[Review] Geo Ultra Black Lens from HoneyColor

This post is a review of my newly obtained Geo Ultra Black (CK105) circle lens.  I purchased them from HoneyColor at the beginning of February.  I was a little disappointed that they didn't arrive before our Valentine's trip, but I have them now, so here they are:

Geo Ultra Black are the only circle lens I have ever worn.  This is my second time purchasing them.  I purchased my first pair about four years ago and paid nearly double what I paid at HoneyColor. So let's review:

Comfort (4/5)

The lens are very comfortable and don't irritate my

eyes at all when I put them on.  However, I did notice 

that they start to make my eyes a little red after

about 4-5 hours of wearing them.

Price (5/5)

Like I stated above, I thought the price for

these were great.  They were marked down to $17.01 from

their original price of $18.90.  Standard shipping is

$5.00 for the first item and $1.00 for each additional item.

Enlargement (5/5)

Enlargement of the eyes with these lens are perfect for me.

Since the lens are black, the enlargement still looks

fairly natural.  People do not assume that I am wearing

contacts when I have these in, which I prefer over a 

lens that makes it very obvious.

Overall, I am very happy with these lens and definitely recommend them.  I am thinking about purchasing a gray or hazel colored lens next.  The only negative thing I have to say about my purchase was that I never received a tracking order or even an e-mail telling me that my item had shipped.  I am guessing that was simply a mistake and it won't stop me from ordering my next pair through HoneyColor.  HoneyColor also has a rewards program, so that's another plus to ordering through their website.  I will try and come back and edit the post with a "one in, one out" photo, which I keep forgetting to take.  But for now, here's a few more pictures with the contacts in:

A Little Time With My Valentine (Part 3)

So, last post I ended after breakfast on our second day in the city for our Valentine's trip.  After we ate breakfast, we went to H&M to do a little shopping since it was only a couple blocks from the restaurant.  I bought two skirts and a dress.  Mr. H got a suit jacket that he has been needing.  We are not bargain shoppers (although I wish we were), so I won't shame myself by giving away our total amount spent.  Hahaha.

My purchases from H&M.

After our little shopping excursion, we headed down to the wharf.  We wanted to walk around and wait until we got hungry again so we could share a crab, but we were both so full that the walking didn't help much.  I did get an ice cream though and we sat on the pier and watched boats and sea lions and enjoyed each other's company.  The weather was so wonderful throughout our whole trip.  Nothing like salty ocean air!  I bought three bath bombs from Laline (they have a shop on the pier) and got a free hand cream with my purchase.  I won't get into costs for that purchase either, but the bath bombs are great!  After that we headed over to the Ferry Building, which is filled with lots of little shops and places to eat.  We were both full but when we walked by a sign with a special-of-the-day that read swordfish pesto sandwich, we just had to get one.  And it was damn well worth being uncomfortably full for the next hour!  I love swordfish, and I love pesto even more.  It was Mr. H's first time trying swordfish and he liked it a lot.  Probably in my top five favorite fish.  Yum!

After that we decided to go check out the Sutra Baths ruins since neither of us had ever been there before.  It is a beautiful little spot.  We have both been to the city too many times to count, so I was surprised that we'd missed this little gem.  We wandered around the beach for a while before we realized we weren't in the right place.  There was a little spot, however, overlooking the ocean that we did stumble upon that was really pretty (photo to the left is said spot, not the ruins).  Locals were up there with their dogs, so we sat and enjoyed the ocean air for a while before heading back down to search for the Sutra Baths.

Awkward mouth.

So we walked back down to where we parked and decided to go in the opposite direction.  We spotted some other people heading down a little hill, so we followed them.  Once we were at the top of the hill, we looked down, and ta-da, we found it!

We hiked down to that little cave that you can see in the photo above.  It's a really cool little spot.  You can walk around on what I'm assuming used to be the foundation of the bath house.  It is a beautiful view and very romantic if you're into being romantic with your significant other (which we are not!  haha).  After checking out the cave, we went up and around the cliff above the cave to find a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was super windy, but surprisingly not foggy, so we sat up there and hung out for a while before heading home.  We were both already exhausted from waking up early, so hiking didn't help much, but it was worth it.  It was a perfect, relaxing last stop for our Valentine's vacation.

I'll share some more photos of our trip once I find the camera cable (which is still hiding from me).

Happy Monday?  Yeah, didn't think so.

A Little Time With My Valentine (Part 2)

Time to cover some of the second day of our Valentine's trip!

The bed was huge compared to ours at home!

Mr. H actually woke me up at 5:30 a.m. since his sleeping schedule is all crazy.  He drank enough the night before to make himself pass out at 3:00 a.m., only to wake up a couple hours later.  He bugged me until I got out of bed and started getting ready.  I get out of the shower and find him like that (the photo above)!  So then it was my turn to bug him to wake up because I was up and ready to start our day.

First stop was Benkyodo Company, since it was literally right across the street from our hotel.  So we checked out bright and early at 8:00 a.m. and walked across the street with all of our luggage (which was kind of ridiculous for an overnight trip).  The mochi here was divine!  They are all handmade fresh and the owner is very sweet. Definitely somewhere you should check out if you are in the city and are a fan of mochi.  Mr. H doesn't care for it, but I love it! Any thing with a similar chewy texture is a favorite for me!  The one with soy powder is my favorite because it tastes almost identical to my favorite Korean rice cake that is covered with soy powder too.  I bought eight mochi total; four for myself and four to give to my mom and grandma.  Total was only $10.05 (cash and check only).

So after I got my mochi and Mr. H got a soda that he had been desperately longing for, we walked around the Japan Town mall for a bit hoping to get our parking ticket validated when the stores opened.  We got bored and ended up leaving and paying full price for parking which actually wasn't too bad ($28 for overnight).  Next stop, breakfast!

We had breakfast at Brenda's French Soul Food, which was absolutely delicious, wonderfully priced, and not overly crowded.  I had french toast with butter pecan sauce and Mr. H had an oyster scramble.  Both of our meals were fantastic!  We definitely splurged a lot on food throughout the vacation.  Normally we share one entree, it feeds us both just fine, and we don't have to worry about leftovers.  I probably gained a couple pounds with all the excess crap I ate.  I really wanted to try the beignets they had, but french toast sounded better that morning.  Definitely give Brenda's a try if you are looking for a quick, yummy breakfast in the city.  

Covering this trip is taking more blog posts than I anticipated!  I'll finish the rest with my next post, and then I also have a recipe for breakfast dill potatoes to share, along with a circle lens review.  I think I am coming down with a cold as I have been struggling with a nasty cough since last night.  At least there are only three more days until the weekend!  Phew!  

Click here for Part 3 of our Valentine's weekend.

A Little Time With My Valentine (Part 1)

How was everyone's Valentine's Day?  I had a really nice mini vacation with Mr. H.  I woke up to a silly card and a box of chocolates on the 14th, and then received two dozen beautiful tulips at my office later in the day.  I wonder how many years my husband will remember to do this for me.  Hahaha.  He is so sweet.  Even if it was just this one time, for our first married Valentine's, I would be happy with that.

Pretty tulips from my husband.

Mr. H had the 14th off, so after I got off work we headed out to the bay for our little Valentine's getaway.  We stayed at Hotel Tomo, which I posted some pictures of a couple entries back.  Very cute place!  Mr. H really liked it (it was his first time staying there).  Our room had a mural of cops with doggies in their jackets.  The bed was huge and super comfy, and there were cute paper lanterns and bright colors everywhere.  There was a big window but no view, which we didn't mind considering we only paid $100 for the night. 

Cops with doggies!

Tornado Mr. & Mrs. H

After we made a mess of our room (in the process of getting ready), we walked over to Playground for our Valentine's dinner.  We ate 떡볶이 (spicy rice cakes) and 갈비 (short ribs), and of course rice and 반찬 (side dishes that come with any Korean meal).  We managed to almost finish both dishes (which was a lot of food) and we were so stuffed after.  Food was delicious and worth it though!  We also shared a order of peach soju (soju is like Korean vodka) and were feeling pretty good by the time we left.  It was only midnight and we weren't ready to call it a night, so we went downstairs to a Korean bar called Pagoda.  There is nothing like a good Korean bar where you can smoke inside, don't get carded, and are served good, stiff drinks and salt peanuts.  We had a good time and stayed until closing, and then headed back to our room for the night.

He hates taking pictures.

Good food, good booze.

Drunk husband. 

Mr. & Mrs. H

More photos and stories next week!  I am currently in the process of finding the cable so I can upload better pictures from my camera.  Only iPhone photos for now.

I have this Monday off and am planning on going back to the bay to visit my best friend on Sunday.  Looking forward to taking our woofies to the dog park and possibly having a picnic.  What are your plans for the three day weekend?

Click here for Part 2.

Love & Marriage

Since I'm trying to post more but I don't have anything interesting to write about or any new recipes to post, I thought I'd share some of my wedding photos.  I have looked at them so many times and yet they still make me happy.  I sadly don't remember too much detail from my wedding because I was extremely nervous and there was so much going and so many people to talk to and take pictures with.  Here are some of my favorites:

I am short.  lol.

Mr. H and Mama H

My sweet flower girl/mini-me.

Our wedding party.  We only had one best man each.

My handsome husband.

Some of Mr. H's family

[Edit]: Forgot to note that my wedding makeup was done by my good friend Sara.  Check out her blog here.

Oops! Where have I been?

I know, I suck at updating this blog.  But look!  My friend Josie (8-Bit Grayscale, check it out!) nominated me for this award!  Sweet!  Thanks Josie!

So, rules are that I have to give seven random facts about myself and then pass the award along to blogs that I think are great.  Here goes...

1.  I got engaged for the first time when I was 17.  Really glad that marriage never happened!  Haha.

2.  I met my husband when I was 15, but we went our separate ways after a few months and didn't see each other or talk for nearly 5 years.  We re-connected when I was 20 and got married when I was 22.

3. My husband was hospitalized with septic shock syndrome and nearly died when we were still dating.  I realized I was in love with him when a doctor told me to leave the trauma room because he might not make it and I shouldn't watch.  It crushed me to think I would never see him again (and of course I stayed there with him, and he made it!).

4. Our wedding was peacock themed.  If I ever get a tattoo, I want to get two peacocks on my back.

5. I have never met my father and it doesn't bother me at all.  My mother and grandmother did an excellent job raising me and giving me all the love I needed as a child.

6. I have been wanting to be a mother since I was 14 or 15 years old.

7. I talk in my sleep constantly and suffer from night terrors fairly regularly.  Doesn't help my insomnia which I've also struggled with for over a decade now.

The blogs I nominate are Katie's Pencil Box, Rockstar Diaries, and A Little Bit of Eki.

I'm planning on making red velvet brownies for Mr. H for Valentine's Day (or the day before).  He's not big on sweets, but he really likes these brownies and so do I.  I use this recipe, minus the frosting.  I sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the brownies instead.  I'm going to go buy a heart shaped cookie cutter so I can make them extra special and cheesy!  We are going on a mini vacation to the city after I get off work on Tuesday, since Mr. H has the 14th and 15th off.  Finally!  I took Wednesday off so we can have a whole day to hang out and enjoy the bay.  We booked a room at this cute place called Hotel Tomo, which is in Japan Town.

I've stayed here once before and I really enjoyed it.  Great service and very clean guestrooms!  Not to mention, the decor is absolutely adorable.  The other plus to staying here is the location.  One of my favorite Korean bars, Playground, is right across the street, so we can drink as much as we want and don't even have to pay cab fare.  We're really looking forward to next week and spending some time together.  Do you have any plans for Valentine's?