Yes, I dropped three-hundred out of the blue today. Well, not really out of the blue—I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. I’m just surprised I actually took the plunge that I didn’t think I’d take.

Next up is a 40-46″ LCD HDTV. I’m so indecisive about big purchases. I’ve been reading so many reviews and ratings, and I feel even more confused than before. Oh, and the reason behind it all:

Final Fantasy XIII. Come to me, please. Final Fantasy XIV, Uncharted 2, Assassins Creed 2, and God of War 3 are also welcome.

I’ve never done this before, but I think it makes for a decent post. I’ve seen it done by other bloggers, but never by a male. So think of it as a guy’s (not-so-manly) take on beauty products. You’ll notice none are fancy products, but they still get the job done. And well enough for my liking. Descriptions are eft to right, first row then second.

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Balm (Bath & Body Works / $7.50) — I recently discovered this chapstick and fell in love. I had previously used Bigelow’s Mentha lip balm (great for anyone who loves mint…and soft lips) but decided to give this a try during a five-dollar-lipcare sale B&BW was having. Yum yum, this stuff tastes literally just like super sugary lemonade and does a great job at keeping my lips unchapped. The only complaint I have is that it’s so tastey, it’s sometimes hard to resist licking it off my lips right away.

Nivea A Kiss Of Moisture Lip Balm (Target / $2) — A nice secondary chapstick. It’s flavorless, but has a slight fresh scent. I have a few of these everywhere—my car, bedside table, work apron, etc. It’s a little pricier than your old 99-cent chapstick, but both the quality and design make it worth it. The glue-stick-like tube is the same as the Bigelow stuff and has not yet once twisted itself into a mess like other lipbalms have in my pocket/bag.

Clean & Clear Advantage Spot Acne Treatment (Target / $6) — This tiny tube seems a bit pricey for its size, but does what it claims (that being ‘reduces pimple redness and size after just one use’ or something like that). After washing my face in the shower and in the morning before work, I dab little bits of this directly onto zits and problem areas. It’s clear and doesn’t dry crusty like other similar products. Downside: I’ve learnt that if you use it more than twice a day (just like stated on the package) it will dry the heck out of your skin. Sure, the pimple is gone, but you’ll be left with flakey, peeling skin which admitedly looks worse.

Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Wash (Target / $5) — I seriously live by this stuff. Every day in the shower, I scrub my face with this using my rough Axe loofah. Not going to lie, it seriously feels like it burns the top ten layers of your skin off (I’m sure it actually does) but it’s the only thing I’ve found that keeps those pimples away. The only reason I have the occasional zit here and there is because I miss a day of using this.

Clean & Clear Blackhead Cleansing Scrub (Target / $5) — This only gets out occasionally when I have a blackhead or two. It also seems to help keep my backne (ugh) under control.

N.Y.C. Coverup Stick (Target / $1) — I’m not big on makeup. However, I do use this coverup stick to help hide red blemishes. It’s only ninety-nine cents and as a result, it’s definitely not the best. But for a boy who isn’t too concerned about his skin, it does the job to slightly hide imperfections. And seriously, you can’t beat the price.

Tigi Bed Head After Party (Target / $18) — Okay, so this stuff is pretty pricey but it’s definitely worth it. As of the holidays, I’ve recently acquired a collection of Target giftcards so I don’t even feel bad about the price. The label says to use a dab on dry hair. I, however, like to use it while I’m blowdrying my hair. I wait until I’m almost close to being done but the hair is still a little damp. Leaves my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth and the smell is absolutely heavenly.

Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner (Target / $3 & $3) — I’ve heard bad things about this brand of shampoo, but have never had a problem with any of them. I mean, they’re definitely not the best, but they’re cheap and smell too good to pass up. This past week, I started using Color Me Happy and I’m not going to lie—the smell isn’t the greatest, but it seems to be helping maintain my haircolor. I’m accustomed to using Drama Clean or None Of Your Frizzness (both which smell heavenly) and will probably switch back when the dye wears out of my hair or I run out of shampoo (whichever comes first).

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Cream (Target / $5) — Recently disovered this gem. Some days I’ll go for a messy look, and while that usually comes naturally for me, this stuff helps keep it together. What I like to do is put a veryyyyyyy tiny amount in my hands and rub it around then go over my entire head of hair. To keep ends clumped together, it’ll go in with a bit more. One thing that drives me nuts, is the container it’s in. I wish it were in a squeeze tube isntead of this obnoxious tub. I seem to make such a mess with it.

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Serum (Target / $3) — I’ve seen this for a while but only recently decided to try it. This stuff makes me hair SUPER sleek and soft—so much that it almost feels thinner. I like to keep this for days when my hair is super thick and wirey (especially when it’s humid). This works similarly to the Bed Head cream, but when using this a very tiny bit goes a long way. The first time i used it I joked with a friend, saying “I swear this stuff is just scented vegetable oil” due to it’s slick runny feeling. Vegetable oil or not, it works fabulously. While nearly all the stuff I listed smells good, this along with the Bed Head cream smells the most fruity and delicious.

Vidal Sassoon Nano Straightening Iron (Target / $25) — Oh man, I love this little guy. I’ve been using a flat iron for years now. Usually (some days, but not nearly as much as before) not to get pin-straight hair, but rather to get rid of out of place curls/waves. For some reason, the right hair on the right side of my head curls, while the left doesn’t. I fell in love when I saw this at Ulta a few months ago and was joking “it’s so cute I’d even get it being that it’s pink”. Soon after, found it at target in more than just pink (blue, green, etc) and picked it up. Surely it’s no CHI, but for what I’m using it for, I don’t need anything fancy. The best thing about it other than the sleek design is it’s small frame and ability to stay to cool on the outside.

And what have we done? Another year over, a new one just begun.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone’s having as much fun as I am.

This is me as of lately. Just enjoying the autumn weather.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, New Year. I’m ready.

I’ll say it right now: weddings are starting to grow on me. I’ve never really had a thing for them—probably because all I’ve attended have been cliche and kitschy. It’s the design and photography that I’ve seen in recent years that have slowly dragged me over to the dark side. I’ve come to respect wedding planning and realize how much of an art-form it really is.

What has really gotten me lately is the work of Jose Villa, a wedding photographer from southern California. While scrolling through one of my favorite blogs (decor8), I was smacked in the face by some of the most beautiful scenes ever captured on film. I’ve slapped a few (okay, more than a few) of my favorite shots on here for the rest of the world to drool over.

Oh, yeah. Here we go. I saved the best (er, my favorite) for last. You can add me to the list of people who have written about this adorable couple. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the most blogged about wedding of all time. I’m serious—after doing a bit of research on Jose, most results ended in a display of his photos of Chelsea and Tec’s wedding. But, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Kudos to the happy couple for having great style and personality—and for showcasing it in their wedding. The yellow shoes, striped socks, and colorful two-seater are super cute and quirky.

These last two photos were taken on the day before their wedding, I believe—a series of cute little engagement shots.

I’m seeing more and more unique weddings and loving it. Anything far from the usual makes me smile. So, keep them coming, lovebirds.

PS: Thanks Holly! You’re to blame for the hours spent looking at these photographs. Haha, it’s not a bad thing though—it was time well spent!

Ugh. I haven’t posted here in weeeeeeeeks. I’ve started my internship which is 5 days a week 9-5 (usually more like 9-6) and the few hours in the evening are usually spent on dinner and napping. I don’t think I can handle a full-time job. I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

Anywho, that aside. I need these plates:

Not the macarons. I don’t give a crap about those. But the pointy plates…oh man. They remind me of the comma plates from CB2, but not curved.

I’ll write some more later. I’m beat. I just made and decorated CMYK cookies at Beth’s.

Remember (like eighteen years ago) how I said I was doing an independent study on window display designs? Well, I finally set up my first installation last week. It’s not exactly how I wanted it, so I’ll tweak it a bit when I head out this week to set up window two, but it came out fairly decent, I’d say.

Here I am halfway done. What I expected to take only an hour or two turned out to be a much longer job. All the windows in the store had hooks for hanging things, except the first one which I was working with. After two trips to Lowes, lunch at Panera, and a stop at Michaels, I was finally getting to it. Can’t say that I’ve ever been on a fifteen-foot ladder before installing drywall toggles and hooks from an eighteen-foot ceiling before…but I liked it for some reason. The best part was everyone outside (and inside the store) watching and saying, “ohhh look at that!” Thanks for raising my self-esteem, Promenade shoppers.

I’m pretty sure Sage stole my iTunes library. While working my butt off, I heard a ton of Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, The Postal Service, Jem, Eisley, and Regina Spektor. Unfortunately a Fall Out Boy song came on every once in a while (which stuck out sorely in the playlist). I lived, though.

I painstakingly cut the letters out of foamcore and built them up with little chunks for filler to give them some depth (I think an inch and a half or so). Super77′ed the heck out of them, and then go to wrapping. “Spring” is made of a grey, white, tan, green, and chartreuse yarn, spanish moss, and twigs. “Forward” is straight up yarn.

I drew my inspiration from birdnests and the good little stuff they find that they decorate with. I remember as a kid always seeing birdnests in the backyard that had fabric, strings, or a ribbons in them and thinking, “I wonder where they found that…”

Ugh, it was so hard getting a decent shot. By the time I got done, it was dark and the lighting was terrible—glares galore. I borrowed Beth’s XT but it had a fixed-length lens on it and it made things even harder. That stenciled on patterns are (or will be soon) gone hopefully.

Okay, that’s about all I feel like saying. Long story short: I love designing window installations, but just for fun. It’s tiring. Oh yeah, and the store I’m working with is amazing. It’s sort of like an urban outfitters or something trendy, but also for a more mature audience. I saw a ton of older women come in and check out designer stuff, as well as a bunch of teenagers.

PS: I’m a bit behind on prepping things for this week’s window with all this portfolio work. I’ll get it done. Eventually.

OH GOD. My computer must be screaming for help (and some vicodin)! I’ve been beating the heck out if it more than ever lately.

Why? My finished portfolio is due a week from today! And you know what? I’ve waited til the last minute to finish getting things ready. Surprised? Don’t be. That explains the lack of updates latelty, and I’m apologizing in advance for the next week or two. I’ll try to whip up a little bit of stuff every now and then if I can.

Anywho, here is a few little snippets of some things that are going into the portfolio. @_@

Okay. Time for bed soon, I think. Tomorrow will be another long day of working.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve had another rather busy week. While still waiting on approval from Sage to use their store for my window display design study, I’ve been prepping and making elements for the installations. Here are a few pics from the demos I set up in my dorm. Try to look past the bad photos, the lighting in here is for the most part terrible and my camera is from the land before time.

I’ll have more details on everything hopefully soon.

PS: my roommate got a PS3 which might have something to do with my lack of posting (I’m addicted to Uncharted). —Sigh—