Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers. DEAL WITH IT.

Here's a very, VERY short story.*(spoiler alert: I end up with NEW SHOES).

I'm not a very good storyteller, so bear with me.  Let's DO THIS.

My sister, SURPRISE, SURPRISE, finds a pair of shoes she wants somewhere deep in the bowels of the internet (there are times when I'm just flabbergasted at the amount of shit she can find on the compu-tater). She breaks her "I-don't-need-a-new-pair-of-shoes-EVERY-week" rule,  bust out her credit card and buys a pair of verrrry cooooool oxfords from Osborn Design.

End of story? NOOOOOOO (sorry, the story's not that short. I gots problem with conciseness).

She sends them to the house (her apartment is "mail/package"-unfriendly); I get the box, open the box, and low-and-behold, inside that box was the CRAZIEST COOL shoes I've seen in a while.

I take a couple of pictures to email Jaya. I call her. Then I tell her, "I WILL BUY THESE SHOES OFF OF YOU."

CHECK IT:

Hoooliday! CELEBRATE! pt. I

This is how WE DO (the holidays) in our household. Here are pictures (PHOTO MONTAGE TIME!) of things we did, things we got, and our lovable family. Enjoy!

001/ I busted out my forest green beret that I got in Paris a couple of years ago and Jaya is donning her new Rodarte For Target cardigan. Moments later, we yukk it up with our cousins via Skype.

002/ Cloooose up of me and my beret. Ohhhh, and I'm wearing one of my favorite buys of the year: a 90s-ish babydoll dress from the Salvation Army.

003/ Me and my aunt "listening in on" (aka eavesdropping) on the next door neighbors who are having loooud fight. DON'T JUDGE US ON WHAT KIND OF FUN WE HAVE.

004/ Jaya was the MOST WINNINGEST out of all of us. WHHHAAT the what, am I right?

005/ The day after Christmas, Jaya, our dad, and I drove up to SLO and SB, CA just for.... haha's? I dunno. We had a car and nothing to do. Mini road trip! Here's Jaya looking, I don't know... happily bemused? at the Vista Point.

006/ I'm wearing another one of Jaya's gifts to herself: the Rodarte For Target Denim Jacket.

007/ We duck inside a couple of antique stores in SLO and SB and we find these GEMS.

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AND NOW FOR MY FAVORITE PART: Gifts We Got!

+ A spiked bracelet:

+A gooood read:

+ A USB Hub in the shape of tulips:

Ring, ring! Ring, ring!

Jaya's has gotten into some  RIDICULOUS ring choices recently and here is her most recent purchase(s):

Rings from Made Her Think.

These are rings from Made Her Think's "In Stock For the Holiday" collection. She got the Diamond Pendulum Ring Pave and the Siren Knuckle Buster-Metal 

I believe Jaya told me that she was giving me the diamond-shaped ring as an early Christmas gift. Hhhhmmmm, uh huh, YES SHE DID. (YES YOU DID JAYA).
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The hang tag and card that accompanied the rings were just as intriguing as the rings.

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** A LITTLE EXTRA: Florence + The Machine::
Covering Beirut's Postcards To Italy (it's beautiful):


Galaxy Of The Lost:

From Japan + FREE = Everything That Is Right In This World

My co-worker's wife just came back from an extended trip in Japan and like any right-thinking woman brought back a sack load of random cosmetics. Since I was surrounded by dudes who don't know the difference between lipgloss and lip stain and sit next to a boss lady who doesn't wear a stitch of makeup, I had to suppress the low guttural OOOOHHHMYGOOOD that I usually reserve for utter disbelief/pee pants moments.

I swear I have better computer skills. Just, uh, not today. From top left: Shu Uemura Glow On in Pink 34 // Kesalan Patharan Aqua Lip Carat in S011 // Estée Lauder Idealist // Ettusais Separate Masacara (Perfect) // YSL Sheer Lipstick in No.33 // Paul&Joe Mascara Duo N

Honestly, I don't know what half this crap is. BUT. Ya, know... IT'S STUFF TO PUT ON MY FACE! MY FAAAAACE! Unfortunately, I don't possess the sweet alabaster skin of an anime character but that won't stop me from trying. Surprisingly enough, the YSL lipstick looks pretty slammin' on despite being the color of dried blood in the tube (and it taste like Jolly Ranchers? Or is that a sign that my days are numbered? Whatever). The Shu Uemura blush makes me look like I drove through an icy snow storm which instantaneously drained all the color from my face, but I kind of like it. It's like I have surprisingly rosy cheeks for an undead person. As for everything else -- who knows. I haven't tried it yet because my face is already bruised from all the washing.