We're going streaking! And What I'm going to be for Halloween...

**Go streaking this month for a good cause! I'll be doing it, and you should too - click here for all the info ;-)**

Halloween has always been one of my most favorite holidays. It's a chance to be whatever you want to be and the crazier, the better. I have been something bloody since the first grade. If I had a scanner, I would do a fun slide show of all the past little Nikki Halloween costumes. Here is the best I could do taking a picture, of a picture, with my camera:


I was a bloody waitress in a classroom filled with gypsies, ninjas, and happy costumes. I guess you can say my family had always beared a strong ethical resembalence to that of the Addam's Family.

So to keep up with tradition, I decided to be one of my all time favorite movie characters of all time. I wanted to be something that I've never seen anyone do before. My sister had brought up the idea of doing a couples costume since she and I always end up being together on Halloween. So this year we're going with our favorite movie, Beetlejuice. She's going to be Miss Argentina (For those of you who don't remember, Miss Argentina is the receptionist who had a "little accident") and I am going to be.....


No, not Barbara... that's too easy. I'm going as the infamous shrunken head guy! All of the characters in this waiting room scene are great, but he was always my favorite ;-) I'll make sure to post up the finished look for both costumes and if you are interested, I'll even make a Miss Argentina makeup tutorial! I would try a shrunken head tutorial but I don't think I have the voodoo craftsmanship.... yet! ;-)


♥ We have been spoiled with the best of weather for the past week and starting today, it was cloudy and cold. Im not complaining though because this is the kind of weather that the upper East Coast is supposed to have in October. Have any of you started on your Halloween Costumes yet? I came across this awesome site that gives you the very best of costume ideas, home made ones!

♥ I have so much respect for the creator of this fabulous Mae West blog. He or she updates it everyday with information pertaining to the intruiging goddess that we can't seem to learn enough about. I might just be speaking for myself here (I've read 4 books about Mae, two of which she wrote herself!), but I can't seem to get enough. Thank you for keeping your blog afloat!!

♥ I'm all for home made anything, especially if it's a bath or shower product of some sort. I bought a solid lotion bar from LUSH and fell in love with it. I wish they had made more scents (the only one they have is a light vanilla which is nice), so I looked into creating one of my own. Here is a step by step way to make your very own solid lotion bar.

♥ Servers and bartenders can give you the most accurate dating advice. Seek one out if you are in a dating slump and they will tell you exactly why. Lauren Romano hits the nail right on the head, giving you dating tips I learned from being a waitress.

Time Tested Beauty Tips

"Time tested beauty tips" is a poem written by Sam Levenson. I think out of every piece of beauty advice, every Cosmo magazine, and every youtube video - you will learn all you need to know from this poem.

So here is the "Time Tested Beauty Tips" that everyone should learn:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived,  reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the  figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

---Sam Levenson 

A letter to my younger self

Each year, I adopt more and more radical self love into my life. Every single one of us changes as the years progress and I like to try to make all of these changes positive ones. Just think about how much you've evolved in the last 5 years! If you could write a letter to the girl or boy you were back in teenage years, what would you say? Think about all the things you would be able to teach yourself now! So here it goes....




Dear Little Nikki,

Stop trying to impress others. No one really cares. You have to impress yourself. Do something that would shock yourself everyday and keep doing those things.

Don't cry over that guy and don't chase after him. Chasing is for girls who don't think that they're good enough.

You are fabulous and have such a special gift in you. Never, ever give up on your dreams and the more people knock you down, the more you gotta push harder because so many wonderful things lie ahead.

Take some Spanish in high school, not German. Although Deutch is a kick-ass language, Spanish will benefit you in every field - especially the restaurant industry.

Not everyone is going to love you but the people that do are what make life worth living.

Don't ever think you're not good enough. Confidence is the best looking thing about you.

Don't give into peer pressure. If you feel like friends are pressuring you to do something you don't feel comfortable with, then they're not good friends. You'll make better ones along the way anyway.

Keep having dance parties until there is no other option but being in a wheelchair.

Don't spend so much money on cheap shoes. They end up hurting your feet in the long run.

Don't change your personality so you can hang out with people just to "fit in". If they don't like the fun, crazy, honest person that you are then they can piss off!

You're skinny.

Don't try to be the best. Just like how there is always someone taller, prettier, and smarter than you - there is also someone shorter, uglier, and dumber than you.

You're friends will change and that's ok because change isn't as scary as you think it is. Sometimes they will change for the better, sometimes the worst. But everyone's going to have to find their own way and you can't change that. Just remember that family is more important than you will ever realize.

Keep Disney music on your iPod always. It will faire well in many a road trip or bad day at work.


Love,
Big Nikki

Time for myself in NYC...

Most of the greatest things I've ever done, I have done on my own. I willingly do what I want to do by myself because there is a certain comfort to knowing that I don't need to be anywhere at any time or have to entertain anyone but myself. I took a day trip up to NYC because I wanted to be a tourist and visit the places that I've never been to for whatever reason - whether I was with friends who didn't want to go to museums, I was doing makeup all day , etc. My goal was to visit the MoMA Museum and stroll around central park and I accomplished both and then some.

I feel like New York's structural design is like an art gallery in itself. These building are meticulously carved and just so amazing.


MoMA is a really unique gallery. It's filled with some highly impressionable artists and so many various types of work such as paintings, photography, and sculptures. This piece below was created by Arman in 1969 and he called it "I Still Use Brushes". In this painting/sculpture, there are easily over 200 or so brushes embedded in plastic in an acrylic box. One day I will have that in my house, only I'll create it with shadow brushes, big ol' fluffy blush brushes, and the teeny-tiny liner brushes ;-)



I always found beauty in disarray. If there is something that most people say, "What the HECK is that?" You can bet that I will find it the coolest thing ever and purchase something similar. This was my favorite piece of art because it displayed that beautiful balance of chaos and color. The artist, Robert Rauschenberg, was an advocate of using non-traditional materials and objects to emphasize his pieces. This one is simply titled "Bed".



After I had a compelling conversation about men with an old woman (we happened to have the same taste when we realized that we were both checking out the Jason Lewis lookalike in the sculpture garden ;-) ), I went on over to Central Park just to collect my thoughts, sketch out whatever inspired me, and relax.

The park is magnificent. I wanted to get lost in there but the clouds looked like they were rolling in so I stayed close to the perimeter.


It was hot. I wanted to swim with him.



To polish off a wonderful day, I met up with three beautiful friends that I hadn't seen in the longest time. It was so great seeing all of them. The rest of the night was filled with whole lot of laughing and reminiscing. I was laughing so hard at one point that I started to cry! I felt so happy and filled with love when the day was finally coming to an end. For me, the city I love and new faces (or faces that I haven't seen in so long that they look brand new!) is my unhappiness antidote. What's yours?


Official creator of the "Phillet Cheesesteak" & Me haha


Love and happy adventures,
Nikki

How to get any tattoo you want for under $35!

It might not be permanent but hey, Kat Von D can take a break for a little while….


I used a liquid liner with a fine tip (Wet N' Wild H2o liner is a great one) to sketch out the design.


I then filled it in using colors from the Wolfe FX Neon Palette. I love this palette because all the colors need in order to be activated is the smallest drop of water. I'm convinced that this set will probably last me until I'm well into my 80's ;-)


"Peeg" is my 4 legged daughter's nickname. Who wouldn't get a fake tattoo and put their pet's name in it?

So come on over to Nikki's Tattoo Parlor on the next rainy and I'll give you a whole sleeve for one millionth of the price you would pay at a regular tattoo shop! And if you get bored with it 5 minutes after I do it, no need for fancy-schmancy lazer treatment. Scrub a dub with a washcloth and you're good!

Love your non- needle obstrusive,
Nikki

Today is the day where nothing will stand in your way.

Sometimes we have those days where it feels so hard to get out bed and socialize with the real world. These days can go on for weeks, months, even years for some people. If you're feeling this way please know that it won't last forever. Being in a rut doesn't have to be a chronic disease. Each day is a new day - a day to make bright decisions, love with everything you've got, and see beauty in something that you may not have noticed before.

If you had an absolutely atrocious weekend, guess what? It's over now! And you're going to have the most marvelous Monday ever. Even if all you are doing is going to your job or school. You can still bring out the best in others and yourself! If you are at school, work, basically anywhere you don't want to be on Monday -- challenge yourself to find the beauty in it. You'll be surprised what you find. Talk to someone new, drive or walk somewhere you've always had the urge to go but never wanted to do alone. You're never alone, so go do your thang!

Which leads me to this website I came across: The Cool Hunter - It's Time To Do Your Own Thing , Such an inspiring article with some really cool pictures to jump start your inner and mental creativitiy

A few more fan-tab-ulous sites for your Maybach Monday (Maybach's are amazing, and so will be your Monday! haha)

♥ People that are a whole lot more creative then me making common street signs funny. Use ROSSWAY

♥ If you still can't get rid of that dark cloud over your head today, let Alexandra Franzen coach you on how to survive when everything sucks.

♥ I'm a girl. I dream about my wedding. We all do. When I have these dreams, they look a lot like this beachy bohemian wedding. I already told my sister she'd be main tambourine.

♥ CRAFTSTER is such an inspiring website that teaches you how to make almost anything -- from clothes to stuffed animals, wreaths, you name it!

♥ 88 Important Truths About Life . This couldn't be more factual.



I like to live by the motto: Peace, Love, Pekingese!

oxox,
Nikki E.

How to have a Sunday Funday!

Happy Funday errbody! Over here, the weather is pretty gloomy, rainy, and just plain ugly out. I had a full day off today and my plans were to stay inside and make my own fun since I couldn't do it outside. So here's how to make a rainy day, the best day of the week!

1) What's shakin'? Bakin'!! Nothin' says "I'm having a good time on a rainy day!" like making some Funfetti cupcakes. I'm pretty sure Funfetti batter was made by the big guy upstairs with his bare hands. It went land, man, funfetti batter. The bible says some confusing words but if you read close enough, that's in there.



2) A used to work with a wonderful guy named Jon who was a missionary. He would tell me stories about what he and his friends would do after church on Sunday and he always used to always start every story by saying, " After church, while I'm all hopped up on the Christ..." Haha, I loved it! So I adopted that saying too when I'm talking about how I feel after I go to church. Church on a rainy day is great because it makes you feel happy and enlightened. It is great any day but days like this especially when everyone is feeling a little blue and can use some lifting up =)

3) Go see a 3D movie!


And save the glasses so you can pop out the lenses and make some good ol' fashioned geek glasses.

4) Dance with your mom, dad, dog, or by yourself! Find a good jam that will pump you up and get the blood going. I combined baking and dancing all in one. Here's a few fun and highly dance-able songs to get you started.




What did you do today despite the crap going on outside? Tomorrow I'm touring the Makeup Designory School in NYC and I'm a little nervous, so I'm trying to stay busy today so I don't over think it like I do with everything else haha. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday Funday!

Love,
Nikki & my hopped-up-on-the-sprinkles mama!