Seattle: Theo's Chocolate Factory

Theo's chocolate is the 1st certified Fair Trade and Fair for Life Chocolate Marker in the US. Their one and only factory is located in the Fremont District in Seattle, WA. Their chocolate is delicious. I have gone on their factory tour 3 times (once for myself and the other 2 times for my friends from out of state). And I have visited the factory multiple times just to buy their chocolate. The hour long tours are about $7 and you get to try a good number of chocolates while the tour. A spot can be reserved for the tour by calling them but they do accept walk-ins. However, the weekend tours can are really full and sometimes it is the same thing for the weekday tours. A hair bonnet is provided before entering the factory and also a beard bonnet for those with facial hair. If you have open toe shoes, you are required to purchase foot coverings AKA booties, but they are only a $1. Even if you can't go on the tour, the store does offer samples of most of their chocolates.

Wholefoods actually started carrying their products a few years back. Unfortunately the store does not carry my favorite bar in all stores, the Hazelnut Crunch bar. They are only located in the Wholefood stores in Washington, and I have to stock up every single time. Now only if they can carry their candied nibs too, that would be great.

Boston Area: Konditor Meister

This place is absolutely one of the greatest pastry shop I've ever been too.  I am definitely getting my wedding cake from them. They are located in Braintree, MA and about 20 minutes from the heart of Boston. I really like their mini pastries and so far my favorites are the key lime tart and the strawberry grand marnier squares.  They are about $1.50 each and $15 for a dozen.  They are totally worth it.

From the top left to right:

• Marble Roulade (I'm not really sure of this one) 
• Lemon Roulade (I think) 
• Mini Pecan Tart 

From the bottom left to right:

• Oreo Square 
• Tiramisu Diamond 
• Key Lime Tart
  

More yummies:

Links:

http://www.konditormeister.com/

Pink Porcelain Half-Moon Mani

Products:

Orly Cotton Candy
Orly Pure Porcelain

New York City: Junior's

So I went down to NYC with a bunch of my friends, and one of the places that was a must stop was Junior's in Time Square. We picked up the strawberry cheesecake and it was delicious. I am so glad that my friend introduced me to this, and yet really sad that I can only get this in New York. They do have one store that not in New York, however, that is still quite a trip for me. It's at MGM grand in Foxwoods casinos in Connecticut.  

Links:

http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/

Sunburn

When you think of summer, you think of sunshine, beach, sunscreen and unfortunately sunburns. Everyone has experienced a sunburn once in their life (with exceptions, since there are always exceptions in life). It's painful, uncomfortable, and just really unpleasent. And the worse of all, you don't notice it until after you've been exposed to the sun all day. Technically, a sunburn is "an acute, delayed, and transient inflammatory response of the skin to excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from natural sunlight or artificial sources," (UptoDate 2013) . And both types of the UV radiations (UVA and UVB) can cause sunburn. Now the question is, how to deal with it?

Management of Mild to Moderate Sunburn

There is no such thing as a magic pill or lotion that will make the sunburn heal faster or reverse the damages caused by the UV radiation. The only things you can do is provide relief to the sunburn through cool compresses/soaks, calamine lotion, and/or aloe vera based-gels. Of course there's also a lot of home remedies that people have used for sunburns, such as applying yogurt, oatmeal, and even milk to the skin. I have tried yogurt before, and it worked for a little while. It's a little messy to be covered in this pink purplish gooey stuff (I had only berry yogurt at the time), but it felt nice. In addition, oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and indomethacin, can be used for pain and inflammation. People have used topical corticosteroids but it's not recommended since there is little evidence that they work at reducing symptons and healing time of sunburns. But most importantly, make sure to drink lots of water.

Management of Severe Sunburn

If you have a severe sunburn please visit the hospital or an acute care clinic since you may need fluid replacement and intravenous pain medication. Severe symptoms may include but not limited to: extensive blistering, severe pain, and systemic symptoms (such as fever, headache, vomiting, and/or dehydration). If you have blisters, that area should be cleaned with mild soap and water, and then covered with sterile dressing.

Sources

Young AR, and Tewari A. "Sunburn" UptoDate. 1 May 2013

Tarte Sale

Tarte is having a nice sale currently with 30% off everything including sale items.  I picked up 2 Amazonian clay 12-hour blush that were on sale (it's only $12.50 each. How awesome is that considering the retail price is normally $26).  I also picked up some brushes and 2 smolderEYES™ Amazonian clay waterproof eyeliners.  And each item was only $7 due to the 30% off even sale items.  I love Tarte in general but this sale makes it even better.  Who doesn't like to save money.

Links:

http://tartecosmetics.com/
Sale: http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-shop-cosmetics-sale