My Wedding!

Hi Everyone!

I never realized how much a wedding ceremony could change the dynamic between Mr. P and myself, even though we've been dating and living together for a number of years.  Everything is more about us than ever before!

Anyways, I promised Gummy that I would post some pictures up from our intimate wedding.  We invited only family and a few friends to join us, people that we knew would be in our lives and our children's lives for the rest of our lives.  Having a small wedding was great because we got to spend a lot of time talking with our guests and it kept the focus on how close we felt with all of our guests and we got to see our guests interact and make friends with each other.  They even exchanged funny stories about each of us with each other.  LOL!  No secrets here!

Reading scripture during the ceremony.

Picture with Mr. P's family.

Picture with my family.

First picture inside the house as Mr. and Mrs. P.

Our dear guests whom we feel so honored to be in front of on this day.

This is my little nephew who got all dressed up and was happiest running around in the grass. 

Mr. P and I knew that we wanted a wedding in our backyard ever since we realized owning a home was just around the corner.  Our practical side knew that wedding venues cost a fortune and sometimes come with extra fees or "preferred vendors" that you can't really get out of using or negotiating down the price.  Additionally, some of the venues we looked at charged by the number of guests.  Mr. P and I were not in agreement on the number of guests we wanted to invite above the VIP guests so we decided it was best to stick with our own backyard as a venue and stick with our VIP guest list.  Our romantic side was in love with the idea that we'd start our lives in our new house with a spectacular event and memories, and we'd just be adding to the memories as the years went by.

One tip for keeping costs down if you plan on doing a DIY intimate wedding - don't mention the word "wedding" and don't talk about getting "married."  We did not tell the catering company this was going to be a wedding.  We told them during booking that this was a party and we wanted it self-serve buffet-style.  Only after they arrived and after I changed into my dress did they realize it was a wedding.  This really kept costs down and we had more than enough food left over to send home with our guests.

Our wedding cakes.

Also, with regard to the wedding cakes, we decided to buy several lovely 8" cakes from a local Taiwanese bakery rather than go the traditional tiered wedding cake route.  The Taiwanese cakes were really decorative and gave our guests the option to try whatever flavor they wanted or a piece from every cake.  I found this was really convenient, as Mr. P and I didn't have the time or patience to sit down with a wedding cake consultant to go over decorations, flavors, and what price to be charged by the slice and how many slices we needed for our guests.  I got the idea for multiple cakes as a wedding cake back in college, when I was flipping through a wedding edition of a gardening magazine.

DIY table decorations - spring flowers.

I think my most memorable part of the day prior to the ceremony was panicking and flitting around the house with my makeup half done, my hair half done, and not even in my dress, and trying to cut the spring flowers we bought and arrange them in our mason jars.  I would not have been able to get it all done if my best friend and kindred spirit did not show up to save the day!  I trust her with all things pretty and beautiful.  She was the one who took over arranging the spring flowers into 8 mason jars and tying beautiful bows around the jars.  I wouldn't have been able to do it without her.  Period.  Anyways, at the end of the night, we gave the mason jars with flowers to our guests to take home.  I hope they found a good use for the jars. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post!  Have a great day, everyone!

All I Want for Christmas & Holly Jolly Holiday Tag

Hi Everyone!  This is a bit late but this is a fun tag to do.  Thanks, Linh, for the tag!

All I Want For Christmas Tag

1.  What was the best present you received as a child?
A cute white purse with a flower design on the front.  My mom gave it to me at a time when our family couldn't really afford it.

2.  What's at the top of your wish list this year?
Mr. P and I really wished hard for a house!

3.  Do you have a funny Christmas tradition?
Actually, not really.  We had our Christmas tree stolen on Christmas Eve about 25 years ago and since then Christmas hasn't been a top priority in my family.  But Mr. P and I are trying to revive some semblance of a Christmas tradition right now!

4.  What are your 3 Christmas party beauty essentials?
Well, if I had attended a Christmas party, my three party essentials would be clear and glowing skin, a dark plumy purple eyeshadow with sparkles as an eyeliner, and malt/sangria colored lipstick.

5.  What's your favorite Christmas movie?
 Mr. P and I really enjoy watching the Christmas Day movie marathon of "A Christmas Story."

6.  Are you a giver or receiver?
I'm a giver!  I love receiving but I tend to go overboard with gifting and wrapping.  I'm always trying to find a way to wrap presents using the least amount of tape possible!

7.  Who will you be kissing under the mistletoe this year?
I kissed Mr. P and cuddled all our cats under our imaginary mistletoe.  :-)



Holly Jolly Holiday Tag

1.  Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until the last minute?
My shopping season is between Black Friday and Christmas.  I don't usually go on Thanksgiving night to start Black Friday because Thanksgiving is sacred in my family.

2.  If you could be in any Christmas movie, what would it be?
I think I'd probably like to be in Home Alone! 

3.  Which do you like better: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve, hands down!  Christmas Day is nice but once Christmas Day has passed the Christmas season is officially over.

4.  When does your family put up your Christmas tree and who decorates it?
Well, my family hasn't had a Christmas tree in a long time, but Mr. P and I will be starting our own traditions next year!  So, I suppose Mr. P will put up the Christmas tree and we'll both decorate it in 2013!

5.  White lights or colored lights?
White lights!  They are so classic!

6.  Are you guilty of peeking at your presents or do you like the surprise?
I am a serial peeker!  I try and try to keep the surprise factor for as long as possible, but I just can't help it!

7.  Would you rather live in a gingerbread house or in Santa's Workshop?
Santa's Workshop!  The ultimate Christmas factory!

8.  Tell us you Christmas Eve traditions!
I think our family is transitioning to having a buffet meal together for Christmas Eve.

9.  If you could be under the mistletoe with anyone, who would it be?
Mr. P!!! 

10.  What tops your tree?
I'll tell you next year! 

11.  Can you name the 12 days of Christmas?
No, but I can sing the song. 

12.  Have you ever gone Christmas caroling?
Yes, at a retirement home when I was younger.  I didn't understand the significance when I was younger but I now do.

13.  Do you count down to Christmas?  If so, how may days are left?
T-355 days!!!

14.  What are some foods and treats you can count on having every holiday season?
Turkey with cranberry sauce!  Mashed potatoes and gravy!  These are some of my most favorite things.

15.  How has Christmas kept its magic for you as you've grown older?
I grew up without a strong sense of Christmas but Mr. P and I want to start a family and we really want our family to grow up with the best Christmas memories.  So, I guess preparing for the pitter patter of little kids is bringing back some Christmas magic for us!



Hope you all had a great New Year!  I hope I can revive this tag for next Christmas! 

Taiwan Trip *Special Post!*

Hi Everyone!

Sooo, I hope everyone is doing great!  I am glowing!  Only because things are changing for me so quickly, and I'll show you why in a brief moment!

I promised you all that I would post on my new China Airlines skincare products and routine but I can't remember where I put my iPad....  It's not lost, I just can't find it for now.  So, that post, which I wanted to come before this post for sure, will just have to come later.

I also wanted to have one more travel post of Mr. P and me in Taiwan before this special post, but we haven't even begun sorting through our plethora of pictures.  Dealing with jet lag and everything that's been going on in the one week we've been back has just made everything busier!

But I just can't hold back anymore!  Here's the happy news!

Mr. P and I are officially engaged!  And by "officially," I mean in the Taiwanese tradition where we went through the Engagement Ceremony!

Walking into my parents' house where the Ceremony was held.

The Ceremony with our relatives and the Mistress of Ceremony.

So now, below, are a few pictures we took at Maya Studios in Taiwan.  They are so professional, and my makeup artist did such a fantastic job with my overall look that I secretly want to bring her to America to make me look this great everyday!  *fantasy, fantasy!*

My relatives said I looked like Coco Lee.  I personally don't see it, but hey!  A compliment is a compliment, so I'll take it!  LOL!

Everything happened so quickly and we were brought from place to place that it seems like a blur.  But I really really really appreciate everything my family did for us and am so touched to have such family!  I was so happy to see how everyone welcomed Mr. P into the family.

I'm just looking forward to life together with Mr. P.  It makes me really giddy!




By the way, in the professional photos, my makeup artist was also the hair dresser.  She did a great job, right?  That was 5 layers of hair spray, about 10 layers of double eyelid tape, combined, and 12 hours of photography!  It's crazy, but I would do it again and again and again!


Thanks for reading and have a great day!!!

Carol

A Piece of History (Tag)

Created using Pic Collage. http://pic-collage.com

Sent from my iPad

Hi All!

Ari from A Passionate Obsession tapped me to post something about the first makeup item that made its way into my hands.  Thanks for the tag, Ari!!  :-)

This is a Maybelline shadow that I'm sure is a brow powder. It's been so long since I saw the actual description for this shadow that I don't remember what it's called.  I depotted this back in 2010 so I can't look up the name, either.

Anyways, the reason I bought this was that I one day realized, at 27, that my eyebrows were really thin and pictures of myself looked like a face with eyes, nose, and a mouth, but no eyebrows!  You know how everyone says that eyebrows frame the face?  Well, I didn't have that frame, so that's why I went out and bought a dark brown brow powder.  

And ever since then there has been no looking back!  If there is anything in my makeup drawer that I will not leave the house without it is this brow powder. In fact, I will go out without foundation or anything to cover up my blemishes, but I will always have/make the time to do my brows. 

Thanks for reading!  

Please keep the tag going.  I tag everyone!  ;D

Birthday and Perseids Meteor Shower

Has another year really come and gone?  

Last year, Mr. P and I went to Carpinteria for my birthday and saw the Milky Way Galaxy.  This year, we went to the desert to look at the Perseids meteor shower.

Did we see them?  Yes, sir!  Mr. P tallied the count to over 2 dozen.  Then he read that if we had gone higher up in elevation, we would have seen about 100/hour.  So, next year, if we're lucky enough, we're going to do the whole camping expedition and see 100/hour!

Of course, we also saw the fantastic Milky Way Galaxy again, which looked 15 times larger than the Milky Way Galaxy we saw last year.  I did take a picture...

....but wouldn't you know, iPhones just don't capture stars in an almost pitch black environment.  :-/

Regardless, I feel so blessed!

Oh, by the way, top picture is my birthday FOTD.  I do have NYX false lashes on, that don't show up too well under the monolids.  Hrmmm......

For foundation, I don't have anything on except that Garnier under-eye roller thing with a little bit of tint.  Check out my July Skincare Routine post for the exact product.  

The improved condition of my skin in is a result of the Ann Karen facials.  Seriously, I'm developing a dependency issue with Ann Karen Spa!

Did anyone else see the Perseids Meteor Shower?

Have a great one!

Finished! June and Product Review: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Nutrient Spray

 

Hi All!  Sorry that I'm late with my Finished! post for June.  Honestly, I've had a slow month.  This bottle of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Nutrient Spray was all that I managed to finish in June.  That said, it will be easy for me to do a product review on it.

 In a nutshell, the product claims to nourish and shine dry, damaged hair.  And all of you ladies know I've had my bout with dry, damaged and unmanageable hair (proof is here and here) after I had it dyed a lighter ash blond shade.  

Nourish

I don't think this did anything at all to nourish or feed my hair any needed nutrients.  My hair always still felt brittle, tangled, dry, damaged, and very unhealthy.  Let me put it this way.  Has anyone ever tried to comb their hair immediately after getting out of a swimming pool?  The impossibility of it was exactly how my hair was wet or dry.  No matter how much or how little I sprayed on my hair, it just always felt crummy.

Shine

Maybe my hair got some shine.  It looked like it made individual strands shinier from the light coating of fruit oils, but other than that, my hair still felt and managed like it was straw or hay.

Other

It smelled nice, like all Garnier Fructis hair products.  

Would I repurchase?

No.  I don't think it did anything for my dry and damaged hair.  If we're talking about medicines and cures, this product was like a cough drop - it masked the symptoms of unhealthy hair, it did not cure unhealthy hair nor did it make unhealthy hair healthy again.  In all honestly, I think this product was mislabeled and should be used by people who already have normal and healthy hair for that added boost of nutrients and shine.

 As always, my reviews are 100% based on my experiences.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

I Need Enlightenment: What does "Warm" and "Cool" mean???

Hi All,

So, I've been beauty blogging for a little over 2 years now and been watching YT videos on beauty and skincare for more than 3 years now and I still don't get it.

What does "Warm" and "Cool" mean in terms of beauty, makeup and skincare?

I was just watching a new video from FashionIsMyCrush and she said something about cool skin-toned people being NW### and warm skin-toned people being NC###.  I thought the "W" and "C" in the MAC foundation numbers meant "Warm" and "Cool".

How can you tell if you're "Warm" or "Cool"?  

Bubzbeauty explained in one of her videos that you can find out if you're warm or cool toned if you look at the veins on your wrist.  Green means one thing, and blue means another.  I don't remember which and to me, green and blue are very subjective.  I can't tell what I am. 

I'm confused.  Can someone please enlighten me?

I would really appreciate it!  Thanks for stopping by and thanks in advance for your help!

UPDATE:

Thank you everyone who stopped by and posted an answer to these couple of questions.  I feel so much better knowing that there are people who do have the answers to these questions and are so willing to share their/your knowledge.  So thank you again for enlightening me on this subject!  I hope the answers here were also able to help out those who had these same questions.  Thank you, Beauty Community!  :-)

Swap with Linh (Blushology)

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone is coming to the middle of the year just as motivated as you were at the beginning of this year.  I have to admit that my weight loss journey is going backwards, not forwards!  While I'm completely upset at my continuing weight gain, I really have no one to blame but myself.  Laziness, procrastination, and making excuses for the smallest of things, i.e., my toenail hurts.  <--  Yes, things of that nature.  >_<

So, Mr. P and I had a serious, short, and firm discussion this morning about being strict with ourselves to hit the gym every day and eat right.  That means, I need to find a way to give myself that boost of energy in the mornings, to find time in the evenings to cook, and to cook healthy and fit meals for us. 

Anyways, that's the goal.  This should have gone on my Fitness Journal page, but I figure I'll be more accountable if I put this on the main page.  I have all of you to keep me in line!  ^_^

Sorry for the ramble. 

Without further ado, here are the products I got from my swap with Linh last month. 

 

Mr. P and I have already eaten the Hello Kitty marshmallows.  Actually, he had one, and I the rest!  

I can't wait to try the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream.  From what I can gather, it is a rather fancy hand/body cream for extremely dry skin.  This will be perfect in my office!!!

The Sephora + Pantone Universe lipstick and eyeliner are kind of intimidating to me because of the bright orange color, but hot damn!  They do look very very nice, don't they?  I've already swatched the eyeliner.  It's goes on like butter and stays put like a stain!  If I can pull off this color, I will definitely upload it on a FOTD!

I've never had a Make Up For Ever product before, so I can't wait until I get to open up the Smoky Lash mascara.  Maybe I'll do a Battle Mascara on it.  :-)

The NARS cream stick blush looks so gorgeous!  I have to wait until the summer months pass.  My skin is getting very oily these days.  It already sucks that my makeup slips around when I wear my sunglasses (they rest on my cheek, not my nose!), so I don't want that happening when I try this product!

I think the MAC Cremesheen Glass is what Linh calls "my lips but better."  I will definitely open this up in September before I go on my Taiwan trip.  The reason?  I want something secure to take with me on the plane and to Taiwan.  The glosses I have right now are all in pans, which I'm trying so hard to use up!

Oh, my God!  Where do I even start with these Stila palettes?!?!  Inside, I'm just a quivering mass of excitement! 

Thank you again, Linh!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

 

Milk and Rose Soap

 

 Hi Everyone!  

Here's another soap I recently made for Mr. P and myself.  I made this soap with minimal ingredients: rose oil, jojoba oil, milk, and crushed rose petals.

Mr. P and I have sensitive skin (different issues, but sensitive nonetheless).

Milk is a naturally moisturizing ingredient that is beneficial for skin.

Jojoba oil is most similar to our natural oils.

Rose oil for fragrance.  I didn't put too much because strong fragrance aggravates our skin.

Crushed rose petals for very very soft exfoliation.

 This is a glycerin-based soap, so it gets soft very easily if left in a humid bathroom.  

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day!

Haircut!

Hi All,

For the past couple of weeks now, I've been complaining to Mr. P that my hair has become so unmanageable in every way since I got it colored.  Fed up with the tangles, the dryness and brittleness of my hair, I decided to cut it short.  I was able to cut off 4-5 inches of my hair.

This is the final look.  It is a bit shorter than the style I wanted to go for, but it'll grow out in no time and I can have my regular stylist cut it to how I want it to look.  

I think most of the dyed strands will have come down my to ears by the time September rolls around.

I'm having some formatting issues with this post, so I'll just leave the pictures for the bottom.

Thanks for reading!

:-D

Los Angeles 2012 - gosh, 15 pounds really does something bad for my figure and posture!

Dallas 2010 - this was the original cut and style that I was trying to recreate.  I was much thinner back then!  *weeping*

Ventura Getaway!

Hi Everyone!  I hope everyone is having a good week so far.  Sometimes we get caught up in routine and we just need to find a way to keep things fresh.

Mr. P and I enjoy driving up to Santa Barbara.  It's far enough that it's fresh, but close enough so as to be a day trip or an over-nighter.  We've especially enjoyed Carpinteria, which is a small scenic town close to Santa Barbara. 

Well, last last month, Mr. P and I wanted to break the routine one more time by driving up to Carpinteria and staying at the hotel where we stayed for my birthday last year.  No such luck this time around.  We ended up in Ventura, which is a nice enough town but not as far from Los Angeles as I would have liked.

Regardless, we took ourselves up to Ventura and enjoyed a nice long walk along Main Street, and ate dinner at

The Taj Cafe

It actually tasted like Canada Dry Ginger Ale with some lemon juice squeezed in.

Forgot what this is called but it had potatoes and peas on the inside.  So yummy!

Mr. P ordered chicken masala...  at least I think that's what it's called.  It was so yummy and so fragrant!

I ordered lamb curry.  It was really really good!

On the house!  They brought us a chicken coconut curry dish to sample.  It was sweet and curriful. 

Also had a garlic naan bread.

Mr. P and I were in awe of the cracker and chutneys.  The cracker was super thin and the perfect delivery system for the chutneys.  LOL!

Mr. P missed the cats a lot that night and was asking if I minded if we just headed home first thing in the morning.  I thought that was so cute and it would have been funny if I didn't miss our kids so much too.  I was all for sleeping then going back to Los Angeles in the morning....

                                      ...... but ...........

We hit up the Camarillo Outlets and did a little shopping before we went back to Los Angeles.  No makeup products this time.  We just bought clothes.  :-)

I hope you're having a great week and thanks for stopping by!



 

Finished! April 2012

 

Shower Gels

I don't know the brand but these (gifts from my Kindred Spirit) shower gels smells so good!

 

 

Stila Lip Glaze in Merry Merry

I'm a little disappointed that all I managed to finish up were these 3 items.  But I suppose it's okay because I'll have more to report on at the end of May!  ^_-

Thanks for visiting my blog! 

Makeup at the Gym

After working out!

 Hi Everyone!  It makes me feel weird at the gym to be wearing a full face a makeup.  But it's not that I deliberately go to the gym with makeup on, it's just that it happens to be on my face when I go at the end of the day!  I don't bother with makeup or anything when I go in the mornings.

I'm not the only one who does this, right???

I know that wearing makeup on your face while you're working out can't be the best for your pores and stuff, but at the end of the day when you just want to get everything done so you can go home and eat and spend time with the hubby (or fiance or significant other), sometimes you just have to sacrifice something.  For me, that sacrifice is the time I spend to get the makeup off and remoisturize my skin.

Seriously, I'm not the only one who does this, right?  Let me know I'm not alone!  :-)

Thanks for reading!

PS - I'm not mad in my picture.  I'm just concentrating really hard on taking the picture.  :-P

Lesson Learned

Assume the defeated position.

  

 I am having a really bad hair day.  Normally, I'm the wash-and-go type of girl.  I don't have a lot of time in the mornings to get ready.  But today, I thought that I'd at least put some of those velcro curlers in my hair at the crown to get some volume going.  As you can see, that was a failed idea since any volume attained deflated before lunch.  

Then, the part of my hair that was dyed honey blond, insisted on creating their own waves while the roots flattened out.  In effect, I have curls and waves in all the wrong places.

Third, any part of my hair that is not my natural color (roots), gets tangled each and every day, each and every night, and each and every hour.  My stylist cut off 1.5 inches about 2 weeks ago.  With how my hair is getting so tangled, I am tempted to go with a short bob.  "Tempted," I said.

Lesson learned from this?

Natural is better!!!

I will let this mess grow out and then chop off all that honey blond hair! 

Making mascaras work for me!

 

Hi Everyone!  Since posting up Battle Mascara 7: Fairydrops vs Majolica Majorca, I've decided that I've got to find a way to use Fairydrops, even if its repetitious and I don't like it.  It did cost me $24.00 +/- and I will feel really bad if I don't put in some good faith effort to make the most of the purchase.

I'm not a fan of using multiple brands of mascara at once because I like to keep things simple.  To me, and this is only my opinion, a good mascara should be able to do everything you need it to do.  But for the sake of Fairydrops, I will go the extra mile.

I have layered my lashes with one coat of CoverGirl Exact Eyelights waterproof mascara for the sole purpose of keeping the curl in my lashes.  I layered one coat of Fairydrops over that for the smudge-proof-ability.

Curl
Fairydrops still manages to pull down some of the curl but it's not as drastic as before.  I can be okay with this.

Volume
Layering both mascaras has increased the power of the volume!

Length
CoverGirl's lengthening ability is, on a scale of meh-to-great, okay and decent.  When combined with Fairydrops, I'd have to say that the length is comparable to the length I was able to achieve with the fibers in Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus.

Smudge
Nah.  Both of these mascaras never smudged that much so I'm not even going to worry about it.

Clump
A little clumping goes on.  CoverGirl does a great job at lifting and separating each lash.  But when you layer Fairydrops over it, I think the weight of the formula and the different wand shapes work together to clump up some of the lashes.

I like to keep it simple, so having to work with mascara like this isn't the best way for me to start my day.  I'm curious....

What are some things you do to go the extra mile for beauty?

I really really want....

I think I'm strong-willed enough to hold out on making more skincare and beauty-related purchases.  Mr. P and I had a long chat about saving money for real-estate, which, in the grand scheme of things, is just the right thing to do for our future. 

But it doesn't stop me from really really really wanting this!

This line of skincare I found on Sasa's website (under their clearance section).



                                                           Maybe it's their calm pink color?

                                     Maybe it's their packaging?

              Maybe because it's Japanese?

                                                              Maybe because it seems organic and natural?

Maybe............

                                          Maybe.................

                                                                                        Maybe.........  ???

I don't know why but I really really want to try this line out!!!!

I'm venting right now because I know that I am not going to make this purchase until I cut down on my current skincare stash.  At least not until I'm on the last of my moisturizers, UV SPFers, toners, cleansers, base makeups.  And with how much I've got, it's going to take a loooooooong time.

Question:  Have any of you ever been in this dilemma, where you want to buy something you know you shouldn't?

Kogi Korean Taco Truck

Last year at about this time, the rage was to track the famous Kogi Korean Taco Truck.  Part of their advertising campaign was to NOT advertise where they would be.  You needed to track them via Facebook or Twitter to find out where they were last seen.

Anyways, Mr. P and I were able to get our hands on Korean-Mex fusion foods when we moved into our first apartment together.  Kogi Korean Taco Truck was right there at the leasing office!  Of course, we could NOT pass up the opportunity.

This is some sort of kimchi pork burrito.

Kimchi enchilada

Spicy pork taco (left), and spicy beef taco (right)

It was so tasty and so spicy!  It really was awesomely delicious but the spiciness burned a hole in my stomach.  Not literally, of course, but that's what it felt like.  It's too bad that we never saw Kogi Korean Taco Truck again.

Scam? Legit? Anyone got an invite from PureBloggers *dot* com?

Here is the email I got from them:

Hello, someone liked your blog at http://kusanagigirlbeautyblog.blogspot.com and sent you an invitation to http://purebloggers.com . Pure Bloggers is a social-network for bloggers and companies. Need more traffic? Want to sell Bannerspace or links? Offer services at your blog? Want to get more readers? Or just share experiences with other bloggers? Get in touch with 1000s of Companies and Bloggers! http://purebloggers.com is the right place for you. Sign up for free now and join the biggest blogger and companies network!

I've gone to the site and there is virtually NO information about this blogger networking company.

Secondly, in order to get more information, you will need to sign up to get in.  In this day an age everybody had better be careful about just signing up to anywhere.

To top it off, if you Google Purebloggers(dot)com + review, the top three hits show plenty o' skepticism toward this site.

Here's one of them: http://justificationbygrace.com/2012/02/21/pure-blogger-dot-com/

How scary!!

 

Cute Blog Award (Tag)

I want to thank Linh (from Blushology) for tagging me for the Cute Blog Award.  I didn't expect it but I sure appreciate it!  ^_^

For this award you:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.

2. Answer the award questions.

3. Tell something about yourself you haven't told anyone on your blog yet.

4. Award as many blogs that you think are worthy of this award.

5. Make sure you let those you gave the award to know that you awarded them.

Award Questions:

1. What is your go-to makeup product? 

Daily things that I absolutely cannot function without are my Maybelline eyebrow powder (or any powder that can fill in my eyebrows) and foundation (or bb cream or tinted moisturizer) to even out my skin tone.

2. What was your favorite fashion trend of 2011? 

Even though I wore skirts for most of 2011, I have to say that enjoyed the throwback to the 80’s with leggings and loose tops.

3. What is your favorite dessert? 

Anything with dark chocolate is ideal, but I've also just discovered the deliciousness that is red velvet cake!

4. Favorite color? 

I'm alternating right now between baby pink and forest green.

5. What is your middle name? 

I don’t have a middle name. 

6. What was the last song you listened to? 

Kimi Ni Aitakute by Gackt, who is the most beautiful man on this Earth (after Mr. P, of course!)  ^_-

Something you don't know about me yet:

I didn't even know about this myself!  I always thought that I was 100% Taiwanese in blood, meaning an xx% of Chinese and xx% of aboriginal Taiwanese blood.  But my cousin ran a DNA/RNA/mitochondrial (it's one of the three and if I'm wrong, just know that it was a test that involved the smaller parts of a cell) test at UCLA and we found out that we can add Japanese and Dutch blood to our heritage!

Tagged!
Hatako47 - I think her personality is really cute and fun, and it reflects in her blog.  I love that her blog is down-to-earth and quite positive!

Taiwan 2012

Oh, MY!  I forgot the most important pictures of all!!!!

While in Taipei, my cousin and I went to the famous (or infamous) Modern Toilet restaurant.  While the decor is outa-this-world unusual, going to the actual restroom was nerve racking!  Basically, from the dining area, you could see all the way inside the rest room and see the urinal and the hole-in-the-floor toilet.  There is a door of course for privacy, but until you use it, you don't really appreciate how nice it is to have a separate little foyer before you get into the area where you do your business.

The sink for washing your hands is outside in the no-man's-land between the dining area and the rest room.  Obviously, it is clearly visible to all the diners.  The sink is a faucet attached over a toilet.  The toilet sink was clogged, so that wasn't really pretty.  Anyways, here you go!

And also, my family and I attended a political fundraiser for one of the senators from the southern Tainan district.  He ended up winning his seat (Green Party), which is the rival party to President Ma's party.  Here is a picture of my dad at the event.

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Original Post: January 20, 2012

Let me first say that 2012 is a year of new beginnings for myself, Mr. P and our respective families.  Whatever happened in the past has been hakuna matata-fied.  We are moving forward, and that is the most important thing!

My trip to Taiwan was unexpected, but I enjoyed being able to get together with my cousins.  I haven't seen most of them since 2009!  It always amazes me how much they've grown because I remember them all when they were babies.  LOL.

And now, for the pictures!

Stinky Tofu, Tainan Style

I'm a low key person.  This is my style when I think of authentic ethnic cuisine!

Yummy!  The perfect mix of stinkiness and flavor!

I don't know why this is sideways.  Either way, the food looks great!

 

Gen Du Yuan Teahouse

First time with my family.  This was the view outside the tatami room

Mom and me with our hot pots.

Second time with my cousins and brother.  Carp feeding frenzy.

Beautiful cousins Jhua (left) and Yuugen (right).

I credit both these ladies with making my life in TW good 10 year ago.

Bro rarely gets the chance to hang out with Jhua, so this is a RARE picture-tunity.

Taipei

I dunno why my pictures are coming out weird and sideways like this.

Dad's cousin used to fish for carp here.  There is only ONE carp left.

Temple garden with Yuugen.

Random

The dangers of being illiterate.  That red eye lasted the whole day and night!

Finished this.  Didn't think it did much.  Read the review here.

Everyday eye makeup, the same 3 colors day in and day out.  haha  :P  See the Coffret D'or compact here.

So much for not spending money on skincare products!  Resolutions broken within the first 2 weeks of 2012!  *sighs*

So, that's really it for this post.  I hope to be able to share more This and That's with you all later, and also some good news!  Of course, I can't leave things without a picture of my family.  :-)

At the Dutch fort (whose name I forgot) at An Ping in Tainan.

Out of curiosity, how many of you have broken your New Year Resolutions already?