Monday, September 26, 2011

a big ol' birthday post feat. my mama & kitties!

Hello awesome readers! Sorry for the lack of posting the past almost-two-weeks, but as you are about to read/see, I've actually had a good excuse!

So, last Tuesday (the 20th) was my birthday, and my mama has been visiting me from Ohio since the 19th.  She and I have been having so much fun that I've hardly had the energy to blog! However, I have been taking loads of photos since she arrived.

The day she arrived we went to Perkins for brunch (I had french toast w/strawberries and bananas - YUM!), then of course headed to my place to drop off luggage and play with Mouse and Sammy. :) Later we went shopping, and to dinner at the Nordstrom Cafe.  That place is SO underappreciated.  I had the crab bisque, steak sandwich, and creme brulee, and every course was AMAZING. Our server was great, too. It was such a perfect day that I really feel like *that* was my birthday and not the following day!

On Tuesday, my actual birthday, we went to Epcot to explore the World Showcase (my favorite thing at Disney - especially the Mitsukoshi store in Japan! My 35% cast member discount is a HUGE plus at that place!!).  We'd hoped to have dinner at the Rose & Crown Pub in the UK pavillion, but it was fully booked, so we winded up at Macaroni Grill instead. Well, it's safe to say our dinner experience was a huge disappointment. The food was "eh" and the service was lacking, to say the least.  Mom was cracking up because I was wearing the birthday button I'd gotten at Epcot, and not once did the server ever say Happy Birthday! Maybe it's because I work in a restaurant myself (at Disney), and never will a person slip by unnoticed when wearing a birthday button, but still.  She never even really said hello or anything, just took our order and that was it.  She didn't even say goodbye to us when we walked past her out the door (and she looked at us).

As Mom noted, "We'll always remember this as the birthday dinner that sucked!"  We practically wet ourselves we were laughing so hard rehashing the story to Dad on the phone when we got back home, though, and that almost made the whole thing worth it! ;)

Anyways, I thought you might like to see some photos from my birthday (if you can believe it, we forgot to take photos at Epcot - oh well).  Enjoy!


me & my mama! <3


The makeup I wore on my birthday...


FACE

Bourjois Healthy Mix
Dior Aurora
YSL Creme de Blush #3
Dior Amber Diamond

EYES

Dior 3 Couleurs Smoky Khaki
MAC Tender Bisque (inner corners, brow highlight)
YSL cream eyeliner in Ashy Black
Laura Mercier caviar stick in Amethyst
MAC Lingering brow pencil
Benefit They're Real mascara

LIPS

NARS Barbarella




NAILS

Sephora Nail Patch Art in Chinese Blossom

I was also wearing this ring from Charming Charlie (which was a gift from Mom) - I love it sososo much! I love that it's a mouse. Every time I look at it I think of *my* Mouse! :)


The day-before-my-birthday birthday desserts from Nordstrom Cafe...


Creme Brulee (mine)


White Chocolate Bread Pudding (Mom's)

Some wonderful gifts... (sorry the pics, particularly the first one, are crap - I had to take them at night!)


  • Marc Jacobs Biscotti eau de toilette spray (I *love* this - and it was only $22.99 at TJ Maxx!)
  • Kira Imai postcards (Mitsukoshi)
  • MAC Pro Longwear lipstick in To the Future (Nordstrom, from the Styledriven collection; a nice peachy nude along the lines of Shy Girl)
  • MAC Pro Longwear lipglass in Patience, Please (Nordstrom, from Styledriven; I looove this gloss - it's so opaque and really lasts!)
  • Sonia Kashuk eyelash curler (Target)
  • Happy Birthday button (Epcot)
  • Deer pen (Mitsukoshi; push down on left ear for red ink, right for black!)
  • Macaroon erasers (Mitsukoshi)
  • Apple lip balm (Mitsukoshi)
  • La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (Walgreens - I've been dying to try this; so far, I'm loving the results!)
  • YSL Rouge Pur Couture #6 (Nordstrom; this is my favorite lipstick - will be my 4th tube! I'm almost to the nub on my 3rd now)
  • NARS Barbarella lipstick (Sephora; love this shade - it reminds me of Jazzed by MAC)
  • Dior 3 Couleurs Smoky Khaki (Sephora) 
Oh, and that's my new bedding you're seeing as the backdrop! It's from the Shabby Chic line at Target, and it was also a gift from my lovely mama. My first bedding set ever was a rose pattern by Laura Ashley that I picked out myself (my mom still has it saved!). This set reminds me of that one. <3

a better view of the bedding (and yes, it really was 3:46 AM - I'm a night owl!)



  • Leopard print scarf (Chico's; this baby is HUGE and I LOVE it!)
  • Soft Blanket & Apple Cider candles (Yankee; we had a BOGO free coupon, plus they were BOGO 1/2 off - in other words, they were a total steal - and they both smell wonderful, of course)
  • Philosophy Tinsel Town 3-in-1 (Nordstrom; it's described as "crisp berry" - to me it smells like peppermint and winter berries. Yes, Christmas in September - I love it!)



...a closer look at To the Future lipstick and Patience, Please lipglass...



Patience, Please lipglass on left, To the Future lipstick on right


Philosophy Tinsel Town - shimmery goodness!

And the obligatory kitty pics before I go...


There's a reason I call him Sammy Snuggles...


He's snuggling with his grandma in that pic. :)


They really love the new comforter!


Mouse in his favorite box (I call it "the raft").

So, if you notice I'm not blogging or on Twitter as much as usual in the coming week that'll be because Mom is still visiting, and Dad and Little Bro will be along on Friday. I'm going to be a busy girl! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a fantastic week! I'm so happy it's finally FALL! YAY! :D

As always, thanks for reading!

xoxo,
<3 Jess

18 comments:

  1. Aww Happy bday hun!! Your mummy is adooorable!!

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  2. Sorry to hear about your dinner at Macaroni Grill! Yikes. At least your brunch at the Nordstrom Cafe was good!

    To The Future looks really pretty, btw!

    Happy, happy birthday! x

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  3. Happy Birthday Jess! I'm sorry about the day of your birthday... that kind of happened to me this year, too! Well, my hubs took me out for brunch the day before but on the actual birthday we did nothing at all :( Lippies and deserts look awesome, as do you!

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  4. Happy Birthday!!! xoxoxo, You and your mommy are so pretty!....So I tell everyone Nordstrom's coffee is the best I've ever had, so I'm not surprised that their cafe is amazing too! Sorry about the crappy service, if it had been any other day than your bday than it would have been like okay whatever, but that is beyond rude that she didn't acknowledge your pin! Amazing gifts, and I love the bedding, I always look at the HUGE pillows in the shabby chic section...I'll buy them one day lol

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  5. Happy birthday Jess! Your mommy is adorable :) There's nothing better than spending quality time with your mom on your birthday: that's what I always do if we have the opportunity!

    ♥ Jessica

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  6. Happy Happy Birthday!!!!
    Must say, your nails look GORGEOUS with these flowers on them. My nails are so short that i can't use these stickers things, :-(
    Another nude (MAC i mean)???? It looks soooo pretty, i have to add it to my nude lipsticks wishlist immediately!!!! :-)

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  7. Aww happy birthday!! Love the new bedding you got! Those nail stickers are gorgeous, I love them every time I see them!

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  8. Happy Birthday!!!
    You and your mom are adorable! So glad you got to spend your birthday with you mom, it's extra special when you can spend it with your loved ones.
    Keep having fun and enjoy this special time with your family.

    :)

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  9. Happy belated birthday dear!!!! You and your mom look so cute together! Also, loving your birthday hauls! :)
    And it goes without saying the kittehs are adorbs!!

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  10. Happy birthday! That badge is so cute, how could she have missed it! I was going to say how much I think that scarf goes with your hair and then you said it was a birthday gift :) Very nice! I would love to get some makeup for my birthday, going to try to make this happen. Love your kitty pics, I think my kitty needs to feature on my blog much more!
    Emma x

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  11. How did I miss your birthday post! Happy *belated* Birthday!!! Such two gorgeous ladies! :)

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  12. Oh my gosh those kittehs are SO CUTE!!! What amazing bday gifts you got too.

    Sorry to hear about the bad bday dinner.

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  13. Happy (belated) birthday! Rad haul, per usual. And, the shots with you and your mom are too cute. <3 xxx

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  14. Those kitties are so darn cute!

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  15. The nail patch art made me puke rainbows all over my keyboard. Looks awesome!

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  16. Happy super belated birthday!
    looks like you had a great week, except for
    maybe that oblivious waitress lol :p I would
    be like, "ooh is it your birthday?" and actually
    say goodbye to you when you leave -.- maybe she
    was having a bad day :p

    Mouse and Sammy are so adorable!

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