Road Trip 2011 - Earthship

Woo Hoo~~ So excited and absolutely salute my persistence, this is the last post of the New Mexico Road Trip Chean & I did in May, yup, I've been dragging on this for literally 6 months and I'm officially ending this awesome gateway with the second most rewarding discovery we encountered along the road -- E.A.R.T.H.S.H.I.P!!! (in case you are curious, I rank Taos Pueblo the most rewarding and exciting experience throughout the trip).

Sounds cool huh? It actually kinda looks like a do-it-yourself spaceship but with zero mobility and is built on earth...


#1 Google Earthship and you will find images of these amazing buildings...

We saw all these super unique architectures along the freeway and I was screaming my lungs out to get out of the car! I must go check it out!!!


#2 But most of roads lead us to private driveways that stated: Keep out, private property.


#3 After dunno how many turns and dead-ends, we elatedly saw this super duper tiny info box. There's a earthship tour available at the show house!


#4 That's the show house, unfortunately it was closed T_______T


#5 Anyhow, we still managed to steal a couple of cool pics...


#6 These recycled materials are the "secret recipe" of constructing the Earthship Biotecture Green Buildings! So amazing.


#7 One of the buildings which is still under construction.


#8 Recycled cans and glass bottles.


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#10 This is definitely an art!


#11 We came back to the show house again after several days to quench the thirst of curiosity. That's the interior, cozy, homey, warm and surrounded by tons of plants.


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Here come the most FAQ, are they people who really live there? Coincidentally, the question was answered right on the first day while we were waiting for our table at a Mexican Restaurant in Santa Fe together with a lovely couple that actually own and live in an Earthship. O.M.G! Ok, we bombarded them with zillion of questions and they patiently explained every single details to us, like a realtor, noop, way better than that.

It's utterly amazing to know that they pay a super low annual utility cost (like around US$100), harvest rainwater for daily use. And jeez, the entire building is powered by the sun and the wind, a radically sustainable green building! Bare in mind that we missed the Earthship tour and now we got to talk to the real residents, we both were in awe.

Still wondering how does it work? Uh, I'm going to let this video explain:



I truly hope to spend a night or two in an Eartship! The official Eartship site offers nightly rental. Who's in?



Happily blogged,
Bev

Pink Leopard R.A.W.R

#1 The nail polishes I use to create this sweet & wild nail art, right for the cold winter season.

1) Sally Hansen Acrylic Top Coat
2) Sally Hansen Base Coat
3) Sinful Colors - Easy Going 700
4) Urban Outfitters Nail Lacquer - Barstool
5) Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out
6) Skin Food Nail Vita - BR614


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Ok, I think the picture above pretty much speaks for itself, no further elaboration needed. Wakaka, I did such a great job photographing and recording the magazine-like step-by-step mani making process.

And now...


#6 That's how the end result supposed to loo like, despite my short & ugly nails...


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#8 Showing off my DIY feather earring too, yup, I made that earring~~ Wanna know how???


#9 Cute or not? It kinda looks like feather hair extension, liking it ^_____^V

***************** Extra Tips *****************

Here's the ultimate secret to keep more money in your pocket! With this super duper easy step, you can create a new nail color for your nail art without splurging the extra bucks on expensive nail lacquer~~

In this case, I tried to tone down the dark brown color in order to create a softer & milky tone, simply by mixing it with the light pink color...

Taa Daa...

You can always add a lighter or darker color to create your desired tone. Simple enough huh? See, now you know why art class is super crucial, LOL. It's time for you to apply and make good use of the coloring skill you learned in primary school ;)

Have fun & enjoy!



Gorgeously yours,
Bev

Coffee & Our Story

I used to hate drinking coffee because it used to just remind me of all the endless sleepless nights when I would stay up all night for studies and exams. Ya, the typical SPM & STPM life, I'm sure you feel me too. The caffeine lifts were awesome but I hate the jittery feeling after. I quit caffeine for years, but then Starbucks Skinny Latte lured me again during my time working as a part-time sales assistant at GUESS, Sunway Pyramid.

You can't blame me cause Starbucks's located just opposite the GUESS store and they always give out free drink samples! But I insisted to quit after several months due to financial issue; I was so broke because of my compulsive Starbucks latte consumption. I mean if I were rich, I didn't have to get a part-time job; I worked because I was desperate for money. And rationally speaking, getting a RM10++ latte every day wasn't a bright plan at all although I managed to get 10% staff discount. No more coffee, serious. But guess what, I survived.

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Chean used to hate coffee too, not that he hated it but just not so into it until he was working with his ex boss, an incurable coffee abuser, in Portland. Jeez, you can't blame them, the city of Portland is everyone's idea of paradise, with a coffee shop on every corner. You hardly find coffee that tastes bad, very very very low possibility and if you do, congratulations, you just won yourself a lottery! See, it isn't that bad at all.

When I first moved to Portland (it was four years ago, can you imagine that? I mean I've been blogging for 4 years), Chean was so eager to show me around especially his favorite coffee shops in town; he also brought me to Seattle, the city where Starbucks opened its first store in 1971. Because of Chean I was hooked on coffee, again. We talk about coffee all the time, we could drive miles and miles for a caffeine fix, and sometimes, we'd just spend the whole day sitting in our favorite coffee shop, sipping coffee, reading magazine, browsing internet, drawing, daydreaming, chitchatting, laughing or just watching the rain trickle down the window...

We love coffee so much until we bought a condo where our favorite coffee shop located right downstairs. Insane I know. However, we are not much of a coffee expert, we just love spending quality time together in a quiet, relaxing and soothing environment... of course, having a cup of good coffee helps making a huge difference too.

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And for our pre-wedding photos, we both unanimously hope it can be taken at a coffee shop, not those franchise coffee shops where you can find anywhere in the world, but a local, unique and vintage one instead... So Jimmy, the photographer suggested 台南窄門咖啡館 -- a coffee shop that's situated in a 90-year-old building. That can't be more perfect.


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We're so happy with the end results because that's us, and that's what we love to do most of the time... One day, when Chean & I get old, we both will share the same story that you're reading now with our children, and hopefully, with our grandkids too... oh, and maybe in our own coffee shop, that'd be beyond perfect.



p/s: All photos credited to 飛魚記憶美術館 (Flying Fish Memory Museum).



With love,
Bev

Favorite iPhone Apps

This post is a little discriminative, I deeply apologize if you do not own an iPhone but frankly, you should really get one this Christmas or, ok my bad, maybe not iPhone 4S, patiently read this vapid post and wait for iPhone 5 instead.

One of many "boh liao" (boring, meaningless) things I do in the middle of the night is browsing the iPhone app store. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I really find the whole process of discovering, installing & testing the apps extremely fascinating; it's like finding the hidden gems and once you've found one, you are allowed to keep it, for F.R.E.E. How cool is that~~

Below are some of my current faves:


#1 Of course I know you are not blind, or else you won't be reading this. But I also thought the bigger the pic, the better it looks.


#2 K歌达人 is super fun! I'm not sure about you, but I'm a huge fans of Karaoke. Awesome sound quality, and you can record/replay the song you sang. Although the song choices are pretty limited, it's F.O.C and the free version's almost too good to be true. Perfect for practicing ^______^V


#3 Rock Band Free. I have this with me all the time, I rock on drums :p But I set it aside for quite some time due to my long nails, gonna brush up the skill again.


#4 Word Search. I'm addicted to word puzzle games ever since primary, it's a must-have especially when trapped by long-hour flights.


#5 Find Friends. Ok, I just downloaded this yesterday and Chean is (and will be) my only friend. A very useful app I'd say, LOL...


#6 DerManDar, a panaroma app. It's only FREE for just 48 hours, originally priced at US$ 1.99. Toyed with it and it's worth keeping.


#7 DECOPIC. Ideal for those who adore cute photo editing application like me! It has a lot of sweet twinkling stamps, and the skin brightening function works pretty well.


#8 Self Photo. Everyone knows the iPhone front camera sucks, it saves photo with horizontal reversed and makes me look hideous sometimes. This is a total lifesaver!


#9 MyFitnessPal. Hello full-time dieters, this app is a godsend! I'm using it to keep track of my daily calories intake. It has the largest food database of any iPhone calorie counter, Milo, Ping Pong Cream Cracker, Nasi Lemak and etc... You name it, they have it.

P.H.E.W.

D.O.N.E.

I'm sure many of you are a lot more tech savvy than me, sorry if this bores you. To those who I don't even understand why you are still reading this, I gratefully appreciate your time!

Feel free to share me your fave iPhone apps too, I wanna know! I wanna know! I wanna know!!!

Love you for reading ❤❤


p/s: The HelloKitty is just a wallpaper app. Search Hello Kitty Wallpaper on App Store and you will be able to find tons of similar apps ;)



Warm Regards,
Bev

WoW Factor

Here's an eye makeup tutorial some of you requested after reading The Secret To Gorgeous Photos blog entry. I'm a smoky eye fanatic; whatever the occasion or the season a smoky eye never goes out of style. Love its simplicity and the classic touch of sophistication.

Spend some time toying with warm eye shadow colors and jazz up with dark eyeliner, I'm sure you will love the dramatic effect too. E.N.J.O.Y ❤❤


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#2 I'm using Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette.


#3 I'm also using...

1) Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner (Espresso Ink)
2) Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner Eye Liner (Black Brown)
3) M.A.C Eye Pencil (Soft Black)
4) Maybelline Hello Kitty Volume Express Mascara


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Hope you find this helpful. With the holidays coming up, it's the perfect time to glam up yourself and to look your absolute best. I'll try my best to feed you with more tutorials. Stay tuned.

Have fun!

p/s: In case you're curious, I'm wearing The Dolly Eye color lenses (Ace Black) from Uniqso.



Painstakingly blogged,
Bev