Highlights

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When it rains, it pours. To say that this week was a bit overwhelming is an understatement. Though I’m trying to keep positive (it is the holidays after all) December is off to a rough start.  Where do I begin? I’d like to rant for a bit if you don’t mind…

  1. For the last 3 months, I’ve been trying to find out why my allergies have been bothering me as soon as I hit my head to the pillow every night. Every. Single. Night. Without. Fail. It got the point that I was on medication for a while to help with the discomfort and started desperately digging for causes. I already avoid “down”-anything like the plague because me and feathers just don’t mix. I washed my sheets, cleaned everything I could think of, minus my comforter because I had it dry cleaned recently. And note to self: don’t read about dust mites on your phone at 4:00am when you can’t sleep and start researching bed allergens to pass the time. I suppose the good news is that I’ve located the source after months of torture this week and realized it was that damn comforter all along! It was the first time I’d taken it to the cleaners since buying it and apparently whatever chemicals they used to dry clean it didn’t make my sinuses happy… At. All.
  2. On top of my allergies, I’ve been dealing with the “joys of being a woman.” I won’t go into detail about what specifically, and it’s certainly not life threatening and very much a common “joy” that comes with being a woman, but suffice to say – in my next life I want to be a man! Thank god I have great health insurance and a Cedars Siani doctor I can email at any time.
  3. I walked out to my car yesterday morning and there was a lovely note on it from my parking space neighbor. It wasn’t a simple “hello!” or “I love your car!” No, it was what I had dreaded. As soon as I saw the paper tucked into my windshield wiper, my stomach dropped. I was hoping it was an annoying flyer for psychic healing services or something. But no. No one else in the parking lot had a “flyer.” It was, in fact, a note letting me know that my parking space neighbor hit my car while parking hers the night before. The reason I’m not furious is because I’m beyond grateful that the damage was mild and that she actually left me a note with authentic contact information (and actually answered the phone and took total responsibility!). I’ve been burned by this before. Not too long ago,  I come out one day and my then still pretty brand new-ish car had a nice sexy dent in it without a note so that I could get it fixed. (Asshole). My insurance company couldn’t help either based on my deductible. The damage would be less than it so I’d have to cover the repairs entirely. So despite battling #1 and #2 above, I’m just more annoyed by the inconvenience – the taking the time to get an estimate and now finding the time to get it fixed during an already crazy busy month.

I suppose that with anything, perspective is key. With every scenario that made this week a complete and total pain, there was and is a silver-lining. I have my health (at least the whole I’m still breathing/alive aspect to it), I have health insurance, and there are still good people in the world who own up to their responsibilities when they make a mistake. Not only did she immediately offer to pay for the damages to my car, she emailed me a list of highly rated auto body shops in our area within just a few hours of speaking to be helpful.

Boy, am I glad it’s the weekend…

Birchbox Review | November

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How the latest and greatest in beauty made my November feel a little bit more gorgeous…or not so much.

Product reviews are from left to right.


DDF® Amplifying Elixir | When I saw DDF in my box, I got a little more than excited based purely on reputation alone. Wow, the DDF. In my Birchbox. Turns out, there wasn’t too much get excited about. My first stint with the famous DDF brand was experimenting with their Amplifying Elixir used after cleansing and just before moisturizing. The product touts that it “transforms skin, boosting its natural moisture barrier up to 50%” (whatever that means!). To give it some credit, this may be a product that takes frequent use over a period of time to really notice anything happening, but I wasn’t impressed. It burns upon application and makes my skin feel a bit sticky. This product retails for $70. For that cost, I should be more assured by now. This is a pass. Just use a good moisturizer and you’ll be fine!

Tiossan Body Cream | This is a really nice body cream.  I received it in the “Terranga” scent, which I wasn’t too crazy about at first use, but decided it wasn’t too  bad after all. It has a great texture and went on silky smooth without any residual greasiness (don’t you just hate that in a lotion!?!). The reason I’ll stop writing any further about this product is that it’s $38.00 for the full size. Mind you, full-sized is a mere 6.5 oz. No body cream is worth all that, unless it’s made of gold.

theBalm® cosmetics Stainiac | This did absolutely nothing for me. Aside from the fact that I’m really over “lip/cheek stain combo” products in general because they never seem to work with my skin tone – I didn’t like the way the product felt upon application nor the shade I received, “Beauty Queen.” It didn’t show up on my lips very well and when I went back to look at my lips mere minutes later after several layers of applications, what did faintly show up 5 minutes before was gone. Perhaps this would work better on a gal with very fair skin; but if you have some color to your skin, like myself, skip this product. It’s worthless.

Color Club® Harlem Lights Collection | If you recall, from my very first review of Color Club’s nail polish, I’m a fan. I continue to share this sentiment as I’ve begun experimenting with their “Baldwin Blues” shade in their Harlem Lights Collection. It’s my first time playing with dark blue nails, and I’ve been having too much fun with this color! A huge perk worth noting? This polish was on for almost a week before I noticed my first chip!

Folle de Joie eau de parfum | Folle de Joie which means “Crazy With Joy” in French makes me happy just thinking about the name. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something unique about this scent. It’s light, fresh, floral, but citrus-y. I was surprised this product came in my Birchbox so late in the year. I know Birchbox’s aim when curating samples is to think about season and themes when selecting products. This fragrance, although okay year-round, would pair nicely with Spring and Summer. I think a bit more drama is necessary in fragrances as we approach winter. As much I like the sample and will contiue to enjoy it, this product retails for $98. There are too many other exciting fragrances on the market to justify the nearly $100 cost at this time. Either way, it makes me crazy with joy!

Ahmad Assorted Teas | What was right on time and themed appropriately to the chilly temperatures developing outside was Ahmad’s tea assortment. As of writing time, I’ve only sampled the English Breakfast and no complaints here.  I found the sample flavorful and bold. I’m anxious to try the Black Raspberry next. In fact, tonight might be the perfect time to head home after a long day and brew a spot of tea. Baby, it’s cold outside!

Photo Diary: Thanksgiving Weekend

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{A Thanksgiving feast!}

Rather than do the traditional turkey feast, Thanksgiving was a Honey Baked Ham-filled weekend; complete with the best Bristol Farms sides ever! No shame here, we cheated and bought a wonderful catered holiday meal that we ate in many variations for the next 4 days straight. This is the caveat when you order a lot of food for only 2 people – leftover central. Ham and eggs for breakfast, ham and mashed potatoes for dinner. Every. Single. Night.

When we weren’t eating, we spent plenty of time watching movies, reading, sleeping, okay, a little more eating; and yes, general all around laziness as needed. I tried to build a weekend that would bring equal parts fun and relaxation to keep things lively, yet un-rushed. Mission accomplished.

Here’s my Thanksgiving weekend photo diary.  And p.s. I can’t even look at another piece of ham for quite some time.

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{Picking up the highlight of our Thanksgiving feast – the Honey Baked Ham got a special seat. }

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{Pumpkin pie fresh out of the oven.}

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{A stocked fridge of Bristol Farms sides. (Please excuse how ridiculously cluttered my fridge looks in this pic!)}

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{Some of the weekend’s entertainment: The Princess Bride, Ghostbusters 2 and Mary Poppins were too much fun perfect for light entertainment!}

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{Cranberry Apple Cider, the remote control, and a stack of movies.}

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{Holiday reading material.}

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{A trip to Lake Balboa to take in the view and burn some of those Holiday calories.}

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{And last, but not least: A stop to the place were Angelenos go for holiday cheer! A visit to see the 100 foot tall Christmas Tree at The Grove!}

Happy Holidays!!!