4th of July Madness!

This past weekend I have been crazy busy. I hung out with my buddy Gabe who was in town from Portland on Saturday morning. I've known my buddy Gabe since we were interning at a youth paper thing (back in the days when I thought I could be a journalist). We tried going to the beach but that we failed at that terribly. Every beach we went to was terribly packed and we couldn't find parking. When we decided to get back into town, we took Laurel Canyon road, we ended at a park up top on a mountain and we could see a gorgeous view of the city. When I went home, my brother and I decided to go to Walmart to pick up a couple things along with our cousin. I picked up the Maybelline Dream Matte foundation, accompanying powder and Glamoflauge concealer by Hard Candy. I picked up two shades in the foundation and powder, a light one and a slightly darker one. (I decided to return the lighter one the next day as my skin was quite orange the whole weekend so I decided the darker one would work better. I was so wrong!). Later on Sunday night, a couple of my closest friends invited me out to West Hollywood for a night of fun and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more. We started out at Fiesta Cantina where I had a double shot zombie and went to the Abbey afterwards. Both of my friends wanted to go to Mickeys but I decided to go home after that. On 4th of July, my brothers friend invited us over for a BBQ (which our Dad decided not to attend). His family was very welcoming, talkative and great cooks! The kids lit fireworks and it was fun to sit out at the front of their house to watch them go off. Ill include pictures later.


Today I have my final visit with my ENT before I leave in now 11 days!! I can't believe Ill be back in Dallas in less than 2 weeks. I am quite excited to return to Dallas but not so excited about the heat haha

-With <3

Birthday Celebration

Hi dolls,

Sorry I haven't been posting in a while. I've been busy since school finished with my brothers birthday, graduation, and now my birthday. Yesterday was my birthday. My Dad went on his honeymoon with his new wife and left my brother and I here to celebrate my birthday without him. My friend and accompanist of many years Leigh Anne Gillespie joined my brother and I for a low-key birthday dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Afterwards we had cake at our place. I read somewhere that good food and good company is what matters no alcohol is needed for a good time and this is true. I haven't had this much fun in a while. I have a wine and cheese event to go to tonight and Ill let you all know how that goes.



-With <3

Mail's In! Toot! Toot!: Gifts from Germany

Dear Readers,

I got my swap package in the mail from my German swap pal Svenja in mid-May but due to a busy schedule I haven't been able to post on my blog. She is a sweet girl and really full of energy. I was looking for the Catrice eyeshadow in 180 'Petrol Keeps Me Running'. I saw Simone Simons swatch it on her blog as she was looking for a dupe for the color A Bluer Blue from her MAC holiday palette (Mac Eye Delights Warm Palette). I thought the color was GORGEOUS and since it is only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, I posted a video on youtube hoping there was someone out in one of those countries that wanted to swap with someone from the USA. Surprisingly enough (I kid you not!) I was on the phone with a relative in Europe about 2 weeks after I posted the video got a comment 5 minutes after I got off the phone with them! She added me via facebook and we went from there. We each compiled a list of things we wanted and exchanged them. It took about a week to get our lists together, then we exchanged addresses and the packages went on their way! Hers took about a little over a week and a half to get here (mine took about a month and a half but the postal service here that really stinks!). When I opened the package, I couldn't believe all the wonderful things (including chocolate hehehe) that Svenja included.


(pics to come soon)

She is such a doll and a pleasure to swap with and should she need anything else I would be happy to swap with her again.

-With <3

The Adventures of Mandy and Tanya : Errands and Thrift Shopping

Dear Readers,

Thursday and Friday I hung out with one of my close friends Mandy (as you probably know from 2 of our other adventures that I've posted on here). Yesterday we went to the Los Cerritos Mall. We went to MAC Cosmetics and I bought the lipliner in Subculture that I ran out of. Its a great neutral shade to put under your light pink lipstick to make it last longer. I usually layer Angel or Syrup over Subculture or Stripdown.

Then we headed to the Dollar Tree in Whittier and also bought items I needed for a swap I am doing with someone in Canada. I was amazed at how many great things there were there! The most awesome score was finding a L'Oreal lipgloss that usually sells for 8-10 dollars in the drugstores and in Target/Walmart for 1.00!! I also bought alot of L.A. Colors stuff.

(what fun would it be if I showed everyone what I bought for my swap? lol)

After we were done there, we stopped by Target in the same shopping center and had to go get some E.L.F. stuff. I picked up a grey clutch for myself as well as an E.L.F. lipstick (that only costs a dollar) in the color Classy. Emilynoel83 claims it is a dupe for Angel and I saw it in person and no dice. I also gave Mandy an E.L.F. Matifying Powder Compact :]

(I thought it be a closer dupe to MAC Syrup but no dice!)

(top: MAC Angel, Middle: E.L.F. in classy and bottom MAC Syrup)

Then on Friday, we went thrifting. I've never been and it was alot of fun. First we stopped by a Goodwill near where Mandy lives in Santa Fe Springs. I had great success and found 2 clutches I really like and Mandy bought a puffy pirate shirt. (please excuse my dirty floor)

After we finished in the Goodwill, we headed to another thrift store called Savers. I was surprised it was a thrift store because it was so clean! I didn't find any clutches I liked. I did get a silver angel wing necklace, a silver cherry blossom bracelet and a purple dress.

I was not intending to get the dress. I tried it on and it looked really nice on me but Mandy agreed that it was too tight from the bottom as its a bubble dress so I left it. Then on the way back to Mandy's I told her I really liked the dress so we went back for it and Im glad I did. Then we went to Taco Bell where I got 2 5-layered beefy cheese burritos and Mandy got a chalupa. I've had a great couple of days with Mandy and today will be just as good. I have 2 parties to go to so I should get rest.

-With <3

Mail's In! Toot! Toot!: Surprises from Slough UK

Dear Readers,

If you recognize the title its because LolaMarie7 from YouTube uses this title when she gets mail. I thought it was cute so I decided to use it. Today I went to the Post Office to check my postal box to see if my swap package from my friend Uzma in the UK had arrived. If you've never heard of a makeup swap, a makeup swap is when you swap beauty products with someone else. You both agree on a budget. If its an international swap (like what I did) if its something you can't find in your own country you ask for that or it could be a random swap and you buy random products for someone to try. You must be careful who you swap with cause you don't want to get swap-lifted.

I swapped with a lovely girl from the UK named Uzma. She is such a sweetheart and swapping with her was quite fun. She is a reliable swapper and did keep in contact with me the whole time. She was looking for a Armani Exchange belt and I really wanted to try Barry M nail polishes and a Sleek palette so it was a perfect fit. Her package took about a week to arrive which is quite fast considering she sent it by her country's regular mail service (Airsure) and I shipped out via UPS. They are quite expensive but it was worth it cause I didn't want the belt to get lost. She sent me 7 Barry M polishes and a Bad Girl Sleek Palette. All the colors she sent were JAWDROPPING! I was so happy when I saw all the colors I was literally crying from happiness. She also included such a sweet card.

And heres a pic of the nail polishes:

The palette with the nail polishes:

The palette:

I really would like to thank Uzma for swapping with me. She is really awesome and should she want anything else, Id definitely swap with her in the future :]

Im expecting another swap package from Canada and another one from the UK (although I think the girl I swapped with from the UK has swap-lifted me and Ill have to file a mail fraud report)

-With <3

Coffee and Spring Break Reading

I've had a nice lowkey Saturday. I went to Urth Cafe with two dear friends of mine. At first i was scared because of the area, but the cafe was really nice. Juan got the Spanish Latte meanwhile Robert and I both got the Warm Honey and Vanilla Latte.

Juan's Spanish Latte

Robert's Warm Honey Vanilla Latte (look at the butterfly!)

My Warm Honey Vanilla Latte

Robert and Juan shared a pecan pie, it was too sweet for me.

After the cafe, We went to my favorite spot in Torrance to overlook the entire city. I had fun swinging on the swings. We had to call it a night shortly after since Juan was cold! He was a trooper though :]

I've also decided since this week will be my spring break that I will read the whole day Sunday and Wednesday. I have a list of literary works that I am going to try to finish on that day although realistically Ill probably finish 1 or 2 of them. The books I plan on reading are as follows (in no particular order):
1. Song of Susannah by Stephen King (got through first chapter, never finished it)
2. Dante's Inferno by Dante Alighieri (half-ways through never finished it)
3. the Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot (half-ways through never finished it)
4. Purgatory by Dante Alighieri
5. The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo (I want to re-read it)
6. Goethe's Faust
7. Paradiso by Dante Aligheri
If there is time, I am also hoping to re-read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. I know that reading all this is a long shot. I have no lyrical inspiration for the upcoming stuff my band is working on so Im hoping these books will help

-With <3

Renee Fleming: Opera Meets Rock

On Tuesday of this week my dear friend Mariana Ramirez (who also happens to be an opera singer) and I went to see Renee Fleming in recital at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall Concert Hall (whew! what a mouthful!) in Costa Mesa. Those who know me, know that I am a HUGE fan of Renee Fleming. Since I am also classified as a full lyric soprano, I listen to Renee sing all the pieces I am doing to learn them. I am in NO WAY saying I sound like her because I don't but I definitely aspire to be as good as her.

Mariana came over around 5ish for dinner at my place (poor thing was stuck in traffic). We had cevieche tostadas (lemon cured fish) for dinner. Afterwards I had fun doing her makeup. We realized we were running late so I changed and we went out the door. Luckily traffic there wasn't that bad. We arrived to the hall which looked like a red carpet premiere.
We went to will call and picked up our tickets then scurried over to the elevator and to our seats. When we sat down we thought that we would miss a part of the concert but Renee Fleming ran really late. She opened up with "Adieu, Notre Petite Table" from Manon by Massenet and ended the classical set with "Vissi d'Arte" from Tosca by Giacomo Puccini which then an intermission followed to set up for the next part of her recital which she would sing songs from her album Dark Hope which is an alternative album. During the intermission Mariana and I decided to look around the hall. It was so gorgeous!

She sang "Endlessly", "No One's Gonna Love You", "Soul Meets Body", "Hallelujah", and "In Your Eyes" (Peter Gabriel version). The crowd waved lit cellphones and sang along with her. I didn't feel like I was in an opera recital at all anymore. Afterwards, Renee sang an encore of "Summertime" from Porgy and the Bees, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz and "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi which was Renee Segerstrom's favorite aria (both Henry and Renee were in attendance). The recital ended around 10:30.

After the recital, Mariana and I came back to my place and had Strawberry Banana tea with poptarts and then she had to leave. All in all I had a great time with Mariana. I think that with Renee Fleming doing a cross-over album, classically trained sopranos (like myself) who want to go into heavy metal will be a bit more welcomed at least I hope this is the case. Im just sad that Leigh Anne couldn't make it. I'll probably have a blog post dedicated to her :]

-With <3

Moringas all around!

I went to The Body Shop because I wanted to try the Japanese Cherry Blossom body butter from there. I know I have the Bath and Body works one as I stated here recently but I have been hearing good things about The Body Shop so I thought Id buy one of the 1.67 oz ones (50 mL if you are not in the USA) to keep in my purse so when my hands get dry I can moisturize them. It turns out that they only had the big 6.75 oz ones (200 mL) which is definitely not convenient so I decided to try out one of the smaller ones in a different scent. My brother and I smelled all of them and we both decided the Pink Grapefruit and Coconut were definitely too strong. I ended up being torn between the Strawberry and Moringa. The Strawberry reminded me of Strawberry ice cream and Moringa reminded me of walking into a garden. I remember my friend Victoria telling me that Simone Simons of Epica uses the Moringa body butter. I decided to take the Moringa. Each of the 1.67 oz containers cost 6 dollars. The lady at the cash register told me they were on sale for 2 for 10 dollars so I took two. I love the scent.

The Adventures of Mandy and Tanya : Little Denmark USA

Whenever Im with Mandy, we have amazing adventures. Yesterday we went to record my promo video at Balboa Lake for the collaboration disk I will be apart of to help the tsunami victims in Japan. We got there around 12-1 in the afternoon and had a blast! I still have lots of editing to do and I can't wait to post the final product here. Lake Balboa is such a pretty place. Every spring, the sakura (cherry blossom in Japanese) trees bloom there and it looks so gorgeous. We saw ducks,a swan and a sailboat!

After we were done with Lake Balboa, we took a trip up to Santa Barbara and while there I showed Mandy the Music Academy of the West which I auditioned for back in December but did not get chosen. We explored Santa Barbara for a while and were not pleased with our findings. We went to a mall to ask for directions so we could go to Solvang since Mandy had never been there before. When we stepped into the store to ask for directions, the people looked like they were bored and had the life sucked out of them. We got our directions and went our merry way. While looking for a place to eat we discovered where we were had no food!! I guess those people don't like to eat. We got back on the 101-N. We decided to look for a gas station or food place so we could grab a bite but just as we spotted them we drove past them since they were hidden in the bushes. We drove about 25 miles then stopped at the Goleta rest stop. I thought maybe someone there could give us directions since the sign before entering the rest stop said "Tourist Information". We looked around and no tourist information booth was available! Luckily, some men pulled up right next to my car and I asked them for directions. They told me I wasn't more than 20 minutes away if that. We followed their directions and we drove on this road that was like a forest maze. It had so much green around it and there were even horses! The one thing I hated about the road was that it curved every which way.

After driving like a madwoman on the winding road we FINALLY made it to Solvang. Solvang is a little village reminiscent of Copenhagen, Denmark. Mandy and I stopped at a local restaurant called the Red Viking to to grab a bite. The food was good and the waitress was super sweet. We even had pancake balls called Æbleskiver.

Solvang looks so picturesque!

The only thing that sucked was all the bakeries closed at 5! So for desert Mandy had a hot chocolate while I chose Danish ice cream :] At 7 Mandy and I decided to head back. We had a great time on our adventure and we are sure there are still many more to come!

(Majority of the photos are taking by Mandy)

The Adventures of Mandy and Tanya : Sandy Eggo Bound!

Yesterday my friend Mandy and I took a drive down south. Not to Mexico (although we were technically near there) but to San Diego! We have been tired with the ugly weather near us so we decided to go and get some sun while we could. First we went to the Las Americas Outlet mall to go to Bath and Bodyworks.

I have been wanting to get my hands on some Cherry Blossom body butter since sometimes my hands get super dry plus I love smelling like cherry blossoms during spring! Unfortunately its been discontinued and they sold out of it in the outlet too but I bought a jar of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms for 5 dollars (which normally sells for 14 dollars in regular Bath and Bodyworks stores at the mall) and it smells amazing!

After we were done with the outlet mall, Mandy and I headed to the beach. On the freeway we saw a van with an air conditioner in the back of it! It was so funny.

We got lost and ended up at a park across from the beach. It was a nice little park and it was well taken care of but we really wanted to go to the beach.

We decided to drive around and go to the other side where the beach was. When we got there, it was like a swamp and we were sad that it wasn't the beach. 

After exploring the swamp for 20 minutes or so, we looked around for the beach and FINALLY found a really pretty dog beach. 

 

(I had to sneak in a picture of us in here lol!)

After we were done with the beach, we went to dinner with my old boss and friend Chris and his friend Rachel. We had a great time at dinner and we were sad that we couldn't go with them to the club with them afterwards. Unfortunately we had to head back and it was about an hour and a half drive which isn't bad at all ESPECIALLY for a Saturday night. We had an amazing time and were sad to go back home but we learned a valuable lesson, never trust a street called Bacon. 

On Tuesday we plan to head to Santa Barbara so I can make 2 promo videos for singles Im working on, a charity single with my band for the No Worries Now Foundation and a track I plan on recording for a collaboration disk and all proceeds will go to the tsunami victims in Japan.. 

-With <3