Harry Potter

I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter book series! I read the first one in fourth grade and I have been hooked ever since.

I have read them all multiple times. I just find that when I reread them, I discover so many details I missed before.

My favorite is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Year 3). My least favorite is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Year 2).

As I mentioned in The Thirty Day Snap: Day 28 I said I was going to read all the books in order, back to back, because I had never done that before. 

As of writing this post, I just started book 4. Right before I started I realized I only had 27 days until I went back to school AND I want to finish the series before heading back. 

I did the math and I have 3,015 pages to go! Ahh! That means 112 pages (or more) a day. I think I'll be able to do it, I'll keep you updated!

Already I'm noticing little details, even some foreshadowing, that go between the books that I didn't notice before. 

Have you ever reread books for the fun of it? If so, which ones?

Ciao, Robin Malia

Cupcakes!

A few days ago I was in our pantry looking for something to nibble on and I found the cake mix we had bought for me to make over Fourth of July weekend. Well it's now the middle of July and those cupcakes were never made, so I thought I'd make them! 

They were the Patriotic Funfetti ones. Funfetti is my favorite cake flavor I do say so myself. It was such a great idea for Pillsbury to make the "Stars and Stripes" version! 

The box said it would make 24 cupcakes, but I filled the cupcake tins all the way full rather than just 2/3 of the way like the box said so I got 15 cupcakes out of the deal. The bigger the better right? :)

I love how it came with red and blue sprinkles! It was just plain white frosting, but I would have preferred cream cheese frosting. Oh well! They are still very yummy.

How fun is that!? So patriotic! You know I'm a fan of red, white and blue!

I already ate one and it was great! 

Have you baked anything recently?

Ciao, Robin Malia

Empties Reviews #1

I know that this isn't a Beauty Blog, but I do love to read a good product review now and then - especially 'Empties.' I've actually only seen Empties Reviews done as YouTube videos, but I didn't see what was stopping me from doing it on my blog. 

Incase you don't know what an Empties Review is, it is where a vlogger (or in my case, blogger) keeps the bottles and empty packages of things they have used up recently. Then when they have a few, they review each product, sometimes briefly, sometimes more in-depth. I love Empties Reviews because if somebody has used the whole product up, they have a very good idea about how the product works and has a very honest opinion of the product.

I am not an expert on all things beauty, so my reviews will be pretty brief. I'll just describe my thoughts of the product and wether or not I'd purchase it again.

Enough ramble! Let's get started!

Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream

I was not 100% pleased with this product. There is very few color selections and it did not match my skin very well. It left my skin a little shiny looking, and I fixed that with some pressed powder. I used it on days I wanted lighter foundation. It also tended to come off easily if you touched your face at all during the day. All in all, it did it's job, but I doubt I'll buy it again.

Tresemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for Straight/Normal Hair

Again, this product did it's job but I still wasn't very pleased. This was my first time buying dry shampoo so I just picked one for straight hair. I found that I needed A LOT of product to get it to actually soak up the oil in my hair. Then I had to let is sit FOREVER for it to dry before I could rub it in, then I had to fight with the white residue (that most dry shampoos have) to blend into my dark brown hair. I think that my next dry shampoo purchase will be a different brand. Any recommendations?

Equate Oil-Free Makeup Remover

I LOVE THIS STUFF! Really, I do. I've boughten it more times than I can count, sometimes my mom will just buy me a few bottles because she knows I'll go through them eventually! I find that it takes my makeup off so easily and the price isn't bad either. I would definitely give it a try! I already have bought another bottle.

Olay Pore Minimizing Cleanser + Scrub

I received this from a friend when it was about half empty because she decided she didn't like it. I gave it a shot and was quite pleased! Some face washes tend to leave my face feeling "tight" or "dry." This one didn't at all. I just felt clean after using it! I'm not sure I'll purchase it again (well for the first time really) right away, because I have another face wash I  like more that I'm using currently (see below), but I'd definitely recommend it!

Aussie Heat Protecting Shine Spray

I don't have much to say about this product. I feel like it did it's job, it didn't smell funny and I liked that you put it on wet hair. However the spray nozzle wasn't the best and it drove me crazy. I was given a CHI heat protectant by the same friend who gave me the Olay face wash and it is still really full so I won't be needing to purchase any for quite a while!

Got2B Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm

This smells terrible... I can't stand it. There is probably 1/4 left of product left but I just couldn't take the smell any more. It lingered on your hair all day. This was a spray that you put on dry hair right before heat styling, so your hair was a little damp when you used the heat, which resulted in a little sizzling noise (no matter how much or how little I used) that really unnerved me. I thought it was supposed to protect your hair, not fry it more!! It also started building up on my flat iron and that bothered me too. If you can't already tell, I will not be repurchasing this, nor would I recommend it.

Olay Fresh Effects Shine, Shine Go Away 

This stuff is great! I bought it along with the Olay Fresh Effects Va Va Vivid face scrubber, and I am convinced the combination of the two really helped clear up my face! I still get some acne around my chin, but thats it! Much better than the full face breakouts I used to get. I have quite oily skin and I can tell that this definitely reduces shine throughout the day without drying out my skin. I have already purchased another bottle of this and am happily using it twice a day! 

That's all the products I have for you today! Let me know if you liked this kind of post and would like to see another when I have saved up some more "empties."

Thanks so much for reading my blog and I LOVE to hear your feedback, so please feel free to leave comments on any of my posts!

Ciao, Robin Malia

Pet Shop Adventure

On Thursday my friend Michaela and I went into town to get pedicures! It was great to have a girls' day. We both felt it was needed!

My toes are on the top. The color I got was called "Flip Flop Fantasy" by China Glaze. I loved it so much I ended up going to Sally's Beauty Supply right after to buy the bottle! Best decision ever! Michaela got a shiny purple color. It was by OPI, but I forgot to look at the name. I'll ask if she remembers and let y'all know!

The shirt is Ralph Lauren, found it at Plato's Closet for $8! What a steal! The necklace was on clearance at Charming Charlie. The shorts are the J. Crew chino with 3" inseam. I wore my fake white Jack Rogers. The watch is vintage, it was my dad's when he was my age. The bracelet closer to the watch is J.Crew clearance around Christmas and the other bracelet was made for me by Natalie. 

As you can tell, I love shopping for deals. I rarely pay full price for anything!

After our pedicures we went to lunch at Wendy's. The pet store in our town is right behind the Wendy's so we decided to go pet some kittens!

Here are some pictures from our adventure!

Baby Siamese kittens. They were too cute!

They have a few crocodiles on display (not for sale) and they actually don't move much and not that exciting. 

That is a Humuhumunukukukuapua'a, also known as the Picasso Triggerfish. It is Hawaii's state fish! Fun fact for you there:)

A sign said this bird could talk. He didn't talk to us though:(

As I was taking pictures of these birds, the one in the next cage over came right up to the corner by my hand and starts chirping at me like "look at me! take my picture too" then proceeded to pose upside down while I took his picture.

He was full of personality!

TURTLES!!!! :D

As a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, I though this was quite clever!

These fish followed Michaela's finger around for quite a while! It was pretty funny actually.

I ended up having a great day with Michaela. Being spontaneous always seems to lead to the best memories. 

Do you ever go to the pet shop just to look around?

Ciao, Robin Malia

Receptionist OOTDs

Last week around the Fourth of July, the regular receptionist at my job couldn't come into work because her family was visiting so they had me fill in.

Normally at work I have to wear a uniform, but because I was receptionist I got to wear business casual. I love dressing cute and I would say the majority of my closet, if worn right, could be considered business casual.

Dress and shoes are from Target. The dress was on clearance and the shoes were from April, so they might still have some. The watch was was a Christmas present from a few years back as well as the bracelet. The belt was a TJ Maxx find in 2010.

On this day I had to change into my polo shirt in the afternoon to serve at the bar so I wore my kaki capris witch are St. John's Bay. I found them in a thrift shop, so they might not make them any more. The shirt is from Anthropologie clearance in 2012, and the shoes are Sebago brand. 

It was so nice not to have to wear the same old thing to work.

What are your favorite outfits?

Ciao, Robin Malia

Phone Background

On Friday night Natalie and I were walking around my hometown and we found a tree that was absolutely beautiful. The bark was about 5 different shades of brown and green.

I was kicking myself for not bringing my good camera, but I resorted to using my iPhone.

The pictures I took actually turned out great!

Here is a picture with the whole stump in view. The closeup I took below is even more beautiful though.

Doesn't it look like it could be a pre-loaded background on a phone?! That's what I am using it for currently. Feel free to save the picture and use it for yourself!

Have you taken any beautiful pictures lately?

Ciao, Robin Malia

PS. Today's post is a bit shorter because I normally write on Mondays, but I went to the beach with some of the boys I work with. It  was great to have some time to relax and I want to make sure my IRL life comes before my online life. 

Thursday's post will be a more normal length!

Weekday Boat Ride

On Wednesday after work, my brother, dad and I went out on our little power boat. We didn't really have a destination, we just wanted to explore some and enjoy the beautiful day!

My brother was driving the boat at first, but then my dad made him stop, and they began to teach me how to drive. It was pretty fun! I wasn't bad at it, so that's a plus. I might even start driving the boat to work, because it's closer than going by car! 

Once I started driving, I put my brother in charge of 'camera-duty' so I could get some pictures for this post. I was imagining some good action shots of me driving, plus some nice scenic landscapes.

Well, thats not what I got... What can you expect from a 15 year old boy though? :)

I got a total of 2 picture of me. One being quite unflattering. Here it is!

(Don't get me wrong, I do love my brother and I am so glad he would take pictures for me!) 

After fishing through all the zoomed in pictures of boats at their docks and random houses, I did find a few good pictures to share with you!

Dad and Millie! I just noticed that my dad has his tongue sticking out at the dog. Haha, oh well!.

As we were driving home, Millie stuck her head under the bench and rested her head on a life-jacket. I thought it was silly. I do love that dog!

Do you live near the water?

Ciao, Robin Malia

DIY Patriotic Shorts!

As you can tell from the title, today is a DIY post inspired by the Fourth of July!

I had never really been in to "stars and stripes" as a fashion statement before, but this summer I am really feeling it! On Pinterest I have seen some really neat scarves inspired by  the American flag! I am definitely lusting over this one.

Taking some of my own inspiration from the American Flag, I DIY-ed some shorts on Tuesday! 

Here are the steps to make your own!

Start with a pair of plain blue jean shorts.

I painted one side completely white. I used acrylic paint I had lying around the house, fabric paint would probably be better though! 

I printed a star off the computer onto card stock and cut out the inside to make a stencil.

Put the stencil onto the shorts and paint in the lines. Try and keep the paint brush straight up so it doesn't smear outside the lines. As you see in the picture below I tried to hold the stencil down in as many places as possible. A sponge brush probably be best, but again, I just used what I had!

After painting on all the stars, wait for all the white paint to dry. If you are impatient - like I am - you can hurry it up with a blow dryer.

Use masking tape to tape off the areas you want to stay white.

Paint red!

Peel the tape off carefully and wait for the front to dry!

Once the front is dry, flip and paint the back pockets too! 

All done! This was a fast, easy and free project that is great for the Fourth of July! Or any other day you are feeling patriotic! Let me know if you do this project too!

I also painted my nails today using this tutorial from The Beauty Department. I just used different colors!

Are you guys doing anything fun for the Fourth of July? I get to see Natalie!!! Yay!

Ciao, Robin Malia