The Melting Pot for the first time..

 Matt has had this $50 gift certificate for The Melting Pot for over a year now, it was given to him from his previous company. We've been meaning to go out and have a romantic dinner date there, but one thing always leads to another and we just could never make a set day to go. Well, I woke up this morning (well, I woke up at around 2pm) with a "Hey, let's finally go to The Melting Pot today, pleassseee!?" Plans were now in motion!

 I've read many YELP reviews on this spot a month ago and everyone just complained about how pricey it was and it wasn't worth it unless you go for there happy hour (4:30pm- 6:30pm & 9pm- 11pm & ALL day Sundays/ Mondays). We arrived at 5pm and were seated at the dining area within 5 minutes I would say. I didn't realize that happy hour was ONLY SERVED AT THE BAR. -.-  I could have ordered $16 cheese/ chocolates for $8 instead. We were already seated, so whatever. Happy hour will have to wait til next time. This is our first date in a while, I guess it would be okay to splurge, right? My baby is so amazing to take me out for an expensive ass dinner and it's not even for any special occasion at all!
 We ordered the 4-course meal for the couple ($96 + tax= $104 plus gave him $22 tip). The food was delicious, but definitely NOT WORTH the price you pay. Not AT ALL. I see what all the YELP folks were talking about. It was good, just not AMAZZZiNG good. At least we got to see/ taste for ourselves! :0)
1st-Course: fondue cheese, veggies, bread, tortilla chips, green apples. I wasn't too fond of the cheese, but I did try everything. Babe was drowning his picks with mounds of this gooey mess. The cheese was EXTREMELY stringy! I loved the texture, but there was a hint of something I didn't like, but I don't know what it is!! But you can even see in the picture howww cheesy this baby was!

2nd-Course: shrimp cerviche(sp.?) salad. This salad was soooo good!!! I especially loved the lime vinegarette w/ the crushed pineapple pieces. The avocados were delish too! It was more of a chunky guacamole texture. The garlic&wine seasoning the waiter gave us to sprinkle onto the salad was the perfect touch! Man, just looking at this makes me want some more..

3rd-Course: lobster tails, steak, chicken, veggies, raviolis, pork w/ boullion(sp.?) soup base, and sauces. It LOOKS amazing, tasted alright, the quantity was definitely not worth the price you are paying.  Nothing I would brag about. (But I did happen to fall in love with there cream cheese/ sour cream/ chives/ parksley dip! Yummmmm..)

4th-Course:DEEE-ZERT! ying yang milk/white chocolate fondue, strawberries, rice crispies, bananas, cake pieces, jazzed up marshmallows, cheesecake. It definitely looked too pretty to eat!! :0) But of course, my ass dove in right after I put the camera down. The whole thing was scrumptious! You can't go wrong with dipping yummy treats into warm melted chocolate, it's simple and satisfying!

 Cee has been trying to take me here to try their Ying Yang Martini and I thought about it, but I'm not a big drinker ESPECIALLY during the day, so I settled for the it's fat non-alcoholic twin, Ying Yang fondue! Anyways, our waiter was extremely helpful with everything and was kind enough to put some extra pieces of fruits for the chocolate in our togo box. :0) Yayayayaya-- I love me some leftovers. 

BTW-- I added some fancies to my nails. Anyways, good night, folks! I'm off to watch the newest episode of "Archer" on FX with the boys!<3

#4 Finger Paints "Did you AST-HER out?"

What I have on my nails NOW! I freakin' fell in LOVE with this color!! I really like Finger Paints nail polishes, it's just a teensy bit cheaper than the higher end stuff, the polish dries fast, the colors are VERY virbant and it the polishes does dry-out as fast as most polishes. All MY FP polishes are still runny and goof for use and I've had them for over a year! The new color I got is called "Did you AST-HER out?" I really don't know what it's in reference to, but I'd describe it as a milky, deep barbie pink. These pictures don't do the color justice at all! I'd say it's a bit creamier color than the picture of the bottle, and definitely NOT orangey AT ALL like the picture I took myself. Damn, seriously, these pictures suck, TRY this color! It's my FAVORITE new pink polish!!! 

#3 Sinful Colors & Rhinestones

SOOO.. Basically when that LACE LOOK didn't work out for me, that same night, I re-polished over that pink color with an even brighter neon-y color in SC's "24/7". Then applied 2 or 3 coats of SC's "Pinky Glitter". <--Pro: they have huge chunks of glitter, so the sparkle is incredibly noticeable, Con: because of all those big pieces of glitter, the polish itself is really thick and gooey, you definitely don't have a smooth finish (This is where my FAVORITTTTEEE Seche Vite top coat comes in!).Anyways, finished it up by adding a few rhinestones to the tips of each finger, and voila! :0)

I LOVED that the rhinestone gave my tips a sparkle finish and the whole pink&diamond is loved by all girls. I DISLIKED that it also gave it a weird ET phone home look in certain angles.. Hahahaa, maybe that's just me.

#2 Ivory Lace on Hot Pink

Typically, I paint my natural nails, but honestly, with work and everything, they always chip when I have them at the length I want. Once in a while I'll use press-on nails with or without a design already on them. But then I remembered one of my bests, Leeeeeeenda, actually taught me how to do your own acrylic nails. :0) Mwahahaha, that means no paying $25+ just to get your nails done at the salon. I was going to stop by Sally's Beauty, but I was lazy, so just got the Kiss Acrylic Nail Set at a nearby Walgreens for $17.99  (Don't think $17.99 is a lot considering how many uses you can get this kit!).   

Went to JoAnn's Fabric Store, picked out some random stuff I could glue on to my nails. I loveeee lace, and since the HS polish strips were so-and-so for me, I figure WHY NOT use real lace fabric?! I also love that they have random tiny goodies you can glue-on for the 3-D nail craze that's been going on. Personally, I think the 3-D is a great idea, and some people get them done incredible cute. But seriously, I don't like when people get them TOO long (Seriously, look like FRITO chips!) and I don't like them when they are TOO round, like picture below. (Yes, had to pick this photo because iSPY Kitty!! :D) 

Anyways-- Finally walked out of JoAnn's with a few stuff & tested them out that same night! Cut up the lace to fit my fingernails AFTER I've gave myself some longers tips (this is where the acrylic kit comes in), painted them a Sally Hansen Diamond pink nail polish, let dry, applied a top coat & set the lace pieces onto each finger in different positions. I decided they looked REALLY cute, so I took some pictures before before THEY GOT RUINED.. -.- This is a problem of mine, I can't just leave things alone! I'm always trying to be a perfectionist and I regret it each time! 

OKAY-- So I don't have a picture of what the hell it looked like when I ruined it, but I'll tell you what happened. And you can't see in these pics because they were ugly, so I photoshopped them out as best I could. But basically, the top coat wasn't strong enough, random parts of the lace edges would be sticking out. I tried trimming them, but I kept messing up. Finally, I decided to just apply the top coat over the whole thing and wow.. Am I stupid or what? HAHAHA, the lace wasn't lace anymore, you would barely see it, the ivory color sure was gone, the lace was soaked up with polish. I could have just kept the rest and fixed that one finger, but I didn't like that it was all unraveling too soon and ended up taking them off. :/ Will definitely try again though, I have plenty of lace still left over to play with! :0) Practice makes perfect! 

#1 Sally Hansen Salon Effect "Lace Up"

Yeah, as you can tell, there are days or even weeks where I have too much time on my hands (literally! :D) I like to start random beauty projects and it has been a while since I gave my nails some tending to. These aren't the best designs, but I was just going with it. Sometimes, I'll think up of something and then come up with an idea before I decide to apply it to my nails, but this time, I just went with the flow and just added whatever I wanted as I went along. It didn't come out too bad, but not exactly amazing either. Ehh! Whatever.

Sally Hansen Salon Effect in "Lace Up". 

I finally found this baby! Every time I would look, this specific design was always out everywhere! I was so excited and was waiting for a good occasion to wear these babies, but just couldn't wait anymore! I don't have much of a life anymore, so who knows when the next time I'll be going somewhere special. In fact, most of the time, plans are made unexpectedly, so I wouldn't have time anyways. So... I also purchased press-on/ glue-on nails. I didn't want to waste them on short, puny nails. So I glued on the nails and then apply the HS strips after. THAT WAS A BAD IDEA. I thought I measured correctly, but when it was too late, I realized that the fake nails were too big for the strips. I kept adding shit to fix mistakes, something I regret, because I feel like it made my fingers look too bulky. And I don't know why exactly, but now they looks like an old lady's button up shirt. Haha! Well, I guess everyone should try it out? You can find them anywhere, I got these from Rite Aid for $9.79!

first haircut of 2011!

If you're confused about who to see for thee BEST cuts, go see Jae at Gene Juarez (Tacoma Mall)! It's a bit pricey: $50, but it's SOOO worth it! He used to be at a different spot which was way cheaper, but he's moved on to bigger and better things. He does absolutely an amazing job! He's the only one I've never had any hair issues with and he blends/cuts my (& everyone else I know) hair perfectly, EVERY TIME. This time, he curled it to give it TONS of volume (Hehe, I kept complaining how flat my hair was). Thanks, Jae!! I love it!<3