i-am-elle

Mario Badescu

i am elle — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:26:32 -0700

I have a question for all my Sugar friends.

Has anyone used products from Mario Badescu?

I recently received samples from them. I've been using them all week... and so far so good. Just wondering if anyone else had experience with them. Any fave products?

I have my eyes on the Drying Lotion, Drying Mask & Facial Spray. Any recommendations and/or experiences would be greatly appreciated! I'm still working on perfecting my skincare routine. My cheeks still breakout on a weekly basis!

Btw, sorry I haven't been on in a while! Hope all is well with everyone.

Milani Color Brilliance EOTD

i am elle — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:56:34 -0700

New Hair - March 2008

i am elle — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:39:31 -0700

My latest haircut for Spring!

Elle's Reading List

i am elle — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:09:40 -0800

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West by Benazir Bhutto

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The True Story of Pocahontas by L. Custalow & A. Daniel

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Sex God by Rob Bell

My life has become rather monotonous: eat, sleep, work. In order to break that monotony, I'm going back to one of my favorite hobbies: reading! I've made a reading list for myself of all the books I want to read. I'm hooked on phonics! How about you?

One Year Anniversary in Baltimore, MD

i am elle — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:50:25 -0800

For me & my boyfriend's one year anniversary (which was on Valentine's Day!), we went to Baltimore, Maryland for the weekend. We rarely get enough alone time together since I moved back home, so it was a huge treat to be able to go away with him for a weekend! My parents were really cool about it too. Mission accomplished.

We left early on Saturday morning to begin our 2-hour & 45-minute drive to Baltimore. Our tickets to the National Aquarium in Baltimore were slated for 11 am, so we didn't want to be late! Even though I Mapquested just about every possible set of directions we would need for our whole trip, we ended up using my Dad's GPS most of the time. That thing is a lifesaver!

The National Aquarium was a lot of fun because I love going to aquariums! We saw the Dolphin Show & the 4-d Immersion Theater. I could have stayed there all day, but it was getting too crowded since it was Presidents' Day weekend. Families everywhere I turned! I was getting dizzy. After touring most of the facility, we left to check into our hotel.

For dinner we met up with my cousin & his family who live in the area. I had the pleasure of being the first one from my family to meet their baby daughter in person! Whenever I smiled at her, she smiled right back & melted my heart! I have the biggest soft spot for children, so it was a great way to end the night.

The next day, we headed back to the Inner Harbor to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was ok, nothing special since I have eaten at a Hard Rock Cafe before... I think in Orlando? Anyways, when we got back to the car after lunch, my boyfriend noticed there was a note on my windshield. Apparently, someone had sideswiped my car while we were at lunch & left a long scratch on it. The person left their name & phone number, but it ended up being OUT OF SERVICE. What the? We ended up calling the police to file a report. We stayed at the "scene of the crime" & waited for the cop to arrive (who was a really cool guy, I should have taken a picture with him!). Everything turned out fine I guess, it just sucks that it took 2 hours out of our time left in Baltimore!

Finally, we made it to the Maryland Science Center to see the Body Worlds exhibit. I've been wanting to see this for the longest time! I never got the chance to see it in Washington, DC & New York City, so I was thrilled to find out it was in Baltimore too.

The BODY WORLDS exhibitions are first-of-their-kind exhibitions through which visitors learn about anatomy, physiology, and health by viewing real human bodies, using an extraordinary process called Plastination a groundbreaking method for specimen preservation invented by Dr. von Hagens in 1977.
Each exhibition features more than 200 real human specimens, including whole-body plastinates, individual organs, organ configurations and transparent body slices."

It was eye-opening & informative. You have to see it!

After Body Worlds, we were on our way home. We stopped by his sister's baby shower near DC (she's giving birth in March!) to say hello & eat, then back to our home cities. The weekend seriously went by too fast. I feel like I never have enough time with him! But, absence makes the heart grow fonder, eh? I do love how we cherish our time together much more.

Sorry this post was so long. Thanks for reading!

Baltimore, MD

i am elle — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:21:47 -0800

February 16-17, 2008 | The boyfriend & I celebrated our one year anniversary with a weekend trip to Baltimore, MD. It was a relaxing & fun mini-vacation. Yay for the National Aquarium, meeting up with my cousin & his family, Baby Micah, quality alone time, the Maryland Science Center, the Body Worlds exhibit, & for my dad's GPS haha. Boo to my car getting in a hit & run while we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Thankfully it was just a scratch. :-P

Pink & Green Eye Makeup

i am elle — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:07:02 -0800

Turquoise Jewel Eye Makeup

i am elle — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:48:41 -0800

My Tingly Booty

i am elle — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:59:39 -0800

I don't know if this will be considered too much information for you guys, but my butt tingles when other people shampoo my hair.

Haha... Wait. Let's start at the beginning.

I've been itching to get a haircut for about a week now. Although I'm growing my hair out because I want long, flowing locks for the summertime, I know how important it is to get regular trims every 6-8 weeks. After work today, I went straight to my favorite hair salon. My regular stylist wasn't in, but I'm not picky so I decided to stay anyways.

The friendly Filipino lady (who, for that day, became my stylist) led me straight to the sinks so that she could shampoo my hair. She told me to call her "Auntie Bergie" & started to ramble on about her career at Hair Cuttery, & I immediately began to feel at home. Sometimes it's nice to just listen to people talk about themselves while you smile & nod (or at least try to, it's a little hard when your head is literally in their hands while they shampoo your hair). And then something happened that I always seem to forget about by the time I leave a hair salon... my right butt cheek started to tingle like mad when she put the water spray behind my right ear. Tingle tingle tingle! It was like someone was tickling me from the inside. HAHA. I think my nerves and neurons crossed paths at one point during my early childhood development -- & caused my right butt cheek to feel whatever is happening behind my right ear. My booty always tingles like that when I get my hair washed by at a salon - always! Weird, eh?

Please tell me something like this happens to someone else.

Btw, my hair turned out nicely! Sadly I have no pictures, but it's not a drastic change. Well worth the $15.

Polite Transvestite Night

i am elle — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:13:46 -0800

My two bestest friends & I got together for a slumber party at my parents' timeshare at the Oceanfront (Virginia Beach). We decided to pile on some drag queen makeup for fun & talk the night away. Good times!