Not Quite Bitten

Shade shown: Beloved

In the continuation of finding my new mascara I picked up a few other things, one being the Revlon Just Bitten lip stain. I went with Revlon because it is probably my favorite drugstore brand. I have noticed that anytime I feel the need to grab some new cheap makeup I always end up with Revlon. It is not like I mean to but I will stand there in the drugstore isle for ever comparing one brand to the next and I always settle on Revlon. That being said I have not always been happy with Revlon and I do not solely purchase my things from them. I have a sprinkling of all the drugstore brands in my makeup box ( I am moving and have not been able to get my bathroom in order yet). Revlon can have its faults also and I found an error in their line. Now usually I am obsessed with their lipsticks, that is one thing I know that I normally can not go wrong because I religiously use both their Lip Butter and Color Burst Lip gloss. My theory was proven wrong when I got one of their lip stains Just Bitten. This product is horrible, I am unsure if I just got a fluke one or what the case may be but I can barely find a positive thing to say about it. The applicator has a similar feel to a felt tip pen but produces almost no color. I spent about thirty seconds rubbing this pen over my lips with no results. The weird thing was that it had great pigment when swatched on my hand. So it is safe to say I will be returning this. The one thing I will miss is having a built in primer/ lip balm type thing on the other end of it.

Before Application

After Application [barely any difference]

Great pigment on my hand :(

Mascara Please

Their last picture 

When I travel I like to take things with me that I can use up and throw away wherever I am. This latest trip was my Rimmel London mascara and rose water tonic from Lush turn to go. I had been meaning to get new mascara for months because the one I had just was not doing it for me but I like to procrastinate. So I ran to CVS the day I got back home and let me tell you it is a little overwhelming as I am sure you all know.

or you scare me a lot

CVS you scare me a little

I mean there are so many options, so now I am on the hunt for the perfect mascara. Which means you guys are now along for the wide. My first stop was Maybeline New York and I picked up The Rocket. The Rocket has a pretty wet formula so it goes on with ease. The brush is great because with the way all the little rubber brush bits combine with the wet formula allows for it to apply with no clumps and coating all of my eyelashes. It also has great lasting power, it stays on all day and keeps the same length and volume as the moment I applied it. Yet of course it can't all be good and there are two reasons why I have decided that it is not the mascara for me.

1. It is not the look that I am going for, it is a great everyday look but I was looking for something with a litter bit more va voom if you know what I mean. Yes it gave me a little bit of added volume and length but I want a tad bit heavier look.

2. It is horrible to get off! Have you ever had have mascara that has a rubbery feel to it? Because that was what The Rocket has it came off more in flakes for a while and it took so long to get it off! 

So in the end I am still on a mascara hunt and I would love any suggestions of what works for you!

A Monday Manicure

Since I am the queen of having chipped nails I had to redo my nails again, you will soon notice this is a trend of mine. Keeping up with the fall color theme I went with a yummy plum shade today. It is again from O.P.I. but I must say that I love love love their nail polishes. The colors are fantastic and they when I paint my nails I actually end up with the same color as the bottle and with only two coats! I again used my Butter London top coat which is seriously the best, but it also helps with my chippy Mc chipper nails. Anyone that has super prone to chipping nails please comment with your solutions so far the best I have is this top coat from Butter.

Knit Shop Trouble

As you all know I am in New York and Connecticut for the weekend for a family get together. When I travel like many knitters I bring a project along to work on, and boy do I work on it! Any chance I get I am knitting because that is what I call vacation. This of course means I am knitting during all our family get togethers. All the little ones were so intrigued by it that they wanted to learn how to knit, as did their mother. Being that its a weekend trip I did not have my knitting supplies with me nor did I have the materials to teach three brand new knitters the basics and get them going on a project. So this led us to go to a knit shop and purchase the things we needed. This was not nearly as lovely of an idea as I had original thought. People have always told me that I was spoiled at the knit shop that I frequent back at home but boy did I not believe people until today.
I could not find any yarn anywhere, everything was stuffed into bins and I had no idea what I was grabbing or touching, nor was there any rhyme or reason to were everything was. When we finally went to buy all the items they were so rude it was unbelievable, for  paying customers you would think they would be nice. Not only that but they knew I had a set of brand new knitters with me, you would think they would want to make the experience wonderfully memorable. They only succeeded in the latter but not in a good way. They also proceeded to insult me as a knitter.
But I do not want this to be a total knitting rant so I will stop here on the struggle of the perfect knit shop and focus on the positives. They all ended up loving knitting and are very excited for their upcoming hand warmers. Of course the wittle, wittle six year old gave up on her hat so I am now making it for her but I do not really mind it goes quick anyway. She picked out this beautiful alpaca blend that is stripes of pinks, peaches, and violets. With the way it is knitting up it is getting to have this adorable spiral look to it so she did a great job in yarn choice! I will post pictures of the finished project.

In the end choose your yarn shop well everyone. If you are going to one and are not happy do not be scared to change. There are so many different kinds of yarn shops out there and not everyone is right for you. Find a shop that makes you happy and stick with that one.
To help people find a great shop near them or if you have a LYS horror story I would love to hear about it in the comments!

The beginning is the most important part of the work.
-Pluto

Falling for New York

It was a picturesque day in NYC. The sky was blue, the sun was out, and the leaves were turning. I could not be happier to be here. With the sun out it was not to cold which was a huge plus for me. I started the day at Columbia University and ended up on a stroll through the Central Park. It was a full day of walking through all different parts of the city so I made sure to prepare for the long day that I had ahead of me. With a day that would not allow to check myself out in the mirror called for very simplistic makeup. I went with just some mascara and a fat lip pencil by Tart that I had picked up last fall. It was the perfect color a light but sophisticated berry shade that made me feel like I was a true New Yorker. With the With my chap stick in my pocket and my hat on my head I was ready to begin the day braving the dark underside of NYC otherwise known as the Subway system. I used this handy dandy app I downloaded called Emabark NYC Subway that got to all my stops without fail.

Due to the coldie that I am I had on multiple layers starting with a blush shaded lace dress from Free People (I am pretty sure its lingerie but shh don't tell). With a maroon sweater from Brandy Melville that was a little to long so I knotted up one side, and of course my down-filled jacket from Miss Sixty on top. The sequined scarf I had gotten as a Christmas present so I can't give anymore information on that one, and the tights are just a plane black pair but these are from Macy's. With the amount of walking I was bound to do I grabbed my favorite flats at the moment by Corso Como.

It was really windy and I was feeling the chill

As you can see I was rocking that tied sweater look

a quick look at my shoes and some fall leaves

I spent  most of the afternoon on a hunt for the perfect iPad case to give to my mother for Christmas with no luck, if anyone has any suggestions please comment below. I found a few at Ted Baker but I was unsure if my mom would like it or not. I was so focused on trying to find her this case that I walked almost twenty blocks up 5th Avenue and blew past both a Juicy Couture (they have the best dresses) and a Chanel on Madison. In the end it was fine I got a workout in and I got to cruise through Central Park at a very low speed giving me time to take lots of pictures with my family.

A little family picture and my father in my hat
He is quite the goofball

Can never get away from a tree picture it seems

I had a little to much fun playing

I couldn't decide which to use

The longer I played the bigger the eyes

Has This Ever Happened to You?

Have you ever been somewhere and just thought yes? I could do this; I could live here. Those were my thoughts from the first moment I got to walk on NYC streets. It felt like home and it felt like me. As you guys have learned I am not one to enjoy the cold, I tend to be as bundled as possible to avoid any sort of chill. It did not matter though here, as you saw in my previous blog I was out quite late last night in the frigid fall air and I loved it. It wasn't because I could not feel my hands, but because instead of breathing in that dry air that makes your lungs hurt and coughing up second hand smoke as many seem to do in NYC, I was inhaling the energy of the city. I could get enough of it! I spent all last night just aimlessly walking around the streets with no destination in mind and I could not shake this overwhelming sense. This was it, I need to live here. As I looked at people walk past me on the streets I saw myself. There is a beauty about New York,and I wish I was a poet so I could put this into words for you all. I can only hope that you guys know the feeling that I am talking about. Its seems to me that we all have this innate sense within ourselves that knows what we want even when we feel unsure. That is what I am feeling here. Has this ever happened to you? it could be about anything your one true love, your child, a place like me, or the perfect pair of shoes but please leave a comment I would love to here about it.

A Brisk Breath of Smoke Filled Air

That was my first thought when I walked out of the JFK airport. I thought I would share with some pictures of my first night in NY City

Flying into the city

The first chance I got to look up

Practicing my panoramic skills...not quite there yet

The Hub of it all Times Square

Sensory overload

The City that never sleeps (Taken at 11:57 pm)

Thursdays Full of Travel

Today I am on the move. It is my first time to New York and I can’t explain how excited I am to be going. I thought I would share with you guys what I chose to wear on my day long of travels. First though will you all let me rant a little? I mean honestly who enjoys traveling because I know I don’t I just want to get to the destination but the actual part of getting there is just horrible. You guys may understand my opinion better if I start from the beginning. As you all can imagine New York is cold at this time and being a California girl and if the temperature drops under 60 degrees I don’t know what to (you can easily find I me in a parka and about three layers of pants on any rainy day), but only going to NY for the weekend I am taking just a carry-on. Imagine a girl obsessed with fashion going to one of the biggest fashion capitols of the world and I can only take one outfit for each day. Torture I tell you! Trust me if I could fit more I would have but between the boots and all the outwear I need to not be a Popsicle; I could barely close my suitcase. Now packing is barely the beginning of my issue with traveling. Yes there is always this nagging fear that I will forget something critical at home like my tights for Friday or my cat ears for my Halloween party on Sunday but I mean that’s just an excuse to go shopping right? But lets get back to why I started this rant. I don’t live in a big city so I have to take a small plane to my connecting flight that will take me to NY. This usually doesn’t bother me; these short hour-long trips give me some time to catch on some reading or knitting I have been meaning to get to. But my plans of a nice meditative ride immediately flew out the window when I saw who sat next to me. Oh how cute just a little baby that felt the need to cry all the way to Arizona! These are the moments in my life that I am reminded of my love for Steve Jobs, the ear buds went in and soon shuffle was going.

Here is a good idea of some of the music I was listening to

Now that I am sitting on my second flight as I write this I am being reminded of my another issue I have with every flight I have been on…ever sense I can remember. Is it hot? Is it the arctic? I seem to find the hardest keeping a normal body temperature as I fly. But I think that I have come to perfect my flying attire to assure that I will not be to hot but will not be asking for those in flight blankets that never cover everything, while still managing to be comfy cute. Is that a thing comfy cute? Well if not I am coining the phrase now. Lets start with the comfy and move to the cute.

I went with my trusty Wildfox sweater for my top that I had picked up at Sax Fifth Avenue outlet. It is a nice Barbie pink color with the quote ‘Take me to Paris.” Not only is it in my favorite color but also it is the warmest/lightest sweater with the softest fabric besides cashmere.

You can never go wrong with that a comfy sweater for travel. Now I know what your thinking Paris? I only wish I was going there but not this trip unfortunately. My bottom half is something that I haven’t changed sense high school and maxi skirt. It is the best way to travel and I tell you this because its like wearing a blanket, you can sit crisscross apple sauce in the airport and if you get hot you can just knot it to shorten it. I have been walking the maxi skirt for years during my travels and its great.

This one is just from Kohl’s in a nice oxblood/ burgundy/ maroon/ whatever color you call it shade.

And last but not least is my shoes, tis another thing I have been doing sense high school. Heels or platforms are great because you look put together they take up way to much room in you suitcase anyway. Now before you all go that’s so uncomfortable don’t forget that the second I get in the plane those puppies are off my feet so all the beauty and no pain.

This pair was a gift for my Grandma and is possibly my favorite shoes. I wear them all the time and they are so comfy, and again I find myself in love with another man named Steve, Steve Madden of course! He is one of my favorite shoe designers.

Fall Nails

I am headed to New York this weekend and I felt the need to put my best foot forward...and hand. I chose to start with my feet because I know that my hands will take so much longer. Now I do not know about you but everytime I try to paint my pinkie toe I find myself bent into so odd shaped pretzel. And even with all this effort I still can not reach my toe and so I end up just slathering the polish all over my pinkie toe and hope the excess will come off in the shower.

I used the color:You Don't Know Jacques!

Then came my finger nails. I had thi horrible chipped nail polish look going so I need to first be rid of that. My mom had recently been on a trip and picked me up some Butter London things and one thing was so wipes. 

Now I am not fond of wipes in general and after using the Butter London ones my views have not change. They always dry out quick and I never get off all my nail polish. That being said everything else about Butter London I love. For my nails I went super fall inspired with this beautiful shimmery burgundy brown shade. 

The color I used:I Kneed Sour-Dough

In the end I loved both O.P.I nail polishes because it only took me two coats to get such great color.

Tester

testing one two hahaha