1000 pageviews!

Thank you for your support everyone!

FOR THE FUTURE:

I would like to try and do a giveaway at 2000 views, if hopefully enough people will see it and enter.

It'll take a little time for me to get things together, which would be something
along the lines of what I review/write about on here.

I'd like to know what kinds of things you guys want to see in a giveaway box!
Please leave a comment if you're interested, and help me get started. C:

Summer: sun-safety and tips!

Hey guys!  It'll be summer in about a month, but here in SD it's

already starting to warm up (on the days when it's not April-showering).

We have really strange spring weather where sometimes it's grey and drizzly...but on the

days when the sun comes out it can get really intense.

I thought it'd be helpful to make a post on general tips to help as the weather warms up, 

and  how to beat the heat and protect yourself from the sun!

SUNSCREEN

This is super important.  Even if you don't use it on the rest of your body, you should

definitely use it on your face!  I know you've probably heard it hundreds of times, the sun

can do a lot of damage on your face - you may not see it now but in the long run, over-exposure

causes wrinkling, discoloration, spots, and possibly skin cancer (all bad things, especially cancer).

I would recommend using it on any exposed skin, even if you're just wearing shorts/skirt/tank top and

not just for going to the pool or beach - whenever you know you'll be in the sun for a while.

Remember to wait FIFTEEN minutes after applying sunscreen before you head out, 

that's how much time it takes for your skin to absorb enough to form a barrier against the sun!

I have Ocean Potion Kids 50SPF as a body sunscreen.  It smells AMAZING,

sweet & fruity - nothing of the usual medication/coconut smell that a lot of sunscreens have.

(my mom and boyfriend actually get *nauseous* from coconut scents, so we tend

to avoid using anything with that smell around them - this is perfect because they can use it too)

What I do is mix a bit of it with my normal body lotion and apply that.  

Mine's 50SPF, which is really great for full-on long-term sun exposure! But on a 

day to day basis did you know you don't need more than 15SPF?  So a little dollop of 50SPF

really goes a long way. c:  I was worried that the added lotion would make me burn FASTER

but it actually doesn't in my experience.  

This stuff is surprisingly light for a body sunscreen, but don't let it trick you.

I went on a trip to Death Valley and was out in the sun for 9-10 hours with this on, and 

I got the barest hint of a tan.  (I usually get very tanned from just a half-hour in the sun without

sunscreen, so it's a really effective 'screen in my experience!)

NOTE: I really wouldn't recommend this for your face - I think it's supposed to be noncomedogenic

but it did make me break out, as it's a bit oily (and it's not touted as a face-OK sunscreen to begin with).

~~

I use Coppertone oil-free Faces for my face.

You can also get this at Walmart or any similar store, it runs $6-9 but lasts forever 

since you only need a very little bit at a time. 

I've tried a lot of different brands of face sunscreen since I first had breakouts, and they all

made me break out horribly.  Some people like my cousin are fine using the same

sunscreen all over - which is great! c:  If you are one of those people count yourself lucky.

But if you've tried a lot of sunscreens this one is really great.  It's very light and not at all greasy,

and absorbs very quickly.  It's just as effective for daily use as for hardcore sun-time.

I usually put a tiny bit of this over moisturizer for day-to-day, and I'll just put a thicker layer 

of only this for when I go to the beach/out in the sun.    

I have combo skin so this is pretty great, it's not shiny & it doesn't have that feeling of a blanket

of oil on your skin.  I've also used this for my hands when I'm gardening/working in my ecology lab

and my hands are exposed to the sun (I have a hat and longsleeves haha).  

~~

Other tips for the upcoming sunny days:

• STAY HYDRATED.  I can't say this enough, especially in SD where the temperature can shoot up like nobody's business.  You only feel thirsty when you're already slightly dehydrated.  A water bottle is NOT "too heavy to carry" compared to the impact on your body of not drinking enough.  If weight is an issue, you can even get water-"bottles" that are bags, which you can roll up and store away when they're empty - these are pretty great and they're quite weightless.  (Though I'd stay away from putting anything besides water in them because they'd be a bit difficult to clean!)  They're very affordable, Target currently has them for $1 in their dollar section. 
• WEAR A HAT.  I usually do this because sometimes I don't want to wear sunscreen, or I'm lazy.  Until recently I wore a hat because if I put sunscreen, I'd get zits.  Not anymore, but a little extra protection never hurt anyone!  Snapback, floppy sun hat, whatever it is make it work. 
• WEAR SUNGLASSES!  UV radiation affects your eyes as well, and overexposure can hurt your vision.  Your eyes need protection too!  If you wear glasses, they make the kind that can clip on to your frames (they also sell wraparound ones that go OVER your glasses, those are kind of cool too and look like you're one of the X-MEN).  
• SPF LIPBALM.  I tend to have dry lips and it's really noticeable (my friends and parents point it out when I haven't even noticed because I'm used to it).  I switched to lipbalm that had SPF in it a couple of months ago and I was fine since then. I think it might've been that the combination of lipbalm "oil" and sunlight fried the top layers of my lips?  Whatever it was, SPF also keeps you from getting sunburn on your lips.  (doesn't that sound awful?)
• TRY NOT TO GET SUNBURNT.  Sunburns - and even tans - go through many layers of skin, affecting deep layers and leaving long term damage.  The degree of damage varies with how deep the tan/burn is.  You can still look sunkissed  and be safe - just keep in mind that you may not look tan today, but tans darken after the fact (follow the tanlines!).  
• FOR DRIVERS!  The left side of your face (in the US, it'd be the right side in some countries I suppose!) is frequently exposed to sun, as well as your arms & hands.  A lot of online sites sell "driving gloves" - they come in a lot of colors and designs so you can look and feel cool (in both senses of the word) while blocking the sun.  I also keep a thin hoodie or cardigan in the car, that I can pop on and have my arms protected without overheating myself.  I've seen some people wearing floppy hats as well while driving - I personally wouldn't because I'd worry about my span of vision, but it can work!  This would be a good time to break out the sunscreen.    
• DRINK TEA!  Tea - both black and green - is full of antioxidants and good things that will actually STRENGTHEN your skin's natural resistance to sun damage (along with other kinds of damage).  On the plus side, it can help with complexion. c:  

Tiny Farm

A couple of days ago I downloaded Tiny Farm for iPhone and

I started my game today - it's surprisingly addicting!

(I'm user seaprinprin by the way!)

 I've never actually played Farmville on Facebook, but some people have said

that Tiny Farm's a bit like it.

(Though Tiny Farm is REALLY cute - think Harvest Moon-style animals and buildings.)

So basically you start out with a few animals (first you have sheep, but you can

get chickens, pigs, and more, especially if you have a Ranger cabin to catch

rare animals for you).

You have to feed and give animals love (with love points) and eventually if you have 

two of the same kind of animal with full love points, you can have them breed and a baby

animal will be born!

Also when you complete a collection of a particular kind of animal, you get 

a special surprise reward.

You can get money in-game by having crops - this makes a TON of money relatively 

quickly.  Bells are a little harder to get, you can earn them in-game through friends and doing quests etc.

There's also ways to get free bells by signing up for apps/services/etc.  

Finally, you earn love points over time; whenever you level up you increase the 

total love points you can have AND you get a free refill.  

You can also get money, love points, and bells by buying them with actual money (it's pretty

pricey though so I really don't recommend it).

It gets a bit impatient waiting to refresh love points/for crops or animals to grow, but 

you can just click away and do something else, then come back

once everything's full up again.  

I would recommend trying it if you like Harvest Moon or farming/animal

raising type games (like Tamagotchi etc).  The best thing is it's a FREE app!  

(I'm not sure if it's available for computer/online/other phones besides iPhones.)

It's available for iPhone, iTouch, and Android as far as I've found out.
The game made my 4s heat up a little bit, fyi - just close it and remove it from
the background-running programs list for a while if that happens. c:

My farm - the black sheep & bighorn sheep are my favoritesss. c:

I'm seaprinprin on there so add me as a friend and I'll help you out with love points!

My current games & shows c:

Hello all! 

I've always been kind of sad that during school, I'm balancing

so many thingBlas - schoolwork, blog, tumblr, friends, and job-searching - that

I don't get to really watch anime/TV shows, play games, or read books etc.

Recently this quarter (of course I wouldn't think of this until the last quarter, sigh)

I've started putting aside a half-hour every weekday to play a game I was saving for break,

or watching one episode of a series I'd planned to watch.  

I've actually felt a lot less stressed!  And I don't end up marathon-ing through an

entire series (& ending with feeling sad that it was over so fast).

My boyfriend thought I should be accurate and just watch one episode per WEEK, so 

it'd be like actually keeping up with the show when it was currently running, but I'm not 

nearly patient enough for that!  

(FYI I mostly pick up shows that are already complete so 

I can get the whole torrent - if you want a copy of the torrent/link to it, leave a note

in the comments and I'll give it to you!  I can't post them on the blog because the post gets

flagged and taken down ...trust me it happened before. :c )

Current Shows!

Adventure Time (literally the only airing show I try to keep up with because tumblr spoils it otherwise)

Strike Witches Season 2

Black Rock Shooter (the plot's a bit confusing but the animated dream world is SO pretty)

Current Games!

Bayonetta (I already made a post about this, a sequel's coming out soon if you didn't know!)

PokeMMO (I downloaded it foreverago but finally got to playing it - now I can play

w/o bringing my ds AND laptop c: )
DoTA 2 (Dawn of the Ancients) (it's similar to League of Legends)

April 2013 Streetsnaps

Quick snaps of people I've seen around SD with interesting or cute outfits!

A lot of these are kids at UCSD. c: 

 ( Note: If you see yourself here and you would like your photo taken off,

just comment anonymously (I think you can do that) with the number of the photo. c:

I will take it down immediately! )

Suits always look pressed and classy.  (It's also still on the chilly side of spring, so hopefully

he was comfortable and not baking in that!)

(Peterson bus stop, UCSD)

Super cute outfit - perfect match with the mint skinny jeans + ballet pink combat boots, and

the little bunny face on the edge of her shirt.

(Peterson Hall, UCSD.)

Really pretty combination of a light skirt and the summer-tropical colors in her bag and hoodie.

(Peterson bus stop, UCSD)

RIMMEL London: 60 Seconds Nail Polish

Today it's Rimmel London's 60 Seconds nail polish!

I saw them at Walmart for $1.75 each a few weeks back, which is really cheap for nail polishes

(Sally Hansen/Essie/Revlon tend to run $5-6 each, depending where you look).

I got one each of I Lilac You (light lavender cream with a pink cast) and 

Blue Eyed Girl (medium indigo/denim blue cream).  I've been looking for an inexpensive

denim nail polish and this is a really pretty blue that's not too dark.  Until recently

I was using Julep's Renee lilac polish (hint: you can still get free nailpolishes at Julep's site c:

just use their free first-timer's code) but it's practically empty and I think I prefer Rimmel's shade.

They're not kidding about the 60 seconds - I've never used a speed dry polish before

but it's so cool to not be picking things up gingerly for 15+ minutes after painting my nails.

It says you only need one coat, but imo it was still slightly streaky so I've put two in the picture below

(it dries in nearly no time so why not?).  It's also one of the smoothest, nicest, richly colored polishes I've used.  No bubbles or sticking, I wonder if that might be because it dries too quickly to let that happen?  

This application lasted a week with only some tiny chips at the tips of my nails, which

probably happened in lab ^u^ biology's intensive on the hands sometimes.  

I Lilac You

Blue Eyed Girl

(one coat over I Lilac You - I think one coat of this would be ok on bare nails

since it's a really strongly pigmented shade)

I'd say it's a 10/10 c: 

Once I run out of other polish I'll probably pick up colors from this line,

or at least a clear polish.  (I have Hard As Nails clear polish which is 

good but also takes a really long time to dry, and hardens fast in the bottle. :c )

You can find this really easily at Walmart around now, they've put out

a bunch of shades for spring - I think they're on the store site as well but I'm not sure.  

SUPER MILD Shampoo + Conditioner

Hey-oh!  

So a couple of weeks ago I finally used up my old Umi seaweed shampoo (I posted on it before here).

Winter really dries out hair, and I usually use a straightener for my bangs and blowdry on medium heat...so

the ends of my hair are completely parched!

I heard a lot of good things about Super Mild Shiseido, so I got my hands on some at the local Asian market.  (Again I'd recommend you check yours if there's one nearby, it's way cheaper than 

purchasing it online and paying for shipping, the wait, etc.)  

They had the green kind - it smells really nice, the scent's VERY light and not 

overwhelming at all.  It's fruity and just a little sweet, I've heard it's the "sporty scent"
while the pink-label bottles are the "floral scent". c:  IMO this one seems unisex
(but my boyfriend thinks it smells feminine and relaxing). 

Super Mild refill packs from Mitsuwa market

(sorry for the bad pictures, lighting was awful!)

I bought the refill packs and just refilled two of my old shampoo-conditioner bottles.

They have the actual bottle which looks like this:

(conditioner is the white top, shampoo's the green top)

but I wanted to be sure I liked it before I bought the bottles (they're a little more pricey).

Reusing helps the environment anyway!

It's supposed to be a very mild (hence the name) shampoo and conditioner, suitable 

for all hair types, and very very gentle on your hair.  The water in San Diego's very hard, which means

there's a high mineral content which has harsh effects on hair (not to mention skin).  

I've been using it for two weeks (3rd week now) and my hair's a lot sleeker looking, with 

very few flyaways/frizzies. (I used to have a ton of those, especially the baby hairs around my 

forehead - no more!)  My hair looks a lot more relaxed, shiny, and smooth.  I also haven't had

residue problems or over-greasiness from the conditioner - I just use a halfsquirt and concentrate 

it mostly at the ends and 3/4 of the way up my hair (I skip my scalp because my hair's sufficiently

oily, and the shampoo's moisturising enough for the top of my head).  Best of all, even though it's made

my hair more moisturised-looking, it does an amazing job cleaning my hair...I've been washing

every other day now and I think that's helping make a big difference with my hair's health.

Short story:  I heard nothing but good things about this shampoo and I can vouch for it now! c:

I have curly, fine, medium-dry hair, but like I said it seems to be ok for all hair types.

I would recommend this for people whose hair tends to gather buildup or is overly greasy/sensitive, or has

been through a lot of pretty rough treatment (heat, blowdry, straightening/curling).  

I'm not sure if it's safe for colored hair, but it seems gentle enough to be okay.  

It's also apparently great for kids! 

  

Dresses for springtime

I don't wear dresses very often, not even in the spring & summer.

But I found a lot of these dresses really cute imo, and they're mostly

not too expensive for the (usually) good quality. 

Usually I hit up the outlet in San Ysidro, by the border - they have

regular sale prices PLUS extra outlet savings.   

(I should mention - I'm not 100% sure about Forever 21,

sometimes I've gotten really well-wearing things there,

 and then other things broke down in the washer.)

Old Navy, $34.24 

Mixed Eyelet Dress

(They have a 20% off sale running till 4/14 - this Monday!

So it comes out to just over $25, which is actually really great.

  

The dresses are really high quality, and so comfy for spring.

I have the dark blue, but there's also tons more colors, and

they also come in strapless/bandeau top version.)

~~~

Old Navy, $24.00 (on sale online right now)

Poplin Crepe Dress

~~~

Forever 21, $24.80

Polka Dot Chambray Dress

(I love this one, it looks like a pinup-girl dress c: )

~~~

 PacSun, $56.00 

Billabong Summer Dayz Dress

~~~

Cotton On, $14.95

Jeanie Flippy Skirt in Black

(it's really just a circle skirt - BUT this is WAY cheap compared to

American Apparel and a lot of other places I've seen them at)

~~~

Cotton On, $29.95

Marina Cap Sleeve Dress in Blue Light

~~~

H&M, $24.95

~~~

I hope you guys like this kind of post, it's a bit like

online windowshopping that I've done for you! C: 

These are the types of dresses I usually look at, though

I don't wear dresses very often.  I've been looking

recently because Graduation's coming up, and I wanted

something neat and semi-formal that was also appropriate for 

June & the warm weather.  

Recent OOTDs

It's spring so I've felt more like wearing brighter colors - the nice weather helps too,

it's a good excuse for lighter clothing. c: 

Dress: American Rag

Cardigan: H&M Kids

Shoes: Old Navy

Bag: Coach

Karma solid perfume from Lush 

I wore this for Gabs' birthday c:

Cardigan: Old Navy (they have these right now for spring!)

Cami: SO from Kohl's

Skinny jeans: American Eagle

Shoes: Vans (I'm so sad they don't make this style anymore)

Headband: Forever 21

UCSD Matsuri Festival 2013 Photo Post!

JSA + NSU Matsuri 2013!

Every year at UCSD the Japanese student associations get together and 

plan a large Japanese food and culture fair on Library Walk, at the center of campus.

I think I've gone every year for the last 3 years (my sister's made it over to LJ at least once).

I promised my friends and Austin that I'd wear my yukata to MF, but I literally

found out about MF -the day of-, so I didn't exactly have it with me ready to go. :c

Either way, there were a lot more people wearing them this year - including some people

with really fancy ones (fancy for a street fair anyway).  A lot of people who brought their kids

dressed them up in yukata, and there were a few kids in small groups who might've been from

the nearby middle school/high school who dressed up as well.

("Matsuri" is the Japanese word for "festival"...so the title of the event

always seemed kind of funny to me - "Festival Festival!")

The MC girls were so cute & hilarious c: I think one of them was an MC last year too.

The big attraction here is always the food!

There's usually some new/different booths every year, but they 

always have yakisoba, shaved ice, and ramune soda.  Lucky for me those are

the things I like the best so I always get them - shaved ice is a must, they put condensed milk

in the middle so the strawberry syrup  makes it taste like strawberry milk.  

This year they added strawberry daifuki, oshiruko, and crepes.  

My boyfriend really wanted to eat a crepe (I was super surprised because they're so sweet).

They also had takoyaki - it's always the most popular booth, and the line gets crazy long.  

They had to open a second booth this year!  I don't like it, but it's my sister's favorite snack here. 

At night they turn on the lights behind the booth signs and the whole walk looks really cool.

The balloon scoop pool is really pretty - I didn't win one this time.  I didn't manage to 

get a goldfish this year either, boo.  (Tossing a ball into a cup is a lot harder than it looks.)

The best part though is the paper lantern field (with safe electric candles, but you can't tell).

If you're at UCSD you should go at least once - it's a lot of fun, and the money goes to support the orgs

and/or a charity for Japan (this year the profits went to help people and animals affected

by the recent earthquake).  

Also it's open to everyone, not just students!  

There were a lot of younger attendees from nearby 

high schools / middle schools, as well as people from the area.  

So check the website around March next year to find out the 2014 date. 

Notice: Spring quarter has begun!

At UCSD! 

It's my last quarter at college so I have to work really hard & graduate.  c:

I want to do my best for my final classes.  I actually don't have too many classes, 

and the only really difficult one is my bio laboratory.  Preparing for graduation and 

job hunting's definitely keeping me busy, though!  

I was supposed to bring a piece of toast on the first day last week (first day

back from spring break), but I forgot. :I  I guess I'll get another chance when I 

go back for graduate school and/or art school...?  (In case you didn't get the

joke, running to class with a piece of toast is a running gag in K-ON, & other

school anime.  Maybe Austin can do it for me in the fall.)

That said, I'll still post regularly - at least once a week.

Hopefully I can get up to posting 2X a week, which will probably (finally) include

street snaps.  (I'm just worried if people won't let me take their pictures!)

I'll also post anything interesting, like school or local events here in SD.

Balboa Park 2013 8th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival

    
This was almost a whole month ago, back in March, but I wanted to post photos from it!

The event happens every year at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, San Diego.  

This was the 8th annual festival they've had - I wasn't able to make it last year because I

had an exam the following Monday, but I swore I'd get to it this year.

It celebrates the first blooming of the cherry blossom trees - in Japan it's called sakuramatsuri.

There's always a lot of Japanese fair food, and vendors - this year they had the grand opening of the Garden's extension, with a cherry blossom lane. c:  It's always really crowded as well, I've heard,

but it wasn't too hard to find parking a bit farther away (get ready to walk a lot though, the garden

extension has a winding dirt path leading to the small meadow at the bottom).

It was a little early in the season so not all the trees were completely blooming, but it was still really pretty.  

Probably the one rare time I actually got to wear my yukata - there

was a Japanese festival at my uni this Thursday but I didn't know till the

day of, so I didn't have the chance to bring it with me :ccc

My sister wore hers too (autumn leaves).

 The long vendors' alley down at the bottom of the lane.  There was also

a snow cone vendor, kettle corn, and a whole children's activities corner!  The 

stage with performances was a little further down the lane.  

At the top of the Garden by the entrance gate is Tea Pavilion - we climbed the path

all the way back up to eat lunch there because the festival food lines were insane around midday.

(The teriyaki salmon plate's really good, and you get a nice big chunk of salmon

with rice and veggies.)

 The day started out pretty chilly and grey, but eventually the sun 

came out and everything looked really gorgeous.

 Taiyaki's my favorite Japanese sweet, it's so delicious when it's freshly made

(they only have it frozen at the asian market...still good but not quite the same)

The guy making taiyaki - we got in line as the event was ending, we were

the 3rd to last people to get taiyaki before the stand closed!

Here's the official website from this year. 

I think they'll have it on the Balboa Park events calendar

next year again, sometime around late February/early March!