by dollcosmetics | Nov 11, 2019 | Disney, Lifestyle, Makeup, Travel, Tutorials
Welcome to my ultimate Disney Beauty Survival Guide (click
here for the video). Here are my most favorite products that I have found to keep me going ALL day long at the most magical place on Earth. These are products that are tried and TRUE, no messing around with only “kind of works” stuff. These are legit, the real deal, pinky promise =). Okay, let’s get started! First and foremost, we go to Disneyland a lot. Like, a lot for living so far away.Â
I used to perform there, went every year multiple times with my parents, dates in college, bridal parties and showers there, had my first date with my hubby there, honeymoon, take the kids when they are babies, ten year anniversary (pictured above)….we LOVE Disneyland!!!! I can’t wait to now share all of these secrets that I have been using for YEARS at the park. And trust me, there has been trial and error.
Let’s start with the fact that I don’t like to wash my hair when we go to Diz. You heard me right (and don’t stress, we aren’t usually there more than three days). It turns into an absolute frizz ball mess in California and mama aint got time for that!
SO what I use is a mixture of
cornstarch and
unsweetened cocoa powder. This is a natural option instead of normal dry shampoos found in the store (my scalp reacts badly to chemicals). I either use a designated toothbrush to brush it into the roots or my fingers. The reason for the unsweetened cocoa powder is so that it better matches my hair color. If you are blonde, you can skip that ingredient and you can also use cinnamon if you have red hair. I use
these containers to put my dry shampoo and my powder in.
I always get a ton of questions about what tools I use to curl my hair. These are the only two I use because I’m not very good at hair and it’s all I know LOL!
This iron I used for the curls you see below in front of the Mickey pumpkin.
This one was used for the Disney Bound Jessie picture.
Let’s jump into makeup shall we? Primers make a HUGE difference and you can go
here to read all about my favorites for every single skin type. For Disneyland, I use my trusted
Emma or the
Smashbox. Emma is for sure the least expensive option and if you use the code CLASSY you can get 20% off!!! You’re welcome =). Now these primers are going to ensure your foundation looks amazing and stays PUT!!!
For foundation there is a holy grail of an option that I’m going to give you but beware, it’s a bit pricey. But I also have a way around that TOO!!!
Esteé Lauder Double Wear Foundation is the ultimate WILL not move foundation…but is for more oily skin. So if you wear it and you are dry, or maybe just combo, it’s going to be very drying on your skin! I use this when I am at Disneyland and it looks AMAZING and lasts ALL day long!!!!! Like I said, it’s pricey so here’s a tip. If you want to take it for a test run, or you know you’ll only need it for this trip, go to the counter, have them match you and then get a sample. It will last you ten days and you can see how much you love it and if you’re willing to invest!
When you are staying up way late and waking up super early to get the most out of the parks your eyes can start to look a bit bloodshot. These
Lumify drops are MAGICAL!!! Just one to two drops in each eye and they are bright white and ready to take pics all around the Magic Kingdom.
There are a few staples with me when it comes to Disneyland. Lashes, red lips and rosy cheeks. I just love that combo so much!!! My lashes I get from Eyelashes Unlimited. They have SO many options and I scored another discount code for you to save 20%!!! Just use CLASSY at checkout to save some money. As far as the glue I use on the regular, it’s DUO which you can also get there but when I am at Disneyland or somewhere a bit more humid I use a
waterproof glue from House of Lashes. It’s awesome and great for touch ups with the brush. My lips I ONLY use
Maybelline’s 24 hour Color Stay. My fave is to use a slightly deeper red on the outer edges then a cherry red in the middle. This formula stays on ALL day even with eating all the yummy Disney treats and you can even over line those lippies without fear of it seeping up into any wrinkles….cuz I have them…don’t do duck faces girls…it will save lives. Did I also mention it’s a FRACTION of the cost of some other stay on liquid lipsticks out there??? Cuuuuuz it is!!!
ELF has some pretty awesome bright blushes in their quad that they sell.
This is the one I am wearing in the
video and in most of these pictures.
Now, I’m not a huge eyeliner fan…mostly because of user error in the application process LOL. I’m terrible at it! BUT I know that it’s important to some and this eyeliner is so creamy, so pigmented and doesn’t MOVE!
by dollcosmetics | Oct 11, 2019 | Disney, Family, Lifestyle, Makeup, Transformations, Travel
I had the opportunity to transform the famous Bucketlist Family for the Halloween Party at Disneyland! I had so much fun with this. Check out their take on the Lion King below:
Look at that sweet face! When we first talked about @caligee’s costume, we knew it had to be special. We knew he didn’t like to have random things attached to his face,hands, feet, belly, legs, fingers, nose… So, I found this cute onesie and had my friend @devri_rae attache the tuft of hair/ yarn to the top and these ears that I took off of a headband. ( I don’t sew..at all) We triiiieeddd to get him to wear the cuffs and wristlets that Sophie wores for one of our family pictures, but you guessed it!
He wanted nothing to do with them and asked with a big “pweeeeassseee” to have them taken off. He did suc a good job with me putting his makeup on! Sat in daddy’s lap while we distracted him with a cute little nursery song.
I used a smidge of Endura makeup with my airbrush (cheeks and forehead) and Mac cosmetics gel liner. Ladies and the two gentlmen that follow me, behold the KING of the jungle!!! Simba!
This sweet boy has the most tender heart and the CUTEST face. I didn’t think it could get any cuter until I applied his hyena nose, then I died! I used Endura paint with my airbrush from @lastlooksutah. For shading, black eyeshadow.
When I was thinking about costumes for the whole family, I wanted them to feel as if they would wear these pieces on their travels and add embellishments. This cute romper already belonged to @manilla and I knew it would be perfect to add some patches and bones too. The bone necklace was handmade as well as his ear headband.
I went to Joanne’s for the hair patches and we spiked the JUNK out of his hair. I give you, ED the hyena!
Dorothy melts my heart. She was so reserced and shy at first. I showed her the costume (which was my favorite to put together) and the more I kept pulling out, the more she smiled. I think she liked it.
I had SO much fun looking at pictures of Zazu’s coloring and picking out textures to suit this birds needs. I found everything on Amazon. The feathers on her legs were supposed to be on her wrists, but were too big so we improvised. I cut the tulle skirt to be a bit more like feathers.
Her makeup was also by Endura bought at @lastlookutah, NYX white liquid liner and Urban Decay 24/7 liner around her eyes. How darling is @dorothygee as ZAZU?
There wasn’t any decision making that needed to happen about who Garrett was going to be. He IS Rafiki! I didn’t want to go super cartoon with this character and I know the costume could have gotten out of hand.
I wanted Garett to feel free in his movements, but still feel totally done up with the fam. I asked him to bring these specific pants, since they worked so great as the shape for Rafiki and I got him his shirt (Amazon for the win). The beard I knew was going to be a statement piece, so I had to make it big and out there. I got the material at Joanne’s and embellished his staff with things I bought at Hobby Lobby.
I handed it and my designs over to @mocreations_ and BOY did she deliver. Sadly, he wasn’t able to take his staff into the party, but at least we got some good pictures with it.
I will say this, I was STRESSED about @garettgee’s makeup. I had so many inspiration pictures, but they were all sooo different. I practiced the day of and just went with my gut.
I used an eyeliner pencil to first sketch everything out, then used my Endura alcohol based makeup with my airbrush and filled in the spaced I had drawn.
We also took some hair color in a can for the top and sides of his hair to create the Rafiki. I am SO happy with how it turned out.
The look on people’s faces as we passsed was just so rewarding. I know you’ve all felt that before right? Complete and utter anxiety about something, then having a rush of relief and happiness when it’s all done? It was THE best feeling. I give you the wise, the wacky, the only.. RAFIKI!
The mastermind planner. The one who organizes and gets all things together. She is so prepared! This time, we took her to the dark side of all those traits. The schemer, the planner… Scar.
If anyone any been here awhile, you’ll know that me doing Scar on myself (honestly on a whim) was what started all of my transformations.So this one, I had done a few times and it had a special place in my heart. Jess is no different.
So much fun to be around and a widly talented business woman, mom, friend and wife. She’s aces! I remember in the beginning being shocked at some pretty big things we had in commom. We both met our husbands in Siberia while serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ. Our husbands both played college soccer for BYU and BYUI, they are both graphic designers, we both speak Russian and have quite a few of the same friends. I mean, we are kind of meant to be besties.
I digress.. @jessgee and I chatted back and forth about her outrageously fun costume. I will say this is one costume that I couldn’t see her wearing in real life or in their travels. She was a sport!
I wanted her to be the most non-recognized member of the family. Her piercing blue eyes looked amazing with her long black wig and black and orange accents. All of her costume pieces come from Amazon except the skirt and cuffs.
Ready for a funny/ not so funny story? It took me forever to find a faux fur mini skirt that matched my specifications. I wanted it to be a mini skirt, it had to have some give to be getting up and down and sitting on Disney rides and it had to be well textured. I finally found one ona specific site, and it was a bit higher in priced than I wanted, but still in my budget.
I ordered it and excitedly anticipated the arrival knowing it was one of the LAST pieces I needed before the big trip. It finally came, I was so stoked to see it. I opened the box and my heart went into my toes. I asked my husband to come over and look.
Before opening the box, I said “This is the skirt for Jessica that I’ve been waiting for. It’s going to be REALLY hard to see what might be wrong with it, but see if you can see it.”
Anticipation filled the room as I slowly opened the box, “They’re running shoes”. He said confused. “I KNOW!” I shouted (think Monica on Friends). “What the junk?” We both just stared at them for awhile before closing the box and making a plan for what I should do. There was NO time to order something else since that one had taken an unusually long amount of time to even get to me.
I lamented to my good friend through Marco Polo and by the end of the night, she Marcos me back showing me this skirt that she had made me in under an hour. It was perfect and met all of the requirements! And, it was a whopping $17 to make!
She even had material left over for cuffs. I am forever in your debt @5littlemoosen. Jessica’s makeup is all airbrushed using Endura.
A huge shoutout to the amazing crew at Last Looks Utah for all the product reccomendations, tips, tricks and training. I am so grateful to you guys. Also, to the Bucket List Family, thank you for making this experience everything I hoped it would be and more.
You are a kind, hilarious and driven family full of purpose. Can’t wait for next year! What do you guys think they should be?
by dollcosmetics | Mar 15, 2016 | Disney, Lifestyle, Travel
This last weekend was an absolute dream. About a month ago I joined the fabulous world known as Periscope and have been so astonished at the community I have found on there. Women building each other up, sharing thoughts on everything from food photography to hair tutorials to advice on children and motherhood. One of these amazing gals, Jenna from the
Hello Fab Blog (to my left, or your right) invited a few of us bloggers to do a Magic Kingdom Meet Up at Disneyland. We would meet followers and give away fabulous prizes. I was SO excited…I mean, my favorite place, with amazing girls and my sweet mom would even be flying down to be with me. The time came to choose my sponsor and there was one shop that stood out in my mind.
I have known Courtney Brown (neon top/white skirt), the CEO of
Cents Of Style, now for a year having done her makeup multiple times and have grown to admire her and I consider her a wonderful friend. Her mission with her company is to empower women to lead bold and full lives. To feel that they are capable of anything and should be able to do it while looking great! The feelings I have gotten from these amazing women on Periscope and the goal of
Cents Of Style…it was a perfect fit!
Their tribe bracelets have my heart…and my wrist. I love that there are SO many sayings that you can combine countless thoughts and motivators for yourself each day. I’ve had times where I want to really work on being a better mom so I wear the combo “Be the Good” to remind myself to be patient and kind, and “Be Here Now” so that I can remember to not be looking at any type of screen when my time with them is so precious. I love the “Get It Girl”, “Be Brave” & “Be Bold” for when I am walking into a situation I want to ROCK! They are great to mix and match and come in rose gold, silver and gold. LOVE them and I knew one lucky winner would love them too. Because it was a giveaway at Disneyland I chose “Believe” and “Be The Good” for our winner. How perfect??? Not only that, but they received a $50 gift card to get whatever else their little heart desired! I have soooo many shirts from their site, skirts, bows, jewelry. I really am obsessed!
Now how about some rides??? Being 6 1/2 months preggo I stuck with a lot of the kiddie rides and I wasn’t sad about it at all! Here we are, Jen Squared at Disneyland…because her name is Jen too…oh you got that already? You guys are so smart! ; D
Love these blogger babes! Sweet Jacque from
Looks For Lovelies came up to visit us from San Diego and Jen’s partner in crime Summer came to tag along too! It was so great seeing them again and having them meet my cute mom.
Here’s one of our lucky winners with her darling brother. Congrats Heather!!! You seriously need to check out this babe’s story on IG (find it
here). She’s kind of my hero right now!
Another Scope Sister, Abbey from the
Butter Half blog. Her food, photography and puns are just too much! Love her!!!
Thank you
Hello Fab for pulling this together and for Cents Of Style for being a sponsor for this wonderful event!
xoxo
Jen
by dollcosmetics | Feb 24, 2016 | Disney, Lifestyle, Travel
Who else gets down right GIDDY and can’t contain a smile when they see pictures from Disneyland??? It is my happy place, it is my favorite place to go, I miss it like crazy and GUESS WHAT????? I am heading there soon to meet all of YOU!!!!! This is just a teaser to let you know some BIG things are coming and some amazing giveaways can be yours!!!! If you are in Southern California…or you don’t mind taking a drive to the Happiest Place On EARTH then set your calendars for March 11th. More details to come….but are you salivating yet?????? I may be jumping up and down….baby bump included….and clapping my hands. Stay close, and don’t forget to follow me on all social media platforms so you don’t miss any details!!! MUAH!
XOXO
Jen
by dollcosmetics | May 13, 2014 | Disney, Family, Lifestyle, Travel
Wow, have I taken a LOT of time off blogging!!! Can I tell you how glorious it has been though? And yet, every time I pass my computer, the studio or put on makeup….I….feel….guilt! I feel this anxiousness in my stomach that I should be doing something I am not. I don’t love that, at all. Do you ever feel that way? A pressing obligation? A sense that you owe someone something and you are falling short? Thaaaaaaat’s how I’ve been feeling ladies! I don’t want to feel that way anymore but when I “go away” I feel like I lose half my audience. Am I in this for numbers? Heck no! I had something I was passionate about and I wanted to share….but I will let you in on a little secret (not so secret for those that know me personally). I rely pretty heavily on social interaction. On serving others, on having fun outings with my friends, having everyone I love in the same room having a great time (scenes coming shortly from a Jane Austen party I threw). I short, I LOVE hearing from you. I love the emails I get, the notes, the comments, the feedback! I obviously don’t get that if I’m not blogging so it really is a catch 22. If I want to hear from you, I blog. If I don’t want to “lose” you, I feel I must blog often. I think I may have come up with a solution….it’s actually been staring me in the face LOL. To come up with something, then make a video, then edit and publish it, it takes a great deal of time and effort. I sometimes put it off because I know how long it will take. Sitting down at the computer and just typing out feeling and fun adventures I’ve been having with family and friends? Not as daunting and SO worth the time LOL! So expect to see more of that…………………………………….
PHEW!!!!!!!!
So glad I got that off my chest because I am SO excited to tell you about something that just happened!!!!! Yes, I threw a Jane Austen party and had a staggering 57 women in my small home but it was AWESOME!!!! But that is NOT what we are talking about HA! When I have more of the dazzling photos from my wonderful photographer, I will share. THIS post is dedicated to my sweet husband. For three MONTHS he had been planning this without me knowing. Three MONTHS figuring out what we would do for our ten year anniversary. *ALERT* I must say this before I keep going and it sounds braggy (but there will be some bragging because he is AWESOME!). Kev, a few years ago, forgot about doing anything for my birthday (March 8th) our anniversary (May 7th) and Mother’s Day (soooo close to the anniversary). Now before you think me selfish and vain, I didn’t expect lavish presents or a day devoted to worshipping me. My olive language is FAR from getting presents, I am a service gal. I love to give it and am very grateful if I get it. What I was expecting was that he would help the boys remember to draw me my special cards filled with color crayons and probably action figure drawings. I look forward to those every year. I wanted them to sing in the funny way and let me know that they loved me. That’s it….dinner would have been accepted as well LOL. But NOTHING!!!! Not even a mention, except when we got to church and they had the mother’s stand, he realized he had missed a few things. I cried, but I was lucky enough that he was very sweet about it and let me cry in his arms. You moms know how it is to sometimes feel unappreciated yes? So every year after that, our anniversaries have been amazing!!!! He has totally taken it upon himself to plan them (I always say to him I feel like a shuck for not helping). He makes me an itinerary of the day, sometimes two, for what we’ll be doing. It includes the house getting cleaned, shopping, hair done (he knows I’m hopeless lol), dinner for us, movie etc. Here’s the one he gave me this year:
He had been telling me that this one was a special surprise because it was our ten year. I was nervous but excited! So watch as this itinerary gets turned up side down! Please don’t mind the no makeup getting out of bed look ; ).
WE HAD THE BEST TIME EVER!!!!!!!!!
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| On the plane about to head out |
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| I spyyyy with myyyy little eye!!! |
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| Saw good ole Tom’s tile while standing in line =). |
And we are IN!!!! We first went to the Haunted Mansion. It had been YEARS for me seeing it not in Holiday form and Kev hadn’t seen it since he was a little boy. It was AWESOME to see all of the original grim grinning ghosts coming out to socialize ;D. Kev was a little scared but he made it! Then we had to take the picture outside the mansion that we did on our first date….awwwwwww LOL!
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| Kev loves shooting the guns and I was veeeeery pleased to be invited to said “gun show” LOL! |
Standing in the ridiculous line to see some princesses. We are crossing our fingers that our fav Snow White is in there.
HOLD the phone!!!! THIS is what he was waiting to do?????
After listening to a charming story about Peter Pan, lost boys and pirates, we were chosen to ring the ship bell. They said the power of our love would turn on the lights (it totally did lol). I am also now completely obsessed with turning the boys’ playroom into a pirate ship cabin!!!! (pics coming soon)
We were STOKED to realize some of our good friends were at Disneyland as well!!! We lived with Daniel in Siberia and by their family We had to meet up with them and play with their cute kids. They even let us steal the two youngest so we could bond while they went on some bigger rides.
These kids are DARLING!!!!!! We had so much fun with them =). It was so nice to have little ones to have a reason to skip through the main streets and have fun on the little rides.
More rides, laughter, sitting down and people watching, photo opts, yummy food. It was perfect!!!
I ALWAYS wanted to be the rebel spy!!! Just knowing I may have information to save the rebellion was thrilling lol. Not wanting to spend a small fortune on the shirt, I opted for a photo with it ;D.
We have NEVER had a Dole Whip before and were told it was an absolute MUST!!! Just think, 34+ years of going and I never tried this tasty treat! It was most refreshing!
My dad and boys die over this tasty lil Disney sucker but we decided to save them the calories and just send them a pic. We got them even BETTER gifts!!!
Kev had me pose with this…I wasn’t sure why but I wanted to make it as cute as I could ha! Then he said I was still his cute ball and chain….romantic feeling gone! LOL!!!!! And yes, I am wearing my Disney “Happy Anniversary” pin with pride!!!
So sad to say that the Blue Bayou was not my fav this trip. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so blasted expensive….but then they brought THIS out for our anniversary and TOTALLY redeemed themselves! It was so super scrumptious! The best Mickey Mousse ever…they totally need to call it that btw.
When we were done in California Adventure after the second day, I was soooo sad that we didn’t “end” in Disneyland. That, to me, is where I grew up, where we went as a family once if not twice a year growing up. Where the magic is. I went to the ticket counter to see what we could do. The woman saw it was our ten year anniversary (most people guessed two lol), typed on her little computer and handed us two FREE park hopper passes with a Disney gift card. She smiled, “Happy Anniversary you two.” Yes INDEED!!!!!! We went back to Diz the next day before our driver came to get us for the airport. I am SO glad we asked and that we could breath in our beloved Diz one more time.
Loaded up on the plane, taxiing out to take off all of a sudden we stop. The pilot gets on and says the whole airport is closed due to Airforce One needing to land. wait….what?!?!?
Home again, home again, jig a jig jig. The boys have been helping me in the kitchen lately as I have been teaching them to cook simple recipes. They always want to wear an apron and have said on quite a few occasions how coooool it would be to have a chef hat like Mr. Peabody. When I saw these in the shop at Pooh Corner I KNEW that is what their gift would be. They were so excited and it made us so happy!!! I love this little family of mine and I am SO grateful for such a great hubby that knows my heart, keeps it safe and treats me and these boys so well. I hope they will never doubt how much I love them!!!!!
Wheeeeen you wish upon a staaaaaaarrr………….
by dollcosmetics | Feb 8, 2014 | Lifestyle, Travel
So, let me get this straight, I tease you by saying that I’m going to NY, I visit all of these fantastic places and meet so many wonderful people and I never TOLD you about it?????? How could you let me get AWAY with something like that? I am so sorry!!! The sad thing is now struggling to remember all the details of that heavenly trip and when specific things happened. One of the very first things we did was head over to ground zero. What a reverent, beautiful reminder. I am so glad that we stayed as long as we did and listened to every bit of information. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits but it did lend a chance to use my scarf in different ways ; D.
Just around the corner we found an amazing Indian restaurant tucked in between some shops and ate heartily. Kev was in heaven with all of the options =).
I loved their cute lil cups LOL!
Kev was so amazing at mapping out where everything was on his phone. He was a whiz with the subway and I never worried about getting lost. Before we went we wrote down all the things we wanted to see and asked friends, of course, since we had both never been. Ladies, WE SAW EVERYTHING on our list!!! It was the most jam packed wonderful three days EvEr and I can’t wait for me and Kev to do more world traveling if this is what is in store. I LOVE ebing on the go, waking up early and seeing 5 things before breakfast time. Just love it!!! Well, one thing on Kev’s list was to see the amazing NY Apple store which was pretty close to our hotel.
It was pretty visually stimulating and happened to be next door to another list item. FAO Schwarz =). The big piano? Yeah, we hit that. Zoltar? Yeah, we spoke face to face LOL. I’m a geek, I know.
So the whole reason we were able to go on this wonderful trip was because Kevin is a graphic designer and one of his apps was nominated for an award. There was to be a huge banquet and presenting of the awards to those that won. It was so pricey ($400 a plate) that I opted to not go but hit a broadway musical instead. Another couple had flown out as well (her hubby was also nominated for another category) so her and I set out to Times Square to see what adventures lay before us. Thanks to my wonderful friend, who was touring with Billy Elliot at the time, and her counsel, we scored some tickets for Newsies and couldn’t conTAIN our excitement!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!
For all of you So You Think You Can Dance fans here’s Evan from season 5. I spotted him RIGHT away and couldn’t stop watching this amazing dancer. I was so stoked afterward to get to meet him! I cannot even TELL you how sad I am that this picture is so blurry but it’s all I have so I must use it lol. During the performance I got a text (which ANYone will tell you the ushers will flash their lights at you for) from Kevin saying he had WON!!!!!!!! I was so proud that I was busting at the seams!!!!!! I wish I could have been there to clap the loudest for my man and give him hugs and kisses. It was SO hard to sit still after that text = D.
So the city never sleeps eh? Well what about restaurants??? After the show, my friend and I went shopping at the FIVE story Forever 21….yeah it was awesome, met up with our men then went out for some grub. It was only 1am but we couldn’t find a place ANYwhere to go!!! Finally, we went back to the hotel to ask. They said there was a great bar just down the road that had great food. Let me tell you how funny it was to have the waitress tell us there was no room at the bar and sadly there were only tables available in the dining room. Since non of us drink at all we were ecstatic and told her to lead the way to the table!!! I had THE most amazing goat cheese and spinach salad that I still dream about it!!! I took a pic of their sign so I wouldn’t forget where to go at 1am the next time I’m in town LOL.
One thing that is very pertinent to this cosmetics site was visiting my bestie at VH1 the Buzz where she is Carrie Keagan’s personal makeup artist. We showed up that morning, got our lovely security badges and up we went. Jess showed me the beautiful green room where they get all the talent ready (specifically Carrie) and what she uses on her. Do you spy Lisa Loebe in the mirror and me being not two feet away from her??? Love her!!!
In the best hands possible!
Carrie asking about Hulk Hogan’s latest scandal.
Learning about the set.
Panoramic Kev took of the green room.
Me Carrie and Jess. Ironic that I reeaaallly don’t like my makeup here!
Kev had never seen Phantom so we went. I had seen it a baziiiiilion times and have seen better but I was super glad he wanted to go and that he appreciates the beautiful art that is Opera.
That night Jess took us out on the town. Kev loves 30 Rock so he wanted to at least walk by the building =). The Jess took us to this sky bar where you could get amazing views of the whole city, especially the Empire State Bldg. This place was new to us though since it was cold, it was outside, they had cloaks for you to wear. Red cloaks, shining in the red glow that came from the heaters. I felt like I was in the den of the Illuminate! Needless to say I don’t know how often they wash them in between patrons wearing them so I opted not to accessorize that night. We had scrumptious hot fries and steaming hot chocolate. Now some things you need to know about my friend Jess are that she is SUPER kind, very thoughtful, selfless and loves God and her Savior and sings their praises without embarrassment. Boooooy when the waitress said she wouldn’t split our little check she had a THING or two to say about that. When she got no satisfaction from her she went to her boss then his until they preformed the simplest of tasks…splitting the check. It was then that I started noticing how NY is not a place to find the best customer service experiences (and how I wanted Jess around for all of it) HA!
Want to hear a sad yet funny story? That is, if you are still reading this. Mom? Are you the only one? HI! I’ll see you in a few days!!! lol KAY! So I’ve seen quite a few movies where the Empire State Bldg has been in the background. Lovely, majestic, easily recognizable. Well, when Kev and I went to see it earlier that day I walked RIGHT past it!!! He’s like, “Jen, we’re here.” I assured him we weren’t. He wasn’t quite sure how to take that. After all, he had never steered us wrong visiting any landmark. He stood there looking at me (insert me wearing a very matter of fact face). “What do you mean we aren’t here. It’s right in front of you.” “But…it’s not….black.” He was very confused at this point and his face showed it. “In every movie I’ve ever seen, the Empire State Bldg is black.” Crickets chirping, thoughts of wondering if he married Jessica Simpson I’m sure were happening in his head. Sleepless in Seattle, On the Town, An Affair To Remember…..ALL of them showed images of it at night time. Of COURSE it looked black MORON!!! I have to say though, I was a little disappointed =(. Okay stop laughing. I thought it was all black tinted windows not black concrete…or I guess it could have been. Regardless I was happy at that sky bar because my beloved Empire State Bldg was black. Kev still won’t let me live that down.
NO. SLEEP. TILL BROOKLYN!!!!!
Now THIS was an awesome day (although I will always remember my feet killing from my boots). We went all around Brooklyn, then walked the Brooklyn Bridge and had some yummy pizza at Grimaldi’s. NOW I know the obsession that is NY pizza, Thanks Kat!!!
On our last day we went to Hoboken NJ to visit Carlo’s Bakery from Cake Boss and DIED eating all the scrumptiousness!!! I was so impressed with how it wasn’t very busy (maybe one other person in the shop) how inexpensive it was and how very tasty.
We ended up buying even more to take back home to our boys and family.
Loved the display window (worthy of Disneyland), a pic of Kev in the alley where they would always pull pranks and our yummy treats before we ate them right there on a bench like ravenous beasts!
Can’t go to NY without seeing Central Park. It was SO close to our hotel too! We walked around and saw spots that are in our fav movies, hello? One Fine Day, Home Alone, the Muppets!!!
to the Boathouse for one last lunch with Jess. Again, customer service left MUCH to be desired but the company more than made up for it!
Jess was such a wonderful tour guide and we miss her! If you haven’t already heard, Carrie has left VH1 to pursue other ventures in California so now we get to see her again whenever we go to Disneyland with the boys. Yay!!! =D
All in all, amAZING trip to NYC and am so glad we were able to go. So proud of my hubby, loved seeing historic things, visiting museums, galleries, Broadway shows, seeing friends and spending so much uninterrupted time with Kev. Hope you enjoyed this long over due post/novel/are you still awake??? ; D
by dollcosmetics | Oct 8, 2012 | Family, Lifestyle, Travel
T-minus 8 hours and I will be on my way to NY!!! Kevin has been nominated for a design award & I get to go too =D. I am sooooo excited and will be taking video and tons of pictures to share with you. Anyone live there? I’d love to meet you = )!
