stuff i did in september

Routine is both a comfortable and scary thing for me. Recently, I've fallen so deep into the rhythm of working life that I can barely feel the passage of time. It seems like I go to bed on the first of the month and wake up on the 31st. 

It's funny because on a day-to-day basis, work just feels like the most important thing. So many things happen in that 8+ hour window that when I walk out of the office, I feel like I've fought a hundred battles. Sometimes it feels like I moved mountains, and sometimes it feels like made it out of a torture chamber only half alive (dramatics - I like them). 

But in a removed environment like this when I'm reflecting on days past, I very rarely think of work. That's because it's what lies outside of the office -- family, friends, nap time with Emma -- that defines a month. Or a year. ...or a lifetime. 

.......................

|| my second -- and LAST ever -- football game ||

|| my favorite bun bo hue in the westside!! ||

|| in vegas to celebrate a birthday of one of my great friends, and to welcome the return of another || 

|| a mini-commercial shoot! product hidden because it's still under wraps ||

|| found this little gem at home. I've always had a thing for fat animals, and now I know why. Kindred spirit. ||

 || my most exciting purchase through my new favorite flash-sale site: sneakpeeq.com - the unii palette! ||

September: stuff i liked & stuff i didn't like so much

Preface:

Over the years I've seen a healthy amount of beauty products come and go from my stash.  Along the way I've discovered stuff that is so great that I don't even touch the same product from other brands. And that is saying a lot, coming from a person who is easily seduced by new products that are riding on a carriage of marketing half-truths ("Clinically proven to reduce blemishes by 70%!"... "24-hour staying power!"..."Smudge-free!").

For nail polish top coat this is Seche Vite, for pencil eyeliner it's Sephora Kohl Waterproof liner in Keep Black.  For the rest of my routinely used products, I'm still on the hunt. So I try new things from time to time, hoping I'll find my Holy Grail :)

P.S. I struggled to come up with a more efficiently worded title but it really wasn't happening.

 

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash (pink grapefruit) - Disaster. It dried out my skin so badly that I literally had skin flaking off of my cheeks. I also had a crusty lip. Sorry to be gross, but that is what happened. Gross hit me in the face and stayed there for 2 weeks. 

Ulta Sheer Fragrance Mist (precious poppies) - Ultimate champion winner.  Fragrance is entirely subjective so I won't try to sell this one too hard, but it's light and fruity and happy and I love!!

OPI (my very first knockwurst) - It's hard to be on board with fall colors when the weather is so blaringly summer...will revisit later. 

L'Oreal Color Riche Balm (caring coral) - I really like this. I'm a fan of all tinted balms because I'm afraid of actual lip colors. My eyes freak out when they see my face with a painted lip. 

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara (blackest black) - It's OK. Not as good as my long-time-favorite-but-not-quite-a-permanent-fixture mascara, which is the Maybelline Falsies right underneath. 

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Corrector (light) - I am too dark for this right now. But gosh darn it i'll find use for it in my paler months, because I'm not putting $8.00 to waste!

Emma Withdrawal

Work travels and the upcoming hell week (the 7 chaotic days leading up to the biggest company Toy Fair of the year) have forced me to keep Emma with my parents in Orange County. I miss this crazy dog; can't wait to reunite next Sunday...!!! 

Googly eyes Emma. This is her "EYES ON THE PRIZE" face for when I dangle a jerky. 

Unamused Emma. This is her annoyed face when I try to take pictures of her sleeping.

BakeGreek and cookies

Most nights when I sit in front of my laptop, I open Google Reader and educate myself on the global  headlines of celebrity news. Or bookmark yet another food blog recipe that I will probably never get around to realizing. 

Most nights I also end up on facebook, wading through food pictures, sports-related exclamations, baby photos and self-advertisements to try to find what really matters (travel photos, wedding announcements, personal drama aired out on the internet, etc). 

Sometimes though, I don't make it to the internet at all. In my archive of personal photos are over 10 years of memories, and on rare occasions I get caught up looking through them. Reliving the dorm life, the day I was knee-deep in mud water planting rice, the week I spent in Greece.

Today I came across the photos of cookies I made for BakeGreek.  It's kind of a bittersweet memory, because I remember just how excited I was to be a part of this project. I also remember how worn out I became, entirely due to my own over-ambition and self-applied pressure. When it all ended, I was exhausted and I hated that I could no longer enjoy something that I used to love.

Looking at these photos now makes me miss it a little bit. Maybe one day, when I'm struck by inspiration of the greatest idea in all of human history (because I feel this about all of my ideas), I'll make one. Not because it's time for a new blog entry, or because I'm getting paid, or because I need to prove something. Just because I feel like it.

Freeman Facial Clay Mask (avocado & oatmeal)

Clay masks, why have we not been introduced before?

I bought this at a Duane Reade on my last trip to New York. 

I loved it and feared I would never find it in California (not true - they are everywhere), so I bubble-wrapped it and sneaked it into a box of toy samples that would be shipped back to LA. Yes, there in a case full of thousand-dollar prototypes was my priceless tube of clay.... retail value $3.99. 

After the clay dries, you can see the oil that it absorbed from your pores. It also adheres to dead skin cells as it hardens, acting as a gentle exfoliant. I love the way my face feels after I wash this off. 

So fresh and so clean clean!

polka dot nails

Polka dots is my favorite pattern to have on my nails. Cute, whimsical, simple. I ♥ them.

one week of outfits

What do I wear today?  It's 5 minutes past the time I should be out the door but I am just standing there like a Stonehenge in front of the dresser, seeing the 50 separate pieces but unable to see an outfit.

I am not a fashion daredevil. I take virtually zero risks, and when no one is looking I spend an entire day in the same tank and leggings that I woke up in. I am only marginally ashamed to admit that at my previous job, I used to walk into the office in said outfit. It was a very relaxed environment.

The nature of my current job places me in a precarious position where I can be yanked into a meeting at any moment of the day. I learned the importance of proper attire when, sometime in my earlier days, I ended up in a conference room with various EVPs in my hello kitty tank. Hello Kitty wearing shutter shades.

In the morning haze, I can never get the gears in my brain moving quickly enough to pair pants with a top with a jacket with jewelry with shoes. So this week, I planned ahead :)

Bonus pic of Emma interrupting my shots:

high bun

Having a good bun day ♥