Back from VA

Back from VA

I've been MIA for a week now, so this is probably going to be a long update. You have been warned, hehe. Since I have so much to say about somewhat different topics, I'm going to format the different points under bullets, so it's a bit easier to read & a bit more organized.

• I was in Virginia for a while & I just got back. It was a good trip. We ended up going to Washington, D.C. for a day which I'm very happy about cause I've been in love with that city & the architecture there since the first time I went there. It was only a 30 minute drive away from our family friends' house (where we were living during our trip). 30 minutes without traffic I mean. Other times we were stuck in traffic everywhere we went. It was brutal cause I don't live in a big city anymore & I'm def not used to that anymore either. Anyway, so in Washington this time around I went to see the Lincoln Memorial & the National Gallery of Art (we took the Italian Renaissance Tour). Absolutely loved both places.
  
• One thing I absolutely hated about the trip was how dirty my hair got. I didn't notice it that much on my 1st two trips to Virginia, but this time around my hair got oily at the roots every 2nd day. It was very annoying to have to wash my hair so much cause I'm used to washing my hair 3 times a week.
  One of the days we were out all morning & afternoon & in the evening we had to go over to someone's place for dinner, so I didn't have much time to wash out my hair & do it again. I felt so gross & was telling my mum how I wish I had the dry shampoo's that I saw some of the bloggers use. She told me that using normal talcum powder works cause it helps absorb the oil. So I decided to ask my aunt if she had powder & she did! I used some of the talc powder just on my roots where my hair was oily, left it on for 20-30 seconds, & got it off with my towel. It def worked well, gave my hair volume, & the scented talc made my hair smell amazing! Downsides to this was that it was a bit hard to get the powder off (this could also be cause I applied more since it was my 1st time trying this). Also, mum said it made my hair look dull & I'm used to running my fingers through my hair all the time, so my hair felt rough & heavy (esp at the roots).
• My room is such a mess right now. I have stuff on both sides of my bed. I'm trying to clean out my stuff so that I can re-arrange my furniture & re-organize things. Maybe put up some shelves, pictures, frames, & get new lamps. I really need a change. I don't even have anything up on my walls except for this handmade decoration piece that mum got for me from an exhibition or something & that's way in the corner.
  
• I really didn't want to shop for clothes this time around & since I've been cleaning my closet, room, etc. I've found a lot of things that I bought but have hardly ever worn or used, so I wanted to stop spending & use what I have. I did buy a few things on my trip though. Here's my mini haul.

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Heels from Burlington Coat Factory for $12.03! I love the colour & how it can go with so many outfits, but still make a bold statement at the same time. The only weird thing bout this heel is how it has a velcro strap to go around the ankle. Yes, velcro! But it's still a steal for that price. I love how heels at this place were so cheap & some of them were gorgeous.
I also saw Sally Beauty Supply & since I've heard so much bout it online, I thought I'd step in for a bit. I ended up buying a silver nail art pen & Bumpits. If you're not familiar with Bumpits, I made a post on it before. Check it out here. I guess you'd call it a hair volumizing product.
While we were getting henna, I ended up picking up a necklace that I liked. I'm going to wear on desi (South Asian) outfits.
Lastly, my best purchase would be a perfume that I got from the Duty Free on the way back. I got Neiges by Lise Watier. It kind of reminds me of Anais Anais by Cacharel, which is one of my favourites, but I think I'm going to like this better. I'm a big sucker for perfumes, but then again who doesn't love things that smell good or that make you smell good? I know I'd def pick perfume over makeup any day.

• If you visited my Endless Contests & Giveaways page recently, you might have noticed that I haven't updated for a while. I plan on updating that this weekend. If you know of any deadline that has been pushed back, rules that have been changed, or prizes that have been updated, then let me know. It will make things a lot easier for me & obviously for those viewing the post so that they can plan their contest entries. Remember, I'm doing this so that YOU (a.k.a my readers) have a chance to win amazing prizes, so please be kind & share any information that you might know. It is much appreciated by myself & I'm sure by others as well.
• I've been trying to look for new layouts for my blog. Yes, I know I just started blogging recently but the more I blog, the more I want a 3 column layout that looks good & a bit girly. Things are much more organized that way & information is easier to access. I also want something with a white background because I've noticed that even though pics don't look all that bad on my layout, pics (esp makeup pics) look much better on a white background. I can't seem to find a layout with everything that I'm looking for & I'm not ready to give up just yet. Btw, has anyone noticed that there are so many cute blog layouts for food blogs? I found a few cute ones, which I most the links to sometime.
  
• While I was vacuuming my room, my cell phones pink earphones got caught up in the vacuum & got completely destroyed. Sigh. BUT my phone came with another earphone wire thing, where I can attach my own earphones! I haven't used it yet cause the black didn't look great with the pink, but hey, whatever works, right? This reminds me that I have to find a new housing plate for my phone (since it's cracked, scratched, & I'm sick of pink). Btw, the cell phone that I use right now is Nokia N72. I've had it for a while & I don't wanna get another phone from here cause I want something that no one else is gonna have. I'm glad no one has the N72 here!
• I got 2 parcels in the mail, yaay! One for the Lady Gaga look that I did for Jaimie's contest. I came in 2nd place, so she was nice enough to send me a little prize. I also won Amina's pop quiz giveaway, so that's the 2nd parcel that I got in the mail. I'll post pics of those tomorrow.
• I have always loved Ne-Yo's music. While browsing through YouTube today, I found a song by him called Part of the List & I'm in love with it now. Ne-Yo never disappoints!
  I'm posting a video here with the lyrics because embedding of the actual video has been disabled, but you can still check out the proper video here.
  
  

That was a really long post. I'm all drained now! hehe

Later.