Those Three Special Words: I Have Chocolate

When it's that tender time of the month for women, there really is an undeniable pleasure in chocolate. A pleasure that just can't be satiated any other way. Can there really be too much chocolate? I am somewhere between disgust with myself for the amount of chocolate I consumed a few days ago, but yet, I still wanted more. WTF! Is this normal?

It was bosses day and a coworker brought in a spread of treats and naturally these were right outside my humble cube abode. I need to confess my damage: I sampled a scoop of peach crisp, a sliver of lemon bundt cake, a smallish chocolate chip cookie, and a bite of a red velvet cupcake (mine are better, sorry). As if that weren't enough, I added in 2 reeses cups and a fun size pack of peanut butter m&m's. This can't be normal and it's definitely not acceptable. I did follow up that chubfest with a healthy salad for lunch, but unfortunately, I don't think it evens out. I would have preferred cheesy enchiladas, a taco, and beans, but that wasn't in the cards today.

Sign me up!

I shouldn't be writing about this, but let's all agree that talking about your bad habits somehow makes you feel better about them. I admit I have a period related problem. Can I be absolved of my fat kid sins just because my uterus is a bitch and I'm just giving it what it wants? Please? I don't even care about that "a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips" BS in this situation.  Is it also normal to feel guilty about all this? How do you monitor your necessary period induced indulgences? What are your weaknesses?

You Glow Girl!

Let me start out by saying- HAPPY FRIDAY!

Up until now, I have been very into my Boscia Luminizing Black Mask which I found out about from my friend (read her post on all the wonderful things this miracle mask does) and fell in love with upon first use. The black mask is completely black and peels off after it dries. It definitely makes your skin feel softer, appear more radiant, and detoxifies. At $34, I think this is a good value and worth a little splurge.

 Last week I read Mindy Kaling's post on Bliss' GlamGlow Mud Mask. She raves! While at Bliss the other night, I asked if they had samples of this mask and the very fabulous gay man (who had seriously amazing skin himself) happily made a sample for me. I tried the mask last night and I have to say, I have never been so impressed by a mask! Seriously, I don't know how I have lived so long without this mask. It's a mud mask that exfoliates as it goes on and as it dries it starts to tingle. I love a tingly feeling, it makes me feel like something is actively happening. Tingle on mask, tingle on! You wash the mask off after 15-20 minutes. I like to use a wash cloth to wash this off as it seems to help exfoliate a second time. I immediately noticed skin that looked and felt deeply clean, smoother, and glowy-  and I never think I look glowy, even if I wore this:

Glamglow is a definitely pricey, $69, but if you can indulge, you should. You really won't be disappointed. I have never tried another mask quite like this and I don't know if I can live without it now. Do you have a favorite mask that the world needs to know about? Spill it!

While discussing masks, it would be a shame to not to mention the weirdness that was The Mask guy from Ashley's most romantic season ever of The Bachelorette!

My Night of Bliss

Last night was absolute Bliss! I bought a voucher on Gilt City or Daily Candy Deals, or any one of the 20 local deal emails that floods my inbox every morning.  The deal was for a manicure and a pedicure delivered straight from heaven. Actually, my nail technician was pretty close to heaven, not only did she rub and scrub my feetsies and handsies, but her name is Vera Wang. I kid you not. Every girl's dream! She didn't give me anything from her lavender label on my way out, but did do a lovely job on my nails: Essie's Velvet Voyage for the toes and Glamour Purse for fingers.

I enjoyed every second of my Bliss experience. From the fabulous gay man-greeter to the brownies. 

The locker room was a little stark, but still pretty and I love a tufted ottoman and shelves full of rolled towels.

Check out that tufting

It looses the effect when I try this in my own bathroom

 Then onto the lounge, in it's lilac and snack filled glory! Bliss stocks brownies, blondies, crackers, cheese, and cucumbers (wtf- who wants that?!) for munching. It doesn't stop there, a girl needs her bevie- help yourself to apple cider, herbal tea, or what was basically water-sangria.

Would be better without that stargazer disrupting my relaxation time

snack station (apologies for dark photo)

Thanks Bliss for a lovely evening and I will be back the next time I see this deal pop up.

Santorini

Today Jonathan Adler introduced a new line of porcelain for his iconic ceramic collection, Santorini. In true JA form, they are fabulous, slightly retro, and playful! The line comes in yellow, green, and aqua. I am wild about the aqua pieces! Which pieces are your favorite?

Selene Vase

Electra Vase

Iris Tray

How Bazaar!

I have wanted to go to the Bazaar at the SLS since it opened and I never really got around to it. I thought it would be a dinner where I left hungry, broke, and sad. I had been to the SLS once before for afternoon tea and was a little disappointed. All the bites were small and not what I was hoping for a teatime experience.
I had to give the Bazaar's dinner service a chance to prove me wrong. All day I looked over Yelp pictures, read reviews, and made choices in my head (maybe not just in my head. I may have actually taken notes) of what we should order. I went in with a strategy and I was proved wrong. Very, very wrong. It's amazing. I want to go again and again, but I'd like for someone else to pay for my new Bazaar habit. We took advantage of the Dine LA Restaurant Week menu. When we left, hungry we were not!
Here's a sample of what we savored: 

Tortilla New Way

Beet Salad

Charcuterie

Hangar Steak

We also had cocktails, dessert, and a few other dishes. I think the Philly Steak was my favorite. Who doesn't love savory meat with liquid cheese?

Philly Cheese Steak

I may have to make this a repeat visit for the next Dine LA, my stomach is already growling.