Philadelphia - within a year and we're back :: Day 2&3 of 3

Day 2 in Philly included a lot of walking. The weather started to get a lot better the second day we were there so we took this opportunity to explore the area a bit.

Susan, J and I grabbed brunch first. We got a bit lost since the road in actuality wasn't the same as the maps we were using. Eventually we got there, Cafe Lift was on a deserted block which was weird because inside was so lively.

The food here was amazing, and so was the coffee - might I add it's refillable coffee. The Chicken Crespelle was the best out of all we ordered, the truffle oil along with the chicken and mushroom was so bomb. Susan had Jen's Crespelle which was a regular crepe with egg, sausage, cheese and was given syrup to finish it up with. I had the Prosciutto Panini, wasn't in a mood for something breakfast-y but wanted something light, like a sandwich. Nevertheless, it was still a really good meal.

After such an awesome meal, we really need to walk it off. Even though it didn't seem like much, we felt uber fat, especially from what we had the day before.

Since we weren't able to go to Mutter Museum the previously day, we were determined to go today. It was a far walk but it was such a beautiful day out and we really needed the exercise.

As we walked, we stopped by some places and took random photos.

Especially some silly photos. We were at a square that had these ginormous pieces of board games, remember sorry? chess? monopoly? yea, those pieces.

My poser! He didn't even realize I took a photo...haha skills!

But seriously, the streets were quite empty and clean. I barely see any garbage cans in the streets. Finding one was like finding Waldo, and when I finally found one the can is full to the brim...talk about luck.

We finally go to the Mutter Museum and spent a good 2-3 hours there. None of us thought we actually took that long because the museum was small, 2 floors. But, it was packed with information that was bizarre and had different oddities. It's definitely not for people with a weak stomach because some of the exhibits were really graphic. It was a good educational portion of this trip.

The next thing we knew, it was time for dinner! But we needed to kill some time first and ended up at a speakeasy, The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

Really dim and laid back, but there was something missing from here that I couldn't get my hands on. It was different than New York's speakeasies, maybe I just prefer NYC more.

After a drink here, we took another walk to get to our dinner spot which had us meet up with Samantha and her cousin.

Acting silly while waiting for my food. We ended up at a wine bar which I wasn't that fond of, Vintage Wine Bar.

Susan got a latte, she said it was really good. She's a crazy coffee addict so I'll take her word for it since she's such a pro.

The food wasn't so crazy. I didn't participate in the cheese platter since I'm not a fond of cheese at all. Escargot was quite good, really like how it's still in its shell. Both entrees were so great, Grilled Steak was bland and the Linguine Carbonara lacked flavor.

J and I ended up back at the hotel after this and enjoyed some more wine. We were exhausted after so much walking.

---

We started the next day a bit slower since it was our last day. Samantha and her cousin decide to take us all to Sabrina's Cafe, another well-known brunch spot in Philly. Out of the 3 days we were there, the 3rd day was the hottest. Walking in the sun was torture.

Even though they made reservations, we still had to wait a good 30-45 minutes for a table.

J and I were the only ones that got our coffee in a stein, interesting. The choices on the menu didn't appeal to me much. I end up getting the Egg White Omelette with artichoke and mushrooms, J had the Huevos Rancheros which did not appeal to me at all. The plates were huge but I didn't think the food actually delivered. It was just meh to me.

Philly this time around was different and interesting. There will be another trip very soon to Philly again. We really need to jump this time!

Philadelphia - within a year and we're back :: Day 1 of 3

My boyfriend, 2 other friends and I were actually planning to go Philly to skydive. We already had our tickets and even reserve a time to jump. But somehow it poured on the day of our jump and we had to reschedule it. Meaning, there will be another Philly trip sometime very soon.

This is actually the second time I visited Philly with my boyfriend, J. Our other friends, Susan and Samantha, not too sure about their standings on Philly. J and I knew there were some places we had to visit again, and when I say places, I basically mean food.

When we knew our jump was cancelled, we had to turn our car around and head back to Center City Philly. From there, we explored the Reading Terminal. Basically a market which comprise of food, produce, souvenirs and a lot more food!

Our first was the memorable Gator Gumbo. It was a lot spicier this time around, I had J finish it since the gumbo was started to burn. The gator sausage was really good, went extremely well with this dijon mustard they gave us.

And if that wasn't a good enough breakfast, we also got a Roast Pork Sandwich from DiNics. So insanely good, I love the broccoli rabe with the sharp provolone cheese. I never like cheese, but I'm slowly getting converted because of these great pairings.

So, walking around Reading Terminal J and I saw these mouthwatering donuts. It was also National Donut Day when we were there, it was very tempting but we had other donut plans for the day.

After much walking and pretty much satisfied our tummy for the meantime. We left and decided to go to a museum. Not just any museum, but the Mutter Museum. The museum where the most abnormal and oddest anatomy were to happen, graphic and utterly long descriptions. Very educational and also very gruesome, not for the faint of heart so beware. Unfortunately, it was closed on that Friday. Like literally everything was not going our way.

Instead, we drove around. J and I sort of gave Susan a little tour of Philly. Samantha met up with her cousin in which she missed out on the next few things.

Federal Donuts was what I was waiting for. Read up on it on another fellow food blogger and knew it was a must visit. Besides the donuts they also have fried chicken which I failed to take a picture of because I was too busy eating it that night.
The donuts were amazing. Soft and pillowing, tasted almost like a cake. I could probably finish all 3 if I didn't have to share it with J and Susan.

Susan was complaining how we're fattening her up. She's one of a lot of friends of ours that don't understand how we can stay so slim and yet eat so much. I'm sure she's jelly jelly. (Hi Susan, if you're reading this *waves*)

We also took some silly and normal photos while waiting for the deliciously fresh donuts.

See, I told you it was raining. But it didn't stop us from doing all these awesome things.

Haha, Mr. rabbit teeth!

Next stop? Another food spot!
I mean, since we're in Philly, gotta have some cheesesteak!

Definitely waste no time. We went to Geno's. Between Pat's and Geno's I like Geno's better. We could've went to Pat's too but someone was complaining she's too full and she's going to explode soon *ahem*Susan*ahem*

After all this food coma. We headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and get ready for the night.

I wanted to try out Cuba Libre because of Happy Hour they have there. Only thing was, HH happens only at the bar. Not complaining since standing would be a better idea if we're drinking.

We didn't order much to eat, but what J and I ordered were pretty good. The best would be the pork belly on the top right. We focused more on drinking, they have pretty good white sangrias here.

The night ended with us back at the hotel again. Drinking more wine and watching Say Yes to the Dress...happy times.

NOTW - Sue vs. Shue

This deep navy blue came out with the Glee collection, I wasn't all that crazy about the collection but the fact that I saw them in mini bottles totally sold me.

Accent finger I added a layer of OPI Celibacy, also from the Glee collection. I love how tiny the bottles are, because I don't think I can go through a full size bottle ever. The only thing that would keep me from getting these mini-size OPI would be the applicator brush. They are so tiny and can't seem to pick up much product. 

I like to be able to coat my nail with one single brush full of product instead of second dipping. Such a turnoff... but I do love this rich color!

Zoya Summer Deal

Zoya is having their Summer deal now.

You can get the Sunshine collection (code: Z22), a more shimmery collection of colors or Summertime collection (code: Z33), a cream finish collections of colors absolutely free with a purchase of their Zoya Color Lock System.

That's a pretty good deal. Personally, I'm not into the colors that they're showcasing but I'm sure you guys will probably like it. 

Add the Zoya Color Lock System in your cart and also the collection of your choice and then enter your code at checkout.

This deal ends on 6/28/11. Happy shopping guys!

Food Porn #2

I am insanely hungry right now and yet I'm posting these. Shame on me!

Another 6ish hours and the weekend is here (at least for me). Enjoy yourself everyone!

El'view: Lancôme Foundation - Teint Miracle

Claims: To be weightless texture, lights from within. It is a buildable coverage foundation with flawless effect. It also says to hydrate the skin for 18 hours.

Price: $37

Pros:  Extremely lightweight. Matches my skin perfectly. They have a wide range of colors for different skin tone. Has SPF 15 within the foundation formula.

Cons: Light coverage, need to build on it to get high coverage. Makes my skin really oily since it's a really hydrating formula.

There's a bit of gloss finish to the foundation which gives you a bit of dewy glow before you set your face with your powder.

Without foundation

With foundation

Can you tell which is the with or without foundation photo if I haven't told you?

Overall: I really want to like this foundation but it gets oily on me way too fast. I usually would wear this out for just 4-5 hours and within the 3rd hour, I get oily. It drives me insane because I need to blot my face and put powder on again. What I do like about this is how light weight the foundation is. I personally don't need a lot of coverage so this foundation covers me up in that department.

In the above 2 photos of a before and after me without and with foundation, you can tell that I probably look better without the foundation. The foundation does act as a small concealer also. If you notice my scar on the top of my forehead, it's more visible in the top photo than the one on the bottom. It doesn't cover much but with this foundation, I can just use a little of my concealer and it would do the job. Light weight = light coverage also.

Repurchase? 40%

NOTW - Munis Mauve

A strawberry red color for the faint of nails. Essie colors are sweet because they have so many shades, and it last so long.

Just cut my nails and now they're uber short. How long do you like your nails?

Food Porn #1

I'll be starting a series of pornography for the naked eyes. You'll be salivating with every look, unless you're just plain hard to please. Enjoy, and feel free to ask me anything about the porn.

El'view: St.Ives's - Green Tea Scrub

Claims: To clear breakouts and reduce redness while also soothing your skin.

Price: Around $6-9

Pros: Nice clean green tea scent. Little tiny microbeads to help exfoliate. Gently enough for every day use if needed. Comes in a squeeze bottle where you can control how much you want when cleansing.

Cons: Hard to wash off the microbeads because they are really tiny. Has a little stinging sensation when you use it on your face.

Overall: That is usually how much I use for my entire face because a little goes a long way for this product.

When you start scrubbing it the product is green but after a minute of massaging it on your face the product turn white. In a way, it's a sign that shows me that the green tea is either absorbed into my face or oxidized.

In this photo, you can see the tiny beads that is used as an exfoliator. See how micro it is, but because of this it is less harsher on the skin. I use this product every other day because I don't feel the need to exfoliate every day. I like how the scrub leaves the skin squeaky clean afterward. This is definitely an affordable scrub that can be use as a light exfoliator. As for if it prevents breakouts and reduce redness, the reducing redness never worked for me. I still see redness around my nose but it does prevent breakouts for me. I don't breakout in random spots at much as I did, and it's also great for oily-combo skin.

Repurchase? 95%

NOTW - Mermaid's Tears

Whipping out my colors now.

Accent nail is OPI's Gleek Out from the Glee collection.

This was actually from last week. My nails are completely naked now and it feels thin. Ever had that problem? Any solutions?

The Lipstick Tag

I was tagged by Nani to do this tag. I'm excited when I see I was tagged in something, I like answering questions because it feels like I'm actually communicating and connecting to you guys. Whether it's interesting or not is a different story. But, nonetheless it's entertaining and fun.

After getting all my lipsticks together, I find that Nani and I have very similar ones. You can take a look at her post here.

That's all I have. I do have a lot of pinks, just because they look better on me. Red makes me look fat for some reason and nudes just seem to wash me out. I'll be sure to post an extended entry about all the colors in a later date with swatches and all.

On to the tag and questionnaire.

1. When you were a child, did you use your mother's lipstick?
Yea, like once or twice but they were red lipsticks. I looked so bad with them but they were so fun to play with when I was younger.

2. How old were you when you bought your first lipstick?
This is totally testing my memory and I'm really bad at remembering anything this specific. I'm guessing 17 or 18, the years when I really started to get into this makeup craze.

3. Pink or red lipsticks?
Definitely pink, red looks too harsh on me and did I mention it makes me look fat?

4. The most expensive lipstick you have ever bought?
MAC lipsticks. I never splurge on a lipstick because I know I won't wear it often and there's no point in buying a 20something dollar lipstick if I can get a similar one for less than $10. Yup, I'm a cheapo sometimes.

5. And the cheapest?
Does free count? My aunt get these Estee Lauder and Lancome ones for free with her purchases and she just gives them to me. But if you want to know cheap cheap ones, it would be the NYX's lipstick that were like $2something on CherryCulture.

6. What's the most bizarre thing you have ever done with a lipstick?
When I'm desperate I use it as a blush and there was once where I tried to taste it. Hahahaa omg I can't believe I said that. Actually I just licked it, not literally take a chunk and ate it.

7. If you had to recommend a lipstick, which brand would you recommend and why?
I would recommend the NYX brand just because I love how pigmented and cheap they are. They do have a lot of colors and are also quite moisturizing.

There you have it. I thought it lipstick tag required me to post crazy photos of lipsticks but thank god. I'm not a huge lipstick person, I rarely wear it but I like to collect and have it. I like pretty colors and what kind of girl doesn't. Wearing it would be on a totally different level. Maybe I just don't like to reapply it every 3-5 hours when it wears off.

For this tag, I tag all that wants to do it. It's a short fun tag. If you do it, please let me know. I would love to read it!

NOTW - Garnet

Essie - Garnet

Sorry to be showing my toesies here but the color works great with it being on the toes. I like bright and vibrant colors on the toes. What's your favorite?