A Little Bit of Beauty

Okay friends, I am by no means a "beauty guru". I barely know the difference between a BB Cream and bronzer, but I picked up an interesting tip the other day via YouTube that I really wanted to share.

I'm a frugal kind of gal when it comes to certain things. Makeup? Yes. Well, let me explain that a bit. I can't buy drugstore makeup. I don't trust it, and I would rather invest in something I'm going be using on a daily basis. Maybe I'm putting some strong limitations on myself by thinking this way, but I get overwhelmed by all of the options. I would rather go to a product counter where there are two/three options max, and have the sales person tell me what's going to work for me and fork out a few extra bucks than spend a lot of time and money going through product after product from a drugstore. When I spend money on something, I know it's going to be good because it has a higher price tag and name brand label (not always true and somewhat flawed logic, I'm sure). 

So here's where the frugal part comes in: I like to make that makeup last as long as godly possible. I don't want to be running out every month spending hard earned cash on makeup. I'd rather spend it on books! This tip came right at the right moment though. I've been loving my Mac Liquid Eyeliner in Boot Black, but its running out! Living in Astoria has many disadvantages including that I can't run down to my neighborhood Nordies and pick up another. I had to find a way to make this last until payday, so the tip I picked up is that you can drop 2-3 drops of saline based eyedrops into your makeup (be it liquid eyeliner or mascara) and it will extend the product's life by at least a week, sometimes two. This is exactly the amount of time I needed! So on Monday, I added three drops, and this has been working out WONDERFULLY so far!! There's no change to the pigmentation of the product, it glides on as smooth as it did when I first got it and it lasts just as long through out the day. 

I'm not sure why it has to be saline based, or if you could drop any other kind of eye drop in there, but below is a picture of what I used. By no means am I saying this is going to work for everyone, but it has been working for me without flaw!

The video I watch contains a lot of other frugal-lady tips, so check that out here! Until next time!!

Text Talk: Week 2

After finishing the third book in the Vampire Academy series, I couldn't help myself but buy the next book when I saw it sitting on a shelf in Chelan. I couldn't have physically restrained myself even if I had really wanted to. I had really wanted to read more than one book this week, but on Saturday when I finished Shadow Kiss (4 out of 5 stars), I started trying to read two of the books I had brought on vacation with me to no avail. What I brought: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (book two of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian's Series) and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Neither of these struck me. I started reading The Sea of Monsters, but for some reason it seemed very juvenile and not at all what I was looking for.

So on Saturday evening when Dian and I went and explored town, I picked up Blood Promise by Richelle Mead.

From what I have read from the women I follow on Goodreads, this was supposed to be very slow and uneventful for the first 400 pages. I really like it so far though. There's a lot of backstory and character building in a new setting than any of the other books. New characters are introduced which help to broaden the story (one of the characters has a companion series after Vampire Academy called Bloodlines). This is seriously such an addicting series, I can't put it down!!

A Week in Photos: Week 13

This last week was an amazing, short work week! Ryan and I decided that going to Chelan for the Easter weekend would be a relaxing way to take our first mini-vacay since KLEAN's opening in January. We took Friday off and made the 7 hour drive on Thursday night. Only two of the pictures this week are from before we left for Eastern Washington.

Sunday 3/24: The spring cleaning bug has bit me. I have been looking through all of the things we own right now and thinking what I can sell, donate or toss. These three words run through my head like a mantra whenever I'm in my house. I've been tossing around the idea of selling my old Homecoming and Prom dresses for a while, they take up a lot of space and I'll never have a place to wear them. So naturally, I had to try all three of them on while taking pictures to put on Craigslist. It was a nice little moment in time where I got to feel super girly and pretty, Ryan loved it too!

Wednesday 3/27: It's been a weekly tradition for me and Ryan to go with our Executive Director, Milt and Program Director, Leetha to The Depot's Wednesday burger night for about two months now. The Depot is this charming little restaurant in Seaview, Washington where an old train station was converted to an eatery. It has the best food on the peninsula, in my opinion, but it comes at a hefty price. During the winter months, their slow season, they suspend their regular menu on Wednesday nights and offer a more affordable alternative, burgers, to allow for the community to enjoy this wonderful place. Each burger is specialized to your preference, a checklist of toppings is provided and you build your own burger. My personal favorite: Buffalo meat with tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, bacon and jalapeños, hold the bun. This is a tradition both Ryan and I have come to absolutely love.

Thursday 3/28: After a 7 hour drive up to Chelan, my boy was tired and a little grumpy. Since we worked a full workday and then tackled this drive, all he wanted to do was hop into a comfy bed. Since Dian was still in Seattle with Dan, she gave us the go ahead to catch some zzz's in her extremely luxurious king sized bed. I mean really, you SINK into this bed and it embraces you. Paired with the blackout blinds and flat screen TV, there really is no need to leave. I just love this picture of my little king looking all comfortable and disgruntled. He's so handsome even when he's upset.

Friday 3/29: All week I had been watching the weather predictions for Astoria, and all week people had been saying it was going to be the most glorious day ever on Saturday. What tickled me so much about the situation was that it was going to be the exact same temperature in West Hollywood where our other KLEAN location is. I have WeHo saved on my phone in order to taunt myself and kick myself for not moving down there! Their average temp is more inline with what I want to live in down the road. Someday!

Friday 3/29: With waking up early on the weekdays, my body doesn't always stay shut down even on the weekends. Thankfully though, this time I had something awesome to look at. There is something about being in Chelan that just calms my soul. Ever since I lived there for a summer in high school, it's been such a peaceful place for me to return to. With getting up at 6:30, I was able to catch the sun rising over the lake around 7:00. It was amazing.

Friday 3/29: Before leaving work on Thursday, we received the coins for all of our graduating clients. Ryan played a major role in designing these and they turned out really well. The detailing the company did as well as the 3D effect and the weight of the coins make it look really classy and something for the clients to really look forward to getting.

Saturday 3/30:  Something I love most about doing when I get to Chelan after a long period of being gone is checking out the little boutiques and seeing what's new. Ryan never likes walking around town for fear of who he will run into and the small talk he will be forced to have (I have the same fears when returning to Olympia). I convinced Dian to take a walk around town with me, she was happy to "act like a tourist". So in keeping with acting like tourists, I had to get my picture taken when the town bear statue. Any time I look on Facebook or pictures of Chelan on Instagram during the summer, I always see late night drunken escapades with the bear. I thought it was high time I get mine!

Sunday 3/31: As it is with most book addicts, I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to purchase any more novels until I have read at least 10 of the books I already own. And like other addicts, I lied to myself and relapsed. After having finished the third in the Vampire Academy series, I needed to read the next book. There is a book store in Chelan and I told myself it was probably not a good place for me to go into. Alas, I did. I told myself I probably shouldn't buy any books, but of course when I walked in there, I was overwhelmed by the joy bookstores bring me. I walked upstairs to the Young Adult section and started looking for Richelle Mead books. The only book they had in the series was obviously the next book I need to read. So obviously I bought it. I wonder if there is a Book Buyers Anonymous. I'm Erin and I am a book addict. 

A Week in Photos: Week 12

It was a strange week in photos, I  realized I hadn't taken a single picture on Thursday, so I hustled up and made sure to be looking outside my normal photo-taking box. Damn you March Madness for overtaking my life! Here goes:

Thursday 3/21: After watching the Pac-12 tournament and hearing all the controversy over Oregon getting a 12-seed, I knew I had to get the guys at the treatment center amped up about March Madness. There is nothing more exciting and fun than the tournament and we're always trying to introduce bits of sober fun into the newly recovering persons life. On Monday I handed out blank brackets and told the guys and one of the ladies to have them back to me by Thursday at 9:15. All week I was fielding question on team stats, records and the tournament history. Excitement was building all week!

Thursday 3/21: One of our favorite places in Astoria is the Columbian Theater. It's not an unheard of concept, it's a theater with couches, a bar and pizza, kind of like the Living Room Theaters in Portland. The balcony has been converted into all couches making it a very lovely and comfortable place to watch a flick, not to mention it's only $4 a person with cheap eats! We decided to double date with a couple to see Lincoln which we had held off on seeing in the regular theaters to see here! It was a lovely night.

Friday 3/22: A few years ago for Christmas, my grandma made me a knit throw that was amazing. We still have it but it's looking a little haggard due to numerous washings and two lovely kitty cats. Somehow the word got along to my grandma that we needed a new one. My mother delivered this gem to us last weekend when she was down visiting. This throw is no different than the last, Marley couldn't wait to get his little kitty paws into it!

Saturday 3/23: With the weather starting to improve, Ryan has been itching to get on his bike. This weekend has been a very lazy weekend for me, so I opted out of going to the speaker meeting at the facility which gave Ryan the opportunity to ride solo for the first time this season. He was out there shining up his bike all afternoon and I was able to snap this pic right before he took off. He looks like my own version of Son's of Anarchy Jax Teller. Swoon.

Saturday 3/23: Having spent the afternoon and evening at home, I was able to watch basketball until my heart was content. After watching a wonderful Oregon win, I watched my bracket implode thanks to Gonzaga. I had them going all the way unfortunately and as you can see Marley is as upset about the situation as I was.

Text Talk: Week 1

Well now that my bracket has gone totally tits up, (thanks Gonzaga) I figured it would be a good time to start my new weekly literary post. My life now won't be so consumed with March Madness, I can focus on getting back to some reading.

Ever since I went to Powell's Books last weekend, I've been in a little bit of a slump. I was on a roll for a while, catching up to the 80 book pace I set for myself at the beginning of the year (I'm currently 7 books behind schedule...). I thought going to Powell's would get the juices flowing and give me some things to really tear through. Wrong. I've sat on my hands the last week, flirting with the first few pages of Paper Towns by John Green but really not getting anywhere with it. It wasn't until I checked today's mail where I got a lovely package which contained the third novel in the Vampire Academy series, Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, that I got really excited. I'm about 30 pages in right now and it's just and addicting as the first two.

Now I'm not going to claim that this is really an academically stimulating, earth shattering read, but they're fast paced, have a kiss ass heroine and are totally mindless, perfect to propel me out of the rut I'm in. On Goodreads, I've given the first two novels 4 out of 5 stars, which is a lot more than I had ever anticipated giving them. I'm kind of ashamed I like them as much as I do, honestly. The covers are so campy and the subject matter (vampires) is so over done, but there's something that keeps me coming back for more. Not to sound pompous, but I imagine people who like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars would also be attracted to this series and somehow I fall into that as well.

I keep hearing the series of seven books falls off after the third one, but I haven't read anything yet to steer me away. So that's what I've been reading this week, I look forward to another update next week! Until then, happy reading!

A Week in Photos: Weeks 10 & 11

I got just the kick in the ass I needed to write a new post. I got my first comment on my blog and it was from a high school friend saying to get my butt in gear. Thanks Doro- that's just the motivation I needed!

I promise I really am working on a post that will be long and informative, I just work on it chucks at a time and only when I'm feeling the writing vibe, so not very often obviously. Procrastination, I need to work on that.

Sunday 3/3: On Saturday, Ryan got his oil changed and the perk of us taking his Camry to the Toyota dealership is that they wash the car, in and out! It was a surprisingly sunny Sunday, so we decided for some reason it was the right day to put the Oregon sticker up in the back window. Of course I viewed this as a photo-op, thus the ensuing picture. GO DUCKS!!! (March Madness starts TOMORROW!!! Ducks play at 1:40 PM, and yes I will be watching from work :)

Monday 3/4: Over the weekend while I wasn't at work, we acquired this handsome sign. Before, the building we are in was a convalescent center, so it was good to get our insignia up before any families tried dropping granny off at a drug and alcohol treatment center. Ryan had a large part in creating this sign and I think it's magical (it has a ton of detail close up).

Tuesday 3/5: There were some aforementioned shirts in another post about The Chive, so it was a wonderful day when we came home to find these packages. Of course the packaging was really catchy and creative with a large sticker that said CENSORED. Sadly though, Ryan has yet to take his shirt out of the package to wear it, it's a point of contention in our relationship. Peanut was glad to ease the tension with posing for this picture though.

Thursday 3/7: Though this isn't really "Throwback Thursday" worthy because it was only taken a week or so before, I thought this was a lovely photograph that I had to share. I hate to admit this but often times now, I picture photos I can take just to post them on Instagram. I will admit though that I have gotten a little burned out and have slowed my roll a little bit. Maybe that should tell me something about my days though, that I'm not doing enough beautiful things or that I'm not seeing the beauty in the everyday? As with everything, I think there is a fine balance between too much and too little, I'm working to find that.

Friday 3/8: One of the things I love most about it being winter is that we get to run the gas fireplace and we get to see our kitties loving the heat. I know I have snapped shots of Marley like this before, but I can't get enough. He just so unashamedly flaunts his kitty goods to get the most comfortable he can be in front of that fire. I admire him. He's one heat loving cat.

Saturday 3/9: It was a surprisingly warm, sunny day for early March. My dad decided to come down to spend the day with me just to get out of Olympia for a while. Ryan and I had given him a gift certificate for a restaurant on the river called the Bridgewater Bistro. It's one of the most beautiful spots in Astoria if you ask me. We were able to capture some shots of the foggy bridge but the pictures don't do it justice! It was truly a stunning sight.

Sunday 3/10: I know everyone will bemoan "springing forward" part of daylight savings. I for one, love it. This picture was taken at 7:00 pm and it was still daylight! I went on a bit of a walk about, just to take in all of the exquisite old homes in Astoria, and I came across this scene. This down the bushes to the street that leads to the river in some respects reminds me of some of the streets in San Francisco or Seattle to some extent. Astoria is a very picturesque town full of beauty like this.

Monday 3/11: I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but when my father takes pictures on his phone, I know it will take days of me hounding him to finally give them to me. That being said, this time wasn't so bad. He had taken this picture of me and Ryan on Saturday and it only took him two days to get it to me. Old men and iPhones might not mix.

Tuesday 3/12: Despite what Ryan and I think, the cats truly run our house. I really do think that our cats are smarter than we are and they have us trained really really well. I don't know if anyone else thinks this about their animals, but this picture really encapsulates who runs shit around our house. Marley, king of the castle, on his throne.

Thursday 3/14: To try my hand at being domestic, I decided to make cupcakes for two of our clients that were having birthdays on Friday. I spent my 25th birthday in treatment so I knew that it could be a humbling, lonely experience if you don't have someone making it special for you. What I find funny of the Betty Crocker company is that they think if they put on their box not to eat the dough, that you actually won't. Let's just say I ended up with only 18 cupcakes instead of 24...

Saturday 3/16: I have had a weekend in the works with my mom for a while. Her and her best friend Shari wanted to do a girls shopping trip all over Portland and it's not like they had to twist my arm into it. This picture was just off 23rd near the Alano Club and I just died over the magnolia tree in bloom. I am so excited that warm weather and flowers are right around the corner.

Sunday 3/17: We were staying at the Marriott City Center and we woke up to this scene! The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Run. Singlehandedly this made me feel really guilty about not running like I should be and very envious because it looked SO FUN! There were runners as far as the eye could see and they were spread all over down town Portland. I didn't feel guilty or jealous for very long though, right after this we had a wonderful breakfast at the Original Dinerat where I consumed three large pieces of creme brûlée french toast. I got the better half of this deal :)

 Sunday 3/17: And finally, no trip to Portland is complete without a stop at Powell's Books. This was what I was looking forward to all weekend. Though I have a mild book hoarding problem, I justified buying more books because I had finished 10 already this year. Everyone likes getting new books (even if you already have a stack of 40+ you have yet to read) so I can't deny myself that feeling. I have made a deal through this year that I can only outright purchase new books once I have read 10 from my pile. Sounds legit, right? Anyway, I have been dying to get my hands on a John Green book for ages now, and I have finally succeeded. At Powell's I purchased book two of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Paper Towns by John Green, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, and Looking for Alaska by John Green. The other books I acquired in non-buying (aka free-ish) ways. Those include Uglies by Scott Westerfield, Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Night Road by Kristen Hannah and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was thinking about adding another weekly post that included my currently reading/to be read, because I always love hearing about what people are reading. Thoughts?

That's all for now, I'm working on this whole "accountability" and "adulthood" thing, so I'll make an attempt at creating more regular posts!! Thanks all for reading! Until next time.

A Week in Photos: Week 9

I promise I will be working on a full post for this week. I love my week in photos, but I do have something that I am working on that I'm really looking forward to sharing for the first time. I promise this blog is going to be more substance than just pretty pictures of my life!! For the time being though, enjoy the sparkly things :)

 Sunday 2/24: Both Ryan and I work at KLEAN, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Long Beach, WA. It's a small community where health care providers have to work together and support each other. A group of KLEAN employees attended a fund raiser and auction for the Ocean Beach Hospital in Long Beach. It was a Mardi Gras themed event which all of us had a blast and Ryan even took home a silent raffle item!

Monday 2/25: Sometimes our kitties allow for very sweet moments that I have to capture on camera. Seeing my two boys in a frame together is the best. Marley isn't much of a snuggler and as you can see here, he's pulling away pretty quick, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid this picture!

Tuesday 2/26: Monday and Tuesday I got a nasty head cold. I spent those two days reading and resting. I finished two books in two days, The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigani and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, both of which were AMAZING! The copy of Saving Francesca I had was from Bookmooch, so I figured I would pay a good book forward. A first happened for me, someone mooched a book from me from another country! I shipped a book off to Slovenia, fingers crossed it get's there safely and in good condition!

Wednesday 2/27: A milestone birthday in early recovery is your 18 month mark. It's something that I'm pretty proud of and something that has mobilized me into action. I've asked someone to start working the steps with me which I have put off for long enough now. To celebrate, my lovely boyfriend set in motion getting me a cake and getting my co-workers to gather the clients together to sing me happy birthday. It was a wonderful day!

Thursday 2/28: For "Throwback Thursday" this week, I wanted to post a scenery shot since it's been a while. I think Astoria is one of the most interesting places to live, you can always find something beautiful if you are looking for it. Sometime last year, my dad came down for a weekend visit, and it just so happened a fleet of pirate ships were in town. The Hawaiian Chieftain, the Lady Washington and a ship from the Royal Canadian Navy were making a tour of the West Coast ports. The bight colors and the many masts are truly awe-inspiring up close.

 Thursday 2/28: There is a site that the men of my workplace love. It's called The Chive. It's a compilation site of pictures, stories and videos of things in life that are ironic, satirical and funny. There's a whole cult following of people that say things like, "Keep Calm, Chive On", "KCCO", so on and so forth. For a while now, Ryan and my good friend Vern have been trying to get some Chive swag. They have a huge section of shirts and other things that are all Chive related, that are all literally the most difficult things on earth to purchase. Whoever is doing their merchandising is definitely using the tenet of supply and demand, seeing as how NOTHING IS EVER IN STOCK. There is now a black market on eBay for Chive goods where shirts are going for almost triple the original asking price. I think I have made it my life mission now to acquire some of their goods seeing as how it's so damn hard, it's like they are personally challenging me. The one time before this that I even came close to acquiring anything they produce, their server crashed as I was trying to check out because so many people were on their site trying to do the same thing. It was a maddening experience. This time though, when the email notification of something being in stock sailed into my inbox, I dropped anything I was doing and figuratively sprinted over to the site. I was almost in like a shopping blackout as I quickly added items to my cart and checked out in a matter of 30 seconds. I'll tell you, this was one of the most stressful 5 minutes of my recent life. My pulse was racing, I had the cold sweats, my hands were clammy, it was an unreal experience. But, I came, I saw, I conquered. I was able to secure two Chive shirts for the two men in my life. Erin 1, The Chive 0.

Friday 3/1: I know I take a lot of pictures of my cats. I know I probably talk about them too much in real life also. I think I have a complex where I actually think they are real people. Like their personalities and actions make me think of them as my good friends. I realize this places me in the category of "Crazy Cat Lady", but that's a title I will accept with pride. I would caption this photo, "Like A Boss", Peanut looks very Don Corleone-esque here and I love it. Our cats are like moths to flame with the gas fireplace we have, this is a common affair. I just so happened to walk out of the kitchen to find her in this position, lounging in the heat.

 Saturday 3/2: Our new Saturday routine has become going to Long Beach to catch the AA community dinner we host at KLEAN, followed by the weekly speaker meeting. We're doing it as a way to bring the AA community into the treatment center and get them involved with what we're doing, as well as allowing the clients to hear the stories of men and women who have firmly planted their lives in the roots of AA, in hopes that the clients might hear something that saves their lives. When I was in treatment, this was one of my favorite meetings to go to, I love hearing the experience, strength and hope of others, it reconfirmed for me that a) I am an alcoholic just like them and b) that I was in the right place. This week we rode over with our good friend Brandon and a new sponsee of Ryan's. We had about an hour to kill before the dinner, so we headed to the beach to fly some kites Brandon had in the back of his rig. It was an amazingly random hour of kite flying and good weather, I was able to snap this pic right about sunset. We all had a blast.

Saturday 3/2: This is another photo I captured while at the beach. The guys were busy flying kites, I was busy finding the good shots. I don't know when I became so obsessed with documenting my life, maybe after all the years of blacking out and forgetting. A long line of having no memories can be really disheartening. I guess that's why I'm doing this blog, to remember where I've been years from now so I can look back and get a snap shot of what I was doing and how I was feeling. In this picture I loved the way the light was bouncing off the water as the tide was coming in, this is also to show that I was most inappropriately dressed for an outdoor occasion such as this.