Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

Pike’s Peak Rocks geode review

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
30 March 2014
0

I got this super cool “break at home” geode in my January Escape Monthly box and I finally decided to break it open today! It was my reward for cleaning up my room and getting more organized. Nearly all of my boxes upon boxes of stuff have been put into categorized boxes: face, body, bath, food, etc. I even have ones for packaging materials, paper goods, and other random stuff.

plain looking rock that is actually geode

You’d never guess what’s inside based on appearances.

hammer and two screwdrivers used as tools to break apart geode

It took quite a bit of pounding to break this fellow.

geode broken into four large pieces and a pile of small pieces

I wonder of they offer different colors or if all these break your owns are white-ish.

pieces of broken geode arranged on towel

I wish I knew how to break it into two halves! Looks better like this, don’t you think?

It was fun breaking this apart and seeing the beauty within revealed. I would have loved it more if it was a cool color (*ahem* purple), but it’s still a fascinating phenomenon to partake in. For a few dollars, I would totally get another to attempt to break into just two large pieces – I’d go for a strategy of a flat blade going around instead of alternating flat and pointed on a concentrated area like I did this time. I look forward to playing with these pieces and finding a nice way to display them.

Refresh

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
29 March 2014
0

It’s time for a change again. I decided this morning that I needed to update my blog theme so I could make use of a horizontal menu bar again. While I enjoyed the look of the theme I was using, it wasn’t working the way I want it to anymore. How I manage the blog evolves all the time, and so the look and organization of it gets an overhaul too. The next time I make a change, it’ll probably be to allow dropdown menus, but for now the single menu bar approach will work just fine.

little fat notebook blog with page style wordpress theme

This new look will hopefully make it easier to find my FSOT page and key categories like “how tos” and “reviews.” I also like some of the flourishes, like that super cool tiger image that makes up the comment box and the pretty Japanese kanji sprinkled throughout. I played around with the stylesheet a bit so it’s more customized for me (mainly just made the link color more visible in the post, since it was hard to tell any text was a link before). One of these days I really need to learn CSS so I can be more versatile in my editing. And when I really feel like treating myself, I’m totally getting a custom theme created. One day…

little fat notebook blog with ink and wash wordpress theme

NCLA Nail Wraps review

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: , , , , ,
28 March 2014
1

So I’ve been trying out the nail wraps I got in my Petit Vour March box and I thought I’d share my experience. The design I got is called Aly Still En Vogue. I applied them on Sunday afternoon as instructed: start with clean nails, apply a coat of clear polish, and let dry. Then find a good size for your nail, peel it off, and place the rounded side against cuticle. Stretch the wrap, flatten against nail, and remove all air bubbles. Finally, file off the excess and apply additional coat of clear nail polish.

Here’s how they looked right after application:

ncla nail wraps in aly still en vogue on nails of right hand

As you can see, I wasn’t very good at aligning them on my nails (and I don’t think I was all that great at finding the right size either). I do think I could have stretched the nail wraps to better fit my nails, but at a glance, nobody would notice the slight imperfections in matching my nail size and shape. I thought the colors were great and the design is bold and fun. You definitely can’t achieve a look like this with polish, so it’s quite unique.

Here’s how they look on the strip. There’s one side with a tab that’s supposed to help you, but I found it somewhat difficult to get the strips off the no matter where I tried to peel from. Oftentimes I’d get some of the paper too, which made it challenging. With 26 strips, there is plenty more for another full manicure!

part of ncla nail wraps in aly still en vogue strip of nail wraps with some missing

I had it in my head that these guys were supposed to last two weeks without chipping, but a few days in I started to see wear on them. Granted, I had not cleared all the bubbles and they weren’t sticking perfect to my nails, so water must have gotten in as I washed my hands and took a bath over the course of the next few days. I even had to remove one from a nail because so much was starting to come off. At least they’re easy to peel off!

ncla nail wraps in aly still en vogue on nails of right hand after five days of wearAll in all, these were fun to try and very convenient, but still took some skill to apply. I like how you can get all kinds of crazy designs with this type of product, but for the price I think I’ll be sticking with normal nail polish for the most part.

March Madness

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
27 March 2014
0

I’m always a fan of my Bruins, and since they’re in the Sweet Sixteen, Panda and I are watching the game. It’s nice to hear familiar cheers and fight songs over the air. I’m not sure when the next time I’ll be back in LA will be, but it’s been many months and any reminder of my alma mater is comforting.

I even put together a random bracket for the Billion Dollar Bracket challenge. As you can see, I’m not doing so well…

billion dollar bracket challenge progress and ranking

Now excuse me while I cheer on my Bruins for Elite Eight status. Go Bruins!

Not so snowy owl

laelene Posted in photo blog, video blog，Tags: , , , ,
26 March 2014
0

Yesterday when I left work, I stopped at a red light and looked out my window at the falling snow. That’s when I noticed it:

brown owl sitting on fence in snowy landscape

What a beauty. I mentioned before I love birds of prey and it’s rare that I get to see an owl. Usually it’s a hawk of some sort, so this was super cool. My theory is that it was out enjoying the snow (and probably thought it blended in). I mean, if I was an owl I’d come out and chill on a fence enjoying the snow. I got a chance to snap this shot and shoot a quick video before the light turned green. I then drove home in awe and considered turning around to get another glimpse.

owl in snow from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Barefoot

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
25 March 2014
0

I hate wearing socks and I generally try to avoid wearing shoes as well. This doesn’t seem to be commonly done though, since I often get comments from people when they see me not wearing socks. Is it such an unusual thing to do?

bare feet crossed at ankles sitting atop blanketFor a long time, it wasn’t anything that came up since for the most part of the past decade I’ve been living in climates that don’t get very cold. With flip flops and flats as the common footwear, it’s normal to not see people wearing socks. But now that I’m back in a place with a true winter (and quite a snowy one at that!), people seem to really notice when I take off my uggs and have no socks on. They also seem to notice that I walk around barefoot indoors, which I guess is not something you do in the winter? I’m surprised people have actually commented on it, which I presume means it’s something odd enough for them to say something rather than notice it and wonder to themselves. Well, all you wonderers, I do indeed leave the socks at home and off my feet unless absolutely needed.

In fact, the only time I do wear socks is with sneakers. What about you?

Escape Monthly March: Ireland Box Review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 March 2014
0

Ok, so the March Escape Monthly box had no sheep, but I still loved it. It was very much food focused, which is perfect for me because I can always use more snacks. We eat far more than we use other products, so this helps prevent an overstock of items. I’m sure Panda will be happy about that. 😛

Escape Monthly is just under $40 per box (with code for 20% off your subscription – see end of post) and comes with a variety of food, home, skincare items themed around a city. Each box comes with a Moon Handbooks guide for that region. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a lovely recurring referral commission program.

escape monthly march ireland box products showing escape monthly march ireland box info card against blue and white chevron background escape monthly march ireland box info card opened with details of products included(click to enlarge and read full messaging)

Of course, who doesn’t think of green when you think of Ireland (particularly around St. Paddy’s Day?). I was actually surprised at how much green all the products have, giving it a very strong theme feel. I so wish I would have won this vacation… alas, hopefully I’ll win one eventually!

Here’s what came in the box:

Moon Handbooks guide to Living Abroad in Ireland – What a wonderful guide to have for any American looking to spend extended time in this beautiful country. I’ll certainly be keeping it handy for when Panda and I get a chance to go visit. And hey, maybe we’ll even be lucky enough to live there for awhile.

Human+Kind Family Remedy Cream – The fun packaging already sets the right tone. Then when I saw it’s all-natural and made in Ireland, this immediately got more bonus points. This cream is meant for all kinds of skin conditions, ranging from burns and scars to stings and sores. You can even use it for brittle nails! It has a cooling, herbal sort of scent that includes tea tree oil. I certainly feels soothing, but I’m going to have to use it more to see if it actually does anything to reduce irritation.

O’Neills Shamrock Shortbread – Mmm, what rich and buttery shortbread! I love the crunchiness and the sweet aroma. The shamrock shapes are large so there are only four cookies in the box, but each one makes a sufficient snack. This makes for a fantastic bit of Ireland that is just wonderful.

Butlers Mint Truffle – It says milk chocolate truffle on the card, but I actually got the dark chocolate mint. It’s a dark chocolate shell with a soft truffle center and little bits of crispy mint pieces. Yum! Certainly a very luxurious treat that tastes fabulous. Wow – it’s like a super fancy mint patty. I don’t usually even like mint chocolate!

Bewley Gift of the Gab tea – I can smell a strong tea through the plastic baggie inside. I haven’t yet brewed this, but it’s definitely the kind of tea I’d drink on an afternoon as a pick-me-up. If I was a breakfast person, it’d be a fabulous substitute for morning tea. Seems like it’s similar to Earl Grey.

Bewley’s Ground Irish Creme Coffee – Well, I don’t drink coffee so this is all Panda’s. I find it quite unique that the coffee grinds came in a can! I half expected them to be soaking in some creme or something. I’m sure Panda will like having a pot of this coffee – maybe we’ll even wait until his brother’s back so they can enjoy it together.

Hogan’s Brown Irish Soda Bread Mix – I’ve heard of soda bread, but I have no idea what it is exactly. I’m not even sure I’ve ever tried it, but it looks wonderful. As a huge fan of bread, I’m sure this will be much enjoyed (if I can make it well enough). I look forward to trying my baking with this product.

Auld Sod Shamrock Seeds – The bonus product is just precious. Shamrock seeds?! I love it and I can’t wait to get a little pot to plant them in. As soon as the plague of winter weather leaves us for good this year, I’m going to plant these! Think I’ll get any four-leaf ones? 🙂

I thoroughly enjoyed the items in this box. I actually discovered that there are variations and I’m quite happy with mine. The other type I saw had marmalade, soap, and a seaweed bath instead of the guide book, tea, and truffle chocolate. I already have the seaweed bath, own way too many soaps, and probably wouldn’t get around to opening a jar of marmalade for ages. What do you like most in the Ireland Escape Monthly box? If you want to sign up, try one of these codes (not sure which ones are still active): MEXICOESCAPE or YOURESCAPE for 20% off the lifetime of your subscription or GIFTESCAPE for 25% off.

Next up is Mexico next month! How wonderful that we’re getting another international theme. I love it! I expect some wonderfully bright colors and festive flavors.

escape monthly march ireland box info card back with preview of next month's box theme of mexico

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Grocery shopping

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, stories，Tags: , , , , , , ,
22 March 2014
0

dozens of inko's tea bottles in small whole foods two-tiered shopping cartThis morning I had a massage scheduled at Massage Envy and when I was done, I decided to swing by Whole Foods to see if any of my drinks were on sale. There are a couple of brands of bottled drinks that I like to get there, but only when they’re on sale so I can combine that with the store’s case discount (buy one case, get 10% off). I was happy to find my favorite bottled tea brand, Inko’s, on sale. I immediately grabbed a dozen each of my go-to flavors: blueberry and white peach. Then, as I was checking the price, wondering what the original price was, I noticed the tags said clearance price. Now per my understanding, when something goes on clearance it’s not coming back. Sooo I tracked down someone who worked there to check and was heartbroken to learn that they are discontinuing this brand from their store.

variety of bottled teas on shelf at store, with large gap where inko's tea flavors are

I emptied quite a bit of the shelf.

Apparently they’d been trying to reorder it but couldn’t seem to get them from the company? Well, whatever the case, I was told that what was on the shelves was all they had and there’d be no more. Upon hearing this, I immediately went to get another dozen drinks, clearing them out of the rest of the blueberry and white peach and also getting some honeydew and original to try. The shelf was about half empty by the time I was done. As I pushed my cart out, the bottles jingled and jangled against each other and I was glad that I checked today.

two pints of ben & jerry's ice cream and two pints of giant brand ice creamThen after dinner tonight, I had a craving for ice cream. Panda mentioned a deal Giant is having where you can get a free pint of Giant’s own brand of ice cream when you buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. It’s their way of having you compare their brand to the brand name (and hopefully adopt their ice cream as your new fav). When we got there, we found that Ben & Jerry’s was on sale, so we decided to both choose our own flavors. We ended up getting 4 pints of ice cream for just $7.18 with tax! Now that’s a pretty sweet deal.

Petit Vour March 2014 review

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
21 March 2014
4

My very first Petit Vour box arrived! I like what I see and will keep them around for awhile.

Petit Vour is $15 per box (or as much as $30 for international subscribers) and comes with vegan beauty, skincare, and other personal care products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free boxes (email contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you if you sign up!).

contents of petit vour march 2014 box with laface lotion, lotus wei serum, icon oil, ncla nail wraps and nail file, and california naturel skincare set

Laface Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion – This applies pretty well, but I’m not really into the scent. My skin does feel really good after applying it and it’s noticably softer and more hydrated. I’d have to use it more to see if there are any firming effects.

Lotus Wei Balancing Serum – Sweet! I’ve had other Lotus Wei products, but not the serum yet and I love serums. This scent is very calming and it’s supposed to promote inner peace. It applies a bit greasy, but very little goes a long way and I just kept rubbing it in. There’s a slightly cooling sensation on more delicate skin.

I.C.O.N. India Oil – Oh wow, this smells nice. There’s something very cultural feeling about it and I enjoyed getting the dryness out of my hair. I’ll have to make more use of this during the rest of these dry months. Feels great!

NCLA Nail Wraps & nail file – Well, these are… bold. I’ve never tried nail wraps before, so I sure hope I can apply them ok. I definitely appreciate getting the nail file too, since I don’t usually use them and would not have access to one. I think I’ll have fun with these even if they’re totally not my style. I never knew you’re supposed to apply clear nail polish first! Good thing I read the instructions.

California Naturel Skincare Set – The packaging on this is super cool, but then it opens to three little samples. Still pretty cool, but I thought it might be more exciting. There’s a cleansing gel, balancing complex, and nourishing cream. The gel is for all skin types and cleansed pretty well. Didn’t notice anything particularly different about it. The complex is for combination to oily skin and it immediately helped with my oily face. It’s quite watery but I love it! Finally, the cream is for dry to normal skin and I wasn’t a huge fan of the scent. Pretty good at moisturizing though.

What do you think of this box?

[This post mentions a referral program. Signing up and emailing contact@petitvour.com to say I referred you helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

Treatsie March 2014 review

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
20 March 2014
0

This month, the new premium version of Treatsie (which you’d get if you signed up after they changed their pricing) had a deluxe TCHO bar in addition to what I got. These bars are larger than the set of minis I have and include fun flavors like Galactic Gelato and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

Treatsie is $15 per box + $4.95 shipping and comes with artisan candy from 3-4 brands (I am grandfathered in for $15 for 3 brands and fewer items). That means about 6 or 7 different flavors of treats (or 4 or 5 for me). Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. They offer a referral link program.

treatsie march 2014 box contents with chocolate bars and caramels

CocoaPlanet Salted Caramel and CocoaMint chocolate bars: I didn’t understand the “pearls of flavor” until I bit in and found wonderful little pockets of caramel or mint scattered throughout the salted caramel and cocoamint bars/discs. It’s a nice round chocolate “bar” and there are directions on how to make hot chocolate with it. I think that’s a fabulous idea! I enjoy eating them as is too.

Big Picture Farm Cocoa Latte, Maple Cream, Chai, & Sea Salt & Bourbon Vanilla caramels: I’m not sure about the two with coffee and alcohol flavoring, since I like neither, so I think I’ll share them with someone else. I loved the chai, which tasted wonderfully of chai and gave me a nice warm sensation. The maple cream tasted like a pretty normal caramel to me and it wasn’t until I’d been chewing it for awhile that some of the maple and cream was noticeable. If subtle was their intention, they got that down.

TCHO Minibar Assortment: These are packaged beautifully and each comes with a fun description of the taste notes: there’s the PureNotes dark chocolate – extremely rich and “chocolatey,” the SeriousMilk “classic” milk chocolate with caramel notes, the PureNotes dark chocolate with layers of “fruity” notes, the PureNotes dark chocolate with light and “bright” notes, the SeriousMilk “cacao” milk chocolate with lush and fudgy notes, and the PureNotes dark chocolate with subtle “nutty” notes. Well, I know exactly what to expect with these! I’ve enjoyed the flavors I tried and I think these bars are a perfect little treat.

I’m still glad I’m locked in for the original box for now. I was plenty happy with the contents of this box and don’t feel too bad about missing on a large TCHO chocolate. Do you like the contents of the box this month?

[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]

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