Random Things :)

Shanice of All These Pretty Things passed on some award love my way (Aw, shucks, thanks Shanice!):

 

The Rules

- Thank and link back to the person who awarded you

- Write 7 random things about yourself

- Spread the love to 15 other bloggers

 

1- I got apple cider and donuts from Yates Cider Mill today with my husband... sooo happy!

2- I plan to build a lightbox with his help soon to improve my picture quality (and make up for the sad lack of light most days in Michigan)

3- I used the Incoco Nail Strips today from my September Birchbox. It turns out they're not just plain silver glitter - there's a bit of hologlitter in there that's nice when the sunlight hits them.  They feel almost exactly like the Sally Hansen strips, or perhaps slightly softer/rubberier.  I'll let you guys know if they last as long! They retail for $8.

4- I still read Seventeen and Teen Vogue despite being several years (10!) out of high school.  Well, I got free subcriptions ordering from Forever 21 online, so why not?

5- The new car I bought that is making me too poor to buy much makeup lately is a red Honda Fit.

6- I suffer from eczema but only on my hands and shins. Still, it's awful!

7- I got to go to London in 2005 :-D Hope I can visit again in the future.

I'd like to pass the love on to my favorite bloggers on the right who would like to participate.  If not, it's okay... the chain-mail boogiemen won't get you!

 

Tag Again! Top 10 Cosmetic Products Right Now

The other tag I got from the knock-out Penelope of Inspired by Beauty was a Top 10 Cosmetics award.  These are my current besties in no particular ranking:

1) Vivo Per Lei Peel ($28 at amazon.com)
2) Origins Vitazing ($35)
3) E.L.F. Personal Blend Foundation in Light ($8)
4) Bare Escentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush ($20)
5) Cherry Culture Lip Balm (free with purchase at cherryculture.com, bubblegum-flavored)
6) Bath & Body Works Liplicious Double Delish Lip Gloss in Peanut Butter & Jelly ($4, bronzey-berry tint and tastes like grape lollies)
7) MAC Lush Amber (lustre) Lipstick ($14.50, LE Semi-Precious Collection, beautiful nude)
8) Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light ($4)
9) Illamasqua powder blush in Lover ($24)
10) Ojon Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum ($25 for 1.7 oz., lightly fragranced of warm spices mmm! Somehow I managed to forget it for the photo... weird)

Friday is tomorrow... huzzah!

My First Tags!

The breathtakingly gorgeous Penelope from Inspired by Beauty has tagged me!
Honestly, I'm not quite sure what a blogger award is, but I understand a tag :-D
The Top Ten Products Tag will have to come later because I don't have my makeup bag with me.  But I think I can scrounge up 7 Things about me that y'all don't know!
1) I'm the youngest of four siblings.  They all got married within 2009 and I had to stand up in two weddings!
Bridesmaid:

My hair wasn't long, rather it was chin-length and curls were stategically pinned up.

Maid of Honor:

My sister is the prettier one, argh!

2) I was a flight attendant for (now absorbed by Delta) Northwest Airlines for all of 2007. It was a blast and I wish I could do it again! But it's quite difficult to have any kind of life outside of work until you get seniority with the union. I don't have pictures easily available of me in uniform because around that time a flight attendant had famously been fired for posting (sexy?) pictures of herself online in uniform so I didn't want to risk having any online anywhere.
3) I graduated from uni a semester early because my parents were suddenly unable to pay and I hadn't saved any money. That's the way to do it! University is a blast, especially if you love learning like I do, but you pay through the nose for it. If you can manage to graduate early at all, learn on your own time for free and just graduate!
4) I taught English in Fukushima.  My town is very close to the Nuclear Evacuation Zone (between Koriyama and Iwaki).

The view from my apartment balcony in August of 2005. Yep, them's rice fields!

5) I was dumped by my first boyfriend (a redhead) on September 11, 2001.  Obviously, I didn't care that much because I was worried about terrorist attacks. So all in all, I guess that's not a bad time to dump somebody?
6) I got married on September 11, 2010 (to a redhead. Things really do come in threes, as my husband was my third redhead boyfriend!).  Wedding makeup post to come! And yeah, I know it's a weird choice of date, but it just worked out that way.

In our limo!

7) We opted for three short honeymoons instead of one long honeymoon:
The extended stay in Las Vegas after our wedding:

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at the Venetian

Our quick weekend at Hogwarts:

Confession: I made this picture black and white because I can't stand my makeup!

And another (no makeup, just went swimming) long weekend trip to Oahu, Hawaii:

Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore, because we like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

So I guess the only interesting things about me for the last several years are having to do with jobs/weddings.  Sorry I don't have any unusual talents!

I'd like to tag Jess, Jessica, Jessica, Steph, Kayla, Marie, and Tamara!  Well, and anyone else from my fave bloggers in the sidebar.  I really do love and read all of your blogs as much as possible :-D

What's at my desk (Tag?) - or, Office Lady Life

Happy Friday!  I've seen lots of people do "What's in my bag" posts of varying types (travel bag, makeup bag, purse, etc.) but I don't think I've seen a "What's in my cube" post before.  If you have a cubicle in an office, I tag you!
I thought this post would be interesting and revealing because people spend a huge chunk of their time at work, and possibly fun because it reminds me of one of the miniature collections of Japanese micro-toys called "OL Life" that I bought while I lived in Japan.  They sell lots of these little collections, with mini plastic food, mini dolls, or mini tools, in little boxes for 100-800 yen, and you can collect them all. They usually come with some crappy candies as well, and little collector cards.  The "OL Life" ones I bought amused me because they included things like mini pumps, stamps and ink pads, staplers, Starbucks coffee cup, folder dividers/inboxes, makeup compacts, etc., all Barbie-sized or smaller, and all themed like "Work Day to Going Out," which included the tiny Office Lady's little evening clutch bag and glitzier shoes, for example.  Kind of reminds me of the Stila Girls.  I wish I still had these to show you, but I lost a lot of little toy things when I moved back to the US. 
So, when I took these photos I thought of my own OL Life and how cute mundane things are when they're miniature, heh.
Anyway,  I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you keep at work :)

L'oreal Le Gloss 154 Watermelon Crush (very sheer, not lasting, but smells good and has a nice sheen), MAC Ever Hip, AHAVA Mineral Hand Cream, de~luxe Rosemary Mint Hand Sanitizer, Visine for Contacts (must have, I'm at the computer all day), CVS 99-cent 100% pure cocoa butter stick (smells amazing and is dirt-cheap), Jill Stuart Compact Mirror, Hello Kitty Panda peach-mint gum case from Japan (a coworker brought me) that is now holding paperclips.

I keep this stuff in stacked plastic drawers on my desk:  Loungefly Hot Dog and Hamburger key chains, Pineapple key chain from Oahu, New York and Company points card (I actually rarely buy office attire from there, but I probably should), Sarah name plate Michigan key chain a friend gave me in middle school/junior high, sewing kit card, duct tape (far more likely to use this than the sewing kit), mini dental floss, Deborah Lippmann the Stripper to go nail polish remover from a birchbox, Hello Kitty blotting linens, BCA tweezer and nail file set, cuticle pusher, nail clippers, Japonesque BCA lash curler, stamp and ink pad, post-it pad, Wet n Wild Natural Pressed Powder, E.L.F. blush and bronzer quad, dollar "jewel" tape measure, Mini Hello Kitty Notebook,  unopened Wet n Wild Speed Gloss in 943 Reckless, unopened Maybelline One by One Volume Express Mascara in Blackest Black, and Excedrin Migraine (which YOU probably need right now after reading this massive caption).

Let me know if you like this kind of post!