Vacation Haul

March 23, 20174 Comments

Aloha little babies!

We leave for leave for Maui today! I COULD NOT be readier. Haha readier. I’ts just this GD weather in Portland has just been soooo dreary. I might pee a little when I see a palm tree…and it won’t be the first time.

With that being said – ONTO THE HAUL!

I purchased the above selections from Target. I got the swimsuits when they were doing a BOGO and the dress was only about $20. Its a super soft jersey knit and (as you can probably tell) I really like black and white stripes these days.

Side-note: I am totally on board with getting a one-piece swimsuit, in fact, there are countless styles I have been in love with. But each time I have tried one on, it’s the same issue I run into with bodysuits. The length of these puppies just won’t cut it when you’re pushing 6 feet. And unless you’re fond of the CT it just aint pretty. So until I pony up the cash to get a one piece built for amazons, I’ll stick to my two-piecers. #tallgirlproblems

Speaking of swimsuits, we also picked out this little tankini for E. I MEAN.

I also picked out a couple new things from the makeup dept because duh.

I wanted to find an illuminating makeup primer with SPF that I could wear under makeup or by itself. After doing a little research, I decided against a high-end brand and decided on this Maybelline Master Prime with SPF 30. Anyone heard a’this?

I picked up the Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in Bellini on a recent trip to Ulta. They were doing their “21 Days of Beauty” sale and I scored this for just $10 (normally $18)! These glosses are my absolute favorite because of the gentle plumping effect and super shiny finish. I also LOVE this in the shade White Russian.

This Wet’n’Wild Megalength Waterproof Mascara is just $2.99 from the drugstore and I actually think it’s pretty decent. It definitely is lengthening, but not super volumizing. I find you can build it up pretty easily and even though it is waterproof, it’s not a little B to get off.

This isn’t necessarily for Hawaii, but I did pickup this Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner at Ulta as my Stila Stay All Day is starting to dry up. Anyone used this before? Is it any good?

Sunriver Trip 2016

July 20, 2016July 20, 2016Leave a comment

Happy summer everyone!

Have I even said that yet? Summer is basically like half way over and I am like already depressed. A family trip to Sunriver was just what the doctor ordered.

I arrived on Wednesday night after the entire Britney Spears Greatest Hits album as well as 1.5 Red Bulls and half a tube of Chewy Spree. The fam had just returned from dinner so I toasted myself up an english muffin with gobs of Country Crock and mixed a vodka + fresca for sustenance. We then discovered the cabin we rented for the week came equipped with THEE most necessary board game ever:

You guys, this game is somethin’ else, I highly suggest it #zitstickers.

The house also had this enormous deck, in which Tate looooved to run around in his walker on. While we played Girl Talk, he happily ran around like a banshee, baby babbling and drooling away. Then he came over and put his hands up so Nan plucked him out and his little feet were SO filthy and his big toe had popped through his jammies! So, we grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and just whacked off the ends #whitetrashbaby.

And then he fought sleep for a million years and Nan ended up getting him to take a snooze while I stole a pic:

The next morning I woke up and of course played with Tate.

As did Nan and Gare:

Ok maybe Gary was watching TV

We ate some brek and the gals + Binny decided it would be fun to go for a float down the Deschutes! So we rented tubes, filled a cooler with ice, vodka, red bull and puffy Cheetos and hit the water.

After we floated, I came home and ~~PTFO~~ took a princess-like snooze. Then I woke up and did some Snaps with the folks.

That night after dinner, we went for a walk and I wore Tate on m’back. He was being the cutest ever.

The next morning, we woke up and explored the little Sunriver “village”. Tate found a little kids play area with rocks and a rope walk to be quite enjoyable.

After that, we ventured over to Lava Lands to walk through the Lava Tube, which sounds really weird. Nan and I decided to stay put in the car with Tate, but we did walk around a little first.

Next up was lunch in Bend, at Deschutes Brewery.

This was just my show beer. AKA my Dad’s. I would never drink this grossness.

Then we did a little shopping around Bend (such cute shops) and David joined! I got these cool shades:

The next day we all went to Cultus Lake and Nan rented us a party barge for the morning! We did a little fishing (unsuccessfully) and drank a bottle of wine (successfully). Tate roamed around the boat, bein’ all cute and I realized that I pretty much reallllly need a boat.

What a beautiful lake! I highly recommend it. as far as bodies of water go. Meg HATED the name cuullltus. It IS kindof a gross name for a lake.

So anyway, that was basically it. Fun times for us!

Disneyland & Universal Studios Trip 2016

July 1, 2016Leave a comment

Yes, my friends. Your eyes do not fail you.

I went to Disneyland. And Universal Studios. And California Adventure. And Morphe Brushes!

It was as amazing as you would expect from two large young-at-hearts. And really, I am so glad to have found someone as profoundly goofy as I am. There aren’t many out there who would GLADLY wait in 45-min lines to ride Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. Or who understand the injustice that the age cut off for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is 12. But David gets it. He loves it. Together, we bum-rushed the gates of Hogwarts to be FIRST IN LINE for the Forbidden Journey. We bought his and hers Slytherin and Ravenclaw shirts. We DID IT UP. And instead of writing an entire post with “and then we______” (got a fast pass, stood in line for Dole Whips, etc) I figure I’d let photos do they thing.

So here is a humble video I made commemorating our glorious 3-day trip to Cali. I would like to thank my boy David for whisking me away on this adventure and being my (very literal) dream come true ♥.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdajdmOf0Y

My People

April 29, 20153 Comments

G’Day Gents.

Last weekend I drove to Seattle to see my homegirls. We try to organize this event yearly, but it is painstakingly clear each time we rendezvous that more meetups are desired. Nay, necessary.

These girls are a part of me. They listen and nod their heads as I talk incessantly about Dubsmashing Frozen like ‘err day. They try to get me to ingest organic vegetables. They reassure me that my snaggletooth and man shoulders are cute. They just get me. And I am so grateful for them.

We never get anything accomplished during these weekends. In fact, we’re lucky if everyone’s dressed by 4 pm. Dry shampoo is optional. This time around, we submitted to small 20-minute walks around the neighborhood, wine, cheese and OBVS a hair session instigated by yours truly.

We had a delicious meal at Local 360 (cheesy grits) and later somehow fit all four of our bodies into one bed for a chat. Come Sunday I was not ready to leave and our traditional four-way hug couldn’t last long enough.

To Carey and Holly and Bek. I love you guys.

French Pharmacy Haul

April 9, 2015April 9, 20153 Comments

Bonjour my little bon-bons!

I know y’all are just pining to see the French Pharmacy Finds I recently procured whilst traveling in Chamonix, France. Read about the whole trip here!

I did an astounding amount of reaching in preparation for the French pharmacy not only to discover what those sprightly french gals are usin’, but also to enjoin myself from buying a bunch of crap that is cheaper in the U.S

My research indicated there were in fact a few brands that are produced in France and therefore, a better deal over there. Such brands include Bioderma, Vichy, La Roche Posay, Klorane and Caudalie. A fact I discerned to be true was that cosmetic brands that seem French, like Dior, Chanel and Clinique are actually MORE expensive to buy over there.

Furthermore, did y’all know that all cosmetic brands are usually owned by larger companies? For example L’Oreal owns YSL, Georgio Armani, Lancome, Kiehls, Urban Decay, Essie and The Body Shop. Shocking, I know.

Anywee, here is what I picked up at the Pharmacies in Chamonix:

1. Klorane Dry Shampoo

Hat tip to my pal Nicole for this recommendation! This dry shampoo cost about €10 and is formulated with Oat Milk. I got the version for all hair types because the other option was for dark hair only. Interesting they don’t make a blonde option…#hairscrimination.

2. Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution

If you read my recent post about our trip to Whistler, you’ll know I finally found Bioderma! I paid $20 for the bottle and have been using it non-stop. To be honest, there is nothing totally spectacular about this stuff. What I appreciate about it is the simplicity. It has no smell, is great for sensitive skin and removes makeup nicely.

I picked up the giant 500 ml bottle of this in France because it was only €14!

3. NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm

This product is on EVERY french person’s pharmacy favorite list. The brand actually had a few things I considered buying, like the body oil. I decided not to get that because I’m not really that big on body oils and honestly, our suitcase had like 1 millimeter of space left.

4. Caudalie Beauty Elixir

I have wanted to get this from Sephora sooo many times but it’s $50. It smells like a spa and is very luxurious. I have used this a few times since we’ve been home and I can confirm: it is HEAVEN. It works amazing as a makeup setting spray and I just loooove it after I wash my face and before serum and moisturizer. I paid €29 for the big bottle!

5. Fletagex

This product used to be known as Avibon and Gwyneth regarded it as a miracle product for keeping wrinkles at bay. When I inquired about Avibon, the gal at the pharmacy went into the back and produced this stuff, saying “It eez the same.” DONE. The packaging reminds me of hemerroid cream but whatevs if it works. Also, it was €7 so the price was right too!

And that’s all I bought! I KNOW you guys. I could have filled a suitcase but given the fact that we packed our own skis and ski boots, there was srsly no room in our luggage for 44 ounce jars of face cream.

*Side note about clothes shopping in France:

All the clothing shops in Cham were filled with mountain stuff. Alot of Burton, North Face and ski stuff I don’t care about. The few non-outdoor apparel stores I went in were fascinating for one reason…the men’s section was in the front of the store.

In the US, most clothing stores that carry both mens and womens apparel smartly put the women’s section front and center. We spend the money. We like our stuff right up front. In most places, I find that the men’s section is either off to the side, in the back or just really tiny. Well NOT IN FRANCE. In most stores, like Superdry and Quicksilver the women’s sections were not only in the back but UPSTAIRS. I pointed this out to Bryan (who is the LAST person on earth who would notice a clothing store’s layout) and he was all, “that’s awesome!”. Ew.

My opinion? GO AMERICA!

Chamonix

April 6, 20156 Comments

And before you go mis-pronoucin’, it’s CHAMONIX – as in shaw-mah-nee. Ever heard of it? It’s in France.

OH how I miss the Nard Dog…

Anyways, back to the vacay.

If you haven’t figured it out already, I married a mountain-man. A crazy, oxygen-filled, iron-lunged, skiing, ice-climbing, beer-drinking sonofagun. And ever since this Heeman was a wee-man (baahaa) he has wanted to ski in Chamonix. And being the kind of gal who will NEVER turn down a trip to France ever, I obliged and went along.

Our flight over could not have been more perfect, save for flying first-class international in one of those mini-suites where they do everything except birth you a child. We left around 2 pm out of the ol’PDX, carpet and all, and 1o hours later arrived in Amsterdam. We jumped on another hour-ish flight to Geneva and were picking up our rental car in no time!

The Renault was a nice lil ride and the drive to our hotel in Vallorcine (about 20 miles outside of Chamonix) was wonderful, until we realized we had missed our exit…

Many of the roads in France are on tolls which is FINE when you have a credit card that works or euro. We had neither. And after we flipped a B to head back to where we had missed the turn, we immediately hit a toll booth. Assured by the rental car company that our Visa would be fine, we were very surprised to learn that we had no viable currency to pay with. Yippeee!

“Autre card!!?” (Other card!?) yelled the middle-aged French women through the crackly speaker.

“No autre card!!” we retorted (for the 10th time I might add).

After 10 minutes of explaining we DID NOT have euro OR another card, she had us hold up our Passports to the closed-circuit cameras so she could write down our home address and bill us. Whatevs, madame.

After spouting off over 20 cuss words we were on our way and headed in the right direction!

Upon arriving in Chamonix we immediately found a petit cafe (get used to me using French where I can here, folks) and ordered a cheesy, delicious hot sandwich with pomme frites!

We pinched our little selves and just couldn’t believe we were there. Colossal mountains just spewed out of the ground, and felt like they were just feet away. Somber French couples, sporting his and her messy buns, being chic and chain-smoking while probs laughing at my clothes from the Gap.

We stayed at the Residence and Spa Vallorcine, which was quaint and perfect. Our room was a decent size, with a little sitting area, dining table and kitchenette. The bedroom was small and the bed was even smaller. I kindof felt like Shaq sleeping in that tiny European bed.

The only thing that would have made the room perfect would have been carpet. You guys KNOW I love me some carpet, especially in cold environments such as Chamonix. The cold tile flooring did not help the fact that the heaters in France are just NOT up to snuff. I need that central heat, yo.

The first night we threw on our ski sweaters and I debated making Bryan call me Bunny (or Muffy) all night. I would call him Carl…as in,”Oh Carl, we just have to order the brie!”

We went to the cutest little restaurant in Vallorcine (one of like, three restaurants) and ordered fondue, a goat cheese salad and wine, obvi.

The next few days went something like this:

Wake up around 7, consume croissants and/or pain du chocolate.

Gear up

Go skiing

Ski more

Annnndd ski some more

Stop for café au lait

Make some videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyjcrldccAI

Have lunch

A bit more skiing

Apres

Our late afternoons and evenings were spent in a variety of ways. A couple of days, it was shopping around Chamonix, buying macarons and stopping for wine and crepes.

If you can believe it, my favorite crepe turned out to be plain ol’ sugar. Something about the crunch I think. Another funny thing that happened in Cham, was that I got a bit of altitude sickness. Nothing crazy – just a bit of dizziness paired with a loss of appetite. You can imagine how great is was to lose my appetite while in FRANCE! No – actually it sucked. And when it finally came back I was hungry AF.

One day, we took the tram up to the Aguille du Midi which takes you to about 13,000 feet, which makes it the highest cable car in Europe. It is interesting how I never learn my lesson, agreeing to do these things. The St.Louis arch = meltdown. Top of the Space Needle = no thanks. Yet somehow I let Bryan whisk me up in a shaky tram and walk along a staircase clinging to the side of a precipitous cliff. Oh, and did I mention the steel staircase was see-through? I would have snapped a pic had it not been for the mounting terror surging through my body.

Source

Dinners out occurred daily and the fare ranged from elegant French cuisine to the nachos I ordered on our last night, made with DORITOS. God bless those clever little Frenchies.

I was left on my own a few times and Of COURSE y’all know I frequented the French Pharmacies I was so excited about. I spent a good hour in one, picking up product after product and trying unsuccessfully to read ingredient lists. I did ended up with a few GEMS so stay tuned for a WHOLE post on that, mon cheres!

I also did a fair amount of pretending to be a cool photographer, taking pics that were all arty and deep. Really, my point-and-shoot and I just kinda mozied around, taking sub-par pics.

It’s meeeeeeeee

So there you have it, our ~~super -relaxing~~ ski vacay in the French Alps…I think it’s time to go back to Hawaii :).

Allergens, Milk Duds and a Trip to France

March 11, 20158 Comments

HEE HEE, HAW HAW.

The three aforementioned items could not be more dissimilar. But in my little world, they are inextricably linked. I could have also added Recent Exercise as another topic item, but 4 things seemed a bit much, no?

Let’s start with the state of my allergies! A topic I’m sure so many of you are absolutely thrilled to hear about. WELL. Every summer I die of allergies, which y’all have been privy to on more than one occasion (like here & here). Since Spring has Sprung like 89123 days early this year, I decided to book an allergy appt straight away!

I was poked (hee hee) 40 times with various extracts from trees, weeds, insects, you name it – and had OFF THE CHARTS allergic results to…drumroll please….

GRASS. I am allergic to grass. The doc told that it’s basically the most common thing to be allergic to. Which makes me so disappointed in myself. I was hoping it would be something really unique and specific, like Russian Thistle! But no, it’s just grass – and it’s EVERYWHERE. I am on a BRAND new medication called Grastek to treat my severe allergy, so holla at me if you share the same distaste for Grass!

And then there are Milk Duds. I could eat Milk Duds all day, everyday. After years of dormancy on the candy shelf, they have quickly become a favorite, winning out over popular favorites including (but never limited to) Junior Mints, Jujyfruits and Snowcaps. I realize that the combination of sugary chocolate and caramel are likely wreaking havoc on my pearly-whites, but thankfully I have been limiting myself. I also find them completely irresistible when frozen! Who am I?? Elsa?!

And lastly…FRANCE. In less than 2 weeks I will traveling to Chamonix, France with none other than Bryan-Arthur.

I do not know if France is ready for another dose of my high-school French (of which I am way too confident in) and demands for ice in my soda. We shall see. One thing is sure, I will buying Bioderma for the masses and possibly a couple liters of Caudalie Beauty Elixir if the budget allows. I hear it just flows from rivers there!

And then there’s the delicate matter of skiing. Which thanks to Bryan’s encouragement and a few positively WONDERFUL ski days, I am completely ready for! A couple of meltdowns are likely, but so it the possibility of fondue and wine…and LOTS OF IT.

I wish I could become the photographer I know I’ll never be, and capture our trip to perfection. But you guys know what you’re in for. Expect my usual slightly blurry, dancing-in-the-hotel-with-wine-in-my-hand repertoire, mmm-kay. Anything else just wouldn’t be me ;).

Adieu beautés!