Moving to Wordpress

Hi! If you like to read more posts, I have now moved to sweetkimplicity.wordpress.com. Feel free to follow along as I attempt to craft away. I will no longer be blogging on blogger.

DIY Personalized Initial Wine Charms

Gender Reveal Party Cake Pops

- Kim

Easter Mint Polka Dot Nails

I have a confession. I didn't plan on posting for Easter. I was in the middle of studying for my national boards (probably the second biggest test of my life) and decided I needed a study break. I wanted to paint my nails with polka dots. My experiment started with a purple/gray color with black polka dots on my index finger. I liked the size of the dots but decided the look was too dark for spring. So then I tried three coats of a mint base (Revlon's Minted) with Essie's Turquoise and Caicos for the dots on my ring finger. Perfect for Easter! (Or I guess you can say it's perfect for my Vegas trip I'm taking as a reward for finishing my boards & being on Spring Break!)

Revlon - Minted and Essie - Turquoise and Caicos Polka Dot Nails

Bath and Body Works

Helloooo, I just always come and go when it comes to blogging, don't I? I find myself doing it when I should be doing something else--like studying! Anyway, since I last blogged, I have laid low on the couponing since school takes up all my time. (No joke! I have a little over 2 months to go before I take my national boards. The review course and the exam itself cost be $800. So with no time and no money, I haven't shopped much...) I just jot down when I need something and I search for coupons before heading out to buy it. 

Today however, I went with my cousin on a last minute mall-run. For the longest time I've had "hand soap" on my list of things I need to stock up on (my kitchen soap and bathroom soap are almost out!) so we went into Bath and Body Works. I missed out on a free travel size sample over the weekend but I was too lazy to drive my butt to the mall just to get soap. Anyway, I searched for any coupons online with my phone while I was in the store and lucky us, we found a 20% off coupon. I purchased 4 foam hand soaps that were already on sale at 4 for $15 and with 20% off the total was $13+change. My cousin purchased some yummy smelling candles on sale for 2 for $22 and with 20% off it was -$4.00. Can't wait to hear what she thinks about her summery candles.

Since I've last blogged, I've made a few "good" purchases. I purchased two wedding gifts for my friends from college that are both having their weddings in July 2013. **If either of you ladies are reading this post, stop reading unless you want to know what we got you for your gift!** It's pretty exciting hearing about the details of their wedding planning. I was able to find great deals at Kohls.com (where they are NOT registered). One of the girls registered for a KitchenAid mixer, the other girl did not, but I am assuming she would love one anyway. Haha. I know she bakes here and there, and...who wouldn't want a KitchenAid mixer, right?! I know I would. I tend to get people things off their registry that I think I would want myself. Hahaha. The girl had different items on her registry but because she had just started her registry, there weren't many big ticket items on it so I made the ultimate decision to get her something that would (hopefully) last throughout the years. My only concern is that the one I got her is the Classic kind which is WHITE. This girl loves the color black. (I got the other girl the exact type of mixer she wanted...the Artisan kind in glossy black). July is a busy month for me with the two weddings (Southern California, here we come!) but I am glad to be visiting San Diego again! This time, I will bring only one suitcase (if I end up flying) and one empty one so I can go shopping! Last time, my poor boyfriend had to over-stuff his suitcase just because I decided I needed 4 yoga pants and 8 tank tops. They are so cheap and I needed work out clothes. (Now I don't work out anymore, I just wear them to lounge in the house and the tank tops under my scrubs...) Maybe I'll finally get to working out so I can be fit for the wedding. I am still aiming for Britney's abs pre-babies, anyone with me?

Other than that, when I was in Vegas last month (surprised?) I was at H&M and a friend introduced me to the Wrapp smartphone app and I saw my cousin had gifted me $10 to use! I purchased 2 stacks of rings, one in gold and one in silver, red nail polish, and a cobalt blazer which I only paid $6.50 out of pocket. Whee! Since purchasing those items last month, I've only worn the blazer...whoops. The rings I purchased were XS since my fingers are pretty alien-like but it seems like my knuckles are pretty big so it's a pain to get them on. I could exchange/return them but have I mentioned I'm lazy?

Anyway, those were my latest purchases that I can think of. Time for bed. Long day tomorrow... we have a one hour seminar with our instructor, then clinic for 3 hours, and then tutoring the first years on their instruments... Isn't it bad that I barely picked up a scaler for the first time since November? That's what happens when the instructor makes a "random" schedule where I was stuck in x-rays for the last 2 weeks of school last quarter and the first 2 weeks this quarter. I feel like a newbie!

Lots of Rambling & L.A. Colors Intense Nail Polish Review

Now that I have been on summer break, I haven't really been keeping up with couponing. I mean, I do "coupon" here and there but nothing super impressive. I don't think I will be able to have $0.08 shopping trip again! Anyway, it is a good idea to sign up for Target mobile coupons for your smartphone. Every once in awhile they send out coupons for 10 items and all you have to do is have the cashier scan the barcode on your phone. Make sure the brightness level on your phone is up. I usually keep mine low to save battery and the barcode won't scan on a low setting. Right now they have $2 off any Sonia Kashuk make up tool and my cousin and I try to grab as many of the $1.99 spoolie brush as possible (however, only one scan per item is allowed). It's okay though because I think I have about 4 of those brushes now. The spoolie brush is good to shape up your eyebrows or run through your eyelashes after a coat of mascara to get rid of any clumps.

No Name Polishes! Teal, Pink, Orange, Purple

L.A. Colors Intense Nail Collection 4-pack

Besides couponing, I find myself at Ross stores often to scope out deals. It's usually a hit or miss with Ross but when I do find something good, it makes all the times I leave with nothing, worthwhile. They have a lot of nice decorative home goods. I would buy some but right now I'm living "in-between" places so I don't feel like I have a "home." I also have one more year of school (9 months, actually!) so I don't want to hoard more stuff before I figure out where I will live "long term." Anyway, while I was browsing through, I found a small set of 4 nail polishes by L.A. Colors. The only experience I've had with L.A. Colors is with the skinny tall tubes of nail polish I've purchased about 4 years ago that are used to draw designs on nails. The box said it was only $2.99 and it had bright colors that are perfect for summer. The box comes 4 unnamed polishes: teal, pink, orange, and purple. The size is very small compared to the usual nail polishes but I think it will last many summers. It took me 4 coats to get it to be opaque. It didn't take long for it to dry in between coats but I still waited a good 30 minutes in between each, just in case. For my accent nail, I used only 1 coat of Revlon and used 2 coats of the orange to draw the heart. Sadly, my "Vegas" nails didn't last the entire weekend (too much partying, perhaps?) and I noticed a couple of dents/chips within 2 days. However, the dents were not too noticeable so I didn't mind it. Love the color and will use it again next season! (Too bad no nail polish allowed during school!)

L.A. Colors Intense Nail Polish in Orange

A teaser...

Since my last post, school has ended and summer break flew right by. I have less than a week left--4 days to be exact--before I have to turn my brain on. I have yet to open my textbook or review any of my notes! Hopefully I'll do that in the next couple of days and blog as much as possible. My break has been everything I wanted... I did a bit of traveling (Vegas--twice, & wine country), got to be crafty (made some jewelry, clay flowers, attempted to repurpose an oversized shirt...etc), as well as experiment in the kitchen. My efforts in the kitchen are always the most exciting. Let's just say I am sitting here typing with two burnt fingers and a burnt thumb. Good thing I have a few days before school starts because I will definitely need them. I was also glad to see a majority, if not all of my close friends from high school.

I'll return soon with posts!

Extreme Couponing 1

Last weekend I couponed with my dear bf. I'm sure he loves it as much as I do, hahaha. We went to Walmart & Target. I wasn't sure if I could purchase certain items myself or if there was a limit of coupons I could use so I had him come with me. The only thing I got from Walmart was 2 packages of Kotex pantyliners and Mucinex (I've been sick for the past 2 weeks). He also purchased 2 packages of Kotex pantyliners and with the coupons I had we got all 4 packages for FREE (of course we still had to pay tax). At Target, I grabbed some much needed hand soap (Up & Up brand), Sonia Kashuk Spoolie brushes, Sensodyne toothpaste, 2 small Lunchables (haven't had those since grade school!) and a pretty Glade Spring Scent airfreshner. I really wanted to get some more Kotex liners (I had 2 more coupons) but they ran out and I was too lazy to ask for a rain check. At the register, the teenager at Target accidentally scanned one of my coupons twice so I actually received an extra $2 off my purchase! The total retail price for the purchases was $9.23. Guess what my paid total was for target? $0.08! Whee!

Avocado smoothie, please!

Two things:
1.) It's been warm lately.
2.) My parents have stocked up on avocados in the past few weeks (50 mini avocados, I'm not even kidding).

I was craving ice cream the other day but my sister wasn't home (she makes ice cream) and I noticed there were a few ripe avocados on the counter so I settled for a homemade delicious smoothie. or shake. or whatever you call it. Here's my take on the dessert:

Simple Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados (or 1 large avocado)
soy milk
condensed milk

Take the avocado(s) and remove the skin and pit. I like to cut my avocado in slices so it is easier for me to smash in my cup. Place avocado into a medium cup. Then scoop about 1 tablespoon of condensed milk (more if you like things on the sweeter side).


Smash up the avocado like there's no tomorrow. I like mine a bit on the lumpy side so I don't toss mine in the blender like some people might. I like to add soy milk to about 1/2 way up my glass. Mix until you get a minty green color (I don't like to overmix because I like to eat my avocado shake with a spoon). Enjoy!


** If you like pearls/boba with your avocado shake feel free to use the boba recipe from my previous post.