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August Favorites 2013

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
07 September 2013
0

collage of august 2013 favorites including lightweight jackets, ipsy bags, jcpenney businesswear dress, olay eyelash serum, instant udon noodles, gogobot canvas bag, basin products, and american eagle clothing

1. lightweight jackets – In the summer months, it’s so uncomfortable wearing heavy jackets but I still needed something to keep me warm in air-conditioned areas. Literally the day I decided to look for a new jacket, I happened upon the blue on at Kohl’s! It was pretty much exactly the kind I had in mind – this sort of super thin and lightweight material that had a lot of texture on the inside to trap more heat. Perfect. Then I headed over to Target and discovered the purple one, which is the same sort of cloth but with a hoodie. It was on sale for a good price so I decided to get it as well. Now I can choose between hooded or not!

2. Ipsy bags – Over the months I have acquired quite a few Ipsy bags and I am still thinking of uses for them all. I plan on putting one or two in the car and using some in my purse once I start carrying a larger one again. They are perfect for organizing small items like foil samples, hair ties, and lip balms. I think I might also use one for receipts since they always get so mangled in my purse. I enjoy all the different patterns, textures, and shapes that Ipsy comes up with. Certainly keeps things fresh!

3. JCPenney clothing – The last time I shopped at JCPenney must have been in high school and that was to buy a purse. For the longest time, I never gave their clothing a chance, thinking the quality and style choices might not be suitable. Panda convinced me to swing by though when I needed something to wear to an interview and I’m so glad he did! I found this dress, which was just the kind of thing I wanted – a dress with pencil skirt bottom and blouse-like top. I don’t have to worry about matching and I only have one article to put on. 🙂 We got it for such a steal too! In the future, I will keep them in mind for my clothing needs.

4. Olay eyelash serum – I got this as a sample from VocalPoint awhile back and then I lost it. Ever since, I’d been searching for it at a good price (most stores offered the eyelash serum and eye cream set for around $30-35). Then I came across it at Costco at such a deal!! I forgot the exact price, but it was like $25 for two sets of the eyelash serum and eye cream duo. Oh, that was another thing – I only wanted the eyelash serum, not the eye cream, but Olay doesn’t sell them separately! Anyway, I got them for a price I was happy with and I probably remember to use it about once a week. I really do feel like my eyelashes have gotten better since I started using it and I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or just that I didn’t notice what my lashes looked like before. Whatever the case, I’m happy to use this as long as I see results!

5. Nongshim instant udon – We discovered this at Costco as well and I pounced on it. Instant udon?! I don’t really see that around and I love udon noodles. I wasn’t sure how the quality would be and while it’s certainly not healthy for me, I sure do love the taste. This is such a fun and easy meal to have when I don’t want frozen food or leftovers or instant ramen. I try to limit how much I eat since it is priiiicey (about $2/bowl compared to like maybe a quarter for ramen) and very salty. I’m not trying to kill myself with over-consumption of salt here. This is a new staple in the house and I expect it will stay that way as long as they are sold in our area.

6. Gogobot bags – I received this super cool canvas tote bag from Gogobot when I became a Pro. Ever since, it’s been my go-to travel bag. The UK trip and that Panda and I took was no exception, which this bag and my suitcases carrying all my stuff. I also love the toiletry bag I got for writing a certain number of reviews on Gogobot. I can’t seem to find a picture of it and I’m too lazy to get one for you but it’s quite a large bag, with various compartments for all your toiletries. I love it and keep it on the counter at home as well so I can (somewhat) organize my various products. Both of these bags were essential for my travels and I’m so glad I have them.

7. Basin products – I’ve been using the pink grapefruit solid shampoo and conditioner for my showering needs. They smell fabulous and I love how well the shampoo foams up. These bars will last me months and months. I even brought them with me on the trip so I wouldn’t have to worry about liquids. Unfortunately I didn’t realize how abused my checked luggage would get on the way home, because I decided to throw them in the checked bag and now my shampoo bar is one crushed mess. I will need to find a container for it! I’ve also been using the charcoal face wash, which smells nicely of something sweet and makes the skin on my face feel calmer.

8a. & 8b. American Eagle sales -I mentioned Hukkster about a month ago when I got these skinny jeans and dress from American Eagle. If it wasn’t for that service, I never would have known the amazingly cheap jeans I could have gotten! I ordered three pairs of pants and then just a few days later was browsing their site again when I found some cute dresses. This one was on sale for one of the lowest prices so I decided to get it too. I love AE free shipping! Now I am the happy owner and wearer of these articles, three of which made it to the UK with me!

secret passage ipad game screenshot loading screen9. Secret Passages game – For some reason when I tried to open this picture in Picasa to add it to my collage, it wouldn’t work, so here it is shown separately. This is a game I’ve been playing a lot lately, where you basically search for items in a picture. It’s designed so you can’t play more than four searches in a row so I have to put it down a lot. While that made me frustrated at first, I kind of like that since it forces me to do other things in my life. Sometimes I can get into games with no end and play for hours!

On My Mind, episode 9

laelene Post in on my mind，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
15 August 2013
2

I’ve got so much on my mind it’s a perfect time to link up with Jennifer again for Thursday Thoughts!

Thursday Thoughts

a. ~I’m so happy that I got the job I really wanted! For awhile I was getting all stressed out because every day that passed felt like weeks and it seemed like I’d never reach the point of getting a job offer. It’s funny how time drags on like that when you’re waiting on something that’s important to you. I mean, from the time I applied to the time I got the offer was really only 2 weeks but I seriously felt like 2 months had gone by. Now that I know, I feel like a weight has been lifted. As they say, the worst is not knowing… then you’re stuck in a limbo not sure of what the next step will be or where it will take you. Oh, and I’m really glad I no longer have to remember to use my debit card 5 times a month to avoid a fee on my checking account. I will have direct deposit again, which will waive that requirement! The small joys of employment…

homegrown collective july box coconut theme

I’ll get Homegrown Collective boxes like these now!


b. ~So since I’ve settled the job thing, now I’ve got a ton of things to hone in on. I’m looking to get a car and a new laptop and maybe some clothes. I’ve been meaning to get a pair of sneakers (I can’t even remember the last time I wore sneakers and it’s high time I use them again!) and I promised myself I could get the Homegrown Collective subscription when I landed a job. There are a ton of other subscription boxes I’ve been eyeing and I want to pick up yoga classes again, but I don’t want to go crazy spending money so I will need to phase these items in slowly. There’s so much stuff to purchase in the coming months! Not only all this stuff I’ve put off until I got a job (I figured that would help motivate me), but also the things we’re going to want for our new home. I can’t wait to get some fun home items like a reed diffuser and some more furniture.

c. ~Once again I checked the mail late yesterday and I was so surprised to find another Ipsy bag! I double and triple and quadruple-checked that both were addressed to me and I didn’t see a second charge on my credit card, so it looks like I got lucky this month! I got identical bags so I’m going to put some items up for trade, like the lip balm and nail polish, since I really don’t need two of those. Hopefully I can find the second bag a home as well, since I’m fond of collecting the variety of bags and have no need for a dupe.

inside of kia dealership

Lovely experience at the Kia dealership.


d. ~Panda and I checked out a Kia dealer last weekend and today I headed to a different one just to see if they had better rates or something. They ended up offering me a price that is close to what I’m looking for, so it’s looking very promising. I can’t wait to share the car I end up getting, which will almost definitely be an Optima with the EX premium package. There are so many cool features in it that it really feels like a luxury car. In fact, it can rival the Lexus that my parents have (though that one is nearly 10 years old now so it’s probably a bit outdated by now). Still, for the price point, I’m getting a lot of nice stuff. I have a few more questions I need answered and a bit more negotiating to do, but I love that it ended up being easier than it might have been. The original price they quoted was so far from my desired price that I wasn’t sure I could come to a good compromise. I’ve had my heart set on getting a Kia for a long time now, so I would have been disappointed if it didn’t work out. Fingers crossed there are no unexpected surprises!

e. ~I’m slated to start work next month since I had a vacation planned already, so in the mean time I get to go home for a bit! For some reason I feel like I’ve been out east for a long time when it’s only been a month and a half. I think it might be because this is the first time I came intending to stay long term; every other time was just a 2-3 month visit. When you relocate, it feels different from just staying awhile. I do have training to attend next week for the first two days, but then I’ll be flying back to SoCal for a few precious days at home. I’m looking forward to going back since there’s a lot of loose ends that I didn’t really get to tie up yet. I hope I can get some nice rest in as well. For some reason I’m always tired here even though I’m not really exerting myself. Maybe home will be the recharge I need.

f. ~YAY our second annual summer vacation is coming up in less than two weeks! We’ve had this trip planned for months now and I’m so excited that it’s nearly here. Panda and I agreed that we would alternate choosing destinations each year. Last year was our first major trip and he chose Hawaii; this year I chose the UK (which works out nicely since the Uni of York where I studied abroad is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year). It’ll be so nice to go back and share some of my life out there with him. This vacation had to be later in the year (our Hawaii trip was June/July) due to ticket prices and trying to catch a holiday weekend – in this case, Labor Day. It’s the first time he’s leaving the country, which should be quite the adventure.

g. ~Since I have to use my debit card 5 times a month until I get direct deposit again, I went out to Target for some shopping today. I was hoping to get the fuzzy nail polish that Sally Hansen has, but the sale was gone and I wanted to wait for a deal again. Instead I found some ointment for my burns, which aren’t healing as well as I’d want. I also got some food items that I had coupons for, which I’m pretty excited about. Finally, I purchased office supplies – these clear reusable double-sided sticky pads that you can mount pictures or hold things in place with. When I was visiting Brandy (check her out at MommySplurge) a few days ago, she showed me how she used them to ensure things didn’t roll away when she was trying to take pictures. Brilliant! Now I don’t have to waste tape. 🙂

What’s going on in your life?

June Favorites 2013

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 July 2013
0

I’ve been meaning to put together my June favorites for quite some time, but I kept putting it off because I wanted to try creating a cool professional-looking collage with Polyvore. Alas, many of the items didn’t come with pictures or had ones I didn’t like, so I decided to just make my own collage with Picasa. I can always try again next month, right? So anyway, here are some of the things that I really loved using/doing throughout the month of June.

collage of june 2013 favorites including nyc new york color glossy lip balm, trade/swap, spring sing tank top, juice beauty lip gloss and hydrating mist, seabuck wonders facial cleanser and cream, cat it senses feeding maze and play circuit, and graze snack container

1. NYC New York Color Glossy Lip Balm – This came in my Influenster Spring VoxBox and I’ve been using it frequently! I love the light apple scent, the slanted design, and the cute apple design creating a two-toned lip balm. It’s my go-to lip product now and I’ll definitely look out for another one when I finish this one. I’ll probably go for a slightly more subtle color though, since every time I put this on, Panda can tell and I don’t want it to be that obvious!

2. swaps/trades – My newest addiction, thanks to Ipsy, is trading or swapping products. It all started when I decided to subscribe to Ipsy, but found that they sent me my least favorite color nail polish. In the hopes of trading it for the purple one I so desired, I began to explore trade forums and groups. I also had a ton of things from other subscription boxes as well as items I’ve accumulated that I didn’t plan on using, so I decided to create a trade list. Now I’ve done over a dozen swaps and I’m loving all the products I get to try!

3. Spring Sing tank top – When I heard that there was going to be Spring Sing apparel, I got pretty excited. I’m a sucker for anything branded with UCLA-related stuff (<3 my alma mater!) and I didn’t have a Spring Sing item. Then I saw it and fell in love even more! I love the design and that it’s a tank top. It didn’t look so great on the racks, but gosh once you put it on it’s perfect! I just had to get it when I was at UCLA for Alumni Day and I have been wearing it all the time. It’s exactly what I needed for lounging around on the hot summer days. I hope they keep making more designs each year so I can start up a collection. 😉

4. Juice Beauty lip gloss & hydrating mist – I believe it was through subscription box bloggers that I first learned about Juice Beauty. Something about the brand caught my eye and they quickly made it on to my wishlist. When I found out that Juice Beauty lip gloss was being offered in the May Ipsy bag, I really hoped I would get it! Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I did manage to get it in a trade. It smells wonderful and goes on well. It’s not too gooey and just the right amount of glossy. Then there’s the hydrating mist, which I thought would be nice to have whenever my skin needed a little freshening boost. There’s something very relaxing about spraying yourself (particularly your face) with a gentle, soothing mist.

5. SeabuckWonders facial cleanser & cream – I won these from a blogger’s giveaway and I’m really glad I got to try them! I love a nice scrub and you need so little of this one to cleanse your face that this will last me a long time. I’m also fascinated by design and the spout of the facial cream is so cool! I love the way it pumps out the cream and you barely need to press it to get plenty for your entire face. I was already obsessed with sea buckthorn products and this has just fueled the interest.

6. & 7. Cat It Design Senses feeding maze & play circuit – Once I got my Amazon gift card for participating in a focus group, I immediately ordered these two cat toys for my furries. The feeding maze is fun because it makes your cat work for their dry food and you can change the difficulty to help control portions. Unfortunately it seems that their overall laziness is not enough to overcome their hunger so they stopped using it after a few days. The play circuit can be assembled into a circle or other squiggly shapes and Missy has really enjoyed playing with it. It’s nice for her to have something to be active with indoors so hopefully she doesn’t go out as much.

8. reusing Graze containers – For a long time, I’ve needed something I could place tea bags on (or in) in between steeps. Once I started getting Graze boxes, I found that they made the perfect little container! I could place my tea bag there without worrying about it staining something, drink my cup of tea, then reuse the bag for more steeps! It was just the right size to hold the tea bag without being too large. Then I started to use some of them for my solid shampoo and conditioner bars, as well as soaps. Once my bars start breaking into little pieces, I keep them all in a Graze container so they don’t go to waste. I love it!

So those are some of the things I’ve enjoyed most in June. Stay tuned for a new July list once the month is over! Have you tried any of my favorites too? What would your June list consist of?

In the mail: a prize, skincare, and a ton of trades

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 July 2013
2

Yesterday was an excellent day for my mailbox. I received my July Ipsy bag, a reimbursement check, and two trades I set up last week! Before I started sending and receiving packages, I never knew how good a Monday could feel. Let me recap the items I’ve gotten in the past few weeks:

a magicalmom box giveaway collage

Even Missy wanted in on the box!

This box I won from Leigh of Whimsical Adventures of a Magical Mom. It was originally supposed to be a CraveBox, but then they shut down! Leigh was kind enough to put together a nice box for me anyway, one that is similar to what I might have gotten from CraveBox. Thanks lady! I absolutely LOVE that card – it is so beautiful. As you can see, the box is filled with some great items in the bath, body, and beauty departments. It’s so nicely packaged too!

origins skincare samples collage

I think I saw an ad for the Origins Top 10 Skincare Sample Pack, or maybe I came across when I was just browsing their site. I’ve always been interested in the Origins brand and got to try their A Perfect World face wash for an Earth Day trade a few years back. I also purchased a face moisturizer and used that all up. When I came across this sample pack, I decided it was a good deal because I get to try a bunch of their products to see which I might want full sizes of AND I get a code to use for $10 towards my next purchase, so I basically get to test these for the $0.50 in tax that I paid. That’s a pretty awesome deal! I’d share a link with you, but apparently they are no longer offering it. Sad times.

juice beauty 30-day skin-clearing kit collage

Another brand I’m super interested in is Juice Beauty. I learned of them sometime in the past year, from all the bloggers sharing their subscription boxes. When I got a chance, I did a trade for the Juice Beauty lip gloss and hydrating mist. Still, I coveted the Green Apple Blemish Clearing Peel so when I found the 30-day skin clearing kit I sprang for it. Major bonus that the kit includes a super soft bamboo washcloth – face towels are awesome! I didn’t realize at first that this signs you up for a subscription to get it sent monthly, so I’m going to have to cancel that until I’ve tried out this set and seen what it does for me.

collage of various trades including zoya polish, earth therapeutics foot scrub and lotion, butter london lacquer, lash food, cailyn eye liner, julep dd creme, lip gloss, nail polish, bliss and korres samples

What I got from the trades.

Finally, trades 5 through 9 that I haven’t shown before. A Zoya polish in Neely (from a previous trade) for the one in Julie (purple) that I really wanted. The Cailyn gel eyeliner in Iron for the one in Purple (from Ipsy June). Jane Iredale lippies (from Yuzen spring box) and the J.cat glitter palette (from Ipsy June) for Butter London nail polish and Lash Food. A Bath & Body Works lotion and Nivea lip balm for the Earth Therapeutics foot scrub and lotion. L’Occitane Hand Cream, Island Girl Hawaii cuticle oil, Pangea Face Mask, Bath & Body Works medium candle, and three Bath & Body Works small candles for Julep DD Creme, lip gloss, nail polish, and samples of bliss incredi-peel & Korres yoghurt facial.

collage of items traded for swaps including island girl hawaii cuticle oil, bath & body works candles in small and medium, pangea face mask, jane iredale lippies, bath & body works lotion, and l'occitane hand cream

Some of the items I traded out.

I’m about to set up trades 10 & 11 now so I have even more to look forward to! So now that you’ve seen what I’m getting, tell me: what have you been getting in the mail?

On My Mind, episode 7

laelene Post in on my mind，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 June 2013
2

Thursday Thoughts

It’s Thursday Thoughts time with Jennifer!

eight bottles of nail polishes lined up in a row

These are the ones I chose to send in.


~I finally, finally mailed off the nail polish I was trading in for the Zoya Earth Day Exchange. I know, I’m over a month late, but hey they didn’t say I had to mail them in by a certain date! I kept putting it off because I didn’t like the hassle of trying to mail in nail polish, but then as it turns out all I needed to do was wrap them tight and take them in to the post office. I guess when you know there are a ton of regulations around something, sometimes you make it seems worse than it is, you know? At first I had put them all into a USPS Small Flat Rate box, but then I found out you can’t mail them Priority, so I had to repackage into another box, but that one weighed over a pound and anything over 13 oz is supposed to be mailed Priority. This was quite the dilemma for me, but as soon as I took it to the post office, they gave it a proper stamp or something and it was all fine.

~After getting my May Ipsy bag and having some items I wanted to trade, I decided to also gather all the other things I have that I won’t really use. I put up a trade list on Makeup Talk and wow, it’s been great! I loving swapping/trading and I’ve already arranged 5. It feels great to get products I actually want and will use and send off things to someone else who will appreciate the products more than I would. There are a lot of things I’d like to try that I haven’t because online shipping always costs too much, so this is a way to save on the overall cost and try those products. So much fun! In fact, I put up my For Sale or Trade list on this site too, just in case you’re interested.

makeup talk trade of products from ipsy bags

My very first trade was of items from Ipsy bags – I sent a lipstick and perfume and got a lip gloss, spray mist, and nail polish plus samples.

makeup talk bb cream and massage oil trade

The second trade where I sent massage oil and socks and got BB cream and samples.

makeup talk trade with various hair care, skincare, and facial care products

The third trade with my sent items on the left and received items on the right.

~I have this tendency to want to know everything and not miss out, so when it came to Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, I decided to start from the beginning and get all caught up on her blog. There were 149 pages of posts to go through when I started about a week ago and I finally made it through them all. I admit, I mostly skimmed, but it was cool to see how her the blog has changed. Perhaps I should do that for my own blog sometime. I used to write a lot more and have less pictures, but now I make to try to include a picture with every post. There was also a period where I cycled through a text, photo, and video post to mix things up. Nowadays I have too much to write about to include as many video posts. How has your blog changed over the months and years?

sitting looking down at cat sleeping on my chest~I cannot get enough of my cat Missy! I just love how she responds to my touch – when I pet her while she’s sleeping, her tail will twitch, her arms will stretch out, paws will spread out, and I swear she’s smiling a little bit. 🙂 She’s such a happy cat and she’s happy to sleep on me/next to me/near me, which is exactly what I want. She also lets me rub and scratch and pet her any way I want. What an easygoing nature! Lately she’s been learning to tug at my heartstrings to get her way though, the sly fox. She’ll meow and meow in this sad little “feed me” voice until I give her the tasty (and more expensive) treats. She gets up on the island in the kitchen and then reaches out her paw to “grab” me. Those adorable little eyes look into mine and I give in almost every time. She’s too cute!!

~What do you do to keep hair off the carpet? Between my cousin and I, I’ve found we shed a ton of hair and it’s so annoying to find strands EVERYWHERE. Vacuuming doesn’t get it all out and I don’t have time to go around picking them up all the time. Sometimes in bed I’ll stretch out and get a strand in between my toes and for some reason that feeling really grosses me out! It’s funny how hair can be so wonderful and beautiful when it’s on your head, but the moment it falls out it’s icky. If you shed a lot of hair too, what do you do about it??

~I’ve been in a funk lately, bumming around. :-/ It’s been hard to get motivated to do anything and it makes me feel like a bad person. I see all these super high-achieving people around me and I wonder if there’s something wrong with me because I don’t care to be overworked like them. I used to be super ambitious and also want a fantastic career, but now I’m more inwardly focused and establishing a good family life has become my priority. Unfortunately, that side of things means spending money rather than making it and well, you still gotta make a living, right?

So what are your thoughts on this very fine Thursday?

In the mail: a trade, a Kickstarter backing, a bonus gift, and more!

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
05 June 2013
3

You know, I love mail (mostly when it’s packages, but free samples are good too) and I think there are a lot of people who love getting mail too, right? And I don’t know if you’d care to see what I’ve been receiving, but that seems like a fun way to share some of the random things that don’t make it into blog posts. I’ll skip some things I’ve already mentioned so it’s not too repetitive. Everything here arrived within the past month or so!

trade items including juice beauty lip gloss, juice beauty hydrating mist, zoya nail polish, la fresh oil-free face cleanser sample wipe, benefit the porefessional sample, and urban decay moondust eyeshadow sample with sephora baggieI got some items in my May Ipsy bag that I mentioned I wanted to trade and I was able to complete my very first successful trade recently! I sent the Pacifica perfume roller that I had not intended on trading, but since the girl wanted it and she had other things I wanted, I happily parted ways with it. The other item I sent her was the Mirabella lipstick that I knew I would get out of my hands one way or another! Lipstick is just not my thing. In exchange, I got the Juice Beauty lip gloss in Fig, Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist, and Zoya nail polish in Neely (mint greenish). She even added a few bonus samples! There was a La Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleanser wipe, a small sample of Benefit’s “the POREfessional” balm, and an Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow sample. Oh, and a cute little plastic Sephora baggie. 🙂 I’ve already got trade #2 underway with another girl! If you’re interested, maybe we can trade too.

kate funk the world's most super amazing 100% awesome cat calendar and cards from kickstarter backingI don’t quite remember how I stumbled across this Kickstarter for The World’s Most Super-Amazing 100% Awesome Cat Calendar, but I’m sure glad I did. As a major cat fan, I couldn’t help myself. The scenes and costumes created for the photo shoots are really amazing and I had to support Kate Funk as an artist and businesswoman and AC as a hard-working, ever-patient model. I mean, my cat would never sit so nicely! I chose to get the calendar and 5-card combo. I let my cousin choose a design she liked, which happened to be one I had chosen for myself so that’s why one of the designs is hidden here – it’s just a repeat. I love how much care everything was created, packaged, and sent in. This is quality stuff that I will really enjoy using!

welch's purple nalgene bottleWelch’s is offering these cute 12-oz Nalgene water bottles for free if you bought three of their Refrigerated Juice Cocktails (59 oz size in any flavor). You have to buy them between March 18-July 31 of this year and send in your receipts for the purchases to redeem. Then you just print and fill out this form and mail it in by August 30. A few weeks later, you’ll get a bottle like mine! Totally adorable, very high quality, and a great size for kids or those who want a smaller bottle to keep around. If you’re interested, hurry up before the offer ends! You’ve got less than two months now, which should be ample time to drink three cartons of juice, don’t you think?

brand new google nexus 7 in box with exterior boxWhen I decided to bundle our home internet and phone into one while adding on TV service for a total package from AT&T Uverse, they were offering a bonus product. I got to choose between a Nexus 7, an Xbox, and some other electronic product. As you can see, I opted for the Nexus 7. I figure it’d be perfect since my mom’s the only one who doesn’t have a tablet. It’ll be good for her to learn and have something portable to use on the go! I think it would be cool to use both it and my iPad, but that’s completely unnecessary. Besides, Panda has a Nexus 7 so whenever I move in with him I can just use his as I please. 😉

Have you gotten anything cool in the mail recently? Do share!

On My Mind, episode 6

laelene Post in on my mind，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
23 May 2013
3

Linking up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for “Thursday Thoughts” aka On My Mind.

a~ I can’t believe this is my 6th one already! Where did the time go? I’ve been bumming around lately because I’m hoping my first choice in future employment pans out and I’m not that motivated to apply for other jobs just yet, plus I haven’t watched my shows since early February so I’m catching up now that all the seasons seem to be ending. I’m slowly transitioning back to working more and resting less.

b~ On the box front, I have a lot going on! I got into the Influenster Spring Voxbox (yay!) and hopefully I qualify for the summer one as well. I sprang for the May Ipsy bag and while I liked the overall value and items in the bag, I’m looking to trade two items. I’m going to cancel the subscription and wait for June spoilers before deciding if I want to get it again. I got that free Bulu box that I mentioned and I’ve suspended my subscription for now. I liked the box but I didn’t love it, so I’m reluctant to spend money on it when they’re more on the healthy scale than I’m interested in. I also received my first Conscious Box and it was packed full of goodness! Gonna take me some time to get through everything. And finally, I got Panda to get me a Treatsie box subscription because I’m a sucker for treats. Call it a very early birthday present.

c~ Every now and then I get my contacts out of place in my eye and it hurts for a bit, but then I get it back in place. Awhile back, my contact kept creating discomfort in my eye so I took it out and put it back in after washing it down with solution. Still, it didn’t feel right and the next time I took it out I discovered this:

torn/ripped contact lens

Torn contact lens. Ouch!

d~ It has been many long months since I heard from BzzAgent and I was pretty sad they weren’t including me in campaigns even though my BzzScore is pretty high. Then FINALLY I got an email from them and I am IN for the Dr. Scholl’s massaging gel insoles! Pretty excited about that since I’ve always wanted to try them but kind of never got around to figuring out which one I should get. I’m going to put them to the test on my next vacation, where I expect a whole lot of walking. My feet always hurt after standing all day and a massaging gel sounds amazing.

small brown stone owl sculpture and owl face watch

Some of the owl things I’ve gotten.


e~ Is it just me or are owls cute on/as almost any product? I mean, I love them as jewelry and decorations and sculptures and designs and even oil warmers. Something about their round, pudgy bodies and those giant eyes melt my heart. If I could find an owl bag, owl blanket, or gosh even an owl metronome, I’d probably get it. I was pretty tempted to get a felt iPad case made to look like an owl, but I don’t use cases for my iPad so I resisted. I’m that much more likely to get something if there’s an owl involved! I feel similarly about pandas and cats.

f~ I’ve made it a habit of keeping a lot of my skincare and beauty products upside-down lately. Everything from toners to shampoo to nail polish. A lot of these products tend to settle and I don’t like having to shake them up each time, so by keeping them on their heads, I don’t usually have to shake them. And for very thick things like lotion, I don’t have to struggle (as much) to get it to come out. I wonder if they have some sort of adjustable rack that I can use for this purpose?

g~ I’m obsessed with marinated mushrooms!! It was about 10 years ago that Costco stopped carrying the ones they had in their stores and I’ve been checking the pickled goods aisle ever since. In the years since, I managed to find them in the salad bar at Ralph’s a couple times, but it is very expensive to buy them by the salad bar’s weight pricing! Then I happened upon a new brand at Costco out east when I was visiting Panda a few months ago and I was joyous. I took home two jars that day and devoured them. We got some more jars and I happy ate them until I had to come back to SoCal. Unfortunately my local Costco does not carry it. I then had Panda bring me more when he came to visit. A few weeks ago he reported that there were only two more boxes of it left in the store, so I had him help me buy an entire box (8 jars). Gotta stock up in case Costco stops selling them! Yes, I am that in love with these suckers.

h~ When I got a bar of Mrs. Meyers soap in my Yuzen box many months ago, I was pretty excited to try this brand I’d been curious about. Once I started using the soap I found that the smell was too clean for my taste. I was sad and put it aside while trying to figure out what to do with it. Then I had to do some cleaning and I decided to use that soap since it was handy and seemed to cut through grease really well. I’m glad I did! For some reason, using it to clean with is perfectly fine, but using it to wash myself with feels weird. Maybe it’s a psychological thing? I associate that refreshing smell with cleaning but what I use on my body I want to feel more like I’m beautifying. Totally random, but just goes to show that you may not like something for certain reasons at first, but those very reasons can make it great for something else.

What are your random thoughts these days?

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