Tuesday, July 15, 2014 July BIRTHDAY Haul

As some of you may know, my Birthday was last week! I'm one of those people who LOVES getting to celebrate their Birthday, especially because it gives me an excuse to splurge a bit on some things for myself (not to mention gifts you get from others too)! So here is my July Birthday Haul:

Craft/Food Fair Goodies:

The weekend before my Birthday, my family & I signed up for a 5K race that ends at a huge craft/food fair. I was so excited to find handmade flower crowns at the fair at only $10 for 2! I walked away with a crown of small purple flowers & a crown of larger cream colored flowers. I feel like a hippie "flower child" whenever I wear them which makes me happy.

A few minutes later, I came across a handmade dream catcher necklace that for some reason I NEEDED. It is my new favorite necklace and I wear it as often as possible. I also ended up with 3 bags of "spices" that you can use to make dips. They are seriously delicious and made by Gourmet Creations. You can buy some of their dip mixes online, my favorites were: Portabella & Artichoke, Cucumber Dill, & Spinach Parmesan. Yum!

Sephora Online Order:

My favorite company Birthday freebie (besides getting a free Dunkin Donuts drink) is the Beauty Insider Sephora gift! For July, the gift was sponsored by Make Up For Ever (my personal favorite brand) and they gave out a sample of their mascara & lip stick. Coincidentally, the lipstick they gave is my favorite shade (Rouge Artist Natural N9)! I also got a free Stila liquid lipstick in red using a 4th of July coupon code. I also bought Sephora's black liquid eyeliner which is my everyday top lid liner, Clinique's All About Eyes Rich to help with my dark circles/puffy eyes, and Too Faced Natural Eyes eye shadow. I have used Urban Decay's Naked palette for so long now & loved it but the price point is a bit steep when I only use about 4 of the eyeshadows daily. Hoping I love the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette just as much so I can save $18 from now on!

Sirius XM Radio:

I always viewed radio as a dying medium, never really paying attention to it or caring to spend money on it. However, that was before I got my new job where I now have to commute to work an hour each way (often longer with traffic). Thus, my Mom figured out the perfect gift for me, a 1 year subscription to Sirius XM radio. It's only been a little over a week and I already LOVE it! I have comedy stations, decade stations, and talk radio stations. My commute to and from work goes by so much faster now & there's always something I can find to listen to!

Adorable Geekiness:

Last but not least, my Boyfriend decided to make me a gift for my Birthday this year! He also got me a few other things but I loved that he took the time and effort to find these Pokemon cards & other materials to put this together. He used all of my favorite Pokemon: Pikachu, every Eevee evolution, Mew, Raichu, & Vulpix. It's hanging over next to my computer desk now, and I love it in all of it's adorable geekiness!!

Sorry it's been so long between blog posts! I'm going to try & get better with posting at least one new post a week if not more. Thank you for all the birthday wishes too via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, & Instagram! Was feeling the love from every possible Internet angle. <3

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 My Makeup Bag Favorites

I like to view gaming as a gender neutral activity. It's because of this that I try not to post anything girl-specific on my YouTube channel or it's surrounding social media pages. However, seeing as this blog was created as an outlet for me to talk about everything non-gaming related, I feel that I should be able to write about some of my favorite girly things!

I get a lot of requests about my makeup, hair, or clothing that it may help some of my female viewers out to know what products I use. Thus, I will start off with my makeup bag favorites for those who are interested in knowing what I use!

1. Smashbox Primer + Make Up For Ever Foundation

2. Urban Decay Eye Primer

3. Urban Decay Naked Palette + Snatch Eyeshadow

4. Sephora Brand Liquid Eyeliner - Black

5. Mattese NYC Brunette Eyebrow Pencil

6. Maybelline "The Colossal" Mascara

7. Urban Decay Pencil Eyeliners

8. Make Up For Ever Lipstick

I've never been big into fashion, hair styling, or nail design. Makeup, however, I am obsessed with. These are only the makeup items that I use on a daily basis. I start off with primer (the purple variety is for yellow-tinted skin like mine) and then apply my foundation. Next, I move onto my eyes where I apply a small amount of eye shadow primer first. Then I apply my eye shadow which is a cross between my Naked Palette and a single new eye shadow I've fallen in love with called "Snatch" by Urban Decay. Next is my favorite part, the liquid eyeliner which I usually draw in a subtle cat-eye look with on my upper lid only. Then it's onto the mascara and coloring in my eyebrows a bit with my eyebrow pencil. Sometimes I will apply a bit of black eyeliner pencil on my bottom lid depending on the occasion. I also have a purple and teal eyeliner pencil that I use on my bottom lid for a more fun look when the situation calls for it! Lastly, I put on some lipstick which can range from pink to a red.

Do you use any of my favorites? If not, anything you would recommend me try? ^_^

Friday, February 14, 2014 LaurenzSide of Books: The Shining by Stephen King

Being that I have a love of writing, one would assume that I also have a love of reading. I don't feel complete on a day-to-day basis unless I have a new book loaded up on my iPad mini to read in my spare time. I felt compelled to write a post regarding the latest book I finished: Stephen King's "The Shining". Originally I had no interest in reading the well-known novel because I had already seen the film which (I thought) would ruin the story's mystery. However, when King recently released "Doctor Sleep", I figured I had to finally read "The Shining" in order to appreciate it's sequel. I am so glad that I did! I won't ruin the book for those of you who haven't read it, but it is very different from the film adaptation. It has even made it to my list of "all-time favorite reads" which only holds a handful of books that I've read over the years! The book had a completely different ending from the movie (which I actually enjoyed better), the characters were much more likable, and the explanation of 'shining' is much more in depth.

When I love a book, it's usually because there's a truth within it that resonates with me in my life. One quote in particular really hit me in a way I wasn't expecting:

"A lot of folks, they got a little bit of shine to them. They don't even know it. But they always seem to show up with flowers when their wives are feelin' blue with the monthlies, they do good on school tests they don't even study for, they got a good idea how people are feelin' as soon as they walk into a room. I come across fifty or sixty like that. But maybe only a dozen, countin' my Gram, that knew they was shinin'." - Stephen King, The Shining

In the novel, Dick Hallorann recited this line to Danny Torrance after revealing to him that other people have these special "senses" that he has. Although the line was describing a sort of "super power" that does not exist in the real world, I felt like he was describing me in a way. I have always felt that I understood people's feelings much more then anyone else. I can sense when complete strangers are sad even without them showing it, I often think of things that are going to happen before they do, and I even used to do well on tests I didn't study for! Maybe others feel the same, but I loved the fact that this 'sense' was portrayed a sort of 'power' in this novel.

I also think that I read "The Shining" at the perfect point in my life to truly appreciate it because I found that one of the story's themes was about feeling alone in the world. (As in the Torrance family being isolated from the outside world snowed in the Overlook) I myself don't necessarily feel alone in the world, but I do feel disconnected with it lately.

"Tough old world, baby. If you're not bolted together tightly, you're gonna shake, rattle, and roll before you turn thirty." - Stephen King, The Shining

"That's your job in this hard world, to keep your love alive and see that you get on, no matter what. Pull your act together and just go on." - Stephen King, The Shining

I feel like what people value in today's world don't match up with my own. It often makes me feel discouraged and even isolated at times. This book reminded me that I just need to keep my love alive in order to go on. My love of my family, friends, boyfriend, and dog. My love of music, art, and video creation. My love of emotions, laughter, and knowledge. As long as I keep those alive in my mind, the rest of the world won't ever be too tough for me to handle.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 Favorite Cruelty-Free (& Healthy) Food Staples

I've mentioned a few times before that I practice a pescetarian diet, meaning I don't eat meat except for occasional seafood. I also try to make vegan choices a few times a week as it's an even healthier diet to practice. I received a request to talk about my diet some more, so I thought the best way to go about this was to show you some of my favorite cruelty-free food staples that I have in my kitchen. These have all been Lauren approved for deliciousness!

(From Left to Right: Lightlife Smart Dogs Veggie Protein Links, Boca All American Flame Grilled Meatless Burgers, MorningStar Chik Patties, Fantastic Foods Sloppy Joe Mix (Vegan), Amy's Southwestern Burrito, Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burgers (Vegan))

When trying out meat-less products for the first time, please remember to go into it with an open mind. If you bite into a veggie burger expecting it to taste just like beef, you're not going to enjoy it. Even before I decided to cut meat from my diet, I ate the Boca and MorningStar patties as they are MUCH healthier and lower calorie then eating a real burger or chicken patty. Try a couple different brands and varieties to find the ones you like best! These are just the ones I grew to love.

(From Left to Right: Silk Chocolate Soymilk, Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk, Smart Balance Organic Buttery Spread (Vegan), Daiya Cheddar Shreds (Vegan))

When it comes to ordering food and drinks outside of my house, I don't mind if they use regular milk, butter, or cheese. However, in my apartment I don't have any regular milk or butter. Cheese is a different story as it's an addiction of mine. It wasn't hard to replace milk with Vanilla Almond milk because I actually liked it better!I'm not a fan of soymilk but when I tasted the Silk chocolate soymilk, I became addicted! Smart Balance butter I've been using for years but never realized their organic variety was vegan so now I buy that! As for cheese, I dislike most vegan cheeses but tapioca cheddar cheese isn't too bad especially in Mac & Cheese!

(From Left to Right: Zucchini, Broccoli, Spaghetti Squash, Baby Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Red Delicious Apples, Bananas, Red Grapes)

Oddly enough, I'm not a huge fruit lover, but I do LOVE vegetables. Anything steamed with a little bit of the vegan butter is all I need to be happy! Broccoli has become my new kitchen staple for a healthy dinner side dish. Zucchini I get every now and then to make zucchini fries which are so good and really low in calories! Then there's Spaghetti Squash which I eat with some melted Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb cheese on top, baby spinach which is the base to all my salads, and sweet potatoes which I can eat every which way! The only fruits I keep in my kitchen are bananas, red delicious apples, and red grapes (which I freeze and eat as a snack, great for the hot summers!).

(From Left to Right: PopCorners Kettle Chips (Vegan),  Oreo Cookies (Vegan), Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus, and Trail Mix)

Luckily, some of my guilty pleasures are quite healthy and even vegan! PopCorners Kettle chips are my new favorite addiction and I could eat an entire bag unless someone takes them away from me. They are vegan, all natural, and gluten free, plus they taste way better then potato chips! Then of course there's Oreo cookies and although they are not healthy, they are vegan surprisingly! Thus, if I have one or two before bed, I at least don't feel AS guilty eating them. Hummus has finally grown on me and I love the roasted garlic variety on some pita chips! Then there's trail mix which I keep in my desk at work to curb my appetite. Love almonds, sunflower seeds, crasins, and walnuts!

You don't have to become a full fledged vegan or vegetarian (I didn't) in order to make healthier and friendlier choices. All you have to do is make an effort to try new foods that don't include the traditional meat & dairy ingredients! You will lower your risk of heart disease substantially AND you will feel more energetic as well as healthier overall! What are your favorite cruelty-free products? Have you tried any of the foods I talked about and did you like or hate them?