Thursday, December 17, 2009

Laura Mercier

So I shared my love of Sephora with my cousin (I would tell you her nickname, but she'd probably kill me since she reads my blog). I feel slightly guilty since now she probably has spent more money on make-up than she has her entire life.  She, in turn, shared her love of this kit:


Awesome.  I have acne-prone skin and this stuff is amazing.  It's all oil-free and it has a compact with two concealers,  one for under-eye and one for redness, both are some of the best I've used.

Now she and I have ruined you all :)

(On a side note:  My sister-in-law was over last night and I talked her ear off about make-up.  Sorry G,  I don't get a lot of 'girl-time'  if you can't tell!)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Swell Season

If you haven't seen Once , you should see it...very sweet. Swell Season, the 'band' (I put it in quotes because it's only two people) has a new album. Here is a video of them; long, but worth the watch:

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Go to MOMA if you can.....




I have felt a connection to Tim Burton since forever. He has a collection at MOMA right now that I would love to see.

Following my childhood movie theme...

This was on of the most horrifying movies I ever saw as a child....I can't believe my mom let me watch it. The preview is totally misleading. DOES ANY ONE REMEMBER THIS DAMAGING movie?



Absolutely gave me nightmares.

Monday, November 16, 2009

High Cockalorum!

Water Babies was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. This is the best song from the movie, I used to sing it over and over again:





What are some of your favorite childhood movies?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Admittedly random.

Sorry it's been so long peeps-  I spent most of the last week in Florida and it was glorious! Beautiful wedding, beautiful weather, beautiful friends, and beautiful brother :)

This post may change some of you all's opinions about me, merely because of the fact I got excited about the following, but I'm willing to take that chance.

On two seperate occasions during my trip, I got to use the following hand dryer:



It is the ONLY hand dryer I've used that actually works.  It thoroughly dried my hands in like 5 seconds. I did my research (yay Google) and found out it is a Dyson Airblade.  Serously, I am impressed....I knew engineers were good for something.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Birthday!

Today is Hello Kitty's 35th birthday!  Happy birthday old friend!





© 1976, 2009
SANRIO CO., LTD



Monday, October 26, 2009

Yummy Tortilla Soup Recipe

[link to recipe]



I am a sucker for Tyler Florence's recipes.  Generally, I don't make them often because they usually aren't very good for you.  Anyone who has watched this show has heard him say things like: "I love bacon!" and "Now add a little butter, like half a stick."

His tortilla soup recipe is great (and healthy). The first time I made it I did not fry my own tortilla chips because I was lazy.  K-man made this last night and did fry his own tortilla chips and it was totally worth it--do NOT skip that step!  To make it super easy, he used store-bought organic chicken stock and shredded a roasted chicken for the meat.

*note: The picture is a 'representation' of the soup (via flckr), we ate our soup before I realized I wanted a picture! It did look like that, I swear :)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wedding Outfit!

One of my best friends is getting married in a couple of weeks (yay!). What do you think of my planned outfit? Keep in mind it is a fall/winter wedding but it is also in Florida so it will also be pretty warm. These two facts presented quite a conundrum for me to be honest.





This also gives me a chance to tell you about one of my current time wasters that my sister in-law introduced me to: www.polyvore.com

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I guess they flock together.

I was conflicted about this post because I don't want to give this guy anymore coverage than he's already gotten, but then I thought "Get over yourself! You have like four readers." lol

Anyway, here's a picture:


 Who's that guy on the left?  Balloon boy's father.  Who's that guy on the right?  Scott Stevens, P-town's beloved weatherman who quit a few years ago to pursue researching his theories that the Japanese are creating hurricanes using lasers and such. The two are research and business partners.

(image via: http://scottstevens.mevio.com/)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Sephora Friends and Family sale!

I know a few of you shop at Sephora.  What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell you about this?

Shop and use promotion code FF2009 to save 20% on your entire purchase.

Monday, October 12, 2009

more makeup

So my most-viewed posts are the makeup reviews.  Here are some more of my favorite products:


As a habitual non-sleeper, I have dark circles under my eyes.  My go-to under eye concealer is Benefit Erase-Paste:



This pot will last you forever, literally.

My favorite mascara is Lash Blast by covergirl.  This mascara is all-encompassing (i.e. lengthening and thickening), will not flake, and is cheap to boot!  I love it





Monday, October 5, 2009

Snow!

I woke up today and it was snowing.  Needless to say I'm not too happy about it. As a consequence the house is cold and we had to turn on the heat.

Here is my cat Cayley:

I'm beginning to think she has the right idea.  She has been sacked out all day as close to the heating vent as she can get.  She is wedged between the wall and an end table.  What's that she's using as a pillow, you ask? A nice warm kitty bed......No, she won't actually get in the nice warm kitty bed, she just likes to use it as a pillow.

Great Movie

I saw "Whip It" over the weekend and am kind of in love with it :)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Awesome nail polish!


I just tried Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Polish ($3). This stuff holds up to its name (even though it is annoyingly redundant and misspelled). I used it in 'petal-pusher', a nice soft pink, right before I walked to school and it dried in less than 60 seconds. My problem with fast-drying nail polish I've tried before is the application; I always end up with streaks and uneven color. The genius of the Insta-Dri is the brush. It is large, flat, and has a contoured tip--one swipe coats an entire nail. Sally Hansen must have some smarty engineers working for them, seriously.

When I'm short on time, this will definitely be my go-to lacquer. Of course, if I have time, my all-time favorite nail polish is OPI's 'I'm not really a waitress', as long as we're on the subject :)

In a couple of days I'll update this post and tell you all about the durability.

*update:  It lasted 3 days without a chip, that's really good for me because I'm really hard on my nails (chalkboard, chalk, etc.).

Monday, September 14, 2009

Best Lasagna Recipe Ever!

[link to the best lasagna recipe]
One of my very favorite foods is lasagna.  Every year when I was little I would request lasagna for my (and my twin's) birthday dinner.  In fact, now that I think about it, did my twin ever get to decide what we had?  I don't remember.  Maybe he decided I was more concerned about the meal than he was so he always let me pick.  Hopefully he'll refresh my memory if he reads this.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I made this recipe for the family. Everyone said it was the best lasagna they'd ever had.  It was really good.  I used half spicy sausage and half sweet sausage.

I recommend this pasta:


 For some reason I just like the flat lasagna noodles way better than the 'curly' ones (I'm kinda picky).

Friday, September 11, 2009

Orla Kiely #2!


I went to a Nordstrom Rack (totally worth your time if you're near one) and found this Orla Kiely bag for 66% off!  It was the only one.  I am a lucky girl!


 
The cool thing about Orla Kiely Etc. bags are that they are coated canvas...which means they are pretty much water proof.  Since I plan on ending up in the in the pacific northwest, this is the perfect teaching bag (it is huge)! 
OK, I promise this is the last Orla Kiely post (unless I get another bargain...very doubtful).

This has the potential to be my new favorite show:



This is Glee, a new show on Fox about an up and coming misfit glee club. Because it's on Fox, and I like it, it will probably be canceled after 5 episodes. (Arrested Development or Wonderfalls, anyone?)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Laptop Sleeve

Here is a laptop sleeve I just made:

 
I used some fleece I had lying around the house (thanks brother!).

A now, a little Zooey Deschanel for your afternoon:

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I am an addict.

One thing some of you might not know about me....I am a make-up junkie.

Of course, maybe I'm more transparent than I think :)

Anyway, this post is silly since most of my readers are males who don't wear make-up (hello family!), but nevertheless, I like experimenting with make-up.  Rarely though do I find products that I love.  In the past months, I have found two such products.

The first is Stila Smudge-Pot eyeliner in black


It is, by far, the best eyeliner I have ever used. It is easy to use and will not budge.  It seems expensive, but this 'pot' will last easily a year or more.



The second product is Lip Glass lip gloss by MAC



This is the best lip gloss I have used in years.  Before you role your eyes, I am an authority:  I have over 10 different lip glosses in just one drawer of my school desk alone.  Seriously.  (Don't get me started on my purse.)
Anyway, it is more about the consistency than the color. Those who know lip gloss know what I'm talking about.

lol!

In a week of crappy news, this made me laugh out loud (something that doesn't happen very often)!




Thanks brother!

New Computer!!

Hey everybody, look at my new computer!

 
It's kind of a crappy picture, so here are the specs via costco.  So far it's running like a dream.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Show and Tell

Look what I found at Goodwill!

 
It's a brand new Keurig single serving coffee maker. These babies are expensive in the store, and I got it for a bargain. 
Two notes about the picture:  1. Look at my sweet magnetic numbers that my brother got me! 2. Yes that is a cinder-block wall; I know you're jealous of my office :)
*The title of my post makes me think of 3rd grade show and tell.  Every single week I showed the same thing:  A gold ring with a pink stone and real diamond that my dad gave me. I especially emphasized the real diamond when I showed it.  I loved that ring.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Let's just get this out of the way,

Let me profess my love for Orla Kiely.
I have been pining for one of her bags for years, quite literally. A couple of months ago I finally got one:




I love it. She also has a cute, affordable home line at Target. (Anyone who knows me, also knows I love Target!)

Pickle Recipe

Here is the pickle recipe!

15 small pickling cucumbers (cut into spears)
40 fresh dill sprigs
1 large onion
1 qt water
1 qt white vinegar
1/2 cup canning salt
5 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 jalapeno thinly sliced (the one I got wasn't hot enough so I also added some red pepper flakes)

In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, dill, onions, garlic, and jalapeno; set aside. In a dutch oven, combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil until the salt dissolves and pour over cucumbers. Let cool, then cover tightly and put in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Pickles

I made some good refrigerator pickles the other day. They were super easy and I like having control over the amount of salt that goes into them.


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

School Supplies

Today I bought my school supplies and took K-man with me. We both share a love of school/office supplies. Every time we go to buy school supplies K-man starts singing "it's the most wonderful time of the year...." That's how much we love new pencils and such! Anyway, this semester is the first semester I don't have to take any classes. That means I don't need to buy books, note-taking paper, highlighters, and a vast array of other school supplies I've been able to justify buying in the past. Here is what I bought:


Isn't that the saddest little pile of school supplies you've ever seen?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

slacker

So today I should be working. School starts in a week, which means I need to be prepped to teach my class and I need to get my research all organized so I can start working on the actual writing part of my thesis. For some reason the process of changing my mind set from the research aspect to the writing aspect is just not happening. I should be outlining how I want to present my thoughts/reaserch on 'Picard Kernels' to the mathematical community....What am I doing instead? Not a damn thing. I kid you not. Nothing, nada, zip. What's worse, is my partner in crime (my fiance, let's call him K-man) is working. Let me correct that, he is working his ass off. I'm sitting at home doing nothing and he's at school, in our office, working. He's been there all day. Working.

This should motivate me right? Nope. Don't get me wrong, I admire and love his work ethic, it just doesn't motivate me.

Now I give you Dan Akroyd as Julia Child (I know, random):

Saturday, August 15, 2009


Here is my latest project. I made it out of a cute place-mat I found at TJ Maxx. It worked great because I didn't have to finish the edges and it had a nice backing, so I didn't have to line it.

Hello

My first post! Hi out there.

I realize I am really talking to myself, but it feels like I'm not, which I guess is the point. I'm using this blog as a distraction, a venting venue, and a place to talk about the random things I think about. So welcome.

I will have a real post soon.