Senior Prom

I had my senior prom this Tuesday :D I woke up early in the morning to go pick up my corsage and boutonniere. But the boyfriend and I decided to go eat some dimsum first.

Afterwards, we headed to the florist called Chaba Florists. Compared to the first set that I got two years ago, I like this one a lot better. My corsage was okay, I asked for a larger rose in the center, but they went ahead made them all small ones because they thought the bigger one was too heavy and would come off during the night. I also asked for a large center piece for the boutonniere surrounded by smaller ones, but it was made with all small ones as well. So when I asked them about it, the guy just went ahead and made us a new one :) I like the new one a lot better except one of the roses hasn't bloomed yet... The roses weren't that fresh either.. but it was decent. There's a lot of raving reviews about their bouquets, so if I ever needed any, I'll come back again, but never again for boutonnieres or corsages. There are places that make ones a lot prettier and cheaper too.

Corsage $25 Boutonniere $20

The day before prom I went out to find a pair of shoes.. I originally wanted flats so I wouldn't be taller than the boyfriend, but I couldn't find any simple ones, and this pair caught my eyes :) They're 4" with a 0.5" platform and fit well, which is rare for me, so they're definitely keepers!

Photo from www.payless.com

Fioni Kutzie Knot Pump $29.99

We then went home to wait for people because a group of my friends were going prep at my house for prom. I told them to come after noon, but most of them came around 1:30PM. I took a nap in the meantime :) When everyone got here, the boys took downstairs and the girls took upstairs to prep. Stupid boys chipped the surface of my dinner table ):

I did my nails a day or two before prom just so I wouldn't have to rush to have it done and risk smudging it. I dunno why my nails look so round... It looks sheer because I only used one coat of each, but it's a bit less noticeable in person. I also did a friend's nail really quickly. I took the pic right after applying it, so it's a bit messy and only used one coat of each as well.

Revlon Pure Pearl topped with Jordana Glitters Fairy Dust

Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics Seaside topped with Revlon Radiant

We actually went overtime in prepping. The make up and hair took forever (five girls) even though it shouldn't take TOO long for each person.. I did my own make up (no pics) for the first time, so I'll trust my friends' words that it looked fine D: I get conscious that it looks like I have a black eye or something :x

I couldn't get the flat iron to curl my hair properly ): So it was frustrating and I opted to just go with straight hair since the curler was being used and I was reluctant to use a metal curler anyways since my hair is very prone to breakage and split ends even from using it once. I used a metal curler two years ago and my hair was fried afterwards -__- But in the end my friend just helped me curl it. It didn't turn out too well, the top half of my hair was straight and the last few inches were straight.. so it went straight --> curly/wavy--> straight. The ends were fine because we touched it up to fix it, but the top was still straight. The curls didn't hold either and got undone, but whatever, I sorta liked how it turned out after a while since it looked decent in pictures.

We all took the bus to the location for pictures :D A limo was not worth it because the hotel where prom was held is only 10 minutes from my house and 10 minutes from the picture location, so it would've been a waste of money. We got there around 6:30PM even though we planned to be there at 6:00PM, but we weren't done with preparations yet.

Here's the long awaited picture of myself ;D

Boyfriend & I

Best friend & I

After pictures we trooped to the hotel which took, perhaps 15 minutes? We grabbed some food when we got there. They offered fruits, cake, plain and buffalo chicken tenders, and mozeralla sticks. The cake was so good!!! So sad that I got full already and couldn't eat more cake ):

The music sorta sucked.. but overall it wasn't too bad. I didn't have to spend A LOT of money, but still a decent amount, probably half of what some girls had to pay for their dresses. It was $80/person to attend, and that's sorta average for prom prices.

When it was all over, we got back to my house at midnight. Two just went to pick their stuff up/wait for a ride, but most of them stayed. We had an air bed, but the charger/pump said it had to be charged for at least 24 hours if it's being used for the first time and I thought it was new, so that was a fail -__- It turns out that it has been used before though ): Sooo my friends had to squeeze together to fit the sleeping bag that was opened up to use as cushion. We stayed up until around 4:00AM playing cards and just not sleeping haha.

The next day we all went to get some sushi and then parted our own ways.

Food & Shopping Haul

Here's some food spam <3

The guy was so nice :) We only ordered a volcano roll and he gave us the other two things as compliments. And made the lemon thing look so cool like a snail!! :o And then later on he offered us octopus too. :)

And now I have some haul pics from almost two months ago from the stuff I ordered. I took the pics way back but never got to uploading them. I didn't take a pic of everything though, so it's only like half of it.

Dotted Bow Back Tee $9.80

Peach polka dotted shirt with cute bows on the back :) I debated whether or not to keep it and in the end I did :D It's from 

Floral Fit $8.80

On the model it looked like a dress but when I tried it on, it was like the length of a short shirt. :( I also didn't like how the bottom flared out. I couldn't find the invoice to return it.. I found it weeks after the return period. :(

AE Flared Jersey Cardigan $7.50

A bit shorter than I would like, but it was expected.. not sure of what to wear underneath though instead of a tank all the time.

Old Town (dark heather gray) $9.54

I already have something almost the same minus the lace detailing, but I like lace.. and it wasn't too expensive and I don't have many long sleeves either, soo I opted to keep it.

Hidden Hills (white) $9.54

It was way too sheer and the straps were awkwardly placed and the whole thing just didn't look right. Definitely returned this.

Capistrano (light green) $7.74

New sleeping shorts <3

Okay well that's all for now.. Pooop I need a shopping ban, but I'm still in the mood to shop :(

Polaroid Film

All of my polaroid film finally came in the mail yesterday ^__^ I ordered a few sets on my birthday after getting the camera because I only have one pack (each contains 10 films) and that was almost all used up after the first day..

I needed some more because my last day of school was coming up, so I ordered two plain packs from Amazon for $14.61 (~$0.73/pic) and had it shipped with prime :) Then I went on eBay to search for cheaper options for the prettier ones :D

Of the blank ones, the best deal I found was for $35.85 which includes 5 packs (~$0.72/each) and a marker thing to write on the bottom of it. The markers were like $10 for a set, so.. I figured to just get it as a value thing. I got my package in exactly one week and it was shipped from South Korea, so fast!! They left out the marker though, so I messaged them about it. In the end the it costs about the same as Amazon, just slightly cheaper & I get a marker, so I'll stick with eBay for now unless I'm in dire need for the film.. even so one week wasn't so bad.

Next are the prettier ones :) They cost $15-20 shipped a pack on Amazon D: So I tried looking on eBay for them. I got a pack of three Rilakkuma ones for $35.85 (~$1.20/pic) It's almost twice as expensive as the plain ones, but they so much cuter :\ It's the best deal I count find for Rilakkuma without paying $15 a pack.

Lastly, the Hello Kitty film pack. I was able to find one pack for $10.55 ($1.06/pic) and it was the cheapest deal and also I can buy them one at a time without being stuck with packs of three or five. The Hello Kitty ones are from the same seller as the Rilakkuma ones, and they took two weeks to arrive from South Korea as well.

Next I'm looking to invest in the film with a solid colored border. I found a pack of four for $37.74 ($0.94/pic), which isn't too bad, but I had already ordered enough and decided to hold off before ordering more. I hope I can find someone going to Hong Kong or Japan to help me stock up on more because it's cheaper there and online I see wayyy prettier ones.

The film does expire, but luckily I have about a year and a half to use up the film. I read that they're still useable if expired, just that the color will be a bit off, but I wouldn't want to risk damaging the camera. Right now I honestly don't even know if I'll use them all up xD They're pretty fun to snap a picture with but so pricey! And they're tiny too, it's the exact size of a credit card or an ID. I hate to come off stingy, but I'm quite skeptical when people come up to me asking for multiple polaroid shots when I don't even talk to them or if they want one just to have one. For one small picture, they do cost a lot and it's coming from my own expense, so.. :I Especially if I bring it for prom pics, then naturally I think everyone would want one :x

GRAND CANYON!

Day 3: April 19, 2012

On the 19th, I went to the Grand Canyon. This is the second time I've been to the Grand Canyon, but the first time was when I was really young, probably like 10 years ago, so the excitement is as if it's my first time! Here's a teaser ;)

All the pictures can be enlarged if you click on it & you should because they're pretty, especially the panorama ones.

On the way there, it was like a forest! There was so many trees surrounding the road.

We spotted tiny lizards on the mountains!

Most of the trail to get to one point to another are filled with trees and such. It's a very green place haha.

You can hike on the Grand Canyon and I guess pretty much camp there too!

They have mules to bring people back! Probably for those who actually hiked down the trail.

We encountered a squirrel that stayed pretty close to us. I guess it's probably used to people.

One of the many shuttle buses we took. It helps you get around to every "point" and there are different buses (by color) for different trails.

Soooo many trails that we've spotted from above!

Then around 6:45PM, it was about time we started heading to our last destination...

We were told that Hopi Point provides the best view for the sunset at the Grand Canyon!! :) So we had to go there. Since it was like about 45 minutes before sunset and we were just about done, we decided to stay for it :D It was supposed to set at 7:05PM, if I remember correctly.

At Hopi Point you can see this river.. I want to say it's the Colorado River, but I think it's just my imagination because I don't remember the Colorado River being mentioned at all that day :D

Waiting seemed like forever...

6 minutes later...

And then it sets!! It didn't seem to budge at all while we were waiting, but once the sun started setting, everything happened so quickly, within 1-2 minutes! I couldn't quite capture the beauty of it on my camera.. The colors was much more vibrant in person.. I have a better photo on my Instagram (user: xlila) which captured the color better but at a lower quality.. I can't upload it onto my blog now because my phone broke :\ So you'll have to go find it yourself ;D

Anyways, this post is like..over a month late, but that's okay. Better late than never right?! Hope you enjoyed the picture spam :D

Raspberry Panna Cotta!

Wednesday I went to go order my corsage and boutonniere for next week! :) I went to the same place as two years ago.. I absolutely hated the boutinniere I received last time because it was so plain and fugly. And was super disappointed that my corsage was a bunch of random flowers.. I WANTED ROSES :( But in the end I decided to give the place another chance and this time I specified what I wanted. I explained to the lady exactly how I wanted it, but on her receipt all it said was like "BN pink rose" or something, so I have a bad feeling about this :( It was $25 for the corsage and $20 for the boutonniere. I think that's cheap/standard for a corsage? I've seen a lot prettier ones before, but I have no idea where they're from. But I'll be picking it up next Tuesday, the morning of prom..so I'll show you then!

Wednesday lunch :) Extra large bowl of pho. Taken from my Instagram..should follow me on xlila if you haven't :D

Anyways..I've added something new to my list of favorite desserts! Panna cotta!

I dunno about you, but it sounds very fattening because it's made with a bunch of buttermilk and heavy cream. I looked at the carton for buttermilk and it didn't seem bad at all..but heavy cream sounds like something to be cautious about. I threw away the carton before I got to look at the nutrition facts.

Either way.. I'll definitely be making more in the future :) Next time with reusable mugs/cups because it's only going to be me eating it..so I have no reason to dump it out when I can just eat right from the cup. I used styrafoam cups this time (I know, bad) and it seemed like such a waste.

I found the recipe online and it's fairly easy to make. Most of it is just mixing and such. The only time consuming part about it is waiting for it to cool and harden which the instructions say 6+ hours. I made them at night and just left them in the fridge overnight.

I also had my check up. Sadly.. I never lost that extra weight I gained after coming back from Canada :( -cries- I wish I did just in time for my physical lmao. My doctor keeps telling me that I'm like the perfect weight, but it changes every year and she tells met eh same thing LOL. I also had two tubes of blood drawn :( I haven't had any drawn since 2007... and I didn't even remember that time.