One Last Shop

When I found out we were going to LA I told myself that I would only go shopping once because I have alot of clothes from shopping and I've been trying lately to cutback on it. But my version of cutting back is more like if I had find something on sale for a really good price then it's like I have to get because it's such a great deal. Getting quality stuff for 40% and up always feel like a right buy for me.

So I ended up going shoppinng last Friday and then again tonight. It was alot of fun because I found some awesome stuff. My big find was a pair of Michael Kors brown leather strappy wedges that feel so comfortable and stylish on. I have been a fan of Project Runway for a few years now basically since it started watching Michael as a judge. So it's really cool to finally have a piece of his, yay! But man, am I tall in these haha I'm 5 9" so these babies make me a few inches taller but that's okay models are usually 5 9" and over so at least I have that going.

I've got to go finish packing ASAP I always seem to leave it to the last minute, most of it is done it's just all the extra stuff I don't want to forget. I didn't make many lists this time I mostly focused on outfits and suncreen!

Sunscreen

So one of my goals this summer is to not get a bad sunburn. Every summer there just seem to be those days where you end up being outside longer than planned or it looks cloudy so I don't worry but when I go in side I'm tomato red! My poor skin is crying for some sunscreen. So I'm trying to make it a daily habit right in the morning so hopefully I can make it through a summer without more major sun damage.

I did buy a new face sunscreen that is so great I must product place in my blog. Neutrogena Ultra-sheer dry oil or something like that I got the 45, and it does dry perfectly so you can wear it under makeup. I'm a fan and it's only like $12 at superstore!

Got the dress!

So I went to west edmonton mall on Friday to start the search for my awards dress. Things started off slowly, I found a couple new tank tops some earrings, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt but no dress. Then I got to H&M. Sometimes I find tons of stuff here and other times I don't find anything. This time I found one thing and it was my dress. Well kinda, unless I find another one this week before we leave that I love better.

So it was near the back of the store by the changing rooms, only one size left which fit pretty perfectly and even though it wasn't the type of dress I was looking for I think Stacey and Clinton would be proud. It's pretty fitted which they say is good for a women with some curves because a shapeless or baggy dress just adds pounds to your silhouette and it has a really fun and colorful print with a high waisted belt and strapless top that stays up really good because of some boning in the structure.

Bascially it was fateful to find this dress in my size and I found some really cute white earrings to go with it, and I have some never before worn black wedges that I'm considering pairing with it. Because of the strapless neckline I will probably wear my hair down with just the earrings for accessories because they are pretty big maybe a braclet too i'll see what I can find.

I also found another dress at winners that is really cute and I found a fun purple coat trimmed with white for a great sale price!

Hopefully with these new additions I can complete the LA wardrobe it's hard because there is so much stuff we are going to be doing and they are all such different activites that I seriously want to change at the hotel for every event but for time's sake and my boyfriend's sanity I probably won't.

But we did decide to rent a car because it will be cheaper than taking taxi's everywhere and paying tips etc. We'll just have to pay for parking ugh which I'm sure will add up but this means no sketchy subways rides so I'm willing to do that. And as a plus with a car I can bring clothes, makeup, shoes, etc. with me so if we go rollerblading on the santa monica pier and then want to go out on the town after I can change instead of having to go blading in a dress or something crazy.

We did get our itineray and we are staying at a gorgeous hotel down the road from Rodeo Drive and right by UCLA called the W hotel even the pool has white cabanas but it costs $200 a day to rent them! So I will just be taking pictures of the people who can afford that.

New Look

Got a haircut today, and despite a little apprehension about going to another new stylist it all turned out well. I was little scared that we would not have the same vision when I walked into an old school looking parlor with all pink curlers, hairdryers and other hair styling equipment and a hair dresser named Angel. But she came well recommended by a friend who has some pretty modern hair styles so I knew that she could do a wide range of looks. So I went for a shorter cut because it just felt right about four inches off and I wanted shorter choppier layers so I could get some messy curls going on and it turned out better than I could have hoped and I'm so happy to have that checked off of my to do list. Next I have to decide whether to get some highlights next week before we leave to spice up my hair I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some copper/golden streaks throughout to get more of a Hollywood do.

MTV Movie Awards

So I found out last week that I had won a contest I entered on the MTV webpage to go to their movie awards at the end of May. Now that I believe it, which took a few days I'm supposed to be getting the full itinerary by Friday I can't wait to see it! So far I know that we are going for four days (Sat-Tues) and I get $750 in spending money which is totally appreciated. I know that food alone will probably be expensive and so far looking up places to see Universal Studios is like $70 a person and we have to figure out whether to rent a car or try to take cabs and transit everywhere. I have to look into that soon.

And I need to go shopping soon!! To start looking for a dress to wear to the awards. Sometimes I find too much stuff whilst shopping and other times I can't find anything interesting or like I imagined. And then once I find the dress I need to think about accessories and hair and shoes and on and on haha. My boyfriend's actually agreed to go shopping which I never drag him to do because he just doesn't find it fun. So hopefully we hit up West Ed mall and start there.

Oh and I need to start working on a tan because it's definitely not up to par with say Heidi or Audrina. I'm going to go check out some store webpages right now to get a head start.

Nordegg, Alberta

So for May long this year we decided to go camping where we went last year in Nordegg, Alberta. We camped along the river, and it definitely seemed less busy this year maybe because it's a early long weekend or the predicted snow fall in the mountains that scared people off. Either way it made for lots of prime camping spots to choose from.

A bit of background on how my camping styles have changed since meeting my boyfriend of over four years now. He's taught me the difference between "campground camping," and "roughing it," but I must say overall it's lead to some memorable scenery like sleeping so close to a crystal clear mountain river. Now my version of roughing it isn't 100% accurate haha I bring magazines, candy, ipod, sometimes we even bring a laptop to watch movies off of at night! We always plan our food and try to mix classic campfire grub with something tastier than hot dogs.

Anyways so we set up by the river in the dark which is never much fun but there were lots of stars out so it was still a pretty setting. Jeff made a fire, the dogs stayed with my parents for the weekend so it was really strange not having the dogs running around but kind of nice because I wasn't having to check to see where they were every minute.

Back to Nordegg, if you haven't been there you should especially if you been to Jasper and Banff a bunch of times because Nordgegg is only about 3 hours away and is so pristine and untouched that it's really so much different than other mountain parks. There are waterfalls, and tons of different hikes to take to cool setting like lakes and lots of wildlife to be seen. The water is such a clear turquoise blue it literally looks like it melted off a glacier on a mountain. Awww... so nice, but it's cold, really cold haha like melted ice I guess.

So more about Nordegg, the town is not very large with a gas station/store, liquor store, cabin rentals, and a few other buildings along with a fire department and some residential houses. The town used to be alot larger in the past when the coal mine was open. Part of the town site from that period is gated off from the roads and you can't go into the old town unless on a guided tour. It's kinda spooky late at night because it's an old coal mining town that I'm sure has lots of scary stories.

We went mountain biking on the Saturday lots of tough hills, and bumpy steep trails to go on! I need a new bike soon, I'm using my mom's bike because she and my dad got awesome new bikes last year but the brakes are kinda squeaky and you have to squeeze pretty hard to apply some friction so I'm definitely on the look for a great deal. Speaking of deals I am soooooo glad I got some new hiking boots before we went, seriously they saved my life! We went climbing on Sunday and man oh man it's such a huge difference having the traction of real hiking boots because sometimes I wear bad shoe choices like walking long distances in flip flops, so this was an awesome change to feel so prepared. And I got them for like half price which is always great. So there are lots of outdoor activities to fill in the days and I was more than ready to sit around the camp fire and toast some marshmellows at the end of the night!

Starting over again......

Time to start a new blog, it's been a few years and I've decided to stop thinking of time spent blogging as time I should be spending cleaning the house or doing a workout because maybe it will help in other areas of my life such as writing. My vision for this is mostly travel mixed with some tv, shopping, pets, exercise, photography and other things I do to fill in the time and things that I'm thinking of doing and figuring out. I'll be going on a few trips this summer some short and some long distances and I'm hoping that this will inspire me to get moving on some of my writing projects that don't seem to be progressing at a fast enough speed. I'll never be the best selling author I fantasize about being if I don't write a book first and probably several at that because if it's one thing I've learned about writing fiction for the masses it's that it doesn't happen easily.

Oh and also as a bit of a disclaimer alot of the travel stuff I'm going to be writing about is just what I see and hear in my travels so some of the facts might not be that factual and I wouldn't plan a road trip on my directions alone! Here's to the journey it's always fun to look back and read what you write in the future.