Saturday, November 24, 2012

#winterlicious Tag

I was going to do the I Heart Fall tag but being that I'm so late getting on that train, I thought I'd start on the Macbarbie07's Winterlicious Tag. Hope you enjoy!


1. Favorite Winter Nail Polish.
I love wearing deep reds during the holidays. The two polishes I happen to have already are Cocktail Waitress by ULTA and 228B Chelsea by NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish. I also like doing an accent nail in Essie's Set in Stones. This was actually my first time using an ULTA nail polish and I really love the formula. It's not super thick like some polishes can be. No bubbling and I didn't have to be super careful either. I might look into getting more of these polishes. 


2. Favorite Winter lip product.
For my birthday, I got a Fresh gift set from my friend Pearl and it happened to contain a Sugar Berry Tinted Lip Treatment. I absolutely love the deep burgundy color! Not only does it keep my lips super moisturized but the color payoff is as good as a lipstick. I was definitely surprised. I am also really enjoying the packaging. I really like the fact that there's a twist at the end when you cap the lip stick that seals it so it doesn't get accidentally uncapped. Definitely love this feature. 


3. Most worn Winter clothing piece.
My most worn winter item isn't very winter-y since the weather in Southern California has been a steady 70-80s during the day. I've been super loving my burgundy knit jeggings from American Eagle. I don't know what it is about this color but it seriously matches with everything in my closet and it's been my go-to item. I love pairing it with an oversized sweater or a flowy chiffon shirt. 



4. Most worn Winter accessory.
I don't wear a lot of accessories on a daily basis just because everything tends to get in the way at work. However, with the holidays coming up, I predict I'll be wearing these Jewelmint earrings a lot. These are the Forever Audrey Earrings. I love that there aren't any colors so they match everything. I've been wearing these with a high bun and a long sweater paired with tights and it really elevates the outfit so that it looks less "bummy" lol. 


5. Favorite winter scent/candle.
I recently bought a wax burner from Walmart made by Better Homes and Gardens and I've been loving the "Candied Caramel Pecan" scent. It makes our place smell like freshly baked cookies every day! I usually don't like winter-y scents because they smell way too strong but this one is light enough to "burn" daily. I just use one wax cube. I would highly recommend this for people who have parents that are extremely afraid that they might burn down their home or have parents that remind them daily not to burn candles for this reason (my reason lol). Also, for those that wanted to buy a Scentsy, this is a more affordable and accessible version. The warmer was $15.00 and the wax was $2.00 for 6 pieces of wax. 


6. Favorite Winter beverage.
My favorite winter beverage has to be the Caramel Brulee Latte at Starbucks. I also love the White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha. I've never tried the Gingerbread Latte. I'm very afraid of gingerbready-y drinks for some odd reason lol. 

7. All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie.
This has got to be Elf!! This is seriously the best movie everrrrrr for the holidays!! I'm actually watching it as I'm typing this post up lol. It's super cute and it reminds me of the innocence of a little kid discovering things for the first time.  


8. Favorite Christmas/Holiday song.
I really love the "Baby, It's Cold Outside" song. I also love Mariah Carey's, "All I Want for Christmas". I seriously can't walk into a mall during the holidays and not hear the Mariah Carey song at least once but I love it haha.

9. Favorite Holiday food/treat?
I don't think I really have a favorite holiday food or treat. I can't really think of one at the moment so I'll probably update this when the holidays come around and I have something that I'm super craving.

10. What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year?

I don't really have a favorite Christmas decoration but I do love all things penguin related. All this penguin stuff is seriously going to make me broke!

11. What's at the top of your Christmas list?
It's funny because when you're a kid, you can make lists and lists and lists of things you want but as an adult, I can't seem to pinpoint what I want at all lol. I guess at this age, all the things I want are extremely expensive and I would never want to put that burden on anyone. Maybe the goal is to start liking less expensive things haha. The things I want aren't really things at all. For instance, I really want to travel next year. I currently have 3 weeks vacation at my current job and I really want to go somewhere nice with the bf. In 2011, the bf and I went on a cruise to Mexico which was super fun (I LOVE cruises!!). In 2012, we went to Oahu for my good friend, Lauren's wedding. Hopefully we'll be able to settle on a place for next year. There are just so many places I'd love to travel to but not enough money or time to do so which is really sad since we don't have a mortgage to pay or kids to take care of yet so this should be the time to travel. One thing I do regret not doing in college is traveling abroad. It's a lot of money but hell, you'll pay it back later and the memories and life experiences you gain are priceless. When you're in the real world, you'll come to see that vacation time is hard to come by. Now that I'm a working woman and I have some extra cash to use, I can't seem to find the time to get away. 
hawaii 2012

12. What are your plans for the holidays this year?
I don't really have holiday plans with my family this year. My employer has decided that it would be a great idea to be open on Christmas Day (blasphemy, I know) and I volunteered to work. My family, all three of us, aren't really big celebrators of holidays so it doesn't really affect me anyways. I plan on spending the holidays in San Diego with the bf's family. I do have two celebrations with friends though, a White Elephant Holiday Party with the bf's friends and our annual Fab Five Holiday Celebration/Sophie's Birthday Party! I absolutely LOVE our Fab Five Christmas Parties because my crafty friends get to showcase just how crafty they are lol. I just can't wait!
xmas 2010









Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!


Hi friends!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone is ready to get their feast on as well as reflect on the things we are thankful for. As I look back on this past year, I am so thankful for all the amazing and supportive people in my life.

Parents. I am so thankful that my parents were so understanding with my recent move to San Diego. They have always been parents that allowed me to live my own life and for that I am so grateful.

Tony. I am so thankful to have someone that would bend over backwards to make sure I'm ok. With my recent move to San Diego, he's been the best (especially with all the cleaning :D and) at making sure I'm not too homesick. He is my best friend (although it would help if he could reference some Friends episodes lol), my confidant, and he makes me feel like I "shine bright like a diamond" :D (he's totally going to kill me for the reference since he hates that song lol).

Friends. I am extremely grateful and thankful for my friends. I don't have very many friends but the few that I have mean the world to me. Most of them have seen me through thick and thin. They've seen me through so many hardships and I could never thank them enough.

Job. Despite how stressful the job is sometimes, I am grateful that at least I have a job. I'm also grateful for all my colleagues at work who display such positive enthusiasm in times of chaos. Yesterday (the day before Thanksgiving), we had lines of at least 10-15 people waiting to pick up their medications all day long. Everyone kept a positive attitude (including the customers!) and everyone went home with what they needed.

Our New Home. I am so happy to have finally moved down to San Diego. It's been a long time coming and I thought I was going to be thrown off my "timeline" but fortunately everything worked out perfectly. I will post pictures of our new home soon!



Thank you all for reading! And have a splendid Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Weddings and Engagements

I'd like to congratulate some of my friends on their recent marriages and engagements!


Congratulations to my friend Kristine! The Gabrielle to my Xena. 
I couldn't attend her beautiful wedding because of work but I wish her all the best!




Congratulations to Ryan and Anh! Such a beautiful wedding. It was definitely
a first where the entire crowd was sniffling from the touching vows that were exchanged. 




Congratulations to my friend Christina on getting engaged this weekend! 
I've known this girl since 3rd grade and she's like a sister to me. I'm so happy 
I got the chance to partake in her special day. Love love love!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Concert: Two Door Cinema Club



October 26th, 2012
Two Door Cinema Club with special guests Friends at SOMA


friends












What an amazing show! For a band that isn't that well known, their lighting was crazy cool (and seizure inducing!). I seriously felt like I should've taken a dose of Keppra before going. It's always great seeing not so well known bands because their fans are some of the most die-hard. They knew the lyrics to every song. They jumped and sang along. These were some of the most energetic people I've ever seen. And it wasn't because these guys were One Direction or whatever boy bands are popular these days. It was because of their music, their lyrics, and how they inspire us in times of need. I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a musician, to be able to feel that kind of energy in the room and know you are responsible for it. It must be so amazing. Anyways, I've posted a video of the only song I knew before going to the show, Sleep Alone. The sound quality is pretty bad but hope you enjoy, nonetheless. 








Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Birthday Post 2012


cake from my manager :D

First and foremost, I wanted to say a big thank you to my amazing friends for making the treck down to San Diego to spend the weekend with me. I've been a little homesick without my friends around and it really meant the world to me.

Birthday weekend commenced on Nov. 10th. We started the day off with me heading off to the post office to pick up a package my friend had sent me. I got to the post office at 8:30a but they weren't open until 9a so I decided to start the morning off right by going to Starbucks! I got their Caramel Brulee Latte which was absolutely delish! This has been my favorite winter drink. It used to be the White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha. Anyways, I digress. I got back to the post office right at 9a and I kinda wanted to punch myself in the face for being one of "those" people that wait right outside your workplace when you just opened your doors. I guess it's a pet peeve of mine when people are waiting outside the pharmacy when we haven't even opened yet. But I get it now lol. As soon as I got home, I opened up my present and was seriously floored! I couldn't believe she got me the iPad mini! I don't own a tablet and I've had my laptop since I started pharmacy school back in the summer of 2008 so this was definitely something that I really needed (as I mentioned in another post, I was looking into getting a new laptop). Now that I have the iPad mini, I'll just get a bluetooth keyboard and I'll have "laptop" lol. Seriously, I'm so attached to this thing. I'm surprised I didn't jump on this bandwagon earlier! Totally love it!

thanks tanya!!!

I've been itching to shop so we headed to the mall. Macy's was having an absolutely amazing sale! I got a bunch of stuff for almost $50. I was looking for a dress for a wedding and I got one for $10 including tax! The lines were crazy! We were starving after being done with shopping we got some food and that's when all my friends arrived! We did a little more shopping and then headed back to our place. We decided on eating ramen for dinner. Tony's friends were talking about this place called Under Belly so I decided to give it a try. Plus, it was in Little Italy and I was hoping to go to Extraordinary Desserts after dinner. Saturday night was absolutely FREEZING in San Diego. I wasn't feeling that well because I had bottomless mimosas at lunch (lol) so dinner in the freezing cold (the restaurant is outdoors and you eat on window panes) wasn't exactly the best. It was so cold that we decided not to stop at Extraordinary Desserts. But when I got home, I was surprised by the beautiful tiramisu cake my friends got me! So pretty!

tiramisu cake from extraordinary desserts courtesy of my besties

We spent the rest of the night watching the last season of How I Met Your Mother and attempting to make friendship bracelets lol. We ended up calling it a night pretty early since I wasn't feeling really well.

The next day, we had a lunch date at The Prado.


It was a beautiful for lunch outdoors.





After lunch, we enjoyed some picture whoring opportunities around Balboa Park.









It was an amazing weekend but all good things must come to an end. I had work on Tuesday but after work when I got home, I found the bf with this huge present!

when i saw the words "bloom" all i could think of was ross and "bloometh" lol


New toy! If only I had time to play with it!

We decided to go to Sushi Ota for dinner since they had such great reviews. It was absolutely delicious!  It definitely deserves the 4.5 stars on Yelp. Everything was super duper fresh.





Such a yummy dinner!

Twas an amazing birthday! Until next year! Love you all and have a great weekend!

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Makeup Essentials for a Newbie


I started playing around with makeup a little over a year ago and there are certain products that I've been seriously loving. To me, these are essentials for anyone starting to get into makeup because they are all drug store items so you aren't spending a fortune and also, these are all pretty high performing products (although I haven't used much high end stuff so I really wouldn't know...). Also, I can't speak for all skin types so the face products might not be the best unless you have super oily skin like mine. Although, my skin has been getting a lot dryer(blame old age :/). Hope you guys enjoy!


Lips


Maybelline's Baby Lips is one of my favorite products for the lips. I use to use Bag Balm because my lips were so chapped all the time but it isn't very easy to carry around (even the smaller one oozes oily-ness everywhere) so these babies are a great replacement. I like the blue and lime green ones because they are clear so I use them to moisturize my lips before using any other lip products. I would highly recommend these for anyone with dry/chapped lips like mine. The baby blue one is called Quenched and tastes like peppermint. The purple one is called Peach Kiss and I can't really pinpoint what it tastes like. The pink one is called Pink Punch and I'm not sure what this tastes like either. The greenish/turquoise one is called Grape Vine and tastes pretty grapey. I also ended up picking up the orange one called Cherry Me which tastes like Sweet Tarts. 



   

With the whole balm/lipstick boom that has taken place recently, there are many products that claim to moisturize as well as tint your pouts. Lipsticks have never really worked for me since my lips are super chapped and it just looks horrible. Moisturizing with a clear lip balm has really helped and so have these Revlon Lip Butters. Between the Revlon Lip Butters and the L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm, I like the Lip Butters a lot more. A friend and I were discussing how the Lip Butters are more of a lipstick consistency but a tad bit more moisturizing whereas the Balm is more of a tinted lip balm. One of the things I would like to mention is that some of the Lip Butters can be a little grainy feeling so if that's a huge issue for you, I'd go with the Balm. My favorite color for the Lip Butters is the Peach Parfait. It's the color that's always in my purse but it is also the one that's a bit grainy.



Face


This is a great foundation(?) for people that are just starting out. I've basically used this as a tinted moisturizer. It comes out white and it just blends in with your skin color. Super easy to use. And it even has SPF! 





I've been using this foundation ever since I wanted something with more coverage. It's got a great creamy, dewey finish which is what I like. Some people have said there's a certain shimmer in the formula and I do notice it sometimes in bright sunlight (Edward Cullen style :P) but it's not bothersome to me. It has absolutely amazing coverage and goes on super smooth. I use both the 005 and the 006. 




This Wet n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink has become one of my favorite blushes. I bought it originally because I had a coupon from CVS for Wet n Wild products and thought the color was nice. This blush is surprisingly super pigmented! It's actually more pigmented than my NARS Orgasm. I also like it a little bit more than my NARS Orgasm because I feel like Orgasm has some gold glitters that if you want to build up the color a little, you end up looking super glittery. One word of warning with this product is that there is quite a bit of fall out but overall, I really like this blush. I still haven't tried the Elf blush/bronzer duo which is supposed to be a dupe of the NARS duo so I can't compare to the Elf one. I have tried several of the other single Elf blushes and I don't feel like they are pigmented at all! They also have a ton of fall out as well which wouldn't be bothersome if it actually produced color! Maybe I'm choosing the wrong colors? Leave a comment below with your thoughts :).




This is a great item not only for bronzing but also for contouring. It gives my face so much color especially in the winter time when I tend to look like a ghost. Sometimes I don't even need to use any blush after using this. This product is also super easy to use. You can build up the color but at the same time you don't end up looking orange. There's a reason why bloggers and YouTubers rave about this product. Super affordable and great quality.




I didn't know you had to set your makeup with a powder for the longest time (lol) and I'd always wonder why my makeup looked so gross and runny after a day out. I picked this up just because it was cheap at Target and ended up loving this product. Because I have oily skin, it not only sets my makeup but also keeps my skin matte. Definitely a great product for those just starting out. I just dust this over my face after rubbing foundation all over and it does a great job of sealing things into place.




One of the main things I can't live without is eyeliner. This Maybelline gel liner is one that I've fallen in love with. It goes on super black and stays on for days! I have super oily lids and this doesn't transfer much. Even though this works really well, I try not to use it everyday since it does give you a very dramatic look. For everyday, I use the Almay black eyeliner. The thing that I love about the Almay one is that it does not require sharpening like the Milani Liquif'eye. The Milani eye liner goes on dark, super smooth and creamy but the sharpening is not a lazy person's best friend lol. 




The Naked 2 palette is great for newbies. I love that it has the super dark black which I use sometimes as a liner. The variety of neutrals in this palette is perfect for doing an everyday neutral eye or to darken up and do a smokey eye. There's also a mixture of matte and metallic colors. I won't get too into reviewing this guy since I'm still learning how to use eye shadows myself but I definitely think it's a good investment! If you'd like to see a thorough review, check out Jenn from From Head to Toe's review. I would follow her blog and YouTube channel. Her reviews are really thorough with swatches and the whole shebang! Definitely one of my favorite YouTubers!



Hope you all enjoyed this post! Love you all and thanks for reading!



Side note: OMG my computer is driving me nuts!! It's so slow!! I'm still using my Lenovo from pharmacy school which I've had since 2008 I think it's time for a new laptop. I'm looking at the new Lenovo Yoga :D. Tony actually showed it to me since it's similar to my current laptop which is on those where you can flip the screen down and it serves as a tablet, "thinkpads" as they would call it. I bought a iMac last year and we've stationed it in our second room but I rarely go in there. Should have bought something with more mobility. I've been looking at the MacBook Air but I feel like I'd just be paying for the Apple symbol rather than the specs. I guess I'll see how Windows 8 is before I make the leap!

Sick

The past couple of days has been pretty tough. I've never been so sick to my stomach before. On Tuesday I went to work and everything was fine. After I got out of work, I started feeling sick and when I got home, I started feeling nauseous. After being home for a little bit I had to vomit and I did for the rest of the night. Such unfortunate timing since my friends Tanya and Jason were coming to visit. We ended up going Izakaya Masa for ramen and then Extraordinary Desserts. The ramen place was pretty good. Tanya said it was comparable to Hawaii which is saying a lot haha. I thought their stuff was a little salty even though I love salt. I'll probably need to try the place again though since I was really sick and my taste buds were probably all out of whack. Plus I had to step outside and barf (yes.. I was that sick). I tried to go to work the next day but I got super faint (like the time I almost blacked out at the Britney Spears concert). I was typing up prescriptions and all of a sudden my vision and hearing started getting super fuzzy. I just walked away because I knew I had to sit down. Since my store has a minute clinic, they had the NP take my blood pressure and it was 80/60 so I took the rest of the day off and then had a sick day the next day. Thank goodness for resting up because I'm almost fully better! My stomach is still a little grumbly. I feel like Pooh lol. Grumbly in my tummy. Anyways, just wanted to update on what was going on. Have a great weekend everyone! New post coming soon!


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