For Valentine’s Day yesterday, Panda and I stopped by Coldstone to get a half dozen ice cream cupcakes. We recently saw an ad they had for their fudge and red velvet ones, which looked fabulous and perfect for the holiday. I’ve often enjoyed ice cream from them, but I’d never tried an ice cream cake or cupcake from them before and I was so excited! I’m thrilled to report that these ice cream cupcakes are amazing and a wonderful way to spice up the way you consume ice cream. The chocolate crust perfectly houses the ice cream and cake pieces. You get a bit of crunchiness, a bit of softness, and a whole lot of sweetness. Ice cream is already a great dessert, but this cupcake form… oh my. Yum!
Posts Tagged ‘pictures’
365great Day 338: Coldstone Creamery
15
February
2014
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Ipsy February 2014: The Look of Love review
laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, eye shadows, eyelashes, face mask, ipsy, j.cat, lip glosses, nail polishes, pictures, pop beauty, reviews, skyn, subscriptions, zoya
15
February
2014
Once again, 2014 is not offering me the most exciting bags from Ipsy. There’s only one item I’m really looking forward to trying. I would have loved the nail polish if it wasn’t baby pink, so I hope I can trade for a shade more suited to my taste. Similarly, I wasn’t a fan of the bag as much due to the color. I like the slight contour of the zipper and you can see a peek of the bold patterning inside, but pink just isn’t my thing.
Ipsy is $10 per glam bag and comes with 5 or so beauty/skincare products. Bags are sent monthly with no option to skip. There’s usually a waitlist to get the subscription. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards free products.
skyn ICELAND Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud – This is a fascinating product that I’ll be trying soon. You take the clay and put it on your face, then add the activating gel. Apparently, the combination will actually bubble/fizz/foam in a warming solution. How fun! I love things like these and a few more samples of this would have made this bag well worth it.
J.Cat Beauty Eyelashes + Eyelash Glue – I’ve never tried to apply false lashes, but I did have them put on before for a photo shoot. They seem like a fun thing to play with someday, so I might keep them around. They’re crazy long though, so I’d feel silly walking around with eyelashes like that. Maybe if there’s a need for them at a costume party…
POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini in Fuchsia Freesia – Ok, I really like the look and shape of this lip gloss, but it smells awful. Is it supposed to be like that? It kind of reminds me of gasoline at times and the strong odor makes it very hard for me to use this product. Pity, because I just love the packaging here. Once again, I could do without the bright pink shade though.
Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Violette – I’m so split on this product! On the one hand, it’s a lovely shade of purple, but on the other hand, it’s an eye product. I just don’t see when I’d ever use it, so I’ll probably trade it. If only this was a lip gloss tube instead.
Zoya Nail Polish in Dot – I was really hoping for the purple shade shown in the Ipsy spoilers. But of course, I got the pink (bleh). It does seem like a solid base color to use for nail art or a somewhat nude-looking color if I don’t want to draw too much attention to my polish color. Still, I’m going to try trading it first and if it doesn’t go I’ll use it.
So all in all, I was not thrilled with this bag. I would have been a lot happier if the Pop Beauty lip gloss didn’t smell funky and the Zoya polish was another shade. If you want to trade, check out my FSOT list.
[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 bag and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 337: Sleep Cycle
14
February
2014
I came across this app years ago and used it to wake up easier. Then it fell to the wayside and I forgot about it. More recently, I found myself struggling to wake up refreshed, so I decided to give it a try again. I find it to be quite effective! You basically leave it on your bed so it can use your phone’s gyroscope to determine how much you’re moving around. That’s a general indicator of the type of sleep you’re getting (the deeper the sleep, the less you move). Come morning, you give it a time frame that you want to wake up in, usually a 20-minute period. Within that time, it will start the alarm at a time when you’re most receptive to waking up, which is when you’re coming out of deep sleep and in lighter sleep. Since I started using it again a few weeks ago, I’ve actually begun to wake up before the alarm and I don’t have such a miserable time dragging myself out of bed. What a useful app this is! And it’s super interesting to see my sleep pattern over time. Best of all, waking up refreshed? That’s great.
365great Day 336: ambiance
laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, environment, pictures
13
February
2014
I’ve been burning a lot of candles lately, really soaking in the mood it creates. It’s nice to have a flickering flame with that warm light to create a comforting glow. And depending on what sort of environment I’m looking for there are vastly different elements I can incorporate to achieve just the right feeling. I loved the fresh plants and lighting at this restaurant, which made everything I ate there feel more healthy and light. From the furniture to the lighting, a space is defined by how it makes you feel. That’s probably why I find it difficult to work as productively at home than at work and why I relax instantly as I step into a bath. It’s amazing how much we are affected by the cues from our surroundings and it’s really cool that we can change so much based on what’s around us. Setting the right ambiance can have great effects.
365great Day 335: Vapiano
12
February
2014
Today I tried Vapiano for the first time and oh em gee, I’ve found a fantastic place to go to for lunch. From walking by it, I always thought it was just another Italian restaurant. I’d seen some coworkers get pizza from there before, but I had no idea what was inside. Now I know that it’s an amazing blend of freshly cooked food in a casual yet upscale cafeteria type environment. It’s kind of like stepping into a fancy sitdown that got blended with a farmer’s market. We were handed cards upon entering and then stood in line for our chosen food items. I opted for a pasta dish, which was cooked in front of me and then the charge added to my card. I could have gotten other items and added them to my card tab, but I knew I wouldn’t finish it all so I went conservative. We also got bread to complement our meal. It was fabulous – custom, fresh, and delicious. Seating was open and there were herbs growing in little pots. They even had a tree growing near the entrance. What a great concept for a restaurant!
Winter storm Pax
laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: pictures, snow, weather
12
February
2014
Here comes the snow! What a crazy snow event we’re expecting here in Northern Virginia. A few days ago when I first heard of it, I figured it’d be another small thing that would pass. But then they started predicting 4 inches, then it grew to 8 and 12 and now possibly 15-18 for higher elevations! I started to take it seriously and today I decided to head out of the office at 6 just to get home before the insanity. The snow wasn’t slated to start until around 8, but by 6:15 I was seeing my first flakes. Check out some pictures from the night…
The snow plows were out, hanging out as they waited for the snow to start.
Then it started to pick up momentum.
It was melting on my windshield, but quickly started to stick to the ground.
By the time I got home 15 minutes later, there was a light dusting. I made some tire marks and left some footprints that were quickly covered.
Such pretty snow that is shiny and sparkly! Snuggling in for the night and there’s already quite a bit of snow building up out there.
365great Day 334: gardens
11
February
2014
It’s so peaceful to wander through a garden. I love the variety of plants you can find there and of course the insects that are inevitably attracted to them. My mom loves to plant things in our backyard, making it a rather tranquil place to hang out. We have rose bushes, fruit trees, and other odds and ends. It’s a place that is teeming with life yet so calming all at once. I particularly enjoy gardens with water, benches, and shady parts to hang out by. I could sit and stroll among the plants for ages, basking in the sun or shade. I’d even climb and sit in a tree if I could. It’s very soothing to enjoy nature and decompress away from the stress of day-to-day life. What a great way to step away from our normal surroundings and relax for awhile.
Beauty Box 5 February 2014 review
laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: beauty, body wash, boxes, conditioner, mascara, nail caviar, nail polish, pictures, products, reviews, shampoo, skincare, subscriptions
11
February
2014
Here comes the February Beauty Box 5, which is their birthday box – happy 2nd anniversary to them!
Beauty Box 5 is $12 per box (or as discounted as $99 for an entire year, with an option in between) and comes with 5 cosmetic products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. You also have the option of buying it as a gift your box to a friend. They offer a referral program that earns you points towards products or boxes.
Birthday bash time.
A birthday card and discount code card.
Info on the products with prices of their full sizes.
Back of info card with ways to connect.
Rockstar Nails Nail Polish: I can’t find the name of this shade, but it’s a nice sort of teal shade. The formula’s a bit more fluid than I’ve been used to, but it applies nice and opaque in one layer. It’s a lovely color and the consistency is perfect to work with the caviar it came with!
Rockstar Nails Nail Sprinkles: This is a brand new product for me. I’ve seen ads for it and now I get to try this type of nail decoration too! How fun. I love how it matches the nail polish. I’ve quickly learned that this can get very messy – in just opening the bottle to take a look, beads were falling everywhere. Be sure you find a nice flat surface to go apply these on.
John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo & Conditioner: There are two sets of these samples. They’re generously sized and perfect to bring along on my next trip. They also come with coupons for $2 off a full size product, which is good for all of this year!
Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash: What a soothing combo of lavender, chamomile, and ylang ylang. I have a ton of body wash at the moment and since this is sealed, I will keep it to use later. I can’t wait! It could also be very useful for my travels.
Elizabeth Mott It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara: I got this in an Ipsy bag awhile ago and it’s the first one that doesn’t rub off after some wear. I like its thicker, somewhat glue-like consistency that makes it waterproof and rub-proof. I do have a lot of mascaras and I rarely use them, so I might still consider trading this.
MyNameNecklace Gift Card: This time we got a bonus item in the form of $10 off a necklace. That could be as much as 30% or so off one of these necklaces, which is a decent deal. I’m not sure if I’ll get something since I rarely wear necklaces, but for $25 I might just snag a Carrie style one.
For me, the nail polish products and gift card made this box feel like a birthday celebration. What was your favorite item? If you like what you see, sign up for Beauty Box 5!
[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!]
365great Day 333: weight machines
10
February
2014
To me, a gym is more wonderful the more weight machines it has. Treadmills, ellipticals, and stair masters are useless to me (as I mentioned, I prefer strength exercises to cardio) so I completely ignore that part of the gym. Instead I go straight for the various weight machines that can work out my upper body, lower body, and core. Free weights work too, but they’re not nearly as fun. I feel a lot more challenged when I can use these machines. I’ve started using the gym in our new office building and I love it! There are enough weight machines to cover most muscles and before I know it, an hour has flown by. I certainly never get that feeling with cardio exercises. Plus, I don’t like to sweat much when I work out, so I take it slow and work on my control over heavier weights. Afterwards, I always feel great because I feel stronger!
365great Day 332: Yelp
09
February
2014
I became an avid Yelper sometime around 2012, when a friend brought to my attention that they’d featured my review in one of their newsletters! That got me really excited about the whole thing and I reviewed like crazy until I achieved Yelp Elite Status. Funny enough, once I was Yelp Elite, I didn’t do much more. I never seemed to make it to the events and after awhile my reviews dwindled. They renewed me for 2013, but by this year I’d been inactive on the reviewing side for so long that I am no longer Elite. I still check in like my life depends on it though (and I have no idea why, though getting statuses like this time I was briefly the Queen of Cardiff on Yelp is super fun). Once upon a time I was connected to the owner of a Japanese restaurant near work through my review on Yelp, which was awesome. I’m also pretty sure I got a free appetizer or dessert because of my Yelping at least twice. And of course I still turn to them whenever I’m trying to figure out where to find the kind of places I’m looking for on any given day. They make it a lot easier to find great new places to try!
