Sick and in Bed

That's right folks, I feel like death right now. I woke up with a sore throat and it just went down hill from there. I'm in bed right now and this is pretty much my set up:

I haven't even eaten dinner yet and it's nine-thirty. I have the aches, sore throat, and I'm pretty sure I have a temperature. The only good thing is I don't have to go to work tomorrow. However, I do have to bring my car to the shop to get a tire replaced, and I hate going there. 

The mountain of homework I have has not budged at all, it has been slow going this week, and being sick sort of throws a wrench in my weekend plan to haul ass. Twelve more days, twelve more days. 

So there seems to be a lot of weird news today, AT&T was voted the worst cell phone carrier in the United States...I had no problems with them but who knows. I think all cellphone companies suck. 

Lindsay Lohan got arrested for hitting a psychic in the face at a club I believe. Which isn't really news in her case, it is just another day for this crazy girl. She needs help, serious help. The judge will be doing the right thing if they put her in jail and keep her there. Don't let her out early, she has proven she can't handle herself. And don't use the overflowing excuse. 

What else?

My boss asked me to come up with two crafts for next week that are winter themed. I chose these two and I think they will be adorable! 

Other than that...I'm going to go be sick with Charlie sleeping next to me. Have a good weekend everyone. 

Is "Fifty Shades of Grey" Doing Women a Favor?

Now, I have only read the first two out of three in the series but so far, so interesting! Written by E L James, this series gives us a peek into the life of Anastasia Steele and what happens when she meets Christian Grey. It takes place in Seattle for the most part, which is refreshing for any story really. Although Twilight takes place in Washington state so I guess we could say there is a trend beginning to happen. 

Christian Grey is a filthy rich and handsome CEO with some major dirty secrets. Of course as predictable as a romance can be, Anastasia ends up filling in for her best friend who is sick and was supposed to interview Mr. Grey. So Anastasia goes in, spills her coffee and lets just say it is a done deal from there. 

It becomes a world of lavish gifts, fancy dinners, helicopter rides, and sex. A lot of sex. Like unreasonable amounts of it. 

So this is where my title to this post comes in. Come on really? This plot has got to be about the most unrealistic thing I've ever read. Sure, older rich men get with younger girls all the time. That is nothing new, but do they have to both be really good looking? Does he have to be half a crazy person? 

I think what is more unlikely for me is that despite all of the crazy that Christian has under his belt - the two of them are madly in love in the span of a couple weeks. 

I know, I know. It is just a couple of books. However, it has become a huge craze just like the Twilight and Hunger Games series have been. People love to become richly involved in these stories, and is it not possible that this trilogy is giving women a false hope? A hope that one day they will meet a rich man who will buy them a car and have insane sex with? Sure in theory that sounds great, but it isn't real life. At least not for the majority of us. 

If I went through the first book alone and counted how many times the two of them had sex, I'd probably come out with like 30. Remember, the first books is only a few weeks. Could you imagine? And that keeps up well-through the second book - it probably doubles. 

I think it is nice to get lost in a love story, but this is no ordinary love story. In the first book the characters begin to speak about not being able to live without each other. Their love, without giving too much away, is very desperate. That is the feeling I get anyways. They are frantically in love, they are more focused on how afraid they'd be to be without each other. It is probably the most unhealthy relationship you could envision minus any beatings...well, I guess I'll let you be the judge of that. 

Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed the books so far and I intend on reading the third one. I just think it brings up a topic worth discussing. Let me know what your thoughts are? Have you read the books? Will you?

Mini Beauty Haul

Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving! I spent last night after dinner building my new dresser from Ikea! It took me 2.5 hours but it finally is done. I'll put some pictures down below. On to more important things! 

I needed to run out and buy myself some Benadryl because I have these terrible red bumps and I'm incredibly itchy. So obviously, I picked up some make-up to go with :) 

I cannot seem to stay away from the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I bought a red one named "Romance", which is so perfect. I adore this color, it is the perfect red for going out during the day. It isn't too big of a statement. 

Now, I have been hearing for some time about how wonderful the Wet and Wild Eyeshadow Palettes are. I have been impressed by the swatches I was seeing too, so when I saw this one I decided to give it a go. 

Sadly, my local pharmacy only has about three or four of them and I know there are others out there. "Comfort Zone" definitely caught my eye though. 

Look at those colors! They are stunning, and I was so excited about the duo-chrome color on the bottom right. It is like a dark green/teal with brown/cranberry duo-chrome. All these colors no matter how you match them are incredible and so many new eye looks can be made!

Left side of palette top to bottom going from right to left

Right side of palette top to botton
 going from right to left

Natural light 

The applicator comes with a brush

....and a sponge side

If you notice, the above two pictures show the bottom right color as a totally different color. That is the duo-chrome in direct sunlight. 

The pigmentation of these are insane and I am sure they are 100 times better with a base. They are very soft and you just have to tap the shadow to pick up a ton of color. I would worry about some fallout because they are such soft shadows, but that is nothing a tissue or foundation can't fix. 

The Revlon Balm Stain was $9.99 and the Wet and Wild Palette was $5.49, both of which were bought with my own money :)

Frame of the dresser

Charlie's version of helping

Thanksgiving Eve

So a friend of mine reminded me that Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest bar night of the year. Did you participate?

I did! In fact I just got home, but I had an amazing time. I am actually smiling right now because I had such a good time.

Don't you just love those kinds of nights?

My best friend and I went to a local bar and we had the best time, it's times like these that I'm so lucky to still have her in my life after 10 years or so.

So what are your Thanksgiving plans?

I'm going to my Aunt's house and as classic Italians do...dinner is at 3 :)

I hope you have an amazing holiday!

Nail Polish Collection Part 1

This post has been in the works for a while but I finally found some time to sit down and swatch each color on white paper. I know it isn't the same as seeing it on the nail or in the bottle, which is why part two will be pictures of the actual bottles.

However, I think on a white background you can really see what the true color of it is. I think when looking at nail polish on different skin tones and colors it can change a little. So here is my collection! Enjoy!

November Birchbox *Give*

November Birchbox is here! I love getting this little box in the mail, it is such a treat. Plus, today it came at the same time as my tiny little Sephora order came :) 

So where to begin? This month's theme is give, which I think couldn't come at a better time when so many people are in need, especially after the storms. This month Birchbox is supporting the Art of Elysium which is a non-profit who has artists and musicians and designers put time and talent towards kids who have different medical conditions. I have heard about this through the palettes that Kat Von D had designed for this non profit and I love the idea behind this group. 

The first item I saw was this Oscar Blandi pronto Texture & Volume Spray. I thought it was a hairspray at first but it is just what it says it is. You spray it to get that tousled look, which I love and it might be a good trick for my now shorter hair!

This I just couldn't save until the end because I thought this was a great idea. For the extra, they gave me a sample of men's cologne to give to a guy friend. That way they get a little something and then they could learn more about Birchbox (since there is a box that guys can get which actually looks awesome). This is Artisan by John Varvatos and the card says it is a "modern blend of energizing citrus and warm woods". I love the smell and if my brother or dad don't like it, I might just wear it myself!

The next item totally blew me away because it was a full size lip gloss! The brand is ModelCo which I've never heard of but it is an Australian brand and I've seen that in some boxes people are getting this brand's full size mascara instead of the gloss! This is a bright hot pink with pink and silver shimmer, thankfully no chunky glitter. The best part? The tube has a mirror on! The gloss is the tiniest bit tacky but not sticky and it looks so juicy on the lips. The color is actually called Showgirl Red.

Then instead of the standard wrapped part of the box, they included this cute purple gift envelope that once you are done with you can use to give someone a gift. The idea is to take your other products out of there first. I feel like come people might actually get confused. 

Inside the envelope I found two hand soaps by Caldrea which I feel like I've heard of before but I'm not sure. There is one called Sea Salt Neroli No. 17, which on the back says inspired by "bright clear mornings at the shore". The second one is a limited edition scent, Vanilla Quince Santal which I am very excited to try. 

Finally, the last item is from One Love Organics, which I've been wanting to try. It is their Aromatic Body Serum in Rose (my favorite scent!) and it is made with pumpkin seed and sea buckthorn oil. It smells incredible, and it doesn't leave your skin greasy. It is also a spray which I love. 

Then to top it all off there was a bonus! They included a Holiday 2012 Gift Guide which is so cute and has some good ideas for men and women. Then they gave a coupon to Chromatic Gallerie which is a website where you can build your own pair of heels for $88! You can pick the heel height, color, material, and it is awesome. It gives you $15 off and a friend $15 off but I'm gonna share the code with all of you! On the website just type in Birchbox15 and do it before December 31, 2012.

Treehouse

This is a long overdue post but I am very excited to share this with anyone and everyone. I have found that my passions have since grown and my love for the internet and design has finally caught up with me. So what better way to combine the two than making and designing websites?

Well the problem was I didn't know how to build one.

That is where Treehouse came in! I was doing searches to find a place online where I could learn how to code. I have tried Codeacademy but I wanted something different and once I found Treehouse I was hooked. Treehouse uses videos for their learning, you pretty much sit in on a lecture and then afterwards you take quizzes on the things you just learned.

Sometimes you will even mimic what you learned through an activity where you code and can see the result at the same time.

It is the best of both worlds for those of us who learn by listening and those who learn by doing. The best part is they let you see them writing the code on your screen and you can follow along and do it on your computer with them.

What is great is they use badges for each of their lessons, so there is an incentive to try and gain all of them. They have a blog that is so informational and they include videos and interviews all the time. They offer web

You can sign up for free and browse the videos they have posted for free users or you can become a paid member. It is $25 a month for the Silver level and $50 a month for the Gold level. I only recommend this is you are truly serious about learning programming. However, Treehouse has held a domestic and international scholarship program. I was one of the lucky individuals to be given a two year "scholarship" to the website.

Programming and web design are two amazing fields that people should start embracing. It is a growing industry and there are projects and companies all over who are trying to get this sort of education out to the kids and public.

Below I'll list the Silver and Gold plans for the site. You can check them out and their amazing blog at teamtreehouse.com.

Screenshot from the website

Why I Think People Should Vote

huffingtonpost.com

I am not going to sit here and lecture you on who you should vote for and I won't say that you absolutely 100% have to vote. 

Hear me out.

People go around saying that voting is one of the greatest rights we have as citizens of the United States, but I don't think people truly understand why. Sure - our vote doesn't directly go to the person we vote for. It goes to our state's delegates who then vote based on what their state chooses. 

That is just it - we tell the delegates how to vote - we decide which party and representative we want. If Connecticut is predominately voting Democrat then the delegates have the responsibility to represent our choice and vote Democrat. Which means that candidate gets the state. 

So yes, your vote counts. 

More than that though, it is a way to reaffirm your beliefs. It is a way to stand up against the policies of someone you don't agree with and side with the one you do. 

We all have different opinions and that is okay. Instead of sitting on our butts and arguing about them, go do something about it. 

Yes, I am going to vote for our current President because I identify with his policies and opinions. Am I saying if you vote for Romney you are wrong? Absolutely not. You have a different set of beliefs and opinions and things you stand for and I respect that. 

The only time I speak out is if you attack my position with false information or things that are factually incorrect or you tell me I am wrong. 

That is when I get to stand up and put you in your place.

But tonight I'm simply asking you to stand up for what you believe in. 

And if you don't know enough about either candidate and you don't feel comfortable - I think it is okay not to vote. People who don't know what they are voting for shouldn't vote because they still need the time to figure out where they stand. Or maybe they just don't care. If that is the circumstance then I'd rather you stay away from the polls. 

The purpose of voting isn't just for the good of the people but for the good of yourself. 

Do what you have to do, but be proud doing it. 

Birchbox Beauty Haul

I am a little bit late on this post but I made an order on Birchbox because I had about 30 points saved up and that meant I could get $30 off my purchase! I didn't get a ton of stuff but I am very happy with what I did get. 

I have been getting really into black liquid liner and I just love the way it looks and I've been on the search for the perfect brush and formula. I've been using the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner by Urban Decay and as much I love it the brush has started fraying. So this time, I decided to try Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I adore this it is a marker not a brush you take out and this is perfect. It makes the sleekest lines and the formula has the best staying power I've seen. Even an oil based make-up remover had trouble getting it off my hand!

Then I picked up my all time favorite face towelettes by the Yes To brand. These are the Yes To Blueberry cleansing towelettes. They are the age refresh kind and it has apple and lemon peel in them. I really do not like blueberries and their smell but I love these! They don't leave that gross residue that so many do and they are so soft on your skin. This is a holy grail item for sure. 

Now this is hands down my new favorite product. I have been eyeing the stila eyeshadow palettes for a while. There are about four of them - there is the In The Garden, In The Know, In The Moment, and the one I bought was the In The Light palette. 

It comes with a small booklet with a few different eye looks you can do with the colors. It also came with a waterproof smudge stick eyeliner in the color damsel which is a beautiful chocolate brown.

I am in love with these colors. They are all so versatile and there is a mix of matte and shimmery colors.  First row: Bare (matte ivory) Kitten (shimmering nude pink) Bliss (matte nude) Sunset (copper shimmer) Sandstone (matte neutral brown) 

Second row: Champagne (pale gold shimmer) Glided Gold (bronze with gold shimmer) Luster (deep gray with gold shimmer) Night Sky (slate blue with silver shimmer) and Ebony (matte black)

I put swatches down below so you can see how pigmented they are. This is a must have palette if you like neutrals. I really think I have to go get the other three palettes now. It is a little pricey at $39 but well worth it!