Happy 2012

With only several hours left till 2012 (US East Coast Time) I just wanted to share with you my top three favorite kdramas and beauty products.

**some of things listed aren't necessarily from 2011 rather things I discovered in 2011 **

Top 3 Favorite KDramas

• City Hunter :: One of the hottest drama's of the year with an outstanding cast, its hard not to list this drama as a favorite. In my opinion this series had just the right amount of drama, romance, and action to keep everyone happy. Certainly a must-see.

• Marry Me Mary :: While this drama didn't come out this year it was one I watched and fell in love with.  Not only did it have lovable characters and a great love triangle, but the OST alone made this drama worth checking out.

• Protect the Boss :: While this drama wasn't my favorite it was a sweet drama with great fashion & some attractive actors! It might not have been a perfect fit for me but I can see why some people love this drama.

Top 3 Favorite Beauty Products

• Skin 79 VIP Gold BB Cream :: This was my first BB Cream. While I can't compare it to other BB Creams I can honestly say that I adore this product. I use it just about everyday. It isn't heavy or cakey, but still gives you just the right amount of coverage. Plus it has SPF and wrinkle protection. Can't hurt right?

• OPI Muppet Rainbow Connection :: This polish has become almost impossible to find. In fact most of the colors from the Muppet Collection sell out so fast you almost have to order the color you want to ensure you will be to get it. I think most girls can relate on why I love this product. Glitter + Polish + OPI = Love.

 

• Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm :: I keep this balm in my car and LOVE it. The cute container, light strawberry scent, and moisturizing capabilities make this lip balm a must have.

 

Well I have to go get ready for tonight now! I hope you all have a great New Year!!!

I Cheated!!!!!

So last week I started watching the kdrama Heartstrings and things seemed to be going well.... familiar faces, cute plot....




until...




 
I read all the episode summaries on Dramabeans!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhh



lol.


Seriously though. I don't know why I was in such a rush to find out what happens. Whether the plot was just moving too slow or I was just too busy to watch the episodes like I wanted to, I really don't know.

I got to about the end of episode 3 when I decided to read up on what happens next since it was too late at night to watch another episode. uh that was a BIG MISTAKE!

It was like giving a fat kid cake. I couldn't stop at just one! Needless to say I ruined the entire series and now know what happens (including info about Shinhye's accident) all the way to episode 15, the finale.



I'm so rorry Shinhye & Yonghwa...!!

Its not you, its me...




*********** Don't forget I'm having a giveaway that's still open!!! Check it out!! **************

You Have to Check this Out...

Today when I was checking my various favorite blogs I came across Monica's post about Christmas the Japanese way. It was simply too great not to share! Check it out!!

Monica + KFC = Merry Christmas?

::Disclaimer - Monica always does cool posts! This is just one where I learned something new and had to share. I think you should totally subscribe to her::

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I am already sad that the day is ending but luckily the holidays are not quite over yet and we still have New Years to look forward to.

Our Christmas this year was pretty traditional which was actually really nice. Sometimes you can forget how great it is just to have family all around you!

Anyways, Merry Christmas!

My boys..!

Christmas Cookies!

Christmas Dinner... Enchiladas

Hope you had a great Christmas! New Years is almost here so get ready!!

Just Started Watching :: Heartstrings

Last night I started watching the first episode of the kdrama Heartstrings. It wasn't till I started watching that I realized that Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa were both in it.

That was definitely a pleasant surprise. I liked them both in You're Beautiful but towards the end Jung Yong Hwa's character annoyed me to no end. Luckily his character in Heartstrings has much more confidence and isn't a huge tool.

Thoughts after watching the first episode?

I am excited to watch this series. Park's character, Lee Gyu Won, is a strong female who is attending school studying traditional Korean folk music (she plays the gayageum, a traditional korean instrument). Jung Yong Hwa plays Lee Shin, an arrogant musician who all the girls loves yet loves nothing in his life. They end up meeting through several different encounters, and eventually end up competing to see who can play music with more "heart." Thus the basis of the storyline is established. 

So far I'm loving everything. It always annoys me how in kdramas some of the female leads can be so unrealistically nice and lose themselves to their villainous counterparts, but Lee Gyu Won isn't one of those females.  She's holding her own, especially when Lee Shin keeps hurling insults and putting her down. That just makes me love her character all the more. It'll be interesting to see how the subplots work out though.

Right now I'm not really into any of the other characters in the drama but seeing as it is only the first episode I shouldn't write them off just yet.

Enough talk, got to go watch episode 2 now!


*** Read my followup post about watching this series ----> "I Cheated" ***

Giveaway!!! [CLOSED]

So here it is giveaway time!!! Thank you again and hopefully this giveaway gives you some indication about how thankful I am to all my readers. Just use the widget below to enter. Good luck =]

Now on to the goodies!!!

(Bento Box not pictured but included in giveaway)

enter below

Sunday Night Thoughts

A few things have been on my mind this week so I wanted to share!

First off, I finally reached 100 followers =] yay! This totally made my day. My blogging has been totally inconsistant this year but I feel like I've found my groove lately and couldn't be happier. Blogging has become something I really enjoy doing, and likewise I have found some pretty amazing blogs out there that have become sites I visit almost daily! In celebration of reaching 100 followers I wanted to do a giveaway! (I'll be posting the details in the next day or so)

So thank you so much for all your visits & comments, its means so much to me!!

I also wanted to mention that I will probably start doing more series recaps of the dramas I watch. Not only will this help share my love (or hate) for whichever drama but hopefully it will help my reviewing. So just be on the lookout and feel free to let me know how I'm doing or if its something I should abandon (I don't want to punish my readers!!! lol).

And speaking of k-dramas I am kinda looking for one to watch. I keep telling myself I'll branch out and watch a j-drama but I can't bring myself to actually do so. We'll see what happens.

Thats it for now. I hope everyone has a great week! <3

YouTube Awesomeness

These past couples of days YouTube has had some pretty cool videos and such going on so I wanted to share....


1) Jang Geun Suk has opened a YouTube channel.

read full article @ AllKPop

This is cool considering he just shut down his twitter but also kinda weird since I thought he wanted more privacy. Whatever though. I'm still excited! His user name is PrinceJKS (not a big shocker) & currently has three videos posted. Hopefully we'll see more activity soon.


2) KPop is its own music genre on YouTube's music page!

via AllKPop

I don't I need to say why this is cool, it just is.

3) TAEYANG's cover of Beyonce's "I Miss You"

 

 via MtvK.com

Simply amazing right?

oPop!gasa

Here is a quick app that I wanted to share!

So thanks to American K-Pop Fans I have discovered a pretty cool iPhone app called Pop!gasa. Pop!gasa is an app that has your the lyrics to your favorite K-Pop song in English.

While their selection isn't the biggest, its got potential. A lot of current songs are listed and I am sure more will be added and since its a free app you really can't complain.

Cool right? [click here to go to iTunes to download]

Where I Watch Kdramas

When it comes to watching kdrama there are only two sites that I go to Viki.com or DramaFever.  I used to watch dramas only on Viki.com because it was simply the only place I knew I could find a big selection of kdramas subtitled in English [though they have kdramas subtitled in a TON of languages on Viki.com, not just English] but I have since discovered another site, Dramafever.

 Another bonus of Viki.com is that you can choose to have commentary subtitles on while you watch the drama. (you can turn this feature off if you want)

While initially this might seem like an overwhelming amount of text, its actually rather nice since it gives you the feeling that you're watching the drama with a friend who is saying the very things your thinking!

Whats more is that Viki has an app where you can watch some of your favorite kdramas on the go! [click here to see it in the App Store]

Lately though Viki has been freezing up quite a bit and the commercials that they run can be as long as 1 min 30 seconds [it might not seem long but when something juicy is happening it can seem like a lifetime!] This is why I have been migrating over to Dramafever.

Just like with Viki, the have an amazing selection and even an option to upgrade your membership (basic membership is free) to premium in order to watch your favorite kdramas commercial free! While the basic membership still requires you to watch commercials, its much less frustrating because they only last 30 seconds and you know when one is coming up.

While Dramafever doesn't yet have an app out yet it looks like they are in the process of getting one out but they do have a widget! I just posted it on my blog, feel free to check it out!

**Revision 12/9/11**

I totally forgot to the mention two other places you can watch Kdramas! Netflix & Hulu!! Netflix doesn't really have a huge selection but they do have some [BOF, City Hunter, Lie to Me etc.] Hulu, also streams Kdramas yet they get their videos from Dramafever so its kinda the same thing as watching on Dramafever. 

So hopefully there won't come a day when you find yourself at a loss for finding a site to watch good kdramas =] Happy watching!

New Love :: Jang Geun Suk 장근석

He has been dominating both my kdrama playlist and my iTunes music library so it was imperative that I shared my love. While I am slowly graduating from Kdrama newbie to novice I am starting to become more familiar with some of famous actors & actresses.

 

Lee Minho ::sigh::

 Up until this point my favorite leading man has been Lee Minho [duh right? who DOESNT like him?!] One of things I love about Lee Minho, especially in City Hunter, is that his characters are always so "manly" yet totally fashionable. So what happened to cause me to fall for another Hallyu star??! A friend recommended I watch "You're Beautiful" because I'm a sucker for the romantic comedy, love triangles. So I did and I loved it! Jang Geun Suk was such cute and likable lead despite him acting totally spoiled and arrogant. What was even better is he sings in it!! :::faints::::

The only thing that kinda threw me was the aweful wardrobe he wore, though to be fair that entire series had the worst fashion of any kdrama I have seen thus far.

uh nice clothes?

Anyways, I decided to watch another one of Jang Geun Suk's dramas "Marry Me Mary."  This drama is tied with BOF as my favorite kdrama! Jang Geun Suk plays an indie artist named Mu-Gyul, a womanizer and somewhat of a hippie ,who meets a girl who makes him pretend to be her husband. Scandalous right?! Trust me, two episodes in and the drama is unbelievable! So good.

Again, another bonus to this series is he sings in it. I must admit, at first, I thought the soundtrack/OST was super corny, but as time goes on and the songs play over and over (and over and over) throughout the series you being to really love them & Jang Geun Suk's deep voice. Its pretty crazy because even when I wasn't that familiar with the songs I could still pick out his voice even when listening on my iPhone since is voice it so deep! I love it.

So now I'm officially hooked. I am now proactively looking for his other dramas and movies to watch.

So there you have it. My new love Jang keun Suk. <3

***All pictures taken from actor's Facebook accounts