Thursday, December 31, 2009

A new year...a new do

I have become so bored with my dark hair lately and I needed wanted a change. I have to admit though if I dye my hair any other color than dark brown I usually end up dying it back within a week or 2 weeks max. In my mind I think I want a change and I envision just the perfect color (which it NEVER turns out that way) and once I do it I feel like the lighter color washes me out. I went to the mall tonight and saw so many beautiful heads of dark and was tempted to color it back. It's been about 5 or 6 days since I colored it.


THIS is the color I always have in my MIND but my hair has different plans



This is what I did:
I bought a kit from the store in Dark Ash Brown (because my hair is so dark I knew that the ash blonde color would lighten it to a lighter brown shade).


Then the next day I used Garnier Color Breaks Dimensional Lightener No.3 Medium Brown to Dark Brown and put about 6 highlights on each side. This kit gave reallyyyyy natural looking highlights. I was scared that they would be really bold and dramatic but they blended perfectly. This kit you don't use a cap but pick and choose where you want to put the color. You grab a few strains of hair and put the cream on... it doesn't matter if that section touches your undyed hair...it won't color the hair it's laying on. It was so easy and simple. This kit was not a lot of money and well worth it.


I waited about 4 days and I highlighted my hair again with Revlon Frost and Glow in Honey. This one was more of a pain in the butt. It came with one of those silly looking plastic caps which are almost next to impossible to get any hair out of and when you do it always comes out tangled. Ugh. I didn't leave this one on very long (only 25 minutes... 60 minutes is max time) because I was really nervous it would come out too light and zebra striped. This one did make my hair a little lighter then I'm comfortable with but it didn't turn out bad like I was predicting.


So, in the end... am I happy with it? No. I never am. It came out too red and I wanted it to be a light ash brown... oh well. I think I should just stick to dark hair but I was bored and needed a change.

Here are some pictures of proof that I went lighter (and one before):


BEFORE         



AFTER




Color in natural light without flash


Hair color before the 2nd round of highlights

HAPPY NEW YEAR from me and my family (minus baby who is missing from the pic!)

MUCH LOVE!!!!!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Tips on how to be a "Frugalista"

So what is a frugalista? It's someone who routinely tries to save money and live by that. Not 10% off sale on a $100 pair a shoes, I mean a real bargain hunter. Where before I may have been called cheap, or even tacky. Now saving money is much more fashionable and in fact necessary for many of us.

I find more ways all the time to save money. I find it exciting and feel like I'm doing more for my family. I've laid out a few tips that you may want to try if you haven't already.

1. After holiday---Love these. For instance: Bath and Body work and Victoria secret does their after holiday sales. They usually start the day after christmas but whoa hold on their...wait a few days more. I wait until about the 28th or 29th for these stores. You'll find great mark downs. 30-75% depending on the item. I bought myself 5 bottles of bath and body works body wash last year at this sale for around $2 ea. I put them away and they lasted me most of the year. It's hard to find a body wash even at Walmart for $2 and you got good stuff. Victoria's Secret--Love their heavenly perfume but did not want to spend the money. Last year I got a small bottle of Heavenly perfume for $2.99 and a heavenly body spritz with gold flakes in it for $5.99.

2. End of Season sales---Great for your kids or even yourself. Around the time they are starting to put the spring clothes out head directly for the clearance section for winter clothes clearance. I got my son a camo winter jacket last year for $5. I bought it a size bigger so he was able to wear it this year. At the end of summer clearance I got him a pair of Levi's shorts for $6. Originally $28 at JC Penney. Again a size bigger so he could wear them the next year.

3. Discount stores--Stores like Ross, Gabriel Bros., Ollies, Big Lots. Don't under estimate these kinds of stores. Ross is one of my favorites. I once got a pair of paper denim jeans (usually around $98 look it up if you don't believe me) for $20. I get Nike, Fisher Price, Disney, Adidas, Reebock, and other great name brand baby outfits for between $6-$10 at Ross and that's their everyday price. And when they have clearances it's even better. These stores are also great places to find houseware items like linens, bed sheets, glassware and more.

4. Are you're hobbies helping your finances or hurting?
I love finding hobbies that can make me money. For instance, learning crafts. It doesn't take much to be able to sell at craft shows if you enjoy crafting. In PA a seller's permit is free. Choose events wisely though, look at table fees will it be worth it for you?


Try going for walks, playdates with your kids at the park, sled riding in the neighborhood, squirt gun battles with the kids, making home made crayons, baking, blogging, home exercise programs (as opposed to going to a gym), sewing, making home made play doh, play board games with your kids...etc...etc. these things take little or no money and will strengthen your family relationship and/or make you feel better.

There's lots of opportunities online if you love the internet. I became a ChaCha guide. Check out www.chacha.com for more info. It's free and I can make money in my free time online.

5. Figure out how much something will cost and compare it to the alternative. The do it yourself method may not always be cheapest. For example: My kids like to have a birthday party with their friends. I've found the Burger King and McDonald's in my area will do a party for up to 10 kids for $45. Then $4 more for any additional kids. When you figure out the cost of a home birthday party--The cake, treat bags and fillers, party games and prizes, and paper products you would be spending just as much if not more than just letting somewhere like burger king handle it. Burger King provides a kid's meal for each party guest (which comes with a toy) cup cakes, access to the play area, and at least the one by me also gives the option of a clown who does face painting at no extra cost. You save money and don't have to do the clean up.

Home projects may be the same. Factor in the tools you'll need, the time you'll spend, the materials you need, etc. Most times it is the cheaper way to go but not always.

6. Free sample sites: Some of my favorites are--- www.freestufftimes.com and www.mysavings.com You can find great coupons and good free samples on these sites. If you're not sure if you want to spend the money on a product look for a free sample first.

7. Free sites that help you save and even earn money--
Christiania Crowns has a free invite only community. It is a vodka site so you have to be 21 or over. You can earn "crowns" by referring people to the site and doing other activities. Trade your crowns in for things like gift cards, free vodka (good gift), christiania merchandise and more: http://www.christianiacrowns.com/christianacrownscommunity

Mypoints.com---it's free to join the site. When you shop online go through their site to get to the vendor for example if you shop through Target on line you use the Target link on their site. You get point for shopping through their site that you can trade in for free gift cards of your choice. I ended up at the end of the year with a $100 HSN gift card I used to buy my kids Nintendo DS games for xmas.

7. You may qualify for assistance. I'm not advocating for everyone to apply for every bit of assistance out there but if you are living paycheck to paycheck there may be help. Many of these places have websites with qualification info online. Places like WIC, state programs, holiday help and more can be found online and many have printable applications.

8. Determine what is a want and what is a necessity. Having premium movie channels on your tv are probably not a need but a cell phone because you travel a lot for business probably is. What can you afford and what can't you afford. Check out the deals and specials too. Are you really saving more money with this cable provider than that one? Is it worth it for you to have a landline phone when you have a cell phone?

9. Home cooked meals---I know what you're thinking. I don't have time McD's is so much easier and this may be true BUT...it's possible. I worked full-time and have 3 boys. My hubby works 2nd shift. So dinner was on me. And yes, for a while I did stop at Mcd's 2 times a week. I figured out my spending in an average month on fast food and it was at least $100 considering it was about $15 a trip. I'm not saying I made chicken cordon bleu and steaks every night. There are quick items for busy families. Some examples: Cresent roll hotdogs, hamburger helper, Wanchai Ferry meals, Mac and cheese, Home made hamburges, etc. A package of hamburger helper is less than $2 at walmart and a lb of hamburger is about $2.50. So there..dinner for 4 for $4.50.

10. Gas--- oh boy isn't that something we all complain about. I mean gasoline for the car. While they don't have coupons for gasoline, or bargain days we can watch how we run our gas and do things to improve our gas mileage. Oil changes, fuel injection cleaners, and filters are small things that can help out. Can you combine trips in a week? For example: Can you drop of your prescription, go grocery shopping, pick up your prescription all in one trip rather than making two. Do you have to go and get wrapping paper today or can it way until tomorrow when you drop little johnny off for practice? Is there a closer store you can walk to (when the weather cooperates) to get milk and eggs rather than driving 10 miles?



These are just a few of many ideas. I'm sure some of you even have ones I've not thought of. Hope this helps with an New Year's resolutions this year!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Do the ChaCha!

On my quest for finding a way to make extra money since I cut down to part-time, I came across a listing for ChaCha in a work at home listing. I checked out the website and read up on it. I did searches to find out what the people that work for ChaCha thought. And....What the heck is ChaCha?

ChaCha is a free service to answer your questions. You can text 242242 (which spells out ChaCha) or call 1-800-2ChaCha

You can ask ChaCha anything from: Does Joey like me? How many miles are there between Ontario Canada and Miami,FL? What does the word opulent mean? Who won the Steelers game? Whats the weather supposed to be like tomorrow? Can I have a good Pick up line?

Well you get the idea. Anyway, I tried to apply but at the time they were not hiring. I checked the site several times a month until finally I saw they were hiring. For work at home positions they hire what they call "guides". ChaCha questions are answered by real people or "guides". They have different guide positions. I finally applied and got accepted as a ChaCha guide. You can do it on your own time as much or as little as you want.

If you do searches for ChaCha you'll find credible information sources. ChaCha has been featured on the Ellen show. In my search I found an article that ABC had done. Yes there are some unhappy guides out there but no matter where you look for a job you'll find a few unhappy employees.

So far I like ChaCha. Give it a try. Maybe I'll help answer your question.

Silver, Purple Smokey Eye and Christmas


Hello all my vixxens who decided to check out my blog for the look I did!


The products I used for this look are:
Eyes: Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer Palette (silver-top right hand corner)(Purple-5th from the right, 4th up), Claire's Cosmetic Eyeshimmer(silver-top left hand corner, 2nd one in),Make-up Forever eyeliner in black, Loreal Telescopic in black, Maybelline Lash Stilletto waterproof in black.
Lips: Hard Candy Lip Plumper "Girl Next Door" (pinkish color)
Any questions? Feel free to comment me!
xoxo VixXen






Saturday, December 26, 2009

♡koakumachou's b-day⌒♡+゚




HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY
KOAKUMACHOU !
o(^∇^o)(o^∇^)o


year ago i created this blog and have written this already for a one year! thanks for all readers and visitors ! (*^▽^*)ノ

here is 1st anniversary gift for you (*´∀`*) fruit dessert! it was so yummy~ i love to eat fruits (´・ω・`)

tomorrow i'll go to Helsinki to spend rest of my holiday there. i don't know if i'll update my blog there so i already wish that you all have very happy new year's eve! i'll be back blogging next year ! THANK YOU ALL ♥♡(。→∀←。)♡♥

Friday, December 25, 2009

♡new circle lenses⌒♡+゚

hello~(・ω・)ノ♥+。 on last wednesday i got my new lenses !

Honey Wing lenses








King Brown lenses








what do you think \(^_^)/? King Brown is almost same as Angel Brown, but it has bigger diametre. i personally like Honey Wing lenses more because they look more natural (pq′ω`) King Brown is for more dolly look.

♡February 2010 covers⌒♡+゚

。+❤POPTEEN❤+。
Kumiko Funayama in cover

。+❤EGG❤+。
Hiromi Hosoi in cover

。+❤KOAKUMA AGEHA❤+。
Sayaka Araki x4 in cover

。+❤RANZUKI❤+。
Aya Suzuki in cover
( eeeh or is it Nicorun? i can't recognise O.O )

。+❤I LOVE MAMA❤+。
Nozomi Tsuji in cover