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{Review} Influenster Jolly Vox Box
I received my first Vox Box from Influenster back in December. Influenster is a free program where trendsetters, social media divas, and opinionated consumers get exclusive offers and perks for sharing their opinions. They sent me the Jolly Vox Box filled with goodies for me to test drive. So what’s inside??? Check out this video of Arielle and me un-boxing the Vox Box and our first reactions:
Doesn’t Arielle make the perfect little co-host? So here’s what I thought of these products:
NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow
Pros: Cheap! About $2.74 at your local drug store. Natural look and goes on smoothly.
Cons: Lacks intensity.
Quick tip: Wear this trio on those days when you’re channeling your inner Aretha Franklin and wanna “feel like a natural woman.”
Full review:
This trio was called “Long Beach Sands” and looked super fun because the label tells you how the colors work toghether: crease (left), all-over color (middle), and highlighter (right).
I was a little disappointed by the pigmentation on this product because colors didn’t show up as vibrant on my eyelids as it did on the palette. The first color on the left was meant to be for the crease, but didn’t show up on me at all. Probably because it’s too close to my natural skin color. The middle all-over color went on smoothly, but was not intense enough for my taste. I wear a dark smokey eye almost everyday, even to work. However, if I did want to go natural for a day this would do the trick. Surprisingly, the lightest shade on the right which is meant to be used as a highlighter, was my favorite among the trio. This brought a subtle definition under my brow (please ignore that random unplucked eyebrow).
Ducklings Mini Rolls
Pros: It sticks! Fun colors.
Cons: Need scissors if you want a clean cut.
Quick tip: It does its job, with style.
Full review:
This roll of mini ducklings mini saved my New Year’s Eve bash! After all the gift wrapping from Christmas, I ran out of tape to hang the NYE decorations and it matched perfectly! Festive, sticky, and impeccable timing – I couldn’t have asked for more from this #JollyVoxBox product!
Skinny Cow Candy
Pros: Guilt-free yummy goodness!
Cons: There are no cons when chocolate is involved.
Quick tip: Yum, yum, say whaaaaa? Only 130 calories!
Full review:
Skinny or not, you seriously can’t go wrong when chocolate filled with peanut butter is involved. Nom nom nom! A&Z and I ate these right up and we didn’t once talk about how this would appear later on in our thighs or other problem areas. That’s what I call guilt-free yummy goodness! I think the individually packaged servings helped control us from eating the entire thing in one sitting.
Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer
Pros: Not sticky, great shine!
Cons: No color, just a sheer gloss.
Quick tip: Pair it up with your favorite lipstick for added shine.
Full review:
I have naturally pale lips with freckles on them, so whatever I wear needs to have color! My Jolly Vox Box came with the color “Stargazer” that just went on clear, but glossy. So I just paired it up with my favorite lipsticks for added shine and I was good to go! Otherwise, I really wouldn’t use this product on its own.
Puffs
Pros: Conveniently packaged and easy to just throw in my purse.
Cons: No cons here!
Quick tip: Always, always have a pack of these Puffs in your purse for unexpected tears, runny noses, or boogers.
Full review:
This was by far my favorite product in my Jolly Vox Box. It’s functional, convenient and something I’d use all the time. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a runny nose 365 days of the year. So having this in my purse has been a life saver!
So there you have it! My very first batch of product reviews thanks to Influenster and the Jolly Vox Box. Hope you found this helpful!
Have you tried any of these products before?
xoxo // gracielle.
{Wordless Wednesdays} White
Note: I’m participating in a one-year photo project called, “Through the Lens Thursday” where every week Alison from Wishing Writing and Greta from Gfunkified give the participants an assignment to take photos based on a prompt. This week’s prompt was “white.” My goal on participating in this photo project is to challenge myself to take more photos, sharpen my photography skills, and hopefully capture some breathtaking photographs along the way! You can follow my progress on this exciting project on my Pinterest board here.
xoxo // gracielle
Holidays 2013 Part 2: Inay’s Life Celebrated and a Twinning New Years Eve
Yay! I made it to Part 2! This is my attempt to catch up on all the holiday festivities. I started with the Sandiego Christmas Eve and now I’m skipping ahead to New Year’s Eve with the Tamanio Family. This is one NYE that I will always remember…
This is the 2nd year where the Tamanios celebrated NYE at my house. We party hard up in herr – dranks, photo booth, loud music and a dance floor in the basement complete with disco lights and a balloon drop, and the biggest sleep-over party of the year. It’s a big production, but nothing beats dancing the night away and passing out in your own bed to kick off the new year!
But wait. Something happened on the morning of NYE 2013 that I’ll never forget. My husband received a phone call with the news that his beloved grandmother Inay passed away in the Philippines. Oh no.
It broke my heart to see my husband so grief-stricken. I’m terribly awkward among those who are grieving. My heart gets so heavy that I cannot find the words that could possibly be of any comfort and I end up saying the wrong things.
I vaguely remember meeting her when she came to visit the States, and I couldn’t really communicate with her because I don’t speak Tagalog. But I do know this – she lived for 95 amazing years. She had 8 children, 23 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren including A&Z. Of all her 23 grandchildren, Jeffrey was the favorite. (But shh! Don’t tell the other 22 grandkids! LOL) I know that she was the matriarch that produced such a happy, loving, and supportive family and she will be greatly missed.
So that’s how our NYE began. I anticipated that the night was going to sad and emotional for everyone. Instead, it turned out to be a celebration of her life. We said a prayer and found comfort knowing that she is now resting with the Lord and reunited with her husband. We rang in the new year with her watching over us and continued on with the festivities. There was still a bittersweet undertone to the party, but we celebrated nonetheless.
I set up a photo booth along with my 2014 New Year’s props (I’ll post more on that later). This year’s theme was “twinning” and Arielle was my twin for the evening. Here’s a butt load of photos from my shoot. I had a hard time picking my favorites, so I narrowed it down to the ones that make me smile:
Cheers to 2014! Rest in peace, Inay. You will be missed.
xoxo // gracielle.
{Girls’ Night Out} Francesca’s Personal Styling Party
Close your eyes and imagine this:
Err…don’t close your eyes or else you won’t be able to read this, you silly goose! Just imagine:
A beautiful boutique filled with accessories, sweaters, dresses, and skirts. CLOSED to the public, but open to just you and your girlfriends. Leisure shopping, no rush. NO KIDS. Super friendly personal stylists to help you pull together outfits and accessories. Pink moscato champange. Killer discount. No husbands around to tell you to hurry up or that it’s too expensive…
No, it wasn’t a dream or fantasy. It just happened in real life, thanks to the awesome team at Francesca’s in the Arboretum of South Barrington. The amazing store manager Andrea mentioned that they do private parties when I was shopping there last month with my sister, so I took her up on her offer.
We got there at 6:30 after the store closed and browsed around for a bit to get acquainted with the products and accessories, and chit-chat with the girls. It was a girls’ night out so there was lots to talk about! Actually, we mostly talked about our kids and what they were up to while “mommy was away” for the evening. We noted how shopping is so much different without having to push a stroller or tend to a screaming baby.
Then, they asked us whether we were looking for dressy outfits or more casual looks. I was going for casual and comfy things that could be dressed up with accessories or layers. Based on that, they started pulling their favorite pieces for me to try on. Even while I was in the fitting room, they were passing along accessories, leggings, cardigans – anything that would help complete the look. This must be how celebrities shop and I could seriously get used to this!
Here were our lovely personal stylists for the evening:
I think the best part was how genuinely nice and helpful the girls were. They seemed like they had a ton of fun, too, even though they all stayed past their normal business hours to host this event for us. There was no pressure us to buy certain things or have a minimum purchase or anything. They really made us feel welcome and worry-free and even provided cookies, cheese, crackers, and soft drinks. I was even allowed to bring a bottle of Pink Moscato Champagne (all gone as you can see in this pic!):
As the night went on, they started stacking our items along the cash wrap in little (or not-so-little) piles with our names on them. We braced ourselves to see what our total damage was as they rung up each item at the end of the night.
We made new friends and caught up with old friends. If there’s one thing that’ll bring us together for a perfect girls night out – it’s SHOPPING.
My apologies go out to the husbands of my friends who may have seen a significant dip in their bank account as a result, including my own. Sorry, Jeffy!
xoxo // gracielle.
Note: Mommy A-Z does not represent Francesca’s in any way. I just really had an amazing time with my friends and all opinions are my own. The store manager offered a 20% discount for my friends and me for our purchases that evening, but that has nothing to do with this blog – she’s just awesome like that! Thanks for reading.
Molly’s Cupcakes
I’m strong believer that amazing things can happen when they are spontaneous and when they involve cupcakes. Well, life in general is amazing when cupcakes are involved. We were a little early for a birthday party in the city, so I asked Jeff to take us some place special that you can only experience in Chicago and we found ourselves at Molly’s Cupcakes.
It was quaint little cupcake shop in Lincoln Park. There were swings instead of stools at the counter!
The heart of the shop was a glass case filled with colorful cupcakes with names like Blueberry Cheesecake, Creme Brulee, Mixed Berry, Cookie Monster, and Molten Chocolate. How do you choose just one?!
A&Z got chocolate with vanilla frosting and vice versa (don’t forget the sprinkles!) I chose their #1 best seller, the Ron Bennington, which was a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter and topped with ganache and butterscotch and butterfinger pieces. Jeff got the Mixed Berry cupcake.
We were all pretty excited to dig in, but being the mommy-razzi that I am, I had to get quick photo before the frosting and crumbs took over our lives:
Let the ridiculous cupcake-eating photos commence:
Okay, I have to work on being more photogenic whilst stuffing my face like a monster. At one point I went cross-eyed. Then, I looked up towards heaven to acknowledge that yes – it really does exist. Then, I closed my eyes to internalize and savor the moment. It was decadent and gooey and lovely all at the same time. Yum-mazing!
Jeff said the Mixed Berry cupcake was the best cupcake he ever had in his life. Then, he hopped back in line to and ordered the Creme Brulee cupcake.
We were quite happy with our mid-morning indulgence, but for some reason A&Z’s mood turned…serious. You’d think the cupcakes would make them hyper or happy or sweet, but nope – serious was more like it. It was hard for me to take them seriously with their dirty cupcake faces!
I’m sure they were overjoyed but contained their happiness on the inside, or perhaps it was a little too close to nap time! For me, it was one of the best unexpected Sunday morning treats ever and I was happy as can be.
When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised? Did it involve cupcakes? 🙂
xo // gracielle.
{Wordless Wednesdays} Food + Family = Love
My uncle from Vegas was in town and the family had an impromptu get together that turned out to be a wonderful and delicious feast. The most memorable part was seeing everyone together in the kitchen, cooking together, and enjoying each other’s company. Food + Family = Love. It was all so yummy.
WARNING: Do not read if you are hungry! I tried posting this after dinner as a courtesy since the following post contains graphic images of delicious food, but it’s a little late now and you might be hungry again. I apologize in advance if this makes your tummy grumble…
Here’s a photo of us before the chow fest began. I think it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t want to see an “after” photo. LOL
Are you having a food coma just by looking at all the food? I was actually posting as it was happening, so don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
xoxo // gracielle.
Chicago, You Taste Good.
…and so do you, Robin Thicke. Ha ha! I wish.
http://instagram.com/p/bu6SsQTHBy/
Jeff and I had a date sans A&Z at the Taste of Chicago where we caught Robin Thicke in concert. Just 24 hours before that, I got a serious beat down at work – so an afternoon full of food, music, food, beautiful weather, food, dancing, wine, and more food in my favorite city with my favorite guy was definitely in order.
It was a perfect sunny, breezy day. We both felt so incredibly light, literally, because we could just get up and go without having to fuss with car seats, strollers, etc. There were even moments where we held hands – just like how couples do on a real date.
We parked our car near the Blue Line and Jeff bought my favorite tacos in the whole wide world from Taco Burrito King. I ate it on the train while reading the Red Eye. That’s wassup:
http://instagram.com/p/bo78mzzHLf/
We ran into some friends and had a little time to kill before the concert, so we munched on corn and then a frozen chocolate covered banana. Estelle was the opening act for Robin Thicke. She killed it:
I was up dancing and singing along, with the energy of the city of Chicago running through my veins and it felt good. All the toddler whining, stresses from work and being a busy working mother faded away…that is until I looked down at my feet at my poor neglected, nasty ass crusty toes. Eww.
http://instagram.com/p/bu6o_9THCS/
Then Robin Thicke came out – lookin oh so fine in his suit – and errbody went crazy for one my favorite songs of the summer 2013:
As much as I love Robin Thicke, the rest of his set was just…meh. His songs are sloooow and sleepy time. It would have been perfect for a dark lounge or jazz bar with candles and wine. See what I mean:
I still enjoyed it, I just didn’t think the outdoor venue at the Taste of Chicago didn’t mesh well with his slow, sexy vibe. He turned it up again and performed Blurred Lines again to close out the show.
Oh, and what’s the Taste of Chicago without a little guilt-free pigging out? We maxed out on BBQ pulled pork sliders, African jerk chicken, toasted ravioli, up until they stopped serving food.
http://instagram.com/p/bu7FvhTHC2/
WE SHUT IT DOWN! So thank you Chicago & Robin Thicke for a wonderful date night with my hubs.
http://instagram.com/p/bpjr8bTHOw/
What was the last date you went on? I’d love to hear it!
xo // gracielle.
Wordless Wednesdays: MommyA_Z on Instagram
Here are some pictures from MommyA_Z on Instagram! We already know how cute A&Z are, so instead here are some pics of my sweet, sweet Coconut and some other pretty things. Enjoy!
http://instagram.com/p/YG5WY3zHNu/
http://instagram.com/p/aEC_4ATHNs/
http://instagram.com/p/aECYF1zHMg/
http://instagram.com/p/Z-hBUfTHDU/
http://instagram.com/p/ZifmePTHMI/
http://instagram.com/p/S6ptUJzHPL/
http://instagram.com/p/MMkaP-zHAo/
http://instagram.com/p/I2P-D-zHJD/
http://instagram.com/p/MmR4vFTHE9/
I’d love it if you could follow MommyA_Z on Instagram!
A&Me in Connecticut Part 1: Travel and Chocolate
My sister Christine is graduating from Yale with her PhD in Biomedical Engineering where her research focuses on neuro-imaging. Bet you don’t hear people saying that too often! That’s right – she’s a genius! Her graduation ceremony is this upcoming Monday and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I was going to fly solo, but my parents requested that I bring Arielle along for the trip.
We got real fancy and took a super duper stretch limo to the airport! Not on purpose, I just called for a ride to the airport and this is what showed up at our house.
Our flight went well. I bought Arielle some gum to help out with the ear popping and we practiced chewing it without swallowing it. She’s 1 for 2 so far! My parents met us up at the airport, then we headed over to my sister’s cozy apartment. Arielle was just thrilled to be reunited with her favorite person and best friend, Tita Christine:
Then, Christine, Arielle, and I took a walk around Yale’s campus. I love the Gothic architecture and how everything looks like a castle. The shops were closed, but we were able to get a sweet fix at a small dessert café called Chocopologie. I ordered the house specialty drink called the “chocopologie” which is made of espresso, hot chocolate, froth, and sprinkled with lavender. Sounds good, right? Eh, not so much. The lavender sounded just lovely, but it really just tasted like I was drinking soap. Lavender is certainly lovely on soaps, lotions, and perfumes, but NOT my coffee. So they were nice enough to swap it out for a simple hot chocolate which was delicious! We also ordered the molten chocolate cake with vanilla bean gelato. Mmmmm….Let’s just close our eyes for a few moments to imagine how yummy that was (2nd photo from the top on the left):
So day 1 was pretty uneventful, yet sweet. My mind was drained from traveling and from terribly missing my Zavie baby. Of all his 26 months, this was the first time I was ever away from him. I thought I would enjoy a few tantrum and poopie diaper free days, but nope – I really miss my little guy.
[Not so] Wordless Wednesdays: Fun with Fixed Lens
Just as I was wondering what it would be like to try a 50mm lens to get those “clear, but blurry in the back” photo results, my former co-worker named Eric popped up on IM at work and said, “Hey, do you want to borrow my 50mm f/1.4 lens just to try it out?” No joke. The photography gods had me in their favor that day! Of course I said “Yes!” and OH.EM.GEE – I love it so much!!
Actually, Eric knew that I like dabbling in photography, so it wasn’t completely random. I’ve watched his work grow from just a hobby to owning his own business as a Chicago-area wedding photographer: http://www.ericgeephotography.com He takes stunning photos. Seriously, go check him out!
I haven’t had much time to really play around with it since Arielle’s dance recital, other than the ones I took below. I didn’t even have to edit the pics since I could immediately see the beautiful results. Oh, what a difference a lens can make!
So what does fixed lens 55mm f1.4 mean? I trying to figure this all out so I’ll let you know what I think I know (if you’re not satisfied with my explanation – Google it!) Here goes: The aperture is way low (hence 1.4), which means the lens can capture more light. That’s why I was able to get clear shots during Arielle’s recital with no flash, even in the dark auditorium. The fixed lens means that there is no zoom. Eric actually demonstrated how to zoom in/out by running back and forth across the hallway. LOL This particular lens costs about $400, which is why he suggested I try it before paying the pretty penny. Otherwise, there’s a similar 55mm f1.8 – where the results are not as great, but still way better than the standard lens that came with the camera for only $100. I can live with that.
Thank you so much, Eric! Don’t forget to check out his site and click here.
Wordless Wednesdays: Chicago Skyscrapers
Chicago is my favorite city! I never get tired of being a tourist in the Chi even if it’s only an hour away from home. When my sister was in town, we took a day trip to the city and got really lucky with the weather. So what did we do? We took an architectural boat tour to view the skyscrapers via Shoreline Tours along the Chicago River. Enjoy:
Note to Chicagoans: Yes, that was the Sears Tower. The tour guide told all the tourists that it’s called the “Sears Tower,” not “Willis Tower.” Love it!
Show some love for Chi-town and leave a comment! What’s your favorite city?
Nailed it: Chocolate Cake
Have you seen those Pinterest Meme’s called, “Nailed it!”? It’s hilarious! The concept is that people see these beautiful, inspiring pictures of projects on Pinterest so they “Pin it” to do the project themselves. Then, when everyday, non-Martha-Stewart-like people try to recreate what’s on the pin (i.e., craft, make-up, photography, recipe, etc.), the end product looks nothing like the original pin and results in a “Nailed it.” You can check out some examples on my Nailed it Pinterest board if you’re in need of a good laugh.
Here’s mine:
My sis actually told me about the meme when I was telling her about my chocolate cake mishap. Wait, let me back up…
Before I created mommya-z.com I thought about creating a blog called myhusbandhatesmycooking.com because Jeffrey generally dislikes my cooking. I cook mostly Filipino dishes, but he prefers to eat soul food like ribs, fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese…Don’t ask why. My cooking has gotten way better over the past few years. A&Z like my cooking so I guess that’s all that matters, right?
Anyway, Jeffrey especially hates my baking. I don’t blame him. Remember when salted hot cocoa was all the craze? I found a boxed mix of salted chocolate cookies at Costco and thought that it would be so trendy of me to bake them for my company potluck. The box came with a cute little shaker with salt rocks to sprinkle over the cookies. I had a little too much fun sprinkling the cookies and actually forgot that it was salt NOT sugar. So when Jeffrey tried my cookies they were, ummm… really salty. He actually spit it out and told me to throw the whole batch into the garbage. It was not because he was mean, but because he loves me. You see, he was protecting me from what could have been a disaster among my colleagues at work.
The next time I was going to bring a dessert to an event, it was for a luncheon held at my former boss’s beautiful house. This time, Jeffrey just asked his mom to bake something that we could bring. Fair enough. It was far more delicious than anything I could ever make and scored us a few extra points with the ol’ boss! I didn’t take credit and I made it very clear that my MIL made it. And for all the other potlucks, he made the dish so I could be off the hook.
Fast forward a few years later, Jeffrey asked me to make him a chocolate cake out of the blue. I thought this was a great opportunity for redemption! I ditched the boxed mix option because those usually turn out too sweet and decided to bake the cake. from. scratch. Easy, right?
All I had to do was follow the instructions with precision. It was all good up until the end when I couldn’t get the cake out of the damn pan. The instructions never said to load the pan up with flour before pouring the batter in to make it easy to take the cake out once it’s baked. What the heck?
No worries, being the problem solver that I am – I just cut the cake in half and pried each side out of the pan with a knife. I figured that I could cover any gaps with icing….NOT! Every time I spread the icing, it took a chunk of the cake out with it and it turned in to a lumpy mess. Sad face!
So in my head, it was supposed to look just like what I see on Pinterest, but instead I simply nailed it:
The good news is, I finally got to use the fancy cake platter that came from my wedding registry! The bad news is, my cake looked like a butthole:
In the end, Jeffrey very much appreciated my cake efforts and ate one whole piece. His comment was, “Is that a molten chocolate cake that already exploded?” Ha.
I have not baked anything since.
Got any baking advice? I need it badly. Leave a comment!
A&Z Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot
I had a mini Valentine’s Day photo shoot with the kids this past weekend in our home. Arielle loved getting her picture taken (as you can see), but my faves were the ones where her smile looked natural and not overly cheesy. Zavier, on the other hand, did not want anything to do with getting his picture taken or sitting still for that matter. I bribed him with a lollipop, stuck a heart on his shirt, and snapped away for any chance that at least one of them would turn out good! Here’s how they turned out:
I used my Canon Rebel T3i. I’m still very new to taking photos of my kids, but here’s what really worked well for me:
- Natural light. Jeffrey bought me an at-home photo studio for Christmas that we previously set up in the basement, but I hauled everything to the loft where natural light comes pouring in from the large windows. This really left the guess-work out of how to configure the lighting, flash, ISO or shutter speed. I just shot in AV mode and set the aperture to the lowest setting possible.
- Simple. I know some people get crazy with the outfits, backdrops, and props, but I kept it simple so that I could just focus on the kids.
- Timing. I only took pictures for about half an hour, after they ate lunch and took their naps. There’s a small window of time before they get crabby and stop following directions. I made it a pleasant experience for all of us so that we could look forward to the next at-home photo shoot! Weeheeeheeee!
I loved the way they turned out! It’s already all over my Facebook and on my desktop wallpaper on my work computer 🙂 I have a few others of Zavier that are just hilarious because he’s totally in his own little world so I’ll share those, too. Hope you all enjoyed!