Bonnie Official Blog 170124
Bonjour, bonsoir, Bonnie!
Happy 2017! How has everyone been doing so far this year?
Although it’s been a few weeks since the holidays, I wanted to share with you all what I spent my holidays doing. And that was~
Vacationing in California!
The day before I took my flight out of New York (I flew this time, rather than driving the entire way, haha!), there was a huge snowstorm. There’s actually been so much more snow in New York this year than last year, so it’s been tough transitioning back… (๑ ˊ͈ ᐞ ˋ͈ )ƅ̋
But anyway, my trip was so much fun!
I got to hang out with friends I haven’t seen in more than a year, got to eat delicious food that I’ve been missing, and, of course, enjoy much sunnier weather! (Really, it was around 86 degrees Fahrenheit the day before I left! … and then I came home to 12 degree weather…)
One of the big things that I did while I was out there was a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. I actually visited that park while I was living in the area, but since they opened the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter park in the last year, I needed to go see it!! I am a giant Harry Potter fan, so going there really felt like all of my childhood dreams were coming true!
I had to stock up on Slytherin merchandise while I was there, of course, and invested in a scarf, a Head Girl pin, and even a small tapestry for home!
One of my favorite parts of that park was visiting Ollivander’s to get my wand! I’d taken the “official” wand test on Pottermore beforehand, and one of my friends mentioned that I should look to see if they had something that matched it for sale in the store. (By the way, the test said my wand is pine wood, dragon heartstring core, and at a length of 9 and ¾ inches… which is apparently pretty small?! But it makes sense!) I was looking around at the more “custom” wood wands, and couldn’t quite find pine, but one of the shop staff asked what I was looking for and recommended me something that would be similar… which turned out to be the wand I took home – a pretty ivy wood one! I ended up opting for the interactive version, since it let me “cast spells” around the park at designated spots on the map – where parts of the set would interact with the movement of your wand. It was pretty cool!
Of course, after I went shopping and hopped on a ride, I had to sample the park’s Butterbeer, which was RIDICULOUSLY delicious!
My friends and I went on a few other rides across the park, but, to be honest, the park was SO crowded since I went the day after Christmas, so a lot of people were off from work and school – and packing the park. Most of the lines were at leaaaaast a 1-1.5 hour wait!
But, I still had a good time and was glad I went.
Aside from the park visit, I mainly spent a lot of time hanging out with friends, getting really excellent food (including ramen and my beloved mochi donuts they sell out in Torrance!), shopping, and enjoying the sunny weather~ I actually happened to be sick during the entire trip, but I inundated myself with cold medicine to get out and enjoy as much as I could.
Although, at one point, one of my friends decided that she wanted to take me up on a “hike in the mountains.” I told her I was sick, and she agreed to limit it to a more leisurely walk on a lower-altitude walking path, which I was fine with, but… then, on the actual day of, she saw that there was snow up in the mountains and REALLY wanted to see it up close. She drove us all the way up to the snow (about a 30-40 minute drive!) – then as we got out of the car, quickly threw her extra jacket at me because it was “so cold” (probably 42-45 degrees?) and all I had was a cardigan, and then we went onto the trail – where frozen-over ice was still melting, leaving a bit of a slippery mess of a path – and then promptly decided that she’d had enough of the ice after approximately two minutes or so.
… we headed back down into the city to hang out at a café instead. It was a fantastically hilarious attempt at a nature-y get-together. Southern California definitely has a fair bit of snow that even people living around there can access, but the snow and the cold is such a foreign-feeling for a lot of the people out there. The entire trip sort of reminded me how immune to snow and cold you become after living in the northeast, hah!
Honestly, I was pretty sad when I had to go back to New York, but I’m still always talking with my friends out there… and, thankfully, the weather has gradually warmed up over the last week here. Winter can leave early, that’s fine with me!
I’ve also been listening to a lot of SWIP lately again, and the mere fact that they’re an idol group from Okinawa makes me think of summery weather, and it helps! Huhu~ you guys should check them out if you haven’t heard of them!
What about you guys – do you prefer winter or warmer seasons?
Since I’ve been back, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes at Purappi on a number of upcoming things! I’m excited to release some of these things over the coming weeks (and months, since we’re working on content fairly far ahead of time!) so you all can enjoy them.
Also, did you see that we’re recruiting new staff members? If you have any sort of technical skill(s) that you’d be interested in growing within our group, I definitely encourage you to read more and apply! Be sure to let us know if you have any questions, too!
Well, then, before I head out, I’ll close my blog with another Bonnie’s Beauty Tip! I had to decide between something hair-related and skincare-related for this one, but opted for another hair one since winter can be pretty harsh on hair. (Let me know if you guys would be interested in a winter skincare favorites tip or something like that!)
My hair is honestly reaching reaaaally long lengths again, which I’m really happy about, but I’ve been working hard to keep it healthy as it continues to grow. Last time around, I mentioned my success with using hair oil, and something else I’ve added into my routine lately has been using a hair mask! The one I personally use is a “primer” from Redken but there are several masks out there that you can use, based on your hair’s current condition/length. This one is suited for really long hair (and encouraging more growth!), so it was a good fit for me, but essentially what hair masks do is help coat your hair with moisture and other benefits – like repairing damage or strengthening and softening hair follicles. There are plenty out there, so I’d definitely encourage researching something that will tackle any problems you might be experiencing with your hair in the winter!
That’s all for now, everyone! Until next time~
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