hello kitty mania!

when we were in england last summer, i found a hello kitty eraser that had a little roller on top that sweeps up all the eraser bits! it was so cute! it was also $20 with the exchange. no matter how cute i thought it was, i refused to pay $20 for an eraser, unless it cooked dinner for me too. months later, i still thought about my eraser wistfully and kept trying to convince myself it wasn't meant to be.

then, in seattle, we stumbled upon a hello kitty store (which is how my photo opp with miss kitty below came to be). THEY HAD MY ERASER! FOR $2.95 US!!! the one had blacks and dark pinks, and was more of a "badass" kitty image, which i appreciate. she lives at work so i'll try to remember to take a picture of her to post here.

i wanted to buy more than one, but kris wouldn't let me. so i bought only one, but i'm very happy with it...the roller part actually makes erasing about 7 times longer then just brushing away the bits with your hand, but it's sooo worth it. and now i know it was meant to be.

(no longer) sleeping in seattle

so our seattle trip has come and gone. we enjoyed sunny weather and beautiful views from our hotel on the shores of lake washington. it was already spring there, so we feel like we got to experience spring twice this year. i love spring. and travelling.

we saw the space needle, walked a LOT because i refused to hail a cab for any trip that would be 5 minutes long, even if it worked out to 20 minutes of walking, visited the first starbucks, saw the fish market, saw lots of sketchy and/or homeless people, met hello kitty in the flesh (*gasp* i KNOW!!!), experienced some only-average sushi (i think i built it up in my mind...although my sushi experience in vancouver didn't disappoint so perhaps it was just the restaurants that i chose) and met the. cutest. puppy. ever.

this is woody. he's a labradoodle, but both his parents are labradoodles, so he seems more lab than poodle. and he was the epitome of adorable when he wasn't chewing on my hair.

i discovered a new drink that i love, the john daly, which uses a tea-infused vodka mixed with lemonade. kris thinks it tastes like a tree, but i think he's crazy. i wanted to buy the vodka but didn't run across a duty-free shop before we left, meh...maybe i'll get some the next time we go to buffalo. oh, and the hotel bar offered FREE beer during the NCAA game. only in america.

some other pics:

seattle space needle.

view from our hotel

in front of starbucks


spring is sprung!

(about to be) sleeping in seattle

kris has been in seattle this week, and i am going to rendez-vous avec him tomorrow! whee!

i plan on getting my nails done, visit the first starbucks ever, take multiple naps, work out at the hotel's gym, eat lots of sushi, drink moderate amounts of wine (only moderate because my mother asked me not to drink by myself too much, and kris will be working on all of thursday and a bit of friday) and indulge in an excessive shopping trip (yes, trip singular. not enough time for trips, i don't think).

i managed to fly on points again there, but had to *gasp* PAY for my flight back.

but it's off to bed i go - i slept in this morning, which usually isn't a big deal because kris is around to wake me up. but he's not here, and scout is clearly NOT a reliable alarm clock - she was even up when i realized it was 8:30am, and i was supposed to be on my way to work already! i scolded her for not thinking to wake me, sometimes she's so inconsiderate. she muttered something about having to clean herself and losing track of time...yeesh - cats!

paying the blazer foward

i went to the mall on the weekend and a girl stopped me to ask me where i bought my fabulous blazer. there's nothing better than having strangers ask you where you bought your clothes!

both times i bought the blazer, i got a sheet of coupons to go back to the store and get 40% off future purchases for the month of march. so i gave this girl one set of my coupons. i'm just paying it forward...besides...one of those coupon sheets isn't meant for me since one of my purchases was bogus. conscience: lifted. stranger: thrilled. miko: at peace.

i knew it!

i have always been a fan of olay complete moisturizer with spf 15. i liked that it had sunscreen in it, but it wasn't greasy or heavy. then the packaging changed, and i noticed that the product was more like sunscreen, and less like the lightweight moisturizer that has been a part of my morning routine for 5+ years. i think this is the reason behind my new-found acne problem and why i've had itchy spots after moisturizing, especially on my neck. by the end of the day, my face was very greasy, and if i swiped my finger across my forehead, i could actually SEE the oil on my finger, and the mark my finger left behind on my forehead. blech.

i decided to "swag" my suspicions (have you signed up for swagbucks yet? well, you should), and i was right!!!!! they did change the formula, and no one likes it. there are scads of pages of comments from unhappy customers denouncing the new formula. i'm happy to know i'm not crazy.

in the meantime, i'm off to search for a new moisturizer that isn't expensive and has sunscreen in it. wish me luck.

another scent stumper...

luckily, this scent stumper doesn't include rotting cat vomit.

i love the smell of scotch tape. i will make a point to smell it whenever i use it. i also love that it has a smooth, satiny finish and removes easier than regular tape, and goes hand-in-hand with my general love for stationary, but i'm digressing. people think i'm crazy, but there is something about that scent that i love...and it reminds me of wrapping presents and school projects.

i always thought scotch tape smelled like something, and the closest thing i could think of, was celery. but after years of casually wondering, i have scotch tape's scent twin: gin. who knew?? we went for drinks with melissa on friday night and while sipping a gin martini, i came to my revelation. i am so astute when i'm drinking.

so i propose that gin martinis be re-branded as "scotch tape martinis," and scotch tape take on the name "gin tape." who's with me?!

ps. this makes me like gin martinis even more, is that wrong?

love for ms. fibby, continued

it's been a couple weeks, and i feel like i should update you on my relationship with ms. fibby. i'm pleased to announce we are still going strong.

i've decided to combine ms. fibby with diorshow, putting on two coats of ms. fibby first, finishing with a final coat of diorshow, with great results. diorshow just adds a bit more "oomph" to my perfectly separated, lengthened and curled lashes. *swoon*

i was going to post a picture of my eyelashes, but i've been forced to wait because i developed a huge pimple in between my eyebrows (and another, mini-version on my cheek) that i'm sure you don't want to see. and it's funny, i've been going to great lengths to cover up my new friends with concealer and powder, only to i expose them to the world by introducing them to everyone i see. but i refuse to put pictures of them on the internet, that is just too weird.

so we wait until my unwelcome face-guests leave. luckily, ms. fibby doesn't seem to mind and she still loves me, pimples and all. see, i TOLD you she's wonderful...i really think this is the one!

blazer of glory

i found a black blazer recently, something that's been on my to-buy list. a couple months ago, i bought something at this store, and the sales associate told me that if i subscribed to their email mailing list, i could save 20%. since the item i was buying was pretty cheap, i declined at the time, thinking that i would remember this nugget of information for when i wanted to buy something more expensive. the day had arrived, and i knew my good for nothing, remember-everything-that-is-useless-and-nothing-that-is-actually-important memory did come in handy occasionally.

i excitedly made my way to pay for my beautiful blazer, and asked if they still gave discounts if i gave them my email address. disappointingly, i was told that yes, they still do that, but it's for a future purchase because they send the coupon in an email. then i went back to cursing my good for nothing, remember-everything-that-is-useless-and-nothing-that-is-actually-important memory since it forgot that crucial detail. i felt too embarrassed to tell the girl that i didn't want to buy the blazer, and that i wanted to wait for the email...so i bought it. but i schemed the whole time, coming up with several scenarios.

my final scheme involved me buying the blazer again from another location with the coupon, then returning it with the first receipt. devious, i know! unfortunately, by that point, there were only 5 blazers in my size left in the GTA. i ended up buying the blazer at a store that was completely out of my way (but close to melissa's way, so we had lunch, yay). i went into the store, not noticing much, including the signs that advertised 25% off all full-price items. i didn't pay much attention to the price either, just knowing it was lower than the first amount i paid.

then, the next day, i went back to my regular location to return the blazer with the first receipt. then i noticed the bright red signs splattered everywhere proclaiming the sale. i was so annoyed that the person who rang in my purchase the previous day didn't tell me to save my coupon, and to take the 25% off instead, but i realized i had to draw the line somewhere. so i didn't do anything about it. (i know, i was shocked at myself too).

it that wasn't bad enough, the following day, i got an email from the store, advertising 30% off everything in the store! argh! again, i decided to let it go but still felt a little ripped off.

all this while, i didn't actually check the amount that i was charged. i checked my visa statement today, and what do you know! i was given both the 20% AND the 25% discount - my blazer was super duper cheap (relatively speaking). all that griping for nothing! well, not really nothing since i love my blazer and this is a story that ends happily ever after. the end.

thank you, frosty

either my car has developed the ability to clean the snow off itself (i do have a honda and you know how crafty the japanese can be) or i have a really wonderful friend at work. i'm guessing the latter, and i'm pretty sure i know who you are, masked snow (remover) man. thanks. :) starbux soon?

scent stumper: solved

we figured out what the stench was - decomposing cat vomit (don't ask). if you think it sounds putrid, you should try smelling it.

blech.