Crackle!

Here is my first attempt at the crackle. It's harder than I thought it would be. Really weird texture. But I think I'm gonna have fun with it. :)

Lots of stuff!

Lots to write about! To start off, a couple of things that I apparently left out/didn't blog about. I realized I hadn't, because I wore/used them today. Firstly, this awesome cuff!

It is kind of like the brown American Eagle one I've had forever, but so much better because it's black! I foresee wearing this a lot this summer. Speaking of which, I totally scored on a $4 light-weight, black hoody from Savers today. One more thing off my if-I'm-wearing-blacks-all-summer-do-I-have-what-I-need list. Back on the list is all black tennis shoes, since I tried wearing my Polo Ralph Lauren ones all day today at work, and I made it shy of three hours before I ran and took them off because I was in so much pain. They are now in the donation bag.

The other thing(s) I wanted to mention that I apparently never wrote about were some e.l.f. products I got the other day. This I have been using under/as my eyeshadow all weekend and I'm in love with it.
It's the Studio Cream Eyeshadow in "Dawn" (though it's less pink and more gold than this photo). I'd originally wanted to try it in "Pewter" (a grey/purple) since I tend to use that color a lot, but Target doesn't carry it, and I didn't really want to pay shipping. So I bought this one instead and I'm really, really liking it. Sad to say, I think it beats Clinique's version (Touch-base, which I have in "Canvas"). It doesn't crease at all and the lid actually screws on tight so that it won't dry out. I also picked up the e.l.f. bronzer since my old bronze was a) too dark and b) broken into a million pieces. With this, I've also been gaga for my new e.l.f brushes. Specifically, the "Eye Shadow Brush." I decided to buy all of the $1 e.l.f. brushes that Target stocks and this was one of them. It's super duper soft and applies eyeshadow so beautifully. Between this and the cream eyeshadow, my make-up has been looking 10x better.

So now to my "haul" for today (it's seriously sad how often I blog about my shopping trips). Today I went to Five Below after work, which is sort of like the Dollar Store on inflation. Everything is $5 or below, hence the name. I went there because Karisa had mentioned that they had the "crackle" nail polish there, 2 for $5, which is a pretty good deal. But, of course, I couldn't keep from picking up a few other things.

Right when I walked in the door I found these adorable sunglasses. My rose tinted sunglasses broke around Christmas time and I haven't had a chance yet to glue them or replace them. I have another pair of glasses, but the lenses are really dark. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the tint isn't super dark on these glasses. I like that for days when you're squinting, but it's not crazy bright out. And they're cute.

My other impulse buy was these "party cubes," aka cubes you can freeze and put in drinks, but that won't water down whatever you're drinking. I'd been toying with the idea of getting something like this for a while and the fun colors just clinched the deal. 

And yes, I did get crackle. They had a bunch of colored ones, but I figured I'd stick with having the color underneath. There were two others though that I was also choosing between- a silver, sparkly one and a black, iridescent one. I ended up going with these as pretty classic colors, though I do keep thinking about the silver one. Karisa had a gold one that was really nice too, but they didn't have any of it today. If I really like these, I may go back for another couple. For now though, I'm just super excited to try it out. And I will of course share the results.

And last, but certainly not least, I came home to a package! I got super excited since the only package I'd been expecting I wasn't expecting for a while, but I knew it must be my Hunger Games Trilogy!!! Mum ended up getting another set (for reasons I won't go in to) and I think that's the set she ended up sending me. But of course, they didn't just send me books, oh no, my box was full! I also got round, old fashioned peppermints and Old Dominion Cashew brittle (I'm guessing re-gift from one of her students). And the box had the Clinique Lilly's been trying to send me forever.

You have no idea how excited I got about that. She not only sent me the Moisture Surge (center) she'd promised me, she sent me a bunch of other goodies, most of which were from her "gift with purchase." From left to right I also got: Almay foundation- SPF 15 and auto-tint for your skin tone. I'm super excited to try it out. Lipstick/gloss duo- it's hard to see the color in the photo, but it's a nice, warm neutral tone that's just darker than my lips making it a nice everyday shade. Moisture Surge- I get to start using this as my night cream. High Impact Mascara- only Clinique's best mascara (according to me) and one I was almost out of. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion- garbage for my face because I have the wrong skin type, but it works great as a ultra-hydrating hand lotion. Oh yeah, and the bag is frickin' adorable! Like, I want to use it as a clutch adorable.

I think that's it for now. I'll see if I can try and come up with a blog NOT motivated by a package or shopping trip, but I'll probably fail. Also, nice new format, eh? I randomly chose to not center a picture and realized I could make the text go beside it. I think I prefer it. I would ask what you prefer, but we all know that no one reads this. ;)

Nothing much to report

We're still waiting for Mike to hear back from Olny (in Maryland) about whether or not he got the job down there. Currently, we're operating under the assumption that he hasn't gotten it. I gave my four-week notice at work on Monday and they were very sad.

I came on so I could show off two things. First, to further along my bathroom organization, the following:

I now have cute receptacle for my q-tips, cotton balls, and cotton rounds. The bucket was from Target and the jars are cleaned out candle jars.

Second and finally, I finally painted the birdhouse I got a few weeks ago.

 Annoying thing is that I was pretty good at not getting the trim colors. On the main part while I was painting it, but then when I put on the poly, the purple and green bled. :/ Not that it really matters, but it made me sad. Not sure where I'm going to put it, but at least it's not raw wood any more.

Writing a post because, guess what? I went shopping! It's very sad that that is the most exciting thing going on most of the time. I went shopping because Lilly sent me her "Secret Rewards Card" from Victoria's Secret. It was a $10 value, so I got to get an almost-free pair of lacy underthings. She felt it was pointless her using it, since she'd have had to pay shipping, which negates the money off. So, since I was at the mall, I rambled through a bunch of other stores. Got a few small things at Bath and Body works as usual. I also got a steal on a black sweater from Old Navy. I think it might be this one:

It has a kind of a weird, boxy shape, but I actually really liked it when I tried it on. It's nice and light for the spring/summer, only 3/4 length sleeves, and it's black! Which is always good. ;) Normally it was $34 something, but it was on clearance for $5.41 and on top of that, all clearance was 40% off, so I got it for less than $3!

I also got these fun earrings from Claire's/Icing (the stores are the same and I can never remember which I actually went into).

They're fun and quirky, and because they're nice and flat, I can wear them to work without worrying they'll get ripped out of my ears. They're part of the "sensitive solutions" collection too, which means my ears shouldn't get too upset by wearing them either.

The other thing I got was some fun make-up! First up, some really pigmented eye shadows. I got a very dark grey/black to make a smoky eye, since my only charcoaly color is wicked old and I'm afraid to use it. I also got some nice saturated jewel tones. I've been relying on eye liner when it comes to those shades, but having the shadows is going to be really nice. (Ignore my finger prints from checking out the colors.)

I also got a couple of inexpensive lip liners. I've been wanting to get some as I want to wear lipstick more often, but because my lips are so tiny, I have problems making it look right. I figure a pencil might also be an easier way to go for work as well, because I can just put a gloss on top of it and call it a day. Below is me holding my two new colors, and modeling the more pink one with the Lancome gloss Lilly got me for her wedding.

Best part was, I didn't spend very much money at all, but I felt like I got a ton of stuff. :)

And now, drum roll please! *brrrrdddrrrrddrrrrdddaa!*

I GOT  A JOB FOR THE SUMMER AT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL!!! I'll be the "Stage Supervisor," which means I'm the head of run crew and have a few other duties. I'm just so super excited to actually be doing what I love for the summer and getting paid for it! I was literally jumping up and down after the interview I was so excited. Now of course, even though it's more than a month away, I keep thinking trying to plan stuff out in my head (I'll be honest, a lot of it is what I'll wear/pack). Sad part is, I'll be away from Mike for the three months and the piggies can't come with me either. :( I'll be super busy so it's good I won't have the boys, but it is going to be lonely without any of my three boys there to snuggle up to. Though I have to admit, I'm actually most worried about Mike taking care of the fish. Ha.

Shopping, glorious shopping.

Quick aside- today and yesterday felt like summer! It was glorious. Anyways, I wanted to blog about my shopping trip on Saturday. I didn't have time on Sunday and then yesterday I worked 9 hours(!!!) and promptly came home and crashed. So, yet again, I will tell you about my weekend, mid-week.

My epic shopping trip was for two reasons- firstly, I needed to find Lilly a present for her birthday and, secondly, I had a bit of tip money burning a hole in my pocket. I decided that I wanted to just wander around a few stores and see if anything caught my eye. I went to TJMaxx/Home Goods, Bed Bath and Beyond, JoAnne's, Christmas Tree Shops, and then Stop and Shop for gas/english muffins.

TJMaxx I found a few things for both Mum (for Mother's Day) and for Lilly. I hadn't planned on getting Mum anything, but I couldn't resist! I also discovered that they carry our Calphalon pots, so next time we're on the market, I want to check there since they're cheaper there than from Crate and Barrel. The only thing I got for myself at TJMaxx was a plain, round, mirror that I'm gonna put in the spare room for when I have to blow dry my hair in there (no outlets in the bathroom). B, B, & B all I ended up getting was another little jar on clearance for my make-up brushes.

JoAnne's was the real surprise. I wandered in mostly to check out their clearance Easter stuff, and ended up finding some nice bargains.

First, I got two pairs of the special scissors that cut a design instead of a straight line. They were only 50 cents each! I couldn't believe it!
 

I also got this cute little birdhouse (they had a bunch of different styles). I plan on painting it- maybe tonight or tomorrow- so that it makes a cute little decoration a la Marie McDermott.

Finally, I got this cute owl box and owl felt stickers. The box is currently holding my perfumes in the bathroom, but I may find somewhere more out in the open to put it. I haven't done anything with the stickers yet, but they were only a dollar and way too cute to pass up.

The jewelry roll I also got from JoAnne's. I can't remember now how much it was, but it was definitely no more than a dollar. Christmas Tree Shops was my next stop, and I did find some Easter stuff there. I got some tiny fake eggs to decorate with next year and a big fabric egg to use as a pin cushion (since the mouse I had didn't seem to make it over with my sewing box).

When I got home after all this, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the watch I ordered a while ago had arrived!

I got it sort of as a replacement for the teal watch I had to return to Target. :( But, I do really like this one. It's big, silicone, and blue! I wore it to work Sunday and Monday. It's nice to have a big, fun colorful watch, since all the other ones I have are silver, white, or black. They go with all my clothes, but they're also kind of drab.

Yesterday before I passed out, I ran to the library to pick up the first of "The Secret Circle" books (I figured they might be better than the TV series). I was stoked because they also had the third Beka Cooper book (Tamora Pierce) and Alex Flinn's next book. Also picked up a few random other ones that seemed appealing. AND I got my ELLE magazine yesterday. Add to that the $50 in tips I made in the past three days and life is pretty good right now.

Happy (Late) Easter!

For the past several days, I have been trying to remember to come on and do a blog post about Easter. Well, not Easter precisely since the day itself was fairly uneventful (I worked all day), but rather about my preparations for Easter. Specifically- my eggs!

Last year, I had trouble finding the PAAs dye (the one we always used when I was growing up) and had to use some no-name brand. Good news was that they came with these funny little fold-able cups, so you didn't have to worry about dying yours. The eggs also came out pretty well, which was nice. But this year, as soon as I saw the PAAs dye, I scooped it up. It was weird though, because the package said, comes with nine colors, including three neon ones! And then there were twelve tablets. What they meant was, it comes with nine normal colors PLUS three neon ones. I know it's random, but it really bothered me. :/

But back to the main event! With photos!

Exhibit A: Dissolving the dye. All of them were dissolved in vinegar per package instructions, save for one of the pink ones, as that was supposed to result in the brightest colors.

Exhibit B: Rearranging the dye in rainbow order and adding the water for the eggs.

Since there were twelve colors I decided to do twelve eggs. I checked on them in ten and twenty minutes increments. I think I ended up leaving them in for a little over an hour so that all the colors were really saturated. And now the irony- the PAAs dye was crappy!

Exhibit C: Poorly colored eggs.

I don't know why, but the color was sloughing off many of them (such as the dark green one three over). Others just has really uneven dye jobs (like the red one, though you can't really tell in the picture). Honestly, perhaps the best dye job was on the pink egg without the vinegar (pink egg on the end). When I posted this picture to Facebook, one of my relatives said the key was "vinegar and warm water," but I don't know. Next year, I think I'm just gonna go with the random brand dye again. I prefer my eggs to be dyed evenly, and not having to buy plastic cups is also a bonus.

Easter candy!

I've realized that in addition to wanting to start all my blog posts with "so," my life is not really exciting enough to provide material for frequent blog posts. Or, anything interesting happens on the weekend when I am too busy/tired from work to blog about it. Unless I go shopping or someone visits/mails me something, my day to day always seems too mundane for a blog. For example, yesterday can be summed up by- "In which I watched a lot of television."

To backtrack quickly, Laura was here this past weekend for a conference at Brown, and Mike, the piggies, and I got to hang out with her on Friday night. She really liked the piggies. :) I always love hanging out with Vrana as we can discuss education and Twilight with equal fervor. And it was nice to see her because I haven't seen her since I saw Sweeney Todd in November.

Today was exciting for two reasons- I decided to give Kandee's "Mermaid Waves" (http://www.kandeej.com/2012/03/how-to-mermaid-waves-hairstyle.html) a half-hearted try and I got my Easter box from my parents! First, the hair. I say half-hearted because, while I braided my freshly washed hair last night per directions, I did not really give myself much time this morning. So, instead of using a three barrel curling iron to make sure the top and bottom of the hair wasn't stick straight, I just quickly gave the ends a little flip with my tiny curling iron. This is my hair at the end of the day:

And yes, that is my shower curtain AGAIN. I can't help it that the only place with decent lighting is the bathroom! :/

Second, the box! The reason they send me the box in the first place was because I wanted my sewing box. It has my good shears, all my needles, etc. Unbeknownst to me, I'd apparently also crammed all the stuff I use to make the tiny beaded purses, as well as all the finished ones I have, into it as well. I'm going to have to find somewhere to put all that stuff now. Mainly I wanted it though because I have fabric I bought at Thanksgiving to make into stuff for piggies, but I didn't have any of my sewing stuff. So maybe now I'll finally get around to doing that.

The box also had in it a lovely scarf:

It's from Thomas. While he was playing bingo with some old people courtesy of his service club, he won it. One of the old lady's had made it and offered it up as a prize. Anyhow, it's a really great color and length, so I'm excited to wear it.

The other thing in the box was LOTS and LOTS of Easter candy. I don't think I've ever gotten this much Easter candy from my parents before. As a visual, here is all their candy (plus the one bunny I bought and stuffed animals from Easter's yore) in a basket:

Crazy ridiculous. There are two solid milk chocolate bunnies in boxes, on squished chocolate bunny in a wrapper, a little carton of Whoppers, a little carton of Reese's pieces (which I'll probably let Mike eat since he likes Reese's), a bag of Hershey's eggs, a bag of Butterfingers eggs, and three different colored boxes of peeps. Whew! Definitely going to get holiday pudge from this basket. I may have to start eating now, in order spread the goodness out. ;)

In job news, no-go at Theater at Monmouth, which is sad. Sent out feelers to Christine's friend and I have a lead with Nottke for Williamstown Theatre Festival, which is good. Also sent my resume to Theater by the Sea, but I'm doubtful that will do anything.