Mini Beauty Haul - July

I am excited to share with you a few items I've purchased this month and have been using regularly. This is my first post of this kind, and I hope to do a post like this each month depending on what I've purchased.

As you know, I live on a strict budget and when I can buy things for myself that aren't out of necessity, I prefer to buy make up. I wear makeup almost every time I leave the house and I feel like it is a good investment, because my aesthetic appearance is the first thing you notice without talking to me. I want to give a good first impression and make up helps me do that.

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palettes - Walmart

I Got Good Jeans

I have already worn this palette and I love color number 3. It looks great against my already bronze skin and gives it just a hint of shimmer for summer. I use color number 2 as a crease color and number 1 as an all over color because it looks horrible on my browbone as suggested.

I'm Getting Sunburned

This is my favorite palette! My favorite color is color 1 because I use it was an all-over -the-lid color and it brightens my dark brown eyes up. I look very sleepy, as most Moms of toddlers do, so this palette is perfect for me to put on and look amazing without much effort!

CoverGirl Queen Collection Lasting Matte Pressed Powder in Q405 Light Golden - Target

This pressed powder works so well with my liquid foundation, also from the CoverGirl Queen Collection, by helping my skin look less oily. I sweat so much in summer running around with Eli and this powder is great for keeping me from looking sweaty and oily all over my t-zone. Plus, it matches my complexion perfectly. You can't even tell I'm wearing it!

Rimmel London Natural Bronzer + Natural Minerals in 025 Sun Glow - Target

I started using this bronzer because I needed one with less shimmer and this one is amazing for my complexion. It's light and doesn't leave residue on my clothing.

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm - CVS

I have been using this lipstain for about two weeks now and I like it a lot. I do not like the balm, however. It broke within a day of me using it, so I just use the lipstain and apply my EOS Lipbalm with this. I have just begun wearing red lipstains and I don't think I will repurchase this one again, as it doesn't last very long and the color isn't buildable.

e.l.f. Brushes
e.l.f. Small Angled Brush - Target
e.l.f. professional Bronzing Brush - Save-A-Lot

I love e.l.f. brushes! I use the small angled brush to apply my eyeshadow on my waterline and also to fill in my eyebrows. It's perfect. I use the bronzing brush for bronzer and have no complaints about it at all!

That's my mini beauty haul for July. Overall I believe I spent about $35 on beauty products this month, but they are products I will be using for months, so I feel these were great purchases.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Until next time friends, peace, love, and green tea <3

~ Domo ~

What I Would Tell My Teenage Self (Years 13 - 19)

I was watching a video on Youtube on BubzBeauty channel and I decided to make a post here on what I would tell my teenage self. I had a rough time as a teenager and I can honestly say my life didn't begin to get better until I was a few months away from turning 20. So, here are the things I'd tell myself, with pictures at each age.

Enjoy!

Age 13 (Grade 8) - Keep your head up. You may have had a tragedy in your life, but if you let the sadness take over 10 years from now you'll still be struggling. Also, don't worry about your first love. He means well, but don't look to him for support. A 13 year-old doesn't know how to respond to an emotional situation like this. Look to people that love you for guidance and support.

Age 14 (Grade 9) - High School is going to be exactly like Middle School. You'll end up with the same people who bullied you last year, but at least you'll make new friends who will stick up for you. You'll also find that your heart has healed a little and you have a new love for all things Military after joining Army JROTC. Don't worry about the grades you received this year. If you focus more on you studies next year, you could possibly make amazing grades. Also, don't let your boyfriend determine your worth. You are an amazing person who just needs to build up your self-esteem.

Age 15 (Grade 10) - Again, stop worrying about dating, this is not the guy for you. In a year, he won't even remember you. Focus more on your studies and finding activities that you love. Also, if you keep pushing your program on people, you will fail. Find a better way to relate to people if you want them to support your cause. If you want, you could leave HS now, take the GED, and begin college. That would be amazing for your self-esteem and academic career now that you know what you want to do and have 10+ years of higher ed ahead of you. You can always visit your friends on weekends.

Age 16 (Grade 11) - What happened this year will break you if you get help. Don't worry about people who don't believe you, those who do will always have your back. This is the year you find out who your friends really are. Keep them close. You should definitely get your GED or begin homeschooling. HS is not the place for you, but self-learning and higher ed are much more flexibile. Your potential is amazing and HS is just beating every ounce of creativity and zest for learning out of you. Get out before you begin to hate school altogether!

Age 17 (Homeschooling/Unschooling) - Homeschooling didn't work for you, but you're smart enough to test out of HS and go to college. Get on that now! Also, keep in touch with your friends so you don't become isolated and depressed. Working will give you a great sense of importance and independence, you should try to get a part-time job. Also, be nicer to your Grandma. She's doing the best she can. And again, stop worrying about dating, you're more than who you're with.

Age 18 - So, you finally got a job? Congrats! Now focus on getting your GED and starting college. Don't drive your Grandma crazy, she's having a tough year and the end of the year will be the worst. She'll need you to grow up. Please don't let her down, you'll never forgive yourself if you do.

Age 19 - Now that you've gotten your GED and started college, don't let you new volunteer position takeover your life. Be faithful, loving, and caring, and always say what you mean and do what you say you'll do. Don't take chances if you aren't willing to deal with the consequences. Live your life freely, without regrets, and be kinder to everyone. This is your last year of being a teenager, enjoy it.

And these are the things I'd tell my teenage self, now.

Until next time friends, peace, love, and green tea.

~ Domo ~

Modding & Concept Designs

Something I've been interested in for the last few years are case mods and concept designs for console gaming. I love all kinds of case mods. Cell phone, video game console, and computer are my favorites.

Once, I saw a console mod of a Nintendo 64 (N64) by modder Polvorito from Best Case Senario. This console mod operated as a PC and was equipped with a motherboard that used an AC Adapter as power (pictured below).  I was in heaven.

I am not only a Nintendo Fangirl (excluding the Wii and Wii U systems), but I also had my first taste of gaming playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the N64. So, seeing this mod made me geek out, completely!

Here are two pictures of the finished console.

I have even thought about trying to do this mod myself and acquired an N64 from a friend only to return it. I wasn't ready to butcher such a beautiful console because of my inexperience in modding.

Anyone who knows me well or has sat next to me when I'm on Tumblr, knows that I am constantly looking for inspiration for my next project or post. I am fascinated with concept art, especially of my all-time favorite console, the Gamecube.

Some of my favorite designs are:

Engadget - Never found actual source, sorry!

Gamecube Revolution by Ashen (Mod Retro)

I have so much love for console mods I almost cannot explain it in words. There is probably only one thing I love more than console mods and that is concept designs. I specifically love concept designs/art for consoles and cars.

I have always told myself someday I would learn how these designs were created so I could contribute to the design community, but I haven't researched anything yet. Look forward to me doing that in the future and putting up some bad ass designs for you to check out!

Here are my top concept designs/art:

Ricardo Alfonso - Digital Artist

Seunghan Song - Designer

And with that last picture, I am concluding my post.

Until next time friends, peace, love, and green tea <3

~ Domo ~

Update: Asthma, Walking, and Upcoming Posts

Good Morning Everyone!

I know I've been absent for a while. My son and I caught a pretty nasty cold after a play date and I suffered an Asthma attack soon after. Then, Eli started having problems breathing too! Don't worry, he and I are both fine now.

In other news, Eli started walking last week! I know! *squeals* I'm so proud of him. I'm determined to catch him strutting around the living room on video. He looks so cute stumbling around on his little boney legs. I fall more in love with Eli everyday because of these moments. I almost don't miss my old lifestyle. Almost.

I think I'm going to scale my posts down to once a week and see if I can handle that without drowning in my Mommyhood duties and other obligations. Some future posts I plan on doing are a review of some games I've been playing, products I've been using and loving, and possibly a video on A Day in the Life of The Little Eli Guy for my YouTube Channel.

I hope you're excited for better content and more consistency in my posting schedule! I know I am.

Until next time friends, peace, love, and green tea <3

~ Domo ~

My PC Overview (With Links & Pictures)

This is a post dedicated to the haul of components for my custom PC build (2011) after a hard drive failure.

Current Specs:

• Windows 7 SP1, AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 GHz, 16GB RAM @ 1333 MHz, SanDisk 128GB SSD (OS & Games Only), Western Digital 1TB HDD (All Other Files)
  

The products purchased by me for my current PC build (including accessories) are:

• ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $95 (Currently Discontinued) (Newegg)
  
• NZXT Crafted Series Tempest 410 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $60 (Newegg)
  
• Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 ACM 12,000,000:1 (1000:1) - $140 (Newegg)
  
• Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset - $45 (Newegg)
  
• SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Notebook - $100 (Newegg)
  
• Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - OEM - $75 (Newegg)
  
• Logitech C615 HD WebCam - $60 (Newegg)
  
• Logitech M510 Black 5 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - $35 (Newegg)
  
• Microsoft ANB-00001 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Slim Keyboard 600 - $15 (Newegg)
  
• Gamestop Xbox 360 Controller (Wired) (Black) - $25 (Gamestop)

Products not mentioned including my RAM, video card, and CPU were gifts from my boyfriend. Those products can be found on Newegg as well.

• Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-R695D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (discontinued)
  
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL
  
• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Overall, my system has handled every game I've played on the highest settings like a boss. Games I've played include:

• The Sims 3 (Origin)
• Portal & Portal 2 (Steam)
• Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (Steam)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Steam)
• Darkspore (Steam)
• Darksiders (Steam)

The only upgrade in the near future is a new motherboard so I can take full advantage of the USB 3.0 port in the front of my case. This is the motherboard I'm thinking about getting:

• ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Gaming Motherboard with 3-Way SLI/CrossFireX Support and UEFI BIOS - $220 (Newegg)

Overall I'm very happy with my PC build and upgrades. In the future I hope to take advantage of all the newest graphic cards and CPUs to make my gaming experience as awesome as possible.

Until next time friends, peace, love, and green tea <3

~ Domo ~