Last night I had the wonderful idea of heading to the mall since it was payday. I haven't been for a while, especially since I have a serious shoe addiction and the best course of action is to stay far far away. But there were some things I desperately needed and it was the only place to go. I needed new work pants which btw is the most annoying thing to shop for. Do designers think we're all over six feet tall now? Over at Express the pants that used to fit me perfectly (short for flats, regular for heels) are a joke. Even the short length I was swimming in...and I'm 5'5".

Aaaaaanyway...let's stop that tangent right there. I also picked up Bare Escentuals Warmth, because it's the only bronzer that works for me (I'm super pale) and isn't shimmery (and I'm all out) along with Philosophy's Hope in a Jar in the tiny size because I needed moisturizer and I don't know if this will work better than their sensitive skin variety. But the point of all this is I went in search of a new fragrance. I've been using Estee Lauder's Pleasures Exotic for quite a while and I love it. This scent has the right amount of grapefruit in it and has been my staple for quite a while.

Umm...I wanted a change.

Nothing crazy, I didn't want to smell like a baby prostitute. *cough*JuicyCouture*cough* But I figured Nordstrom would be all kinds of helpful in finding me something great. And great they did, something a little similar to what I had before but a little different.

Meet Versace's Bright Crystal

Inspired by a mixture of Donatella Versace's favorite floral fragrances, Bright Crystal is a fresh, sensual blend of refreshing chilled yuzu and pomegranate mingled with soothing blossoms of peony, magnolia, and lotus flower, warmed with notes of musk and amber.

Notes: Iced Accord, Yuzu, Pomegranate, Peony, Magnolia, Lotus Flower, Acajou, Vegetal Amber, Musk.

Style: Sheer. Sensual. Luminous.




I am in love with this perfume. It smells a little different on everyone so you're not going to smell like absolutely everyone else in the room. The mix of the floral notes and fruity kind of give it a grapefruit-like smell and best of all it came with a free gift! Mini sizes of the body wash, lotion and a purse sized fragrance were an absolute bonus. Plus, the bottle design is oh so pretty.

In other news, the dear Wendy at Fashionable Heart gave me my first award!


The guidelines are:
1. Say Thank You and give a link to the presenter of the award
2. Share "10 Honest Things" about myself
3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4. Tell those 7 people that they have been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines.

So thank you Wendy for bestowing me with such an honor and here are 10 honest things about me.

1. I cannot stand rain in any form. I know it doesn't make sense being from Seattle but I associate it with cold and I feel like I'm melting & in the Wizard of Oz.

2. I sometimes will go a week wearing the same jeans w/o washing them. Sorry, they are more comfy that way and they're not dirty.

3. I remember the most random pieces of information. I can still tell you my high school boyfriend's birthday, all my friends from 8th grade's birthdays and who was my favorite band that performed in The Bronze on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just don't ask me what the chemistry code is for salt. Or what I had for dinner last night.

4. I have a car alarm remote that most people confuse for the smallest cell phone EVER. Think Zoolander small.

5. Despite the risk of alienating everyone I know online I have a serious soft spot for Nicholas Cage. One of my favorite movies is The Rock and I find him sexy. I will admit though that a lot "" of his movies suck.

6. I am on Twitter way more than I care to admit. I don't always update but since I can check it from my BB I'm hooked. My boyfriend has more than once accused me of loving Twitter more than him.

7. I secretly now want oodles of babies. I think this is the boyfriend's fault because growing up I did NOT WANT children AT ALL. Up until about 3 years ago I disliked most everything about children but now all I want to do is cuddle little babies. I thought that internal clock was all a myth.

8. I'm a pretty awesome knitter & crocheter - when I actually do it. I go through phases where I'll do it all the time and then never again for around 6 months. I better start soon though because my entire extended family is expecting dish cloths come Christmas.

9. I have an unhealthy love & hate of Costco. Love going into the stores and getting killer deals for myself but hate them when I use them at work. I can't count the amount of times I've not received parts of my order because they're out of stock. They don't backorder - bastards.

10. I have a potty mouth that gets me in trouble at my family's house on a regular basis. Mostly it's because I get in trouble for words I don't consider bad. Sucks, pissed off, crap & shut up are the big killers. Supposedly I'm here to set a good example for my little brother (who's 9).

And now the killer people who deserve this award are...

1. LiLu of Live It, Luv It - because it's her birthday and she's kick ass.
2. Melly of Drawing on Dandelions - because I love her and her blog.
3. Catherinette of The Catherinette Chronicles - because she makes me laugh.
4. Cjengo of Jude, the Diary of a Baby & a Stroke - because she's unbelievably strong.
5. New Black of The New Black - because she's a Seattlite like me.
6. Jay at Genius Pending - because his cartoons crack me up.
7. Chelsea at Chelsea Talks Smack - because I love her writing and I'm still sad I missed her shows here.

Do You Have Road Rage?

I don’t know about you, but I have a serious case of road rage. Nothing insane, I don’t follow people home, get out of the car or anything, but from the very first time I drove by myself the profanities have spewed from my mouth in record numbers. I jokingly blame this on my mother who has the same habit (she’s now trying to do better due to my little brother being in the car), but I had no clue I had this problem until I drove solo.

I think this is mostly due to the fact that most people cannot drive to save their lives. Or I should say, each of them has their own set of rules they follow and they don’t always match with everyone else’s set. So I provide to you below my own…

Information Not Always Found in the Normal Drivers Manual

Putting your turn signal on does not entitle you to a spot in the lane next to you.
Just because you did not prepare properly by getting into the appropriate lane it does not mean I have to let you in.

If you realize you’re about to miss your exit, it does not mean that you should do a hard turn of the wheel to make said exit.
I know it’s a crazy idea, but the next exit is perfectly acceptable to get off of and to turn around.

It is never acceptable to go less than 60 mph in the left lane.
This is the passing lane or the “I’m going faster than everyone else” lane.

For those of us lucky enough to have a designated time for a carpool lane (5am-7pm), if you are using this lane outside of these hours this is NOW THE LEFT LANE.
See previous explanation.

If I decide to pass you, the appropriate response is NOT to speed up when I attempt to pass you.
This makes you an asshole and you deserve coal in your stocking.

If you see a cop who has pulled someone over, you do NOT need to slam on your breaks.
Unless you’re going waaaay over the speed limit the cop is far too busy with the guy they just pulled over. Letting your foot off the gas slightly is good enough.

Similarly, if you pass a cop waiting to pull people over, hitting your breaks is a red flag that you have been speeding.
Seriously, it’s OBVIOUS you’ve been speeding.

Checking the lanes next to you before you merge is a good idea.
Some of us have small cars and are sometimes hard to see (despite being bright red). I don’t want you to drive over me.

The horn on your car is really only there to let other people know the light has turned green.
Do you have road rage? That’s why you yell – you feel better and no one outside of the car can hear you.

What would you add to this list? Or do you think mine are crazy?

Who doesn't love a before/after haircut post?

It's taken a while but I finally got pics of my new haircut! It had been about a year and a half since my last one so it was looking a little bit ratty. Not so bad that a few curls here and there could hide but I'm so happy with the end result. Now curls are only if I want to, not because I need to.

Before

After

Ignore the obvious camera placement in the photo, I was happy that this image wasn't super blurry like the others. Why can't I take a photo in the mirror w/o that problem? :-)

//

In other news fall has officially hit the northwest this week. We've had some pretty great weather lately but this week the rain showed up and the sun started setting earlier in the day. Today I busted out the cashmere sweater AND the electric blanket for the couch so I could make the appropriate indoor cocoon.

Also, does anyone watch Lie To Me? I haven't tried it because it seems like it focuses on only one part of profiling and I'd prefer to watch Criminal Minds any day, but maybe I'm missing something with this show. Instead now I prefer to catch up on my DVR. Later gators!