TMNT!

*ad

A ham and banana pizza?
Totally something that TMNT would eat. Actually, I was quite surprised that when I searched this up on google, there were tons of images of bananas on pizza haha. Makes me wanna try a slice...

(This is one of the images I found on google. The pizza doesn't look too bad, does it?)

Anyway...
To be honest, I have never really watched TMNT when I was younger. I only had a glimpse of random episodes while the series was on here and there, but I never sat down and watched an entire episode.
I finally watched the first episode ever this week and I actually quite liked it haha. I think I'm going to be filling up on some missed TMNT action this week before work starts.

If you guys are fans of the ninja turtles, check out this TMNT site:

There's quite a bit on the site, but go check out the shop section. I think they have some really cute t-shirts and sweaters XD

Backing up stuff online

*ad

I am definitely a very sentimental person. I try to not delete anything if there is space to save everything. This includes things from photos on my computer to even messages on a phone I've had years ago. However, I am not very organized... and I tend to drop my electronics or forget my USBs in random places =(
The most important thing to me are photos, though, because when I look through them, it's like a movie play-back and reliving all the great memories.

I've lost a ton of photos before because of my computers messing up on me and me losing memory cards from cameras... so this is what I have resorted to:

Piles of DVDs with photos in them lol!

Why did I not use an external hard-drive, you ask?
I broke it =_=. I dropped it enough times for my computer to no longer recognize the external hard-drive anymore.

When I look through my old stuff on the internet... like old profiles and blogs, etc, everything is still there. (Of course, only if the hosts did not kill their sites). No need for USBs, CDs, external hard-drives. Everything I wrote, every photo I have uploaded, and every comment my friend posted... everything is there.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything you wanted to save on your computer could be like that? Wouldn't it be nice if they were all saved securely online, accessible only to you whenever you want? You don't have to worry about losing the USBs, or the CDs/DVDs being too scratched...

Guess what? Backup solutions from Backblaze is like that!
They let you upload and store all the files you want online so you don't have to worry about losing anything precious.
They do, however, charge a fee of $5/month (or $3.96/month if you buy 2 years right off the bat). My first reaction was... Eww. You have to pay? Psssh. I could just burn my photos onto my growing mountain of photo DVDs, or I could just store the stuff on my USBs.
But you know what... DVDs only hold 4G, and even though USBs can hold much more than 4G of data, I tend to lose them because they are so small. When I think about all those photos and videos I lost when my computer went crazy on me, paying that $3.96 seems like nothing. It is totally worth it to pay the price of a cup of Starbucks each month to make sure your stuff (in my case, photos) will not be gone forever.

Are there any online backup services you guys use?
If not, how do you store your stuff? (On DVDs and USBs like me?) =]

Black Bridesmaids Dresses

*ad

This post is exactly what the title says...

I have not been to a lot of weddings - only two, to be exact, excluding the ones that I went to when I was a kid... But from watching TV shows and seeing photos of other people's weddings, I noticed that I don't see bridesmaids in black dresses. Both weddings I've gone to, the brides had requested that we do not wear black too.

Hmm... I'm assuming it is a "luck" thing, especially for Chinese people. How unfortunate, because who doesn't look good in a little black dress?

Look at this one:

This dress is so pretty!

Because I have never looked into black bridesmaids dresses (because I never had a quest to search for one), I never realized how flattering they looked haha. I think it would look pretty cool if the bride wore a flashy color standing next to her bridesmaids in their black bridesmaids dresses. The bride would stand out like BAM!, and the bridesmaids would all look super chic and sexy in little black dresses ;D

Anyway... sorry again for the slow updates. I can barely breathe will school assignments piled up to my neck. Once the week is over, I'll have some breathing room again.

Cool your laptop

*ad

Sorry for not updating, but I have been so busy ever since school started.
It feels like school has only started for a few days, but it has already been weeks... And homework/assignments and readings are starting to pile up.

I like to do my school work on my laptop because I can be anywhere I want... On the couch, on my bed, on the floor... etc.
I am sure everyone who uses a laptop knows how warm the machine gets after a while. Especially if I actually use my "laptop" as a lap-top and have it on my lap, it feels like I can cook en egg on my laps after a couple of hours lol.

How do you guys keep your laptops cool?

My boyfriend puts this plastic comb underneath his laptop so the heat scan escape haha. It looks quite funny and I will update this with a pic of it as soon as I take one XD.
In the winter, because I have such cold hands, he actually asks me to put my hands on the bottom of his laptop to help him cool it. I am not lying - that is how cold I get... I just can't stand the cold at all.

Of course, if you don't have cold hands, and you don't want to use a plastic comb, you can use a legit laptop cooling pad to help keep your laptop from blowing up. The company even has a twitter account if you are interested in knowing more about Meritline.
I saw that they have this pretty pink one XD. And the prices are not unreasonable either... I have never used a cooling pad for my laptop though. Any thoughts on how much it will actually help?

I wish pets never get sick

*ad

Why all the cat photos?
Although one of those darling kitties is not longer here, each one of them has a way to my heart and I just can't help smiling when I see them.

I think pets are geniuses at making their owners feel happy and loved. I thought back to how Muffin got sick, and how sick MaoMao was before too. They always seemed so invincible to me. I'd probably get a cold 50 times and all they get is a sneeze lol.

[Link removed as requested by advertiser]

Abruptly ending this post because I think I am getting sick and I need to sleep now...

How can something so good be so bad?

*ad

What is the title referring to? I'm talking about something that everybody loves - food.

What do the following two foods have in common?

Aside from looking tasty and tasting tasty, the other thing they have in common is that they are probably not doing any good to your body's overall health. Both are foods that I like to eat (I also love to eat all the deep-fried, greasy, carby goodness too fml).
One is a plate of instant noodles coated with wax and preservatives with other "proteins" that barely contain any protein. The other is basically a bar of frozen cream dipped in chocolate and nuts.

Summer seems to have just arrived in the blink of an eye. June was still so gloomy and suddenly, summer is here. With me consuming all this unhealthy food, not only am I getting my waistline "unready" for summer, I am also putting lots of bad and not enough good into my body.

I'm sure many of you have already heard of diets that detox your body. These strict diet plans help you control what you put into your body. The Clean Program, for example, gives you a planned diet of drinking just a shake for breakfast and dinner, and you get solid food for lunch, with supplements in between. It is a way to detox and "reset" your body. I know people who have gone on detoxing diets and they all say that it was worth it.

Because of my current crazy eating habits, I don't think I will be able to jump directly into these detox diets, but reading about them certainly made me want to change the way I eat.

Do you guys have meal/diet plans you follow? Or do you just go ahead and eat whatever you feel like (like me)? Haha XD

Heels, heels. They hurt me so.

*ad

Do you not agree?... Heels are so beautiful. And the higher the heel, the prettier I think they are.

 However, ladies, beauty always comes with a price.

If you have small feet like me, not only do you have to worry about finding shoes that fit (or buying enough insoles to make the shoe fit lol), you also have to worry about finding shoes that are comfortable.

Whenever I wear heels, I end up with aching feet at the end of the day. On some extreme occasions, my knees and thighs hurt too. It's like a work-out, except this work-out is bad for you.

Why is wearing heels bad for you? Here are only some of the reasons why:

Pressure on the ball of your foot.

The height of the heels will cause your body weight to shift to the ball of your foot. The higher the heel, the higher the pressure you put at the front of your foot. This can cause a condition called stone bruise or metatarsalgia to develop - which means that the ball of your foot will be in pain D=

Abnormal posture.

Since your weight is pushed towards the front of your feet, your body's balance is altered. Your hips, shoulders, and back all have to shift to keep you from falling over. Being in a bad posture for a long time can cause back and spine problems.

Squishing your toes.

If you like to wear pointed heels, this problem is especially worse. Your weight is shifted towards the front of your foot, where your toes are. This can cause your toes to be further squeezed in inside the narrow front of the shoe. Over-time, squishing your toes too much can produce hammer toes. This is why you should never squeeze your feet into shoes that are too small for you!

There are many more reasons, but basically, long-time wear of heels (or uncomfortable shoes) can really cause damage.

Housershoes.com offers lots of well-known brand name shoes, with many of the shoes on the site looking like they are comfort-first. With summer around the corner, there is a large selection of ladies sandals on the site that look beach-ready haha.
However, they do not have my shoe size because of my stupid tiny feet =(
This is why it is so difficult for me to find shoes that are nice AND comfy because of my small shoe size.

Where do you guys find your comfortable, but nice-looking shoes?

Wedding Venue: The Folly

*ad

Maybe I'm getting old, but I feel like the friends around me are either engaged, married, or having babies. Even without the influences from friends, I've always liked to look at wedding things because they are so beautiful - especially venues, which brings me to the topic of this post.

Here is a beautiful venue called The Folly from the orange county corporate events.

This is such a nice little venue if you are looking to host a small wedding. I love how it has a historical feel. I'm imagining this place with pink roses everywhere and that would be so perfect for a summer wedding!

Estate Wedding also has other great venues. Go check out their facebook page =]

Shoes shoes

*ad

Sorry for not updating. I did not have access to a photo-editing program... I took tons of pictures but I haven't edited them yet. I'll post them up as soon as I get a chance to =]

On a separate note...

Check out this site for your shoe-shopping cravings, haha. They don't have super luxurious high end brands like Christian Louboutin, but they do have tons of other high end shoes (like Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Stuart Weitzman, Juicy Couture, Tory Burch...).

While browsing through the site, I saw this pair from Kate Spade that I really liked.

It really caught my eye... but because I have tiny feet, I don't order shoes online; I have to try on the shoes to make sure they fit first since more often than not the shoes are too big for me =(

Hello, 2012!

*Ad

First of all... HAPPY 2012!
Hope you had a blast during the past year and will have a great start to this new year as well =]

Even during just the past year, styles have come and gone in a flash. It's amazing what fashion does to us... our money, specifically lol.

Anyway, I want to share this site with you guys. It is called StyledOn.
You will need an account, but you can easily connect to the site using facebook or twitter.
The site has some main features such as Blog Love (which features some great fashion bloggers), Community Roundup that brings you in touch with the fashion community, and also Top 10 Editor's Picks.

I do have to say that sometimes I don't like sites that force you to sign up to view their contents. Honestly, if your site is good enough, people will sign up on their own because they want to keep coming back and be a part of the site's community.

On a side note...
My desktop has been fixed! Sadly, it had to be reformatted so everything is gone... which means no Photoshop =( So no pics for this post.

Christmas gifting...?

*ad

Wow... last time I checked, Christmas still seems like weeks away. Now, it's like I am rushing to get my Christmas shopping done.

I have been going around shopping for gifts these past couple of days.

Here's my little stash so far!

I can't believe how much I have spent already. And no, I am not done my shopping yet, unfortunately.
How are you guys doing with your Christmas gift shopping?

I know sometimes it may be hard to think of a decent gift...
but maybe this following product can be a good gifting idea for moms, girl friends, or guy friends who like to look gorgeous.

What product am I talking about?

It's called the Catalytic Skin Tone Illuminator from Luminaze.

I have not tried this product yet, but I have read the descriptions and it seems like the closest product I have used to this is DiorSnow White Reveal Essence, which was around the same price.

This product claims to make your skin better in 7 days and that it is safe to use for sensitive skin, and it is supposed to remove dark spots. The product contains an enzyme that was harvested from a certain type of mushroom that surrounded trees. The area of the tree where these mushrooms grew had lost color... and that's how they got the idea of using this enzyme to help remove the ugly dark spots from our skin. However, if you are trying to use this to get rid of freckles, the site says it will not work. I wonder if it will work on my acne scars though haha.

Since this product is available in Nordstrom (in US) and the Bay (in Canada), I may go give it a try.
I bought a Clinique set that claims to also be effective in removing dark spots on the face for my mom as her Christmas present (I hope she does not read this because I haven't given the gift to her yet), but if I try this Luminaze product and feel that it may work better, I may go exchange it for the Luminaze product instead.

Good luck with your Christmas shopping! <3

Aeropostale clothing for girls

*Ad

Hello, my lovelies... Guess what?
Aeropostale is having a huge sale right now. Some of their pieces are even 60 - 70% off - both online (here) and in stores!
Their selection of clothing for girls actually have a smaller fit than other stores I know of. In fact, their XS sizing is almost perfect for me - it's just that the sleeves can be longer than desired on me.

To show you guys how their clothes fit on a petite person like me, I took some photos:

I tried to take three pieces of clothing with different fit so you guys can get an idea of how the pieces fit. That's why I took the blue sweater (which is a casual, not-too-fitted shape) and then the knitted cardigan (a fitted shape in a thicker material) and lastly, the long sleeve top (which is a thin, fitted material).

I think because Aeropostale's style is aimed at a younger age, the fitting is smaller.
Their style is very casual and girl-next-door. This is a great chance if you want to stock up on casual, comfy clothing since the prices are super duper discounted.

Aeropostale hoodie

Hope this post was helpful =D

P.S.
I am hoping to finish re-editing the photos of my new nails and I should post a new tutorial soon.
My desktop is still unwilling to cooperate with me =(

Fancy names for clothing pieces

Ad

You can call me ignorant, but I honestly never knew that there were such fancy names for pieces of clothing... I just kinda made up names for the pieces lol.
To show you guys what I mean, look at this style of clothing:

No need to criticize whether or not those tops fit me, because I just picked out the first two tops I saw in the store that was of that style.
I have been calling these "bat sleeve" tops for the longest time (like in this entry)... but the proper name for them is actually Dolman sleeve.
You can see a bunch of Dolman sleeve dresses on sale on this site if you still don't know what I am talking about.

And has any of you heard of Harris shoes or Leeds shoes?
I have tried to google those terms to find more information on them.
So... from my unprofessional super quick "research". Leeds shoes seem to be men's plain-toe lace-up dress shoes. And Harris shoes is a brand of men's shoes.
Correct me if I am wrong.

Anyway...

My desktop has died and it won't even start up. Now I don't have access to any of my photos or any files for that matter.
I actually had a bunch of photos edited already so I can show off another nail art design I did... but now I've lost access to them =(
I am praying for a miracle that the stupid old desktop will miraculously recover.

A Little Something on Skin

*Ad

Here is a little something on skin and skin care that I found pretty interesting.
The infographic image is from Tanda Skin Care, which provides products on acne removal, including acne light treatment.

Because the image is quite large, I shrunk it to fit on the page.

Click on it to view it in full size:

It gives some some brief history on skin care history and some fun facts about your skin.
I can't believe people used to use lead to treat their skin O_O...
They even gave you a face toning exercise, which I thought would be fun to try. If you are ready to see me make weird faces, continue to read on haha.

So...
Here is me trying out that face toning exercise.

1. Raise eyebrows as high as you can and then relax them.

2. Twitch your nose from side to side...

which I couldn't really do and had to use my hand to help lol

3. Puff up your cheeks like you're blowing up a balloon and then relax.

(Poking puffy cheek)

4. Open your mouth as wide as you can and stick your tongue out as far as you can for 5 seconds.

Hahahaha. I hope you have enjoyed my faces!
Excuse me for looking so LG. I did not attempt to have my hair nice or dress up for these silly face photos.

Even if my face did not get toned after doing this exercise, it was fun LOL. Imagine someone walking in on your while you are doing this face exercise.

And if you have noticed... Yes, I redid my nails this afternoon.
I'll post a tutorial for it soon... Maybe next post =]
Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend!

Repair Pal

*ad

I learned something new...
since I'm not much of a car person, I don't know a lot of the terms or parts of cars. I read about head gasket on repairpal.com and now I know what it is. Lol. It provides a sort of seal for the engines and is actually really important. The site even gives you symptoms and fixes regarding head gaskets, as if you were searching up about your symptoms when you're sick... but this is for your car XD.

They also have rating/comment systems for car models and repair shops.

You get to tell people what you thought about your experiences at certain repair shops, like those ratings you can read about restaurants before you go. Looking through the list of ratings on Los Angeles auto repair, I found so many highly rated repair shops. I think I'm going to use this site next time I need to bring my car to repair or anything.


And, like I said, you can even see ratings for specific car models. I looked up my car model, which is Honda Civic. Pretty decent reviews XD. And if I may say so myself, I don't think the car is bad at all. It's been functioning for over ten years, going on highways and road-trips, and no major problems or anything. Like many of the reviews on the site, I think the car is reliable.


Lastly, I wanna comment on how neat it is that they have an "encyclopedia" for auto stuff XD. You can just look up whatever.


Strangely, I'm not into cars, but I like this site, haha. It's really useful and so easy to navigate around =]