Lip combo du jour...

YSL #1 topped witg NYX Butter Gloss in Strawberry Parfait

I'm determined to use up this lipstick! So close!

Festive.

First burn...

It is (obviously) minty, but there's also something vanilla-y and fresh about it. The label says it's musk, but it smells more like a combo of vanilla and Christmas tree to me. 

I finished burning Marshmallow Fireside yesterday. At first I was all in love, but the more I lit it the less and less I liked it. The fragrance faded quickly (that's never happened to me with a BBW candle before) and it was just kind of plain. I got it bc I wanted to try something I wouldn't normally pick up, but I'm definitely not going to run out and repurchase.

Twisted Peppermint = so fresh and so clean = much better

Merry everything! Xo, me

Festive.

First burn...

It is (obviously) minty, but there's also something vanilla-y and fresh about it. The label says it's musk, but it smells more like a combo of vanilla and Christmas tree to me. 

I finished burning Marshmallow Fireside yesterday. At first I was all in love, but the more I lit it the less and less I liked it. The fragrance faded quickly (that's never happened to me with a BBW candle before) and it was just kind of plain. I got it bc I wanted to try something I wouldn't normally pick up, but I'm definitely not going to run out and repurchase.

Twisted Peppermint = so fresh and so clean = much better

Merry everything! Xo, me

I want to buy this so badly.

But I don't have a VHS player. It's my favorite cheesy Christmas movie and I wish that I would have ordered the Hallmark Channel or something earlier this month.
Anyway...

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate, Happy Holidays to those that celebrate other days, and Happy New Year to everyone!

A bit of anxiety, A LOT of sadness.

I knew this day would inevitably arrive. I am officially out of the premade gingerbread latte mix from Starbucks that was at my local Vons. I would buy them three at a time (no judgment pls😉), but when I went to the store a few days ago, nothing.  Now this one is empty. Fingers crossed sbux will be open tomorrow so I can have one final one before the season is over. 

Pinterestingly...

Poor puppy. I'm now apparently one of "those" dog owners. I was tired of people calling Kaysen a boy, Pinterest was there, and well... you know the rest.

Parents of human girl babies with not much hair, is this how you feel?

True words.

Bookshelf

I'm on vacation and have been trying to catch up with all the... books, chores, tv shows... Who am I kidding? LIFE.  I'm trying to catch up on my actual life and to remember how be a real person instead of the cranky bitch that currently inhabits my body.

Now that that's settled, here's what I've been reading:

Just started..
I'm aware that this book is well-covered territory in pretty much every way a book can be covered. It's been on my list for forever and a day, and I just hope it lives up to the hype surrounding it.

Working on...

There are few things I love as much as Harry Potter. (He may be how Pup #1 go his name. Well, partly... When I was trying to figure out what to call him, Harry was on my short list of names.  I started to think of other Harrys in the world and came up with Harry Potter, Harry of Wales, and Harry Goldenblatt from SATC. I love all three of them, so there you go. I'm also convinced my dog is British, but that's a story for another blog post.)

I've read the series in English more times than I can count, so I thought I'd give (my very rusty) French a try. It hurts my brain, but in a good way.  I have to keep the English version open to check myself and can only handle about three pages at a time, so this might take me all of 2015 to get through.

Just finished...

I have a love/hate relationship with Jen Lancaster's work. I've read it all now, and sometimes she's just too acerbic. (Hey, I'm all for the bitter and snark. Just make it entertaining.) Other times, she writes about things like her emotional battle while take really fucking amazing care of her dying dog, online shopping while on Ambien, or trying to be Martha Stewart (I LOVED The Tao of Martha) and suddenly I'm her biggest fan. This book falls into the first category for me. It had its redeeming moments, but it felt like she was cribbing off of some kind of cheat sheet someone gave her on working for a daytime program and list a Chicago neighborhoods/landmarks, and it just came off as disingenuous. And the Freaky Friday element? Hmmm... It just wasn't for me.

Weekly: Maintenance

I went too crazy with the shimmery rose gold... I love love love Orly's Rage, and use it pretty much everytime I do my nails. This was my second snowflake attempt. The first one was superior, but then i rose gold-ed that nail and it was just too much. 

And yes, that is polish on Roy Choi. Sorry, Roy.

Pinterestingly...

I spied this in the "Holidays&Events" tab and thought there was something so sweet and genuine about this. On top of that, it takes no time at all and you only need a sharpie.

I'm still trying to think of more great things about the year to list, but I love the simplicity of it, as well as having a collection of yearly recaps and rediscovering them each year when I decorate the tree!

Weekly: Maintenance

I have two bottles of wine/burgundy polish. The OPI bottle is sealed shut, and the Julie G. one turns my nails yellow. I also have a rule that if i have a polish for too long without wearing it, I either need to throw it away or mix a new color.  Soooo... I poured some navy and purple polishes into this (true) red:

So, no nail art this week, but still a little creative... Also, the Rimmel Lasting Finish (truthfully I'm not sure they still make this) dries FAST. I love it!

Works like a beast, but makes the biggest mess.

Why does this have to come in powder form? UGH.

Bookshelf

Last weekend, I took myself on a roadtrip to Las Vegas. It's about a four-hour drive from LA, so I downloaded some books to listen to along the way. 

First up:

I wanted to love this. Really, I did. However, there was just something about ther tone that turned me off. How could this story - a descendant of the famous and wealthy Astor clan recounts her childhood living in the dilapidated family estate with her parents and extended family -  be boring? 

So then I switched to:

My grandmother (who lived with us when I was growing up) watched All My Children every single day, which meant I also watched All My Children every single day. Not really learning anything from this one, but it's fun. I just wish my grandmother was still here so we could gossip about it together!

Bookshelf

I usually go off the "to read" list in my phone, but the last two books I finished were completely random choices I downloaded from Overdrive (best, best, best reading app if you have a library card!). 

Nia Vardalos's memoir about adopting her daughter made me cry. It was so heartfelt and (at times) raw, but also completely hysterical. Yes, it is mostly about adoption, but it is also just about...life. Its ups and downs, experiences whose meaning we only come to understand later, and just moving forward when your life might not look exactly how you expected it to. I loved it.

All We Ever Wanted was Everything was a little soap opera-y, but still good. I downloaded the audiobook and it made traffic bearable, so that's definitely saying something. 

My Two Cents: Phone Edition

Just found this note when cleaning out my phone. I need to take my own advice more often!

To-do:

Season's Greetings

Holiday cards stress me out. Big. Time. I'm one of those people who like to include a photo of the dogs, and this year I'm completely at a loss about how they should pose, what they should wear, etc. It's a little silly, but it's generally fun. Hopefully a good idea will come soon!

This whole year has just flown by, and I'm convinced this is just one more task that seems to be coming up too soon. Where did the time go? I'm not ready!

Weekly: Maintenance

Jacked up, but I'm not fixing it. No big design this week. I thought I'd switch it up and go plain, but then it bored me so i had to do something!  

I meant it to be all classy and swirled. It ended up more Rorschach-y, but oh well. Live and learn.

The white polish is China Glaze's White On White. The black nail striper is from Sally's. (Sidenote: I'm totally loving China Glaze polishes lately. I was never really a fan before this bottle, but The formula is amazing.)

 

Even more craftiness...

I wanted a bud vase for my office, and for whatever reason I couldn't seem to throw the bottle (Starbucks Iced Coffee) away, so... I broke out the paint instead. 

More NYX...

I really love these lip crayons. The darker one is a bluer red, and the lighter one (Maraschino) is the perfect everyday matte color! 

Some transfer, but when I wore Maraschino to my office it lasted through me drinking two cups of coffee and 40oz. of water (or at least it wore evenly and was minimal enough that the color stayed visible and even): 

Very pigmented, and nice bright reds - no muddiness. They're great options for fall and I'm really excited to get more use out of them!

Feeling crafty, continued...

Finished the jars over the weekend. 

All i can say is that if you are trying to decide between green Frog tape and the blue painter's tape, go green! The jar on the left is a little messed up, but most of the paint came off with acetone. I may try to fix it further, but I'm okay with it for now. Not too bad for a $15 project...

My Two Cents: Breakup Edition

I don't really want to be too emotional in this space, but for whatever reason there are a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head and heart, and I finally feel like it's the right time to share. I'm apologizing in advance for any cheesiness and it is my hope that whomever reads this takes something positive away with them...

I'm not sure how much the details of the relationship really matter. We were never really unhappy. We loved each other very much, and still do... Which is why being apart SUCKS SO HARD. But, it's been a few months now and I don't think either of us is changing anytime soon. These are the things I've been thinking about:

1) The times that we've gotten into difficult convos, I can't help but think, "What if what I'm saying was broadcast on the jumbtron at the Staples Center? Would I be embarrassed?" This is not to say that everything I've said has been nice - of course not! (And to be 

honest, I slipped and said I hated him once, but it was a really specific circumstance and I totally did in that moment. No apologies.)  But it's all be true and I haven't called him names, etc. To be really clear, I'm not doing it for his benefit. You don't want to carry around the consequences of that behavior. It's the first breakup where I've made a conscious effort to not be ugly and feel much better for it.

2) Ultimately, you know in your heart when you're comprimising a piece of yourself that you shouldn't. Even if you're the only one who's aware, just don't do this. It's exhausting (at the very least), and it never really works. If the other person loves you and knows you, they'll be able to tell.

3) Go out with friends and date other people. You're living now. Don't waste your days. (This is not to forget the benefits of nights staying in snacks/pizza/booze of choice/movies/crappy reality tv with your friends. Those count too!)

4) (Last one, and I hate it.) I guess I knew this before, but it is the first time I've felt this in my bones - love isn't always enough. Commitment matters more. Life is hard, and all of us deserve to be with a person that's on our team, no matter what. It doesn't make actual disagreements easier, but it does make all the difference in the world during difficult periods because you're both ultimately fighting for your relationship. 

I hope this was helpful on some level, if only to know that someone else is going through what you are too. We're all going to get through this. Promise. Xo

Weekly: Maintenance

I found a similar design clicking through YouTube tutorials, but then changed it up a bit because it was kinda fun to randomly doodle with thw nail striper. The base color is Zoya's Bela (it's still my fave pale pink) and the striper was a bottle that i got from Sally's when it was on sale. I can't really read the label bc it's black on black.

Vitacost Haul

I love Vitacost!!! I order about once a month - their prices are really good, and the shipping (usually free) is amazing! Sometimes if I order in the morning, the box arrives the next day. I try my best to eat as well as I can and use green products (when they work well), and this site makes it extremely easy to do that. 

Arrowhead Mills make my favorite flours. I'm not sure if they grind them in a unique way, but everything bakes up better. I made my breakfast cookies (brown sugar, chia seeds, and cherries this time) with a brown rice/oat flour combo and they were awesome!

I buy the filters because Los Angeles water is disgusting. 

The protein powder is good so far! It's a whey isolate/casein combo, which I like because the casein helps me feel fuller longer. Also, it's more chocolatey than sugary, if that makes sense... I don't get any absorption or stomach issues from it, but I also don't have dairy issues and most protein supplements work fine with my system. There's a new brand I'm looking to try when I finish this jar, but I really like this one.

My whole apartment smells like sexy guy.

Yum.

So good.

I need to remember this.

I'm not the biggest believer in horoscopes, but weird things have happened to me when Mercury goes into retrograde more than I would like to admit. This time I'm going to be proactive :) Everything's backed up - technologically, emotionally, physically. No worries over here :)

Feelin' a little crafty...

I needed containers for some flours, but wanted airtight jars that would still fit inside my cabinets. I picked these up at World Market tonight. I usually think on purchases for a day or two, but they are pretty cute and were only about $6 a piece. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do better. Now to make some chalkboard paint labels on them and they'll be perfect...

Blogging in traffic.

LA traffic is pretty horrendous. Twice a day, it takes me about an hour to drive less than ten miles. So I figured I'd be productive. (I promise my car is not moving...)

I have a tiny Ulta haul because nyx was super on sale. I got so excited about the eclair butter gloss that I opened and applied it before starting this post. The butter glosses are really incredible. As thick and pigmented as mac lipglass, byt none of the tackiness and they smell like cake batter.

24 hours later...

Started on a whim last night, and finished Insurgent about an hour ago. Most fun books I've read in months!!! I'm sure I'm the only person in the world that hasn't finished the series, but just in case you haven't picked them up yet - you should.

I love when books transport me to a completely new world. I think it's funny that this one did since I grew up in Chicago. And, even though it's set in an alternate reality/future, it raises some interesting questions about how societies  and communities form and evolve. 

I can't wait to start Allegiant!

Weekly: Maintenance

I'm a week behind in my nail posts...

I was in a really fall-ish mood and Jen from MissJenFabulous has the CUTEST nail art tutorials for the season!! (Here's the link to her channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MissJenFABULOUS)

I recently cut my nails short so I couldn't extend the design as far down each nail and definitely need more practice with the design, but I still think it turned out cute.

Polish used: Julie G. Peep Toe Pumps (base - this is one of my fave, fave, fave colors), China Glaze White on White, Jenna Hipp Oh La Latte, and Sally Hansen mint (I ripped the label off this bottle - sorry!)

Bark Box Unboxing!!

I seriously have to consider extending the BarkBox subscription. It was another month of great treats and cute toys! Here's what was inside:

The ball is still alive, but the rope isn't going to make it much longer ;)... We haven't opened the seafood treats yet, but I think they're going to STINK (as in smell - I'm sure the puppies are going to love them).

OMG they love love love these biscuits!! Even if I don't continue to order the boxes, I'll totally reorder these. They love them.

Isn't he so cute?