Matte Effect

Since I seem to be on this dark nail kick lately, I gravitated towards another fave color.

NARS Chinatown

But I thought I'd do something different.

(with Sephora by OPI Matte topcoat)

Not sure why I wanted to have the matte effect, but the more I thought about it, with the matte effect somehow muting the color, I suppose it's almost reflective of my mood lately towards the coming holiday season. Not sure why, but everything seems to have this muted tone to it.

Doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying the build-up to the holiday season, that's for sure...

A nice bowl of wonton soup on a cold day...

Mulled wine to keep the  insides (and hands) warm while walking around listening to Christmas music and enjoying Christmas wares...

... and to help wash down the authentic wurst (with lots of sauerkraut and mustard)...

I'ts beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

What's the Skinny?

Thanks to a recent email alert from Old Navy, I dragged myself to the mall over the weekend to check out the merchandise. Was that a good decision, you think? Of course not!

Old Navy Rockstar pop pants (Super Skinny)

The most ironic part is that the discount I got on the email did not apply to my purchase. MUST always read fine print! {Un}Fortunately, I love these pants so much, extra discount or not, I figured I might as well get them since they were already way discounted to begin with. The way I saw it, I've spent twice the amount for just 1 pair in the past(!), that these were definitely still smart buys.

I seriously don't even know how I started accumulating so many of these skinny jeans, be it colored, patterned, whatever...

Gap Always Skinny

Got that some 2 or 3 years back. My first colored skinny jeans. And it continues to be one of my fave.

American Eagle jeggings

Then somehow, last year, I got obsessed with that cobalt blue one that I just had to get it. I suppose that was the end of it.

American Eagle jeggings
... what's with the awkward pose?

And so it goes...

Gap Legging Jeans in cords 

... on and...

J Crew Skinny Cord
... doesn't look too skinny, does it?

... on and...

Gap Legging Jeans

... on and...

Old Navy Rockstar jeans (Skinny)

... on and...

American Eagle jeggings

MAJOR sigh... and I have not even included the regular ones, as in regular denim in blue and black. Again, MAJOR sigh. And please don't bother shaking your head. Between me and hubby, especially hubby, there's enough shaking head to last me a lifetime.

The best part about this is I don't even really know if they suit my body type. They must since I haven't heard a scathing remark as yet. All I know is I like them (reallly?!?) They're so convenient, and comfortable. I wear them with flats in the summer. I tuck them in my boots in the winter. So I guess regardless whether they suit me or not, those are good enough reasons in my book. Besides, I've got them now, don't I?

HAH!

(On 3 now... *shake head*)

The Rest of the Week

Last week could not have finished fast enough. Not because I had nothing to do and time was just dragging. Au contraire, like I mentioned previously, I was so busy, the weekend could not have come fast enough. And on top of that, here we are, already December, Yikes!

When stressed, some people can't even think of food. I happen to be the opposite...

Shrimp ball wrapped in sugar cane (Phnom Penh)
... finger photo-bombed:p

Fried chicken wings

Buddha's Feast (Congee Noodle House)

Pea tips with garlic

Deep fried tofu

Fried chicken wings

(Keep in mind, shared with friends, ok? hehe)

At least, I got to do some good deed despite the hectic schedule. I managed to get together with some friends at work to do our regular blood donation.

And earlier, I decided last minute to go to a mall I don't usually frequent. What can I say, shopping relaxes me. Ok, maybe not in this particular mall. It was huge, and there were so many people, I just got a headache. Nevertheless, I was relaxed. HAH!

All Over the Place

Today, yes, literally! A colleague and I had to visit various offices to talk to people about a pending major change. We ended up visiting 6 offices spread throughout the city. It didn't appear to be much work, but having to talk to every single person at every office and maintaining a certain level of energy all day, boy, I was just pooped at the end of it. The best part, we do it all over again tomorrow, wheee!!!

And to add the weekend that just passed seemed all over the place as well, heck I guess my thoughts have been scattered around for a good few days now...

Anyhoot, with the Black Friday that just passed, Canadian retailers have now figured that they should participate now as well so Canadians wouldn't find the need anymore to cross the border to get advantage of sales. I didn't think it would really make a difference but I guess I was wrong. The mall that I went to was buzzzy! It's like Boxing Day, but only in November. It was cray cray! Fortunately, I didn't get carried away...

Bath & Body anti-bacterial hand soaps

Needed to refill our stash so the deal couldn't have come at a better time.

American Eagle jeggings

I had to recently dispose of 2 black jeans thanks to that common(?) problem of thinning out and ripping at the inner thigh (is it just me? eeep). At 40% off, I figured, again, the deal couldn't have come at a better time. And that was it! Whew!

Then, yesterday, I decided last minute to recreate the steak dish I had at the wedding I went to last Friday night.

Ribeye steak with broccolini on a bed of mashed potato

I thought it was just as delish as the wedding steak, albeit not as nicely plated and the portion is a tad(?) bigger. I learned it takes a great deal more butter than I anticipated to make it just as delish, but you're definitely not gonna hear me complain, nope. Hah!

And since I painted my nail that nice dark wine color last week, I couldn't resist going even a bit more dark this time.

Nicole by OPI in Razzle Dazzler (sorry, this is before clean-up)

All over the place, aren't I?! And like I said, we get to do it again tomorrow, so looking forward to it! *snort*

Lip Service

I seriously cannot recall the last time I wore lipstick. Which was kinda' weird for me since for the longest time, especially in my younger years, that was all I would wear sometimes. And the darker/redder the better at that. But I guess I got lazy at some point. Now I put more effort in putting a "face" forward, but don't expect me to re-apply any lip product by mid-day. I know, so wrong...

So what happened? I started turning to lip shine/glosses. I suppose this part is almost a natural progression (or regression, depends how you see it) for me, especially with the realization that I'm really low-maintenance (translation = laziness, sometimes... most times hehe) when it comes to beauty products.

And taking into consideration my slightly obsessive behaviour...

Bigelow Lip Shine for Bath & Body Works in Cinnamon,
Bath & Body Works Liplicious I <3 Stilettos

H&M lipgloss in Blushing Bride

And can't forget my birthday present from Sephora.

Fresh Sugar Kisses

Probably thought I was going to talk about lip service, eh? Which we're all guilty of sometimes, I think, inadvertently or not. No?

HAHA...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I finally got in the mood, the other day, to use this nail polish.

Essie Wicked (Winners)

I bought this one end of spring/beginning of summer, I think. And yes, I only used it recently. I think this color came out fall/winter last year. Not that it makes a difference to me, obviously.

This color is definitely up my alley. It's so up my alley that I probably have 3 or 4 more in the same family color, in varying degrees (slightly obsessed much? and not too smart?). I can use, and have used, this color any time of the year, but of course, more appropriately so in the fall/winter.

So the name of this color made me remember a song from the Harry Potter movie...

Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double, toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes...

Then it got me thinking of the book, Wicked, which I'm in the process of reading, which got me thinking of the song in the play version, Defying Gravity. Love that song!

Such is my train of thought...

Maison Martin Margiela for H&M

So! Last Thursday, thanks to a friend's reminder, I remembered to check out this new collab at H&M. As usual, it was all out of curiosity, since I usually don't find anything that talks to me with these collabs. Either that, or my size is usually gone by the time I get there. Which was the case, again, this time. But hey, I thought, not enough to prevent me to still look anyway...

Surprisingly, this is probably my most fave, so far. Not sure why, but it ended up being one of those times when the pieces looked better in person to me. I know not a lot of people would agree. I don't understand it either, but I ended up liking them.

Granted, like mentioned earlier, my size is usually gone by the time I check out these things. And this time was no exception. So there I was, just happy to check things out with no real plans of buying anything. That is until I showed the next pic to sis.

I did like this one when I first saw it, but not enough to buy it. That is until my sis went agog over it when I sent her the pic. Then I thought to myself, now that I got the chance to stare at it some more, that may be she is right. Hmmm... she likes it, I think I like it more now too! hehe Monkey see, monkey do, no? So what did I do? Why, return to the store of course! Got one for her... and for me too... HAHA! 

And since the same friend who reminded me about this asked me to check out something in the men's section, thought I might as well check that out too. Didn't find what he asked for, but I found this one, for me...

... sigh...