Game Face.

Everybody knows I love makeup.  I've loved it since the day I started wearing it, which was sometime when I was 14.  My first day of High School, I wore Red Lipstick and False Eyelashes. And as the years progressed, so did the amount of shit I put on my face. LOL.  During my College years, I laid off a little (well, actually more than a little...) and then jumped right back in when I started working in the cosmetics industry in 2002.

Well because of my love of makeup, I have been accused, more than once let me tell you, of being one of those girls who is scared to let people see her without her face on. I am here today to tell you that NO. I am NOT one of those girls.

Do you know that there are call centers that still have a business-attire dress code in effect, even though their employees sit on phones all day and their clients can't see them? Do you know why they have dress codes? It's actually not just to be asshole bosses (this was my thought back in the day when I worked at one of these hell-holes). It is because when you are dressed the part, you act the part. Hello? Fake it till you make it, anyone????
Anyway, this is how I feel about makeup, and that is why I wear it everyday. It is my Game Face. When I put it on in the morning, I feel ready for my day. I feel like I can be productive, get shit done, and be ready for anything.  Or if its for nighttime, I can feel sexy, outrageous, fun, flirty, funky, etc etc etc. The 'characters' you can create for yourself with makeup is endless. Feeling a little low in the confidence department? Just swipe on a look-at-me Bitch Face with some high-drama red lipstick. Or PMS-ing and want to murder the world? Smoke up your eyes like two mean black holes daring anyone to fuck with you! My point is, I seriously LOVE makeup.
BUT, if you come over before I put it on, it doesn't make me uncomfortable. If I have to leave my house after I've taken it off, I don't hold my face down in embarrassment. I knew a girl who would put on makeup before her husband woke up to avoid him looking at her without it on! Crazy. That is not me. I am fine with what I look like au naturel. I just like the way I look with makeup on better! Can you see the difference with what I'm saying here? Just to prove myself, I am posting here on my blog, free to float around cyberspace for all of eternity, a picture of my before and after makeup:

(****WARNING: IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO TAKE A SIP OF SCALDING HOT COFFEE, I SUGGEST YOU PUT IT DOWN. THE FOLLOWING MAY STARTLE YOU OR EVEN CAUSE MILD DISCOMFORT. NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. RATED PG************)

Notice my hair even looks shinier and blonder with makeup on??? Ha, ha... just kidding! Here are some awesome random makeup pics I uploaded from the Internet:

Now, Tammy Faye Baker at the end here may look garish, but I can still understand why she wears it. :)

I myself haven't had any real formal training, and I worked as a makeup artist for many years. In those years, I have met and befriended many awesome girls who are also amazing makeup artists. Here are a couple of links to check out:

My amazing girlfriend Andrea!!! Click here and fall in looooove:
http://www.andreaellingson.com/

and my friend Candice who is not only amazing at makeup but photography too!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kazmetix-Makeup-Artistry/20904360166
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ste-Croix-Photography/29885874991

There are so many talented girls that I know who work at makeup counters or freelance, but so many of them don't have a website or any professional photos posted on their facebooks or anything! It's a shame because this list would have TONS of cool stuff for you to check out...

On a parting note, I would like to clarify one little thing.... on my last post (Style Swap) I posted some pictures of the way I dress and described it as "my style is a hodge podge of what I like to call Rock n Roll, Prozzie, Trend-Victim".  Now the part I want to clarify is that this statement is largely directed at my pre-mom/or partytime-nighttime self. One aspect of my style that I forgot to describe is what I will call the "Dowdy Humptey Dumptey." Luckily this style is mostly reserved for my time spent at home. Jeez, my poor husband.... lol.

Beyond Sex-ayyyyy!

Let me be your Crack(le) Pusher...

STEP ONE:

STEP TWO:

ONE WORD: STELLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAR!!!!!

Style Swap (aka Hooker in a Past Life).

Geez... its been two weeks since my last post. I kinda suck at blogging.  I wish I could say its because I was away or something, but no such luck.  I guess I've just been too tired to blog. Oh well...I will make sure this post is SUPER interesting to make up for it. LOL.
So some of you may know that I have an older sister named Marn. We are only one year apart in age, so we've always been close and bffs.  Because of this close age difference, my mother always used to dress us as twins when we were kids. She thought it was cute, and it didn't really bother us either, truthfully. I think we both kind of liked it. Anyways, cashiers and such would always ask "Oh, wow, are you girls twins?" with a smile, and then look completely perplexed when we answered "No" in unison like some creepy Red Rum children. Bahhhh.

As we have grown up, obviously our sense of styles have changed many times over the years.  I am quite grateful to my parents for letting me wear whatever the hell I wanted to high school, which is a time when I really felt the need to express myself through my sense of style. I wore my father's 3-piece suits from the 70s, I wore my father's Pajama shirts with jeans, I wore long johns under maxi skirts that were unbuttoned to the thigh to show off the long johns, I wore Amy Winehouse eyeliner and my mother's 80s cowboy boots, and plenty of other oddities that they didn't bat an eyelash at. Thanks Rents... I love ya for it, for realz.
And now as adults, Marn and I have COMPLETELY different styles. Almost polar opposites. Marn is a female Peter Pan. Not because she likes green tights and pointy hats, but her style is like the Girl who never grew up. She LOVES girly-girl stuff in little girl styles. For example, the colorful kiddie barrettes in her hair, colorful plastic jewellery, little toy charm thing-a-ma-jiggies dangling from her purse, mary jane shoes, ankle or knee socks, etc.

As for me, my style is a hodge podge of what I like to call Rock n Roll, Prozzie, Trend-Victim. I ADORE leopard print, tight clothes, studs, stilettos, and I love, love, love, black and white checkers and stripes. And Houndstooth.

So for a while now, Marn and I have talked about how fun it would be to do a makeover on each other in each others' styles! What a fun idea hey??? So we finally did it last weekend.
Let me first say that it is the strangest feeling being dressed up in someone else's distinct style, especially when it is no where near your own. You feel like an imposter, or like you're dressed up in a costume. Its weird. Anyway, Marn did me up like some 8 year old Harajuku Princess. It was cute for the photoshoot, but something that I would NEVER wear. I sometimes think that I am too tall and big of a person to wear things that are overly feminine. Ruffles, bows, and lots of pink just do not suit me. To see the results of Marn's transformation of me you will have to click HERE to go to her blog! Enjoy!

Now, when it came time for Marn's makeover, I did her up exactly the way I would myself for a night out. I did her makeup-- lots of black eyeshadow, and LOTS of black eyeliner and mascara, lots of blush , teased hair, and and outfit that I myself have worn out many times. Now the funny thing is, is that when she came into the room with her face made up like mine, and dressed in MY clothes, the first thing I thought and said to her was, "You look like a Hooker!" I was shocked! I had no idea that I looked like such an 80s hooker when I went out! I always knew there was a "Pretty Woman" element to my style of dressing, what with my penchant for leopard print and thigh-high boots and shit, but I didn't know it was to this extent! I'm talking she looked full on 1988 Street Walker supreme/Part time Motley Crue Groupie Hooker. Isn't that funny? That I had to see my clothing on someone else to really realize what I looked like??? It was an eye-opening experiment, let me tell you. Here are the results:

And when I saw this next picture, I thought it was of a blonde me!












After all is said and done, what I love most, is it doesn't matter how different my sister and I choose to look. Inside we are as similar as we are different. I love having Marn as a sister, and I love being her sister! XOXOXXO!

P.S.  Looking back, I even dressed like a Hooker on my last pregnancy!!!!!! WTF???

Apple Pies and Magazines.

I love it when my inner Martha Stewart rears her perfect little head and makes me feel like Domestic Diva Supreme!!
As it is now September, my parents gave me a bunch of apples from their backyard tree, soooo of course I decided to make some Apple Pies for the family!

I ended up making 6 pies (exhausting!), and i froze them.  I wanted to give them to everyone all wrapped up in a cute Autumn-y theme so this is what I came up with...

First, I took a super cute pic of Apollo helping me bake. Then I printed out the pics and glued them to pretty, orange Scrapbook paper, and then wrote out the baking instructions on them.  Next I went to Michael's and bought some cute red and white striped tissue paper, cute ribbon, and gold stickers that say "Home Made" on them.

I went home and wrapped the frozen pies up with all the cute Michael's stuff and

TA-DA!!!!!!

Look how super cute they turned out!!I do believe they were a nice surprise for the Fam...and the Pies were not too shabby tasting either, if I do say so myself...

If you would like to try my Not-Too-Shabby Apple Pie recipe, here it is:

First buy some Crisco.

Then just follow the recipe for the pie crust on the back of the box...
For the Apple filling, follow this:
-2lbs cooking apples
-1/2 a cup Sugar
-1 and 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
-1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
-1/2 Tsp All-Spice
-1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger
-1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
-1/4 Tsp Salt

Mix these ingredients together and spoon into pie shells and dot with butter.   Apply your top Pie  crust or lattice strips and either freeze in a freezer bag, or bake at 450F for 30-45 mins.
Please let me know if you tried it!! :)

Now, nothing goes better with a slice of pie (or a cup of coffee, or a midnight snack, or a bus ride, or anytime really!) than a nice fresh, brand new Fashion magazine to flip through!! Anyone who knows me , knows how much I love magazines. So much so, that I have a hard time throwing them out, I also regularly peruse through back issues, even at times going to my basement archives of magazines to flip through NINETIES back issues, and one of the highest compliments I like to give (and love to receive) is "You look so magazine!".
Anyhoo, I was recently flipping through the September issue of People Style Watch, and came across "The Fashion Face-Off" section.

After looking at these outfits, I realized I had similar items in my closet and since I was seeing girlfriends for coffee that evening, I decided to "Face Off" with Posh and Charlize, and put together a cute Fall look...

Do you like what a Dork I am that I got my sister to snap me 'rushing' off to somewhere important like some faux-celebrity??? LOL. I like how my sister is the same type of dork who was totally down with my idea and took a bazillion photos of me walking across a 2 metre wide hallway. xoxoxo

Here's another look at my outfit:

What you can't really see in this pic is that my jeans are completely unbuttoned and unzipped because they don't fit right now. And yes, I am aware that I don't look very pregnant in these pics, but trust me... the belly is there. The scarf, the black tee and black jacket as well as my height are good camouflagers...

Love, Hate & Entertainment.

I am Loving:

-The "Laird" boot from Vince Camuto in red is so sinfully 70s it makes me want to throw on a polyester blazer and shorts combo, jump into a Camaro, and head to the nearest disco! I heart them in a big, big way.

-Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum is slowly turning into my Designer Crush. I used to be neither here or there with an opinion on Burberry, but everytime I see their ads, or something I like in a magazine, a lot of times it turns out to be Burberry Prorsum! Check out some of these AMAZING Leather Jackets... I would sooooooooooo love to have one of these babies!

Look at all these spikes on this Trench!  SO cool.





Some more looks from Fall/Winter 2011. Love the Green Pant suit in the 4th pic, top row.

Click HERE to read some interesting stuff about Christopher Bailey and to see some of his present and past collections.



-I am absolutely LOVING Tommy Hilfiger's Ad Campaign for Fall! This is an excellent example of knowing your aesthetic and staying true to it. The clothes, the way the models are styled, the locations... all very Tommy Hilfiger. I am loving his handbags lately too.

I am Hating:

-All of my friends are aware of my hate on for phrases such as:

"At the end of the day..."

"It is what it is..."

"If you love something, set it free, blah blah blah..."

Some other baddies that are getting under my skin as of late include:

1. "Sustainable". Like seriously? Everyone has to use this friggin word to express that their product is "green"? I'll tell you what's sustainable... your lameness, that's what.

2. "Space" or "Place" when referring to one's emotional state, as in "She's in a really bad place right now." "I am in a really creative space lately."

"Oh, she's in a 'bad place' right now? Where?...behind the Mac's on 118 ave and 82nd?" Fuck off.

3. "Piece" when referring to an article of clothing or furniture. "I own a few pieces of Donna Karan's..." "I need to find a piece to fill that corner of my living space." That last example was a piece of shit double whammy!

4. "Fierce". It was interesting for a minute when that lil Project Runway weirdo first used it but then it exploded and everyone everywhere uses it for everything. Puke.

5. "Edgy". This word is okay when used in normal conversations. But what annoys me is how magazines use it. Anything with studs on it is described as "Look Edgy! Add this studded belt!". Oh, it has studs on it? How about they use the work "Mainstream" to describe it instead, seeing as "edgy" studded "pieces" have been in style for a few years now.

-Something else that I am NOT a fan of are Marc Jacobs' ads. They are not attractive to me at all. Who wants to look dowdy? Or homely? That's how they look to me. I like Fashion that's glamorous, or interesting, or sexy, or beautiful, because that is how I want to look. If I want to look like I'm wearing an old, floral dress of my Gran's that's 2 sizes too big and I don't like to style my hair, then I will go to my Gran's house and not to a Marc Jacobs Boutique.

OK, so I tried to google the ad I was thinking of and I can't find it. But there's just something about the way they look, all cheap and basement-y that I don't like. His ads even made Posh Spice look bad, and she always looks good. PLUS, I absolutely loathe the ads for BANG! Fragrance. Marc Jacobs seems like such a narcissistic a-hole for using himself as the model/face for his fragrance. You're NOT a model Marc, or a Celebrity. And your SpongeBob tattoo is super gay. And I don't mean 'gay' in a homosexual way, because that would be a compliment.

I can't wait to be Entertained by:

-At Chapters today I bought myself "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie. I have never read an Agatha Christie book before and I guess she is the best-selling Mystery Author of all time. I love Mysteries! And what else will be interesting is that this book was first published in 1933!!

-I also think I may be taking up Couch-Potato as a hobby this fall with all the good tv shows coming out! First of all, Survivor and Project Runway start next week! YAY!

Some new shows that look good that I would like to check out are:

1. Pan Am - Premieres Sept 25 on ABC

2.Up All Night - Premiers Sept 14 on NBC 

3. The Playboy Club - Premiers Sept 19 on NBC

4. 2 Broke Girls - Premieres Sept 19 on CBS. (This one I'm not so sure of... I want to like it because it comes from Michael Patrick King who as you all know, gave us Sex and the City, but I'm not so sure if this will be good...

Cheap, Chic, & Crafty!

Funny how in Summer you are too occupied with being sweaty to want to be creative. Now that summer is officially over (it's September 1st! Yikes!), all of a sudden I have a major urge to get crafty! I went to Micheal's the other day and I saw a million projects I would love to do! And actually, last weekend I finally started AND completed a project I had envisioned last year. You know how car dealerships have those little colorful flag streamers hanging around their perimeter?

I guess the Proper name for these is 'Pennant Flags".

Well I thought this would look super cute in a little boy's room , so I sat down at my trusty old sewing machine and whipped up the cutest Pennant Flags for Apollo's room! Isn't it adorable????!!!

Po saw me sewing them, and he was all intrigued by the sewing machine and what I was doing. I told him it was for his room and it spelled out "Apollo!". When I hung it in his room, his whole face smiled so big and he yelled out "APOWO!!!"
It was pretty much the cutest thing ever. xoxox

Another plus point about summer being over is Fall clothes! Yay! Although I am not ready for real Edmonton Fall weather, I am definitely enjoying wearing some of the cute boots and sweaters I have. I was at Walmart picking up some groceries yesterday, and I picked up a totally cute grey, cable-knit, short-sleeved sweater! Adorable and totally on trend for ONLY $18! Man, I love a good deal. I also picked up some uber cute ballet flats for only $15. They are black quilted faux-leather so they have a cute Chanel look to them. Well, Chanel-y in a Walmart kind of way anyhow. They will be perfect for these warm-ish-not-quite-summer-anymore-but-not-yet-cold-either days we have coming up. Plus they're super comfortable.... I can totally chase after Po in these no prob. :)

Moms with no Jobs LOVE Walmart! Kiss Kiss!!

And here is Me, preggo modelling my new outfit. The sweater will look much better in December when I have a waist again. ;)

Headband - The Bay
T-shirt - Joe Fresh
Leggings - I bought in Vancouver (can't remember the store name)
Sweater & Ballet Flats - WALMARRRRRRRRRRT!

And while I was editing my pics for my blog, I created this peice of magic for your viewing pleasure:

If they made Horror Cereal Boxes, this is totally what they would look like.