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.

Target Trip

Good morning! As a full time student, I try to save as much as I can (although food and accessories are hard to say no to) and couponing gives me the ability to buy what I need without spending all my cash so I can use my money for more leisure things!

My cousin recently got into couponing (I'm so proud) and two days ago with our unclipped coupons in hand, we went to CVS and Target. I didn't find anything I needed at CVS but she found a few female essentials, mouthwash, and a few other items. I really didn't plan on buying anything at Target but while browsing the aisles and my coupons I realized there was a good deal for CoverGirl Mascara! I had a Buy One Get One Free and another $1 off coupon. Well Target had the CoverGirl Lash Blast WaterProof Mascara on sale for $5.99 so I grabbed two. The coupons would make the mascara only $2.50 each! Whoo! I'm not in need of mascara but if you leave mascara unopened, it will last you awhile. I'd also wanted one of those plug-in air freshners for my room and it was perfect because I had a stack of coupons for AirWick that was Get Plug In Unit Free with Purchase of Refill; and $1 any one/two refills (as well as many other coupons but I didn't think they were as good).


Oh, and just a personal reminder, I will remember to clip my coupons before I stand in line. I think we made 2 people leave the line because we were flipping through our ads trying to find the coupons! So anyway, total for my small haul? I spent $10 and saved $12.77! The sad thing is that we weren't totally prepared for this trip because I definitely found coupons I could've used when I got home.

Happy Memorial Day!

Life has been busy...and when I say "life" I really just mean school! Tests, projects, quizzes, homework assignments, scheduling patients, and finding time for a social life just isn't so simple. This week I was able to get some one on one time with 2 of my classmates because it was her birthday. We had Korean and then walked across to a Japanese restaurant for some mochi dessert. The good thing is that the dessert was delicious...we had an order of mango mochi and an order of coffee mochi. The bad thing is that we had the giggles right when we walked into the very fancy Japanese restaurant dressed in scrubs. The hostess didn't even give us any service! Instead, she bent down and talked to a little boy and asked him if his family (who were outside parking the car) when they wanted to be seated. Awkward? Yes. Did it stop me from laughing my ass off? Nope. I don't think I'll ever show up to that restaurant after embarrassing myself like that... Friday I went to my cousin's graduation in the morning. I can't believe I graduated 3 years ago and although I've grown a lot since then, I feel like I'm still not where I want to be. Anyway, it was ironic because to celebrate we went out for Korean/Japanese! Ha. This time, I did not have the giggles. The bf was gone for the weekend (whoo!) so I spent most of my weekend working on my paper and hanging out with the family. We went to the Monterey Clam Chowder & Calamari Festival which wasn't great but it was good enough for it being the first year. I ended my long weekend with a sore throat and a cough...

Anyway, just dropping in to say that I am on a search for a drugstore moisturizer with sun protection that doesn't give my face a greasy feel! I just went through the Equate/Olay Beauty Lotion w/ SPF 30 and I'm not too happy with it. Not only did I look oily but I feel like I started breaking out because of it. Argh. Right now I am using the Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry-Touch Sunblock. So far, it's okay. I also ran out of my L'oreal powder so with the help of my cousin, I got the Bare Minerals Medium Beige powder. I don't wear make up on a daily basis anymore so I've only used it a handful of times. I like how it looks natural and has minimal coverage however, I am still suffering from acne scars so I think I need something else to use while my scars heal. L'oreal gives me good coverage although sometimes it's hard to notice how much I'm packing on and I end up looking like cake face. Well, this past week there was a sale at CVS so I restocked my L'oreal for days when I need more coverage...guess I will have to figure out how to apply sparingly!

Happy Memorial Day! 

P.S. I have plans for 2 Vegas trips this summer (YAY!) and I also booked a Vegas trip for Spring 2013. As much as I say I am tired of Vegas and would like to see more of the world, I can't help but return because of the cheap hotel/flights! It's also a perfect place for me for a quick getaway... dancing + gambling (Sex and the City slots?!) + pools + walking on the streets with alky in hand = happy me!

Mochi Cream Review

A couple of weeks ago my roomie and I decided to forego studying for the afternoon (we were let out of class at 1:30PM) and drove around to fulfill our cravings. On the list? Mochi cream, boba milk tea (or as I found out, most northern Californians call them PEARL milk tea), frozen yogurt from Yogurtland, and sushi. I've had everything on the "to-eat" list except the mochi cream. Now, I love mochi (well at least from Yogurtland and from Trader Joe's) and roomie has had authentic mochi straight from Japan so at the Mochi Cream stand at Mitsuwa we ordered the green tea mochi (for me) and a raspberry cream one (for her). We weren't about to buy a boxful of them if we didn't know how they tasted. So we each got our individually wrapped mochi cream and walked out of the store smiling. As we got into the car I opened the plastic wrap and bit into the mochi cream. I guess I'm used to the sweet ice cream mochi from Trader Joe's because my taste buds were in for a rude awakening. The outside of the mochi cream was bitter from the matcha green tea! Argh. I'm not a fan of anything bitter. The inside was okay, nothing special. I was expecting an ice cream texture but it was custard-y. As for my roomie, her mochi cream was much better (but still not great enough for me to want more). It was sweet but it had a weird texture like it was frost-bitten. In the end, I think I'd stick with yummy macarons that taste much better and are a bit cheaper!

Coachella Unboxing!

Who's excited?

Ramblings

Tall cup of hot boba milk jasmine green tea, legs propped on a chair, a zip-up sweatshirt, and a smile on my face. If you saw me at the tea shop right now you wouldn't think I had a care in the world, right? Wrong! I mean, granted I don't have a busy school week (nothing is really "due" til next week and that's the start of finals week) and class doesn't start til 10:30AM tomorrow, but I still have a couple of projects I need to get out of the way so that I can start studying for finals. 6 months ago (wow, 6 months and I've only written a few posts?!) I wouldn't have imagine to be barely keeping my head above water. I really thought I could balance school and a life of blogging (I really wanted to become a regular blogger!). Since moving in with my classmate I realized that we study less now than we did when I lived 20 minutes away from her! Ironic, isn't it? Ha. I guess when you spend 8 hours a day together you want as much time away from each other as possible. I cannot imagine going to school and seeing her face all day and then coming home and studying with her all night and then waking up the next day to repeat it all. She's a nice girl however she is way too energetic for me! I really don't know how she can stay upbeat all day long. I'm no party pooper but when the sunsets, I go back into my shell.
 

99 Cents Only Finds

Anyway, even though I don't have time to blog myself, I do find time to coupon here and there (or at least try)! My sister gets annoyed whenever I come home for the weekend and do my weekend run to the 99 cents only store. I have found some great deals and I'm not ashamed to say I shop there. Hey, I'm on a budget! I'll post some pics of my "latest" finds. The only thing is that I have to go to the store a couple hours within opening to get the "best" deals. I have a go-to outfit for those days. It consists of a cardigan, a loose t-shirt or tunic, leggings/tights, and boots or flats.

Here is a list of the items I found on one of my 99 Cents Only Store run (note all the brand name items):
- Back to Nature Whole Wheat Crackers
- Wheat Thins Toasted Chips
- Quakers Stila Granola Bars
- 4-Pack Yoplait Lactose-Free Yogurt (I'm not sure if I'm lactose intolerant but I'm Asian, so most likely?)
- 3-Pack Jif (Individually Packaged)
- 5 oz (?) bag of M&Ms
- 2 Bags of JellyBelly Belly Flops
- 2 4-Pack of Silk PureAlmond SoyMilk

Everything was only $1! I enjoyed the Silk PureAlmond so much I went back this past week (I dragged my sister along) and literally stared at the grocery man restocking the shelves hoping he would put out more of the Silk. I'm glad I waited because he restocked them with the chocolate flavor! It is good til June 2012 so I am going to wait and finish the others before trying them. $1 for a pack of 4 is a great deal. The last time I googled the prices, I found amazon listing the 4-pack for as much as $6?! I'm not sure if that's accurate. I'm just happy I can just grab some milk on the go and increase my calcium intake--it's never too early to protect against osteoporosis!

A Fresh Start!

I'm sitting in my new room writing this blog. Glad to say that I actually have a closet now but I haven't filled up half of it yet! Very excited to be starting the quarter living with a classmate. I'll be in school with her from 8-5pm five days a week and we will be studying in the evenings! Let's hope this roommate situation goes well.

I cannot believe how quickly my winter break flew by! I had a great time in Vegas. During the day, my bf and I walked the strip (although we've both been to Vegas numerous times) we enjoy checking out the holiday decor on the strip. At night, we went clubbing and danced til the wee hours of the morning. After the Vegas trip, I had a week before moving so I relaxed (aka slept in every morning and laid in bed til the afternoon) and had a bit of time to do some cleaning and packing (and squeezed in some time to see friends). I didn't get to complete everything off of my "to-do" list for winter break.  Uh...does reading a text book count? I really wanted to finish the book I stole from my sister, "The Last Lecture" but I didn't even open it all break! As for donating clothes...I gathered a bunch of old clothes to donate but it's still sitting in my room. I'm contemplating whether or not to just donate or to try one of those stores (i.e. Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, Plato's Closet). I just don't think my clothes from high school would be worth anything...

"Winter in Venice" - Venetian Hotel

Anyway, being a college student again is making me realize how much money I don't have (ah, I've been spending way too much without making any money!) and how I should be saving. (Vegas trips aren't helping too). I decided to look into couponing and I've been obsessed with it! I had my first "successful" couponing trip just the other day. I scored free Aquafresh toothpaste, 2 boxes of Target brand mac & cheese (although I'm not a fan of boxed mac and cheese), free floss, cheap TheraFlu (it is my family's drug of choice when we are sick with the flu/cold) and Target brand rotini pasta and sauce for less than 1.50 for both! Ha. I swear, everywhere I go I can spot a coupon from a mile away. Speaking of great deals, I went to the 99 cents only store to grab a large monthly desk calendar for school. I like to have one of those calendars so I can see all my commitments for the month. And how great is it that it is only 99 cents? Of course the paper is a bit on the cheap side but I'm not complaining. It does the job. While I was there, they were trying to get rid of all their holiday items so everything was on sale. I grabbed some clear treat bags with twist ties included (my sister and I have been making holiday treats for the past couple of years) so I know we will be using them next year, a fold-up Christmas gift box, and a packet with 6 different Christmas cards (for my momma). The cards aren't the best quality but when it's 6 for 40 cents, I'm cool with it. My mom doesn't send out many cards anymore but she does give one to our mail lady and the garbage man. Hopefully she will find them useful. All of the holiday items cost only $1.20!

Desk calendar, Treat bags (each 20 ct), Holiday Gift Box, (6) Xmas Cards

Well, better finish up my homework. First day of winter quarter starts tomorrow at 8AM sharp. Welcome to 12 long weeks of hell.