Blast From the Past: June 25, 2011

Since I am definitely behind in updating this blog, I have decided on writing a few entries here and there titled: Blast From the Past.  And each entry will feature an event or occasion that happened (in my life) that I feel like blogging about.  This "event" could have happened months ago, years, ago... whatever! :)

Honestly, these entries will probably be more of a photo dump than an actual entry itself.  LOL.

Today's Blast From the Past will be about the night of  June 25, 2011.  I chose to blog about this night first because it was the first outing where I actually used my then-brand-new Panasonic Lumix GF2 camera.  :)

The husband and I had a double date with my best friend, Carla, and her boyfriend, Lowell.  First, we went bowling at 34th Lane, then we went to Fayrooz Cafe and Lounge to do some hookah!  (This was my second time going to that hookah bar... The first time was on another double date with another couple.)  Anyway, they actually had a belly dancer! I wish I took a picture of her but I wasn't sure if I was allowed... Plus, I was too busy watching her dance! LOL.

Well, on to the photo dump... These are just some of the pictures we took.

(Photos taken with my Panasonic Lumix GF2.)

Our colorful bowling balls... Mine was the pink one. Obviously. LOL.

Bowling at 34th Lane in Queens

Lowell's turn...

The hubby's turn...

Carla's turn...

My turn!

Me with my two loves!

Drinks up!

Cheers!

Hookah time!

Lowell

Carla (Being the only one out of the four of us who didn't really smoke, she had a hard time at first...)

Me!

Elo

The two lovebirds...

Best Friends Forever!

Group Pic, Take 1

Group Pic, Take 2

I had a lot of fun that night... I can't wait to until we go to a hookah bar again. :)

Well, back to my knitting/crocheting.  I'm in the middle of developing an idea...

-Pamela Joyce

So... with my husband and family's insistence, I had relaunched my online store:

www.charmed.etsy.com

For the last couple of weeks, I've been busy filling orders, trying to get it to my customers in time for the holidays.  I would usually do this after I get home from my full time job, which means I am sleep deprived! I have averaged about 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night!  Thank God I have a very supportive husband. :)

Anyway, I should really get back to my orders... Maybe I'll take a break later and blog again. :)

-Pamela Joyce

The Mr. & Mrs.

I really need to start organizing my wedding pictures. I am such a slacker.

-Pamela Joyce

Recent Knitted/Crocheted Projects...

Some projects I've finished recently.  There are more but I have yet to take photos of them...

Beanie with ear flaps (Knitted)

Beanie with ear flaps (Knit & Crochet Combo - but mostly knitted)
This one was inspired by the flag of the Philippines. (Sorry for the quality of this picture...)

Donatello "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Convertible Beanie (Knit & Crochet Combo)
The eye mask is attached (sewn on) to the beanie. This can be worn as a TMNT Donatello beanie, or if you flip the eye mask down, as a Donatello mask!
(Available for sale at www.charmed.etsy.com)

So I went to see "The Three Musketeers" a couple of weekends ago with the husband, my siblings, and friends... Orlando Bloom is so effin' dreamy! A few years back in my old blog (Hello my fellow Xanga heads!), I used to talk about how in love (obsessed?) I was with Orlando Bloom.  It got so bad and I knew that I had to stop... So I quit cold turkey.  I made a conscious effort to stop watching his movies.  I would change the channel if one of his movies happen to be on.  And I was successful... or so I thought...

I love him... *Sigh*

What do I need to do to get over this crush?

- Pamela Joyce

Nail Polish Review (Shatter, Crackle, Graffiti) - Revisited.

Hello. Nice to see you all again... :)

Anyway, I just want to write a quick blog about my last post (click here).  I just want to take back what I said about the Sally Hansen Crackle.  I must have gotten a bad batch that time I went to Walgreens.  A few weeks ago, I was in CVS and I decided to once again try the Crackle nail polish... Guess what? It worked this time!  Yay!

So again, I take back what I said. If you want to get the Sally Hansen Crackle, go for it! But maybe you should try it first (right there in the store) before buying it? Just to make sure you don't get a bad batch like I did...  LOL.

- Pamela Joyce

Nail Polish Review (Shatter, Crackle, Graffiti)

I know this "review" is late since this type of nail polish has been out for months now. I guess I just want to tell you my own personal experience with the different brands that carry them...

So my first encounter happened when I was in NYC running errands with my parents about a month ago. To kill time, I walked to the nearest Urban Outfitters store to do some (window) shopping. This is when I came across the Graffiti Effect Nail Polish by Layla Cosmetics. The black and the fuchsia pink caught my eye... $12 a bottle???!!! Yes, sadly it was that expensive... What's even more sad was that I desperately wanted them that I gladly forked over $24+ for the two bottles of nail polish!

What was the reason for this desperation? Besides the fact that I was bored? The fact that whenever I go into a Target or a CVS or something, they were always out of the OPI Shatter, and I've been wanting to try them for months now (damn it!)... since the day I first saw that Katy Perry ad in a magazine!

Anyway, that day I had on the Revlon Top Speed nail polish in Guava that I got from Target (my favorite store... ever!), which I'm sure I only paid a few bucks for. Within minutes of buying the Graffiti Effect nail polishes, I started putting the black one on... I was amazed at how I can actually see the nail polish "crackling." I was definitely happy with my purchase, and started showing it off to my mom...

Base color: Revlon Top Speed in Guava; Top Color: Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Effect in Black

Base color: Revlon Top Speed in Sheer Cotton; Top Color: Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Effect in Fuschia

Fast forward to a week or two later... My sisters and I walked into a Walgreens, and guess what we saw? Sally Hansen Crackle... for about $5 to $6... I can't remember the exact price, but it was half of what I paid for before so naturally I went a little crazy and bought all the colors available, which were blue, white, and gold. Naturally. LOL.

I was super excited to try them so I started trying all three colors on one my sister's hands. We were so disappointed! All three weren't "crackling" that well... Sometimes, they wouldn't even "crackle" at all! The blue one looked like I took a blue Sharpie and colored my nails with them! I looked up reviews online, and found that people actually gave it a good review... Maybe I just had a bad batch? But all three? Or maybe the Layla nail polish worked so well that, in my eyes, the Sally Hansen nail polish just couldn't measure up to it... One thing is for sure... at that point, I was more than happy to pay $12 for a bottle of the Layla Cosmetics Graffitti Effect.

Dejected, I went home and went online to urbanoutfitters.com  to buy more of the Layla nail polish, and to my disappointment, found that they don't carry the nail polishes online. I then decided to search online for any stores that might carry them. It was really hard to find the Graffiti Effect, and when I finally found a store on ebay.com that sold it, it was being sold for $102! I kid you not... that was the listed "Buy Now" price. Typo? Maybe. But it was highly unlikely since all of them were listed for, or around, that price.

Dejected, yet again... but not for long. I ended up buying the OPI Shatter instead. I found a seller on amazon.com who was selling a package of 5 different colors (white, black, blue, red, navy blue) for $24.80. I definitely wanted a red, white, and black, and since each bottle costs anywhere from $7 to $8, it made more sense for me to get the package deal.

I personally have not tried the OPI Shatter yet, but I've read the reviews online... Plus, I know people who have used them, and I have seen their nails  I don't think I'm going to be disappointed at all. :)

- Pamela Joyce

P.S.- Justice (the girls clothing store, formerly known as Limited Too), also carries their own version of the crackle nail polish. I heard their pretty cheap too!

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Update (11.04.2011) - I have something new to say about the Sally Hansen Crackle nail polish.  Please click here to read it.  Thank you! :)

Previous Knitted Projects...

As I am so behind in updating this, I am now going to overwhelm you with blog updates and pictures...  I've decided to break them up in separate entries since there will be quite a few pictures involved. This post will be on some of the knitting projects I have finished... Enjoy!

WARNING: Photo Overload!

Black Hooded Scarf (Knitted)

Gray and Green Striped Hooded Scarf (Knitted)

Striped Beanies and a Black Cabled Newsboy Cap (All Knitted)

Cabled Newsboy Cap in Green and Brown (Knitted)

Purple, Gray, and Black Slouchy Beanie (Knitted)

Pink Cupcake Beanie! (Knitted)

Convertible Black Balaclava: also known as a ski mask/helmet liner (Knitted)
Can be worn in 4 ways (clockwise from top left): 1. as a ski mask, 2. as a beanie and a cowl together, 3. as beanie alone, 4. as a cowl alone

See you in the next entry!

-Pamela Joyce

Meet The Husband...

My most recent picture with my husband, taken in the wee hours of the morning on July 16, 2011 at Olive Tree Cafe in NYC. (P.S.-  They have the best nachos!)

His name is Angelo. We were officially together for a year (dated longer) before he proposed. We then married a month later. Fast, huh? I guess to some it is, but not for us. It felt right, so why wait? We only had a civil wedding and celebrated with close family and friends. However, our parents really want us to have a church wedding, so we are currently saving for that, and possibly a bigger reception. We'll see... I have a feeling that after all that saving, we might just use the money as a down payment for a house or something. Maybe we'll still have the church wedding our parents want, and just have a small reception in the form of a pool party and barbeque!

- Pamela Joyce

Meet my new camera...

I did it. I went and bought the Panasonic Lumix GF2... in white!  I even bought the 14-42mm lens... I feel like such a pro. LOL.  I definitely spent more that I would have wanted on a camera, but it was so worth it.

This is how it looks with its 14mm pancake lens.  Photo courtesy of: Panasonic.com

And this how it looks with its 14-42mm lens.  Photo courtesy of: Normancamera.com

I am still learning about this camera and its setting... I love taking pictures, but I am a noob when it comes to photography.

New camera = more photos = more blogging?  Maybe.

And since I am in a blogging mood, be prepared to be bombarded by posts and pictures within the next few days... or hours!  Hahaha!

And yes... my first post after a very long hiatus is to brag!  I should first blog about the fact that I am now married. MARRIED.  I'm no longer a Miss Pamela... Mrs. Pamela?  Eh...  It doesn't quite have the same ring to it...

www.pamela-joyce.blogspot.com

There.  Married or not, that will always stay the same...

- Pamela Joyce