Pa pa pa pa paparazzi!

Yup, that's me, lugging around the D3000 just to take pictures of our team lunch for a coworkers birthday. You see how cheesy I am!? We went to Houston's/Woodmont Grill and the service was piss poor. None of us knew we were being recorded until we got back to the office! I was called the papparazzi by my coworkers b/c "out of nowhere" I pulled out this huge camera! I was the center of the joke once again , haha. 

Here's a summary of the service

Minus's:

1) Never given a wait time for a party of 6 (not entirely their fault...some people will sit there for hours on end after paying for their chk)

2) Waitress was slightly condescending.

3) Waitress gave me the stink eye when I asked for Texas Toast, which is free with each entree (they don't tell anyone b/c they don't want to fill you up with buttered toast so you can order more food). Only workers know about this and old time customers, I didn't even know they served it until after I left them! She hesitated to respond to my question and said "uh, yeah", totally took her by surprise.

4) Asked for a condiment three times before it was received.

5) Asked for a second set of texas toast (to a manager) and didn't receive it, and this was after I told the manager my food was missing when everyone else had food...so that's #6

7) Returned artichokes that had no meat at all.

8) Asked if the brownie had ice cream, we were told no, so we ordered the brownie and ice cream sundae, turns out the brownie had ice cream.

9) Tried to seat us in a 5 seater booth and we insisted a 6 seater booth would be best since we are 6...but we got it.

I'll stop right there, I really hope it's not illegal to vent my feelings on the service received. If so, can someone tell me, please.

Pluses:

Lunch was very good, so was dessert. I had the Thai Steak Salad (delish!) My team is really fun and awesome, love them. Overall, I can look beyond the service and just remember it was a great experience and we know to go there when it's less busy now.  
Question for my readers, was I asking for too much and am I overreacting?

Did you notice I screamed a tad bit too loud for a restaurant...lol

Para la proxima!

Put your money up!

This will be a short post. Just wanted to show you the palette I was fooling around with on the mac website (btw - I do a lot of my shopping there, about 30% of my MAC purchases are on the website).

As you can see by the palette, I like conservative colors...I am still unsure if ordering this way is best, it comes out to $12.51/color (including tax and the palette) which is pretty good for Mac eye shadows. The palette totals $177.00. Since I just purchased the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland limited edition set today during lunch, I will hold off on buying a palette for some months now!

Has anyone else played around with the customizable palette's on the mac website?

By the way, I still love blogging! I know I haven't posted, but I swear I have been taking mad amounts of pictures and collecting reviews and event pics and more, lol. My life is going at a million miles per hour, so please bare with me and don't forget about me, pleaaaaase

Yes, I was interviewed

The fabulous Jenn interviewed me and here are the results (can you believe I responded to everything via my blackberry on google chat???).

One on One with Jenn featuring apetitediva!

 This Petite diva talks about everything from having confidence to how to get amazing skin!

When did you become a make up junkie?

apetitediva: Watching my mom put on her red lipstick everyday.

That's too cute! Are you also a red lipstick wearer?

apetitediva:  Yes, I am red lipstick wearer!

 What brands are currently your "staple?"

apetitediva:  On a daily, MAC, NYX, shu uemura, eco tools, mary kay, loreal, mark

I love the fact that you don't only use high end products! What is your favorite l'oreal product?

apetitediva:  Lineur Intense felt tip liquid eyeliner

Ahh! So that's how you get your liner so perfect! I have for the girl's out there..What foundation do you use and do you have any tips?

apetitediva:  Tips: for a perfect airbrushed foundation finish, use a stippler brush and make sure you set it with a powder. I recommend finding a microdermabrasion systemthat works for you and use it 2-4 per month. I use Mary Kay's Microdermabrasion set. Also, moisturize twice daily (even if you have oily skin). My hg foundation is MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NW30, but recently I've been loving Revlon's PhotoReady in 006, I still don't have a final verdict on it, all I can say for now is your skin cannot have any dry skin patches, it will show, but I can say the same with MAC, so exfoliate please.

These girls better be taking notes! I've never tried microdermabrasion, why is it important to you?

apetitediva:  We all want an even complexion, besides drinking water and avoiding sugar, microdermabrasion is the next best way to clear it up. Microdermabrasion will help unclog pores and remove the surfaces accumulated dead skin cells. It'll also promote your surface skin cells to renew and increase collagen production. It's safer than chemical peels and a lot of people can't handle that.

Great information! Now I know why you have amazing skin! Do you have any advice for newbies in the beauty community?

apetitediva:  First off, makeup isn't necessary to be beautiful. Trust me I walk around w/out makeup some days and I'm still confident in my beauty. I'll be honest, reading blogs, watching youtube videos and qvc/hsn are great resources. I love shopping at Nordstrom & Sephora b/c of their lax return policy, so if a new product doesn't work for me, I can go back, explain my issue and a sales associate will help me pick up what's right. Don't ever be afraid to ask for help from a sales associate.

Go to her blog, she is such a cutie and sweetheart! She posts consistently, unlike someone else we all know...hint hint...me...haha. 

Go here to visit her blog!

Thank you, Jenn for interviewing me, it was challenging to say the least!

YouTube Update & Giveaways!

Yes, I did another winter storm video, it's actually a pretty boring and dumb video, I made it very short so I won't waste too much of your time, lol.

I've got some AMAZING giveaway's in this post, if you've never done one, now is the time!

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Mara has hit 100 followers and in honor of that milestone, she is giving away the following!

Enter here and good luck!!

Giveaway ends 2/19/10

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Sarah is in the mood to give stuff away!

Enter here and good luck!!

Giveaway ends 2/19/10

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OOTD, Marshall's, Ebay & Trader Joe's Haul

This is what I normally wear to work:

Any shirt/blouse
Sometimes a cinching belt @ the waist
Dress pants (most of them are Victoria's Secret & Express)
Stuart Weitzman 50/50 OTN boots (which I've been wearing everyday for over 3 months in a row and shows almost NO wear whatsoever! Not even the sole!)
Stud diamond earrings (that's all for jewelry, anything else gets in the way!)

I typically go for super simple and comfortable as you can see.

The white top was a new shirt from Marshalls, it was $7 and it had raised shoulders! I wanted one in black, but they were sold out in my size. I'll go back to see if they have more!

Hope you like!



How I love the postman!! I received a perfume that's been on my wishlist forever!!

I ordered the refill versus the actual bottle (it's half the price) and I bought an atomizer from Sephora a while ago for $10, click here to purchase.

I have loved Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb since the first day I bought a MAC item (which was in June of 2008). I was in Nordstrom @ Tyson's Mall and something just smelled so divine I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I refused to pay upwards to $150 for 3.4oz of EDP, I refuse to buy smaller sizes and EDT's, if that's all there is, fine, but I like to get the most bang for my buck. So I held off on buying it for this long! Glad I got it!! The ebayer that sold it to me sent it with a sprayer, so in case I didn't have an atomizer, I could still use it immediately!
Purchase the perfume from the ebay seller here

I've already put some in the atomizer!
I dropped by F21 again and couldn't resist a couple items!

I loooove this Ruffled Zipper Blouse!

I adore the Ruffles!

I really needed a wallet so I grabbed this one for $7.80!

I also passed by Marshall's and picked up these $9.99 Jeggings! This is from the same day I picked up the white shirt fom my OOTD above.

I really love the beauty and health products @ Trader Joe's. If you've been following me from the beginning, you'd remember a previous haul including a couple of these items!
I already used some JoJoba oil on the tips of my hair over night, it did help with the texture after one day, I have to keep at it to achieve beautiful tips!

You think you KNOW me?! Shoooo

Thank you Andrea!

Here's the instructions:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award

2. Paste the award on your blog

3. Link the person who nominated you for the award

4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself

5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominated.

7 Interesting Facts About Me:

1. I have 3 brothers and 1 step-sis (over 15 aunts and uncles just on my mother's side)

2. I'm still unsure as to what career path I want to take

3. I love living in the DMV (DC, MD, VA area) but the hubby and I wanna move to MIA

4. I'm addicted to TV, blogs and youtube.

5. I have crazy food cravings, but I really want and try to eat healthy.

6. I love to dance and sing my heart out (I think I suck a both...in fact, I KNOW)

7. I'm 27 years old & married to my best friend, we've been together almost 7 years now.

I nominate everyone!!!

Thanks again Andrea! =)

TAG - 10 things that make you smile like a fat kid with cookies (that's me btw!)!

Rules: List ten things that makes you happy and do one of them today. Oh. And remember to link to the person who tagged you and pass this little bit of love on to 10 others. Thanks Jessica for tagging me!

1. My family - they mean the world to me, including all my brothers and sisters in Christ! & My Friends!!!!

2. Food - a little too much lately!!! I blame the winter and snow storm! (Officially 26 inches in my area!!)

3. Reading a book. Currently reading "The Duchess"

4. Sitting on the couch watching TV with my husband - I love him so much!!!

5. SHOPPING!!! ONLINE & IN STORE

6. Blogs & YouTube

7. Work, it's a huge challenge but it's better than being BORED!

8. Bubble Tea!

9. Cleaning and Organizing!

10. Giving back to my community!

I pass this on to everyone!!

First Youtube video!! - UPDATE

But it's not beauty related, wah wah! Sorry guys, I just wanted to show you some of the snow. G went out this morning and was stuck in a parking lot for 3 hours! He had to dig himself out, he dug out an area of at least 30x40 feet so his truck could get some traction, the snow is just sooo high =/

btw - forgive the double chin and medusa hair, I had it in a braid and it was just not cooperating!

Also, here are some shots from yesterday's snow (just the beginning!!)

Here's what I wore to get through the snow! Love these boots! Got them for $39 at Marshalls last Fall.

I typically reserve the weekends to make pancakes and they turned out so good! I added some All natural Maple syrup sweetened with Agave.

I love making instant coffee, I know that sounds tacky, but I do! I was too lazy to pull out the espresso machine to make espresso and froth my milk (that sounded naughty...lol).

Here's what I used to prep my coffee.

I blended the sugar, evaporated milk and coffee crystals before adding the hot water.

This is how it turned out!

This is what I've been listening to all day :)

I've had such a great time at home, all I've done is eat, eat, eat, watch tv, barely logged onto my mac, clean the kitchen, take a loooong bubble bath and record the 1 minute youtube video. I created one a few months ago but it was 11.5 minutes (max time is 10 minutes) and I don't know how to edit the video...even though I know I have the proper applications to do so...ugh, I really need to do some research so I can finally post that video, funny thing is I don't even remember what was on it, I may not want to post it anymore. Okay, now I'm just rambling (as you can tell by my video).

So, the question here is, should I start youtube videos? I'm scared of all the negativity. I've heard some people prefer a youtube channel v. a blog b/c it takes more time to update a blog, I can understand that, but I don't know if I wanna make the youtube jump just yet, and I def don't wanna let go of my blog. In the end, I have to just try to record some videos.

bahhh - I forgot to add the boba pictures, G & I picked this up before we honkered down at home, we couldn't go too long without one of these!

G got a Chocolate Smoothie with double Tapioca, I got the same but in Watermelon, sooooooooo yummy!!

Time was of the essence! MAC & F21, Oh My!

I left work very late a few days ago and I had one whole hour to return a jacket at F21 and I decided to get a couple accessories and drop by Nordies MAC counter. Here's what I picked up:

F21 makeup brushes & eyelashes

The brush laying down is the softer of the two.

I didn't really glue these on, I just laid them atop my lashes (super stiff and plasticky)

Then I started to have fun with the shots

MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

I was afraid it was too little powder for too much money, the MUA assured me it would last a long time, she claims she's had hers for over 2 years and still going!

Softest powder I've even encountered!

from www.maccosmetics.com

"A silky finishing powder that provides an invisible way to set makeup. Reduces shine while optically minimizing the look of pores, lines, imperfections. Available in one universal colour that suits all shades. Wear over makeup or on bare, moisturized skin."

I mainly picked this up to set my MAC moisturecover concealer (under-eye), which I attempted to set with every powder I own and the results were horrendous. Granted, it takes less than 40 seconds for it to crease on me, so I have to work fast to set it, but when I do set it with this powder, it's beautiful!!

This powder is very finely milled, softer than any other powder I have encountered!! Will I repurchase? Yes, hopefully in two years time!

So ladies, what do you use to set your under-eye concealer? Have you tried this powder, if so, has it become your HG powder?

btw- about 15 inches of snow is on the ground so far, we may be hitting 30 inches by tonight, the Dec 19th storm was the 7th largest snow storm, this may very well be #1. I just hope people don't lose power/water and that they all have something to eat. The lines at grocery stores for the past couple days have been super duper long and shovels have been sold out for days. I was luckily let out of work at noon and got a chance to go home before I got stuck at work without a car and without public transportation. All buses were told to stop running @ 9 pm Fri night and won't begin to run again until Sunday at earliest. I don't know why, but I'm really loving this storm, even though the wind is blowing like I've never seen and the snow is pilling up higher than I've ever seen, there's a certain peaceful feeling to it. If you are affected by this storm and you're told not to drive, please take their advice. Last Saturday it snowed about 8 inches and I must have seen at least 15-20 accidents. Please be safe everyone!

My first attempt at doing someone's makeup

Nathalie asked me to do a little work on her with some makeup and I GLADLY jumped at the opportunity!! I've only done eye shadow and blush for other people, never attempted a full face!

Check out what I used:

Before:

After:

So, since I really suck at writing, I prefer for the pictures to do all the talking for me. 

I really hope she liked it and that she'll let me try again, and again! Now before I start getting "mean" comments, I do admit I'm not very good, I know the e/s is uneven, I didn't set the concealer right and I wished I could do foundation (didn't have her shade), BUT, I do not claim to be a pro or anything of the sort. 

Sorry for being MIA guys, to be honest, work has never been so busy for me (in my life). 

I swear I have a million gazillion pics and reviews to post, but the time just doesn't permit! Enough with complaints, I just wanted to apologize to my lovely and gorgeous readers! 


BTW - We're supposed to get another mini blizzard, 16-40 inches of snow is forecasted, it starts Friday and ends Saturday night, hopefully the hubby will let me get on my mac to write more posts! I don't mind the snow so much, we had 6 inches a couple days ago, 8-12 inches this past Saturday and the Dec 19th storm was crazy, I was in my house I think for 3 or 4 days straight! I say bring it on, we haven't had a winter like this in forever!