Iron Man 3 Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I finally saw Iron Man 3 this past Saturday! LOVED IT!

I was a bit nervous going into it that it wouldn't fit my expectations, and tried desperately to not have any massive expectations because of that. I'd heard a lot of mixed opinions about the movie (worst case - it sucked ) and didn't really want those to taint my own opinion. So I tried to stay open-minded.

Honestly, there was nothing to worry about. Spoilers ahead! There were a lot of complaints about the fact that Tony Stark was a lot more fragile in this movie - he was struggling with coping with what happened in New York with Loki - but honestly, if you're a guy like Tony Stark, used to logical and reasonable things like technology and science, wouldn't you be a bit rattled too if aliens showed up at your front doorstep?

Even though I felt bad for him about the whole anxiety thing, I still didn't quite understand why he basically told the Mandarin where he lived. I think it was pretty obvious he was going to get attacked pretty soon after dishing that little piece of information. As the house was being demolished, Stark and Potts still inside, Tony Stark controlled his suit prototype to encase Pepper, which was pretty cool. She works the suit!

I am also going to say now that I adore Pepper Potts. She is fantastic. And badass. And so underrated! I mean, come on, she basically finished off the bad guy!

Seeing all the suits line up is MASSIVELY grin-inducing

Lastly - and this may be the largest spoiler of all, so LEAVE NOW if you don't want to see this - I was kind of sad that all of Tony's awesome suits were destroyed! I mean, I understand why, he was getting dangerously close to obsession with them, but they were just so darn cool. I wanted one for myself, really. Hopefully he doesn't need them in the next Avengers movie. If he'll even be in that movie, that is. Fingers crossed.

Now, I eagerly await Star Trek: Into Darkness, Catching Fire, and the next Hobbit installment. Are there any movies or shows you are excited for?

Posts involving hair products, nail polishes, and baking to come soon!

-Hannah

Mini Cosmetics Haul

Hello everyone! First of all, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you are all having a lovely day :)

Secondly, cosmetics haul! I bought a grand total of TWO make up items today. Massive amount, I know! I thought I would share anyway, even if it is just to avoid the looming pile of homework waiting for me. So let's get started!

Now, I'm not completely sure if nail polish falls under "cosmetics," but if I didn't put this in, my haul would only have ONE item, and that's hardly a haul, is it!

Essie's TART DECO

Essie "Tart Deco" nail polish! It's a lovely peachy colour, very summery. I have been looking for a pinky-orange such as this one for a while now, so I was very happy to stumble upon this colour, and for sale, to boot!

I really do love Essie nail polishes, though I mainly have OPI in my collection, just because of OPI's awesome colour selection. I have one other Essie, Turquoise and Caicos, and I love the consistency and durability. In my opinion, OPI and Essie are very similar in how well they stay on. I will make sure to post pictures and comments after I try out this one!

Secondly, I bought my very first liquid foundation, hooray! I've been using powder for basically my entire foundation-using years of life, and while I love powder foundation, I was in need of a good liquid foundation for those times when extra coverage is necessary.

So I bought this Almay Clear Complexion liquid makeup, which, I just realized now, is new! I tried a little from a sample bottle at the store, and I really loved how it felt and blended in.

Only complaint: no spf. But I'm sure I'll survive!

And that is my extremely small haul! Once I've begun using these two products, I'll post some sort of review. But for now, I hope you're all having lovely Mother's Days, and that the weather wherever you are is better than the weather here!



-Hannah

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Updo of the Day

Hello! I tried something a little different with my hair today - experimenting usually takes place during weekends, so this is quite something - and was pleased to see that it worked out!

Updos can be quite tricky at times with curly hair, and sometimes shockingly and wonderfully easy. This was the latter. An absolute breeze!

You can click on the pictures to make them larger

Like I said, super easy. I wanted to move away from the regular bun and into something a bit more textured and wild, and this was born. I'm sure experimentation could be done - a few more pieces hanging free, maybe, or perhaps some curls framing the face. I'm definitely going to try different variations!

Here are the basics. You'll need a handful (ten or so) bobby pins, a hair tie, water, and some sort of taming product such as gel or smoothing serum.

1. Best done with slightly damp hair. Wet your hair thoroughly, then work gel or cream through your hair. Make sure to scrunch, too, so you still have your nice curl pattern going!
2. Pull your hair into a pony tail. Any height would work, I'm sure, depending on what kind of look you're going for. Today, I had a medium height pony tail.
3. This part is fun because it's so awesomely easy! Take your pony tail in your palm and smoosh it against the back of your head. This achieves the disarray-messy-bun look. With your pins, secure your hair to the back of your head, fixing tendrils here and there if they don't look right to you. 
4. Smooth flyaways in the front with gel, or loosen a couple of curls around your face to finish the look. And there you go! A quick, easy way to secure those curls!

I hope you curly girls out there find this helpful! If you try it, feel free to comment and tell me how it works for you :)

-Hannah

The Wizarding World

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios is expanding. And this makes me excited!

They're adding a Diagon Alley (with a dragon on top of Gringott's!), and it's set to open in 2014. Is that cool or what?!

I went to Universal Studios last summer, and Hogsmeade was definitely one of my favourite parts of the park. The three rides were awesome, butterbeer was delicious, and even though the Orlando weather was way hotter than anything my poor Canadian body was used to, I had a blast.

Entering the park - click the pictures to expand

There was just something so magical (totally intended) about experiencing Hogsmeade in that way. Both my sister and I are crazy Harry Potter fans, and this really was a dream come true for us. Honeydukes, the Hog's Head, Ollivander's (which technically should have been in Diagon Alley, but hey, nothing's perfect)... it was all so incredible.

The entire Universal Studios experience was incredible, actually! My mum and I had been to Disneyland for field hockey a couple years previous, and kept telling my dad and sister how AMAZING it was and how much we NEEDED to go to a park as a family, and when it finally happened, I was thrilled. And, as I said, HP has always had a special place in my heart. This expansion makes me really happy!

Universal has confirmed it - a dragon atop Gringott's!

According to this article on Hypable, there will be destinations like Gringotts, Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and King's Cross, which will have the Hogwarts Express waiting to take people over to Hogsmeade. Awesome concept art has been released, showing what these stores and stations will possibly look like. It's all very exciting!

My favourite piece of art from the article is this one below:

Absolutely gorgeous. On a side note, I used to want to be a concept artist. Still sort of do, actually.

Anyway, this is what has been exciting me lately! I've been telling my friends, some more than once, and I really hope I can visit the expanded park once it's open.

BUT - super excited for this - my family is going to Disneyland and Yosemite this summer! YAY! I absolutely love Disneyland, and I think Yosemite will be really beautiful. I'll definitely be telling you guys ALL about it :)

Until the next!

Style Inspiration: Charlotte Charles

I've been feeling INSPIRED. I've been feeling inspired by Charlotte Charles, AKA Chuck, from the (wonderful) show Pushing Daisies. 

Chuck has this adorable vintage style going on. In every episode, she's wearing a new and adorable dress. Am I wanting to dress/be like Chuck? Yes. Yes I am.

I mean, not only is her style great, but she gets NED, possibly the most adorable man ever to be on television ever.

Anyway, back to the fashion. Chuck has that retro style that I love, and have seen in places like Modcloth and Piperlime and the like. It's a style I would love to begin working towards, maybe even just beginning with some vintage heels.

So yes, that is who has been inspiring me lately! I'm almost finished with season one of Pushing Daisies, very sad that there are only two seasons. I will just have to find another show to fill the gap when I'm done. Or maybe actually get caught up with Game of Thrones for once!

Who are you feeling inspired by? Any show suggestions? Feel free to leave any thoughts below!

May 3rd Shopping

I went shopping today! Much fun!

It was beautifully sunny, first off, which just made it that much better! Instead of staying inside the mall all day, we walked outside and checked out all the cute little boutiques. Tons of stuff to be seen!

Another pleated skirt to add to my closet!

I bought another pleated skirt, which I'm really excited about. I have one, and love thin pleats like this! I absolutely love the colour as well; it's this gorgeous turquoisey blue colour. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge.)

I also bought a Pride & Prejudice v-neck t-shirt which I LOVE. It has this pretty feather design on the front... I think it may have been an edition of the book at some point, it seems like it could have been! It's awesome. I love it.

One high-class cat!

And, of course, another pin. How could I not?! We went into this FANTASTIC store that's basically all stationary and journal and book related, and I found so many cute two dollar things that I ended up spending, like, twenty-five dollars. Small things add up! I bought an adorable, dapper cat pin, and also found a card for my dad for his birthday, a card for Mother's Day, and a journal for my mum for Mother's Day. (Let's hope she doesn't see this post!) The journal is so cool - there were all these differently themed journals. The one I got her was music, because that's her passion, but there were book-themed ones, photography-themed ones, you name it! Basically, every few pages, there's a little inspirational quote about whatever theme the journal has. Super cool.

I was tempted to buy a journal for myself as well!

And, of course, we ate some marvellous food! We had lunch at an awesome, classy tea-and-pastry place, indulged in Purdy's chocolates, and ended the day with floats and milkshakes. Will I be eating nothing but vegetables for the next week? Yes. Yes I will.

Gorgeous antique design!

All in all, a lovely day! I hadn't gone shopping in MUCH too long, so it was nice to get that out of my system. Plus, the weather was absolutely perfect for the day, which just added to the overall summery feeling that strolling around downtown was giving me.

I hope you all have wonderful weekends!