Something I Bought

Gift Ideas for Kids + Adults || Five Below

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

I recently shopped around at 2 different Five Below store locations and these some gifts that I picked up. I’m pretty happy with my finds and can’t wait to share these presents!

Some of these items are definitely worth more than they are priced at and are only available in store. I don’t know if it’s the different store locations I’m going to or if they’re even more popular during this time of year but Squishmallows are selling out quickly overall!

Chemistry Lab Kit: https://www.fivebelow.com/products/the-science-squad-kid-s-chemistry-lab-set-w-25-epic-experiments

Squishmallow (8in): https://www.fivebelow.com/products/squishmallows-8in-series-24

Blanket: https://www.fivebelow.com/products/reversible-plaid-sherpa-blanket-50in-x-60in

Dog toy: https://www.fivebelow.com/products/bottle-cruncher-holiday-dog-toys

Not pictured but honorable mentions:

DIY Stuffed Animal Factory Set (like a mini build a bear): https://www.fivebelow.com/products/diy-stuffing-factory-set

Funny Mention: https://www.fivebelow.com/products/girls-don-t-fart-okay-book-huggable-plush-toy

Decorating Mini Christmas Trees from Dollar Tree! || DIY

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Hey everyone! I did a Dollar Tree mini haul of mini Christmas trees, ornaments, and more to decorate for the holidays with my sister! We filmed ourselves decorating our mini trees and I love how they turned out.

I know, I know. It’s only OCTOBER and Halloween hasn’t even passed yet… I’ve been hearing that Dollar Tree’s best holiday/Christmas items–especially for DIYing–sell out by the second week of November!

My tree (the blue one) ended up being around $6 total and Sarah (my sister) ended up building hers with about $4 total.

Items from our mini holiday haul

The only mini christmas tree skirt option from Dollar Tree was red and the bottom side was also showing the red so we decided to DIY our own christmas tree skirts.

It was fairly simple, you’ll only need some kind of material to cut to the side of the bottom of your Christmas tree, good scissors, and patience. Well, if you have better scissors than I did, you won’t need as much patience haha.

Best of luck in your own DIY decor/Dollar Tree holiday hauls and hope you have a wonderful holiday season! xx Sam

Contact Paper Counter – 4 YEAR Update!

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Hey guys! Here is my 4-year update and removal of the marbled contact paper applied onto my bathroom countertop.

I can’t believe I kept it on for so long and it’s time to remove it… so I can redecorate! Right after filming the removal, I went ahead and tackled applying more marbled contact paper from the same brand I used and this is what it looks like currently:

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This time, I added some peel and stick backsplash tiles. I originally bought a pack of 10 12″x12″ sheets to use as my shower surround backsplash but all of the little squares would be too much next to the wallpaper–so I had plenty to play around with and figured out different ideas for them.

Stay tuned for an upcoming video of what redo-ing the marbled contact paper + adding backsplash tile will be like! Also, I’m potentially putting grey wood grain contact paper onto the cabinets…

The BEST of TEXAS || Travel 2018

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IMG_9858

Hey guys! Sarah and I flew down to Texas to visit our cousin Daniel in Dallas for a week this past summer. We also road-tripped to Austin and declared BUC-EE’s or bust.

I guess things really are bigger in Texas… we pit-stopped at the World’s Largest Convenience store! It had 60+ gas station pumps as well.

To see more of the BEST of Texas, check out my vlog and feel free to subscribe for more!

Some featured things or places we went:

IMG_9600Go Ape Ziplining & Adventure
Mitsuwa Japanese Supermarket
Pecan Lodge
Summit Climbing, Yoga, & Fitness
Melt Ice Creams
Ronald Kirk Walking Bridge/Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Ramen Tatsu-Ya Austin
Mozart’s Coffee Roasters (by the lake)
Lady Bird Lake, Austin (Rowing Dock Stand Up Paddle-Boarding)
Watching the bats from Congress Ave Bridge
Shinjuku Station
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
—If anything you want to know isn’t listed yet just ask!

 

DIY Photos with Confetti

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

This year it was 5 degrees and below on my birthday–yes, in Fahrenheit–so I couldn’t really run around in Boston like I originally planned to. At least it gave me the opportunity to get my photos [inserted below] done indoors before heading out to see a movie and have dinner with my friend, Nina.

This is a quick vlog-styled how-to video I edited on achieving birthday photos using a paper backdrop and some confetti and balloon props. Please do try this at home with the best of luck from me.

xoxo Sami

Processed with VSCO with hb1 presetProcessed with VSCO with hb1 preset

Leggings for Short Girls

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys, short girl (5′) here! After years of trying on and buying pairs of leggings, I have found my favorite pairs. This is a video I created featuring me wearing them:

The brands include Aerie by American Eagle and Girlfriend Collective (which I also did a more thorough review on here).

Aerie Chill High Waisted Legging* ($20**):

  • Available in short, regular, and long lengths
  • Underwear doesn’t show through
  • For everyday wear

Aerie Play High Waisted Pocket Legging ($35**):

  • Available in short, regular, and long lengths
  • Underwear doesn’t show through
  • For workouts and everyday wear

Girlfriend Collective High-Rise Leggings ($68):

  • One length but they have a separate legging called the 7/8 legging which is geared towards shorter people (it’s next on my list of leggings to buy!)
  • Underwear doesn’t show through
  • Made in Vietnam with recycled water bottles!
  • For workouts and everyday wear

*If you don’t like high-waisted leggings; the aerie chill legging is the same exact thing (not see through, for everyday wear).

**This is the retail price but they are usually on sale for less.

KALA Ukulele Unboxing

~ samanthatran ~ 1 Comment

I just ordered a Kala Ukulele so I could get started on learning how to play the ukulele and it’s better than what I was expecting *_*

This is the unboxing and tuning video I made:

So far, I’ve had no issues with this ukulele and have learned to play a few chords that go together for the song Riptide by Vance Joy.

COSRX Korean Pimple Patches?! Do they work…

~ samanthatran ~ Leave a comment

Hey there! I recently got my hands on Korean “Acne Pimple Master Patches” that apparently makes your pimples disappear or drastically reduce them overnight!

I made a video demo and review of them on YouTube:

Did it work? YES.

Will I buy it again? YES.

I highly recommend that you at least try this because it flattens out your pimple overnight and the pus comes right off with the sticker instead of worrying about getting bacteria inside and damaging skin cells around your pimples.

The stickers seem to work best on flatter facial features because it stuck on all night on my forehead but was halfway peeling off when I used it on my upper lip overnight.

Feel free to ask me any questions about this product; I’m not an expert and I was not sponsored to review this but I think I know what I’m doing!