Oct 25, 2011

Spruce it up, Make it pretty

Am I the only one TOTALLY EXCITED for the return of Portlandia in January?  I don't even have IFC and have to order the season through my Zune account on my Xbox.  One of my favorite skits is "Put a bird on it" where they go around putting birds on random things...but isn't it true?  When you see a blank tote bag, you don't even care about it, but the moment you see a bird on it, it's ethereal and "organic-looking."

Anyway, this Autumn, while everyone is into animal print in the traditional sense, I'm taking a different stance on it.  Instead of typical giraffe prints, leopard prints, and tiger prints, I'm about prints with ANIMALS ON THEM.  I love it!  I'm on the hunt.  (Pun intended).
ark & co bird print dress, zara pumps,black tights, martin + osa belt
Btw, this past weekend was Ryan's & my 4-year anniversary!  Yay us.  How did we celebrate?  Lunch a Benihana's, pizza dinner and a bottle of wine at home.  And Disneyland (of course).  We'll also be celebrating our anniversary in Seattle with Tramanh and Tu next week, so if you're in the SEA area, please let us know so we can meet up!

Oct 20, 2011

The Animal Inside of You

It was one of our friend, Anthony's, birthday and we went to Animal Restaurant on Fairfax.  Their menu changes daily and it's all small plates, and INCREDIBLY delicious...super decedent.  The restaurant is small (seats about 45 people) and the ambiance is pretty chill.  Some of our fave dishes included: pork belly sliders, poutine, foie gras loco moco, bone marrow with chimichurri, and the bacon chocolate crunch bar (yes!).  After 15+ courses and 3 bottles of wine, it was a good night.
Aqua vest (similar one found here), Patterson J Kincaid tunic, Lululemon Wunderunder (similar one found here), LAMB pumps (similar ones found here)
Enough with the outfit, here are some pics of the food!  To be honest, we were SO hungry, that everyone started to dive in before I even got to take a picture of the food!  RUDE.  Don't they know I have a blog to upkeep?
pork belly sliders
fois gras loco moco
questions? ask here! | twitter tracker

Oct 19, 2011

Product Review: Hana Flat Iron

A while ago, I was approached by Misikko.com to do a product review on a Flat Iron straigther and I'll be honest, at first I was like, "I have the straightest hair ever!"  But I do use a flat iron every once in awhile to curl the ends of my hair...or if I'm feeling adventurous, do "beachy waves."  I use quotes while saying "beachy waves" mainly because I have no idea if I'm doing it right or if I'm going to sear my fingers off (it's intimidating!)

I currently have a Magic ceramic flat iron that works really well, but is chipped on the side and is pretty beat up so I was pretty excited to try a new one.

First off, the packaging is AMAZE.  It comes with all sorts of goodies from a sleeping eye mask to anti-bacterial (lol wat?) to elf makeup products (awesome):
 After skimming through the manual (come on, you know I dive right into things), what I really liked is that they had a scale of how hot to put the flat iron depending on what condition your hair is in.  For instance, if you have very thin, fragile or damaged hair, you should set the heat setting to 230 degrees (F), but if you have very thick, healthy hair in good condition, you can amp up the heat to 450 degrees (F).  That is HOT!  The big selling point for the Hana Elit Flat Iron is that it's 100% solid ceramic plates (versus the typical coated aluminum plates), which allows for better heat distribution/retention and a smoother process.  Let's get to the pictures!

This is my hair at a natural state: Day 2 hair, no curling or straightening, kind of stringy:
 I decided to do half of my hair with the quick and easy "curled ends" where you just slightly run your flat iron through the ends, curling before you let go.  I set the heat to 370-degrees since I didn't want to scorch my hair or my hands.
Overall, it was a smooth and easy process.  It took a few swipes of the flat iron to really get the ends curled, but I'm sure a little more heat would have helped (as well as some patience).  I would curl about 1 1/2" - 2" sections of hair, I should have probably stuck with 1":
I always see how great people can curl their hair with the flat iron - for me, I personally prefer to use either hot rollers or a curling iron, but hey!  I wanted to try something new and show the versatility in a product.  It took some getting used to (and I admit, a few "ow" moments of me holding the tip of the flat iron a little too long), but I think I may have gotten the hang of it:
For me, it was about sectioning my hair first, doing it layer at a time.  I tried doing strands randomly and I got frustrated after the 4th or 5th strand.  This is the first layer:
After awhile, I got used to it, allowing it to set, before running my fingers through it and fixing it up.  I think I like this look for something that isn't SO curled.  This is definitely "romantic" hair - adding a braid would really spruce it up too...hmm, not a bad idea for next tutorial!
You can really see how different these hair styles are, even from the same product - and though the beachy curls took a little longer than the curled ends, I think once I get used to it, it might be just as easy as using a traditional curling iron.
And to round out the review, I decided to curl my bangs both ways (oh you didn't know I went both ways?  Lol, jk) to test it out.  Though my bangs are naturally straight, everyday I curl my bangs inwards,  even today I had used a blow dryer and a round brush to curl them in.

Using the flat iron, I curled my bangs in quickly:
I decided to flip my bangs outward to see if it would look as cute (IT DOES NOT), but hey, I ain't ashamed of some failures - how else do you learn?
It looks a little more "breezy" (lol, what a weird description) but I think it's just because I'm not used to how it sits on my face.

Overall, I really liked the Hana Flat Iron, I give it an 8 out of 10.  It's a little pricey, but since it's 100% ceramic (and not just ceramic-coated), I think it's worth the investment if you're going to use it on a somewhat regular basis. 

Also, through this partnership, we are giving my readers a $10 off of any $100 purchase!  That includes Flat Irons, the T3 Dryers, and The Best Flat Irons - just use the code: ThatGirl10 during checkout!  Sweet man, that's 10%, like Los Angeles city tax rate.  Plus they have free shipping, so you know, can't beat that.  

What are some of YOUR favorite flat iron tricks?  I need to know1

Oct 18, 2011

When I Gif, You Gif, We Gif

After a failed attempt at seeing the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA a few weeks ago, we were smarter this time around and bought our tickets in advance (who knew that a museum would sell out of tickets!  I figured since it's a constant rotating door, that would be impossible) - I was wrong.

Unfortunately they don't allow picture-taking in the exhibit, but if you're in LA and you haven't seen the Tim Burton exhibit, NOW is the time.  It ends on Halloween (fitting), so I know it's going to get super packed.  What was amazing was his ability to create so many characters and story lines with just various creatures, sartorial commentary, and you even get to see the hand-written script of The Nightmare Before Christmas.  I ended up buying his short story book, a journal, and stationary.  What can I say?  I liked what I saw and I had to get me some.

This was the only photo I was able to take, but still pretty awesome, right?

Since my friends and I were already at LACMA, we just had to to the obligatory "Urban Lights" photoshoot, which turned into random .gif making:

Don't mind my face or the fact that I have my hands DIRECTLY OVER my goodies, I was literally saying, "What kind of ANGLE is this?!?!"
zara shirt, 7 for all mankind jeans, f21 belt, jessica simpson booties
We also ran into a little someone I believe most people know or have heard of.  You know what the craziest part is?  HE HAD AN iPHONE.  It was probably the 4S too.  Do you think he waited in line?

ATTENTION:

Ryan and I will be visiting Tramanh and Tu in Seattle next week!! We'll be in town from Thursday, 10/27 - Monday, 10/31, and Tramanh and I are looking to do a meet-and-greet.  GASP!!!  So if you're in Seattle that weekend and would like to meet us up, PLEASE let us know so we can figure out the details - just add a comment on our Ask Phivy Forum.  Expect something like this, but a little less creepy:
 questions? ask here! | twitter tracker

Oct 17, 2011

Step 1: You Put a Cake in the Jar

So it was my sister's birthday last weekend and aside from getting her the Game of Thrones bookset, I wanted to add something special.  Since I wasn't able to celebrate her birthday with her in-person (and enjoy dericious cake), my friend (who's sister's birthday was the day before Christine's) and I decided to bake our sisters a cake...in a jar!

My friend got the idea from here, and it looked so cute and so simple to do.  Except here's the thing: the entire CITY OF LOS ANGELES was out of mason jars!  Home Depot, Target, Michael's!  It took us 3 days to find mason jars and even when we DID, they were 1/2 gallon each, NOT the cute little quart ones you use for jams.  At that point, we were like, SCREW IT.

Here is our step-by-step process, it actually turned out pretty good...though I have no idea if it made it safely to Ohio.  I'm pretty sure it's going to look like throw-up by the time it gets to her doorstep.  Oh well, at least I tried!

We baked yellow cake and added sprinkles in it to make confetti cake, since my friend isn't a fan of white cake (which is normally what confetti cake is made out).

What you'll need:
  • Cake mix (confetti cake mix or yellow cake mix and separate sprinkles)
  • Mason jars
  • Vanilla frosting
  • Food coloring
  • Sprinkles
  • Candles

Oct 13, 2011

Where For Art Thou, Fall

No seriously, Fall, WHERE ARE YOU?  It is mid-October and literally, the high today is 101 in mid-LA.  I cannot handle this.

We had one day of rain earlier last week and it was bliss.  Now THAT is what Autumn is supposed to feel like, not this hotter-than-hell feeling.  It's really ruining the experience of me reading all these Fall Fashion choices when I know really, I'm wearing my summer dresses and Toms to work.

The wrap-around braid is one of my go-to hair dos when I'm feeling lazy and I'm tired of my wet hair touching my back.  Similar to how I braid my hair to get my bangs out of my face , I just continue with the braid, reaching it around the nape of my neck and all the way down to the other side.  It's a little tricky when you go from your right side to your left, but with practice, it gets easier.
f21 dress, h&m cardigan, martin + osa belt, toms shoes
  
 

This weekend is my sissy's bday - but she's all the way in Ohio, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER from sunny and hot California!  How's that 50-degree weather treatin' you?  HAW HAW.
 

questions? ask here! | twitter tracker