festive baking...

Lately I've been on a baking spree. I made oatmeal coconut cookies and banana bread this week, and I'm currently hunting down a good gingerbread cookie recipe. Every time I've tried to make gingerbread cookies they've turned out too gingery and too hard. I like the chewy kind so if any one has a good recipe to share, PLEASE email it to me!! Although I shouldn't really be eating a lot of sweets, I compensated by going to a hot yoga class yesterday. Which means today I feel sore as if I had a deep tissue massage -- the good kind of pain.

Today is my day off so I'll be going down the to-do list, cleaning up and doing laundry and then shopping for a fridge tonight.

Good weather and damn good bargains...

This is a sneak peak at part of our new livingroom in the works. We're still planning on a few changes: new flooring, potential addition of a heated fireplace (I soooo want this), a bigger wall-mounted tv (at the insistence of the bf) etc. But for the most part the moving in has been going smoothly. If you're able to look past the turquoise carpet, check out that awesome microfiber celery-green couch! The colours are a bit off in the photo. The couch is actually a lot brighter and the walls a darker teal instead of the blue. My settings on my camera were off for the lighting but I haven't been using it regularly (I know, I know I should).

Whoever said that you should never paint a room with loud colours is crazy. Neutrals are safe but who has time for safe when you're too busy being crazy in love with bolds and brights. This girl has gone colour nuts. Colour oozes fuzzy feelings and I'm all about it. We also have a black accent wall in the livingroom, and dark gray and red in the bedroom, but those are for a later reveal. I'm having so much fun with the home that I'm thinking about picking up a fun interior design/decorating course in January.

Anyhoo, my whole point of posting this photo was the couch. I love a good bargain and on Sunday I took off to a magical furniture warehouse sale and we ended up walking out the front door with that couch. I think retail it was like a grand (redic) and at warehouse sale price $399. After some cat and mouse we nabbed it at $284 (must be the bargaining skills I picked up in Asia). BRAND SPANKING NEW. Unreal. I love it. I had to do some convincing with the bf in the showroom seeing as celery green (I think it's actually called guacamole) isn't a typical colour the bf was going for when we were thinking of getting new seating, but I say it's bright and colourful and super happy. It's totally us in couch form.

People who have come over always ask about the question mark on the wall. If you need a long, philosophical answer you're just not going to find one. The answer is we just both fell in love with it. It was a random purchase item when we were shopping for linens. No rhyme or reason for it except that it's becoming a conversational piece. That's pretty much how I am. If I like it, go with it without having to explain. It's quite liberating to think that you don't have to have a reason or explanation. I find it funny that at 26 I'm still saying "just because...".

Today: Moving more stuff and packing up more boxes. Trying to organize closets and possibly heading over to London Drugs to pick up some vitamin C.

up..up...and away...

Brass vintage Amelie earrings $22 (Europe is my next wish list destination... *sigh*)

The last couple of weeks have been a blur. I finally hit 26 head-on and I have to say it wasn't so bad. I got treated to a relaxing one-hour massage and got to go to any restaurant of my choice (which was even more exciting because I've been eating super good which meant I could finally indulge...ooooh carbs, how I love thee). It was a quiet birthday but probably one of the best.

Getting older didn't feel that bad this year. Probably because I've had a ton of change going on so I didn't really have time to notice. We revamped the layout of the store to create more flow and room for new inventory. It's finally all coming together. On top of that I've been doing some wall painting, new furniture buying, and all that good stuff that comes with moving into a house. Who knew I'd enjoy shopping for paint. I love projects and this is definitely a big one, one that I'm super excited about so it's been a ton of fun. I'll be moving at the end of the month which means my apartment is full of boxes and my room is a mess. I can hardly find anything and my bed has become my second desk/thing to throw stuff on, but I'm happy.

To add to that my whole POS system at the store decided to go A-wall on me so we spent most of last week updating to an entirely new system and inputting everything back in. Not fun.

My family was also in town for a few days which meant dim sum and lots of visiting. I'm still trying to detox form all the sugar I had, including homemade cookies and cereal treats my neice made. We went to see Where the Wild Things Are and it was quite different from what I had thought it would be. I liked it a lot, especially the music, but it was deeper than I was expecting for a children's book.

Today: I got a bunch of new vintage jewelry in so I'll be working on that and making turkey meat balls for dinner.

end of wedding season...

Photo from kampphotography.com
Bride: Sarah Jane
Makeup: Siuleen Thai

As the Fall season starts rolling in, so does the end of wedding season. I have a wedding to do this Saturday and a couple more in the next few months before I'm all done for 2009. Weddings are one of my favorite makeup jobs to do. It's not as creative and crazy as some of the photo shoots I've gotten to be a part of, but I love weddings because on that day you get to be a part of it all. A part of someone's special day. Your work will be in photos they will hold on to for years and years to come and I think that's pretty cool.

Today: Totally staying inside away from the rain. Working on some postcard designs and snuggling up with a pot of jasmine tea.

rain, rain, go away...

I can't complain. Even though today is gloomy and rainy and drizzling all over my new pair of shiny blue flats, I can't complain. This long weekend was beautiful and well-spent outside at the beach in the sun with good friends. The fact that they brought cookies and berries was also a nice bonus. Since coming back from my Toronto trip I've caught up with clients and finished a wedding early Saturday morning before taking Sunday AND Monday off. Yup. TWO DAYS in a row. That felt weird...and awesome at the same time. And then I thought to myself, most people have two days off in a row --it's called a weekend. And it made me think that I need to take a few more of these every now and then the idea of planning another trip crept into my head. And when that happens, who knows where I'll end up...

It's September already and I am SO ready for fall. I'm working on ordering a shipment of fall clothing...cute sweaters and the like. We have a few fall coats in this week and more coming within the next few. Fall is my favorite season because of all the colors and the changes that take place. Feels kinda magical.

It being September also makes me realize that I am a month away from turning 26 years old. Every year I have some kind of big change that I need to do to get over turning a year older. So far I have no plans for any major changes before next month and I think for the first time in a loooong time I'm ok with that. I think I'm finally starting to learn to live in the moment and just be content with all that surrounds me. For now I am going to be happy with that but it could just be that it hasn't hit me and the panic hasn't sunk in quite yet.

Today: Putting laundry away and doing a little shopping. Creeping under a heavy blanket with some green tea.

back at it...

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging. Mostly because I haven't had a chance to take any photos recently. Due to many requests I've decided to extend the lash extensions contest to the end of September so you can still get your entries in!

I've been busy with weddings, stagettes, lash extensions and just with the overall store lately. I am however going to be taking a mini vacation to Toronto this week mixing a little business with fun. My friend is getting married out there and I will be visiting some manufacturers. 2009 has definitely been my year of travel. I'm excited at the idea of what 2010 will hold...

Yesterday was extremely busy with clients because I will be gone all week. I have some of the best, loyal clients in any field. But I feel like every now and then I need to leave this city and take a breather. For some reason even more so this year. Maybe because the store has been the busiest its ever been. Or maybe because I've done so much taveling this year I just can't adjust and sit still again. Whatever the case may be I am thankful for being able to do what I do for work, and lucky to be able to get away from it some times so I can come back and truly appreciate it all.

Mini road trips and getaways...

Last weekend we jumped in a little car and took off on a mini roadtrip (sour skittles and all). I took Tuesday and Wednesday off work and skidaddled over to Saskatoon to visit some very cool people (see photos below). It was a packed fun-filled couple of days with a few plopping-down-and-not-moving-pulling-grass kind of tantrums...
and of course a lot more smiles along the way.

We canoed, parked, walked, climbed, slid, and splashed. *sigh* I love road trips.

And now I'm back at work...

Which isn't so bad because we are getting things done. done. done. and done. Wallpaper, check. Window signage, almost check (if they had measured the window properly the first time it would have been checked but they didn't, such is life so I'll have to wait til Tuesday).

So I have been working away on projects and I'm finally almost done with a few. We put in new clothing racks and have revamped. this is BIG. Next week (so they promise me) we'll have our new sign outside. Over the last two years of running this business we have grown and expanded and it's about time our sign/store reflected these changes. We are no longer a cosmetics lounge. No...we're more than that. I like to refer to us as a lifestyle boutique. A place where you come to get dressed-to-the-nines from head-to-toe because we breathe life. We crave it. Invent it. Spread it. And we're not afraid to pull out the bright red lipstick or lime green handbag to do it.

What this means...

We now carry: clothing, accessories, handbags, cosmetics...you want it-- it's pretty much here. We still provide our awesome esthetic services as well, making us a unique destination for all your girly needs. Not only that, but we have stuck to our initial concept which was:

1. products/services that make women feel beautiful

2. exclusive products that you can't get everywhere else in Winnipeg - afterall, what's the fun in having a great look when it's duplicated across the city. At Splurge, it's all about you.

So. With these two points as our store anchors we've added clothing, handbags and accessories that are available in limited quantities. We carry a maxiumum of TWO of each piece of clothing style (most of them are one-of-a-kind). The styles are fresh, unique and femme. Come by and see the new store. Email us at info@splurgbeauty.com or leave us a comment on what you think for prizes!