Tough Mudder Time

A couple of our (guy) friends participated in the Tough Mudder challenge this year. Us girls just came along for the ride. We were planning on cheering them on in the crowd, but we didn't feel that $40 as a onlooker was worth it. So we hit the malls instead. You could say it was a win-win. Three and half hours later, they were done......and exhausted. Good job, guys!

 

My favorite beauty products at the moment

Olay age defying night cream- I apply this at night to wake up to a soft and moisturized face.

The Body Shop chamomile makeup remover- I've used this product for over 2 years now and it removes my liquid and pencil eyeliner so well. We all know how black makeup just smears everywhere. There's no need for tugging because this stuff has the eye makeup glide right off.

Bare Minerals warmth bronzer- I use this to contour my cheek bones. It really makes a difference.

Clinique allover color in Fresh Bloom- I like how there are two different shades to choose from. I mainly use the lighter pink to highlight my cheeks and brow bone. The darker pink I use to tone down my cheeks if I've gone over board with the Bare Minerals bronzer.

The Body Shop powder brush- This compact brush has been with me everywhere. I take it whenever I'm on the go or have limited space in my makeup bag. It works really well for my loose face powders. I love it!

Miss Dior Cherie perfume- A special gift from my mom and a perfect scent to pick up my mood on those chilly days. I feel like it adds an extra bit if chicness to whatever I'm wearing too.

Floral scent

I added a new fragrance to my spring/summer perfume collection.

Fried rice + ice cream

Fried rice, especially kimchi fried rice, is one of my all time favorite dish. Anthony will ask me what I want to eat every now and then and I always reply with either fish or kimchi fried rice. While we were in Jeju my demand was met and I indulged in some spicy bokum bap. The restaurant we magically stumbled upon cooks it right there in front of you. How cool is that? Mmm Mmm. I wanted to eat more (like a third helping), but didn't want to risk looking like a hungry hippo, especially in front of the restaurant staff. So, I saved some room for the ice cream shop that was just across the street. Ha.

The ice cream shop was so cute and offered so many choices. Hmm, decisions decisions. Actually, it's always an easy pick for me because I stick to my usual cookies-n-cream. I can't believe I got 2 scoops. At Baskin Robins their 2 scoops are like this small, but this shop was like this big! Win.

Sunny Day

The weather was in our favor today. We took advantage of the sunshine and made our way up to the mountains. I forget how beautiful the scenery really is sometimes.

Luggage Pieces

Every time I go plan a vacation I'm always eyeballing new luggage. Not that there's anything wrong with the one I bought last year, or the year before, but just because I want something new. How impractical, huh? Well, for now I'm just going to "look" before I buy. TJ Maxx had a huge selection of these vintage carry-on pieces. Look at the animal print inside the Jessica Simpson one! It was really hard walking out of the store empty handed.

Oatmeal Scrub

I saw this remedy in a health magazine some time a ago and decided to give it a try. I'll be honest, I was a bit hesitant in the beginning and wasn't sure what to expect. After sticking to it for quite some time now and I'm happy with the results.

Oatmeal. Yes, I have started my morning routine with an oatmeal facial cleanse. Now if it's it one thing, I'm really careful when choosing skin care products. My face has been really good to me *knocking on wood* and I plan on keeping it that way. I wash my face twice a day and try to avoid harsh cleansing products. My friends think that I have some secret method to keeping my skin "pimple-free," but really all it is is proper cleansing, sunscreen with a high spf, and avoiding foundations or any type of makeup that clogs the pores.

Oatmeal is said to reduce redness and help treat dry skin. I thought this would be a good help since the cold weather has been beating up my cheeks and forehead lately. This exfoliating technique is so easy and cheap to do at home, I've been urging all my friends to try it.

Here's what I do- I get 2 tablespoons of instant oatmeal and mix it in with enough warm water to dampen it. Then I spread and message it all over my face making sure to cover all the areas (especially my nose and forehead.) I make sure to lean over the sink because bits of oats tend to fall down while I'm scrubbing away. After 30 seconds or so I then rinse off with warm water. I pat my face dry and that's all there is to it.

It's been 2 months since I started this routine and I plan on keeping this as my morning regimen. Now, I found that it doesn't help prevent acne or pimples but it does help in the going away process. My results are a smooth, radiant and well-hydrated looking face.  It's also been very effective in toning down the oils on my T-zone. I'm so glad I gave this au naturale beauty trick a try!

Long Locks

My hair has grown out significantly since the summer of 2010.  I've managed to keep the promise to myself and not cut it until it covered my shoulders. The monthly trimes in the past have now been replaced with vitamins and lots of leave in conditioners. So far so good. Let's see how long this will go.

Rolling in the deep

This is by far my favorite song yet by Adele. I love it, I love, I love it. On the way to work I play it at least 3 times. Wish I had a voice like this talented girl to sing a long though. Notice the girl at 00:42 is thinking the same thing.....

Extra Hot

I was walking around the 99 cent store and came across this. It's bad enough that I like the regular hot cheetos, but now there's xxtra hot! I'm trying to be good by cutting out all unnecessary junk food this year. However, I convinced myself that one little bag wouldn't do any harm.

They were good, but not that much hotter to where it was noticeable.

Gray Jacket

Remember how I was on the hunt for a nice winter jacket? Well, I found one at F21. Not only was it on sale for $30, but it was the last one, which also happend to be my medium size. I love those kind of finds!

Originally, looking at this jacket I planned on wearing it to the Grand Canyon. It didn't turn out to be that way with it's 70 degree weather. Oh well, there's always Korea I guess.

Venturing Off

Christmas Day along with the last two weeks has been very eventful. We spent Christmas with both of our families, which also meant double the food.

Anthony and I both had a 1 week vacation so we decided to seize the opportunity and go somewhere new. We grabbed a group of friends and headed up to one of the natural wonders of the world- The Grand Canyon. Pictures can't justify the true beauty of this place. We spent hours here just hanging out snapping away with our cameras trying to capture each moment.

 Later in the evening we settled down into our hotel room resting with what little energy we had left. When searching for hotel accommodations I always try to pick places that offer free breakfast. Get more bang with your buck, you see? Ahhh, and the beds are always so cozy and comfortable. I always sleep the best in hotel beds.

 The next day we did some sightseeing and walked the little town of Sedona. The scenery there is so beautiful and hard to believe it's even part of the Arizona desert. The mountains gave off such vibrant colors and the weather was perfect for hiking. The best part of traveling is finding souvenirs to take back home with you. The worst is settling for overpriced mediocre food.

 Our last stop was Montezuma's Castle. It's amazing that something this old still stands for people to see. I guess it also helps that the structure was securely built high into the mountain as well.

All in all, we had a good time. It was nice seeing snow for once. It gave us this true Christmas/December feeling to top off our trip. Quick story- Anthony thought it would be cool to stop and park in the snow for pictures. As we tried leaving we realized that the hill we came down on was actually ice. There was no way for us to drive back up onto the road. We were stuck. Luckily, this guy saw us trying to rev our way up, slipping and sliding every which direction.Being a good Samaritan, he stopped to help us out with his super charge truck. He just so happened to have rope and tied our little non 4-wheel drive suv onto his out of the snow. Hurray, indeed. Right after that I took the picture of that sign.Just a reminder of where we could have spent the night if help hadn't came our way. Ha.