scary hairy

So...tomorrow I am going to a really professional salon to have my hair lightened. Like, really professional salon. I've had highlights done here and there, and my sister has dyed my hair back to it's natural state using a drugstore box kit. But yeah, that's about it.

And...I.am.scared.

Scared that they will do a great job? Absolutely not. I'm scared that my hair is too ratty or broken that they will be thinking, "What on Earth has this girl been doing to her hair?!" I guess it's kind of that stigma that most people that go to these kind of salons keep up with trims and things (refer to my last post).

I always picture the stylist see me walk in with my long hair and dreading the fact that they will be doing my hair for like the next three hours. I hope that's not the case tomorrow. I've actually had a hairdresser comment to me one time, "Good grief, why on Earth do you let your hair get this long?!" This really embarrassed me and made me wonder if all hairdressers think that when they go to do my hair. 

I hope not. Because I don't intend to get it cut! At least not for a while.

But anyways, have a good week all(and wish me good luck!)

my little rant

Well, having a blog, to me, means that you post whatever is crossing your mind at that very moment.

What I'm about to say is actually something that crosses my mind quite often. I don't know if you'd call it a rant or more or less a confession.

I am a lazy (but tries to hide it) girly girl.

I know that sounds stupid to do a post about, but really, I have my reasons. As I struggled (and failed) miserably to get my hair to do something today, I thought about this. Here are my explanations:

1. I am the worst at keeping up with hair trims. Like, to the point where some days I find great entertainment in peeling apart my split ends. My hair is a couple inches shy of my waistline, and I have no idea how. I torture the crap out of my hair. Straightening it every other day, going almost full-on blonde last year, blow-drying, you name it. And for some reason, though I take great pride in loading every conditioning product on Earth on my hair, I just can't get my lazy self to the salon for a little trim-a-roo.

2. I'm not going to go into details, but I have bangs right smack in the front of my face that are a result of being burned off by a faulty straightener. 

3. I have an earring hole on my left ear that is all but gauged. I have no clue what happened, but it's been like that ever since I got my ears pierced when I was 5. Would keeping an earring out of it help it grow shut? Probably. But I like wearing earrings. So up until a few months ago, I decided to be stubborn and adorn that pesky little hole with jewelry. Now I've finally decided to try to let it grow shut.

4. I could use a brand-spanking new razor on my legs, and I always come out with stubble. Why? Because I am too lazy to do a good job. Do I care? Not really.

5. I always let myself all but get a uni brow before I decide it's time to pluck again. Okay, maybe that's exaggerated, but really, it gets pretty bad.

6. Blemish on my face? You can bet my fingers are right there at it. Why? Because I don't feel like waiting on an acne cream to take 213434 years to work. Popping it (though it never fails to leave a scar) is so much faster.

7. Unless it's summertime, there is a 95% chance my toes are not in condition to be seen by the light of day. Even in summertime it's debatable.

8. My messy buns are hit or miss. Seriously, to any girl out there who always has a perfect one, care to share tips? I don't understand this. With the amount of hair I have you'd think I'd be able to get this voluminous bun with artfully placed tendrils falling out. But no.

9. Half the time I forget to put on body moisturizer until my poor elbows and knee caps look like I've been rolling around in a pit of ashes and thorns. 

The odd thing with this all is that I am a girly girl. I LOVE doing hair, makeup, anything fashion involved. I get my nails done. I love the color pink and anything sparkly. But because of this list (and there's others that I just can't remember at the moment) I'm donning myself a lazy girly girl. 

It's kind of one of those things that you can't explain, but if you're the same way you know what I'm talking about!

But ANYWAYS, hope everyone is having a nice Valentines Day!

so...about atlantic city...

So, a few months ago, Daniel and I decided that we needed to get away for a weekend. Yes, it was only December, but Summer feels so far away! We went to Atlantic City, NJ, last year for a day trip, but decided a weekend there would be fun. Plus, since I'm now 21, I could legally walk around the casinos! (I'm not much of a gambler...in fact, I'm not really at all!) So we asked Dan's friend to go with us and split the room. We ended up staying at Harrah's...great decision! Plus, because it's off-season, we got the room super cheap. Score!

First night,we walked around the hotel- the casino, the pools, the places to eat...we were having a great time. The boys both brought their suits and I brought two new dresses- after all, we wanted to be all snazzed up! The first night was pretty uneventful- well compared to the second night! I toyed around with a few slots and (surprise!) had no success. I decided to finally sit down at this princess-themed machine. Honestly, I picked it because it had the word princess in it (this is coming from a girl that likes the Miami Dolphins because their mascot is a dolphin and they have cute colors, haha) and I thought, "Ehh, what the heck!" I pushed a bunch of buttons at random (yeah, professional gambler's technique right here) until all of a sudden the machine started flashing and playing music...and making a continuous ka-ching noise. The dollar value on the screen kept going up until I reached 147 dollars! I know it's no jackpot compared to the amounts people win at the tables, but still! I only paid 5 dollars to play and I'd never won anything before. I was pretty stoked! (Side note- on night number two, I won 12 dollars off of a different princess-themed machine. Hmmm...)

Second night. Oh boy. Tonight I was wearing a black and mint-green high to low dress w/ matching jewelry and peep toe wedges. Not to brag, (I promise, it's vital to the story) but I was getting compliments out the wazoo. "Love that necklace!" a lady said to me when I sat down to scarf down pizza and wings. "You look adorable, oh my gosh," said a college-aged girl when I was leaving the bathroom. "Where did you get your shoes?" asked a lady while I was waiting for the elevator. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty confident about myself. 

Well, my new, not-broken-in wedges were getting the best of me while in the casino, so I decided to sit at a blackjack table that wasn't in use. Another lady came up to me and exclaimed, "I LOVE YOUR DRESS! It reminds me of something my daughter would wear!" I thanked her, and watched her walk off, thinking nothing of it except that I was flattered. Of course, security told us that we could sit anywhere around the slots, but not the empty tables, so we moved over to continue resting at the slot machines. I just barely sat down at the slots, only to hear, "HEY, IT'S MINT GREEN!" I turned to look behind me, and there was the lady to had complimented me just moments before.

Obviously this lady had a bit too much to drink. I stood up to greet her again when she grabbed my face and kissed my cheeks. She asked me to come over to the machine she was playing and hit the buttons. I did, and the machine started dinging. Not in a winning way, but that's just the sound the machine made. But this woman was convinced that I was her good luck charm. She kept kissing me and suddenly grabbed me and pulled me onto her lap. Yes, I was sitting on this woman's lap. Needless to say, the boys were highly amused. She grabbed my hand and made me hit all of these buttons, just wasting the money she had put into the machines. It was when she started to grab my leg that I had it and jumped up and we said we were OUT (note- I think it was around this point that she rubbed the bald business man's head that sat down at the slot beside her, haha). She suddenly turned on us and told us to scram...but then sweetly added to come back to her if we needed more money. Oy vey.

We definitely had a fun (and eventful) vacation. Until next time, AC!

My dress on night #1

The boys!

I did actually get a picture w/ the crazy lady... but for her sake I wont expose her identity to the world wide web. But, yes, that was my dress!

D'awww:) Before going out to an AMAZING breakfast at Denny's. Yum!

Hope to see you again soon, Atlantic City!

Happy Valentines Day!

kick starting 2013 (a month late)

This post is going to be short and sweet! (sorry)

I apologize for my lack of blogging...I've been crazy busy (over the holidays and since then) and REALLY have been thinking about getting back on here. I just couldn't find the time! Ok, I'll shut up with the excuses and just get to it.

I'm currently in the process of redesigning this blog! Yay! Kicking off 2013 with a fresh design (and updating more often :))

So thank you for being patient, I'll get to it ASAP!

In the mean time, here's a sneak peek of my trip to Atlantic City this past weekend. I'll update about it soon! (There's the story about the lady who called me her good luck charm and kept kissing me....)

See you all soon :)

the season to be kind to everyone (including yourself)

Yes, those would be my super-duper white legs on the abductor machine at the rec center. 

Yesterday I went to the gym and had a little...I don't even really know what to call it. Call me crazy, but I had a little conversation with myself in my head.

Just the average day at the gym with Daniel... (he's a total workout/ health nut) and I wasn't feeling very motivated. That was, until I saw HER.

I had absolutely no clue who this girl was, but I didn't need to. Just looking at her was enough to know her personality. The girl was toned, tanned, blonde, poised, and pretty much any other desirable physical trait you could want. And the girl carried herself like she knew it. Not in a cocky, look-at-me fashion, but she definitely had confidence and was sure of herself. She walked around that gym like she had just as much right to be using those machines as the other buff guys did. And you know what? I instantly LOATHED her.

Here starts the conversation in my head part. "Look at that girl, acting like she's hot stuff, walking around like she owns the place and thinks she's better than any other female in here.  Pshhhhtt, look at how tan she is. Fake baker! And look at those calves, she must not have anything better to do than go to the gym!" Yeah, really harsh and bratty of me, I know.

There I sat on my mat to do some crunches just mentally ripping this girl that I didn't know to shreds. And my fiery thoughts motivated me to be better than her. But the more I watched her walk around, the more a conclusion dawned on me.

I didn't dislike her muscular calves or tanned skin. I disliked my tone-lacking calves and pasty skin. And even worse, I disliked my lack of self confidence.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not some self-despising female who feeds off of hatred for other seemingly "more perfect" gals. I feel pretty good about myself most days, but yesterday something in me was lacking, and I chose to take it out on this poor girl (well, mentally).

And then another thought came to me. Why should I instantly dislike someone because she has a  trait that I don't? I may not be a gym buff, and she is. But maybe I can play piano, and the girl has never picked up an instrument in her life. And I'm sure she has some insecurity with herself, just like me. And I'm sure she loves something about herself too, as do I (I don't like my legs, but I love my long hair). And that's okay. That's normal! But no matter what we love/dislike about ourselves, those features make us unique! You might hate your freckles or something else, but they make you YOU! And I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. Different times I'll get a blemish on my cheek and I remark on how I hate it. Daniel always tells me that he thinks it looks like I have rosy cheeks...he says it seems so me to have rosy cheeks and he loves that about me. I also have this little cluster of freckles on the back of my arm that isn't exactly my favorite, but my sister loves it and tells me it's cute. I would have never picked that out to be an outstanding trait of mine, but she did! It's something that's mine and mine only. America's Next Top Model may have million dollar legs, but she doesn't have that freckle spot on the back of her arm. I may be no model, but then again, no model will ever be me!

So whoever is reading this, you are beautiful. Don't ever forget that:)

coconut hair don't care

I have been feeling extra DIY lately...

My mottoes as of this week have been, "Why buy it when you can make it yourself?" and "Why take the expensive route when you can do it cheaply?" Not to say that I'm not a crafty person, but this week I've really been in the mood for it.

So, I've been wanting to buy/try a deep restorative hair mask. I have naturally curly/frizzy hair that I straighten and abuse like nobody's business. Plus my hair is halfway down my back (and I'm not the queen of getting a trim like I should) so you can imagine the split ends and damage. After hearing about the wonders of a coconut oil treatment I decided to give it a whirl.

I was a little unsure about coating my hair in oil...I'm usually trying to do the opposite (I'm notorious for skipping one hair washing day too many and then showering my hair in dry shampoo...oops). But I had time (and a new Cosmo mag to read) so I figured if it got a little too greasy I could salvage it. 

So here's what I did:

1) I started with organic virgin coconut oil. (I actually had this in my kitchen cabinet, but I believe it can be purchased at a heath food store) I ran hot water over the jar to soften it.

2) Once it became a liquid I applied it to my dry hair. I've heard different methods about applying it when it's dry vs. when it's wet, but since I hadn't showered yet I just applied it to my dry, just-brushed hair. I've also heard various amounts that you should add, but I used enough to coat my hair. From root to tip, my hair looked wet with oil (At this point I asked Dan what he would think of me if I let my hair get like that from not washing it...he just gave me "that face" haha).

3) Once my hair was saturated, I piled it up into a plastic processing cap, and turned on the blow dryer to warm up my scalp. This helps to open the cuticle of your hair and really let the oil go to work (so I've read). I only did this long enough to make my scalp feel warm to the touch.

4) I let it sit for a little over an hour. You can do a really intense overnight treatment, (which I intend to try sometime) but I planned to shower at night so this was my best option.

5) After the hour passed, I showered and shampooed twice. I could still feel a bit of the oily texture in the shower even after I shampooed once. Two times seemed to do the trick.

Unfortunately, I don't have an after-photo. But I will say this, my hair was DEFINITELY softer. Plus it really gave my hair a great shine. I'm excited to keep up with this regimen once a week and see the long term effects! Plus it was easy because with hair cap you can pretty much do anything while the oil sets (except going out in public, it's not exactly the latest in hair accessories ;)). And it sure beats spending loads of money on an expensive treatment! And I'm all about that!

picture this

Ok, I'm going to start off by bragging a little. I am SO ahead of the game right now with my Christmas shopping. As in, I have most of my gifts shopped for AND wrapped (that happened last night with a Sparkling Snow candle burning by my side) and tied up with ribbon. Yay! I have a few gifts to buy yet and then I'm done! 

Due to my not-procrastinating, I decided to be a little crafty and try my hand at personalizing a picture frame. It's a project I've seen spread across Pinterest, and always thought it was cute but never had an occasion or the time to try it.

I had one of those moments where I KNEW my game plan for making this thing. I didn't need to look back at those directions online for help (haha yeah right). So I Mod Podged my frame with cute scrapbooking paper, hacked and slashed with my Exacto knife, struggled to put the darn thing back together (scatterbrained moment, don't ask) and then took a step back to look at my work.

Ehh...It was alright....

But not something I would feel fully proud of giving away as a gift. Yeah, it would have suited me, but the edges were a little rough and cut crooked. It looked more 4th grade classroom project than Pottery Barn treasure. So I decided to try again (and I gave Dan a nice new frame for his room :)).

After more crafting, sighing, throwing a mini tantrum (yes, by this point I was getting very frustrated), I finally finished.

This time around, I embellished my frame with paper flowers and buttons. It still needs a little sanding and tender loving care, but I'm pretty satisfied with the final result. Is it something I'd do again? Maybe, if I have another occasion, the time, and a LOT more patience :)