My everyday make-up + Minimalism update blurb!

November 10, 2017That Asian-Looking Chick Leave a comment

Today I’ve got make-up, for those of you who are into it: ladies, gentlemen, and anyone else who enjoys wearing make-up and/or knowing what other people put on their faces.

We can thank Callaghan for this. I took a mirror selfie the other day and set it as my FB profile pic, and he promptly cropped a close-up of my face and posted it while talking about my skin. I can’t take all the credit, though: lighting and make-up had a lot to do with how the pic came out. I’m going to explain the make-up part. It’s my “everyday” make-up routine, though I go bared-faced half the time.

However, I did take the selfie for this blog post in the first place, the reason being that this was going to be a minimalism update. I wanted to confess to my latest t-shirt replacement acquisition. The selfie was a FAIL for that purpose (because I still suck at taking mirror selfies), so here’s just the shirt:

The shirt that got me THIS time.

Right? “COFFEE” in a Metallica-inspired style… are you kidding me?! I got rid of my Metallica shirt because I liked this one better. Who needs a Metallica shirt when you can have one with COFFEE looking like Metallica? It was too awesome to pass up. [*shakes fist at Target*]

I should just stop looking at the damn t-shirts at Target. There should be a sign: THE GRAPES ARE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE STORE KEEP WALKING

Back to the make-up I’m wearing in the pic:

(“everyday make-up” – click to enlarge)

The products:

Current everyday make-up

The routine, in order: Physician’s Formula Super BB cream (“light” – applied with a dampened make-up sponge from the package in the upper-right corner of the pic) (A), then Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion (original) (B), then e.l.f. eyebrow powder (“dark”) (C), then, from Urban Decay’s original Naked palette, eyeshadow (“naked”) (D), then eyeshadow (“sin”) in the inner corners of my eyes (E), then Urban Decay Perversion liquid eyeliner on my upper lids (black waterproof fine-point eye pen) (F), then black Urban Decay Perversion mascara (G), then Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on eye pencil (“zero”) under my lower lids (H), then Nars* Radiant Creamy concealer (“light”) under my eyes (I), then Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer (“light neutral”) down my nose and around my nostrils (J), then NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator (“sunbeam”) on my cheekbones and tip of my nose (K), then Pacifica Natural Minerals Devocean lipstick (“natural mystic”) (L), then Pacifica Bali Coconut lip balm (M). I remove most of the lipstick, then put lip balm over the stain that’s left.

*Sadly, Nars has been recently removed from Cruelty-Free Kitty’s cruelty-free brands list (“soon to be sold in China”), so I’m looking for a replacement product for that concealer.

The lighting: there’s a frosted window up near the ceiling behind me through which the late-afternoon light shone and reflected off the mirror in front of me, and the light tan walls around me in the very small, enclosed space (our master bath) turned the light golden, which turned me golden.** The fluke convergence of lighting and angels worked with the cream highlighter on my face, which resulted in this airbrushed look. I believe that’s what happened, anyway.

(I was just concerned with trying to get the shirt. The phone dominates the picture, covering part of the word COFFEE that’s backwards, anyway, because duh, mirror. Haha.)

**I don’t self-tan, and I’m not wearing bronzer, contour, powder, or anything like that in this pic… or ever, for that matter. With the exception of eye make-up, I don’t put powder products on my face anymore.

The End.

P.S. Let’s see if I can get through the next two weeks without replacing a t-shirt with another t-shirt.

Doesn’t that taste like cardboard? (and other questions about food)

August 30, 2016That Asian-Looking Chick Leave a comment

[Not a metaphor this time!] The following strange thing happened at Target on Saturday.

I was reaching for a box of energy bars next to a Target employee who was with his product cart. He was stocking the shelves and chatting with an older woman (customer) who was standing off to the side.

Me: *takes a box of energy bars off the shelf*

Employee: Don’t those things taste like cardboard?

Me: No, not to me.

Employee: But I bet they do to your husband.

Me: Actually, he likes them, too.

Employee: Really.

I ignored his sarcasm and turned to leave, but I stopped, because I couldn’t bite my tongue harder without severing it.

Me: There’s this misconception that healthy things taste like cardboard.

Employee: *pauses, then points at the price tag on the shelf* Well you sure PAY for them, though.

Me: *walks away, not looking at him* WORTH IT.

I used this exact rhythm and tone:

…because I thought walking off singing “worth it” in a Men On inspired delivery was taking the high road.

It so happened that the energy bars I got weren’t even expensive. A box of Lucky Charms costs more.

Also, mister Target employee man,

Ahem. My thoughts:

[Just curious: How did he know I was married? Callaghan wasn’t there, and I wasn’t wearing my ring.]
It’s the woman who’s buying and eating healthy things.
Since the woman is the harpy who buys the healthy things (aka “rabbit food”), her hapless boyfriend/husband is forced to eat them, too. Real men eat meat, so this is tantamount to castration.
All such energy bars are healthy, so they all taste like cardboard… because everything healthy tastes like cardboard, or is otherwise disgusting.
(Newsflash: there’s a difference between healthy and nutrient dense; not everything is both.)
“Healthy” foods are gross, and “unhealthy” foods are delicious.
“Healthy” foods are expensive.
Must broadcast ignorant opinions about products at the store where you work.
Must make a negative comment about a product a customer is buying.
Must try again with a second negative comment about the product when the customer contradicts the first one.
Must make a negative comment to a customer in the presence of another customer.
Must make a negative comment to a customer, regardless.
Rude.

To be clear, I wasn’t offended by his commentary. There was just a lot of stereotype, misconception, and unprofessional manner packed into that short exchange, and it surprised me.

So, yeah. In 2016, there are still folks who think that if ONE healthy food tastes, to them, like cardboard, then ALL healthy foods must be distasteful in one way or another. Never mind that there are plenty of “unhealthy” foods that are gross to a lot of people. Not to mention, most “healthy” food now is the bomb.

Dear Target Employee: The 1970s called. They want their Four Food Groups chart back. And their “party fare” Crusty Salmon Shortcakes. Party food can’t be healthy, ergo, it’s tasty!

It’s a party in your mouth!

Because why pair your tower of sweet biscuit-cakes with strawberries, cream, and strawberry syrup with whipped cream on top when you can have SALMON! YAY!

In the war against this health craze (responsible for the proliferation of over-hyped, newfangled healthy food), gloppy salmon chunks dumped over cake with olives on top will prevail. At least this example of “party food” from the dark ages doesn’t involve crimes against Jell-O, as many of them did. I was there. I remember. NEVER FORGET.

Mom never foisted this particular monstrosity on us, but I remember foods like this glistening on other people’s tables at gatherings:

Nothing says “festive” like lime Jell-O mixed with vinegar, onion, cottage cheese, and mayo, with a pile of mystery seafood nested in the middle.

This is why we older Gen-X’ers are all in therapy now.

P.S. By the way, mister Target employee man, it might be a good strategy to encourage customers to buy things. Just a suggestion.

I’m off to fix a plate of cardboard for Callaghan. It’s what’s for breakfast.

A good thriller, tasty snacks, a fabulous t-shirt, and more! (April Favorites.)

May 3, 2016May 8, 2016That Asian-Looking Chick 2 Comments

So much went on in April, you’d think it’d have seemed to go by fast… but actually, it seemed like a long month. It was long in a good way, though. The month didn’t drag. It lingered. Here are some little things I loved in April:

Hush (movie)

So many cat-and-mouse horror/thriller movies have been made, it’s hard to be impressed by them. It’s a tired convention; most of these movies are formulaic and too predictable to be “thrilling.” But Hush surprised us in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways, not to mention, we found it to be largely unencumbered by the cheesiness that’s become an expectation of this genre. If you’re into such movies and you can get your hands on this one (we found it online), I recommend it!

ETA: Improvements. I wrote this in too much of a hurry.

2. Trader Joe’s frozen organic mango chunks.

Trader Joe’s frozen organic mango chunks

We’ve been eating these frozen organic mango chunks for dessert after dinner… frozen as in straight out of the freezer, straight out of the bag. It’s like eating creamy mango-flavored Popsicles. They are divine. We have to portion them out, or we’d eat an entire bag in one sitting! Refreshing, luscious frozen desserts don’t get better than this, and it’s just fruit.

3. Sun tea.

Sun tea

Making sun tea for iced tea in Arizona is a given – it’s a tradition; it’s how we do it – but of course it can be made anywhere there’s sun, I imagine. One of many things I’ve been enjoying about working at home is easy access to iced tea and fresh lemon juice.

4. Pro Bar bite organic energy bar (peanut butter chocolate chip).

Pro Bar bite organic energy bar in peanut butter chocolate chip

You know I’m always on the look-out for energy bars that are wholesome, organic, and chemical-free, and I’m happy to report that these bars by Pro Bar exist. They are delicious. This is my new go-to bar following Body Combat, when I want to replenish a little before dinner happens a couple of hours later. 6 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of fat, and 11 grams of sugar… not too bad.

5. Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Multigrain pita chips with sesame seeds.

Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Multigrain pita chips with sesame seeds

I didn’t even know that these were “reduced guilt” pita chips until after I bought them (I was just concerned with the ingredients and the type of carbs they contained). These light and crunchy chips are fabulous with Trader Joe’s incomparable Mediterranean hummus. They’d be great with any kind of hummus or dip.

6. Vega Protein & Greens drink mix (vanilla flavor).

Vega protein and greens vanilla flavor plant-based protein powder

I usually get the Vega smoothie mixes for my protein drinks, but recently I discovered their protein and greens product. One scoop gives you 20 grams of protein with two servings of greens, and it tastes wonderful… the alfalfa, spinach, broccoli, and kale powders are undetectable! With those greens in there, you could blend this powder into a shake with fruit and plant-based milk and get the nutrition you’d get in a complete meal. So far, I’ve only mixed it with cold water, and it’s awesome. (I don’t use it for meal replacement, though… I drink it as a supplement.)

7. Derma e antioxidant natural sunscreen with clear zinc oxide SPF 30.

derma e Antioxidant Natural Sunscreen with clear zinc oxide (SPC 30)

I love Lavanila’s The Healthy Sunscreen, which I’d been using since I went cruelty-free last year, but 1). it’s expensive, and 2). I could only find it at Sephora, which I loathe and avoid at all costs.

So I was stoked when I discovered that derma e, my new favorite skincare line, makes a facial sunscreen. Derma e is available at two places we frequent – Target and Sprouts – and the quality of their sunscreen rivals that of Lavanila’s. It’s much more affordable, and I don’t have to fight against panic attacks when I go in to get it (maybe one day I’ll write a whole post about my misadventures in Sephora).

8. T-shirt from Tombstone.

T-shirt from Tombstone

I love, love, LOVE this t-shirt I got when we took Callaghan’s father to Tombstone. The design is totally up my alley, and the rendering of the art is gorgeous. I’m not sure that the picture does it justice! Also, the shirt itself is thin and soft; it feels like I’m wearing pajamas. LOVE.

9. Foot socks.

Sometimes I go to Target and I don’t know what happens. Like the time I went to get basic foodstuffs and next thing I knew I was at home trying to explain these socks festooned with dinosaurs, ostriches, and a sunglass-wearing pug on a surfboard.

Foot socks from Target that I totally did not need.

10. Scrivener.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/index.php

My thoughts on Scrivener can be summed up in one question: How did anyone ever manage large documents before Scrivener?

Will Work for Pants (+ OOTD)

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014That Asian-Looking Chick 3 Comments

Pants.

May I just rant about pants for a second? I have two pairs of pants – one brown, one beige – that I wear to work, neither of which are particularly flattering or nice. I mean, they’re okay, I guess. In terms of the workplace, they’re only a step above jeans by virtue of the fact that they’re not jeans. I’m always relieved when Friday arrives, because I feel justified in wearing jeans to work on Fridays, though I’ll sometimes wear them to work during the week, too. In addition to the brown and beige pants, I also have two pairs of black pants that I consider to be “work” pants. They aren’t great-looking, either (one is a pair of cords, and the other is a weird pair of black jeans, which I consider to be nice enough to qualify as not-jeans). All four pairs of pants are uncomfortable in one way or another. I’m most comfortable wearing regular jeans or leggings; I’ll actually put on leggings once a week more often than I will the black jeans. During an average five-day work week, I’ll rotate through them… the brown, beige, black, leggings or weird black jeans, and regular jeans on Fridays.

My ridiculous angst over pants is due to the fact that I HATE SHOPPING FOR PANTS. I know that it wouldn’t hurt to invest a little in my work wardrobe, but it’s hard to muster the enthusiasm when I’d rather go to the dentist than go shopping for pants. If my work attire could be anything I wanted, I’d go in work-out/athletic clothing. I do, in fact, have one pair of flowy black athletic pants in some kind of stretchy spandex-blend that I can get away with wearing to work. Unfortunately, they’re old and worn-out to the point where they’ve developed a pill issue.

You can understand, then, that when my eyeballs wandered over an ad for “yoga-style pants for the office” the other day, I clicked on the link with high hopes:

I immediately honed in on the pair I would order. I know what I like. I would get the boot-flare cut in black:

And look at that! They’re beautiful, and they’re only $79.20, because they’re 10% off! WHAT A STEAL.

I partially went through the process of ordering them, just to see. Ground shipping, the least expensive shipping option, is $6.95, bringing the pre-tax subtotal to $86.15. Add an additional $5.60 for (California) sales tax, and these pants cost $91.75.

In my view, it’s a cruel joke to make comfy, work-appropriate yoga pants and advertise them for $80.00. I mean, I just can’t. And this is one of my issues with shopping for work clothing: I’m willing to throw eighty bucks down for some things, but pants aren’t one of them.

I don’t like to spend money on clothing. I’m guilty of spending more than I should on things like skin care products, perfumes, concert tickets and food (on high-quality groceries, and on eating out), and I’ll splurge on a pedicure every once in a while, mainly to get the lower leg and foot massage. I’m not a clothes-shopping person. I’m not a jewelry person or a shoe person, either. I do like bags, but not expensive ones. I like Target, the Goodwill, Ross, Marshall’s, and it’s just painful shopping for pants in those places. The very idea of flipping through a hundred pairs of pants that all look the same (except that they’re not) leaves me cold.

There are other, random places, sure. One store in the mall I venture into every once in a while is Charlotte Russe, because I usually find things there that I like, and often, those things that I find are on the clearance rack. And I like to get jeans at Old Navy (when they’re having a sale)… Old Navy and Target.

I still have many of the dresses and skirts I habitually wore to work a decade ago, but I’m not into wearing them anymore, for some reason. Not only that, but there’d be a strategic issue with wearing skirts to work now: I sit on a physio/balance ball instead of on a chair, and my desk doesn’t have a “modesty panel.” My desk is out in the open, facing people walking into that area. Are you getting a visual here? You know how I’m prone to embarrassing incidents at work? Yeah. That would totally happen to me. So, pants. No crotch shots. PANTS.

While I love the idea of these “Black Dress Pant Yoga Pants (Boot-Flare) $79.20 $88 (10% Off),” there’s just no way I’m spending a total of $91.75 on ONE pair of pants when I could get several from any of the cheaper places for that same price. I guess I know what I’m doing one weekend in the near future.

Here’s what I’m wearing to work today:

FRIDAY!

Happy Friday!

La Tour Eiffel, she is everywhere.

September 23, 2014That Asian-Looking Chick Leave a comment

It seems that I started noticing the Eiffel Tower printed on clothing and other things right when we moved back to Arizona last November. That’s when I became aware of the trend, anyway… the Eiffel Tower could have been a popular motif in apparel and home décor fashion for much longer.

At first, I was charmed to happen upon the occasional Eiffel Tower, because the Eiffel Tower is one of my favorite things about France. It’s actually my favorite monument of the monuments I’ve seen in the world, as you may recall me mentioning before. Hence, I own more than a few Eiffel Tower-emblazoned things, myself. A sleeveless t-shirt here. A light sweater there. A French friend gave me a small photo of the Eiffel Tower in a white frame (from the store – I chose it)! A small ring holder in the shape of the Eiffel Tower sits on the dresser. The first Eiffel Tower in my collection, the drawing that Callaghan bought for me when we were there one day (at the Eiffel Tower), hangs in our living room, and of course, there’s the token Eiffel Tower magnet on the refrigerator. And that’s just a sampling of examples. There are more.

So, I started seeing Eiffel Towers plastered all over tarnation last November, but in the almost-year since we’ve been back in AZ? Instead of trailing off into the oblivion that follows a robust trend, the Eiffel Tower not only pressed forward, but it exploded into a frenzy of mass marketing. It’s everywhere, on everything, all over the place… especially, it seems, in the kind of discount stores we favor, such as Target, Marshall’s/T.J. Maxx and Ross. There’s no shortage of Eiffel Towers in these places. If you want it in your house or on your person, you may have it, and for very good prices. The quantities and varieties of Eiffel Towers migrating to the United States from China are staggering.

When I brought this up the other day, Callaghan said, “Yeah. I’m trying to get away from there, and the Eiffel Tower is running after me.”

Here, enjoy some random Eiffel Tower store sightings:

The Eiffel Tower on hat boxes.

The Eiffel Tower on canvas.

The Eiffel Tower on a hook board.

The Eiffel Tower on bathroom accessories.

The Eiffel Tower on a knit top.

And, while we’re at it, let’s not forget the fleur de lys (more ubiquitous now than ever, as well).

I’m not sure if it’s the Eiffel Tower, specifically, or the city of Paris itself that’s all the rage right now. The Eiffel Tower has become synonymous with Paris, so it could be either. And honestly, I don’t mind that Eiffel Towers jump into my face every time I turn around. I could be ambushed by worse things, for sure.

So I’m not complaining here… I’m more nonplussed than anything, and maybe I feel just a little bit like the plethora of Eiffel Towers cheapens the experience of her somehow. It’s like seeing your lover’s face depicted, suddenly, on clothing worn by other people. Poor Eiffel Tower! If monuments were songs, she’d be the most over-played one by a mile. Being everywhere takes the edge off her splendor; it’s hard to be one-of-a-kind and de rigueur at the same time.

On his part, Callaghan is in disgust. He loves the Eiffel Tower as much as I do, and he likes all of our Eiffel Towers, but he rolls his eyes at the herds of Eiffel Towers roaming through stores.

The Eiffel Tower on a shopping bag.

Charleston Chew is Chewy! Louis?

February 7, 2014That Asian-Looking Chick 6 Comments

When Callaghan finally – yay! – got his Arizona driver’s license a couple of weeks ago, the first thing I did was pluck it out of his hand to examine it. I don’t know… is it just me, or is there a universal, oddly voyeuristic thrill attached to the act of peeking at someone’s license, regardless of how well you already know the person?

“Philippe-Alexandre Louis,” I said, reading his first and middle names as printed on the license. “Louis was your grandfather, right?”

“Yes. My Mom’s father. I wasn’t close to him, though. My middle name should be ‘Roger’ after my other Grandfather.”

Roger is his paternal, remaining Grandfather, the one I know.

“Well one thing’s for sure… your entire name is completely, profoundly French with ‘Louis’ stuck in the middle of it,” I said.

“Really?”

“…whereas ‘Roger’ is a common name here in the States. The average American would look at your name and pronounce it ‘Roger,’ not ‘Roh-zhay’.” (Rhymes with “Tar-zhay,” my favorite store.)

“Huh…”

“‘Roger’ is also a common verb in English. Like on the radio. Roger this. Roger that. But everyone knows that ‘Louis’ is FRENCH, and we pronounce it that way. LOUIE. Rhymes with ‘chewy’!”

Callaghan looked sideways at me.

“We had this commercial in the ‘70’s,” I explained, “for Charleston Chew. Remember that vintage candy bar?”

“I used to love their commercials! One of them had three French kings, all Louis, of course. It was brilliant. It was my favorite commercial at the time…”

I started describing it.

“In the first frame of the commercial, a guy dressed up as King Louis – outrageous wig and all – sits facing us with a Charleston Chew candy bar in his hand. He looks at the camera and makes a pompous declaration, saying something like, “‘Charleston Chew is chewy. Louis?’ and he passes the candy bar to his left, out of the frame.

In the next frame, scene two, another guy dressed as another King Louis takes the candy bar and holds it up as he says the same thing in the same exaggerated, overbearing way: ‘Charleston Chew is chewy. Louis?’ and then he passes the candy bar to his left.”

“I see where this is going,” said Callaghan. France had a million Kings called “Louis.” Well, maybe more like twenty.

“But no! There’s a twist,” I said. “In the third frame, the third King Louis takes the candy bar and says, ‘Charleston Chew is chewy… but not too chewy, Louis.’ And there’s a twinkly innuendo of condescending humor at the end of his voice, so he’s almost, like, making fun of the first two Kings. Haha!” I laughed.

Callaghan stared at me.

“I guess you had to be there to see it,” I admitted. “I’ll find it online. Anyway, thanks to that commercial, I knew about King Louis of France long before I learned any French history in school, and I always knew that ‘Louis’ is a French name. I somehow never realized that ‘Roger’ was a French name until I met you.”

Later, to my great consternation, I could not, in fact, find the commercial online. This is the first time YouTube has failed me!

If anyone out there can find that Charleston Chew commercial with King Louis, please do pass it over to me. To your left. Haha.

King Louis XIV of France

Halloween Masks and the Question of Teeth

October 30, 2013October 30, 2013That Asian-Looking Chick 4 Comments

I have this theory about Halloween masks. There’s a formula for what makes the mask spooky, and it’s simple: No teeth = spooky. Teeth = not spooky. This is not to say that all masks without teeth are spooky, but just that the spookiest masks I’ve seen are the ones without teeth.

We went to check out the masks at the Goodwill (famous for its Halloween displays), Walmart and Target. The main thing I noticed about the masks in these major stores with popular Halloween sections (we didn’t go to any Halloween specialty stores) is that they mostly represent zombies and other toothy creatures. Today’s trend is monster masks, and snarly carnivore teeth seem to be the common denominator and defining characteristic from monster to monster. They’re fun, these masks, but I don’t find them scary at all… the gaping, snarling or grinning mouths jagged with sharp teeth just don’t chill my spine.

Here’s a sampling of the masks I tried:

Lots of teeth all around, except for the clown in the bottom right corner.

To me, the spookiest one is the toothless clown at the bottom right corner… and not just because it’s a clown. The mask on the opposite end of that row is also a clown, and that one’s not scary to me. It happens to have teeth, which I think kills the creep factor, though it is a pretty cool mask.

In contrast, take the vintage masks of yesteryear. I’m talking about the old-fashioned, simple ones, those plain, homemade masks that not only didn’t feature teeth, but whose mouths were often so brief that they seemed like afterthoughts… those masks of the “pillowcase over the head with eye cut-outs” variety. Those, I have to say, really kind of creep me out. There’s not much to them, and maybe that’s why they work. Less is more, as they say. It’s those minimized, close-lipped, atrophied or warped little mouths that give those masks that certain spooky je ne sais quoi.

Old-fashioned Halloween masks, typical of their time. No teeth.

Imagine opening your door to find this pair…

And who can forget the mask on this child in the chilling Spanish film The Orphanage?

The masked child in The Orphanage

I don’t know about you, but that’s certainly not a vision I’d want to see standing at the end of my bedroom hallway! No teeth necessary.

Just to rule out the possibility that it’s the black-and-white photo effect at work, I examined my snaggle-toothed mask mosaic again as a black-and-white image to see if the absence of color would add to its spookiness.

Black and white. Still not scary.

Conclusion: the creepiest masks are the ones that don’t have teeth. It seems counterintuitive, but think about it… lack of emotion is scary. A closed mouth is a mysterious mouth. We don’t know what’s going on behind those lips, and the unknown is scary and unsettling. (The Mona Lisa would not be nearly as mysterious were she revealing her teeth.)

Only three of the masks I tried on didn’t have teeth, and my favorite was one of those:

Weird little girl

It’s at Target. I should totally go back and get it, right? For next year?

Callaghan cropped me out of the picture…

…then we used this photo I took of September’s full moon…

…to make this image. (Callaghan decided to draw me a left eye.) “FrankenKristi.”

Happy Halloween!

But it’s Seasonal!

October 28, 2013That Asian-Looking Chick 2 Comments

That’s my new favorite excuse for impulse purchases at Target: “It’s seasonal!” Of course, this only works if the thing is, in fact, seasonal. I think that a t-shirt with a mummified Snoopy design on it qualifies.

SO. A Halloween costume isn’t going to happen this year, but this seasonal t-shirt makes up for it somehow. Also, I had too much fun trying on masks at various places. More on that later, perhaps.

Here are the weekend highlights, in brief:

A rare treat: Saturday breakfast out. Coffee and a blueberry scone at Starbucks (the vegan scone was from WF)

The view from my side of the table.

Then we went to Target, where this seasonal t-shirt happened.

Awkward angle of me. Ronnie James is just as silky-soft and plush as he looks.

Happy Monday, All!

What I’m Digging Right Now – October Favorites

October 21, 2013January 31, 2014That Asian-Looking Chick Leave a comment

Good morning! I thought I’d take a minute to highlight some of my current favorite things, because it is all about “the little things,” right?

1). The fall air, crisp and cool coming in through the open window at night.

Nounours and Ronnie James love the cool night air, too.

2). Fall-scented candles. My favorite so far is Yankee Candle’s Autumn Wreath.

Cheerful during the day, spooky at night, and it smells wonderful!

3). The current seasons of Homeland, American Horror Story: Coven and Hart of Dixie.*

The great trilogy – our favorite series this season

(And the combination of those above three things? Sublime.)

4). My new necklace in the shape of the state of Arizona, which I ordered online (it was my October “mois-versary” gift from Callaghan).

State necklace from Baublebar.com. I chose Arizona and ordered it in tortoiseshell with a heart cut-out where Phoenix is, with a 16″ sterling silver chain.

5). Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Luna Bars.

They were on sale at Sprouts (5 for $5.00), so I took advantage!

6). Thug Kitchen, a food blog whose recipes are creative, scrumptious, healthy, easy and fun to read (if you share my sense of humor).

7). Elevation Burger.

Quick! Someone in Phoenix, buy a franchise and open it now THANK YOU. =)

They have a vegetarian burger and a vegan burger, and the latter is a feat of culinary kickass by anyone’s standards. Also, their fries are fantastic and cooked in healthy olive oil. Okay, I’ve just decided that I’m going to make a list of “Top Ten Things I’ll Miss about Austin,” just so I can put Elevation Burger on it!

8). It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin.

In this little bottle, we have THE ANSWER to my current First World beauty problem (that’s a redundancy, I know), which is that my hair is in an unmanageable stage of growing-out bangs and an awkward cut with even more awkward layers and over-texturized ends. I’ve recently started dealing with the whole mess by pretending that the bangs already don’t exist, and the result is a cascading achievement of blah. ENTER THIS PRODUCT.

It really is a miracle.

I’d been stalking it for some time, but its price tag had deterred me… until I saw it on sale at Target last week. It was still expensive, but I felt less guilty springing for it when it was $4.00 off (and I got the small size – 4 fl. oz). Turns out, it’s totally the miracle product it claims to be, so it’s worth the expense, as far as I’m concerned. See how shiny, soft and tame my hair looks in the above picture? That’s because of this stuff. That’s all I put in my hair after I washed it that day, and I didn’t do anything to it after that… it’s air-dried and uncombed. Seriously.

9). Movies about Formula 1 racing.

10). This Matt & Nat bag I unearthed from a pile in a thrift store for $9.00, a rare find.

It’s large, in perfect condition and probably originally cost between $150.00-$200.00. I thrifted it for $9.00!

What are you crazy about right now?

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*Since I posted about our Pretty Little Liars addiction, we’ve lost interest in that show! Writing about it broke the spell, oddly enough.

“Her Perfume Smells Like Burning Leaves” (but she probably doesn’t wear a cartoon owl every day)

September 25, 2013September 25, 2013That Asian-Looking Chick Leave a comment

Fall is here, Halloween is coming up, and while we have no idea what we’ll be doing costume-wise, I can at least enjoy feeling seasonable now when I put on my Halloween t-shirt, which I got from Target several years ago and actually wear throughout the year.

I wore it yesterday:

The Halloween t-shirt too adorable to ignore three-quarters of the year.

Creepy/scary Halloween imagery usually appeals to me more than the cutesy variety, but this t-shirt was an exception. I couldn’t resist it!

I’m generally enthusiastic about wearing Halloween stuff year-round, but I know that when the late Peter Steele of Type-O Negative described the mysterious gothic vixen in his song “Black No. 1” and concluded with “every day is Halloween,” he probably wasn’t thinking of her wearing a t-shirt that says “I (heart) the night life” under an orange heart-feathered cartoon owl perched on a sparkly gold crescent moon. I’m just too lazy to be a gothic vixen every day, so I go with the owl.

Moving the same note along to our apartment, we’ve got our Fall/Halloween mantel décor up! PICS – because it happened.

Our Fall (Halloween!) mantel. Not a leaf in sight, but we’ve got candles; original traditional and bizarre art; an assortment of tools; an old brass key; a petrol lamp; a bronze clock; an antique candelabra and a silly stuffed owl.

Close-up of Callaghan’s bizarre 3-D piece (“Antix”), the antique ice-pick and the owl.

Close-up of the left side. The still life on the end is an original painting by Alerini, a French artist.

Close-up of the right side. The gorgeous candelabra is a gift from Dude in France. The antique brass key on it is a gift from Catherine, also in France. The art on the end is a framed set of rubber stamps designed and carved by Callaghan.

ETA: No leaves, branches, pumpkins or gourds were abused in the making of this display.