allergies

I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks. This is what happened when you are having too much fun in life. First off, a little update on Eli's allergy. He had a blood test couple weeks ago to test for common food allergies in children. It showed that Eli has allergies to eggs, wheat, peanuts, milk, and soybeans. We are going to see an allergist next week. This pretty much sucks. I feel sorry for the little guy. Hopefully he can grow out of some of the allergies if not all. Otherwise, he's a happy healthy baby. Look what he can do now.

Eli likes to play under the table while I'm on my laptop

husband on street view

My husband is famous! Okay, that's not really true, but he's on google street view.

See, there he is.

There he is again.

Just thought I would share this little excitement with you all.

celebration

We went to my friend Mary Ann's graduation party last night. Her boyfriend's family made tons of asian food. At the end of the night, they were bagging left overs for guests to take home. Mary's cousin Nick was chatting with me the whole time. He's probably about ten. I'm not good at telling kids age, especially white kids because they all look the same to me, haha... Anyway, We had a great time. Nick's sister was watching Eli. Looks like Eli just made a new friend.

It's funny how kids just love babies.

When I went to the store to get a card for Mary Ann, I saw this!

and it does THIS!

The music you hear is coming from the card. Sound and motions, how cool is that?! I know I'm a a dork, but this is the most awesome card I have ever seen. I ended up buying this for myself. Hee...

Etsy

I'm a big fan of one of things that are handmade. Months ago, I discovered this website called Etsy. It's an online shop where people buy and sell anything handmade. I have made quite a few purchases there and have been satisfied. My first purchase there was my now wedding band. It's a square sterling band with customized engraving inside of the ring. This is my third wedding ring. My husband still has his second one. We are not very good at taking care of our wedding bands, but I will spare my readers the details. The most important thing is we are still happily married. After the ring, I purchased a stand mixer cover pattern. I had always wanted to get a cover for my kitchen aid stand mixer. I got my fabric and the pattern, all is lacking is my motivation to actually get started. I hope to be able to reveal the final product sometime in the future. Okay, moving on... Recently I have gotten into wearing headbands. I love them. it's the easiest way to dress up an updo. One of my orders came in the mail today. I ordered from two different sells, but I think the other ones are coming soon. This one is made by Bunson Burner.

The little flower is a vintage clip on earring that is removable. Lovely, ihsn't it? She also sent me these scrap papers. Some of them look vintage. I don't really know what to do with them since I don't scrapbook, but I think it's very thoughtful.

Also came in the mail the other day were these lovely nail polish I got from Missha. I love their jewel-like colors.

emergency room- adventure of first time parents

We had our first trip to the emergency last night. Twenty minutes after Eli ate from broccolis that were cooked in alfredo sauce, the left side of his face and upper lip started to swell up, his left eye became almost swollen shut, and his voice was getting hoarse. At first I thought maybe it was from all the crying and scratching his face, but the more we observe, the more scared we got. His breaths seemed slight labor at times. So we quickly grabbed the diaper bag, later found out there was only one diaper left in there, and off we went. Peter sped through traffic. Good thing we only live ten minutes away from the hospital. We were led to the back room right away. Long story short, Eli ended up staying one very long night there. He was released this morning. When we got home, he was still sleeping in his car seat. He was up screaming and crying most of the night. I hope he didn't get his day and night mixed up. Mom and Dad are exhausted, but they are happy to have their healthy baby back.

baby teeth brushing tutorial

I saw this mini Häagen-Dazs the other day. So cute and just perfect size.

We love sweet, but we also love nice teeth. Today, Eli is going to show you how to brush your teeth.

Make sure to get those teeth that are way back there

Smile while you brush

Brush the top

Brush the bottom

Brush to the left

Brush to the right

Now put your clean teeth to good use

beauty talk

Hey girls! So I want to talk about makeup and hair product this time. Since Eli was born, I haven't felt pretty or the need to pretty up myself. I mean, I think it's important to put his needs first, right? Now that he's older and easier to take care of, I'm spending more time on myself again.

As most of you know, I'm a super girlie girl. I love playing with makeup and hair. I also love reading about it. I even enjoy reading the descriptions and instructions that come in the box. I know I'm weird. Before I try any new products, I always read tons of reviews. One of my favorite website to go to is makeupalley.com. They have reviews on all kinds of beauty products posted by actual customers. Since this a neutral site, I think the reviews are as honest as you can get.

So now you know I am a beauty freak, you must think that I have tons of make up. Actually, I only have a drawer full of it. That's really not a lot if you ask a true makeup junkie. I guess you can call me a recovering makeup junkie. I try to keep my quantity to the limit of my drawer. As long as I can still close it, I'm fine. I have never been fateful to any of beauty products that I use. Wait, I take it back. I have been using the same Laura Mercier's secret camouflage concealer for years. By the way, Laura Mercier is one of my absolute favorite makeup artists. The other one is Bobbi Brown. I love how their makeup enhance your natural beauty without looking fake. When it comes to foundation, I always go to Laura or Bobbi. I feel like if I keep talking like this, I'm never going to finish this blog. Maybe I should just make a list of my daily makeup routine. Here we go...
Face:

• Laura Mercier secret camouflage concealer or MAC studio finish SPF15 concealer. I just bought the MAC concealer yesterday, and I really like its smooth texture and medium to full coverage.

• Laura Mercier foundation powder in the summer. Bobbi Brown moisturizing cream compact foundation in the winter.

• NARS orgasm blush or Bobbi Brown shimmer brick compact.

Eye:

• MAC eye shadows for really special occasions. I'm still trying to learn how to apply eye shadows. It's tricky with my small asian eyes. If apply it wrong, it will make my eyes look even smaller.
  
• Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner or MAC liquidlast liner. Also bought this MAC eyeliner yesterday. This eyeliner is seriously long-lasting. I made some smudging this morning, and it was so hard to get off.
• Shisedo eyelash curler. Hands down The best eyelash curler.
  
• Kanebo 38℃ silk performance mascara. I like how it gives my eyelashes a feather like texture. As for the name 38℃, it can be washed off only with water at 38℃. I can say that based on my own experience, it's true. Interesting, isn't it?

Lastly, I set my makeup with a few spritz of MAC fix+. Then a little lip gloss or C.O. Bigelow lip tint No. 1139, and I'm good to go. Really, it only takes me about fifteen minutes to do my makeup every morning.

As for my hair, right now, I'm trying to grow my hair out again. When I was pregnant, I decided to chopped my hair off to above my shoulders. A lot of people said it's cute, but I really wish I kept the length. Oh well... no big deal, it's just hair right? It will grow back... very slowly. I like switching out my shampoo and conditioner every so often. I don't have the scientific proof, but hair products do seem to be less effective overtime. It's like you hair becomes immune to the effectiveness of the products, if you know what I mean. When half of my Aveda shampoo and conditioner (I used the rosemary and the scalp benefit lines) bottles were gone, I decided it's time to try something new. Right now, I'm using TIGI bad head control freak shampoo and conditioner alternate with L'Oreal vive pro nutri gloss shampoo and conditioner. I love how they make my hair feel so soft. I don't blow dry my hair. I wash my hair the night before and let it air dry. I find it easier to style my hair the next day after I have slept on it. Speaking about sleep, I'd better go get some beauty sleep. But first I have to finish watching the men and women swimming events. Go Phelps!

olympic and lasagna

2008 Olympic is finally here! I know it's weird to hear this me, someone who doesn't care and watch any sport. Actually, Olympic is THE ONE sport event that gets me excited. My favorite events to watch are swimming, diving, and gymnastic. I was looking forward to the opening. I had high expectation for my people. The Chinese know their fireworks and if all fell short, they could still put on a kick-ass firework show. I have to say, the opening ceremony was spectacular. I heard the drums count down at the beginning was incredible. My husband said it was so good that made him feel proud for the Chinese. Well, I had to cook dinner for my husband and baby, so I missed the first half. I was so upset that they didn't broadcast it live, and I had to miss the best part. I tried to find that on youtube and was sure there would be many. I mean, what can you not find on youtube anymore. I was so bummed that all of the videos were removed due to "copy rights claim by a third party" ARGH!

With all that said, I have to give kudos to my friend Amanda. I found a link to The Pioneer Woman in her blog. I have to agree with Amanda, Pioneer woman is awesome! She is a great cook, photographer, and a cowgirl. I made her "the best lasagna. ever" tonight. It's very easy and full of flavor. I forgot to take a photo. I was too hungry. Wen it comes to Italian food, my husband always has a strong opinion. No, he's not Italian. He loves his Italian food. I asked if he thought it was the best lasagna he had ever had, he said the Paula Deen's seafood lasagna that I made was the best. But then he admitted it's the best meat lasagna he had ever had. While I was preparing the lasagna, I managed to make a pan of brownies using the Ghirardelli brownie mix. I feel productive today.

Eli's new favorite snack

seven months

Eli is seven months old already. Can you believe it?! I'm still amazed that he came out of me. He's been trying to pull himself up lately and crawling everywhere. He's a speedy crawler. He started having more redness on his left cheek and chin. We think it's from all the drooling. I'm not sure if this is just a phase, but he's gotten more whinny too. What happened to that sweet little boy? I'm just trying to keep myself cool and patient these days.