I need to live closer to Palo Alto. I need to come here every day. I need to be made of money so I can afford a fancy Blue Bottle iced coffee every day. Shiiiii.
Basically, I bring all my visitor friends here to impress them.
It’s such an inspiring, chilled out place to sit down have a bite to eat or grab some delicious coffee. Iced coffee for me, thanks. Pretty sure the only reason I liked iced coffee is because of all the SUGAR. Hot coffee = rotten to me.
If you’re ever around the Bay Area, Hana Haus is definitely a spot I’d suggest you check out. Probably because of how fancy it looks. But the coffee is pretty great too.
I wouldn’t order lunch there. They’re not the best at that.
The Makeup Show is the largest pro-only makeup event in the United States dedicated to artistry, networking, community, inspiration and education. A few weeks prior to the event I received an invite to go to the blogger preview.
Um, YES I will be there!
So on August 29th I ventured out bright and early that Saturday morning to attend the pop up Makeup Show in San Francisco (not the full-size show, which I can only imagine how HUGE it can get). Perhaps I got a little lost trying to find cheap parking along the way, but ended up getting there still 30 minutes early with a pretty sweet parking spot that might’ve looked a little sketch. That’s what I call a success.
Of course, I wait in line for an American coveted product: bioderma micellar water. Although I’m Canadian and it’s readily available at many drug stores in Canada, I couldn’t help but line up at the Beautylish booth for the discount! I ended up picking up two mini’s because I don’t go through it that quickly since I use my purity by philosophy more often than Bioderma.
I’m telling you I wasn’t expecting it to be so incredibly busy and packed. Ladies and gents came prepared, with lists of what they wanted, what items cost, and lined up for the items on their want-list. I was in awe of it all, going around like a lost kitten trying to find its way. In fact, I even did my homework to scope out what brands would be there. But little did I know how busy it would be by the time I got around to shop and talk to all the brands I wanted to.
I had no idea there was lipstick in that lipgloss package! I only discovered it as I was taking these pictures yesterday, ha!
I was in line paying for some Senna Cosmetics that cost $1.00 each (!!!), and the woman ahead of me ordered pretty much 10 of everything, if not more. I casually mentioned to her that she must like their products (considering I had never heard of the brand before), and she reported back to me in her soft voice that she came all the way from Africa, and needed to stock up. WHAT?! I looked down, and sure enough she had a rolly-suitcase with her by her side, stocking up on makeup. Holy f-bomb.
I ended up leaving earlier than I expected. You guys are probably sick and tired of me talking about my on-going hive situation, and I certainly hope it’s not part of my regular life, having chronic hives all the time. But it has a little bit to do with why I didn’t stay too long at the event that Saturday. The place ended up getting so packed that we were shuffling our feet trying to wiggle our way in and out of the crowd. I talked with a few brands, but not before they started looking at me a little odd. I headed to the washroom shortly after, only to realize my hives were out in full-force and add to that? I had blood shot eyes! It was embarrassing to say the least, so I ventured out of there and headed home. Unfortunately I totally forgot Make Up For Ever was there and had 40% off their stock. UGH! I missed out on picking up my favourite mascaras from them!
Regardless of the hive-sitch, I had an awesome time sitting in on a talk with celebrity makeup artist, James Vincent as he showed us some of his favourite products at the pop-up and gave us an exclusive sneak peek of this year’s show. We even received this huge bag of goodies to take home with us. Look at it all!
Have you ever been to a makeup show?Â
What is your favourite brand for mascara? What about foundation?Â
I’m pretty independent when it comes to exploring around our new home, here in California. Often times I go out on weekly excursions with Alfie and check out new-to-us places considering a lot of the areas around here are dog friendly, and he’s just as happy to join along.
I mean, look at that smile.Â
Exploring around California has been put on hold for close to two months. If we’re getting honest here, the hives had put me in a negative self-concious mood and I wouldn’t dare step outside of the house if my face was swollen, or my hives were popping up. I felt down, and generally just pissed off at the fact I couldn’t pinpoint what I am “allergic” to. Some of my blood results have come back and shows no signs of allergies there. Waiting on a few more.
So, I assume I just have chronic hives out of the blue. Luckily I can tame them for the most part during the day time with over the counter allergy pills, which can often cause me to feel drowsy.
However, for the most part they work well, and I’ve been ITCHING (ha, no pun intended) to get out on the road and explore more, when I’m feeling up to it (and not drowsy!).
Alfie and I went back to the little town of Saratoga (see our previous two trips to Saratoga here, and here) to explore and just wander around, window shopping especially since I had the Toyota Rav 4 for a week. Although, many parts of California is dog friendly, including Saratoga Village, we didn’t go inside any stores. But I did end up filming a bit when I was there! Check it out on my YouTube channel.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to be one of those women whose next car is going to be a little higher up. It might sound silly, but I feel safe when I’m higher up in a vehicle. Like I won’t get sucked into an 18 wheeler on the highway. My mind is wild.
Any time I get a car to review and they have XM radio available, I automatically tune into channel 53 Chill. It’s basically the perfect driving music, although sometimes my husband says it’s often too relaxing. But I’m totally diggin’ it you guys.
I was in the limited edition, all wheel drive model. So given that, it was a great drive, with all the features. The seating was the most comfortable I’ve had in the last few cars I’ve driven — love the cushiony feel to a drivers seat, rather than stiff — the car I own has stiff seats, leaving your butt numb if you’re driving for a few hours on end.
What I did notice though, is although a comfortable ride overall, the suspension in the 2015 Toyota Rav 4 was stiff, and quite noticeable to me, especially going slowly over speed bumps in parking lots. Oof!
Looking at the Rav 4, it’s a 4 cylinder car, and the steering is nice as it’s easy to drive. It’s not sporty at all like my car but remember, it’s not supposed to have that sporty feeling.
The cabin itself felt a lot larger than other SUV’s I’ve sat in, but parking it was no issue, especially with that helpful backup mirror. It looks really good inside, and imagine it in beige leather — hooboy. See the buttons near the center console? Those are some heated seats for warming up my toosh. Oh man, so nice – and yes I definitely use heated seats in the fall and winter time here in California, as crazy as that sounds! I think my favourite feature on any new car has to be the dual control for both front seat passengers.
There’s a button you can press on the side of the steering wheel for extra traction, say if you are going from pavement to grass (which is something my husband and I often do when we go to many of his triathlons) so your wheels don’t slip and slide all over the place.
I know the Rav 4 is a popular model of vehicle, so I’d be interested in hearing how many of my readers have bought one of these?
Also don’t forget to check out my video I filmed of the inside of the Toyota, and visiting Saratoga!
There are more inexpensive versions of this 2015 Toyota Rav 4, however this limited edition version sells for $33,600. More information on Toyota.com.
I need to live closer to Palo Alto. I need to come here every day. I need to be made of money so I can afford a fancy Blue Bottle iced coffee every day. Shiiiii.
Basically, I bring all my visitor friends here to impress them.
It’s such an inspiring, chilled out place to sit down have a bite to eat or grab some delicious coffee. Iced coffee for me, thanks. Pretty sure the only reason I liked iced coffee is because of all the SUGAR. Hot coffee = rotten to me.
If you’re ever around the Bay Area, Hana Haus is definitely a spot I’d suggest you check out. Probably because of how fancy it looks. But the coffee is pretty great too.
I wouldn’t order lunch there. They’re not the best at that.
