Mid-Monday Vlog

What's more interesting in the middle of a Monday than watching a boring vlog with me rambling on about stupid crap?

Yeah, that's right. Nothing.

I hope you enjoyed my Mid-Monday mmmmuuuughghghghh-vlog. Hope y'all are having a great day!

Weekly Highlights: My Life is Exciting

p.s. Participate with me next Friday! Get your handwritten posts (whatever you feel like writing) ready to link up!

p.s.s. Happy GO TEXAN Day!

(Hand) Write Me.

So many of you are loving the handwritten posts, and have expressed interest in hand writing posts with me. I think it's great so many of you are loving this, because I really find that it's so simple to do.

In fact, the art and etiquette of handwriting letters and notes has become so scarce, it really upsets me. I absolutely love hand writing notes, especially thank you notes. My mother always taught me to hand write notes for thank yous, special ocassions, support, etc. I can't tell you how upset I've been when I've gotten blanket 'thank you' notes in the mail that were printed on a photo website. I can remember getting at least two of these after spending thousands of dollars to travel to weddings far out of state AND giving them gifts. The least I could get was a freakin' hand written thank you note.

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I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I, with the help of Greg, wrote every single one of my hundreds of thank you notes after our wedding. We brought the notes on the plane to our honeymoon and spent the flight there and back writing them (no thank-you writing on the actual honeymoon). We made sure to write different things to each person and really make them heartfelt. It really doesn't take that much effort, and the person receiving the note feels really special when they receive it in the mail.

Case in point: when I received a hand written note in the mail. My family is going through a particularly tough time, and has been for about a year. One of my dear friends, Anne, took the time to send me a handwritten note to cheer me up. And let me tell you, it literally made my week so much brighter. Just knowing she took the time out to do that for me made me feel special.

Now, wouldn't you like to make other people feel that way?

I'd actually like to think some of you felt kind of special and cool to be able to look at my handwritten posts, and enjoyed the little time that I took out to do that. It really is a fun little touch to my blog, and a little personalized note from me to all of you, since, after all, it is a blog, and the purpose is a little different than thank you notes.

So, in the spirit of making your readers feel special when they read your posts, I am going to start weekly/bi-weekly link-ups for hand written posts. (And definitely continue my own posts on a regular basis.) You all told me you loved the idea, so why not?!

Before I do so, I'd like to know what works best for you. There's so many link-ups nowadays, I don't want anyone to feel like this is a tough commitment to participate in. I think I'll for sure do this as much as I want, but would you want to link up every week? Every two weeks? What day works best?

And let me give you just a few tips if you are on the fence about this.
1. Hand writing a short note is easy! It takes me 5 minutes, max to do.
2. It looks super cute on lined notebook paper.
3. You don't need a scanner to post your note. Take a photo of your note! Don't think it'll work? Look at Amy's post.
4. Have nothing particularly special to say? Do something like scan your grocery shopping list with your sarcastic comments annotating it. Show us a receipt from a shopping trip with your explanations. A note you got from someone else. Or draw a silly picture! I don't care... make it about YOU. That's what makes it feel personal and interesting!

Anyway... I need your thoughts! Leave them in a comment below:
1. Would you like to participate?
2. What day works best for you?
3. Would you like to do this weekly or every other week?

Thanks for your interest and I hope that you get inspired to join me!

**EDIT**
We're Passing Notes every Friday (unless otherwise noted)! Get your handwritten posts ready and link up with me! Isn't this FUN?!

Neti Pot - Funny Advertising, Serious Relief

You guys can make fun of me all you want, but I love my Neti Pot. I have a lot of issues with my sinuses. I'm talking lots and lots of sinus headaches and pressure. This thing has been a God send! I picked one of these up at the drugstore per the recommendation of my sister.

For those that have no idea what the Neti Pot is, watch and learn.

I realize this is the freakiest video... um, EVER.

Things worth noting:
- The expression on that lady's face while the water is running out of her nostril.
- The lady's little boy haircut.
- The lady's oversized, hideous outfit.
- Exercises after clearing your sinuses? PUMP OUT THAT MUCUS!

Can we say hilarious advertising?

The Neti Pot really does flush saline through one nostril and out the other. No, it doesn't run down the back of your throat if you're doing it right. Yes, it does burn if you use too much saline. But most importantly, it really can clear your sinuses without the use of drugs! We all love a little natural relief, don't we? Yeah, I'm swearing by this thing.

I look almost as ridiculous while flushing my sinuses, but I don't have a little boy haircut.

Favorite Concealers

There's one thing a girl needs in her makeup drawer: a good concealer. I must always have concealer. I will not leave the house without a completely naked face. I'm superficial like that. Even if I am going to go light on my makeup, I'll still look polished if I dab a little concealer on.

I've got two favorite concealers I'm totally loving right now, and one is a high end brand and one is a drug store brand! They are:

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

find it here

This stuff is classic. It's a creamy consistency, and is very pigmented. It doesn't cover fully in one layer, but that also makes it great because you can layer it to the desired level of coverage. I use this anywhere on my face that needs coverage - blemishes, hyperpigmentation, and under my eyes (every now and then). It's perfect when I have those days where I don't want to wear a lot of makeup. I dab this on and use powder on top of it instead of foundation. I also like that this concealer has SPF in it.

Physician's Formula Conceal Rx

Find it here

This is surprisingly a FANTASTIC concealer, and it has lasted me quite a long time. The best part - it's $8 and I found it at CVS! The thing with this stuff is that a very little goes quite a long way. The consistency isn't as creamy as the Studio Finish, but it dries quickly and really does not budge all day. This is the perfect concealer for blemishes, scarring, and hyperpigmentation. I wouldn't use this under my eyes, as it is a little dry for that. The only one downside to this product is the limited color selection. Lucky for me, the light shade ended up matching me fine, but I think they had a total of 4 shades for this product. Okay, there's one other downside. It tends to squirt out a watery clear liquid if not shaken up completely. That doesn't bother me, but I can see how it might bother others.

Since I am always on the prowl for the best beauty products available, I want to know your favorite concealers!

What do you swear by?

I hope your weekends are longer than mine!

Forget candy and flowers, cupcakes are all I want.

You might have seen my tweet regarding this matter (and in that case, this just might be waaaay old news to you).

My husband knows me too well. I screamed like a giggly little girl and danced around like a fool when these were delivered to me at school yesterday. It was Sprinkles, no less.

(I guess forwarding the Sprinkles e-mails worked, too.)

Best Valentine's Day present. EVER.

Nothing makes a day like milk chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate marshmallow. Times twelve. The extra few downward-facing dogs in yoga last night were worth it.

What did y'all get for Valentine's Day? 
Anything worth making you scream like a little girl and dance around like a fool (i.e. me)?

Bobbi Brown Corrector Review

What's this I speak of? A "Corrector"?

Bobbi Brown's Corrector is a top-rated product designed to correct dark circles and discoloration underneath the eyes. Not to be confused with a concealer, this is strictly for color correction and is meant to be layered underneath a concealer.

When I read about this cult beauty favorite, I had to try it. I have light circles underneath my eyes, most likely due to allergies, sinus issues, and hereditary... blessings. Concealers haven't done too much for me in the past because I do not like packing on tons of product underneath my eyes. I like something light, creamy, and won't settle into fine lines (we all have creases under our eyes whether we want to admit it or not).

Enter in Bobbi Brown's Corrector!

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First Thoughts on the Product:

- The consistency is super creamy. Love.
- I love the packaging, especially with the little mirror (although I never use the mirror, it's a fun touch)
- Price tag is a little shocking at first ($22) with how small this is (it's about the size of a MAC eyeshadow) but I have had mine for at least 5 months and have barely put a dent in it.
- The color of this looks weird when I'm putting it on my eyes (orange-y) and it freaked me out at first, but it definitely blends well and corrects.

This is the size of the corrector, and how much I've used in 5 months (impressive, right?)

Using the Product:

- A moisturized eye area is a must for concealer/corrector to look good. I always apply eye cream and let it sink in first.
- Very little of this goes a long way. I dab a small concealer brush in the product, warm it up on the back of my hand, and go to town.
- I apply this in small dots/strokes around my eyes with the concealer brush and blend it in a little more with my ring finger. If I need some extra color correction, I'll layer on a bit of concealer or I'll use MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly (used to brighten eyes a bit more and as a eyeshadow base). I don't like too many products under my eyes.
- After I apply my corrector and whatever else on my eyes, I let it settle (do other parts of makeup) before I set it with powder (I'm totally loving Laura Mercier's Secret Brightening Powder as a concealer setting powder, btw.). If any product sets into fine lines, I can blend more before I set it. This prevents any further creasing. I will say, though, this product doesn't really crease. You just have to worry about what you layer on top of it.

Photos to Illustrate My Findings:
Beware of the untouched, unmade up eyes...

My with eye cream only - sans any form of makeup.
And yes, I realize I need to take a weedwacker to my eyebrows.
And yes, I know I have huge "anime" eyes.

My eyes with only the corrector. Immediate improvement.

My eyes in full makeup.
I used a setting powder and appied my eyeshadow, liner and mascara

Thoughts After Using the Product:

- I originally bought this product online in Light Bisque, but it really did nothing for me. So I went to the Bobbi Brown counter in Macy's and had them color match me. Light Peach was what actually worked the best at correcting discoloration underneath my eyes. I highly recommend that you get matched because I honestly thought my skin tone was suited for a bisque color.
- I've noticed this works much better when I use less product. Start small, and build it until you reach your desired level of correction.
- This really does help correct and conceal dark circles. It's crazy! It actually works!! I'm not the only person who loves this product. Read reviews here of others on Makeup Alley. It's got a rating of a 4.2 with 459 reviews. That's almost unheard of! See! I'm not alone!

Final Verdict:

Totally worth it if you need extra color correction underneath your eyes. If you look well-rested 365 days out of the year, than this isn't for you (...and I hate you, by the way).

I can fake looking awake with Bobbi Brown Corrector!
(although I won't mention the 9 hours of sleep I got last night)

Dear Bobbi Brown Corrector,

I heart you. Will you be my other Valentine? I already promised Mac Blacktrack to be my Valentine, but I see nothing wrong with having two.

Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies! 

Hope your day is as beautiful as me when I'm wearing Bobbi Brown Corrector!

Wuz up?

Okay, I'll admit it. I dislike Pink.

I'd first like to add that Blogger sucks at scheduling posts! I accidentally posted this yesterday and deleted it. Sorry about that for those that tried to come and take a look.

Yeah, I don't like Pink. Yeah, you heard me. And, no, not the color. The artist. She disgraces my favorite color, in fact.

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Yeah. That chick.

I'd like to add, firstly, that smoking is probably the worst thing you could possibly do to your vocal cords. Any vocalist knows this. I guess Pink missed the memo.

Alright, so why exactly do I dislike this woman as an artist? Hear me out.

1. Really crappy music.

I seriously can't listen to more than ten seconds of this nonsense. Did a four-year-old write the music to this god-forsaken song? My hell would be that "NANANA NA-NA NA-NA, NANANA NA NA-NA" on repeat for eternity. I can't think about it, or I might go into convulsions and/or the fetal position.

In fact, I can't even put another song on here to torture your eardrums. That one was enough.

2. Really crappy lyrics. 

Let me provide you with some examples of her finest.

From "Missundastood"

But you don't in my luxuries
And its me, I know I know my name
Cuz I say it proud 

From "U + Ur Hand"

In the corner with your boys you bet 'em five bucks
You'd get the girl that just walked in but she thinks you suck

From "Cuz I Can"

P I N K
P I M P
I'm back again
I know you all missed me
I'm so so sick
Can't handle it

From "Raise Your Glass"

Right, right, turn off the lights
We're gonna lose our minds tonight
What's the dealio?

Conclusion: 

I think I wrote better poetry in the 6th grade. I knew I spelled better, too.

3. Questionable Fashion Choices

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I'm so very confused. Is her hat upside down...? Or... is her hat... upside down?

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Her scrunchy square-toed boots paired are the least offensive thing about this outfit, and that's saying a lot.

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Is she trying to channel her inner 15-year-old here? I'm also beginning to think this woman has no spelling skills whatsoever (or a good proofreader). Guys, it's spelled "misunderstood." I know I'm crazy -- just throwing that out there!

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No, Pink. It's really not cool to wear gold suits with matching gold sunglasses, lip gloss, and eyebrows. You are not Elton John.

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This is Elton John, and he looks cool. Matter of fact, he IS cool.

I REST MY CASE.

p.s. Y'all know this was all tongue-in-cheek, of course. ;)

Cucpakes, Calzones, and Queso

Obviously, the most important part of the Superbowl was what food I was eating. Greg and I did the cooking for the game get-together. We went over to my mom's house, where it was just us, my mom, sister, and my BFF Katie.

I made Cupcakes and Queso. He made Calzones. YUM.

The Calzones are my mother-in-law's recipe, which involves stuffing whatever fillings you want in dough and baking it until it's golden brown. I don't have a specific recipe to show you.... sorry. Greg made them.

The Queso involved NO VELVEETA WHATSOEVER. I wasn't about to ingest plastic, so I searched for a more natural, honest, and homemade recipe, and found this. It was amazingly delicious and easy to make. It stayed nice and bubbly in the slow cooker.

The Cupcakes, honestly, were the star of the show (although I might be a little biased). I did a chocolate cupcake filled with hand-whipped cream and topped with Nutella frosting.

I used this chocolate cupcake recipe, which always comes out unbelievaby perfect each time I use it. I used this buttercream frosting (which is amazing by itself) and then added Nutella to it until I thought it tasted "nutella-y" enough (maybe about 1/2-3/4 cup). And then since I don't have special pastry tools to fill cupcakes, I cut a little cone-shaped hole with a paring knife and squeezed heavy whipping cream that I whipped up in the holes and then frosted them. They were AWESOME!!!

What did you nibble on during the Superbowl?  

Sorry... I don't care what you thought about the game, commercials, or the halftime show. Everyone knows the food is the most important part!

Sprinkles Cupcakes iPhone App? Yes, please!!!

NEWSFLASH!

Sprinkles Cupcakes just announced their release of their iPhone App!

OMG. This takes my obsession to the next level. FOR REALZ.

Check it.

Now, this is my kind of iPhone App! Firstly, I can look at seasonal flavors! That's really cool for me 'cause I can start a little countdown to new flavor offerings (HELLO, Raspberry Chocolate started yesterday)! What's really useful is that I can see what flavors are baked each day of the week (although I almost already have that memorized)! Along with that, there's store info, gift boxes info, and pictures!

And if that wasn't enough, they even have a Sprinkles matching game included in the app.

Too bad I suck at memory games and I have the attention span of a 2-year-old. Otherwise, I'd be playing this every free chance I get. Even better, I'd be playing this game with the actual cupcakes the sprinkle toppers represent -- and when I get one right, I'd get to eat them both. Heck yes.

Did I mention that Sprinkles Cupcakes have no calories whatsoever? (When you tell yourself it's no-cal, it means it's no-cal, dag nabit!) Yeah, that means it doesn't count towards my healthy diet! HOW FREAKIN' CONVENIENT!

Yeah, this is not good at all. And by not good, I mean AWESOME.

p.s. Thinking of Sprinkles just makes me do weird things. Look at my new Twitter background.

Happy dance for a day off!

The glorious announcement was made yesterday during 6th period that school is canceled today due to the winter weather forecast. It's more of an "ice day" than a snow day, and we'll be back up to 60 degrees this weekend (typical Houston, right?). I gotta admit it, though, we were all (including the teachers) hoping for a Friday off but weren't expecting it since our district never cancels school due to weather.

We were in the middle of reading through a script when the exciting announcement was made, and then this ensued:

A resounding "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH" was heard throughout the halls, and I definitely had to restrain myself cheering with them. Then the dancing began. These are theatre kids, so what do you expect? Oh, but that's not the least of it.  They started cheering "Go Paul! - Go Paul! - Go Paul! - Go Paul! - Go Paul!"

"Paul" is that little cowboy statue. I don't know how Paul ended up in my classroom and why the kids felt so compelled to chant his name, but he was there to celebrate, too. I couldn't help but at laugh at them. In fact, it was too funny. I seriously was almost in tears.

It was a fun way to celebrate a snow day. Actually, I don't ever remember having a "snow day" growing up. We just deal with hurricanes here, which is another can of worms.

OMG. I'm sleeping in today, and enjoying a 3-day weekend! Yes, this "snow" day is soooooo perfectly placed. I know it's no "snowpocalypse" but I just felt so left out on all this winter weather crazy-ness! So let me relish for one day?! Kthanks.

I might even start dancing and cheering "Go Paul!" around my living room.

MAC Blacktrack, how have I lived so long without you?

I recently purchased MAC's Fluidline in Blacktrack. Yeah, I know -- I'm sooooo tardy for the party. Whatever, y'all. Anyway, Fluidline is a cult favorite among gel eyeliners, alongside Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. I was soooo excited to try it, since I've heard so many great things about gel eyeliner, particularly Fluidline.

Let this (tardy) gel eyeliner party started!

First thoughts on the Product:

How did I go so long without using gel eyeliner?! I am a for real loser. 'Nuff said.

Using the Product:

- I feel that it is much easier to apply than pencil (self-sharpening or kohl), easier to smudge out for the smoky eye look, much more versatile (I can tightline or do a cat eye with the same brush) and much more predictable!
- This can be used with a small eyeliner brush, a flat one, or an angled one. I use the MAC 209 brush, and I looooove it. I feel that you don't have to have a MAC brush to do this, though. I love EcoTools brushes (very high quality stuff), and they can be found at the drugstore.

My choice of brush, the MAC 209:

- Consistency of the product is awesome. Very pigmented and thick. Dries very quickly, so if you want to smudge it out, you've gotta work quickly.
- While applying, I've noticed that you have to do one section of your eye at a time instead of pulling the product out across your lash line. It's not more difficult, in fact I think applying this is much easier since it's easier to control. It's just different than what I'm used to!

Thoughts After Using the Product:

- I've lined all the way into the corner of my eyes and the eyeliner doesn't budge very much at all. After about seven hours or so, I noticed a little smudge, but nothing major.
- This stuff is going to last me a long time. I typically buy eye pencils (self-sharpening) about every month, so I am actually saving money by using this.
- I'll say it again: much easier to apply than pencil since this offers you more control of how thick/thin you want the line and where you want it.

Final Verdict:

For $15, you can get the most versatile eyeliner you will use and it will last you at least six months!

Blacktrack on Me:

I did a navy smoky eye with my Blacktrack smudged out and lined all the way into the corners. It stayed all night and I loved the way it looked! I did this look with a new color I got, Prussian (not on the MAC website... not sure why.. I got it at the MAC store) along with a lot of my staple colors (a little black, soft pale nude, etc.). The main purpose of this picture was to show you how precise the inside corners of my eyes are and also how smudge-y gorgeous it works with my navy smoky eye.

Dear MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack,

If I could, I would send you this Valentine. Actually, will you be my Valentine? It's only twelve days away! That means you always will love me back and supply me with endless amounts of it (i.e. a never ending supply of Blacktrack).

31 Down, 334 to Go

You may have noticed that I started working on my own 365 Project. I'm not really playing by any rules only than taking a picture each day with my iPhone and posting it directly to my Flickr, where I later caption the photos with details that I'll likely not remember. Let me share with you my first month of photos! I already feel so accomplished!

Some interesting facts about this month:

• 7 photos of Dexter
• 6 photos of work-related stuff
• 5 photos of Greg
• 4 photos of Houston Symphony Chorus related activities
• 3 photos of cupcakes
• 2 photos of me

It's obvious where my priorities are: Dexter.