Haul - MAC! MAC! MAC!

Why is it that every time I go into a MAC store I drop around $200?? I have an addiction. I am addicted to MAC makeup (which I haven't quite figured out since I don't even wear that much makeup on a day to day basis) and to spending money apparently. Oh well, I still love it. Here's what I bought on my last trip:

 

• Select Cover-Up in NW20
• Studio Fix Fluid in NC20 (with SPF 15)
• Studio Fix Pressed Powder in NW25
• Paint Pot in Painterly
• Lipstick in Fabby
• Dazzleglass Creme in My Favorite Pink
• Lip Pencil in Stripdown
• Eye Brow Pencil in Lingering

I am beyond happy with ALL of these purchases. Clearly I need to get on the same track with all my skin colorings haha, but I will definitely be repurchasing all of these items when they run low. 

What have you gotten at MAC lately?

xoxo

OPI: Blue My Mind

Choosing a not 'normal' color for your nails is fun I think. At least for me. This last trip I picked out this electric blue from OPI called 'Blue My Mind'. Cute name right? And man have I gotten a bazzillion compliments.

 

Next I think I'm doing my matte white again...

My brother's first song is out!!

My younger brother (one and only) like to make music as a hobby, and long story short he produced (meaning he created all the music parts) a song for this rapper named Doey Rock aka Mean Doe Green (who wrote and raps all the lyrics). The song is called My House and its on his Mind Candy cd.

SO COOL!!!

My bro's producer name is INFINITY SLUMP, which are the very first words you hear - he gets the first shout out!!

I am beyond proud of him for this accomplishment (which he did all by himself!) and beyond excited for him.  Take a listen, spread the word.

Love his very stoked sister.

Eggs Benedict Addiction

Over the last couple years I've discovered eggs benedict. How I didn't find them until now I'll never know, but there's no turning back! I've two favorite places in San Diego so far for these yummy eggs.

My best is Cafe Chloe, downtown, on the corner of 9th and G. If I could move here I would, the decor is fabulous. Instead I think I'll plan a brunch here for my nearest and dearest...perhaps for birthday weekend in October. I order the poached eggs w/wild mushrooms and sage-truffle beurre blanc for $11 and the orange mimosa for $8. Yes, a bit pricey, but worth it here and there.

My second favorite, and a bit cheaper, is also downtown - the newest Broken Yolk on 6th Ave. Typically I order the Western Benedict but sometimes I get wild and order the regular Eggs Benedict lol. This place gives you tons of food, so my recommendation is to order one plate to split with two people. Its just too much by your lonesome.  We just went here for breakfast Sunday morning with our friend Jess from DC and had a great time...miss that place!

Have you been to these places? Other good egg places in San Diego? (Besides my own kitchen I mean)

Mission: FitBitch Progress from Last Week

Wow, this is a really good idea for me to post progress weekly. Mostly because it reminds me, yet again, that I didn't do shit last week!! And I'm never going to get to my goal this way.

My exercise from last week: I ran 20 minutes on the treadmill, one day. Does sweating while painting your guest bedroom count as exercise??

This week's fitspiration photo:

Gretchen Bleiler

Rough Day

Some days I hate my job situation. But on those days, I remember how much I am loved and a hug from my boyfriend washes the bad day away.

Portland, Oregon

I've never been to Portland, but have the opportunity to spend 3 days here working. Unfortunately it's all scheduled out for work, but I will have the chance to snatch a dinner at the waterfront...or so I hope. Today is my first day here and BossLady and I were so tired that we ate across the street from the hotel (instead of our planned waterfront restaurant) and went straight to our rooms.
We had a fabulous dinner at the Oswego Grill in Lake Oswego, OR. I had the roasted chicken, grilled asparagus, and a glass of Pinot Noir. Can you believe it, I stuck to my meal plan?! I'm so proud of myself! I even had a turkey club sandwich from Applebee's for lunch and squeezed in my Americano with breakfast. I was spot on for my planned calorie intake for today, I'm so excited.
Now I'm laying in bed watching Episode 3 of The Biggest Loser (LOVE this show) and in 15 minutes when its over I'm going down to the treadmill for a run. Super stoked on a good healthy day.

I'ma be a SnowBunny!

This past Saturday I put together a girls trip to Big Bear Lake to go snowboarding. On the way we picked up our personal guide/instructor Jimmy (yes, he's a boy, but it wouldn't have been as good without him). Last season I finally learned how to board and only went 2 1/2 days.

So this is my 2nd season and I want more! My next challenge is to be able to go straight/vertical down the hill, whilst being in control, and then J curve (b/c I'm goofy foot) back out of it to a standing stop. Jimmy says once I can master that I'll be able to learn a C curve to ride toeside. YAY me I can't wait!! Here are some pix from the day:

Julie and I

Me and Jen - we forgot to wear our Charger jerseys :^( But we still wore blue haha

Me and Cara on the lift for Summit Run

Julie shreddin da gnar on her very first day to the snow!

Mission: FitBitch Progress from Last Week

I'm on my last leg of my Mission: FitBitch goal. Five more pounds to go!!! Once I get there my goal is to maintain weight and stay fit. But I really need to get re-motivated to finish this out. I plan on posting my progress on Mondays so that you can keep me accountable when I didn't do shit.

My exercise from last week: I went snowboarding on Saturday at Big Bear. Super fun, but I need to do more than just that.

This week's fitspiration photo:

Baby, Baby, Baby

Ayden over at Little Blog of Horrors made a post with her baby pix and I thought I'd do the same. Such a cute idea because I know for me, and apparently for her, things haven't changed much in the last 20 years. Just dont tell my parents haha because they'd kill me if they knew peeps saw these pix of them back in the 80s.

 

My cousin Tiffany and I, too cool for school with our sunglasses lol

Me and my little bro - LOVE him! Look at that cute face

Looks like a windy camping weekend in Yosemite, CA

Who else has baby pix to post?

Update: 2009 Goals in Review

I believe I was fairly successful in completing my personal goals in 2009. Just to be sure, let's take a look. Here they are with today's comments in red:

MUST Goals:

• Pay off all credit card debt by 05/31/2009 - Yes, I did actually pay it off early, but it didn't last long before I added more debt on, whoops.
• Lose 8 lbs by 05/31/2009 - This did not happen, I lost more like 6 by year end, but it was close.
• Have $5k in savings by 12/31/2009 - I did meet this one, and then promptly spent all my money on a home with boyfriend. But that was the plan for saving.

HOPE Goals:
• Lose an additional 5 lbs by 12/31/2009 - No I didn't make it to my goal weight even though I worked on it for a year. Or pseudo worked on it. Still have the last 5 lbs!
• Have a visible six pack (this one makes me giggle, but I AM serious!) - aHAahahah yeah, not so much
• Plan and have money allocated for a 2010 Europe trip by 12/31/2009 - this one is done! Dublin, Paris, and Prague LOOK OUT!
• Be kidney stone free this year - I do have a stone, and have had it for quite some time now, but technically this one is still met b/c I haven't passed any stones this year. Or I might have passed one actually. But still, I was close to none all year, one isn't bad.
• Have $20k liquid available for a house down payment - Umm $20k liquid didn't happen, but I did have enough money for a down payment, so that worked out well.

Overall I think I did okay. Love this pic from weheartit.com

How To: Combat the Mean Reds

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorite movies. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it while tucked into bed. One of my favorite scenes is when Holly (Audrey Hepburn) explains the ''Mean Reds".

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?

Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Holly's way to combat the Mean Reds is to go to the Tiffany's flagship store in Manhattan, NYC. Mine is as follows:

• Put my earbuds in my ears, pick my favorite iPod playlist, then turn it up loud enough to drown out all other sounds
• Get your favorite warm drink. Mine is a Starbucks Americano w/ white mocha syrup, out of a green straw of course
• Flip through your favorite girly magazine. Mine is Vogue, I just love love the photos and colors
• Put on your favorite scent, either perfume or a candle or home oil. My best feel good smell is The Body Shop home oils, usually Exotic or Satsuma. Light that baby up and put it right near you so its potent
• Open the curtains/blinds/shutters to let in as much natural light as possible
• Keep your notebook and pen handy to write down whatever pops in your head. You can vent, be inspired, remember something you'd forgotten. Be prepared because you never know what will happen.

Does anyone else do something like this? How do you combat your Mean Reds? Or blues for that matter?

What I'm doing right now

Tucked into bed with a Starbucks and watching Gone With the Wind. I had never seen this movie until a few years ago when I first started dating boyfriend. He's pretty good at picking out movies I'll like and he insisted that I watch this one. Boy was he right. I just love Scarlett. She's not the sort of girl I would be friends with in real life; in fact, she's the sort of girl I loathe. Attention seeking boyfriend stealer with a knack for the dramatic and a one track mind for her self and her selfish intentions. But on the big screen she's a hoot and a doll and just so darn entertaining.

 

This is only the second time I've seen this movie, but since I got the dvd for Christmas I have a feeling I'll watch it several times in my lifetime. Does anyone else love this flick?

Under the weather

Friday night I knew that my throat was tight and starting to swell, which are my early signs for getting a cold, but I didn't wanted to believe it. Saturday I woke up feeling fine and thanking God that it must have been my imagination. I should have known better.

Saturday night I crash so hard I ignored my daily blog post, boyfriend made me soup, and tucked me into bed early with a Harry Potter dvd. Today I don't feel any better so I'm taking it easy and haven't moved off the couch.

I loathe feeling/being under the weather, its just so annoying. While I'm stuck on the couch boyfriend is 'going to go Dexter the guest room' which means prepping it for popcorn removal and painting. I love that stuff. And of course I love that show.

Crave: Anthropologie Dress

I love love love the store Anthropologie even though I've never actually bought a garment from there. Someday I will...for now I just go in the store and touch and lust over everthing I see. Over Christmas break my mom and I went in for a bit and fell in love with this dress. I copied this from their website:

It's called the windowpane because there is a large cutout opening in the back, but unfortunately I can't find a proper pic for you. Its just so cute, I crave it everytime I think about it. I could imagine myself with a martini in one hand and a ciggie in the other haha. But alas I can't justify spending $200 on it...yet...

My First Blog Award!

I was tagged by Ayden at Little Blog of Horrors for this award - Thank you!! (love her blog). 

For this award I have to write 7 facts about myself and tag 7 other bloggers.

1. I actually hate talking about myself
2. I'm 28 years old and terrified of turning 30.
3. When I was younger I would have a nervous breakdown about twice a year. My last one was when I turned 25, because I was turning 25.
4. I'm a CALI girl and always will be - 11 years in San Luis Obispo, 7 years in Galt, 1 year in Malibu, 8 years in San Diego.
5. I'm madly in love. He's my best friend and my favorite thing is time spent just the two of us. Our biggest problem is that I'm an OCD neat freak and he's super messy.
6. I really want to be a mom, a good one, but sometimes feel that if I say how badly I want babies I'll jinx things (even though I'm not superstitious at all).
7. I have an unused passport but that's going to change this year!

Now I tag YOU! And these lovely blogerettes:

Femme Flaca

Red Miss Mitchell

JennyMay - The Swede Records

Elle - Elle Squared

Kerry - Kerry; My Lifes My Loves

Ondine - This is Ondine

Eve - Absolutely Ladylike

Look forward to reading your answers. xoxo

MAC - Going, Going, Gone

I recently got an email from MAC about products they are discontinuing. I'm not sure if they send this out regularly, or always do promotions for them, but I do know that they have a tendency to cancel some products/colors here and there. Thought I'd let you know in case you didn't already, or have any favs on the list you need to stock up on!

Personal Goals for 2010

I still need to check how I did on my 2009 goals and make an update, but of course I've already started my list for 2010 and what I plan to accomplish. Here's what I've got so far:

• Make a blog post everyday in January
• Pass French 101 (starts 1/25)
• Lose these last 5 lbs and maintain
• Be kidney stone free for the year
• Book and Pay for our first trip to Europe (in July!)
• Be credit card debt free
• Have 3 months salary in savings

2 personal, 2 health-related, 3 financial. What are your goals/hopes/dreams/determinations?

Restaurant in Pasadena, CA

So today I'm in Pasadena for work (all day meeting tomorrow, bleh) and a girls gotta eat, right?! Check into the hotel, dump my stuff all over my room, then BossLady and I start to wander around Old Town. In about 5 minutes flat we decide to give the green light to the first place we see since we're both starving. Turns out to be a place called Russell's on N Fair Oaks Ave.

I see that they serve red wine so I figure it'll work. Surprisingly, I chose to be a good girl and ordered the salmon with veggies (I know right, I can't believe it myself!). What's really surprising to me is how gooood it was. Seriously, I couldn't shut up about the salmon. So yummy. The malbec from Argentina was decent and BossLady loved her steak and fries.

If you're in the area, this would be a recommendation, for sure.

TAG: Getting to Know You...

"...getting to know all about you." haha, i couldn't resist. I saw this quiz from Ondine here and decided to steal for myself.

1. Mood: indifferent...i think??
2. Left or Right Handed: Right, but when I was a kid I remember trying to teach myself to be both b/c 'all the artsy types are Lefties' and man I didn't want to be the square who used her right!
3. Where do you consider home: Our new condo in San Diego, definitely. But sometimes I do tell people that I was actually born in San Luis Obispo and graduated High School in Galt (near Sacramento, in NorCal). Because technically I'm not 'from' San Diego even though I've lived here 8+ years.
4. 3 things you're grateful for: My boyfriend, my health, not really being affected by the economy...yet
5. Today's Eyes/Lips/Cheeks: Eyes=MAC paint pot in Painterly and MAC Technakohl liner in black; thats it, so sad. Lips=a whole lot of dry skin. Cheeks=MAC marble skinfinish cheeker in a bronzy color.
6. Have you ever studied abroad: Umm, no. I had the chance but didn't...bad decision
7. Do you collect anything: uhh, what? like dust?
8. Last text you sent: To my hairdresser/friend Candice "Can't wait 2 c u tonight!" (b/c I have a hair appt!)
9. Today's Outfit: ballet flats, my old reuhl jeans, a white tshirt, & my new Reuhl poncho
10. This Week's goals: drink all my water, pack all breakfasts and lunches for work, dont get in an accident while driving my boss up to Pasadena for work, make it to at least 1 workout class 
    

Now I tag YOU - I'd love to see you answers. xoxo

In Need of Fitspiration

The last two weeks I have been pretty diligent about my food intake - back to my healthy ways. But for some reason I can't get back into the habit of exercising. For me, this is the hardest part; starting up your gym regime after some time off. I can't figure out why its so damn difficult though!
And I'll be honest here...I have only done a type of phisical exertment ONE time since before my cousins wedding in October. WHAT the...yes, one time I went jogging/walking/hiking for an hour and a half with 2 of my friends. And that's it. And I've only got 5 pounds left to go to be at my goal weight. Five pounds, thats it. I just want to dump it already!
I need some help here girls. What gets you motivated to get back into an exercise routine? How do you make that first step into the gym?

Laundromat now open

Our laundry room was too small to fit any normal size washer/dryer, so we moved the wall back 8 inches, rewired the electrical, reworked the plumbing, & put new flooring in over the existing concrete (used as a sound barrier for the neighbors below).

Here's what it looked like before:

Here's some pix during the work:

 

 

 

And of course I forgot to take a picture after everything was finished, but take my word that it looked really good and we couldn't have done it without our friend Cheyenne, who flew out from Virginia to help us.   

Here's the new washer/dryer set, in the room! Super snug fit, but it does fit. We bought front loaders from LG, with their stacking kit, all from Home Depot.

 

The last 2 months of having to go to the laundromat have been exhausting, but now we're up and running in our own home. Huge sigh of satisfaction.

First Day of 2010

Yesterday boyfriend and I had the best day. A little laziness, a little productivity, and lots of kisses. It's so easy to make me happy haha. Here's what we did:

• Slept in a bit
• Made coffee - Starbucks French Roast (my fav)
  
• Good breakfast of hard boiled egg and fruit
• Played some Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (boyfriend's brothers bought him a PS3 for Christmas & he bought this game for me-I love racing cars)
• Ordered a new couch - We've had our eye on this one for a year or so, but since the futon recently broke, we went to replace it asap
• Got more Starbucks :^)
  
• Bought a couple things at Ruehl - they're closing our store, actually all the stores (going out of business), so everything is super on sale
• Chipotle for lunch!
• Watched a movie on Xbox/Netflix - Romancing the Stone (I loved this movie when I was a kid & haven't seen it in forever - now its a bit cheesy)
• I took an hour nap
• Watched an episode of Friday Night Lights on Xbox/Netflix
• Finished our bottle of wine from Jessup Cellars in Napa Valley (there wasn't much left)
• Had a snack of bbq popchips & i had a cup of strawberries
  
• Found an extra power cord for my bro to have & made plans for him to come over Sunday
• In bed by 1030pm

Here's a picture of our couch, from the website. We ordered the color 'cream' in a twill material and plan on buying a slipcover to keep it safe and fresh. And actually, when we put the new flooring in our condo, it will be a similar shade to what's shown here.

 Super simple day & so relaxing. Those are my best days. What about you, what did you do yesterday?

Recipe - Black Bean Chili

I'm slowly getting used to my crockpot & my new kitchen (and just cooking in general) and I like finding new recipes that I would actually repeat. This is one of them. Its simple, its yummy, and its good for you. And it actually comes from my FitOrbit trainer, Charlanne, so thank you to her!

Makes 6 servings: Serving size about 1 cup (about 285 calories)


Ingredients:
1 tbspn canola oil
1 3/4 cups finely chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbspn chili powder
2 tspn ground cumin
3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup water
1 tbspn sugar
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained


Instructions:
Heat canola oil in a big regular pot over medium heat
Add onion & garlic; saute for 6 minutes or just until onion mixture begins to brown
Add chili powder & cumin (or substitute with taco mix); cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly
Add beans, water, sugar, tomatoes; stirring to combine
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, & simmer for 30 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. (Lid off)
Ta da!


Then I bust out 6 plastic containers and divide the goods evenly, so that its all ready for my lunches/dinners.