diary of a smart blonde

More Aidan Pics :-D

2012-02-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

Tootsies

Snuggled up

Sleeping angel

Snuggle time with mommy

Getting a tan

Ohhh Mom

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Friday Funny :-DThis Harmonica Rocks Buster's World!!

2012-02-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Book Discussion One for the Money

2012-02-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

One word for this book: Funsies!

I can’t think of any other way to describe this book other than saying it is really fun.

Stephanie Plum is having a hard time making ends meet, so she goes to her cousin Vinnie searching for a job…and she ends up taking one as a bounty hunter. It’s a dangerous and difficult job, but the payoff is big bucks. It turns out that the first person she is assigned to “collect” is a former flame who seduced her (back in high school) and then dropped her like a bad habit. Although she had previously run him over with a car, she still felt there was a significant amount of payback to dole out – and what better way to do that than by delivering him to the police? Ha!

The book has a lot of action, and Stephanie is hilarious. She is hilarious in a subtle way, though. I cracked up throughout this book. I loved this chick!

As you can imagine, she goes through a pretty steep learning curve when she starts out being a bounty hunter. This is also told in a hilarious but raw way. She also has some run-ins with some pretty slimy characters, and gets into some pretty sticky situations while she is poking around trying to apprehend her target. It all made for a real page-turner, and all the excitement kept me rapt with attention. There was never a dull moment!

The book was recommended to me by a co-worker…I’m so glad I listened. I can’t wait to read the next one!

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Wedding Wednesday :-D We Ordered the Cupcakes Yay

2012-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago when I was in Michigan for my sister's baby shower, her and I went to a couple cupcake tastings and I ordered the cupcakes for the wedding. I am SO EXCITED for these cupcakes!

The first place we visited was Just Baked in Ann Arbor. It was good, but it didn't exactly blow up our skirts. The second place we visited was The Cupcake Station, which is also in Ann Arbor. The cupcakes at The Cupcake Station were AMAZING. They totally blew us away and we wanted more even though we'd been eating cupcakes for 2-3 hours at that point. LOL. I ordered a lacy cupcake tier, alllll the cupcakes for our guests, and a normal cake to go on the top tier so Robbie and I can still "cut the cake" together at the wedding. These are the flavors that we settled on (for now):

- Fall Into Pumpkin (this is the flavor we chose for the top cake too)
- Boston Cream
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Coconut Blitz
- Strawberry Cheesecake

Besides the fact that the cupcakes were freakin' amazing, I loved The Cupcake Station because the girl we spoke to was incredibly friendly, was very excited about the cupcakes, and was very accommodating. She let us try so many flavors! She also had a lot of suggestions and ideas when I was telling her what I wanted for the cupcakes - I was trying to have the main color of the cupcakes and tower to be white (while we were at Just Baked, anything that I suggested changing about the cupcakes was met with a "no" or an "I'll have to check" - it was annoying and made me feel like I was going to be paying an arm and a leg for something that wasn't exactly what I wanted). Also, the girl we talked to at The Cupcake Station was one of the people who actually baked the cupcakes, so she had a lot of knowledge about what frosting works with what, etc. that helped with choosing flavors, and she was confident in working with us to get what I wanted.

Here is a picture from their photo gallery of the tier with some cupcakes!

We'll have one tier with the remaining cupcakes arranged artistically on the table. BOOM - another checklist item DONE.

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Give-Away! My Favorite Mary Kay Cream Eyeshadow!

2012-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Guess what, lucky readers? It’s time for another give-away!

A while back (while I was still living in DC), I went to aMary Kay party because my friend, Lyndsey, has her own business selling theirproducts. I purchased some foundation and some tinted moisturizer and it is THEBOMB. Seriously, I love the stuff. I don’t actually wear a lot of foundation,because I don’t like the feeling of heavy makeup on my face (or the look ofit). The medium coverage foundation is totally perfect during the wintertimewhen I want a little more “evening out” – I just mix some with my moisturizerand primer, and ta-da – love. Depending on how much coverage I want, I just addmore or less of the medium coverage foundation. For summertime, the tintedmoisturizer is less covering and very light. I just mix it with my primer andI’m ready to go in a snap. Love!

When I recently put in an order to replenish my foundation, Idecided to try out their new Cream Eye Shadow. It is also GORGEOUS. I chose theIced Cocoa color, and I am in looooove. The color is really vivid and sparkly,and it is so easy to apply.

I just use my normal eye shadow brush to apply the eyeshadow. One thing Ilove about cream eyeshadows is that they go exactly where I put them. There isno dusting on my cheeks or my nose at all. I definitely find myself grabbingfor this eyeshadow a lot because it is so easy to apply and I can go fast andnot worry about messing up. Or I can be lazy when I am tired in the morning andnot worry about messing it up. You see where I’m going with this. LOL. And, itstays in place all day and the color lasts and lasts forever! It’s also reallyeasy to achieve a sheer look or a very dark look as well.

Lyndsey also sent me a little sample of the eye makeupremover, which I also love. I just started using eye makeup remover, honestly(about 6 months ago). I definitely notice that when I use it, my eyelashes stayaround a lot longer and grow longer because I don’t have to rub my eyes.Definitely a bonus – eye makeup remover is a must!

So, for my next give-away, you can enter to win (1) Creameyeshadow (color of your choice) and (2) some MK eye makeup remover. Check outLyndsey’s website here, and here is the specific link to the eyeshadows (so youcan choose your color…because you’ll surely win, right?).

Guess what? I'm going to make it easy on you this time. All you have to do is send me an email to enter. Send me an email at diaryofasmartblonde{at}yahoo dot com with the following information:

1. Name and email address
2. How did you find out about my blog?
3. Did you post a link to this contest on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog? If you include it, you get an extra entry!

Contest rules and information, i.e. the annoying fine print:

To be a contestant of this giveaway you must send me an email with the information stated in the above list.

One contest entry per person.

Required information is your name and email address (for contact purposes only). One entry is automatic for all contestants.

A second entry can be earned by linking to this contest. A valid link to your twitter posting, facebook post, or blog post linking back to this giveaway page must be submitted to earn this second entry.

The giveaway will close on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:00PM P.S.T. The winner will be selected using Random.org.

The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond a new winner will be selected.

The contest is open to United States residents only.

Good luck!

January Birchbox Goodies :-)

2012-02-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Is any of this stuff for dogs?!

Also, there was a mini Cookie Dough Larabar...I accidentally deleted the pic. LOL.

Friday Funny on NPW Day 5: Essie Size Matters

2012-02-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

I had to get this polish….I was looking for a new red and when I read the name I cracked up. Seriously, who comes up with these names? Whoever started it is a genius. I love reading the nail polish names. LOL. It’s fun and funny and most of them are pretty clever.

This polish is so easy to apply and is also really glossy. I love it. It turned out to be a lot deeper red than I expected - the top pic is in natural light and the bottom pic is indoors (the best I could do without a flash lol). The pictures show two coats. So pretty.

NPW Day 4: Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips Sweet Tart-an

2012-02-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

You know my obsession with these Sally Hansen Nail Polish strips...so I had to include one in NPW! I adore this pattern. Isn't it so cute? I love them!!!

Wedding Wednesday on NPW Day 3: Orly Cut the Cake!

2012-02-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

Isn't this gorgeous? I love this polish. It’s so delicate and shimmery - this photo does NOT do it justice. The formula is pretty sheer though – this picture shows 4 coats. Yes, 4! I could have gotten away with 3 coats though; I just wanted to see how it’d look with 4 coats. Because of that, it was sort of a pain in the butt to let it dry. I am also the most impatient nail-polish-dryer on the planet, though. Drying it with this many coats definitely required the blow-dryer (on the cold setting).

I can’t wait to see what this polish looks like in the summer time – when I’m not white as a ghost!

NPW Day 2: Essie Wicked

2012-01-31T09:07:00.000-08:00

I love this polish so much - I think it's very glam and trendy. It is actually a deep reddish color (it's easier to tell in the bottle than on your nails). If you are an expert nail polish-er, you could probably get away with two coats....which makes it look more of a reddish color. But I had to apply 3 coats because with two, I could still see brush strokes and I can't stand imperfections. LOL.

I used my favorite top coat, the one Jessie bought me, which is just an Ulta brand top coat. It's so glossy, I love it. But the Wicked polish is pretty glossy even on it's own!

LOVE!

Nail Polish Week!!!! Day 1: Orly Lunar Eclipse

2012-01-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Soooo...I have recently become even more obsessed with nail polish and I probably have Jessie to thank (btw I love that picture of her at this link. LOL). :-) The more I read her and Courtney's blog, Polished Casual, the more I become obsessed! So I decided to have Nail Polish Week on my own blog. Yay. :-) My first favorite is actually (a duplicate of) one of Jessie's favorites too, Orly Lunar Eclipse. Isn't it so gorgeous, sparkly and glam?

I thought this polish was super easy to apply and it lasted forever. I did feel like it took a lot of top coat to keep it super glossy though. But I am obsessed with my polish being super glossy so I may have a slightly higher glossiness-bar than others. :-)

It's really funny but I have pretty much ALWAYS had nail polish on my nails 24/7. I've loved it since I was really young. When I was young my mom used to always tell my sister and I that we had "bad grooming" if we had chipped polish. So...that turned into me being obsessed with always having perfectly painted nails without chips for the rest of my life forever and ever until the end of time. She's right though...chipped polish does look really gross!

I even went through an acrylic nails phase in high school and college. I had them on for about 7 years. It's crazy to think about now. But I did love them at the time. I went back to my natural nails in 2003 and I've never gone back since. It was tough going for a while. It probably took about a year of intensive care and feeding of my nails to get them to return to normal. Now they are pretty darn nice, if I do say so myself. I can't say I do anything super special to keep them that way other than taking lots of vitamins (seriously it's like a 100% difference - they grow like weeds and never chip).

Yayyyy nail polish!

Weekend Yummy Something Better than Coffee for Your Mug! Chocolate Cake!

2012-01-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar (or 3 tablespoons splenda)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
1 tablespoon walnuts
1 small splash of vanilla extract
1 large microwave safe coffee mug (12 oz. or larger)

Pour the flour, sugar, and cocoa into a bowl. Sift them together with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients in the following order (mix well after each): egg, milk and oil, chocolate chips, walnuts, and vanilla extract.

Pour the combined mix into the mug. Place your mug in the microwave, and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug a little (this is okay). Allow it to cool for a few minutes, and tip out onto a plate.

I got this in an email from Robbie's grandpa (who is also his best man!). We made it on New Year's Eve and it was AWESOME!

Friday Funny :-DCoexist?

2012-01-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

I love this!

Jessie & Chris's Engagement Story Video :-D

2012-01-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned it yet, but my bff Jessie just got engaged a few months ago. I am honored to stand up in her wedding as her Maid of Honor! :-D She's getting married in September, so by then I'll be a Matron of Honor, but doesn't that sound so old? LOL. I might still have them call me Maid of Honor. LOL.

Jessie entered into a contest that required her to tell her engagement story. I think it's so cute. Click here to watch the video.

If you "like" the video, you will help her win $500 in stationary use for her wedding stuff. Bonus! :-D

I miss you, Jessie!

Wedding Wednesday :-DOur Wedding Venue on Facebook - Woot!

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

I got an email from Dawn at the Ann Arbor City Club (my super-awesome go-to event person at our wedding venue) saying that they now have a Facebook page. Click here to check it out!

I almost cried when I looked at the pictures that are on the page. They are so gorgeous. I love them. There are tons more photos on their Facebook page than there were on their regular website. They have tons of wedding photos and lots of pictures of the grounds during the summer/spring.

I am so excited...only 5 months to go!

The Only Person in My Family Who's Ever Been Early for Something!

2012-01-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

An early surprise arrived yesterday morning....my nephew! :-D

Aidan Matthew Graber

5 pounds 12 ounces

18.5 inches long

Born January 23, 2012 at 10:24 am

Isn't he the sweetest, cutest, most precious baby boy you've ever seen!?

MissRepresentation - Very Important!

2012-01-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

Shauna mentioned this on her blog and I had to share...such an important message for all of us! Women - unite and inspire!

Newest Miss Representation Trailer (2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection) from Miss Representation on Vimeo.

Weekend Yummy: Turkey Meatloaf Cupckes + Mashed Potato Frosting

2012-01-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

(Adapted from SkinnyTaste.com)

Meatloaf Cupcakes:
1.3 lb lean ground turkey
1 cup grated zucchini or squash (with all moisture squeezed out with paper towel)
2 tbsp onion, minced
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp garlic
1/4 cup ketchup
1 egg
1 tsp salt

Mashed Potatoes:
3-4 redskin potatoes
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
2 tbsp fat free chicken broth
1 tbsp 2% milk
1/2 tbsp light butter
2 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Potatoes:
Wash the potatoes and cut off any yucky parts. Dice them into quarters. Place the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Allow the potatoes to simmer for 15-20 minutes (or until they are tender). Drain and return the potatoes to the pot. Add the Greek yogurt and the remaining ingredients. Using a masher or mixer, mash the potatoes until they are smooth. Season them with salt and pepper (to taste).

Meatloaf Cupcakes:
Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, mix together the turkey and the remaining ingredients. Spoon the meatloaf mixture into the muffin tin. Fill the cupcake liners to the top, and flatten them out with the back of your spoon.

Bake your muffins uncovered for 18-20 minutes or until they are cooked through. Remove them from the tins and place them onto a baking dish or plate. Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes on top for your cupcake “frosting.”

This recipe makes about 11-12 cupcakes. If you have an open spot in your cupcake tin, make sure you fill it with water so everything cooks evenly. I recommend the foil cupcake liners because the meatloaf is pretty moist. The first time, I used the paper liners and the liners feel apart (it still cooked fine and everything though). Here are some pics!

All ready to go into the oven!

Mashing the potatoes!

Right out of the oven!

La ti da frosting my cupcakes...

The first time I made them I just spooned the mashed potatoes on top....

The second time I made them, I used my cake decorator gun!

Friday Funny :-DTumble Dry Low

2012-01-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

Remove Promptly!

Book Discussion Bet Me

2012-01-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Five words for this book: I can’t take it anymore!!!!!!!

When I first cracked this book I had a bad feeling that it was going to annoy the sh*t out of me…and I was right. LOL.

The story is about Min Dobbs, a “not thin” actuary, and Cal Morrisey, a super hot, super successful business guy. Cal accepts a bet from a friend that he can get Min in the sack within a month. If he does, he wins $10k. The catch is that Min overhears the conversation, so she’s wise to the bet the entire time.

This book annoyed me to no end. I am so sick of books that totally focus on chubby or unattractive girls getting a hot guy. I am not saying that the actual fact of this happening is not a good thing – I’m all for people finding love, etc. in any way shape or form that is right for them. Yay love. Yay for couples of all shapes, colors, and sizes. I’m just sick of reading books about it – they’re all the same!!! I’m over it!

It annoyed the crap out of me that they kept saying over and over that Cal and Min would get “dizzy” around each other all the time. Seriously? Eat a sandwich or maybe have a glass of water…you obviously need food or are dehydrated if you get dizzy that often. Or maybe you have a problem with your inner ear.

It also annoyed the crap out of me that Cal and Min were so stupid and in denial about the fact that they liked each other. I get it; maybe this was supposed to create some suspense and sexual tension? All it did was annoy me. LOL.

I finally gave up on the book at the part when her cat, Elvis, was turning on the radio and CD player. Okay, I can see a cat accidentally turning something on by brushing up against it. But the cat was pushing the button over and over to turn up the volume. At that point, I removed all bookmarks, closed the book, and promptly placed it on my kitchen counter with the other books that were being returned to the library the next day.

The one thing I liked about this book was Min’s character. She was smart and funny and snarky. If there would have been more of that, I might have made it through it!

I tried so hard to get through this book because it’s the book for my book club this month, and you know it’s really hard for me to abandon a book once I’ve started it. I need to know what happens at the end, and I just don’t like not finishing something I’ve started. But I finally just couldn’t take it anymore…and I needed an entire bottle of wine to go with the cheese!

Wedding Wednesday :-DFavor Label Redo

2012-01-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

This might make you laugh but remember when I posted about the favor labels a while ago? I ordered them from Vistaprint because they had an oustanding deal - 250 for only $9, plus free shipping. I got them in the mail and I liked them...I thought I loved them...but then I decided I didn't actually love them. LOL. So I decided to do a redo and here is what I ended up with:

I love this because the photo is larger and it takes up the entire card from top to bottom, and the entire left side. If you look at my previous design, you'll see that it is only a portion of the card. On this version, the photo is larger.

I also chose a different font that is simliar to the font I'm using for the rest of the things I am printing. I designed a menu and a program (I will post them soon, I am printing these myself) and some other random things. It also more closely matches the font on the madlibs. I know...I am crazy and I really like things to match. Even things that people are going to throw out. So kill me. LOL. They will all be matching in my wedding scrapbook, though! LOL.

I also paid a little extra and got the glossy finish on the cards. I mulled this over for a while the first time I ordered them. I almost went with the glossy finish. But then I wanted to save a few bucks and went with the matte finish instead. It wasn't horrible, but the photo looks a million bazillion times better with the glossy finish. It was worth the extra $6.49. So my total cost for this order ended up being $15.49 instead of $9.

My OCD can run into money at times. LOL.

Tim the Toolman Taylor

2012-01-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

Robbie and I have been doing some shopping to get our apartment in order and here are some hilarious (but blurry...taken on my phone lol) photos of him putting together some of the furniture that we purchased.

With his handy helper, Buster, things got done in a snap. And Robbie's mom and dad got him two really nice tools sets for Christmas, so he has had a lot of fun breaking them in.

As you can see, these two items both went in the bathroom. The first photo is an armoire from Target that we use for linens and towels. The etagere, also from Target, we use for medicine and other miscellaneous items.

For some reason, our apartment only has closets in the bedrooms! No front closet, no linen closet, no storage closet. Nada. Only bedroom closets. I think that is so strange. Who decided on that design? Welp, it gave us an excuse to get some pretty storage cabinets at least. :-D

Go Blue

2012-01-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

I got Buster a University of Michigan hoodie for Christmas....isn't it so cute and hilarious? LOL

Friday Funny :-DBand Memories!

2012-01-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge:

I was going through some old papers from high school a couple months ago and I found this paper....how hilarious is this? LOL. Here are some band pics!

Yes, I went to Band Camp. It was awesome!
Me and Jackie are right in the front in the middle.

I think this was at the homecoming parade...I'm all the way on
the right wearing the sunglasses, Chrissy is right next to me, and
Lindsay and Jackie are on the bottom on the left.

December Birchbox Product Review

2012-01-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the link to my original post about my December Birchbox.

On to the goodies...

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink: When I first spotted this BRIGHT color of lip gloss I was a leeetle nervous because it's soooo HOT PINK but once I tried it, I was hooked! It can be very sheer or very hot pink depending on how much you apply - a perfect way to try out the trend of bright lips. LOVE!

blinc Eyeliner in Black: This eyeliner was sooooo hard to apply! I got it everywhere. I'm not sure if it was that the solution was too loose, or the applicator was hard to use. Maybe both. I haven't experienced that problem with other liquid liners...didn't love it!

Benefit The POREfessional: This left my skin feeling very silky and velvety. I noticed that my skin looked very "finished" and smooth. But, I felt that the color of the formula made me look a little washed out. I loved the Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer (in bronze, from my October Birchbox) a million times better.

EBOOST Orange Natural Energy Booster: This stuff was pretty yummy...but I'm not really that big into energy drinks. I did feel a little jumpy later but I'm not sure if it was from this drink. It was a nice treat in my Birchbox, though!

Harvey Prince Ageless in Pink Grapefruit: Shockingly I think I like this perfume too! Maybe I'm not as picky as I thought about perfumes. LOL. It has a pretty, fresh and fruity scent. Very lovely!

Showstoppers Designer Fashion Tape in Nude/Black: This stuff is such a great idea. It worked like a charm and kept my shirt in place - no peek-a-boos! Loved it.

Wedding Wednesday :-DLindsay's Wedding

2012-01-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe it is already only 4 months away that Lindsay (Robbie's sister and my bff of almost 20 years) and Pat will be getting married. I am honored to stand up as Lindsay’s Maid of Honor in their wedding. She just sent me the link for their wedding website and I wanted to share it with you! Click here to view their website. It's so cute! The photo below is my favorite of their engagement photos. Isn’t it such a great photo?

They are getting married in the Martha-Mary Chapel at Greenfield Village. It is so adorable and has an incredible historical ambiance. Also, it is the chapel where Lindsay and Robbie’s parents were married. The reception is being held at the same location, but in the The Henry Ford Museum. I went and looked at this venue when Robbie and I were still deciding on our location and it is AWESOME. It is so beautiful and has so much history! I absolutely love it. It is the epitome of a Detroit venue! Here are some photos that I found on the web. The first two are the exterior and interior of the chapel. The second two are some snaps of receptions inside the museum.

Lindsay is having all of us wear black, knee length dresses of our choice. I haven’t gotten my dress yet but here is a couple that I have seen online that I love (imagine them in black lol):

I need another black dress like I need a hole in the head but I just can’t bring myself to wear a repeat in one of my best friend’s weddings! LOL. I need to get crackin' on my dress shopping. :-D I think I’m going to wear my fancy Christian Louboutin shoes too. Boo ya (thanks again to my wonderful fiance for the incredible 30th bday gift!). Their color motif is mainly black with splashes of hot pink and lime green. It’s going to be so chic! I love it.

Being that I am the Maid of Honor, I get to plan a wedding shower and a bachelorette party for Lindsay as well. I am so excited. I already have some great ideas – I will post them as the time gets closer! Ooh...and I get to give a toast!

New Bangs!

2012-01-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

It's those Jessica Simpson Hairdo Clip-on Bangs! LOL fun huh?

Birchbox Prodcuts I've Actually Purchased

2012-01-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day about all of the reviews that I have written on my past 6 months of Birchboxes...and I thought I'd post about the products that I have actually loved enough to buy them...or plan to buy them!
Things I’ve Purchased:

Redken Shine Flash 02 Glistening Mist - love, love, love shiny and weightless hair!
Joya FvsS Composition No. 1 Parfum - smells so amazing. they came out with a roll-on travel size so I snatched it up!
Laura Gellar Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze - I am totally addicted to the glow-y skin look and having makeup that never wears off!
Caudalie Vinoperfect Cell Renewal Night Cream - I am still amazed at myself that I actually bought this stuff (it was a ridiculous $68..owwww) but the more I used it, the more I became obsessed with it. My initial review was not that enthusiastic, but seriously, I used this product every single night until the sample ran out and even cut open the bottle to get any remaining drops out of it when it was empty. LOL. My skin looks so smooth, glowy and beautiful in the morning it is amazing!

Things I will definitely purchase when my sample is gone:

Laura Gellar Baked Blush-n-Brigthen - I love this blush more than any other blush I have ever used. Glowy cheeks and not too glittery!!! (are you noticing a theme here? lol)

Things I may buy:

Thymes Body Lotion in Eucalyptus - I absolutely love the scent of this lotion...but it is sort of expensive. If I can't find a lotion with a similar scent, I might buy this.
Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink - I adore this at the moment...we'll see if I continue to wear it!

There you have it! :-D

Friday Funny :-DReminds me of Zach

2012-01-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Except he does it with the toilet paper.

Book DiscussionA Father's Story

2012-01-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

Three words for this book: Could you imagine?!

This book was written by Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s father. It described his experiences as the parent of a serial killer. The tone of the book was very matter of fact. It was not trying to offer excuses or change the fact that the victims and families had suffered an unfathomable loss. It was simply an examination and perspective of the other side of the coin in the tragedy.

All I can say is…yikes…could you imagine? His child…one of the people he loved more than anyone in the entire world…turned out to be a monster. Imagine – the baby he had rocked and comforted thousands of times had committed some of the most evil acts possible. It amazed me that even after Jeff was convicted and sent to jail (with no possibility of parole) his father still had hope for him to improve psychologically and have some happiness in his life. It seemed like he never “wrote him off.”

There were several really interesting topics that Lionel discussed. First, the book started with Lionel’s life at the beginning of his first tumultuous marriage, when his wife was pregnant with Jeff. He discussed the litany of medications she used to help her cope with an incredibly difficult pregnancy, severe anxiety, and depression (this was not discussed in an accusatory way). He wasn’t saying this caused Jeff to be psychotic, however. He just offered it as information and wondered if it had an effect on Jeff.

The second topic that was really interesting was his discussion about many of Jeff’s childhood activities. They seemed harmless (albeit somewhat strange) at the time…but later took on an entirely different light when they were considered in the context of the atrocities that were committed in his adulthood. One example was his interest in animal bones; he liked collecting them and playing with them. What if the future carnage was never committed and he instead grew up to be a veterinarian, a doctor, or even a taxidermist? Would that childhood action still seem strange and ominous?

The third fascinating topic was Lionel’s self-reflection on traits that were similar between himself and his son. He admitted to having fantasies of violence and control as a youngster – and ruminated on the fact that he didn’t “cross the line” to hurting others, but his son did. He wondered if Jeff inherited this propensity from him. Additionally, Lionel focused a lot on the fact that both his range and depth of emotions were very small – which was also a dominant trait in his son.

All of these topics sort of make you think about the whole Nature vs. Nurture debate, huh?

Note: The gory details of Jeff’s crimes were not discussed in depth in this book (thank goodness). You can find more information here on this Wiki page. I wouldn’t recommend reading it right after eating, though…SICK!

Wedding WednesdayFirst Wedding Gown Fitting {wink}

2012-01-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

I had my first gown fitting the weekend of Christmas and it went really well but it was a little nerve-wracking! It fit like a glove. Maybe a slightly tight glove…I’m glad I ordered the size I did. LOL. I’ve been indulging over the holidays and haven’t been in my normal workout routine so it wasn’t all that surprising, though!

I am having the seamstress make a few alterations. She is altering the straps to make them thinner. There is a bow on the butt that I am having her remove. And the petticoat I ordered is too fluffy, so she is taking some of the fluff out of it. The medium petticoat was too small though, so I knew that we were going to have to make some alterations to the larger one.

Since I added the petticoat to the gown, it is a lot shorter than it would be if I just wore it normally. So….I can’t wear super sky-high heels with it!!! This is a complete paradigm shift for me. It sounds silly. But I almost always wear fairly high heels when I am getting dressed up! I like flats but I don’t feel as glam while I’m wearing them. I do love slides/mules that have lower heels (which I wear with sundresses, etc.), so it is possible that I will find some that I love. I know nobody will see the shoes for 90% of the time but I think of high heels as a state of mind too. LOL. I'm sure my feet will thank me, though - so I am thinking of this as a blessing in disguise.

The next time I go back and the petticoat has been altered, I’ll really know how high of a heel I can wear. I’ll probably buy a couple pairs of shoes and take them with me to see which one works (and return whatever doesn’t work). Once I try it on with my shoes, she can alter the gown to add the bustle. :-D

Yayyyyy wedding gown.

December Birchbox

2012-01-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the goodies from my December Birchbox. :-D

This is What Happens Whenever Robbie Leaves Buster's Sight

2012-01-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Friday Funny :-DNew Outfit

2011-12-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

Cantalini's Salerno Beach Restaurant

2011-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago my peeps and I went to a super yummy Italian restaurant in Playa Del Rey called Cantalini's Salerno Beach Restaurant. I'm starting to realize that there are a lot of Italians and a lot of Italian restaurants around SoCal. Who would've thunk it? LOL.

I LOVED THIS PLACE. It is so cute and cozy. The outside is deceiving, I wasn't sure how it was going to be inside based on the exterior of the restaurant (needs updates sorta). It's right by the beach, and I find that a lot of times restaurants don't have to try to be good when they are in a prime location like that. When we walked in the door I was pleasantly surprised though! It's so cute inside! There are lots of cozy booths, as well as some cute little tables along the center. The back wall has a mural and there are tons of autographed photos hung all over. I don't know how to describe it other than to say it was very cozy and home-y. It reminded me of being at my granny's house!

The food was AWESOME. We started with garlic knot rolls, salads, and calamari - they were all delicious. The salads were prepared EXACTLY like my granny makes - chick peas, oil and vinegar, all of it! I felt like I was at home! Plus, the salads came with a cheese-filled zeppoles. I wanted ten more! I ordered the homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta, spinach and cheese. It was mouth-watering! For dessert I had the homemade Tiramisu - also amazing. LOVE! Here are some pics!

Wedding Wednesday :-DI love being a favorite!

2011-12-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Our photographer tagged one of our engagement photos as one of her favorites from her 2011 Love Shoots. Check out the post here.

Yayyyyy. :-D

Dad's 2012 Calendar

2011-12-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

I alsoooo made a calendar for my dad! I used Kodak Gallery for this one though. I thought the designs were more manly. LOL. Here they are in order but without the bottom calendar part...

Christmas Manicure :-D

2011-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

What says "Merry Christmas" like a Candy Cane Mani?!

Merry Christmas, Readers!

Friday Funny :-DMaru Met His Match?

2011-12-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Mom. The camera again?

2011-12-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Wedding Wednesday :-DVeils!

2011-12-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

Aren't these photos of these veils so gorgeous?

And I loved Princess Kate's veil! Although I'm not really big on covering my face with the veil.

I love how Kate's veil seems so delicate and that the fabric is more flowy than straight up tulle veils. Right now I'm thinking about having a veil that is either at my hip or mid-hip (I read that your veil should be at least 3" below the back neckline of your gown). Check out this photo that I found on The Flirty Bride website:

This link will take you to the page on The Flirty Bride where I found this photo...and it has tons of information on veils. It was super helpful!

I was interested to read on the website that silk tulle (like Kate's veil) is actually stiffer than nylon tulle! I think it looks flowy and very delicate - much more delicate than nylon tulle. I guess I"ll have to check it out in person and see what I think. Also the website recommends nylon illusion...so I guess I'll check that one out too! I'm thinking right now that I'll probably wear my veil low on my head, like these photos:

I'm not so sure yet though - I need to try on some veils with my dress and see what I like! Speaking of that, they called and said that my dress has arrived. I get to go try it on this weekend. :-) I wish I had a TAN!

Mom's 2012 Calendar

2011-12-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

Remember last year when I made a scrapbook calendar for my mom for Christmas? I made another one...and here it is. :-D I used the Creative Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software, which I purchased last year from my friend April.

Have you tried digital scrapbooking yet? Omg, it's so much easier and faster than regular scrapbooking. I love it. I am going to be reviewing another Digital Scrapbooking Software Suite very soon, so stay tuned!

NEWS FLASH - HOT HOT HOT!!!

2011-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

After about 3 and a half years....

ROBBIE AND I ARE NO LONGER LONG DISTANCE!

We moved into our new place YESTERDAY!

From now on we will be
<------thisclose.

We are so excited...and so are Zach and Buster. LOL.

YAYYYYYYYY for TOGETHERNESS! :-D

Friday Funny :-DIt Exploded!

2011-12-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

November Birchbox Product Revew

2011-12-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the link to my original post about my November Birchbox:

Thymes Eucalyptus Body Lotion: This lotion has such a great fragrance and smells very "clean." It’s pretty light but very moisturizing. My favorite part is the fragrance! I’d definitely buy this lotion. LOVE!

Thymes Kimono Rose Body Lotion: This lotion, on the other hand, I did not like – it’s wayyyyy too floral and too strong for me. Like the other, it is lightly moisturizing.

Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial: Ughhhhhh this perfume is awful. It smells like extremely strong old man cologne. Sick. Hated it!

Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters: How do you review a coaster? They were cute but they are cardboard coasters…not much to say. LOL. The teal did match my living room, though. J

Zoya Nail Polish in Sooki: This polish was super easy to apply, a totally gorgeous color, and super pigmented. You could almossssst get away with only one coat. As my pals at Polished Casual often say, you can't go wrong with a classic red manicure! And in Zoya - it’s the best!

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules: This stuff was weird but AWESOME. It sort of feels like dry oil. The one thing I didn’t like is that it smells funny – the smell reminds me of fried chicken. HA! I just cracked up when I typed that. I’m not joking, though. BUT….the next morning my skin looked SO INCREDIBLY SMOOTH! Seriously. I noticed after one use!

Wedding Wednesday :-DSHOES!

2011-12-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Check out these bridal shoes from Pour La Victoire!!! Aren't they so cute? I am obsessed with the teal bottom! I'm not sure how I feel about the giant ruffle and all the rhinestones though...I think I had in mind something a little more delicate or a sandal.

I really like these too:

Jessie informed me that she saw online that you can get teal soles put on your shoe by a cobbler. Maybe I will do that to one of the shoes above!

Also...I want these stickers!

Christmas Cards!

2011-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am getting FULL use out of our engagement photos....as you can see below in our Christmas Cards!!!!! I loved this design on Kodak Gallery so much. Isn't it cute?! LOL. It made me laugh.

HO HO HO MERRRRRYYYYY CHRISTMAS!!

I Don't Want My Picture Taken....{siiiiggghhh}. If I Must...

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

Friday Funny :-DSoooooo Quiet

2011-12-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Book DiscussionGirl, Interrupted

2011-12-08T09:06:00.000-08:00

One word for this book: Captivating

I loved this book. Loved. I guess I was a little biased though...because I saw this movie forever ago and I adored it right off the bat. I had been meaning to read this book for a while now and I can't imagine why it took me this long to pick it up!

This book is a memoir but it reads a lot like a novel. It follows the story of Susanna, who is a young adult in the 60s. She goes to a mental institution and is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

I was sucked in the moment I picked up this book! It was so interesting to read, and Susanna is so funny and likable. The other characters were also pretty hilarious and fascinating. I did find it interesting that the movie focused a lot on Lisa (Angelina Jolie's character in the movie) - a lot more than was done so in the book. Actually, now that I think about it, the movie definitely brought out the personalities of all of the other characters a lot more than the book did. I loved the book because it gave more insight and detail into Susanna, and I loved the movie because it gave more insight and detail into the other characters. When I look at it that way, they really are very complimentary to one another! The book ended differently than the movie did, though....so you must read the book and watch the movie.

This book was crazy (ha) to read in some parts. It is shocking to think about the treatments that were once thought to be useful in helping people with mental illness. It also amazes me to think about how different the general opinion regarding mental illness has changed over time - and what actually constitutes "mental illness". Finally, I thought it was particularly poignant the way Susanna pondered part of her diagnosis - which said that she must be ill because she was "promiscuous." During her rumination, she wondered how many people a man would have to have sexual relationships with in order to have promiscuity included in their diagnosis for mental illness? Sort of makes you think, doesn't it? And then subsequently get really ticked off!

This is a great read!

Wedding Wednesday :-DCeremony Music!

2011-12-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Remember my post forever and ever ago that discussed the music that I love for our ceremony music? Well, I am so excited because Chrissy's (my bff and bridesmaid) boyfriend, Jason, has agreed to play acoustic guitar for our ceremony music! I am so happy. I love acoustic guitar and I've known all along that I wanted that for our ceremony music....who woulda thunk that my bff's boyfriend would end up being an acoustic guitar player? Winning! Also, I think that makes the ceremony feel even more intimate to have friends and family be part of it, ya know what I mean? It sorta makes me teary eyed just thinking about it! Or maybe that's hormones...LOL.

Here are the two songs that I love, the first song is the main song that I want playing during the ceremony...while we're all traipsing down the aisle. I posted this song in my first post about ceremony music, but below is an acoustic guitar only version that I found on the interwebs to share with you all today. The first post had the actual song, Just Like Heaven, by Katie Melua with her singing and everything. Her version is actually a cover of the original song by The Cure (which is much faster).

The second song is Clare De Lune, which I also adore - especially this acoustic guitar version! I was thinking this could be played at other times during the ceremony. It's a really popular and famous song, and also a fairly common wedding song, so you'll probably recognize it! But isn't this acoustic guitar version so lovely?

Another thing checked off the list! BOOM!

November Birchbox Goodies

2011-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules

Thymes Eucalyptus Body Lotion

Thymes Kimono Rose Body Lotion

Two Paper Dolls Ampersand Coasters

Zoya Nail Polish in Sooki (yayyyyy)

Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial

How much is that kitty in the window?

2011-12-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

Friday Funny :-DBEER

2011-12-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

Book DiscussionThe Devil in the White City

2011-12-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

Four words for this book: Skipped half of it!

Sooo....I read a couple quick reviews/comments about this book on the interwebs and a lot of them said that people thought it read like a novel. I suppose that may be the case for some people, but I thought it definitely read like nonfiction!

I gave this book a good college try....I'm not sure if I was possibly in the wrong frame of mind (I was traveling and very annoyed about traveling) but I couldn't get into certain parts. The story basically tells two concurrent tales - one about the conception, design, development, and execution of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and the other about a psychopathic murderer named H. H. Holmes. The chapters about the World's Fair were sloooooowwwwwww. I just couldn't get into them for some reason! And I normally like historical topics like that! My mind kept wandering and I was bored. So, eventually I just started scanning those chapters, or just skipping them altogether. I basically scanned them to make sure I didn't miss anything with regard to the H. H. Holmes story.

So...on to the interesting stuff. The H. H. Holmes story was INSANE. It amazes me that this guy did all that he did and actually got away with it for as long as he did. He basically built this giant mansion (and rented out the rooms like a hotel) that had tons of crazy hidden stuff like a human-sized incinerator and several sound proof, inescapable vaults! And oh by the way, there were gas inlets in many of the "hotel" rooms that allowed him to funnel noxious fumes into the rooms and kill people! He never let men stay in his hotel, and woman after woman kept disappearing and nobody even put it together! I suppose because nobody was looking at the big picture as a whole, and people who did look into things were only focusing on the one person they were inquiring after. Plus, the author basically tells about how it was really hustle and bustle in Chicago back then, with tons of new people coming and going all the time - especially with the craziness of the World's Fair.

If you're interested in history and architecture, you'd probably like the parts about the World's Fair. If you love murder-mysteries, you'll really love the parts about the psycho! I did feel like the portions of the book that discussed the World's Fair were definitely relevant and help set the stage for the other storyline, but I just felt that (for my taste) it could have been a little less detail. And a little more detail on the pyschopath. LOL.

I can't believe the story about the killer is true. It was seriously nuts to read!

Wedding Wednesday :-DIs that your final answer?

2011-11-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

I finally made my FINAL decision about the flowers for our wedding. Yay. Although I originally wanted to DIY them, the thought of having to worry about it and set everything up was just a major pain in the butt. So I went with a florist that was actually a Thomas family friend. I'm so excited. Below are the photos that I took to them to get my ideas across.

First, this bouquet makes me cry. It's so simple, but so chic and gorgeous. It's just white hydrangeas and white roses. So beautiful, no? Except I don't want that white ribbon, I want the stems wrapped with twine or raffia or something that looks rustic. The bridesmaids will carry smaller versions of my bouquet. And the corsages, boutonnieres, and any other flowers like that will be white roses (and maybe other small white flowers) with twine/raffia.

The next three are sample centerpieces that I love. Again, they will be white hydrangeas and white roses. I am having one square vase wrapped in twine or raffia, and tealights around it. Remember my post about the lace tealights? Yayyy.

I just love these flowers (duh). I love that the designs are simple, elegant, and chic. I love the contrast of the rustic raffia or twine, the delicate flowers, and the delicate lace tealights. I hope it looks very Martha-esque!

Can you tell that I'm really, really, happy and excited about these choices? And I'm also happy that this is another item I can check off the list!

Coochie Coochie Coo

2011-11-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, my sister had her baby shower and I was in charge of the games! Aren't these so cute (if I do say so myself!)? I found the ideas just by poking around on the interwebs and then I designed them in Microsoft Publisher. Boo ya.

They were fun!

MEOW

2011-11-28T09:05:00.001-08:00

Friday Funny :-DCatvertising!

2011-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Furniture Fix - Didn't Fix Crap in My House

2011-11-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

My couch is about 6 years old, and it’s getting a little…smooshy. I noticed that the cushions need a little more support. I like the smoosh, but it’s a little too smoosh. Otherwise, the couch is in perfect condition and looks brand new (despite cat barf experiences – microfiber is the bomb!).

I saw an advertisement for these Furniture Fix thingies that are supposed to add support to your furniture. I decided to hop, skip, and jump over to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick some up.

Sadly, they don’t work all that well. I do notice a slight difference, but not that much. I need a big difference. I like my couch to be smooshy, but FIRM. Otherwise my back doesn’t like it...not one bit. I had hope for these things because on the advertisement, they show them being used on many things – even under beds! Since my couch is oversized…I thought that might be why they weren’t working that well. But you’d think if they will work for a bed, they’d work for an oversized couch. Right? Right.

I was so disappointed. They were $15 each, so definitely returned them. Boo. I’m always disappointed when gadgets don’t work. The lady at Bed, Bath, and Beyond told me that they sell a ton of them and haven't gotten many returns, though!

Wedding Wednesday :-DReception Table Idea - DIY Lace Tealights

2011-11-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Isn't this so gorgeous? I found the idea on (where else?) the Martha Stewart Weddings website!

So, for the tables, I'm going to have a centerpiece of white hydrangeas and roses, and I'm having my florist provide tealights to place around them. I'm going to make these little lace sleeves to put around the tealights! Isn't is so Martha-esque and shabby chic?

Love!

Moonlit Madness

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

Orly Moonlit Madness. Fab. Love. Drama.

Slumber Party

2011-11-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Friday Funny :-DNot Gonna Happen!

2011-11-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

Bienvenido a Miami :-)

2011-11-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

Robbie and I went to Miami in October – here are some pics from one of our nights out!

Despite the fact that it DOWNPOURED the entire time we were in Florida, we still had a great time. We got to meet up with some friends we hadn’t seen in a while – Christophe and Rachel (we know them from Vegas) and Liz (a friend from LA). We also got to spend lots of time with Robbie’s Aunt Susie (and her kitties! Jasper and Bella).

After Miami, we spent a few days in Orlando, where it continued to downpour. Then it magically stopped raining and became sunny – when we were on our way to the airport to go home. I don’t have any other pics than these because my camera died and I didn’t have my charger. Boo.

It was fun even though we got soaked! Actually, experiencing the thunderstorms was sorta nice. I miss thunderstorms, we don’t ever get any in LA.

Here are some pics!

Wedding Wednesday :-DSave the Date Redo

2011-11-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

Check out this super adorable Save the Date design!

Lindsay found an awesome website, MagnetStreet.com, that actually has semi-affordable options for magnet Save the Dates. I love, love, love the idea of magnets! And I also love the photo booth design. It’s what I’ve always wanted, but prior to Lindsay telling me about this site, I couldn’t find any that were not ridiculously expensive. Thank youuuuuu, Lindsay!

Like anything, it all comes back to how much you really feel like spending on stuff like this. These are $1.29 each (…for 75. The more you order, the price decreases per magnet). The Save the Date cards that I posted about a few weeks ago are only 69 cents each. So it’s a total cost of $97 for the magnets, or $52 for the photo cards. I’ve decided to go with the magnets because they are so cute, I love them, they are what I’ve always wanted, and I really think people are more likely to keep a magnet on their fridge (even after the wedding) than keep a photo card.

I wasn’t even sure I was going to send out Save the Dates!.LOL. But then we got our awesome engagement photos and I found these magnets…and here we are. :-D Ha!

October Birchbox Review

2011-11-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the link to my original post about my October Birchbox.

Befine Lip Exfoliator

I liked this stuff, but didn’t love it. I guess theidea of a lip exfoliator is the same as using an exfoliator anywhere else, butI never really feel the need for it. Maybe my mind would have been blown if Ihad gotten the matching serum as well, because then I would have experiencedthe full effect?

Oribe BeautifulColor Shampoo
This shampoo and conditioner smells wonderful. The shampoo was a little difficult to work upa lather, though. The conditioner was light but very moisturizing. My hair wasso soft and shiny afterwards! I really loved this, but I love it equally to theL’Oreal Shampoo and Conditioner that I currently use (Vive Pro, Color ViveHi-Gloss, Dry or Damaged Color-Treated Hair). And the L’OrealShampoo/Conditioner is more affordable.

Laura Geller Spackle in Bronze
Not gonna lie, it was alittle strange to use something on my face called “spackle.” When you squeezeit onto your fingers to apply it, it looks really dark. But once you put it on,it's not dark at all. I use a tinted moisturizer, and I mixed it with that. I noticed a glow and my skin looked beautiful. Also, ithelped my makeup look great for the ENTIRE DAY. Like, when I got home from work, I felt like I had just applied it! Amazing! As much as I hate to admit it - I don't always wash my face before working out...my makeup even still looked pretty good after the gym! I know it doesn't matter, it was just something I noticed. LOL. I would definitely buy this product!

Caudalie Vinoperfect Cell Renewal Night Cream
This product feels sort of thick on your hand when you squeeze it out of the tube, but once you apply it, it feels very smooth and not heavy at all. I added a small amount of it to my moisturizer and woke up feeling very glam. I like it a lot! But I'm not sure I'd pay big bucks for it.

Orofluido Beauty Elixir
This stuff smells amazing. It's not overpowering though, I got little whiffs of it here and there but it wasn't too strong. It was very smoothing, I didn't feel like it made my hair look super glossy, though. And it was sort of heavy (well....it is oil). I'll stick to my Redken Shine Flash, but I will enjoy this sample while it lasts. :-D

Send me an email to diaryofasmartblonde{at}yahoo.com and I will refer you to Birchbox! :-D

Mother + Son

2011-11-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Friday Funny :-DMy Hand is a DOLPHINNNN!!!!!!

2011-11-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Bang Bang You Shot Me Down

2011-11-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Isn't this nail polish fab? I'm obsessed.

Sally Hansen - Gunmetal. Loveeeeeee. I gotta say I really noticed that this polish applied like a dream...and looked absolutely perfect for 5 days.

It sort of reminded me of one of my favorite movies....

Wedding Wednesday :-DFavor Labels

2011-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Check out these labels that I created for our wedding favors. I designed them on Vista Print. They are actually business cards, but I tweaked them to fit my needs. Go me.

Fun, huh? Back when I first started planning our wedding, I stumbled across this photo on The Knot and I loved it. I decided to use that little sentiment on our labels too.

Even better, the labels were only 10 bucks {for 250}! Boo ya. I’m going to use a hole-puncher to put a little hole in them, and then tie them to the favor bags with twine. Ahhh. Very Martha Stewart-esque.

Halloween 2011 :-DSookie + Eric from True Blood

2011-11-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

October Birchbox Goodies

2011-11-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

The Future for Zach & Buster

2011-11-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

Isn't this soooooooo adorbale!?

Book DiscussionThe Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

2011-11-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

Four words for this book: I think I can!

As in...the Little Engine That Could! I think I can, I think I can! My overall impression of this story was that it was sort ofslow. It seemed like it took a long time for things to happen. I kept waitingand waiting for some witchcraft and some action. LOL. Also, some of the storywas fairly predictable – I knew who the bad guy was, I knew that Connie was awitch, and I knew that her relatives were witches long before she figured itout. I was thinking, c’mon Connie, the crazy garden didn’t clue you in?

When it came to Connie, I wanted to like her a lot. At first, she sort of reminded of some ofthe heroines in Charlaine Harris’s books (whom I usually like). But then littlethings started to annoy me. First, that it took so long for her to figure stuffout (as mentioned before). But I guess the author was trying to convey that shewas just “closed off” to those ideas because she was such a logical thinker?Secondly, her “daydreams” annoyed the crap out of me. On one hand she was ascholarly, intelligent young woman. On the other hand, she was always gettingcaught up in daydreams and seemed totally flaky. I guess these daydreams weresupposed to be her initially tapping into her “witch-ly” talents, and were likepremonitions but most of the time she was visualizing things that happened inthe past. So did that make them “post-monitions?”

On the other hand, there were several things that I reallyloved about this book. It was a fairly easy read. I love the subject ofwitchcraft and it was fun to read so close to Halloween. I loved the portionsof the book that were about the witches in the 1600s! Those historical fictionportions were so interesting – and seemed pretty accurate. I’m no expert…however,I did check out the author’s website, which includes sources and backgroundabout her process for writing the book! Also, she talks about how she is related to two women that were in the Salem Witch Trials! How cool is that? This book definitely made meinterested in learning more about it! There were a lot of realhistorical tidbits throughout the story, too. You learned about how peoplelived, related to each other, and their way of thinking wayyyy back in the1600s. She also talked about how a lotof ideas about witches have become convoluted over time and mixed in with otherideas. For example, she said that originally it was thought that witches flewon brooms with the bristles pointing up. And currently, people often associatecats with witches as their “familiars,” but familiars weren’t always limited tocats in the past

Finally, the parts where actual magic was being performedwere awesome! I wanted more magic! If there were a sequel to this book, I’d totallyread it. Now that Connie knows about her “witch-ly” abilities, the story would really start being exciting!

Wedding WednesdayBomb Article about Wedding Blogs

2011-11-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

And by bomb...I mean awesome. Here is the link.

My favorite part:

"Sometimes our clients get married in churches, country clubs, or even a VFWs (oh yes… it’s true!).
Sometimes they wear a simple silk wedding dresses, or employ florists instead of roaming the hillsides of Sweden picking wildflowers the morning of their weddings.

Sometimes they are doctors, lawyers, or police officers who are too busy to make custom bird cake-toppers and who don’t have access to a baby-blue vintage bicycles.

Sometimes their weddings are simple/normal/average."

THANK YOU. While I love the ideas that people sometimes show, a lot of them are just not realistic for normal people with jobs and other stuff that takes up their time...as well as budgets that they don't want to blow! Also, I don't want to roam the hillsides picking flowers the morning of my wedding. I want to sleep in and then have breakfast and mimosas with the ladies. Ahem.

I also thought this portion was interesting:

"I’ve even had brides apologize to me! They say,

“I’m sorry, our wedding is very plain. We didn’t have the time to make a lot of decorations.”

“This is probably a really boring wedding for you to photograph, I’m sorry.”

Where are they getting this negative self-image of their wedding? Glad you asked, because I’ll tell you. They get it from the same place that gave women a negative self-image of their bodies: the Media."

What do you think? I really don't think that people understand how much pressure a bride feels (if she allows it) regarding the wedding. It's a huge event and guess who does most of the planning and work? The bride! As if you don't have enough on your plate, you have to worry about Aunt Martha complaining that your favors are all ugly.

Articles like this just further enforce my hope for every bride (including myself) - while it is super easy to let yourself get bogged down in every single minor itsy bitsy detail - try your hardest to keep the 10,000 foot view and not worry about anything other than having FUN, and of course the fact that you are starting your marriage with the love of your life. When you think of it that way, who cares about anything else?

Also this would help with avoiding situations like Panicking About Engagement Photos. LMAO.

Thanks to Jessie for sharing this article with me!

Read more: http://hindsightbride.com/2011/10/10/open-letter-wedding-bloggers/#ixzz1azRcCl00
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Share Alike

Wurstküche

2011-11-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last month, my peeps and I visited a new restaurant in Venice called Wurstküche. It was so fun and unique! There is a location in Downtown LA, and the Venice location just opened up. I’ve heard they look exactly alike, but I’ve never been to the downtown location. They specialize in different (and fancy) types of sausage. They also have an extensive offering of beer. Who can argue with that?

When you walk in through the huge, wooden, rustic looking door, you’re presented with a view of all of their sausage offerings in a case to your left. They all look delicious and very tempting. You order your beverages and food at the cashier (and pay) and they give you a number.

I ordered the Hot Italian sausage. You have a choice of toppings for your sausage – I ordered the onions and sweet peppers! The Hot Italian sausage was SO GOOD. It was actually really, really spicy – so if you order it, be prepared! For sides, we ordered fries with several different dipping sauces (there were TEN options!). They were all really delicious and really unique. I loved the Bleu Cheese Walnut with Bacon the best. There were also a few different types of mustard and ketchups on the tables (large bottles, people shared between tables).

The layout of the restaurant looked like a huge, rustic, medieval dining room. It was so distinctive. The dining area had huge, long communal tables throughout. Around the edges there were some booths, and there was some seating at the bars as well (bars were along the side and at the back of the dining room). They also have a patio area at the back, which is where we sat. The seating is first come, first serve, and that was the first place we found (it was PACKED). If I were to go back, I’d really rather sit in a booth or at a communal table. The tables on the patio were TINY. I wouldn’t recommend sitting out there with any more than two people. Three would be pushing it. We had four, and it was not comfortable!

There were a couple things that I didn’t really like about the place. First, there weren’t any normal beverage options – only beer, wine, teas, and sodas. I hadn't heard of any of them. I wanted a diet coke (RE: something not loaded with sugar). I had water instead, which is located in jugs in a few locations throughout the restaurant (self-serve, ugh). And I needed ICE. I can’t stand drinking warm water. The second thing I didn’t really care for was that there were absolutely zero healthy options on the menu, even for sides. Do not plan to have vegetables when you eat at this restaurant (unless you count potatoes as vegetables LOL). That’s no big deal of course, but I’d just recommend that you be prepared to have a “splurge” meal. Although…if you’re already going here because you want to eat sausage, splurging is probably already the main plan. LOL.

You know what I would love for this restaurant? I would love it if they added a “sausage sampler” option to their menu. That way, you could try bites of several different types of sausages. And maybe there could be a beer or wine pairing option with the sampler. The logistics might be a little difficult to figure it out (since there aren’t servers, there are just people that run your food to you based on your number that is sitting on your table). But wouldn’t that be fun?

It was really dark in there – I did my best with the pictures below! Check out the delicious food!

Basket + Sunbeam = Happy Zach

2011-10-31T09:01:00.001-07:00

Even better - that's an old afgan that my granny knitted for me. :-)

Happy Halloween everyone!

Friday Funny :-DMaru's Distant Cousins?

2011-10-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is so funny, amazing, and hilarious! I guess all cats like boxes? LOL

Book DiscussionWhat Came First

2011-10-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

One word for this book: Tangled!

This book was so good! I loved it. The story centered around3 main characters – Wendy, a mother of twins (a son and a daughter), Laura, asingle mom of one son, and Vanessa, a girl in a dead-end relationship (with herboyfriend, Eric) who has a “slight” case of baby fever.

Wendy and her husband had struggled with fertility issuesand she eventually got pregnant via a donor. Laura was a single woman whodecided she wanted to have a baby; she also got pregnant via a donor.

{spoiler alert} The whole story unfurls when Laura ends up tracking down thedonor that she used when she conceived her son. Guess what? It turns out thatthe donor is Vanessa’s boyfriend, Eric! Vanessa finds out that Eric was thedonor (in the past, in college) and she was miffed…to say the least. Wendycomes into the story because Laura finds her via a Donor Sibling Network, whileshe is searching for her son’s partial siblings (Wendy’s kids).

All I can say about this story is WHEW. It was so awesomethe way the author cleverly intertwined all of the sections! I loved thecharacters. They were really likeable and real.I found it really easy to relate to all of them. The stories flowed into eachother seamlessly, and the book was a real page-turner.

While I was reading this book, I kept trying to put myselfinto the different women’s shoes. First, putting myself in Vanessa’s shoes waspretty easy. Who hasn’t dated someone that wouldn’t commit (to one thing oranother)? I could sympathize with her frustration…but at the same time Iprobably would have dumped Eric’s butt wayyyy before I hit the 5 year mark!

Putting myself in Wendy’s shoes was terrifying. Basically,her story centers on having two kids that are complete terrors – everypotential parent’s worst fear (I’m sure my kids will be perfect angels, duh).Also, she lives out in the middle of nowhere, miles away from her family. Sincemy family is far, far, away….it made me think! Yikes. My favorite line was in the beginning of the story, when Wendy says, "The psychologist said that...we should take comfort in the fact that they have never killed or tortured any animals." YIKES!

Putting myself in Laura’s shoes was also fairly easy for me,because this idea was something that I’d played with before. Laura is a lawyerwith the means to support a child on her own, so she decided to opt for thesingle mother role. I considered this as a future possibility for myself, if Ididn’t end up getting married and I really wanted to have children. Does thatsound crazy? LOL nevermind, don’t tell me.

On top of all of these thoughts, the story also really makesyou think about what it means to use a donor, be a donor, or be a child of a donor!What a tangled web we weave! And another thing...Wendy's husband is an aerospace engineer, Eric, Laura, and Vanessa live/visit places I know in SoCal, and Wendy is originally from Michigan! It made me laugh that I had these things in common with them! I cracked up when Wendy said, "My body forgot how cold Michigan could be in the fall. I'm wearing a bulky sweater over a thick turtleneck and chain-drinking coffee in my parents' kitchen, and I still can't stop shivering." AMEN SISTER.

I really enjoyed this book!

Wedding Wednesday :-DPre-Marital Counseling & License to Wed

2011-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Recently we spoke to the pastor who is performing our ceremony, and one of his pre-marital counseling activities was to watch License to Wed, answer some questions, and then discuss our answers together. Then we had to discuss everything with the pastor. It was fun!

Here were the questions that he asked us...what do you think of these?

1. How do you feel about Rev. Frank?

2. What do you think of the idea of having to successfully pass a marriage course?

3. Why would Rev. Frank have her driving in Chicago Traffic with a blind fold and parenting lessons with robotic babies?

4. If you were to design a marriage course for your intended, what would it include?

I thought this movie was pretty hilarious. I liked Rev Frank; I thought he was hilarious. I loved his approach! As for a marriage course...I think it's a pretty good idea. It definitely gets things out in the open that maybe haven't been discussed!

I thought the part with her driving in Chicago traffic with a blindfold was crazy!!! It definitely hammered home his point – which I think was to demonstrate how important it is to effectively communicate! And maybe he had another lesson in mind too…the importance of teamwork. They were going to crash if they didn’t work together!

As a side note, I think the robotic babies were totally creepy and looked like scary little midget men! The part with the guy beating the fake baby was really hard to watch! Even though it was a fake, scary midget man baby, I still thought it was scary! LOL. Am I a total girl or what?

Have you seen this movie?

Sophie's Place

2011-10-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my friends and I checked out a gastro pubin Redondo Beach called Sophie’s Place. It was really fun! We ordered a TON offood, and there were only 3 of us! We didn’t even leave that much leftoverbecause everything was so yummy.

The inside of the restaurant is really cute and trendy, andhas a general gastro pub ambiance. There is an outdoor patio with heaters, andall of the doors to the main dining area open up to make one big area (when itis warm enough). They had most of the doors closed while we were there butthere were still some people sitting outside on the patio.

We ordered the Sophie Bites, which were mashed potato totswith cheese and bacon inside – can you say heaven? We also ordered a salad, some sliders, the baked mac andcheese (with bacon and jalapeños) some wings, and the Ma[p] and Cheese – agrilled cheese sandwich with macaroni and cheese and pulled pork inside!Everything was DELICIOUS. I loved that they had four of their burgers offeredas sliders – so you could try multiple burgers instead of having to choose onlyone. Such a great idea! They also have a pretty extensive beer and wine list –and some of the beer is listed on a big chalkboard.

Our service was awesome; everyone there was really friendlyand professional (wait staff, bussers, bartenders, etc.). There was a varietyof clientele – families (including families with children), groups of all ages,and single patrons sitting at the bar. There was a TV with sports playing – andthe waitress informed us that it was happy hour until the end of the game!Bonus!

Overall I’d say this was a really fun, cozy, and yummylittle place to try out! Here are some pics – not the best quality because Iforgot my camera and had to use my crappy camera on my old, ghetto phone. LOL.

Shhh...I'm Hiding Againnnnnn

2011-10-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Friday Funny :-DCard from Memory Lane

2011-10-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

When I went through a box of stuff I had in my mom's basement a few months ago, I came across this hilarious card that I gave to one of my big sister's friends....She was kind enough to let her annoying little sister hang out with her from time to time, so some of her friends also became my friends - in a Sara's-Little-Sister sorta way. Here is the card! It cracks me up!

September Birchbox - Product Review

2011-10-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to my original post about my September Birchbox.

LIV GRN C2C Fragrance Collection in Natural – Another Bug Spray Perfume

I’m not a fan of this perfume. It smelled like bug spray,just like 99% of other perfumes that I smell. No thanks! But as I said before,I’m picky about fragrances! I gave it to a friend. :-)

blinc Mascara – Dislike

I wasn’t a fan of this mascara. It was sort of a pain to remove. You have to rub your eyes a lot. Also, I like to wear a mascara that is lengthening as well as volumizing – this one made my lashes look super thin and not long at all! Maybe it was the brush? It did create tubes like I claims to, though.

Incoco Nail Polish Applique – loooove

Nail polish strips just might be my favorite new productevarrrrr! I loved these. They were so fun; I received many, many compliments onthem. The blue glitter was dazzling. They stayed on perfectly and only woredown a little bit at the tips. When that happened, I flied my nails down alittle and…ta-da! Perfect new manicure! I kept them on for 8 days! Andunlike normal polish, they didn’t get dull or anything (normally I apply clearcoat every other day to keep my polish glossy and to prevent chips). These werea little harder to apply than the Sally Hansen strips, though. They were sortof hard to peel apart from the plastic strip that they come on. With the SallyHansen strips, I was able to {creatively} save the unused portion of the stripand then use it on my toes. With these, I couldn’t do that because the unusedportion got all bunched up, etc. from trying to peel it from the plastic. Iused the foil method to remove them and it worked like a charm! I would buythese if they had designs that weren’t available in the Sally Hansen version.

Jouer Lip Enhancer – Meh

I liked this stuff as a conditioning lip balm, but I didn’treally notice a significant “enhancement” in my lips with this lip plumper.It’s nice, but it didn’t blow my mind. And it didn't taste or smell good like my other lip glosses.

The Lash Card – Meh

This is an interesting idea, but I thought they were toomuch work for minimal gain. I don’t really have a problem with getting mascaraon my eyelids while applying it. If anything I get it on the bridge of my nose a lot more often. And I don’t really have a problem withclumping (they said you could use the edge of these to separate lashes, etc.),because I use a brush that separates my lashes. I do have a friend that uses a safety pin to separate her lashes because she is obsessed, though –so this product might actually be good for her!

Let me refer to you Birchbox...email me at diaryofasmartblonde{at}yahoo.com.

Wedding Wednesday :-D Engagement Photos Redo Cripes

2011-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

The resolution on that Shutterfly Slideshow was so bad, I redid it. Cripes.

See what I do for my blog audience?

Here is the link.

Also my photographer is Mishelle Lamarand (Bliss Photography). She's so AWESOME and so incredibly talented.

Shhh I'm Hiding...{wink}

2011-10-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Buster

2011-10-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I went to Hawaii in September {more on that later}, and I brought back a Hawaiian shirt for Buster! Isn’t this so adorable and hilarious?

It has real snaps and everything. J I love the collar, it cracks me up.

Now he has something to wear every Friday, for Hawaiian Shirt Day.

Friday Funny :-DTalking Twin Babies

2011-10-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

And the Winner is....

2011-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

And the winner of the Super Spooky Halloween Scentsy from Heaven Give-away is.....

KATE H.!!!

Thank you to all who participated in my first Give-away! Woo hoo!!!

Wedding Wednesday :-DRobbie's Wedding Band!

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Robbie and I went shopping for his wedding band the other day - here it is!

Its a white gold band with 1/2 ct total weight in diamonds. We got it from Zales. I was actually really surprised that he wanted a ring with bling. It looks so nice on him, though! I love it. The lighter metal was definitely his style. He tried on a few that were the darker metals – i.e. tungsten carbide and cobalt – and they were not nearly as nice. Even the brushed white gold didn’t look as good as this one did.

We had a lot of fun shopping for his ring, especially when he tried on some rings that made him look like a mob boss. LMAO.

Nail Done?

2011-10-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

I received some questions after posting about the Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips the other day – mainly about applying them. I have to admit, the pictures that come in the instructions don’t really help a whole lot. So I took a few pictures while I was applying the strips that I got from my Birchbox in September. They’re not the greatest pics I’ve ever taken in my life, but you’ll get the gist. And I was too lazy to retake them. :-)

The first step is to decide which size strip fits your nail the best. Below is a pic of me sizing the strip for my thumb. Then you position it and stick it to your nail.

After that, you peel off the plastic backing from the sticker (the instructions actually tell you to do this before putting it on your nail, but I think it's easier to get it aligned if you leave the plastic backing on while you place it on the nail. Remember Jessi's guest post about the nail polish strips? She gave me the idea.):

The stickers are stretchy, so you can stretch them a little to make sure you cover your whole nail. When you are applying a strip with a design, though, you can’t really stretch it that much or the design looks all wonky (Oh my gosh…I just spell-checked this, and “wonky” is an actual word. I did not know that!).

After you smooth it out, you shmoosh the sticker over the edge of your nail. Yes that is the technical term.

Then you take a nail file and lightly run it along the edge of your nail (just like you would if you were filing your nails any other time).

The excess part of the strip separates and pulls right off. And voila, perfectly painted nails.

Did I mention that you DON’T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THESE TO DRY?! Hallelujah.

Moooooommmm....Why do you do this to me?

2011-10-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Observe, Zach in his natural habitat – Secure Position Assumed During Vacuuming. HA!

See him way up there on top of the cabinet?

Zoom

Super Zoom

Every time I even think about getting out the vacuum, he immediately heads for the top of the kitchen cabinets and remains there for a good half hour {or hour}.

What a wimp. J However, I must admit that this reaction is very handy when I am trying to get him out from underneath the bed.

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet? Today's the last day!

Friday Funny :-DBaby Laughing Hysterically at Ripping Paper!!!

2011-10-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Book DiscussionA Long Way Down

2011-10-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

One word for this book: Random

This was one of the only books I’ve ready by Nick Hornby that I really didn’t like that much (the other being High Fidelity). This story was about 4 people who went to the top of a building on New Year’s Eve with the plan to kill themselves. They meet each other, and become friends…and the rambling begins.

In this story, nothing much happened…which actually can be pulled off in some books, but in this one I just found it annoying. Everything seemed totally random, there was no climax or many interesting things that happened, and it was often just long-winded chatter from each character’s perspective. As you can imagine, the story was actually pretty dark and sad (as you’d expect for a story about suicidal people).

The things I did like about the book were that it told the story from 4 different perspectives, and the characters were actually really hilarious. Because they were so funny, I had hope when I started reading the book. For examples – here are some lines from the characters:

JJ:
"Okay, you don't know me, so you'll have to take my word for it that I'm not stupid. I read the fuck out of every book I can get my hands on."

Jess:

"I don't know you. The only thing I know about you is, you're reading this. I don't know whether you're happy or not. I don't know whether you're young or not. I sort of hope you're young and sad. If you're old and happy, I can imagine that maybe you'll smile to yourself when you here me going, He broke my heart. You'll remember someone who broke your heart, and you'll think to yourself, Oh, yes, I can remember how that feels. But you can't, you smug old git."

Jess, again:
"People go on about places like Starbucks being unpersonal and all that, but what if that's what you want? I'd be lost if JJ and people like that got their way, and there was nothing unpersonal in the world. I like to know that there are big places without windows where no one gives a shit. You need confidence to go into small places with regular customers - small bookshops and small music shops and small restaurants and cafes. I'm happiest in the Virgin Megastore and Borders and Starbucks and PizzaExpress where no one gives a shit, and no one knows who you are. My mum and dad are always going on about how soulless those places are, and I'm like, Der. That's the point."

Funny, right? I thought so. And I'm not gonna lie...I have to agree with Jess on that second statement about the shops. LOL. I did laugh out loud many times during the book. But then I found myself getting impatient and distracted because the story really didn’t go anywhere. Boo. And, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely depressed!

I still love you though, Nick. J And I will still read anything you decide to write.

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Wedding WednesdaySave the Date!

2011-10-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Since we ended up with some truly amazing engagement photos (coming soon), we are going to use one for our Save the Date! We'll probably also use one for our Christmas Cards this year, too (duh). And....I am going to send them together in the same envelope! How about that for money saving? Ha! Here are some Save the Date designs that I've been eyeing....lucky for me, teal is a pretty popular wedding color! I found them on Shutterfly.

Here are the Save the Dates that match the stationary that I posted about last week. They are also super cute! I am in love with the photo card idea, though, so if I went with the bicycle stationary for our invitations, I'd probably skip the design below and order one of the Shutterfly Save the Date designs instead.

Is it too much to send two pictures in one envelope? I.e. one picture on the Christmas Card and one picture on the Save the Date card? Is it like..."here....HAVE SOME PICTURES OF US AND LIKE THEM!" Too much? LOL. I suppose I could just choose one card and have the message include a Merry Christmas and also please Save the Date flavor. That might sound better...LOL. Although, the family always tells me that they love, love, love our photo cards, so maybe they would actually like getting more than one?

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

September Birchbox

2011-10-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm running a little late this month with my Birchbox post....or wait should I say last month? LOL. Here are the products from my September Birchbox.

Inserts, and the box all wrapped up!

LIV GRN C2C Fragrance Collection in Natural:

blinc Mascara:

Incoco Nail Polish Applique (yayyyyyy!):

Jouer Lip Enhancer:

The Lash Card:

Bonus, Birchbox Friendship Bracelet:

Email me at diaryofasmartblonde{at}yahoo.com and let me refer you to Birchbox. Pretty please with sugar on top?

Someone Buy These for Me! JK {wink wink}

2011-10-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else think that the logo on these shoes is totally, completely bizarre? I saw them in Sky Mall Magazine the other day. So, so, so strange!

Even weirder, there were reviews on the website, which means people have actually bought these shoes. And worn them. I am assuming they were worn in public. And they were all really good reviews! More power to them...but I'm not sure I'd want to wear shoes with a cartoon swimmer on them. So strange!

Not to mention - they're 120 bucks! YIKES.

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Friday Funny :-DMore Mask Maru!

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?

Book DiscussionThe Hunger Games Trilogy

2011-09-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Five words for these books: Ahhhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!

Ha! Do those count as words? Well, they do now! While I was reading these books, I had a nightmare that I was actually in The Hunger Games and I woke up screaming –and in turn woke my sister up and scared the crap out of her! Ha! It’s hilarious to look back on it but it was pretty scary for both of us at the time! Until we realized what was happening and started cracking up!

Despite the fact that it gave me a nightmare, this trilogy was truly remarkable and I enjoyed it SO MUCH. I can’t believe how long it took me to pick up this series!! Once I started reading it, I was totally sucked in! Click here for a description of the book (there is actually a description of all three books in the document that pops up, and reading group guide questions).

This series was seriously like a vacuum. As soon as I picked it up, I could NOT put it down. It was that good. The story had my on the edge of my seat (or beach chair, or bed…) the entire time – I would always think, I need to take a break from reading this – I will at the next chapter! And then the next chapter would arrive and I’d start reading it without even realizing it. Ha!

Katniss was an amazing heroine. I loved her. She was so real and so honest. She was incredibly resourceful, strong and a real survivor. She often had to grapple with her various “flaws” that she thought she had. But when it came down to it, I really thought that she was just being human and doing what need to be done to make sure that her and her family survived. Besides her survival instinct, I also adored her personality as a whole. One thing I loved was the way she would admit to the fact that she was totally confused and unclear about her contradictory feelings on certain things. For example, she was conflicted about her “friends” who were her makeover team from the Capitol (they gave her a makeover so she was “camera-ready” before going on TV and subsequently being sent for SLAUGHTER!) – were they friends because she knew them and they “cared” about her, or were they enemies because the embodied everything that was evil about the Capitol? I felt like every time she voiced her confusion, the author did an excellent job describing (through Katniss’s thoughts) exactly what had been tickling the back of my mind about various contradictions going on through the narrative and Katniss’s life. Finally, I thought it was awesome that she was so badass with her bow and arrow!

It’s hard to believe at times that this is a young adult trilogy – considering the main premise of the book and all of the violence and gore that surrounds it! Also, there is no sex or anything beyond kissing that takes place in the book, I guess because it is categorized as young adult. Not that I need that to be part of the story, but it just made me think…so….it’s okay for young adults to read about a boy being eaten alive by a pack of rabid, wolf-human hybrids (one of the muttations created by the Capitol) and a girl getting impaled by a metal spear, but it’s not okay for kids to read about people having sex? So strange! Doesn’t it make you wonder why people are so worried about sex and less worried about extreme violence?

I hear they are making a movie – I can’t wait! Based on the roller coaster of emotions that I felt while reading these books, bringing it to life on the big screen will likely be an incredible experience!

p.s. Have you entered the give-away yet?