Wednesday, October 31, 2007

It's a spooky day in the neighborhood

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Today is Hallowe'en, so I thought I'd post this picture of a house down at the end of my street. It has been decorated as a cemetery since early October. I'm glad it's not the house next to us. Me thinks they went a little overboard.

On a related note, I recommend the post "Top Ten Things to Do for a Catholic Halloween" by Taylor Marshall over at Canterbury Tales.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Before, I didn't really see the need for eyeshadow primers. You see, I bought the Smashbox eyeshadow/lip primer before and it did nothing, absolutely nothing, for me- except maybe reduced the redness of my eyes so then the color appears better. But I can achieve that with a little application of my YSL Touche Elcat. Nevertheless, being the beauty addict that I am, the other day I got the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion after hearing so many rave reviews about it- and now I am a convert.
At first I wasn't sure if I was just having a good eyeshadow day or it was the potion, but after having had 3 good eyeshadow days I am pretty confident that it was the potion. And by "good eyeshadow day" I mean going a whole day (morning till night) with no crease, no smudging and sharp color! Its really quite incredible. I didn't think it was possible. Oh and another point is that it literally glides on and really creates a nice smooth surface for eyeshadow application that really sticks. And no, I did not just copied that from the blurb on Sephora. And since I'm about the most oblivious person around when it comes to the whether a beauty product works game, this product really DOES make a difference! So if you haven't already- I highly recommend it!

Ps. Happy Halloween!

Image Source: Sephora

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Daisy, the Marc by Marc Jacobs Perfume

I'm not a big perfume lover. I spray perfume maybe 10 times a year, usually for nights out. But like most girls, I can't resist browsing at the ever-interesting perfume bottles and sniff all the new scents. There are so many scents that I like, but because of this, I can't possibly buy all the scents I 'like'. Out of all the scents, there's one scent that has grown on me and I have fond memories of, the Marc Jacobs Eau de Parfum. And I've been meaning to buy a bottle for awhile, but I've been slightly hesistant becaues I wasn't sure if the flowery smell was too strong for me to wear for too long of a time so I never got around to buying it.

I was excited when I saw the new ads of Daisy, the Marc by Marc Jacobs scent, in Teen Vogue. It's got that sweet, non-chalent The first time I smelt it, it smelled like any other perfume out there in the market. But at the encouragement of the Marc salesgirls (who told me not to buy the Marc Jacobs perfume but try Daisy instead,) I sprayed both scents onto perfume paper and brought them home to smell for a day. (The salesgirls also told me that their first shipment at the Hong Kong store soldout in 3 days!)

After smelling both scents at least once an hour, I've decided that on the surface, Daisy smelt only like a light, fruity, flowery scent. But later on, the scent smelt musky and most importantly, of Gardenia, the signature scent of the Marc Jacobs perfume. (Yes, I know I think too much before buying things.) According to the Daisy site, Daisy's notes include strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, violet leaves, gardenia, violet leaves, jasmine petals, musk, vanilla and white woods. Not exactly what I smelt, but close enough. And surprisingly, since I've bought it two weeks ago, I've already used it 4 times. Perhaps the reason I haven't been using much perfume before was that I haven't found my right one yet?

What do you think of Daisy? Isn't the bottle simply adorable? Has anyone smelt it or bought it yet?

Image credit: www.sephora.com

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Bold Nail Varnish

Having been a devotee of the pale pink/whitish nail varnish for most of my nail varnish wearing life (seriously, I have about 5 bottles of pale pink varnish in slightly different shades), recently I've finally jumped onto the bandwagon of bold (darker) colored nail varnish. I am not exactly sure what go me into it....perhaps its because everyone on TV has it and since I watch so much TV it has subconsciously filtered into me and displaced my initial notion that bold nail colors look old and trashy. About time too! I think the trick is to keep nails short and rounded. Long and sharp...now that is trashy.

My first bold color obsession: red. Bright red. Mine is a similar color to this, An Affair in Red Square, from OPI, except mine is called Fishnet Stockings from Essi. I just couldn't find the Essi website. But yes, I randomly bought the bottle and tried it on and I LOVED it. Its just so SHARP and cool! I actually spent a few minutes in the mirror checking out my new nail color afterwards! :)
The next color I wanted to try was Purple. But not electric purple. And not reddish purple. Cause then it'll just look too purple. It was a tough choice, but in the end I settled on this Russian Navy, from OPI, which has a bluish, purplish tinge. This one actually took me a while to get used to (I think I'm still trying to get used to it), but I think once winter comes on full force, it'll fit my wardrobe perfectly.

Incidentally the whole new OPI Russian Collection fits my recent fall/winter mood perfectly. Dark, rich colors of blue, purple and red. Its fabulous. Although I'm not sure about the texture. Maybe its just me, but I find them not to go on as smoothly as my Essi ones.

And lastly, HOW does everyone apply their dark nail varnishes? I am phenomenally bad at application. So I try not to mess up by just applying one layer (no, I'm seriously bad) and for these bold colors, its not too bad since its already so strong. But I can't help that I accidentally apply over the edges and then it just looks like a little kid coloring and going outside the lines. Also, a lot of times, I get streaks. HOW am I suppose to DO this properly??? Please help!

Image Source: OPI

On to Ford Field!


The Oiler Marching Band is headed to the state finals at Ford Field for the second year in a row.
Mt. Pleasant's "Socially Numb" show landed in seventh place -- the top 10 bands head for the finals.
Saturday’s Flight III competition begins at 4:35 p.m. The tentative performance time for Mt. Pleasant will be 5:20.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students and senior citizens, cash only. FordField.com lists presale prices of $14 and $10; call Call 313-262-2000 for more information.
Parking is $6 at Ford Field parking facilities

Here are the Michigan Competing Band Association Flight III Standings. Top 10 schools move to the state finals at Ford Field.

School--------------------------------Score-----Above/below bubble
1 Ferndale......................................80.075......12.952
2 Stevensville Lakeshore...............78.025.......10.900
3 Grand Rapids Northview.............76.100…....8.975
4 Farmington Harrison..................75.550........8.425
5 Marysville....................................74.350.......7.225
6 Byron Center...............................73.000.......5.875
7 Mt. Pleasant............................69.575.....2.75
8 Allegan.......................................69.550........2.425
9 Fruitport......................................69.175.......2.050
10 Redford Thurston......................67.125..........0

11 DeWitt.......................................67.075.....-0.050
12 Gibraltar Carlson.......................66.675......-0.450
13 Dearborn Hts Crestwood...........65.800.....-1.325
14 Linden........................................65.250......-1.875
15 Trenton......................................65.075.....-2.05
16 Hazel Park..................................63.600.....-3.525
17 St Clair Shores Lake Shore........59.250.....-7.875
18 St Clair Shores South Lake........57.875......-9.250
19 St Clair Shores Lakeview...........51.375.....-15.750

The field is full of veteran bands.

Ferndale didn’t quite match its phenomenal 80.65 performance at West Bloomfield, turning in a 79.5 to win at Huron Valley. Ferndale is defending champion, winning last year’s event with an 81.80.
Stevensville Lakeshore slid a bit, too. Lakeshore’s score slid from a 78.35 at Jenison to a 77.70 to win the Reeths-Puffer festival.
Lakeshore came into last year’s event with a top ranking, but was surprised by Ferndale. Lakeshore finished second last year with an 80.8.
Grand Rapids Northview continued to improve. It scored a 75.9 at Jenison and a 76.3 at Huron Valley. Northview is an experienced band, finishing fifth in Flight II last year.
Farmington Harrison’s got momentum. It scored a 73.85 at Clarkston, then rolled to a 77.25 at Huron Valley.
Harrison finished third last year at Ford Field.
Marysville is nothing if not consistent. The baseball show scored a 74.35 at West Bloomfield and precisely the same score to win at Durand.
Marysville came in ninth last year.
Byron Center’s best score was a week ago at Jenison; it lost a point at Reeths Puffer. This will be the Byron Center band’s first appearance at Ford Field.
Mt. Pleasant gained nearly three points during the last week of competition. Can the young Oilers keep that momentum?
Allegan’s coming on strong, adding 5.5 points over the last week. Allegan finished fifth last year.
Fruitport couldn’t quite break 70 at Reeth Puffer, scoring a 69.5 after scoring a 68.85 at Jenison. Fruitport finished 10th in 2006.
Redford Thurston squeaked into the top 10 with a 68.15 finish at Huron Valley to go with a 66.1 at West Bloomfield. That gave Thurston just enough – five one-hundredths of a point – to knock DeWitt out of the top 10.
The Thurston band came on strong last year and finished fourth at Ford Field.
Dewitt competed in only two events this year – it didn’t compete at all last year – and scored a 64.6 at Clarkston, followed by a 69.55 at Durand. So, so close, but they’ll get the refund, instead of the bus ride.
Two bands that competed in the Flight III finals last year won’t be there – Comstock Park and Trenton. Comstock Park made the finals in Flight IV this year, but Trenton missed the cut, finishing 15th in Flight III.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Breaking 70

It won't be official until the Michigan Competing Band Association posts the scores, which could be as late as Monday, but it looks as if the Oiler Marching Band is headed back to the state championships at Ford Field.
Mt. Pleasant scored a 71.05 at Durand Saturday. That probably is enough to keep the Oilers in the Top 10 in Flight III.
None of the bands I saw Saturday that were chasing the Oilers -- Trenton, Gibraltar, Dearborn Crestwood, Redford Thurston -- appeared to turn in a strong enough score to propel them past Mt. Pleasant.
I'll post the scores when I get them.

It ain't no dirt road no more

The project has been promised for a very long time, and now, it's reality.
The gravel road in front of our house at Lake Isabella now has been paved. It's just getting much too civilized, I guess.
Next thing you know, we'll be moving to town and moving into some fancy condominium townhouse.
Wait a minute ...

The Siamese Siamese

Minden and Munchen, spotted one recent morning curled up in a chair. Yes, they're tomcats. Yes, they're cuddling each other. Watch for teeth.

Guilty Pleasures

Having had a stressful few weeks, I decided to treat myself to a day of guilty pleasures.
  1. My top guilty pleasure is sleep. And by that I don't mean the usual 8 hours. I mean sleeping for however long and whenever I want. See, I'm not a morning person. Hence I never feel like waking up in the morning. So this morning (afternoon), I woke up late. And then I went for guilty pleasure number 2......
  2. Romance novels. I find the newer novels these days to be much too formulaic and tedious to go through to find a good one. Hence I love reading the old ones that I know are good. The classics never get boring. They are all the same anyway, its just the quality of the writing that differs. Besides, all I'm looking for is a happy ending to escape from the real world. One of my all time favourites is Jill Mansell's, Miranda's Big Mistake. Its super sweet. Mansell is generally pretty good, though I can't say much for her newer books......And while I was reading by the window next to the warm sunlight, I indulged myself some more and rest my eyes whenever I need to.
  3. Next on my list is endless hours of mindless TV shows. These days I watch just about anything, Greys Anatomy, Samantha Who, Gossip Girl (love it), ANTM etc. But my ultimate favourite is still the chic lives of the girls on Sex and the City. I can never get bored of them. They are classic!
  4. And we must not forget nourishment. Guilty pleasure number four: eating ice cream out of the carton. Then you can really eat as much as you want. And the ultimate pleasure of all? Sleep after you eat. I know that it is highly not recommend it. But succumbing to food coma is just the best thing I can imagine. Even if you cannot sleep for the rest of the night after....
  5. But thats ok, because then you can indulge in guilty pleasure number 5: talking on the phone with an old friend and going down memory lane- for hours. 4 hrs and 5 minutes to be exact. There is no path better than memory lane. Now I really want to read all those Christopher Pike books I loved to read when I was 13...... especially Starlight Crystal. Its about this girl who falls in love with this guy but a few days later she had to go on a spaceship that is designed to be a time capsule that observes human evolution over time. And then something goes wrong and there is this huge time warp and....I just remember it being more cool than it sounds now.
  6. Staring into space and letting your mind wander...and closing your eyes for a few minutes whenever you like. Especially nice if you have a nice view or a clear sky to stare at.
  7. And the last of my guilty pleasures? List making. I love list making. I make lists about everything (observe this blog). And diary writing. It really keeps track of your thoughts and clears your head up. Besides- its awfully entertaining to read a year later....especially if you make interesting lists, like new years resolutions and checklists... I highly recommend it.
And this is my list of guilty pleasures I like to indulge in on my "me" time. What are your guilty pleasures?

Image Source: Amazon.com

Friday, October 26, 2007

Curl Your Lashes

Last year, my routine was just tinted moisturiser and blush (on the days I actually wake up on time). This year, I have officially added eyelash curling as the final step.
If you have read any top beauty secret lists in magazines, then you would remember that curling your lashes is always one of them. Curled lashes are supposed to make your eyes look bigger, make you look more awake -basically, brighten up your whole look. I always took this advice very lightly because it seemed that whenever I curled my lashes and applied mascara, my lashes just became straight after 5 minutes, so what's the point? However recently, I've started curling my lashes at the end of my makeup routine. Surprisingly when I get home after school, my lashes are still curled, and sometimes, people even ask me if I have mascara on.
The point I'm trying to make is, try curling your lashes everyday before leaving the house. It takes less than a minute to do and really livens up your eyes! And at the end of the day, you don't even have to wash it off. Convenient huh? Makes me think we should listen to conventional wisdom more often!
Image credit: www.sephora.com

Following the band?

Here are the directions from Mount Pleasant to the Oiler band competitions Saturday:

To Huron Valley from Mount Pleasant:


View Larger Map

Click on "View Larger Map" for detailed, turn-by-turn directions and an interactive Google map.

Mount Pleasant performs at 1; the awards ceremony is at 3:30.

Then it's on the road to Durand:

From Huron Valley to Durand:


View Larger Map

The Oilers perform at 5:45.

Back to Mt. Pleasant for the Gaylord/Mt. Pleasant football game:


View Larger Map

Game time is at 7; the band performs at halftime.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Entering the final week

Oh, man, it's tight. The score at West Bloomfield was good, but not good enough to prevent Mt. Pleasant from sliding a couple of spots into seventh place, entering the final week of competition.
Mt. Pleasant is only 2.05 points above elimination, and it's a given that schools beneath them will see improved scores. There's no coasting heading into the critical Lakeland and Durand festivals.
The sense at practices is focused. These guys know what they need to do.

Here are the Michigan Competing Band Association Flight III Standings. Top 10 schools move to the state finals at Ford Field.


School-----------------------------Score-----Above/below bubble
1 Ferndale......................................75.6.........11.775
2 Stevensville Lakeshore...............73.4...........9.575
3 Farmington Harrison..................72.025.......8.2
4 Grand Rapids Northview.............71.125......7.3
5 Marysville....................................68.35........4.525
6 Byron Center...............................67.475......3.65
7 Mt. Pleasant............................65.875.....2.05
8 DeWitt.........................................64.6.........0.775
8 Fruitport......................................64.6.........0.775
10 Allegan.......................................63.825..........0

11 Dearborn Hts Crestwood...........62.275.....-1.55
12 Gibraltar Carlson.......................62.05.......-1.775
13 Trenton......................................62.025.....-1.8
14 Redford Thurston........................62..........-1.825
15 Linden.........................................61.25.......-2.575
16 Hazel Park..................................60.45.......-3.375
17 St Clair Shores Lake Shore........58.25.......-5.575
18 St Clair Shores South Lake........54.725......-9.1
19 St Clair Shores Lakeview...........48.2........-15.625

Vivienne Tam Dresses

I am constantly amazed at my mom's ability to be so up to date with the latest going ons in fashion. Her latest discovery are the trendy dresses at Vivienne Tam. Surprising isn't it? I've always related her style as western with oriental influence and wouldn't exactly call it trendy. So when my mom told me she'd bought me a dress from there, I was like, what?
Luckily for me, the dresses over at Vivienne Tam seems to have gone through a revival and are much trendier than I'd imagined. The dress my mom got me was this one, except mine is black and made of a woolish material. Now to be honest, when I first saw the dress (and identified it as this one in the catalog), I didn't like it very much. It was past my knees and it has the most awkwardly positioned tie thing in the middle. That is not exactly the most flattering cut. But after playing around with it, I've tied it at the waist, such that a little puffy effect is created and is shorter, which is kind of cute with ankle boots!
This of course got me looking into the rest of the catalog and now I am lusting for more Vivienne Tam dresses! They have more simple casual (kind of shift) dresses. I especially love the grey one in the middle. The color is also so nice and wintery without being too black.

And check out those silver Mary Janes! I WANT a pair. They look so perfect in the winter with all these cute short dresses!
For something more sophisticated, there are these more polished creations. The dress on the right is my favourite! The bottom frills gives it just the right touch of girliness to the otherwise sophisticated and simple design.
Something a little more fun, there are these printed dresses. The rich silver brocade dress is so adorable! And as a side note, I really like that look on the far right (sorry about the bad scanning). Its so simple to achieve too. All I need is to go out and get myself a cute printed mini!

Who would've thought that these creations were Vivienne Tam?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Kate Moss Top Shop AW07 and Christmas Collection

Remember back when the Vogue preview of the Kate Moss Top Shop SS07 collection came out and I was really excited about it? Well, since then I have seen the collection in real life, applauded Photoshop's ability to beautify cheap material and lowered my expectations for the clothes. While I really don't like the idea of Top Shop basically recreating some of Kate's designer wonders from her wardrobe, I can't deny I'm really excited about some of the designs I see.

With this line, you really need to see the clothes in real life before buying anything. The quality is really so-so and the photos you see are really photoshopped (or taken under clever lighting.) For example, this dress in real life? I felt it in real life last week and was surprised by how bad the quality was. The material was coarse and felt cheap.

Another thing I don't completely get about the clothes -some of the tops and dresses are very sheer. Yes I realise you simply have to wear a camisole underneath, but it's hard to find the perfect v-neck camisole to go underneath, preferably made of silk.

When you look through the collections, you would notice that there are sequined T-shirts are an essential part of the collection. The tops aren't bad, but I'm not sure they're worth paying 35pounds (tank on the right) for.

OK, so onto the AW07 and Christmas collection:
When the AW07 collection came out in Aug/Sept, I was disappointed. What's with these preppy clothes? The school girl look is cool up to a point, and pink is certainly past that point.

The one thing I've been eyeing has been this Zig Zag dress. Thankfully I've been too indecisive to buy it, and it just went on sale on topshop.com. Obviously I've bought it now. I love the side where the dress is short and the tie around the neck -gives the dress a unique, stylish twist.

After the disappointing AW07 collection, the new Christmas collection is about to be released. From the photos I've seen so far from topshop.com, Gracia magazine and ID, the Christmas collection looks way more fabulous. There are some really cool, edgy little dresses -perfect for the coming Christmas and New Year parties!

I LOVE this dress, especially the patterned beads that look like a belt! It looks so stylish and pretty in the image. I'm trying not to get too excited though, because the dress could possibly be of bad quality in real life.

This ID image got me excited about this Deco style dress. It's fun, edgy and trendy. I love how the sequined top has a solid fit, and the bottom chiffon skirt bit is soft and flowy.

Here's the Deco dress again on the right. On the left is a dress that looked decent in Gracia magazine but looks kind of cheap on the topshop webstie. I'm still hoping to try it on in real life though. Who knows?

And then there's this pleated mini dress. When topshop describes it as mini, it really does looks supremely mini. it doesn't even go down to Kate's legs in the ID image! But hopefully it won't be that short on me since I'm short anyways. It looks demure on the top, but short and young at the bottom.

The Christmas collection is supposed to hit stores on 25th Oct -that's this Thursday. I can't wait! I only hope Top Shop stocks enough of my size for once. Clothes-shopping-wise, there's nothing more annoying than finding a design you like and the shop doesn't have your size left.

Image credit: www.topshop.com, ID magazine images

Monday, October 22, 2007

Wedding photos


Melisa and I went up to Kansas City this weekend for a wedding. My sister, Mary Elizabeth, married Matthew Krogmeier on Saturday at Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Overland Park, KS. I was able to get a few pictures. Click on the images for larger versions.


Here I am with the bride and our mother Debbie Opel.


Here I am with my father, Bob Matkin.


Who are those lovely ladies? Here I am with my grandmother Mary Ann Smith and my mother Debbie.


Here I am with my stepfather Steve Opel.


Here I am with my mother Debbie before walking her into the church.


Here I am with Steve and Mom at the reception.


Here I am taking a closer look at the cake.

On Friday before the rehearsal, we did some sight-seeing around Kansas City. Melisa found a doll museum for us to visit in Kansas City Missouri, and then we went to Independence Missouri to see the great Temple of the Community of Christ (formerly, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the largest group of Mormons that did not follow Brigham Young to Utah).


The Temple, constructed in the 1990s, is a representation of God's creation based upon the design of the nautilus shell. The Temple is dedicated to the pursuit of world peace.

The acoustics are amazing inside the sanctuary; I imagine it must be wonderful to listen to music in that space.

Above, is the pipe organ in the sanctuary. Below, is the stained glass at the end of the spiral on the bottom of the building. It represents the local terrain of the area.

You may be wondering, Why Independence, Missouri? The answer is that the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun., received a divine revelation that Jesus would return to earth in that place and the New Jerusalem would be built there.

Above, is a sculpture of Christ over a grand staircase in the Temple. Below, is an oil painting of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun. We got to see the original, which stayed with the Smith family in Missouri, but were not allowed to photograph it ourselves.



There were works of art throughout the Temple. Above, in the lobby was this powerful sculpture about the suffering of hunger in the Ethiopian famine. Below is a quilt celebrating the creation and the pursuit of peace.

The Hills Season 3

Season 3 of The Hills is rumoured to be its last season, (because supposedly, Lauren doesn't want cameras to follow her everywhere anymore.) I don't know how many of you watch the Hills or read enough paprazzi to know drama between the characters, but I'm not going to get into it here. Yes, I know the so-called 'reality' isn't quite reality, but sometimes it's just funny watching how dumb and annoying people can get. Plus even more importantly, their clothes look too fantastic not to watch! It's sort of like watching a 'reality', Lalaland-version of Sex and the City mixed with Gossip Girl.

The first thing that I noticed about Season 3 is that the clothes have become more fabulous than before! In episode 1, Audrina looked amazing in this silver dress, (which is by Alice + Olivia). It's perfect for this summer (short, super short,) and a good choice for a date + clubbing.

Throughout the season, there has been scenes of Lauren and Whitney at the Teen Vogue office. Strangely (uh huh,) they didn't actually do much other than compliment on each other's clothes and reviewing Lauren's feelings about things that had just happened to herself. It's always nice to see the clean, pretty interior of the office of Teen Vogue.
And there are scenes of Heidi and Spencer being annoying together. I swear Heidi's decisions never really make sense to me. And Spencer should really shave everyday.

In Season 3, Heidi has felt the need to flash her new assets every oppurtunity possible. Those dresses are seriously low-cut!

Somehow I feel like I've got a similar personality as Lauren, so I really like watching Lauren's funny expressions and reactions to situations.

We're going to miss Lauren's headbands!

One thing I really liked about the show was the group hanging out at cool hot spots. Everything just looks so chic.

Maybe even more importantly, the girls just talking with themselves. It's so nice to hear sort of normal conversations on TV. It's sort of like watching yourself talk with your friends, except they live together (-so jealous!) And any show that has such a strong friendship element in it is definitely my thing!

And of course I'm going to miss the drama. Real or not, it's just so entertaining!

Thankfully, (unfortunately if you hate them,) the cast will probably still be attending events and be photographed for another while. I can't wait to see them in new, fun party dresses. Here, the girls are at the The Hills' Season 3 premiere party. The FCUK dress Lo's wearing is still available at FCUK stores in a few colours. It's actually affordable so I really have to get myself to a store to try it on!
This is one of my favourite Lauren outfits. LOVE the Alexander Wang dress on her. It's prettier and chicer than most of her plain dresses, but still simple enough to be 'her'.

I read that they're still filming. When is Season 3 going to end? I hope not anytime soon because it's one of the things where I get LA style inspirations from. Anyways, the Hills is still on air so don't forget to tune in!

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