Welcome to Enhancement by Affiliation
Monday I made a trip to Salem, New Hampshire to get this Lisa Frank-style unicorn tattooed on me. I went to Underworld Tattoo Company on Main Street and spent five hours getting tattooed by the incredibly talented Haley Bean Tattoo. The shop was gorgeous, spacious, and very clean. Haley was great to work with and my tattoo turned out amazing. I highly recommend both shop and artist!
Last night I was fortunate enough to score a ticket to the Pixies at the House of Blues in Boston. This was my second time seeing them. My first was at Boston Calling two years ago and they were so amazing then that I just had to see them again on their own. They’re playing two more nights in Boston – Tonight again at the House of Blues and Sunday night at the Paradise. I would love to go to both of those shows as well, but I’m not made of money!
The show itself was great. The band played 21 songs plus a two-song encore, making it an approximately two-hour set. There was a great mix of songs from different albums. What I found interesting was the complete lack of stage talk from Black Francis and the rest of the band. No one said a single word. Strange, but admirable.
Cymbals Eat Guitars were the openers. I used to listen to them in college and it was cool to get to see them. I missed the beginning of their set, but they were good and definitely a good fit as openers for the Pixies.
Ever since I found out about Daiso, I’ve been dying to visit one, so when I was planning my trip to Seattle and discovered they had a few stores there, I got pretty excited. I made it a point to go to one while I was there and obviously I went a little crazy. If you don’t know what Daiso is, it’s a Japanese “dollar” store – nearly everything is $1.50 and any pricing exceptions are marked (mostly $2, $3, and $4). Everything in the store was so cool and cute and right up my alley, so I didn’t really hold back. One thing I bought was missing from my bag when I got home and I’m so sad about it – it was a gorgeous floral soap dispenser. But here’s the rest!
A black acrylic jewelry holder, a pink rose molded cosmetics box, various travel-sized toiletry bottles, a black acrylic hair pin container, a pink false eyelash case, and hair-thinning scissors.
A strawberry-shaped bento box, blue polka-dot plastic mug, a fluffy face towel with a panda embroidered on, a sticky note assortment, and floral notebook.
A pink terry cloth headband, finger cocoon balls, and a foaming net (all for face washing), plus some floral drawer-liners.
An ice cream print iPhone wallet case, eyebrow pencil, liquid liner, eyeshadow quad, and some washi tape.
And my lantern.
While I was recently in Seattle for three days, I stopped at five different breweries to sample the many beers each had to offer.
On day one, I stopped into Pike Brewing Company’s Pike Pub right around the corner from Pike Place Public Market. I ordered the rockfish tacos and a pre-selected sampler of the brewery’s year-round favorite beers. The tacos came with a flavorful black bean and quinoa salad and some pickled carrots. The sampler included six four-ounce pours. The first beer was called Naughty Nellie and it was a refreshing golden ale. Next up I tried the Pike Place Ale, which was a somewhat bland pale ale. Then I had the Pike IPA, the Kilt Lifter Scotch ale, the XXXXX Pike Stout, and the Monk’s Uncle Belgian tripel and they were all okay but nothing totally blew me away or really stood out as far as craft beers go.
On day two, I hit up Holy Mountain Brewing Company and Fremont Brewing Company. Sadly, Holy Mountain doesn’t offer flights. Instead, I tried three half-pours to get a taste of what they had to offer. First I tried a saison called Demonteller, which tasted fresh and tart. Definitely a very refreshing summer beer. My second beer was called Satan is Real and it was pilsner brewed in collaboration with Tired Hands Brewing. It was a little bitter for my liking. Lastly, I sampled a Czech pilsner called Three Fates, which was crisp-tasting with a hint of spice.
At Fremont Brewing Company, I was able to select five beers from their huge draft list. I tried Randall #1 which was a blood orange IPA. It was average. Then I tried their Gose w/ Sea Salt & Coriander (delicious!), followed by their Dark Star porter (meh), Wandering Wheat (also meh), and their Interurban IPA (pretty good!).
On day three, I went to Cloudburst Brewing, also located in the Pike Place Market neighborhood. Cloudburst’s taproom also doesn’t offer flights, so I opted to try two ten-ounce beers. First I tried their Market Fresh Saison #11 with pineapple and pink pepperberry. It was really, really tasty. Then, I tried their oatmeal stout called Dumpster Fire. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been in the mood for a heavier beer but it was good nonetheless.
As my final stop on my way back to SeaTac to catch my flight home, I went to Odin Brewing Company in Tukwila, WA. I was hoping to have dinner and a flight, but their kitchen was completely out of chicken so I just had beer for dinner. Every beer I had here went down so smoothly. The Abbey Single blonde ale was my favorite and it was so drinkable. I also had the Baldr Red Ale, Thor’s Sunstone Belgian tripel, and the Asgard IPA. All in all, I wasn’t disappointed in Seattle and the breweries I visited. I only wish I had time to try more!
Do you love mail? Do you love free things? Do you love getting free things in the mail? Because I do. I signed up for Influenster not that long ago and recently received my first VoxBox from them. A VoxBox is a box filled with goodies that the company sends you free of charge to review. They can contain a variety of brands or just products from one brand. My VoxBox was from Origins and it contained five sample-sized products that I promptly tried out and reviewed on Origins’ web site. Check out what I got!
Checks And Balances Frothy Face Wash
This face wash smelled like spearmint gum and left my face feeling really squeaky clean. I’m not sure if this was because it left a residue on my face or because it just really stripped my skin. I’d go with stripped, though, judging by the way my skin drank up moisturizer after. This is good for an occasional deep cleanse, but I think it’s too harsh for every day.
GinZing Moisturizer
This moisturizer hydrated well without being too light or too greasy, absorbed easily, and didn’t break me out. The citrus smell was pleasant as well. My difficult to-treat combination skin is glowy and smooth in the areas where it’s normally dry AND the areas where it’s normally oily. I do recommend it.
GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff
This eye cream was light but hydrating and not greasy at all. I can’t speak to its effectiveness for dark circles because I don’t have them, but my undereyes definitely looked more hydrated and awake and my fine lines were minimized. It also had a slightly cooling sensation when first applied that was really nice and refreshing.
Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask to Clear Pores
This mask felt slightly tingly when applied and it got very tight as it dried. I felt like I couldn’t move my face because it was turning to stone, which was a bit scary. My skin felt tightened and refreshed after washing it off and I was less oily the next day. I had an enlarged blackhead on my nose that started shrinking up immediately. So far, so good!
High Potency Night‑A‑Mins
This smells really good and is really hydrating. It has been helping clear up my dry, flaky skin since I started using it a week ago and I’m seeing my makeup go on much smoother in the morning. It’s a bit greasy, though, so it’s definitely for night-time use only, as the name implies.
Disclosure: I received these products as complimentary samples for testing, but all opinions are my own. Here’s my Influenster link if you want to join and start raking in the free stuff.
Two weekends ago, I visited Seattle. I was there from late Friday afternoon until Sunday night when I caught the redeye out, but I still got a lot done. Here are a few photo highlights from my trip! I left out a few things that will have their own separate entries soon.
Pike Place Public Market Center! I obviously had to take a stroll through this historic market and snap a picture of the famous sign!
The Space Needle! I learned that Mt. Rainier (seen in the distance in the first picture) is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
I used Airbnb for the first time ever and rented the cutest little room in the University District. Thanks to Sharon and Jim for a cozy place to stay!
I just had to make a pit stop at Unicorn Bar.
I also caught a show at the Funhouse. The band was called The Relationship, which is Brian Bell from Weezer’s band.
I went to the Museum of Pop Culture, but the Nirvana exhibit was closed for construction. I still enjoyed some of the other exhibits, particularly the scifi exhibit.
Bonus: Gratuitous food pics! Huevos rancheros from Sunlight Cafe and vegan pan-fried noodles from Loving Hut.
