Cucina Urbana

Hi All!
One of the things that I love to do is to eat out and share a little about my experience at various restaurants/bars. Time, money, (and calories for those of us who watch our weight) are precious, and there's no better feeling than getting a great return on your investment. The four areas I'll be evaluating are; quality/taste, value/price point, customer service, and ambiance. All of my observations are purely subjective, but I thought it would be fun to share.

Cucina Urbana (San Diego)

My first time dining at this restaurant was amazing! The customer service was on pint, everyone was very friendly and inviting. I ordered the Casalingo pepperoni + fennel sausage pizza (so yummy), and  decided to try the honey crisp cocktail. The honey crisp (Apple bourbon, lemon juice, honey, and apple bitters) was perfect for summer: light crisp delectable and refreshing. And as if great food, drinks, and service weren't enough, I really appreciated the lighting and artistic decor. If you are in the Bankers Hill area--I highly recommend!

Customer Service- A
Quality/Taste- A
Value/Price- B+
Ambiance- A

Caviar or L'oreal??

The Battle of the Heatsprays (rnd 1)

Hello Lovlies! 

Today I'm going to give you a quick run down of my experience with two heat styling sprays. It's so important to have the right protection for your hair when using flat irons, blow dryers, etc!

I've sampled two very nice brands so that you don't have to, because nothing is worse then wasting money on the wrong product. 

Product 1 is Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Perfect Iron Spray (btw, love the product line name)!

This one retails on Amazon for about $18! This spray does a good job protecting my hair and smells great, refreshing! It's free of parabens and synthetic color so that's an added benefit.

Product 2 is L'oreal Paris Sleek It Iron Straight Spray

This one retails on Amazon for about $4! Whoah!

I loved this spray because it not only protects your hair (granted, it's new to me) but it smells good and helped to tame the frizzies! Seriously, my hair looked smooth and polished after I finished.. Making it an amazing value!

(Winner)!!

Seriously, leave it to  L'oreal 3 day sleek to lay ur hair flatttttt! Lol

Xoxo,

Andie

Tune-out the naysayers...

Hi All,

Today I wanted to talk about staying inspired and remembering that all things are possible (even

when the deck seems to be stacked against us)! I love to hear about examples of people who have persevered such as Howard Schultz. Can you imagine receiving a couple of hundred rejections on the way to pursuing your dream? I'll be honest, that type of tenacity confounds me. I only need to hear a few No's before I'm ready to determine that something wasn't meant to be.

Thank goodness we don't have to rely on only ourselves, there is so much to learn from other people in the world. I don't waste much time on jealousy if there's something I admire about someone else I use it as inspiration. Much better use of energy right? I think it's difficult to stay inspired in this chaotic world of ours, so that (being inspired) also includes tuning out negative people. You know the type, they're professional gossips and critics with little to offer you or anyone else. They critique the successful, they critique the failures (as if either leads to happiness or accomplishment). I'll blog more about this in a future post, but in the meantime let's remember to leave the 'walking dead' alone.

Be sure to read or watch something everyday that feeds your soul and vision!

Xoxo,

Andie

New to Nadine

Hi All!

I'm sharing today my experience with Nadine West! The draped front pink ballerina top and necklace (The Heart Wants What it Wants) were sent to my home as a part of an outfit picked out for me by their stylists.With Nadine West they send an outfit to your home 1 or 2 a month and you get to decide what you'll keep and send back what you do not like. When you sign up you initially fill out a style profile based on your interests in clothing and jewelry. This is kind of a twist on traditional shopping!

Pros: It's so fun to get a surprise in the mail and convenient!
          The only initial charge is a shipping fee which is credited back towards any items you keep.
          You get to try new pieces that you might not have selected for yourself. I never would've    picked out the top I received but it did make me think about diversifying my wardrobe!

Cons: I would've loved to have 2-3 outfits to choose from because it's so nice to know that you'll love what your waiting on!
           I would've preferred that the quality of the material be a tad bit better. As a woman on a budget I tend to shop quality pieces on sale..pieces that I know will last.

It was fun to try and the necklace, blouse, and earrings (not pictured) are too cute!

Xoxo,
Andie

Welcome!

Hi Everyone, my name is Andrea (Andie) and I'm happy to welcome you
to my new lifestyle blog! In the days to come I hope to share
my interests in Fashion, beauty products, health/fitness (and more) all as facets of 
Self-care! 
I'm all about a healthy body-mind-soul, and one thing I've noticed about 
people is that we tend to be heavy handed in some areas while neglecting others.

There's nothing better than being a woman who reflects both internal & external beauty!

Thank you for journeying with me!

Xoxo
Andie