tight.

About a week later I returned to the store. Most of the inventory I'd seen was gone but these boots remained. They were now $70 on final clearance, and though I still hesitated, that price was much easier to swallow. Especially since I felt satisfied with the apparent quality of the materials and craftsmanship, and I was confident that I really liked them. I thought twice about the purchase and still liked them. Plus $70 down from $200+ is a deal that's hard to beat.

So I took the plunge. Great decision! I've worn them with skirts, with skinny jeans, with boot cut jeans...to work, to go out, to hang out...and this morning, I wore them while digging my car out of four to six inches of snow. (Who'd have expected that in the Washington D.C. suburbs in early March??)

I love how stylish they look -- I'm not very trend-conscious or always stylish, but these look pretty darn nice. I like how they fit -- uber-comfortable. They are one of the few pairs of shoes I can wear for hours during light activity (work, fun, no marathon running) that remain very comfortable.

And finally, they are so functional! I didn't get one drop of moisture in my socks today, even while marching through totally unshoveled snow to retrieve my car. As someone who's had a lot of snow seep through her sneakers, this was just the most fantastic development.

So I give a glowing review to Oscar Sport boots. Hopefully these will hold up for a long time to come.

An Office Without Clutter

2009-02-25T17:53:00.003-05:00

Word on the street is that Martha Stewart runs a tight ship when it comes to neatness in her new offices. (And by "street" I mean Gawker media.)

A Gawker post from late-January says that MS Living Omnimedia staffers are barred from having "ink colors other than red or black, desks that are not completely clear at the end of the day, except for one metal basket of approved office supplies, and anything that could be construed as being personal, such as photos or coffee mugs," according to an anonymous tipster. The post includes photos of some very dreary, plain cubicles, reportedly from the office.

Martha quickly responded to the accusations on her blog, writing that "this Gawker.com article is a misrepresentation of what actually was discussed within our offices. The list of pens is an assortment of what our company will provide our employees with at our expense. We never stated that other pens were not allowed to be used. In these tough economic times, harmony is essential within the working environment. I must also inform you that we use a great assortment of writing implements from the Martha Stewart crafts line available at Michael's Crafts and Walmart. "

As Celebitchy points out, great plug for her product line in there!

Personally, I try to leave my work space clean at the end of the day by putting all my pens back in their storage mug and filing stray papers into folders on my desk. I think that an uncluttered space helps keep the mind uncluttered too. But not having the freedom to decorate at all or manage my things the way I like them...that might be a bit much for me.

Then again, for the chance to work at Martha Stewart Living, I might be able to deal for a little while. :)

MAC Hello Kitty Swatches...for my Mama?

2009-02-22T13:25:00.001-05:00

In recent years, my mom has become a major Hello Kitty fan. (Just go with it, lol.) So I'd love to get her something from the new MAC HK collection, which I checked out in-store for the first time yesterday.

I think I'm going to go with a lip product because she'll probably use that the most. I was considering accessories but didn't see anything that seemed irreplaceable, especially since she has no special love for MAC so getting their compact versus a regular Sanrio one wouldn't make a difference to her. High-quality HK cosmetics aren't easy to come by, however, since most are made for 5-year-olds!

The question is what to get. The collection is so playfully (and appropriately) bold that nothing jumps out at me off that bat as fitting my mom. Shimmer is okay but globs of sparkles will look too immature and not flatter her. She doesn't wear neon pink, instead favoring more demure colors appropriate for a middle-aged woman. She has rosy fair skin and light blue eyes.

I'm leaning toward one of the lipglasses -- possibly Mimmy or Sweet Strawberry. Mimmy would be great to layer over lipstick, but since my mom is often on-the-go I don't know that she'd take the time for the two-step application process.

Sweet Strawberry could work since it deposits color, but I don't know how the berry shade would look on her. I look good in berries so that's a somewhat promising sign, however, my mom has red hair and tends to wear red lipstick whereas I have light brown hair.

Hmm...guess I'll go back to the store and try those two specifically on my own lips, and make a decision. Better do it fast, since some of the HK products are already sold out online!

Any ideas for what to get my mom from this collection?

Passing on Some Love - The Triple Award

2009-02-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

JennBee over at Bare Budget Beauty (which just celebrated its first birthday!) made my day brighter by awarding me with this Triple Award. Naturally I want to pass the love on to some other fellow beauty bloggers! Even though I haven't met you guys, I appreciate that we share a common bond in this blogging thing. Not to mention the great and varied content you provide, and how you steer me in the right direction as far as what products to try...so thanks for your continual insight. :)

The "rules":
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

There are so many blogs I adore, so picking ten (I have to get back to doing work for my job now) wasn't easy, but here goes:

Alheessa 4 Realz
Beautiful With Brains
A Digital Angel
Ichigo Bunnie
Kimbabot
Life as ICEY it
Mayaari
Makeup Masala
Peace.Love.Makeup
Vanity Treasure

Forget Mascara: Grow Your Own Longer Lashes

2009-02-16T23:38:00.006-05:00

"Your eyelashes will experience real measurable growth." That's the claim made by Latisse, a new product from the makers of wrinkle-erasing/muscle-paralyzing Botox.

Pharmaceutical company Allergan got FDA approval in late 2008 for Latisse, whose active ingredient, bimatopost, has been used for several years in a product called Lumigan that treats glaucoma.

"The company began studying the potential of using a lower dose of topical bimatoprost to stimulate eyelash growth after Lumigan users developed unusually lush lashes," according to a Scientific American article from Dec. 29, 2008. "It's specifically being marketed as a once-a-day med to treat eyelash hypotrichosis, or lack of hair growth."

Of course, it's also of interest as a beauty-enhancing product. Latisse is expected to be available for prescription in March and cost $120 for a 30-day supply.

So there's real science behind Latisse, but is it worth it for the price?

"David E. I. Pyott, Allergan’s chief executive...suggested that many women would not blink at spending $120 for a one-month, three-milliliter supply of the drug," according to a New York Times article from Jan. 13, 2009. "He compared the cost of longer lashes to a daily cup of coffee.“If you think about it in terms of luxury, it’s four dollars a day,” he said. “We think this is fairly acceptable to a large segment of people even in these times.”"

Keep in mind, the lash-enhancement is not permanent.

"Because the drug works by keeping hairs in their growth phase -- the phase during which hairs become longer, thicker and darker -- lashes return to their normal, genetically determined length within a few months after discontinuing the drug," according to an ABC News article from Dec. 29, 2008.

Reported side effects include itching and red eyes or darkening of the skin by the lash line, where the drug may come in contact with the skin. There's still more extensive testing to be done, though.

On a cool side note...the NYT article linked above quoted a fellow D.C. beauty blogger:

"Jennifer Nobriga, one of a pair of stay-at-home mothers behind the Web site beautyinreallife.blogspot.com, said she intends to stick with plain old mascara rather than splurge on the eyelash drug.

“It would not be at the top of my list,” said Ms. Nobriga of Woodbridge, Va. “I would rather spend the money on a good under-eye cream.”"

So what do I think?
It's an intriguing scientific development that I'm curious to learn more about. I think it has great potential, especially for people who've experienced hair loss or lack eyelashes. But it's not going to be joining my beauty arsenal any time soon.

As a young professional, I definitely don't have the cash to spend on Latisse! (Or a $4-a-day latte habit, though when you think of it that way it seems more reasonable.) Plus, I'm lucky to have naturally long, full lashes to begin with, and the suppleness of youth in my face, so I'm probably not the target audience for this product anyway. (I don't mean to toot my own horn too loudly, it just happens that I consider my eyes one of my stronger features.)

I definitely understand its appeal, though, and would probably try Latisse as long as I was confident in its safety. It's not injecting botulism into your face, so to me, it seems a tad less extreme than Botox.

But yeah, I'm going to keep unnecessary prescription treatments away from my eyes and stick to my Maybelline Full 'N Soft.

I'm curious what you all think!

Taking Care of Dry Hair

2009-02-14T11:55:00.003-05:00

I got a great haircut just before the new year in New York. It's layered, falls slightly below my shoulders and has little side-swept bangs to boot. It's basically just three inches shorter than how I last had my hair, but losing the extra weight really gave my curls new life -- even now, six weeks later.

But an ongoing problem is how dry my hair and scalp are. I don't know if it's the shower water, or the weather, or products, or my diet, or damage from coloring treatments (though I haven't done that in a year). I rarely heat treatments on my hair but I use mousse or gel several times a week. Since I'm not a morning person I usually shower at night and throw my hair into a ponytail for work.

Oh, and split ends drive me CRAZY!

So I've been trying two inexpensive, out-of-shower treatments for the past few weeks: Jojoba oil and styling cream. I can't definitively prove their effectiveness since I don't have a scientific study or something behind me, but personally, I've found them beneficial. I plan to keep using them, since they certainly haven't visibly hurt my hair.

Jojoba oil is the liquid wax produced from the seed of the jojoba plant, which is native to parts of Arizona, southern California and northwestern Mexico. I chose it after reading that it is similar to sebum, the oily matter naturally present on human skin. It's purported to moisturize the scalp and help restore moisture and shine to hair. It doesn't have a strong scent and can be combined with essential oils.

I've been rubbing a nickle-sized drop into my hair occasionally before showering, particularly concentrating on my scalp and the ends of my hair. The oil I have is a combination of jojoba oil, castor oil, sunflower oil, lanolin, olive oil, BHA and fragrance. A little bit goes a long way, mind you. I picked mine up at a local beauty supply store.

For my styling cream, I've been using this Sedal (spanish-language Sunsilk) product I bought last year in Mexico to use in place of styling products while on vacation. This crema para peinar is intended to protect against the effects of summer, like heat and sun.

It seems like somewhere between a leave-in conditioner and styling product to me. Frankly, I bought it because the bottle was so cute! The main ingredients include cetearyl alcohol, cetrimonium chloride, glycerin and dimethiconol -- as far as I can see, a combination of emulsifying waxes, which contribute to locking in moisture by keeping water and oil from separating, and silicones, which feel soft to the touch.

So there's my science for the day. And since I've got jojoba oil in my hair I think it's time for the shower! Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Flower Earrings Made From Fish Scales

2009-02-10T18:01:00.003-05:00

This weekend my friend V and I went to a chocolate lovers festival in Fairfax, Va. Aside from consuming a chocolate chip pancake breakfast and loads of little confection samples, we also browsed some local vendors displaying good. Above is a pair of earrings I bought my sister -- made of dried and painted fish scales. (So cool, right?)

The full display was so beautiful, it was hard to make a decision which to pick!

She's coming home to New York later this week after two months studying in Spain. I'm not sure when I'll give them to her, since I'm in D.C. anyway...I think she'll really like them, not only because they look pretty but because they are also somewhat extraordinary, at least from what I've seen.

Busy Week Over! Eight Tips to Chillax

2009-02-06T21:45:00.006-05:00

Whew, another weekend is upon us! I'm planning to spend all night chillaxing here at home by myself, trying to enjoy every minute of it. Sometimes we all need a bit of alone time to just focus on ourselves and unwind at our own pace. No schedule, no obligations, just a free night.

So, what is the difference between relax and chillax? I consider it subtle yet important in this setting. Let me use an example. Some people find reading The Economist, browsing blogs or watching historical documentaries relaxing. But to me, those activities are not chillaxing.

Chillaxing is an even greater break from your normal life, a time to recharge so you can return more mentally and physically focused. Like being sprawled out on a perfect beach under a big white umbrella, sipping something fruity and not being a bit worried about how you look in your bathing suit or getting sand in it! That's chillaxed.

Since we can't have an oasis like that all the time, we just need to carve out our own bits of heaven. Here are some ideas I have to help get there:

-Pamper your body: Light some candles, leave your watch in the other room and take a nice, warm bath or shower. Shampoo, condition, shave, put on a face mask, the works -- it's not like you're running late for work! After the shower you might continue this step by applying body moisturizer or manicuring ragged nails.

-Step away from the computer: Take a break from compulsively checking social media and e-mail, reading blogs or spending the night im'ing friends. The focus of the chillaxed night is you and your comfort. Enjoy the peace and quiet. See if you can even stay away from your cell phone.

-Get comfy: Pajamas work. So does anything else that will make you feel really comfortable. Your work clothes matched your 9 to 5 routine, now you need a get-up to match being more laid back. A mug filled with a warm drink is a great accessory for this outfit.

-Eat well: I know that in an effort to keep on schedule during the week, I often eat with the objective of fulfilling hunger instead of appreciating my food. But tonight there is no work to chow down over and no need to compromise for someone else's taste buds. Eat something tasty that won't upset your stomach. If you feel up to it, even cook a nice meal. Enjoy the preparation and the delicious product.

-Indulge a passion: Now is a great chance to lose track of time playing music, crafting, writing or working on another hobby.

-Give your mind a break: Pop on a feel-good movie, light-hearted television shows, soft music or read a fun magazine or book.

-Adore yourself: Hopefully it goes without saying, but since this is a night about taking care of yourself, make sure you're on-board with that spirit. Know that you're worth taking care of. :)

-Take on a little challenge: If you are looking for some productivity, I suggest trying an easy-to-conquer challenge that will leave you contented at the end of the night and ahead-of-the-game in the morning. This could be cleaning off a particular space which may have become cluttered during the week. Your bed or desk are probably likely candidates. Focusing your energy into removing all the items on those places that don't belong hopefully won't take too long and you'll feel much better after the work is done. It will leave you a new, clean space in which to chillax!

Other small projects could be reorganizing a medicine cabinet or straightening your closet. You probably don't get around to them during the week or when you have company, but you're on your own tonight. Care for your body and your living space....because that's what chillaxing is all about.

My Hydrating, Lipstick Substitution

2009-02-04T23:39:00.002-05:00

I am especially picky about lipstick this time of year, when cold, dry weather leaves my lips chapped. Sometimes I still want a color boost though, like when I'm conducting an interview at work or going out on the town. Of course, those are the times when I'm probably too involved in talking, sipping and/or eating to worry about whether my lipstick is smearing or melting off or some other horror....so I'd like something with minimal maintenance too.

Impossible? Not necessarily.

What I've done lately in a pinch is line my lips and fill them in with a fairly natural-looking lip liner, then coat with lip balm. This leaves my lips soft and hydrated with a nice wash of soft color. Using a shade close to my natural lips also means that if it happens to rub off, it won't look shocking weird to reapply, which is good when I'm aiming for the polished-yet-natural look. (Note: A simple swipe of shimmery, light-colored gloss adds extra 'oomph.')

I came across this by accident. While hurriedly applying makeup in the bathroom of a reception hall, a fellow patron at the wedding I attended on Jan. 1 actually commented on how nice my lips looked. I intended for the lip liner and lip balm I had on to just be a base for lipstick, but considering all the drinking and eating I was bound to do that afternoon, I figured I'd just leave my pout as-is.

I've mostly rocked this look with NYX's Mauve 831 lip liner and Lizard Lips chapstick, which I'm in love with! It's made of beeswax, aloe, lanolin, grape seed oil, a combination of other oils and vitamin E. It also has SPF 22.

Lip liner + lip balm = subtle, moisturized beauty.

**Btw, I tried photographing myself wearing this but I'd just eaten some cabbage and it gave my lips purple spots!

Review: Vanilla Noir Radiant Powder Spray

2009-02-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

It's hee-eere. My Bath and Body Works Vanilla Noir Radiant Powder Spray took less than a week to arrive.

And I'm back, after a very long few days...I'm back to normal posting.

On to the product.

What the company says:
This Radiant Powder Spray gives skin an indulgent kiss of golden shimmer, leaving it powder soft and luxuriously fragrant.

Our exclusive Vanilla Noir fragrance is a tantalizing scent that transforms Madagascar vanilla into pure glamour
Key fragrance notes: Madagascar Vanilla, Dark Vanilla Bean, Black Plum, Bergamot Orange and Warm Musk

Originally $24.50, now $9.75 at BBW.com.

What I think:
I love the concept of the product and the initial application, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't last longer.

I like the scent -- it's a mellow vanilla, a somewhat musky, definitely not a one-note, sugary vanilla that many products have. The shimmer is pretty, though the few larger sparkles (about the size of a pencil tip) make me think this is too glittery for work. It'd probably look nice under candlelight on an evening date or out at a club. (Note, it does not make you look like you fell in a vat of glitter!)

The bottle is worthy of being out on a counter. It's probably more attractive in person than in the photo and, in my mind, would look great beside some attractive atomizers in a glamorous powder room. The bottle and the powder look gorgeous and the brushed-metal for the top feels sturdy.

But if you look up close some of it's charm is peeled away: You see that the textured ring under the pump is pasted on a bit crudely, the pump is a bit rough too. It can be a bit finicky, press it hard.

And as I said at the top, my biggest complaint is that it doesn't last long. The scent faded pretty fast on me, as did the shimmer. Maybe because I was looking at it under florescent lights at work? Could be. I'll try wearing this out at night sometime and see if it works better, since I love the styling of the product and would like it to work.

Photoshopped Pics, Meet Photoshop Interface

2009-01-25T11:38:00.006-05:00

"Messing with ads in subways is becoming an artform, but this "Photoshopping" of ads in Berlin takes things to the next level by creating a Photoshop interface with stickers. This is pitch-perfect adbusting right here."
--Gizmodo, Jan. 13

(The above picture is of a vandalized poster in a Berlin subway. Click on the Gizmodo link to see more pictures.)

I have a certain affinity for well-done mashed-up music and mashed-up subway art, and I think this is a pretty clever stunt. If it was done in a magazine or as a picture on the Internet I'd probably find it more boring, since it's easy to drag-and-drop the different elements on a digital screen for the sake of social commentary. (We all already know these pictures are 'shopped...)

But the fact that the artists got large-scale reproductions of Photoshop windows and physically pasted them on to posters - that shows ingenuity, that's kind of interesting.

Free B&BW Shower Gel w/Online Purchase

2009-01-22T01:20:00.000-05:00

I've been lusting over radiant powder spray ever since the Muse blogged about Guerlain's Sublime Radiant Powder back in early October. It's a beautiful atomizer filled with shimmering silver powder that is part of the high-end line's limited edition holiday 2008 collection. But at $82 it was not in my budget.

So I was stoked to see her post again in December about a similar product from Bath and Body Works -- limited edition Radiant Powder Spray. I tried it in the store and really liked it, but still couldn't bring myself to spend $24.50 on it.

I finally decided to take the plunge on it though! While it's no longer available in local stores, the product is still stocked online and was recently reduced from $12-something to $9.75. I decided to pick up two, one for me and one for a friend.

Additionally, if you use the promo code WELCOME113 at checkout you can get a free Signature Collection shower gel (up to $10.50 value) with any purchase of $10 or more.

Adding this to my cart did increase my shipping charge, but since the gel I picked was already reduced to $6 it only pushed shipping up by a dollar.

According to the coupon site I found it on, the promotion expires on Feb. 11.

Inaugural Nails

2009-01-19T23:20:00.000-05:00

I searched "red, white and blue nails" and found this picture, which inspired me to create my own patriotic nails...

I'll be working Tuesday but hopefully watching the ceremony online or on television. At least it will be warm indoors...I went to G.W. Bush's second inauguration four years ago and it was really, really cold. (Hours of standing outside, frozen toes, and that celebration was no where near as hyped as this one.)

It's amazing to think about all that has happened during the brief history of the United States, and I just find it exciting to be witness to another groundbreaking chapter. Happy Inauguration!

Good For My Skin and My Peace of Mind

2009-01-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

I've been cutting down on my impulse buys lately. But after trying The Body Shop body butter sample that Maayari sent me a few weeks ago, I felt compelled to get a bigger tub of that stuff ASAP.

I haven't cared for my skin the way I should since getting sick (read: cared for it at all) and that, combined with the bitter cold spell sweeping the nation, has resulted in me being dry and itchy all over. I tried the Mango body butter sample Maayari sent me by running a comparison test: post-shower, I put the body butter on one leg and on the other, a Bath and Body Works lotion that I've been relatively content with in the past.

There was no contest. The next day both my legs were softer than they'd been before application, but the body butter side was as smooth as when I put it on. It stayed that way through the afternoon (and when you want to touch your leg to feel its softness while at the office, well, I think that's a sign that a product is working).

The body butter is thicker than regular body lotion. It comes in a tub and you use your fingertips to scoop a little bit out, which will go a long way. I make sure my hands are clean enough that I feel comfortable rubbing anything onto my body before I put my fingers in the tub, so the hygiene aspect doesn't bother me too much of using the exposed tub versus lotion from a pump/tube. And it's thick enough that unless it melts, I don't think you'd have a problem with the content spilling all over.

A day or two after the comparison test I picked up body butter in Vanilla Spice. Normally the 6.7 oz tub costs $20, but this seasonal merchandise was on sale for $7. (Mmm smells good.)

So far I find it lives up to its tagline of being "indulgent, spicy and festive all-over creamy moisturisation." That's probably because its main ingredients include soy, sesame and babbasu oil and cocoa and shea butter.

In addition to nurturing my skin, I like the fact that The Body Shop has a social conscience. For example, the company is against animal testing. (There's some controversy over this, especially in light of the company being bought by L'Oreal, which does animal testing...but The Body Shop founder left all her money to charity when she died in April so I'd like to see some good and think that the company sale wasn't out of sheer greed.) Anyway, in the case of items like cosmetics, I'd rather buy products with minimal animal testing because these items are superfluous to my life. It's not always easy to get around testing all components of a product without animal testing, but science is making leaps and bounds on that front.

Another cause The Body Shop supports is community trade. This issue came on my radar after writing about fair trade a few months ago, and though I don't know first-hand whether The Body Shop lives up to all its goals (since I'm not auditing the company's actions), I think creating awareness of and setting goals for community trade is important. The mission of community trade is to work with laborers in underdeveloped locales to stimulate economic growth, provide livable and stable incomes for the workers, and promote environmental sustainability.

Even though my budget is tight as a young professional, I'm starting to think more and more about how I can do a little part to support causes I believe in with minor alterations to my life and my wallet.

Lovely and Not-so-lovely

2009-01-15T19:50:00.000-05:00

Turns out I had strep throat and mononucleosis. (No, I don't think I got it from kissing! lol.) Antibiotics for the strep kicked in and I feel a lot better - ie: can swallow without wincing - though I'm still worn down and easily tired.

I also think being sick is affecting my motor skills. Seriously, I put the sheets on my bed on crooked the other day after washing everything because of the strep. And the past couple of days I've parked really poorly. And dropped things. Maybe just a clumsy coincidence??

Okay, so, last night I went on a shopping excursion at Eddie Bauer. Not for me, as the best purchase of the night was this handsome leather jacket that was 50 percent off:

The store is having big sales and the one I went to is going out of business, so everything is being cleared out. In between looking for menswear a pretty skirt caught my eye, and what would you know? There were two left, one in my size (including 'petite'!) and 60 percent off.

So lovely!

But on a not-so-good note (though comical), I broke the button on a pair of corduroy pants today at work. They're inexpensive juniors pants I've owned for a couple of years now and the button has been a bit messed up for a bit....then today, the top of the button just cracked off the base. Lame!

Anyone know how to fix that?

Gifts from Maayari!

2009-01-08T20:11:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago (what feels like an eternity) I entered Maayari's Winter Challenge contest. Though I didn't win, she sent me some lovely gifts as a consolation prize and a very cute holiday card.

The stuff:
From bottom left:
-Lancome remove-all deep cleansing oil. Saving this for a day when I feel like pampering myself.
-Green tea soap. Mmm smells so good.
-Mango body butter sample from the Body Shop. I'm going to clean my room a bit, cook some green beans, hop in the shower and rub this on my legs tonight!
-Eyeshadow sample (le mystere #78) from the mineral makeup site aromaleigh.com. See swatches below. It's a very sparkly slate color that picks up the blue in my eyes.
-Rouge sample (sweetheart) from aromaleigh.com. Pretty bubblegum pink with pink sparkles. Guess someone's gonna be playing around with loose pigments...
-Wild and Crazy eyeshadow in 3150 Lily Song. Pale like me. :)

Thanks Maayari, and best of luck starting the new phase of your life in Philly!

Everything Old is New

2009-01-07T23:56:00.000-05:00

Hey hey....Once again, sorry I'm so behind. As soon as the wedding passed and I was getting better from the virus, my throat became very sore. After frustrating few days of throat decline exacerbated by having to smooth out issues with my new health care plan (oops, never picked a primary-care doc so no one would see me or accept my insurance!) I finally got things worked out and my throat checked out. (Note: I hate throat cultures. Sigh.) My tonsils and the glands under my neck are more swollen than I've ever seen them. I looked so bad my boss sent me home from work. Restful sleep has been almost impossible to achieve. And on top of it all, I'm writing this month's cover story for my job. Awesome timing to be hit by everything, right? :)

Thankfully I had some good emotional support (even though I'd just left my mom's home to go back to work and the group house where I'm currently living)...and a hot plate in my bedroom so I can make tea whenever I want. I just started taking antibiotics four times a day for a week, plus ibuprofen for the pain and I feel like I'm getting better. I also got very lucky to come across a very nice medical practice and am going back Friday to have my throat reexamined. And my story seems to be going okay at work, so it's all good. (Done whining.)

Anyway, a very relaxing activity while I've been sick is crocheting. For those of you who aren't super familiar, knitting is done with two needles, whereas crocheting is done with only one hook. I've been shown how to knit but I don't do it on my own. Maybe one day. With crocheting, though I've worked on fancier things like doll t-shirts, hats and blankets, I like to fall back on the classic scarf. I promised a friend of mine I'd make her a teal one, so when I can't sleep, that's what I've been working on.

Once you pick it up, crocheting can be relatively easy and a real stress reliever. It helps me clear my mind and focus on one thing. Plus, it's nice to see the fruits of your labor at the end.

I originally started this project using the dark teal and white yarn, and crocheted about a foot worth of the scarf but took it out because I didn't like it. That was a few hours worth of work, in and of itself. But if the project didn't look right there was no sense in finishing it. This scarf though looks nice in person and I'm excited to finish it up and give it to my friend. Hopefully by the time I get to the end I'll be all better too. :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T12:25:00.010-05:00

Wow, it feels like forever since I posted. Thanks for the words of encouragement! Unfortunately this past week I got very little done that I set out to do while taking a vacation from work. I'm at home (my mom's house) in New York, but spent most of the time being sick. Blah. Just some virus I probably picked up at the office, but it was bad enough to prompt me to go to the doctor, which I really dislike.

Anyway, I pulled myself together in time to go to my college roommate's wedding on Jan. 1.

It was absolutely fantastic. They are so cute! The affair took place in Connecticut, so the morning of the 3 p.m. ceremony I hopped in my car wearing my dress, sweatpants, an athletic jacket and sneakers. It was almost a three hour drive so I wanted to be comfy! And the zipper of the dress gets stuck in the material -- despite the fact that I got the original zipper replaced -- so once my mom and I properly zipped it up in N.Y. I figured I wouldn't take any chances with a wardrobe malfunction at the wedding hall...

Wanting to make sure I got there on time, I went straight from my house to the reception, not to the motel where I was planning to crash with my friends later. The venue was pretty empty when I arrived around 1:45 p.m. Then, out of the blue, the groom and his best man pulled in next to me. The groom is also a friend of mine so I got out of the car to chat with him and give him a huge hug (while looking like a mess with my sweatpants and sneakers under my dress, no makeup, my hair all screwed up and that long-drive glaze, lol). Not like my appearance really mattered, since he was was so excited for the big event! This day was a long time coming -- the two of them had been dating for four years, even though we're all so young...just 22 and 23 years old. It was nice to chat with the groom for just a couple of minutes, then he was called inside and I gathered my things to do a quick change in the bathroom. ;)

I bought them a futon cover from their Bed Bath and Beyond registry and brought a little gift to the reception: A silver-plated fortune cookie in a decorative box, in which I put a hand-written 'fortune' that said "To good health, good fortune and a great life together!"

I also made them a card (though forgive the crappy photography).

Another card I whipped up recently was this holiday-themed one, which I included in a care package to my best friend who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.

Another not-so-stellar photo. I could have put something really classy or professional-looking in the middle, and toyed with a bunch of options, but ultimately I just grabbed a crayon and wrote that. In this case, I felt like it was a more personal throw-back to days past in our friendship. We've been best friends since seventh grade. Plus, sending funny cards is sort of our inside joke. I know this, with the glittery paper, the presents and the 'wooting' heart-person, will make her burst out with a big smile!

So that's what I've been up to while not sleeping or vegging in bed. Now I'm finally off to see my dad for the first time this week, and then....who knows what adventures await.

Comin' Up

2008-12-27T19:36:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling kinda sluggish lately - a week ago I started coming down with a cold/virus, a few days ago it hit its peak, and today I'm finally starting to feel better. (No more cold sweats and fever. But then I got my period today, joy.)

I have a lot on my tentative post list though. I'll share with you my first department-store cosmetics splurge, a peak at some goodies sent to me by sweet Maayari, a review of J.Lynne Cosmetics' new blushes, a look at a scarf I'm crocheting for a friend, quick appetizer recipes (in case you still have parties coming up), and....my new haircut.

I haven't gotten my hair cut yet. It's currently about three inches below my shoulders and aching for a cut. I last had it done in August. It was highlighted last December but I've been growing it out since then. I'm trying to decide how much to cut off now and whether I want to color it again, or perhaps wait till summer to make it lighter.

Decisions, decisions! Hehe...

Off to the Panera for some food with high school friends!

"Wildlife experts ponder gender of Santa's reindeer"

2008-12-25T10:48:00.002-05:00

"LUBBOCK, Texas – There may be a perfectly good reason why Santa doesn't get lost on his annual Christmas globetrot: His flying reindeer just might be female and don't mind stopping for directions.

The gender of Rudolph and his or her sleigh-hauling friends — the subject of goofy Internet chatter every year around this time — is now being pondered by renowned wildlife experts at Texas A&M University.

"Santa's reindeers were really females, most likely," said Alice Blue-McLendon, a veterinary medicine professor specializing in deer who cites the depictions of Santa's helpers with antlers as the primary evidence. It turns out reindeer grow antlers regardless of gender, and most bulls typically shed their fuzzy protrusions before Christmas."

Yes, seriously.

Something to think about over your cocoa and cookies (or latkes) tonight, perhaps.

I'm about to make some brunch and drive home to my family in New York. I hope you are reading this from somewhere warm and cozy, and having a very happy holiday season!

A Lovely Little Gift for a Little Sis: MJ Daisy

2008-12-22T19:23:00.008-05:00

A week or two ago I came across Marc Jacobs Daisy, a fresh, floral scent with notes of strawberry, violet, jasmine, musk and vanilla. It's light, feminine and not too sweet. "Massively pleasant," is how one review put it, and I tend to agree. In fact, I agree so much that I'm willing to take a chance on gifting it.

Daisy is one of the few fragrances I've tried in recent memory that I can remember liking both on initial application and several hours later. Not ready to spend $50 or $60 on a full size bottle, I was ecstatic to come across this solid scent ring for $20 at Marshall's. (It's limited edition and currently out of stock at Sephora online, where it's advertised for $30.)

It was in a sealed anti-theft container so I didn't get to see the actual product until I checked out. I was a bit disappointed by how small the perfumed area is -- about nickel-sized. It makes me feel like I'm going to dip my finger into it three times and use it all up (but that's just because I'm a little paranoid). The scent is just as good, however. And the packaging is admittedly really adorable.

The daisy is top-heavy, probably not something you'd wear on your finger all the time though it's big enough to do so. I think it's more practical to use as a keys or purse charm since it comes with a key chain. Personally, I adore its gold-colored pouch. I'd probably keep it there, tucked safely away till I feel like adding something sweet to brighten my day.

Or rather, my 19-year-old, art student sister's day. She and I are not very similar - she is more interested in ornate, abstract and bold things whereas I like delicate, sweet things - but we both appreciate quality and some similar elements of style. As much as I like this product, I think it'd be a great gift for her because it's classic-looking yet a bit surprising/outside the norm at the same time.

She's leaving for a two-month study abroad project in Barcelona, Spain next week (oooh so jealous! lol), so I think it'd be a nice little thing for her to take on the trip.

What is this world coming to?

2008-12-18T19:28:00.004-05:00

The Associated Press has an article about whether or not Heidi and Spencer actually got married in the States.

Yes, the AP, which touts itself as "the backbone of the world's information system."

This is information, of course. And yeah, I read the article. The Hills is my guilty pleasure, I admit it. I can't wait to see what happens Monday.

But still...To me, this says that The Hills couple everyone loves to loathe are actually now...newsworthy? Something about pseudo-reality shows boggle my mind when I'm not just ingesting them like candy, so I don't think about them much.

Oh, at least Dr. Suess' the Lorax is on now, yay!

Ice Princess FOTD

2008-12-16T23:10:00.006-05:00

Quite literally. This is the look I did for Mayaari's Winter Challenge. (Click to see all the entries.)

I guess ice princesses don't smile, eh? Because it's so cold!

The hat is from Target....so warm, I love it.

Tagged - 16 Random Facts About Me

2008-12-16T19:54:00.003-05:00

I was tagged by the ever-lovely Digital Angel. Thanks!

Directions: Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with sixteen random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end choose ten people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. don’t forget to leave them a comment (“you’re it”) and to read your blog. You can’t tag the person who tagged you.

1. I'm currently watching Legally Blonde. Right now while writing this. Yeah, I know it's cheesy, but I actually like that movie and think it's cute, hehe...guilty pleasure.

2. I really like cheese, but not American cheese.

3. I've wanted to be a writer since I was very young. At least since elementary school.

4. I play Neopets! (Yep, more embarrassing stuff.) When I babysat in high school, the kids I watched started an account for me. I really like the flash games. (That's my lupe, LukaGrey, on the right.)

5. My middle name is Kristin.

6. Xanga was the first site on which I ever blogged.

7. I usually don't drink orange juice, except when I'm sick with a cold or something like that, and trying to increase my vitamin C intake. It could be in my head, but it helps me feel better. (I just tried doing research on the matter and it seems that evidence varies greatly, so take this as you will.)

8. I really like soup, particularly miso soup, black lentil soup from Cosi, homemade potato leek soup, and the way my mom prepares chicken noodle when it's cold out.

9. I was born and raised in the New York suburbs.

10. My family has three dogs - two mini poodles and a Boston Terrier, Bon Bon. I miss her soooo much, since I live and work in Maryland now (the Washington D.C. suburbs) away from them!

11. I highlighted my hair for about four years - a few shades blonder than my natural color - but I'm currently growing it out. I might color it again. Hmm...

12. I love the color orange.

13. I once worked at the women's clothing store Coldwater Creek. Since then, I am fairly meticulous about the way I fold my shirts and hang my clothes...even though I'm not especially neat.

14. My college roommate and I know all the words to this video:

15. I really like flossing my teeth. My mom got me started.

16. I used to bite my nails, till I gave it up cold turkey years ago. Now my nails tend to be kept long-ish.

Alright, since so many people have already done this, I'm leaving the tag open to whoever hasn't filled this out and wants to join in!

Holiday Contest Look

2008-12-14T12:53:00.003-05:00

Ummm...I'm the dumbass who forgot to post this before I sent in my entry for Lady L Online's holiday contest...sad b/c I think it came out so cute!

(Edit: The headband is actually a bow meant to go around a present box. I picked it up for $2 at the drugstore.)
(I had another long entry in the works with these photos but I decided to scrap it...I'll share more later.)

The Soap That Made My Legs Soft Again

2008-12-12T23:35:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week I had an exfoliation emergency, if you will.

Despite being prone to dry skin, I almost never exfoliate my body. Combine this with a cold/dry home, cold/dry weather and a stagnant/dry office, and you have quite a recipe to let scaly skin get out of control.

Well, a few days ago I had enough. My legs itched...all over...and felt horribly rough. It was time for action.

I futilely searched CVS for body scrub (crossed my fingers for Alba Sugar Cane Hawaiian Body Polish after reading good reviews on Makeup Alley) but alas, there was nothing. Maybe one bottle, but nothing worth a second glance! So at 11 p.m. I went to Safeway supermarket and purchased Burt's Bees Citrus Spice Exfoliating Shower Soap on a whim.

Don't be fooled by how smooth the bar feels when you initially open the package. Once you start rubbing it on your skin it is definitely abrasive enough to get the job done. It was a bit too rough for some parts of my skin, but it almost felt rough in that good sort of way...like a little pain for a lot of gain, I hoped.

Though the bar isn't the most attractive color, the scent is nice. Spicy and citrusy - just as it advertises - but not overpowering. To me it's a unisex scent (I just suggested it to a male friend with super dry skin without a second thought). It lingered subtly on my skin post-shower.

My skin felt smooth when I hopped out. I slathered myself in body lotion and went to bed.

Well oh boy, when I woke up in the morning I remembered what my legs felt like when they were soft, because they were soft again! That's been the case since I used the soap - no more itchy and flaking.

I'm sure the lotion had a lot to do with iproving my legs too, but I've used lotion on several occasions in the recent past and never had results like this before exfoliating, even after a regular shower.

I will definitely be using this soap again.

Burt's Bees Citrus Spice Exfoliating Shower Soap retails for between $2.50 to 5. I read some info that says it might be discontinued - surprising, since it was abundant in my local supermarket, but who knows - in which case you might want to try getting this fast.

A Board Game for Beauty Lovers

2008-12-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

This ain't no Pretty Pretty Princess...but it might be a grown-up beauty addict's dream come true.

In Monopoly: Sephora Edition you go to jail for bad hair days and use Beauty Bucks to invest in real estate like Stila in Gloss Gardens and Nars on Cheek Street -- all while vying to run the most successful Sephora store.

It's not a new product but it's new to me, and maybe to you too. Sephora Monopoly is available at Sephora.com for $23.25.

Personally, I'm more of a Scrabble girl, myself.

Handicraft Stores Make a World of Difference

2008-12-09T18:24:00.013-05:00

Last month I wrote a story about volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages, a non-profit organization with stores that sell fair trade and eco-friendly items from around the world. Plenty of reasonably priced goods are available -- pretty onyx candle holders from Pakistan for $12, Vietnamese paperweights made of hand-lacquered stone (40 days to make) for $7, etc. There are higher-priced items too -- like $300 quilts and copper bowls, $70 necklaces, -- but to me, those price tags seems comparable to what you'd pay for these goods in any other store, except here you know where the items are coming from and that the workers are really benefiting.

This is a slightly abridged version of the article:

Handicraft Stores Make a World of Difference
From the outside, Ten Thousand Villages looks like any other store along the cozy streets of Rockville Town Square. Stepping inside, however, reveals a vibrant web of colors and stories from faraway lands told through handmade crafts.Unique tableware, home décor, stationary, linens and jewelry are just some of the products you’ll find nestled on the shop’s over-brimming displays.

But Ten Thousand Villages is more than just a chain of stores. It’s a nonprofit organization devoted to providing a livable and dependable source of income to the underprivileged artists who hand-make its products in developing nations — a concept known as “fair trade.”

From humble beginnings out of founder Edna Ruth Byler’s car trunk six decades ago, it’s developed into one of North America’s largest fair trade organizations, with more than 80 stores nationwide and partnerships with dozens of artisan groups in more than 30 countries.

Volunteers staff stores
To reduce overhead costs and keep products affordably priced, the organization uses a significant number of volunteers to supplement the small number of paid staff in each store.

“Working at Ten Thousand Villages is very rewarding because…no matter how tired you are, you know you’re working for someone disadvantaged, and without our store network this person might not have an income at all,” said store manager Bea Strattner, who’s been with the Rockville store since its April 2007 opening.

...

Strattner said most of her store’s volunteers started out as customers, liked the atmosphere, and wanted to make a more significant contribution. There are many tasks for volunteers to work on, from helping customers up front to unpacking products in the back.

Retired nurse Carole McWilliams, a Rockville-resident who’s volunteered at the store for several months, cited the opportunity to give back to the community and to promote a non-profit organization as two factors that drew her to Ten Thousand Villages. Though she has plenty to do — “Retirement is busier than you think it is!” — she finds the experience worthwhile and would recommend it to others.

“It’s a good place to spend some time. It’s very positive,” the 71-year-old said, adding praise for her coworkers, the customers and the products.

...

Caring for the crafters
As part of its fair trade mission, Ten Thousand Villages’ business practices are designed to support economic, environmental and social sustainability in developing countries. For example, artisans are paid about 50 percent of their wages for a product upfront, when the organization places its order, Strattner said.

This gives workers the funds to live on and create those goods. It also means their livelihood isn’t totally dependent on how a product sells.

Because it’s to everyone’s advantage that the products sell, the organization works closely with artisans to develop goods that are true to their region yet will also appeal to North American tastes.

On the environmental front, the organization sells several products made from recycled materials. A rooster-shaped ornament from Columbia is made of dried orange peels; recycled magazines are used for coasters from a women’s cooperative in the Philippines; a choker made from soda tabs is created by disabled artists in Kenya.

Volunteers don’t need a lot of retail experience to get involved. Sales associate Roberta Staat, 61, who began as a volunteer, said she would never have seen herself going into sales because she doesn’t like “hawking” products.

Knowing the stories behind the wares, however, gets her very excited about the merchandise. Plus, as an art teacher, she sees her work at the store as inherently tied to her career as well as her interest in social justice.

“To find a way for artists in other countries to be respectable and economically independent” is a very powerful thing, she said.

That feeling is passed on to customers, who “want to be a part of the system, helping to support this mercantile system,” Staat added. “It’s guilt-free shopping.”

There are two local Ten Thousand Villages stores in Maryland's Washington suburbs: 4959 Elm St. in Bethesda, (301) 718-3465; and at 107 Gibbs St., Unit D, at the Row at Rockville Town Square in Rockville, (301) 340-7122. There is one local store in Virginia: 915 King St. in Alexandria, (703) 684-1435. For more information online, visit www.tenthousandvillages.com.

WTF This Week

2008-12-06T10:20:00.003-05:00

It seems like this was a rough week for several of you in the blogosphere....it certainly was for me, after lots of little and big issues sprung up all at once. But right now I'm stretched out in bed on Saturday morning with nothing pressing to attend to, so I'm going to not worry about my drama.

Instead, I'm going to try taking a cue from this picture I took over Thanksgiving with my freaking amazing pup Bon Bon (I miss her! She's in NY with my fam):

Sweet Salve-ation

2008-12-02T22:40:00.003-05:00

1. Smith's Minted Rose lip balm -- This has the same consistency as it's famous cousin Rosebud Salve, but with an added minty kick. ($7, Sephora.com)

2. ChapStick 100% Naturals -- I prefer the texture and scent of these to the classic ChapSticks; Naturals are composed mostly of oils and waxes, whereas the Classics are more than 40 percent petrolatum (likely accounting for the consistency difference), according to the ingredients on the brand's Web site. ($2.99, Walgreens.com)

3. Burt's Bees Beeswax lip balm -- Beeswax, natural oils and lanolin make this a winning combination that's more than 95 percent natural, the company boasts. It leaves my lips minty soft. ($3, BurtsBees.com)

4. Carmex -- Ah, the infamous, addicting yellow tube. Though I don't think it's as dangerous as detractors and urban legends claim, the salicylic acid is a bit curious to me as an all-over treatment. Regardless, I like how easily this glides on and thoroughly coats my dry lips. ($1.69, CVS.com)

5. Lather lip protector with SPF 15 -- The tube calls it "an intense lip moisturizer," and it definitely delivers. I love its light citrus scent and how it soothes even my most dry, cracked lips. Being environmentally and animal friendly is an added bonus. ($6.50, Lather.com)

6. Nivea's A Kiss of Shine-- A moisturizing/glossy hybrid with vitamin E. It also has a cirtus scent and unique consistency that's not balmy, but is more mositurizing than regular lip gloss. ($3.29, Drugstore.com)

Sales Still Running

2008-11-29T10:16:00.003-05:00

Tarte - 30 percent off with the code luckybreaks7. Valid until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30. (Promo for new book, "The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style.")

Bath & Body Works - A slew of products on sale, including four packs of anti-bacterial hand soap for $10. Ends Sunday, Nov. 30.

Cherry Culture - 20 percent off everything with the code TG20. Ends Sunday, Nov. 30.

Kiehl's - 20 percent off online with the code FAMILY or by printing out this flyer and bringing it in-store for the Kiehl's Friends and Family discount. Ends Monday, Dec. 1.

1-800-Flowers - Free shipping (within the U.S.) or no service charge with the code FreeShp25. Ends Tuesday, Dec. 2.

My Little Black (Friday) Dress

2008-11-28T17:35:00.005-05:00

I wasn't playing to shop today, but after lunch with some high school friends we popped into a TJ Maxx for some directionless wandering. Though I wanted to get a pair of boots, I figured while were we there that I could look for a cocktail dress for a wedding I'm attending on Jan. 1.

After trying on four or five decent-but-not-fantastic dresses, I came upon this:

It might not look like anything super special on the mannequin but it looks great on me. All three of my friends sitting on a bench in the waiting area agreed, and they have very varied senses of style so I trust the collective judgment. It accentuates my hourglass figure without making me look too busty and smooths out flaws. Plus, I had no little black party dress! This will be great since I can wear it to many different types of functions.

Online at Overstock.com it's listed for $42.50 in a Black Friday sale (normally $49.99). But I got it for $25 + tax, not even on sale! I thought it was a good deal in the store (without sacrificing quality or fit) and this is just icing on the cake.

Now all I need to do is accessorize. Since I don't want to wear all black to a wedding I'm thinking a jewel toned violet shawl with gold paisley detail on the bottom and some metallic shoes. Or...something else. Luckily I have a few weeks to make a decision. Any suggestions?

My Favorite Holiday

2008-11-27T21:13:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Every year I sleep in, lazily get out of bed and watch the Macy's parade on TV, then spend the evening eating some of my favorite foods -- mashed potatoes, honey carrots, stuffing, gravy, turkey, mmm -- with good family and friends. Most years we have Thanksgiving at my house, which I was especially looking forward to this year now that I'm living on my own in a new city/state where I don't know many people.

And it didn't disappoint. It was a quiet Thanksgiving with important people in my life. This year I have a lot to be thankful for: My close friends and family, my lovable doggies, starting a career, new opportunities presenting themselves, overall prosperity.

It hasn't been the easiest year, and I know the road ahead has many challenges and tough decisions to make. But for the moment, I'm just going to sit in bed with Bon Bon, my Boston Terrier, and be content.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Trend I Don't See Returning Full Force

2008-11-25T23:54:00.002-05:00

An About.com animal rights' blogger had a recent piece about a calendar featuring photographs of conservative women in mink coats put out by the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute.

"The Institute calls the calendar "Pretty in Mink," and includes Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin and other well-known conservative women. According to the CBLPI's website, the calendar harkens back to a time when "women were a little more feminine, the men a little more charming - and the world a little less politically correct."

The pictures try to evoke the glamor of a bygone era, but personally, I don't think you need mink to do that. I'm not going to stop people from wearing fur coats if they please, because I certainly wear animal products -- specifically, suede jackets and leather sneakers. But there are a few things that seem off to me about flaunting fur.

First, wearing mink strikes me as a very old-person thing. My grandmother has some decades-old fur coats in a downstairs closet, and her mother had some, and my own mother might even have one somewhere in storage. But who invests in a fur coat nowadays when a winter coat from the Gap is as functional, and will leave you enough money to invest in a flat screen TV or pay off some of your mortgage?

I think part of it has to do with changing symbols of wealth and status in this country. A fur coat was a sign that you'd made it back in the day. Fur isn't how people -- other than pimps on TV? -- flaunt wealth today. "It" bags, fancy cars, designer duds, sparkling jewelry...that's more like it.

Secondly, fur smells musty after a while and is susceptible to picking up scents from things like food and smoke. Plus it's difficult to get stains out of and physically heavy. Have you ever tried on a fur coat? It must give those little old ladies wearing them to the supermarket quite a workout!

Third, you're literally cloaking yourself in the pelt of a dead animal. Even as a meat-eating, leather-wearer, it strikes me as a bit weird when I stop and think about it that way. I understand though that there are places where animals pelts are a key part of keeping warm in winter, or where people still hunt and make use of all parts of an animal (more worthy than just hunting for sport, in my opinion), or where fur is part of a long cultural heritage. This concerns me less than photo-shoot fur.

Lastly, I don't think real fur coats give most people a slim silhouette. They may look stylish on a runway or in photos, but they are so bulky to normally wear. Give me a slim wool trench coat instead! Washington doesn't get super cold. (That's a $250 rouge trench from Banana Republic.)

The blogger stresses that this isn't a symptom of everyone who subscribes to conservative politics, though.

"Before anyone slams all Republicans or all conservatives, keep in mind that Richard Nixon publicly praised wife Patricia Nixon's choice of a "respectable Republican cloth coat" over a fur coat in 1952, and that PETA asked animal activists in 1989 to thank Barbara Bush for refusing to wear a fur coat for her husband's inauguration. Animal issues cross party lines, and you'll find quite a few Republicans with high marks on the Humane Society Legislative Fund's Humane Scorecard.

...The decision of the CBLPI and these women to promote fur is clearly a attempt to push buttons and raise the ire of animal activists. By attaching the phrase "politically correct" to the current attitude against fur, they are flaunting their callousness and trivializing animal suffering."

Ouch, harsh. Props to her for calling out what I agree is probably just mostly a stunt to get attention. But as I've outlined earlier, I think there are plenty of other reasons why fur coats probably won't be returning as a major trend in the near future.

Friday FOTD: Red Lips, Dark Brows

2008-11-21T23:45:00.001-05:00

I'm usually more of a gloss girl but tonight I tried a fresh face with true red lips. You may not be able to see it, but I also filled in my eye brows with a goldish-brown eyeliner. It all looks more dramatic in person, especially because my skin is so pale.

-CoverGirl liquid foundation
-Wet 'n Wild lipliner 717
-Red lipstick from a YSL Gold Celebration Palette/"Expressions of Love"
-NYC eyeliner duo in black and gold
-Champagne-colored Revlon cream eyeshadow as base from the Precious Metals quad
-Beige Revlon Colorstay powder shadow from the Blushed Wines quad
-Milani blush in Luminous
-NYX lipgloss in Sunrise

TV So Bad It's Good (ANTM anyone?)

2008-11-19T23:27:00.002-05:00

I've spent a rousing night watching some bad television. Highlights included MTV's Total Request Live farewell show -- omg! the Backstreet Boys performed "I Want it That Way" and for a few brief moments, seriously, I felt like an ecstatic 14 year old again -- and the finale of America's Next Top Model.

I usually don't watch much television, particularly on television itself. Shows that are streamed online, however, I can get into. Like ANTM, whose episodes are online at the CW's Web site. This way I can watch shows when I want, when I have time.

Anyway, Top Model is a guilty pleasure of mine. Does anyone else watch it? Elina, the Angelina Jolie-esque, tattooed, Ukrainian-born beauty, and Marjorie, the nervous and super slim girl of French heritage, were my favorites. I didn't even like Marjorie that much at the beginning but she grew on me toward the end. I liked seeing how she transformed from awkwardly shy to starkly intense in front of the camera. Elina was just really beautiful to me, I think she's got a great face, body and style. Too bad she couldn't give her all to the camera.

Personality-wise, Sheena and Jocelyn were two of my favorites. (Check out this WPIX video interview to see Sheena sharing some interesting info about what we didn't see on the show, and elaborating on some issues featured. ) Oh, and I liked seeing Isis featured. Sure, it's a show and they need to push some envelopes for ratings, but even if that's the case, I think it was pretty progressive to have a transgendered woman and address some of the unique challenges she faces while not turning it into a spectacle.

I wasn't overly impressed by the top three though. Analeigh is so pretty and seems sweet - and I kept getting frustrated at Paulina for dissing her face in that subtle, trying-to-be-nice Paulina way - but that appears to be Analeigh's niche, lacking the edginess of a top model.

Samantha, I never fully understood. When she's glammed up or in front of a lens she looks amazing. Her pictures are awesome. When she spoke though...um...That didn't connect for me. I realize there are thousands of hours of footage and of course for the sake of understanding, the show can only explore so much of each contestant's personality, but there were a lot of green, almost dopey comments from Samantha. I liked seeing her pictures but wasn't won over by the way she spoke or carried herself.

McKey, on the other hand, just didn't translate into having a lot of personality for me. I wish the editors would have developed her storyline more -- tomboy boxer who turns into a breakout star? Something like that? She had the most striking and unique look, in my opinion. But other than that, I wasn't captivated by her. Too bad.

And yes, if there's another season I will probably watch! ;)

Gender Fashion Fusion, Russian Navy Nails

2008-11-17T18:04:00.003-05:00

This photo is of an interesting feature in the Nov. 2008 Cosmopolitan en Espanol. The pictorial is called "Genre Fusion," though 'gender fusion' makes more sense to me since it shows how you can take a handful of pieces and make them work for menswear-inspired looks as well as feminine looks.

I've seen plenty of features on how to repurpose a few items to make several outfits - I really like those, btw - but nothing quite like this, at least not in a while. It really struck me because I love menswear-inspired pieces like suit jackets, vests and shoes, but I also love to dress up and be super girly sometimes. So it makes sense that I'm drawn to a feature showing how to meld the two with some of the same pieces, because I have some from both categories in my closet.

I don't think I'd wear all these specific outfits - for one thing, a frilly-chested tank with a thin belt wouldn't be flattering on my short frame - but the idea is definitely something I can work with. (Outfit titles like "masculine charm," "feminine mistique" and "girl in control" give me something to aspire to, you know?)

Oh, and at the very bottom of the picture you can see my Russian Navy-wearing nails! Great color. It's a dark purplish blue with super tiny red sparkles in it, I mean so tiny you can harly see them unless you look very closely. It's vampy pretty, in the way muted, brick/brownish red lipstick on fair skin looks pretty. It's dark enough to almost look black on first glance but it's way more interesting than black. And I used a Sally Hansen basecoat and the color didn't stain my nails at all. I am glad I purchased it - thanks Maayari for suggesting Trade Secret, I'd never been to one before - and I will definitely wear it again.

Self-Manicure Tips

2008-11-14T23:55:00.004-05:00

Yay Friday! It's been one heck of a long week...I'll explain later. For now, here are some tips to keep in mind while giving yourself a manicure. This isn't a complete set of instructions, just advice to take along the way.

I really enjoy painting my nails. As someone who has trouble relaxing, it's a great way to make me relax because it takes attention, care and focus to do a good job. Which is why I make sure, as often as possible, that if I'm going to paint my nails I'm going to try to do it right.

Start with clean hands and nails. This sets the canvas for your new lacquer. Definitely take off old polish. Cotton balls work well, but I prefer using a nail polish removing jar -- the kind with a sponge inside that you just dip your fingers into one by one. These are available in drugstores and will only set you back a few dollars, which is worth it to me because of the ease of use and how they cut down on mess. The bottle to the right costs $2.49 at drugstore.com.

*Acetone vs. non-acetone remover: Acetone is a strong solvent and the fastest way to dissolve your old polish. It's especially good if you're trying to get off very stubborn lacquer or remove acrylic nails (which is a whole 'nother long process that I know little about, but there are plenty of online resources to fill you in. It seems to call for using pure acetone!) Personally, I prefer for non-acetone remover, even if it takes longer to get things off, because it's more gentle on the skin. If you have dry, brittle or acrylic nails, it's probably the better choice for you too.

Shape your nails. Of course, start with a nail clipper if you need to adjust for length. Once you have that, whip out the emery board! I'm partial to those big, $1-2 cardboard ones that are at drugstores and beauty supplies. They are more sturdy than the package of eight flimsy ones you can get for a buck, easier for me to grip and use to shape, and more sanitary/gentle than metal files. Plus, I don't lose them as much as the super cheap ones! For natural nails a finer grit should do the job. I've never used a glass file so I can't speak to that.

How to file? Gently. Try going from the outside of your nail toward the middle, using strokes that only go in one direction. Imagine the file in your left hand. Place the board against the right side of your thumb on your right hand. Glide the file upward, toward the middle of your thumb nail. Then place the board on the inside section of your thumb and file from the right side of your thumb to the center.

The crude Microsoft Paint drawing shows you what I mean. I find when filing is done this way, it's easy to be gentle and not have to tug a lot on your nail. This is an effective way to shape a rounded tip, which is what I like to wear.

Once this step is done, soaking your nails in some warm, soapy water will soften the cuticles and help get out any remaining dirt around the fingers.

Base coat. Important for several reasons: It fills in ridges in the nail to provide a smooth surface onto which the colored lacquer can adhere, helping your manicure last longer; and it protects nails from staining due to chemical reactions with ingredients like formaldehyde or after the application of dark colored polish. I also find that using base coat makes nail polish easier to remove once the time comes, since instead of sticking directly to my nail it is attached to the clear base coat.

The moment of truth -- your color! The best part and the one on which I feel least qualified to opine. Take your time, don't worry about putting too much color on in the first coat, use long, vertical strokes...most of you can probably run circles around me when it comes to this art! Polish applying has become so second nature to me, it's hard to think about verbalizing all the moves.

Top coat. You went through all that trouble and won't seal the deal? Shame on you. Slap on some top coat and call your beautiful manicure a day!

*P.S. Give yourself time to dry. This always gets me. Once I'm done with my manicure and snapped out of the zone I feel the need to go back to doing my normal five billion things, thus putting my nice nails in danger. No no no! Take your time after the manicure. Thirty minutes or an hour is minimum to keep your nails out of harm's way...and 30 is even pushing it, because though the polish might be too dry to transfer onto other surfaces, it is probably still soft enough to be dented by accidental bumps. When I'm careless and my polish is still tacky, I tend to end up with a lot of texture impressions (especially from fabrics). That ruins all the hard work I put in to keep my nail polish smooth, so really, devoting the extra time to being careful is worth it.

Tasty, Foolproof Meatball Recipe

2008-11-11T15:37:00.006-05:00

I spent Saturday night one of the best ways I know how: cooking with two good friends. We made fresh spaghetti and homemade meatballs. If you've never had this meal you have not lived my friend! Pasta and meatballs is one of my most favorite comfort meals ever, but particularly when made from scratch. And when made in a kitchen full of love, not to sound too cheesy, hehe. :P It's true though - my mom taught me to cook and it's an activity I really enjoy sharing with special people in my life.

Victoria and Jason work intently...

I personally had never made spaghetti before...and I really didn't this time. Jason brought his dark blue Kitchenaid standing mixer, for which he has a spaghetti roller attachment and an attachment that cuts the dough into linguine. He did that while Victoria and I made the meatballs.

Flour, water and eggs, baby! Yeah, that's a hanger from my closet.

As for the meatball recipe...Meatballs are very easy and fun to make. Not only that, but the recipe is flexible for varying tastes. The recipe I used this weekend was taught to me by my mother and originally adapted from the recipe of a family friend's Italian grandmother, who brought it over from the Old World:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
2 large eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 oz. grated Pecorino Romano cheese
A teaspoon of salt
A handful of chopped curly parsley (to taste)
Seasoning such as oregano and black pepper (to taste)

Sauce (to finish cooking the meatballs in):

1.5 - 2 regular sized jars of tomato sauce
Half an onion, diced

Instructions: Put both ground meats into one large bowl. Add eggs, bread crumbs, cheese and parsley. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Season as you see fit while continuing to blend the ingredients.

Don't be afraid to get messy, mash it all up between your fingers! The consistency should be solid enough to form balls that won't slip apart or lose their shape, but not too dry. Even though I list amounts of ingredients above, when it comes to the dry ingredients and parsley it's not paramount that you measure everything to a tee. More important is to eyeball it for texture. The one rule I'd stick with is that you should use one egg per pound of meat.

Heat oil in a medium to large sized frying pan - enough to entirely coat the cooking surface. I'm partial to olive oil. Roll 1 to 1.5 inch-sized balls from the meat mixture and drop them in the hot pan, leaving about half an inch or an inch between each. (You need enough room to flip them all over.) Cook until they are browned on the outside but not totally cooked all the way through.

As the meatballs are done browning, transfer them to a large pot on a separate range filled with the tomato sauce. Turn this pot onto medium heat. You can either brown the meatballs and then put them on a plate with paper towels to soak up some of the olive oil, or you can transfer them immediately from the frying pan to the sauce-filled pot.

Once all the meatballs are finished, saute the diced onion in the frying pan until the pieces are slightly transparent and beginning to caramelize. Add to the tomato sauce and meatball pot.

Fold the meatballs into the sauce. You want to have enough sauce to almost entirely cover the meatballs. Cover the pot and let sit for about 10 minutes, to give time for the sauce to heat and for the meatballs to finish cooking through.

Enjoy!
So good!! Paired with cold cream soda....yum. Looking at the photo is making me hungry now.

Notes: You're not married to using pork and beef. Flavor-wise, I like using two different meats with at least one of them being beef, but you can also try ground turkey, ground chicken, ground veal, etc. You can also stick to only one kind of meat, though I'd really suggest using two, it gives a much more unique taste.

Same goes with the seasonings and with the cheese. I like Romano, but Parmesan is just as good. You don't even necessarily need to use cheese, though I like the slight flavor it gives and the way it helps the consistency of the meatballs.

Pick ground meats with a higher fat content if taste is your first priority. I used 90/10 beef in this recipe, though being somewhat health conscious, I usually cook with more lean packages. Ground turkey is a good way to make the meatballs slightly healthier while keeping tasty.

Сиби́рскиe ночи

2008-11-07T16:45:00.005-05:00

Siberian nights....as in the O.P.I. nail color. I really dig the company's clever names and am particularly enamored by the Russian and Australian themed collections. I realize they are old news from 2007, but that's what was in stock at a CVS I stopped by today.

*Just so you know, I'm that person in the store who likes to open bottles, test them on my thumb nail, and then wipe the swatch off on my opposite palm or any appropriate/won't-be-noticed paper surface possible. (Today some polishes were in a wicker basket with tissue paper....um, yeah, that became my impromptu napkin.)*

I was having a love/hate relationship with Siberian Nights in the store. It's a dark, matte purple that's both rich yet dull. All Lacquered Up has great swatches of the entire Russia collection which I suggest you check out to get a feel for the whole line. Her pictures make me drool over Russian Navy but that wasn't in store today. Maybe I can get it online?

I didn't end up getting Siberian Nights...I thought about it a lot though. I might go back and pick it up. Hmmm...

Koala Bear-y, a pretty pinkish berry, and Brisbane Bronze, a rich sparkly bronze, are two of my favorite Australia-inspired shades and were available in-store. For nail polish I tend to be drawn to pinks and purples or wild colors like blues, greens, etc. I also have plenty of reds. I wear a lot of berry colors but not much brown or tan when it comes to my nails. (When I am not lazy and actually paint my nails!) Maybe I should try expanding out though.

Alas, I didn't pick up either of these polishes either....I was feeling too indecisive! Plus, I was going to stop by the bank to cash a check after my CVS pit stop, and since I've been paying for all the little purchases I can with cash, reality quickly sets in when I spend money on non-necessary items.

Instead of nail polish I picked up a Physician's Formula Organic Wear kit with a blue/gray eyeshadow duo and black eyeliner. Until tomorrow you can get 40 percent off all Physician's Formula cosmetics at CVS -- my purchase was on a display with a $2 off coupon too, so I ultimately got the set for under $5. I'm not a huge PF fan so I'm not necessarily encouraging you to run out and try the brand, but if you like it or if, like me, you just want to try a new product, now would be a good time to do your shopping. I'll try to write about that soon, and post if I end up going back for some of the O.P.I. lacquers.