Turn Around Bright Eyes.

I was roaming around Target beauty department the other day stocking up on my supplies. I had a coupon for $1.00 off any Alamay product so I zeroed in on what they had to offer.


If you watch a shit-ton of What Not to Wear like I do, you know the best way to brighten up your eyes is to have a highlight shadow under your brow and in the corner of your eye (PS Carmindy, I've been doing the corner-of-your-eye trick since the late 90's. So there). Normally I use CoverGirls Eye Enhancers in "Champagne", but since I had coupon for Alamay, I decided to test something new.


I stumbled upon Alamay's Bright Eyes highlighter/liner duo. What the heck, I'll give it a try.




According to Alamay the product is meant to "Instantly refreshes and enhances your eyes with a unique natural complex of marine extracts, white tea and light reflectors. The eyeliner works double duty to softly define eyes, while the highlighter illuminates the brow bone and corners for a lifting effect".

It comes in three colors to correspond with your complexion: Cocoa/ Pearl, Dark Chocolate/Shell, and Black/Champagne. I was originally going to get the Black/Champagne combo, but I have never liked black eyeliner on me, so I settled with the Cocoa/Pearl set.


Eyeliner
I usually use a liquid liner or a dark brown powder to line my eyes. This stick is much lighter. Since I like a darker hue, I'm not digging the eyeliner part. I didn't feel like I could get it smudged into the lash line and that is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you like a lighter, softer look then this is right up your ally.


Highlighter
I was really excited about using this product because I thought it would be simpler then my shadow/brush technique. This one step process is much easier- boom boom and I am done. Since I am always running late, every second counts.

For as soft as the liner is, the highlighter is harsh. I find myself dabbing at it with my finger to soften the color. All it is really highlighting is the fact that I need to pluck my eyebrows.

However the point to the highlighter end (and the eyeliner end for that matter) gets dull very quickly. The pencil is thicker then a normal eyeliner so you need a sharpener with a bigger opening. I have found myself sharpening almost every two days.


Does it brighten my eyes? Sure. Am I in love with it? Ehh.


My final evaluation: I don't think I would spend the $8.99 for this product again. Coupon or not.


Tomorrow I'm headed back to Tar-zay for my trusty CoverGirl Champagne.

Always and Forever,
ME

A Proposition.

I seriously need a new project.
JEGs thinks I should chill out with the apt decorating.
My wallet agrees.

So here is the deal.
You need a little change to a space?
Call me.
You pick up the bill for the supplies, I'll do the work.

I have great ideas for this chair:

If you are interested, contact me.

You don't have anything right now- keep me in mind down the road.

Always & Forever,

ME

Fashion: Epic Fail.

Ahh, the Maxi Dress.
We've all seen them hanging in our favorite stores since February. The perfect, easy summer dress. Throw it on with a pair of wedges to dress is up or flip flops to bum around on a Saturday afternoon.

I have been coveting these dresses since I first saw them in Target in February. I had dreams of floating through Manayunk with JEGs on a sunny Saturday afternoon, popping in and out of little stores. Girls would stop me on the street and say, "Where did you get that dress?" and I would reply "Oh this rag.. it's just something I threw on". Or bring it to OBX in August; coming home from the beach and putting in on and hanging out with everyone in the living room. Or even walking on the beach late and night....

*sigh*

That was it, I needed to have one.

So a couple of weeks ago I had some time to kill and I stopped by my old favorite NY&Co to try on their verisons. I grabbed a couple colors and skipped to the dressing room. However, I forgot one minor detail:

I am not 5'10. Or a B cup. Or super skinny.

No ma'am. I am in fact a curvacious 5'2 DD.

This is the monstrosity that ensued:

These pictures are taken with super high wedges on too, so flip flops were out of the question.

Don't get me wrong, I have curves and I am totally fine with that. I love my curves, and I've gotten pretty good at dressing them (or so I think). But once in a while I get blinded by the fashion magazines and have to try on something that I should know will never look good on me.

So I slowly returned them to their racks and with my head hung low I left the store.

Always & Forever,

ME

A Buffet of Organization

As I told you all, I spent my 4th of July cleaning and organizing. This was my ToDo List that I made for myself on Friday:

Clean Closet

Organize Buffet

Laundry

Iron

Clean Out Car

Organize Pots and Pans

ReOrganize Kitchen Cabinets

Organize Laundry Nook.

By the end of Saturday, this is what my ToDo list looked like:

Clean Closet

Organize Buffett

Laundry

Iron

Clean Out Car

Organize Pots and Pans

ReOrganize Kitchen Cabinets

Organize Laundry Nook

As you can see I was a little over zealous with my list.

But since I did get the buffet done, I thought I would show off my work.

Here is the buffet and shelves:

Let's start from the bottom, shall we?
I picked up a three basket set from Ikea (14.99 for the set) and used two of them in the left side of the cabinet. On the middle shelf I stored a throw blanket for the couch.

The smaller basket on the top holds all our extra Thank You cards and Chrismas cards. It has become our own little postal office:

The middle sized basket of the set has become storage for all my extra candles, votives and picture frames that I don't have a space for right now, but don't want to get rid of:

The drawer in the middle of the buffet has become our own little Office Depot. Pens, pencils, tape, stapler, glue, etc is stored in here:

The right side cabinet is home to all my picture books, scrapbooks and yearbooks:

The top of the buffet has my faaaaavorite martini set and pictures of my beautiful neices Abigail and Bridget and my very handsome nephew, Owen (there you go T, I found a picture of your son ;) as well as a picture of my brothers and I:

The first shelf has kinda become "my shelf" (I guess because I'm shorter, hehe). From left to right we have pretty flowers, a picture of my dad in the military, my two cricket boxes with a plaque my mom bought my in front that read 'A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be your friend', Mommacita and Daddy-O on their wedding day (hellloooo beehive on Mom!), a picture from LBI that my dad bought for us, and a great little vase that I picked up from Michaels for $3.99.

The second shelf has is JEGs and has a poem he wrote for me years ago, a model of a 1987 TransAm (aka Vanessa), two pictures of his PopPop (can you say Gangster in that second picture??), a stack of books and a cute little plant for added texture ( both from Ikea- $1.50 for the plant and $.50 for the pot)

So there ya go... the anatomy of my buffet.

As soon as I finish cleaning the closet, I'll post about the other areas I organized.

Always & Forever,

ME

Dub. Tee. Eff. ???

Normally I'm all like "Ikea, I totally heart you, let's make out." I still am, but I was a little vexed when I saw this:

Flower plate for coffee table- $40. Yowza. I don't think I want it that bad.
So I meander over to Target and find this:


Hello Half-the-Price. $19.99.

Sorry Ikea.

Sack it to me, baby!

I am in love.

Sorry JEGS, but you are going to have to start sharing my affections.

You know those re-usable bags that you can get at Targer or Giant or whathaveyou? You know those bags, the ones that make you think to yourself "I should be a good person and buy one of those, but gosh darn it, they are ugly!" I sacrificed style to 'go green' and let me tell you, those bags are not only ugly but they are a pain in the butt. I was always forgetting them and they aren't exactly the easiest to carry around while shopping.

Well no more, my friends.

Say hello to Envirosax.

The Youngsters over at This Young House highlighted these adorable little bags during a give-away. Sadly I didn't win, however the company did offer a 10% discount for two days to readers of TYH. I totally partook in that. Wouldn't you?? Look at these sassy little earth-savers:

 

Hold up. You've got a little drool coming from your mouth.

No.. other side.

Ok, now you're kosh.

Anyway, do you love them? Cause I do.

I picked the "Candy" series because... well, because it was purple, who are we kidding? I'm like a moth to flame when it comes to purple.

When the package arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday (just in time for shopping day on Wednesday!) I squealed and clapped my hands. I was so excited to get them, and they were totally worth the wait.

When you pick 5 bags you get a complimentary pouch. I've left 4 of the bags in the pouch and it fits perfectly in my Jeep's console:

This way I can never forget them at home!

The fifth one is snuggled in my bag, just in case of an emergency:

Doesn't it look so at home curled up next to my day planner?

When rolled up they are about the size of a cell phone, but when you unsnap them they are HUUUGE! Here are the bags on my kitchen table:

 

I really should have taken a picture to show all the stuff in the bags, but I didn't think to. But I was able to fit two weeks worth of groceries in 4 bags. And the fourth bag was only half full!

They may seem a little pricey to some (about $8.50 per bag- $40 for a set of 5) but when you think of how long you could use them, they are worth it. Plus, you are doing your part to save the environment, and looking totally adorable while doing it. Duhh, no brainer!

Always & Forever,

ME

D.O.A.

Hail Storm: 1. Zinnias: 0.