'Twas a Good Year

As old age gets the better of me and I grow sappier and more sentimental by the day, I'm finding it important to take a step back and reflect on what I've done and the memories I've made.  So, here's basically a recap of the highlights of my 2o1o year.  

• Annual winter get togethers with my closest friends - including sleepovers at Steph's and restaurant dates with Jen and Rach.  Gotta keep up the tradition!!
• Nueces Oaks - best off campus living experience ever with the best roomies ever.  Making shao mai, crepes, pizza, cabbage soup, tomato soup, etc in our big ass kitchen, hanging out in the living room, barhopping together, watching movies together, walking to Ken's and Yogurt Spot late at night..spring 2010 was my best and most fun semester at UT.  Ironically also my worst semester academically.  ha ha.
• Chinese Dance Recital - number...3? 4?  I've lost track.  I think this one will be hard to forget though because of the awesome dancers I got to work with and meet.  The dances themselves....meh, I always forget my part anyway.
• Eva's 21st - Found the secret formula to having fun on 6th - all you need are three single and well-dressed girls.   And I learned that spending Sunday nights on 6th are surprisingly fun.
• Making a video - I'm finally a starrrrrrrr!  haha not really...more like my most embarrassing moments caught on camera.  But it was OK because I had 3 other equally dorky partners in crime.
• Interning in OKC - Now 500% sure that 1) I cannot survive without a roommate, 2) I need to make a living off of BS-ing presentations and powerpoints, and 3) OU people are not as scary as UT people make them out to be. 
• Family vacation to Orlando for my birthday - FINALLY after years of delay got to visit the original Happiest Place on Earth and the Harry Potter park.  It was maaaagical.  'Nuff said.
• Client project - Learned a lot about people and reality.  Both suck.  But....you gotta work with what you got.  Sadly I'll have to live with both of those until I die.
• Flag Football - Kinda hard to forget since it's etched on my arm now like Harry Potter has "I must not tell lies" etched on the back of his hand....at least I know that I can catch an interception and I'll have a conversation starter at awkward socials.
• Texas State Fair - The most artery clogging day of my life.  I tasted almost 15 different types of fried food.  The day concluded with one of the best endings I've ever had.  Eva and me basically stalked 5 white guys in the back of a truck for half an hour as they serenaded us with a book and their number.  Too bad I forgot it.

Wow, coming up with 10 things to list was surprisingly not painful at all.  Guess that goes to show how 2o1o was better than I could ever have imagined it to be.  Then again that's probably because I didn't have any expectations for an exciting year.  Looking back though, this year seems to be a turning point in my life.  Kind of the beginning of the end in that I'm preparing to let go of my college years and truly transition from being a kid to an adult.  Don't worry though, the kid inside me will always live, just like Calvin and Hobbes.  You can never throw away Disney movies, chocolate milk, and stuffed animal pals.  

A collage of some pictures I had handy on my laptop

2o1o: A Dramatic Year

ahaha, I know, I come up with the best puns in the world, because I'm just funny like that.  2o1o was definitely a really memorable year for me drama-wise because I think this is the fastest, most efficient drama watching I've done in a couple of years.  Over the break I've been averaging finishing a drama in about 3 days (finished 5 already after around 2 weeks of break) and after basically having watched no dramas at all this fall semester.  Still have a lot to catch up on, but here are my top dramas for this year that I've seen so far, in no particular order, because I've been scarred by rankings in high school and truly believe that everyone can be a winner.

OBGYN
Korean dramas have really gotten a hold of how to make good medical dramas, and this is no exception.  It's ten times more heart wrenching too when it deals with kids.  *sigh*  With Jang Seo Hee, a veteran actress, leading the drama and a well-written script, this drama was a winner in my books, despite the less-than-excited ratings.





Woman Who Still Wants to Marry
Already ranted about this here right after I finished watching it, so I won't say any more.  Well, except one thing - I hope that I don't become as obsessive about marriage as Da Jung is in the future.

Prosecutor Princess
After finishing this more than a week ago and two subsequent dramas later, I'm still thinking about this drama. I think that says something about how good this drama was.  Yes, it was 80% cliche.  But it had everything I wanted in a romantic comedy- charming characters, great chemistry, memorable moments, and a satisfying ending.  Especially the ending; it was a win-win situation in that it surprised me and was and reasonable/realistic.  The leads did an excellent job in leading the drama; it made me evaluate my opinion of Kim So Yeon and Park Shi Hoo's acting.

Coffee House  
This drama has plenty of glaring faults, but the unconventional love story between Kang Ji Hwan and Park Si Yeon completely redeems it.  Their relationship is so different than what you see in K-dramas because they were best friends, the kind where you could predict the other's action, before becoming lovers (not to mention the added twist that he was the husband of her good friend).  Although I'm really curious as to what Kang Ji Hwan's next project is going to be because I want to see him in something different.  So far the characters he's played all have a similar eccentric gene in them.  He needs to branch out!

Mischevious Kiss
I know, I know.  This is the third time I've watched the same thing and people have been bashing poor Kim Hyun Joong over this drama, but I really enjoyed watching this.  It was one of the three dramas I was able to watch this fall, and totally worth putting hwk on hold for 16 hours (and great study breaks with the seven 10 minute long webisodes).  To be honest, I must give a lot of this credit to the actors and actresses in the drama- which includes Kim Hyun Joong.  The script was acceptable and definitely not new for me, the directing was passable after getting past the horrendous first episode and too obvious Goong influence, and the cinematography was nothing special.  It was the chemistry between the characters and the heart that they played their characters with, not only the main but also the side characters such as Seung Jo's family, Ha Ni's friends, and Joon Gu, that made the drama shine and charm viewers.  Ha Ni should also be awarded most well-dressed drama heroine, because her outfits were adorable.

Will It Snow At Christmas?
I swore off melodramas since watching I'm Sorry I Love You since they're too emotionally taxing, but decided to go back on my word with this one.  Glad I did, because it was refreshing.  Oddly, I kinda missed the heart-wrenching melodramas that make Korean dramas laughing stalks and perfect parody material.  It has its imperfections, but served its purpose and was satisfying.

Other dramas that I expect to make my list of top favs for 2o1o:

My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox
Pasta
Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Secret Garden
Creating Destiny


Eye Candies to Look Out For

Go Joo Won & Jang Seo Hee

Go Joo Won - He has a quiet tenderness that's hard to overlook.    


Park Shi Hoo - In previous dramas, he was kinda there...and annoyingly pale.  I can forgive the last part though after watching his performance in Prosecutor Princess.  His acting isn't superb (still a little stiff and expressionless to be honest), but I am curious as to how he will do in his next project.

Song Joong Ki - 2o1o was definitely his breakout year.  Cute baby face kid that can act.  Perhaps the next Jang Geun Suk?

Go Soo - The eyes, it's all in the eyes I tell you.    

Turning a new leaf.

Finally, my hard earned winter break has come!  What a crazy semester it was; the craziest one since high school, to be honest.  Three history classes with ~50 pages of reading in each per class, a client project that was doomed to fail, a difficult Japanese class, and on top of that, a broken (dominant right) arm!  I've never felt so proud of my end of semester grades in such a long time.  On top of that, it's the first time in a while I didn't wait till the middle of break to look at grades!  heeheehee *dorky face*  Aaah.....is this the sweet feeling of accomplishment?  keke.

Now I can concentrate on looking forward to Japan and enjoying my break :)  And hopefully get into the habit of blogging again.  Hope to see you soon!  And since my previous posts were all of what I wore today, I feel the need to keep the trend.  So here's what I wore today and for the previous two days too.

P.S- Like the new layout?  Thought it was time for a change, especially since I feel like I just turned a new leaf too.  ahahahaha..like the cheesy pun?  Yah, I know, I'm funny like that.

P.P.S - Like my new camera?  Can you tell a difference from the old?  Trying out a Canon this time...the one thing that annoys me with this particular camera though is that it relies on AA batteries >_>

P.P.P.S - A week before christmas!!!  eeeeeks!

Just wanted to say...

That,

1)  I am alive.
2)  I have a working computer.
3)  Better yet, I have a working computer AND internet!


so, please give a warm welcome back toooooooooo the awesome moi, aka the TiFFSTERRRRRRRR. mwa ha haaaaa!  I'll update more later this week.  For now, I should probably either sleep or read......trying verrrry hard to resist drama-ing.....

On hold

ughhh, so my blog will have to be on hold yet again as my computer is playing nasty tricks on me.  And I was on a roll, too!  *pouts*  I'll still try to document my outfits though so you'll get a big whammy at the end =)

Now that almost two months have passed and I've apparently survived on such a minimal wardrobe, I must say that it has helped me practice packing for Japan and proved that it's do-able, but I'm not sure if I really enjoyed it.  Especially on weekends when I can wear anything I want.  I get really sad because I don't have anything exciting and different to wear.  =(  

On a brighter note, I can't believe this summer has already flown by and I'll be heading back to Austin soon ^___^  It hasn't really hit me quite yet since I've been *more* busy than usual, but I'm pretty sure it will soon.  Definitely won't miss the city itself, but I'll definitely miss the company and the people I work with.  ...ok, and maybe those awesome Bricktown burgers and Coney Island chili dogs =D

Summer is really here...

Wow, this is the first day where I sincerely feel summer's...love (wrath is what I was about to write, but I can't hate summer for being summer!)  Right now my desktop is telling me that it's only 93 degrees outside, but I definitely disagree.  Walked to Bricktown Burgers for a yummy lunch and felt like I was about to die.  Oh, and then I almost melted on the sidewalk walking home, too.  The heat index is probably 110 outside.  The humidity isn't helping at all either.  rawr.

OK, enough ranting about the joys of summer; today's outfit is fun!  I debated forever whether or not to keep the belt - opinions?  Like the belt?  Or is it too much?  I was lucky today and got to go in to the office on my day off.  Since it's not recommended that I wear shorts, I rebelled against corporate by wearing a halter (covered with the cardigan, of course.)  I'm definitely wearing shorts on my last day of work.  Rules are made to be broken, no?

Like my ghetto seven poses?  heehee.  I'm such a poser xD  And now I will spend the rest of the day hiding indoors and basking in AC controlled conditions - and hopefully see Inception tonight!  oooh yea baby~

Close your eyes

So, I'm a little embarrassed about this post.  Actually, no, very embarrassed by this post.  A terrible outfit, I know, but, I must stay honest to this whole TiFF'S TWiST thing.  And plus, I already put it out there from the beginning;  my work clothes are incredibly boring.  *heaves a sigh*

Now you know what I mean by that.

Buuuut, other than that, today was just dandy.  I spent the entire day networking.  Which translates to essentially, nothing.  lol.  It was great though, chatting with my boss, co-workers, and fellow interns.  I'm definitely gonna miss them when I leave :(

Oh, and finally, after what, 7 weeks?  I FINALLY find a coffee shop that's near.  Guess it's better than never.  AND it's cheaper than Starbucks.  woot!

[[edit]]  oops, totally didn't realize that I forgot to mention that this is outfit #6 (can you believe it?!  I'm surviving!).

Coffee or tea?

soooo tired for some odd reason; I was fine earlier today!  But hearing Khalil Fong's Nokia song on the radio totally put me in good spirits :)

So anyway, I have concluded that guys totally dig bows.  Wore my flight attendant top to work today, and as I was walking to the office, a guy honked and whistled at me.  lol.  And then, I remember when I went downtown with Julie's humongous bow headband, all the guys were very interested in it.  So bottom line, if you want attention from a guy, wear a bow somewhere.  Advice from the girl who lives reality through dramas.  lol.  So the conclusion of all of this?  Deep down in there, all guys are fans of Hello Kitty; they just can't resist her cute and classic red bow.

Did someone say Quattros?

Work went by relatively fast, thanks to an awesome lunch break spent drawing on my white board.  I can hear people smirking at it when they walk by.  lol.  I'll get a pic of it tomorrow at the office.  And opinions, please.  Should I ask my mom to mail me expo markers?  I feel bad for stealing my mentor's when he's not looking....lol.

In the meantime, I'm REALLY missing TexMex food like no other.  And it feels really awkward when I crave Mexican food here, because I automatically say TexMex, but obviously they don't have TexMex.  *sigh*  Although I had my favorite Cuatro's tuna tacos right before I left Austin, I'm craving them again.  ergh.  To remember, post #4.    

[[edit]]

Masterpiece of 2010 right here, baby!  Co-artists, Mike & Tiff :)

Scream on the far left, Buzz Light Year right above, Starry Night right above that, Ken right by Scream, Bear from Toy Story 3, Barbie, a train, a bomb, us minnions underneath the train, a dinosaur, and volcano.  Go figure.

Yeah, I'm not really sure why I gave up a career in art.  lol.

Threeeeeeee!

Hiiiiiiiii.  I'm sounding reaaaaaally happy.  ok, I'll stopppp this nowwwww before it gets annoyyyyying =D

Had a pretty eventful weekend, thanks to Mike & Shannon.  Scouted out enemy territory (aka OU - which I admit is very nice with all the cute fountains, green grass, flowers, and color coded buildings) and FINALLY got to watch Toy Story 3!!  To top it off, only for $3.75.  *gasps*  I haven't paid that price for a movie since I was in 3rd grade.  Seriously.

Added in the scarf because the outfit would be way too plain and dull by itself; I left all my accessories at home :(  And I can't believe I'm not breaking my scarves out until today when it's so windy in OKC.  I felt like a model walking home :)

So, I think I've lied.  ok, ok...I don't think I lied, I actually lied.  I just calculated how many outfit posts I should have, and it adds up to only 18, excluding Fridays and considering that I only have about three weeks left at my internship.  Oops....quite a big difference from 30.  Oh well...*awkward laugh*  Hope you don't mind.  Not that people really read this anyway, so it feels like I'm just being my usual self and talking to myself.  But, shame, shame, for lying to myself - and the (theoretical) you.  ....oops?

ahaha...jk ^^;;

You know, I hate fickleness, but in this case, I <3 my notebook's fickleness.  I was in the middle of backing up stuff in recovery mode, and then all of a sudden it shut down (which is where I started freaking out again) but then it just restarted back up with Windows.  And now I've been typing away happily and feel reconnected to the world ^_^

Anyway, here's outfit #2!

After work we had an intern bonding event at a place called RedPin Bowling.  It felt a bit awkward because the interior design made it look really upscale and stuff but, come on, it's bowling lol.  Had some reaaaally good mac & cheese (grown up, btw, may I add; at least that's what the dish was called) for cheap which made me happy :)  Oh, and a pintini.  Such a cute name.  *^^*  No pics, sorry, because only the weather was on my mind and I only prepared for that.  ahaha...now that I think about it, I really looked like a dork because I wore my rubber polka dot rain boots underneath all that spiffiness on top.  I take comfort in that I'll never see some of those people I saw that day again.  lol.

The clouds are looking as gloomy as Eeyore....my prospects for a dry weekend aren't looking good.  *sigh*  Hope it's nice and dry where you guys are!!  *slaps y'alls butt*  xD

Uh-oh, spaghetti-O!

Man, just as I was about to get into the habit of blogging everyday, the world ends - literally.  My computer has caught a very, very nasty virus, and therefore is currently very, very ill.  So ill that not only will Windows load properly anymore, but that I will most likely have to go to the extreme and erase everything.  Which means that I'll lose all my pictures that I've taken this past year.  Not to mention the 16,000+ songs that I've collected over the years, too.   >____<

begin rant/ And ARRGHH...I feel SO STUPID.  Before it got this bad, I totally should have done a system restore.  But nooooo....because Tiff's stupid she totally didn't think about it.  RAWR.  AND I could've backed up all my shit when the comp was still functional...  RAWR.  ok /end rant.

*sighh*  trying to numb the pain.....so in the meantime, please forgive me for the lack of posts.  In the meantime, something inspirational:

Don't play with fire.  Because it will own you and you will burrrrrrrrrn.

Kick off \\w00t//

So...I lied.  No cute and patriotic July 4th outfit because it was raining and cold.  *tear*  But it's OK, because it was warm and fuzzy inside my apt due to my family coming up  ^___^  Had a great time just chilling with family and watching chick flicks - finaaaaaally got to see The Proposal, btw!  Really cute chick flick.

*drum roll*  And the kick off for my attempt at reusing clothes in my closet.  yayyy....let's see if I can make it to thirty lol.

This week is just flyin' by....don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  lol.  So much stuff I still haven't done yet!  But I gotta admit too, I'm looking forward to Friday haha.

TiFF'S Thirty Twist

haha.  Like my attempt at alliteration?  I originally was going to name this post "TiFF's Thirty Tumble," but thanks to thesaurus.com I saved myself from ridicule =)

So, I was following Linda on little tin soldier and she just announced that she was going to do a 30 remix.  I followed Kendi when she went through the painful (but creative and fun!) and all of a sudden I realized, hey, I should try this too!  Now, under the usual circumstances, I would never attempt this because 1) I dress according to my mood; what if I wasn't in the mood for any of the pieces I picked for the remix?! 2) I would unnecessarily guilt myself because of the excess of clothes I have invested in that are not necessary, 3) I'm afraid I will run out of ideas, 4) the whole idea just freaks me out.

Buuuuuut, now that I'm in OKC, the situation has changed.  I was forced to pack my life of clothes into a suitcase, and because I have to wear business casual everyday, my choices are very limited; 90% of my closet is full of casual clothes.  So since I've basically been doing this "Thirty Twist" for a month now, might as well document it.

So here is what I'm dealing with that is "work appropriate":
(Yeah, I knowwwww, it's boring as hell.  Hats off to McCombs for that.  We're stuffy white collar dressing b-school students.)

P.S - This "Thirty Twist" only applies Monday-Friday.  I know, I know, it kind of goes against the ethics of the whole idea, but I don't really go out on the weekends anyway (let's not go into how anti-social I am...), so it's not really worth including those days.  lol.

So, Thirty Twist, HERE I COMEEEEEEE!  But before that, I'll update later with a July 4th post :)

The Infamous Cat

Maybelline’s new product, Hello Kitty mascara exclusive, is on the shelf in Watsons in China. Maybelline collaborated with Hello Kitty and Watsons this time, knowing what women would want and giving them what they would buy.


Everything above thanks to bergstromtrends


*SQUEAAAAAALS*  O.M.G.  I HAVE to get this when I go to Asia!  (Hopefully it'll still be there *crosses fingers*)  The Volume Colossal with a kitty imprint :)  Goal:  Make a Kitty collage.

Puppy and Me

Just finished watching Marley and Me.  Such a cute, sweet, and warming movie :)  Makes me want a doggie, too.  Wait, what am I thinking?  I already have the most awesome doggie in town!  We've been bffs since...I don't even remember when.  This post was inspired by Marley.  And because I was a very uncreative child, it's just Puppy and me.

Side note:  It felt SO NICE to not have to wear stuffy work clothes and boring heels to work today!  ^_^  Oh yeah, and I went to an oil rig today!  And played hooky :D  Good times.

Successful Adventure in the Gardens

Weather:  cloudy and comfortable
Mood:  同恩 - 一簾幽夢

Waking up early on a Sunday morning; how rare lol.  Stayed in all day yesterday, so I was determined to go out today and expend some energy so that I can eat more.  My mom bought me like $200 worth of groceries, and I'm having a very hard time eating all of it before it goes bad.   I decided to take a morning stroll and take advantage of the early morning coolness and drove to the Will Rogers Garden.  The first time that I've been out myself and had completely no detours!  *tears of joy*  

The place was really pretty, despite it being summer. Imagine what a sight it would be in the spring!  You can tell that the people there take good care of the place.  It's really cute how the garden is set up Louis XIV-esque.  Made me feel like 紫菱 and that I am not stuck in this tiny city, but rather in Paris.  

Snapped lots of photos for once :)  I've rekindled my appreciation for my Nikon camera after our epic roommate picture day.  The quality is a lot better than I thought!  Or perhaps my photography skills have improved?  *laughs*

Cute ducklings up close.

They wanted to explore the gardens, too.

A really, really cool tree.  The fluffy stuff at the end makes it special.  Looks like someone took a paintbrush and dabbed it on.

A really nice lake? creek?  Don't know...let's just say body of water.

The breeze felt really nice, with all the foliage and the coolness of the lake coming my way.

De-stressed for Monday.  Bring it on!  This week will fly by just like the last.  And I'll be a week closer to going home  :)

I'm in OKC!

Weather: hot & sunny

Mood: Arashi - We Can Make It!

My first post from OKC!  How exciting.  It's been a week already and I'm slowly adjusting to this new environment.  Never have I ever appreciated Austin more in my life.  lol.  I miss home :(

But alas, I can go home in two months.  So until then, let's go explore OKC!  Not like I'll ever come back again, so better grab this chance!  This is what I wore on Friday to happily spend my first day off from work. It feels so refreshing to be able to wear something that's not business casual, boring, and bright :)

Got to the Korean market that I intended to go to surprisingly quickly and without trouble, except it was a complete disappointment.  Another Austin perk to be thankful for.  Then spent the rest day taking the "scenic" route around OKC.  I was so freaked out at one point because it looked like I was headed to the middle of nowhere.  But finally made it to the "best" mall in town.  It looks decent on the outside, but ended up being very disappointing.  I finished shopping the entire mall in an hour and a half!!  That's totally not right.  I'll try to remember to take pics last time.

Tomorrow I'm going to go visit the gardens.  Hopefully that won't be a disappointment - as in there will actually be flowers to look at.  lol.

I hate TV stations.

Today was an epic waste of a day.  All for 2 stinking minutes (actually probably not even...I think we only actually performed for 1:30).  Oh well, at least I got good free food afterwards from Sushi Zuchi in The Domain.  Yay for happy hour!  I had fried soft shell crab which was *nom nom*, mussels with a spicy sauce over them *nom nom*, and different kinds of sushi *nom nom*.  Will definitely be patronizing them again soon.

Some pictures from my waste of a day.  Oh, funny story.  I also completely screwed up the dance because I got distracted by the monitors that they have LOL.  I couldn't figure out whether they were mirroring me or the same.....and maybe I was kind of watching TV at the same time....... it's so hard to ignore it though when it's like right in front of your face!  And it doesn't help that it kept moving around RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE.

Alright, end rant.  Now for the fun part.  Well, fun for you, not-so-fun for me since not only did I make a fool of myself on local TV, I wasted a day.  oops.  Started ranting again.  /end rant.

One Fine Day....

Weather:  cloudy now, but will probably clear up later and is crazy hot and humid already -_-

Mood:  depressed and trying to memory dump the past and the mess ups I've made.  

Song:  Lady Marmalade

It's a fine day, ......minus checking my grades.  I don't know what got into me.  I must have been possessed.  Even Julie asked "Wow, I'm so surprised that you checked your grades already!"  If you can't tell, I operate on the belief that ignorance is bliss.  Why could I not see that theory out to the end?  *sigh*  Well, then again it's always comforting to know that if all else in life fails, I can always work as a low paying drama dubber, right?  And of course good food always exists :)

Wearing hot pink today to brighten my mood.  Isn't there some saying that as long as you look the act, you'll eventually feel like it, right?  Something like that.  That's the hope here too.

And I think it worked!  ^_^  

Origins

Origins is the new brand that I've been exploring since they had the Earth Day deal.  I'm interested in them mainly because they're organic, but they're also uber pricey because of that marketing pitch.  They sent me an email about a free mini facial, and since I'm a sucker for anything "free," I went to the store and had a "mini facial," which by the way was a total lie.  Not that I really was expecting a facial or anything, though.  If I really wanted a facial, I'd get a facial massage from Shiseido.  lol.  It basically was just going to the store and trying out their products, which was helpful.  My conclusion from the trip?  There are only like one or two Origins products that I really like.  


Out of my own guilt and to make myself look not like a complete cheap-o, I bought this gift set for $42.50.  *sigh*  My poor pocket.    

Left to right:  Facial Steamer, Clear Improvement charcoal mask, Modern Friction exfoliator, A Perfect World cleanser, and A Perfect World moisturizer

I'll review the items once I use them for a few weeks.  Although it was pricey, it still was a good deal, considering that 1) I'd never finish using the full size products and 2) the average price for the full size products is around $30-40.  Here are my initial thoughts though:

• Facial Steamer:  useless.  
• Charcoal mask:  Used it once last night; just something that psychologically lulls you into believing that it's necessary/good for you
• Exfoliator:  One reason why I bought the set; I have some expectations for this product.  Currently using my Envie D'Neuf exfoliator (a must-have, but also costs $66), but it's expired so I probably should use something new....
• Cleanser:  Liked the checks and balances cleanser (review below) so hopefully I'll like this too
• Moisturizer:  Been on the hunt for a moisturizer; if I don't like anything else from this set, at least I got a moisturizer that I actually do need.

And now, for a review of the cleanser that I got on Earth Day.


Origins Checks and Balances frothy face wash.

Rating:  4/5
Packaging:  2/5
Uses:  Cleanse face; ideal for combo/oily/normal, I believe.


Got this because it was free.  And wow is this thing ginormous!  I use half a dime size of product every time, so I have no clue when I'll finish this.  Not to mention the 4 other cleansers that I own...but anyway!  The smell is not fruity or flowery, so it's not the best, but it suffices.  What I do like about it though is the frothy part; it really is a bit like applying mousse, which is pretty cool.  So far I've always applied it by wetting my face first, but the sales lady told me that you can put it on a dry face, too.  


What makes me think that this product actually works and does cleanse like it's supposed to is because the first day that I used it, I had a minor pimple that was sort of popped.  It was a bit red and inflamed.  But after I used this, the next day I woke up and the pimple was 90% healed.  Miracle-worker.  Hence the high rating :)


Pros:

• Cleanses well
• Face doesn't feel tight afterwards
• Humongous size
• One of the more affordable Origins products at $18.50.  About the same as Clinique and some of the other major brands.

Cons:

• Packaging.  I don't like how I have to unscrew the cap and then screw it back on.  I'd rather it be like the caps that you can snap open and close.
• Smell.  Not as nice smelling as I'd want it to be.

My new haircut

Ever since my epic perm + cut last summer, my hair has been a mess.  And I've basically been walking around like a zombie for a year.  lol.  I've been trying to grow it out so that I can cut it and finally lay those dead pieces of hair to rest.  And, finally, after almost a year, the time has come!

I think it's pretty easy to differentiate between pre-perm hair and post-perm hair.  If you can't tell, my hair's two colors; a healthy black on top and a brown on the bottom.  As for the after look, I'm quite pleased.  This is the first time I've had my hair cut short and have it NOT flip out.  Jessica really knows my hair :)  A new cute bob for summer.  I'm liking short hair again!  yay!  

And to end, what I wore today, since I haven't looked nice in a while.

A fresh beginning

Mood:  Leo Ku - Like
Weather:  cloudy and cool.

It was fate!  I was supposed to be up earlier than 10 (9:30, to be precise), but I ended up sleeping in until 10.  Thank god I check my email first thing in the mornings though, or else I would have missed the Ruelala Havianas boutique!  (If you want an invite, click here.  What is Ruelala?  Online boutique that sells name brand stuff for basically half the price.)  I've been wanting a pair of Havianas for a while because I borrowed my roommate's flip flips once (I suspect they were Havianas) and they were soooooo comfy.  A totally different experience than cheap ON flip flops.  I know I said that I'm trying to steer away from flip flops, but honestly, they're just a necessity sometimes.  What are you gonna wear when you go to the beach?  Flip flops.  What are you gonna wear when you're dashing through the door and forgot socks and obviously can't wear heels?  Flip flops.  You get the point :)

$20 for two pairs; not a shabby deal at all since one pair costs $18 + tax.  Except shipping.  gahhhh.  The one bad thing about these online boutiques is that shipping costs an arm and a leg.  blehhh.  And choosing which design to buy was such a hard decision!  I finally narrowed it to these:

Left:  "Metallics" Right:  "Fresh"

Since Havianas are known to have awkward sizing, I'll do a post on them when I get it in the mail (expected delivery date May 14th).  

On another note, I'm getting my hair cut today, finally!  I'm excited :)


[[edit]]  WOW, and I completely didn't realize that it's already May!  April just wooshed by.  And what a fitting post title.  haha.

Prom shopping, again?!

Yes, oh yes.  Albeit prom was like, *COUGH 4yearsago COUGH* my roommate has insisted every year that we get our fair share of the excitement, too.  I'm definitely thankful that my prom was back in the day when the department stores' prom section spanned across half the store.  When we went yesterday it was disappointingly small, and a lot of the styles are the same.  I swear I've seen this one dress every year!  I always wondered if retailers just pack up unsold dresses and display them again the year after.  'Cause of course the prom shopper could never, ever figure that out.  har har har.  Anyway, these are the two dresses that I tried on this year.

Seems like this is the "in" style for this year; short and volume on the shoulder.  Yeah...whatever the correct fashion "term" for that is.  

All I have to say is that I felt like a bumble bee in this dress.  kekeke.  buzz buzz buzz.

Would never wear either of them to prom though...perhaps homecoming?  

Happy Earth Day!

A day dedicated to thinking of the environment and thanking Mother Nature.  And a very happy day indeed, despite the grey skies, because I got a free cleanser from Origins!  ^^  And they are VERY generous.  Full-sized cleanser (retail value of $18.50, I believe) for exchanging an empty skincare product bottle.  I'll do a review of it in a few weeks.

Simple green-friendly habits that will not only save you $$$, but help YOU save the Earth!  (Wow, I sound like an ad.  lol)

• Recycle!  From soda cans to even ink cartridges.  I know that recycling ink cartridges saves me around  
• Use both sides of the paper.  I love doing this especially for taking notes and writing lists on the back of receipts and envelopes and stuff.  Not only does it save the amount of paper I need to keep track of, it's green!  ...OK I admit it, I'm a tree hugger :)
• Save water!  Don't let the faucet drip.  You don't need the sounds of running water while brushing your teeth.  If you really do, do yourself a favor and just buy it on a CD.
• Turn off power surgers when you're not using them.  You'd be surprised how much your electricity bill goes down if you do this.

On another note, congrats UT for winning Playboy's #1 party school!!  I reaaaally wanted to go to the party tonight and meet some of the play bunnies (is that what you call them?  or is it just play girls?), but the weather's just too yucky.  boo.  It's OK; that free Playboy magazine that I could've gotten can go to the male engineer who needs it more desperately than I do :P  

Happy 21st Roomie!

Dear Eva,

Happy 21st!  You may now officially have real fun now.  The adult way :)  

<3 tiff

Warning:  some ghostly pictures are shown below.  Look at your own risk :P

And a homecoming present:

yeah....I know, I need a foundation that's in my correct shade.  haha.  Sadly, I'm already tanning; it's not even officially summer yet!  I couldn't find my foundation brush for my normal looking foundation; hence stuck looking like a ghost.

At first I was a bit worried that we wouldn't have fun since everyone else bailed on us, but it was the total opposite.  Note to self:  never go downtown with guys ever, ever again.  haha.  Without the guys, we got hit on a total of 8 times, got free drinks, and had a blast.  My little Eva had 6 drinks in a span of two hours.  Waaaay better than I did on my 21st.  haha.  And considering before last night, the most she'd ever had at once was 2 drinks, I'd say that's a pretty decent job.  

OK.  Had my fun, and still stuck in the procrastination loop.  Anything new? 

Hi, stranger. Long time no see.

Wow, it feels like ages since I've blogged!  Blame that on my laziness + lack of inspiration as of late.  I feel like a real ahjumma now because I go home after school, sit on my bed to watch dramas and relax, and then accidentally fall asleep without even realizing it.  It feels like I was bonked on the head and I think "what just happened...?"

Some of my better outfits from this past week...

I got so many compliments on my yellow nail polish today.  heehee d^_^b  That put me in a good mood.  ...Ok that was an understatement.  I felt reaaaaally happy.  I've been wanting to do yellow nail polish on my hands for a long time, but the first time I got this Zoya in Canary, it was just so streaky and looked like that I had just painted my nails (literally, like a 4 year old) that I didn't like it at all.  But once I put two coats on it turned out well :)

The semester's already winding down...but there's still so much to do!  Next week will be a really exciting week for me.  Why?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Another dilemma...

So I got these new shoes from Nordstrom.  Not only are they the perfect height for lots of walking, but they're also uber comfortable, which is like 80% of the reason why I bought them.  But.....the color....gah!  Keep or no keep?  The patent black was waaaay too boring, but this one looks grandmotherly.

Also, is suede in the summer OK?  They have these in a beautiful berry red color that I absolutely adore.  But I don't really like suede >_>  Which is the lesser evil?  Grandmotherly......or suede in summer?

LookBook

I've known of this site for a while, but never was really into it.  Feeling very unproductive and looking for new sites to peruse, I decided to give it a go.  Now I just feel plain old depressed, because apparently young teenagers in Europe dress like this:

Credits to http://lookbook.nu/user/74049-Agnija-G

Credits to http://lookbook.nu/look/601031-http-donnaromina-myblog-de

In other words, a lot better than me. *tear*  How do these kids have the time + money to look so good?!

Fashion Crisis!

So my roomie got me this from the AA Warehouse sale....except I can't find an interesting way to wear it!  It's just waaay too plain on its own because I can't seem to pull off the preppy look with it alone.  And with a cardigan I'll look like my dear old grandma from like 1940.  Layering it with a vest was even more awkward.  Gahhhh.......HELP!

Calm before the storm.

Whew.  What a week.  SO glad that it's over.  Coincidentally it was "the time of the month" and it just completely screwed my schedule over because I was always so tired and kept napping like crazy.  Now that spring break is over, the only thing to look forward to is the end of the school year.  Which is not good, because that means lots of work with all the projects I'm juggling in my classes and lack of motivation.

Study day today (theoretically, at least)!  But before that, some pictures of our rehearsal last night, which was ridiculously behind.  Supposed to end by 10 PM, we got home at midnight.

We were asked to wear falsies.  Except I don't think you can tell that mine are on.  Although falsies are very addicting :D  I think they'll be my new makeup obsession.