New blog layout!

Notice anything different? Yeah I finally put up the new blog design/layout! Do you guys like it? I'm still going to be adding a few things here and there for the next week or so(just a warning!). I added a new header but I'm not sure if I'll be keeping it or not. I wanted something more colorful but I will be keeping the current header for a couple of days (In case I get use to it.). I also added some pages with an about me section and various places where you can find me (twitter, tumblr, etc.), so check those out.

So do you guys like the new layout? Anything else you think I should add? Let me know in the comments.


X♥X♥
-Michelle

Furthermore into February

Monday, February 20: Handwriting  
My handwriting from my Korean notebook.

Tuesday, February 21: A fave photo of you 
This is probably the first ever picture of myself that I've posted on blog. Please excuse the messy hair and makeup (I took this pretty late at night). Expect more pictures of myself in the future.

Wednesday, February 22: Where you work 
 I do most of my work on my laptop.

Thursday, February 23: Your shoes 
My Hello Kitty slippers! Technically not "shoes" but whatever, I still wear them on my feet.

Friday, February 24: Inside your bathroom cabinet 
I was really excited about this day's photo for some reason. This is what I currently have inside my bathroom cabinet (I really need to clean it out). Would you guys like to see a separate post on what's inside my bathroom cabinet?

Saturday, February 25: Green 
Homemade Mexican food! Num num!

Sunday, February 26: Night
Just finished watching the Oscars. I'm knew that "The Artist" was going to win best film! I have yet to watch it but I've seen so many previews and read a lot of positive reviews, can't wait to see it.

This week I've been glued down to my laptop trying to finish my new blog layout. I know I've said for the past two weeks but I kept getting sidetracked but the new blog layout will be up before Wednesday so look out for that. Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!



X♥X♥
-Michelle

February Results

Sorry for the late posts (I know my monthly results are always late!). But I've been working really hard on the new blog layout that I totally forgot about fitness Friday this week better late then never, right? Today I will be sharing my fitness results for the month of February.

Let's start with what goals I accomplished first. Like I said in my January results I wanted to do more cardio and I'm glad to report that I did do way more cardio this month then I did last month. I've seen a bit of change in my body (not including muscle) but not enough that makes a huge difference in my appearance. Another goal that I mentioned in January was to get more sleep and thanks to the morning banana diet I have been getting a lot more sleep (been sleeping at 12 AM, that's two hours earlier then usual!). 

Now on to the bad news... Sadly I didn't eat as much veggies as I hoped but I'm still trying. I have actually been eating more sweets then anything since Valentine's day passed by. This really effected my hips!

So what were my results in February? Well like I said I lost myself in the middle of the month (Darn you after Valentine's day temptations!) so I did gain a few pounds but I tried my best to work off those pounds by running on the treadmill almost daily. I gained a bit of muscle on my legs especially my thighs. So overall I lost about 3 to 4 pounds this month but hopefully I can lose another pound or two before February official ends. Wish me the best!

Goals for March

- Eat and cook healthier meals (I'm not much of a chef but I'm willing to learn).

- Eat more veggies! Carrying this over from last month because I failed horribly at this last month.

- Use the treadmill for 40-50 minutes a least once a week. When I use the treadmill I use it for 30 minutes so I would love to use it a bit longer a least once a week and work myself up.

- Try out the 30 day shred! I am very intrigued by Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred that I'm thinking about getting it (The hunt starts this weekend!) and maybe even the 6 week six-pack too! 

- Eat less sweets!

By the way if you are wondering how I am doing on the morning banana diet then you can follow my tumblr here, I record my daily food intake and share my feelings on the diet. 

Do any of you have any quick and easy recipes that are healthy? Have you guys tried the 30 day shred?

X♥X♥
-Michelle

Special DIY Treat!

I saw this real cute DIY rotating goal list a few weeks ago I thought this was a great way to organize your goals. However, I noticed that I didn't have the suggested paper so I just tweaked the design to fit the card stock that I had laying around and loved the end result! I scanned the design I made so that you guys can print and keep.

You will need:

- 8.5 x 11 in card stock or thick paper

- Printer

- 3 x 3 size post-its

- Pen

- The to do list down below

Save, print, share and enjoy!

Now jot down all of your tasks for the day, week, month, etc. Hang it up or put it somewhere you will be able to see it, such as a place you look at or walk by a lot and get your tasks done.

***Sorry but there will not be a fitness Friday post today because I'm very sleepy and tired and I just wanted to do a quick little post. But expect my February results tomorrow!***

X♥X♥

-Michelle

Review: MISSHA Perfect Cover BB Cream

Today I'm going to be doing a mini review on MISSHA's perfect cover BB cream in NO.23 natural beige.

The MISSHA perfect cover BB cream is a multi function BB cream that claims to block UV rays, lighten skin, heal blemishes, and prevent skin from aging. The cream itself has grayish undertone (most BB creams tend to have this) and a light scent (but I like it).



What is BB cream?
It's a blemish balm cream that was originally formulated in South Korea and then became popular all over Asia. BB cream provides natural looking skin coverage while having multi functions such as light coverage, SPF sunscreen, concealing and treating skin. Over the past few years BB cream has become very popular all over the world (Garnier just released their first BB cream becoming the first ever BB cream to be available in drugstores in the States). Think of it as a tinted moisturizer but 100% better I kind of like to think of it as a foundation + skincare = BB CREAM!

This is my second tube of the MISSHA perfect cover BB cream and it also was the first ever BB cream that I ever used. I used this BB cream every single day when I was a sophomore in high school and it brightened and healed my skin (That's what made me fall in love with this cream!). When I ran out of the cream I swicthed to a new foundation and never looked back (WHY did I do this!). Fast forward two years later and I have fallen in love with this stuff all over again!

PROS:
- Contain SPF42 PA +++
- Light coverage
- Heals blemishes
- Reduces appearance of wrinkles
- Leaves skin with a dewy glow (I love my skin to look dewy)
- Comes with a pump. The tube that I used the first time didn't have a pump and you had to squeeze the tube in order to get any product out so I'm glad that they added a pump.

CONS:
- Not a big color range (most Asian BB creams also lack this).
- Doesn't always match your skin so its better to set with a powder.
- Hard to find, you can find these all over the web but unless you live near a Asian town you have to it purchase it online.

I really love BB cream and have done my research so I've decided that for now on I'm going to try more BB creams because they are so much better and healthier for your skin then foundations. I already have a few on my shopping list to get in the future. Of course I will do a review on each one to share my likes and dislikes.

Have you tried BB cream? If so, which is your favorite?


X♥X♥
-Michelle

Lovable Weekend

Monday, February 13: Blue
This was my mid morning snack, its greek yogurt with nuts and blueberries. I don't really like blueberries that much but that's all we had in the house.

Tuesday, February 14: Hearts
Valentine's day was adorable! I made my sister's some cute valentines (which you can see here) and ate lots of yummy chocolates. My younger sister gave me the Sponge Bob valentine card and the my little pony card (we love that show!), my other sister gave knitted me the red heart and gave me the red heart valentine, and my dad gave me the chocolates.

Wednesday, February 15: Phone
This is my cute phone. I got the glitzy rainbow zebra case from ebay and I got the bunny phone charm from another ebay order. I do not remember where I got the other charm.

Thursday, February 16: Something new 

Two new things in this picture, one is a lip creme that I got in my recent Birchbox and the second is my new makeup space. Would you like to see my new makeup area? 

Friday, February 17: Time 
I took this picture right before I fell asleep. Yeah, I know I go to sleep pretty late but this week I am  going to try to go to sleep a little but early.

Saturday, February 18: Drink 
My younger sister knows that I do these weekend posts and she wanted to help me out a bit by taking a picture. Since day eighteen was to take a picture of a drink (all I drink is water and green tea) so she asked me if she could take it and of course I said yes.

Sunday, February 19: Something you hate to do
Something I really really hate to do is go out when its raining. Don't get me wrong I love listening to rain when I'm inside the house in my cozy socks and pajamas but I dread going outside to run errands in the rain, I hate the feeling of being wet when I'm not suppose to be.

I'm devoting this upcoming week to DIY projects that I've been meaning to try. I'm so excited! I'll do a post with all of my finished projects by the end of the week.

Also an update on the morning banana diet, I didn't get a chance to go and get bananas on Saturday so I'm staring the diet tomorrow (Monday) and end it on Monday March 5 (not Sunday March 4). Just wanted to let you know in case you were wondering. I'm so excited to try this diet out (I know kind of weird)!


X♥X♥
-Michelle

Review: LA FRESH Nail Polish Remover Pads

Like I said in my February 2012 Birchcbox post I'm doing a review on the LA FRESH acetone-free nail polish remover pads. I got two of these nail polish removers packets in my Birchbox to try out and even though I've only used one packet I thought I would share my first impressions with you guys anyways.

My first thoughts on this were that there was no way that this little damp cloth was going to get off all of my polish. But don't underestimate the power of this wipe! Not only did it remove all of the nail polish from all ten of my finger nails even the hard to get stops in the corners, just make sure you massage instead of rub. The pad itself looked more like a wipe to me and to my surprise it wasn't as saturated as I thought it would be, it actually felt kinda of dry. I really liked the hint of orange in the wipe, its not too overpowering like most nail polish remover are.

PROS:
- Pleasant scent.
- Removes all nail polish from your nails.
- Reasonable price (18 wipes for $9.99).
- Biodegradable packaging.
- Conditions nails.
- Travel-friendly.
- Sulfate and paraben free

CONS:
- Leaves nails with a dry feeling.
- Acetone-free
- The size and shape of the wipe.

Would I purchase these wipes? Maybe, when I used these pads I had 8 of my nails painted a solid color and the two others had a design. Next time I use the other packet I will make sure all ten of my nails have a design to see if it gets all the nail polish off. But I prefer having a bottle of nail remover handy rather then little packets but I'm really interested in this brand because they use natural ingredients and they do not test on animals (I'm starting to use makeup products that don't test on animals). They also have makeup wipes which I might pick up in the future.

You can purchase the La Fresh acetone-free nail polish remover pads off the Birchbox website here. What are your thoughts on these nail polish remover pads? Have you tried them?



X♥X♥
-Michelle

Fitness Friday: The Morning Banana Diet?

Image found here.

I first heard about the "Morning Banana Diet" through Tumblr. It became super popular in Japan and now it's becoming a trending topic world wide. The morning banana diet consists of three rules:

1. Bananas for breakfast (As much as you want.).
2. Drink plenty of room-temperature water (At least 8 cups.).
3. Have your last meal before 8 p.m.

There of course is other rules like (you can read the rest of them here) but those are the main three. You can eat normally for both lunch and dinner but your last meal must be eaten at 8 p.m. (this is because any food that you eat after 8 p.m. is stored as access fat) and you can only eat until you are satisfied but not full. You eat each meal every four hours (so if you eat breakfast at 7 a.m. you can eat a snack at 11 a.m eat lunch at 3 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.)  you also must sleep four hours later after your last meal. The banana diet doesn't require you to exercise however you can if you want to. 


Sounds easy, right? I would say this is a very causal diet as suppose to other ones out there. I was very intrigued by this diet (that's why I wanted to do a post on it.) but when I was looking through their website I noticed that there was either really good results (about 20 pounds loss) or no results at all. I'm not sure if people just gave up or if it didn't work out for them. I think I'm actually going to to try this "diet" ever since I've started living healthier I haven't really gone on a specific diet I just eat healthy food and stay away from junk food. The rules seem pretty simple I'm just going to exercise like I've been doing and hope to see some results. 


They recommend that you try the diet for at least two weeks and if you see results you can choose to continue or you can try a different diet if this one doesn't work for you. I going to start this on February 19 and end it on March 4 I will do a post letting you guys know my experiences with the morning banana diet. Bring on the bananas!

Have you heard or tried the morning diet before? If so, did you see any changes?


X♥X♥
-Michelle

February 2012 Birchbox

I was thrilled when I saw my Birchbox in my mail box on Valetine's day! If you don't know what Birchbox is it's a 10 dollar monthly box filled with 4 to 5 deluxe beauty samples (It's become a monthly feature on my blog.). This month's box is all about being in the spotlight and being the center of attention. Sadly I was kinda of disappointed with this month's box (Well at least mine). I saw some other people's birchbox unboxing videos and they looked so exciting! However mine was well not as exciting as I thought it was going to be (I really wanted to try the beauty blender or the make up puff.) but oh well.

Box overview

List of products

BLK DNM Perfume 11 Full-size $110
"New York's hippest denim brand created this spicy perfume. Wear it for a dose of downtown cool." Oh my gosh I can't stand the smell! It smells like a very heavy men's cologne and like it says it has a spicy scent (Who would want a perfume that smells spicy?). I do not like this at all! This is probably the first product that I did not like in my Birchbox.

LIFESTYLE EXTRA
"There's no shame in filling your nails in public with this heart-shaped, neon looker." One word...CUTE!

EYE ROCK's designer liner 2 packs of 4, $13
"Stop wrestling with the liquid liner and achieve a perfect cat eye with these single-use stick-on liner strips." I think these eye liner strips are great for someone who rarely wears makeup and doesn't want to look like a eye liner noob. A really cool concept but for someone like me who does wear makeup often this is just a nice treat to have. I will do a separate post with these liner strips on.

I was very surprise to see this in my box this is a free digital download of six songs from a band called Green River Ordinance, an indie band from Texas. I love discovering new music as much as the next person but I have yet to listen to these guys because the link doesn't work and I've tried so many times. Anyone else with this problem?

What's inside???

Exude Lip Creme Full-size $29
"Buzz alert: Mega stylist Rachel Zoe swears by this bold lipstick, which has an innovative crystal applicator that dispenses the exact amount of lipstick you need." I absolutely love this! I love the color, the lip stick applicator, and the clean looking packing. Also Rachel Zoe swears by it so you know it must be fabulous. I can add this to my bright lip color collection that Birchbox has help me build.

LA FRESH Eco-Beauty Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover Full-size 18 wipes, $9.99

"Leave the cotton balls and acetone behind. These convenient pads dissolce polish with a natural mix of botanicals, plus soothing aloe vera." I was thrilled to get these nail polish remover pads in box I'm always looking for some "holy grail" nail care products and I have a good feeling about these. I'll do a separate blog post on these pads too.

Well that's it for my February Birchbox it wasn't my favorite but I did get some interesting product to sample. I will doing a blog posts on the designer eye liner strips and on the nail remover pads, if you would like to see a review on any of the other products I got in my box let me know. What did you get in your Birchbox?


X♥X♥
-Michelle

Happy Valentine's Day & NOTD

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everybody is spending the day with loved ones. Today I have an adorable nails of the day posts for your guys, enjoy!

I wanted to make a cute yet not too lovey dovey (kpop reference) nail design for Valentine's day I knew that I wanted to paint all of nails but my ring finger a solid color. I ended up drawing a adorable bunny on my ring finger and painted the rest of my nails in China Glaze's dance baby.

Close up

I used Zoya's Kendel for the body of the bunny and other random colors for the details. I loved how it came out! Is so cute!

Now on to some Valentine's day cuteness!

 I made this for my older sister, It's a Legend of Zelda inspired valentine. It has Link holding a heart and it says "Link me to your..." heart! I know I'm so cheesy! I am so glad that it came out good it looked like it took me days but it only took about 3 hours to make!

This is a valentine for my younger sister it says "You are the milk to my cookie" because she loves cookies. She's my little cookie monster! Grrrr! Hehe

I also crocheted her this latte/frappe and another valentine card that says "Be my love-tte", yeah I know I am cheesy sauce. I got the pattern here.

Here are some of my valentine's day goodies from my family. Thanks guys!

Anyways, I'm about to indulge in some chocolates, put on a earl grey tea & macaroon sheet mask, drink some green tea, and watch this week's Dream High 2. I hope everybody has a beautiful day even if you are just sitting alone eating chocolates, like me.


Much love,
 X♥X♥
-Michelle

February Update

I started my second week of February strong with a total body workout and continued with it the entire week. I also did some crafty things but I'm saying that for another post.

Monday, February 6: Dinner
My "dinner" was green tea on Monday night. I actually didn't eat that much on this day, so yeah.

Tuesday, February 7: Buttons
A look inside my button box, I have so many buttons in different color, shapes and sizes!

Wednesday, February 8: Sun 
It was raining on this day so I had no sun to take a picture of so I just faked it instead.

Thursday, February 9: Front door
I keep this Hello Kitty door sign outside of my door knob. On one side it says "playtime" and on the other it says "sleep time".

Friday, February 10: Self portrait
I don't have that many self portraits so I just took a picture of this portrait made by Holly of Order & Chaos because it's my favorite.

Saturday, February 11: Something that makes you happy 
Pizza makes me happy!

Sunday, February 12: Closet

This is just a snippet of my closet but I think I might do a full closet tour. Let me know if you would like to see that.

I'm still working on the new blog layout but hopefully I will finish it this by next Sunday. I also ran on the treadmill three times this week! I'm so proud of myself! I always feel better after running a few miles, I'm going to push myself a little harder this upcoming week and you should too!

X♥X♥
-Michelle