4 Years Ago Today

Hi friends!!

First of all, let's just get the awkwardness out of the way...I am soo sorry for being such a shitty MIA blogger. The past year has been sooo busy and the last couple months have been no exception. Between my legal work, my involvement with myStorey  (join now to check it out!!), and my personal styling through Mint+Chase, I have been swamped!! There are very few better feelings in the world, however, than feeling needed and appreciated. These past few months have been the absolute most satisfying to me professionally, and I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work alongside some really awesome people. The downside though, is that I have had less time to blog...but I'm back now for a little "hey there, how you doin'?" :)

I also wanted to drop by to share my thoughts on marriage, seeing as today is Dr. Love and my 4th wedding anniversary, woop woop!!!

My parents divorced when I was 8 years old and, even before then, they did not have a good marriage. Before meeting Dr. Love, I spent my entire life observing relationships. I imagine that children of great marriages (my mom being one of them) don't feel the need to make such an intentional effort to analyze other people's relationships, but for me, it was always interesting to see what types of dynamics worked and which didn't. Obviously, the concept of what works and what doesn't is entirely subjective, but you see, that is fine in my case, because I wasn't observing for the sake of science, but for the sake of giving myself the best chance at a happy marriage...and life.

Now, as a thirty year old who has been married for 4 years, I can say that I firmly believe that who you choose to marry (or whether you choose to marry at all) is the single most important decision that you will ever make in your life. It will change the trajectory of your life and it will shape the person that you are.

So, that being said, I just want to take a second to thank Dr. Love for giving me the best years of my life thus far. The most fun, most adventurous, most fulfilling years of my life have been those which I have had the pleasure of sharing with Dr. Love. He is my biggest cheerleader and biggest critic, a hardworking man that has taught me the importance of hard work, and a flexible, open-minded person who has been willing to bend often to see things from my perspective. For all those reasons and more, I love Dr. Love more today than I ever imagined I could...And I think that if I were a young girl from a broken family right now looking at Dr. Love and my marriage, I'd label it "works." Love you, Dr Love

On that note, let me share one of my favorite songs of all time with you...such beautiful lyrics...

x

Slow Down, You Crazy Child

Every now and then, I hear a song that really speaks to me. Often, it's not a current chart topper, but rather a timeless classic. The song below falls into this second category. There is just something about Billy Joel's songs that win me over everytime. Vienna is no exception. In fact, when I first heard this song a few weeks ago, I "shhhh'd" Dr. Love just so that I could hear every single lyric...and it was well worth it.

Not a day goes by that my super ambitious friends and I don't discuss how overwhelmed, exhausted, or frustrated we are with our busy schedules/careers. Most of my friends and family are hard workers with big goals. A lot of the time, we are all chasing our goals instead of taking a second to breathe.

When I heard Vienna, I felt like Billy Joel had written the song for me and my friends. It's an awesome song that I hope you love listening to as much as I do.

Enjoy!

Hump Day Happenings...

Good afternoon, friends!!

I don't have anything particularly exciting for today's post, but I do have some pics. If you guys are anything like me, you won't mind a picture dump versus a verbal dumb today. :)

My go-to casual outfit...white button down shirt, leopard belt, dark blue skinny jeans, gold watch/bracelets. (sorry about the crappy pic quality...)

One of my favorite bday gifts (and one of many from Dr. Love...thank you boo!)...my Jacquie Aiche ear cuff. So delicate and pretty, yet edgy. Will need to take a better quality picture of it soon...

Love this picture of Dr. Love so much...I'm not sure if it's because he looks so natural and in his element, or his cute smirk, or his hand on his stomach. I don't really know. I just know I love it & him.

Now, a picture of me in my element...pre-going out curlers + no makeup...poor Dr. Love!

Gold polish (Tom Ford)+ gold glitter (Forever 21) = girly manicure to the extremely awesome degree.

I don't think I'll ever grow out of my love for glitter...

A birthday pic with my bday twin, Dr. Love's cousin Justin who turned 30 on the same day as me!

Seriously, how cute is my Google Nexus tablet (courtesy of my awesome in-laws)? My mother-in-law, knowing that her daughter-in-law loves all things pink and girly, also gifted me a pink stylus pen. I did myself (and my tablet) a favor and bought a pink case to match. 

All this talk about jewelry, glitter, and pink reminds me again of how much I love being a girl. I mean, I get it, boys have it good too in their own way. But, holy moly do we have it better. It's pretty funny that this tomboy who still loves sports and running outside so much, also has grown to love the color pink (blue/green are close tie for second) and glitter so much. The jewelry obsession? Well, you can ask any one of my good friends and they'll tell you that that has been with me forever ;). 

Have a great week! I'll be busy doing work for my legal clients and, hopefully, catching up with some girlfriends tomorrow night. 

In the meantime, have a great rest of your hump day and enjoy this awesome girl power song by none other than the great Alicia Keys...

My Home Office and myStorey

Hi Friends!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with yummy grub and a lot of love!

Dr. Love and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break which kicked off with three days of family time with Dr. Love's family followed by a couple days with my family and friends. All-in-all, it was a great holiday week/weekend! Only downfall is that all the activities and fun left this girl sick with, what is now, a week-long cold :(. My cold isn't that bad, but the jaw soreness and pain is a new symptom that I haven't felt before and that I can't seem to get rid of...will let you know how that's going next week ;).

So, as promised, below are some pics of our home office. A couple noteworthy facts: (1) the office is not 100% done yet, as we still have some shelves and photos to put up (hint hint, Dr. Love!),and (2) almost every single thing in the office is from Ikea...and boy are we happy we decided to go the Ikea route for the office. It was soooo much cheaper then other office furniture that I was eye-ing (i.e., Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie), the items were delivered the day after purchase, and for a couple hundred dollars more, the delivery men assembled all of the pieces for us. Totes worth it!

What was once an empty room with a purple wall, is now one of my favorite rooms in the house...there is such a calm in that room...love it!

Now, on to another recent "favorite" of mine. Have you guys heard of myStorey?!?! If you haven't, I highly recommend that you check it out...it is AWESOME! It's what I think the lovechild of a three-way between Facebook, Pinterest, and Amazon would look like. Don't worry, friends. I am well aware that it only takes two lovers to make one baby; however, this is not just any baby, it's a super baby!!! Why super? Well, you can create a profile, upload your pics from FB, then tag (wait for it....wait for it....) all of the lust worthy items you're wearing and your myStorey friends can then shop your look...and visa versa. What a freaking great idea!! And, to make things even better, myStorey doesn't just provide you with multiple sources for the item (with competitive pricing), but product reviews too. Do you see why I call it an all-in-one super baby?!?!?!?!  Check out the site and if you like what you see request an invite to join, then stop by http://tech.co/who-is-los-angeles-hottest-showcasing-startup-2012-11 to vote for myStorey for Los Angeles' Hottest Showcasing Startup.

Also, don't forget to stop by the Mint + Chase blog all this week and next week to get some great holiday gift ideas!!

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, have a great Friday and weekend, and speak to you all next week!!

x

Election Day!!

Hi Friends,

Today is one of my favorite days...Election Day in the beautiful U.S.A.!!!

I don't like to get political on my blog, but I just feel compelled to remind everyone that this election, like all elections, is a big deal. There are many important issues to be decided. Most importantly, who you want to lead this country for the next four years.

When making your decision, please keep in mind everything that is at stake. Don't just think about your life in 2012 and what issues matter to you now, but all the issues that will ever be important to you. Why do I say that? This election will affect the trajectory that this country takes, and the people we place in positions of leadership will have the ability to change the moral and political fiber of this country.

I voted for President Barack Obama again this year as I did four years ago and I stand behind him, his policies, his platform, and his morals. Here's to four more years in office for the candidate that, as my dear friend/cousin-in-law Meegs put it, "respects human dignity, health care, gay marriage, women’s rights, science, education, alternative energy, the global economy, global security, opportunity (not just for the privileged), democracy and the judiciary. No one puts me in a binder. :)" Wise words from a wise lady :). 

P.S. I'm hosting an election party tonight and will make sure to snap some pics of all of our election themed drinks/treats for your viewing pleasure...

Style For Miles

Hi guys!

I cannot tell you how long I have had a girl crush on Gwyneth Paltrow for...let's just say, it's been over a decade.

While there was a brief moment in 2003 when I hated her (I believe that she refers to that moment as her wedding day...to my #1 crush at that time, Coldplay front man, Chris Martin), in the end, I could not help but fall in love with her all over again. Let's face it, the girl is cool, confident, fit, chic, can cook, and her style is to die for. What is there not to love?

Check out Mint + Chase's Style Profile_Gwyneth Paltrow and see some of her best looks.

I, for one, cannot wait for Fall to feel more like Fall here so I can try out some of her layered daytime looks...LOVE!

x

Singing To My Soul

Bonus post today...first time ever that I've posted twice in one day, but I just had to share this song.

I just got done watching The Lucky One...the movie was okay...typical Nicholas Sparks, but not nearly as good as The Notebook.

Anyway, when the credits started running, the song below started...and I have to say, it was probably my favorite part of the entire movie. Great song, enjoy...

x

A B$#&h Named Cancer

Cancer sucks, friends.

We all know somebody who has been diagnosed with the disease, and, at a minimum, about somebody who has passed away from it.

Everyday, oncologists and cancer researchers work tirelessly and passionately to find cures, design targeted medicines, and save people's lives from this awful disease.

This past Friday, the Stand Up To Cancer team of doctors, scientists, philanthropists, and celebrities came together to raise money for cancer research. It was a great day!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Dr. Love is one of the members of the SUTC Dream Team and was, therefore, invited to attend the live taping of the annual telethon and post-event parties. I was his date (duh), and we had a great time. More importantly, I was beaming with pride that my hubs, the man I get to be married to, is such an integral part of such an honorable cause. I don't want to embarrass the modest hubs too much, but let it suffice to say, he is amazing and I am honored to be his lifetime lady love.

Dr. Love is also the hottest (and by my estimates, the youngest) dream team member...woot woot!!

To Dr. Love and the rest of the SUTC Dream Team and everyone else who is working so hard to eradicate this awful disease...keep on truckin' and know that I, for one, am very very proud of you!

x

UPDATE: In case you missed the SUTC telecast on Friday, below is the video of the entire program.

 

Fallin' In Love

Sorry to disappoint, but this post has nothing to do with Dr. Love. I know, I know...disappointing...

But wait! This post does have 100% to do with my current obsession with all things fall.  I have been picking up various fall essentials and showstoppers in the past weeks that I cannot wait to wear! I have also been checking the weather daily praying to come across an expected rainstorm. I'm pretty sure that I'm the founder and only member of the "please please please let it rain!" club. I was just sharing with Dr. Love that my one dream purchase in life (if I was to suddenly become a baller) would be an automated rain machine that I would have installed above our house. Then I could stop stalking www.weatherchannel.com and just click a button...and voila...there would be rain. No luck so far on becoming a baller or on the rain pouring down naturally. Although, today, I saw five little drops fall on the window. Stupid sky teasing me.

Okay, so I can't control the rain (yet!), but I can control whether or not I feel fall-y. How you ask? It's easy. In addition to adding some seasonal attire to my wardrobe, I have also been sporting some autumn appropriate nail polish shades.

Here are my fall/winter faves:

Essie "Forever Yummy", OPI "You Don't Know Jacques", OPI "Siberian Nights", and OPI "Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ"

"Forever Yummy"...my fav polish of all, regardless of season.

"Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ"...what I currently have on.

Last weekend, Dr. Love and I went to our friends' 10 year anniversary party, which took place outdoors on a night that was a bit chilly (woohoo!!! getting there slooooooowwwwly). So I pulled out my favorite trench, added some brass and burnt orange accessories, and pretended like it was fall.

Please excuse our old tv monitor behind me...time to get the old guy onto Craigslist and out of my living room.

One last thing that I just love love love...and that has nothing to do with fall (for all you fall haters...crazy people)...is the AMAZING smell of fresh basil. 

 A few minutes ago, I was out on the patio tending to the plants when I saw and pinched off a few damaged basil leaves. And now, my friends, my fingers smell amazing!!! I may never wash them again...oh wait, I have to pee...sad.

I leave you now with a little flashstormback.  Enjoy :)

x

Home

Hi friends!

I'm going to refrain from too much verbiage in today's post and just get to the point...

While I don't love Phillip Phillips' (of American Idol fame) name, I am absolutely in love loVE LOVE with his song "Home."

If any of you have been watching the Olympics on NBC, you will recognize the song, as it has become the network's unofficial Olympics song.

For those of you who have not yet heard the song (and those of you who have and like it), enjoy:

There's something so raw and pure about his voice. The lyrics are comforting and the melody is uplifting. Overall, I love it...hope you do too!  Have any songs that you're loving right now? Please share in the comments.

Have a great weekend!

x

Tinted Sunscreen/Moisturizer

Hi friends!

As you all know, Dr. Love is the main man in my life, and while I love him to bits, there is a new doctor that I'm pretty smitten with recently. Who you ask? (I'm sure Dr. Love is curious to know too :).) While I'd rather keep this new love a secret, I guess I'll share it with you all, as you are my dear friends.

The new doctor in my life is none other than beauty and skin-care brand Dr. Brandt! (Sigh of relief from Dr. Love, hehehe). Recently, I was doing some online research about the best sunscreens out there and came across Dr. Brandt Flexitone BB Cream. Most of the reviews were positive, so I decided to give it a go and boy am I happy I did. [NOTE: I am not being compensated in any way for this review and anything stated herein is my individual opinion as a result of purchasing, trying, and loving the product.]

Have you ever tried a new skin care product that actually makes your skin feel better during and after wear than before you used it? Well, that is exactly what this product has been doing for me. When I read through the reviews online, I noticed that some people commented about the chalky color of the product (it comes in one color that is supposed to adjust to your skin tone), the difficulty they had spreading the product onto their skin, and the breakouts they experienced from using the product. As a result, I was initially hesitant to buy it. However, I came across a good amount of positive reviews that dissipated any concerns I had and motivated me to try it out.

And boy am I happy I did! While the product is a little difficult to apply (I apply my regular moisturizer first, then apply the product on top...you may also be able to combine some of your moisturizer with the product before application to water it down a little), you get used to the fast drying speed and learn to spread it out faster once you've applied it to your skin. I mentioned concerns about the color of the product, and while it does appear to be a grayish color when squeezed out of the tube, it actually turns into a much warmer tone on the skin. In all honesty, the final color is a bit more pinkish tan than my actual skin tone, but it's definitely not chalky on me.

Finally, not only does the product not make me breakout, but it actually clears whatever breakouts I'm experiencing at the time. I have tested it out three times now on days when I have blemishes and each time, my skin is clearer at night time when I wash the product off then in the morning before I applied it. Amaze-balls!!!

Here's my one complaint about the product (and this may just be something I have to deal with when using a skin product with SPF in it)...my face becomes pretty shiny when I have it on. As a result, I dab on some pressed powder over it to matte out my look. I also use blotting paper throughout the day to keep the oiliness at bay.  Oily skin is pretty annoying, but the oiliness that this product creates on my skin is easy to manage.

Other than that, I have to say, I'm totally crushing on Dr. Brandt and the way he it makes me my skin feel and look. It moisturizes, lightly veils, and provides sun protection, while providing my skin with anti-aging and brightening vitamins and minerals. Also, I'm sort of in love with the name ("BB"), as that is the nickname one of my good friends calls me by...it's as if the product was made for me. Like a poem written by a lover, or a sketch drawn by an admirer...but, you know, a dermatologist's version of romance.

My final verdict...this is a welcome addition to my makeup/skin-care routine and I recommend it to all you peeps (especially if you're looking for a lighter alternative to thick foundation in the summertime)!

x

Guac in Your Locks

Every now and then, I come across a blog that I find to be so interesting and informative that I visit it again and again.  That is the case with Huda Beauty. The blog is run by Huda, an international makeup artist, who tries out tons and tons of beauty products (from convenient store to department store brands) and shares her reviews of them.

Not only is her blog a great source of information about commercial products, but she also has some great tips on how to make your own homemade beauty products, such as face/body/hair masks, face/body scrubs, puffy eye solutions, etc...

Thus far, I have only tried two of her homemade beauty products: the Shiny Hair Coffee Mask and the Vitamin & Moisture-Packed Hair Mask. As far as the coffee mask goes, I didn't really see any noticeable change in the level of shininess in my hair. I did, however LOVE that the smell of coffee filled the bathroom as I showered. My hair also had a faint scent of coffee all day long. Being a coffee lover, I quite enjoyed it, but I'm not sure how the rest of you would feel about that. Another problem I had with the coffee mask was that it took a long time to wash the coffee grinds out of my hair and off the shower door and walls. Overall, I was not too impressed.

The Vitamin & Moisture-Packed Hair Mask was a whole different story. I prefer to call it the guac mask, because all it was made up of was 2 parts avocado (about 1/2 cup) and one part mayonnaise (about 1/4 cup).

Sadly, this is the only pic that I took.

I mushed the two together, plopped the mixture all throughout my hair (note: avoid roots, or else you'll end up with major greasiness), and spread it from about two inches away from my roots all the way down to the ends of my hair with my fingers. Once I had the mask all over my hair (avoiding roots), I wrapped my hair up in a bag (a shower cap is preferable, but I didn't have one handy) and let the mask sit for thirty minutes.

Unlike the coffee mask, the guac mask washed out super easy, didn't make a mess of the shower, and left my hair feeling very soft and frizz free. It was so easy to prep, just as easy to apply and clean out, and left my hair feeling great! Oh, and it's super cheap!  Can't wait to try out another one of Huda's homemade beauty products soon.

In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend that you try out the guac mask.  Come on friends...put some guac in your locks, some mush in your bush, some sauce in your moss, some stuff in your fluff. You won't regret it!

Wax On, Wax Off

Good afternoon, peeps! Despite the lack of new posts in the past few days (sorry!), I'm going to have a lot of good stuff in the next week...starting with today's post on waxing. :)

I suppose this would be an appropriate time for me to warn my gentlemen readers that today's post may not be the sexiest or most exciting thing for them to read. However, they may want to continue reading and pass these tips along to a lady friend of theirs...wink, wink. 

So, let's get right to it. I had the pleasure of having a girl's night with two of my fabulous girlfriends (and I mean FABULOUS...one is a neuro scientist, the other is a film director heading to one of the best film schools in the country this fall, and they are both amazingly beautiful, kind, and fun people) last night. It was a great night of yummy snacks (jalapeno hummus...yum, berries, chocolate [not for this girl]), gin and tonic (my first time trying it...also yum!), hot-tubbing,  and a lot of girl talk.  

One subject that came up was body hair removal. [Gentlemen, my apologies in advance for "tmi."]  The girls and I were discussing bikini season and fitness, when the subject turned to hair removal. The truth is, I couldn't have been happier to discuss hair removal, because I think it's important...Dr. Love does too ;). I, unlike many of my fellow Persian ladies, am not very hairy. But I, like almost every other woman, love to have smooth, silky, and hair-free skin. I don't, however, care to break the bank getting it.  So when the girls brought up the subject of waxing, and I shared my waxing secrets with them, they asked me to do a blog post about it. They thought some of my other girlfriends and readers may be interested too.

For me, when it comes to waxing, I am not a big fan of having it professionally done. I think it costs too much, can be very awkward and uncomfortable, and requires that I plan my waxing needs in advance. I have always hated, and been bad at, planning it in advance. When I was a teenager, my mom taught me how to wax so that I would have the ability to do it whenever I wanted to, instead of begging her to do it for me at the end of the night on a busy weekday.

I'm not sure what brand I used back then, but it was definitely a Persian wax of some kind. As an adult, I only trust one brand of wax: Parissa Persian Cold Wax.

This stuff is like magic! It comes on smooth, is easy to use, and is extremely easy to wash off. I warm mine up in the microwave (about 55 seconds to a minute for a full large container, and 40-45 seconds for a partially used container...decreasing heating time as contents of container decrease), and then apply it to my skin with a butter knife (non-serrated edge). I always apply the wax in a downward direction (mimicking the direction of my natural hair growth), so that when I pull the waxing strip off, I'm pulling upwards against the direction of hair growth. This pulls out more hair at once and ensures that you don't upset your body's natural hair growth pattern (I mean, who wants random patches of hair growing in different directions...that just sounds awful).

The best thing about Parissa Wax is that it is entirely water soluble. That means that once you are done waxing, you can use a wet washcloth or jump in the shower to rinse away all of the excess wax. Unlike many other waxes that I have tried in the past, Parissa Wax does not leave you (or your house, if you happen to spill your wax, like I do every now and then) sticky for days.

As seen in the picture above, a container of Parissa Wax usually comes with a popsicle stick applicator (I always use a butter knife instead), and some waxing strips. The strips are great, but I have found that they usually run out wayyy before the wax runs out. So, I pick up extra strips from my local ULTA beauty supply store (sorry, couldn't find the product on the ULTA website to link) for a very, very reasonable price. However, if you find yourself absolutely desperate for removal strips while in the middle of a waxing session or when you are otherwise unable to go to the store, don't worry. There are plenty of items commonly found in your home that will do the trick just fine. Some things that I have used in the past and that I can confirm work great are old (clean) jeans and clean sheets that you don't mind getting rid of. If using either of these fabrics, you will need to ensure that they are both clean and that they do not have elastic in them. Elasticity allows the fabric to stretch when you pull the strip and that prevents the fabric from getting a solid grip on the wax and your hair. All you need to do is to cut the fabric into strips (about 3 inches by 10 inches) and, if using jean material, apply the inside of the jeans right onto the wax on your body. Another commonly found home supply that I have not tried, but that my cousins swear works amazingly well, is white printer paper.

I hope that this post has been informative to the ladies and has not scared away too many of the gentlemen! I would love know whether you would like to hear more about products that I have used and love, or if I just bored you to death with this post.

That's all for now, but I cannot wait for tomorrow's post about making homemade salsa. Until then, happy waxing!!!