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What kind of proposee are you?

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: engagement, events, experiences, pictures, proposal, ucla

17 June 2013

When you imagine “the perfect proposal” what do you see?

Or, what do/did you hope will/would happen?

I’ve read a bunch of bloggers’ proposal stories and very few of them appeal to me. I’m not into crazy fanfare or an audience, so any of them done in public are pretty much out. I also don’t want to be tired or sweating, so those that involve a lovely nature hike or otherwise active day are also disqualified. Sooo… actually, come to think of it I can vaguely remember only one lady saying it was at home before going out to dinner, but she glossed right over it like it was just “meh” and the dinner was more exciting. I guess none of the stories I’ve heard speak to me an my own preferences.

You see, I like to be in control. Surprises are nice, yes, but if you were to take me to Disneyland and pop out a ring, I’d be kinda sad. First, why did you drag me to Disney in the first place? I’m not really a fan of the place. Second, it’s so cliche. Third, there are all these strangers watching us kiss. Wait, no, let me correct myself – we will have an awkward “kiss miss” or a lightning fast one because I don’t want people staring. Now let’s say you decide on a nature trail hike instead. That would be quiet and private, which is good, but we’d probably be in workout gear and maybe even sweating/panting a little bit. Not exactly a moment I want to memorialize with a proposal. Ok, so maybe a quiet, dark booth in the recess of some restaurant? I dunno, while I love eating, I just don’t imagine a restaurant to be the best place.

My ideal proposal would probably be at UCLA when it’s basically deserted. It’s where we met and it’s our alma mater that we hold close to our hearts. Plus, it is a gorgeous campus – have you seen it? So for the location, the sentiment, the memories, and the beauty, it would be great. Funny, because I started drafting this post just two weeks before my proposal and it turned out almost exactly as I would have imagined. Short, sweet, simple, and while it was during a busy season on campus, everyone was so absorbed in their own picture-taking that I doubt they noticed us. I’m also very glad that his parents were there to help take some photos. 🙂 I think the only thing that could have been better was if my parents were able to be there too. Alas, they had last-minute business and couldn’t be there, but that couldn’t be helped. So basically, it was perfect.

What elements would you incorporate in your perfect proposal?

365great Day 94: chocolate-covered strawberries

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, chocolate, desserts, food, pictures, snacks, strawberries

16 June 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

I think chocolate-covered strawberries are a pretty universal way of celebrating in a classy fashion. They’re a delicious treat that are sweet, juicy, and fun to eat. Apparently they go well with champagne, but I can’t vouch for that since I don’t drink. Still, it’s so wonderful to show up in your hotel room to be greeted by a platter of this dessert, or to wrap up a fabulous meal with some of these tasty bites. They’re not a treat I get to indulge in often, so when I get them for free, well that’s just the icing on the cake, right? 😉 I only know two people in the world who wouldn’t love these – one is allergic to strawberries and the other is not a fan of chocolate. But to the rest of the world, don’t these look fantastic? We gobbled them up and they were great.

Ipsy June 2013: On The Wild Side

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: bags, boxes, bronze goddess, cailyn, chella, cream blush, cream palette, gel eyeliner, glitter palette, highlighter pencil, ipsy, j.cat, lip pencil, makeup, nyx, pictures, products, reviews, starlooks, subscriptions

16 June 2013

I was deciding whether I wanted to get Ipsy again when I inadvertently missed the deadline to unsubscribe, so I figured why not keep going with it for another month? I mean, for $10 I’m getting a bunch of products and if I don’t like them I can always trade. I was eager to find spoilers but as each one was revealed I got more and more concerned, since none were products that I use. However, I’m actually enjoying discovering this new stuff and maybe even starting to use some makeup?

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.

I liked the texture of the bag a lot more than the previous one, though I don’t like the pattern as much. Still, I didn’t think I’d like it at all when I first saw the spoilers, so I’m glad it impressed me more than expected. As for the products, here are my thoughts:

Cailyn Line-Fix Gel Eyeliner in Iron – trade. I’ve never tried applying gel eyeliner before, so I might as well go all out and get it in my favorite color (purple). I’m definitely putting this up for trade so I can get all wild with purple eyeliner.

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter – keep. I’ve been noticing how my eyebrows look more recently, so I’m totally ready to experiment with this highlighter and see what it can do for me. At the least it should be able to help calm down some of my redness.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Bronze Goddess – trade. While I like the shade of this blush and I’m super curious about cream blushes, I just don’t use blush so it’d be such a waste. I’m sure there’s someone else who can make good use of this and trade me for something I’d actually use more than once.

J.cat Sparkling Cream Palette in Volta – trade/keep. I’m going to list this up for trading but if nobody wants it (and it seems most people don’t really care for glitter), next time I go out at night I’ll use some of this to add playfulness. I don’t mind being silly with some glitter!

Starlooks Lip Pencil in Bare – trade. I don’t think I will ever want or need a lip pencil. It’s just not my thing. Definitely going to swap for something else with this one!

What would you have done if you got these products? What are you planning on doing with the ones you did get? Let me know and definitely reach out if you’re interested in a trade. Don’t forget to see what else I have up on 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 93: my ring

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, engagement, pictures, ring

15 June 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

🙂 Today is GREAT day. Yup, that there is my engagement ring, which Panda presented to me today soon after his Master’s degree graduation ceremony. I was not expecting it at all, though I had thought it was possible awhile back. I was just enjoying the campus of our alma mater on a gorgeous day when it happened. It was pretty much just as I liked – no big fanfare, just a simple gesture that was documented in pictures. And of course the location was perfect too, since UCLA is where we both attended undergrad and met. His parents were there, beaming and snapping photos for us and while there were tons of people around, everyone was far too busy taking their graduation pictures to notice. Thank goodness! I certainly didn’t want strangers staring. The ring itself contains many elements I selected myself, since I helped create it. The centerpiece is a purple sapphire, in case you’re wondering. More on all this later! Tonight I just wanted to share one of the great things in my life.

Goodies Co. April & May Taster’s Boxes

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: almonds, angie's popcorn, beanitos, black bean chips, blue raspberry, boxes, bronco bob's, california olive ranch, celsius energy drink, chip clip, chocolate chip cookie dough, coconut cashew, coupons, energy bars, food, gift cards, goodies co, green giant, mango chipotle sauce, moroccan mint tea, nakedwines, numi tea, olive oil, olomomo, organic tea, pictures, pink lemonade, pumpkin seeds, snacks, sour power straws, sparkling cola, subscriptions, superseedz, sweet & salty kettle corn, sweet potato chips, true bar, wholly guacamole, zico coconut water, zone perfect

15 June 2013

Here’s a quick review of the last two Goodies boxes as I wait for my June one!

I totally forgot to take a picture of the April box since I got caught up filming the unboxing, so here’s an awkward screenshot from the video.

It came with Angie’s Popcorn in Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, True Bar Coconut Cashew bar, Celsius Sparkling Cola energy drink, Zone Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bar, Green Giant Multigrain Sweet Potato chips, Olomomo Cherry Vanilla Dream Almonds, and a $50 gift card for nakedwines.com. The kettle corn was a little sweet for my taste, but great for anyone who likes their popcorn sweet. The sweet potato chips tasted quite good, though they were a bit greasier than I expected. The Celsius drink tastes funky to me, probably due to whatever they use to sweeten it, plus I don’t drink energy drinks, so it was just “meh” to me. The Zone Perfect bar was a bit too dense and energy bar tasting (vs. like a snack bar). I haven’t tried the others yet and I have no use for the gift card since I don’t drink! I think they probably could have included one more salty item rather than so many sweet treats, but otherwise it was good to try out these snacks.

Then there was the May Taster’s box, which was my favorite so far (probably due to the candy ;)):

This was also the most varied box of products, with not only snacks and drinks, but dips/sauce and kitchen items! It came with Zico Coconut Water, Sour Power Straws in Pink Lemonade and Blue Raspberry, Beanitos Black Bean chips, Numi Moroccan Mint tea, California Olive Ranch Olive Oil packets, Wholly Guacamole chip clip and coupon, and Bronco Bob’s Mango Chipotle sauce. Oh yeah, there was also supposed to be SuperSeedz Sea Salt Pumpkin Seeds, but mine was missing and I just got it – haven’t had a chance to try them yet. As for the rest, I tried to enjoy the coconut water but I’m just not into it, the sour straws were yummy (pink lemonade all the way!), the black bean chips were kind of bland, and I haven’t tasted the others yet. I’m looking forward to cooking with the olive oil and sauce, once I figure out what I can actually cook, haha. The chip clip has been quite useful for my snacking and I do believe I’ve had the Wholly Guacamole brand, which is good.

I’d say the May box was their best yet and I hope they continue like this for the coming months!

365great Day 92: rays

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, animals, creatures, experiences, manta ray, ocean, pictures, rays, sentosa, singapore, stingray

14 June 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

What tremendous creatures these rays are. They glide through the ocean and blend in with the sea floor, usually not causing a ruckus. They don’t really attract attention to themselves – they’re not bright or scary, but they are quietly beautiful in their own way. I never appreciated them until I got to pet some while visiting the Underwater World at Sentosa. I was shocked at how soft they are! Their skin is unlike anything else I’ve touched before. They were super friendly too, swimming right up to the glass wall and even coming out of the water so I’d pet them. It was such an amazing experience to be able to interact with them like that and I think everyone should go give it a try. They might just become your new favorite pet species. I’d absolutely love it if I could raise pet rays, but of course that’s not happening, so I’ll just continue admiring them whenever I can. I’m so glad I got to touch them; what a great experience.

In the mail: a sample, a splurge, and some winnings

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: beauty, bloggers, candles, cats, contests, food, free stuff, giveaways, hair care, in the mail, nail polish, pictures, products, skincare, sweepstakes, winnings

14 June 2013

Just like my first “in the mail” post, these are all items I received in the past month or so. Most were free, but some I paid for and each package was just as exciting as the next. I especially love when I’m not sure what is in a box because I wasn’t expecting it. It’s like a mini celebration each time. 🙂

I received this very generous size sample of Purina One SmartBlend in Healthy Metabolism (a new variety that just came out) from Walmart. They were offering it for awhile but have since moved on to promoting dog food. Missy, as you can see, loved it. Molly, the other cat, doesn’t eat it though. I doled it out to Missy slowly and only as a snack aside from her normal dry food and made it last about a month! I have since bought a bag of it because she enjoyed it so much and maybe it’s my imagination, or is her little belly less flabby? Maybe her metabolism is healthier now.

These are the polishes I chose for the Earth Day exchange (missing: Penny, a coppery shade – it was sent later since it was backordered). In order, they are Harley, Zuza, Crystal, Pandora, Skylar, Ziv, and Sienna. Since my order was over $30, I got a cute little bottle of nail polish remover as well. The box included some brochures and “spoons” with samples of some of their other colors. I have never bought this much nail polish at once, but I figured since I’m swapping out my old ones I’d do a few more.

I won this really cool Lumnique deluxe candle set from Monica of Creative Me. This is a very unique brand that allows you to customize your own candle creation – check them out! It was really fun going through and picking out an intention (something to be mindful of every time I light it), a color (my favorite), and a scent (this was hard with so many great choices!). I ultimately went with the Good Luck intention “to remind you that impossible situations can become attainable miracles,” the Royal color “representative of intuition, idealism, honor, royalty, spirituality, nobility, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment,” and the Green Tea Lemongrass scent “like savoring a cup of relaxing green tea with invigorating lemongrass, this citrusy scent renews, refreshes and restores balance and harmony.” I love that it came with a cute box of matches too!

This set of Klorane products was a SheKnows giveaway that I won… except that I won the Citrus Pulp Giveaway offering the Klorane Citrus Pulp Shampoo and Leave-In Spray. But what they sent me was the prize pack for their other Klorane giveaway offering the Klorane Eco-Friendly Essentials Earth Day Kit with a reusable pouch, dry shampoo with oat milk, and biodegradable make-up remover wipes with cornflower water. While this kit is cool, I was really looking forward to trying the leave-in spray so I was a bit disappointed. When I emailed them to say they sent me the wrong items, they got back to me with the reply I predicted: they substituted my prize. I wish they had at least thrown in something else to make the value of the prizes the same – my original prize was worth $30 but this one is only worth $20. Oh well, winning is still better than nothing!

Another great win from Creative Me! This set of SeabuckWonders products is my current skincare routine and I’m loving it. If you’re not familiar with sea buckthorn, it’s a bright orange “superfruit” found in the Himalayans (so exotic) and because of the harsh environment it grows in, it has a ton of defensive mechanisms that translate to all kinds of health benefits of us humans. You can consume things made with it (and presumably eat the fruit directly if you’re lucky enough to have access) or use products made with it to get some of those benefits. One of the most unique things about it is its Omega-7 property, which is rare, though I have no idea what Omega-7s are good for. I love how both these products feel and that they will last me a long time since such a little amount is needed each time.

What great luck that I was also able to win this Sibu Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser! I will have to try this out to compare with the SeabuckWonders one. I could see myself using both since one is exfoliating and one is not. I like to switch it up! I previously got Sibu soap in a Yuzen box and it was the first time I’d heard of sea buckthorn. I am now obsessed with that special berry so I love it when any of my beauty products incorporate it.

365great Day 91: Cloud Magic

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, apps, cloud computing, cloud magic, iphone, pictures, service, social media, technology, the cloud

13 June 2013

Learn more about 365great here.

Cloud Magic is a wonderful little app that I found a few months ago. It’s basically like a global search of your digital footprint, which means that one search term brings up results across your email, social media, calendars, contacts, and online storage accounts. What a convenient way to find something when you can’t remember where the information might be stored. Or, in my case, I love using it to see if I got any emails with “congrats” or “congratulations” so I can make sure I know when I’ve won something. I use different emails depending on what type of site I’m entering a giveaway on and sometimes those accounts have filters so it’d be tedious to go through each to see if I got a relevant message. One search in Cloud Magic and *boom* it’s all right there for me to browse. You can even reply to emails right in the app! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to use it as well and you should totally give it a try! It’s so handy and absolutely great.

On My Mind, episode 7

laelene Posted in on my mind，Tags: beauty, behavior, bloggers, blogging, cats, makeup talk, missy, on my mind, pictures, products, skincare, swapping, swaps, trades, trading

13 June 2013

2

It’s Thursday Thoughts time with Jennifer!

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.

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.

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

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?

~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?

365great Day 90: pumice

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, bath, beauty, pictures, products, pumice, pumice sponge, pumice stone, skincare

12 June 2013

0

Learn more about 365great here.

Ah, the feeling of soft, smooth heels. It’s a beautiful thing! I love when my feet are well-taken care of and sometimes it’s not easy when I walk around in flip flops all day. With my feet exposed to the elements, they get dry and tough pretty fast, so I rely pumice stones and sponges like this cute elephant one! They help slough off those dead skin cells and polish your rough patches to reveal the glowing skin beneath. It’s like a breath of fresh air for those tired feet (or elbows). Give them a whole new life with one of these great little beauty tools.

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