Boulder and the Beautiful

A vent:  

I was starving yesterday but the only money I could find in my desk drawer was 50 cents. I went to the vending machine. The only thing I could afford was gum. So I sat there in the break room chewing piece by piece of gum - my lunch - while staring at the vending machines longingly.
Then I noticed there are frozen pancakes in the vending machine. Who eats pancakes from a vending machine at work? Reminds me of how former science reporter Todd Neff used to eat cereal out of a bowl at our stand-up meetings. Except worse – and there’s not even syrup.
Of course, always when I think there is something in the vending machine no one would ever eat, I find out Vanessa eats it every day.
Regardless, I am thinking instead of the annual company picnic kickball game, we should have a contest who can eat the grossest objects from the vending machine. Obviously Vanessa would be excluded because of her edge; she’s been practicing too extensively.

Here are some make-up  tips, courtesy of Angel Garcia, aka The General, a Denver woman who did the make-up for a fashion show last Friday. Check out my Friday fashion column in the Daily Camera for more about the show.

In the meanwhile, here are The General’s tips on how to score runway style:

1. Go big or go home: On the runway, the rule is bigger is always better. If you think you have enough, add a little more.

2. Sparkle: Lights on the runway pick up glitter and rhinestones like nowhere else. Glitter also covers up most small makeup mistakes. And who doesn’t love glitter?

3. Lashes: Lashes on the runway are a must. Nothing defines the eyes like a beautiful pair of lashes, the bigger the better.

4. Mattify: The skin should be as matte as possible. Runway lights pick up oil and shine and magnify it. Use a loose translucent powder to absorb any oil before hitting the runway.

5. Kisser: It is my preference to gloss the lips as much as possible. As the lights on the runway pick up oil, they will also amplify any gloss on the lips. Use a long-last lip color under the gloss so the color lasts longer.

Angel Garcia can be reached at 720-251-0474 or pinuppretty@yahoo.com.

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An eighth-grader at Louisville Middle School created this piece, “Lime Diet Pepsi Shoe,” out of clay, recycled cans and super glue.

Gorgeous. However, I think I would want a Dr. Scholl’s shoe liner before I went for a walk in these.

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Drooling.
http://unique-vintage.com

Betsey Johnson tea-length dress. Fantastic color and shape. Love the applique. Only problem: $364. Hmm, new dress or car payment?
I don’t want to answer that.

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On Tuesday, I was at the FlatIrons Mall with my BFF Brittany. After destroying my credit, we decided to meet a few people at the theater to watch a movie. Then Brittany’s phone died.
This is such a regular happening that she recently purchased the most expensive fancy pants phone she could find, in hopes that it would hold a charge for more than 32 seconds. But no.
I texted her friends to let them know her phone was dead, and then one of them decided to call me. No! Not call! Because as soon as my phone rang, my battery instantly went from 3/4 full to a flashing empty bar.
Then my phone died. Brittany’s was still comatose. And — even though humans have survived without cellular technology for years, including in my recent lifetime – we stood there completely baffled about what to do.
We ended up borrowing someone else’s cell phone. (Are there still those weird phone things connected to a wall with a cord? I haven’t seen one since “Juno,” but then that was just a joke, right?)
Then today, I heard about a new business:  Cell Charge Colorado, offering cell phone charging stations throughout Denver and Boulder.
The stations can charge up to 18 devices at one time, ranging from five to 20 minutes. It’s $2 per charge, or sometimes free.
Obviously, this service is useful and needed.
Of course, so would another idea: Making cell phone batteries that actually last. But that just seems too common sense, now doesn’t it?
Conspiracy?

My friend Brittany was shopping at Express the other day. She was checking out, buying a pair of capris. The sales associate said, “Are you sure you don’t want to buy another pair? It’s buy one, get one half off.”
To which Brittany responded, “No, all of the other styles look like Wal-Mart capris, with random stupid embellishments. Especially the pink ones. They’re hideous.”
The sales associate completed the transaction. As Brittany was walking out, the woman walked out from behind the counter.
She was wearing the pink capris.

The infamous Express embellished capris, below.

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Do you like my dog’s new hair style?

Apparently, he doesn’t.

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I recently bought a red and white plaid corset at Buff Exchange. The day I wore it, I attended a French cooking school for a story. I walked in, and I perfectly matched the table cloth.
Then for lunch, I went to Pasta Jay’s. As I sat at the table, I realized that, once again, I was camouflaged, dressed like a picnic blanket.

Apparently I liked that look. I just bought another plaid button-down top at Charlotte Russe for $20, and it looks dangerously close to another tablecloth print.
It’s similar to this top, except in black and white.

I think it looks rad with cropped jean pedal pushers and bright-colored flats. Put a scarf in your hair and you are officially rockabilly.

Another style:

I also like to put this over a strapless red straight-line dress that looks like a pencil skirt. Add heels or wedges and a small red scarf and you’re ready to star in “Grease.”

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