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www.AliciaMonica.com was in dire need of an update! Check it out & let me know what you think :)

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Powdered Milk Mask

Last night I had great plans to go out with the girls for a few drinks but a raging headache kept me in bed. I finally decided to get up to take a shower in hopes that the warm water beating on my back would help my aching head. As I got out of my 20+ min steam room, I noticed just how horrific my skin was looking. Broken out and dry - the WORST combo. Every product you put on a blemish dries out the other areas and every product to combat the flakes leaves your pesky pimples looking plumper than ever. 

I then remembered my trusty ziplock bag of ground oatmeal and powered milk. The perfect mask for my troublesome face situation. The oatmeal is gentle and soothing while the milk acts as a natural lactic acid, just enough exfoliation for my skin to handle. After 10 mins of letting my clumpy concoction set and dry on my face - voilà, I literally felt like a new woman rinsing the mask away. My skin looked much calmer and felt 100 times smoother. 

Next time, I definitely wont wait for my skin to look so shabby to use my tried and true favorite mask. Click the link below to check out my YouTube video I made a while ago, all about milk masks. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwxmDumFqKI&list=UUAb5X7mexUgZgtn39hkc1Gg&index=29&feature=plcp

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Take what you need...

I loved this picture as soon as I saw it. As with any new year; there comes positive changes, self renewal, and resolutions. We all have the ability to make whatever we want to happen in this life come to fruition - so, take what you need (from deep within your self, other people's examples, the universe, however you look at it) and make it happen. 

Happy 2012 - Let's make it the best one yet!

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If I didn't have my life . . . I would definitely want it! Here's to another amazing year :) Happy 2012!!!

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New Years Nails! #NYEnails (Taken with instagram)

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Happy Holidays from Les Mis. Dream the dream. #LesMis #MyMMscom #xmas #Cosette (Taken with instagram)

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Being back with everyone kind of makes me want to tour. But I'm sure that will pass in a day. #marypoppins (Taken with Instagram at New 42nd Street Studios)

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Street art. (Taken with instagram)

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My new favorite lotion! Johnson's Melt Away Stress. And it really does just that! :)

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Thanks to Gay Monica for sending @akillean and me matching Xmas stockings! Best mom ever :) (Taken with instagram)

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Clinton Street Baking Co.

Some days (well, quite often, actually) I view the most important thing on my agenda as sharing good food and good laughs with friends. 

Luckily, I always have Clinton St Bakery as my go to brunch spot. It's small and cozy with an often long wait but I promise, as soon as you take a bite of one their delicious simple dishes all that will quietly fade away into a delightful food coma. 

If you find yourself in downtown NYC, definitely check it out and order the *pancakes*. I was in a savory mood a while back and strayed away from the blueberry ones and let me tell you - sad, bad move. The whole time I eyeballed the woman next to me eat her fluffy flapjacks with warm maple butter running down her double chin. I was so close to asking her for a bite of her leftovers, I could almost taste it. 

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Old video which I finally just got around to uploading! Thanks again to Adrienne and Kia for gifting me with LA goodbye goodies :)  

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Our new living room rug looks exactly like the hair/fur on the dragon, Falcor from the Never Ending Story. (Taken with instagram)

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My mini NYC Thanksgiving. All natural and organic :) (Taken with instagram)

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Sweet potato cheesecake. Started the holiday off right. (Taken with Instagram at Make My Cake)

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A quick glimpse of my hike on Mýrdalsjökull glacier in the south of Iceland.

You may notice a lot of black areas around on the ice, which is ash - the icecap of the glacier covers an active volcano named Katla. It could have erupted at any moment covering me in ash as well ;)

Mýrdalsjökull is the 4th largest glacier in Iceland and is full of deep crevasses due to a high volume of water that flows under it - both scary and breathtaking!

The feeling of leaving the modern day cement jungle and grounding yourself with raw nature is such an amazing feeling and unfortunately one that happens far too little for me. If you make it to Iceland (which I highly recommend) definitely check out the southern tip, where some of the most beautiful natural creations live. I can't wait to go back and be a bit more adventuresome next time. 

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Mid-day snack with Con. (Taken with Instagram at Columbus Tavern)