I mentioned the Twilight movie marathon that happens occasionally in Casa de Kari to one of my friends the other day. And after she professed her Team Jacob-ness, I make the most disgusted noise I could muster followed by a "umm, no. Edward. All Day." We then proceeded to look at each other like we were from different planets, which for all I know we probably are - all things considering.

But it got me thinking about what I find attractive in guys (probably prompted mostly by her "Ugh, you actually find all that super protective, I-can't-like-without-you stuff attractive?" response). Like aside from physical looks, what makes me say "ooh, I like this guy" or "Wow, he's hot." Some of them may be purposefully but many of them are probably things guys do without even noticing. And I figured, what better day to favorite things that boys do, then Valentine's Day, when they are pretty much obligated to do all our favorite things like dote on us and feed us chocolate and champagne. (Eep! That sounds a little suspect but you know what I mean!).

Yes, that is Jacob, well, I never said the boy wasn't hot! [Source: EOnline]

Bite their bottom lip.
Not 50 Shades of Grey lip biting every .7 seconds (nothing is ever 50 Shades of Grey anything 'round these parts, fyi), but that super hot lip biting that guys sometimes do when they aren't thinking about it but are usually thinking about something NSFW. It's like when a guy is totally unaware of how hot they are and how much hotter that genuine ignorance makes them. Come on! Even if you're not that into it, you know what I'm talking about!

Looking you in your eyes, but then glancing elsewhere.
A surprising one I know, considering how much we hate when guys look at our assets instead of our eyes. But I'm not talking oogling my goods here. I mean, when a guy actually is looking into your eyes as you speak but steals "secret" glances at your lips, figure etc. It's like he knows what he should do but kinda can't help himself.

Laughing genuinely when you're trying to be funny.
I absolutely love it when my boyfriend cracks up over something I've said when I'm trying to be funny or have said something clearly comical. Perhaps this stems from the fact that I'm not very funny at all, so it feels good to have my lame attempts at jokes laughed at when I'm trying. I have literally kissed my boyfriend in the middle of laughter simply because it makes me so happy that I can make him that happy.

Speaking in a lower register when talking about something important or serious.
Sah-woon. Hold my face so I look into your eyes and you get bonus points. Say my name while you're at it and we are off the charts! It's like I'm being glamoured. Like seriously, you've got to know what you're doing right?

You jump, I jump, we jump :)

Complimenting you on something you never even noticed.
It's easy to say I'm beautiful or sexy or that my hair looks nice. And don't get me wrong, I dig all of those compliments. But getting a compliment on something you're not secure in or something you never really notice means either he loves your self-diagnosed flaws or he really pays attention to you. I ain't mad at either of those. An "I love the way you laugh" or "You're cute when you get excited" will get me every time.

Running a hand through their hair or at the back of their neck.
It doesn't matter if they have totally perfect hair or none at all. It gives the impression that they are brooding or deep in thought and automatically channels the part of every woman that just wants a tortured soul to nurture and love.

Their voice when they just wake up. 
They don't even know. They just don't even know! If they spoke in that super cute, groggy, half-asleep voice all the time, they could probably get any damn thing they wanted. Wake me up in the middle of the night, tell me to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for a Junior's cheesecake and I'd probably do it. Truthfully, sometimes I've woken my boyfriend up from a nap inadvertently and kept him talking for longer than necessary on the phone just to squeal on the other end of the line.

Listening to me rant about something and getting pissed off with me.
For real, do this and my eyes will light up. It's one thing to listen, I appreciate that. But when I'm complaining about something some pseudo-friend had the nerve to say to me and you chime in completely disgusted by said pseudo-friend's audacity, you become my best friend, except I can kiss you, so it's the best of both worlds. It's like you get me, and it feels amazing to connect with you over mutual hatred of pseudo-friend that I will probably be ok with in like two days, but so what? You. Get. Me.

Pulling you in for a kiss after you started walking away or just when you're about to say something. 
It's spontaneous. It stops you in your tracks. It's The Notebook circa 2004. Need I say more?

I missed the Blogmopolitan quiz yesterday, but glad Kay posted it today to remind me!

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments below. Also, if you haven't read my Valentine's inspired short story yet, check it out here and I'll love you forever! Oh and,

Happy Valentine's Day!

How I Ended Up at Madison Square Garden Twice in 48 Hours

I can only remember going to MSG once in my whole existence of living in this wonderful city. That sounds really bizarre but, honestly, most New Yorkers don't visit the typical tourist-y hotspots. So when I found myself at MSG twice in just as many days, it was almost comical. And it ended up being the best days I've had in a while.

As long as I've known him, Mr. Big & Tall's talked about his biggest birthday dream: to see Kobe Bryant play at the Garden. Strangely enough, it always worked out that the LA Lakers played the Knicks either on or near his birthday. This past December, I decided I wanted to make that happen. And I kind of succeeded. It wasn't the Lakers (Kobe's hurt and isn't playing this season anyway), but the Sacramento Kings came to New York, and being the most amazing girlfriend ever, I got tickets!

But, of course, I couldn't just hand the tickets over unceremoniously. (How boring would that be?) So I sent him on a scavenger hunt around the city. You read that right - a scavenger hunt. And the poor baby didn't even know what awaited him at the end of it all, but he accepted the challenge anyway.

I purchased bold colored envelopes from Paper Presentation (my new favorite store!) to use for the clues because they had to be noticeable enough. And this 'antique gold' color was calling out to me from the shelves because of how metallic yet muted they were. I wrote clues on each card stock and placed them within the envelopes. The most difficult part was creating the riddles that would lead him from one clue to the next.

Of course, not everything went according to plan. Nothing ever does. He ended up going in the complete wrong direction at one point, I got multiple phone calls of confusion and we were a late to the game. But nothing can take away from the spectacular moment when he realized that we weren't just meeting at MSG - we were going inside. I wish I could've captured the look on his face; the childish grin from ear-to-ear that he wore from the moment he saw the tickets until the first timeout was priceless.

After researching for days, I finally decided on these tickets in Section 109. I literally spent hours on virtual tour type websites to make sure I knew exactly the view I was getting. And I was pleasantly surprised as we were way closer than I expected. In pictures, it looks really far, but we could see the details of the sneakers each player wore. That's really freaking close!

I was sure that it couldn't get any better - and then it did. We had decided to have a pretty chill Valentine's Day. In the past, like our first Valentine's Day, we took trips to resorts and did all the over-the-top things newly-in-love couples do. But over time, we've just used the day to eat lots of chocolate and watch movies. And that's what I thought was in store for me this past Friday. I woke up to 2 dozen roses and chocolates, which was a bit of a surprise but still pretty relaxed. At around 7:30pm, I got a text to take a taxi to 33rd and 7th. And there, he handed me a card with two tickets to see the band I love (second only to 30 Seconds to Mars & maaaybeee Imagine Dragons) in concert: Kings of Leon!

And even with the scent of sweat and smoke in the air, we danced, and drank beer, and sang screamed along with the songs. And I loved every moment of it ❤ 

Simple Valentine's Day Makeup

I love a simple makeup look, especially for Valentine's Day as guys (not to say it's all about them) usually prefer a more natural look. At least that what my boyfriend says. I've also been loving the softer, bronzed look to a strong contour lately. Here's the look I'll most likely be wearing this friday. It's not nearly as complicated as this picture makes it seem - I promise!

Items pictured are ones I use; Items written beside them are alternatives.

ONE: PERFECT

I don't usually use a primer as I find it doesn't to much for me (unless I'm not wearing makeup), but if you do, apply it first. Using a face brush like the amazing Sigma F80 flat top kabuki, apply a single pump or two of the foundation (YSL Le Teint Touché Eclat) to your entire face. Avoid using too much product. Remember, we want to keep this look natural and luminous.

TWO: SHADE 
Prime your eyelids if necessary. Dip a flat brush into both 'Sin' and 'Naked' (Urban Decay Naked Palette) eyeshadows and pat the color onto your lid. Using a blending brush, place 'Buck' into your crease and blend upwards.

THREE: LINE
Apply a thin line of eyeliner (Benefit's Kohl liner in Onyx) on your lid close to your lashes and wig it out slightly at the end. Use the opposite end of the liner (or improvise with a q-tip!) to smudge the liner out in upwards motions. The aim is to fade the black so it's not as harsh. In a 'v' shape, blend 'Handwritten' (MAC) almost on top of the liner from the outer corner towards the middle of the eye. Then use that same color and a pencil brush to blend under the eye.

FOUR: FLUTTER
Coat your upper lashes with mascara (L'Oreal Voluminous) before applying your falsies (House of Lashes Bombshell).

FIVE: DEFINE
Brush through your eyebrows with a spoolie and, if needed, apply a brow wax to keep them in place. Alternating between the brow pencil (Anastasia Brow Wiz) and the spoolie (to brush through the brows for a more natural look), fill in your eyebrows. Aim for defined and full, but not too strong.

SIX: CONCEAL
Next, apply a concealer (MAC Prolongwear) that matches your skin tone and doesn't crease under your eyes in an upside-down triangle shape. If you want, take that same concealer down the bridge of your nose, onto your chin and at the center of your forehead between your eyebrows.

Don't forget to apply mascara to your bottom lashes now that you've applied concealer!

SEVEN: SET
Now, to set all that hard work! Dust a thin layer of banana powder (Ben Nye) on the parts that you concealed. This gives a highlighted effect. Use a setting powder (MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural) that matches your foundation color for the rest of your face. (Note: you can use a setting spray after your done as well if you feel like you need it).

EIGHT: BRONZE
I like to contour my face, but for this look, just use a bit of bronzer for a softer look. With a powder brush, place a bronzer (CoverGirl Queen Collection in Bronze) that is at least 2 shades darker than your skin into the hollows of your cheeks, along your hairline and your jawline. Blend mercilessly to eliminate any lines. Blush (NYX Cinnamon) for this look is optional, but if you use it, choose a color that gives you a gentle flush to keep the look natural.

NINE: HIGHLIGHT
Highlighting is my favorite part! Place the highlighter (Dior Amber Diamond) right above your cheekbones and on your cupid's bow. You can use your highlighter or a shimmery eyeshadow like UD's 'Virgin' for beneath the brow bone and in the inner corner of your eye.

TEN: POUT
Line your lips with muted pink lip liner (Jordana Baby Berry) and fill them in totally. Apply a  pink lipgloss (NARS Angelika) on top.

Valentine's Day is usually pretty low key for the boyfriend and I. His birthday is on the 12th (today!) so I usually put all my creative energy into that. And as the lovely day is wedged between his day of birth and mine (all 3 happen within a month), we just like to enjoy each other's company.

Happy Valentine's Day <3