Kristen Experiments

The Royal British Columbia Museum

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Kristen Grace

My man and I visited the Royal British Columbia Museum awhile back, and I’ve neglected to write about it. Which is shameful because it was quite delightful wandering through it!

That awkward moment when we couldn’t fit the whole name of the museum into our selfie.

First off, you guys should probably understand I’m not the *best* when it comes to museums. I look at things to “ooh” and “aah” over, then get impatient when the people I’m with read every placard because they’re actually trying to learn or something civilized like that. I’m basically explaining to you that my mental abilities are that of a four year old as soon as I enter an exhibit. Below is a collection of what catches the eye of a person who is unable to focus for more than two seconds.

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First off, this museum had “selfie spots” which WHY DON’T ALL MUSEUMS HAVE THESE?! My boyfriend should’ve known it wouldn’t be a day full of culture when I insisted on panicking and saying “Run!” as we stood in front of an inanimate woolly mammoth.

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Then we came across this… ship thing? See, this is proof I didn’t read any freaking placards. All I thought was “PIRATES!” and immediately started saying “Yo ho ho” and demanding to know where my rum was. I may be a sucky pirate, but damn, that dress I’m wearing is awesome.

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I pretty much demanded that he interact with the fake deer. It’s like I wanted him to disregard the glass wall and make the forest come alive! Unfortunately, he’s not Harry Potter, so nothing moved. Le sigh.

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That didn’t stop me from pretending we were in the forest though. Clearly, I’m sweating from all the nonexistent trails I walked to get there. Hallways and tourists can be rough.

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I look so utterly fascinated because for some reason, this sea lion glows in pictures! It’s majestic and amazing and this is where my boyfriend, like any parent reeling in their four year old probably starts getting exasperated with my antics.

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I really wanted him to pose like Godzilla over this model town and pretend to be a monster on a rampage. He looked at me quietly and said “…No, just… just NO.”

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But to his relief, I got distracted by these incredible totem poles! They had SO many, not only in the museum but outside of it as well. It was like walking through a forest of them, and was definitely my personal highlight of my “self guided tour”.

It was at this point that we left, while I was still entranced and finally eager to discuss something other than running away from woolly mammoths and finding fascination with glowing sea lions. Just when I was ready to fully enjoy the museum for all it’s educational benefits… I got hungry. Totally mentally a four year old.

Black Magic Woman by Deborah Lippmann

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Kristen Grace

This bottle, when you look at it, presents itself as your average glittery gray/black bottle of polish, BUT IT IS SO MUCH COOLER THAN THAT.

This is the aptly named “Black Magic Woman” because trust me when I say that this is sorcery in a nail polish formula. It initially comes off as a dark gunmetal grey but then light hits it and let me tell you, it comes to LIFE. It shimmers with an opalescent beauty that shows off all the colors of the rainbow. It’s like a very low key holographic effect that doesn’t demand your attention, but when you see it you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it.

I can’t explain to you how much of a bummer it is that the effect doesn’t properly show up in pictures. I can promise you that in actual life, the shimmer is simply prismatic, like dark faeries should be flying over them.

See, this nail polish has me actually waxing poetic right now. Promise me when I say it is much more stunning than it seems, and everyone who notices my nails compliments them. It’s, as the name implies, black magic.

You can find “Black Magic Woman” by Deborah Lippmann at:
Deborah Lippmann

Food Ingredient: Sugar Snap Peas

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Kristen Grace

*Photo by* *Monika Grabkowska* on *Unsplash*

Sugar snap peas, are by nature, deceptive. They say “sugar” right in the title like its going to be full of yum-tastic confectionary flavor and its Not. Even. Close.

Let’s look past my disappointment though and focus one what it is. Sugar snap peas (or if you so choose, saying regular ol’ snap peas is fine) is a cross between garden peas and snow peas. This means that we get a nice thick and edible pod to crunch into! (By the way, am I the only one that appreciates a good crunch the rare times I eat vegetables? It’s very satisfying.)

On to the mystery of why these babies are referred to as “sugar” snap peas (can you tell that this bothers me immensely?!). Sugar snap peas contain about 10.5 grams of carbs for every cup. Most of those carbs actually come from fructose and fructose is, ding ding ding, a form of sugar! This fructose gives the pod a sweeter flavor, thus earning it its title of Sugar Snap Peas.

Possible pros for consuming snap peas? Well, boosted immunity for one. This by itself should be reason enough for me to stuff these down my throat during flu season. They can also help with weight loss and constipation due to the amount of fiber in each serving which aids with digestion. Again, I’m slowly realizing that I should be shoveling these in my pie hole ALL THE TIME. Due to the notable amounts of carotenes, lutein, zeaxanthin and most importantly Vitamin A, this is also considered to be beneficial to healthy eyesight. In addition to all of the above, they may even help control blood sugar. As an added bonus, you will find snap peas to be cholesterol free and almost fat free.

The beauty of Sugar Snap Peas is that you can eat them in a variety of ways. You can eat them raw, steamed, sautéed, and blanched. Just remember that when cooking them, you don’t want them to lose their bright fresh color. If they do, it means you overcooked them. My personal favorite way to eat them? Dipped in Ranch because I’m a heathen.

And remember, if you do eat these, make sure to eat the pod with it! The pod has tons of nutrients that normal peas don’t have!

Recipes that include Sugar Snap Peas:

Sugar Snap Peas and Baby Peas

Beauty Gadgets I’d Buy if I Were Stupidly Rich

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Kristen Grace

If I had a stupid amount of money, these are the beauty tools I’d want to buy. Some of them sound scary (microneedling anyone?!) and some of them just sound cool (glowing face mask? Yasss!) but either way, I don’t currently have the dollars to be dropping on these items.

Jillian Dempsey – Gold Sculpting Bar – $195

This bar is made out of 24k gold. I just wanted to make that bit clear in case you were questioning the luxury of this item. Maybe a bit much but being golden isn’t what makes this bar special. It actually gives small vibrations to help sculpt your face. Jillian Dempsey actually uses it to prep stars for the red carpet. Obviously if you want awesome results you’d use it every day. I’m sure my current jade facial roller is enough but there is something exciting about fancy little gadgets, am I right?

Dyson Airwrap Styler – $549

Do you see that completely vomitatious price? For that amount you get a tool that can curl, wave, smooth and dry your lovely locks. I don’t know the exact science behind the aerodynamics or the Coanda air styling that the brand is touting (it all sounds like marketing to me) but it looks like so much fun to try! I won’t because, as I said the price makes me throw up a little and if we are being realistic, this would probably just snarl my hair into an ungodly mess.

BeautyBio GloPRO Microneedling Facial Regeneration Tool – $199

You apparently roll this tool over your face and teeny tiny needles will help activate your skin’s rejuvenation system or some such fanciful thing. Doesn’t it sound painful? I’m going to tell myself it’s not… Apparently though all that product you put on your face will absorb waaaay better after all this micro needling. Sounds like it could be fun, or dangerous. I’m not entirely sure yet.

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Spectralite Faceware Pro – $435

Out of all of the products listed here, this is the one that I actually might try to save up for. It uses both a therapeutic red light and a blue light which will support natural collagen production and kill those pesky acne bacteria. It’s hands free too so you can be your laziest self when using it. My personal favorite part? You can pretend to be a storm trooper having a personal light show on your face. It’s like everything I want out of life put into a face mask!

Foreo Luna 3 – $199

I don’t have any electrical facial cleansing devices which means I totally bypassed the whole Clarisonic craze. I hated the idea of having to dole out extra moolah to change brush heads regularly. The Luna however is made out of silicone so bacteria can’t live on there which MEANS I don’t need to keep buying crap to use it. Oh, and it apparently gives a deeper clean than your hands which is awesome. I guess it also has a massage mode and I NEVER say no to a massage. (Does anybody?)

And that’s all of the ridiculously priced beauty gadgets I’d buy if I ever won the lotto or inherited a million dollars. Have any of you tried these? Do you have any gadgets you crave? Do you want to walk around saying “Luuuuuke, I aaaaam youuurrr faaaather!” while wearing the Dr. Dennis Gross mask? Surely I’m not the only one?

Barre Class, Part 3

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Kristen Grace

Before Barre class, I stressed. I stressed about the fact that I had three huuuuge zits on my face and wondered if I should wear concealer. I stressed that I had a stain on the workout shirt I had available to wear that night. I stressed about these things because it took my mind off the insanity of the upcoming barre class. *shudders*

For the record, I didn’t wear concealer. What’s the point in making yourself look better when you’re going to leave the class looking like hell no matter what, amiright? And I figured the stain on my shirt would be unnoticeable when I sweated all over it. Unfortunately, when I showed up to class, there were two other girls wearing the EXACT same thing as me. Why the hell does this happen to me? The one day where I don’t want my outfit noticed, everyone is like, “OMG, all three of you are TWINNING! Oh, by the way Kristen, you have a stain on your shirt.” Seriously, this is MY LIFE.

Anyway, the class was definitely more difficult than last week but not as difficult as the first class. Don’t get me wrong though, this barre class was rough. I am talking constant squatting. Squatting on one leg, squatting on your tip toes, squatting with one leg curled behind you. Squatting, all class long. At one point I wondered if the instructor was a hallucination brought on by suppressed guilt. It was as if I was torturing myself for all the crimes I committed as a stubborn and incorrigible toddler.

The thing that I don’t understand, is I looked around the class at one point and saw that people were smiling. There were even some who had thrown their head back and were singing to the song like it was karaoke night at the club. I tried to copy them thinking maybe if I smiled too, I’d find as much joy in barre as they did. Then I saw a reflection of myself in the mirror and realized my smile was coming off more as a grimace and went back to my usual haggard self.

The thing about Barre though, is that once it’s over, I actually do feel happy that I attended class. It’s for that feeling that I keep going back.

I came home and made myself chicken and vegetables. WTF right, who was I? When I realized I had made a healthy eating choice, I swear I had an existential crisis. I was worried that future me would shun bacon and take to drinking kale smoothies on the regular. To stop the downward spiral I ate a chocolate pudding and everything in my world felt right again. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Read my other barre posts here: Part 1, Part 2

Let’s Chat!

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Kristen Grace

photo of orange yellow and red hello molding clay

Photo by Maria Tyutina on Pexels.com

Let’s sit down and have a chat. I feel like randomly updating everyone on things in my life because why not? It feels appropriate at the moment and we can all sit around and be friends. 🙂

First off, screw coding. I can’t do it and I have no interest in it. Totally went to Etsy and found someone to work with who will hopefully help me turn this website into something special. I have high hopes that it’ll get there in the end!

Secondly, I went to my third Barre class, and I will most likely post a little something-something on it tomorrow. Fellow tortured souls in the class have been convincing me to include Sculpt and Tone (or is strength and tone? I have no idea) classes to my lineup. I don’t know if I hate myself that much but I’m strongly considering going. I mean, I’m surviving barre, maybe a few dumbbells in my life would be a good thing.

Thirdly, apparently this is my one year anniversary on WordPress. Since my first post was on January 1st (guess what my New Year’s resolution was) it feels like a cheap shot to celebrate a whole year of being part of the blogoverse. If anything else, it highlights how badly I procrastinated when it came to actually starting the BEST BLOG EVER.

Just kidding, though I do confess, I sometimes feel like the blog’s title should’ve been “The Hot Mess”

Oh, and how incredible is Simone Biles? I don’t even like gymnastics but she comes on and suddenly it’s my favorite sport. She is absolutely slaying it and I love that she is riding to all challenges so amazingly!

Aaaaand, that’s all for me. So what’s going on with you guys? Anything new or exciting?

Fox Island Trading Co. – Caribbean Black Soap

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Kristen Grace

I have an obsession with handmade bar soap. I like to travel to different places and buy it from different locations. I like to chat up the owners and buy their most unique bars. I like it so much that I even make my own soap.

As you could probably imagine, I have oodles of soap. Thus, it takes a lot for me to return to a vendor and buy more which is what I did with this company. This is the first bar I’m reviewing from them but I would like to say unequivocally that I truly do love this brand.

When I found this company, I was actually at a food festival (where else would I be?) when a soap stand caught my eye and lured me over. This guy had some of the best crafted soaps I’d seen and they all smelled incredible! We got to chatting and he pointed out Caribbean Black telling me that he didn’t use lye to make the soap.

I was confused. The basics of handmade soap is lye + fats/oils = soap. Lye is *always* in the equation. However, he explained that he used volcanic ash, basically creating his own lye to make the soap. THAT IS SOMETHING ONLY MASTERS OF SOAPMAKING CAN DO. Seriously, I couldn’t believe it. I immediately picked this up due to the uniqueness of it.

Their website describes it as a fusion between traditional African bar soap and activated charcoal soap which it definitely is. It’s named “Caribbean” black due to using an authentic Jamaican soap recipe. I think these little facts are pretty unique and add a great cool factor to the product!

My sense of smell may be awful but I don’t think this has any scent. A con might be that it lathers a bit grey but it doesn’t stain anything, just creates some darker bubbles! The pros are that it is skin loving and the ingredients are basic enough that I’m not having to worry about an allergic reaction.

Another bonus is that they are very eco-minded. They do their best to use all-recyclable materials, and like to source their ingredients locally. They even go so far as to try to grow and distill their own ingredients! They also have an organic approach to their products.

The Caribbean Black soap is a very affordable $6.50. I’m saying that as someone who has bought organic soap for $15 in the past. Trust me, this is an amazing deal.

Find the soap here: Caribbean Black Soap

PS. They also have a beard oil in the scent “Fight Club” that smells absolutely amazing. I make my boyfriend wear it because I’m in love with it.

Week in Review #2

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Kristen Grace

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

This week was quite exciting for me!

I moved to self hosting and officially have my own domain! No more having WordPress in my URL. It’s officially http://www.kristenexperiments.com. This means that I am now wading through code and trying to fix whatever mistakes I made in the transition, but most importantly I want to make sure that I keep my subscribers and the wonderful friendships I’ve made here!
I also successfully completed another Barre class! On top of it, I sorta-kinda almost did well too! Except for the bursts of laughter during the planks…
I attempted a Blueberry and Mint Smoothie. Final thoughts? I needed more sugar because I have sugar issues.
I also confessed to how weird I am. Self acceptance is key to happiness!
In addition, I gave the low-down on how I felt about Paula’s Choice Triple Action Dark Spot Eraser with 2% BHA Gel.
Finally, I waxed lyrical about the firework fail on the Fourth of July in Washington D.C.

I’m off now to have a mini barbecue with the man in my life. It’s overcast and gloomy but we are going to pretend that it is perfect and beautiful! See you next week!

Self Portrait #4: I’m Weird

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Kristen Grace

If you are wondering why I’d do a post explaining my weirdness, blame the Eclectic Contrarian. He had the gall to nominate me for a challenge in which I should post something weird. Sure, I could’ve gotten away with posting a goofy meme or YouTube video but I like to go above and beyond (and not follow the rules). Okay, okay, so it’s more I got inspired instead of doing the challenge at all, whatever. Basically, I’m just going to let my freak flag fly.

Forget the face, just LOOK at how white that lip color makes my teeth!

First off, never allow me to look up conspiracy theories, urban legends and DEFINITELY don’t let me watch horror movies. Even though under normal circumstances, I’d dismiss such things as nonsense, but after reading articles or seeing a movie I get hyper-paranoid. Hell, the things I read or see don’t even have to be in the realm of reality. I’ll go to sleep convinced there is a psychotic clown under my bed and Voldemort’s outside my window waiting to turn me into a horcrux.

Secondly, I always have a song in my head. Always. Right now, there’s a song from Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s “What’s the Buzz” in case you were wondering.

Oftentimes, my responses to people will come out in song verse. I don’t sing them, but I say them like its regular conversation. And YES, It’s NOTICEABLE. I’ll be like, “Ugh, when do we ride into Jerusalem?” (That lyric is from “What’s the Buzz” by the way) and people will look at me strangely before they realize it’s my way of saying I’m getting impatient tk leave and have this damn song stuck in my head. THERE IS NOTHING NORMAL ABOUT THIS.

This is literally me randomly doing a dance at work.

Lastly… I break into random dance at work. Everyone will be stressed out and crabby and before you know it, the Cha-Cha Slide is on and everyone starts clapping their hands. My boss has even caught me at it but was totally cool because apparently morale gets raised when you make everyone dance. Who knew?

I’ve raised my freak flag, I make no sense and do strange things. Surely I’m not the only one?

On my face:
Dr. Brandt – Needles No More No More Baggage Eye Depuffing Gel
Touch in Sol – No Poreblem Primer
Paula’s Choice – Lip and Body Treatment Balm
Bare Minerals – Well Rested Eye Brightener in Bisque
Cargo – OneBase Foundation + Concealer in 01
Clinique – Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer in Cream Whip
Pretty Vulgar – The Powder Room in Matte About It
Tarte – Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in Park Ave. Princess
Cargo – Powder Blush in Catalina
NARS – Highlighting Blush in Hot Sands
NARS – Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita
Maybelline – expertwear eyeliner in Chestnut Brown
Jane Iredale – PurePressed Eyeshadow Duo in Oyster
BareMinerals – Rock the Clock Eyeliner in Midnight
Clinique – High Impact Mascara
Mac – Lip Mix in Red

Just an FYI

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Kristen Grace

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I have decided to attempt to build my own site and can I just say I am not tech savvy? I don’t know how I can be described as a Millennial when my understanding of computers and all things digital stopped at Microsoft Word years ago.

However, it is a time for learning as I enter this tech era that’s been going on for awhile. This is mostly to inform you that I am attempting to migrate followers to the new platform. You may or may not have to resubscribe if you want to continue getting notifications of new posts via email. Having never done this, I have no idea what insanity I may have caused. The outcome though should be my own work in progress now known only as: kristenexperiments.com

Yes, that’s right, my very own domain!

So please forgive me for any ensuing chaos as I adjust, adapt, and continue to do my best to get better. Thank you all so much for supporting me thus far. Really. It means the world.