Nawlins Baby.

The next stop on our little road /work trip after Ft. Worth Texas was New Orleans (NOLA). I have been wanting to go to NOLA since I was 15 years old and had read the book 'The Witching Hour' by Anne Rice .... save your judgement people it was a GREAT book! The way she described NOLA and the house and the characters it all seemed so real to me. I dreamed of walking through the Garden District and Pontchartrain Ave. Looking at the beautiful homes and immaculate gardens. Riding the trolley car down St. Charles Ave. So this stop was like a dream come TRUE!


We arrived around 9pm on a Monday night and checked into our adorable hotel called the Ambassador. This hotel was once a coffee warehouse. All the walls... inside and out where red brick. There where actual tapestries, paintings even wrought iron chandeliers. It was fantastic. The first night the 3 of us slept like logs! After our last night in Ft. Worth we needed to rest.

The first morning I was so excited to wake up and go explore the city. Simone and I got all ready and hit the pavement. We started out walking to the historic French Quarter which is known for Jackson Square, Cafe Dumond, and a dozen or more other little shops and restaurants where you can get authentic Louisiana cuisine. Now, I have been to Florida and experienced humidity but there is NOTHING like the humidity of NOLA. I think my sweat was sweating.

They had MULES pulling the carriages used for tours. I found this VERY exciting because growing up we had mules and most of my Uncles and cousins still do. I assume they use mules instead of horses because they can handle the heat better. I have decided that when I retire I am moving to NOLA, buying a mule and carriage and I am going to make money doing tours of the city!

The first restaurant we ate at Simone and I dined on the local fave of fried catfish, oysters, calamari and shrimp. *drool* I have never liked catfish in any shape or form and being in Louisiana didn't change my mind... YUCK. (sorry Dad). Everything else was delish!

As we walked on the side streets going in and out of little shops I of course saw a VooDoo shop. I HAD to go in! It was Nawlins baby home of Voodoo/Hoodoo etc. Simone on the other hand patiently waited outside. I was kinda disappointed. It was like a vintage Hot Topic or something. The people working there looked like bad extras from those stupid vampire t.v. shows I don't watch. I wanted to see a Haitian Black woman telling me about the powers in chicken feet! *sigh*

Next stop... Bourbon Street. Now during the daytime hours Bourbon street looks Innocent enough... until you reach the 1 or 2 blocks where there are nudie bars...lots of them.

After going down Bourbon street we took the trolley up St. Charles Ave to walk to the home featured in 'The Witching Hour' This house is found at 1239 First Street. As we walked towards the address I was getting butterflies in my stomach... I was going to see where Deirdre spent her days on the screened in porch, where Stella fell to her death on the flagstone path..... In the words of Simone I was "geeking out".

When we arrived there was another group there taking pictures of the house and of the infamous tree outside. I was relieved to know I wasn't the only "geek" out there. We stood there for a bit taking pictures and just taking it all in. The house is truly beautiful.

After my nerdy-ness subsided we walked back down to Washington Ave to see the famous Lafayette cemetery. We where sad to find out the gates closed weekdays at 2:30p.m. Um.... why must a cemetery CLOSE?!?!?!

That night Me, Simone Matt and Matt's friend Renee went out on the town. Now this was a Tuesday night but Bourbon street did not disappoint. There where all kinds of people out and about even on a week night. Renee took us to Pat O'brians for their signature drink.... the Hurricane. Lets just say 1 of these had me seeing double... and for some reason we thought it was a good idea for me to drink the 2nd half of Renee's........ What ensued after that was a karaoke performance by me and Simone... we ROCKED 'Callin Baton Rouge' by Garth Brooks. Matt serenaded us with..... wait for it... La BAMBA... Yup. that is right. La Bamba. It was epic to say the least. What followed after the karaoke was dancing... Lots and Lots and LOTS of dancing.

As we made our way back to the hotel we passed the nudie bars that seemed innocent enough during daylight... but when the sun goes down those places are NASTY!!! girls in tiny little outfits and high high heels shaking their money makers in the doorway to entice drunk men to come inside.. the best one was a young lady no older than 24 wearing a LOW cut bikini bottom that exposed her C-SECTION scar! Now if that isn't "sexy" nothing is. (insert sarcasm). At one point I looked at Simone and said, "Do their fathers know where they are?!?!?!?!" Bleh....

The next morning after our night on the town Simone and I went to visit the cemetery again... since it was closed the day before. It was so beautiful. There where tombs and sepulchers there from the 1840's! All the graves are above ground because of the extremely high water table. Many movies like 'Interview With the Vampire" and "Double Jeopardy" where filmed in that same cemetery.

After the cemetery we had to go and meet Matt so we could set up for our show that began the following day. The convention center in NOLA is the biggest convention center I have ever seen. It is over 1 million square feet!

The next few days where uneventful since we where working and we try not to stay out too late on work nights.

This is a VERY condensed overview of our stay in NOLA. I will say that it was everything I expected and more. I can't wait to go back.

How 'bout them cowgirls????

We recently did a show in Ft. Worth, Tx. It was a small 2 day show and we didn't do much the first few nights because we drove to Ft. Worth from Tampa. It wasn't a bad drive at all since the 3 of us took turns driving and we stopped for the night.

On a stop at a Wal-Mart in some town in TX I picked up an AWESOME straw cowgirl hat!!! You can't be in the South without a straw hat! That would simply be un-dignified. This hat made SEVERAL appearances over the course of our travels and was very well received by the locals.

As I said the show was short and sweet. We did have more middle aged men than normal questioning when people in our booth where going to get naked....I am not sure if I should have been flattered or disgusted....but other than that it was pretty un-eventful show.

Once the show was over we hit the town.... I mean who doesn't go out looking for fun on a SUNDAY night in Ft. Worth?!?!?! Well you may be surprised to know we where not alone......

It started off innocently enough with a drink at a bar close to the show.... then we had heard about someplace called "Billy Bobs" located in something called the stockyards.... from the sounds of it I was skeptical.... so we went to the stockyards and well... we never made it to Billy Bob's but Matt, Simone and I sure did show them how we roll...

After our evening of shenanigans I had to be up to meet my Uncle Randy for breakfast. I hadn't seen him in over 10+ years so I was very stoked to catch up! It wasn't the easiest getting this bag of bones out of bed after all the dancing we did....p.s. at one point while dancing with a Texan who was built like a line backer I lost part of a toenail..... OUCH!! I would like to blame him but I have to admit my 2 step and line dance skills are sub par at best.

After breakfast we hauled our lazy bums to the SuperVan.... and hit out on the road towards NEW ORLEANS!....... More to come on that adventure!

Oh CAN A DA!

Well I have survived my first "International" trip. That is right, I have now been to CANADA! The beautiful country to the north of this great U.S. of A. While it was not as exotic as going to say, Ireland, India or Russia. But I am very proud to say I have been outside of the country and I have my passport officially stamped.

The most impressive part of this adventure is that I made it through customs without a hitch. I don't know why but usually tasks like these generally end up a hot mess and I wind up in a small cell surrounded by bars asking to call my Mum. Not because I have done anything illegal but because I said something sarcastic and/or insulted a person with actual authority.

I LOVED Canada. It was a lot like Utah with the mountains and the water and the snow capped mountains... only colder. In July the highs where 70's. Note: ALWAYS take a jacket when you go to Canada......Even in July.

The only thing I had a hard time with was the money. The bills where all very colorful and easy to figure out but the coins... HUH? They do not have dollar bills. They have Loonies ($1) and Toonies ($2)<---- Not sure on the spelling and I am to lazy at this moment to look it up. At one point I looked at our native Canadian/tour guide/partner in crime (Kara) and said how much money is in my hand?!?!?!?!?!

Day 1 in Canada:

Woke up to the Boss (Peter) storming into the hotel room turning on all the lights because someone had broken into the rental car through the drivers side window.... My first question?  "Isn't there suppose to be LESS crime in Canada?" This was not amusing to Peter at the moment because the thieves had stolen his cell phone and the cable to the GPS. Thankfully the thieves where kind enough to leave the very valuable product being stored in the trunk alone.

As we where getting ready for the day ahead Matty boy decided, "Hey, I am not going to shave ALL of my face. I am going to leave just enough hair on my upper lip to look stupid" Well that idea was a grand slam!!

Every time Matt turned to look at me I laughed. I could not take him seriously with that thing on his face. Thankfully Matt is used to our shenanigans and abuse so he took it in stride. He even let Shanna darken it with Naked Pigments... See there are SO MANY USES!!.. end shameless plug

Matt and his Harem



The boss made this wanted sign featuring Matt and his moustache.... He made it.. but I hung it in the booth he he he.

Day 2: The show begins!!

First day of the actual show and we have to be up at like 6am... ugh! I am never a fan of 6 am and even less so when I need to actually wear makeup. Anywho... At this particular show we had the pleasure of having the very popular beauty blogger/guru Xsparkage (Leesha) joining us in our booth and teaching a class for Naked Cosmetics. She is an absolute DOLL!!! If you have any interest in watching youtube vids on fun/funky makeup looks check her out!!

We had Xsprkage fans filling our booth to come and take pictures with her and some cute little girls even had her sign their IMATS bags.

After the show we all went to dinner and during our meal Kara, the native Canadian informs us that the 'Richmond Night Market' is currently open and close to our hotel. This market is only open 2 months out of the year and there we could get cool phone accessories and tourist-y stuff for way cheap. So off we girls go to check it out...... Let me just say it was like a flea market with rave music, Hello Kitty anything and iPhone accessories. BUT, they had the most AMAZING Carmel apples... *drool*

Day 3:

Last day of the show. We where all a little sluggish in the A.M. because of being out late the night before but thankfully we did not have to be up at 6! The rest of the show went great! But after the show is when things get interesting. He He He.

According to Simone, "this is the best my makeup has EVER looked!!!". Ummm thanks?

We went to dinner at the Marina Bistro.. as you can guess it was in the marina. The best part of this restaurant? Their t-shirts!!

Yup, we gals aren't happy with t-shirts that just say, "Get Naked" on them... we have to have ones that also say, "enjoy the view" HA HA HA... on the back it also says, "enjoy the brew"

This is how Kara and I drink our beer

After dinner we decided to let Kara take us to a local fave hangout. It was Sunday night in Vancouver so there had to be something going on!! Well on our way to this place the following ridiculous-ness happened:

Really???!! People taking pictures of themselves?! so embarrassing

I found this amazing sign on the sidewalk it says, "McHungry, Not lovin it."

Yes Shanna yelled at me for touching something so gross.



I am not sure who/what or where this guy works but he had an awesome hat. As we where posing he told Shanna to "Take as long as she needed" to get the picture... eeek creeper.

So all in all Canada was a blast and I can't wait to go back! I would even go so far as to consider moving there.... FREE HEALTH CARE!!!

Vegas and L.A.

Our recent excursion(s) where in Las Vegas and L.A. The first show was the big International Beauty show (IBS) for short.... seriously... IBS......  And in true Naked Cosmetics fashion the boss put us up in an unforgettable establishment.... HOOTERS Hotel and Casino. Yup, this is especially funny b/c like 98% of our staff are females. But beer was only $1.50 so there was NO WAY I was complaining :).Anyway..... I was thrilled because finally we where working in my neck of the woods!!

I have gone to this IBS show many, many MANY times as a spectator with the salon and when I was in school but I have to say it is MUCH more fun as an exhibitor. :) As an exhibitor I was not rushed to see everything.... I could just hang out in my booth and talk to people about our kick a$$ skin cream. This show had an estimated 34k people attending in 3 days.... that is a LOT of talking... even for me. But as always we made new friends and had a smashing time:)................. 

This is a picture of me and Emilio Rivera he was my favorite bad guy in season 1 of Bones

 Matty taught us a new drinking game called "Flippy Cup"..... all I have to say is we are glad beers at the HOOTER where only $1.50. Because we all got a little tipsy.

After spending a couple days in Vegas we headed out to L.A. for IMATS-L.A. We have always had a great time at the IMATS shows and this was one was no exception. We had a stage in our booth that we shared with our neighbor and it was used by popular beauty bloggers like EnKore and Xsparkage for demonstrations. This show is always crowded so during these demos our booth was PACKED!! It was awesome! 

My favorite thing about the IMATS shows are the um..... interesting people/things you see walking around at the show...;ike this person below. If only she (?) had been using the Naked Cream sooner......

Besides seeing all the interesting folks we met a lot of really cool people during the short 2 day show. A few of the cool people we met where some of the contestants from the Syfy reality show called Face Off..... after spending the days at the show creating creepy creatures they then taught me, Simone and Matty the Monopoly drinking game..... So apparently you can turn anything into a drinking game :)

Sometimes being positive isn't easy..............................

I am a generally "happy" person and I try to be as positive as I can. Sadly, when I am surrounded by negativity I tend to jump on the Negative Nancy bandwagon.... so I need a litte reminder of the following:

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?

~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

The soul does not absorb negativity by accident, always by choice.

  ~Dodinsky,

Optimist: someone who isn't sure whether life is a tragedy or a comedy but is tickled silly just to be in the play.  ~Robert Brault

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.

~C.C. Scott

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.

~Francesca Reigler

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.

 ~Oscar Wilde

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995

A friend will remind you that assumptions born of malice are better dealt with by gleefully sticking your tongue out. 

~Dodinsky

Whenever you fall, pick something up.

~Oswald Avery

Success is due less to ability than to zeal.

~Charles Buxton

Misery is a communicable disease.

~Martha Graham

 



I'm in Miami Bit$&.........

I was lucky enough to spend the last 10 days in sunny, beautiful Florida. While it was raining cats and dogs here in Utah I was living it up in the sunshine state! When I wasn't working of course ;).

I spent the first 2 days working the Miami beauty show which was.... um.... interesting. It was the first year of this show and to be as kind as possible... it wasn't what we would call a "success".

I did learn a lot about other cultures while in Miami... apparently there are several kinds of Cubans. There are black ones, white ones and apparently Asian ones?? Wow...  I felt like I grew up in a bubble!

After this show ended Simone and I drowned our sorrows in the sun. We went to Hollywood beach.... which in a few words can be described as heaven on EARTH!!! It felt like I walked into a painting. The water is clear, turquoise and blue.... you can't see where the ocean ends and the sky begins!

After spending a GLORIOUS day at the beach I asked Simone to fulfill a wish of mine.... take me to see gators!!!!!! Yes, I have a love, fear, fascination with Alligators. Yes, I know they would snap me like a twig blah blah blah... but how can I not respect a creature like this that dates back to the dinosaurs and survived extinction so these animals are obviously smarter than I am.

I was both scared as hell and super excited to see the gators. It was like a little kid on Christmas hoping for a new Xbox or something.

This is Bob the gator. Our tour guide personally rescued and raised this amazing creature after he was nearly killed by a poacher. Bob now lives in the Everglades and as soon as he hears the tour guides voice he comes right up to him. It was AWESOME!!! Not going to lie... I wanted to hug Bob... he was like a big ole scaly puppy. Again, YES I know he would eat me. So after the tour we watched the "Gator Show" The "Gator Wrestler" was um.... HOTT! Not sure what his name was but he had a Boston accent and a nice manly physique. It also didn't hurt that he worked with gators..... Be still my beating heart.

After this show I paid $5 to hold and take pictures with Wally the gator.... and gave him a smoochy. Yes, I may be a little "crazy".....

After the glades and a couple days at the beach this Twilight pale chika actually got a tan!! According to Simones' Cuban friend Ilene I could pass for Cuban now ;)

My name is Samiee.... I am addicted to technology..

I was without the wonders of my laptop for 3... count them 3 days!! For someone that uses their laptop a lot for communication and what not this was an eternity. I never realized being without my computer would have me feeling so lost... maybe this is because I have renewed my addiction to beauty blogs.... I blame my new job :).

The reason for this separation?? A nasty, nasty NASTY virus called Windows Recovery. Completely took over my computer and made it un-use able. So I took it to the uncle of a friend and voila it has been restored! Literally.... My system had to be wiped clean. We where able to back up a lot of my pictures which are what is most important to me..... besides my beagle, family, friends and my makeup ;)