Tag Archives: Shopping

Day With My Girls

I got out of bed this morning with one dreadful goal: leave the house. It’s ridiculous that I even have to motivate myself to venture out into the world, whether it be to run errands, see a movie, or simply go for a drive. I’m not antisocial or depressed. I’m alone when I’m in the house and I’m fine with that. It’s going out and still being alone that bugs me sometimes. I guess I’m not always my favorite company.

My sister and nieces came over this morning to pick up something. My older niece had a thing to do today, so they couldn’t hang out. But I found myself asking my little niece if she wanted to hang out with me. I was surprised when she said, “Yes!” And so, I had a partner in crime today.

Juliana and I chilled at home for a bit and then headed to the mall. May I just say: Sephora is such a fun place to take the nieces. It’s a playground for women of all ages. I got to be the cool aunt and put some pink lip gloss and dark eye shadow on her. We also tried some nail polish.

See that bright orange blur on her ring finger? We called it “crazy color.” Its real name is Burst of Mango Cream. I like it a lot. If I still like it one week, two weeks, a month from now, I may actually buy it. Juju scored a sample of Marc Jacobs Daisy fragrance simply for being adorable.

After Sephora, we checked out Anthropologie. I go into an Anthropologie whenever I see one. I spend a good amount of time just looking at everything in the store, but I never buy anything. Today, though, I actually bought a top. And it was a size small which may mean nothing to most of you who are reading this but FUCK YEAH IT WAS A SMALL AND I FIT INTO IT. My niece was very encouraging and loved looking around the store as well. This was her favorite item:

I think she was upset that I didn’t buy it or even try it on, but… er… no comment. After Anthropologie, we stopped at Potbelly for a milkshake and cookie, and then it was time to head home. We only hit three places, but we had spent a good two hours at the mall. Juju was wiped out.

Later on, we ladies (my sister, both my nieces and I) headed out for some dinner.

I had a really fun day hanging out with my girls. It may not have been the most productive day ever, but I got my butt out of the house AND had a great time. My sister and nieces are excellent company and kept me in good spirits. I’m really grateful for days like today.

Potpourri

It was Easter yesterday. There’s something about the holiday that brings out the weird in little kids. Last year, it was a chore trying to get a picture of the nieces. This year? I think  Juju’s face says it all (she’s the one on the left). But, hey! It was my nephew’s first Easter.

When I think of Easter, I think of chocolate. Right now, I’m enjoying a mini Vosges Black Pearl Bar: ginger, wasabi, black sesame seeds, dark chocolate. Holy freakin’ crap. I impulse purchased this while checking out at Whole Foods one day. This is a perfect chocolate bar. It’s kind of pricey, though!

Speaking of pricey things, I love that I can mention $745 hi-top sneakers to my co-worker and not only does she immediately know what I’m talking about, but she goes on to say what I was going to say next: all the knock-offs aren’t worth it and we’d never wear them anyway. But seriously. I can buy 100 regular-sized Vosges chocolate bars with that money. Shoes? I don’t know about that.

Speaking of footwear, I’m thinking of getting a pair of TOMS. Is that female-douchey? They look comfortable and ugly-cute enough that I can wear them without looking like I”m trying too hard. Plus, they have a vegan version of their classic shoe. After searching for $745 hi-top sneakers, I’m thinking that TOMS aren’t a bad investment. Hmmmm….. HMMMMM.

Speaking of ugly-cute but comfortable, I had a hell of a day today in terms of how I look. Hello, fashion disaster! And, hello zit on my face! I also didn’t comb my hair. I should just erase the “cute” from “ugly-cute.” What’s really sad is that today is a prime example of how I used to look most days, until I realized that it doesn’t take a lot of hard work to look cute.

Speaking of cute, I think ASOS is my new favorite online store. I bought some pants and tops from them over the weekend. Free shipping, free returns, tons of stylish inventory and a PETITES section! Oh, perfection. Prices range from not-bad-at-all to would-you-like-my-first-born-child-with that.

Well, I’m going to try and enjoy what’s left of my Monday. This will be another interesting week for me. I’ll be training on some new stuff at work. I have tickets to a show on Friday but I need (want) someone to go with me. I don’t want to waste any time this week! Let’s do stuff and be alive, people.

Superficial Favorites

I am almost embarrassingly low-maintenance when it comes to my physical appearance. Luck and genes are the main reason: my hair is strictly wash, dry and go and, aside from a few months of horrible acne when I was 26 — yes, 26, WTF! — I haven’t had any issues with my skin. I don’t need any fancy or expensive products to keep my skin or hair healthy. I don’t even comb my hair anymore.

It’s only been in the past few months that I have started wearing makeup almost everyday. Why only recently, you ask? To begin with, I always felt too young to wear makeup. I’m in my 30s now (shudder), so that reasoning doesn’t really fly. Secondly, I’m lazy. I just am. Between peeing, brushing my teeth, showering, and dressing myself, who has extra time to put makeup on? Finally, makeup? Really? Unless there’s a special occasion or something… why wear makeup? I always felt kind of fake when I wore makeup. I would rub most of it off of my face before walking out the door.

Cut to today: Makeup has become part of my daily get-ready-for-work routine. I finally reached that point where I was wearing the makeup for me instead of to impress other people. As you’ll see if you continue reading, I don’t exactly go nuts with it, and I let my skin breathe on the weekends unless I’m going someplace special.

Here are some of the products I use:

The foaming cleansing liquid from the Shiseido Pureness line has been my face cleanser for a few years now. It’s gentle and leaves my skin feeling fresh and soft. I’m panicking a bit because it was discontinued. Thankfully, I can still stock up by buying on eBay. In addition, the deep cleansing foam from the same line is a suitable alternative.

I moisturize with Ultra Repair Cream by First Aid Beauty. This stuff is so totally gentle and keeps my face nice and moisturized. It’s also great for any dry patches I may get anywhere else on my body. I have found that moisturizers with sunscreen in them leave my skin feeling greasy and cause breakouts. I’ve had no trouble, however, when I put on Aveeno’s face sunblock after applying my moisturizer. It’s good stuff. Wear sunscreen!!!

I have to thank my friend Christie for suggesting the Sin shade by NARS to use on my cheeks. It’s a great everyday blush that works great with my skin tone. I sometimes use NARS The Multiple on my cheeks in either Malibu or Maui, depending on the season. When I want flush cheeks, I use the tarte for True Blood limited edition cheek stain.

My must-have for lips is a tube of Carmex, which never lets me down. For color, though, I like Stila’s Long Wear Lip Color in Rendezvous. If I’m going for something glossy and fun, I use Zuzu’s lip gloss in Mischief, which was a gift from Janesse. For something bold, I like Sephora’s cream lip stain in Endless Purple. Sephora isn’t messing around with their lip stain, people. All I need is a drop! It’s as if I am painting my lips. It stays on long and is meant to be noticed.

I don’t do much in the way of eye makeup. I put on mascara maybe once a week. Blinc makes a great mascara — this was another recommendation by Christie. Once it’s dry, it doesn’t smudge no matter how much you rub your eyes (I speak from experience) and rubs off cleanly with warm water. I have also tried Blinc’s liquid eyeliner… ‘tried’ meaning that I managed to get it everywhere near my eye except where it’s supposed to go. Thank goodness it comes off with water. I need to practice my liquid liner skills. P.S. I had some trauma last week when I mascaraed my eyeball. All is good!

I finish off my face with a loose powder by Estee Lauder. It’s a nice translucent finish and works well on its own when I’m in a hurry or just want to wake up my face a bit before I go out.

Allow me to end this post by saying that I LOVE SEPHORA. I can easily spend an hour or two there trying products. A visit there can lift your spirits if you’re having a bad day, or can be a fun girls activity if you’re at the mall with a good girlfriend or a bored niece. I remember being totally intimidated by Sephora when it first appeared in the Chicago area. Have no fear: no one will bother you if you don’t want to be bothered but they will be really helpful if you want advice. (Okay, now give me free stuff for plugging your store, Sephora. Thanks.)

Gift Guide: Little Pretties by Jen

For the holiday season, I decided to share some of my favorite shops and items. This is the first post in what I hope will be a series of gift-giving suggestions. Hope you find something you love for the special people in your life—-or for yourself!

Garnet Mistletoe Earrings

Site: Little Pretties (link)
What You’ll Find: Handmade earrings, bracelets, and necklaces using only quality materials and gems
Perfect for: Bauble- and jewel-loving gals who want to be complimented on their accessories (what lady doesn’t?)

Jen is one of my Internet BFFs and I am so excited that she has listed new items in her Etsy shop for the holiday season. She started making jewelry about three years ago while vacationing with friends in the Outer Banks. She credits her friend Kim with getting her hooked on making jewelry. She is self-taught in her craft and says that practice makes perfect! Here is a sampling of some of her items:

Jen makes jewelry that she would want to wear. She likes items that comes from antiquity. She has most recently been inspired by jewels in the Met Museum. Her other artistic interests are glass blowing and rustic pottery.

I am a proud owner of a few Little Pretties and I get compliments on them all the time from girls and women of all generations. Whenever I’m looking for a particular color or style for a friend, Jen knows exactly what to make and I’m always happy with the result. She’s an awesome woman who makes awesome jewelry!

Check out Little Pretties on Etsy and let Jen know that you found out about her from i-cant-drive.net! You can also follow Jen on Twitter. DO IT. She’s crafty AND clever.

I Hate Shopping

I never really liked shopping to begin with, but I hate it even more these days because I have to get larger sizes and nothing fits me right. My belly is too big. My shoulders are too small. My boobs don’t seem to be in the right place for the way most shirts are made. My butt sticks out too much.

I’m starting to hate how I look and shopping for new clothes just adds salt to the wound. I’ve been working on eating less lately, and it has translated into some weight loss (about four pounds in the last two weeks) and I know I can push myself to start working out more often and more intensely.

It’s the damn shape of my body that’s bugging me. Don’t get me wrong, I like my curves and I appreciate my T and A parts. I just wish more clothes were cut to accommodate my shape. Whenever I find something that fits, I look like a box or a big pear. In other words, NOT SEXY.

Oh, well. I’ll work with what I have. Even with weight loss, I don’t think I’ll ever fit the cookie cutter styles that are in stores today. Maybe I’ll start a new line of womens clothing called Short and Shapely and Asian.

In related news, I’m starting to teach myself to not love food and eating so much, which makes me sad.

Girls Gone Wild

Girls can be pretty crazy when they shop, but you haven’t seen crazy until you attend a girls shopping event. Last night, I went to Shecky’s Girls Night Out. Now, I can talk about all the great stuff I saw, the awesome goodie bag, or the cute headband I bought, but the crowd is what I really want to talk about.

This is the first one of these I’ve gone to, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was mostly excited to get my goodie bag. A group of girls checked in at the same time I did. Here’s what happened:

Girl #1: Oh my god, this is sooo cool!
Girl #2: Look at all the people!
Girl #3: We get wristbands, how cool!
Girl #2: Let’s take a picture by the sign!
Girl #1: Did I leave my camera in the car?
Girl #3: Where’d my ticket go?
Girl #2: Smile, you guys! *camera click*

Those were the uber-excited girls. Next to them, you had the serious shoppers. I won’t even attempt to recap the conversations I heard because, let’s face it – I’m not cool enough to know what the hell they were talking about. But these girls weren’t there to have a good time. They were well-dressed, seriously looked at the merchandise, and talked at length with the vendors.

Most everyone was in a bubbly mood. Maybe it was because of the complimentary drinks. Maybe it’s because they were having a great time with their friends. Some people were total bitches, though, getting all mad because I was in their way. Uh, hellllooooo… can’t you see that it’s crowded?

Then there are the hogs and hoverers. The hogs stand and look at something and don’t move. They just stand there. In your way. Usually, the hogs end up buying nothing. The hoverers stand behind the hogs. They move their heads and bodies in any way they can in order to get a view of what the hogs are looking at. The ideal situation is when the hogs are 5 feet tall and the hoverers are 6 feet tall.

Me? I look from afar and get close only when interested. Events like this where the vendor is in your face are a little awkward for me. I feel badly when the seller is really nice but I don’t like their product. Sometimes I’ll decide not to purchase something if the seller isn’t genuine or if they’re pushy (eg, “Oh yes. That furry wristband is sooo you.”). I don’t like to haggle, I don’t like it when people watch me try on stuff, and I’m sometimes annoyed when other customers comment on what I’m looking at or trying on. Lastly, I always need a buddy at events like this.

I view Girls Night Out as an actual girls night out. You could get a makeover, a manicure, try on clothes and accessories comfortably, get advice from the vendors or any of the women around you, and truly be as girly as you want to be. Women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities could be found at the event. The vendors didn’t seem to cater to a specific group: there was truly something for everything at the event. It was a safe haven. At what other event would you feel comfortable trying out stripper aerobics in front of a bunch of strangers? Don’t answer that.

Mata Traders: I Love My New Top

mata

I’m totally going to rip off Mindy Kaling right now and talk about something I bought over the weekend that I LOVE. I found the polka-dot printed scoopneck top pictured above at the Mata Traders tent at the Do-Division Street Fest. I tried it on at the festival, but unfortunately there were no mirrors. Thanks to mi prima and my blind faith, I got the size I thought fit best. I just tried it on…I LOVE IT. It fits pretty well and I think it makes me look pretty.

Mata Traders is based in Chicago. All of their products are fairly traded. Everything they sell is just beautiful. I’ve seen them a few times when they have set up shop at Lollapalooza. They also have a store in Andersonville.

Click here to find out more about Mata Traders.

Click here if you don’t get the Mindy Kaling reference. Or just follow Mindy on Twitter. You won’t be sorry – her run fantasies almost make me want to go running. Almost.