Thursday, September 30, 2010

im liking this


though in the end when they run into the crowd, the audience looks confused. didnt know the lyrics?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cover Them 'Bows!

In an effort to save my bf's sweater, I decided to cover a growing hole in the elbow with a leather patch. The local fabric store didn't carry ready-made patches but did have leather scraps, so I bought some scraps and made my own! Leather's a pain, but an awl, a good old blanket stitch, and some entertainment (in the form of Sufjan's new album and Through A Glass Darkly) made it all okay.



Okay, now off I go to trivia!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Saturday, September 18, 2010

wyclef for prez. not.

i have a brand spanking new empty ipod touch that i'm in the process of filling up, and after downloading the necessities (mike rizzy podcast, this american life, the moth), i started buckling down and parousing itunes for songs that i needed to round out my playlists. during my searches, i somehow managed to stumble across wyclef's greatest hits album, which kinda surprised me that he actually had a greatest hits album out. i remember liking wyclef at a time, but i had forgotten about him till now, and after retracing my steps via youtube, i unearthed some gems that i think i'll add to my ipod. wyclef, you aren't my favorite fugee, but i still like you.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

Food for Thought

I've always been more of a baker than a cook as baking just comes easier to me. Recipes seem easier to follow and I can pick up on baking techniques pretty quickly (specifically when working with pastries). But this doesn't mean I don't love cooked food; it just means I don't have that eye (or brain?) for it. There's a whole other set of techniques and flavors that I appreciate as a consumer (haha) but have a hard time replicating. I mean, I can churn out some good meals, but I'm no chef. I am and always will be an everyday kind of cook.

That said, cooking--because it comes off as a mysterious, elusive skill--fascinates me. So I've been reading about it, meaning cooking as an art form; a political platform; and a link to other cultures, other people, and the past.

Below are some of the magazines I've recently come across that feed my interest.

Gastronomica

Meatpaper

Some magazines have food issues that are also worth checking out, such as the March 2010 issue of Oxford American, and I'm pretty interested in this one as well.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Saturday, September 4, 2010

i want/ i need?

i've been on a mission for the past few weeks to get crazy healthy skin, since for all my years previously i have greatly abused it (not washing my makeup off! no spf! picking at my face!). this mission has led me through several cleansers, face creams, primers and samples of possible candidates, but all roads lead to here. the clarisonic mia. it's the key. i need it.

oh the claims are so so promising. gotta start saving my nickels and dimes!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

high brow

i've never quite realized it before, but i've amassed quite the load of makeup and beauty products. so in an effort to keep myself sifting through my inventory so i don't forget any old treasures, i'm gonna start reviewing some of my goods (oh, and to also increase consumer knowledge!). to kick off this round of reviewing, i'll start with Wet n' Wild's Arch Envy:

So I was compelled to buy this because my friend had recently bought the Anastasia Brow Fix pencil (which is amazing) and I wanted it so badly but couldn't really bring myself to spend $21 on brow gel. For some background, my eyebrows have a mind of their own. No they aren't crazy and un-tamed, but they like to spike up, spike down, spike sideways if they can throughout the day, so brow wax is like heaven to me. I used to use brow gel but I've had issues with it flaking, and that is never cute. SO, prowling through the aisles of Ulta for an alternative, I came upon this Wet n' Wild cheapo version and snagged it right up. Here's the brow wax side (obviously already used up a bit):

For the brow taming side, in comparison to the Anastasia pencil, it's definitely not as good. In terms of doing it's job for the price, it's pretty spot on. It applies easily and invisibly, and my brows for the most part stay in place (an occasional stray after several hours of work). I do have to say that after about 3 days of usage, this stuff wore down super fast, it made me wonder where all the product was going! The thing about the Anastasia pencil is that it has a more waxy consistency that practically glues your brows into place, but for Wet n' Wild's $2 price tag, I'll take my losses.

(brow liner swatches, L is slightly smudged, R is harder application)


Now for the brow liner part. This definitely does not get as much usage, pretty much for the sheer fact that it is completely the wrong color for me. My hair is black, and this brown color doesn't fade well into my stark black hair. In terms of consistency, it's really hard and not very easy to work with, so I'd much rather use eyeshadow for any brow filling I need.

Overall

For someone looking for a much much cheaper alternative to the Anastasia Brow Fix, I think this is a decent dupe. The brow color not matching was a bummer, but if you can find a color that matches your brows, even better! But considering I only really wanted the brow wax part of the pencil, I think $2 is still a nice deal. I am searching for a new replacement for my Wet n' Wild since I don't think it's gonna last me but another month, so I'll report back with some brow fixing finds.