My First-Ever Dior Surprise....

My last post ended with a regret. I know, not a great way to end a blog post.

My regret was NOT purchasing this gorgeous Dior palette I saw at the Duty Free Shop on the way to New York. When I saw it, I thought, "I can't buy something here in CANADA when I'm going to NEW YORK..." So I left the shop, empty-handed, thinking that worst-case scenario, I can buy it on the way home at the airport.

BUT....

They didn't have the palette in New York. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. So imagine my surprise when I saw it sitting on the kitchen table this morning, while making coffee. (Gotta love the boyfriend who actually remembers the exact palette you want AND buys it on his way home from a business trip.....Ahhhhh, I'm a lucky girl.)

Ladies, this palette is FABULOUS. It's called the Dior Travel Studio Makeup Palette and it contains everything you need for a perfect on-the-go style. The kit contains three different shimmery color combos for eyes, three lip glosses, a beautifully smooth powder foundation, an eyeliner, lip liner and the essential Diorshow mascara. (Such a flawless combo.)

If you're going to splurge on a palette this year, (or any year for that matter, since Dior comes out with multiple travel palettes...) definitely grab this one. At only $65, you are getting an amazing deal!

xo

The Shortest Vacation Part 2

Were we ever tired the next day...

All that walking around REALLY tuckered us out so we slept in, ordered room service and finally left the hotel room around 11:30 am. First stop was, of course, Manhattan but, particularly, 5th Avenue.

As my to-do list said, I was desperate to see the Tiffany's on 5th Avenue. So, we hopped on the subway and arrived at 5th Avenue about 20 minutes later. If you aren't too familiar with 5th Avenue, this is the street that has everything from Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, MAC and even an Bergdorf Goodman. (They say that this strip is the most expensive shopping street in the world.) Having said that, IT WAS SO BUSY!! It was filled with tourists all doing the same thing as we were: window-shopping and celebrity seeking. I, of course, was pretending not to be interested in whether or not there were famous people around but, come on, I wore my sunglasses for a reason. ( I was really trying to find Beyonce or Sarah Jessica Parker...) Either way, we found the Tiffany's store, which is 6 floors high and still has it's original elevators and walked into the coolest store called Henri Bendel, this trendy boutique that carried everything from handbags, to jewellry, to dog collars. I was IMMEDIATELY drawn in this store because they had the most AMAZING ballerina display. They were literally hanging from the ceiling. Check this out:

From there, we went to the Financial District by the World Trade Centre to seek Century 21, the biggest discount designer department store, ever. This shop was packed! You could hardly walk around. It was much too busy to actually shop but Allan lucked out and bought two blazers for only $80 a piece. (Regular price about $300 a piece.) Amazing.

From there, we went to this little diner/deli for a sandwich and, of course, beer. We downed out drinks and food/fuel, only to carry on to the Flatiron District because this is where the Museum of Sex was. Yes, I really really really wanted to see this exhibit and even printed off coupons for it. It was a blast! There was tons of people and even had a cute little bar in the basement called the Aphrodisiac Cafe. I highly recommend this place if you ever go. Check it out here

After this, we were sooooo tired. We walked outside and all we wanted was a dive bar and an alcoholic beverage. So, within stumbling distance was this pub/restaurant that advertised creole food and whiskey. We were sold. We walked in and the entire restaurant was covered in plastic SO we take a seat at the bar. The bartender, this cute bubbly brunette, promptly said "we have no food and no draught beer." So, I , of course said, "do you have vodka?" A quick nod was all it took and Allan and were downing doubles within the next 10 minutes. The bartender, we'll call her Jane, was hilarious. She's pouring us shots like crazy and my doubles turned into vodka on the rocks, without the rocks. We left about two hours later and could hardly walk. It was excellent.

That night passed by in a blur. We went to a comedy show after the drinks, then for dinner, then to a bar called Houlihan's. We stumbled back to the hotel around 3:00 am and promptly passed out, sleeping through the hotel fire alarm, which went off at 4:00am. (Lucky for us it was a false alarm and unlucky for everyone else who had to stand outside, in the cold, for an hour....)

We were both very sick the next day and, since it was my last day there, AND we were scheduled to see a NY Rangers game at Madison Square Gardens, we dragged our sorry butts out of bed and left the hotel around 3:00pm. On the way to the game, we realized that a beverage was absolutely necessary (I know you understand what I mean...) so found this AMAZING pub called the Houndstooth Pub. It was just down the street from MSG and the decor (and food menu) just totally struck a chord. After the game, which the Ottawa Senators won shall I add, we went back to the Houndstooth Pub with some of Allan's co-workers and had some drinks and ate dinner. (If you're wondering, I had ribs and they were totally worth the heartburn!!!)

That pretty much sums up the shortest vacation ever. Oh, my only regret was not purchasing the awesome Dior palette I saw at the Duty Free Shop in the Vancouver airport. (For some reason, I thought they would have it there in New York...but, alas, no...) Oh well, maybe my next trip I'll pick it up..

xo (Sorry for the lack of pictures, we didn't really take too many on the second and third days.)

PS - this picture has nothing to do with our second day in New York but I forgot to post it the other day. Check this out....Allan ordered deep-fried macaroni and cheese balls with cheese sauce for dip....it's a plate of heartache and it was so yummy

The Shortest Vacation

How do I begin explaining our 3 and a half day vacation to New York, except by saying that it was FABULOUS.

Never, in my life, have I ever seen so many cabs in one place...or people, for that matter. Everyone driving is honking at one another, even if they're parked at red lights, and pedestrians literally walk like they're the only ones on the street. (They also have this funny habit of waiting for the walk sign to change from red to green in the middle of oncoming traffic....very very very odd.)

As you all know, I made a list of all the things I wanted to see and do while in New York. I'm happy to report that Allan and I completed almost all of those things and more. Here are a few pictures I'd like to share with you.

I was soooooo excited Thursday afternoon. Here I am sitting at the airport bar, drinking vodka sodas, waiting for our plane to board. This is my classic "excited" face. Allan says I looked this way the entire 5 hour plane ride.

Now, my classic "excited" face might be funny, but this is a classic Allan face. To me, he looks very pensive. Either way, he travels a lot for work, so airports are his second home.

Cab ride to the hotel in Weehawken, New Jersey. No, we didn't stay in Manhattan, as nice as that would have been BUT our hotel was at the base of the ferry terminal and for only $8.50 per ride, we got a direct pass across the water into the heart of downtown...not too shabby. Oh, I should also mention that the drivers in New York are CRAZY....our cab driver was driving at about 100 km AND taking corners at the same speesd....I was too excited to be scared but, come to think of it, he definitely freaked me out.

Our hotel room...

Our hotel room part 2...

Our hotel room bed and Allan. Yes, that is a free gift on the bed.

Our free gift turned out to be a doll bed as there was an American Girl Convention in New York at the same time as our trip. Lucky us....

Our hotel room bathroom...

YAY, our first morning in New York. I was way too excited to sleep so I was up by 8 am (5 am pacific time) and demanded that Allan get up too. First stop was the Bagel Smashery in Hoboken, a neighboring town to Weehawken.

I discovered the Bagel Smashery while doing a search for the "best breakfast in New Jersey". This little cafe popped up first. I actually told the owner this and she was super excited about it, in fact we had a very long conversation about the internet and what I typed in to find them. I'm sure you can tell by the name BUT they actually smash your bagel, like a panini sandwich, and you eat it all hot and gooey. Yummy....Allan and I both had egg, bacon/sausage, and cheese on our flat bagel. This place is definitely worth a stop in for sure....

After breakfast we went to the ferry terminal and caught our first boat to Manhattan. The ride was short, about 10 minutes, and then, once docked, we started our first long walk of the weekend. First stop was Times Square. This picture really doesn't do justice BUT the sole purpose of us being on this strip was for the MASSIVE Sephora store. So, in we went....

This Sephora was huge. I don't think I can explain it any other way. They had, at least, 20 people working the floor and even more behind the multiple tills. Prior to leaving Vancouver, I'd made the decision to buy the 2010 Sephora Blockbuster BUT after looking around, I purchased the Tarte Blockbuster instead. This jewelry box palette has:

16 full-sized metallic eye shadows

16 full-sized matte eye shadows

8 lip glosses

Full-sized mineral bronzer in Park Avenue Princess

Full-sized highlighting powder in Soft Pink

5 long-wearing eye liners

*Plus a cute black and gold necklace

This is, quite possibly, the most complete palette I've seen in a long time. Either way, I am soooo

happy with this purchase.

After Sephora, I was rather tired. (Shopping does get tiring.) So, Allan and I went for some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe at Times Square. I proceed to start my weekend of binge drinking on a high note with an Absinthe Pina Colada. As tasty as it was, I felt my toes curling after one, so I finished our lunch with two double vodka sodas.....not too bad for it only being about noon.

After drinks, we went to the biggest Macy's I've ever seen. The crowds were outrageous and the store was frightfully hot, but I was determined to find a new handbag. We braved the people and pushed our way to the handbag section. Now, I've been on a metallic kick for the past few weeks and really wanted to find a metallic bag. I was looking high and low, and the, in a clearance bin I spotted a cute, cross-body bronze metallic bag on sale for $55. I grabbed the bag, tried it on in the mirror, and fell in love. I took my bag to the till and bought it for the very low price of $19.84 (I KNOW...can you believe it??? This Fossil bag was about $89 regularly but with all the additional discounts, I definitely lucked out.) As soon as we bought this, we left the store thinking someone might assume we stole it.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur. More drinks, more walking, lots of subway rides and a Central Park tour. Check these out...

Dilapidated subway....

Subway (Metro) train...

Central Park Fountain...

Belvedere Castle in Central Park and my leg attacking it....

About half way through our Central Park adventure I needed, quite desperately, to find a ladies' room. This is the absolute dirtiest, most creepy bathroom I have ever seen. I made Allan stand outside the door, talking to me, since I was squatting right below a ceiling that looking like it was caving in....

Dirtiest bathroom part 2...

Well, this pretty much sums up day 1 of the New York adventure. There will be more tales to come, my friends!!!

xo

New York, Here We Come......

I know that some of you may already know, since my countdown began on Facebook about a week ago, but I leave for New York tomorrow. YAY!!!!

Since I was 5, there've been three places I've wanted to visit: Italy, France and New York. And, after all this time, I'm FINALLY knocking off one location.

I have literally been planning our trip by myself (sorry Allan but you know it's true) since about three weeks ago AND have planned everything from where we're going to eat, drink, visit, shop and sightsee. Here's a few things we have planned:

1) Since Audrey Hepburn is my idol, I want to see the Tiffany's store that she stood in front of in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

2) Eat at a pasta restaurant in Little Italy, attempt to finish a deli sandwich from one of the many fantastic deli's in Manhattan AND brunch at Shopsins. (Have NEVER heard of Shopsins before until I began researching online and OMG, the food looks fantastic. I am DYING to try the Mo'Betty....Check them out here!)

3) See Central Park, and in particular, Belvedere Castle as well as the giant Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Centre.

4) Shop at the HUGE Sephora store, Chanel Outlet Store and Century 21....

Big list, I know, for such a short time but we're going to do our best. I am saying goodbye until Monday, my friends, but be prepared for some great pics and fun stories...

xo

Dear Santa......

I'm lying down on my couch, typing away, staring at my beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

Yes, I'm one of those individuals that puts their tree up many weekends before Christmas to enjoy the time I have with it. It sounds funny, I know, but Allan and I are leaving for New York in two days for a mini-vacation and then, we'll be in Toronto for Christmas, which means that I don't even get a full month with all my pretty decorations....well, snowmen to be exact.

I am obsessed with Snowmen. Some people like Santas, or Reindeer, or Penguins, but I like Snowmen. They have to be cute, have their own unique personality and above all, have a really great pecker. (I, of course, mean a great nose......man, get your mind out of the gutter...ha). All of my snowmen are hand-picked by either me, of those who know me well, and this snowman theme is what decorates my tree.

As I'm sitting her, typing away, looking at the cute snowman AND drinking hot chocolate, I'm also thinking about pressies. I love giving gifts, absolutely, but also really really really enjoy receiving them. So, Santa, here's the list this year.....

1. NARS Body Glow. I have been eyeing this for months and months but never seem to purchase for myself. (I think the $80 price tag might have something to do with it...) Either way, this product is a multi-use body bronzer. Not only can it applied directly out of the bottle BUT add a cap full to your bath tub and emerge with bronzed, shimmery skin. I love it...

2. Lancome's Renergie Microlift R.A.R.E spf 15 Cream. This day cream is one of the most phenomenal skin products I have ever used. Now, I am definitely far from the "loss of firmness" that this cream prevents but I also think it's never too early to begin a regime preventing this downfalls. Plus, when the cream goes on this smooth and silky, it's hard to say no. (Again, me and my expensive taste. This little jar is priced at $110.)

3. The Sephora Collection Endless Color Blockbuster. This is just one of those items that I want every single December. It's jam packed with over 187 products and they're all in one handy-dandy carrying case. This year, they've added 13 new products and created a less breakable case making this item definitely worth it's $60 price tag.

4. Calvin Klein Beauty Body Lotion. Since I wrote about the fragrance last week, I won't bore you with all the details again but this is MY fragrance. It's taken me 28 years but I have actually found my number one fragrance. (Aside from Coco Mademoiselle that is...) So, I would love the body lotion to go along with my fragrance. Priced at $60 which isn't too bad...

5. MAC Happily Ever After Lip Kit. I don't typically like lip kits because the quality of the gloss is never that great, but after trying this bad boy out, I was pleasantly surprised. The colors are great, light and go with everything plus the tartan case is way too cute. The palette includes Endless Fun (sheer frosty pink), Cheers All Around (bright candy pink), and To Joy (medium pink). Priced at only $25, this might be a gift to myself this year...ha.

Everyone has a wish list at Christmas time. Most of these items will not be under the tree (which is fine by me) but it's still nice to dream. Tell me, ladies, what's on your list to Santa this year?

Christmas Cheer in November

Saturday night was my first holiday party of the season.

Let me begin by saying that Christmas is my ABSOLUTE favorite time of year; I adore this holiday. I love everything from the Christmas Carols, gift wrapping, and baking to freezing your butt off when you step outside the door. But, the best thing about the holidays is eating amazing food and drinking warm bevvies with friends.

A girlfriend and I planned a holiday get-together for our circle of friends this past weekend. Long story short, everyone piled over to our house for some pre-drinks and Mario Kart Battles before we all made the long trek to Langley for the Olive Garden Restaurant. My girlfriend also planned a Secret Santa gift exchange, with a $15 limit,

which took place right after we ordered

dinner.

My other good friend, Carmen, was my Secret Santa, so how excited was I when a cute black and white Sephora bag was placed in front of me??? And let me just say, ladies, that the present was adorable!!! The black bag housed some Boscia Peppermint Blotting Linens (an absolute must-have for anyone who gets oily during the day) and a Sephora Color Wand in Siren. The color wand is awesome for the girl who loves manyl different shades of gloss...(Ahem....me, of course.) It contains 6 different mini-glosses in a long, slender tube. To access, you twist the color you want and PRESTO a little sponge applicator appears at the bottom of the gloss above. It's purse-sized and packs tons of glossy options in one container. (This product is the perfect excuse for me to clean out my bag before New York.)

Needless to say, the first Christmas party of the season was smashing!

The Scent of CK Beauty

This weekend passed by in a blur.

We (Allan and me) were super busy since my parents were here for the entire weekend. I don't get to see them too often so we had a super fun time playing Wii, drinking, eating great food and socializing.

My mom, who knows me so well and has obviously been paying close attention to my Christmas list, brought me a bottle of Calvin Klein Beauty, my newest favorite fragrance. Seriously, I love this scent. It's been a long time since I loved a CK fragrance and for some reason, this one is really topping my list.

I love floral scents and this one is the first one I've smelled in a long time that's not too sweet. the fragrance has a hint of ambrette seed and jasmine as well as a cedar base. It's feminine, romantic and sultry all at the same time and I've been wearing it non-stop since receiving it on Friday. I'm even wearing it to bed! (Lucky Allan....)

If you're like me and love floral scents I HIGHLY recommend it. The bottle comes in three sizes: 30, 50 and 100 mL, as well as the accompanying products (body lotion and shower cream). Check it out ladies!!!

What is your signature scent? Is there a fragrance that you always seem to gravitate towards?

Intriguing Animals....HA

Alright, I am so in love with this dog. Look at his funny face.....seriously, have you ever seen a dog do this with his mouth before? Either way, had to share it....

Second favorite picture of the day....zombie baby. I don't think I have ever seen a cat so docile before. This beats Cleopatra Cat without a doubt.

Razors: The Good and The Bad

If you're at all like me then you've spent countless dollars on shave foams, creams, gels, cartridges, disposable razors of every brand and even those new fangled electric razors and still you aren't getting the close shave you're after.

If you're all at like me then you've probably decided that shaving is a waste of time and going "au natural" is the way to go......Okay, maybe I'm not there yet but, less be honest, if I still have to shave every day without ever having smooth skin, I'm starting a shaving strike. (Sorry Allan.....)

I purchased three razors (two women's and one men's), thinking one of them was bound to give a close shave. First, the Gillette Venus Embrace, secondly, the Schick Intuition Plus and thirdly, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide. After purchasing, I decided to use each razor for two weeks and track the results. Here's the scoop.....

Week 1 - 2: The Venus Embrace

You can definitely tell the razor is marketed for women. Not only are the colors pretty BUT it comes with a handy-dandy suction cup holder. Perfect if you shave in the shower!! Having said that, first thing I noticed was the handle. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand, all the while making it easy to shave with. Unfortunately, the praise ends here. The head of the razor is angled oddly which makes shaving your under arms VERY difficult. (It seemed to leave little hairs behind.) Shaving my legs was fine, especially along my knees but stubble was still there even after I thoroughly shaved. All in all, I give this razor a 6 out of 10.

Week 2 - 4: Schick Intuition Plus

Man, I wanted to love this razor, I really did. It was such a great idea to have a nice smelling moisture bar surrounding the razor thus making shaving a breeze. Unfortunately, this razor fell very flat and I mean this literally as I went through an entire moisture bar in less than a week. Seriously, now I know that we are supposed to change a blade every week but seriously, I lost the entire moisture bar portion before the blade was even dull. Very irritating. Another thing, the handle was abnormally large which made shaving a nightmare. All in all, Schick failed for me and I give this razor a 3 out of ten.

Week 4 - 6: Gillette Fusion ProGlide

I love this razor. Yes, it men's and yes, it doesn't come in girly prints or colors, but man, does it ever give a close shave. The handle is very thin, which can sometimes make under arm shaving a little awkward, but I have never had legs that felt this smooth before. However, because it uses a thinner blade, it does get dull a tad quicker than its competitors BUT, that aside, it did give me the close shave I was after. All in all, I give this razor a 9 out of 10 and will be continuing my romance with this bad boy.

**Quick tip: I am prone to razor bumps in my arm pits. They are the most unsightly thing ever if you're wearing anything without sleeves. My miracle in a bottle is Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil. I shave my under arms in the evening, rub some of this on immediately after and wake up to razor burn-free skin. Not only that but it enables me to shave less often since the hair doesn't grow back as quickly. Honestly, try this product out. It's fabulous.

Tell me what you're using? Does it work? I am always open to trying something new.....

Best $20 Purse-Sized Compact....EVER!

Have you ever seen a bug zapper before? For some reason, every insect within a 1 mile radius is drawn, instinctively almost, to that strange glowing light emanating from the device.

The Sephora Collection is my strange glowing light.

Whenever I go into Sephora, I gravitate towards the Collection without even thinking. I load up my little hand basket, almost instinctively, with goodies that I don't need and leave with a big bill and a spinning head. On one of these excursions I found something quite noteworthy though... The Sephora Collection Color to Go Red Edition Palette.

This bad boy comes with 8 eye shadows (all metallic and highly pigmented), 4 lip colors and 1 blush. Best of all is that it's purse sized!! There are 3 different palettes, though I only have two of them. The red palette (my personal fave), the black palette which are the cool tones and the pink palette (supporting breast cancer research.) All are a ridiculously good buy at only $20.

And, they are the perfect gift for Christmas too! Trust me, I've bought 4 for gifts already.....

Naughty Naughty Girl

I've been a really really bad girl.

It's been way too long since I last posted and thought I should explain myself.

My real job has been absolutely crazy lately meaning I've been working overtime almost everyday, including weekends. But, as of yesterday, no more overtime!!!!

So, starting tomorrow, you can anticipate new exciting blog posts!

Thanks again, everyone, for your patience and understanding.

xo

My AVON Experience

I was 12 when I bought my first AVON lip color.

I was vacationing with my sister and grandparents in a beautiful place called Camano Island in Washington. The Island planned a huge flea market one weekend of every summer and, like always, the four of us attended. As we're wandering through, I stopped at a booth covered in lipsticks. I bought a bronze lip color that was shaped like a pencil, and wore it all summer long. That was my first AVON encounter and my last, as I never bought an AVON product since.

Until last week....

I've been hearing about how great their products are for weeks from a friend of mine who had just ordered some moisturizers for next to nothing. So, she gave me a whole stack of magazines to go through and I spent about two days perusing AND making a list of items I wanted. AVON, at least to me, has always had a stigma....you know, like an"old lady cosmetic line". Since receiving, and using, my new products, this stigma has completely disappeared. Here are a few things I purchased:

MARK Touch & Glow Shimmer Cream Cubes. This palette was designed to give your skin a natural glow and luminosity. Seriously, it's fabulous. There are 9 different colors in the compact that you can either swirl together and apply all over, or individually as highlighters or shadows. It's easy to use AND, most important, not messy since it's a cream to powder formula.

MARK On The Dot Eye Color Compact. This palette combines 9 different colors, all metallic might I add, eye shadows. I haven't used all the colors but the compact itself is small, fits in a purse and was worth the $15.

MARK Just Pinched Instant Blush Tint in Sunny. It still amazes me that I've never used a blush stick before now. Sunny, the color, is a nice red-brown that works well with red lips. It goes on creamy and blends easily to give a sheer color. It was only $7 by the way.

AVON Nail Experts Lemon Fortifier. Never again will I subject my nails to a hardener other than this one. It gives your nail a nice shine AND brightens them at the same time. Plus, the hardener actually lasts for days on the nail without peeling. I love it and it was only $4.99

AVON Smooth Minerals Foundation in Soft Ivory. Alright, so I haven't tried this product yet BUT if the color is good for Reese Witherspoon (who is the face of this product) than the color will be perfect for me too. I'll keep you posted.

What about you? Have you tried AVON before? Let me know your thoughts...