The holiday season is coming to a close and with it 2015, but before we say a fond farewell to this crazy year, we have one more opportunity to celebrate! New Year’s Eve!
I love makeup and I love glitter and for me no holiday look would be complete without them both. Even better why not combine the two! No matter your plans, going to dinner with friends, a fancy party, or just staying in, this look should do the trick!
The Smokey Eye
Before getting started I give my face a once over with MAC makeup remover wipes. They are great for picking up any excess dirt or oil that may be on your skin. Next up is moisturizer and I can’t stress this enough, not only is it good for your skin, but it helps give your makeup a smooth more natural appearance. My favorites which I apply in the following order are: Chanel Le Lift eye cream, Dr. Brandt Infinite Moisture, and for daytime events, Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion which is an oil free sunscreen.
To give my skin a more even tone I apply Chanel CC Cream all over and then use a small amount of the Chanel Correcteur Perfection Concealer under my eyes and around the edges of my nose.
Next I apply the powder and blush. I really like MAC Studio Fix and use it everyday. When doing a heavy eye I go a little lighter with blush and for this look I used the Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose.
Now its time to focus on my eyes. My first step is to apply an eyeshadow paint as a base. My current party favorite is Chanel Fantasme which provides a nice shimmer! I bring the Fantasme all the way to my brow line. Next, my entire lower lid is “painted” with a dark blue Chanel shadow called Swing. To achieve an even darker look and also maintain better control of the shadow I wet the brush before applying. A little water goes a long way.
At this point my lower lid is dark blue and my upper lid is a shimmering white and I’ll need to blend them. To do this I used MAC Gesso Matte which is a white shadow with no shimmer and applied it to the middle area of my lid. I used MAC Pigment Powder in Vanilla to highlight the corner of my eye.
Applying dark shadow can be tricky and it makes perfect sense to do your eyes before completing the steps above. If you do experience a little powder fallout, a q-tip works great to sweep up any excess!
To finish my eyes I applied eyeliner to my upper lid using the Chanel eyeliner pen in Noir. If you’re not sure about using liquid liner this is the one for you! It’s just like drawing with a felt tip marker! For the lower lid and waterline I used a MAC eyeliner pencil in Black Swan which has a tiny bit of shimmer to it. I use a brush to smudge the shadow under my eyes.
Recently I discovered mascara primer and I love not only the length it gives to my lashes, but how easily the mascara goes on after using it. I am using Chanel, but MAC also has one available! The final touch to my eyes is Chanel Inimitable mascara in Noir.
Last but not least, lips! It’s the holiday season, so I felt red was in order, but again because I went with such a dark shadow I didn’t want it to be too over powering, so I toned it down with a gloss. I used MAC Luster in Cockney and a MAC lip gloss from the Cinderella line.
The Finished Look
Here is my finished look! I hope you like it and whatever your plans I wish you a happy and healthy New Year!
The Bay Area is home to some of the world’s most beautiful scenery and a place people come from all over the world to see. Having all this beauty in our “backyard” I’m a little embarrassed to admit we don’t always appreciate or take advantage of it the way we should. There are still so many places we’ve yet to explore.
One of those places was the Año Nuevo State Reserve, home to a large colony of Northern Elephant Seals and located about 90 minutes south of San Francisco. The Reserve offers docent led nature walks enabling you to get within 25 feet of these incredible animals in their natural habitat.
Once upon a time there was a place where Christians, Jews and Muslims all lived together in relative harmony… Known as the “City of Three Cultures” Toledo, a walled city located in central Spain, was once such a place. It was largely for this reason that it was declared a world heritage site in 1987. We spent three days exploring the narrow cobbled streets of this amazing medieval city and with over 2000 years of history there was no shortage of things to see.
Built in 999 on the site of a former church the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz is the only surviving Moorish mosque in the city of Toledo that remains virtually unchanged since its construction.
One of Toledo’s City gates the Puerto Del Sol is not far from Cristo de la Luz.
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We were somewhat surprised to find that unlike other cities we’ve visited in Spain, there was almost no english translation available anywhere. We spent the first day wishing we knew more Spanish and soon realized we would need to join a tour or hire a guide. English tours didn’t seem to be available but after some persistence on our part we were able to find and hire a private guide. Yolanda, a native of Toledo, was a wealth of knowledge and we spent two very informative hours with her.
My older son recently turned 13 and because it’s a milestone birthday something extra special was in order! Of course now he’s a teenager and planning something he and his friends would consider “cool” did present something of a challenge. I was up for the task!
Twice a year I make an elaborate cake, one for each boy’s birthday. They get to pick the design. In keeping with our retro video game theme Simon asked that I make replicas of the controller from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I enjoy baking, but what I love more is the challenge of decorating the cake! Game on!
History, architecture, beautiful gardens and craftsmanship beyond compare, the Alhambra has it all! Its also an immense fortress made up of many buildings including palaces, which made it high on my list of must see places. Located in Granada, Andalusia the Alhambra is one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations and a 
Though the original fortress was built in 889, it wasn’t until the mid-13th century that the current buildings and walls were renovated and built by moorish kings in the Mudéjar style. Although I did my best to try and capture it in pictures the intricacy and beauty of the carvings on the walls and ceilings inside the Nasrid Palaces must be seen to be believed.
Due to extreme popularity and its delicate nature the number of visitors to the Alhambra is very limited. In fact they only allow 6,600 visitors in timed increments per day, so purchase your tickets as soon as you know you’re going. I can’t stress this enough especially if your visit will take place during the summer months.
Most of our time in Granada was spent visiting the Alhambra, but the little we did see we liked very much! Our reservation wasn’t until 2 pm which gave us time to walk around town and have a leisurely lunch. We enjoyed our lunch so much we went back to the same 
Boasting some of Europe’s best beaches the Algarve Region of Portugal was on my list of must see places. After reading about the area’s amazing cave formations, crystal blue waters and year-round perfect weather this was the leg of our Portugal trip I was most excited for. The boys and I love to swim and Tim loves all things ocean, so a win for everyone.
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The Algarve is a very popular tourist destination and finding somewhere to stay off the beaten path was difficult. We found some of what we were looking for in Carvoeiro, a smaller town located between Lagos and Faro.
Located 30 minutes down the road in Albufeira we arrived at Praia Dos Pescadores just in time for another jaw dropping sunset. The town of Albufeira is extremely touristy and after a quick look around we decided to head back to Carvoeiro for dinner.
