#59 Halloween Special Memebox

I ordered my first Memebox early last month. I know there are a few other bloggers out there who are obsessed with this company so I had to try it out! I LOVE Halloween so imagine my delight when I saw they had a Halloween box for sale! Here was the description of the box: 

Just in time for Halloween!

This Halloween, your possibilities are endless with a chock-full of spooky makeup ideas! No need to drop loads of cash on costumes you’ll only wear once a year, just grab this Halloween Special box, loaded with fun and crafty makeup ideas that are fit for any party occasion! 

Whether you plan on being a sexy vamp, a pretty pixie, or just sport your trusty ol’ witch hat for the night, these do-able Halloween makeup ideas will compliment any costume and also be sure to get you a double-take! 

The box was $23 plus $6.99 for shipping (they are a Korean company). I found a $5 off coupon on Retail Me Not so I ended up paying $25. They shipped it out on October 10th and I ended up getting it on October 20th. 

It came in a large pink envelope (it reminds me a lot of the Ipsy packaging). Here is what it says on the outside (I apologize for the somewhat blurry picture): 

Here is what the box looks like: 

And here is what was inside: 

My initial reaction opening the envelope was disappointment. I had expected it to come in a cute Halloween looking box. Also, there was something sticking out of the box a little bit. 

And then I opened the box and saw the things I had received. 

*Elizavecca Lip Tattoos-Lip tattoos? I'll never use these; it takes too much time to cut them out for your lips and then apply them. I also don't like the deep win and dark burgundy colors it comes in. 

*Lalanc Real Tattoos-My last name is King so I'll probably use the king crown tattoos that are in this pack. I will probably give away the crosses to the youth group at church. 

*Revecen fake eyelashes-These are super long so I'll only be able to use them for Halloween. I do plan on trying them out though. 

*Revecen Liquid Lipstick blood-We just had a zombie production at school so I brought this product with me and applied it on all of the zombies' mouths. If you are a zombie or vampire for Halloween then this product is perfect. 

*Revecen Face Control Foundation in White-A full size sample of something I'll use once a year (and will have to toss anyway after a certain time)? Sigh. 

*Revecen Cake Eye Liner in Black-So you are supposed to apply water to this to make it into a wearable liner. I have a million and one liners I already like that take no time or mess to apply. I'll pass on this item. 

*Revecen Supra Lining Color in Purple-Another item that needs water to apply it. It's a super dark color; I'll take it up to school and use it when I show how to make cuts and bruises. 

Ultimately I'm very disappointed. The size of all the products are great; they just aren't anything I could use more than once or twice. I thought they would have more of a variety of items-they advertised it as such and I feel like this would only be good for a goth or monster creature. Where's the pretty pixie items? 

I'm not sure I'll order from Memebox again-it would have to be a pretty impressive theme for me to. $25 is a lot to spend on beauty products that you may or may not be able to use. I'll put that $25 towards checking out another box (maybe Boxycharm...). 

My thoughts about my first Jamberrys

Recently my friend Ally Summers started selling Jamberry Nails. If you aren't familiar with Jamberry you can check out her site here: http://allysummers.jamberrynails.net. Warning-it's addictive to look at all the nail designs!

Here is the first set I tried last week (called Webtastic):

I switched out my nails last night and here is the set I am currently wearing (called Widow's Web):

Now that I've tried out two different pairs, I'll give you my honest opinion about Jamberry. I have to admit, when I put Webtastic on I just followed the directions on the label. I also used a hairdryer. I should have watched the videos out there because it would have saved me a lot of grief. I'm not a fan of using a hairdryer so the second time I put on a set I used a Jamberry nail heater and it worked AMAZINGLY. Since Webtastic was my first pair it took a little bit longer than what they say it should because you are trying to get the adhesives on juuuussssttt right and trying to match the adhesives to the correct nail. My second set took so much less time and I had learned what not to do this time for my second set. I definitely recommend giving it a few times before you start to feel comfortable applying them. But maybe I'm the only impatient person out there who doesn't like to read or follow directions!

My nails aren't flat and have a curve to them so I have had to use the flat iron method to re-seal the edges a few times. Being a theatre teacher I use my hands and fingers a ton. But I much prefer to have to reseal an edge than have to reapply nail polish when you chip them. Also, it took me less than 5 minutes to take off my first set and there was absolutely no damage. There is nothing more irritating than having to take nail polish off and it stains your nails-you don't have to worry about that with Jamberry.

I really do like having my nails look nice. I usually try to paint my nails or change them out once a week. Jamberry is so much quicker than what I had been doing and they have so many cute designs. I'm definitely a fan now!

My co-worker Simone and I are hosting an online Jamberry party curtesy of Ally Summers. Feel free to check it out here. Also, feel free to post any questions or comments you may have about Jamberry, and I will pass them on to her!

Fall is FINALLY here!

It's currently 57 degrees here in DFW with highs in the 70's and low 80's for the next week, so it's safe to say that fall is officially here. About time! I celebrated by having a Halloween shopping spree at Michael's yesterday-all of their Halloween items are currently 50-60% off! I'm planning on stopping by one more time this week. Here is my mantle all decked out for my favorite holiday:

I'll post a few more pictures throughout the week of some of my other Halloween decorations. 

It's a 4 day weekend for the kids and a 3 day weekend for teachers. Tomorrow we are headed to the State Fair with my dad and we are taking Julian-please pray that my 2 year old behaves! This could either go really really good, or really really bad.

Last weekend we went to Austin City Limits. It was both tons of fun and a total disaster. That being said, we are definitely going again next year! Friday night we saw Foster the People and Outkast. Saturday I got to meet Interpol. Sunday I got to see and meet Phantogram, see Fitz & The Tantrums, and see Pearl Jam. Fitz was my favorite performance; Pearl Jam was my least. Pearl Jam is one of Justin's favorite bands but it's just not my style of music.

Me getting to meet Interpol. Really sweet guys-I was a HUGE fan of theirs while I was in college! I was all blushy and fan girlie while I was talking to them. 

A few of my favorite pictures from ACL. 

Austin is one of my favorite places ever. I wish wish wish that we lived there! It totally fits my hipster/eclectic personality. A dream that Justin and I have is to buy a house in Austin or a surrounding area. Hopefully one day it happens! 

Justin and I went to ACL for the first time in 2010 when we had just started dating. It was nice to relive and revisit some of those memories <3. I'm looking forward to taking my kids to ACL and introducing them to something that is really important to me-live music! 

October Fall Finds

I am desperate for the weather to start feeling more like fall! It's supposed to be in the low 90's all this week in Dallas but that didn't stop me from buying a few fall goodies at the outlet stores in Round Rock today on our way back from ACL. Here are my purchases at Bath and Body Works as well as Ann Taylor Loft.

I'm in LOVE with the Autumn Sky candle I bought at Bath and Body Works! It's got a great spicy smell to it. There is some ingredient in it that is also in Justin's body wash-yum! And the Halloween wallflower and bulb is just too cute. I'm loving the Purrfect Potion bottle as well. I've already decked out our guest bathroom with the items in the right picture! 

I can't WAIT to try out these outfits; however, I need the temps to drop! Two out of the the three tops have sparkles on them; would you expect anything less from me ;-)?

Recent Reading-Pet Sematary

My nightstand has looked out of control recently with all my "to read" books. I have a bad habit of going to the library and checking out waaaayyyy too many books. I'm a teacher and mother of 3 very young kids; who am I kidding? But I have been able to finish a couple of really great books recently. The first one is:

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

This was my first time to read a book by Stephen King and it's perfect timing with Halloween right around the corner. I don't normally read books in the horror genre and I decided to read this particular title because I've had a fascination with the movie since I was 13 years old. I think the reason why I've been so drawn to this story is the idea of bringing something back from the dead that you love so much; now that I have kids the idea absolutely terrifies me because I think to myself, "Would I if I could?" And the answer to my own question is what shocks me. This book is all about confronting death and that is not a subject one likes to delve in much. 

The particular edition of the book I read had an introduction by Stephen King. He states that it is the scariest book he has ever written. In fact he thinks he took things too far with this novel and at one point he threw away the story. It's a story of caution and warning. One particular quote from the book that sticks out in my mind is: “And the most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity.”

I was curious to see how the movie follows the book and I was not disappointed at all; in fact, I ended up liking the book even more than the movie. It explores the psyche of the main character Louis Creed who seems to have the perfect life-a doctor with a beautiful wife and two children (one of them happens to be the age of my own son). His son gets hit by a truck and he decides to bury him in the Indian burial ground that brings dead things back to life. I can't even begin to describe how I felt reading the book and dealing with Louis's emotions while thinking about losing my own son (and daughters). It's the most painful thing I've ever felt. One moment can take away a lifetime of happiness. Life can be cruel, can't it. 

But what if you could take that unhappiness back? What if you could bring back what was taken from you? Would you? Louis decides to bring his son back but unfortunately the son isn't who (or what) he used to be. That's the price you pay-everything comes with a price. His son is now evil but at least he has the chance to be with him again. At least the sorrow is gone. For now. It reminds me of the Governor from The Walking Dead. He keeps his daughter, who has been turned into a zombie, chained up and cares for her. At first I thought, "how weird is that?" And then I look at my own children and I can't help but wonder and think, "I hope I never get put into that situation."

But that makes us selfish people, doesn't it, to bring them back or to keep them from moving on. I believe in Heaven and why would you take that away from someone you love just to have more time on earth with them. Another quote from the book that really stuck with me is “Faith is a great thing, and really religious people would like us to believe that faith and knowing are the same thing, but I don't believe that myself. Because there are too many different ideas on the subject. What we know is this: When we die, one of two things happens. Either our souls and thoughts somehow survive the experience of dying or they don't. If they do, that opens up every possibility you could think of. If they don't, it's just blotto. The end.” 

This book took a lot out of me emotionally, which is rare for a fiction book to do that to me. That's usually reserved for non-fiction books. There were several nights were I fell asleep reading the book and had weird dreams and other nights were I couldn't get to sleep because I was reading a particularly chilling part. I was a little too happy to finish the book; not because I didn't like it but because it was so depressing to me. “That lesson suggests that in the end, we can only find peace in our human lives by accepting the will of the universe.”

The other book I finished recently is "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty. Be on the lookout for my thoughts on that book within the week. 

What's the scariest book you have ever read, and why is it scary to you?

My Favorite Halloween Pins!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Time to start decorating for HALLOWEEN!!! I've been pinning like crazy and I wanted to share some of my favorite pins. Some I've done before; some are new ideas for this year.

*Grandin Road-grandinroad.com is your place to go for awesome Halloween decorations! Now that we have a house I can go crazy with the decorations (sorry, not sorry Justin!). I'll be purchasing some headstones from them to put in our front yard. I love the look of the Victorian graveyard!

Here's a couple more decorating ideas for outside/inside that I'm going to do. Hope I don't traumatize my kids too much!

What I'm going to do with the kids this year:

I REALLY want to do this one but I know the kids would keep pulling the sheets off of everything. I will save this idea for when they are older or if we host a big party:

*Here is my Halloween costume this year. In May I purchased this Betsey Johnson "Fit and Flare" dress that I just love love love. This is what I plan on adding for accessories to wear it as a costume:

What I plan on doing with my nails:

*I'm planning on hosting a little get together on Halloween since it's on a Friday night. Here are a few of my decoration ideas.

How easy (and cute) is this?

A playlist for the evening: 

A couple of food ideas for the evening:

These are just a few of the many, many Halloween ideas I have. Check out the rest of my Halloween board here. Click here to follow me on Pinterest.