Bloomingdales Friends & Family Sale!

Hi everyone!

How many of you are Bloomingdales fans?
Bloomingdales is having its Friends & Family sale where you can save 20% off on any of their items in stores. They are also offering Free Shipping during this time.

Want to save even more money?

I've been really into Ebates these days. If you don't know what Ebates is, it's a dream-come-true for those of us who enjoy online shopping. For every purchase you make from your favorite online stores such as Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta, etc., through the Ebates site, then you will receive cashback from your purchase. 

Speaking of Sephora, Ebates is giving back 8.0% cashback for a limited time only.

What's great is that Ebates has a lot of stores that I enjoy shopping at! 

If you already are using Ebates, then yay for saving some extra cash!

If you haven't joined Ebates yet, then I invite you to join today.

The link below is my referral link for you to use.

Join Ebates!

Ebates has a nice system where you can refer friends! :)

Okay... so to get back with the Bloomingdales Friends & Family Sale.

Here are some items that caught my eyes:

Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Marci' Watch with Rose Gold

I've been eyeing this watch for SO long. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Steve Madden 'Tanggoo' Wedge Booties

Such a pretty color! Perfect for the fall season.

Kate Spade New York 'Liberty Street Helena Shopper'

Looks very Chanel-like? Currently on sale now!

We'll see! ;)

Happy Shopping!

Adventures in Europe (Part 3)... Castles, Peacocks, and Traveling in Austria

Here I am again with my final "Adventures in Europe" post. I feel like it's been ages since I was there, but I guess it's only been a little over a month. I spent most of my time traveling and working in Austria. Working, meaning performing. :) 

:CAUTION: This is a picture heavy post!

At first, I wasn't sure what to expect in Austria. I've taken German classes for around 4-5 years and learned a lot about German culture, but hardly touched on Austrian culture. Sadly, I didn't really recall much of my German since these classes I took were from years ago. I guess when you don't practice or keep studying a language, you lose it.

 My "home base" was in Graz, Austria since that was where I spent most of my time in Europe. Graz is the third largest city in Austria. On my third day there, we were invited to a Governor's Reception party in the Eggenberg Castle.

The crazy part about this castle was how there were peacocks just lounging outside. They literally were about 20 of them just hanging out and squawking at the people.

and when you get an angry peacock.... you get this:

Right when I entered the castle, I was taken into the large courtyard in the middle of the castle.

As silly as this may sound, my camera's battery died! :( I couldn't take more pics after I entered the castle.

So on with more adventures in Austria we go.

My friends and I decided to take a visit to Mariatrost, a huge church in Graz.

I can't believe I wore heels on this trip. Definitely poor planning on my part.

Those stairs felt like forever, but the top was definitely worth it!

Mariatrost had a strange mustardy color. I wouldn't say the outside is as appealing as the inside.

Here is a picture of my face-of-the-day there. It was super sunny so I couldn't get a picture where I was smiling.

Since it was so hot, we decided to make our way into the "downtown" area and went to a nice sky bar.

A picture of my drink. It was my absolute favorite drink in Europe!

A picture with my lovely friends I made in Austria.

Enough pictures? Let me just tell you a little bit about my trip to Salzburg. Actually, it will be more like let me "show" you my trip to Salzburg.

We visited this castle!

Salzburg is proud of being home to the oldest restaurant in the world.

Made in 803!

Um.. how?

and here are some pics of me dressed up for a concert I was performing in.

Hope you enjoyed and didn't mind that this was so heavy in pics!

See you soon,

Minky

Voluminous Bouncy Hair with Blowdrying

Hello everyone!

I'm back and this time with my first ever hair tutorial. I've been sick for the past couple days so my voice is all weird in this video, but hope you guys don't mind.
If you've been keeping up with me on twitter and facebook, you will know that I got my hair dyed in the ombre style a few weeks ago. Ombre hair is when you go from dark to light hair... kind of like a tye-dye effect. I also got some feather extensions put in to jazz up my hairstyle. I've been feeling kind of bored of my usual long and permed hair and I wanted a change.

When I stopped by my local Walgreens about a few week ago, I picked up this Conair You Lift brush.

What's unique about this brush is that it's not the typical round brush, but a three-sided brush making it extremely versatile. You can achieve straight hair, voluminous hair, wavy hair, and even curly hair with this brush.

The description says, "This unique three-sided head brush is perfect for adding extra volume to hair styles. The edges of the barrel allow you to get closer to the scalp while styling to add extra lift at roots. The flat sides are also great for straightening curly or wavy hair. Use like a round brush to add soft waves or curls. The ceramic barrel holds and distributes heat and the vents allow airflow to reach hair for faster drying and styling. The combination of bristles helps to distribute hair's own oils for added shine."

You can purchase this brush from HERE at folica.com or at your local Walgreens or Rite Aid.

Okay, so now on with the tutorial...

In this video, I'll be showing you how I've been styling my hair using the brush and a blow dryer. I love how this brush helps my hair feel softer and adds more volume. I love the loose hair that I get as an end result.

If you want to skip the long intro, please skip to 2:57 for the tutorial.

Here are some pics of the end result:

I hope you all enjoyed my first hair tutorial! :)

Disclaimer: I purchased everything mentioned in this blog post and video.

Adventures in Europe (Part 2)

It's been almost a month now since I've come back to the states from Europe and I noticed that I am long overdue in my Europe blog posts.

As promised, I will blog a little about our trip to Plitvicka Jezera National Park in Croatia.

First of all, I have to start off by saying that we got caught in really bad rain during our 6 hour hike at the national park. At most times, I was drenched, even with my leopard print umbrella (lol), but during the few moments we had sunlight, the view was absolutely breathtaking.

I think it's safe for me to say that Plitvicka Jezera National Park was one of the most beautiful places I visited in my life. There were waterfalls, one after another. Never in my life have I seen so many waterfalls. I feel like the pictures I'll show you won't do them justice.

Basically, we followed trails like these for about 6 hours.

When I first stepped onto the trail, I couldn't help but notice the color of the water.

The water was the most perfect crystal turquoise/blue color and you could see everything inside so clearly.

I felt like I could just dip my hand into the water and feel the fish.

and thus begins our hike... I will try to give you a short picture tour of the hike at Plitvicka Jezera National Park!

When you are close to a waterfall, you are bound to see another waterfall in the distance.

or better yet, MANY waterfalls!

Let's ride a ferry on the water!

There's the dock...

Quick! Take a photo of the small waterfall before we get to the dock!

Back on the trail again. The rain definitely increased the height and current of the waters.

This may be the best back massage ever.

I wish this was the view outside my window every single day.

At the end of the trail, we were hit hard with massive rainfall and the trail began to flood. Luckily, we were at the end and had a chance to escape. Overall, the experience was amazing and truly memorable. I miss Plitvicka Jezera National Park so much!

If any of you ever decide to visit Croatia, I highly recommend that you stop by Plitvicka Jezera National Park! It's very inexpensive and worth every bit of your time! :)

Next part to my Europe travels will be up soon!