Inspiration

Or maybe lack thereof.  I have been totally uninspired to blog lately.  I was sick of just posting recipes, especially since I'm a total amateur.  But it felt for a while like that's the only real creative stuff I did.  My life is kind of routine, so I don't always feel like I have anything interesting to share.  I will try to do better.  Part of what will help me may be my new camera!

I was in New York last weekend to run a 5k with my sister.  The 5k turned my knee into a blob of molten lava, but other than that it was pretty fun.  One of the things I really wanted to do while I was there was take a trip to one of the legendarily awesome camera stores in the big apple.  I was originally thinking B&H, partly because I had a gift certificate, partly because it's more well known.  After very little convincing, my friend Shawn convinced me that we should really go to Adorama for their much more personal service and large used stock instead.  I'm so glad we did.  And I'm so glad I forced brought Shawn with me.  I ended up with a gently used Nikon D90 which arrived yesterday.  I'm so excited!!!!

Here are some of the test shots I've taken with my "Nifty Fifty" (50mm f/1.8) lens.  These are straight off the camera, completely unaltered.

DVF steals

Over the past few weeks I've gotten some great deals on random DVF stuff. 

With the release of the latest Kindle, cases for the second generation dropped.  I had been eyeing a DVF case for a while, but couldn't justify the price tag when I already have a nice Cole Haan case.  I'm not gonna lie, I still kind of want this case, but I love Spotted Kat Kasi Canvas Clutch for Kindle that I ended up with.  It had always been my second choice, it's lightweight, slim, fun, (pink on the inside!), it holds my kindle much more securely than my old case, and now it's pretty cheap!

My other DVF steals came along when I was innocently walking down a side street in Alexandria and came upon a sidewalk sale at The Shoe Hive.  Unable to resist the lure of something so glorious, I forced Kota to do a little browsing with me when I saw them....  Sandals with a toe loop AND peacock feathers.  They didn't have my normal size, but when I tried half a size down they fit just fine so I took home Diane Von Furstenberg's Dahlia Feathered Flat Sandals for a $150 savings.

I also grabbed a pair of Diane Von Furstenberg's Haven Flats saving $175.  I don't love them quite as much as my other purchases (they show toe cleavage so there's promise!), but I also haven't broken from wearing sandals yet so they have been untested so far.

The Truffle Shuffle

This week I've altered my breakfast routine.  Well, a very small part of it, but this is a big deal folks.  It started when I was finally able to visit the Old Town Tea and Spice shop last weekend and picked up a few choice items.

Raspberry Infused Sugar
Fleur de Sel
Chocolate Salt

Hawaiian Red Salt

And last, but absolutely not least, the jewel of my small salt collection:  Black Truffle Salt.

If I'm gonna be honest, I haven't used any of them but the Black Truffle Salt and I'm having a hard time making myself stray, it's just that amazing.  The truffle smell that gets released when you open the jar is strong, but so delicious.  I don't know how to describe the smell of truffles aside from...truffley?  Musky may work, but it doesn't quite capture it. 

Little black pieces of truffley goodness mixed in with the pacific sea salt.

Anyway, we've tried lightly sprinkled on chicken before it's grilled.  It adds a subtle flavor in the small quantity that really ups the anty on chicken.  Where I'm really loving it is on my eggs in place of my usual Lizano Salsa.  I'm going to have to force myself to switch things up every now and then.  I'll be sure to report back when I can tear myself away from the truffle salt long enough to try my other purchases.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara

A few months ago a group of girls and I were preparing for a bachelorette party.  We were squeezed into a little bathroom so I got a good look at what other people were doing.  I noticed a friend break out this weird looking mascara.  Being a long time fan, lover and unofficial sales girl of Benefit's Bad Gal Lash (which, btw has the same formula of the best selling and more expensive Christian Dior DiorShow), I scoffed at this "other" mascara.  I tried it anyway and was wowed by the results.  I put Clinique High Lengths Mascara over the Bad Gal Lash I had been wearing and it gave my already rockin' lashes more length, volume and depth of color.

When I went to buy it they said something along the lines of "It's great for a natural look!"  Not really what I was going for.  Was I looking at the wrong mascara?  No!  High Lengths will give you a relatively natural look when used on it's own, but layered on top of an awesome mascara like my beloved Bad Gal Lash and it gives you an almost fake lashes look.

Here's some examples of how I use it, I took close ups and a little further shots for reference:

Au Naturale

Clinique High Lengths Only - I went a little thick here

Bad Gal Lash Only - the end of the tube

Bad Gal Lash layered with High Lengths.

I Was Blind, But Now I Can See (My Jewelry)

My poor little jewelry tree was getting a little overloaded.  I couldn't find anything.  I forgot I had stuff...  I was in a bad way.

I had been toying with the idea of a bunch of cute hooks from Anthropologie or something along those lines, but it was too expensive and would take up too much room.  It was in the back of my mind when I came upon a post on Outblush with a great $18 solution:

My newly cleared out jewelry tree and new bird cage jewelry display.

I can see my jewelry again!  I found stuff in there I forgot I had!  Happiness abounds!

My New Camera: Panasonic Lumix LX3

I finally decided on a camera.  I FINALLY got my camera.  I chose the Panasonic Lumix LX3. 

My new Panasonic Lumix LX3

When comparing it to the ZS7 the major drawback was the difference in zoom, the LX3 has almost no zoom capability.  What it lacks in zoom it makes up for in an amazing lens, and an especially great macro lens.  I still have a lot of experimenting to do, but I'll post some pictures using features I've played with so far.  You'll be seeing a lot of macro use in future postings.

Kota using "Pinhole" mode.

Eric and Kota using "Film Grain" Mode.

With "Self Portrait" mode we don't even need Eric's monkey arms.

Bouquets for Maggie's wedding using the macro lens.

I No Longer Just Covet:

Morrocan Oil

Morrocan Oil and Morrocan Oil Gold Shimmer Shine

During last weeks trip to Manhattan, I finally picked up the Morrocan Oil I've been eying (without having to pay shipping I might add).  I've heard rave reviews about this stuff.  I've heard that it makes your hair silky, it makes your hair shiny, it makes your hair smooth, it even makes your hair dry faster.  


I was really excited to try it out so I washed my hair today, two days ahead of schedule.  Usually the day I wash my hair it is just an awful mess.  It's huge and kinda frizzy.  It just doesn't look good if I don't dry it.  So I put a small dab of the oil in my hair today and sprayed it with the shimmer shine.  I promptly jumped in the Jeep, hair soaking wet for an exciting drive to Costco.  My hair DID in fact dry pretty quickly, even taking the windy drive into account.  Other than the top down drive, I treated as I normally do.  That is to say I put it in (and out, and in and out of) a loose bun and let it air dry.  When it was dry and and brushed my hair was in fact silky and shiny and smooth.


I give Morrocan Oil an A+!  At least for day one, the verdict is out for days three and four.

Day four update:  Still silky.  My hair is not at all oily or greasy as I was concerned it would be.  It got a little frizzy, but I didn't refresh it at all while I was in humid, humid Tampa.