Double Rainbow

Hi everyone! For this week's nail look I went with Black Gold, Texas Tea by CbL. I did two coats (waited 5min in between) and this morning I added a top glossy coat of Seche Vite to add shine and prevent from my nails from chipping. In natural indoor lighting this color looks like a dark gunmetal grey, almost black. I always use a base coat for whatever nail look I'm doing, but with this color it is a must since highly pigmented or dark nail polishes can stain your nails. 

 

While Black Gold, Texas Tea can look a little dull indoors, get this puppy in some lighting and BAM! COLOR EXPLOSION! Since this polish is a linear holo, in sunlight (or using the flash on my camera), a rainbow prism appears creating so much dimension it's like being sucked into a black hole. I must warn you that this color can be very distracting, so I probably wouldn't recommend it if you have issues with staying on task. That said, I will definitely be using this color again, just maybe not during finals week. 

Daily Nuggets...

• I switched to the IPhone 6 Plus. That thing is a monster in my hands but I've noticed I have a harder time losing it.

• My abs are super sore from working out yesterday. TRX is my new frenemy. 

• 75 Days until the wedding! Time is going by scary fast. Before I know it I'll be doing a blog post about how the wedding went. 

• Speaking of scary fast, summer quarter starts in 4 days and I have yet to purchase my abnormal psychology book or pay for the class. I should probably get on that.

• We finally got a grill! I don't know how to work it, but maybe Ken will teach me when I'm not so distracted by my nail polish. 

      

Why Failure Is Not A Bad Thing

Today I failed. I signed up for a beginners motorcycle class and the second day into the class I called it quits. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of coordination involved to steer, shift gears, speed up, slow down, and stop. In fact the only thing I was good at was stalling the engine. As the pace of the class picked up, I got to the point where I was scaring myself with my inability to control the bike, and decided it was best to quit now rather than spend the next few months rocking a body cast. So $125.00 down the drain, but I did learn a few valuable lessons.

• Failure does not mean it's the end of the world (unless you're on a mission to destroy an asteroid headed for earth).

• It's hard NOT to feel bad when we fail. No matter how we reason with ourselves, fighting back tears becomes an insurmountable task when we associate failure with feeling helpless. And it's okay to cry. It doesn't mean you're weak or you're flawed as a person. 

• Failing simply means you have to develop a new plan of action. Examine why you failed, and then try again with new viewpoint. 

• Do not define something as impossible over one failed attempt. As a stuntman, Evil Knievel suffered over 433 bone fractures in his lifetime. Ultimately he died of pulmonary disease in 2007, but the point is he never stopped believing in possibilities.

• Gauge how important your goal is. You certainly don't have to succeed at everything in life just to prove you're not a 'quitter.' Some things simply aren't worth any more of your time or effort. I once failed at putting a VCR back together and I've never lost sleep over it. 

• If you've identified that an objective that is important, resolve to try again. Don't allow negative thoughts over a few failed attempts stop you from reaching your goal.

 

I may try learning how to ride a motorcycle again but being in school and short on funds, it will probably be awhile.

 

 

Daily Nuggets...

• I saw Jurrasic World yesterday but was disappointed more tourists didn't get eaten. 

• Since father's day is over I'm scouring Craigslist for a used grill.

• Deciding what to do with tomorrow now that I don't have the motorcycle class to go to.

Deep Sea Treasure

Hi everyone! This week I've used two polishes out of my "A Box, Indied" for June to create an ultra glamorous nautical look. I've decided to call this look Deep Sea Treasure. I thought up a scenario behind this one. A pirate ship carrying a chest full of gold comes under siege in the Caribbean. While the ship goes down, the chest breaks open, laying its bounty on the crystal-blue sea floor.

For the base I used "Ships Ahoy" from DIFFERENT dimension, which is a blue linear holographic with glass flecks mixed in. You can definitely use this color alone, but I recommend at least two coats if doing so. On top I added "Pirate Booty," which is luxurious hexagonal gold glitter suspended in a clear base. This makes it perfect for top coats if you want to kick your polish up a notch. 

My favorite thing about these two polishes is the glam factor. Sometimes it's nice to do a flat creme, but during the summer when the sun is more prevalent, I love glitter and holo polishes that dazzle in the light. This is my first time trying these brands so I'll see what the staying power is and update this post in a week.

Daily Nuggets...

• I got a free mocha this morning at the Rainy Days Caffe (10th stamp).

• It would be nice to start getting up early again, just hopefully no 5am car side-swipes this time. 

• Summer quarter starts in 10 days. *grumble grumble grumble*

• I love buying journals/notebooks. I get a profound sense of possibility leafing through the blank pages.

• Time to organize mega desk.        

The Bechdel Test

Are the movies you watch promoting gender equality? Use the Bechdel test to find out.
First! The movie must have at least TWO women.
Second! The women must talk to each other.
Lastly (and this is the hard one) The conversation must be about something besides a man.

One of my favorite movies is The Man From Snowy River, so let's see if it passes the Bechdel test. 
Does it have two women? Yes, Jessica Harrison (the daughter of a wealthy cattle rancher) and Rosemary Hume (her aunt).
Do they talk to each other? Yes.
About something besides a man? No.
So while my movie does not pass the Bechdel test, at least I know using the test brings awareness to the inequality between men and women in the movies.

Things have improved since the 1970s. According to the Bechdel website, writers and directors are giving women more significant roles.
Movies that pass the Bechdel test have risen 25% in the last 25 years.

The only thing that worries me is that the numbers have stagnated. I can only hope as we make advances in societal equality, our movies continue to reflect that. 
  
So think of your favorite movie...does it pass the Bechdel test?

Daily Nuggets...

• I got my first scholarship from from the Hugh S. Cannon Foundation. Woohoo!

• Ken has been teaching me how to drive a manual. I didn't know cars and mechanical bulls could have so much in common. 

• My final biology test was posted, 93.25%!

• I've set my alarm for July 8th 12am. That's when Urban Decay's Naked Smoky palette comes out.

• There's supposed to be a new $10 bill coming out from the U.S. treasury in 2020 that features a woman. I wonder how my face would look in green?

Llarowe: A Box, Indied (June Edition)

Hello everyone! This is my first "A Box, Indied" from Llrowe. For the month of June the theme was 'Nauti(cal).' According to their website, you get "a themed monthly subscription box containing 5 exclusive full sized polishes or nail related items from 11 collaborating indie polish makers." This is a pretty sweet way to try multiple polishes from different makers. You can buy the nail polishes separately, but since some polishes run upwards of $14 you have the potential to save up to $20 with the $50 monthly subscription. I also enjoy having nail polishes selected for me as it forces me to try colors and finishes I wouldn't normally go with. Anyways, above you can see the box that the polishes came in. The box itself of course came inside of a USPS package. I feel like it is such a nice box, I may have to repurpose it for something else.

The polishes themselves were individually wrapped with what I can only describe as heavy tissue paper. I'm not exactly sure what the material is, but it definitely holds up to shipping.

Here are the unwrapped polishes along with a card that came inside the box. The brands and colors included for the month of June are as follows (from left to right):

Different Dimension - Ships Ahoy
Hare - Abalone Shores
Serum No. 5 - Whale Hello There!
Girly Bits - Pirate Booty
CbL - Stormy Seas

I must say I am quite pleased with all of the colors/finishes I received. At first I was a little unsure about the coloring with 'Whale Hello There!' as it seems rather bland at first glance, but turn off the lights and BAM! It glows in the dark! Super neat!

I have yet to try these colors out, but I should be redoing my nails either Friday or Saturday and will experiment with them then. I may also do a follow up post rating these polishes individually. Have a great week everyone!

Daily Nuggets...

• Bethesda had the most awesome E3 showcase yesterday! The Fallout 4 release date has been moved up to November 10th 2015. I'll attach the link below for those who are interested...

Bethesda E3 Show

• Took my social psychology exam this morning, so I only have my biology final on Wednesday!

• I have been hearing strange sounds on the roof. My life might be turning into an Alfred Hitchcock film. #TheBirds

First Impressions: Llarowe

Hi Everyone! I am loving this nail polish! The line is called "Colors by Llarowe" or "CBL" for short. Llarowe was founded by nail polish fanatic Leah Ann LaRowe, who in 2011 decided it was time someone made ordering nail polishes from around the world easier (ixnay the hassle and expense of shipping internationally). So what started out as an idea certainly has blossomed into a well established business. Of course now she has her own line of polishes, which is aptly named "Colors by Llarowe."

Now that you know some history, lets delve into the polish itself. The two colors that I am wearing here are 'Vincent,' which is a creme black base, and for the top coat I went with 'River,' which is the most gorgeous blue/green flake polish. Originally I thought I might try to do a mermaid look, but on top of black it makes me think of dragon scales. Also this pairing is great if you enjoy anything with peacock feathers.

As far as laying down the polish, I only did ONE coat of each color and it turned out amazing. You can do 'River' by itself and simply layer (3-4 coats) for opacity. This would be a completely different look, but I personally think flake polishes look best when used over dark colors such as 'Vincent.'

I have yet to really test out this nail polish's durability. I do a lot of typing both at work, school, and now with this blog, so usually my nail polishes don't last more than 4 or 5 days without at least some wear and tear. I also always do both a bottom and a top coat using Seche Vite to prevent nail stain and chipping. I will post further info on durability as I use these polishes more.

If you want to check out more colors or purchase these ones, visit Llarowe's Website. I will also be doing a blog post soon about Llarowe's "A Box Indied," which is a themed monthly subscription. Let me know if you have any questions and have a happy day!

Daily Nuggets...

• Social psychology final tomorrow.

• An announcement from Bethesda should be made today around 6:30pm Pacific Time releasing further details on Fallout 4. 

• Looking forward to a female president. Go Hillary!

• I've been enjoying the Tim Hunt backlash especially after taking women's studies last quarter. #DistractinglySexy

• Still have to get some boots for motorcycle class.

Jurrasic World Ethics

Can we talk about ethics for a moment? Most of you know the premise for Jurrasic World, which opens this weekend; man messes with nature, and nature exacts its revenge. So why is it that in all of these films, not one person has served jail time for manslaughter? Even if we wanted justice for all those killed, who would we hold responsible? Do we hold the scientists responsible for recreating/mutating the dinosaurs? Or would we hold the parks accountable for not taking proper safety measures? 

In the beginning of the second movie we see lawyers meeting with John Hammond who is quietly settling an out-of-court matter about a little girl who had an 'accident' on one of his islands. I think one of the few reasons this man hasn't been led out in handcuffs is that he is reminiscent of Santa Claus (except in our case, it's a jolly old man whose elves have created macabre man-eating machines).

Fast-forward to the latest installment of 'money-making antics gone wrong,' and once again we see people running for their lives at a park they willingly entered. The park guests must have known what they were getting into, especially with the last three major park 'incidents.' If I were a producer/writer on the set, I would start the movie off with everyone signing waivers. It would be a full five minutes of paperwork, and then blood-bath. I think the moral of the story here is that the less movies adhere to rules, the less realistic it becomes. If you really want to scare a theater audience, start off with some legal documents.  

Daily Nuggets...

• Ken won the water balloon fight. I have a welt on the back of my arm to prove it.

• Is it fair to throw a water balloon at someone when they are both unarmed and retreating?  

• I REALLY hate steller's jays. I've been trying to get rid of them and they destroyed my lavender in retaliation. Admittedly when starvation didn't work, I resorted to rock throwing. 

Them's Duelin' Words!

How long has it been since you've had a good old fashioned duel? For me, it's been far too long so yesterday, as a last minute decision, I grabbed a pack of water balloons at the dollar store. Let me just say, filling 100 water balloons is enough to take the fight out of anyone, thus a water balloon battle should be planned in advance. It has been decided that Ken and I will duel at noon on Saturday (loser buys lunch). I have yet to come up with my strategy, but I think Ken might have an unfair advantage in that he plays more war games than me. Anyways, I think it is important as adults we find ways to be playful and maybe even a little 'childish' at times. Life is short. Go play. 

Daily Nuggets...

• Back on elimination diet. Cutting out breads/grains is probably the hardest food group for me to give up, but I'm almost sure I have a wheat or gluten intolerance. 

• Crossing my fingers that my eyes aren't swollen when I wake up tomorrow. I accidentally had some wheat and rye in my oatmeal this morning. Damn you Quaker Oatmeal guy who makes fancy packaging.  

• I wonder how much guacamole is too much guacamole?

• Worked out today at Xtra Fitness. I felt so out of breath. I'm not sure, but I think I might have a condition called "out of shape."

My New Obsession: Beirut

The band Beirut has been around since 2006, but I recently discovered them through their June 1st release of the single "No No No." The full album isn't set to be released until September this year, but if their first song is a precursor to the album, it's gonna be flat-out awesome! Their musical style seems to be indie with heavy horns. You can listen to their new single and older albums on Spotify. For those in the Seattle area, they will be in concert at the Paramount Theater October 13th. I bought tickets this morning. #FirstConcertAsAMarriedCouple ♥︎

Single "No No No"

Daily Nuggets...

• Participated in reliability training at work. Seriously how many acronyms can one company use? I created a new one called "J.U.S.T.-S.T.O.P." (patent pending)

• Finally got my oil changed today. If my car were human, I might be charged with neglect.

• My cuticles are crazy dry. 

• Found some goodies at the dollar store including a cooling eye mask for my puffy eyes (allergies).

Kinda feel like cat-woman in this mask...

Sunday Catch Up

I've been feeling 'green' with envy this weekend over those who don't have schoolwork right now (weather is gorgeous). I've also been feeling the heat today, so I added gold polka dots to my nail polish today :) Just a heads up, Sally Hansen nail polish is on sale at Ulta right now as a buy one get one 50% off through 6/27/15.

Sunday to do list...

• Laundry
• Study for lab quiz Monday
• Read "Letter to Menoeceus" p.653-656
• Read "My Confessions" p.659-664
• Philosophy discussion board
• Study for philosophy final
• Calculate Mean, Median, and Mode for Psychology experiment 
• Endocrine research write-up

I did spend this morning in bed getting my psychology project done, so mission accomplished. One less thing on my plate as I start to wrap up this quarter. 

Daily Nuggets...

• I tried to make a smoothie this morning out of blueberries and unsweetened almond milk, but it smelled and tasted like play-dough. Down the sink it went.

• No make-up today, but at least I did my nails. 

• Why do I feel like a dork when Netflix asks me, "Are you still watching Pretty Little Liars?" It feels more like, "Seriously? You're still watching this show?"

Why Bethesda Made My Weekend...

Oh my. I've been waiting for this game to be announced for SEVEN YEARS! I was 20 when Fallout 3 came out and had a blast playing it. I ended up buying all of the expansions and only stopped exploring the post-apocalyptic Las Vegas landscape when my PS3 gave out. Fallout 4 will only be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC platforms, so if you haven't upgraded your console, now might be a good time. The official release date is December 31st 2015 and pre-order is available. Currently the price is $59.99. Winter quarter at Edmonds CC starts January 4th which gives me approximately 4 full days to play my heart out, before turning it over to Ken. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open as Bethesda is set to release further details June 14th. 

Daily Nuggets...

• Brad's birthday party last night was awesome!  

• Fajita left overs are the bomb. 

• I'm about 1,000 miles over on my oil change, but Saturdays are too busy at Jiffy Lube. I'm thinking Monday I'll do it. 

• Still need to find low-heel boots for the motorcycle class in two weeks.

Poor Ello Bottle

One of my Ello bottles finally broke, but not in the way I was expecting. With the amount of times I've dropped my glass water bottle, I had expected it to break sooner or later, but surprisingly it wasn't the glass portion that broke, it was the plastic flip-top lid. Luckily I can get a replacement lid on Amazon for around $6. Either way, I'm glad they made these things with rubber around the glass. While I prefer these water bottles for the taste factor (they don't add any sort of chemical taste to the water), they also save the environment from more plastic. Each bottle holds 20ml of water (at times a little less if you spill it down the front of your shirt). A few months ago Costco sold them as a two-pack for $20, which is a steal since usually they are $15-18 for one bottle at Target or Amazon. However, if I don't get the replacement cap, I can still use it for bicep curls (that much glass is is heavy).

Daily Nuggets...

• I'm looking forward to seeing friends tomorrow night at Brad's birthday dinner. My dear friend will be turning 50, and I can't wait to hear stories about his latest trip to London. 

• It might be too early to tell, but my eczema seems to be improving with my elimination diet. 

• I'm thinking about doing the Saturday bootcamp at Xtra Fitness. The last time I tried the class I felt frustrated as I was unable to keep up. Of course any exercise that involves coordination usually leaves me looking like a drunk back-up-dancer.

• I need to make some room on my phone; the next phone I get must have lots of space cause I'm tired of deleting things. Hoarders (IPhone edition).

• Any ideas for using Pumpkin that doesn't involve bread, pie, or cakes?

A Salute to Universal Studios

Today I salute Universal Studios. If you did not know, they have announced a new Harry Potter theme park in California opening the spring of 2016. Why there are so many Starbucks, and so few Diagon Alleys I will never understand. I definitely need Harry Potter more than I need Coffee. So thank you Universal Studios for helping so many fans get their Harry Potter fix.

 

Harry Potter ‘Wizarding World’ Opens at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2016

Daily Nuggets...

• I spilled olives in my car (it was a weird day)

• Worked out at the new Xtra Fitness studio (it's sooo much bigger than the last one, which means plenty of room for circuits).

• Pretty Little Liars is my new favorite show! Binge-watching a show that's been out since 2010 is awesome.

• Sauteed onions with lots of garlic for dinner. 

• I need to go grocery shopping.

Lorac Unzipped Palette

Hi all! I present to you my new favorite palette from Lorac. It is called "Unzipped" and has pink, plum, and red tones with a mix of matte and shimmer. Unbridled (the red matte color in the upper right hand corner) does an amazing job bringing out green eyes. What really puts this palette in the top spot for me is the shadow consistency. It is super smooth and creamy for a powder and is able to blend out to a beautiful finish. Currently, you can get it for $42 at Ulta.

Yes, I'm in my Pj's (getting dressed is overrated). Here I used "Unbridled," "Undercover," "Unconditional," and "Unreal." Did I mention this palette is UNbelievable? I may use this on my wedding day!

Daily Nuggets...

• I fed the birds this morning, and by 'birds' I mean squirrels and stellar jays.

• Is there ever a good time to take a vitamin? They make me sick whether I eat, don't eat, take it in the morning, or before bedtime.

• Who knew watching forensic files could make me look so smart in biology class? Which type of DNA is passed to offspring solely from the mother? Ah yes, that would be mitochondrial DNA. 

• Thankful I did not have to work today! 

• 100 days until the wedding ♥︎

Napoleon Perdis Loose Eye Dust

Hi everyone. Napoleon Pardis is a brand of eyeshadow I picked up at Ulta on clearance for $6 (originally $25). Looks like Ulta will no longer be carrying the brand but you can still get it on Napoleon Perdis' website. I would think for such a high priced item it would have superior performance, but unfortunately in using my heuristic skills I was amiss. Of course maybe that is why it was on clearance in the first place.

Here is a swatch of the color (Contrary Canary). It is a highly pigmented yellow with gold flecks but upon blending it lost a lot of its opaqueness.

 After applying it to my eyelids and blending, I had to reapply just to see that it was there. The only upside to this 'loose eye dust' is the shade. It goes well with green or blue eyes, but overall I don't think it is worth the price-tag or hassle for this eyeshadow. However, if I were to find it in a darker shade on clearance I might purchase it again.  

Daily Nuggets...

• Today is the first day of my elimination diet.

• Rachel (my step-sis) had twins yesterday. Gracie and Lillie are both extremely cute!

• Biology lab quiz today!