6.8.11 Food for Thought

I'm excited that summer's arriving soon, but at the same time, I don't want to overwhelm myself. I just found out that every Wednesday at this Mexican market here, they're selling 1 dollar any kinda meat tacos. Here I just got back and had three carne asada ones and three carnitas. I really wanted to try the tripitas (tripe?), and you know.. I eventually got some to take with me to work tomorrow. Also excited to have already tried the new California salads from Daphne's. The first picture are of dragon fruit from this asian market here called 99 Ranch.

Every year, I try to attempt to have what I like to call a "Real Simple Summer" and it all dates from an issue of Real Simple magazine I own. I'm really excited, and I hope it all pans out. I have some fun projects in mind.

5.23.11 Crafts Corner

(photos via nymag.com/homedesign)

The reason why I've been down has to be because of this sad sad economy and how frankly, I just don't like where I'm at in life. Tonight, after what seems like a never ending search for a job relating to what I went to school for, I found out (much late) of a new book on crafts, Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People! by one of my top role models, Amy Sedaris. I must seem like I never leave my room (mostly due to my esteem) but seeing this really made my evening. And because Eric's not here, I feel like this will suffice and entertain me all summer until he gets back.

While searching for the link of her video promoting her book on Amazon, I came upon a site on nymag.com of her New York apartment. It looks so charming and childlike, and not only that but that there's a "Craft Corner" situated for just her crafting. This is going to seem out of place, but after watching "Science of Sleep," and seeing the shelves for Charlotte Gainsbourg's crafts in that movie, I've always wanted to build a little crafts area in my own room. Unfortunately, I just have a tiny tiny area to do so.

5.22.11 Feeling blue

Maybe it's Eric gone, maybe cause I'm getting fat and still hungry. I don't like where I'm at in life.

5.17.11 Blood Shot

Tonight as I am about to head to sleep soon, for no reason, I decided I would play with my Wet n Wild Pride makeup palette. It was a total waste of time, but I don't really use these kinds of colors. I thought it was really pretty. I feel like this would look better with false lashes, but there's no point since I will take this off after this post. My camera barely captures the blush I used which was more rosy than pink. It's quite terrible. Makes me want to buy more blush. And because I didn't want to waste my clean brushes, I used the applicator it came with.

Ohh! And my carry on came today. Very excited!

5.10.11 Carrying On

I've been on the hunt for a carry-on luggage. It's not like I go on much trips or anything, but when I went with my friends to Santa Barbara that one time, I felt the need for a carry-on. And not just some dull boring black canvas one, but something with at least, a little more.. pizzazz. Then I found one one night when I was out with the bf at Ross of all places. It was a lovely plain canvass chartreuse colored one. Something so bright, I would be able to spot it a mile away. That wasn't the only reason that made me want it, but the fact it was the color chartreuse, which I love. But it was pretty expensive at the time, and as a matter of factly, it's not even there anymore.

Tonight, I feel like I splurged. Feel like.. Actually, I feel like I splurged all weekend. Let me just say, I got great deals this weekend. But, even though I feel like I splurged, it was hardly one to begin with, because with tonight's buy, it was actually a gift from my bf. We were supposed to go to Las Vegas on Memorial Day weekend, and this was planned months ago. The last couple of weeks have been uncertain because he was unsure if he had to go to Washington for work. And it's typical, his work always does this to him. Tease him until just a few days before he has to go. Then today I was in search for a briefcase I've been desperately needing. In my case, it needs to be specific. Not because of work, but because I want it to be a certain kind. One that I've been having a hard time trying to find. Instead, this afternoon, I discovered this carry-on, on sale on the Urban Outfitters site:

And, you know, it took me all day to realize I wanted this. I'm a cheapskate. I needed to find a coupon somewhere, but didn't find one. I realized I would want this if I were to still go to Vegas. And now it's come to the conclusion, that if I get this in time, I'm taking this with me, and therefore I'm going! I'm really excited for the nautical-ness of it and that fact that it's not some cheesy duffel where I could hardly fit anything in.

4.21.11 Face of the Day

Last weekend, I went to Marukai and picked up face masks for like 98 cents each. I only tried one that's supposed to keep whatever moisture I had back in my face. And I like to think it's working even though I haven't been rubbing on the dry skin under my nose like I usually do. I feel like it's working and my skin is slowly getting better. Today, I wanted to do a matte grey eye but found that I didn't have any.... and then telling myself, don't buy any makeup til you finish up the ones you have! And then I realized, I think I am almost finishing up the ones I have. I had already finished up a No 7 Nude lip liner (the one Lisa Eldridge uses a lot in her videos), and I'm actually thinking of experimenting with a different brand nude liner.

I hope to at least attempt another art project by taking more pictures of myself. This is the first one I did and decided to try and look my best for it. Here I'm not wearing a lot of the products I typically use and in fact, am really using mainly all elf products. I'm not even wearing foundation in this one.

4.20.11 Book Makin

I'll be honest, I don't think I'm good at very many things.. which is probably why I tend to fall into hobbies. And with that, I'm not even good at putting on makeup or cannot afford high end fashion or cannot even put together a solid outfit. I'm not photogenic and take awkward pictures of myself in the outfits I put together or sometimes take pictures of my food in an attempt for it to look like it belongs in Real Simple magazine. I've been in a rut lately. To the point where I almost felt depressed. I even researched the symptoms of depression. 1. Not being interested in the things I used to be interested in. 2. Talking about ending my life. :\

That was probably the worst. When I read that was a symptom, I knew I needed to get out of my rut. And I won't go into details of how I did that, because even now, I'm still not all that happy. But.. I did get out of my rut a little bit. My friend, Marnel's finishing up Nursing school and she needed a Portfolio. My brother went to the same school she did and I had seen the portfolio he had to make and I took that idea and made her this:

Now, it's just a cover of her book though. She's actually just inserting her important references and resumes inside plastic sheets and throwing it in here. I was happy to make her this when she asked me because I wanted to try out this Square App on my iPhone. She was my first real client who was willing to pay. We were so excited to try it out. hmm. She probably was moreso because she got to swipe her card into my Square credit card reader. I actually had made her guest book for her wedding actually, seen here. I'm also excited about making this for her because I was able to experiment on how to.. I guess, emboss (Idk the word) her initials onto here. She loved it. Made it so much more personal. I even used one of my favorite fonts Cocktail shaker in lower case lettering.

4.13.11 Palm Springs Part 2 @ the Rendevous

Staying at the Rendevouz in Palm Springs was only on a whim, but it was a good whim because they had a day's vacancy and we needed a room. It was so kitschy, in the sense that each room had its own theme. We stayed in the Elvis themed room which lucky for us was one of the best rooms they had there. We just wish for next time to take advantage of the fact they offer free bike cruiser access to all guests. Instead, Eric and I drove around sightseeing all the mid century houses there. Then afterwards, we had a Mexican cafe and then walked along Palm Canyon. There we walked through all the furniture stores and to get a sense of mid century design, and then walked back when everything was starting to close.

Then instead of checking out the Palm Springs nightlife, we picked up some Blueberry beer and snacks and went back to see if we could make it in time to use the pool. We didn't, and not like it was a bad thing, it got cold and windy in the evenings there. The best part of our stay had to be the brownies they offered. They were delicious, and I've had a hankering for them since. The next day they offered breakfast and that was a great way to end that trip. Then we took off for LA. But that'll probably be for another post.

4.6.11 Day Trip: Palm Springs Part 1

Two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I took a day trip to Palm Springs on a whim. It might sound silly to say, but other than the mid century homes located there, I was also really excited to see the wind turbines on the sides of the road. It's like, the main attraction before you enter Palm Springs. Nothing but about hundreds of these gargantuan turbines just spinning away like.. nothing else was new. It was like a museum all on their own.

But other than the turbines, we were also there to relax and take in the sites of the outdoor museum that is Mid Century homes and architecture. Unforturnately, I did not come prepared with a different lens. And a reminder to myself.. and to anyone else who decides to visit Palm Springs and stays at a lovely bed and breakfast, read up on all the amenities you can do while staying there. We stayed at a charming 50's style b&b called Rendevous and didn't look at this binder they had in the room until after we got back. They had beach cruiser bikes for the guest to use. And we didn't take advantage of that. But there is always next time, and we do plan on going again soon. One of the sights I was excited to see was a house Marilyn Monroe lived in for a year around the 60's. Apparently, two blocks away was JFK's brother-in-laws house, and that was speculation there might have been something going on between JFK and Monroe. Crazy huh..

Doesn't her house look so lush with all the foliage in the last two pictures, a 50's style bungalow and my boyfriend and I kept thinking it was so cute and thought it looked like where she would live.

3.31.11 Winters Passing

I had a stomach ache that seems like it's lasting the entire day, and I think it has to do with the weather. I was afraid it had to do with what I ate last night. I went to the Crest Cafe over in Hillcrest last night here in San Diego, and got the Cheese Buttah Squares. It is so not worthy taking a picture of now. It was good at the time, but I felt like I got some slight form of food poisoning (thank goodness without the diarrhea). Anyway, I apologize that to start this entry is a "tmi" type of post.

So unrelated to my latest fashion inspiration, and not to mention but the fact this weather is so hot, the way Reese looks in these two pictures makes me sad it's not cold anymore. And I had these bright red flats one time that I regret selling it to Buffalo Exchange. I eventually found a replacement at H&M, but I just don't think they compare to how cool and at ease it looks on Reese Witherspoon. This is my fashion inspiration as of late.

01.19.11 Beauty

So I came back from Santa Barbara yesterday and finally had time to try out my new Sally Hansen nail polish strips. I feel like you have to work with it quickly and try not to yank on it so that it fits on your nails cause I messed up a little bit. Not to mention, I'm a real cheap-o and cut most of the strips in half so that I could still have some for another use. My nails are already short anyway.. These are terrible Photobooth pictures, obviously but I wanted to throw these in. Esp my last one. I didn't do much shopping in Santa Barbara because most of my money went to this Wine Tour, food, and going out to this ridiculous but insanely fun nightclub called Wildcats.

Hah, I bought this lovely tunic dress that is currently being washed right now because I had worn it already to Wildcats and the next day driving back home. And I wish I could mention how beautiful the drive back was, but that's going to go into my other blog. My diary. hehe. While we were shopping, my friend had lost a blouse she had bought and caught the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale. Found a bra for 17 bucks, but after her lost shirt, she was sulking at the thought she had really paid 40 for it. hah. I also came back with a Victoria's Secret product. I bought a ridiculously creamy lipstick called Scrumptious. The last picture is a pretty accurate photo of the color, and I love that it's not entirely nude. I feel it makes me look like I have at least some color to my face. Excuse my face though because before we left, I went to reapply my lipstick and found that I had knicked the tip of it on the cap. I wanted to cry.

01.06.11 Essie at WalMart

Check it out! I bought these Essie nailpolish colors at WalMart. And for a little cheaper than other stores. Can I just say that I never really cared for the brand Essie before because I once got a duo in some white color and the other in Ballet Slippers as a gift and I did not like the application that Ballet Slippers gave me. It felt too slippery when I applied it. No pun intended. However.. it might have just also been the color, I keep telling myself, because it's really opaque and for some reason, the tip of my nails always seem like they get more product than they should. Hopefully these will paint on fine. I also hope they'll only take one application. If not, I'm glad to have these colors nonetheless. Ooh, I was also going to get a Chinchilly. But I realized that I think I already have enough taupe colors. And so instead I got Sew Psyched. I hear it's a good copy of Chanel's Khaki Vert. Since the weather's been quite winter-y, I'm excited to use this one first.

The second one I got is Mamba. And when I first saw it, I was immediately drawn to it. Just like I was drawn to the Sinful Colors nailpolish in Vacation Time. For some reason, these colors just call out Resort to me. (Ooh! And don't get me started on the new No 7 cosmetics line! I'm so excited to get my hands on them, btw). I like to think of this as an obsession to what I imagine summertime to be. Resorts, relaxation, boats, ceiling fans, the Amazon, tanned skin, skinny arms, short shorts. After thinking this just now, I feel like I just had an epiphany. It's resort-anything that I feel utmost fashion and beauty inspired. No wonder I have this thing for all things nautical.

10.26.2010 Beauty

I did some cosmetic supply shopping and got things I wanted and some stuff I saw for awesome deals. If anything I'm blaming my very good friend who got me into beauty. She told me that right now, Walgreens is having these Wet N Wild Shadows on sale for 2.50 which is the discounted price from 5 bucks! I got all of them except for one. And that last one was a red and black palette which I didn't even really want anyway. My friend linked me Easyaccessbeauty's youtube, http://www.youtube.com/user/EasyAccessBeauty#p/u/187/l9vej-thTZE, on a review of these shadows and saying most of them are dupes for MAC shadows. I don't own any MAC shadows but I did notice they are pigmented and did swatches of the purple one at the end of this post. Not to mention, they also kind of look like MAC's holiday collection palettes. Oh by the way, I'm sad to say that the Walgreens I went to didn't have anymore Vacation Time nailpolish. It must be getting popular.

Then I went and got the Revlon cream shadows at WalMart where it is the most cheapest to get these if they're not on sale. I was really thinking of getting the Not Just Nudes one, but found that this one, Skinlights was a lot more prettier and just as nude. Plus, there was just this one left. I had to get it.

I also had to go to Big Lots today and while I was there, got makeup remover towelettes for a dollar and also picked up this compact for 2 bucks. I was really excited when I saw the compact for its artsy Van Gogh cover. Not to mention, this was also the last one left. I don't really own a compact, but always think that it's something you just need. I even bought my cousin one last year for her birthday and she told me that she's never owned one before. I must say, the one I got for her was really cute. Lucky girl.

(with and without flash)