Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV from Hautelook!

I just received my Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV Palette in the mail today that I ordered February 6 from Hautelook! :)

Sally Beauty Supply Store Haul

So, I finally went to Sally Beauty Supply Store and used my $5off coupon there. They didn't have the main thing I wanted, so I was pretty disappointed but I got a bunch of other "handy" things simply because I did not want my $5 to go to waste as the coupon expires tomorrow.

Movie Night Yesterday

So, my boyfriend and I went to the threatres yesterday night and watched Gone & The Vow.
They were both really good but I especially loved Gone. We caught the latest show so we were the last ones out of the theater.

Then, I got really scared that I lost my phone or left it in the theaters and was feeling like complete crap but then my boyfriend did the sweetest thing and went all the way back to the theaters at 2:30am, demanded the cleaning ladies let him in, and brought my phone back to me at 3am while I was in bed, worried sick that I'd never get it back. I had figured that no one would be there as I had called right when I noticed at like 1:30-2am and no one picked up so I figured my best bet would be to call 1st thing in the morning and get a cleaner to put it aside for me because if I customer saw it I doubt they would report it. But my sweetheart of a boyfriend wanted to do as much as he could to make sure I got it right away because he knew that I was feeling very shitty - especially since he was the one who got me that phone - and he knew that I wouldn't see well without my phone and I had a very busy day today so he wanted me to be rested and prepared for the next day. <3

I just still can't believe he went out of his way to get it and bring it back to me so late at night when he had a long day of work and needed to be up kind of early the next day. He is such a sweetie! <3

Make Up Removing Routine

So, I've been really busy this whole week, waking up early and then arriving home late. Because of this, I have been really glad that I have this vichy makeup remover because it is so easy and quick to do and it doesn't irritate my skin at all. If anything it is very moisturizing. This product has been by saviour, this week especially. I don't have to worry about taking too much time removing my makeup and it really does remove everything.

The Wizard of Oz

I just finished reading The Wizard of Oz for the first time. It sounds silly for me to be reading that book at my age but I was reading the novel "Wicked" which is a large book (500 pgs) on the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West mentioned in the Wizard of Oz. This book "Wicked" is very well-written and has a fun and different spin on the orginal Wizard of Oz book. However, since I had never read the original Wizard of Oz nor watched the movie, I didn't get a lot of the Wizard of Oz references in "Wicked" and so about halfway through "Wicked" I decided I wanted to read the Wizard of Oz before I continued with Wicked. I am certainly glad I becasu not only was the Wizard of Oz fun and well-written but I now understand "Wicked" a bit better.

On a side note, I'm pretty excited by the fact that I am using my iPhone to publish this yet I am typing on a wireless keyboard. Pretty sick, right?!

Exhaustion

I have been so exhausted lately, working 2 jobs, being up since 4am and working til almost 4pm and then having to rush to another job and working there on my feet all day - no break, no nothing - until 10pm. It is 11pm and I just go home and am pretty much ready for bed! & Having to walk up at 4am, again tomorrow night..

Flare & Luxe box

     I just received my February edition Loose Button Luxe Box today!

     If you have been following for a while, you'll know that this is the second Luxe Box I ever received. If you are curious about what I got in my first box, which was the January edition, here is the link to my post where I also briefly describe what Luxe Box is: http://stephay29.blogspot.ca/2012/01/luxe-box.html

    Unlike my 1st box, this one did not come with any bonus boxes (not that I expected one). But is was another limited edition box. What was so special about this box is that they paired up with Flare Magazine.

Yay!!

Look out for Photos soon!

Homemade Lasagna!

      I made a delicious lasagna today! yum yumm!! :)<3
      It might not look that apetizing, but trust me, it was delicious! I like it very toasty - almost burnt even! Yeah, I'm a little weird, but that's alright.

 
      The lasagna was served with a side of caesar salad with homemade caesar dressing. Doing it this way cuts down on a lot of fat found in a store-bought dressing.

Keeping up

Im starting to really question if Im going to be as to keep this going at all which is sad as I had so many great ideas and plans but it is just so much work and I've been sick and very busy and so tired lately that it's been a limitless much. Next week looks to be even worse as I will be much busier but I do really want to keep this up - guess ill just have to keep trying and doing as much as I can

Drugstore Haul

Hey, so I passed by my drugstore recently and got the Garnier Beauty Balm Cream, a Maybelline lipstick, a Nivea summer legs gradual tanning cream,  and the physicans Formula Nude Eyes Paletter which I am most excited about!

Husky

     Yesterday afternoon I found a hurt and lost/abandoned husky in my backyard. At first, I was scared but then I realized how scared he was of me and so I approached him slowly and he was very friendly. I feed him and tried to figure out who he belonged to but none of my neighbors recognized him and he had no tags on. I ended up having to call animal services to come pick him. They were much faster than I expected, and I was sad to see him go so quick! :( However, if he was just lost, I am sure his owners are dieing to have him back as he seems like a great dog!

Homemade Cookies in a Jar Mix

I made the labeling myself, so it isn't very professional

     This past Christmas in 2011, I gave out a few homemade Christmas-themed Cookies in a Jar Mixes and they were absolutely adorable! I got many compliments on my creativity and presentation. Today, however, I was invited to dinner at my boyfriends house, to whom I had given one of my Mixes to and they were the first people to have made them. They looked pretty cute but tasted even better!!! I wish I had taken a picture but they were so good and went so fast.
   
     I was very impressed with the outcome and wanted to share them to possibly inspire others to do the same or similar for various ocassions.

     What makes these Mixes so interesting is the layering of the various dry ingredients.
First from the bottom: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
Second: oats
Third: m&ms (I used the Red & Green Christmas edition to give it that holiday feeling)
Fourth: chocolate chips
Fifth: brown sugar
Sixth: white sugar
Seventh: chopped pecans (You can't see the pecans as the decorative cap is covering them but this just shows how tightly you have to pack it all)

      I attached the directions which read as follows:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl and add:

½ cup butter (almost melted),
 1 slightly beaten egg,
& 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Combine thoroughly.

Roll into 1 ½ inch balls & bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 24-28 cookies.

ENJOY! :)

     You can actually see the pecans in this picture and I'm sure you also noticed that I used the regular milk chocolate m&ms for this jar and that's because this jar is just for me to try myself.
     The cool concept about these cookies/jar mixes is that you can change them up depending on the kinds of m&ms that you but in them. There are plenty of colour variations avaialable, especially with the changing seasons (like the pastel colours for Easter coming up). Then, there are also many different flavours out there such as almond, peanut butter, coconut, pretzel, mint, peanut, dark chocolate, etc. AND, if you really want to go crazy with this, I just recently found out that you can personalize your own m&ms to be whatever colours you choose and have whatever picture or even your face on them as well as a phrase. Pretty cool, eh? For more information, check it out at: http://www.mymms.com/
   

   
 

      If you are curious, I also made some Oreo truffles that Christmas which turned out adorable and were equally delicious!

      And then I also made some mini cheesecakes. I decorated them all differently. Firstly, the one on the top is chocolate peppermint, then to the right it's Oreo inspired and then on the bottom it's chocolate coconut, and lastly, it's raspberry jam.

Sick

Im ver sick right now :(

Valentine's Day + My 2 Year Anniversary!

     

 Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! ♥

     Today is not only Valentine's Day for me but it is also my 2 Year Anniversary! :)
     I've been sick for a while, hence no posts in 4 days, and I'm still pretty
sick today but that did not stop me from celebrating with my boyfriend.
(P.S. Like my cute little slippers in the picture?)


      Firstly, I made a pretty awesome breakfast/brunch for him. Part of this breakfast required Candied Bacon, yup I went there.

The evolution of the candied bacon:

<-- This is how the breakfast turned out.
     I made Chocolate Chip Pancakes, with Nutella Maple Syrup and Candied Bacon sprinkled on top. Then some more candied bacon on the side as well as some scrambled eggs.

I was hesitant to try it the Candied Bacon, but it was actually pretty good.

     Recognize these mugs? They were his gift to me last year. I made him bring his from home so we could use them together :P

Time to go out for dinner! ♥
Btw, are you taking in his awesome tie?! Another one of my gifts to him :)

     Just before dinner, we exchanged gifts. Here is my card and matching bag for him. Inside the bag was a cassette tape, with homemade labeling and I list of songs/playlists to make it look like it was a mixtape for his car.
     When he opened it, his first reaction was a smile because he recognized my writing. But then, he was kind of sad and said "But babe, my car doesn't have a cassette player." This was the reaction I wanted but all I did was smile and say, "Just open it."

    When, he opened it, there was a little pouch and in that pouch was a 16G Micro USB Flashdrive. Not only was it filled with songs, but with quotes and many many pictures of us that were taken during the past year that we've been dating. I say year because though we have been dating for 2 years, I lost all the pictures of our 1st year when my laptop's hard-drive crashed. :(
    We do still have plenty of pictures together though. As, you can see, I labeled over 30 albums.

     And the list goes on onto the other side. I could tell he was surprised to find a USB in there and was happy to finally have a copy of all these pictures for himself now. He also has a USB to himself now, which will be handy for him since he's always on the go.

     And then it was time for my gift.

     His gift to me was this gorgeous promise ring. He also gave me the cutest speech to go with it and that just absolutely made my day. I can't believe that it's already been two years we've been dating - I've had such a great time and I look forward to spending many more years together. He has been such a sweetheart and I honestly can't picture myself being happier with anyone else.

     It's a very simple but cute design with a heart in the middle with 3 diamonds on the inside and two stones outside. It also has a tiny pink sapphire on the inside of the ring as well as 2012 engraved in it.

     After all the blushing from the both of us, we continued on with our dinner.
     He had the Fillet Mignon with sauteed mushrooms and a side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots along with gravy. His entree also came with a side dish of Caesar Salad which was supposed to come before his entree but we only received it afterward because we had to ask for it - they had completely forgotten about it. We did understand that it was a very busy day for them and let it go.

     I had the Santa Fe Chicken with grilled peppers and zucchini with sprinkled goat cheese and a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

     Both entrees were absolutely delicious!

     However, I did especially enjoy my entree but I loved my company even more!! ♥♥

We shared a brownie cheesecake for desert. 'Twas yummy!

My very last gift to him was this cute arrangement of cupcakes.  

     The middle cupcake was supposed to come out looking like a rose but the icing warmed up in my hand as I was piping it and since I didn't put enough powdered sugar in it, the icing wasn't thick enough to hold the petal shape, so this is how it turned out instead.
Fail, I know, but I tried.
      They did still taste delicious though! :)♥

  





All in all, I had a great Valentine's Day and I hope every one of you did as well!

Kisses,
- Stephanie  

♥

Department Store Haul

    

     I did some damage today! :P

     I went to one of my all-time favourite Department stores: Winners. I got some pretty great things there for a great price, such as these adorable off-white Betsey Johnson legwarmers for only $5!

      One of my favourite purchases though is this cute Paris inspired empty book. It was supposed to come with decorated letter paper and envelopes inside, but I loved the idea of the empty book on its own, so I asked for a markdown since it was missing the inside and I got it for 60% off!
     My next favourite purchase were these sunglasses by Nautralizer and because I purchased these at a Department store, all the cases are all jumbled up in a bin that you choose from after you purchase a pair of sunglasses. I happened to get the Jimmy Choo case simply because I couldn't find the original case for these sunglasses or any by Naturalizer and this Jimmy Choo case was the only case big enough to fit these sunglasses!
      My friends and I kept making jokes about how funny it's gonna look when I take out my Jimmy Choo case in public only to pull out these $30 sunglasses - which were marked down for $15.

   
       Lastly, I got these 3 beauty products. First, is this MAC "Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist" which I was really surprised to find at a Department store but I wasn't too impressed by the product itself. Then is the BORGHESE "Artista Exact Match Concealer" which is originally $30 but was marked down for $10. Lastly, is this TIGI lip gloss in "Superficial" which was only $2! It's a nice peachy-nude glittery gloss.

A Few of my Favourite Things: Vintage Keys, Pink Glitter & Ripped Jeans

     I've been obsessed with vintage-style keys and I found this adorable necklace not too long ago but when I came home to put it on, the little circle pendant that attached the key to the necklace broke off! Yeah, I was extremely disappointed. I looked around to see how I could get it repaired and everywhere I went they were charging $10-15 which is pretty ridiculous as the necklace cost me around that price so it would probably be easier to just replace it than repair it.
     So today, I was organizing my jewelery when I came across a few damaged or broken pieces and I was able to find some spare little circle pendants that I pried open myself and then closed around the key and the necklace. Ha! & to think that they were going to charge me $10-15 when I easily did it myself within 5 minutes!

     This is the nail polish I'm currently wearing by Wet n Wild: Wild Shine, I think it's called "Sparkled" but the number on the cap in 435G.

Stir Fry

I made an awesome stir fry today!! :)

      Firstly, I made some egg noddles with onions, red and green peppers, carrots, celery, and water chestnuts. The water chestnuts were by far my favourite part of this meal, they add so much more flavour and uniqueness to this simple recipe.

     Then I made some chicken with baby corn and bok choy. I have to say that my favourite part of this was the baby corn but I just love baby corn.

A Year Ago Next Week

     A year ago next week, my boyfriend and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Next week, on the 14th of February, we will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary. In celebration of that, I'd like to share some pictures and stories of how we celebrated our 1 year anniversary last year.
     As you can tell from this 1st picture, we changed a little. We both look younger and while I lost weight, he gained muscle. I'd say, they were good changes. :)

These were all my gifts to my boyfriend <3
Except for the tulips that were just there to hold the frame aha
& I put everything in the PINK bag as a joke :P

     So, firstly, I made a bunch of cupcakes and here is the top layer. They are decorated as pool balls because on your first date, my boyfriend took me to a desert place as I mentioned 2 posts ago, but then we also went for a game of pool. He was the one who actually taught me to play pool - I was pretty terrible at it that day, but I'd like to think I'm not so bad now :P But anyways, I thought it would be cute to decorated 3 cupcakes as pool balls and have your date written on them. None of them are the true pool ball colours, but hey, I'm not perfect - I just worked with what I had.

     Underneath this layer, was several more cupcakes in the shape of a heart.

     Next, I made him a "Love Chest" filled with red and gold envelopes. The red envelopes have a love quote for each month we spent together - so there are a total of 12. The gold envelopes contains motivational quotes as he was going through a tough time that year and I wanted him to be able to reach for one of these when he was feeling down and I wasn't there to cheer him up :)

      Then there was this picture frame with one of my favourite sayings: "Live, Love, Laugh" and pictures of us that went with each one.

      I also gave him a mini Burberry Brit cologne which quickly became my favourite scent on him and a sweet card as seen in the second picture of this post.









     These were all his gifts to me <3
I absolutely love those mugs!
We each took one home and I actually use mine every morning! <3

Aren't they adorable??!

   



       His next gift was taking me out to this classy restaurant and so this is just a picture of us just before we left.

   





     This is a picture of us at the restaurant. Behind us is a wall filled with photos of famous musicians, actors, etc that ate at that same restaurant. Some of the people in the photos include: Ryan Reynolds, Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Garner, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Douglas, etc.

Urban Decay on Hautelook!

     


      I just bought the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV Palette on sale for $29 on Hautelook.com! This palette is orginally $65 and did I mention it has some gorgeous shades!!

 Can't wait for this to arrive!