Go, Go KittyKat!

Making Up

2012-01-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

With the start of a new year, I decided to stick to my new year's resolutions and take a class. Specifically, I took a make-up class at Redred Photo Studio.

They are located in Pioneer Square and have a lovely studio. Nikki taught the class and she was excellent.

The class went over make-up basics, sanitation/hygiene, kit building and application techniques. There were five people in the class, including me. It was really fun, informational and it was great to do something that I love. And I do love make-up.

I liked that Nikki was very laid back and approachable. I didn't feel out of my element and she didn't make anyone feel like they shouldn't be there. There was one student that was a guy and he didn't know anything about make-up (he was a photographer and just wanted some basic make-up info so he could choose a good make-up artist for his shoots), but she helped him out and didn't talk down to him.

Nikki went over all the items in her make-up kit. I am a total brush nerd, so I was geeking out over all her MAC brushes. I have all the ones she mentioned, except MAC 184 Duo Fibre Fan Brush, which apparently is a pro brush only, according to this site. I couldn't find it on the regular MAC site. (But, not to worry, because I signed up for a MAC Pro membership.)

After going over her kit, Nikki did a make-up application on a model. It was so fun to see each step and pick up some tips along the way. We all had an opportunity to ask questions and listen to her talk through was she was doing and why. The finished look was flawless.

After this class, I feel like I have a good knowledge base to move forward. I do need practice at putting make-up on others, and my goal is to improve...so, I am going to sign up for some of the make-up labs that Redred offers.

I better sign up now while I have this momentum going!

Scratch n' Sniff

2011-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

My interest in perfume began in 1988 - the summer before 8th grade. It was when we lived in Germany and my Dad took us to the French PX, which had a whole section of perfume. I think we may have gone with his co-worker and his co-worker's family, because I remember my friend Lisa's Mom getting some Joy perfume. My Mom got Chanel No 5 soap. I have a vague recollection of trying Lou Lou, but didn't buy it (perhaps I should track it down?). I thought the Joy and the Chanel No 5 both smelled pretty good, but I chose Anais Anais. I got the lotion instead of the eau de toilette. I think I kind of forgot about it until we moved back to the states that summer. I didn't really know that the lotion wasn't supposed to be used like Jergen's lotion. So, I slathered it all over my legs right before we were going to be picked up by a guy from the Mazda dealership where my Mom's car was being serviced. When we got in the little mini-van, my Mom started to act kind of weird and uncomfortable. When we got out, she hissed, "Are you wearing perfume? How much did you put on? That guy is going to think that I was wearing too much perfume!!" That's when I realized that a little goes a long way.

I kind of went off perfume for a while and then in 1993, I asked for a Chanel No 5 gift set from my parents for Christmas. I loved the soap (my Mom still loves it - I actually got it for her for Christmas this year!). However, the lotion and the eau de toilette were too much for an 18 year old. I don't think I ever used them up. Then in the late 90s and early 2000's, I happily wore Happy and Aromatics Elixir from Clinique. Aromatics Elixir was more of an earthy sandalwood scent. I only wore it occasionally. I really loved Happy. I even asked for (and got) it for Christmas of 2000. I wore it every day until I actually used up the whole container. And then, I noticed a lot of other people wearing it, too. Having the same jeans or sweater in another color as someone else is no biggie. But wearing the same scent just felt like having identical outfits on. So, I stopped wearing Happy or any other perfume. Until now.

I have been experimenting with perfume lately. Every time I order something from Sephora, they give me the option for free samples. I figure, I don't feel like fighting with a tiny packet of moisturizer, so why not get some scent. Free is free, so if any of the samples are an olfactory assault, then I can just trash them.

So far, I have gotten Taylor Swift's perfume (kind of nice - it's light and sweet. I would actually wear it), Kate Walsh's Boyfriend (very musky and heavy - I'm using it as bathroom air freshener. Nothing like the smell of perfume and poo mixed together), Diane Von Furstenburg's perfume (really mature smelling - it reminds me of classy older women that I encountered in Germany at stores where I couldn't afford anything), Betsy Johnson's Too Too (kind of fresh and sweet - not too gaggy), Tom Ford's Violet Blonde (very heavy and intense - not really me), and Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy (I really liked this one. It's light and has food smells like vanilla. I might have to buy some.).

I have also been smelling the perfume sample inserts in magazines. I am in love with Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb. Even though it is a floral fragrance, to my nose it has a candy quality that I can't get enough of. I asked for the hair mist for Christmas. We'll see if Santa comes through for me.

Whatever scent I am wearing, I will try to go easy on it. But please don't hesitate to inform me if I smell like a French whore. (Uh, I think my whore is dead.)

Bless You

2011-12-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

The body is an amazing vessel, but it can sometimes be annoying. For example, I hate sweating. I hate it when my eye twitches like a crack addict, but I can't figure out why. I hate that my second biggest toe on my left foot has been kind of numb for a couple weeks, but I can move it, so it must not be broken, right? But an uncontrollable bodily function I can get behind is sneezing. I love sneezing. It's just so satisfying to get that feeling, like, oh, I'm going to sneeze, and then WACHOO! Then you're left with a feeling of calm and people bless you, which is kind of nice.

I mean, nobody says, "bless you" after you cough or when your stomach growls or when you fart. Sneezing, for some reason, is socially acceptable and worthy of good wishes. Unless, of course, you sneeze on someone, don't cover your nose/mouth, or sneeze so hard that is blows the hair of the person in front of you on the bus. People don't like that and that kind of behavior and it definitely won't earn you any sympathy. Maybe an "f" you or an icy stare, but nobody will be wishing God to bless you, that's for sure.

Feelin' Cranky (And most definitely not groovy)

2011-12-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Some days I just wake up and feel like getting out of bed is annoying. Kind of like this guy that we saw in Alaska.

Like, don't come near me or I will rip out your eyes with my claws. And where did all these fucking decorative pillows come from? Why is it so hot in here? I have to pee again??? This mood can last a few minutes or can span a few days and beyond. Today is one of those days. Yesterday was, too. I seem to be having more days like that lately. I don't really have a good reason. I just feel generally irritated.

Take this afternoon, for example. I met Aaron in Fremont at Pie for lunch. I love pie. I like the restaurant Pie well enough, too. I had chicken pot pie. It was delicious. Aaron treated. It all seemed good, right? Well, I couldn't find parking when I got there. Then, I noticed the crater zit on my chin that is probably going to turn into one of those gross, cyst-like red mountains in the next few days. Once inside Pie, I felt like there were too many people in too small of a space. Then Aaron's and my elbows bumped as we dug into our respective pies. An occupational hazard of me being left-handed. I wanted to scream and knock over my chair.

I don't know what my problem is. Maybe I just need to stay home more? Get out more? Drink more? Drink less? Sleep more? Sleep less? Exercise more? Take vitamin D? Put on a happy fucking face?

I think I feel like I'm always doing things I don't want to do. Which is hard because sometimes I don't want to do anything. I want to stay in my stretchy pants and my faded Franz Kafka t-shirt and watch "Kendra" on E!, while simultaneously wanting to look fabulous and have a night on the town with Aaron and our friends, and wear a sassy wool cape with elbow length leather gloves and skinny jeans and boots. This is impossible. I want impossible things. I want to look amazing and put no effort into it. I want to drink and have no hangover the next day. I want comfort and excitement.

When I felt like this when I was little, I would put a pillow case over my head. I just didn't want to see anyone and I didn't want anyone to see me. Most of all, I didn't want my parents to see me laugh if they said something silly in an effort to shake me out of my funk.

Today is a pillow case day. Do you think anyone at work would notice if my head was covered in flannel?

Playlist

2011-11-28T15:39:00.000-08:00

When people ask me what kind of music I like, I pause and come up with the same bands that I've liked since 1998. I say, "Uh, I don't know, Death Cab for Cutie." Then I quickly add, "And, um, a lot of the stuff they play on KEXP."

Even though I love Death Cab, I need some new tunes. Why don't I just pillage Aaron's collection? Well, I don't know which artists I like and even if I narrow down artists, I still have to pick songs. Since Aaron has eighty bajillion tracks in his iTunes, it takes forever to sift through and find the songs I want. Trust me, I've tried. I just don't have that kind of patience.

So, to help make some new playlists, I've been working on keeping track of songs that I like. Do I have a list app on my phone or something? Nope. I got a blank sheet of copy paper and have been writing down songs that I like that I hear on the radio.

(If I really wanted to be old school, I'd press record on my boom box, but I don't have a boom box anymore - which is a shame. I loved my radio mix tapes from circa 1985-1988.)

After I write down the songs, I go to YouTube and listen to the song to make sure that I still like the song. Then, I give the list to Aaron and he decides if he wants the whole album. I would rather just get the singles, but Aaron is an album person. And then, after the songs/albums are downloaded, the new playlist goes on my iPod.

Maybe I should just get a boombox, some blank tapes and a Sony sports walkman?

Anyway, here's my newest playlist:

1. Land of the Loops - Multi Family Garage Sale - I love the opening bass line

2. Air France - Collapsing on your doorstep

3. Dom - Living in America - these guys remind me of my college boyfriend and his friends, except that they never had any running vehicles like these guys do

4. Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

5. The Naked and Famous - Young Blood

6. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead - this whole album is good...I like "Can't say no", too.

7. Tame Impala - It's not meant to be

8. Vaccines - If you wanna - This song makes me chair dance like I have ADD and I ran out of my Adderall.

9. Deerhunter - Desire Lines

10. The New Division - Opium - this song is amazing. I want to have a montage to this song. (Don't worry, I'm not a junkie. I just like synth.)

11. M83 - the new album is awesome - the sax makes me want to listen to "Careless Whisper". Who can pass up that sexy sax?

12. Washed Out - everything is excellent. We listened to the new album on the way to Oregon for our anniversary. I am in love with Washed Out.

That's all I've got so far...but, pretty awesome list, right?

Karaoke, Baby

2011-06-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

One of Aaron's co-workers had a birthday party on Friday and we were invited. It was at a Seattle's Best Karaoke. When we got close, I realized that I had been there once about ten years ago. It's an odd place. It looks like an office building from outside and once you are inside, it has a rec center feeling. There are individual rooms that you reserve that have all the karaoke accoutrements that you will need. The decorations are sparse. The room that we were in had three futon couches and a coffee table in the center of the room, plus a computer, flat screen tv and all the other karaoke equipment. There were no pictures on the walls or anything to give the room character. It felt like being in someone's basement (someone who has no crap anywhere - so not like my basement).

It's not a bar, so there's isn't anywhere to order drinks or anything. You can BYOB, but you have to get a banquet license at the liquor store. The birthday girl had taken care of that, so we brought a half rack of something from Whole Foods. It was on sale. I can't remember the name. Aaron said it tasted like Milwaukee's Best (Beast). (I rest my case. We should have stuck with PBR.)

When we walked in, the room was packed with about twenty people, most sitting on the futons, but two were standing up singing "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal. Interesting choice. The room was hot and everyone was singing along.

Aaron and I settled in and cracked open a couple Whole Foods' beers and soaked up the scene. Now, I haven't done karaoke in probably about a year. We used to do it occasionally and there was a period of time when we did it quite a bit (before Leilani closed down.) But it seemed like everyone always did the same songs and a lot of times with a feeling of irony. Some favorites were "Sister Christian", "Sister Golden Hair Surprise", songs by Barry Manilow, songs by The Carpenters, "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley, and sometimes Aaron and I would sing "The Sweater Song" by Weezer - that was the most contemporary we would get.

So, now would be a good time to share that most of Aaron's co-workers and friends of the birthday girl were in their mid-20's. Yes, it made me feel old. And as we sat there feeling elderly, we noticed that their song choices were not ironic. They chose pop songs by Rihanna ("Umbrella"),

Justin Bieber ("U smile" - which I was not previously familiar with - shocker, I know - If only they could have played some Bieber songs that were on "Glee"!),

Kylie Minogue ("Wow")

and the Friday song by Rebecca Black (which I don't know very well, but I was aware that it existed. And is it just me, or does the kid driving in the video look about 12 years old?). Somebody picked a song by the Spice Girls - because they liked it. Not because it was ironic. Someone said to a girl that was currently going to SPU, "You like the Spice Girls?" To which she replied, "Why not?" Why not, indeed.

It was an eye opening experience for us. We definitely felt like were part of a different generation. It was slightly depressing. However, I did enjoy knowing a lot of the songs they chose. Unlike Aaron, who never listens to top 40 music. I knew that you can stand under my umbrella -ella -ella, ay, ay, ay. I also knew that you can read my lips, because I'm into you and it's just the way you dance. Thank you, C89.

It was kind of fun, because karaoke is usually a good time, and everyone was really laid back and welcoming. My only hope is that we didn't look like those sad, aging hipsters you see at rocks shows and wonder, "Why are those old people here?"

Rockin' with Dokken

2011-06-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

As everyone that knows us is already aware, Aaron has a shit ton of records. I don't usually pay that much attention to them. I think they look cool in frames, but other than that, I don't bust them out all too often. Unless...

Unless, it's an evening like Saturday night a few weeks ago. We went out early for a few drinkies and ended up getting home around 10-ish. I wanted to keep the evening rolling, so I started off with some Blondie. Blondie is my go-to record. If Aaron ever asks me what I want to hear, it's Blondie's

"Plastic Letters" (I skip to "Denis" and "(I am always touched by your) Presence, Dear"). After that, I always choose The B-52's

"Whammy" (I start with side one, which begins with "Legal Tender" - "We're in the basement, learning to print, all of it's hot").

Usually, Aaron and I alternate picks. But he had just gotten the iPad 2 and wasn't paying attention. So I kept right on spinning. I started with 80's Pop.

Yep, that's a Wham! album. I also mixed in some ABC, Icicle Works, and the Bangles, just to name a few. After the pop, it was time for some butt rock. Have you seen a million faces and rocked them all? How about if I rock you like a hurricane? Are you hot for teacher? There was some Ratt "Round and Round" in there, too, for good measure. I didn't see any Dokken in Aaron's collection, but we were still rockin'.

It was where it's at! And don't think for a second that I didn't mention that I had two turntables and a microphone. Because I did. And then I guffawed and scratched on an imaginary turntable like I was DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist all rolled into one. I like to keep it real.

Boots

2011-06-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, I embarked on a boot search. It was the end of the winter season, so most stores already had a lot of summer sandals and flip flops in stock. I wanted some flat, black leather boots to wear with my jeggings and skinny jeans. (Yeah, I'm totally on the jeggings bandwagon. They're so frickin' comfy! So stretchy and soft. I may even get some pajamajeans. Heh heh.)

I looked everywhere! I was willing to drop up to $200 (but, full disclosure, I really preferred to pay much less). I tried Nordstrom, Macy's, Marshall's, Zappos, Ross, Clark's and Target. No luck. Oh, sure, they all had some boots, but they either didn't have my size, the style I wanted or when I tried them on, they just looked stupid.

I had pretty much given up, when I stumbled on some black, flat, motorcycle style boots at...the Goodwill! I couldn't believe it. I saw that they were a size 10, which is bigger than I usually wear. But I thought that I might be able to make them work with thick socks, so I bought them.

They were $25 and like new, because they are originally from Target, and I'm pretty sure Target donates new stuff to the Goodwill.

And did they work out? I know the suspense is killing you...

So, good news! After a bit of break-in time, they are perfect! I just wear really thick wool men's socks that I got at Costco. And I am happy to report that these are my favorite boots right now. A girl at Nordstrom even asked me where I got them.

Also, since the weather is always kind of iffy around here, I'm sure I'll be able to wear my lovely new boots on and off throughout the summer.

Greetings

2011-06-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

In our household, I am the go-to person for cards. I have a bin with a variety of birthday, Christmas, thank-you, sympathy and new baby cards. I used to make cards myself, but kind of got out of the habit these past few years. So, I was buying those big boxes of greeting cards from Coscto. They are cute, but not as personalized as one that is handmade.

Recently, I was feeling like I was watching way too much tv and not doing anything creative. So I packed myself up to Shoreline to make a stop at PaperZone. Then I uploaded and ordered a bunch of prints from the Walgreen's website. Add a bit of double stick tape from Fred Meyer and voila!

So, now I have a shit ton of cards for all occasions! Aaron's Dad needs a Father's Day card? How about a picture we took at the Greenwood Car Show? I need a card for my Dad for Father's Day? I have one of Hippo Hardware in Portland all ready to go! (I went to Hippo Hardware with my Dad when I was in 4th grade and he needed salvage stuff to continue the restoration project on our house in Olympia - so, see? A much more personalized card!)

The only problem is that I accidentally bought a package of 50 of the gold colored card stock and matching envelopes. It's a bit much. It reminds me of my elementary school colors - Green and Gold. But it goes nicely with photos of pumpkins. I hope everyone will be stoked to get Halloween cards this year!

Yummy Berry

2011-06-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Prior to a couple weeks ago, I hadn't darkened the door of Victoria's Secret since college. However, I was on a quest for a cotton bra that was comfy and cute. The bra situation hasn't worked out so well (I swear, I'd rather clean the toilet than shop for bras), but I did find a lovely new lip gloss.

The gloss is from their Beauty Rush line and after careful consideration, I chose the color Yummy Berry.

It's pretty thick and smells like fruity candy (it reminds me of Mambas). It tastes sweet when you lick it, kind of like my beloved Bonne Bell Lipsmackers. The color that I got looks red in the tube, but goes on very sheer. There is the tiniest bit of a pink cast, but mostly it looks clear. I like to wear it alone or over lipstick for some added shine.

The container/packaging of the Beauty Rush gloss is appealing and attractive enough to whip out of your purse in public. The tube has a slant tip applicator and the gloss is easy to apply without a mirror. The lid screws on and is silver to match the cursive "Beauty Rush" writing on the front. It says "Victoria's Secret" in a very small white font at the bottom of the tube that you can only read if you look very closely. So you don't have to worry that you might be broadcasting to the world where you purchase your undies.

There are quite a few other colors and flavors to try. There were some that smelled kind of gaggy (like the cocoa flavored one), so beware, but the Yummy Berry lives up to its name. It is both yummy and berry-esque.

Summer Songs

2011-06-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a summer playlist right now, and in keeping with the Raveonettes vibe, I'm planning to include some other bands with female lead singers. Like Seapony

and Best Coast. I want this mix to evoke a light, relaxing-in-the-sun-drinking-beer kind of feeling. The sound also reminds me of Ivy and The Sundays, kind of soft and breathy. (I'm sure this not how the folks at Pitchfork would describe it, but whatever. Maybe these tunes have more of a pop sensibility with a lo-fi influence? I don't know. I'm sticking with soft and breathy). And these singers are also reminiscent of how Julianna Hatfield's voice sounded when she did backing vocals on the Lemonheads "It's a shame about Ray" album. (Horrible video, but so 90s. Who knew Johnny Depp was in this video? Also, it seems like on the tape that I had, Julianna Hatfield did more singing than in this video.)

Getting back to summer songs - I listened to the Sundays and the Lemonheads a lot the summer of '93. I remember driving around Whidbey Island in my '78 Subaru (the one that I later totaled)

and listening to "You're not the only one I know" and "Bit Part" while cruising up the island, looking at the way the sunshine came through the canopy of trees, while hoping that the $30 car stereo that my brother installed for me wouldn't crap out when I hit bumps in the street. It was a great summer of going to the beach,

hanging out, and waiting for college to start in the fall. There were probably some bad things, too, like being stuck in a small town working at a shitty job (sales associate at Kmart) with not much to do and being worried about whether I would do ok in college, but I've pretty much forgotten all that. I guess that's how your brain works. At least, that's how it is for me.

So, for my summer soundtrack of 2011, I'm going to include "Dreaming", "Late Summer", and "With You" by Seapony, "Boyfriend" and "Crazy for You", by Best Coast, something by The Raveonettes, and "Rill Rill" by Sleigh Bells, and probably some Ivy, and throw in a bit of The Sundays and the Lemonheads for nostalgia, and maybe "Walk in the park" by Beach House and "Weekend" by Smith Westerns, so Evan Dando isn't the only guy in the mix. And then I'll just see where it goes from there.

That's the nice thing about summer. It doesn't really matter if you have a plan, because it's warm, and ending up at the same bar you always go to seems special because you can sit outside.

Favorite Song

2011-05-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Is Oprah still going to let everyone know about her favorite things now that her show is over? I'm not sure, but fear not! Because I am going to tell you my favorite song. Right now, it's

"Forget that you're young" by the Raveonettes.

I love it! And I love her hair. It makes me want to make my hair lighter again - but I just had some lowlights put in. I'll have to see if we can go lighter this next time. My hairstylist probably hates me. But as long as my hair doesn't fall out, I don't really mind.

Anyway, check out this song! The whole album is great, too. We listened to it on the way to Vashon. It made me feel like I was in a video and I temporarily forgot about my potato chip zit. Now, that's a great song.

Vashon Island

2011-05-31T18:37:00.001-07:00

Aaron and I made a little trip to Vashon Island over the weekend. It was super fun! I can't believe I had never been there before.

We drove over to West Seattle at about 1pm (that's my kinda day trip - it's more of an afternoon trip) and caught the 1:40pm ferry. It took about 15 minutes to get to Vashon.

We had lunch at the Hardware Store, which was really good! I had a BLT (with no "T") and Aaron had a portobello mushroom sandwich.

Then we went to KVI beach and Lisabuela beach.

We had sundae at Zoomie's. They only had one size - Large - so Aaron and I shared a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and nuts. (I got the nuts in a little side dish, because Aaron is not a fan of nuts - except for me. Thank you - I'm here every Tuesday night.)

After our sundae, we drove around a little bit. It was really pretty! And then we came upon a farm with goats!

I love goats. I hope to have some as pets someday. They are so cute! And these guys were going to town on some weeds that were growing in their pasture.

On the way back to the ferry, we passed a house with a huge yard. I thought they had more goats, but after I asked Aaron to back up and drive by again, we realized they were dear! Oh, dear!

There were five altogether and they were just chillin'.

So, it was a nice and easy trip and it made us feel like we'd really been somewhere. I'd do it again.

Is that a potato chip on your face?

2011-05-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

I had just arrived at my Mom's house the other day, and promptly took a seat at the kitchen table, ready to tie on the proverbial feedbag. My Mom was busy making lunch and eating Sour Cream and Onion chips, and had her back to me. I was in the process of telling her about a recent trip to the Rack with Aaron.

"Well, we were looking for jeans, which is never fun for anyone, and -"

"WHAT is that on your face?!" my Mom interjected as she turned to me, cheese sandwich plate aloft in her hand.

"Huh? Where?" I asked, confused at what could have befallen me between that moment and my last mirror check in the car rearview 30 seconds ago.

"There!" She pointed to the lower portion of my face, adding, "Is that a piece of potato chip?"

"What? No! On my chin? No, it's not a potato chip," I spat, "It's a zit! Thanks for noticing."

She tried to backpeddle, but only succeeded in digging herself in deeper. She said something about how it was just how the light was hitting it - like that makes it better. Like, oh, that ginormous pimple that resembles a piece of snackfood that is melded to your chin? I can only see it when the light illuminates it a certain way. You know, like daylight? But in the dark? You're golden. Can't see it at all.

This whole exchange made me feel like I should put a bag over my head. (Maybe an empty chip bag would work?)

Later, my Mom said my giant blemish looked like a mole, but I didn't believe her. It was too late to try to make me feel better. The damage was done.

I mean, if you can't rely on your Mom to tell you bold-faced lies right out of the gate, what can you rely on?

Top 10 of 2010 (Ok, it's really the top 16)

2011-01-11T17:20:00.000-08:00

I came up with this list right before Christmas. It was going to be a surprise CD for Aaron, but I needed his help to actually make the cover and remember how to burn it to a CD from the playlist. This was the picture I used for the cover:

I'm usually listening to my clock radio (from circa 1986) in the bedroom, so whenever I get on iTunes, it's, "Hey, how do I burn this to a CD again?" and "How do I print out the playlist so that it will fit in the jewel case?"

Anyway, here's the list.

Best of 2010
1. Mouthful of Diamonds - Phantogram
2. Not in love - Robert Smith and Crystal Castles
3. Sprawl II – Arcade Fire
4. Swim – Surfer Blood
5. Plastic People – Four Tet
6. Swim until you can’t see land – Frightened Rabbit
7. Boy Lilikoi – Jonsi
8. Sun – Caribou
9/10. Dancing on my own and Hang with me – Robyn
11. Crystalised – The xx

I added a few others to this playlist, too. So, it's kind of the top 16. Sweet 16? At any rate, here they are:

12. Like a G6 – Far East Movement
13. Dynamite – Taio Cruz
14. I Like That - Luciana/Richard Vission/Static Revenger
15. F**k You - Cee Lo Green
16. Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Yeah, some of that last bunch are a wee bit embarrassing, but that's taste for you.

Walkabout with Bob Dole

2010-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Since quitting my gym membership, my main form of exercise is now going on walks. I’ve always liked walking. You pretty much just have to get up, put on your shoes and whatever gear you need for the weather, and go. Walking is great because you don’t have to talk to anyone or be polite and share equipment or look good or drive anywhere or park or mentally prepare yourself. You just put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be walking out the door.

I have two walking routes that favor. Both routes are about two miles round-trip. The one I choose is based on two questions: How scrubby is my outfit and is it dark outside? If my outfit is scrubby and it’s light out, then I go the “backway”. This means that I head down the alley, pass Bartell’s, cross 85th and take a right in front of Kumon

(and why does their logo have a picture of a kid that’s not smiling? I guess I wouldn’t be smiling either if I had to go to math tutoring), then I head left up the street past the Buddhist temple and keep going until about 72nd, where I turn around and head back. This route is nice because I like looking at people’s house (everyone seems to be remodeling at the moment) and checking out their yards and flowers. Sometimes, I run into a friendly cat, but that’s rare. They usually run away or hiss at me. I think my movements are too quick, like a little kid, because Aaron never has this problem. Cats love him.

The other route is along Greenwood. Aaron likes this route. If it’s dark and/or I have a presentable outfit on (cute winter hat, sporty jacket, etc). We head up Greenwood on our side, cross over by Ken’s Market and then head back. It’s interesting to check out the windows of shops and have more to look at than just houses.

Aaron listens to his iPod a lot when we walk together. I do sometimes. A lot of times, I like to just enjoy the silence and think. But when I do bring my iPod, I listen to dancey-pop or electronic music (or would it be electro pop? Top 40? Music with a pop sensibility? I could never work for Pitchfork –I’m terrible at classifying music) , like Kylie Minogue, Fergie, The Black Eyed Peas, Crystal Castles and Cut Copy. And when I hear dance music, I likes to dance. So I usually do a little Running Man/Cabbage Patch/Robot Rock medley. At this point, Aaron rolls his eyes so far back in his head that it looks like he has cataracts like the guy that used to play blues music in the tunnel to the tube station by my flat in London.

Then I collapse into a giggling fit and inform him that I’m going to “power walk” the rest of the way. Last time this occurred, Aaron said, “It’s fine if you power walk, but it just looks weird after a while because you keep your left arm bent, but your right arm kind of lags and falls down like your arm is broken.” Huh. This can’t possibly by true. So, I forged on with physical fitness on my mind and my Booty Shaker mix in my ears.

About half-way through the walk, I looked down at my arms. Hmmm. My right arm was kind of hanging down at an odd angle, like my 6th grade computer teacher, Mr. Kleis, who had a dead hand. (It was rumored that he would bang his dead hand on his desk when he was angry, but I never witnessed that.)

So I turned to Aaron, did a little soft shoe, and said, “Hey, Aaron, Bob Dole says hi!” Then Gwen Stefani came on and I reminded everyone within earshot that “I ain’t no Hollaback Girl!”.

It’s no surprise that sometimes he wants to go on walks by himself.

I'm ba---aaack

2010-08-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted in almost a year. Where to begin? A lot has changed, and yet nothing has changed. These are the days of our lives, grasshopper. Or something like that.

What I can say for sure if that I have missed the self absorbed indulgence that blogging brings me. Facebook is not the same. I am not witty with just 140 characters or whatever you are limited to on Facebook updates. If I wants to blather on about the lady at Safeway with the bedazzled eyepatch, then, by God, I need space. Lots of space.

Plus, take my recent trip to the Goodwill with my Mom and my Aunt as an example. I just posted on Facebook about it, but it will be lost in the shuffle with posts about Mafia Wars, groups for people who don't want to know that you just had a bagel for lunch, and updates from things that you randomly clicked "like" on and are too lazy to "unlike" them - like Dick's Drive-In. Sure, I like them, but do I really need updates from them? NO. Am I going to do anything about it? Let's be realistic. I have pictures of dirty pigs to post. I don't have the time. (Also, I'm not really sure how to "unlike" something and make it go away. It's easier to just scroll over it.)

Ok, so back to the pigs. My Aunt just started collecting pig figurines. So, when we were at the Goodwill, my Mom showed her these adorable pig salt and pepper shakers. They were wrapped in plastic, which we thought was odd, when all the other shakers were sitting on a shelf. But no matter, these were cute, pink pigs, for the low, low price of $1.50. My Aunt was sold!

When we got home and she unwrapped the pigs and set them on the table, we were all silent for a moment.

Huh. I remarked, "Hey! One is sitting down and the other one is kind of standing up! And they fit together, like they're sitting together or something or...Oh, my God!!!"

My aunt exclaimed, "They're fornicating pigs!!"

Oh, dear.

These are the types of hijinks and shenanigans that I tend to get up to. You know you've missed knowing every intimate detail.

Back to School

2009-09-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

I walked by the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Store the other day and noticed they had a "Back to School" sign in their window.

It is that time of year!

I moved in for a closer inspection and saw that they also had some vintage-y typewriters and books displayed.

It made me think of the last time I used a typewriter. I think it was probably to type up an application - possibly in high school or right at the beginning of college. My Dad always had a beastly IBM Selectric and was a big proponent of typing applications. I always felt that it was kind of a pain, but my penmanship is atrocious.

I did learn how to type on a typewriter, though. I took typing in 10th grade and had Mrs. Walz. She had severed the tendon in her forefinger on one of her hands, so it would never bend - it just pointed out straight. She could still type like a mofo, though. She was also quite a stickler. We had to learn how center headings by counting off and using some weird formula (something about 60 and 30?). Indenting was five spaces and I think you had to make something like 5 carriage returns to start at the right place on the page. Gawd. I feel so old.

Thank the Lord for computers! They're new fangled, but I think they're here to stay. But I wonder if Mrs. Walz still has a typewriter?

Painted Garden

2009-09-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Aaron told me earlier this summer that his oldest brother (Bell and Cup) had designed a website for his middle brother and middle's brother wife's business. Their business is called The Painted Garden and they design hand-painted slates and also do hand-painted murals.

I cruised over to their new website to check it out. The design is very cool! I think the site does a good job of capturing the feeling of an inviting garden where you find slate markers welcoming you, without smacking you over the head with country rabbits and weathered wooden signs in red, white and blue. I like the dark blue/light blue background, which is understated without being boring or distracting. I also like how all the tabs are laid out in an orderly fashion and how clearly and aesthetically pleasing everything appears. Navigating from page to page feels seamless and intuitive.

The slates themselves are beautiful! I like that there are many different choices (from flowers to dog breeds), but that you can also personalize your own sign. If I were going to personalize one, I would have it say "Slug Crossing" with a painting of a banana slug. (My Mom painted one like that on a piece of drift wood when I was little and posted it on the way to the outhouse at my grandparent's cabin on Whidbey Island.) Aaron also tried to personalize a, shall we say, "colorful" slogan on his slate, thinking that it might show up on the slate right then on the computer, but his plan was thwarted. Perhaps Santa will bring him a sign that says, "Get out of my f-ing garden. You suck."

Aside from a personalized marker, I also especially like this slate,

which is both creative and utilitarian.

The website also touches on the Painted Garden's murals, which I have seen in person. They did a really cool mural in my niece's bedroom with ladybugs and flowers on the walls. It was so cute! I would have loved something like that when I was a kid.

So, I gotta say, Aaron's whole family is pretty artistic! I'm impressed!

The Kennedy School

2009-09-15T16:34:00.001-07:00

After our relaxing weekend on the Oregon Coast, Aaron and I beetled over to Portland for one night at the Kennedy School. OMG, I want to live at the Kennedy School. It. Is. The. Bomb!!! Do people still call things the bomb? I remember things being the bomb in college, but maybe not as much now? Is it more about things being bananas now?

At any rate, we pulled into the free parking lot (no worries about pay parking or finding a spot!) and checked in. Our room had the most gorgeous classroom windows!

And over the windows? You guessed it - blackout curtains!!! I was in heaven. And outside the windows? Beautiful oak trees. They reminded me of the trees outside the 3rd floor west windows at the library at Western (No, not Western State, smarty pants - Western the university). So peaceful.

Our room was decorated with an old-timey whimsy, complete with nursery rhymes stenciled on the wall

and TWO chalkboards!

There were also about five bars/restaurants, a movie theatre, and a soaking pool! It was all so cute that I could barely stand it.

We had dinner in the Courtyard Restaurant and then had drinks in the Cypress Room and the Boiler Room.

We were going to go to the Detention Bar and the Honor Bar, but they closed early. Rats!

They did a wonderful job of maintaining the elementary school feel of the building. The floors were a beautiful hardwood, there were old pictures of the students from when it was a school

and they kept some of the original fixtures, like very low-to-the-ground water fountains for little kids.

For breakfast, we went back to the outdoor seating area at the Courtyard Restaurant and then packed up the Mazda and cruised back up to Seattle.

It was so fun! It would be a perfect place to go with a group of friends. I hope we can go back sometime soon!

Oregon Coast

2009-09-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I went to the Oregon Coast over the weekend! Some friends of ours have a cabin down there and generously offered to let us stay in it. So we took them up on it!

We drove down on Friday and arrived pretty late in the evening, so it was pitch dark. We couldn't see the ocean, but we could hear the crashing waves and smell the salty air. I couldn't wait to get up the next day and go down to the beach!

When we woke up Saturday morning, we went up to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast. When we came up the stairs and into the living room, we were met with the most gorgeous view of the ocean waves!!

So we ate breakfast quickly, got dressed and scampered down to the beach like raccoons.

The beach was gorgeous!

Aaron and I both had our cameras and I started snapping pictures, while directing Aaron to take pictures of me. "Take one here by this drift wood!" "Take one of me running by the waves and then I'll look over at you!"

"Ok, now let's take one of us together and I'll pretend to be kissing you!" I do this to whomever I am with until they want to strangle me - usually it's Aaron, but I pushed my Mom and my brother over the edge recently, too. But, meh. I say it's part of my charm.

Anyway, I was so excited to get down to the water that I didn't put on any make-up or do anything to my hair. I just decided to go for that "natural look". Well kids, there's the natural look of light make-up with tinted moisturizer, loose powder, concealer, clear gloss, some volumizing mascara, peachy blush, and a bit of champagne colored eyeshadow over some nude eye base with just a skoosh of smudgy brown liner. Then you've got the hair that sports "beachy" waves (after a lengthy flat-iron sesh complete with oils and pomades to combat the humidity, while allowing for movement so you don't end up with "wings" when the ocean breezes tousle your "just rolled out of bed" looking hair). So, yeah, there's that - and THEN there's the purple vein eyelids, bags under the eyes complete with ruddy complexion and rounded out by puffy hair smashed down with a woolen hat. I went for the latter, and let me tell you...ALL those pictures got deleted (except for the ones taken from a great distance). Thank God for digital cameras.

After frolicking on the beach, we headed back up the path to the cabin. There were some really pretty flowers along the path.

Then we went into town for some lunch. We stopped into a pub/bar for a hamburger. It was lovely until a group of older men settled in for the football game. They exclaimed with passion every time somebody did something wrong, in hopes that if they yelled loud enough, the tiny tight end in the tv might hear them? And every few seconds, one of them would say, "Dude, he totally Hansel-ed it!" Aaron thought that they had a friend with the last name "Hansel" that had previously committed some sort of faux-pas, and now it was their inside joke. Ah-ha. But, distractions aside, my hamburger was delish and Aaron enjoyed his fish burger, too.

After lunch, we toodled around, picked up some groceries and went back to the house to relax. And relax we did. I took a nap while Aaron fussed with his magical iPhone apps. Then it was time for me to freshen up (read: apply every cream, powder, gloss and serum that I own) and then head back to the beach for a walk in the sand (and more pictures). We didn't see any sand dollars, but I did see a razor clam.

Later in the evening, we had dinner and a few tasty beverages.

The next morning, we went to Wanda's cafe for breakfast.

Mmmm! The food was great and the decor was vintage quirky.

Loved it!

After tidying up, we headed out to continue our adventures in Portland. (More on that later.)

We had a great time and really enjoyed our stay at the cabin!

Mega Money

2009-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

Prior to a couple weeks ago, I had never bought a lottery ticket. Crazy, right? Doesn't everyone buy a scratch off when they turn 18? Well, I never did. I'm usually not a big gambler. I'd rather go out to eat or have a drink or go shopping.

But then my brother was telling me that he buys Mega Millions lottery tickets. I thought, oh, well, what the hell - one dollar won't kill me, right? I had him explain to me exactly what to say. He said, "You tell them you want one Mega Millions lottery ticket. Duh."

So, I bought one.

Then, I got the mega ball match and won two dollars!!! Woooo!! And I went back and bought two more tickets.

And I had another match! It was one of the main numbers, so I won THREE dollars! I plan to go back today and buy three more tickets.

Aaron thinks that lotteries are a tax on stupid people. But I say, you have to play to win. So cross your fingers for me!

Alluring

2009-09-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Aaron got me a subscription to Allure (what a sweetheart!) and I look forward to reading it and drooling over new product every month when the latest magazine arrives. So when the September issue appeared in my mailbox, I tore into it, as usual.(Oooh, new Lash Blast LENGTHENING mascara! Must get to Walgreen's, stat!)

As I was flipping through, I came to the section where they usually pick a treatment (hair coloring, massage, spray tanning, etc) and then review various salons throughout the country that offer said treatment and review each location. This month the category was "Real Deals", so all the services cost $100 or less. They had salons in New York, of course, then a few other big cities (LA and San Francisco) and a few smaller towns thrown in for good measure, like Ferndale, Michigan (where the hell is Ferndale, MI?), and, WHA? Renton, Washington??

Oh, snap!! It's my school! I was so excited!

The review started out a bit snarky sounding:

But ended on a positive note:

School starts for me on September 21st! Soon, I will be learning to give facials and do waxing! I'm excited, but kind of nervous, too!!

Bump It, Baby

2009-09-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

I admit it - I get sucked into As Seen On TV products. So when I first saw the commercials for Bumpits, I was, shall we say, intrigued. I thought, I could use more volume in the crown. How come my hair won't tease up properly and ends up looking flat and sad? Dammit, I want to go from FLAT to FABULOUS!

Then, I saw a Tyra show that was reviewing products seen on tv (I searched high and low, but I couldn't find the clip - however, I did find a clip of Ellen, Jenna Fisher and Bumpits that was amusing). The reviewer on Tyra said Bumpits really work!

I didn't want to order them off tv, but then I saw them at Walgreen's for about $10!

I laid down my hard-earned money, said "Bump It, Bump It up" about ten times to myself while snickering, and purchased them. Here's what you get:

Two big Bumpits and one small Bumpit - PLUS a teasing comb and an instruction manual. (I got the one for blonde hair, but they come in other hair colors, too.)

So, did they work? Well, I followed the instructions, which are pretty clear.

You rat up your hair, place the Bumpit behind the teased hair, hairspray it, smooth your hair over the Bumpit, being careful not to push down on your hair, because then the Bumpit teeth will show trough, then spray it some more. They don't feel heavy, they don't cut into your scalp and they do stay in place way better than I expected.

I used the smallest one in combination with an up-do and picked up Aaron at the airport when he got back from Ohio. He didn't scream when he saw me and when I grilled him about it (Welcome home, how's my hair?), he said you couldn't see the plastic through my hair and it looked nice.

That's all fine and good but what about the bigger Bumpits? Well, they give such a dramatic over-the-top Peg Bundy look, that I would never wear them out in public.

But I could just keep using the smaller one, right? Well, the only time that I did put the small one in (the airport pick-up), I just worried the whole time that you could see it through my hair and was vaguely aware that I had a hard piece of plastic on top of my head.

After much vacillation (Maybe I could use them on Halloween?), I decided to return the Bumpits. So, I got my money back, got to re-spend the money (on a shirt and some glassware at the Goodwill!) and avoided

looking like I have a conjoined twin hiding under my hair.

Two Hits and a Miss

2009-09-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Since I'll be a student soon, I've been trying some drugstore brand make-up this summer in an effort to conserve funds. After the LashBlast success, I decided to give a few more CoverGirl products a shot.

I tried CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain Lip Color in Sassy Mauve, CoverGirl Exact EyeLights Mascara in Black Gold for Hazel Eyes, and CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in Shimmering Onyx.

The black eyeshadow was by far the best thing I have bought in the last few months (high or low-end brand). It has excellent color payoff and I have used it wet and dry. Used wet, it is a great liner. Used dry, you can get a smudgy liner look or smoke it out for a more dramatic look. It's also great for crease color to create depth. It really opened up a lot of looks for me and for around three bucks, it's more than worth it. I was thinking of trying this first and then buying a Nars black eyeshadow, but I'm so happy this the CoverGirl shadow, that I'm going to put my money elsewhere. The only drawback, of course, is the packaging. It's plastic and reminds me of high school. But I'm willing to overlook that since the product works so well.

The second thing I tried was the Lash Exact Eyelights. I wanted a mascara with the rubber brush and I thought it looked intriguing. It goes on nicely and you can put on about 6 or 7 coats without clumping problems if you use the wiggle and blink application technique. As far as the color, it's pretty much black. There are a couple gold flecks, but nothing really noticeable. I haven't tried the formulas for other eye colors. I just chose the one for hazel eyes because I like gold in eye make-up. I didn't notice that it made my eyes pop more than regular mascara, but it did lengthen and volumize and looked like maybe I had put in a couple clumps of false eyelashes. It's very nice and I plan to use it until it dries out, but I think I will go back to LashBlast next time.

Lastly, I tried the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain lip color. This stuff was a disappointment. I think part of the problem is that I'm not a lipstain girl. I like thick gloss or dark, opaque berry colors. So this was a bit tame for me. Color tastes aside, it felt weird going on - kind of like a Magic Marker and was very watery in consistency. The color didn't last long, was dry and if you put too much on, it starts to peel and ball up on your lips. I will stick with my MAC lipstick and MAC lipglass, thank you.

But if you want a cheap thrill - try the black eyeshadow! I promise if you apply it with a light hand, you won't look like all emo.

New's Noodles

2009-09-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I tried out New's Noodles on Greenwood the other night.

Aaron was in the mood for pho (what the fuh? Heh, sorry, that joke never gets old), so we made our way a block and half down the street for some vittles.

They did a good job of making it seem more like a restaurant and not at all like a record store (it's where Golden Shower of Hits used to be).

They put the seating area in the front of the space and the kitchen/bathrooms are in the back. So it gets pretty good light and seems even airier when it's warm enough to roll up the garage door.

Our server was an older Asian man, who, I assume, is the owner. He was pleasant, filled our water glasses and gave us a few minutes to decide what to order. I picked a Thai cashew/veggie dish with chicken over rice and Aaron got tofu/veggie pho.

Our food arrived quickly and the servings were on the large side. (Score! I love leftovers.) In addition to chicken and cashews, my dish had red/yellow peppers, onions and mushrooms. I picked out the mushrooms, but other that, it was delish. I would totally order it again. It was $8.50, which is not too shabby.

Aaron's pho was ok, he said, but when we asked if the broth was vegetarian, we were informed that it was beef broth. Aaron ate it, but said he prefers Than Brothers pho in Ballard.

So, it might be a place that I go with friends or to get take-out. Because I plan to go back one way or another. It's not posh, but it's close, the service is great and my food was tasty.

Bling-y Anniversary

2009-09-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today is Aaron's and my three-year wedding anniversary! I am so goofed up on dates, though, that I did not realize this until last night, when I wrote the date for tomorrow's (now today's) food journal entry. (Yep, I stopped the journal at the beginning of my vacation and now the prized size 8 Banana Republic jeans don't fit. Well, I can get them on, but then I can't breathe. Hence, the journaling again.)

Soooo, I got to work putting together a gift and a card to commemorate the occasion. I also mentioned it to Aaron to see if he remembered. He was coy, but then said that, yes, he did indeed know what September 2nd was. We agreed that I would make dinner tonight and that he would get home at a specified time to eat said dinner.

This morning, he surprised me with a card and a small plastic container - Ohmigod- Bling teeth from the Safeway gumball machine!

I immediately tried to thrust them in my mouth, but then realized I was still wearing my nighttime bite guard (You see, it was early morning, because Aaron knows I like to get my gifts first thing in the morning on holidays, birthdays, etc). I took out the nightguard and popped in the bling teeth. Awwwww yeah, bitches! I noticed they are some kind of vamp bling teeth, but I guess vampires are all the rage these days. (Maybe I can go as Jam Master Cullen or Snoop Vamp for Halloween.)

I got Aaron a picture frame with pictures of us both wearing Billy Bob teeth (seriously, before I even knew he got me bling teeth - we, like, totally read each other's minds, right?) and then one nice one from our wedding that he can put on his desk at work and not garner comments like, "Oh, that's your wife? And she goes to school. That's nice, dear. Does she go to a special school?"

And, not to worry - we will be celebrating in style in a few weeks when we go to the Kennedy School in Portland. Can't wait! I will definitely bring my teef with me!

Will you take this gift that's being offered to you today?

2009-08-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Aaron sent me this Funny or Die video called "Intervention Intervention". It's super funny! I took a short break from watching "Intervention" to watch it.

And, I mean, I only watched two episodes yesterday. The one with the guy (Brad) that's back from Iraq and is an alcoholic that works in a liquor store and the one about the brothers (Sebastian and Marcel) with the South American parents that are both heroin addicts. Ok, I would have watched three episodes, but I had already seen the one about Donny the meth addict.

I wonder if Aaron is trying to tell me something? Oh, he just texted me that I have to meet him for the final interview. Wha? Is that like "Final Fantasy"? He knows I don't like video games...

LA Ink

2009-08-16T10:53:00.001-07:00

I just started watching LA Ink a few days ago on OnDemand and I LOVE it!

I know it's been on for a few seasons, but it was one of those shows that I thought I might want to watch and then forgot about. But when I saw that Kat Von D had a make-up line at Sephora, I became more interested.

Kat seems really down to earth and kind of reminds me of Cher. I think it's the deep voice. (I wonder if she can turn back ti-ome?) I like that she's a female business owner and it's cool to see her doing what she loves. I especially like that she is so interested in each person that comes in to get a tattoo. She never acts like the person shouldn't be getting a tattoo of their dog on their calf or that it's lame to get a portrait of their mother on their chest.

The other tattoo artists seem laid back and also nice to the clients and to each other. Except for Aubrey, of course. I guess she was on Rock of Love 2, which I missed. She looks like the typical ex-stripper they would have on that show. (Not that I don't love watching Bret Michaels and his, ah, potential mates.) She apparently is not an ex-stripper, but owned or managed three businesses, yadda yadda. She's super irritating and it sounds like everyone on the LA Ink forums is fed up with her, too. It seems like Kat could just fire her and be done with her annoying antics. But more surprising is why Aubrey doesn't quit. (One disgusted glare from Adrienne and I would be slinking out the door, never to return.) I guess that's reality tv for you.

All the drama aside, I enjoy watching the tattoo process and it's cool to see what people come up with and how happy they are once they are "inked". It's also fun to see what kind of outfits Kat is going to be able to pull off. She's definitely got a Runaways era Joan Jett thing going on. (Btw, I can't wait to see Kristen Stewart play Joan Jett!)

I personally don't have any tattoos. Although, I was going to get this Celtic style puma tattoo on (yep, you guessed it) my lower back when I was in college. Then I found out it would be $300. So that plan went by the wayside since I didn't actually have $300. But that was a silver lining, because not only would I now have a tramp stamp, but I also saw the same design on a sticker on the back of a car in the Navy gym parking lot in Oak Harbor a few years later. Lame.

So, I'll just be content to watch other people get tattoos and hope that Aubrey gets fired soon.

Almay Smart Shade Makeup, Light 010

2009-08-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

My Mom bought some Almay Smart Shade Makeup in Light at Walgreen’s.

I have to admit, I thought it would be crap. I was skeptical of the “color matching” properties and figured that it was all hype about how it goes on white and then matches to your skin color. It seemed like hocus pocus or moods rings or other tomfoolery.

She tried it and raved about it. She said it went on smoother than her Bobbi Brown concealer, was a great color and didn’t seem too dry or cakey. I thought, “Wha? Drugstore concealer better than something from the make up counter?”

She offered to let me try it out and see what I thought. I’ve never been drawn to Almay products in the past. I figured I would hate it, as I have not had good luck with concealers of any brand. My undereye area is very crepey and often looks like crushed up, damp tissue paper with beige paint over it after I put on concealer. It can be horrifying, so I pretty much haven’t been using concealer for quite a while.

So, the other day, I gave it a go. I squeezed a bit on the back of my hand. It came out white and then turned beige-y when it came in contact with air and became even less white when I swished my brush around in it. The consistency was creamy and smooth without being runny or thin. I swiped some on my eyelid, below my eye and on my lower lash line. It went on like a dream and concealed all the purple tones, blue veins, and pink skin under my brow bone. The color appeared shear and was nice and light for my skin. It didn’t even crinkle up the thin skin under my eyes. I was amazed.

But I thought, “Yeah, it looks good now, but I bet it will wear badly and look crummy by the end of the day.” So I monitored the appearance of the concealer as the day went on. What I observed was crease-free, smooth and sheer. It never ran, smudged or migrated into fine lines.

I’ve tried a lot of concealers and this is the best one so far. Happy day! I am floored that it’s only $9 and I plan to purchase a tube for myself post haste.

Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials

2009-08-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

I had been meaning to try this eye base ever since Daisymayrobin and I had our makeovers at the Trish counter. I finally got on the stick and bought some at Nordstrom a few weeks ago.

I chose “Bare” because I thought it would be something different than all the champagne shimmer eyeshadow that I already own.

The eye base comes in a glass tube with a doe foot applicator. (I think that’s what they’re called – it’s an applicator like you’d find in a lip gloss.) The handle of the applicator is silver and the font on the tube is refined and understated. The overall packaging is classy and makes you feel like you’re using high end product.

How does it work, you ask? Well, I swipe off some product onto a brush and apply it that way. The color matches my skin quite well, so it’s very fair. It has the consistency of thick concealer – not quite like stick concealer, but definitely thicker than liquid concealer or foundation. It’s on the dry side, so I make sure to have freshly applied eye cream before I put on the eye base. It blends pretty well on my lids and does a good job at covering up the veins and purplish color of my eye area. It helps to keep my eye make-up true and opaque when I apply it over the base. I have tried it under my eyes, too, just for fun, and it goes on a little clumpy and dry for that. But I guess it’s not really meant to be an under eye concealer.

Would I buy it again? I don’t think so. It’s $24 and I find it to be just so-so. There are other cheaper eye primers or concealers that you can use as eye primer, so this is not an HG product for me.

Birthday Boating

2009-08-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our friend D's birthday. I had arranged to make cupcakes, but then my motivation wavered when the temperatures reached the 100s mid-week. I was leaning toward buying a cake or something, so, of course, had to eat the Betty Crocker can of frosting that I had bought. Mmmmm, hydrogenated oils.

But, then, Saturday morning the heat lifted. I fired up the oven and baked a batch of white cupcakes with white frosting (had to buy another can from Safeway.) They turned out great, if I do say so myself!

Next, I had the idea to cut out pictures of D's head and put them on toothpicks on the cupcakes. I selected a bunch of pictures and Aaron put just the heads in Photoshop and made them so they folded over. We cut them out, attached them to cocktail picks with double-sided tape - and voila!

We were proud of our creation and they were a big hit! Yay!

We celebrated on a friend's tugboat and snapped a few pics.

Andy Samberg and T-pain didn't make an appearance, but I sang, "I'm on a boat! I'm on a motherf**kin' boat" to Aaron. I think he appreciated it. (And, yes, I was wearing my flippy floppies.)

The view was amazing!

We even got to go on a ride on a Chris Craft motor boat!

It was good times and I finally appreciated the warm weather. It's not too often you can wear a sundress at 10pm in Seattle and not have hypothermia set in.

It's hot in the hot tub

2009-07-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

So according to the news, yesterday was the hottest day ever in the Seattle area. Ever. Since they started keeping temperature records in 1891.

I was up in the Mill Creek area yesterday and the Walgreen's sign up there said it was 109 degrees!! WTF??

I was starting to feel delusional - probably from heat exhaustion - and all I could think about was Eddie Murphy's James Brown skit on SNL. "It's hot in the hot tub! Gon' make ya sweat! Ha!"

It doesn't look like the heat is going to let up. The five-day forecast has lots of fiery suns and high temps.

I wonder what Antarctica is like this time of year? Maybe it's time to ditch the staycay and head out for a real vacay. Here I come, penguins!

Save me some regurgitated fish. Mmmmm.

Hot in the cit-ay

2009-07-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's so hot that my friend K's cat was panting! Have you ever seen a cat pant? I hadn't. So last night, I helped her get a cooling bed from Mud Bay and a box fan from her boyfriend's house. Today, her hot kitty

is at the vet, because the vet's office is allowing people to bring their pets in since it's going to be 100 degrees today. I know, I can hardly believe it either. It's so toasty in the computer room at home that I am already sweating and it's not even 9am yet.

So stay cool and hydrate, chickadees! I am off to the bedroom for some a/c. Ahhhh.

How you feelin'? Hot, hot, hot!

2009-07-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

It was so hot in the condo yesterday afternoon, that fans alone could not do the job.

So, Aaron and I just threw in the towel and holed up in the bedroom with the a/c.

I love you, Amcor portable a/c unit!

We stocked up on books and magazines

and basically just lolled around in the cool breeze until it was time for bed.

I am tempted to put another update on Facebook about our toasty weather, but I hesitate because the last one was met with a snarky comment from a friend in Texas about whether it was a mere 80 degrees up here. Well, I've got new for you, missy! The Walgreen's sign says there's a heat advisory in effect this whole week!

So, suck on that, bitches!

Pimpin'

2009-07-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I were on a walk the other day and unsuspectingly passed by this silver Scion (it's right in between the tan SUV and the blue mini-van).

As we got closer, I noticed lace along the top of the passenger-side window. Then, I leaned in for a closer look.

It was like Hello Kitty pimped their ride with a Bedazzler! Everything was pink and blinged out. There were even pink satin pillows on each seat!

Oh snap!

Dishwasher Breakdown

2009-07-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was chillin' and sifting through a fresh envelope of clippings that my Dad sent me. (He forwards a lot of articles online, but still enjoys clipping actual articles.)

As I was reading about the large number of Norwegian descendants in North Dakota (who knew?), I heard a loud mechanical sound. I thought maybe it was outside, and then realized it was coming from our kitchen!

I raced out and saw that the dishwasher was running and making a horrible noise, like it was clogged up! Curses! I thought for a brief second about the clear brush protector that fell out of my make-up brush glass when I turned it over and placed it on the top rack. (I did search for it, but it was nowhere to be found.) But a teeny piece of plastic couldn't cause all this commotion, right?

I shouted for Aaron to come out and look at it. He turned it off and fetched the toolbox. I found the manual and reminded him to unplug the dishwasher so he wouldn't get electrocuted. He suggested just cutting the power. Good idea!

After opening the dishwasher door, Aaron tinkered around and then read the "Troubleshooting" section of the manual.

I said, "Uh, I think maybe, um, something might be stuck in there." And proceeded to explain about the tiny plastic brush protector from the MAC make-up set that I got for Christmas from my sister-in-law.

Aaron removed the cover on the soft food shredder/compacter and I dug around in the pool of water in the bottom of the dishwasher. Bingo! I found the culprit! It was indeed the plastic cover for my MAC mini 209 brush. (It looks like a crack vial, but I swear it's not.)

Aaron re-attached everything

and the dishwasher ran like a dream. Aaron averted another dishwasher disaster!

What a relief!

Parading Around

2009-07-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Greenwood Seafair Parade! I was actually not all that jazzed about it, but Aaron wanted to go down and take some pictures*, so he persuaded me to get up off the couch. (I was paralyzed with joy because for some strange reason, we still have a bunch of premium cable channels hidden in the high number channels - why? It's a complete mystery.)

Once we got down to street level, we got bird's eye seats right on the sidewalk. We saw the PAWS dogs! This little guy needs a doggie t-shirt that says, "That's how I roll."

So cute!

There were quite a few businesses in the parade - like PEMCO insurance (Socks and Sandals guy!)

And Vern Fonk! (Shapoopie!)

And the toe truck!

After standing for a while, our knees started to lock up. So Aaron raced upstairs to grab a couple of our deck chairs. Aaaaaah, that made everything more enjoyable.

There were also lots of drill teams

and some marching bands.

The Holman QFC had grocery cart choreography.

And there were the Seafair Clowns

and, of course, the Seafair Pirates! Aaarrr!

It was the best of the four Greenwood Seafair parades that I've attended. I think the chairs made a big difference.

A good time was had by all!

*Aaron took most of these pictures. I took quite a few, but later we realized that my lens had a smudge. Damn smudges!

I'll be up in the gym, just workin' on my fitness

2009-07-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I joined LA Fitness. I left the YMCA in February and thought that I could work out on my own at home. That was ok for a brief span of time, but it's not very easy to be motivated at home ("Hey, 'Intervention' is on!"), so I decided it was time to join a gym again.

They have a nice gym at LA Fitness and a pool, too! So far, I have worked out in the gym/weight area, done laps in the pool and taken a few classes. Pilates and water aerobics were both nice and gave me a good workout without hurting me. Then, I decided to try yoga.

I thought it would be relaxing and rejuvenating. A lot of other people must think that, too, because there were about 30 people in the class! When the teacher started class and began giving us instructions to do things like “child’s pose”, I thought, “Oh my God! He sounds just like Kim Jong Il in ‘Team America World Police’.” I smiled to myself and then wondered if I would be going to hell for thinking that.

I would have been laughing to myself, too, except that I was trying to breathe deeply and not fall over, which took all my concentration. It was an ass kicking class. Not relaxing at all. I was sweating like it was a step aerobics class. Usually it’s just me that’s sweating, but people around me were perspiring so much that they were swabbing off with towels, which made me feel better. I should have brought a towel, but all I had was my t-shirt sleeve, and believe me, I surreptitiously used both sleeves to wipe away errant sweat on more than one occasion during class.

Was it Hatha or Viniyoga? I’m not sure. But I did a back bend, some swan arms, a lot of downward-facing dog, and a lot of other balance and stretching poses that humans should not be asked to do. I wasn't sure that my back would ever be the same, but somehow I have recovered and can sit upright again.

Will I go back to yoga? Probably not. Although, I might try some other classes, like kick-boxing and maybe Spinning. I plan to avoid anything that requires dance coordination, like Hip Hop or Latin Dance. That Seinfeld where Elaine dances? Yeah, that could be me. Sweet fancy Moses. So I plan to stick to non-choreographed classes. I have my dignity.

Give a hoot

2009-07-20T18:30:00.001-07:00

With all my spare time, I've been able to hit up the Goodwill with relative frequency. It's been pretty sweet. Although, the Goodwill is busy all the time. I thought it was just Saturdays. Is everyone on staycation?

Even with all the competition, I have managed to score some good finds. Most recently, I found two sets of owl salt and pepper shakers.

They are so cute! I decided to keep the white set

and gave the brown set to Moxie P'toxy.

I love their little faces. Although, they do look a bit unimpressed. They appear to be saying, "We are bored stiff. Stiff as ceramic. Hey, wait, we are ceramic! We'll never be able to hunt for voles again. Man, I feel parched. I think I've been ingesting too much sodium. Well, at least you're not sneezing all the time. Achoo-whooo! Where is all this pepper coming from?"

But sometimes, despite their bored expressions, I have them say, "Who? Who?" or "Give a hoot don't pollute!" And then Aaron rolls his eyes, but I know he is secretly amused by my charade.

Brusha Brusha

2009-07-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

I got a catalog from Nordstrom in the mail last week and it showcased all the Anniversary sale deals. Flipping through it, I scanned over all the boots, purses and other accessories that I'd like to have, but, uh, don't really need to have. I thought I was home free until...I got to the make-up section. Hmmm, a few Smashbox sets, some Bobbi Brown palettes, and then I saw these MAC brushes!

Now, you might think I don't really need any more make-up brushes. Well, recently, I decided that my Bare Escentuals face brush is kind of scratchy. I also don't have a flat eyeliner brush and my concealer brushes are a wee bit stiff. But, the Shape and Perfect brush set has a fluffy skunk brush, a flat eyeliner brush AND a small concealer brush! Plus two more brushes that would be a great addition to my brush collection.

I did a bit of research online and saw that the 187 brush retails for $42 - just for that one brush! The set that Nordstrom has is $49.50 - for FIVE brushes! Now granted, the handles are travel size, so they are a little shorter than what you'd get if you bought the brushes separately. Some people might not like that, but I prefer a shorter handle, so that was a selling point for me. Then I checked the MAC website and saw a similar set for $125! That pushed me over the edge.

So, I sashayed over to Nordstrom on Friday morning - the day the sale started. The parking lot was already packed at 10am! When I went inside, it was like locusts had descended on a corn field. People were swarming around the shoe section and the make-up area was also very congested. But I zipped in, got my set and scurried out to my car. (Ok, I did take a stroll through the shoe department, but I have so many pairs of boots that I have already displaced a couple pairs of Aaron's shoes in the hall closet. And, yes, my closet is packed, too. So I'm cut off until I can figure out another storage location. Maybe the trunk of my car?)

As you might imagine, I am just smitten with the brushes! The 187 and the 194 are my favorites so far. I am also really enjoying that the numbers aren't worn off the handles. They look shiny and new! They've been touched for the very first time!

There is also the Define and Blend set if that yanks your chain. There were a lot of both sets on Friday, but judging by the volume of shoppers, they won't last long!

Drugstore Product

2009-07-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months, I've been trying a few different types of (mostly) drugstore skincare produtcts. I started out with some suggestions from the book “The Youth Equation: Take 10 Years Off Your Face” by Jeffrey Dover and Cara Birnbaum.

Dr. Dover is a big proponent of Retin-A, which I already slather on every evening. He listed high end and drugstore products that he likes. I decided to go the budget route and sampled some more affordable products. Here’s what I tried:

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Ageless Lifting & Firming Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 - This was so stinky and perfumed that I only used it once. The fragrance never faded and I so it went back to Fred Meyer, never to be purchased again.

Olay Total Effects Eye Transforming Cream – Very thick and moisturizing. It did not mess up my eye-makeup application and I was bummed when I ran out of it. I would buy it again.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser Normal to Oily Skin – I already use this and I really like it. It has a light fragrance, lathers well, doesn’t make my eyes tear up, gets rid of make-up (even mascara) and it’s cheap! There are also generic versions at Target and Walgreen’s.

I was having so much fun trying new products that I decided to keep on going. So I decided to try a bunch of products that were not from the book, but that I had read about in magazines or just sounded good to me.

I gave these a shot:

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Ageless Firming Eye Cream – It stinks a little bit, the moisturizing power was adequate, but not fantastic. It didn’t really seem worth $22 after tax (at Fred Meyer – I see it’s cheaper on Drugstore.com), so I returned it.

Olay Definity Correcting Protective Lotion with SPF 15 --- This was so very stinky and heavily perfumed that I could not use it (My Mom had this – I gave it back to her.)

Neutrogena Moisture Oil Free Formula SPF 15 – This is your basic moisturizer. It barely smells at all, but doesn’t have that chemical “unscented” smell. It does make skin a bit shiny (nothing a little loose powder can’t fix). I always buy this and always come back to it. It’s very affordable and it does the job.

Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar – This soap smells nice, lathers well, it’s not too drying, but gets make-up off without stripping your skin. It’s also very cheap – I would buy it again.

Biore Nourish Moisture Lotion SPF 15 – This has a very nice floral smell that fades after you put it on. Light moisture, but I would like it more if it was a bit more hydrating. (It was Aaron’s face lotion, so I sampled a bit. Hey, even guys can have dry skin!)

Biore SkinPreservation See the Future Fortifying Eye Cream – This eye cream has a light smell that is not offensive and goes away after a few minutes. It’s hydrating without being greasy. My eye make-up goes on nicely over this cream. I would buy it again.

Aveda All Sensitive Moisturizer - I got this as a sample from a friend. It's got a hippie kind of scent that reminds me of the scent of olive oil. It's ok, but I kept feeling like I needed to put on more. It wasn't really hydrating enough for me. I wouldn't buy it. I will use it up as hand cream, though.

Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 45 – This stuff is very thick and has a strong sunscreen smell. It seems oily, but then doesn’t seem hydrating enough after it sinks in. My nose started to get dry and peely after I used it for a while. I gave it to my Mom to try. I wouldn’t buy it again.

None of these products made me break out. However, after all this testing, my nose and chin are peeling to the beat the band. I decided some gentle exfoliation with a wash cloth might do the trick. However, that just left my chin raw and red. Ouch. So, I pulled out the big guns (after remembering Tyra going bananas on her show – girlfriend is cuckoo) and resorted to Vaseline.

Yes, I put Vaseline on my chin. I know. I can’t believe it either. It seems to be helping, though, and (knock on wood) I haven’t broken out yet. Right now, I’m using regular Cetaphil, the Neutrogena SPF 15 Moisture lotion and the Biore eye cream. I’m hoping things get back to normal soon. At least I'm not rolling around on the floor screaming about Vaseline while wearing capri pajamas. It could be worse.

Langley

2009-07-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Whidbey Island with my Mom, since she is on summer vacation, too. It was a gorgeous day! We took the ferry from Mukilteo and the water was absolutely beautiful.

We took the Kittitas ferry on the way there and the Cathlamet on the way back. Those two boats have been doing that run for as long as I can remember.

When we got to Langley, we stopped at a bakery for lunch.

It was delish!

We wandered around and looked at the shops. Then we walked down to the water and saw some sea kayakers. That looks fun, but kayaking is a lot of work. I usually try to sit in the back of the double kayak and only paddle intermittently. (But shhhhhh, don't tell anyone.)

After we hiked back up from the water, we looked at a few real estate offices to see what's for sale. I would love to have a vacation home on the south end of the island. Maybe someday!

We toodled around a bit more and then headed back on the ferry.

It was a fun day, but all that sun turned me into one huge freckle! Just call me Pippi...

Herb

2009-07-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I toiled in the potting shed at my Mom's house to plant some herbs. (No, not that kind of herb.)

I chose peppermint, spearmint, spicy globe basil, cinnamon basil and English thyme. They all smell heavenly!

I put them out on our deck to make it seem more inviting and less like a prison yard.

As soon as Aaron buys a muddler, he is going to whip us up some mojitos with the spearmint and peppermint. ¡Ay, caramba! ¡Tengamos otra bebida! (Gracias, Free Translation.com.)

I quit my job.

2009-07-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

I quit my job. I cut my hair. You know I cut my boss because I don't care. You tried to get slick you bust a little chuckle. You're gonna get smacked with my gold finger knuckle.

Ok, I didn’t cut my boss or smack anyone with a gold finger knuckle, but I did quit my job. I know it’s kind of crazy “in this economy”, but I just had a “come-to-Jesus” as my old boss would say and realized that it was time for a change for Kittykat. So, that’s part of the reason that I’ve been M.I.A. (not the the “Paper Planes” MIA, but the missing-in-action variety). After a minor meltdown, I came up with a plan. Save some money. Check. Quit my job. Check. Take a staycation vacay (a “staycay”?). Check. Figure out what I want to do for a career next. Check.

Yep, after years of not knowing what the hell I wanted to do, I decided that I’d like to work in a field that has to do with something I care about. And what do I care about more than anything? Skin! So far, I’ve mostly been focused on my own skin, but I think I’d be good at caring for other people’s skin, too. I mean, I’ve only got so much skin to tend to, and it would be fun to help people combat their own skin issues. So, how about a dermatologist? Well, after some research, I saw that schooling to become a dermatologist would just take too long and besides, I don’t want to deal with things that are too icky, like fungus, psoriasis, or any bug-related skin issues (scabies and bed bugs, I’m looking at you.) I’m more into make-up, treatments and products people can use at home. I decided that I’m more suited to help with “age management” and general beautification/relaxation. After talking to my esthetician, she encouraged me to go to school full-time to become an esthetician myself! I thought, hell’s bells, that’s a good idea! So, I applied to school, got accepted and am pretty excited about the whole thing!

After my vacation, I’ll be heading back to school in the fall. If all goes well, I will graduate and become licensed in March 2010. Then, I’ll be looking for a job where I can pamper people. But not with actual Pampers. Although, I’m sure that, too, could be lucrative.

Glee

2009-05-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about a new show on Fox called "Glee". Ken Tucker gave a glowing review of the pilot and awarded it an overall A grade. It's about a group of mostly unpopular kids that are in glee club in high school and the teacher that leads them. I thought it sounded pretty good, so I DVR'ed it and watched it last night.

It was fantastic! I laughed, I cried and then I laughed again. The glee club is made up of a a bossy girl that is a good singer, a flamboyant gay boy (he asks the class bullies to let him take off his Marc Jacobs jacket before they throw him in the dumpster), a boy in a wheelchair, an African America girl with a lot of attitude, an Asian girl that stutters and football player that likes to sing Journey songs (Their teacher kind of conned him into joining glee club).

Their teacher is Mr. Schuester (but they call him Mr. Schu) and he is sweet and funny and used to be in glee club when he was in high school. His wife is a shrew and works 12 hours a week at store called Sheets n' Things.

The other teachers are pretty amusing, too. There is the nutrition teacher, who is a germ phobe. The PE teacher is a stocky guy that is hot for the nutrition teacher. And then there's the cheerleading coach, who is bossy and big headed because the cheerleaders were featured on FOX news.

It's a great show with high school bitchiness, cliques, wonderfully performed songs (like "Don't Stop Believing" and "Rehab"), characters that you love, characters that you hate and lots of jazz hands.

I guess it's not going to be on again until this Fall. I don't know if it will appeal to wide range of people, but I really hope it makes it. I know I'll be watching.

T3 Evolution

2009-05-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

After purchasing the T3 Featherweight and returning it, I was disappointed and disillusioned about high end hair dryers. I thought my Conair that I had since college was just fine, thank you very much. But then, it up and died. It just wouldn't turn on, kind of like a car with a dead battery. To make matters worse, it didn't just happen on a weekend day, when I have the luxury of time to get ready. Nope. It happened on a weekday, when I had about 10 minutes before I had to leave for work. Thankfully, I have a hairdryer/round brush styler thing that ended up working in a pinch.

But, I needed a new hairdryer - stat! So, I bought a cheapie Conair one at Bartell's. It was an IonShine model and I thought it would probably be fine. Well, at first it seemed ok. It dried my hair in an unremarkable fashion. No major shine, but what do you want for $15? But after the beauty school hair fry experience, my hair seemed like straw and the damn hair dryer didn't seem to be helping matters. Afraid my hair was starting to look like melted Barbie hair, I took some action.

I remembered that the T3 had a higher end model called the Evolution, that was supposed to be better than the Featherweight. I read reviews online on folica.com and qvc.com, which were mostly positive. So, I went to Ulta and looked at the Evolution. I didn't want to buy it off Folica and then have to ship it back if I didn't like it, so I bought it at Ulta for 300 bucks. I was in that crazy, desperate mood where I had to try it RIGHT NOW!

My plan was to use it for a while, then return it, and if I liked it, re-buy it from Folica for cheaper (where it is $220).

After trying it out, I have to tell you that it really does make your hair softer. I don't know how, but my hair is way smoother and seems a lot less damaged. I guess that tourmaline stuff really works. Some of the reviews make it sound like it will totally change your life - well, it's great, but it's not going to style your hair for you. I still have to flat iron after blow drying to get that super smooth Jennifer Aniston style hair, but the results are much better after blow drying with the Evolution and flat ironing, than with blow drying with the Conair and then flat ironing. It also didn't seem to dry my hair that much faster than other dryers that I've used. But it is very light (Aaron even commented on that) and it has a variety different controls (high medium and low for both temp and speed) and it has a cool shot button that really works. It also has a super long cord, which I like a lot.

With all that in mind, I went forward with my plan. I returned the Evolution to Ulta and planned to re-buy one on Folica. Well, then they were out of stock on Folica! Curses! But luckily for me, I was watching QVC the other day (yeah, I can't help myself) and the T3 Evolution was the Today's Special Value! Yeah, baby! So it was $204 and shipping was free, plus, they had EasyPay (three easy payments). I got on the horn and ordered one immediately. (It also comes with some volumizing serum called T3 Boost. Not that I need it, but it's free, so whatever. I'm sure I can use it up.)

If you want an Evolution and missed out on the Today's Special Value on QVC, they are back in stock on Folica.com. Shipping is usually free on Folica for orders over $100. Plus, they have sales all the time, so just sign up for email updates and you can probably get one with a sale code for less.

I'm so excited to have a high end hairdryer that I like! Yippee! No more melted Barbie hair for me!

Cakewalk

2009-05-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I were at Safeway last weekend getting our groceries (as one does). We were wandering past the frozen food aisle and I was thinking about whether or not we needed bread, when an announcement came over the intercom. "Good Afternoon, Safeway shoppers. We have a special going on every half hour in the bakery today. This half hour we're doing a cakewalk, so find a number on the floor and stand by it and we'll announce the winning number in a few minutes!"

Aaron and I looked at each other, then looked at the floor for numbers and scattered. I sprinted over to stand on the "three" in the wine aisle and Aaron disappeared to look for another number. Divide and conquer.

The announcer came back on and said, "The winning number is THREE!"

Oh. Hell. Yeah! I did a dorky little dance and the bakery lady came over and presented me with a singler layer chocolate cake. I was pretty stoked. Ok, that's an understatement. I was giggling deliriously and jumping around like the time I won $80 at a hotel casino in Halifax playing roulette. (I bet on the black five that day.)

I love cake. And I love free stuff. So free cake? It totally made my day! Thanks, Greenwood Safeway!

Dr. 90210

2009-05-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

My most recent guilty pleasure (and, yes, you're right, there are a lot of them) is to DVR the show "Dr. 90210".

It is great reality tv meshed with great documentary style plastic surgery. I could watch plastic surgery shows all day and it's interesting to see a bit of life outside the operating room to get a glimpse of what the doctors' lives are like.

The doctors that seem to get the most airtime are Dr. Rey and Dr. Diamond. Dr. Rey is Brazilian (he may also have a Brazilian, but they don't delve into it, so I can't be sure.) Dr. Rey is kind of a fruit loop, wears very flamboyant shirts, and has some kind of weird frosted hair.

However, he seems to really care about his patients and has a good bedside manner. Dr. Rey seems to be on the show the most. He does A LOT of breast augmentations. Coincidence that he gets the most airtime?

Dr. Rey's wife's name is Hayley and she probably weighs about 97 pounds. Her upper arms are the width of a number two pencil. She always looks mopey, probably because she hasn't eaten anything since 1999. They have two kids and I can't remember their names.

Dr. Diamond is also featured and he has a wife named Jessica, who is also a doctor, and they just had a baby. Jessica is beautiful and seems smart and nice. Dr. Diamond seems like kind of a dick (he asked if he had to be there while she was having their baby. Um? Yes.) He seems like a good surgeon, though. Watching him break a patient's nose with a hammer and some type of metal instrument to straighten the nose out is wince-worthy, but fascinating at the same time. (Fascinating to me, anyway. Aaron always retreats to the extra bedroom to play Grand Theft Auto when Dr. 90210 is on.) And the patient's nose turned out great. Nice and straight.

The doctor that I like the most is Dr. Kirby.

He is dreamy and seems pretty nice both in his office and at home. He recently gave a patient a "liquid facelift", which is comprised of multiple shots of Botox and Juvaderm to the patient's face. He apologized for the pain every time he stuck the patient with a needle, which I thought was sweet. He doesn't seem to be on the show as much, though, which is too bad.

The other doctors that I have seen are Dr. Li and Dr. Alter, but they haven't been on much since I've been watching. I noticed on the show's website that there have been more doctors featured, but they haven't been in any of the episodes that I've watched.

Dr. 90210 is captivating programming and satisfies my urge to watch people go under the knife. (I hate horror films, but slice someone up with a scalpel or inject toxins into their face and I'm there.)

Prime Time for Primer

2009-05-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Also included in the bag of sample goodies were two different types of foundation primer: Philosopy's The Present and Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer.

I couldn't wait to try them! The only other primer that I have ever tried is Smashbox Photo Finish primer (the green color correcting version) and I didn't see that it made a whole lotta difference, so I was anxious to give these two samples a shot.

I tried The Present first. It is billed as a "clear foundation" on the front of the package, but then the directions on the back say to apply as your last step in your skin care routine before applying foundation. Wha? Whatever. So I squeezed some out of the tube (a pea sized amount) and smeared it all over my face. I was met with a faint lavender scent that smelled vaguely of old ladies. Not great.

But how did it look? Well, if you're trying to cover up any redness or imperfections, it's not gonna do that. I mean, it's clear, right? So no coverage. It did make my skin look a tiny bit smoother and after I let it dry (about 2-3 minutes) it made my skin slightly matte. That's all fantastic, but if I wanted a "no make-up" look, I would just apply moisturizer and loose powder and get a better result.

Next, I tried applying foundation (Lorac Breakthrough Performance) over The Present. It looked pretty good and seemed to make my skin less oily, but I still had to blot throughout the day.

Now, onto the Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation Primer. It is clearly a primer and not a "clear foundation" or some confusing nonsense like that. It has that unscented smell, that really isn't a smell, but yet, kind of is at the same time. However, it is not offensive. It is slightly white, but goes on clear. My foundation went on pretty well over it, but it didn't feel like it spread as smoothly as over just moisturized skin. It also seemed to make my skin slightly less oily.

I didn't have any breakouts or adverse reactions to The Present or the Laura Mercier primer. They both kind of made my skin look smoother and they were both easy to apply. I didn't hate either of them or throw them in the garbage.

But would I buy them? I definitely wouldn't buy The Present. It smells like old lavender sachets and I prefer unscented facial products. (But, I'll probably use up the sample tube.) However, I am on the fence about the Laura Mercier primer. It's nice, but I just can't tell if it makes that much difference. It retails for $30 a tube at Sephora. Is it worth it? I'll find out when I run out of the sample and we'll see if I feel the need to hustle my bustle over the Sephora or Nordstrom to purchase some more. I'll keep you posted.

So, do you use foundation primer? What kind?

Biolage Hydra Therapie Detangling Solution

2009-05-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

While asking my new hairstylist for shampoo recommendations, I also asked about conditioner. Since I color my hair, I need something that will add moisture to my dry ends. However, I also need a conditioner that's not Crisco-y so it won't crap up the works with heavy, oily, yucky-ness.

She recommended Biolage Hydra Therapie Detangling Solution.

She said it would be moisturizing without being too heavy. Good for someone with normal to oily hair, like me.

It has a light smell that is pleasant and not offensive at all. The texture is slightly thinner than your average conditioner, but not water-y. It feels kind of like the consistency of shampoo. I use about a quarter-size squeeze and that seems to do the trick.

It goes on nicely and rinses clean with no residue. But the best part is that is totally detangles my hair! It is better at detangling than any conditioner I've used in a looooong time. It also seems to be making my hair softer.

It was about $12 for a good-size bottle (I didn't get the mondo 33 oz. size) and I definitely plan to go out and buy more when I run out.

Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo

2009-05-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

I recently asked my new hairstylist what kind of shampoo she thought I should use. I explained that I had tried Kerastese Bain Chroma Riche Shampoo and Conditioner and my scalp wasn't too happy about it. It was too moisturizing and just kind of clogged things up, plus it smelled rosy, like old ladies. She suggested Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special shampoo. She said it is gentle, but deep cleaning.

I skipped out to my car, excited for new product and promptly dropped it on the sidewalk. (No, no, I don't need a bag.) Thankfully, the container didn't break, so it has some sturdy packaging.

But how does the shampoo work? Well, it has a minty smell, which I like. (It's like putting Junior Mints on my head and you know how I feel about Junior Mints. I'll try to hold myself back from eating this shampoo!) I don't detect a lot of tea tree smell and I'm glad, because tea tree isn't my bag. (It has that sharp scent that is kind of medicinal. Ick.) The shampoo feels tingly and refreshing and lathers up a lot.

Since I've started using the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo, my scalp has calmed back down and my hair seems more moisturized, but is still springy and not weighed down with crappy buildup.

The icing on the cake is that a bottle of Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo only costs about $10. After buying the Kerastese (What, is it made with crushed diamonds or the placenta of pandas or something?), $10 seems practically free. I would buy it again fo' sho.

Origins Modern Friction

2009-05-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

The only scrubs that I have right now are Proactiv scrubs. I have the face one that comes with "the system" and I also bought the Deep Cleansing Wash (which has scrubby bits in it) for face and body. I like the Deep Cleansing wash quite well. I occasionally use both on my face, but they are pretty drying. My back tolerates them better. (Which is great, because nobody wants "bacne"!)

So, when I saw the Origins Modern Friction scrub in the samples selection from Daisymayrobin, I decided to try it out. It came in a tiny container, so it didn't have much product description or directions on the package.

I tried it on my face first. It's thicker and pastier than the Deep Cleansing wash. It's white and pretty gritty. I splashed water on my face and then scrubbed gently and rinsed. Then a millisecond later, I felt a burning sensation on my face. Oweee! I rinsed and rinsed and finally my skin calmed down and the burn subsided.

Being the glutton for punishment that I am (or maybe I have short term memory loss?), I tried it on my back the next day. It didn't burn at all and my skin felt smooth afterwards. (But no smoother than with the Proactive scrub that I already own.)

I see on their website that you are supposed to put this scrub on dry skin, but you can put it on damp skin if you have sensitive skin. I'm so glad I didn't know that, because my face would have been even more fried. I just thank God it didn't melt my skin off.

Needless to say, I shan't be purchasing the full-size.

Tulip Town

2009-05-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I went up to see the tulips in Mt. Vernon with K & M last weekend. We totally lucked out and got a day that wasn't filled with torrential downpours, so that was a total bonus.

We had lunch at the Skagit River Brewery and it was excellent. My cheeseburger was cooked to perfection and the waffle fries weren't too shabby either. We thought about having dessert, but decided to hit up the Dairy Queen in Marysville on the way back instead. (And yes, it was awesome. I loves me some DQ.)

Our plan was to cruise by some tulip fields alongside the road, hop out, take some pictures and then head out of town. This did not work because, number one, we couldn't find any tulip fields, and two, the fields we could find were filled with dead daffodils.

So, we drove by Tulip Town, which is where we went last year. It was a zoo and I wasn't too impressed with it anyway, plus you have to pay for parking in addition to an entrance fee. We drove on down the road and found Roozengarde. Now, I've been to Keukenhof in Holland and Roozengarde reminded me a bit of Keukenhof, only quite a lot smaller, but still very beautiful. It's got manicured gardens,

benches, a windmill and lots of different varieties of tulips.

It's also got some tulip fields, if you want more of a farm/field feeling.

Roozengarde does not charge for parking and the entrance fee is only $4 per person.

I hope to go back to Roozengarde next year for more tulip action!

Birthday Goodies

2009-05-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last Friday, May 1st. Happy late birthday to me! It was super fun and I stretched it out over about three days, because that's how I roll.

After recovering from celebratory drinkies and a wee bit o' karaoke on my actual birthday, I talked Aaron into coming with me over to U. Village the next day, so I could cash in on free birthday treats from Sephora and Aveda. Since there is a Jamba Juice right there next to Crate and Barrel, he was sold.

First, I went to Aveda to get my free personalized Purefume because I am a Pure Privilege member.

I picked some Earth essential oil and the sales associate got to mixing it up for me. In the meantime, she and the other sales associate both had me try some other new Aveda hair products and told me I have beautiful hair, which made me puff up like a peacock, but I didn't drop the cheese out of my beak the like the crow in that one story who dropped her cheese when the fox told her she had a beautiful singing voice, so they didn't get any of my hard earned scheckels.

Next, I went to Sephora to collect my Beauty Insider birthday gift. It was quick and easy and I just had to show my Beauty Insider card and they gave me a pack with THREE Sephora lipglosses!

I love them! They are all really pretty and wearable colors and they smell faintly of Dr. Pepper, which I like. I enjoy scented lip products, as long as they smell fruity and fun and not like ass.

The Purefume smells good, but is a little overwhelmingly strong for me, but I'm hoping to be able to use it as a room spray. If that doesn't work, I might have to pass it on to someone else. (Any potential takers out there?)

So, if you are not already a Beauty Insider at Sephora, sign up before your next birthday! The lipgloss is totally worth it.

It's a bit "balm"-y in here

2009-05-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

I got a surprise in the mail the other day! Aaron brought the mail in as usual (because I am too lazy to stop on the first floor of our building where the mailboxes are) and he gave me the package and asked if I ordered something. The return address was from New York and I just couldn't imagine who it was from.

I eagerly tore into it and saw that it was a lip balm from Chaptastic! Oh, snap! I wasn't really sure why they were sending it to me, but then I remembered that I did a Lipsmackers review that they printed a while back. And then I read the little card inside. Awww, that was so sweet of them!

I love getting real mail (instead of flyers for Arby's or the ValPak coupons) and real mail that is a gift of beauty is even better. Plus, the Eskimo Kiss lip balm they sent is minty and refreshing. Mmmm. It's like a York Peppermint Patty without the calories.

Thanks, Chaptastic! You are the bomb (of balms)!

Bag o' Samples

2009-05-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

Daisymayrobin gave me a big ol' bag of make-up samples from Nordstrom a couple weeks ago! What a sweetheart!! I was so excited that I screamed like a "Woooo girl". Then I collected myself and promised some reviews.

Always eager to try new foundation, I started out by testing the Smashbox Sheer Tinted Moisturizer. The sample color was Luminous. I planned to test it for a week.

The tinted moisturizer didn't have a bad smell, which was good. However, it seemed kind of thick and didn't apply as smoothly as my Lorac Breakthrough Performance Foundation. It was also not as moisturizing (which is weird, since it's a moisturizer), so my face seemed slightly less oily and I didn't need to blot as much as usual.

The color match was ok on my skin, although I would choose a lighter tone if I were going to buy it. It was rather sheer and natural looking. I was actually kind of happy with it as I kept checking it throughout the day. But then at the end of the first day of testing, I noticed a small blemish on my chin. Ack! A coincidence?

I took a break and my chin cleared up (this was a tiny blemish, but a zit nonetheless.) So, a coulpe days later, I decided to give the tinted moisturizer another go. Again, I thought it looked ok and thought maybe I'd buy it and put it in my foundation rotation (hee, that rhymes!). But then...I went to the bathroom before I left work for the day and looked in the mirror...and there was another pimple! Damn! Fool me once, tinted moisturizer, shame on you. Fool me twice and you get a one way ticket to the garbage can. Hasta la bye-bye, as my old boss used to say.

After reading the reviews on Makeup Alley, I see that a lot of other people reported skin eruptions after using this product. So it's not a winner and I'm not even going to use up the rest of the tiny sample tube. But, on the bright side, it's one less foundation type product that I have to wonder about, and that is priceless.

Snakes on a Qantas Flight

2009-04-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

As I was trawling around on the internet the other day, I saw this article about baby pythons that escaped on a flight in Australia. A disaster, to be sure. I wonder if Samuel L Jackson was on the affected aircraft?

"What are all these motherf**in' baby snakes doing on this motherf**in' plane?"

Twilight

2009-04-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine let me borrow the first two books in the "Twilight" series. I thought, eh, I guess I'll try them out - but if they're like "Interview with a Vampire", then I can't be bothered. Lestat and company aren't really my bag.

So, I then proceeded to read them both in rapid succession as if my life depended on it. (I haven't read the next two in the series, but I have them on hold at the library. I know. I'm a cheapskate.) Oh my God! They make me feel like I used to when I was fourteen and in love with Robert Smith. If you haven't read any of them and you're a girl, then I encourage you to check them out! If you're a guy, well, you might not be as inclined to give them a chance. Aaron was not interested.

So, when the same friend suggested that we rent the movie "Twilight", I thought, can it be as good as the book?

She said it wasn't, but that it was still pretty good and that she was willing to watch it again. That's a good enough endorsement for me. So, we rented it (in HD, at Aaron's behest) and again, I was so glad! The movie, of course, was not as good as the book, but it definitely had the same swoon factor. Edward had us both squealing like middle schoolers and yelling at the tv. "He's so hot!" "He can fly!" "Oh my God, he's so hot!" We were big dorks. Um, yeah.

Although, we both agreed we would have done some of the casting differently (the actor that plays Bella's Dad seemed way too young - almost like he was my age - but I guess if I had started early I could have a 17-year-old. Perish the thought.) and we have maybe not made Edward's skin sparkle in the sun like someone dumped gold craft glitter all over him (um, hello better special effects?), but those criticisms aside, we both loved Bella and Edward and I for one, can't wait to see "New Moon" when it comes out in November! Does that make me a Twi-hard?

Stretch n' Steam

2009-04-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

For the last year or so, our wall-to-wall carpet has sported some small humps - one in the bedroom and one in the dining room.

These are not sassy Fergie-style humps, but rather, areas where the carpet essentially bubbled up because it was not laid properly.

Now, home improvement type shows frequently mention decorating faux pas such as humped up carpet. They recommend getting said carpet stretched and go on about how it's way cheaper than getting all new carpet. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, clearly, I don't know how to do it myself. So we had to hire someone to do it. We did a Google search and a Yelp search and just ended up with a bunch of carpet cleaning companies, with no mention of whether they do carpet stretching. So, I decided to start by calling the carpet/upholstery cleaning company that my Mom uses and found that they do carpet stretching. Bingo! They also do carpet cleaning, but Aaron felt that he was up to that challenge.

So, before the stretching ensued, Aaron rented a Rug Doctor carpet steamer from Safeway and got to steamin'.

He did a fine job, but as with any steam cleaning, the carpet was a bit damp afterwards. Aaron remedied this problem for himself by wearing plastic bags over his slippers.

Stylish and functional. (My slippers have plastic bottoms, so I didn't need to go the bag route.)

After the carpet was all clean, we had the rug stretcher guy come. He had some fancy tools that pulled the carpet tight. Then he sliced off a thin bit from the edge, reattached it, and made it all smooth and flat. It was $150, and it was worth it.

So now, we have carpet that is clean, dry and doesn't have any lovely lady lumps. Happy day!

Anita's Crepes

2009-04-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

After a hearty happy hour at Ivar's a couple Saturdays ago, I was in the mood for some dessert. So, it was serendipity that we drove past Anita's Crepes just when I was craving something sweet.

I had noticed Anita's a few months ago and had been meaning to check it out for a while. I had no idea what to expect. Aaron and I both thought it was just a little cafe type place and that we would just pop in and order from the front counter, like at a bakery.

We were wrong! It's a very nice sit down restaurant with table service. The space is warm and inviting. It actually made me feel like I was in Europe. It just had a classy and sophisticated vibe.

It's quite small with an open kitchen, so you can see Anita making the crepes as soon as you walk in. And the smell from the crepes cooking was heavenly!

We ordered off the dessert crepe menu.

I ordered a Nutella et Banane Crepe (I got mine without banana) and Aaron got the Citron Crepe.

They also have Caffe Vita coffee, so I got a cup of coffee to go with my crepe.

I thought the crepe was alright, but not excellent. It could have been warmer and I thought the batter seemed a bit flat, like it needed more butter or salt or something. Aaron thought his crepe was alright, too, but he felt it was too sweet and didn't have enough lemon flavor.

However, I liked the atmosphere so much that I would like to go back and try their dinner offerings. (They also have a variety of wine and other "adult beverages" - as Bret Michaels always says - which surprised me. I thought they'd just have coffee/tea and that sort of thing.)

It seemed like a great place to go with a girlfriend and catch up over a few a drinks and a savory crepe. I may have to plan a ladies' night sometime soon!

To perm or not to perm?

2009-04-09T19:26:00.001-07:00

Aaron and I walked by the Greenwood Academy last night on the way to the library. (I had to pick up my copy of "The Game" that I had on hold. More on that another day.) As we passed, we saw this sign.

I turned to Aaron and said, "That is so not true. I like straight hair better than curly."

Aaron said, "I guess I can cancel my perm appointment then."

Snoose Junction - Part Dieu

2009-03-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Aaron and I went to Snoose Junction Part Dieu. It is behind Jiffy Lube on Holman. They have parking right out front and we easily found a spot. (Yes, technically we could walk, but we're lazy bastards.)

I like the awning they chose for the front of the restaurant.

As we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly server that asked us if we wanted to sit downstairs in the restaurant area or upstairs in the bar. We chose to sit in the bar and ascended the stairs.

The bar is decorated with an eclectic mix of graffiti on the walls, various original art pieces, and very cool light fixtures that looked like they may have originally been on a boat. Most of the tables are wood, but there is one area off to the side that has a wrap around couch and lighted up table with some small ottomans for extra seating.

We sat at a table and as I looked around I noticed that they have a beautifully designed bar (a FULL bar!) and an extensive record collection. Aaron pointed out that they play all vinyl and the bartender has to change the record every half hour or so. They were playing some type of free form jazz that I didn't recognize when we arrived, but shortly thereafter, it switched to Blondie and then moved onto Elvis Costello and then Devo. (Much better, if you ask me. I'm not a big jazz fan.)

We ordered a cheese pizza with half mushrooms. For drinks, we started out with vodka tonics. After our pizza arrived,

I decided to switch to beer and checked the selection.

Oh, snap! They have PBR! I ordered one to wash down my pizza and Aaron had a mojito.

How was everything? The vodka tonic and PBR were great. Aaron said his mojito was a little too sweet. I thought the pizza was pretty good, but Aaron thought it was just so-so. It has a thin crust, a nice amount of cheese, a zesty sauce and that's all I can report on, since I am boring and like cheese pizza.

I would definitely go back to Snoose Part Dieu. I love that they have a full bar, I love that they play good vinyl and I love that they have wonderfully dim lighting (as you can tell from my pictures). I'm glad they're in the neighborhood!

Pillager's Pub

2009-03-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I went to Pillager's Pub last weekend to see what it's like. We wandered in at about 8:30pm and easily found a table. Most of the tables are like picnic tables with matching benches. There are a few smaller tables with chairs near the fireplace. We pulled up a bench and settled in.

As I looked around, I noticed a big mural on the wall of a pirate ship on the ocean that was painted on the back wall. Faux fishing nets and skulls decorate the bar area to add to the pillaging pirate theme.

Our server brought us a beer menu

and a food menu.

We didn't order anything to eat, but we did each order a beer.

I had the Baron Pilsner and Aaron has the Baron Schwarzbier Black Lager. Both were quite good.

However, we only had one beer each. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the Pillager's Pub just seemed like it was missing something. Maybe they need more decoration or something to make it feel less like an old Tully's. And they definitely need to get dimmers for the lights. If there's one thing that makes me want to flee a bar, it's bright lighting. Also, I don't like not having a cheap beer alternative. All the beers on their menu are microbrews - no PBR in sight.

Even though Pillager's Pub didn't wow me, I do hope that they continue to evolve and become a place that we want to go on a more regular basis. They are less than a block away from us and that is definitely stumbling distance.

And if the owners read Yelp at all, they will see that a lot of people had similar, erm, constructive criticism. So perhaps they'll take that to heart.

We'll probably give them another try in a month or so and hopefully they'll have the kinks worked out by then.

Dirt Devil Kurv

2009-03-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted a Dust Buster style vacuum. We never had one when I was little, but my friend Jenny had one at her house and it seemed so handy to just pull it off the wall and suck up a small pile of crumbs without hauling out the big guns.

But even though I have always lusted after a Dust Buster, it was one of those things that I thought about, but never actually made it out to buy one. Meanwhile, Cheerios, peanuts and broken bits of spaghetti pile up in the corners and along the edges of our kitchen, just begging to be snorked up by a Dust Buster. Or even a broom! But I hate sweeping.

And I actually hate vacuuming even more than sweeping. I hate pulling the vacuum out of the laundry room. I hate unwrapping the cord and I hauling it all over, while trying avoid running over the cord or into furniture. I especially hate it when I pull too far and need to find a closer plug-in. By this time, I am usually sweating, swearing and red-faced. Then re-wrapping the cord is a pain and it is never easy to wedge the vacuum back into its space in the laundry room. Ugh. It is something I almost always leave up to Aaron to do. I would rather clean the toilet than vacuum or sweep!

So, when Aaron found a Dirt Devil Kurv online for $20 at Woot! and asked me if I was interested - I said, "Sign me up!" So he ordered it. And when it arrived, I was overjoyed!

It looked so stylish and was so visually pleasing, that I thought, will this thing actually work?

But it did work! And I love it!

It just lifts out of it's stand/charger and it's cordless! I am able to whiz around the kitchen, sucking up wayward crumbs, bits of dirt, and dried up peas with the greatest of ease.

The Kurv is easy to empty, too.

It's bagless, so you just pop it open, dump out the detritus, clean off the filter, and you're on your way.

It won't take the place of a regular vacuum, of course, but as long as Aaron is willing to tackle that chore, we'll be set. And I'll be on point with the Kurv to handle small jobs, corners and other places the regular vacuum can't reach. Hallelujah!

Rediscovering old make-up

2009-03-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get a new make-up product, try it out, think it's just so-so and then put it away, thinking you might use it again "someday"? I try to return things that don't just blow my socks off, but you can't return a sample, so I tend to keep those the for perfect someday, when I am inspired to try them out again.

A lot of times, these cast aside products never find a second life in my everyday make-up basket. But every now and then I rediscover a product and think, "This stuff is pretty freakin' awesome, why didn't I like it before?" This most recently happened to me with a Tarte Lock and Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duo in rose gold.

Daisymayrobin got it as a sample at Sephora and gave it to me. I never turn down free make-up, so I gladly took it and tucked it away in my purse.

The first few times I used it, I tried the roller ball end.

It is filled with a champagne colored powder shadow that you just roll on, like those old school rollerball lipglosses of yore. It gave a sheer application, but the roller felt kind of weird on my eyelid. I tried the liquid/cream end, which is a darker coppery-gold color. I had a hard time applying it with the brush that is built into the cap. Frustrated, I put it away, thinking I might try it again when I had more time.

Then I promptly forgot about it, until a few weeks ago, when I wanted to go make-up shopping, but decided that I needed to save some coin. So, I went "shopping" in my make-up drawer of cast-offs. I found the Tarte eyeshadow and remembered that when I was at the Trish counter a while ago, the make-up artist applied cream shadow with a brush.

She just swiped some product off the built-in applicator onto a nice eyeshadow brush. So I tried that with the cream shadow side of the Tarte product. Hot damn! I had way better control and was able to just get the color on my lid and not up on my brow bone, thus avoiding the disco ball look that wouldn't be acceptable at work.

So, now, I really like the Tarte cream eyeshadow! It goes on easily with my MAC 213 eyeshadow brush, stays put and doesn't rain down errant eyeshadow particles on my lower eyelid. And it was FREE! Happy day!

Postings

2009-03-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

I am always curious to see what kind of flyer will be posted in the elevator of our building.

People always seem to put the notices right above the buttons for the different floors.

There are typical announcements, like the location and time of the next condo association meeting or the fact that we can expect to see window washers on a certain date. Then there are various other postings, like a flyer that one homeowner posted about how to donate food to the charity she volunteers for. People have posted ads about furniture they are selling and also for community events, like ArtUp Greenwood. I always look forward to seeing them because it makes it a little less uncomfortable to ride in the elevator with others when you can focus your attention on something to read.

Most recently, however, someone posted a picture of their baby and encouraged everyone in the building to vote for said baby for a competition called the "Cutest Baby in Seattle", which is promoted by a local radio station. I read it and was slightly annoyed. Why? I don't know exactly. People post all kinds of stuff, but this somehow seemed selfish to make people read something as a captive audience that was really for their personal gain. I don't know what the prize was, but I have a cold, black heart when it comes to cutesy wootsy contests like that. I'm just not a baby person. But, I didn't mess with the flyer. I just tried not to read it the next time I got in the elevator. (Which was impossible. It's like trying not to read the announcement on the bus about the Commuter of the Quarter for thousandth time. You just can't help yourself.)

So, today, when I opened my email and saw an email titled "Community Frustration" and sent to everyone in the building, I wondered, what the hell is that? I thought maybe it was someone upset about the siding issues or some other dig against the HOA Board's performance (Those people have a thankless job. I'm glad I never volunteered to be that whipping boy.) Well. It was from the person with the baby competition flyer. Apparently, someone tore the flyer down less than 24 hours after it was put up. Hmmm, who would do such a thing? I guess I am not the only one that was annoyed. I haven't seen any replies to the email. I did forward it to Aaron so that he could stay abreast of community comings and goings.

Next time I am in the elevator, I will check to see if it gets re-posted. (It hasn't resurfaced so far.)

In the meantime, maybe I should enter a contest for Seattle's Best Wife. Or better yet, enter Aaron and myself into a Wife Carrying competition! The winner of this competition wins his wife's weight in beer. Maybe other people in our building would like to participate in a competition such as this, as well. Perhaps I will post a notice in the elevator.

What's in a name?

2009-03-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Overheard in the library:

First man, "Yep, I have two kids, Hudson and Emerson."

Second man. Blank stare. Long pause, "Are they both boys or both girls?"

First man, "Emerson is my daughter and she is the oldest and Hudson is my son and he's two years younger."

Second man - Nods and smiles, wanly.

Two For Tea

2009-03-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

I walk by Antika on Greenwood on a regular basis. I always look in the window at their cute vintage bar furniture and dream of one day having just the right place to put such a piece. (We're pretty much at capacity for furniture at the moment - except that we could still use a headboard for the bed in the extra bedroom. All in good time.) I also enjoy looking at the adorable kitchen wares they often showcase in the window - like breadboxes, sugar/flour canisters and whimsical salt and pepper shakers.

Prior to this past Thursday, I had never actually gone inside Antika. However, when I saw this tea set with the strawberry motif in the window, I knew it would be the perfect gift for my Mom.

Mother's Day is a ways off, but I hate shopping for gifts at the last minute, so I decided to snap it up and save it for May.

So I went inside and bought the whole set and chatted briefly with the owner. I asked her if people bring in items to sell or how they get their inventory. She said that they go on buying trips to New York and England periodically throughout the year, and that the tea set was from England. I thought that was pretty cool.

The store is chock full of different items, so I plan to go back and explore some more on another day.

Hopefully, my Mom will be up for a cuppa when she opens her gift!

Oliver's Twist

2009-03-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I met up for early drinks at Oliver's Twist with an old friend from high school.

We were friends in high school in Germany until I moved in 11th grade. We recently found each other on Facebook and saw that we both live in Seattle! What are the odds?

It was great to see her! She looks exactly the same and it was really fun to catch up.

Naked City Taphouse

2009-03-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I went to Naked City Taphouse on Sunday for dinner and a drink. They have happy hour all day on Sundays, so Aaron's Chuckanut Export Stout was a dollar off. I had Spire pear cider (in a bottle) but it was regular price because only drafts are on special. Food is also regular price.

I had the German Bratwurst (no kraut for me) with mustard on a hard roll. I also had turkey vegetable soup.

Aaron had the Organic Tomato and roasted cheese sandwich with Tim's cascade potato chips.

We shared a soft pretzel with cheese sauce. (We scarfed it down before I could get a picture.) They have table service now, which is really nice. I am too lazy to get up and go to the bar.

And how is the food? I really liked the turkey vegetable soup and would order it again. The bratwurst wasn't what I was expecting. I used to live in Germany, so I thought it would be a Weisswurst on a small roll with strong yellow mustard. But, Naked City's version is a PNW version, which some people might really like, but it wasn't what I had in mind. So I wouldn't order it again.

But Aaron's roasted cheese sandwich was awesome! It had lots of good melty cheese, fresh basil and tomato. If I ordered it, I would hold the tomato. His chips were good, too. The pretzel was a bit too salty, but I did like the cheese dipping sauce.

It was a pleasant experience and we even got a window seat. It's so nice to be able to walk to some decent restaurants. Naked City is a great place to go in the afternoon for a bite. Now that I know what to order, I'll be a happy camper next time we stop by.

Hair Manicure

2009-03-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

I got a hair manicure a few weeks ago at the same salon where I get my brows threaded.

The treatment is supposed to coat and protect your hair and make it super shiny (you can get it in colors, but I chose clear). It seems to be big in places like Korea and Japan, according to my research. Both my brow threader and the woman who did my hair manicure are Korean.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but my hair was fried from getting it foiled at the beauty school (I realized they didn't use creme bleach and that is why it dried my hair so badly.) So I wanted to make it feel a bit less like a haystack.

On the day of my hair manicure appointment, I sat in the chair, and the stylist grabbed a tube of product and squeezed it out into one of those little bowls that they put hair color into. She showed me the box and let me look at the tube, but all the writing was in Japanese, so I didn't get much out of it. The product itself looked like thick, white conditioner. I don't know the brand name, but it was similar to this stuff by Loreal.

Next, she sectioned out my hair, applied the manicure stuff to my hair with a brush like hair color, put some cotton around my hairline, slapped on a shower cap and put me under the dryer for about 45 minutes. Or maybe it was 30 minutes. I was looking at Star magazine and reading about Rhianna getting the sh*t beat out of her by Chris Brown, who I hope gets jail time, so I wasn't really watching the time.

After my time was up under the dryer, she washed my hair and styled as normal. The whole shootin' match cost $70 plus tip. Ouch.

So, did it work? Well, my hair felt less damaged and looked a tiny bit shinier, but it wasn't drop dead mirror shine. Aaron didn't notice a difference and neither did my Mom. So, I wouldn't do it again. I'm curious if the results are better on Asian hair? But it was worth a try and now I don't have to wonder if it would work for me. And knowing is half the battle.

Product Overload

2009-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Do you have an assload of hair products that you bought with high hopes, but they never quite measured up and they are now sitting in your bathroom cabinet taking up valuable product real estate? I know I do.

I've tried different shampoos that were supposed to cleanse away build-up, conditioners that were supposed to add shine, hair gels that were supposed to straighten, leave-in treatments that were supposed to calm, mousse that was supposed to add body, and hairspray that was so strong that I'm pretty sure it could glue a broken cup handle back onto the cup like Krazy Glue.

Even with all these abandoned products, I still want to buy more. I'm waiting to find the perfect product. Is there one? I don't know, but I never lose hope. I will keep looking.

In the meantime, does anyone out there want to trade some product? Or just take it for free? I need to make room! I'm like those furniture liquidators. Everything must go!

But let me know if you want to swap and we can hook each other up. In the meantime, I'm off to buy some Kerastase shine spray... I never give up.

SNOW - No!

2009-03-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

I was presented with this scene when I opened up the curtains this morning. Big, feather sized flakes billowed down from the sky, like it was November or January.

Horrified, I tried to decide whether to go to my water aerobics class at the Ballard pool. Thankfully, it all melted but the rest of the day has been pretty schizophrenic - hail/sun/rain/more sun, some wind, etc. It's exhausting.

Coffee Table Saga

2009-03-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

We've been on a quest for a new coffee table for quite some time now. Shortly after we first moved into the condo, I found a Danish modern style coffee table at the Goodwill. It was 20 bucks.

It was nice, but a bit scratched up. It was supposed to be a temporary fix until we could find something better. That was three years ago.

The Danish modern coffee table was cool looking, but a bit wobbly and also too long. It was designed to sit in front of a lengthy sofa, and not a small sectional like we have. So Aaron and I bought a small saw at Sears. Aaron went to work on the coffee table on the deck and sawed off one end. Then we reattached the legs and, "Bob's your uncle", as the Brits say.

But having a sawed off coffee table is only slightly less trashy than putting an old couch on your porch, so we looked high and low for the perfect coffee table. We looked at Crate and Barrel, CB2, West Elm, and Ikea, just to name a few. Nothing seemed quite right. Our sectional is smaller than some and on the low side compared to standard couches. So, it calls for a smaller, lower coffee table. But have you been out in the marketplace lately? So many cool coffee tables are about 45 inches long! That goes way over the edge of our sectional and looks totally of out of scale. And we ain't having that. No sir.

Finally, we found a round table at Fred Meyer that we thought would look nice with the rest of our furniture. It was about 30 inches in diameter and 18 inches high. I thought it just might work. So, we packed it into my car, came home, Aaron put it together with the dinky little Allan wrench... and I instantly hated it. Aaron thought it looked fine, but I thought it should really be no higher than 16 inches. So, we took it apart and returned it to Fred Meyer.

Meanwhile, Aaron continued to loathe the rickety Goodwill coffee table. So we kept looking, but after the Fred Meyer round table debacle, I was apprehensive. Was 17 inches too high? Was 40 inches square to big? Would round be ok or would square look better? It was all too much, so I temporarily gave up.

Then, a few weeks ago, I was at Dania with my Mom looking for a headboard for the bed in the extra bedroom. I had lost all hope of finding a coffee table, when we came upon this one. It was square and 16.5 inches high and 35.5 inches square. I wasn't sure it would work, but my Mom encouraged me to give it a try after we found out that they have a flexible return policy.

Well, I am happy to report that the new coffee table is a winner!

It is sturdy, fits just fine and is big enough to hold more than a couple glasses!! The icing on the cake is that it was only $150. (I thought that wasn't too shabby, since some of the Target coffee tables were in the $300-$400 range.) Aaron is not in love with the Dania coffee table, but I said we can keep our eyes peeled for something he likes better. (Since he only shops for headphones, I don't think this will happen anytime soon.) In the meantime, I am enjoying setting things down on the new coffee table and not having to worry about bumping the table leg and knocking over the whole kit and caboodle.

Diversions from "this economy"

2009-02-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

While I realize that the current economic climate is dire and is seriously affecting millions of people, hearing about it all the time is totally stressing me out. Am I going to lose my job next? Are my friends getting laid off? Is my Mom or my brother going to get laid off? Thinking about it all the time is emotionally exhausting.

So, if you're like me and you want to focus on something else for a little while, I have some suggestions for you.

1. If you're a girl, go see "He's Just Not That Into You". I thoroughly enjoyed watching other people obsess about their relationships, wear cute clothes, have cute hairstyles, while living in lovely homes with adorable style accents, like pink land line phones. It has a happy ending and an all star cast (Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, the guy from the Mac commercials, E from "Entourage", Drew Barrymore - just to name a few!). I ate popcorn, had a blue raspberry slushie,

I laughed, I cried and I felt so relaxed when I left the theater.

2. Read David Sedaris' book "When You Are Englulfed in Flames". It's hilarious, just like all his other books. You will laugh out loud, I guarantee it.

3. Do a workout from OnDemand (or get one from the library). I never noticed this, but Aaron pointed it out to me. There are a sh*tload of workout videos on OnDemand! I did a 30 minute aerobic workout this morning and I was so focused on not injuring myself, that I temporarily forgot that we're in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

4. Watch "Millionaire Matchmaker" on Bravo.

I love this show. The millionaires are usually asshats or so socially retarded that I'm amazed that they can function in the workplace, let alone in a dating scenario. I also love to see what horribly offensive thing Patty is going to say to the potential dates for her millionaires. She's always advising the women to pump up the cleavage, straightem their hair or wear stilletos. She flat out told one woman that she was just too fat and to hit the road (the woman was curvy, but I wouldn't say she was fat). Ouch! She also likes to say she's like a mother to her staff. If she was my mother, I'd throw myself under her Beamer (or is it a Benzie?) to put myself out of my misery.

5. When all else fails, visit the eternal time suck that is the internets. You can deep condition your hair while you surf, if you like to multi-task. (That's what I'm doing right now, in case you're curious.) Check out some sites you haven't visited in a while, like Chaptastic, Popgadget, Cooking Gadgets, or Inhabitat. Tempted to click over to buy some Lipglass from the new MAC Hello Kitty line?

After seeing the dancing S&M kitties on this MAC commercial, well, you might change your mind. And, if all those sites fail to distract you from the total impolosion of the economy, then how about some old skool rap lip synced by prepubescent white boys or Andy Samberg on a boat.

Scene/Emo Hair

2009-02-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

I was doing an image search for "short hair" and "medium hair" on Google the other day. A search that broad does tend to bring up a variety of pictures. One theme I kept noticing was pictures tagged with titles like "scene hair/emo hair". Not knowing that meant, exactly, I felt old and out of touch. So, I went to YouTube and did a search for scene/emo hair.

I came up with a ton of different videos! Most of them were girls showing how they styled their hair. Like this girl who reminds me of Isla Fisher. Here she is again. And this girl is really skilled at teasing.

This style seems to involve a lot of flat ironing, teasing, and aerosol hairspray. I didn't recognize any of the music in the videos except for one video that I found featuring a girl teasing her bangs with a song by MGMT playing all garbled in the background.

There were a few professional videos, like this British one showing a girl getting her hair cut in a scene hairstyle at a salon.

It all got me thinking about what it would have been like to be in middle school or high school with webcams and cameras that shoot video. Would you have posted videos of yourself styling your hair (or doing anything else) on YouTube when you were in high school? I don't think I would have - I mean, I haven't put any videos up on YouTube in the present, anyway.

More importantly, though, have you heard of this genre? I've heard of emo music, but never heard it related to hair. It kind of reminds me of goth and makes me think of when I tried to make my hair all big like Robert Smith's when I went to see the Cure in 8th grade. I didn't look nearly as cool as I thought I did - that's for sure. We didn't have flat irons, but that wasn't the style anyway. I remember my friends hairspraying my hair and trying to make it stand up, but having it droop down and look kind of ratty. I can't even find a picture, which is probably a good thing. Good, too, that I don't have any kids, because I would sound like an ancient person to a kid. "What are you doing to your hair? You look like Siouxsie Sioux! Do you know who that is? What is this emo music you kids are listening to? What? You know, Robert Smith played guitar for Siouxsie and the Banshees for a while. Yep. It's true.

Can you turn that noise down? That's not music! THIS is music!" As the imaginary kids cover their ears and wince, like I used to when my mom played Bob Dylan before I realized it was good music.

Bleh

2009-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am feeling crummy today. I didn't have time to wash my hair this morning, so I just flat ironed the part that was all bent and wonky from sleeping on it weird. However, it still doesn't look that great. I have a zit, which I meticulously covered with foundation, concealer and powder, but no matter what anyone says just to be nice, I know you can still see it.

On top of all that, I'm just tired of winter and ready for spring. I want to wear skirts with no tights, sandals, short sleeved shirts and just be done with turtlenecks and heavy sweaters. I'm so, so, so sick of all my clothes. It's time to dig into the summer closet at my Mom's house. And it all better fit this year! Hopefully the closet gnomes will go torture others and give someone else a complex about their big ass.

I need a diversion to get out of my funk. Good thing I have a ladies' night planned to see "He's Just Not That into You" this Saturday!

I hear it's not that great, so I don't have high expectations, but I think it will still be fun. A drink or two afterwards won't hurt either!

Pie and Coffee

2009-02-15T09:55:00.001-08:00

After all that hiking at the falls, Aaron and I drove to North Bend to search for the "Twin Peaks" diner.

The outside looks pretty cool. I love this sign!

The inside, on the other hand, is kind of weird. It doesn't look at all like the diner in the show. There was an American/red-white-blue theme mixed with a Tweety Bird theme. There were stuffed animal Tweety birds stapled to the walls and an assortment of odd 80's looking framed posters. There was, however, a collection of "Twin Peaks" photos and articles displayed on the wall in the back hall outside the restrooms.

But how was the food? I had a salad with ranch dressing. It was like a Denny's salad with iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots, shredded cabbage and small croutons. I'm ok with that, though. I like iceberg lettuce. Aaron had a catfish hoagie with fries. He thought it was pretty good.

What about the pie, though? Not to worry - I had cherry pie a la mode

and a cup of coffee. Aaron asked me if it was a damn fine cup of coffee. Honestly? It was a bit burnt. But it was hot and it came in this nifty mug, so I can't complain.

I was kind of hoping to run into the Log Lady or Sherilyn Fenn, but sadly, they did not make an appearance. So we had to settle for our server who called me "Hon" (which I find endearing), and bitched about the people that had just left the table next to us, who let their kids tear up all her sugar packets.

Overall, it was fun to check out the diner and I would never pass on a chance for pie!

Snoqualmie Falls

2009-02-15T09:35:00.001-08:00

Our trip to Snoqualmie Falls yesterday turned out great! It only took about an hour to drive there and we didn't hit any traffic. Until we got there, that is! I think everyone else had the idea to go see the falls for Valentine's Day, too.

Once we found a place to park and started walking around on the paths, the crowds didn't seem quite so bad. We could see the falls almost immediately once we entered the park. So if you don't like to hike, you can do a very small amount of walking. I took some shots of the falls from the lookout point in the upper part of the park.

It was breathtaking!

But what was even more breathtaking was the two-mile round trip hike that we took to get down to the river. It was very steep hiking! Once you get off the trail, there is a boardwalk that leads down to another vantage point for photo ops. A sign warns you to stay on the boardwalk,

but nobody paid any attention that and everyone was shimmying over the edge of the fence to climb down the rocks to the riverbed (Aaron and me included!)

We climbed around on the rocks and got some closer photos of the falls.

It was gorgeous, but the spray from the waterfall was making me cold and frizzing my hair, so we turned around and hiked back up to where the car was parked.

By this time, we were powerful hungry and I was in the mood for pie. So we headed to North Bend!

Be Mine

2009-02-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Do you celebrate this day of chocolate and roses? I have gone back and forth over the years. When I was single, I hated Valentine's Day. For people without a significant other, it's just a reminder that you are alone and everyone else is out eating chocolate shaped like hearts, gazing into each other's eyes and calling each other "Schmoopy". While the single person, on the other hand, is left to drink copius amounts of alcohol with other single friends and then go home alone and eat Necco conversation hearts until they throw up. (What are those made out of, anyway? Pressed Pepsodent toothpaste? Only the yellow ones are edible.)

Now, however, I'm not single. And for that, I am grateful and somewhat less bitter overall. So, for this Valentine's Day, Aaron and I are driving up to Snoqualmie Falls to hike around, take pictures and then go out somewhere for lunch in the vicinity. I would also like to check out that restaurant in North Bend that was in "Twin Peaks".

I am a sucker for baked goods and cherry pie is one of my favorites! Mmmm. (She's my Cherry Pie! Great! Now that horrid song by Warrant is stuck in my head! Thanks a lot, Janie Lane.)

So, do we need a holiday to celebrate love? Probably not. But, I do like to get out of town and I love sweets, so if a holiday about hearts gets us out the door to go somewhere and eat dessert, then I'll take it. Happy Valentine's Day!

FB

2009-02-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying getting on the bandwagon with Facebook! Everyone and their brother is on it and I'm happy to be getting with the program.

I think the most fun is to chat with people and look at their pictures, check their updates and make witty little comments on their walls. I like the features like "25 Random Things About Me" and I like that you can just log in for a few minutes, say howdy and then move on. It's not something you have to dedicate hours to updating, although, I admit that I do probably spend more time on Facebook than I should.

The strangest part of Facebook has been finding people from high school. I went to four different high schools, so people have been coming out of the woodwork. I found one friend that I've been trying to find for 13 years! I've also been found by people that I barely knew in high school and am not quite sure why they want to connect with me. I have talked with other friends from the present that are experiencing the same phenomenon. There is one girl from the high school that I graduated from that has tried to friend me a couple times and I cannot for the life of me remember her at all! Being forgotten is my worst nightmare, so I have been selecting people with care, so that I don't end up in the "Who the f*ck are you?" boat.

It's interesting to see where people are living, whether they're married or divorced, have found the Lord (one of my girlfriends from high school - who was kind of a party girl back then - listed on her 25 random things that she had been SAVED!!), have kids, dyed their hair, look the same, have impressive jobs, MBAs or funny "remember when" stories to share and entertain me.

I have some friends that are holding out on making a Facebook page of their own. I think they're missing out! Facebook is a strange mix of weird and wonderful and I'm glad that I'm finally on it!

Snow...really?!

2009-02-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we got more snow! I know it shouldn't be that shocking, since it is February and still winter, but really?!

It is very pretty, but it's slippery out there! I lost my footing on the way in and my back is not feeling quite right. Anyone ever heard of salt? I mean, it couldn't be my pointy-toed Franco Sarto kitten heel boots that are to blame!

Blondie

2009-02-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

I had my partial foil appointment last night at 6pm. And, full disclosure, the girl that did it is still a student at the Greenwood Academy. My brow threader assured me that she is awesome, so I tossed the dice.

To say that I was nervous is an understatement. I had to hype myself up to go in the door. I say that I love changing my hair and doing different things, but underneath it all, I'm still the girl with the long, straight brown hair that really wants, "just a trim". I pushed all that aside though, and strode in on high heels with a big old purse for security.

After meeting the new stylist and settling into the chair, I started in on how hard my hair is to lighten and how it never wants to "lift" and that it takes forever and a day to get to the Debbie Harry blonde that I like.

She listened attentively, consulted with her instructor and got to work.

We chatted and time passed. I never feel nervous when the foils are on. I don't mind being under the hood dryer. I like looking at magazines. I am the picture of calm. But last, night, like always, the foils came off and she started blow drying my hair, and I started to panic. I am super high maintenance when it comes to any warmth or brassiness showing up in my blonde. I could see a trace of buttery color and we talked about whether I wanted to use toner. I decided against it, since it was 8:30pm, I was tired and I just wanted to go home. I was kind of freaking out because my hair looked really dry and yellow. I had to pull myself together to sign the credit card receipt, but the freaking out made my hand shake like I had just had brain surgery.

I sprinted home and immediately grilled Aaron about how it looked. He said it looked ok, but it would be easier to assess once I had styled it myself. So, I had a fitful night of sleep, dreamed of driving up steep, water logged hills to Holland with my brother (not sure what that's about.) Then, I got up this morning all bleary-eyed and slopped on a bunch of Aveda Blue Malva conditioner to tone out the yellow, then washed and styled as usual.

Well, kids, the Blue Malva saved the day and I think I'm ok with the end result. It looks a little Heidi Montag mixed with Gwen Stefani blonde, but it's definitely brighter, which was my ultimate goal. Will I go back to her again? Probably not. The whole experience was too stressful and even though it was cheap ($50 before tip!), I think I need a little bit more pampering in the way of a cup of tea and nice art on the walls and a little less instructor "Hair check!"

Since I'm a self proclaimed free agent now, for my next foil, I think I will sample some of the other fine salons that Seattle has to offer. Do you have any recommendations?

Breaking up is hard to do

2009-02-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

I was listening to a piece on NPR the other day. It was about how to nicely break up with your manicurist, yoga instructor, etc, due to hard financial times.

It made me think of how I kind of just broke up with my hair stylist.

It's not because of money, it's just time for a change. There are tons of articles about this online. Everyone has an opinion about whether to say something, what to say about why you're moving on, how to say it, when to say it and some common reasons for wanting to end the relationship, as it were.

Me? I'm a bit of a p-u-s-s-y when it comes to this type of confrontation and I have always just quietly faded away, stopped calling and hoped never to run into my ex-stylist around town or at a party where we each are a friend of a friend. This time is no different.

First, I stopped getting my brows waxed. (And did the switch to threading.) Then, I canceled a bang trim appointment because I was sick. Then, well, I just didn't call again to reschedule. Then, my cheating heart yearned for someone new and, like a country song by Jessica Simpson, when I got a recommendation to come on over to someone new, I took it. (The color appointment is tonight after work!)

But what if things don't work out with the new stylist(s)? Then I'll probably, uh, date for a while until I find someone worthy of an LTR.

What do you do when you want to break up with your hair stylist? Are you, unlike me, bold enough to say something?

Hair Gamble

2009-02-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

Now that my hair has grown out long enough to wear in a ponytail or up in a clip, I, of course, want to cut it all off or color it all white blonde like Gwen Stefani. The woman that threads my eyebrows added fuel to the fire by suggesting that my hair would look great with layers and more blonde pieces. I just tried to grow out all my layers, but oddly, having layers again sounds very appealing and would satisfy my urge to cut, without losing the hard earned length. And I'm always up for more blonde. I am ready for a change and feeling in a gambling mood, so I am going to make an appointment with the woman she recommended for cuts and already have an appointment tomorrow with the woman she recommended for color. I am throwing caution to the wind.

I have some pictures that I cut out of magazines, like one of Britney (I know, I know, but this is a picture of her from a Kevyn Aucoin book and she looks pretty hot. I think the picture was taken pre-Kfed/pre-meltdown), and a picture of a random lady in an ad for hair extensions, whose hair looks textured, but soft, and about about 15 others that I plan to cart along for visual aids.

When I explain how I want my hair, I am going to present the pictures and add that I still want my hair to be long enough to pull back. I feel kind of lame to add that caveat, but it makes it hard to work out if I can't put my hair in a ponytail. The color is pretty simple. I just want it lighter all over.

So, we'll see! It may all end in tears with me running back to my old stylist, tail between my legs, begging her to fix it. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Cafe Besalu

2009-02-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

Moxie P'toxy and her beau told us about a yummy French bakery over by the Copper Gate on 24th. Always up for something sweet or savory, Aaron and I popped in there today to check it out.

Cafe Besalu is cute and bright and welcomes you as you open the door with the inviting smell of freshly baked goodies and coffee. Mmmmm.

I got a pain au chocolat and brought it home, so I could enjoy it later.

I heated it up in the oven and it was just perfect. Flaky and light, with just the right amount of chocolate. I gobbled it up too quickly to get a picture.

C'est magnifique!

Wild Mountain Cafe

2009-02-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

To celebrate my rash recovery, Aaron and I went to the Wild Mountain Cafe for breakfast today. It's over on 85th and we've driven past it a million times. Our friend M was raving about it, so we finally made it over to check it out.

The building used to be a house, so when you walk up the steps, it kind of feels like you're going to a friend's house. Once inside, it's very cozy and there is a scattering of wood and tile tables with comfy wooden chairs. It's kind of got the laid back vibe of a place you might find in Portland or Bellingham.

The menu had lots of good looking choices. I wanted the cinnamon rolls, but we were too late! They were out of them. So I had blueberry coffee cake and a fruit cup. Aaron had Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, a fruit cup and a potato pancake and orange juice. I helped him get through his large serving by sampling his potato pancake and OJ. The pancake was awesome and had some garlic and another savory spice in it. My coffee cake was excellent, too.

I see that they have a happy hour and we saw their small bar area as we left. We got a coupon for $5 off our next dinner visit, so I think we might go back for an evening meal and a beer sometime soon.

Itchy and Scratchy

2009-02-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, I came home from work and felt so exhausted that I went to bed at 7pm. I felt like I was coming down with the flu, so I stayed home on Wednesday and figured my immune system was compromised by the never-ending sinus infection that continued to plague me.

Wednesday morning, I made an appointment to go see the doctor in the afternoon. All day, I felt nauseous, tired and had no appetite. When I went into the doctor, she looked me over and asked me all the typical questions. Meanwhile, I was light-headed from not eating enough and fainted as she was feeling around on my face and sinuses. She wanted me to go get x-rays to see if my sinuses were still blocked up, so she had a nurse escort me to the x-ray area in case I passed out again.

As I was getting the x-rays, I fainted a couple more times and finally got the x-rays sorted out. Then it was back to the doctor's area. Since I was fainting so much, they had the phlebotomist come to me to draw some blood to be tested. Good times.

After three hours at the doctor's office, they figured out that I was having an extreme allergic reaction to the sulpha meds that they had given me for the sinus infection. Goody. So, I went home with new drugs and went to bed.

Thursday morning, I woke up early and was feeling pretty good. I rolled over to scratch my leg and thought of how well I could breathe. I noticed my other leg was itchy and thought, "Hmm, I better get up and shower and then put on a lot of lotion." Distracted at how clear my sinuses felt, I absentmindedly raked my finger nails over my back to get a good scratch. Huh. My skin sure is dry, I thought. Must be all this cold weather. Then I got up, snapped on the light and looked in the mirror.

Aaaaahgh! I could see my legs were covered in red welts! I lifted up my t-shirt and my chest, back and arms were also covered! (Look away now if you get grossed out easily!)

My face was also affected, though not with welts, but it was beet red and looked badly sunburned. Totally freaking out, I called the consulting nurse, who said it was part of the allergic reaction. She asked me a bunch of other questions, one of which was whether I had a feeling of impending doom. What? Well, I certainly didn't feel like skipping around the yard singing Zippety Doo Da, I can tell you that much. She then suggested that I take some Benedryl, take a bath in baking soda and warm water and call back if I felt like I couldn't breathe or if my tongue or throat started to swell up. Great.

Next, I called my Mom and started bawling. She got me a little calmed down. Then I woke Aaron up and bawled to him. Aaron said that it would be ok and that I didn't look like a monster. I took some deep breaths and decided to hunker down for the day because clearly, I wasn't going to work.

As the day wore on, it seemed that the rash was getting worse, so after a couple more panicked calls to my doctor, I finally got a prescription for a steroid called prednisone. It seemed to calm the rash a bit, but it's been taking a long time to completely go away.

Today, the rash is fainter and doesn't itch as much. I actually made it out of the house with Aaron to go to breakfast this morning and you can't see the welts on my neck anymore and my face is back to its regular pale hue. Hallelujah! I am so relieved to be getting back to normal. It's so refreshing not to feel like a leper.

Citroen Man

2009-01-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

My Dad is having his Citroen 2CV shipped over from Europe and it will arrive in the next week or so. He asked me if I could remember the shop that we took it to, oh, about 8 years ago. And what was the guy's name? I remembered his name was Chris and I said I could probably find the shop, but that I didn't remember the address or anything. He asked if I would be up for driving over there this past Saturday. Sure, why not? And so we went on a field trip.

I asked Aaron if he wanted to come and he said, "Wait, all you know is there's some guy named Chris somewhere near the Ballard Bridge that used to fix Citroens about eight years ago?" Yep. Aron decided he didn't want to join us on our little adventure.

I knew the shop was located somewhere off Dravus. We zoomed over and after turning onto Dravus, I said to turn right onto 16th or 17th. We went down 17th, turned over onto 16th and whammo! My Dad said, "I think that's the building!" So we stopped and got out to look around.

The only sign we could see said "Cam Grinders", but they weren't open.

When my Dad saw this old Citroen parked out front, he knew we were getting warmer.

Next, we walked down the street to another shop and asked the mechanic there if he knew any Citroen mechanics in the neighborhood. He said he didn't. Rats.

So, we walked back to take a few pictures, and all of a sudden, a guy drove up, parked out front and headed toward the door of Cam Grinders. My Dad asked him if he could help us out. The guy said, "Oh, yeah, I know Chris. He's not here right now, but if you want to leave your contact information, I can give it to him." Jackpot!

After that success, we went around to the other side of the building and saw a couple Peugots and a nice Citroen DS wagon.

I love the tail lights!

So, hopefully, Chris the Citroen fixer will call my Dad and it will all work out. Aaron was quite shocked that we had any luck at all!

*Update* - Chris called my Dad and they made arrangements to get the Citroen all tuned up and ready to go as soon as it arrives. Mission accomplished.

Top Five Deals of January

2009-01-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

January is not quite over, but I've already found five great bargains this month, so why wait?

1. The best deal I found, by far, are these elbow length black leather gloves for $13 at JCPenney!

They had quite a few different colors, so I might go back and get brown. These gloves are great to wear with 3/4 length sleeve coats, so your forearm doesn't turn into a Popsicle.

2. Oil Blotting Sheets from Daiso - only $1.50! These really sop up the oil and make your face nice and matte. They don't have any powder on them, the label says they are made of silk (and that has to be good, right?), but best of all, they are CHEAP!

3. Brown microsuede twin-size comforter from the Goodwill (brand new in original packaging from Target) for $13. This is for the twin bed in the guest room/office. It is such an improvement over the old one!

4. Fuschia scarf from Ross for $8.99. It's that "pop of color" I need to brighten up my neutral outfits.

5. Ivory colored Gloria Vanderbilt cords from Fred Meyer for $17. These pants are so comfortable and seem to go with everything. (They come in brown and black, too - I got a brown pair also.)

Have you find any good deals out there in the marketplace?

Daiso!

2009-01-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

I was at the Alderwood Mall on Monday, trying to find the As Seen on TV store. I wanted to get a Blow and Go (it's to hold your hairdryer, dirty bird), but it turns out they didn't have one. Curses. So, on my way out of the mall, I passed a store called Daiso.Have you heard of it?

I have gone by a quite a few times before, but never gone in. You know how that goes. But I needed a little gift for a co-worker's birthday, so I thought I'd pop in and check it out.

From the outside, you can see that Daiso carries little knick-knacks like mugs and kitchen stuff. I thought maybe I'd get some coasters or something fun like that. I walked in, and I was amazed! Daiso is basically a Japanese dollar store (except it seemed like everything was a $1.50, unless otherwise marked), but everything is cute and doesn't seem crappy, like regular dollar stores.

I was entranced! They had tiny erasers, kitchen supplies, odd laundry washing accoutrements, food stuffs, make-up, soap, false eyelashes, notepads and on and on! I didn't want to leave! I wanted to buy everything! Even things that I don't need - like plastic rug beaters with adorable little cartoon faces.

I bought a tiny basket for my co-worker (I plan to put a primrose in it), some tissue packets (they all have animated characters on them, kind of like Pikachu or Hello Kitty, but not), and some face oil blotting sheets. Each item was only $1.50. I. am. in. love. (And I am not the only one - there is a Flickr page of pics of Daiso purchases.)

I must go back soon! I need some stickers, pens, erasers, candy shaped like sushi, teeny sauce containers for my lunch, mugs shaped like hedgehogs, more face blotting sheets and I need it all NOW!

Icecapades

2009-01-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday we went ice skating to celebrate Moxie P'toxy's birthday!

I admit, I was a little apprehensive at first. I am not the most coordinated person - sometimes I trip up stairs or swallow saliva wrong and end up with a coughing fit while sputtering, "Wrong - cough, cough - pipe!".

Plus, the last time I went skating (circa 1984), it ended in tears. My Grandpa (who was Candadian and able to skate like Wayne Gretzky), my Mom and my cousins all wanted to go ice skating. My Grandpa used to take me out skating on Martha Lake when I was a wee one, so everyone thought I'd be fine. Well, once we got there and I found it was - gasp! - harder than walking, I decided I'd had enough and sat down in the bleachers, scowling, with my arms folded across my chest for the duration of our visit.

But, wanting to give it another try, Aaron and I went to the ice arena up in Shoreline on Sunday, paid our entrance fee, met up with everyone and rented some skates. Once laced up, we minced out to the ice. I was pretty sure I was going to seriously maim myself or others. People of all ages were gracefully whizzing by, while 90s adult contemporary music played over the speakers. (Ever since the day, you put my heart in motion, that'll be the day, baby, baby - something, something - mmm, hmmm.)

Moxie P'toxy, her beau and Aaron were all pretty good skaters! I was slightly challenged and held onto Aaron and the wall for support. After we made it around the rink a couple times without falling, I became less concerned about sustaining a head injury. Then an announcement came on to clear the ice. Was it time for Snowball? All skate change direction? No, kids, it was Zamboni time!

Everyone got off the ice and the Zamboni driver tooled around to smooth out the ice. It was neat to see! (Although it's a weensy bit blurry in this photo.)

After our break, I was refreshed (skating is hard work!) and ready to try going it alone with holding onto Aaron's hand for dear life. I tried to bend my knees and lean forward, like when skiing. It worked! I was skating! I was Michelle Kwan! Or Dorothy Hamill! It was brilliant! Aaron was so impressed that he tried to take an action shot of me WHILE WE WERE BOTH skating! I turned to smile, as if to say, "Look at me! I'm skating!" and then Aaron's feet slipped out from under him and he went down like a ton of bricks. Ironically, "How am I supposed to live without you" by Michael Bolton was playing when Aaron fell. I managed to stop and make sure that he didn't have a concussion (which involved me asking, "Aaron, are you ok? Do you have a concussion?") and tried to help him up without falling down myself.

After that excitement, we were all tuckered out and decided it was time for something less athletic, like eating pizza.

All in all, it was a fun time and we got some excellent pictures (they're up on Facebook), which is really what it's all about!

Fluidline

2009-01-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

After reading Blogdorf's extensive trials of gel eyeliner, I was curious to try one out for myself. I haven't had great success with liquid eyeliner, but I thought gel/cream might be more maneuverable. So, when I got a little pot of MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack in a make-up set for Christmas, I was overjoyed!

I have had some time to play around with it and am getting better at creating an even application. I have been using the MAC 209 brush that came with the set.

It has the tiniest tip and is good for "tightlining" (a new word I picked up on Blogdorf's blog) or lining right up on the lash line. It does take a steady hand, but if I hold my forearm with my opposite hand and go slowly, I come out with a decent result.

The Fluidline stays on all day and doesn't smudge, fade or flake. Blacktrack is a true black and is great, but I also wanted to try a brownish color, so I bought Dipdown over the weekend.

Dipdown is really more my speed. I love brown eye make-up. It's so much more forgiving and less vampy, which is great for everyday wear.

And let's not forget the packaging. Fluidline comes in a small glass pot with a black plastic screw-on lid. Its weight is substantial for such a tiny container and it feels classy and special.

Fluidline comes in a myriad of other hues, but as the beauty assistant at the MAC counter said, they are more "disco" colors. I don't think I need opaque green eyeliner at the moment. (But never say never.)

Fluidline is great for those weekend days when you have more time to achieve perfect application. I don't think I would use it during the week, because I usually have about 20 seconds for eye make-up on, say, a Tuesday morning. But I will look forward to using it on Saturdays when I can stretch out my beauty routine and allow for such indulgences. (Much like sectioning my hair to blow dry, flat-ironing, eyelash curling, painting my nails, etc, etc.)

Sea Kittens?

2009-01-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

As I was logging into my Yahoo email, I glanced at the featured article about PETA's new campaign about not eating fish. Next to the article was a cartoon fish...or cat. Or catfish? Intrigued, I clicked on the link and was taken to NPR. And nay, my friends, the little animated critter is not a catfish, but a Sea Kitten. I swear! It's a frickin Sea Kitten!

But doesn't it look like a cat that is eating a fish?

I read the article and PETA is trying to convince the public that fish should not be eaten, because they are animals, too, just like cats and dogs. But since fish are slimy and cold, they needed to be "re-branded". (I swear to God, they called it re-branding.) So, instead of plain old "fish", PETA wants us to think of them as "Sea Kittens". (They make no mention of calling them Chicken of the Sea. I guess Starkist has cornered the market on that. And Jessica Simpson.)

I was laughing so hard when I read this article that tears were streaming down my face. I mean, really, PETA? Sea Kittens? WTF? Are they going to start calling lobsters "Sea Hedgehogs"? And shrimp will be "Sea Hamsters"? I mean, they have no likeness at all, but fish don't really look like kittens, now do they?

I hate eating fish (except for fried fish, like fish n' chips), so I have no problem avoiding most types of fish. But for people that do eat fish, I highly doubt that thinking of salmon as Sea Kittens is going to deter anyone from eating them for dinner.

And one last thing, isn't it ironic that kittens actually like to eat fish?

Ok, pinkie swear, this is the last thing I'll say - just say "Sea Kitten" over and over. It's so frreakin' ridiculous! Is it really for real? Someone please tell me this is a practical joke.

Neti

2009-01-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor yesterday to see if I could get some good drugs for my never-ending sickness. The doctor was actually a PA that I hadn't seen before, but she was jolly and good humored. After checking me out, she said I have a sinus infection and promptly prescribed me some antibiotics. She also suggested that I drink lots of fluids, feel free to take cold medicine to decrease congestion and consider using a Neti Pot. Sure, sure. Wait, wha?

My Dad was overjoyed when I told him, because not only does he think I need surgery for a deviated septum (which I don't), but he has also been after me to use a Neti Pot. He said that he'd call and see if they carry them at the Walgreen's down the street. Uh, ok. And, guess what! They do have them at Walgreen's!

Incredulous, but also curious, I went to Walgreen's today and bought a Neti Pot kit. It comes with a small plastic pot, some powdered saline packets to mix with water (my doctor said you can make your own with a quarter teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and a cup of water) and a plastic spoon.

It actually kind of looks like drug paraphanalia. (Dude, you put the pot in your nose and whoa! It's aaaaaawesome.)

I read the directions.

Then I mixed up some of the powdered solution with warm water, stuck the pot in and commenced drainage. It felt a bit abnormal, but not painful and it didn't run down my throat like nosespray sometimes does.

It was weird, but I guess I'll keep doing it and see if things improve. Between the Neti Pot and the antibiotics, I should be better at some point. (God, I sure hope so. Because being sick is pretty damn boring.)

Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me

2009-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading the book "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me" by Paula Begoun. (So don't worry - you can actually go to cosmetics counter without me.) I thought it would be like the ultimate beauty blog, but it was more like an encyclopedia of make-up reviews.

Paula breaks down the book into alpha order by brand name. Within each brand name section, she breaks it down further by product type, like cleanser, eyeliner, moisturizer, etc. Each item gets a brief written description and a short review. There is also a grading system which includes a smiley face (good product), a straight face (neutral product), and a sad face (bad product). Paula ups the ante and chooses some products that she really likes and not only gives them a smiley face, but also a check mark. These are "Paula's Picks".

The listing of products is extremely comprehensive, but even so, the make-up industry is constantly churning out new items. So even though the book is relatively new, there are things that you won't find listed. (Like the Make-Up Forever HD Microfinish powder that I just bought and plan to return - it's not in there.)

I agreed with Paula about some of her positive reviews, like MAC and Trish McEvoy lipsticks (both are fantastic), Bobbi Brown face powder, MAC eyeshadows, and MAC brushes. However, I disagreed with her about some of her less than stellar reviews, like Cetaphil for Oily Skin facewash and Neutrogena for oily skin moisturizer. She thought they weren't all that great, but they have both continued to work well for me over the years.

Paula does say at the beginning that these are just her opinions and people are welcome to make their own decisions. That makes sense. But one thing I did find a bit suspect was that she has her own line - Paula's Choice - and all the items in the line got a smiley face and a check mark, and thus were deemed "Paula's Picks". Now, I haven't tried any Paula's Choice products, so I guess they could be super. But I would hedge a bet that she might be slightly biased.

Paula also has a website called Beautypedia, if you want the most current beauty reviews. It is a pay website if you want full access. But you can see many features for free if you poke around on her Paula's Choice site, like her reviews of some items from all these lines (I could read these for hours!) and also the Best/Worst Items of the month.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed reading the reviews in the book. So when Paula's next edition of her book is published, I will certainly add it to my list of holds at the library. Because it's always fun to read positive reviews from someone in the industry about products that I already love and use!

Hello, 2009

2009-01-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Do you make a list of resolutions for the new year?

I haven't really come up with any resolutions per se, except that I really want to get my cuticles looking presentable. Other than that, though, I mostly want to do or buy things. So, here's my list (yes, ANOTHER list! I can't help myself) of Things I Want to Do or Buy in 2009:

1. Buy a bike.
2. Ride the bike on the Burke Gilman Trail.
3. Compete in the Danskin Triathlon (there, I said it - so now I really have to do it, right?).
4. Get the carpet cleaned and stretched.
5. Buy a laptop.
6. Stop picking at my cuticles (for reals this time).
7. Get a dog (and stop just talking about getting a dog).
8. Get my brakes checked (oh, how they squeal!).
9. Take our friends up on their offer to go to their cabin in Manzanita, OR (maybe over President's Day weekend?).

What do you want to do, stop doing, or buy in 2009?

Pillager's Pub Progress

2009-01-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

It looks like the Pillager's Pub is coming along. They just put up a new sign outside.

Let's zoom in a bit, shall we?

The white outline part is this pirate-like looking lass, but it's not as lit up as the rest of the sign, so I lost a lot of the detail since it's so dark and rainy outside. I know - excuses, excuses.

Looks like they will be serving beer/wine/food. I wonder if they will give Naked City a run for their money?

Christmas Gifts

2009-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

How was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you everything on your list? I got some great gifts this year. And since I love my lists, here's my top five gifts of 2008.

1. Black Munro boots from my Mom - comfy AND cute!

2. MAC eye make-up kit from my sister-in-law - the Fluidline eyeliner is awesome! I may have to buy it in brown, too.

3. Cute Overload Page-A-Day calendar from Aaron - so cute!

4. Dog breed book from my Dad- perfect!

5. A Goodwill gift card from my brother - he knows me so well!

It was a really good Christmas!

But now that it's all over...I'm kinda ready for spring.