[ cafechi ] slightly organic

oh, we had a marvelous time! we were actually out and about every day and was only at the resort to sleep!!

unfortunately, our flight left at 6:40am on June 18th, and we missed it by over an hour! we didn’t expect the San Francisco traffic! oh well…we had to wait until 12pm to take that flight to LA and then to Vegas. We arrived at about 2pm, got our rental car, drove past our resort to get something to eat.

we didn’t check in until about 5:30pm. the 1 bedroom we booked was just beautiful! the furnishings were all comfy and the bed is very comfy. we refreshed ourselves and set out for our first real look of vegas. we also brought along the megallan gps we bought at costco and this thing is a huge help. if we miss our exit or turn, it re-routes us in 2 seconds! whew!

we bought the 2 days vegas power pass ($85.50 per person and so worth it!!!) so we just went in and out of the hotels and tried to do as many of the activities on the pass as possible. with the rental car, it was super easy to jump hotels without walking outside in the killing heat! you can go to each activities per day so on the 1st pass day, we went to everything we could and the 2nd day, we re-visited the things we liked - ie: we went to planet hollywood because we get $20 off a $20 purchase so we got some things for the girls. we went on the eiffel tower twice! once in the day time and again the next night so we saw vegas at two different times from there.

also visited the wonderful madame tussaud’s wax museum. we went on the hoover dam tour on our 3rd day (with powerpass) and it was nice abit way too hot!!! about 115 degrees! we were melting, literally.

we played a few hands of poker and blackjack here and there. i’m happy to say we didn’t lost at all. just won a few dollars here and there to pay for some things we did.

on the last day, we stopped by the wynn and tried out their buffet at $30 a person! it was the most expensive we’ve been to and the best!!! their food selection is just delicious! we had repeated servings of their jumbo shrimps and alaskan king crab legs! i couldn’t really eat much of their deserts but their cheesecake and key lime pie was the best i’ve ever tasted! the buffet alone almost almost warrant its own trip back to vegas! seriously!

vera, i hope you guys have a blast!!!

here’s our photobook from vegas from shutterfly: photobook

first, i have always been fascinated by history. i love historical books, romance or otherwise. i love a lot of their ways of life (ok maybe too much historical romance there). sometimes i try to absorb more information than my addled brain can handle and so i have lotsa gaps too.

anyway, last night, i stopped to exchange my dvd’s at blockbuster and ever since i saw the preview for "the other boleyn girl", i’ve wanted to watch it. i got my chance last night as only 4 copies of the dvd was left on the whole shelf.

let just say that i wasn’t expecting anything like the historical romances but this movie packed so much drama, suspense, emotion, romance, passion, even eroticism that i was left with just "WOW!" afterwards. i LOVED it! i was totally submerged into the story and the characters and the glitzy clothes. eric, natalie and scarlette all did wonderful here! the ways thing sizzled in here i feel like i was intruding a few times during their private trysts, just a few. LOL

i have not read the book and the movie left such a deep impression on me that i’m stopping by the library to pick up the author’s other book, "the boleyn inheritance" ASAP.

i can feel another historical craze coming on for me… this movie comes passionately recommended!!

Synopsis

Adapted from author Philippa Gregory ’s historical novel of the same name, director Justin Chadwick ’s atmospheric period drama follows the fierce competition between sisters Mary (Scarlett Johansson ) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman ) to win the affections of Tudor king Henry VIII (Eric Bana ). Anne and Mary Boleyn are under pressure from their father and uncle to help maintain the family’s rich legacy and ensure their further prosperity by winning the affections of none other than the king of England (Eric Bana ).

But life in the royal court is far different than it was in the countryside where these two sisters were raised, and before long their bid to earn the love of the king has transformed two once-happy sisters into bitter rivals. At first, it appears that Mary has triumphed in winning the king’s favor by becoming his mistress and bearing him an illegitimate child. Despite her early success, however, Mary has underestimated just how clever and cunning her sibling can truly be. Not only does the relentless Anne manage to edge aside her sister in the eyes of King Henry, but she also succeeds in averting his gaze from his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, as well. Mary is driven by genuine affection for King Henry, while her sister Anne has only kept up the charade in a desperate bid to become the queen of England. Now, the growing chasm between two sisters is mirrored on a larger scale as England becomes divided more than ever before.

As the consequences of their actions threaten to alter the course of an entire nation, these two sisters will ultimately discover that the only place they will find true strength and loyalty is in family, and that no matter what the consequences they will forever be bound by blood.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

my ulta retractable kabuki brush is wearing out after lotsa abuse. so i’m looking to get a few new brushes and didn’t want to repurchase the sameone because…well it’s $30! i got it on sale way back but i just can’t justify spending that much on a brush…yea.

eco tools 5pc brush set - $10.99

eco tools powder brush - $7.99

i’m not sure what i was doing but i suddenly remember reading in one of my many magazines about these new eco tools make up brushes. so i googled it and voila! these look awesome and just about all reviews are good. plus the fact that it’s more environmental friendly and uses recycled material sold me. of course, the price is super attractive too! i’m making a special stop at walgreens tomorrow to pick these baby up.

ah…prestige cosmetics. 3 days ago, i’ve always passed the prestige cosmetics aisle without really looking at any of their products. probably because i’m not a big make up person. then the ulta ads came in and of course they have all prestige cosmetics at buy one get one free. since i obviously had alot of free time, i checked the prestige reviews on MUA. there were glowing reviews of their waterproof lipliner and wonder-full lipgloss. so i head to ulta and picked up the nude lipliner and the gloss in lavish - a peachy sparkling color that i really like (definitely HG status). i also picked up a couple of single eyeshadows - gold, green, black and pink. all very pretty even though i’ve only tested the gold.

st ives elements olive scrub - $6.99

st ives elements warming scrub - $6.99

and of course, on another of my magazine, there was a small sampe of st ives’ new elements olive scrub. after trying this i really like it. it hasn’t dried my skin out yet so i’ll keep using it until it does. coincidentally, the ulta ads had a coupons for 50% off all st ives skincare. okay, that was a sign. LOL i bought their elements olive scrub, and warming scrub for about $1.75 and $3 each respectively. this is the first time i’m trying out st ives skincare and very impressed so far. their elements line are “natural” and without parabens - a plus to me.

i guess i need to stop looking through magazines. *sigh*

radius intelligent toothbrushes - $7.95

radius kidz toothbrushes - $3.69

oh i got to join another frontier coop and i got these new toothbrushes called radius. looks interesting so i gave it a try - one for me and 2 for the girls. i don’t know why, but i prefer toothbrushes like these to the electric ones. oh well…