Our new condo, almost a done deal!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
03 August 2013
0

What a productive morning! Panda’s dad came in on a red-eye and we picked him up around 7:45. We drove him up to our second choice condo just so he could see what the neighborhood looked like and get an idea of what we’re comparing to. After spending some time there, we headed to our first choice, where we were set to meet the sales rep at 10. We decided to show up early so we could show him the community and explain the layout of everything prior to delving into the property more. Just as we were checking out the entryway to the model house that has the same layout as our ideal unit, the sales rep showed up and let us in.

panoramic of living and dining room area of model home

What our future living space will look like.

We spent a good hour going over all the features, analyzing every possible detail and feature. I took a bunch of pictures to share with our family back home so we can fully explain and help them visualize what it’s like to be in that space. Then we proceeded to get into the negotiation, where we laid out the various features that we wanted thrown in. There was a ton of conversation over what was possible, what wasn’t, what was worth it, etc. We also went over to the preferred lender, who showed us what our new numbers would look like now that we’ve decided we’re going to pull together the 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance. With those numbers in mind, we were back to the sales rep to hash out final offers and ultimately came to a good compromise. As long as the big boss approves it, we’re good to go!

We’re going to be family #46 to join (not counting the families already living in the units built by other buildings on the property) and I can’t wait! They estimate our building will be completed in November, so I think we might be in by the holidays. So that begs the question: should we go home for the holiday season or have our families come spend time here with us? We’ll have to see as the time draws closer, but I think it’d be really fun to have a house warming by bringing in our folks.

I’m pretty confident our deal will go through, but I’ve still got my fingers crossed! You never know what might happen before the final approval.

Site issues

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
02 August 2013
0

Two nights ago I got a 500 error on my site (internal servers down). Last time this happened I kind of freaked out and did a ton of troubleshooting, only to find that if I had just given it an hour or two it would be fine. So, lesson learned! I decided to go to bed and the next morning everything was fine. Buuut this time my site wouldn’t load at all! I gave it some time again before going to my web host’s site to try to contact them.

server timed out error message

screenshot of facebook announcement that justhost's servers were downAs it turns out, all their sites were down. Looks like the entire set of servers they use got messed up somehow. After trying to search for answers, I decided to find them on Facebook and discovered that they’d posted a message about the outage. I’m curious though, what they were doing for the past 8 hours… my best guess is that the maintenance was automated and routine, so they might not have caught the issue until they got to work this morning. Or, maybe it really takes that long for them to fix an issue this large. I mean, even all their sites were down so it looks like every single part of their network was kaput.

This does explain another question I had: why I hadn’t received emails since 4 AM EST. Since I use an email with my domain name, no incoming messages were making it. I wonder if I’ll be able to recover those emails when the servers are back up or if they’ve been lost in web wilderness forever. Hopefully nothing important was supposed to reach me at that time! My site is back up for now, but I’m still not sure if it’s all clear since it was up a little earlier and then wouldn’t load again. I hate this feeling of uncertainty! I should probably look into backing up my site on another server just in case.

Once things look resolved, I’m going to reach out to JustHost to complain if they don’t automatically offer some sort of compensation for this. A ton of people commenting on their Facebook page think similarly and I’m just glad I don’t need my site to make money, or else I’d be much more upset too! This kind of interruption of business is not good.

What would you do if your servers were down for nearly half a day?

The hunt is on

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
31 July 2013
2

Man, job hunting this time around is quite challenging! It’s a combination of finding a company in a reasonably close location, looking for a position that’s not quite first job entry-level but isn’t exactly management, and trying to meet my desired price point. Now that Panda and I know where we’ll be located, I’ve had to shift my job search further west out of DC. I’d really rather not commute an hour to hour and a half each way – 30-45 minutes would be ideal. I also want something where I don’t have to start over again, but can pick up in a similar place to where I was when I left my previous job. This is difficult to find because I plan on moving into a different industry and some of the industry-specific skills they require are not part of my skill set. At the same time, I want a salary similar to if not slightly higher than what I had been paid

Adding to those criteria is my desire to work at company that either has immense opportunity to grow or has a cool, laidback work culture. Of course having both would be amazing, but I’d be happy with one or the other. A lot of companies in the region require highly technical skills – a good 75% of listings I’ve seen are for engineers, programmers, and the like. What about someone like me who is tech-savvy despite not having a technical degree? I wish there were more options out there. It seems like I find a ton of very basic administrative assistant type roles or far too complex engineering project management roles. How do I find something in between?!

I’ve definitely come across some promising leads, but boy are they competitive! I’ve gotten a few rejections and I’m still waiting to hear back on some others. I wish it was easier to find the sort of tech companies that I’m interested in, but most of the tech companies out here exist to service government needs and that sort of thing gets highly technical. I’m not in the best location for the type of work I’d like to do, which is really limiting my choices. I originally started looking for positions with opportunities to travel, but now I’ve thrown that out and will just count myself lucky if I do find a position offering that.

And the hunt goes on…

That dream condo

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
28 July 2013
4

the three stages of the villas being built: foundation poured, frame up, and exterior completed

Here you can see some of the other buildings going up! Closest to us the foundation has just been laid, then you can see the building where the frame is up, and finally at the end you can just see the one where the exterior is completed. Then of course over on the model home side you can see models of homes with completed interiors as well.


Wow, things are moving fast! It’s only been a week since we first started looking at properties and that first day we came across our dream condo (I’ll call them the Villas). We wanted to keep our options open, so we continued looking and found another great option yesterday in Ashburn (further north and west of the regions we’d been looking in). We had set up an appointment for today to meet with a loan officer working with the builder of the Villas and after another look at them, we’re pretty set on our favorite model. The Ashburn one we like is called the Matisse model and it’s more traditional: 2 storied stacked condos, garage and balcony in the back “alleyway,” and a good 6-8 middle units per building. Meanwhile the Villas have 6 units per building, 2 of which are middle ones. It’s also unique in that is it ranch style and each condo is located on a single floor (not counting the garage space). Plus, the Villas are more high-end, with standard granite in the kitchen, nice large spaces, and a ton of windows.

For both properties, we were really attracted to the end units that allowed for a lot more window real estate. I love how bright and airy they feel compared to their center counterparts. The Matisse had a super cool Roman shower (I wish I took a picture!) with two showerheads on opposite sides and little seats too. I also loved the little window in one of the walk-in closets (totally claimed that for myself!). The Villas boast expansive single-floor layouts with a nice bonus room on the second floor units, a nice large porch, and a huge living room/dining area. For both models I loved the island in the kitchen, which is pretty important to me. On the Villas, Panda really likes how the garages face the road so there isn’t some small alley to maneuver into and you don’t have to walk around the entire building to get to the front door.

the future site of the pool and clubhouse for the community

Our ideal location is a very short walk to the community pool and clubhouse!


As for the location themselves, the Matisse is going to be very close to a future metro stop, which will be great for commuters. If I get a job in Tyson’s Corner, it will be a straight drive/train ride over. The Ashburn area is also a great region that’s developing very well. We loved the community feel though it did feel more crowded in our condo community. However, I’m also looking at jobs in the Arlington and Alexandria regions, which would be nearly twice as far and a much longer commute than I’d want. On the flip side, the Villas are located pretty equidistant from Tyson’s or Arlington, not that far and not that close. It’s reasonable middle ground and it’s very close to Panda’s work in Chantilly. The region is also growing and expanding, but it’s still a little more private and quiet, which we like. Oh, and the Villas will have a community pool and clubhouse whereas the Matisse community will not – definitely a good bonus.

The Villas are a higher price point than we had originally wanted to look for, but with all the bonuses, the nice materials, and a ton more space, I think it’s well worth it. We’d both be really pleased with our living situation (though we certainly could do with a lower price!) and the unit we’d most like in the current building is available! It’s a great place to grow into – we don’t need anywhere near that square-footage right now but in a few years, we wouldn’t feel any pressure to move as we build our family. I checked a bunch of details like the water pressure, the tub size, the window heights, the location of the AC unit (and how much noise it produces), the angle of the sun throughout the day, the availability of ceiling lights (not included but they make it easy to put one in), and the various storage options. I got almost every single feature I wanted and the only upgrade we’d pay for is a better floor tile in the master bath.

Now it’s just a matter of discussing things with our parents to see if they have any additional insights, prepping our financials, really honing in on getting me a job, and then getting ready to commit! I had expected to spend a good 5 or 6 months looking and deciding, but if we don’t lock down this unit soon, the next building they release will have even higher pricing and we don’t like the location quite as much. It’s such a crazy whirlwind, but when we both like the same condo out of all the ones we’ve seen, how can we go wrong? Our dream (first) home will be completed in November (possibly December) so my hopes of spending the end of the year there just might come true!

Attention to detail

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
26 July 2013
0

I’m generally very good at noticing slight changes in details. If something is misaligned, if a font has changed, or if something is happening in the background, I’ll probably notice it. Sometimes this is a bit of a curse, since it makes the perfectionist part of me cringe and then I can’t help but focus on that slight imperfection. I’ve learned to tone it down over the years so that I notice, but don’t mull over the details too long. After all, in day to day life, who wants to spend their time constantly nitpicking what’s wrong?

mini boot camp platoon formation with drill instructor yellingThis served me well in ROTC days, when we were often berated for inattention to detail. Hospital corners had to be perfectly 45 degrees, uniforms had to be perfectly creased but not wrinkled, hair had to be perfectly groomed with not a strand out of place, and the head had to be perfectly cleaned. Everything spotless, in its place, and perfect. Every minute detail was critiqued and criticized, from how you held your hands to where you placed your feet to what your facial expression was. I loved my time in military training, particularly the boot camps I attended. I think the discipline and focus on details was just the environment where I could succeed relatively easily, so that made me feel good. It makes me think of when I took shop class in middle school and the teacher singled me out as having great writing skills, because I could follow his instructions to a tee and write the letters and numbers exactly like him. I’m very good with instructions.

In my personal life, it makes me notice so much around me that my mind is constantly racing. A slight chip in my nail polish, that mark on my wrist bone where it rubs on the computer all day, my slightly uneven features, the way I tend to use one side more than another… these are the things that are in the back of my mind even as I’m working, resting, or interacting with people. Sitting here now I’m thinking about how my ankles don’t bend the same way (one is more flexible than the other), how the sheets don’t fit just right on the bed, and how a new purse I’m breaking in doesn’t stay perfectly centered. I can now think the thought and put it away until I notice it again, but imagine how insane it’d be if I had to try to fix everything! Thank goodness that’s not the case, or else I might go insane.

new facebook toolbar with larger search bar and font

I actually thought of writing about this because recently Facebook changed their toolbar – did you notice? That was a pretty big change, but there are other things like font changes that I can pick out too. I use a tool called Reachli, which has changed nearly half a dozen times in the last month, with small tweaks to the font, font size, menu, etc. Most recently, I was watching a video today and saw that one of the guys in the background was sitting at his computer, typing away when everyone else was paying attention to the speaker (President Obama). If you’re that person in the background yawning or picking your nose or looking away, I’m the person who sees it. With each of these cases, the details were glaringly obvious to me, but I wonder if some people never even noticed a thing. Of course, I don’t notice everything and I certainly fell for the basketball passes trick, but I do feel like I have a much higher awareness than most people. Are you the same?

 

June Favorites 2013

laelene Posted 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?

House hunting

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
21 July 2013
1

Yesterday marks the first official day of house hunting! Panda and I went to one resale not too far from our current location and then up to a cluster of new developments a bit further away. I think it was the first time he saw a basement, because when we went down he was kind of creeped out (even though it was a nice finished basement!). Californians just don’t get that extra space. The rest of the house kind of reminded me of the UK – tight hallways, small rooms, and steep stairs. The interior was nicely upgraded, but the entire place was hardwood and we prefer carpet in the bedrooms. I did like the giant porch in the backyard, complete with plants to offer shade on a hot day. The neighborhood was nice and quiet and this house was located on a roundabout so it wouldn’t receive high traffic. Still, we were nowhere near as enthusiastic as the other couple viewing the house when we were! Oh, the other down side – there was only one bathroom upstairs for the three rooms and the one downstairs was a half bath. Granted, we don’t need any more than that, but it might be harder to resell. In fact, that interested couple was discussing how they could add another one somewhere.

ranch style condos for sale panoramic

Our favorite building!

Far more interesting to us was the next stop, where there were three builders each building different condos on a shared plot of land. Is that normal? I’ve never seen builders intertwined like that, with everyone in that community sharing the same amenities – a pool, clubhouse, tot lot, etc. Our favorite was the more luxurious ranch-style condos, which are quite unique. The building pictured contains 6 units, each one only one floor. The upper level condos included the extra space over the garages, making them much more spacious. We of course fell in love with the most expensive layout, which would be in our price range if I get a job soon, otherwise it’d be a stretch. We spent a good hour or two exploring these models and chatting with the sales rep about our options.

After all that, we walked down the block to the other two builders’ sales offices and explored their models as well. One had a very strange “2 by 2” plan where they actually stacked two 2-story condos on top of each other, so the upper set would have quite a lot of stairs to climb! That’s also something I’ve never encountered before. I did like being up so high, but dang those stairs would probably get old fast. Dumbwaiter, anyone? Finally, with the third builder we did a quick look-around at their 3-story models. The ground floor had a living room and the 2-car garage (all the others had 1-car garages), the middle floor had the kitchen and other living room, and the top floor had the bedrooms. Very interesting setup that reminded me of some condos I’d seen back in LA.

All in all I found that we prefer a more upscale, luxurious feel to the home, which generally means less cramped. All of these were 3 or 4-bedrooms, which is really more than we need. Ideally we can find a 2-bedroom with nice amenities in the community and a spacious layout. I loved that all of the homes had a ton of windows – sometimes even in closets and garages. That’s totally my style! We got a good idea of what we like and it turns out it’s on the higher end of our price range, so I better get that job soon! We’re off to hunt some more today and check out a few open houses Panda found.

Have you purchased a home before? How long did it take you? Did you use a realtor? Any advice would be helpful! 🙂

Random observation: bridges

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
20 July 2013
0

What’s black and white with yellow stripes?

No, not a bridge, but a road with a bridge! So I’ve been doing a lot of flying lately – from LAX to IAD, then from IAD to MCO and back – and quite a bit of driving (or being driven) too – from VA to PA and back – and it started to become really obvious to me that when I saw a patch of lighter pavement, it was a small bridge or overpass. Have you ever noticed that too?

black road with white bridge aheadMy theory is that the bridges are made with a different paving material (concrete vs. asphalt) for two possible reasons: 1. to ensure that they are sturdy enough to hold under the weight of all the passing traffic and 2. to use the lightest/least possible material. Asphalt can be poured onto the base layer of concrete for roads directly on the ground, but when it comes to bridges, adding that extra weight isn’t necessarily worth the benefits of easier maintenance. So while you’ll find black asphalt roads most everywhere, once you approach a bridge, don’t be surprised if it’s white(ish). Then again, maybe you’re not a nerd like me, noticing and trying to understand this difference. Just thought I’d share one of the many random things I notice and think about as I go about my daily life.

7 Ways Shingles is like Menstruating

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 July 2013
3

I couldn’t help myself; I hope you don’t find this to be TMI or inappropriate, but I’ve been marveling at how having shingles is quite like getting your period. My fiance is recovering from it now and if it weren’t for the ugliness of the outbreak, I’d wish every man had to go through it just to understand what women put up with.

shingles in its early stage when it seemed like a heat rash

At first we thought it was a heat rash. I’ll spare you a look at how it looks now.

1. Shingles makes your back and belly hurt

Ah yes, that all-too-familiar feeling of a sore back, sore belly, and sometimes even sore other parts. Every month I get the pleasure of that achiness in my core muscle region and now he’s feeling it too. His back, his front, his sides… sore, sore, sore! In addition to the aches and pains in the muscles is the ache in the belly. Occasionally I’ve gotten it so bad that I can barely stand. His seem to keep him from standing too tall.

2. Shingles makes you feel weak

Shingles usually hits because your immune system was already weakened by stressors to your body, so you’re bound to feel weaker as your body fights it off and tries to recover from the stress that caused it in the first place. Similarly, I feel more tired and even lightheaded during my cycle. Perhaps I haven’t been eating enough, but lately I’ve had quite the case of vertigo.

3. Shingles makes you sleep and shower more carefully

Not only are the blistering rashes painful, as they heal, some of the fluid in the blisters is likely to ooze out (yeah, gross). You want to be careful showering so you don’t burst them all and get bad scarring plus more pain and you want to be careful sleeping since pressure on the blisters will cause them to leak more. Similarly, I’ve got to be more cautious with how I sleep and shower so I don’t make a mess too.

4. Shingles can give you a headache and make you feel sick

As if pain and achiness weren’t enough, you’re more vulnerable to getting headaches and flu-like symptoms. Of course this varies by person, but who wants to get sick sick on top of this illness? While my period usually comes and goes without incident, I’ve definitely had to deal with illness through some of them and it’s pretty miserable.

5. Shingles makes you grumpy

Ok, this might just be a byproduct of all the discomfort and pain, but I’ve definitely heard a lot more complaining, moaning, and groaning from him. Kind of reminds me of my moody self. 😉

6. Shingles can be eased with pills

You can take medicine to help you get over shingles, and of course you can also take medicine to ease the pain. Similarly, there are pills designed just for women’s periods and you can take pain medication depending on your need.

7. Nobody wants to know you have shingles

Or it will gross them out. Though, now that I think of it, maybe it’s more accurate that nobody wants to share that they have shingles. Like I said at the beginning, this might be TMI (too much information). People often skirt around things like menstrual cycles and other bodily functions. Shingles is kind of one of those things that people would probably just rather pretend you don’t have. However, I think it’s important for people who haven’t had chickenpox and weren’t vaccinated to know, though it only seems to matter with close contact. After all, you don’t want to catch it too! That’s not the same reason that people don’t want to know you’re on your period, but nevertheless they would rather not know.

So what do you think? Do symptoms of shingles remind of your own monthly challenges? Have you ever had shingles or known someone who has?

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

laelene Posted 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?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
First Prev 2425262728 Next Last