Happy Birthday Papa!

I have always been your little girl

The one to help you in and around the house

"Papa's Little Helper"

You are the father I never had

The grandfather I always wanted

The man I could always go to 

when I was upset, happy, or scared.
 

You've been there for me through everything

Graduations, pageants, and my special day

I was honored to have you walk me down the aisle

Now, on this special day, I want to say

Happy Birthday Papa.

May you have many more wonderful years ahead!

It's Okay That I ...

...prefer Revlon lipstick over Chanel. No one has ever looked at my lips and said "That (brand) lipstick looks great on you!"

...eat hummus for dinner when I'm home alone. I'm pretty sure the Greeks have done it for centuries!

...resent cleaning only because I know it's going to be dirty in a week anyways.

...save money for the new MAC collection. It says limited edition, right?

...watch "The Holiday" a million times. "Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kiss you twice... and then linger a long time on the second kiss".

...still crave Yoohoo, even though I'm not 8 anymore.

...absolutely love Lady Gaga. She's fierce, she's offensive, she is talented. Get used to it!

...am writing this instead of working. Ooops :)

Design Your Own Shoe!

As I was browsing the internet, I saw an article about a UK company that allows women to customize their own pair of shoes. What an amazing idea! It's called Upper Street and it makes designing shoes fun!

You can choose whatever shape, color, and accessories you want to make the perfect shoe and the website is so easy to use, you'll want to make more!

Here is a shoe I designed that would be great for summer:

The shoes aren't cheap (180 euros or $220) but if you know exactly what you are looking for and can't find them, this is your best bet. They also offer bridal satin, which makes for some very happy brides :)

What kind of shoe would you create?

Pom Flair Giveaway!

I am extremely excited about this giveaway as it is from a dear friend of mine. She was the one who inspired me to open my Etsy shop and she recently did the same. Her shop is called Pom Flair and she is extremely talented in making beautiful tissue paper poms in many exciting colors. Her poms are great for parties, weddings, even home decor. I recently purchased a set of napkins rings from her that look amazing on my dining room table. Because I love them so much, we decided to give a set away!


One lucky winner will receive a set of 4 jeweled napkin rings from Pom Flair in any color they choose.

Here is how to enter:

1. Mandatory entry: You must be a follower. Please check out her Etsy shop Pom Flair and comment on what item you like the most.
2. Twitter about this giveaway (1 extra entry)
3. Facebook about this giveaway (1 extra entry)
4. Follow my friend's blog, Townhome Happy Hour (1 extra entry)
5. Blog about this giveaway (1 extra entry)

This giveaway is opened to US and International followers. The giveaway ends on July 5 and the winner will be selected on July 6. Good luck!

Science Sunday: BP Decides to Use Kevin Costner's Oil-Cleaning Machine

BP is impressed with their trial runs of an oil centrifuge device that Kevin Costner has invested in. They have decided to order 32 more machines in hopes that they can clean the oil out of the gulf water. Kevin Costner had earlier talked in front of Congress about the machines and the technology behind them.

You may be wondering what the actor has to do with cleaning up oil. The backstory is that Kevin's brother, Dan, came up with a technology that would help in oil spill cleanup efforts. Impressed by the machines, Kevin invested $20 million into the company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, to see the technology used and distributed.

The machines take in oil tainted water, centrifuge it at high speeds to remove the oil, then releases the cleaner water out. The machines have been said to remove 99% of oil and can clean 128,000 barrels of water a day.

No doubt these machines will be working overtime until the leak is completely stopped, but it is a significant breakthrough in a tragedy that is only getting worse the further the oil spreads.

Article and Photo: Yahoo News

On This Friday...

I was a bad girl and had some of these....

But then the powers that be decided that I would look better wearing my coffee instead of drinking it. C'est la vie.

P.S. I have an awesome giveaway coming up on Monday so look out for it!

My New Etsy Shop!

I have ventured into a new world... the world of Etsy! I have decided to open an Etsy store to sell custom origami mobiles.

I have been making origami since I was 9 years old and it's always been just a fun thing to do. Now, I want to make fun origami mobiles for people to use as decoration in kid's rooms, for parties, even weddings. I am offering different colors and origami shapes to tailor everyone's needs.

Need a gift idea for mommy-to-be with a nautical themed room? I can make sailboat mobiles!

What about an "Under The Sea" party? I can make fish too!

If you interested or want to learn more, stop by my Etsy shop :)

P.S. The mobile up top would make a great decoration for Thanksgiving ;)

Flower Bed Progress

I recently planted some purple button flowers (I wish I could remember the name of them) in my front flower bed to give it a little color. I sort of left it half finished knowing I was going to be putting pentas there soon. Well, soon became weeks and before I knew it, crabgrass had completely crept into my flower bed and taken it over. So today, I decided to take action and reclaim it back.

This is what it looked like before I got to work:

I decided to tear out the liriope because my husband and I don't like it very much so we'll just have flowers in the bed. I also tore out all the crabgrass and pulled up the weed protector. I moved the purple flowers up to leave room for the pentas in the back.

I planted the pentas behind the purple flowers and gave it a nice layer of fresh cypress mulch. Looks much better, doesn't it??

I realized that I'll need to get some kind of edging to keep the crabrass out so I'll be picking that up later. While I was outside, I took some pictures of the other flowers blooming right now, like my knock-out roses:

and my new crape myrtle I planted 3 weeks ago:

Anyone else doing some gardening right now?

My LUSH Haul!

First off, I want to blame Apple. I am blaming them for not making it easy to update my Iphone and thus throwing off my entire night. If it had been easy to update, I would have taken pictures of the awesome things I bought at Lush this past weekend. Instead, I am going to steal photos of the items from their website. Thanks Apple! :p

Big Blue Bath Bomb - Considering I live in Florida, I love anything that reminds me of the ocean that's oh so close. I have heard that not only does this bath bomb fill the tub with a beautiful blue hue, but that it also contains sea salt and seaweed to make you really feel like you brough the ocean into your bathroom. I can't wait to try it!

Catastrophe Cosmetic Face Mask - Talking with the Lush saleslady about my needs, I told her I really wanted to try one of the masks and my biggest concern right now was breakouts. She recommended this mask, with blueberries to deposit antioxidants and clean the face and calamine and chamomile to calm redness, another issue of mine. I used it the next day after little bumps showed up on my face and not only was my face not red, the bumps disappeared the next day. So far, I love this stuff!

Coolaulin Conditioner - Another thing I've been on the hunt for is a moisturizing conditioner that won't let my hair be taken over my Florida's humidity. I figured going all natural might be key, so I asked the saleslady what she recommended. She first told me about Retread, but it was a little past my budget. I settled for Coolaulin, which has coconut oil, lanolin, and other oils that deeply moisturizes. I've used it once and can tell a little bit of difference in the softness and moisture of my hair. I'll have to use it more to see.

French Kiss Bubble Bar - I'm a sucker for anything lavender. If you've had a rough day and need to relax, there is no better scent in my opinion to bring you back to calm. So when I saw this bubble bar, I couldn't resist! I've never used their bubble bars before but you can never go wrong with bubbles, and the lavender twig in the bar makes me giddy at the thought of a relaxing bubble bath.

Sweet Lips Lip Scrub - This scrub had me at chocolate. I've been looking for a good lip scrub and when I found out that one of their scrubs not only smelled like chocolate but was edible too, I had to try it. So far, it works very well and seems like it will last quite a long time. If I ever run out of dessert, I have a back up :)

Science Sunday: Killer Whales Learn How to Attack Great White Sharks

Sorry it's a little late!

I was watching National Geographic the other day when I came across a fascinating show. The show is Nature Untamed and this particular episode was titled " The Whale That Ate Jaws". It was centered around a video captured in 1997 of a Killer Whale attacking and eating a great white shark off the coast of the Farallon Islands. This had never before been captured on video in the wild and sent scientists into a frenzy as to how and why the Orcas could kill one the greatest ocean predators.

One part of the episode focused on the fact that there are different groups of Orcas off the coast of California that all eat different things according to their location and behavior. One group is the Transient group that stays closer to the shore and groups together in small groups called pods. The other group is the Resident group that comes together into a larger community and has subtle physical differences from the transients. Some scientists think there is an actual 3rd group called the LA Killer Whale group that are sort of the rogues of the species and hunt on whatever is available. They are grouped closer to the waters off Los Angeles and Mexico.

Another part of the episode was how sharks in general, especially great white sharks, could be attacked by lesser predators. The reason is an anomaly that exists in sharks called tonic immobility. Basically, if a shark is placed on it's back in the water, it goes into a state of unconsciousness and does not move or fight it's way out of the grasp of anything. In this state, a shark could easily be attacked and not defend itself. This was shown by Dr. Samuel Gruber, who specializes in lemon sharks in the Bahamas.

One of the most interesting parts of this show was that lab scientists were able to take tissue from a dead shark and create a liquid form of the chemical that leaves a shark when it feels threatened. This chemical alerts other sharks in the area to swim away to safety and explains why great whites left the Farallon Islands for years after the first attack. Once they made this liquid, they were able to test it on sharks to see their reaction to the "threat of death" and the sharks fled extremely fast. They also saw that if administered to a shark in tonic immobility, it would come out of that state and swim away.

In the end, the scientists realized that Killer Whales have learned over the years that sharks will not defend themselves if turned upside down, so many of them have learned how to attack a great white in order to eat them. The shark emitted a chemical that warned the other sharks in the area of danger and made the other sharks stay away from the islands for years after the attack. A truly fascinating scene that is played out in the wild.

I Might Need a Trip to LUSH Soon...

Last night, I enjoyed a wonderful bath thanks to Lush. I had half a bath bomb left and that was all it needed. My friend got it for me years ago from Cali and I didn't know what the name was but I think it's called Absolute Delight.

It smells amazing and is very calming. Definitely a great introduction into the world of Lush. Now that I only have another half of a bath bomb left (Sex Bomb, hehe ;), I'm thinking I need to make a trip to Lush soon to check out some products. One I would love to try is their Lip Scrubs:

There is something about exfoliating my lips with a scrub that smells like chocolate, and it's edible too!

I've also been wanting to try a Bubble Bar for awhile. This French Kiss one looks amazing since I'm always a fan of lavender :)

What are some of your favorite LUSH products? Any bath bombs or bubble bars you recommend?

Help Me Choose My Fabric!

So now that I've finished my furniture project, I need a new project to keep me occupied! I wrote several months ago that my mother in law gave me a sewing machine for free and my first attempt at sewing would be to make throw pillows for our living room couches. It's gotta be easy, right?

You see those ugly pillows on this couch? Yeah, those are the unfortunate throw pillows we got free with our couch set 2 years ago. They need to go! (P.S., not our couch, just the only one I found with the ugly pillows on it).

So now, I need your help. I found 3 fabulous fabrics online in the colors I want but I can't decide on the pattern. Here are the choices:

A. Cross Section

B. Lovely Lattice

C. Parterre Grass

I know, I'm on a bit of a green kick lately but the main colors in our house are green and blue so I have green set as an accent color in the living room.

Please tell me in the comments section which letter choice you think is the best and why. Once I get paid on Friday, I'll be set to order my fabric. Hope you have a great Thursday :)

Design Star is Back!

One of my favorite reality shows is Design Star. I love the concept and I always hope that I will get inspiration from someone's design. The white box challenges are my favorite because they really do work with a blank canvas and sometimes make the most wonderful looking rooms.

Season 5 is here and the group seems like a well-rounded collection of talent, taste, and vision. It's a little early to pick faves since they've only done one challenge so far but I'm excited to see what they can create.

They do have their work cut out for them though... following up last season will be very difficult. I mean, who could forget Antonio's brilliant pink ducks??

I also loved Dan last season, particularly his outdoor space and the nursery he created for the Priestley's. Aren't those boats just so whimsical?

Do you watch this show? What do you love most about it?

The Softest Makeup Brush I've Ever Had

For someone who absolutely loves makeup, I was sure behind the times on my makeup brushes. I was still using cheap ones I got 3 Christmases ago that were doing the job but probably not well.

I finally realized that my makeup would only be as good as the brushes used to apply it. So I headed out to Target to see what I could find. Let me tell you, makeup brushes are expensive! Thank god Sonia Kashuk has a cheaper line of brushes that are still great (I bought 4 to kick those cheap brushes to the curb).

While browsing the makeup brush aisle, I came across a powder brush that advertised itself to be eco-friendly and cruelty-free. With it's bamboo handle and affordable price, I had to give it a try. When I got home and tried it, I stepped into another world. It was the softest brush I ever put on my face! Putting powder on started feeling decadent and luxurious and I wanted to just keep brushing my face with it. What is this soft powder brush?

The EcoTools Bamboo Powder Brush, of course!

It has a bamboo handle, synthetic cruelty-free bristles, recycled aluminum ferrule, and comes in a reusable sleeve. At $9.99, it's a steal! It even looks soft in the picture!

I haven't tried the other brushes but I am due for a new blush brush and I think EcoTools has stolen my heart (or my face).


What is your favorite makeup brush?

My Furniture Project: Day 5... Finished!

Hey everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! I had a busy weekend and wasn't able to do any posting but I accomplished many things, including finishing my furniture project! It's taken me 3 weeks but it's finally complete and I am happy with it.

I put on a 4th and final coat and then applied two coats of a satin wipe-on poly to give it a protective coating. Now it just has to dry before we can take it upstairs but the room is ready for it's new furniture :)

Here is the finished product:

It's looks bright in the picture but the color is darker. I'm going to find a gold pen to use in the etching and a pretty decorative paper to line the cardboard on the inside but it's ready to go!

Hope you have a great Monday!

Do You Love Baked Eyeshadows?

I know that baked eyeshadows have been around for years but I've only been introduced to them recently. My first experience with them is when I purchased the Maybelline Color Pearls Eyeshadow in Mocha Mirage.

I love the color combination of bronze and pink and thought it would be a great color for summer. I had heard baked eyeshadows have a great color pigmentation and especially look great wet. When I got home, I swatched it to see what I was getting. Since I don't have a picture of it, here is one from Dee's blog:

As you can tell, there is a slight difference in the colors but, unfortunately, when you actually put it on, they tend to blend into each other and don't have contrast like many others do. The colors are great but there is considerable shimmer fallout.

One collection I am very eager to try baked eyeshadows on is MAC's In The Groove collection coming out in July. I have my eye set on 3 sets of their Mineralize Eye Shadow Trios:

Blue My Mind

Calm, Cool & Collected

Soften The Mood

How gorgeous are those colors?? I've never used MAC's mineral eyeshadows before but I've heard they are the most pigmented and last the longest. I can't wait to try these out!

Are you a fan of baked eyeshadows? If so, which brand or color is your favorite?

Swatches pic courtesy of ohmydee

In The Groove pics courtesy of Temptalia

Making Plans For 4th of July

How is everybody doing? I had a nice relaxing day off yesterday that was super productive. I finally finished painting my furniture! The color is done and looks fabulous. All that is left is to wipe on some polyester and it will be complete. Then we can get to the arduous task of heaving it up a flight of stairs into it's new home. I will have pictures tomorrow :)

The hubby and I think we are going to Panama City for the 4th of July to visit his family and friends. The drive is about 5 hours, which isn't the greatest after work but we haven't seen his fam since Christmas and we miss them. Also, the oil will have probably reached PC's coast by then, which makes going to the beach out of the question. At least there is an awesome outlet mall in Destin.... can we say 4th of July sales?? :)

Anyone making any fun 4th of July plans?

Avon; Is It Worth It?

In a society where cosmetics and fragrances are easily accessed in department stores, drug stores, and specialty stores such as Sephora, it's amazing that catalog companies such as Avon have been able to stake their claim and sell billions of dollars of products. For a 124 year old company, that is pretty impressive.

I once tried to sell Avon but realized quickly that it's dangerous to sell something that you could easily use all your pay to buy, plus I'm just not assertive enough :)

When I got home one day, there was a Avon catalog in my driveway that a local saleslady had placed there. I flipped through it and saw that they had a lot of really nice makeup products and colors. My concern, like a lot of people I know, was that a lot of times with Avon, you have to wait longer for the products to get to you. Sure the prices are much better than most drugstore brands, but is it worth the wait?

My other concern is that, unlike stores, you can't try the products before you order. Sure, some of the ladies will have samples to help you out, but the chances of them having what you want to order is small. For someone like myself that really has to be careful with what colors I get because of my skin tone, not being able to see it first is a big leap of faith.

Are there any Avon ladies out there or ladies who order from them frequently? What do you like about Avon and is it worth it?