Celebrating Gentrification, I Mean Revitalization...

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to visit the up and coming Arts and Entertainment District in DC, also known as H St. Now, H. St is like U St., Gallery Place/ Chinatown, and even Columbia Heights. What do all these places have in common? Gentrification.

Yes, granted many of these areas are now safer to walk around and shop at, but consider who visits and lives in these areas are now. It is certainly not the people that lived there before.  On another note, the “revitalization” of these areas brought great places to shop, eat and even enjoy great entertainment. H St. is certainly no different. Although they are still fixing up quite a few buildings they have some great shops and food places. I figured I’d let my pictures talk for me. Oh and for you beer lovers, many of the places have $2 beer specials all day. I also had a chance to go to Dangerously Delicious Pies. I tried their Apple Pie and I was sold. Highly recommend checking them out. Enjoy!

Guess Who's Home For Winter...Stink Bugs?!

Now that fall has arrived, it’s important that homeowners and businesses understand that the Mid-Atlantic is suffering from a rise in stink bugs.

Now, I’ve seen these bugs all my life. But today when I opened the front door to the house to let the maids in (yes, we have maids come in once or twice a year) a massive swarm of stink bugs came in the house. Of course anyone who knows about these pests understands that squashing them is NOT IN YOUR BEST INTEREST. They’re called stink bugs because of the nasty odor that comes from them when you squish them. It’s best to vacuum them or maybe even spray them with bug spray if that even works.

This is what a typical stinkbug looks like.

Stink bugs look for shelter during the fall season to prepare for winter. Obviously, if they stay outside, they will die. So of course it makes sense for them to look for cracks and holes in buildings to stay warm. The good side is that they’re not going to mate once in the building. That would be like having an infestation of roaches, yuck!

In the meantime, get ready for the fall/winter season because it looks like we won’t be bracing ourselves for the cold weather alone. Here's some more info on stink bugs. Enjoy! Ha Ha. 

Here's Your First Dosage!

Like it or not, Christina Aguilera is starring in her FIRST movie titled "Burlesque". Sounds a bit Moulin Rouge doesn't it? LOL. Well, its an opportunity for fans everywhere to catch a glimpse of Aquilera's acting skills as she stars along side Academy Award Winner Cher and Academy Award Nominee Stanley Tucci.

Tucci has been in movies such as "The Lovely Bones", "The Devil Wears Prada" and most recently, on today's release of "Easy A" (which I plan on having a review for, once I get to see the movie in its entirety, long story...). And Cher...I really don't know her for her movies. I don't even think I was alive when she starred in "Moonstruck". I just remember seeing her 1989 video "If I Could Turn Back Time" where she rocks this outfit that reveals her entire backside...*shudders*

Aquilera plays Alice or Ali for short. She decides to move to the City of Dreams...yup, Los Angeles. She ends up working at a Burlesque sort of club as a waitress and as Ali's watching the performers she knows the stage is where she's meant to be. Ali tries to capture the attention of Cher and Tucci's characters to no avail. But it is when Ali (conveniently) belts out a tune that she rises to stardom, blah blah blah. I'm willing to put my doubts aside and be optimistic about the movie. Aguilera looks stunning without all that caked on make-up as well.

Movie Poster for Burlesque

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Photo credit www.slashfilm.com

DRUGS. We all need them. Apparently so does Jake Gyllenhaal. LOL ok I'm kidding, his new character Jamie does. Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a charming and relentless pharmaceutical sales rep in the movie "Love and Other Drugs". Our darling princess, Anne Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock, a free spirit who sees right through Jamie's foolish ways. Of course...together they go through the ups and downs of any typical relationship and get hooked on the ultimate drug...Love. How sweet. 

It's certainly sweeter than the sour "Prince of Persia" crap that got served to us recently. Definitely was not a fan, the accent felt forced and it was just all over the place. Not to mention, I hate snakes. So that kinda killed it for me right there.

But Love and Other Drugs...it looks like it might be a hit with the love deprived men and women out there. Although it does feel like the typical player guy plays girls until he meets his match and she changes his life type of theme. I'll stay optimistic about this one too.

It sucks though because Burlesque and Love and Other Drugs come out on the same day. Thanksgiving.  Sounds like a feast!

Forever Twenty-One, Again...LOL

Hello my buzzin bees! All week I've been getting emails from Forever 21 about the Grand Opening at the Woodies Building in Washington, DC. It's the first Forever 21 that's actually located in the District. I had an opportunity to visit the location a couple of weeks ago and I must say, it was GORGEOUS! 

The Forever 21 is located right next to the Metro Center metro station and it's conveniently next to H&M, another great store. The grand opening is going to be Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 10am, I got a 10% off coupon and they are giving the first 200 customers FREE Forever 21 gift cards. The range in value is between $10-$210. I plan on going tomorrow and snagging a $10 gift card before heading to the H St. festival. 

This grand opening is a good way to make sure that consumers stay Forever 21. ;)

The coupon I received in my email :)

Updates!! :)

Great Deals: BH Cosmetics

Last week, I came across a YouTube page with this amazing make-up artist, "Pixiwoo" who has tons of videos giving application tips and critiques on different types of make-up. She also has one of the best web sites I've seen so far that really shows how to use make-up properly.


One of her videos featured the 120 Color Palette 3rd Edition by BH Cosmetics. I loved the way it looked so I decided to try it out myself. I ended up ordering:


88 Color Matte Eyeshadow Palette, $19.95
28 Neutral Color Palette, $19.95; 
26 Shadow Blush Combo Palette, $19.95; 
10 Color Camouflage and Concealer Palette for $16.95.


I put the BH Cosmetics to the test today and here's how it went down:


Item: BH Cosmetics
Expense: $$
Rating: 8 out of 10 MochaBees (subject to change based on the 88 Color Matte Eyeshadow Palette)
"You definitely get more colors for your buck and they look just like the expensive brands, if not better."

BH Cosmetics Smokey Eye w/ 28 Neutral Color Palette

-88 Color Matte Eyeshadow Palette: Stay Tuned for an update this weekend.
-28 Neutral Color Palette: Great coverage, did not have to put too much on the brush and there was no fall out, which is something I usually get when I use MAC products. Blends very well and it's easy to remove in case a mistake is made.
-26 Shadow Blush Combo Palette: I wasn't a huge fan of the blush combo, it took several applications for it to show up on my face. I plan on trying again tomorrow, but for the most part, my MAC blush definitely wins in this category. Otherwise, the blush doesn't look too heavy, gives a natural appeal.
-10 Color Camouflage and Concealer Palette: Love, love, love. The concealer was not heavy at all. It definitely beat out my Black Opal brand. Full coverage without the "caked-on" look. Definitely a must have.


I recommend BH Cosmetics to those looking to expand their current make-up collection. For those starting out, I recommend the 120 Colors Palette in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Editions (if you want a more natural look go for the 3rd edition, if you want a more daring look go for the 1st and 2nd editions).