Winter in Vegas

I recently took a trip to Las Vegas with my boyfriend. We left on a Sunday and stayed three nights. I really enjoy visiting Vegas in the winter time, especially during the weekdays. The weather is usually nice, it's not too crowded, and you don't have to wait in line for anything you might want to see. In my opinion, it's so much better than visiting in the summer when it's 110 degree weather because the heat makes it miserable. Some of the highlights of the trip were sipping cocktails at the Chandelier Bar in the Cosmopolitan and the Mix Lounge in Mandalay Bay, dancing at Moon in the Palms, watching the Jabbawockeez perform at the Monte Carlo, and visiting Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in the Venetian. We were able to pack in a lot of other touristy things and a little slot machine action as well. Overall it was a very nice trip, and I miss being there already.

What do you like to do in Vegas?

Gold Coin

I love gold nail polishes, especially during the holidays! This is one from Revlon that I have been enjoying a lot lately. What's even better is that I got it for free using coupons! Sweet.

What are your favorite holiday nail colors?

Beauty Station

One of my favorite things in my room is the little station that I have set up. I don't have a large room so everything is condensed into one little area. I also don't like to have a lot of knickknacks on display, so bins and shelves were out of the question. Instead I took what once was used as a computer desk and turned it into storage for everything I could ever need for getting ready. It was perfect. I could have everything within arm's reach and could hide it all once I was done. I love it!

This desk was a thrift store find! It was sanded and stained. It has seven drawers in total, with three on each side and one in the middle.

Makeup is separated into categories and organized into bins or pencil trays that were purchased at the dollar store. Makeup brushes and hair tools are separated into tin pails that were purchased the dollar section at Target.

All of my hair products fit into one drawer. All of my hot hair tools are placed in a clay flower pot.

How do you organize your makeup and other beauty related products?

Homemade Sugar Scrub

I don't know about you or how it is where you live, but the cold winter weather where I am is taking some toll on my skin. I've always wanted to try a sugar scrub to help with exfoliation, but instead of going out and buying a jar I decided to concoct my own. Part experiment, part I'm too cheap to buy something that I have the ingredients to make. I looked up several recipes and after seeing what goes in a basic scrub, I came up with my own mix. I just eyeballed the measurements, but pretty much three-fourths of the mix is sugar and one-fourth is a mix of everything else. I took the mixture and put it in a glass jar (a thrift store purchase!) that I could keep in my shower. Totally living up to my self proclaimed diy bargain ways :)

I'm excited to try this! What are some of your cold winter skin tips?

Movie Marathon

Tonight I had a Harry Potter movie night with the girls. However, we only got about 20 minutes of actual movie watching accomplished. We ended up chatting, catching up, and watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show that I still had recorded on my dvr. Ps my new favorite holiday drink is hot chocolate with a little peppermint schnapps stirred with a candy cane. Delicious!

Pretty Petals

I took my very plain, very boring nail color and turned it into something a little more fun. Still neutral colors, but with a little more interest. I'm thinking that I need another trip to the dollar store soon so I can pick up more L.A. Colors Art Deco nail art lacquer. I definitely need a lot more practice, but they're so fun!

Monogram Pinata

It was my birthday a couple of months ago, and I took it upon myself to decorate with a lot of diy and thrift store projects. I meant to post pictures before the party, but the stress of getting ready for it probably got to me. For some reason I also decided it was a good idea to prepare all of the food. I don't know why I do these things to myself. But in the process of researching party themes and ideas, I learned how to make my own pinata! It was really easy to make and added a fun, personalized touch. All it took was a large cardboard box, masking tape, tissue paper, and a hot glue gun. Mine didn't come out perfectly, but it wasn't bad for a first attempt. I will definitely try to hone my diy pinata skills any chance I get from now on!

A Very Eventful Saturday

NOT! Unfortunately, I didn't have many plans. What did I do? Let's see, I ran some errands (the boring kind!), got some pizza, and watched tv with my boyfriend. That about sums up my day. The only thing that has slightly amused me was the fact that my hair held out all day despite the fact that I put minimal effort into it. Why is it when I don't try my hair looks just the way I want it to- wavy, bouncy, voluminous. But when I actually want it to be something special, it's a mess! I have no hair talent. I didn't have anywhere to go tonight, so I was stuck at home and resorted to taking pictures of myself to provide some entertainment. Enjoy :)

End self-taken photos.
On a brighter note, I have a couple of things to look forward to next week. Monday night, some girlfriends are coming over to have Christmas themed cocktails and sweets combined with a Harry Potter marathon. Can't even describe how excited I am! I'm planning on baking gingerbread men, snickerdoodles, and peanut butter chip cookies. With that we're having a little peppermint schnapps hot chocolate and peppermint martinis paired with some peppermint bark. Keyword is PEPPERMINT. I think we just threw in all of the peppermint stuff to be able to call it a holiday get-together, but really we just want alcohol and girl talk. You know, it's just classier that way. Also, on Sunday night I will be on my way to Vegas! Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't go out this weekend. I'm saving all my energy for things to come!

Ribbons to Roses

I like to make things when I'm bored. I believe I was in a math class and needed some way to keep myself from falling asleep so I came up with a way to make paper roses out of those long notebook pieces that are left over from tearing a sheet out. I started making them like crazy until I realized they'd be much prettier if they were made out of a different material. That's when I started making them out of ribbon. I think they're really fun and easy to make. I've stuck them on headbands, glued them to rings, used them to decorate gift wrap, put them on chains to use as necklaces, made miniature ones and sewed them together as a bracelet.. just about everything. You can also make them out of cloth, tissue paper, whatever works!

Putty Concrete

I'm a fan of neutrals on nails. I have issues with nails clashing with outfits, and I like that a neutral color is always a no-brainer. It goes with everything. Today, I chose Putty Concrete by Icing. I believe I got it on clearance for about $2, but I actually like a lot of their polishes. A lot of them are chip resistant. They also go on smoothly and dry quickly, which is good because I'm impatient when it comes to drying nails. I'm also not the best painter so it's such a hassle when my nails become ruined when I don't wait long enough for them to dry thoroughly. Means I have to start all over again, and that is no bueno. This particular color is opaque after just one coat, but I put on two after applying a base coat. I'm mostly a fan of grays, taupes, and golds so this color definitely fits the bill. I know it's such a boring color, or lack of color actually, but I love it :)