Something About Merry by ILoveNP on Etsy

Red, White, and Green Glitter Nail Polish.  Barbra, who makes and sells these great polishes, can be found at ILoveNP on Etsy and ilnpbrand in Instagram.

Reflections at 16th & Douglas in Omaha

What the camera sees in the window.  At the bus stop.  The buildings reflected in the window of the Brandeis Building.  Southwest corner of 16th & Douglas.  I took this picture on 4/3/13. I posted it on Instagram @cricketsbay on 4/8/13.

First Look: Babes In Toyland by ILoveNP

Etsy is a wonderful place to find Indie Nail Polishes.  Part of ILoveNP's Winter 2012 Collection, Babes In Toyland is a mix of glitters perfect for Mardi Gras.  It appears to be purple, gold, and a greenish-blue color.  I'm thinking of putting it over Wet N Wild 9.0.2.1.0range. 

I posted the picture below on Instagram (where I'm @cricketsbay) several weeks ago, along with those of the other 8 polishes I bought at the same time.  Barbra (ILoveNP on Etsy) can also be found on Instagram as @ilnpbrand.

Matsu Sushi Omaha

Dusk.  The Matsu Sushi sign on Douglas in Omaha across the street from Gene Leahy Mall.  I took this picture on September 16, 2010.  I think I was using my old Olympus C-7000, but I was testing a Nikon at that time.  I didn't like the Nikon and I returned it. 

Matsu Sushi is right across from the arch on the South side of Gene Leahy Mall.  I really want to eat there, but I haven't had the chance yet.  It's right near the Old Market as well.

I love how this picture turned out.  It was getting dark, so I was in a hurry.  I used PicsArt for the watermark and to crop this photo square.  I have figured out that if I save a picture from PicsArt to my phone's SD card as a PNG file it won't blur the image.  If I save it as a JPEG file, there is significant blurring.

I did post this picture on Instagram last night where I am @cricketsbay.  Please. No. Spam.

Another Flower

I have decided these are a variety of crocus. Nothing else blooms this early.

Instagram: cricketsbay

Review: Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment

Here's what I think of the Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment after a closer look. It smells disgusting. Dimethicone triggers acne breakouts for many people. The second ingredient on the label is dimethicone, a silicone polymer that clogs pores. I was shocked when I heard one YouTuber exclaim, "It smells like patchouli!" Really? Why the fuck would a hair product company put patchouli scent in their products? I opened it and smelled it at that point. It smells horrible. How can anybody use this on their hair? Ick! Thank You for Reading, Everyone. Have Fun and Blessed Be. Tammy

First Look: March 2013 Birchbox

Here's the first look at my March Birchbox on April 1st. First Look: Birchbox March 2013 Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Blush in Freja A loose pigment blush that looks more like a bronzer to me than a blush. It’s orange leaning toward brown. I’m afraid to open it. It’s one of those clear containers the size of a quarter with the pigment loose inside, no little filter thing on top, and it looks to be filled so that when the lid comes off pigment goes everywhere. It’s going up for trade. Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment Dimethicone is the 2nd ingredient listed on the bottle. It’s a huge 1 oz. sample in a cue little brown and green bottle. I know that Macadamia brand is one of the premiere haircare lines in America, but why label a product as “natural” when it’s clearly not. Although, since dimethicone is a silicon-based polymer and silicon is a naturally occurring element, I guess they can get away with it. Just watch—I’ll try it and it will make my skin freak out and I’ll have a ton of pimples shortly after I start using it on my hair. I’m going to try it anyway. Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask Deep conditioner for hair. It also has dimethicone, but it’s pretty far down on the ingredient list. If it’s going to make me breakout, it doesn’t matter how much of an ingredient is in a product, just that it’s there. Oh, well, that’s why I use a 2% salicylic acid shower gel and all kinds of face cleansers to keep my acne under control. The sample size is nice. It says it’s 0.5 oz. in the foil packet. It looks like I can get 2 uses out of it. Stella Cadente Miss Me Discrete? Eau de Toilette Okay, it’s an EDT instead of a perfume … That doesn’t make it any less horrible. It smells like I dumped a whole bottle of baby powder on myself. Viva La Juicy smells like an old lady drenched in baby powder. This Stella Cadente sample just smells like baby powder times 10. I am not okay with this kind of scent. I don’t understand why anyone would want to smell like this. And it gave me a headache. I do like getting perfume samples so I can know what stuff smells like and what not to buy, so I will chalk this up as a learning experience. I find the smell of Stella Cadente Miss Me Discrete to be absolutely suffocating, though, and I certainly do not appreciate this particular perfume sample. I think that’s 5 nasty perfume samples out of the 10 I’ve received in my 12 Birchboxes. That means 5 samples are nice, so that’s not a total bust. Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream I like this sample. It’s the best thing in the whole box. I’ve been looking forward to receiving it since Birchbox did the spoiler video last week. This is the Whish Blueberry Shave Cream that is only available through Birchbox. I’ve already made a trade for another sample of it and I haven’t even had a chance to try it yet. I’m sending the Hot Mama Blush from the Balm a I got a couple months ago in my Birchbox. It think it’s a fair trade. I will never use the blush. Madewell for Birchbox Emery Board I hope we can review it. I guess some people like emery boards. Well, that's my thoughts when I opened my March Birchbox. Thank You for Reading, Everyone, and Blessed Be. Tammy

The LineUp 3/31/13

Here's what the Omni Centre 4-Plex marquis looked like this weekend.  3/29-3/31.  I think they  still change it on Thursdays.  The theater is only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Picture also posted on Instagram where my username is cricketsbay.

Purple and Gold Flower Close Up

Here's a closer view of 1 of the flowers from today.  I still am not sure if they are Crocuses or Dutch Irises.  They are beautiful.

Purple and Yellow Flowers

First Flowers of 2013.  They are purple and yellow.  I do not know what they are called.  They look like Dutch Irises.  They may be a variety of Crocus. 

Instagram: cricketsbay

Harp Beer Cap

The first photo I ever posted on Instagram.  A blue Harp beer bottle cap.  I found it on the ground at the bus stop.  This is where it all started.

http://instagram.com/p/JfonGOEk4a/

Full Moon Framed By Viaduct Art

Blessed Ostara, Everyone.

I took this picture at about 10:50 p.m. on 3/26/13.  I posted it on Instagram earlier.

Tonight I went shopping for groceries and on the way home I stopped to get pictures of the monstrosity on the Broadway Viaduct.  I  can't tell you how excited I was to get pictures of it framing the Full Moon.  I kept changing the light settings on my phone's camera.  This picture was taken when it was set for incandescent.  I did not use any filters.  The only edits are my CricketsBay watermark and the cropping to make it square for Instagram. 

This is the best shot I could get.  The Moon looks like a big yellow light.  I love it anyway.  How many chances are there to get a picture of the Spring Full Moon like this?  I couldn't resist.  It's Beautiful.  The orange and the yellow of the artwork are showing up pretty well.  I wish the Moon showed up better.  The viaduct has way too many lights, so it's a good subject on which to practice getting pictures at night.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to get this shot. 

Thanks for Reading, Everyone.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

X Icicles on Trees

These icicles were on the trees along the South side of the Council Bluffs Public Library on March 13th, 2013.  I posted this picture on Instagram on March 17th as 1 of a series of 5 different angles on these icicles.  I think they are beautiful. 

I'm thinking of doing something called Series Sunday on my Instagram page.  However, my account was heavily spammed last night when I posted a series of pictures of glitter nail polishes I bought from ILoveNP on Etsy.  The spam continues intermittently today.  There are at least 25 different accounts posting nearly identical spam comments on my pictures, and those of others.  It's a pain in the ass, but every time I get a spam comment, I just click on the poster's username and then report them for spam. 

I have pictures of the icicles on the North side of the Library taken a few days later.  I plan to post them on Instagram next Sunday. 

Thank You for Reading.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

X First Look: Up To Snow Good Glitter Polish

Up to Snow Good by ILoveNP on Etsy.com.  Winter Collection 2012. 

Up To Snow Good has square teal glitter, a couple different shapes of white glitter, and translucent aqua glitter in a clear suspension base.  I can't wait to try it over a silver nail polish.

Photographed on my windowsill on 3/24/13.  I like it. Of course, I like them all, except they smell kinda like Seche Vite.  Ick.  1st of 9 glitter nail polishes I purchased in February 2013.  I have not used any of them yet. 

Check  out my Etsy Shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/theperidotcricket/

X Bug on Rose Theater Window

In 2010 I found this bug on the window of the Rose Theater Costume Shop.  I recently posted a series of 5 pictures of different angles of this bug on Instagram.  My username there is cricketsbay.  I don't know what kind of bug it is. I've never seen another bug like it.  I do like taking pictures of bugs.  The photo is cropped and I added the word CricketsBay.  There are no other edits and no filters applied to this photo. 

X Bad Mogwai Green Glitter Polish from ILNP on Etsy

Here's the first of the pictures of 9 glitter nail polishes I bought from ILoveNP on Etsy in February.  Bad Mogwai is a green glitter polish.  I can't wait to try it.

The light was going this evening and I  couldn't get a good picture. The camera on my phone wouldn't show the proper green color again, so I set Bad Mogwai on the windowsill.  The phone camera, the light reflecting off the bottle, and the setting Sun combined to make the streaks of light in the picture.  The photo has not been edited.

I got a much better picture than I was looking for.  I just wanted to show the nail polish true to color.  This photo captures the green color of Bad Mogwai perfectly.

I also bought ILoveNP's entire 6 polish Winter Collection as well as The Deep Sea and Pumpkinhead from other collections.  I will post pictures of them soon.

Thank You for Reading, Everyone.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

Lip Swatch: Revlon Lip Butter 045 Cotton Candy

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter 045 Cotton Candy.

The top photo of the lip butter packaging is not true to color.  It is not a pink as it should be.  The lip swatch picture is true to color. My lips today with Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter 045 Cotton Candy.  This is what it looks like 2 minutes after I applied it. 

I don't like to wear pink lip products, but I'm trying to find a nice neutral pink to wear to work.  I want something that I can tell it's there, but it's not going to make a supervisor say I have to take it off.  I would rather be wearing the Revlon Lip Butter in 015 Tutti Frutti or 040 Red Velvet, but I am starting a new job soon.  I like that 045 Cotton Candy is not as shocking as Revlon Lip Butter 090 Sweet Tart.

Thank You for Reading, Everyone.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

X Crazy Polka Dot Easter Nails

I have a job interview tomorrow. Time to take off my nail polish.

My Birchbox Open Box February 2013

Watch "February Birchbox | CricketsBay" on YouTube

Lip Swatch: Revlon Lip Butter 090 Sweet Tart

Below I present Revlon Lip Butter 090 Sweet Tart.  This is a swatch of Sweet Tart on my lips, not an in-depth review.   I've been addicted to the Revlon Lip Butters since May of 2012 when I bought 015 Tutti Frutti at Wal-Mart in a frustrated haze after not finding the Maybelline Popsticks.  Over the past 10 months, I've purchased several more of the Revlon Lip Butters.  They are collectively my favorite lip product of all time.  I bought 060 Gumdrop and 045 Cotton Candy today.  I wanted to compare them to Sweet Tart when I got home, so I put Sweet Tart one and snapped a picture with my Android phone. 

The colors are true.  This is what 090 Sweet Tart looks like on my lips. It's a very warm-toned, very bright pink.  I love Sweet Tart, but, man, does it ever bring out the redness in my face.  I have rosacea.  I find it very hard to wear this color.  It seems to have orange tones.  It's not what I consider a coral color.  It's definitely pink.  I find Sweet Tart to be the strangest of the bright colors offered in the Revlon Lip Butters.  I've never seen another lip product this exact color.  I swear it makes me look orange. 

I tried both 045 Cotton Candy and 060 Gumdrop this evening and I will post pictures of them later this week.  I am thrilled to see that Cotton Candy and Gumdrop both  seem to lean toward the blue-toned side of pink, although Gumdrop makes me look extremely pale in the same light I used to snap the picture of 090 Cotton Candy.  I bought the 2 Lip Butters tonight because they appear to be cool-toned pinks.  I had been putting it off because I don't wear a lot of pink, but today the machine at CVS spat out a coupon for $3 off any $10 Revlon purchase and Revlon products are buy 1 get 1 half off, so I couldn't resist any longer.

Let me know what you think of the Revlon Lip Butters, my swatch of Sweet Tart on my lips below, and the 2 other pinks if you've tried them.

Thanks for Reading, Everyone.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

X What's In My Shower: Strawberry Edition

The new Fresh-Picked Collection is out at Bath and Body Works. I was there on Monday and Wednesday. I got shower gels--2 of each--in Fresh-Picked Strawberries and Fresh-Picked Tangerines. I'm using the Strawberries shower gel right away.  I was in Target and I saw the Suave Sun-Ripened Strawberries shampoo and conditioner on an endcap, so I bought it, too. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and it's cheap. 

The Fresh-Picked shower gels are $8.00 for 16 oz. The Suave products are $1.99 each.  I love the smell of strawberries for my shower.  The shower gel smells amazing and it works great. Tye verdict is still out on the Sun-Ripened Strawberries shampoo and conditiinert.  I've only used it once so far.  I have to say it's not the best at detangling and the conditioner has almost no scent, which is very disappointing.

I bought all products mentioned. All opinions are my own.

Thanks You for  Reading, Everyone.  Have Fun and Blessed Be.

X The LineUp 3/1/13

The Marquis for This Weekend.

Welcome

First Blog Entry. Old Blog. New Purpose.