Things I Love Thursday!

Here are more cool things I loved this week!

Radha Beauty Vitamin C Serum!

I love vitamin C! There's nothing better to help your face skin fight off age and wrinkles. My face always feels a lot brighter after I've put some vitamin C serum on. This one from Radha Beauty is 98% natural and 72% organic. Get your own HERE. I typically put it on at night, let it dry, and then put their retinol moisturizer on top. Speaking of....

Radha Beauty Retinol Moisturizer!

This moisturizer contains 2.5% retinol, which doesn't sound like much, but it's the perfect amount to diminish the signs of aging. I still sometimes get carded, you know why? Stuff like this. No wrinkles on this face, baby! It's light and fluffy and goes on your face nicely. It makes your face skin glowy and radiant.

Radha Beauty Eye Gel!

Oh yeah, one more! Gotta get them eyes all gelled up! Crow's feet, no thank you! This eye gel reduces dark circles, which I am super prone to. It's also full of moisturize-y goodness to keep those eye areas plump and youthful looking.

The Royals!

The Royals is a brand new show on E! featuring Elizabeth Hurley as the Queen of England (a role she was born to play), and her completely messed-up royal family. In the first episode alone, her eldest son dies, leaving the succession for the king to the next son, who is sleeping with the commoner American daughter of the head of their security. Her princess daughter likes to party like a Lindsay Lohan and gets caught by the tabloids flashing her Britney while dancing on a table at da club. Also, the king wants to end the monarchy and if you think Elizabeth Hurley is just gonna stop being a queen then you have another thing coming. Anyway, it's amazing and you should watch it.




Disclaimer: I received the Radha Beauty products for review purposes.

Getting Ready for Emerald City Comic Con 2015!

In just a couple days, we will be flying up the coast to Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con! We attended for the first time last year, and had such a great time we decided to go again this year!

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your con awesome:

Pre-Con:

• Plan out all your outfits and pins before you leave home! Make sure you have all your accessories, and don't forget to pack plenty of socks and underwear!

• Check the weather; it rains a lot in Seattle, and it may be kind of cold this time of year. Or maybe not, who knows with weather anymore; that's why weather.com is your friend!

• Study the map of the convention center! Last year, we found the center to be quite confusing. Take note that there are several levels, and you must use the Sky Bridge to navigate between the 'Convention Center' and 'Conference Center', and it's super confusing. Don't be afraid to ask for directions, from staff or other attendees! 

• Take a look at the panel listings and figure out what you want to attend. Have some backups in case a panel fills up and you can't get in. Also, remember to be flexible!

• Make a list of exclusives you want to buy, booths you want to visit, and comics/toys you're looking for. I also like to take a list of the Funkos or whatever that I already own, because it's hard to remember what you have when you're there!

During the Con:

• Make sure to bring snacks, drink plenty of water, and eat regularly! You can't enjoy the con at full awesomeness if you're dehydrated and hangry!

• Speaking of not getting hangry, there are a lot of great places to eat in the area around the convention center whether you're looking for something quick or a nice sit-down dinner. Plus, there will be food trucks parked outside the convention center!

• Take some time to do a little sightseeing! Pike Place Market is one of the oldest farmer's markets in the country, and is full of stalls of people selling various foods, crafts, and fishes. There's also a few restaurants and other places to eat.

• Check out the famous Space Needle for an amazing view of Seattle. If you do, and you should because it's pretty cool, make a reservation online in advance! You can't just go up whenever you want, and if you wait until you're there, there won't be any times available until hours later. So plan ahead!

• The first Nordstrom is located downtown on Pine Street and has several floors of shopping goodness. There are also a lot of other stores in that block, so if you forgot something, you're sure to find it there.

• And of course, have fun!!

Disneyland on a Monday Night!

On Monday night, we went to Disneyland! We went straight after work, and despite traffic, made it there around 6:30pm! The park wasn't overly crowded, but probably a little more crowded than it would have been since some people are on spring break now.

We rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters first thing, as we very often do, since it's usually a short 15-minute wait, and it's nice to get on a ride right away and get your momentum going. After that we got a fast pass to Star Tours and then went to find something to eat for dinner!

We ate at the Plaza Inn, which has rapidly become one of my favorite places to eat in the park. Their fried chicken is amazing. We also got a cobb salad, and it was delicious! It's a huge helping, too, so you'll definitely feel full afterwards.

They've added Arendelle to Storybook Land since the last time I rode it, so I made sure we checked it out. It was pretty dark, though, and they didn't illuminate the castles as much as I would have hoped. The Arendelle section was pretty awesome, though, and also fairly extensive. 

Later, we went on Casey Junior Circus Train, which is an incredibly underrated ride. You get to see most of Storybook Land, but closer, so it's completely worth it! It's usually a fairly short line, too.

Mad Tea Party is one of the most beautiful rides in the park, especially when it's dark. The lavender and the orange diamond cups are the fastest, allegedly.

We also went on the Alice in Wonderland ride because I wanted to check out the new projection effects. It looked pretty amazing, and really added a lot to it! Everything was even more bright and colorful and crazy.

We went on quite a few rides in our few hours there, mainly in Fantasyland where we don't usually spend a lot of time, so it was nice to get to ride a few rides we don't normally go on!

I leave you with this, a not-so-hidden Mickey finger painted in some chocolate.

Writing Workshop with Francesca Lia Block!

On Sunday, I attended a writing workshop held by Francesca Lia Block. When I saw her post about the class on Facebook a few months ago, I leaped at the opportunity to learn at her feet. I absolutely adored her books when I was a teenager. They spoke to me in a way few other books did at that time. They were inspirational to me as a kid that felt different from other kids in a way that she couldn't even fully express. I loved how they glamorized LA and film culture, which I was obsessed with. I could never ever have imagined that I would not only meet her and learn about writing from her, but that it would be at her own beautiful home, AND that her home would actually be only a couple miles away from my own in LA!

To prepare, I reread several of her books in the preceding weeks. I hadn't read them since high school or maybe college. I was happily surprised that they still were as magical to me now as they were when I first read them. They're so fun and whimsical and hyper-real (while still maintaining enough realness to be identifiable). Obviously, the Weetize Bat books, compiled together as Dangerous Angels, was/is my favorite, and I brought it with me for her to autograph. It follows an unusual girl named Weetzie as she figures out who she is and how she fits in the world, and makes friends and finds love; the other books also follow her kids and her friends.


The workshop itself was amazing! I learned so, so much, and really got some great ideas and inspiration for some of my stories. Having Francesca say she liked my idea was... unreal. She was able to give so much insight and motivation to me and all the other girls there (who were all really cool, creative girls with really fascinating stories). I left the class feeling so incredibly inspired and motivated.

This happened later that same day. Dying.

Tea Time!

I've been trying to drink more tea lately, in lieu of drinking coffee. I mean, I still need coffee, don't get me wrong, I'm just trying to cut back on my 2 cups a day habit. Anyway, tea seems like a good, healthy alternative.

There's a peppermint tea in the office break room that I like a lot, by Twinings. It's good for stress release, because the menthol in it in a muscle relaxer. It can also be good for weight loss as it's also an appetite suppressor. Plus, it can help clear up acne and soothe an upset stomach.  

I recently got an organic dandelion root tea from Kiss Me Organics that I'm really loving! Dandelions typically taste bitter, but this tea has hibiscus and cinnamon added, so it doesn't taste bitter at all. Dandelions have been used throughout the ages for their medicinal properties, so think about that the next time you think, ugh, that ugly yellow weed. It's great for aid in digestion and for kidney and liver detox. 

I've never really gotten into green tea; something about the taste just doesn't agree with me. I know it's supposed to be super good for you, it increases brain function and fat burning; it's got antioxidants to help prevent cancer; it protects your brain and kills bacteria; it makes you immortal or something. Every once in a while, I'll try it again, just to see if my tastebuds have changed. Maybe someday.

I think I need to get a cute set of teacups now. That will surely make me want to drink more tea. I quite like this one:

Disclaimer: I received free products from Kiss Me Organics for this post.

How To Conquer Bursitis, Sort Of

For the past 5 or so years, I've been struggling with pains in my shoulder joints. It would come and go, be worse at some times than others, or even be gone entirely for stretches of time. I didn't really think too much of it until last year, when the constant throbbing pain lasted for almost a month, in both shoulders, and rendered me unable to move my arms above shoulder height without extreme pain. My doctor told me it was bursitis, which is the inflammation of the fluid filled sacs that cushion your joints. I got cortisone shots in both shoulders, which cured the pain within a couple days.  5 or 6 months later, though, the pain came back, and I had to get cortisone shots again. My doctor told me that I wouldn't be able to just get a shot every time the pain flared up, so next time it would probably have to be physical therapy.

So, I crossed my fingers that that was the last of it. But last month, I could feel the old familiar pain starting in my joints. Not particularly wanting to have to go to the doctor or get physical therapy, I tried to nip it in the bud before it got too much worse. I did a bunch of research, and found a few things that completely cleared it up!!

Here are a few of the things that worked for me, and would probably work on bursitis or joint pain in other areas of the body as well!

• Stop sleeping on your side and/or make sure your pillow is tall enough that your weight is not resting entirely on your shoulder. I try to sleep more on my back, and I also bought this SidePillow by Tempur-Pedic. It's really firm, so I put my regular pillow on top of it, and this keeps a lot of weight off my shoulders.

• I randomly read that DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) was beneficial for joint pain kind of things, so I bought some on Amazon and tried it out. It's not FDA approved for human use, so... do with that what you will. To my surprise, it worked!! It dulled the pain within minutes, and after a few days of applying it a couple times a day (in combo with these other things, of course), the pain was gone!! A few hints on use: pour a bit into a bowl, and then mix with water. I used a q-tip to apply it directly to my shoulder, as well as a few inches around the area. The first few times I used it, my skin got really really itchy, but it eventually went away after a few minutes. Subsequent uses, my skin was less itchy. I really credit a lot of the healing to DMSO!!

• I did various forms of these exercises every day, adding weights when it hurt less.

I hope these can help you if you're struggling with joint pain!

Things I Love Thursday!

Here are some of my fave things this week!

Iron Man Concept Series Action Figure!

How awesome is this?! It's basically Iron Man cosplaying as Captain America. I picked this baby up at a parking lot sale at Earth 2 comics in Sherman Oaks last weekend. There should be more action figures cosplaying as other characters...

InstaNatural's Scar Gel!

I received this to review, and ended up loving it so much! I'm pretty skeptical about scar removal stuff, but I dutifully put this gel on some acne scars on my chin. Within about a week, the lighter ones were almost gone, and the darker ones were less vivid! It contains Epidermal Growth Factor, which is a naturally occurring protein that stimulates the healing process, plus other ingredients to help restore healthy skin and minimize external damage. The gel is brown in color, but it's nearly odorless and goes on clear, so it's perfect to put on under makeup as well as before bed. I read it's also good for stretch marks, so I'm going to try and fade those marks next.

InstaNatural's Vitamin C Serum!

Another InstaNatural product from I loved was their Vitamin C serum. It prevents aging and wrinkles by nourishing and strengthening the skin. In addition to vitamin C, it's got all kinds of great oils like argan oil, rosehip oil, and carrot seed oil (I'm all about the oils lately - gotta use oil on oily skin like mine) I loved the smell of this serum - it smells just like orange juice! I also loved the consistency of it - it's not liquidy, but also not creamy; it somehow just stays in a perfect teardrop shape when I put a dab of it on my fingertip from the eyedropper it comes with. My skin feels brighter and softer already!

InstaNatural  Youth Express EyeGel!

I use these two things in combination with their EyeGel for maximum awesomeness! Gotta keep these eye bags in check. It's got those good plant stem cells to keep your skin protected from the harsh world. I actually use this all over my face. It's nice and thick, but it absorbs quickly and doesn't leave your skin feeling gross.

Disclaimer: I received products from InstaNatural for free for testing purposes.

Things I Love Thursday!

I'm bringing back 'Things I Love Thursday's! Here are a few things that gave me joy this week!

Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese!

It's mac & cheese, now in chip form! Mac & cheese is my favorite thing that exists, and can somehow be even better with bacon. They've come out with a lot of crazy flavors lately, and some of them completely miss the mark, but these were actually quite good! They really did taste a bit like bacon and mac and cheese!

Cake Batter Flavored Chapstick!

I am OB-SESSED with cake batter flavored Chapstick. It smells so GOOD! I used to be all about that Burt's Bees, but now this Chapstick is my jam! It's a limited edition, so I bought like 10 packs of 3 at Target, so I should probably be set for a little while.

Lovebird Squishable!

I've recently begun collecting Squishables, along with a bajillion other cute things I collect. When they released this colorful cutie in a limited release, I knew I immediately had to have one. Look at that cute pink face! He's sooo soft and cuddly. 
The Selection series by Kiera Cass

I can't remember where/who recommended The Selection series to me, because it's been on my 'to read' list for a little while. On a whim, I decided to start reading, and I could barely put it down. Set in a dystopian future where America got take over by China, got their freedom back, and became a monarchy for some reason. Citizens are sorted into castes based on their professions. When the prince comes of age, women from every caste are chosen to compete to become his wife, the new princess. It's kind of like a cross between the Hunger Games and the Bachelor. It's a series of 3 books, with another book coming out soon that is set in the future. There are also 4 novellas describing parts of the story from various other character's perspectives. 

Long Beach Comic Expo 2015

On Saturday, we officially kicked off Con Season at Long Beach Comic Expo! The Expo is usually the smaller of the two (already small) cons they have during the year, and this year they really stepped it up. There were more than double the number of vendors from last year (60 to 145), lots more fun activities and panels, plus it was moved into Hall C to accommodate it's increased size. I liked this change quite a bit; it seemed like a more upscale section of the convention center, plus the area right outside the doors was a perfect place for the cars they always have (KITT from Knight Rider, the Jurassic Park jeep, the Delorean, etc), and for cosplayers to pose for pictures. It actually felt a bit like WonderCon in that respect.

While we were wandering the exhibit hall, a moment of silence for Leonard Nimoy was called for over the loudspeaker. Everyone held up their hands in the Vulcan salute, and it was rather moving. (It's kind of hard to tell, but that's what's going on in this picture below.)

The first, and only, panel we went to was the GI Joe voice actors. I never really watched the show, but this panel was made incredibly enjoyable by the hilarious participants. Keone Young, who I recognized from True Blood (he played the guy who invents the synthetic blood making True Blood possible) (he's also in a million other things), was there, and Mary McDonald-Lewis was freaking awesome. She has such a great outlook on life and was so funny!

The exhibit floor also featured some fun activities! They had a couple areas set up where you could play video games projected onto a large screen. We saw them playing Streetfighter, and Mario Brothers, and I'm sure they had more. There was also a Star Wars laser tag area. Just a few more ways they jazzed up the exhibit floor, and gave attendees more cool things to check out!

There was, of course, lots of great cosplay. In addition to the two below, my favorite that I regret not getting a picture of was Tina and Louise Belcher from Bob's Burgers! Their cosplay looked great! We only saw one Jack Frost this time; perhaps his random popularity is fading?

For lunch, we went across the street to The Auld Dubliner for burgers and Dublin Donkeys. Afterwards, we went to the Geeky Mamas store, which was adjacent to the restaurant. I love this store and I really hope it survives! They always have a great selection of toys, prints, and crafts. I got a very reasonably priced Pacific Rim Jaeger.

Of course I managed to find more than a few things to purchase in the exhibit hall. I got a super cute and super soft Spider-Man shirt, a Bubble Power She-Ra (wtf is Bubble Power??), a stack of comics that were 3 for a dollar, and 3 trade paperbacks that were 5 books each (X-Babies, and Marvel vs. Zombies 4 and 5! Now to find 1 through 3...). I also got an adorable Mario magnet made of tiny perler beads (those things are becoming so popular, I always see a bunch of cute crafts made with perler beads being sold.)

All in all, LBCC really stepped up their game this year, and good for them. Their next show, Long Beach Comic Con, is September 12 and 13. Can't wait to see it! On to Emerald City Comic Con in a few weeks!