Countdown to Kitschmas: Gift Guide for Kids

For my Countdown to Kitschmas installation, I'm going to be doing a whole bunch of gift guides! Hooray!

I don't currently have my own child (nor am I buying anything for any kids this year, sadly), but I figured that this could be helpful for those who do! I know that I would have loved any of these things growing up, just sayin'.


I Am A Power Ranger Bodysuit from ThinkGeek ($16.99)
Um, a Power Ranger bodysuit?! (The original Power Rangers, at that!) Yeah. One of the coolest baby bodysuits I've ever seen.


Loopa Gyroscopic Toddler Bowl from ThinkGeek ($14.99)
I thought this was super cool when I first saw it. It's a spill-resistant bowl. For realz, it is nearly impossible to spill stuff out of this weird space-bowl. Unfortunately, I don't think it comes with the caramel popcorn, but hey, you can't win 'em all, right?


Nerdy ABC Flashcards from ThinkGeek ($19.99)
Twenty-six flashcards that each have a different scientific concept for early science learnin'! Plus the drawings are really cute!


Periodic Table Building Blocks from ThinkGeek ($34.99)
I think these would go really well with the Nerdy ABC Flashcards. These might even be informative (and fun!) for the parents as well!


Kids' Hooded Towels from ThinkGeek ($39.99)
These come in three adorable options: Eura Unicorn, Shark, and One Eyed Mitch Monster. The only downside to these is that they don't come in adult sizes.


Darth Vader and Son from ThinkGeek ($14.95)
This is a super heartwarming story about Darth Vader and Luke! A great gift for any book lovin' kid who likes Star Wars.


Vader's Little Princess from ThinkGeek ($14.95)
This is the same kind of awesome, adorable book as Darth Vader and Son, but about his daughter Leia instead!


Kids' Superhero Raincoat from ThinkGeek ($49.99)
Who doesn't want to be a superhero as a kid? Choose from Batman or Spiderman!


Flashball Electronic Handheld Game with Lights & Sound from QVC ($30.00)
This is an awesome game that you can either play with others or by yourself. It really helps develop and strengthen hand-eye coordination!


FlashPad 3.0 LED Touchscreen Handheld Game from QVC ($31.00)
This is one of the coolest electronic handheld games by far! There are eight built in games and they are super addicting. I bought the FlashPad 2.0 last year and I really want to upgrade since they've added more games to this one. I could seriously play "Catch Me" for hours (and I may or may not have), but I left my FlashPad in the states! If you don't get one for someone on your shopping list, I would recommend at least getting one for yourself.

Can you tell how much I love ThinkGeek? This is not a sponsored post or anything, by the way. I'm just a huge fan. I can (and have) spend hours and hundreds of dollars at ThinkGeek. You can expect more things off of their site in upcoming gift guides, so I hope you like them too!

Let me know what you think of this guide! Would your little loved one(s) like anything on this list?



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OOTD: Femme Power & Cat Life Edition

Dress: Eshakti // Similar (XL16 - $69.95)
Jacket made into a Vest: Target // Similar (XXL - $10.48)
Boots: PLNDR (10 - $39.99)
Buttons: Modern Girl Blitz
Necklace: The Tiny Hobo (OS - $15.00)

These photos were taken after doing a bunch of errands in 90+ degree weather and sporadic rainfall, so my hair is super wacky. Don't judge me! :3

 My husband is such a trooper, taking photos of me! He's not a pro, but he gets it done and I totally appreciate it. I totally wish he would have told me that my vest had flipped on one side though in the only body shot he took, womp womp.

Now, I want to tell you about this awesome dress, guys! My first purchase from Eshakti was hit and miss, and this dress was the hit. I love how it fits me and that there are pockets... Pockets. Any dress that has pockets gets an immediate one-up on other dresses, in my opinion. Also, on the underside of the dress straps, there's a strip of fabric sewn on with a button, (I feel like that's not an accurate way to describe it at all) so you can button your bra strap to it! Oh man, I was so excited when I realized it had that feature especially since the dress straps were a bit too large, but once I hooked my bra strap up it fixed that problem. No strap-slippage for me!

I was FINALLY able to order a new camera after over a month of trying. First there was that whole QVC debacle, then I saw that Amazon couldn't ship it out here, then when I tried to order it directly from the NEX website so I could just get it shipped to my local NEX, my local NEX wasn't one of the options. Ugh. My husband and I checked at the NEX before all of this and they don't have the T5i in stock. There was the option to get one transferred from Yokosuka if that NEX had one in stock, so we filled out a form the other day and were later called to be told that they didn't carry it either. So then it took four tries on my local NEX's website, but the order finally went through! I don't think I'm going to believe it until the camera actually arrives, but once it does I will be so excited. I can finally retire my (technically, it's my husband's since he's had it for many years, but you know that whole "what's mine is yours" mindset...) super old, out of date Sony Cybershot. I might even be able to post quality photographs! I know, I know, it's nuts!
...And I can start doing videos! Hooray! Watch out, YouTube, here I come!



Anyway, that was my long rambly post. Do you guys like it when there's more than just "here's what I'm wearing and where to get it" or do you prefer my old straight and to the point OOTD posts?

xox

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First Impression: It Cosmetics "Your Most Beautiful You" Kit

Last month, one of QVC's Today's Special Values was It Cosmetics Your Most Beautiful You 6pc. Anti- Aging Collection. I had heard about It Cosmetics a little bit ago and wanted to try out some of their products, but upon further inspection I found that It Cosmetics is moderately expensive. I was so glad that this 6 piece kit was offered at $59.96 - that's $10 per item!



What is included in the Your Most Beautiful You kit?
Hello Light Anti-Aging Radiance Creme Illuminator ($24.00)
Vitality Lip Blush Hydrating Lip Gloss Stain in Je Ne Sais Quoi ($24.00)
YBBB Your Brows But Better ($24.00)
Bye Bye Under Eye in Neutral Medium ($24.00 for 0.28 fl oz.)
Luxe Pointed Airbrush Complexion Brush ($38.00)
Dual Heavenly Luxe Airbrush Foundation & Concealer Brush ($48.00)

If bought separately, it comes to $182.00 and the Bye Bye Under Eye in the kit is 1 fl. oz., more than three times the amount offered by It Cosmetics. Not a bad deal, huh?



The Hello Light is cream illuminator. It has a pink tone with silver highlight. I like that it softens up with the heat from my finger and doesn't seem to settle into any lines in my skin when applied.



Je Ne Sais Quoi is a light pink gloss stain. The stain it leaves is a warm pink color and I was very impressed with the stain's staying power. The gloss isn't overly sticky either, which is always a plus.



YBBB Your Brows But Better is a brow pencil. There are no color options because the harder you press down while applying, the darker the color will be. This can be a bit challenging the first few times it's used, but will get easier. I really like that YBBB also comes with a spooley brush on one end.



Bye Bye Under Eye is a full coverage concealer that can also be used as an all over foundation. I found it difficult to dispense from the tube and the consistency of it is very thick. I don't think I would use it as a foundation since I have oily skin and don't like wearing anything too think, but as a concealer for under eye circles, I think it works really well.



The two brushes are (top) the Luxe Pointed Airbrush Complexion Brush and (bottom) the Dual Heavenly Luxe Airbrush Foundation & Concealer Brush. Both brushes are dense and really soft!

I can't wait to use all of these in practice. I have high hopes!

Have you used It Cosmetics before? What do you think of their products?

xox

Quick Pic: QVC’s IT Cosmetics

IT Cosmetics First Impression will be on its way in within the next few days!

Do you like my Cat in a cat costume and Worrible?!

xox

RTT Vol. 3: APO/FPO Shipping Woes

As many of you know, I am living on an overseas military base in Japan. I am also an online shopping maniac and I have been extremely disappointed by the fact that there are tons of awesome websites (and also specific products like [some?] nail polishes, makeup brush cleaners, dry shampoos) that don’t ship to APO/FPO addresses. One thing that I can’t stand is when a website actually has the option to ship to overseas military bases, but once I go to checkout, the website informs me that they currently don’t ship there. What?! You’re breakin’ my heart, website!

Some of the websites that can’t ship to me include Ulta, Beautylish,Inglot, The Container Store, Fab, HSN, and many more. (Don’t get me wrong, I totally love these websites! I’m just bummed that they don’t offer shipping to military bases!) Now, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t bought things from these websites, sent them to my family’s house, and had my family ship things to me (thanks mom and dad!), but it’s a hassle, plus it’s more money. OH! Speaking of more money, there are so many sites that ship to me, but it costs a fortune! There’s absolutely no reason for me to pay $15 for shipping when I’m only spending $15 on the merchandise!

Sometimes though, there is just that one (or two or three) product(s) that I very much want or the sale that the website is having is just too good to pass up, and I end up caving in, buying something, and having it shipped to the address that APObox.com gave me. For those of you who don’t know, APObox is a service for military members that ships things overseas when the websites you shop at don’t give you the option to ship to APO/FPOs. The addresses provided are in the United States. It’s a great service idea and I don’t need to bug my parents every other day to send out the package that I had sent there, but it’s even more costly because APObox charges $8-10 depending on the packages’ weights and whatever the USPS fees are.

If any of you are military members/spouses and use APObox, I just want to let you know what happened to me. Luckily it wasn’t awful, but it was super inconvenient. I had ordered a Canon Rebel T3i (with accessories) from QVC. The money for it comes out of my checking account and then a few days later comes back in. I thought there was an issue with the billing or something, but when I called QVC they said that there was an issue with the address I had given them. QVCnormally ships to my FPO address, but this particular item couldn’t so I had given them the address that APObox provided me. The customer service rep that I was speaking to got everything cleared up (or so I thought). Another five days went by and I still had not been charged for the camera, nor had I received an email fromQVC telling me that my order had shipped so I called one more time. Turns out my QVC account was cancelled because of fraudulent activity.

Excuse me, what?!

Turns out that QVC has had issues with the APObox addresses. Now, I don’t know if the problems were with the company APObox or a customer of APObox, but I was certainly surprised and pretty bummed that not only can I not get the camera from them, but I can’t order anything from them at all now because I no longer have a QVCaccount. I’ve had several packages shipped to me using APObox with no issues, but now I don’t want to take the chance of losing (expensive) items or having more of my accounts closed. I’m pretty sure I’ll be forced to poke and prod at my parents to send me things now or just not shop at the websites that don’t ship to me. Wompwomp.

xox