I love this Henry Ford quote...

When everything seems to be going against you,
remember the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
- Henry Ford

It seems like these past few months have been a series of roller coaster rides for many people. Things have been either incredibly amazing and a blessing of beautiful events and opportunities, or just a spiraled down hill of hopelessness and lack of inspiration. Many people are getting divorced and many people are having babies. Such a contrast. But I also think it's a time of transition for many, and I think alot of it started with the economy. We're reflecting on things, and life, and the people in them. Are we doing what we want to do with ourselves, are we fulfilling our passions, are we being inspired and inspiring. It's a perfect time for a career change, to go down a path you may have never thought you would have gone down. That's what I'm doing and it feels amazing and oh so exhilarating. It's also a time when it seems like when one area of your life starts going great, another begs to differ. Why does that happen? I hate that. All the contrast of life I guess. I love the Henry Ford quote above, it reminds me to keep trying to fly.

Can I just say how excited I am....

about Bare Minerals coming out with a Matte formula! Bare Minerals works great on my oily skin, but I hate the shimmer factor of it. There's just too much of it. So I went to Sephora, got my free 10 day sample since it's actually not available yet, and I love it. It's a great summertime makeup. I love the oil-free formula from Bobbi Brown too, but find with humidity the BM works really well.

Just had to share my excitement :)

Boston

Can I just say how excited I am to be heading back to Boston on Sunday for my Bobbi Brown training at Emerson College? I'm thrilled. I love Bobbi Brown cosmetics and love the kind of person that Bobbi herself represents. I won't be finished with my training until mid-August, but i'll update about my travels and training and keep everyone posted on where I'm headed. I'm hoping this takes me to every fashion week around the world :)

Mexico

This is a picture of the gorgeous beach below the cliff of Tulum.

I heart Mexico! We just got back from Riviera Maya, Mexico with a group of some amazing friends. We stayed at The Grand Mayan, which was GORGEOUS! My husband and I are fortunate to be timeshare owners and we love sharing it with people.

This was my 4th trip to Mexico. I have been to Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, and now Riviera Maya. My reason for choosing Riviera Maya was to go to the Tulum Ruins. I have this desire to go check out the Wonders of the World, and Tulum is one of them :). And let me tell you, the Ruins were gorgeous. Such a beautiful place, it almost seemed fake. Their is this beautiful hidden beach, that you don't know is even there, that sits below the cliff of the highest point of Tulum. It truly was the most beautiful beach & ocean view I have ever seen. And I have been very fortunate enough to have seen many tropical and Caribbean beaches in my lifetime.

I will definitely go back again one day. I really loved the location of Riviera Maya because we were a 15 min cab ride from Playa, which we spent some time in and was probably one of my favorite nights, and then from Playa you are just a short ferry ride across from Cozumel. On the other side of Riviera Maya is Cancun which is about a 30-40 min cab ride. We didn't go into Cancun at all, which was totally fine with me because I like the smaller cities.

I will post some pics from Tulum. It was so beautiful, everyone must go if they ever get the opportunity.


An overview of the Ruins

Our group

Spring Beauty Must-Haves

Nars The Multiple Duo in Portofino/Malibu, which is a shimmering coral/pinkish brown, or my personal favorite Maui/Palm Beach, which is a dusty rose/rich bronze. These are so versatile they can be used for eyes, lips, & cheeks. It's my quick go to makeup when I don't have alot of time and the compact fits easily into your purse.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner. I have been using MAC Fluidline Eye Liner Gel, but a friend of mine told me try this and I did and I LOVED it. It was so easy to work with. And Bobbi Brown's brush was easier to use in my opinion.

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder. This provides a light, silky finish with a smooth texture. I tend to have oily skin and this powder is fabulous to have in my purse. Especially now that we are moving into warmer weather.

Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask. What a perfect mask to transition from winter to spring. It's so quick too, you just slather the gel-texture onto your face and neck, leave it there until it starts to foam up and then rinse it off. You skin looks & feels incredibly fresh. I'm not one to blog too much about a face mask, but this one is worth blogging about.

Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream To Go. I always have a tube of this in my purse. It's wonderful, moisturizing, but not greasy. And it smells fresh, like spring :).

Estee Lauder Idealist. Not only does this stuff slough away dead skin cells, it makes your pore smaller. I promise! It's the best thing I've ever used for my skin. I have been using this along with the Idealist Eye cream and I swear by it.

Loreal Sublime Bronze Gel. It's streak free, has vitamin E, and offers an SPF 15 protection for your skin. It even has a subtle shimmer which looks great with the sun against your skin. I personally use Medium/Deep, but some may prefer the Light/Medium.

Sephora by OPI Nail Color in Bare To Be Different. It's the perfect sheer shade w/ a slight pink tint to it, and it looks great against tan skin.



Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo. This is my new favorite! I only blow out my hair every other day and this dry shampoo is not only amazing at getting rid of any oily roots or sweat from working out, it smells like freshly shampooed hair with a lemon verbena scent. Love it! And if you are a camping person, this is great to take along.

Marc Jacobs Perfume Daisy. This fresh floral captures the happy essence of the daisy with hints of Strawberry, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Gardenia, Jasmine, and a touch of Violet. Very spring/summer!

Finding Out About My Distant Family

Many people know that my maiden name is Karstendiek, but what alot of people don't know is that my maiden name should be Abdulhadi.

My Grandmother grew up in Chicago and had my Dad there. She had been dating a man who was attending Roosevelt University named Munzier Abdulhadi. When my Dad was 3 days old still in the hospital, Munzier came and saw him but wanted to take him back to Jordan for the reason being that he was the first born son, and the first born son is usually set to be a Prince. Apparently we are related to King Hussein, King of Jordan, (NO relation to Saddam) and all of the royalty family. My Grandmother, out of fear for my Dad being taken, put her first husband down as the biological father. My Grandmother never saw Munzier again, my Dad has never seen or met his Father, not even a picture, and we know very very little about our background.

Unfortunately my Grandmother passed away a little over 3 years ago and she shared very little with us about Munzier and her past. She always said she would share more info before she passed away, but she died suddenly and we sadly never got to see that day. What's even more heartbreaking to me now is that my Grandmother, brother & I are the only blood family that my Dad knows, and now with my Grandmother gone it's just my brother & I.

I had tried doing some research and looking for my Grandfather, but trying to find someone with a last name of Abdulhadi over there is like trying to find someone with the last name Smith or Adams here. It's such a common name that there are Abdulhadi Hospital's & Veterinary Clinic's. However, we have a family friend that loves doing Genealogy, and has even helped find my Dad's adopted sister's family. She made a contact and we think we have found Munzier and his family. Some of the family lives in the United Arab Emirates and some still in Jordan. This is SO very exciting for us because even though I grew up with the last name Karstendiek, I always knew it wasn't my "real" last name. It's very obvious that my Dad, brother, & I had more in us then our Karstendiek dutch/german last name would show for.

So here's hoping that my Dad can meet his Dad for the first time and we can meet our Grandfather, or even at least see a picture. Something feels so amazing to know that you have this whole other family on the other side of the world that you didn't know about and they didn't know about you. It's a feeling of connection. I'll blog some updates! :)

American Idol

So I have to write about last night's show. I love American Idol mostly because I just truly love music, but it so fascinating for me to watch these great people emerge into something even greater. I normally wouldn't blog about American Idol, but I have to mention Matt Giraud's performance last night, it was so amazing it left me speechless. I LOVE Carrie Underwood's song So Small that he sang, and pair it up with the piano playing that he did, it was just spectacular. I also love the fact that this Matt guy is a Dueling Piano's player, most of you know that I worked in an amazing Dueling Piano's establishment for 4 1/2 years so I'm in true supporting mode of that. I love any kind of music that is inspiring, especially in times like this, and So Small is just perfect. Go Matt! This video is a still photo and it doesn't do it justice, but it was the best I could find.



"So Small"

What you got if you ain't got love
the kind that you just want to give away
It's okay to open up
go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it's hard on a rainy day
you want to shut the world out and just be left alone
But don't run out on your faith

[Chorus]
'Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand
What you've been up there searching for
forever is in your hands
When you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
seem so small

It's so easy to get lost inside
a problem that seems so big at the time
it's like a river that's so wide
it swallows you whole
While you sit around thinking about what you can't change
and worrying about all the wrong things
time's flying by
moving so fast
you better make it count 'cause you can't get it back

[Chorus]
Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand
What you've been up there searching for
forever is in your hands
When you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
Seem so small

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand
What you've been up there searching for
forever is in your hands
When you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else
Oh it sure makes everything else
Seem so small