A Love Letter To.... Harry Potter

It's come down to this. The last Harry Potter film. And my has it been a magical 10 years starting from 2001. Even now as I write this blogpost I am listening to "Hedwig's Theme", another brilliant song by John Williams that defines these set of movies. Originally, I was not going to post anything about Harry Potter but it has not hit me until now just how much apart of my life this series of books and movies have been. I feel as if I have been taking Harry Potter for granted.

Just look and compare these two trailers from the very first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone....


And the very last film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.


Wow. Just wow. What a difference. My how Harry, Ron and Hermione have grown. And it made me realize just how much I have grown as well.

Do you know how old I was when the first film came out back in 2001? I was 11 years old. ELEVEN years old! Everyone has something that defines their childhood. Whether it's Harry Potter, the Ninja Turtles, Barbie, Batman, Toonami, Looney Tunes, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. For me, it was all of these and Harry Potter. I am now 21 years old, an adult.

Actually, another reason I wanted to express my feelings for Harry Potter was because of the reviews I have read or watched by my favorite, well-known internet film reviewers. Of the 4 reviews I watched/read, neither of them were "dissing" the movie or anything. In fact, they each liked the film. The only problem was that none of them were big Harry Potter fans and do not have very much emotional attachment to the books or films, which is certainly understandable but a little disheartening.
This, in turn, made me realize my own emotional attachment to the story and characters. It made me remember just how awe'd I was after watching the first film, all the times I stayed up late at night reading the first 4 books, jumping up and down in anticipation waiting for the films to be released on dvd so I could relive the magic over and over. These memories. This feeling of true happiness that makes you think beyond the limits of imagination.

Harry Potter starts off as being an innocent, children's fantasy adventure with a touch of looming danger and mystery. Each each film/book kicks it up a notch to where, now, we have witnessed a full transformation of the main characters while we, the audience, have matured out of our own innocence and into the harsher reality of adulthood. We may not have to learn to cast spells but we do have to study, maintain relationships, and face the seriousness of death and danger just like the students of Hogwarts do. The only difference is that they live in a world that pushes the limits of reality and imagination. Harry Potter is a respected series that handles itself maturely, without being overly corny.

So I'd like to thank J.K. Rowling for really putting her all into these books and being able to create such a vast world and environment that not even any of the 8 movies could completely portray on screen. But boy did these movies try their hardest to do so. And with that, I'd also like to thank the directors, actors, writers, composers, animators, and anyone else who put some real time and effort to make these films as magical and as wondrous as they could be.


I'll leave anyone who took the time to read this "Love Letter" with one last video. It's not a montage or anything corny since that's not my style but it's hysterical none the less. A popular Youtube user, Kingsley, posted his own ...uh.. love letter to Harry Potter and I just had to share because I know A LOT of people who feel the same way.
Note: There is some strong language but if you are as big of a fan of Harry Potter as this guy, you'll totally know where he's coming from. Plus, it's just Hilarious.



What I've Learned: I learned how much this series means to me & have fallen in love all over again. Excuse my language but, I fucking love Harry Potter.

Konadlicious's Giveaway

I am not a makeup "addict" as many women will say but I do appreciate it and it definitely is apart of my life. One very important thing about makeup I've learned about while following other makeup/beauty blogs are the utensils you use to apply makeup. So when I found out about Konadlicious's Sigma brush set giveaway, I immediately entered. I like her style and love this giveaway. Good luck to those of you who enter.


Konadlicious's Giveaway

Summer Beauty Haul

Just some recent beauty purchases this past week at Walmart that I thought I'd share:

(click any images below to enlarge)

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes in Travel Size $1.99

Bath & Body Works LadyBug Scent Portable in Pink Sangria $6.00

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Honey (my second one! love this) around $7

Loreal Hip Matte Duo in Dashing $7.99

Hard Candy Glamoflauge in Medium (perfect yellow undertone color concealer) around $8

Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo in Travel Size $1.50

E.L.F. Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder $3.00

Loreal Infallible Lipstick in Opulent Organza $7-9

Essie Nail Polish in "Buy Me a Cameo" (not pictured; NOTD coming soon) $7.75

San Diego Del Mar Fair 2011 & Mini Haul (pic heavy)

Note: Click any image below to enlarge.

It's 4th of July weekend and it's the last weekend of the San Diego Del Mar Fair. There were exhibits, animal races, rides, livestock, tons of shops, and of course, heart clogging food!

This treat, which made its debut this year at the fair, has been all over the news, local and national. It's the deep fried Koolaid! I have never tried anything deep fried at the fair before, and since this is a once-in-a-year type thing I thought, "what the heck", I'll give it a shot. Besides, I don't find these kinds of fried foods disgusting.

Lol. It matches my nails!


The Verdict: Tastes like Kool-aid! Who knew? Not bad.

It's just fried sugar. Not that different in fattening compared to all the soda (16packets of sugar), chips (high sodium), fries (high sodium), candy, juice, burgers and hotdogs I believe most people will be enjoying this weekend and summer anyway.

I stumbled upon an actual Konad nail booth at the fair! The lady applied the cheetah print from the popular M57 plate for free on my nail. It came out well but held out on buying the M57 plate since I knew it was sold cheaper online.

Next up were the exhibits for precious stones and wooden artwork. Here are a few of my favorites that I spotted.



Another exhibit that I always spend hours looking through is the student showcase. There are hundreds of students who participate ranging from local college to middle school students. A ton of student artwork fill up the 3 story Del Mar building. I always check up on my old high school to see how they placed. Here are a few of my favorites pieces of student artwork.
This artwork here below is so bad-ass! I wish the image was available online or to buy. Wonderful!




MINI HAUL
Finally, I usually buy a couple souveners to remember my time so here I thought I'd share the items I purchased.

There was a shop that sold all kinds of designs that could be placed on tank tops, t-shirts, and sweaters. The design is made and customized for you right on the spot. I am so pleased with how this design came out! It's perfect.

I blurred part of my name for privacy. So don't worry, there is no mistake on the wallet. This wallet is handmade. I really got this because the lady offered to engrave my name for free.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a happy 4th of July!

Nail Of The Day - Zoya's "Willow"

Click any images below to enlarge.

Two coats + Seche Vite top coat

(next to bottle)

In my last post I mentioned buying "Willow" from Zoya. It is a peachy pink pastel color. I've always wanted this kind of color. Most of my nail polish collection is comprised of very shimmery colors. While this is great, I'm kind of getting bored so I just wanted a toned-down, somewhat matte shade that is also appropriate for summer.

(from afar)

As for the formulation, I read a review saying this nail polish was too goopy for the reviewer's taste. While I agree that this color's formulation is a little goopy, that does not bother me. I am so in love with the color and how it looks against my skin. Definitely my go-to color for summer.

(in sunlight)

(in the shade)
Click here to view & purchase on Zoya's website.

Nail Polish Haul

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a cool deal on Zoya's blogspot. The deal was that with any purchase on the Zoya website, you could get the two nail polishes, Charla & Ivanka, for free. So I got three nail polishes for the price of one, plus shipping. Unfortunately, this deal is already over but they always come up with great new deals so there will always be a next time.

I will do a Nail Of The Day (NOTD) for each one as the summer progresses since all of these are great colors for summer, whether by themselves or paired up in a water marble design.

Here are the nail polishes (from left to right):
Willow - A peachy pink with slight shimmer that is seen on the bottle but not on your nails.
Charla - A blue with green & blue shimmer. My definition of a mermaid color.
Ivanka - A green with yellow shimmer.

(Click any image below to enlarge)

My camera had trouble picking up the colors, especially "Charla".
Here is a better picture that, while good quality, still does not do justice to this beautiful color.