Video Plato

 

This makeup was done mostly because I wanted at least one more makeup for the year 2009. I needed to prove to myself I could work with bad quality 'Halloween' makeup and still look great. This was one of the most masculine makeups I've done and I think it's quite convincing. I've always though of video Plato as a bit androgynous-tic. It was kinda cool actually, as you can see from the pictures I totally hammed it up. My one mistake was I drew the whisker bits the wrong way. (*face palm*)

My First Bride Expo!

Last month I went to my first ever Bride Expo with my cousin Dianna and my friend Vince. It was a very interesting experience. I filmed my day, like I would at any Expo or Con...

The Calla Lily Diamond Engagement Ring

Yes, I have a diamond engagement ring! As I mentioned in this post, I'm not the type of girl who doesn't feel engaged till she has some sparkly thing on her finger, and I was not even sure if I ever wanted going to get one. Well here's the story of the calla lily diamond engagement ring and how it's actually kind of perfect.

Jim and I had decided that we were probably not going the traditional rout of engagement rings and just planning on getting bands for the the ceremony. Even so, I still looked online to try and determine my style if we were getting one. The ones I liked were all nature inspired, with flowers or leaf designs and small understated diamonds. I showed these to Jim's mother on our Mammoth trip and she said, "You know, I think I have a ring just like that."

The calla lily ring was not originally an engagement ring and once belonged to Jim's great grandmother on his dad's side. It's over 100 years old and has a mine cut diamond set into a calla lily gold setting. It's perfect and it's very 'me'. Nontraditional, vintage, and nature-inspired are all things I love. The best part is that it's a family heirloom and that alone is so important and special. I'm overcome with gratitude and love to be given such a beautiful piece of history and of Jim's family.

We went ahead and had a matching band that fits under it perfectly. It's beautiful even on it's own. I'll share that when it gets closer to the date. (We have a date now! Our venues are booked!)

Easter Sunday 2014

This is what I wore yesterday to Jim's family's Easter Sunday party! We went to church with them at 10am in the morning. (Wanna know how to spot the non-Catholic girl? Hint: she's the one sitting down during communion. Eeep!) I don't talk about religion too much on this blog because it's not really a part of my life. However, I'm so grateful that Jim's family includes me in things like this, regardless of that fact. (I love you all so much!!)  :)

After church we had some family nap time (haha) and got ready for the dinner. Jim's family is pretty huge and there was quite a lot of people at his house that night. I'm used to it by now and we had a pretty good time eating and talking and sort of watching the Kings game. (Go sports? When is Quidditch going to start being aired on TV?)

Over all it was a great Easter. I wore my new H&M dress I bought the day before during my 'big birthday shopping party'. (more on that later!) I wore it with my black Target leggings and my Steve Madden combat boots. (get those two, I were them with everything!!) I have a ton of outfit posts in the pipeline, I think I'm finally becoming a fan of this trope!

 

Photo Credit: James Holmquist

Outfit Details 

Dress // H&M

Shrug // Forever 21

Leggings // Target

Boots // Steve Madden

Glasses // Nine West

  Necklace // a gift

Ring // you'll see it soon... ;)

I wish...

I was going to dedicate today to making a birthday wishlist for this blog but the more I thought about it the more I just wished for things to get back to normal. So here's my birthday wish list this year.

▲ I wish to be healthy, strong, and not get sick again...at least for another year.
▲ I wish for a beautiful wedding and as stress-free as possible experience planning it.
▲ I wish to hit the ground running with this blog again and really take it to the next level.
▲ I wish to enjoy my day job without letting it take over. I work to live, not live to work.
▲ I wish for video inspiration for my youtube channel, I'm starting to miss it.
▲ I wish to do something I love every day, even if only for a moment.
▲ I wish to create more art and crafts that people actually get excited about.
▲ I wish for an amazing future, surrounded my my friends and family, even if I may end up not physically near them.

Heard it was your birthday!

Yup! It's my birthday today! After getting sick, going to Oregon, getting sick again, I think I'm finally really back and better. I was originally planning on hitting up the local bars tonight with all my friends, but seeing as I only started eating solid foods last night, I think I'll take it easy. I'm thinking a double feature of my favorite fantasy films (Labyrinth & The NeverEnding Story) and some birthday ice cream. I love you all!

An Oregon Wedding

Just this last weekend (despite still being quite sick) I trekked over to Mt. Hood, Oregon to see my friend Wes marry his sweetheart, Caitlin.
Jim and I and handful of our friends stayed for two nights in the beautiful Timberline Lodge (where part of The Shinning was shot!). I took it quite easy and still managed to have a great time.
You know, there's nothing quite like attending a wedding when you're at the start of planning your own.

Getting Over It

You may have noticed I've been absent for about a week from all social media. This was not a self-induced technology blackout for my own benefit (though I wish it was). No, I've been quite ill this week. Thankfully not as ill as I thought. My hopes are that I am recovered come Monday, but life is not always as easily predictable as we'd like it to be. My birthday is next week and I only hope I'm well by then. (I remember being ill on my 21st birthday, not fun.) I'm just touching base with my readers and letting you all know I have not disappeared and I'm getting over it. Hope to see you next week with some real posts (perhaps I should start to share my Japan photos?) Wish me well!

VEDA 2014 - Lets Do This!

For the last 4 years I've been participating in VEDA, Vlog Every Day in April. It's a YouTube trend where you do just that, vlog for 30 days in a row. What I love the most about VEDA is going back and watching past year's videos. I love seeing where I was in my life and seeing how much has changed. The difference between VEDA 2011, VEDA 2012, and VEDA 2013 is so intense, it's kind of cool to see. I'm off to a good start, here's the first three! If you're interested in them, you should subscribe to my second channel so you don't miss any.

Realistic Cougar

This design was my first attempt at realism. I followed a tutorial made by an old online friend, Nanayena. I'm really proud of how this one came out! It's a bit splotchy but the over all effect makes it work. I'm not sure what type of makeup I used for this but I imagine it if was professional it would look even better.

Just Checking in to YouTube

Not much going on today but I'm finally back posting videos on YouTube (sort of). Life's been bittersweet these past few days, but all I need to hear is Jim saying "Hey, we're getting married!" to pull me back into the bliss of being engaged. I can't ignore the problems going on, but at least I know that my relationship is one of the stable things.