While I Was Out...

And we're back!!

I am so sorry that posting has been a little haphazard lately. Things have been beyond crazed in my world. Anyway, life is calming down a bit, so I thought I'd thrill you with an installment of:

WHILE I WAS OUT!

This is where, from time to time, I'll let you know what I've really been doing when posting's been light. Recently, I moved out of an apartment and into a house, then immediately (and I mean immediately) had to go to Atlanta for most of the week. So, while I was out, I stopped by:

The Conecuh County Sausage Factory. Seriously. Well, actually, we only stopped by the gift shop to get some sausage dogs, but that was, frankly, enough. I wish I'd had my camera, because it was the most adorable little general store...but completely stocked with gorgeous silver kitchen and dining accessories! Talk about opposites! If you ever find yourself in Evergreen, AL, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Also on the way up, we took a detour to visit Priester's Pecans, another country store filled with gifts and goodies. There's a coffee shop, ice cream stand, buffet, and more candy than you can shake a stick at. In fact, you can go upstairs and get a bird's-eye view of the candy-making process. It's a don't miss, in my book--but make sure you bring a hoodie. It's freezing in there!

In Hapeville, GA--mere minutes from the Atlanta airport area)--through the aid of our drunk-and-disorderly GPS, Jack ("We named the GPS Jack! Argh!"), Thomas and I stumbled upon the original Chick-Fil-A while trying to locate a post office. We never did find a mailbox, but the "Dwarf House" made up for it! Think Chick-Fil-A meets IHOP meets Walt Disney, and seek it out when you're in the area.

Since we had to eat, you know, more than once, we also headed to our favorite pizza joint (period. It rocks): Savage Pizza in Little Five Points. The pizza is incredible, the decor is Superhero chic, and the surrounding area looks like a cross between Portland and Greenwich Village. Go.

Atlanta's Horizon Theatre is currently running a simply fantastic production of Avenue Q. If you're not familiar with the Tony Award-Winning musical, it's basically Sesame Street for grown-ups. Catchy songs like, "What Do You Do With a B.A. In English", "If You Were Gay (That'd Be Okay)", and "It Sucks To Be Me" make learning about love, responsibility, racial and sexual diversity, and finding your purpose in life a side-splitting good time...just make sure to leave the kiddies at home!

When I wasn't out and about in the ATL (yeah, I just wrote that, and I am ashamed. Sorry), I put this piece on my still-in-fundraising-territory-but-hopefully-we'll-have-that-nailed-down-soon movie Jersey Devil Expeditions. I worked on the story and am helping with behind-the-scenes decisions right now. Paranormal Pop Culture is awesome and letting me write about our adventures in filmmaking.

So, that's what's been going on. I've got some fun posts coming up here at AN, so stick around!

Vacation 2: Electric Boogaloo

Previously on Adorable Napalm:

Thomas and I went on vacation to Altanta, GA. There, I found a Filene's Basement and a cute t-shirt at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Oh, and our GPS, Jack (we named the GPS Jack), was apparently drunk, and sent us forty miles out of the city to eat at a Logan's, when all we wanted to do was go to a movie theatre in the mall. But that wasn't in the last post. Oops. Dinner was tasty, though. *ahem* Moving on...

So, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a Sephora nut. Unfortunately, we don't have one in town. Well, we have the little one inside JC Penney's, but it doesn't count. I mean that literally. Purchases made there don't count towards Beauty Insider (loyalty club) rewards or V.I.B. (premium level) status. The thought of going inside a full-size Sephora and actually being able to buy something and take it home with me that day was almost too much for my little heart to take. And there were more than one. Had there been a Starbucks attached, I would have thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

With that, I apologized to Thomas for the massive amount of time I was about to spend in the extremely crowded girly store (Thomas: "I don't mind. It makes you pretty." I love him so much), then ran head first into the fray.

Photo by Sephora

The first thing I noticed (read: nearly tripped over walking through the door) was Buxom's new line of Stay There eyeshadows. These are supposed to be waterproof, non-creasing, and long-wearing. According to Buxom, they'll be your "faithful friends", so they're all named after dogs. That's cute, but I'm not sure it's the most effective marketing. Beauty products are supposed to keep you from looking like a dog, afterall.

Photo by Sephora

The only color available in store was Mutt, a really pretty mettalic taupe (Thomas: "It looks like a penny"). That's a color I tend to wear a lot, so I scooped up one of the few remaining pots and headed over to the Buxom lipgloss. Yes, I looked at other stuff, too, but I won't bore you with all the gory details of disappointment over things not found.

I love Buxom lipgloss. Love it. From the cute pin-up girl packaging to the minty tingle that lasts, no kidding, for hours. I have several shades at home--some picked for the shade, itself, and others for the name. I mean, when I saw one with my best friend's daughter's name (Tempest!!! How often do you see stuff with the name Tempest on it?), I had to get it. Another, and one of my favorite shades to date (wearing it right now, actually), Clair, was bought after I played Claire in The Night Shift.

Photo by PrettySkin4Less

I settled in and starting looking at shades, when Thomas looked down and pointed at one. Ruby. I was looking for a reddish color, but this seemed awfully dark, and more of a purple in the store's lighting. I was skeptical.

Me: Really?

Thomas: Yeah!! Ruby!!

Me: You really like it better than Starr?

Thomas: It's RUBY!!!!! Yes!!!

Me: Is Starr just too glittery? I mean, they're similar shades, but Starr is a sheer gloss, and Ruby is more of a liquid...wait a minute. You just want me to get it because it's Ruby. From Supernatural.

Thomas: YEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! And yeah, that other is way too glittery. GET RUBY!!!

I suppose I should be grateful that my husband's sudden interest in lipstick stemmed only from a crush on Katie Cassidy.

Long story short (I know, too late), they were out, but I found it in another store and humored the boy.

Now, for the reviews:

Buxom Stay There Eyeshadow in Mutt: This stuff is weird. It's the strangest texture I have dealt with. The only way I can even describe it is, well, think of wet/dry florist's foam. The eyeshadow dents when you put a brush to it. It's not liquid, but not solid. It's squolid.

The color is very sheer but buildable. It's just very difficult to tell if you've actually gotten any on the brush. I might note that I am not using the special Buxom eyeshadow brush made specifically for this product, but it's not necessary. The eyeshadow is waterproof, and after hours of wearing it, looks as good as it did when it was put on. Basically, it lives up to its claims. It's just bizarre.

Final Tally: It does what it says, but could have better pigmentation. The texture is also difficult to pick up with a brush. I'll try a different color, at some point, but I'm not rushing out to get it. 6 out of 10. Sephora.com, $17.

Buxom Lips, Ruby: Holy Cow! I have a new favorite! I really wasn't sure about this color. It looked too deep and blue for me in the store, but once I saw it in natural light and put it on, I was hooked. It's a berry mauve color, and one that I would call universally flattering. The gloss is opaque, like a liquid lipstick, but the applicator keeps it from globbing on and allows the color to build to whatever intensity you prefer.

Final Tally: Gorgeous color, mild plumping action, nice tingle. A rare 10 out of 10. Now I know why Sephora had it listed as a "Most Wanted" item. Oddly enough, you can't get this shade through Sephora.com. I found it here for $18.

Vacation!

Thomas and I ran away from home. Between work, the movie, work, maintenance issues with the apartment, work--oh, and did I mention work--we had a choice. We could either tape our eyelids to our cheeks to stop the twitching, or we could get the heck out of Dodge. We hit up Hotwire, packed up the car, and drove to Atlanta for the weekend.

First off, Hotwire is made of awesome. Our hotel room was normally $355 a night. There is no way on God's green Earth we could ever pay $355 a night for a hotel room. Ever. Period. You say $355 and I start totaling up bills and gasoline. If I had that kind of money, I still wouldn't pay it for a hotel room. We got out for a fraction of that. Hotwire is the greatest.

The hotel was fabulous. It had two shower heads in the bathroom, smelled like my husband's cologne (yummy), and actually had decaf Starbucks in the room. I only drink decaf. I don't know how they knew!

Secondly, Atlanta has wonderful shopping. I used to live in New York, and one of my absolute favorite places to go was Filene's Basement. When I moved, I didn't think I'd have too many more opportunities to rifle through their many racks of lovely, off-priced designer clothing. ATLANTA HAS ONE!!! I may have to move there.

So, here's one of my happy finds from Filene's. Would that I'd had many more hours to dig.



Photo by 80stees



You can't order things online from Filene's, but I found this shirt at 80stees.com for $20.

We also took a little trip to the Puppet Museum to check out the Jim Henson exhibit, and I highly recommend it if you're planning a trip to the area. Tons of stuff from Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, the Muppet Show, and much more. I was a breath away from Kermit. Seriously, I may have to move to Atlanta.

On the way out (through the gift shop, of course), I fell in love with a t-shirt. Unfortunately, all the shirts were slightly chocolate covered. I guess that's a hazard of field trips and tiny fingers. All was not lost, though. I found it here for $26.

Photo by Old Glory

More to come from the shopping vacation! Stay tuned!