Bacon anyone? Obviously this is not an ordinary outfit of the day, or an outfit of the day at all for that matter. One of the main reasons I’ve been M.I.A. from blogging lately is because I signed up for culinary art classes!! The classes will be held on Saturdays but I’ve been busy signing up and getting everything ready. Don’t worry I’m not planning on cooking Bacon (my cat, pictured above with his oh-so-cuddly eyes) but by the way he went running when he saw me in full chef uniform apparently he thought I was going to have him for dinner. I was actually trying to sit him inside of a pot while I posed for the photo but he wasn’t having it. Maybe because I occasionally watch “Bizarre Foods” on the Food Network channel I think he thought I might’ve taken the TV show seriously.

I’m really excited about finally getting the opportunity to take culinary art classes, specifically international cuisine. My extreme lack of cooking skills along with my fast food addiction were the main reasons for signing up. When I say fast food addiction I mean stopping by McDonald’s at least 3-5 times a week. And when it comes to my extreme lack of cooking skills, my skills are so bad that some of my most memorable fails include soggy microwaved bacon (the meat not my cat), burnt Campbell’s soup, & dish-washing soap filled pork chops (this one was completely accidental). So my weekly menu (when not buying McDonald’s) consists of microwaved hot dogs and TV dinners. When I’m asked about my nutrition habits I always blame it on lack of knowledge, so taking these classes will be the push I need to eat healthier.

Wish me luck everyone! And if I never do a blog post again it’s probably because I chopped off my fingers.

♥

I’ve been with my boyfriend for 2 years and a half now and Valentine’s Day is always a bit “budget tight” for us. We just finished celebrating Christmas, then his birthday, then my birthday, so when Valentine’s Day comes around our wallets are all emptied out, not to mention the fact that we’re all out of gift ideas. So last year instead of exchanging gifts we did something a little different: we decided that we would each pay for a separate activity instead of the usual gift exchange. It actually worked out better and more romantic than I thought. We went horseback riding on a trail that went through a woody, grassy area and lead to a private beach and then we had dinner at a restaurant later that afternoon and since it was right on a (different) beach we got to see the sunset on the beach as well. The horseback riding was his treat and dinner was mine. This was the most memorable Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.

So I thought to put together a little list of both classic and out-of-the-ordinary activities/ideas for Valentine’s Day that would be great to do if you’re budget tight like we are and would prefer a romantic activity over gift exchanging, or if you’re in need of a little inspiration for the perfect setting to give him or her that special gift you purchased. These date ideas are great whether you’ve been together for years or if it’s your first date.

• Kayaking – Here in Puerto Rico there’s a couple of bio-luminescent bays where you can take a kayaking tour at night. Imagine you and your other half kayaking under the moon and the stars in glowing water… But if you don’t live in Puerto Rico, you can still go kayaking without the glowing water and it’ll still be super romantic.
• Horseback Riding – As I mentioned previously, we did this last year and it was a fun and different activity to do together for Valentine’s Day. Especially if you’ve never ridden a horse before. I promise you it will be interesting.
• Movie Theater - Nothing says classic date like going to the movies. Whether you go all the time or hardly ever, there’s no better place to flirt or snuggle with your partner than at the movies. With this one you have two options: either go see a crappy movie and make out like teenagers throughout the whole thing or go see the movie The Vow starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams (eye candy anyone?) which is about a husband and wife who get into an accident and she gets amnesia and he takes on the task of making her fall in love with him all over again. If you are not cuddling or crying by the end of this movie then you secretly enjoy killing kittens in your mind, that’s how cold you have to be not to get emotional with this movie. Even the trailer makes you want to hug your grumpy neighbor.
• Ice Cream – This is best combined before or after the Movie Theatre. Nothing says I love you more than a large Coldstone “Birthday Cake Remix” flavored ice cream (except an engagement ring inside “Birthday Cake Remix = Epic Win).
• Picnic – Either on the beach or at a park, take a blanket and a basket filled with preferably food you can eat with your fingers. It’s easier to clean up and you can feed each other if that’s your thing. What ever floats your boat. Take strawberries, grapes, cheese, crackers, cookies, sandwiches, etc. Oh and extra points for packing wine glasses for some wine or champagne. Add a strawberry to the bottom of the glass of champagne and your set.
• Breakfast in Bed – How can you go wrong with heart shaped pancakes? And there’s no excuse if you don’t live together. Wake up early, go to his/her house and make him/her pancakes. This way you can also get a sneak peek of what he/she looks like in the morning.
• Bike Ride – This is very similar to horseback riding but likelier to be less expensive. You can take your bikes if you own them or rent two bikes and ride them up to a scenic area and enjoy the view and each other’s company. Feel free to end the ride with a picnic.
• Theme Park or Local Fair/Carnival/Festival – This is also a very classic yet underrated date idea. You can pretend you’re scared on a ride and hold on to your date (you would probably have to be a girl to pull this off) or you can win your date a big stuffed animal (you would probably need to be a guy to pull this one off).
• Stargaze – My personal favorite area to stargaze: drive to an empty lot or parking lot near a local airport and sit on the hood or trunk of your car and watch the planes takeoff and land. This is also the best place to view the stars since there’s usually no trees around. Works well when combined with ice cream, smoothies or other desserts. You can also stargaze at a beach or park.
• Skydiving – If you can do this for Valentine’s Day you should marry each other immediately. Enough said.
• Wine Tasting – This one is self-explanatory. Just be careful not to get too tipsy because nothing can ruin a date more than an incoherent partner.
• Outdoor Dinner at Night – You eat dinner indoors everyday right?  You can have dinner at an outdoor restaurant like at a beach or maybe someplace with a terrace. This sets the mood just right because of the low lighting, candles and the stars. My recommendation is to time it just right so that you can see the sunset.
• Couples Spa – Guys tend to normally think of this as more of a girls thing. But a couples massage is the perfect date for relaxing and setting a very, very romantic mood.
• Surprise Homemade Dinner – This tends to work best if you’re usually not the one who cooks dinner, because it takes the element of surprise to the next level. If you are the one who usually does the cooking, make the romantic surprise stand out more by adding extra details to the table, such as rose petals, candles, prettier dishware and cook something a little fancier than usual (if your cooking skills allow you to do so… unlike mine).

For extra savings I would recommend checking for any local specials or sales and always remember to compare prices so that you can get more bang for your buck. There are also a lot of daily deals and specials websites that usually offer coupons and sales based on upcoming holidays. I highly recommend taking advantage of these websites and checking them daily for some great offers especially since most of the offers are for limited time only. Such websites include Living Social (for worldwide deals), Groupon (for U.S deals) and Gustazos and Groupon PR (for Puerto Rico deals).

What’s the most romantic date you’ve ever been on? I’d love to hear about it.

Happy Valentine’s Day ♥

Outfit #1: I celebrated twice this year, first I went to dinner with my girls during the week and then to dinner and dancing with my boyfriend on the weekend. Here’s what I wore to dinner with the girls. This leopard dress is from the Sophia Vergara collection at K-Mart and guess how much it cost? $15 (original price $50)! I purchased it while it was on sale and had an additional 40% discount. Here’s the link to purchase online. It’s super comfy and really sexy, and not too revealing to still feel classy and not hoochie.

Outfit #2: Here’s what I wore to dinner and dancing with my boyfriend. I previously showed this dress on a past haul (link here) and I purchased it at Forever 21 for $9.80. Super inexpensive dress. It is a bit shorter than the first dress but still very comfortable. I think this is probably the closest I’ll ever come to feeling like Kim Kardashian in my lifetime. (I swear I’m not trying to show my butt in the last photo, just the back of the dress.)

Here’s the lovely birthday present my boyfriend gave me. No it’s not an engagement ring (yet).

By the way, sorry about the photo quality in the outfit photos. I purchased a new camera and tripod which hopefully will arrive in the mail soon. So here’s to more outfit of the days and makeup looks coming soon!

Oh and have you checked out my renewed “About Me” section? I switched it up a little…

♥

What you’ll need:

1. Dish-washing liquid detergent 
2. Extra virgin olive oil
3. Paper towels
4. Clean dish
5. Sink with water
6. Dirty makeup brushes

• Step 1: Pour about half of a tablespoon of both the extra virgin olive oil and the dish-washing liquid detergent on top of each other as shown below. You don’t really have to measure the amounts, you can guestimate it at a little more than a quarter size amount depending on how many brushes you’d like to clean. The dish-washing detergent will clean out all of the makeup from the brushes and the extra virgin olive oil will condition the brushes and keep them soft.

• Step 2: Swirl your brushes in the mixture in circular motions until you notice the makeup coming off of the brushes and they start looking clean. Then rinse the brushes in a sink under running water until you no longer see any more bubbles and the bristles should feel clean and not oily or soapy.

• Step 3: Dab the brushes dry on a paper towel or regular kitchen towel and then lay them flat on a clean paper towel so that they can dry (curious cat is optional). If you do this before going to bed they are usually dry by morning. I recommend doing this process at least once a week or as much as needed depending on how much you use your makeup brushes.

♥

Every week IFB hosts a weekly roundup (called Links à la Mode) where you submit your best blog post of the week and they go through all of them and select a top 20. I’ve been submitting my weekly posts basically every week since creating this blog (which was not too long ago) so you can imagine my excitement at finally being selected. I honestly consider it an honor to be on the list and share the excitement with all of the wonderfully talented fashion bloggers who were also selected. So without further ado here’s IFB’s weekly roundup:

Fresh New Start

Edited by: Collette Osuna of Statements in Fashion

1. Head & Shoulders “Smooth & Silky” Dandruff Shampoo (aprox $7.49)- I pretty much purchased all of the expensive dandruff shampoos available over-the-counter before purchasing this one thinking that the cheap ones like Head & Shoulders weren’t going to work. Boy was I wrong. I have not seen a single flake in my head since using this shampoo. And the best part: it doesn’t dry out my hair. I have seriously curly hair which is currently chemically straightened, it’s also dyed a lighter color, and on top of that I straighten it with a flat-iron at least twice a week so it goes through intense heat damage, spilt ends and occasional frizziness. I’ve used shampoos that have cost me up to $28 each and none have worked better on my hair than this one.

2. Avon “Silicone Glove” Hand Cream (aprox $5)- This is the best hand lotion I’ve ever tried. It’s so good I keep one at my apartment and the other at my cubicle in the office and I use it basically after every time I wash my hands. It literally feels like it’s creating a super soft protective silicone glove around your hands.

3. Neutrogena “Oil-free Acne Wash” (aprox $7.49) – I have been using this sporadically for years and every time I try a different acne wash I always seem to return to this one. I recently used the Clinique’s Acne Soap (which retails for $16 liquid/$12 bar) and to be honest worked pretty well, but the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash gives very comparable to equal results at a much lower, affordable price.

4. Clean & Clear “Dual Action Moisturizer” (aprox $6.99) – This moisturizer is formulated specifically to hydrate and treat acne prone skin. Like I mentioned in #3, I have also tried Clinique’s Moisturizing Lotions (which retail around $13-$25), among others, and have returned to this one and with this one I will stay. No other moisturizer does the job of hydrating my skin all day without making me feel oily and without causing me to break out. And it is light-weight enough to even use under my foundation. And the minty feel it has upon applying to the skin is very refreshing but gentle.

5. Clinique “All About Eyes” Eye Cream ($29) – Ok, so I’m not sure if this one really counts. Besides being the most expensive on the list, I haven’t really purchased it. To me $29 is seriously expensive for an eye cream. So what I do is wait until Clinique is giving away their seasonal “bonus gifts” with the purchase of aprox $25 and I check to see if a trial size of this eye cream is in it and if so I make a purchase totaling $25 and get a lot of goodies plus the eye cream! And the trial size contains exactly the same amount (.5 oz) as the retail size.

6. Crece Pelo Hair Growth Treatment (aprox $10)- I swear by this. This probably isn’t available in your area but I purchased mine in my local Wal-Mart. And from what I see online, it can be purchased at www.amazon.com. This hair treatment leaves your hair so soft and tangle free and it really does stimulate hair growth. My hair grows noticeably faster when I use this product. I also notice less breakage and split ends.

7. Revlon “Colorstay” Foundation (Combination to Oily Skin) (aprox $12.99)- This is by far the best drug-store foundation for oily skin. It provides medium to full coverage and will last all day.

8. Gain “Apple Mango Tango” Laundry Detergent (aprox $6)- I used to always buy the cheapest laundry detergent at the super market, until one day I ran out of detergent right in the middle of doing laundry and this detergent was just lying around in my apartment’s laundromat and I used some. Your clothes will smell sooooo good. I have literally had people tell me I smell good without having put on any perfume and then they’d sniff me when I tell them it’s my Laundry Detergent (yeah, totally weird). Plus I do both my whites and colors all together in the wash and this works great for both.

9. Crest Complete “Extra White with Scope Outlast” Toothpaste (aprox $4) – I embarrassingly admit to severe morning breath and I need a powerful toothpaste to kill it. This one is as good as it gets.

10. Scotch-Brite “Soap Dispensing Dishwand” (aprox $3) – From now on this is the only way I’ll do the dishes. My stepmom bought one for me in Florida. Unfortunately I have not seen it available in Puerto Rico so I would have to purchase the refills online. You fill the wand with the dishwashing soap (preferably Gain Apple Mango Tango for awesomeness) and it automatically dispenses on the sponge while you do the dishes. Plus no more having to actually touch yucky food to scrape it off the plate.

♥

What Santa Left Me Under The Tree ♥:

Guess Watch with interchangeable bands. Gift from my Dad. 

Jessica Simpson Heart Necklace from Zales. Gift from my Dad.

Coach Purse! with optional long strap. Gift from my boyfriend ♥.

Nars Blush in the color Orgasm. (Best blush ever!!) Gift from my boyfriend ♥.

Victoria Secret Pink Half-Zip Pullover in Sugar Plum. Purchased with a gift card given to me by my Dad.

Image via www.victoriassecret.com

Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Push-up. (Best bra ever! Seriously, every woman needs one of these. It’s like memory foam for your boobs!). Again purchased with gift card.

Image via www.victoriassecret.com

Body by Victoria Push-Up Bra. Again purchased with gift card.

Image via www.victoriassecret.com

 Elizabeth Arden Fragrance Set. Includes Red Door, 5th Avenue, Pretty (my favorite) & Green Tea. Gift from my mother-in-law.

What Santa Left Me At The Mall ♥:

Sephora Collection Bronzer in the Color Bora Bora $15 @ Sephora

Image via www.sephora.com

Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in the Color Medium $25 @ Sephora (best concealer ever!)

Image via www.sephora.com

Bath & Body Works Twilight Woods Fragrance Set

Image via www.bathandbodyworks.com

Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Set

Image via www.bathandbodyworks.com

Sexy LBD (little black dress) from H&M $17.95 (I promise to do an OOTD when I wear it.)

Skin tight lace pattern dress from Forever 21 $9.80. (OK I agree the dress looks horrible in the photo, but when you put it on, it fits like a glove. I promise to do an OOTD with this dress too when I wear it.)

Sheer button down long sleeve blouse in ivory from Rainbow Stores. $16.80

Same sheer blouse as above in black. $16.80 Rainbow Stores.

Brash Nail Polish in the colors Totally Teal, Toxic Purple, & Red Riot. Purchased @ Payless Shoe Stores $2.99

♥

So those who know me, know that I hate Christmas. Literally hate it. I have very, very few good memories of Christmas from my childhood due to economic problems & deaths in the family; all together just a not-so-happy-childhood. And so Christmas always seems to make me really depressed. Especially this year, since my mom and little brother moved to California this summer, leaving me with absolutely no relatives on this damn island. I’m very appreciative though, to have a very supportive boyfriend and caring friends whose wonderful families never forget to invite me over to their homes for the holidays. But no matter how much you appreciate their support, your heart still wishes that it was your own relatives you’re laughing at and making fun of and celebrating with.

Thanks to my annually holiday depression, I’ve never put up my own Christmas tree, even though I’ve lived in my apartment for three years now. I would just tell people my cat would knock it down, but the truth was it would just make me too sad to look at. This year I went so far as to telling everyone at the office that I didn’t even want Christmas decorations anywhere near my cubicle (and I’m sure that got everyone talking).

I don’t know exactly where or how the Grinch intervention happened but it did. I didn’t notice that my holiday related sadness was affecting the few people I did have around me so I decided it was finally time to snap out of it. I believe it occurred around the time my boyfriend talked me into putting up a tree, and the thought of having a memory of decorating it together would be wonderful. But that is not how he saved Christmas (yet).

Since I was going to be putting up my very first tree, I didn’t want it to be expensive, so you could imagine my excitement when I saw the dollar store was selling Christmas trees and decorations. In all I spent around $25, including the tree. This got me pretty excited so I decided to put my tree up the day before Thanksgiving. I took out all of the decorations, placed them on the floor and began to take out my tree, when I noticed, the base to hold the tree upright was not in the box. I was so angry and sad. That’s what I get for buying everything at the dollar store. I couldn’t explain why, but I was hell-bent on putting the tree up that night and it was already 10 PM and I was literally about to throw the damn tree in the garbage and run to Walgreen’s to buy an overpriced tree (if they had any left because here in PR people tend to put the tree up on Thanksgiving weekend). That’s when my boyfriend looked at me and said those words I will never forget: “You still haven’t noticed that your boyfriend’s an engineer?”. He swore that if he couldn’t make a base for the tree out of whatever I had lying around my apartment he would buy me a new one himself. I never thought this possible since the only thing around my apartment are shoes and cat toys. But create a Christmas tree base he did: he somehow found an empty box in a closet (the box my dish set came in when I moved in three years ago) and stuffed it with curtains and bed sheets and put the tree in the opening and then taped it all around with blue painters tape (since it’s all I had) and Voilà! we had a tree base. This made me so happy. It taught me that I shouldn’t get wrapped up in the small things, and that the true meaning of Christmas is making the best out of what you do have. As you can see in the photo it is slightly slanted but that just made it that much more special. And that’s how he saved my Christmas (and the tree ).

I also owe an extra special thanks to my Dad. When my Dad called me to tell me he would help me with a plane ticket to visit them for the holidays, I did my best to try out some holiday spirit and got really excited. Even though I wasn’t going to be able to spend Christmas day with them, I would still get the chance to see family for the holidays. We had a Pre-Christmas Day where we exchanged presents and had holiday dinner, and this meant the world to me.

I hope to post soon (soon meaning hopefully before December ends) all of the amazing presents I received and some things I bought while I was in Florida.

I hope everyone had a very happy holidays, filled with joy, happiness and blessings. And may the new year bring you success, love, peace and health and overall may you stick to your resolutions!

xoxo Lisa ♥

]]> http://lifeofarecessionista.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/how-my-boyfriend-saved-christmas/feed/ 4 lifeofarecessionista IMG_0326 IMG_0328 IMG_0332 http://lifeofarecessionista.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/floral-oxford-wedges-outfit-of-the-day/ http://lifeofarecessionista.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/floral-oxford-wedges-outfit-of-the-day/#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:16:28 +0000 Life of a Recessionista http://lifeofarecessionista.wordpress.com/?p=445 Continue reading »

Hi everyone! My very first outfit of the day! Yay!! I wore this outfit to work on Friday 12/9/11. I wore my sheer floral print blouse mentioned in one of my last posts and paired it with jeans and my new brown oxford wedges, also mentioned in the same previous post. Please pay no attention to my “I’ve-been-wearing-this-makeup-all-day” face. I got dressed and ready in the morning, went to work and went to the mall afterwards and took this photo around 8 PM so you’re looking at my 13 hour make up face. I wanted to photoshop it but then realized I don’t know how. Anyhow, I really loved my outfit and wanted to share it with you.

Oh and yes, I realize how bad I am at posing in front of a camera. I take much better pictures when I don’t know a camera is pointing at me (sort of like Chandler from the TV series Friends, did you see that episode?).  Since I live alone in an apartment complex, my scenery is limited to my boring walls (unless you want to see the parking lot) and a self-timer camera. I promise to try to make my future OOTDs more interesting and use different walls.  And I also apologize for the multi-plug cord on the side. I pushed it out of the way but leave it to Bacon to pull it out again. Here’s the back view of the outfit and proof that Bacon did it:

Completely unrelated to my outfit, this week my bosses were in town and they took us out to dinner at restaurant on the beach. I’m in love with the view and scenery of the place. Here’s photos of the view, our dinner table and my appetizer – Tempura Shrimp with a Chili Plantain Sauce (it was delicious!).

BLOOPER! Bacon stepped in front of the camera.

♥

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