Etude House from Mack

The awesome Mischievous Mack was having a giveaway on her blog and I won! I can't believe my luck! I wanted to try Etude House so I feel REALLY lucky! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Here it is!

It came in a big box! Samples and cotton pads and a very pretty hand mirror!

Full sized skin care and lots of samples!

Masks, masks, masks!

I haven't had a chance to try out all this stuff since I've been really busy, but expect reviews in the future. If you'll notice I have a long list of stuff I should post under "Upcoming Posts" on the sidebar. I feel cheap just posting hauls and no reviews, lol. I know I don't have any reviews lined up for this week, just mindless photos of stuff I got in the mail! Do you guys like looking at photos of stuff people get in the mail?

Like seeing what I got in the mail?

PLUS!! From the super, super, sweet Linda! I won second place in her little Christmas giveaway. The prize is no little thing. It's a stuffed box of goodies that are my secret. :) Thank you thank you! I'm really glad I came across your blog <3

I like entering giveaways that require filling out surveys, it gives more of a point to them besides getting followers or stuff. You learn a little more about each other and have the chance to connect more! And I try to limit it to a few a month. I've been laying off entering lately, so if you are having one and I don't enter it's so others have a good chance to win!

I will be having more small giveaways on this blog in the secret manner that I did last time. The purpose of it is not to gain followers, but to reward those who actually read what I post!

December My Pretty Pink Box Review

I wanted to post this before December is over! Only a couple more days!!

I finally decided to join in on the whole My Pretty Pink Box (MPPB) madness. I noticed that this month it was eyeshadow heavy. That's really the reason I decided to buy one. Plus I've been craving some new EDM stuff.

MPPB's list of sponsors from their website:
*Everyday Minerals- 2 full-sized shadows
Skin Nutrition
Orglamix
*Sassy Minerals- 1 full-sized shadow
*He Qi Crystal Designs- 1 crystal phone fob
*Abbey St. Clare- 1 full-sized shadow
BrigaBauble
*kNotes for kNitters- 1 hand creme sample
Digital Soaps
*The All Natural Face- 1 shadow sample
*Lux Addiction- 1 coupon

*- is for the companies that were included in my box

My thoughts on the box:

The site claims you will get samples from 6-8 retailers and you will have atleast 2 full-sized products. I got things from 7 retailers and 4 full-sized shadows. So I got everything that was promised! :) Some people like surprises, but I don't when it comes to my money. I kinda wish I could've tried Skin Nutrition, but oh well! That's part of the "fun" of MPPB. You never know what you'll be getting.  MPPB is $10.49 + $3 shipping = $13.49

Linda, the owner of mppb also has sample bags for $11.50 including shipping.
With the My Pretty Sample Bag you can get 5 items of your choice. I looked at this month's offerings, and I noticed I could've gotten 4 full-sized eyeshadows and 1 lip gloss. Or 2-3 full-sized shadows, plus a sanitizer, and skincare stuff. I think that's a much better deal since I can pick what I want. Instead of getting 6-7 items I may or may not want, I'd get 5 I picked. The EDM is listed on there now and you get 2 eyeshadows! Prolly the same ones I got with my box. So honestly, if I had looked at the Sample bag first, I would've gone with that over the box. It's only a $2 difference so I feel really cheap saying this, haha!

The December box is sold out now, and there's no January box so I would recommend the sample box if you're looking for new companies and products.

So all in all, it is fun to try new companies and not have to pay separate shipping for samples from a bunch of different companies. Linda's shipping is low so that it is a good convenience. If you tried to get samples from 5 different companies, you'd prolly pay $2 per place each, which is already $10 just for shipping. I really admire her business sense for putting all of this together!

The Pretty Red box for Christmas!

Snow, Food, and Nostalgia

Hello everyone! How was your Christmas? I enjoyed reading about it on your blogs! It was nice to come back to blogger and see lots of photos of food feasts pop up in my reader. I've been MIA due to Mario Wii. I'm so addicted to it now. It keeps calling me back. We'll play for hours (cuz we keep dying).

Err, sadly I couldn't get a nice shot of our house when it was really pretty covered in snow. The driveway was a slippery death trap. This blurry photo is all I could get before running inside! But you can see how the grass on the right is covered in snow! A white Christmas! This was on Christmas Eve, but it stayed until Christmas day. It was quite a surprise to everyone since it was like 70-75 the day before! My Christmas wish came true! :)

Sister opening presents; it was a big hit! Sorry, there are no good shots of me because I'm always behind the camera.

Nutella cookies resembling poop. The macadamia nuts really add to the effect if ya know what I mean. They were really good though. I got the recipe from Kym's blog. Somehow they didn't come out soft like hers. I think it was because I didn't double the butter. They ended up crunchy. It was still really good though!

Mom's best dishes. Chao Tom and Goi. Chao Tom is shrimp and pork blended and baked into those strips you see there. You roll them in rice paper with veggies and noodles. Optional dipping sauces are peanut sauce or fish sauce. So good! Goi is pickled and colorful veggies you eat with shrimp and shrimp crackers. My favorite dish of all time! (only my mom's version though)

Now, an old video for nostalgia's sake. This was 20 years ago... I feel so old!
It's gotta be my favorite childhood toy besides Barbies. My own kitchen sink and dishwasher set. The next Christmas I got a stove and oven set. I had a full kitchen set going on! I guess I really wanted to be like Mom! Oh, and the crazy leg stuff is because I had just enrolled in gymnastics...

Btw, if anyone has any questions on how to transfer old home movies to your computer, feel free to e-mail me with questions. I'll try my best to answer your questions.

What was your favorite toy as a child?

shopping by blogs

Stuck on what to buy for your loved ones for Christmas? Checkout these blogger shops from around the world! You'll find unique and handcrafted goods here! These are items I purchased plus a holiday swap!

First up, herrohachi by Kym. She makes hilarious t-shirts! She'll even do a custom one for you. Got any ideas? Check out this Canadian!

Thank you for all the extras! <3 This one is for my slave! Sorry about the late posting. I thought she may look on here, but she doesn't. She sees enough of me! I love this shirt. Very cutely designed! Not too fobby, lol. When I went back to VN I wanted to have a shirt that said "hotter than texas" on it. I don't think I'm hot btw. It's part of the joke. Okay, random joke only I get. :) Now buy a shirt, and tell her I sent you!

Audrey of Drey Jewelry has gorgeous and unique designs from France! Her jewelry is k-fashion meets France. When I saw these earrings, I was like "MUST BUY" even with all the jewelry I make myself. You'll feel the same when you see her other pieces. She was kind enough to send clay cake and some caramels along! The best caramels I ever had, seriously. I just <3 all French things!

We all know and love Lisa of He Qi Crystal Designs. We did a holiday swap! Thanks for all the goodies! Love the masks, tags, and pigments! You will find designs to go crazy over here as well. She's even giving one of them away this month!


Plus, don't forget my shop, Julu Jewelry! It's always open!

Gotta pimp my goods, lol!

Laura Mercier Lip Plumper

This is one of my favorite lip glosses. I don't see much of any Laura Mercier reviewed on blogger, so here it is!

From the website:
* A refreshing, cooling effect builds up over 20 minutes to plump lips, lasting up to two hours
* Infusion of unique ingredients penetrate skin, stimulate collagen production and beneficially smooth the lip surface
* Offer a slight tint to the lips for natural looking lips that are perfectly pouty and kissable
* 0.18 oz./5.1g

Review:

I don't really care that it is a plumper. As far as plumping goes, it gives you a tingly feeling, and it does plump your lips a tiny bit. It's silky and never sticky, which I love. I can't stand the sticky glosses (like mac). It goes on sheer with a little sparkle. Not too sparkly for work! Plus it has a nice scent, not weird or vanilla, very subtle.

The bad:

The price! This sucker is $30! Their Lip Glace is only $22. If you don't need a plump, try those instead. I don't care for a plumping effect either, I just like the color!

This is one in wildberry. Obviously I use it all of the time! It's almost gone. I need to do that water trick to get more use out of it. I first got the little sample from a gwp, and I immediately had to get more! Cheap 'ole me bought one from ebay, haha. The brown one is called bronzed berry. This generous girl on makeup alley sent it to me for nothing in return because she got it free from a gwp. She didn't want anything in return since she was trying to clear out her stuff. So nice of her!

Ectini of e motion in motion!! You are the new winner of the Secret VS Giveaway!! Touch base with me by tomorrow night, so I can send you your prize! julujewelry@gmail.com . More secret giveaways soon!

Click in for more pics (hairy!!)

my mailbox is stuffed

Just posting things I should have posted looong ago. :) This is for those of you who like to look at photos of stuff. haha!

Check out these amazing handmade cards by Calia! I am so impressed with these cards, so creative and detailed. eee! I love handmade paper things. Thank you! They will go to special people. I keep staring at them thinking "how'd she do it?" She's also having a giveaway on her blog!

So I won this giveaway (2nd place) from Maria awhile back. It was one of the first ones I entered, really surprised to win! Thank you!

My order from Sephora awhile back. Loving these Make Up For Ever pencils so far. Will do a review once I use them some more! I also got a little benefit lipstick sample to try! I usually hoard new items, and never try them until a month later. Megan likes it, so I'll try it soon! I only got into liking lipsticks after blogging. I used to just stick to foundation. Blogging has made me poorer! All these new products to try and buy. But it's all fun!

I always save stuff to use in the future. But that day never comes and I find this old but new product around my room. Anyone else know the feeling?

Even though I still don't know your favorite perfume, the winner of the secret VS giveaway is kittynail. :) You have until today 1pm cst to email me at julujewelry@gmail.com with your mailing address. (12 hours) I will pick another winner if you do not email me by then! Wow, didn't know there was such love for VS products from overseas. Will be putting up more surprise giveaways!

I was doing some cleaning, and I filled up a giant shopping bag full of just plain packing paper that is from online orders. I hate how Sephora will pack a small tube of lipstick in a giant box with tons of tissue. Other beauty places too! Well, the mufe pencils were shipped in a bubble mailer this time(a first!), but then my next package was in a box again. I dunno what their system is, but it's wasteful!

victoria's secret secret party

Somehow I managed to catch an email from VS about a little holiday event at my local store. I usually end up deleting all 100 emails in my "spam" account, but luckily their email just stood out. So anyhow, the event was tonight! There was a DJ, free gifts, good sales, and lots of people! See the photos below!

This is the gift they were handing out at the entrance. A large sized pouch with a beauty rush lip gloss inside. There was also a raffle going on for $100 prizes!

Get a look at this hilarious price tag. One thing that bugs me about VS is their marked up tote bags. This at a $40 value? Come on! $10 at most! I noticed they always have this tote they try to get you to buy. It's like a giant tote bag that they call a $60 value. What? $60? no way, not for a tote bag! [end rant]

Last week I got a $10 off any purchase coupon in the mail, so what better time to use it? I planned on getting the new $10 lip gloss the MUA told me "just came out tonight" from their Holiday Collection. Got the sis to take a pic while I waited to "pay."

I forgot the name of the line of makeup, but this shade is Intimate. It's a light pink with a little sparkle. There was another lip gloss in a nude color. I also spotted 4 pigments in neutral and black and white like holiday colors plus 2 all-over powders. All of the products are $10. Very pretty collection! Wish I got a pic so I could show you.

But, when I got to the checkout, the lady told me I couldn't use my coupon on a purchase that is exactly $10. Then I found this!

Pretty right? It reminds me of the lauren luke palettes.
I just looked on the website, and it's $10.99. It rung up as $15 for me. boo!!! But it's a really cute palette! A great gift, even though now you know I didn't pay that much for it! ;) It's tight this Christmas, so I've been using gift cards, coupons, extra-bucks, and kohl's cash to buy gifts for people.

Anyhow, since I've won a few giveaways recently, I'd like to give back a little starting tonight! A secret little giveaway! Comment on this post to win the pink pouch and lip gloss from Victoria's Secret. Answer the question, what is your favorite perfume? If you don't have one, just say you like to be stinky. You do not need to leave your email. You do not need to be a follower. I will reveal the winner in a future blog post. You will need to contact me if you win. This giveaway ends Monday, Decemeber 14, 11:59PM CST. Open worldwide.

Fried Zucchini

Fried veggies always taste much better! My sister wanted to me to make these because she needed to make something Korean. Is it really? I don't know, but we made it anyhow! Doing this reminded me of Cooking Mama. That game is so fun! I want to try the new one, shop and chop.

Fried Zucchini!

Wash and dry them then slice 'em up!

Coat them with flour.

Dip them with beaten eggs. Egggscellent. (cooking mama ref)

Fry in oil at medium-low heat until golden brown. Flip. (I always sucked at this part in the game)

All done. Better than mama! Serve with a soy sauce based dipping sauce. I like to mix wasabi and soy sauce, but I couldn't find mine. :( I just used chili peppers instead. It was later in life that I decided I liked spicy stuff.

December Giveaways- Lisa, Dina, Erynn

Lisa's Giveaway

Open to everyone! You do not need to have a blog to join. :)

For 1 entry:
1) You must be a follower of "Shop N' Chomp" blog
2) Comment on this post with your email address and tell me what your #1 holiday wishlist item is.

For 2 additional entries:
1) Spread the love. Enter a second comment that includes a link to your own blog or your tweet where you have shared my giveaway. Include the 1st pic above showing the prizes.

Entries not abiding by the rules above will be disqualified.

The giveaway winner will be selected via Random.org and sent a notification email.

Contest ends on Christmas Day at 12AM PST (December 25, 2009).

Dina's 100th Follower Giveaway

The prizes:
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant
Dior J'adore Beautifying Body Milk
Dior Addict High Shine Lipstik (travel size)
Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour (travel size)
Clinique Cosmetic Pouch
Clinique Mascara + Lipgloss
Etude House Juicy Pop Tube
SK-II Journal Book
Taiwan Mask Sheets
Hello Kitty Wipes
Mirror
A few Samples
(All items are Brand New!)

Rules:
1. Must be a follower of this blog
2. Leave a comment with your Username (the name you use to follow me :) )
3. And tell me: What do you think of my blog? (please be honest, you will get more loves for being honest :D)

Extra entries:
1. Post this giveaway and the link on your blog, leave me a link (1 extra entry)
2. Follow me on twitter @DinaEstyXu and tweet about this giveaway including @DinaEstyXu, leave me a link to your tweet (1 extra entry)
3. For my first 100 followers, you earn 1 extra entry automaticly for being awesome! :D

Please leave just ONE COMMENT, i'll count the extra entries for you. Multiple comments will be deleted.

This giveaway opens for International readers and ends on December 31st, 2009. you have more than one month to enter this giveaway, so don't hesitate to enter!

ERYNN'S SURPRISE GIVEAWAY

Click the photo to visit the store!

If you would like to enter, here's the rules!

1 ENTRY:
Leave a comment on THIS POST ONLY stating which item(s) you would like AND your email address (if you don't have a blog) so I can contact you if you win. EXAMPLE: I would like the "Original Wabi Sabi Cat!" or I would like one "Muffin frog" keychain, one "Muffin Panda" desk buddy, and one "Muffin Cow" magnet... or whatever you want! :D Again, please remember you can only pick one Wabi Sabi Cat OR three Muffins.

2 ENTRIES:
Repost about this giveaway on your blog. Title it "Erynn's Surprise Giveaway!" or something like that. Please include a link to our website AND store, as well as the rules and some pictures of the prizes. Leave another comment on this post with the link to your post! Of course, this is not required, but it is MUCH APPRECIATED!!! (: AND it will get you another shot at winning (;

3 ENTRIES:
Leave another comment on this post giving some suggestions of what you'd like to see more of! Example: animals to be made into muffins, different ideas for cats, ideas for new products, etc.

So you can have a total of three entries (: Winner will be chosen by random.org. Giveaway ends on December 12th! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy our handmade creations!

Tag- who do you watch on youtube?

So I thought I'd start an easy tag! I tag you all!

Who Do You Watch On YouTube?
1. Post the name of ONE YouTube user.
2. Embed one (or more) of your favorite videos from them.
3. Why do you like this person?

glowpinkstah

A few of her videos are friggin hilarious. She's a nice break from all the other beauty gurus out there. Also, her videos are not over 10 minutes! That's just too long to contain any good content. Apparently she even made it to the George Lopez talk show!

The video: It gets kinda gross at the end. beware!

She's making fun of juicystar07 - Blair's purse video... sorry if you like Blair.

She also has a really good Whore Makeup Tutorial...

I pass this on to all of my readers (the very few). I'd like to know/discover more videos to watch! I may do this again, I have more to share.

who doesn't love a good pie?

Over-due update! Lots of pics.

Starting off with some pics of desert from thanksgiving. I've been making apple pie for three years now. I still suck at it! haha, the bottom crust is always soggy. I think maybe it's too much liquid or something... I will figure it out one day.

The first year I started making pies I even tried to make my own crust. It was okay, but using Pillsbury frozen pie crust and rolling it out is good enough. I'm no Martha. Anyhow, this weaving technique is pretty easy. I found out how to do it online. The crust technique took me forever to track down. You just pinch it with your thumb and the knuckle of your pointing finger.

Persimmon Torte
I whipped this up with the extra pie crust. Couldn't bare to throw it away. I managed to make two of these and one apple torte. I had no idea what I was doing, but my dad really liked it! It's really small btw, fits in your hand.

Apple Torte
Just slice up apples, throw whatever you threw in your pie mix, and then throw it in the oven...

Dad's man-haul from Black Friday. We woke up at 3am to get to Sears. We have never done that before! It was fun! We hit 5 stores that morning. Sears, Target, Wal-mart, Tuesday Morning, Home Depot.

First time at a Buddhist Temple in the USA. They had lots of cool statues. The family went to honor my grandma.

Saved the silly photo for last. Made the sister do a stupid pose. Are they still selling this stuff? Domo is so cute!! I love him(it)!

Question!
To view the pics larger, there is a little arrow that pops up in the left corner of each photo. Does anyone actually click on this? Does anyone notice it?