Pho, Licks, and Salon Gabby

We had a really wonderful time in Portland hanging out with Hillary and her family - the weather was fantastic, and the company was even better. It was a lot of fun being there after all the rehearsals and concerts were over, and things were better with Tim once I didn't have that stuff to think about.

After that, we were in Boston for a couple days, staying with our friend/bridesmaid Gabby. We went out with groomsman Vic and his girlfriend, Liz - ate at Le's (formerly Pho Pasteur), where we used to get takeout pho at least once a week. We now talk at least once a week about how much we miss it. Ain't no pho in Ithaca.

HELLS yeah! But no cilantro, please. (I know, I know... I wish it tasted good to me.)

Since we were still hungry (yeah, right), we went to J.P. Licks. Yum. Tim got his old standby - Kahlua ice cream with peanut butter cup topping. Gabby and I cracked up when we saw the expression on his face upon looking at his dish: pure, unadulterated joy. Gabby said she has never seen him look that happy. Let's see if we can reproduce that look on our wedding day. :-)

The J.P. mothership  source

The night Tim left, Gabby and I had total sleepover fun. First she straightened my hair (which usually doesn't look good but for some reason did that night):

Then she curled it - the inspiration was these pictures (please tell me if you know the sources!!):

...but it ended up looking kinda like my hair normally does (sorry Gab):

mmm, sweaty.

And then I played with makeup:

Of course, this all has special significance these days. I tried to get a little "bridal" with the makeup and succeeded in making my eyelids look ashy and unblended. Wow, I hope I don't do that all the time. I didn't apply any foundation or concealer - this was just to try out colors, not to get an actual "look."

I like the lipstick but might want something with a little more pink/berry (mmm... Pinkberry), and I'm never sure if I'm putting on too much blush. Here's a picture with a little more blush... but it still doesn't look like enough. In the mirror I looked like Raggedy Ann!

I'd like to do my own makeup because 1) I know what I like, 2) I'm pretty good at it (above eyeshadow job being the notable exception), and 3) I just can't justify spending all that money when I don't even get to keep the products! I'm going to go to Sephora next week and scope out primers and Make Up For Ever. Anyone have reviews of similar products they'd like to share? Are you doing your own makeup, or at least shopping for products first?