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October 31, 2012

November Photo-A-Day...

Here is the photo a day list Fat Mum Slim made for November...
How to take part in November photo-a-day:
1. Using the list as inspiration, take a photo each day.
2. Share it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #fmsphotoaday You can also share on your blog or on Facebook ... or even keep the photos privately for yourself.
3. Check out other people's photos and like them or comment on them.

October 29, 2012

Rules To Survive A Horror Movie...

I don't know about you guys, but I love love love me a good (And sometimes bad) horror movie. So in honor of Halloween coming up in a few days I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite horror movies and share them with all of you. I'm also curious to know if you do like horror movies, what is your favorite?


"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie! For instance, Number One: You can never have sex. Sex equals death, OK? Number Two: You can never drink or do drugs. No, it's the sin factor, it's a sin, it's an extension of Number One! And Number Three: Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, say 'I'll be right back', 'cause you won't be back." - Scream (1996)
For some more movie ideas check out Time Out's 100 Best Horror Film list.

October 28, 2012

Becoming Mary Sanderson...

As I mentioned in my previous post my sister, Erin, a few of our friends and I went out to one of the local bars for a Halloween event they were having in all of our Sanderson sisters glory. And I figured since I did everything and Halloween hasn't actually passed that I'd put the following together in case anyone decides they'd like to be Mary Sanderson next year or even whip together something before Wednesday rolls around...

PhotobucketI wasn't having any luck at the thrift store the first time around finding pieces to make my own costume so I hit up Amazon and bought a Tavern Wench costume by Disguise. Which I altered to make look more like Mary's outfit. I used some Sunshine Orange and Cherry Red Rit Dye to make the sleeves of the costume orange (They didn't come out the right shade because of the fabric but whatever, it's still orange). I attempted to make the vest/corset red using spray fabric paint (That was all I could find in Michael's) but it didn't work out so well so I left that sucker black. I attached a piece of a burgundy plaid sheet to the skirt portion to emulate what Mary had going on.

To top off the clothing portion I took a full length hooded red cape (Kinda like this one), dyed it with a mixture of Cherry Red and Black Rit Dye to make it a bit darker because it was too red and wore that with everything else.

PRODUCT LIST

In order to get Mary's hair we looked at tons of pictures and I decided to search through YouTube to see if anyone had made video on how to get hair similar to hers. I happened to find the following video that FormidableArtistry had made...


After my sister and I watched the video we decided to play around and do a Mary hair trial. The first time we tried doing it we used a Solo Cup without anything stuffed inside of it and it didn't work out so well. So we threw that bad boy away and grabbed a styrofoam cup, stuffed it with a wash cloth and attached a piece of aluminum foil to it.

My sister sectioned my hair off, teased it and attached the front portion of my hair to the cup like FormidableArtistry did, but she didn't put my hair in a ponytail to attach the back. She just continued attaching the back portion the same way as she did the front because of the length of my hair, etc.

Once all of my actual hair was attached she took my clip-on hair extensions, flipped them upside down and started to attach them to my hair at the top of the cup. She used the clip-ons instead of a cut up portion of a wig like FormidableArtistry used and started wrapping them around the foil. The foil kept bending and pissing her off, so when we did my hair the day we were dressing up we used a piece of a wire coat hanger bent into an "S" shape instead. When she had everything pinned in place she took a long piece of yarn that I had braided, pinned it and wrapped it around my hair. When my hair looked right she sprayed all of the hair with washable black hair color and when that I was dry I combed in some purple hair mascara.

That's how I got my Mary hair!

PRODUCT LIST

After hair comes make up...
PRODUCT LIST

To top off everything I made myself a vacuum cleaner out of some cardboard, white Duck Tape, a paper shopping bag and black spray paint. I honestly can't write out step by step instructions because I kinda just made it...
* = These were a limited edition product. Also, unlike the normal collection of Impress nails these were much longer.

Halloween Style In Instagram...

Last night my sister, Erin, a few friends and I went out to one of the local bars dressed up in our Halloween costumes because the bar was having an event. Here are some of the Instagram pictures we took...

 

Mini Rant: Closing The Library Because Of Sandy...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my library and I love my Director but not when it comes to weather related issues. The area where I live and work was put under mandatory evacuation and it took hours after the announcement was made for someone to get in contact with me to give the official word that the library would be close tomorrow. I mean seeing as there was a mandatory evacuation it was kind of a no brainer that we wouldn't open, but c'mon we should have been informed hours before we actually were because people need to make arrangements. It was just so irritating to me. I mean I know I should be happy that I'm somewhere safe and that I don't have to worry about traveling in that weather tomorrow, but there was no reason for them to take so long to contact the staff.

October 27, 2012

Week In Instagram: October 21st - 27th...

Influenster: Beauty Blogger VoxBox...

• NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact (Dark Shadows) •
• Bath & Body Works Mini Candle (Pumpkin Cupcake) • Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin •
• Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream •
• E-Boost (Orange Flavor) • Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit •

As you can see I got another VoxBox from Influenster! This time around I was lucky enough to receive their Beauty Blogger VoxBox and I must say it was full of some pretty sweet items, especially seeing that it was sent to me for free.

Here are my first-ish impressions of the items in the box...

Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream
I love Not Your Mother's products, so I was super excited to see that a sample was included in this box. Especially since I got the Smooth Moves Frizz Control Cream and not the Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream because I don't have curly hair and I would have had to pass that on to my sister who has a head full of curls. Another reason I'm excited is because it's one of their products that I haven't tried before. So next time I feel like straightening my hair I'm going to add this bad boy into the mix.

E-Boost
The E-Boost was a product that I had received before as a sample in one of my Birchboxes earlier this year, so I've tried it before. Its a fizzy orange flavored health booster, so whats not to like if your into that?

NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact
In terms of the NYC IndividualEyes compact I'm happy I got shadows to do smokey eyes, because I noticed that some people that got the VoxBox got shadow sets that didn't go with their eye color. Aside from that I like that NYC included a base and illuminator in with the eyeshadows. I look forward to playing with this palette

Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin
The Goody Spin Pins are a product that I've seen before and have been intrigued by but not enough to buy them, so I'm happy they were part of this VoxBox. I'm also happy that they sent me a box of them for dark hair because I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that people got colors that didn't match their hair. So thumbs up to that!

Bath & Body Works Mini Candle
I'm not really a fan of anything pumpkin, so I didn't know how I'd feel about the Bath & Body Works mini candle in Pumpkin Cupcake. From just sniffing the unlit candle I'm not getting much pumpkin, what I really smell is cinnamon and I like cinnamon so yay -- Not that I wouldn't have not used the candle, especially since Hurricane Sandy is looming around the corner and it might hit Long Island.

Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit
I really enjoy fake lashes, I even have a draw full of them, so adding more to my collection is always fun for me. I have never tried these particular lashes from Kiss before and I'm excited to do so.

All of the products mentioned above were sent to me free for review. 
All opinions stated about said items are my honest evaluation of them.

Sandy, Can't You See I'm In Misery...

I can't believe that a little over a year after dealing with the hype and all of the crap that came along with Hurricane Irene that we possibly have to do it all over again.

I wasn't even worried about anything but yesterday I had Justin e-mailing me about hurricane supplies, my parents were talking about getting everything out of out den because it tends to flood, etc. So now I don't know what to think. Like, should I actually prepare to leave and go to Justin's place or should I stick around my house and ride the sucker out if it does hit (My father has refused to leave our house the handful of times hurricanes have been scheduled to hit Long Island). I guess I'll just have to wait to see if they evacuate the south shore like last time.
My Hurricane Archive From Irene
Hurricane Preparation...
Hurricane To Do List...
Misfit Evacuation Essentials...
Ready Or Not, A Hurricane Is Coming...

Influenster Hawaiian Tropic Brand Challenge Winner...

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from Influenster letting me know that I had been chosen as a Hawaiian Tropic Brand Challenge Winner for participating in their 2012 Latina Beauty VoxBox and completing the brand challenges associated with Hawaiian Tropics. Being a winner I was informed that I'd be receiving a gift package courtesy of Hawaiian Tropic and it came in!

• Hawaiian Tropic Silk SPF 30 • Aloha Kiss Lip Gloss (Island Berry) • Towel • T-Shirt •

How sweet is this little gift package?!

These product was given to me for free. Any opinions expressed have not been sponsored or solicited by anyone, but if you wanna send me free stuff I'd totally take it, try it & give you my honest opinion of it.

October 26, 2012

This Just Pinned: Week Thirty-Four...

Here are the highlights of my week pinning...
(via: Nasty Gal)
(via: Etsy)
(via:  Pinterest)
(via: Tumblr)
(via: Pinterest)
(via: Pinterest)

If you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

Patrons, Programs & Problems...

Yesterday I had a craft program at work that only had seven children signed up for ahead of time. Because of a lack of attendance in all of our other craft programs in the past I only had a few extra crafts prepared thinking that no one was going to show up. Oh boy was I wrong.

Tons of mothers and their children showed up trying to get into the program, and their attitudes were in tow. Every mother that tried to get in was a complete bitch to me and when I did let the people on the waiting list in they caused problems.

I cannot tell you how frustrated I was. Because of all of these people I didn't get to do the program the way I would have liked to and I'm a craft perfectionist. I typically make sure everyone has what they need, I walk around to see who needs help and tell the kids what an awesome job they are doing, etc.

I was annoyed beyond belief by the time I cleaned everything up and was back in the office. It totally sucks having a four-year-old look at you all pouty asking which one is hers because her mother sucks and doesn't understand the concept of signing up ahead of time so we know how much to buy and how many people to set up for. Ugh!

Friday's Letters...

Dear Thai Food: Why did I not know how amazing you were until last weekend?! I hope to have a life long relationship with you from now on.

Dear Mary Sanderson: Can you please tell me why you chose to have such a difficult hair style? It was a pain trying to make my hair look kinda like yours. It was amazing when it was done, but difficult to get.

Dear Patrons From Yesterdays Craft Program: You suck. That is all.

Dear Nicole: Why must you always plan events on Sundays when I have to work. I want the world to know that I love you enough to switch Sundays and spend four hours alone with "Julia" instead of the person I was supposed to work with in order to come out for you! That is love baby because I hate that woman.

Dear Hurricane Sandy: If you're gonna hit Long Island please do so after Saturday and before Wednesday because I have plans for those days and I don't need you messing them up.

Dear Justin: Thank you for surprising me at work with cold brew coffee made the way I like it!

Dear Local Bar: Thank you for having a Halloween event for tomorrow night!

Dear Followers: I want you all to know how much I appreciate all of you and how happy I am to have you around!

Photobucket

October 25, 2012

A Little Big Gift...

Remember I mentioned that Carrie Anne from Little Big was going to send me a little something for playing her Thrift Store Gore Bingo? Well as soon as I got home on Wednesday there was a package from her on the table.
• Pisa Plate • Super Sweet Photo With A Note • Brown Headscarf • Stockholm Photo-Guide •

I cannot tell you how much I love the package she sent me! I'm totally putting all of the stuff she sent me (Minus the headscarf because I'm gonna wear that bad boy ASAP) with my thrift stash that I'm saving for when Justin and I buy a house one day.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Carrie Anne!!!

Coffee Talk...

1. What is in your playlist?
I have over three thousand songs on my iPhone and the number of songs keeps growing everyday! I have everything from Foo Fighters to Jay-Z to Beethoven to Elvis to Daddy Yankee to Carly Rae Jepsen and tons of stuff in between. I love music.

2. What is the funniest YouTube video you always go to when you need a laugh (Or if you just wanna watch it)?
I've mentioned this before, but I'll never get tired of Spiders on Drugs.


3. Favorite song in the whole wide world that you never get sick of and it's on repeat.
I don't have one favorite song. I have favorite songs by artists and bands.
 
4. Do you have any embarrassing songs/singers/bands that you like?
I am not embarrassed of anything I listen to or that I have on my iPhone. I love 90's music. I have N'SYNC, Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, etc. mixed in with all of the alternative rock, rap and other randomness on my phone. I also have theme songs to random television shows.

5. What's that ONE song that ALWAYS makes you cry?
"Unforgettable" by Natalie & Nat King Cole. I cry every time I here is because it reminds me of my Abuela.
 
Unforgettable by Natalie Cole on Grooveshark
 
6. What song have you recently heard, that you can't seem to get out of your head?
A combination of "Gangnam Style" by PYS and "Danza Kuduro" by Don Omar.
 

Coffee Talk with Natalie Blair

How Did You Find That Book?!!?!...

I had to deal with the nastiest patron five minutes before closing the other day. This woman walks in literately five seconds after the five minute warning on the intercom asking where our easy readers are. I point her to the section and ask her what she is looking for. She barks at me that she is looking for a book with the call number ER OCO. I ask her what title she is looking for and she barks back The Teeny Tiny Woman (The one she saw was by Jane O'Connor). I go check the catalog to see if the book is really there and head over to the shelf she is at. I start looking and she gets pissy with me saying she already looked. I tell her the same thing I tell everyone else, sometimes you need another set of eyes because you don't always find it the first time. I continue to look and I don't find what she is looking for, I tell her that I don't see it either and she storms to our holiday section telling me it's probably there and tells me to go check for her. I look at her and told her I had already checked the computer and that the book should be where we were looking not in the holiday section. She doesn't want to hear what I have to say and she heads over there anyways.

Instead of letting her leave with nothing I go back to the catalog, find a copy of the book by another author from nonfiction and hand it to her. You think she'd be happy at this point, but no... She starts questioning where I got that book from and how I found it. I was so pissed I just looked at her and said "I'm a librarian. That is how I found it..." She just walked away.

I cannot tell you how much she pissed me off. I was in the office yelling about how I paid an arm and a leg to go to library school and that is how I found her book (There was a lot of expletives strung in with that). The response I get from "Mama Page" on what happened what that I shouldn't have given her the book and let her walk out empty handed. I should have but I'm too nice sometimes. Why do I have to deal with this crap?!

October 24, 2012

Playing Little Big's Thrift Store Gore Bingo...

Just before I headed out to the thrift store Monday morning I happened to look at Instagram and see that @exlibris had posted a teaser picture of a game she made called Thrift Store Gore Bingo. Seeing as I was just about to go thrifting I went straight to her blog, copied the picture of the score card to my phone and headed to the store -- How could this not be an omen that I was supposed to go to the thrift store that day?!

I initially was headed to the store to see if I could find a few random pieces for my Halloween costume, but this was too good to pass up and since I was going by myself I wasn't going to be boring anyone (My sister and Erin get mad at me when I'm at the thrift store because I love looking at everything).

Instead of going to look for what I needed I went straight to playing. People at the thrift store must have thought I was a total weirdo walking up and down the aisles multiple times trying to make sure I didn't miss any items that I could check off on the score card.

As I was at the store playing I tweeted @exlibris and told her I was playing. She got so excited that after I send her a picture of the first batch of items I found she decided that she was going to send me a prize for playing, which I totally didn't expect seeing as I was playing for fun and though it was just awesome she thought of this game. So on top of giving me something fun and random to do I'm getting some thrifted goodies from her which I think is so awesome of her!

These were the items I found. I was so sad that I didn't get bingo! I have seen all of these items before! I'm gonna have to try again next time I head out thrifting.

Thank you Carrie Anne for making such an awesome game!

Here is a blank copy of her score card if you'd like to play next time you head out to the thrift store. If you do play remember to let her know, I know it'll make her super excited if you do!