Thursday Thoughts

Today I am showing some love at Jennifer's link up over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom because a) there are a few things I'd like to rant about and b) I just really love her link ups.

~ I have been pretty upset these last few days...yeah sure, I'm not much of a cheery person when I am stuck in lines after hunting for perfect gifts for the family. But if there's one thing that upsets me the most, are thieves.
Nobody likes getting their sh!t stolen.
UPS dropped off some packages at my door (I was not home).
Neighbors confirmed they saw packages.
Got home.
No packages.
No one saw anything.
Upset? Pissed? You bet. It makes me so sad that people would have the audacity to take packages and that no one is neighbor-ly enough to help out.
/rant

~ On a lighter note, I thank God for the good people of Amazon who totally understood the situation. This made me feel a little better but still a little pressured to have to wait for the money to come back into my account just to get it to go back out. -.-

~ Christmas is here in 6 days!

~ My baby boy is finally 4 years old. :3 He's grown so fast...it really feels like only yesterday he was as big as E...

birthday party on Sunday

He had so much fun at his birthday party even at his surprise party at daycare! Which even if his dad wasn't able to be there, he told him all about it that very evening :)

~ ^ This means that E is almost a year old! :O As if the holidays and JD's birthday weren't enough to stress me out a little more... But regardless, my babies are growing up so fast. Where does the time go, seriously?

~ I finally got to see my final grades for the class and I passed! Just barely but I passed! :D Never again will I take more than 2 classes a semester. -.-;

What are your thoughts? How are the holidays treating you? Share and/or link up!

ipsy December 2013 "Celebration" review

We all know my obsession with this bag. Honestly, I think the bags got better up to this point! And the stuff I got this month, more than definitely I will use them all!

First look

Signature by English Laundry sample size:

Quick note on this: I had a chance to smell one of them due to it being damaged upon arrival but the other one, I haven't really had a chance to test it out since it was covered in the fragrance of the other. BUT, it smelled amazing and it lasted pretty much all evening on my hands. I love perfumes and I'm pretty picky on the fragrances I put on my body but so far I am loving it.

Nicka K NY in Classic Taupe full size:

Subscribers were either getting this color or a red one. I am actually relieved that I got this color. I'm more of a neutral person when it comes to nail polish...but it's also because I already have more red nail polish than I know what to do with. D:

one coat; outside light

JCat Beauty The Big Lip Pencil in Red Rose full size:

I know I have enough red polish...but I can't get enough of red lip products! I was so sad though that I wasn't going to get the NYX lipstick (D:) but I got this instead. With a little bit of gloss, it adds the right touch for a night out!

swatch; outside light

The One Stick by Be A Bombshell in Girl Crush full size:

I am upset that I got such a soft color. It works better as a lipstick than a blush. It's a bit shimmery too. I mean I can always trade it for a darker color, like Sunset...

outside light

POP Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eye Shadow Trio in Naturally Bare trial size:

I was praying and hoping that this would be the color I get instead of the other one which is basically black and grey. I was so excited seeing that these colors were so bright and looked great on my skin!

with flash

THE BAG:

This is probably my favorite bag out of all the ones I have had this year. It so pretty and great for on-the-go...I just which it would have had what the last bag had (the strap) and it would get a 10 in my book.

red interior, can you say sexy?

I give this bag a 5/5. All of the products were on the most part full sized and I know I will use every single product, even the bag! I think every month ipsy is looking back and just trying to top themselves from the previous bag. Sure, ipsy has gotten a lot of negative feedback about the brands that we get (we get a lot of repeat brands) and "I didn't get this color" and "I didn't get what I wanted".
I am guilty of not always getting what I want. BUT the point of this subscription is to discover and try out new things.

Interested in something new? Click on my link and try it out! For $10, you get your money's worth and then some.

Manic Tuesday

~ My, oh my, have I been missing out in the blogging world! Holidays, Christmas posts have surrounded us all. Now I'm not exactly a grinch, Christmas is one of my favorite holidays to participate in. It's the people. I really do think that people have lost the meaning of togetherness and what Christmas really means.

Starting with Thanksgiving. Crazy sales happening at 8:00 Thursday night?! Seriously? Making those poor people work at such an early time that they barely have time to eat and share with their family?! It's ridiculous. I for one, did not do any black Friday (even Thursday, for that matter) shopping. If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.

Of course, if you did holiday shopping on any of those days, I am not going to bash you. Who am I to judge? But I seriously feel for those who worked those days. I've been there. /rant

~ So I am pretty much done with this semester. I have two finals to take on Thursday and good riddance until January.

~ My baby E is sooooo big. She's already taken her first few steps and I am glowing with pride. :D 3 more weeks and she'll be my little one year old. 

~ Speaking of which, party planning committee of one has been working non-stop to make JD's birthday a memorable one. Since he's turning 4, he's ben very vocal about the things he wants for his birthday and who he wants to share his day with. They grow up so fast... I am relieved he hasn't changed his mind regarding the theme. (He chose cars)

~ I honestly tried getting all my holiday shopping in November. -shakes head- Nope. Didn't happen. Going to the mall or other retail places once a week, definitely doesn't cut it. And now, working non-stop on JD's and Emma's birthday parties, yeah, STRESSED TO THE MAX.

~ So I know I didn't post a November bluum box entry. Here was the thing: There were a few items missing from the box and one of them came damaged. I was, of course, a little upset cause that's never happened to me before. BUT, the good people of bluum answered back after 48 hours (yeah, I am guessing they get a lot of emails) and have already sent me a replacement box that is showing up at my door this week! So far I am pleased with their customer service. We'll see what the box has to say about that!

~ Ipsy has already sent me my tracking number after announcing it yesterday that glam bags were shipping. 

Yes! I am loving the things coming to my door, but I wished I could've gotten the NYX lipstick rather than the JCat lip crayon. Oh well, maybe this means I should experiment more with those lip crayons!

That's it for now! How's your Tuesday looking?

Disclosure: Links are referral links, unless otherwise noted.

ipsy November 2013 review -- "Glam it Up"

Note: This post was written earlier but not posted in time. Curse my procrastination.

Ah! It's that time again, where after what seemed like eons from the time I get my tracking number to when it gets to my mailbox. I think they should really reassess the carrier they are using for shipping because it's ridiculous that this bag is stuck in Georgia forever. -.- /rant

Anyway, on to the review:
Nailtini in Champagne (full size):

What a pretty color. I had seen previews for it before but I didn't see the big fuss until I finally saw it in person. Nailtini has actually been in previous bags before (in July, I believe) and I don't really mind because to me, the more nail polish I have, the better. (No, I do not have a problem. Just an obsession.)

Be a Bombshell lip crayon in Shameless (full size):

More red? Yes, please. But this is not red red. This is more of a hint of red with a pinkish tint. It is definitely recommended to use it with something moisturizing. I find that this is the only flaw with this lip pencil, but other than that I love the rich color.

EM Cosmetics Lash Gallery Dramatic Volume Mascara (full size):

I loved it, loved it, loved it! It worked really really well and delivered very beautiful eyelashes. I was very satisfied that it left no clumps and it kept my eyelashes well fanned out with sufficient volume. As you can see in exhibit A below. (This is the picture I could get under the circumstances)

such awesome eyelashes.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Amethyst (full size):

I was hoping that I would get this color, It's perfect for little subtle shimmer in my make up to change things up a bit.

Close up.

BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Eyeshadow in Neptune (sample size):

I don't see myself using this color very often but it does make a nice combination with the Starlooks eye pencil I got in this bag.

Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Subtly Suntouched (full size):

I was slightly disappointed to see that this was in a very light color. Worked more as a blush kind of color for me...but still, I liked it more than my e.l.f bronzer.

Swatched: 1) lip crayon, 2) Pixi bronzer, 3) Eyeshadow, 4) Eye pencil

The bag:

I am not too crazy about the snake skin looking bag. BUT, this has a nice little feature that I haven't seen in the other bags: a little loop for easy-to-carry.

By far, this is my favorite bag (for it's contents). We got some really nice stuff this month and I am crazy to see what's in store for next month!

If you wanna try it out, here's my referral link!

Sunday Social -- Week 24

1. Name 4 jobs you've had in your life.
I have only worked in four places, two of which consisted of the same thing and currently working as a secretary. The other two were front lead cashier at a supermarket and retail at Bath & Body Works (my favorite job ever, seriously.)

2. Name 4 movies you would watch over and over.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber, Drop Dead Fred and Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me.

3. Name 4 places you have lived.

I have never moved from Miami. But I have been in different parts of Miami...(does that count?)

4. Name 4 of your favorite foods.

Pasta Alfredo, Sushi, Ceviche and wings. God, I love wings and beer.

5. Name 4 things you always carry with you.

Chapstick, eyeliner, wallet and of course my phone. I never go out of my house without these things.

6. Name 4 places you have been on vacation.
Bahamas, Washington DC, Disney (hey no matter what, that is still a vacation to me) and different beaches throughout Florida. That part makes me glad that I live here, I have various choices for going to the beach.

Manic Mondays -- Happy Veteran's Day!

I can't believe it's Monday already! This weekend business is far too short and my one day with Hubby is unfair sometimes. But I can say I am one lucky gal to have at least that one day :)

~ I am not exactly the epitome of a patriotic American. But I can acknowledge those that are. Thank you to all those veterans and to all those who have served our country. It's a tough job to be away from all your friends and family for the greater good and seriously, thank you. 'MURICA.

~ I have been reevaluating my blog these days. My posts are all over the place and it's just random blubbering of a million things. Subscription boxes, ranting, motherhood...etc. I know that maybe the world doesn't need another amateur blogger to stuff the internet with useless information. But this is therapeutic. It's hard being a working mom/student. But this helps -- to rant about things.

~ My glam room is up!

I am more than excited to know about the stuff that I am getting! Can't wait to get this bag in my hands!

~ I also got my Darby Smart box last week and I can't wait to start my little DIY project :3 I'm pretty sure that I might get December's mystery DIY box too after I got this email:

how could I say no!?

Try it out for just $9 with this link! Or use "howdydarby" for your coupon code!

That's it for today. What's your manic monday like?

Ipsy November Spoilers!

**If you want to remain spoiler free, DON’T READ ON!**
But, if you’re anything like me, you wanna know. And you wanna know now.

SPOILER #1:

You asked and we listened! To kick off "Glam It Up" month in style, every ipsy subscriber will be getting a glamorous goodie from this "em"spiring makeup line! Which product are you most excited to try?

- Confirmed by Ipsy as a full product from Michelle Phan’s newest line, EM Cosmetics.

---

SPOILER #2

These lip products are perfect for your party clutch and, this month, you will be getting one of these undeniably glamorous shades!

- Be a Bombshell lip crayons. Now which color would you get? THAT’s always the gamble.

---

SPOILER #3

A touch of color and a hint of sheen - a little dust of one of these and you'll be good to glow!

- This was accidentally posted as Spoiler #2 but then immediately changed for the Be a Bombshell lip crayons. This was confirmed by instagram (for the life of me I cannot find the instagram post D:) with the title “Dance of the Pixies” as they revealed Pixi Beauty Bronzers.

---

SPOILER #4

Every toast you make will be a little more glamorous when you use one of these lovely shades to raise your glass.

I have no complaints of more nail polish in this month’s bag. I would be more than glad to take it off your hands :D

---

SPOILER #5

Get ready to sparkle like a diamond with one of these amazing products in your November Glam Bag!

- TRESemme hair product Can’t really tell other than the words “control”
- False Eyelashes
- I believe that looks like HIS Argan Oil
- BH Galaxy Chic Eyeshadow
- Glam Glow
- Some other sort of eyeshadow in a bottle Edit:(Caitlyn mineral eyeshadow, confirmed by instagram)

---

SPOILER #6

Add a little extra sparkle to your eyes with this star-worthy liner!

- Confirmed by instagram as a Starlooks pencil liner. Not too excited about more of these but either way, can’t have too many!

---

THE BAG:
Apparently A LOT of people have already gotten their hands on their November ipsy bag and I'm so jealous. D:

I'm not too crazy about the snake skin gold thing going on but I would have to see it in person to better describe it. But I cannot wait to get this bad boy in my hands!

Thursday Thoughts

I'm showing some link-up love over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom today and I have a few things to ramble on about.

- Ok, I am not too crazy about spading/neutering your dogs. It's sad. And letting them have one litter is good enough and it's the responsible thing to do what is needed to keep them from multiplying like rabbits.
But, why would you stuff your house full of dogs and allow all the female ones to get pregnant (multiple times, I might add) and as I said, allowing them to multiply like rabbits? It's not healthy and it's unethical. >.<

- Time has flown! E is already 10 months old and she's changed so much... Arg, where did the time go? [Says every mom.]

Halloween <3

- I have neglected my blog. :( Shame on me. I basically update it with my thoughts on the ipsy bags. Hahaha, oh how I love those little bags. I have one too many to be honest.
...and there's my moment of weakness and I'm back to not caring. hahaha :P

- It's been more than a week and I am still recovering from a sore throat. I'm not at 100% yet but I am hoping I will be soon.

- Autumn is such a beautiful time. I get so sad when I see pictures of the fall leaves, snow... It still feels like summer over here in Florida. :( This is what I get for living in Miami.

- November is here and that means early Christmas shopping! :D I'm not crazy, I like starting now because I like to beat the rush and not spend so much money at once. Spreading it out makes me feel like I still have money left over.
..Yup, not crazy.

- I have also been debating what to do for JD's birthday...and E's since their birthdays are like 17 days apart. -.- Wanted to get an early start since I usually fall behind on these things...Any good ideas? Maybe doing it together?

That's it for now! What are your thoughts? Join the link up!