What a party!

Yesterday was one of my best friend's birthdays! Argentina turned 16 and to celebrate she had a few close girlfriends over! To celebrate I made her cookies and gave her two quick and easy joke gifts. 

Argentina and I in the 8th Grade. LONG time ago.

When deciding how to decorate cookies one thing came to mind, Argentina's necklace. Her mom gave it to her when she was like six and she never takes it off. Basically it's become a fixture on Argentina's neck, see Argentina, see necklace. Anyhow, the necklace has a ladybug on it and has lots of special meanings. When we were in A Mid Summer Night's Dream together, Argentina named her fairy Ladybug, she was so cute! But the answer seemed obvious, make ladybug cookies! I had lots of fun rolling them out and decorating them! Argentina loved them! And according to her they tasted pretty good too! Not to mention they were SO EASY! 

Argentina's joke gifts were almost as easy as her cookies, all I had to do was make photo copies for one of them! We were in a 24 hour theater showcase together in freshman year, for those of you who don't know, 24 Hour Theater is when a play is written, rehearsed, and performed in 24 hours, it's HARD! We were cast in a a post-apocalyptic themed duet together, my character was cold, mean, domineering, hers was crazy, and lonely. Mine was also a lesbian with a thing for her. We were both really unconformable, so we just did the best we could, and the show became a point of universal hate for both of us. While cleaning I found my copy of the script and so for Argentina's birthday I made her a photo copy and wrapped it up nice and pretty. When She opened it we both laughed for almost a solid 5 minutes. The other present is a specialty of mine, a homemade personalized mix CD. For Argentina, it was a compilation of some of my favorite show tunes! She really liked it! Mix CDs are easy and so personal, I love giving them for any occasion! 

keep it classy

~E

Bring On The Night

Last night was Broadway's biggest night, one of my favorite award shows, THE TONY AWARDS! As a former theater freak I simply adore the pomp and circumstance of the Tony Awards. Watching the best of the best be awarded for their genius is amazing. At some points it literally brought tears to my eyes. (sorry if it's cheesy but I seriously love it that much.)

Any way, I went to one of my best friend Africa Girl's house to watch the show. We ate pizza (extra cheese for the vegetarian) and yelled at the television. Overall it was a great night and we had a blast! I'm not going to see AG for an entire month (while I'm in Europe and she goes to to Kamp) and I'm going to miss her like crazy! I've already started to write her letters to open up while she's away because I wont have the postage to send her letters while I'm in Europe! Her parents are going to Tahiti while she's away so of course I have to make her feel like she's loved!

In other news I have only a week to pack and get ready to go! I leave on Tuesday! EEKK!

Keep it classy
~E

EEEKKK!

Hey guys! Guess what?!?! You're favorite ginger/vegetarian/blogger got tweeted at by THE COLLEGE PREPSTER! You know, the AMAZING blogger/recent college graduate/baker. EEEKKK!!!! (Yes, I realize this whole thing is completely 100% ridiculous/stupid) But I still got tweeted! Huzzah! I think I can die happy! My life is good! (I found out she retweeted me at my friend Africa Girl's house getting ready for the Tony awards, more tomorrow.) I realize that the fact that I blog stalk Carly is totally creepy and weird, sorry about that, but it totally paid off today! Yeah, umm, that's it. I just wanted to share that with all of you. You can go home now. But first, subscribe to the blog. *please*

Just in case

Last year I did one of the stupidest things I've ever done, I played an entire day of rugby without any sunblock at all. Let me tell you, that was one of the worst mistakes of my life. I got a 2nd degree sunburn on my face. My skin blistered everywhere and I couldn't wear makeup for two whole weeks. OW. Just in case you didn't pay attention to my last post on how to AVOID getting to much sun here are some tried and true tips for alleviating pain from overexposure and getting your skin back on color as quickly as possible. So without further ado...

A ginger's tips for maximum relief from a sunburn! 

1. Aloe Vera. The most common cure for a sunburn, and one of the most effective forms of relieving pain from a bad sunburn. Personally, I prefer the type of aloe that has lidocane in it, typically it means that the aloe is blue, instead of the usual green. There is a draw back though, unfortunately the blue kind of aloe can give your skin a blueish tint when used repeatedly over a long period of time. Additionally, an aloe plant is a great thing to grow in a garden if you're pale. Fresh aloe is always a great feeling on burnt skin. The best part to me, the perfect temperature of goo every time.

2. Water. It sounds stupid, in fact it's my dad's cure for everything. (Have a headache? Drink some water. Hungry? Drink some water.) He reminds me of the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, windex any one? Any way, drinking water is a great thing for anyone with a sunburn. The burnt skin must be replaced with new skin later and it takes water to create the new cells. The more water you have, the faster you'll be able to regrow cells and get rid of your nasty sunburn/peeling.

3. Milk. It sounds sort of stupid, but a rag soaked in whole milk (the fattier the better) and placed on your sun burn will alleviate most pain and take down some of the inflammation. Not to mention milk just out of the refrigerator, nice and cold, feels INCREDIBLE on skin that just can't seem to cool down. 

4. A shower. Kids, not going to lie, this hurts like nothing else. I absolutely hate this, but it works wonderfully, takes a sunburn away at least two days sooner. Turn on the shower, HOT. And I mean hot. Get in and put the burnt part of your body under the water and stand there as long as you can, turn the water on hotter if you can. It draws the heat out from your burn and dries it out too. Peeling will begin within a day or two and then VOILA! Your burn is gone. 

5. Anti-Inflammatory. A good anti-inflammatory is the key to a bad sunburn. Taking one (with water) will assist your cells in regenerating and taking the inflammation out of the burnt skin.

I do hope this helps, sunburns stink and no one deserves them. Happy summer! And remember, overexposure can lead to skin cancer. WEAR SUNBLOCK! 

Keep it classy, 

~E

Gingers At The Beach

As a red head I'm blessed/cursed with seriously pale skin. I really don't mind it that much, as long as I have SPF of at least 50 (Preferably 100+ by Neutrogena). I love the pool and the beach, but gingers burn to a crisp, then freckle (no tanning for this girl) but that's ok because gingers look ridiculous tan anyway.

So here's the Ginger Girl's guide for what to bring to a day at the beach with healthy skin afterward. 

1. A big floppy sun hat. This is a must my dears, if your skin is not exposed to the sun then there's no way for it to get burnt! I have one I bought from The Gap a few years ago and I simply adore it! It came with some sort of nasty straw tie which I promptly removed and replaced with a black grosgrain ribbon that is tied in a large bow. I always feel like an old movie star with my floppy brim that droops over my eyes, it's just so mysterious! 

(Side Note: Please excuse the expressions on Pepperdine Princess and my face, me were making fun of our photographer. This was at the male 1/2 of That Couple's Kentucky Derby themed 18th Birthday party)

(Additional side note, don't you just love the dress? Minus the wrinkles of course. It was my first J. Crew purchase!)

2. Sunblock. Self explanatory, however, all to easily forgotten. If you're feeling like gaining a freckle or two then by all means go for something like SPF 50, but be sure it has broad spectrum UV ray protection. Don't forget to re apply at least every hour! A good spray on sunblock is easy and fast, less fuss and much easier to use than the traditional lotion. And remember people, no matter how shady it is outside, UV rays like to sneak through the clouds and you can never be to careful!  

3. Sunnies. Everyone needs a good pair of shades and there is a time and a place for them, but the beach is neither the time nor the place. Salt water and sand will do nothing good a good pair of sunnies. My advice: save your Ray Bans for a day out shopping, go to Target and get the cheep pair, they'll serve you well and keep your good pair safe and intact. 

Now lets be honest, can you really tell the difference between the top and bottom pairs besides the branding? They look almost the same. A day at the beach is totally not worth ruining your best shades. Be kind to the shades and get a cheep pair. Yes I would love to have an expensive pair of shades too, but they could be ruined in an instant.

Top, Target $11vs. Ray Ban for $150

Top, Target glasses $15 vs. Ray Ban for $200

4. One word for you, Tugs. Billed as "The Original Sunglasses Complement" Tugs most certainly are! I'm DYING for a pair! The seersucker tugs are RIDICULOUSLY cute! Personally, I'd go for the pink with baby blue embroidery! I can just see myself at the pool or beach in my Ralph Lauren bikini and Vera Bradley towel. Oh lordy, please let me babysit soon so I can buy them ! Then I can die happy. 

5. Speaking of, Vera Bradley makes quite an excellent towel line. My personal favorite being the Summer Cottage towel. Yes please. So colorful and happy! And in my 2 favorite colors of blue and pink!

6. Rubber flip flops. This one is important people, don't wear your best shoes to the beach or pool, the beach is sandy and will end up EVERYWHERE, especially in shoes. You need shoes that will be easy to wash off and not be ruined easily by water or sand. 

7. A good book. Pale people unite! Under the shade, wrapped in an umbrella, wearing a hat, and plenty of sunblock. A great book is the key to a great beach trip. Chances are you'll not spend all your time in the water, a great book will keep you entertained and happy while not getting burnt by the sun. My personal pick for a beach read, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, rewritten by William Goldman. When I was a kid The Princess Bride was my favorite movie (except for the Star Wars series of course). It never lost it's magic. Recently I've actually read the book (confession, I didn't know it was a real book until Januaryish) and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is written in an extremely witty fashion that seems modern even though it was written 1973. Go get it! I mean it, run, don't walk, RUN to the local book store or library and GET IT!

Opt To Adopt!

Today I'd like to take on a more serious topic, the adoption of pets. 

It might not seem that serious, but did you know that of the 6-8 million pets that enter shelters each year, 3-4 million of them are killed? 

My local animal shelter is a kill friendly animal shelter. That DOES NOT mean that they like putting animals down, however often they do not have the resources necessary to take care of the animal, or the animal is deemed "unadoptable" due to behavior problems or age. 

Here at the Princess Palace (mom's house) we are incredibly animal friendly, just ask our neighbor's cat Pumpkin who wanders in to the house sometimes. After Hurricane Ike we learned via twitter that thousands of animals had been abandoned when their owners fled the storm and were now flooding the shelter and in need of homes. While Teacher Mom is firmly against adding another pet to the family, direct quote "I want you to go to college, the cat to die, and end alone with my books", she would consent to fostering animals. Fostering is a program where you take an animal, or animals, home with you, but it's temporary, you actively attempt to find it a good home. 

So we've had our fair share of animals at the Princess Palace, our newest resident is Phoebe, a 5 month old calico cat. And despite my best efforts to convince Teacher Mom to keep her, Phoebe needs a forever home and someone to love her. If you live in the Houston area adopt her at the Portifino center Pet's Mart on Saturday between 11 and 4!

Another important point is that instead of buying a fancy pure bread puppy consider adopting an animal from your local shelter, they need homes and unless you act they could be killed just because no one wanted them. 

Just something to think about. 

Stay Class, 

~E

The Smell Of Success!

Personally, I'm a smell girl. Boys or girls. If you don't smell good then please distance yourself from me. Boys, I morally can not date you if you don't smell good/if you smell bad. I'm a perfume girl, I adore getting new perfume. When someone tells me I smell good, that's on of the highest complements.

I wear Marc Jacobs "Daisy" like it's going out of style (but not too much, that's just tacky). But for school or a regular day, it's Victoria's Secret Pink Fresh and Clean or Pretty and Pure. I always feel fresh and confidant with a good squirt of perfume.

Another exciting perk of my impending trip to Europe is an outing to a perfume factory in Grasse. I'm so excited to get to know further how my perfume is made! AND our group is going to get to have a "Perfume Making Workshop" where we will get to create our own signature scent. Huzzah!