Happy Halloween!

What a week! It's been busy - between attending silly karaoke events and going to opening night of the Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway, and being inside cooped up at work during the day, I unfortunately didn't have much time to write up anything of substance.  I also had some huge people related annoyances along the way that made it even harder to write.  It sucks when that happens, but I'm on my way back into blogging some good times...so here goes!

I'll start out with my Halloween costume from Thursday night. I celebrated Halloween really early (with no intentions on celebrating at all) because there was a Karaoke Killed the Cat party that night that was a supposedly a costume party.  Unfortunately only about 10% of the people who came dressed up.  My friend Fotini and I went as an "awkward pajama party" which was really easy, cheap and we did look pretty awkward.  $6 PJ sets, my own vintage New Kids On The Block Buttons and I even dug out my retainer.  The retainer lisp was a perfect added bonus.  

Last night I saw my friends The Beets play at the Cake Shop.  I just found out about the show during the day and I didn't really have time to go all out in costume.  The awkward pajama party was more fun as a pair anyway.  So I went through my bear hat collection (I own three bear hats, are you surprised?), threw on the panda hat, some black and white and ran out the house. 

disoriented panda

No Halloween festivities for me today. I overslept and missed my yoga class and then decided to stay in and  catch up on some writing.  I wish I had another free day to tack onto this weekend but instead I'll just think about my little California vacation coming up!

Who Loves Fall? Trader Joes does.

Like most, I get really excited over seasonal items.  Although one current seasonal product that I don't bend over backwards for is the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.  I know, I am so crazy!  

My last visit to Trader Joes was 2-3 weeks ago, but when I went tonight I was hit with pumpkins galore!  Pumpkins at the front for sale, pumpkin goodies on the shelves.  It was a good time.  When I saw the Country Pumpkin Spice Granola, I instantly remembered how much I loved to eat it with my oatmeal a few years ago.  How did I forget about this delicious granola?  Was I hiding under a rock the past couple years?  I swear I've been shopping at Trader Joes pretty consistently. 

That little tub of Pumpkin Cream Cheese caught my eye.  This is definitely new.  The employee working the sample station saw me pick it up and yelled out, "It's really good!" like she could see the decision making gears turning in my head.  I'm easy to convince sometimes, even if it gets a nod from an employee.  

I can't really explain the reasoning behind the Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix.  I'm all for baking from scratch, but sometimes it's nice to have a box of these handy for some quick treats sans baking frustration (something that I experience time to time).  

Seasonal items like these makes me fall in love with Trader Joes over and over again.  I'm really quick to notice new products by them based on their packaging so when I see something new/reintroduced I often consider getting it.  Now who's excited for Candy Cane Joe-Joe's?  I am!

Friendly Updates

Just a little update on some things going on at the other websites that I am a part of so here goes!

We Heart This is currently hosting a really great raffle where the proceeds benefit non-profit dog/cat rescues and animal welfare foundations.

 They have received an overwhelming response from so many beauty companies such as OPI, Mario Badescu, Clarisonic, Tarte, La Mer and many others who donated huge prize packages for the raffle.  Each prize package is worth over $500 and the money is going to cute animals who need homes.  It's not a bad trade off and you get to choose the prize package you want your tickets to go towards.  I already entered and I put my tickets towards OCC lip & nail products and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab scents.  Decided to go with brands that I've heard great things about but never tried before!  Fingers crossed! 

All of the details on this raffle are here.

Also, if you live in California, We Heart This will be present at Race for the Rescues at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on October 24, 2010 where you can enter the raffle there and see all the prizes on display.

On another beauty front, a new guest post of mine went up over at Beauty Debutante!  It's review for a cool product called Incoco Dry Nail Applique.  It's part nail polish, part Minx, and stays on like a dream. I also go more in depth about the application process if you want to learn more about this product.  I was really excited to review this product because I was able to use my new camera to take the pretty step by step photos.

Incoco was very generous and sent me quite a few colors to review but I just had to go for the neon pink! Check out the review right here. Let me know what you think!

(photos: we heart this and beauty debutante)

I Hate Times Square but...

The other day I had to go to Times Square for a pretty good reason.  Pee-wee Herman and Foursquare teamed up for two days of amazingness where Paul Reubens (dressed as Pee-wee of course) trekked around New York City, checking in and tweeting at each location, welcoming fans to come and join in and meet him.  If you checked into one of these spots, you get a Pee-wee badge and those people were eligible to receive a prize from Pee-wee himself later at the Sondheim Theatre where The Pee-wee Herman Show will be for the next 3 months.

Then Pee-wee came and all hell broke loose and let's just say I had a major Pee-wee fail on my end and managed to get zero good pictures.  Can you spot him above?  My prize: A red bow tie and a sticker and supposedly another prize is coming from Foursquare.  

After that craziness, my friend Jon and I went to Pop Tarts World, a pop up store that opened in Times Square dedicated to everything Pop Tarts including weird treat concoctions and limited edition Pop Tarts.

We settled on Pop Tarts Sushi - a grounded up mix of Pop Tarts treats that are sweet but look oddly like meat and wrapped in Fruit Roll Ups.  Interesting but pretty tasty. 

And that, my friends, is what I have been up to lately. 

The Lost, Found and Colorful

Since it's now considered fall weather (unless something weird happens which is usually the case here), my favorite thing to do with makeup is to make use of that pop of color.  In my case, my favorite way to show off a bit more color is either on the cheeks or lips (not both together obvs) and nails.  My eyes are usually always neutral so that's why I play around with everything else.

A good part of my weekend was spent cleaning up, going through things I don't need and fixing up my makeup collection a little bit.  I found a couple things that I forgot I had, which is the story of my life it seems.  I love too many things.  When I find good things I end up feeling ashamed for even misplacing or even forgetting about these things in the first place.

In my makeup stash I found this Alice + Olivia for MAC nail polish in Morning After which is a really great shade of teal blue.  I wear blue on my nails a lot, but after 8th grade I never thought I would be revisiting this color trend in my late twenties.  

I also grabbed some other fun colorful products from my collection that I am excited to wear:

• MAC Lipstick in Bubblegum - a pink/lilac hybrid that is a bit 80's and is just a fun color in general. 
• MAC Blush in Bite of an Apple - this color looks so good on.  Like you just came in from the cold.  It's a perfect shade for fall and since you only need a tiny bit with a very light hand, this blush will last forever!
• Tarte Natural Lip Stain in Enchanted - a lovely rosy shade that can be deepened or just dotted on to make a flush of color on the lips.  These stains are one of those love it or hate it products from what I've noticed.  With me, it's all love.  

Last night I painted my nails Orly Galaxy Girl which is part of their Cosmix collection.  I don't know how to properly describe this color, but if MAC Club eyeshadow was in nail polish form, I think this would be it...sort of.  It has a dark base with blue-ish shimmer.  It just looks really good in person. 

While also rummaging through clothes and shoes, I found these little guys tucked away in their box underneath a table.  I thought I lost these forever!  I bought these quite a few years ago before Marc Jacobs started making even weirder mouse flats in questionable patterns and materials.  For me, this is as classic as it gets for such a strange yet adorable shoe.  Can't wait to wear these with tights!