I know that these have been making the rounds for a while, but I figured there must be someone reading this who has yet to see them. Painstakingly rendered by Spanish artist Euskal Herria, you can’t deny that they are pretty spectacular.
The floorplans below are listed alphabetically. Is your favorite television show or movie included?
Big Bang Theory:
Continue reading »
Claire has a careful, meticulous personality that borders on being OCD. When she notices a speck of dirt anywhere, she will point it out to me. When there is a wet spot on the floor, she will wipe it up. And just recently, she has started to come to me with her teeny weeny hangnails, asking to have them clipped off.
Even when she plays, she is organizing and arranging just so. Her methods do not always make sense to us, but they do in her head and she tends to FREAK OUT if her format is disturbed.
An example of Claire’s OCD nature.
Aerin, by contrast, is a destroyer. We have nicknamed her “Mini-Godzilla” because she is all about wrecking, demolishing, and deconstructing. When she sees a stack of blocks, she will knock it over. When she comes across a LEGO creation, she will take it apart piece by piece. In fact, the first thing she does every morning is to make a beeline for the stacking cups and pull them out one by one.
You know that scene in Lilo & Stitch where Stitch destroys the reproduction of San Francisco? Yeah. She’s just like that. Except she doesn’t do any of the building portion. (Perhaps she will build, then destroy, when she gets older?)
So it’s plain to see that my daughters would frequently run into conflicts. Or in this case, Aerin regularly upsets Claire by ruining all her handiwork. And if I am not able to prevent Claire from throwing a tantrum, her hysterics will drive Aerin into tears as well.
…And this is one of the reasons I have not been blogging as much.
On my way back from Montréal, I was detained at the U.S.-Canadian border for the transportation of contraband items across international lines. I was subjected to a full-body search, a background check, and a lengthy interrogation. Eventually, my family was forced to contact the U.S. embassy to plead for my release.
Just kidding. What really happened isn’t quite as exciting: my coming down with the flu almost as soon as I returned home, J getting sick as soon as I started to recover, then my in-laws returning to China which means no help with the kids for the next five months or so.
It’s been a tiring week.
Nonetheless…
Montréal was a blast! It was a weekend full of giggles, cheese (not the eating kind), grub (the eating kind), and drinks. Lots and lots of drinks. Oh, and as expected of most bachelorette parties, some naughtiness. 😛
I’m sorry to say that I won’t be posting any (potentially) compromising pictures here. This is, after all, a public blog. However, I did want to share some of the more boring shots.
One of the first things I did after arriving at the hotel was look up the nearest Tim Hortons. I had discovered that one of my sister’s friends is a fellow HIMYM fan, and it was kind of sad just how excited we both were about visiting a Tim Hortons. Luckily, Tim Hortons are just as prevalent in Montréal as Starbucks are in NY, so we only had to walk a couple of blocks.
I’m always fascinated by foreign currency whenever I travel — U.S. money is soooo boring — and Canada was no exception. The new $20 is made of a plastic-y material, and there are even see-through parts! (Later, I was to learn that most Canadians hate the new $20 because they tend to get stuck in machines.) Continue reading »
Because right now, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
(Written while waiting for my plane at Laguardia. Eek! I’m so excited!)
Sorry for the lack of updates — it’s been another crazy week! I promise I’ll write more later, but for now, I must be off…because I’m going to Montréal this weekend for my sister’s bachelorette party!
(image source)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I left one very important item off my Samsung Galaxy Note II review. (And as soon as I finish writing this, I will be updating the review with a link to this post!) And that is Prey — an open-source software that lets you track (and potentially recover) your stolen laptop, cell phone, or tablet.
I know there exist tons of anti-theft software in the market today. What makes Prey stand out from the rest is that it is powerful, versatile, and FREE (for up to 3 devices).
Here’s what happened when I reported my cell phone as missing. I immediately received an email alerting me that it was marked as missing, and within minutes, I received a follow-up message with a link to this missing device report:
As you can see, what Prey does is to turn on your phone’s GPS — if not already enabled — and locate your device via Google Maps. (I have blurred out my location above for privacy purposes.) It also tells you the IP address of the network that your phone is on (also concealed in the screenshot above), and…
Did you notice the picture of the ceiling fan?
Yep, you’re correct — Prey took a picture using my phone’s front-facing camera, and included it in the missing device report! This is in hopes that if my phone really was stolen, the picture would be of the person currently using the phone.
Did I mention that Prey is FREE?
I have also added my laptop to my Prey account, and feel much better for it:
You can never be too careful these days — I’m constantly hearing/reading about my friends’ gadgets getting stolen, or being left behind in random places like the backseats of cabs.
Of course, the best way to avoid these situations is to be smart about where and how you use your devices. But the next best bet is surely to have a software like Prey installed before anything like this happens.
Do you use anti-theft solutions for your mobile devices? Can you recommend other apps like Prey?
This weekend is the last that J and I will have together before his parents return to China. We decided to take full advantage of this with a dinner & theater date last night — we were finally going to watch Wicked on Broadway!
After a delicious dinner at Thalia, we made our way over to the Gershwin Theatre and handed over our tickets to the doorman. He scanned the tickets…
“I’m sorry. Please go to that gentleman at the box office and tell him these tickets are marked as fraud.”
😯
We had purchased these tickets on StubHub, which we had used for numerous other events in the past. We had never had a problem before!
The man at the box office was apologetic as well. He told us that these fake tickets from StubHub had only begun popping up in the past few weeks, and that he had dealt with 6 other parties with the same problem that night alone. He gave us instructions on what to tell StubHub to get our money back, and asked if we would still be interested in purchasing tickets for the night’s performance?
I was LIVID. I had been especially looking forward to the show, knowing that we were sitting in the orchestra section, row A.
I was ready to turn around and head home, but J made me reconsider. He pointed out that we had been planning and looking forward to our date, and that we shouldn’t let some scumbag scammer ruin the night. Plus, the tickets that the box office offered were 40% off the regular price! We would be sitting in row M, but it was still in the orchestra section and it shouldn’t make too much of a difference.
And as you can see, our seats were pretty spectacular:
I made sure to give StubHub a call as soon as I got a spare moment this morning. And what exceptional customer service! I was transferred a few times, but that was expected and each person was more apologetic than the last.
And get this.
Not only did they fully refund our purchase… (including all service and delivery fees)
They asked us how much we paid for our replacement tickets…and gave us a StubHub credit for that exact amount!
I know that we will definitely be using the credit in the future (a Knicks playoff game, perhaps? *knock on wood*), so it’s almost like we got to watch Wicked for free!
As for the show itself? I liked it a lot, but I didn’t think it was quite as omg-TERRIFIC-FABULOUS-SENSATIONAL! as my friends have made it out to be over the years. I still have yet to see a musical that can beat my all-time favorite: The Phantom of the Opera. (I’ve watched it about a dozen times!)
Ever since I discovered the Neo Natural Touch Brown circle lenses, I had been on somewhat of a circle lens craze.
This is not to say that I have been mindlessly purchasing circle lenses of every color and every design. Rather, I had a specific goal in mind: to find the most comfortable, most natural-looking lenses for my plain brown eyes.
And I think I’ve accomplished my mission!
(And they’re not the Neo Natural Touch Brown lenses!)
Since I had so much trouble researching natural-looking circle lenses — reading through hundreds of reviews, comparing how they look via the photos on various online retailers as well as beauty blogs…yet never quite being able to get a fair comparison because the photos are of different models taken with different cameras in different types of light — I’ve decided to do a round-up of the ones I have so that others who are searching for a comfortable pair of natural-looking circle lenses can have some help.
Let’s get started!
Here is a picture of all my lenses. They all have a diameter of 14.2mm with the exception of the Geo Fresh Brown, which are 14.0mm. (14.00 and 14.2mm are recommended for the most natural enlargement. Some people don’t even notice a difference!) If you click on the picture, the linked image is a HUGE 3,200 x 2,700 one so you can really zoom in and get a good look at the lenses.
I have included in the shot above the list I keep alongside my store of lenses. What I did is to mark the bottom of each lens case with a different color Sharpie, and use the same marker to write down the name of the lens on the list so that I can easily tell which is which.
I considered using a label maker instead to mark the lens cases, but I don’t have one that prints labels small enough. 😛
Anyway, I’m sure you’re dying to see what the lenses look like when worn. A fair warning: I am not a great model and my eye are not my best feature. I also piled on a crapload of makeup (shadows from my beloved Naked Palette) so that my eyes may look decent in these pictures, but I know that this may deter some people (especially those in Asia, who prefer a more natural look for eye makeup).
I also don’t do false eyelashes, because I’m a complete spaz in that area. 😥
One more thing: all these photos were taken in one sitting. Meaning, all the switching back and forth between the lenses led to some makeup smearing which I did my best to touch up but obvs couldn’t when rushing to get all the photos done before the girls wake up from their naps.
And only NOW do I see that my eyebrows look lopsided. Should’ve used some brow pencil. Doh!
But nevermind my insecurities. Let’s get going, shall we?
First up…
The Geo Fresh Browns were the very first pair of circle lenses I purchased and I really really liked them! Over the period of about a year, I wore them whenever I went out, and not one person ever noticed I was wearing colored contacts, let alone circle lenses. Only now do I notice how noticeable they are compared to other brown lenses!
I still like the little flecks of light brown they provide to my naturally dark irises. They almost make me feel like a princess. 
Look: 5/5. Like I said above, I love the light brown flecks!
Comfort: 3/5. They get dry at about the 5-hour mark. They also seem to be the thickest of the lenses I own.
Naturalness: 4/5. You can tell that I’m wearing brown colored contacts (but probably not circle lenses) under bright lights, or in the sun, if you look close.
You can read my full review of these lenses here. Short version: LOVE them. However, if I HAD to say one bad thing about these lenses, it would be that the design — the pretty swirl pattern you can see more clearly in the stock photo above — kinda disappears into my dark brown eyes. So unless you were looking really REALLY closely under bright sunlight, it just looks like I have a pair of plain brown circle lenses on.
Look: 4/5. I think these lenses would work better with those with lighter-colored eyes, or those who want to look like they’re wearing plain brown lenses with that extra je ne sais quoi. In other words, LOVELY, but just not for me.
Comfort: 5/5. They’re not kidding when they say Neo Vision lenses are the most comfortable brand of circle lenses. They’re actually THE most comfortable brand of lenses I’ve ever tried!
Naturalness: 4/5. The darkness of the lenses creates an illusion of a slightly larger effect than its actual 14.2mm.
These are my least favorite of the bunch. Not to say that they suck, but that they’re the least natural-looking. Perhaps they would work better on someone whose eyes are slightly lighter than my dark brown?
Look: 3/5. I thought that the precise pattern would be cute, but I had forgotten that nature is not always so tidy and regular.
Comfort: 5/5. They’re Neo Vision lenses. ‘Nuff said.
Naturalness: 3/5. These are definitely noticeable on me, even under your average indoor lights.
(Please note that these are different from the Grang Grang (Big) Choco lenses, which have a diameter of 15mm as opposed to 14.2mm.)
These feature my favorite design of the bunch! They are natural and pretty, and add an extra sparkle to my eyes without being obvious. The only downside is that they’re slightly less comfortable than Neo lenses. 🙁
Look: 5/5. I can’t say enough about how PRETTY they are!
Comfort: 4/5. More comfortable than the Geo Fresh Brown lenses, but not as good as Neo Vision lenses.
Naturalness: 5/5. You can’t tell I have lenses on unless you look REALLY close, under bright lights.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! The design of these Neo Extra Size Dali 2 Brown lenses is close enough to the Grang Grang Choco lenses that even when I had one in each eye, I had trouble telling them apart.
And as is the case with all Neo Vision lenses I have tried, these are SUPER comfortable, even more so than regular soft lenses!
(Don’t mind the one red eye in the picture above — these were the last lenses I put on while taking these photos and I accidentally irritated that eye because I was in a rush to get everything done before the kids woke up.)
Look: 5/5. They’re GORGEOUS! Just like the Grang Grang Choco lenses, they add an extra sparkle to my otherwise plain eyes.
Comfort: 5/5. Have I mentioned how awesome Neo Vision lenses feel? HAVE I? 😆
Naturalness: 5/5. Once again, just like the Grang Grang lenses, you can barely tell I have anything on.
I hope this roundup was helpful! I know I would have appreciated an article like this when I was on the hunt for natural-looking, comfortable circle lenses.
Take a look below. Which do you think looks the best?
From top-to-bottom:
Geo Fresh Brown
Neo Natural Touch Brown
Neo Celeb Brown
Geo Grang Grang Choco
Neo Extra Size Dali 2 Brown
Now, here’s where we get to the good stuff. 😀
Remember EyeCandy’s? The circle lens store that sponsored my last circle lens giveaway?
Well, in celebration of my finding my new favorite pair of circle lenses, they have offered to give away ANOTHER pair to one lucky winner!
There’s good news even if you don’t win. Geek in Heels readers can receive a surprise gift for placing an order at EyeCandy’s. Just enter code GEEKINHEELS at checkout to receive your free gift!
As was the case before, the winner of this giveaway will be able to choose ANY pair of lenses from the circle lens category of EyeCandy’s extensive inventory!
What’s more, since EyeCandy’s ships internationally, this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE.
To enter this giveaway, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below. Not sure how to use Rafflecopter? Watch this 52 second video for a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway using Rafflecopter. There are 7 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post answering the question “What color lenses would you get if you win?”) being mandatory while the fourth method (Tweeting about the giveaway) can be used once per day:
This giveaway will end on Saturday, March 16th, 2013, at 12:01am EST, at which point a winner will be randomly chosen and announced here.
Please use a valid email address and/or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you win! If the winner fails to respond within 48 hours of my contacting them, another winner will be selected.
Good luck, and thank you for entering!
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
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