Media Players

Lately I've been downloading Doctor Who episodes after they air since the new shows don't come on with my cable plan. I've been using VideoLAN's VLC media player to watch them. VLC is a free, open source application which is really awesome because it's the best media player. Unfortunately, I've been having trouble playing the .avi files. The video works fine, but the audio doesn't play at all. I thought it was just the new files I was watching until I went back to watch something I know I had watched on VLC before only now there was no sound. So I scoured the Googles looking for the answer with no luck until I came across a page that Firefox didn't want to load, but I could override it. The question on the forum was EXACTLY my problem! Someone responded that all you had to do was find the file that ran the application vlc.exe  and change it to vlc2.exe

IT WORKED!

I have Vista, so I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC and changed the list so that I was viewing Details instead of icons or the regular list so I could find the file. It only said vlc but in the next column it said application as the file type, so I changed vlc to vlc2 and the computer prompted me to make sure I really wanted to change the file name and now the sound works famously!

Barbeque and Cards!

We made plans to have lunch at Aunt Linda’s house today which, in nice weather, always means a barbeque. Uncle John was there which is great, but he was double dipping all over the place! First dad caught him (which stopped my dipping in the ranch right away) then mom did! I’m glad we went over because otherwise, I think we would have had chicken. Again.

Aunt Linda started hassling dad about his beard about ten minutes after we got to the house.
"It;s getting pretty darn long," she said, and pulled out the new razor she got for her three poodles. “Here, Bob. I’ll just grab it right here and trim all that right off over the trash can,” she said holding up the razor and reaching towards his face.
“Who’ve you used that on?”
She waved the hand holding the razor around at the three poodles and everyone laughed. Except dad! He reached for the razor to look at the blades to see if there was any hair there, but he can’t read normal sized font, let alone see some short white dog hairs in a razor! I’m glad Aunt Linda was laughing though because she has been sad lately. Since I’m leaving Saturday for vacation, I gave her a mother’s day card today which also made her happy. I bought it at Wal-Mart and decided that I will never buy cards again. Of course I have, though. My friend Shannon’s birthday is this summer so I picked up an awesome card from the kids section. The children’s card is where it’s at. Other cards are too serious! That’s why I like to make them myself when it comes to important occasions like weddings, anniversaries, thank you cards, and love cards.
I’ve made valentines four times now for my super amazing boyfriend Evan, and it’s really easy to make endearing cards for loved ones. You can write anything inside and it’s automatically the best someone will receive because it took time to make it. Even if the words aren’t Hallmark quality, it’s always heartwarming. With this in mind, I collected my scrapbooking materials and headed into the living room. I got so excited that I made a mother’s day card for my mom, my godmother, and Evan’s mom, Marie. I haven’t written anything inside Marie’s card because I think it will be nice if he writes in it. He has terrible penmanship, but I know she’ll love it. Maybe I’ll suggest he work on it with his brother Aaron.
Countdown to vacation....six days!

Spring Cleaning

I started this blog for my Careers In Writing class at my college, and had some trouble thinking of a topic to make my blog about. We were required to pick something we enjoy to write about, but I had trouble thinking of something I liked, so I thought long and hard (about an hour) about what I would like it to be about. I had recently gotten into T-shirt reconstruction, but my t-shirt preferences really just end with cutting out the collar and the hem of the sleeves because I have wide shoulders so I was struggling to think of something to blog about after my first post.
After fretting over my blog for way too long, my awesome friend Katie (who is going to start school to become a beautician) asked me why I don't just blog about what I want. I really want to blog about whatever I want at random, but I think that the idea of the class assignment is for it to have a general theme. My theme is just being fabulous. I've written a few blogs helping with general beauty things that I've learned about, but the things I've written about aren't really too important or even thought-provoking. It was also difficult to think of something I could write a good bit about.
The assignment ends with the end of the semester, but my blog will not. I love fashion and I love make-up, and I love all things girly, but there is more to me than that, and I’d like to show it in my blog. Since my blogs can be shorter, I will do my best to blog everyday about something that happened to me that day that was funny or something that made the really think, or even something awesome that I learned. This blog will become really random in its topics, but it will all be about me. I suppose that’s more like a personal journal, but I hope that it will be interesting to a larger audience. This change in my blog begins tomorrow. Out with the old and in with the new!
Until then, think of something you care about, and don’t forget to be fabulous.

Quick News!

Both Michelle Phan and Kandee Johnson from my brush cleaning entry are featured in the May 2010 issue of NYLON magazine. The article is titled "screen queens" and tells a little about these youtubers and Samantha and Nicole Chapman, Jessica Harlow, and Dulce Candy Tejeda. The article also gives some info on the beauty products they love and each makeup artist answers a couple of questions.

Check it out!

Also, I decided to splurge and purchase the Sun Laboratories Ultra Dark Self Tanning Lotion Set to see if I really should have included it in my entry about summer tannning, but they haven't processed my order yet. This makes me a little mad.. I have never bought anything online that didn't confirm the purchase immediately and ship on the first business day after the purchase. I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Elusive Undergarments

Have a shirt that bares your back and need a bra that doesn’t show? New spring fashions are cute, flirty, and fun, but what the heck do we wear under them?!
One popular new trend is shirts with lace backs that show off skin from the collar to the waist line. When I first wore my shirt, I was tempted to wear a tank top underneath to hide my bra, but I realized that this was the exact opposite point of the top. This past year I have seen more and more fashion ideas going back to using lace and crochet details. In the fall the rosette became popular along with lace sewn onto sleeves and hems, but, for spring, designers have gotten bold and removed the cloth to bare the skin. The idea is to show! Not hide! With this in mind, I went in search of bras that won’t show.
The place that offers the most bra options is, of course, Victoria’s Secret. The bad things about VS bras is that they are all $50 or more and require hand-washing.
For the shirt that has one sleeve, a racerback, or narrow front (like a maxi dress), go with the Biofit 7-way bra, It's available in 12 colors, and both straps are removable so that it can be worn in the classic style, one strap, strapless, halter, v-front, crisscross front, and racerback. The bra also comes with clear plastic straps in a small bag that matches the bra. These bras are super versatile which makes them great for vacations and cruises for lighter packing.
If your shirt bares your back to the waistline, check out backless bras. Victoria’s Secret has push up backless bras and demi backless bras available in various colors. The bras come with instructions, because the bra adheres to the skin.
If your shirt just comes a little too low in the back and shows your bra, get a low-back bra. VS has the 100-way bra that has an extra strap that you attach at the back, wrap around your belly and attach with the hooks on the other side. I have not checked this bra out in person because I have no need for this bra when I have the Biofit 7-way, but I have heard that it is a great bra.
So get to shopping, and don’t forget to be fabulous!

Bargain Shopping

It is easy to find good makeup at a discount—you just have to know where to look. Sephora offers many make up kits that are a steal online and in stores. My favorite kits are by Bare Essentuals, Too Faced, and Sephora. With every purchase, Sephora offers free shipping on orders over $50, up to three free samples, and sometimes they have free makeup you can snag with a code at checkout (click at the top of the page to find out more about these great offers). Don’t forget to sign up for a beauty insider account to rack up points towards free items, and receive a free birthday gift!
Ulta also offers some combination kits, but not as many. The fabulous thing about Ulta is that they have lots of clearance items in store that can run more than 50% off the original price. The most common clearance items are lipsticks, lip balms, and O.P.I. and Essie nail polishes, but they also clearance out other products when seasonal colors change. Right now in clearance are darker winter colors, but the pale lip balms and lipstick will be great for the beach.
Another place to find discounted items online is on Beauty.com. Beauty.com has everything! They offer Department store makeup, designer makeup and drugstore makeup at a reduced cost. This is a great place to pick up the items you already know and love. If you get a new product and the color isn’t perfect, they take returns on all their items. And, just like at Sephora.com, you can get up to 3 free samples with each purchase you make! The best part? You get 5% back on each order you place that is credited into your account and it works with Drugstore.com because they are linked with Drugstore.com! Because they’re linked, you can combine your shopping cart and pick up just about everything you might need all at once and it’s less than the retail price! Drugstore.com has everything you might need from a drugstore—from headache, allergy, and cold relief to sexual health, they’ve got it all.
Makeup can also be found at Amazon.com, but it’s a little bit more difficult to browse through products. Amazon.com works better if you already know what you want and just need to find it at a discount. My favorite Amazon makeup find is the Coastal Scents 88 Palette. Set with 88 high-pigmented colors, this pallet is a must-have for every fabulous girl!
So get to saving on all your beauty needs, and don't forget to be fabulous!

Brush Cleaning

Makeup brushes are a must-have, and we use them every day. Cleaning brushes is an important part to caring for them to ensure a long life. These tips are great for both make up brushes and artists brushes.

Makeup brush cleansers are available at makeup stores like Sephora and can also be found online, but these tend to come in small bottles for a pretty good price. To clean brushes without these pricey cleaners, there are quite a few options. Makeup artists Kandee Johnson and Michelle Phan suggest using extra virgin olive oil to clean makeup off the bristles. The oil removes the make up easily because they are similar substances. Just pour some olive oil on a plate, in a bowl or in your hand, and wipe up some with the brush then stroke it back and forth in your palm until you start to see the pigment show up on your hand. Rinse the brush out under water until all the oil is out. I find that it is difficult to get all the oil out, so I do the same process with shampoo. You can use any shampoo (I use my voluminizing shampoo), but if you have baby shampoo on hand, use that because it has a gentle formula. The shampoo will strip the bristles and make them brittle, so it’s important to use the olive oil. Michelle Phan uses Dawn dishwashing liquid mixed with organic extra virgin olive oil on a plate to cleanse her brushes. She says the dishwashing liquid removes bacteria and the olive oil restores the bristles, and she cleans her brushes daily after use. Phan says that it is not as important to clean shadow brushes since they are used for dry pigment, but brushes used for liquid products, like foundation, should be cleansed daily because they are more likely to breed bacteria. Kandee Johnson says she cleans her shadow brushes once a week when they are loaded with pigment. (It is easiest to see when brushes need to be cleaned if you pick brushes with white bristles because the makeup will show up better.) Johnson also puts her extra virgin olive oil onto a paper towel and strokes back and forth on the towel until no more pigment comes out onto the towel. I find this is easier than Phan’s plate method.

When washing brushes, it is important not to let the water run past the ferrule (the metal part between the bristles and the handle) onto the handle because it can cause rusting. It is also important not to stand brushes upside down with the bristles pointing up. When standing upside down, excess water can run down into the ferrule and loosen the glue that holds the bristles in place. Once loosened, bristles will start to fall out and ruin the brush. The best way to store both makeup and artist brushes is to store them bristle down. The easiest way to do this is with Brush Guards. They are super affordable (only $5.50 a set) and work for the thinnest eyeliner brushes to full powder and kabuki brushes.
So get to cleaning those brushes, and don't forget to be fabulous!

Summer Gift Giving Guide

Summer is a great time for parties, and with all the invitations for birthdays, barbeques, weddings, baby showers, and themed summer parties, deciding on gifts can be hard if you’re on a tight budget.
Picking the perfect gift starts with picking a gift. Grabbing a $25 gift card at Target is easy at the last minute, but it tells the receiver exactly how much you wanted to spend on them and didn’t have the time to pick out a personal gift. Getting a store gift card also limits the recipient to the store you chose to purchase it from.
For birthday parties, personal gifts can literally be anything depending on the person’s age, gender, and preferences. For a friend that likes to decorate, head over to the home décor isle and pick out three candles of varying sizes that go well together with matching candle holders. Target.com has a great selection of single candles and candle gift sets that aren’t available in stores for less than $20.
Barbeque hostess gifts are especially easy; just call the hostess to let her know you’re attending and ask if there is anything you can bring. If you aren’t too keen on being volunteered for anything, suggest to the hostess that you can bring baked beans or corn-on-the-cob. Vegetables usually get forgotten on the food list, and she will be thankful for your thoughtfulness. Baked beans come in a variety of styles including a new “Grillin’ Beans” line by BUSH’S that can be found with the other canned beans. If you aren’t much of a cook, ask if you can bring chips, drinks, or ice.
Weddings and baby shower gifts can be purchased from registries if the couple made them. Registries tend to have items from a wide price range that should fit your budget. If the couple made a registry and you can’t afford anything on the list, try teaming up with someone else on the guest list to make a purchase together or purchase something the couple will need. For baby showers, you can pick up extra diapers or baby wipes; these are items the couple will need to buy no matter how many they receive at the shower. For weddings you can give the couple cash and it will be greatly appreciated because of any leftover wedding expenses or travel money needed for a honeymoon.
Summer party gifts can be the same as barbeque gifts, but can also include bringing things for activities like a volley ball and a volley ball net or a fun game like Mad Gab.
So get into giving, and don't forget to be fabulous!

Summer Tans

Getting a healthy tan in the summer can really rack up some serious bucks. Bikinis cost around $40, tanning lotions cost from $5 to %50, lawn chairs cost upwards of %60 and tanning salons charge around $30 for spray tans which only last a week or you can spend $5 or more for sessions in a tanning bed which have to be visited multiple times for anything to show! Not to mention tanning in the sun without at least SPF 15 sun screen and tanning beds can cause skin cancer. What's left to get that healthy glow?!
Self tanning lotions!
These lotions pigment your skin to create a darker, more healthy look and are more reasonably priced than everything else you might need. Just switch out your regular body lotion with the self tanning. I currently use Jergens Natural Glow Firming Moisturizer and their Face Moisturizer. The firming moisturizer doesn’t smell as good as the original Revitalizing Lotion, but it still smells very good. The foam has less of a smell if scents are a problem. The face moisturizer goes a long way because it is thinner than normal face moisturizers. I use mine around the face, neck, and ears. After applying and rubbing in it dries pretty fast and feels totally matte--perfect for instant make-up application!

If you have more money to spend, the Sun Laboratories Ultra Dark Self Tanning Lotion Set is an even better option. The set comes with an exfoliating scrub, the self tanning lotion which is tinted to see where you apply it, and a moisturizing tan maintaining lotion. Going this way is a little bit more time consuming, but well worth it in the end. The scrub is used in the shower to remove any dead skin, the self-tanner goes on next, and the lotion is supposed to be used in the mornings to keep skin moisturized. The moisturizer is crucial to the process because it keeps skin from drying out and flaking off.
Another great option is the Gradual Tan lotions from Bath & Body Works. I got some of these and gave a few out as gifts. The lotions aren’t sold in stores right now, but the semi-annual sale is coming up and they might have some they’ve been hiding in the back. They can also be found online at the original sale price.

All these self-tanners smell good, are reasonably priced, and don’t cause streaking. They’re a great alternative to tanning beds or sun tanning, but if you tan with them and go out in the sun for extended periods, it is very important that sunscreen is used because the skin will still burn as if it were still pale.
So get bronzed, and don't forget to be fabulous!

New Ideas

Coming into the next decade of awesome, I have started to really love cutting my shirts. As a child I was always getting into trouble with the scissors, but I quickly learned last month that you don't have to be uncoordinated to get into trouble with them.
When I first heard about shirt reconstruction I was ecstatic because I could spice up my old t-shirts in a flash whenever I wanted. I made a few mistakes like this blue shirt that shows my bra, is much shorter than I remember, and is otherwise awkward to look at.
Another mistake is this tan shirt that is just as dumb-looking as when I first received it, and I haven’t found a way to fix it yet.


Now, I want to make this white top a one-shoulder number, but since that didn’t work out very well last time, I’m just going to try cutting strips in the left shoulder for a peek-a-boo effect.

First step is to make sure you have a sharp pair of scissors. I usually use my Fiskars from JoAnn, but they have some small dings in the blade, so I’ll use the smaller Westcott pair I got from Office Max with a cool paper cutter. Do not use a rotary because it’s harder to control where your cuts start and stop.

Next I’m going to cut out the neck of the shirt then put the shirt on and use a pencil to show where the top of my bra is so I can cut as low as possible. After cutting the neck out the shirt sits differently than when the collar is hemmed. You can leave the collar on, but I prefer it gone. If cutting the collar off it’s a good idea to use needle and thread to stitch the end of the shoulder stitching because it tends to unravel.

After cutting anything on jersey tees, stretch where you just cut to make the edge roll.

Next I made curved horizontal cuts on the back under the collar line about a half inch apart, then I made straight horizontal cuts under the left shoulder seam about a half inch apart. After stretching the shoulder cuts, I finger knitted them together, sniped the last cut in half (at the seam) and tied it off.



Now wash it to remove the pencil marks, and you’re good to go!