Tag: review

international · travel

I’m Back From My Trip To . . .

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Nairobi, Kenya!

No one won the prize I offered in my Guess Where I’m Headed post, so I’ll be the sole benefactor of some neat Kenyan souvenirs. But even if you didn’t guess the location correctly, you can still check out my pics from the trip: I have photos on my Instagram but I’ll also share a few on this post.

Since I enjoyed a lot of activities while I was there, I will have a LOT of reviews coming over the next couple of weeks. I am excited to talk about my hotel experience, sightseeing at major landmarks, my museum visit, my first safari, dining out, and more. I also plan to do an in-depth video explaining how anyone can afford international travel, and how to plan for domestic and international trips (including timelines and helpful tips from an experienced traveler).

Without further ado, here is a soupcon of my photos from my time in Nairobi, Kenya. Enjoy (and look out for those reviews soon)!

hollywood glamour · style

Review: “I Love My Bag” Documentary

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Hi darlings! I’m wrapping up my international trip (I will allow one more day for someone to correctly guess my vacation location, then I’m closing the comment in my “Guess Where I’m Headed?” post). But, as usual, I found something fantastic during my time away, and I’m excited to share it with you.

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A photo of the iconic Hermes Kelly bags, from BragMyBag.com

On the flight to my vacation, I got the chance to watch a documentary titled, “I Love My Bag”. It took me some effort to hunt it down (it’s in French) but I found it and I’m linking it here. You’ll have to go to Vimeo to view it directly:

I LOVE MY BAG from Melinda Triana on Vimeo.

 

I’m sorry I couldn’t find the English version: I’ll replace this video as soon as I locate it! There are, however, different segments in English that you can enjoy. In the meantime, take in the beautiful fashion and interviews with different handbag connoisseurs and designers.

art · life curation

Review: Alison “Great Artists and Their Works” Course

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I’ve spent the past several weeks working through a few art courses, and I recently completed the first self-paced course I’ve taken this year. ALISON.com has a slew of courses that can be taken online for free, at the learner’s leisure. Completed courses are eligible for certificates of completion that learners can add to their educational portfolios.

I mentioned previously that I was completing the “Great Artists and Their Works” course. The course is approximately 5 – 6 hours long, and features 8 modules, with multiple lessons within each module. Each module discusses a different artist, and the artists are associated with different art movements throughout history (Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Cubism, etc.,).

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(picture from Alison.com)

I found this to be a very helpful free course, and a suitable, though compressed, art history introduction. I was enthralled by the artists I’d never heard of before – namely, Caravaggio, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Jacques-Louis David – and I’m glad I spent the time working through this course.

While I enjoyed the class, it isn’t without its flaws. It relies on videos created by Khan Academy, so you could just as easily study directly from the Khan Academy website. Also, the course has a single, cumulative examination at the end instead of quizzes sprinkled throughout the modules. In my experience, students learn better when they are periodically quizzed instead of assessing their knowledge after many concepts have been discussed and analyzed. Finally, there were a few questions that tested learners on concepts that weren’t taught in the course (I had to use Google for the answers).

Overall, I enjoyed the class and would recommend to anyone that wants to get familiar with some of the great names in art. If you decide to take it, let me know what you think about it!

beauty

Review: Beauty Benefits Haul

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It took me longer than I anticipated to write this review, for two reasons:

1) I bought a bunch of products, so it took time to try them all; and

2) I was underwhelmed each time I tried a product, so I didn’t know if I needed to even bother writing about them.

But, since I bought the products, and I know that some of you may enjoy reading about inexpensive beauty hauls, I figured, why not write about it?

Initial excitement about the products soon turned to apathy LOL

I enjoy using super-luxurious products that deliver BIG on their promises. But I’m also intrigued by bargain brands. I know, for a fact, that many exclusive brands use the same manufacturers as the companies that can be found in a local drugstore. So well-made products can be had at any price point.

However, Beauty Benefits is not a maker of those products. I overwhelmingly disliked the brand but there were a few items that I enjoyed and will use until they are used up.

Here’s what you need to know about Beauty Benefits:

  • The products are CHEAP.  Each product cost $1 at a local Dollar Tree store.
  • The cost correlates to the quality. That isn’t the case for all cheap makeup, but for this brand, it applies. Overall, they don’t apply that well and the textures are subpar.
  • The powder products that should be matte actually have quite a bit of reflective ingredients in them, so you get a little unintended shimmer. That may be find for eyeshadow or blush, but foundation powders shouldn’t sparkle on your face.

That moment when your pressed powder is shimmery and you have to speak up about it

  • The shades aren’t labeled on the products, so once you throw away the packaging, you won’t have any way to recall the name of the shade. I used some stickers to keep them straight, but that’s a bit much for such an inexpensive product: would it really have hurt the manufacturer to put the shade names on the actual product, instead of just on the exterior package?

The blushes before I opened the packages

Blush swatches (with color details in the caption)

 

  • The eye products are surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the eyeliner (the applicator brush isn’t very thin, but the product applies smoothly, albeit with a touch of shimmer. I also liked the lengthening mascara, though it doesn’t “length”. It did a good job of defining the lashes without clumping. Avoid the volumizing mascara: it doesn’t have an interior “rim” to wipe excess product off of the wand before applying to your lashes. You’ll end up with a ton of mascara on your wand EVERY. TIME.
  • I also liked the lip liner. It applied smoothly and is VERY pigmented. I’d purchase it again.
  • I also enjoyed the lip glosses. Shiny, not too sticky, easy to remove (which also means they need frequent reapplications, but that is normal for lip gloss), and doesn’t stain the skin.

With and without flash. (Top to bottom) Lip liner in Red, lip gloss in Terra, Rouge (yes, rouge is basically clear), Geranium, Berry and Ballet

  • While I disliked the brand overall, these actually make really good “intro to makeup” products for young girls. These are great to gift to your daughter, niece or goddaughter, when they want to play in makeup but aren’t responsible enough for the more luxurious stuff.

So, while I disliked the powder products from Beauty Benefits, the liquid liner, mascara, lip liner and lip gloss were okay. And since each product was only $1, I’m not mad at this minimal investment!

Do you all enjoy any bargain beauty brands? Let me know all about them in the comments below!

food · international

Review: Anokha Indian Restaurant

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Last week, I returned to a restaurant that I’ve visited but never reviewed. Anokha is a small but charming restaurant located in the Short Pump area of Richmond, Virginia. The restaurant specializes in Indian cuisine with an upscale twist.

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As an ethnic (international) food fanatic, I find myself constantly on the hunt for new restaurants to get my “fix”. While I tried Anokha one day during my lunch break, I was eager to try it again to make sure that it was as good as I recall.

I’m pleased to say that my memory didn’t fail me: Anokha’s food is outstanding and worth the visit.

I tried the Shrimp Koliwada as my appetizer, the Crabmeat Curry as my entree, and the regular and peshwari naan. Here are the photos of my Indian feast!

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Shrimp Koliwada (I was starving, I had to eat one before I took the pic!)

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Crabmeat Curry (you can even see my cousin’s hand in this photo: for once, I wasn’t dining alone! And she ordered the crabmeat curry, too)

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Naan (regular and peshwari: the peshwari naan has the reddish hues)

The restaurants describes the shrimp koliwada as, “Jumbo Shrimp in a Konkan Style Spiced Batter”. The end result was crisp in the best possible way, and the chutney was a nice, spicy garnish for the dish. The fresh slaw was a delicious flavor counterpoint for the tasty fried shrimp.

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Closer pic of the crabmeat curry

The crabmeat curry was everything a good curry should be: hearty, creamy, spicy, but full of fresh ingredients and flavors. The portion was so generous: I had enough for lunch on the next day. The restaurant really impressed me with the crabmeat in this dish: they used real lump crabmeat, and lots of it. This was well worth the price.

The naan was freshly toasted and buttery. The only drawback was that the peshwari naan didn’t have as much coconut and dried fruit as I expected. However, I like the more sparse fruit/coconut: it makes it a more suitable as a dipping bread for the main entree (I usually save my peshwari naan for dessert).

Anokha is located at 4015 Lauderdale Dr, on the opposite side of the street from Short Pump Mall. This gem is a hidden treasure: part of me wants to see them grow exponentially, and the selfish part of me wants to keep it all to myself!

food

My Favorite Products from Trader Joe’s

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Hi friends! I’m doing this post because I love my Trader Joe’s (TJ) finds, and I wanted to quickly share some of my favorites with you!

Here are my top ten TJ items!

TJ’s Mushroom Medley

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Sauteed by themselves or added to a meat or veggie medley: these enhance the flavor of any dish. Try them with beef or beefless tips, add some red wine and well-cooked onions, and you have something very similar to a beef bourguignon (not exactly the same, but you get my drift).

TJ’s Vegetable Panang Curry

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A delicious microwaveable meal with great flavor. Bonus points: it has plenty of veggies, so no need to add a side dish!

TJ’s Paneer Tikka Masala

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Another quick, microwaveable dish that is flavorful. I especially like that the paneer isn’t too chewy nor does it get overcooked easily.

TJ’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks (wasabi-flavored)

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I’ll eat the salted version, but the wasabi is my favorite. So much yum, and a great value at $1 a pack (the packs are generously sized!)

TJ’s Crab Cakes

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I’m a Mid-Atlantic girl, so I don’t play with my crab cakes; fortunately, neither does TJ’s. The crab cakes are meaty, with very little breader, and the price is excellent.

TJ’s Tempura Shrimp

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Much like the crab cakes, the price of the tempura shrimp is great and they taste delicious. I pop them in my toaster oven and within 30 minutes I have crispy bits of heaven.

TJ’s Pecan Pralines

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So yummy on baked sweet potatoes, and sinfully delicious on their own. I grab a few of these when I’m craving a healthier alternative to candy (at least they have protein, right?)

TJ’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend

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As a huge fan of the Everything bagel, I realize I can’t always have a bagel when I want it (nor do I always need so many calories). However, this is delightful on buttered slices of toast or any potato incarnation. Just sprinkle and enjoy!

TJ’s 21-Seasoning Salute

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Don’t know what to add to give your meats or veggies flavor? Just grab the 21 Seasoning Salute and you’re guaranteed a delicious outcome!

TJ’s Cookie Butter

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Eat it by the spoonful. No explanation needed: this already has a cult-like following, and for good reason. It’s shortbread cookies in spread form – so much yum.

 

What is your favorite TJ product? Let me know in the comments!

food · international

Lunch at Absolute Noodle

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As you all know, I love to get out during my lunch break and try new restaurants and international cuisine. Since I work in DC, the possibilities are endless, and I spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out where to go because, hey, a girl’s gotta eat well. Last week was no different, as I ventured out on the coldest day of the week to get some nibbles (that’s what happens when you forget to pack your lunch).

I wanted to get dim sum, but the restaurant was closed. So I went to my easy standby, Absolute Noodle on 5th Street NW. This tiny restaurant is easy to miss, since it’s small and unassuming. However, the location – roughly 3 blocks from Capital One Arena (formerly the Verizon Center) – makes it a perfect spot to grab a meal before a basketball game, or to fuel up before hitting the city for a night on the town.

popville absolute noodle

(courtesy of PopVille)

The menu is small but covers some great options: it’s a fusion of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai appetizers and entrees. I ordered one of my favorite options – yaki ramen – and an appetizer I’ve never tried before, crab and cheese croquettes.

 

I’ll start with the croquettes. These were perfectly fried: crisp without having too much breading. Kudos to the restaurant for using panko breading instead of using a wonton. Overall, these tasted alright, but I wasn’t in love with the texture, nor the fact that I tasted all cheese and very little seafood essence. I’m a born-and-bred Virginian, so my standards for seafood are pretty high. After all, crabs are a regular summer indulgence. So I was disappointed to see that no only did these have no discernable crab meat in them, but it’s likely that the “crab meat” used to flavor this was imitation crab meat (I could be wrong, but I doubt it).

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Imitation seafood products are accurately described by Anne Barone (in her book, Chic and Slim Encore) as, “what [she] would imagine ocean perch would taste like if it had been poached in a marinade of children’s cough syrup”. No, my croquettes didn’t taste quite like cough-syrup-infused perch. But it also didn’t taste remotely like any crab that I’ve eaten. So while this wasn’t gross, I wouldn’t try it again. The dipping sauce was good, though.

I can recommend the spring rolls here – very tasty and always cooked perfectly. Next time, I’ll stick to what I know!

For my entree, I almost always get the yaki ramen. However, I have a little “quirk”: I only get the yaki ramen when I do a takeout order (as I did on this occasion). You see, the yaki ramen is one of the non-soup (broth-free) noodle options. And I don’t like dry ramen, so I take this dish back to my office and add boiling hot water to it, let it sit for a moment (so that the flavor infuses into the water), then eat. The resulting broth is very flavorful (this restaurant doesn’t skimp on the seasoning) and I always end up having to eat the ramen in two sittings.

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Half of my order of yaki ramen with tofu, after I added some hot water to make a broth.

The ramen was delicious, as always. I love that it’s vegetarian and customizable.

So that’s my review of Absolute Noodle. It’s worth a visit, especially if you find yourself in Northwest DC, in the Chinatown/Capital One Arena area. Let me know what you think of it!

style

Boohoo Dresses – An Update

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As you all recall, I had several Boohoo hauls that I wrote about here and here. I just wanted to give you all an update on my dresses.

Since it’s been ridiculously cold in the Mid-Atlantic region, I’ve only been consistently wearing one of my Boohoo dresses: the Flo Ribbed Hi-Neck Dress (see photo below; as a side note, this color is no longer available at Boohoo, but there are still a lot of other color options to choose from on the website).

 

flolilas

 

This dress has been perfect for the chillier weather, since it’s thin enough to layer but has long sleeves and a slightly below-the-knee length. I’ve worn it with a blazer and knee-high boots, and it’s still a favorite! Here’s how I wore it before the weather got extra chilly:

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While I had all of the dresses in rotation, I washed all of them at least twice, using a lingerie bag and regular wash cycle. I’m pleased to say that ALL of the dresses are still in excellent condition: no loose strings, fading, stretching or otherwise damaged fabric.

I have to say, these dresses have held up beautifully and were a great value. I look forward to wearing them again when the weather warms up!

beauty · luxury

Review: KoyVoca Mini-Haul

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After trying KoyVoca’s incredible Hi Life Highlighter in $1,000,000,000 Babe, I was eager to try some more of their products. I initially reviewed a few of their items in this post, but I really wanted to try their foundations and lipsticks. So I ordered two of the Classic Cream-to-Powder foundations in the shades Savannah and Mali. I also ordered the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity.

For starters, my products arrived fast, as in, less than a week. Kudos to KoyVoca for consistently getting their products out quickly! Next, I squealed when I saw the package: the products came in a gorgeous, festive envelope. Can we get into this shiny red packaging?

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Next, I was impressed by the size of the foundation compacts. There is a lot of product in them! These also have really nice mirrors in the interior of the compact.

Wrappers on, wrappers off

 

(left, Savannah, right, Mali)

I’ve swatched the products below. Can you tell which foundation is Savannah and which is Mali? I’ll give you a hint: Savannah has neutral undertones and Mali is warm-toned. In person, I could clearly see that one foundation was warmer than the other.

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I was really glad to see that Savannah (the shade that most closely matches the skin on my face, top swatch) is truly neutral: not too warm or too cool. Mali (bottom swatch) will be perfect during the summer, when my skin gets a bit warmer toned (even though I don’t necessarily tan every summer).

The product picked up easily with a swipe of my finger, though they work best with sponges (I wish the compacts came with sponges! Oh well.) I actually applied Savannah with a flat top powder brush and it buffed into my skin perfectly. It looked like my skin but better!

Now these are cream-to-powder foundations, so I was surprised that I had to apply powder on top of them to mattify the finish. Normally, cream-to-powders dry down and look flawless, but these still had a bit of shine to them. No matter: a good mattifying primer and a light application of translucent powder does the trick.

Next, I tried the Nude Perfection lipstick in Vanity. KoyVoca has only a few lipsticks, and each of them are designed to flatter women with deeper skintones. Vanity was one of the deepest shades available and looked like it would be a gorgeous hue, so I got it. I wasn’t disappointed.

First, the tube is magnetic, so the top of the lipstick tube is extra secure (it’s unlikely that the top will just “pop off” while in your purse). Next, the lipstick has a pleasant smell. It’s difficult to describe, but it doesn’t reek of the cheap chemicals that can occasionally be smelled when purchasing inexpensive lip products. And then there’s the color.

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This gorgeous shade looks like a grown up nude hue on me. I love it! It’s moisturizing, smells good and looks great. It’s been my go-to “throw it on and go” shade. It may even be taking the place of my Liya Nude, since Vanity is a richer hue with a little more red to keep it from being a “flat” brown.

Overall, this KoyVoca mini-haul was a hit! I have 3 products that I know I’m going to enjoy using over the next several months. The prices are reasonable ($10 for each foundation compact and the lipstick is also $10), and the quality is great! I still highly recommend that you give KoyVoca a try!

culture · travel

Review of the Hilton Charlotte Executive Park

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This past weekend, I stayed in Charlotte, NC to attend a kizomba weekender and to spend time with one of my best friends. We stayed at the Hilton Charlotte Executive Park on Westpark Drive.

The hotel is easy to locate; it’s less than two minutes from the Tyvola Road exit on I-77. It’s a 3- star, moderately priced property that’s conveniently located near lots of attractions and is a short drive from downtown Charlotte.

If I haven’t mentioned it on this blog before, let this be the first time I tell you all this little fact about me: I love fountains. So seeing the fountain right in front of the building was a good sign for me:

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The room was lovely and comfortable. The only drawback was that there wasn’t a microwave in our suite. No worries – we used the microwave in the Market, where guests could purchase snacks and beverages. The hotel staff was understanding and even joked that our reheated food had the lobby smelling delicious! Here are some view from the lobby:

 

And naturally, here’s the obligatory bathroom toiletry shot (seems to be a “thing” with me):

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The suite was spacious and pristine. Aside from the microwave issue, I only had one other tiny “complaint”: I couldn’t connect to the wifi all weekend! It was a blessing in disguise, though: I was able to really focus on connecting with people offline. And who couldn’t use more face-to-face connection? For that reason, I didn’t even bother asking the hotel staff for assistance with the wifi.

I really had a great stay! I’d definitely return, uncooperative wifi and microwave oven and all!