my must have beauty products

One of my monthly splurges is subscribing to two different beauty sample services,  Birchbox, and Ipsy. Each month i get a variety of different beauty products, from hair products, make-up, fragrance samples and much more. A lot of them are fun to try but I never end up ever ordering a full size. However, there are now a handfull of things that I have discovered through these subscriptions and still a handfull of things that have just always been staples in my beauty drawer. I love seeing what other people use and swear by so i figured i would share my absolute must haves when it comes to the basics of my beauty products.

1. Pixi- Flawless & Poreless: the BB cream/ face primers are everywhere right now and i have been lucky to be able to sample a lot of them. However some of the AMazing ones are $40-60 for a little tube and that is a little out of my price range. This one works just as well but at a fraction of the cost. $29

2. My go to lotion is Vaselines Coco Butter: Its the perfect after shower lotion and doesn't feel sticky or greasy. And its a bargin at $9

3. Beauty Blend: i am obsessed with these foundation sponges. the shape is perfect and they last FOREVER. $25

4. Mary Kay Eye Primer: this stuff will ensure that the nasty crease you get after a long day at work doesn't exist. and bonus it also lasts forever, a little goes a long way $14

5. Renewal Skin Oil: For those stubborn dry spots or just to have your skin feeling super hydrated this stuff will totally rock your world. I like to use it before bed so it has all night to soak in $16

6. Origins Clear Improvement: this is one my my newest obsessions. this mask is AMAZing. You can see and feel the difference after one use. Its a little pricy but totally worth it $25

7. Bombshell eyeliner: I was always a huge fan of the gel eyeliners but this just simplified everything for me. no need for a brush and i can do a super thin line or super thick and its super easy to control $16

i really do not think i could live without these basics anymore. they make make up look better, my skin look WAY better, and keep me feeling good :) what are your favorite products? 

Hope you have a simply FABulous Tuesday! 

a GREAT weekend to be a beaver!

What a weekend for OSU Athletics. Campus was buzzing with people all weekend long with the many sporting events going on here. However, this weekend was all about the PAC 12 Gymnastics Championship. And all i can say is WOW.....w.o.w. This meet was out of control crazy amazing. It was one of those meets that you honestly did not know what the outcome was going to be until our last girl went. It was so close from event to event but guess what?! WE WON! And i am so proud of how this team did this year! They were off to a bit of a rocky start but boy did they just improve every single week. And all of that hard work paid off this weekend. It was so exciting to have this meet hosted in our home and made it just that much sweeter. I am so excited for these ladies and can't wait to see them perform at Regionals in a couple weeks. 

gotta love the super fans/ proud mammas 

all of the pac 12 teams that competed getting ready for the awards ceremony 

we were kinda a mess during the whole meet. thank goodness i had someone to hold onto 

its pretty huh :)

so proud of this one! yay! 

It was truly a night to remember and not only did they win but they also set a new school record with a score of 197.85! It truly was one amazing night to be a beaver! 

Hope everyone has a simply great monday! 

a much needed weekend to play

Sometimes you just need a weekend where you let yourself just have some fun. A weekend where you don't make yourself feel bad about not getting the house perfectly cleaned, a weekend where you don't feel guilty just laying around. It is exactly what i did this weekend and it was FANtastic! my weekend was full of cocktails, a little shopping, lunch with family, and time with good friends and its exactly what i needed. and giving myself a 3 day weekend meant i even got a few of those chores done yesterday but on my own schedule and with many breaks :) Remind me why we can't institute 3 day weekends as the new norm????

Friday night i got to have a little late night happy hour with a good friend who is going to be leaving corvallis soon. Downward Dog is always the perfect spot for these kind of outings :) 

got a to good to be true deal on some amazing banana republic earrings...like i was giddy all day saturday because of my new earrings...actually lets be real...im still giddy

Saturday night i got to spend time with these lovely ladies

and this silly kid 

if you haven't noticed we were obviously celebrating St Patricks day ...why else would we all be wearing green??

i heart her

sunday morning we went out for breakfast and kept our orange soda tradition alive....yep orange soda for breakfast..its amazing..you should try it sometime 

and yesterday i recouped. i organized my closet, hit the gym, and cooked every meal i had yesterday.
it was just what i needed.

and today we are back to reality. and kind of jealous of all the kids who are finishing up finals and going on spring break...because 3 days was so not enough time

Hope you have a simply wonderful tuesday! 

where do i start

where do i even start with the last couple of weeks....lets just say that its been a little hectic and by little i means EXTREMELY hectic. But a good hectic! A im so tired, not enough sleep, to much coffee, but at the end of the day totally worth it kind of hectic. This last weekend marked the 8th annual Apothecary Ball, a fundraiser that our students put on every year to raise money for all of the many things they participate in from outreaches to conferences. And this year I was heavily involved in the production of this event. This was the first year we held this event in the Center for Health And Healing, our second campus that is up in Portland. This space normally acts as a lobby meaning that everything had to be brought in. Stage, tables, linens, decor, and everything in-between. With over 200 people attending this was no small feat. This years event included a live jazz band, photo booth, private tram rides with even a fun hot chocolate bar at the top and of course silent auction.Thankfully with an amazing student committee we absolutely pulled off a successful event. however, a week with over 72 hours of work put in means i am one tired lady. Thankfully i have had a couple of nights of sleep and feel like i am slowly starting to function again.  

Now that this whole thing is over, i must say that fundraising is HARD. it's really hard. and i have never been involved in something like this before and although it is really hard it also is really rewarding. I also feel like i have now officially hit every kind of event planning. from weddings, and social events, to conferences, work events, graduations, award ceremonies and now fundraising. And i think i might be crazy but i truly love each and every area of events. I obviously prefer events where i can be a little more creative but there is something fun and special about each area.

And regardless of the event there really is nothing like waking up that next morning with yes, tired feet, but always total completely sense of content and happiness. It takes a lot of work to make something look effortless and smooth. and this weekend that is exactly what we did. 

I will be sure to post the professional pictures when i get them but for now here are a few shots from some people who attended. I was so busy running around all night that i didn't even have time to take a couple iphone pictures! 

we were so lucky to have a perfectly clear day and night on saturday. made for a stunning view on the tram

we even were able to get the tram in Orange :) go beavs :) 

had an amazing photo booth thanks to Leah Banick Photography! Can't wait to see how the pictures turned out! 

great silent auction items 

yummy dessert bar

the leading ladies! these girls did an outstanding job! so proud of them! 

and now its back to reality.. this week is about getting back into my beloved routine, cleaning house, and catching up. event weeks are always so crazy that it feels so nice to be back to "normal" 

Hope everyone has a simply fabulous Tuesday! 

a little excited

Owning a small business is sometimes really hard, and seriously it is a constant learning experience for me. Every. Single. Day. However, there are also some really amazing things that happen every once in awhile that make the hard work worth it. 

One of those things was being accepted into the whole sale flower mecca of Portland, The Portland Flower Market. I have always known of the portland flower market, and that you had to be on a certain level to even be considered. You must meet a list of requirements and i honestly hadn't even looked into it until a few months ago because i thought there is no way i could meet them. However, the flower side of my business is ever so slightly starting to grow. Its an area that i never had anticipated doing but a side that i am starting to really fall in love with. And this last week something really cool happened. I got my pass into the Portland Flower Market. Needless to say i am a little excited, no actually im SUPER excited. It is a sense of relief to have a place i can purcahse and order flowers from that isn't a grocery store! i know, a little embarrassing, but i have totally done conference centerpieces all from flowers i have purchased at the local grocery store. But lets be real, where else am i going to find fresh flowers in OREGON, in the winter months???? Exactly, enter the dilema i have been having the last 6 months. After my most recent floral job something had to changed. With a few floral jobs already on my calendar this is truly a blessing. Only thing i wish I could change? I wish i didn't live an hour and a half away from it but i guess its the price i pay for living in a small town with limited resources. 

So this weekend instead of sleeping in saturday morning, i just couldn't help myself. I drove up I5 early in the morning and made my first trip. And it was A-MAZING! Rows of vases, ribbon, and everything you could ever need for flowers, and apparently the big refrigerated room of flowers was quite sparse for it being the end of the week, but honestly, its more access then ive had previously so i can only imagine what it looks like on a delivery day. 

im excited. :) This past week was a good one for Cinta Events. I got into the flower market, my new photo books came from my big summer events of last year, and I finally invested in some business cards that i actually like and plan on using for a long time. 

early morning drives require coffee beverages 

uhh yea...see why im already obsessed? 

was having lunch with my grandma on my way home so picked up a few flowers and made her a little arrangement. 

Hope you have a simply fabulous Monday! 

wheat

wheat. i like wheat. i like bread, pastas....lets be real, all things glutenous. however, one area that i normally don't use wheat in is my floral arrangements. but this last week i had the challenge of doing centerpieces for a Moore Family Center conference, a center that was funded by Bob's Red Mill. I am sure you recognize this name because you can find him in grocery stores everywhere around here. Anyways last week i needed to come up with 33 centerpieces that included the use of wheat. i ordered a giant box of wheat and when it came i opened it up, stared at it, then closed the box and walked away. Wondering, what on earth am i going to do with wheat. i tend to have this bad habit over over thinking things sometimes, especially when it comes to flowers. The last giant floral job i had i sat staring at buckets of flowers for a good couple hours before i finally made any progress on the 75 flower arrangements i needed to make. In my perfect world i would have tripple the amount of wheat, triple the amount of budget and make these full gorgeous arrangements with wheat worked in with the flowers. However, conferences have budgets so we went with a much simpler approach to things. 

Hand tied wheat bunches, and simple white flowers, and everything housed in mason jars. I pretty much wanted it to look like you went into your field, grabbed a handfull of wheat, and flowers and threw them into mason jars. Something homey and simple. To really hammer home the grain theme i also filled the mason jars with a variety of small grains. It A. acted as a way to keep the wheat standing up in a perfect position, and B. added a little out of the box interest to things. 

At the end of the day i was happy with how things turned out. i honestly have moments where i really wonder if i can pull something off but thankfully it really does always work out. phew! Here are a few pictures for you!

hope you have a simply wonderful wednesday 

more social media

Just when you think you have enough social media sites and apps to keep track of someone comes up with something new. I recently got on board with Vine...the new video twitter app that gives you 6 seconds of start and stop video to record the moments of your life that are interesting or not so interesting. I basically signed up just so i could see what it was all about. because frankly i dont think i have anything interesting in my life to video. However, its a cleaver concept and i wouldn't be surprised if this thing catches on in the near future. 

Another new site is ArchetypeMe. To me it's pretty much pinterest but way more in depth.  You create an account and take a test where it measures basically your interest and behaviors and spits out the areas you are most interested in. It then generates tabs in each of those areas and pulls websites, pictures, articles and other things that pertain to the different categories. However, the point is to basically add different articles you find to this site...you are pretty much pinning them like you would in pinterest. Why on earth would you want another pinterest? I know i kind of thought the same thing but it is more then just visual stimulation.  This site brings a visual aspect as well as more information and different types of information then what you would normally see in pinterest. I guess you could call this a more intellectual pinterest. Like pinterest it has a "me" button that you can add so you can save websites or articles you find interesting as your browse...you can browse what others have posted or what different Archetype categories bring up. It's kind of interesting. Not going to lie i was not a big fan when i heard of it but after taking the test, seeing the results, and playing around with it, i kind of like it. Will it become a new social media obsession of mine? Maybe not, but I definitely can see myself visiting the site here and there. 

And even if you dont plan on using it the test results were surprisingly right on point. 31% Creative, 30% Caregiver, 19% Visionary. That pretty much sums up me. I love to create, i am always taking care of something, but part of me is always thinking about what i can do better. 

Has anyone else tried out these new social media outlets? 

Hope you have a simply inspring tuesday 

wait we are already half way through february?

i honestly have no idea where this month has gone. i looked at the calendar this morning and some how its the 18th?! What?! It would be absolutely safe to say that the last couple weeks have been...hell...i mean hectic. i had one of my biggest events of the year Chinese New Year, had a wisdom tooth driving me nuts which ended up in emergency extraction on valentines day, celebrated with ice cream, made a pretty flower arrangement for someone, and finally had a little fun with some good friends. its been quite the month and i honestly just need this month to end already. it has been fast but super hectic and busy. i am ready for just a new month and a fresh start. but for now i am focusing on the next project. 32 flower arrangements for a conference this week and the kicker? i need to incorporate wheat. yep, thats right wheat...

here is what i've been up to lately...

pretty red tulips for Chinese New year 

A LOT OF CNY prep happened

 

along with some testing ( Chinese Scallion Pancake)

cny = red and lots of it! 

  

made an alterative valentines day bouquet for a much deserving wife i work with from her hubby

spent my valentines day at the dentist, on the couch watching movies, and thankfully ended it with a great friend date that included blizzards :) 

got to spend time with some old friends i don't get to see that often  

and now i am in a sea of wheat....wondering what im going to do with these 32 arrangements... lets hope i think of something and think of something fast. 

 what has everyone else been up to?

hope you have a simply wonderful monday. 

neon obsessions

i love bright colors. well let me scratch that i love color period. but it's almost like feb 1st hit and i NEEDED neons to be apart of my life ASAP. so i went and painted my nails bright pink, bought some outrageously bright flats, and a neon top.... and i feel oh so much better about life now. sometimes you just need some brightness in your life, especially when you live in grey ole Oregon.

 a couple of the neon gems i picked up recently 

my new brightly colored shoes 

my new pink nails and jcrew gorgeous clutch from my bestie

a couple things i would love to add to my neon collection

sources found here

how crazy are those hot pink pants??! i dont know if i could ever pull them off 

but they sure are darn cute! 

hope you have a simply cheerful thursday! 

Prep Week

oh hello February. not going to lie, I am happy to be out of the worlds longest month ever. this month is going to be a little crazy but a lot of fun at the same time. And I am kicking of this hectic month with the 3rd annual Chinese New Years dinner i do for one of the deans on campus. it is one of these events that always kind of intimidates me because of the large menu. It is a menu full of great Asian inspired hors d'oeuvres and desserts. And anyone who knows asian foods knows that they are known for their expansive ingredient lists. It's always a little of this and a little of that :) so this whole week is dedicated to prepping for this dinner. I have two years of experience doing this dinner now and i feel like this one might be the best

The last couple of weeks i have been racking my brain on what this year's dinner should look like. Most of the Chinese New years decorations you find out there can be a bit cheesy so I am really trying to find that happy medium between elegant and yet still festive. I felt like i was hitting a bit of a roadblock in terms of inspiration but i think i finally have a direction and i am sticking to it.

2013 is the Year of the Snake. And although Snakes can many times be seen as an enemy or demon they are actually considered a symbol of luck. Are you feeling lucky?

a little CNY inspiration 

hope you have a simply fantastic monday!