Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Crafty Wednesday

Howdy, stranger!  How has your week been so far?

I've been thinking Crafting should be on Wednesday due to Tuesday's busy-ness.  There is my proclamation!  Crafty Wednesday!  Hear, hear!

Today's craft started out as a sewing project, but alas, the sewing machine was just not having it today.  Maybe it was taking a little break?  After several attempts at asking the machine and the material to play nicely, I took the hint.  So, here is a quick craft a la 7th grade camp!  Remember chokers and charm necklaces?  Here's an homage to that time!

I sewed the beads and charm on the ribbon and added a clasp!



I also just have to share a very nice thing with y'all: Happy Salad!  This is a great and easy (healthy!) salad to make whether you are having a happy day or needing a little extra happy in your day.


Start with spinach or a 50/50 salad blend.  Add some strawberries, golden raisins, sliced almonds, and cheese.  Goat's cheese goes GREAT with the salad, but I also love mozzarella.

Hope you have an extra happy day!


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Crafty Tuesday

Do you love long, colorful, girly necklaces a la Carrie from Sex and The City?  I do!  Here's what I came up with for Crafty Tuesday this week: a bright green, long drizzly chain.  I love doubling it up or wearing it long.



I've made another one last week and have been wearing it nearly nonstop.



I think it's cute with a dress or a nice way to embellish a tee.  Plus, it's a cute fiddler! :)

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Crafty Wednesday

Happy Crafty Tuesday Wednesday!

What are you up to on this snowy and icy day?  While looking outside at the snow and listening as the sleet falls on my window, I was looking for a craft on Pinterest.  Ah, Pinterest...

Anywho, this looked really crazy!  http://diyreal.com/bunny-from-a-square-love-this-bit-of-cleverness/

It shows you how to turn a square piece of knit or crochet fabric...(this one is about 4" by 4.5")
....Into a Bunny!



 I sewed the front paws together to hold this little guy up.  Hope this little snow bunny keeps your spirits warm!

Toodles!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Hair Products for Curly Girls

Hiya!  Do you have curly/wavy hair?  You know, the kind that is in perfect ringlets one day and on another day, half your head is sticking straight up and the other is in a sick 80's perm.  The unpredictable, crazy kind of curly hair.  The temperamental princess.  I think of my hair like a cat: it thinks it rules the place and pretends not to care what I think, but with a few sweet treats and some loving, it is perfectly soft, bouncy, and happy.

I don't love the feel of having product in my hair, and I looove products that protect my hair (from the elements, bad vibes, frizz, ya know....)

So, here are some of my favorites!

1. Strictly Curls Perfect Curl Cream
2. Strictly Curls 24-hour Moisture Treatment
3. Organix Moroccan Argan Oil
The Strictly Curls line by Marc Anthony rocks!!  The Curl Cream is pretty thick, and the Moisture Treatment is more thin (and feels thin on the hair).  The Curl Cream is great on wet hair, damp hair, or even dry hair.  The Moisture Treatment I use on my hair when it's still wet, and I let it air dry into curl perfection.  This line is amazing - it seriously doubles the amount of curls and creates tight curls.  On wet hair, I've had better results with the Moisture Treatment.  Both products are light yellow in color (think: the color of a crayon called sunshine), and smell deliciously (and most importantly lightly) of lemon.

Before this line, I didn't know that I even had curly hair.  I thought I had frizzy hair for the longest time.  Anyone else been in this boat?  A comb and some frizz creams later, I found curls underneath the poof, and boy, is it fabulous!

Another great product that I love is the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil.  There are a lot of great oils out there, but I like this one in particular because it is not pure.  What?  That sounds weird, in a world where all I seem to hear is that pure oil is better.  But this little spritz is great because it is light enough to spray all over and not feel like you missed any part of your hair.  I love putting this on damp hair and letting it air dry.  It accentuates the curls a little, adds some shine, conditions, and protects split ends.  It is a great general "healthy hair" product.  I'm not sure what it smells like, actually, but it reminds me of old fashioned perfumes.  It isn't too strong of a scent unless you spritz your hair 20 times with it (lesson learned... you can have too much oil in your hair!)

4. Garnier Sleek & Shine Leave-In Conditioning Cream
5. Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Anti-Frizz Creme
6. Herbal Essences Set Me Up Texturizing Wax
Ah, the Garnier cream..... it smells heavenly!  It smells like fruits and apples, spring and summer, and the beach, all brought in by a light wind.  This is a fantastic cream!  I love conditioning creams because they protect your split ends and keep your hair frizz-free.  This one accentuates my curls in a very light way (not like the Marc Anthony line, which creates perfect curls), and is particularly great for frizzy or rainy days.  I absolutely love the fresh way it smells and the way my hair feels taken care of when I put this in.  This product is to my hair like a highlight is to face makeup: a minor adjustment that accentuates your curves and brings out some light.

If the Garnier cream is summer and easy going beauty, the Herbal Essences Anti-Frizz creme is its crazy, adventurous, girly and spontaneous twin.  They do the same gorgeous functions: smooth, de-frizz, add some curl.  However, the Herbal Essences creme smells feminine and flowery.  The scent is "pink lily." Now, I don't know too much about flower scents, but to me, this smells like a fresh bouquet of flowers, and it leaves my hair smelling like that the whole day!  What I love about both of these creams is that they are easily revivable (new word here!)  If you put the cream on in the morning, you can easily revive it in the afternoon by running wet hands through your hair (or damp, shall I say, you don't want to leave the ladies' with dripping hair.  People will wonder what you got up to.)  That adds a little bounce and the brings back some of the yummy smell.

Did I say I don't like putting heavy product in my hair?  There is one, apart from the mandatory hair spray for formal events, that I will put in: the Herbal Essences Texturing Wax.  It has a lovely scent (again, me and my yummy smells), and it is very concentrated.  Take out half a finger full and massage it across your hands before putting in your hair.  I love to run this through my ends.  It definitely feels a little sticky, but not at all stiff.  It accentuates curls and ends way better than hair spray, and is fairly light.  On long hair, this could could be gorgeous for beach hair!

Hope you've found some products you can try!  Curly girls know: we are always on the lookout for products that will let our curls shine through that facade of "why is half my hair sticking up and the other half is in perfect ringlets??"

Give your curls some loving, and the kitty will surely come out, soft, bouncy, and happy!

Toodles :)

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Crafty Tuesday

Howdy!

I hope you've had a good start to the week!  I love the change a new week brings, just as I love the change a Friday brings!

This Crafty Tuesday, I wanted to make something girly, but I was feeling a little too easy peasy to bring out the sewing machine.   The other day, one of my good friends sent me gorgeous bows she had sewn!  She inspired me to make some cute barrettes!  Here's what me and my glue gun came up with! 


A rosette



A teeny tiny bow
Something about bows makes me smile!  The thing I love about crafts is, you just never know how a project will turn out.  Have you seen that movie, "Dan in Real Life?"

"Prepare to be surprised"

The rosette turned out really different than what I imagined.  Love the fabric!  But the outcome looks to me more like an overwhelming blob of color.  I may need to inflate my head a little to fit the gigantic blob of color, or invent a shrinking machine.  But I don't believe in accommodating crafts. ;) They are bossy enough already.

Toodles! 


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Calling All Girly Tomboys

Confession: I am in my mid-twenties and have just now learned how to apply eyeliner.

As a former tomboy that is discovering all the beauties of makeup, I have to say, eyeliner rocks!  A colorful little line and full-blown mascara?  Oooh, it feels so cute!

One of my favorite little guilty pleasures (as I'm learning about where blush goes and what a highlighter does) is to eye gorgeous makeup online.  I absolutely LOVE sets as you can try lots of different products at once!  So, you'll notice... these are all sets, and all from Sephora.com! Ready to see some beauties?  Grab a cup of something and oggle with me!

So first of all, isn't this the most perfectly compact, basic & classic little set?  Two lipsticks, three eyeshadows, and a sparkly lipgloss are tucked into a little case that is perfect to toss in your purse.


http://www.sephora.com/everyday-pretty-lip-eye-palette-P382579?skuId=1562073
Bobbi Brown Everyday Pretty Lip & Eye Palette ($30)
Now, if you love glitter like me, ooooo-er!  Check this palette out!  I love sparkly shadows and purple shadows, so mix them together and it's perfection!  I'm still learning how to do the whole blending thing, but I love a gorgeous color all over the eyelid!  This palette also has 4 gorgeous lip shades.  I wonder if Bobbi Brown could make a compact lip palette with those beauties?
Bobbi Brown Twilight Pink Lip & Eye Palette ($80)
Here's another little compact.  And by little, I mean little!  I think it's about the size of an i-Phone!  Check out the variety of shadows (and the sparkle! Oh, the sparkle...), a blush, a bronzer, and a super shimmery highlight.  The highlight looks really chunky, and though I love glitter, I don't completely want to have chunky glitter on my face.
Too Faced Glamour To Go ($22, now $18)
Did I mention the purple and sparkly shadows call my name?  This eye palette has a pretty blend of purples and neutrals.  It highly reminds me of the Bobbi Brown Twilight Palette, minus the adorable lippies.
Sephora Primal Instincts Eyeshadow Palette ($28, now $15)
Ahhhhh..... purple and sparkle.... it strikes again.
Too Faced Boudoir Eyes ($36)
Now this baby looks like a great palette to take for traveling!  With a pretty pop of blush, a bronzer that looks like a blush/bronzer combo, and a mix of matte and shimmery shadows, it's all of the color you'll need for a week away from home!
Tarte Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette ($44)
I cannot believe how darn cute this little candy bar is!  It fits inside an i-Phone case!  INSIDE!  As in: there are 11 shadows, a bronzer, and a blusher that you could fit in a pocket! (Though probably not your pocket as most girls' pockets hold no more than a few quarters.)  Don't the shadows just look lovely?  My favorite part is that it looks like each shadow would look great on its own - you know, for those girls that are still learning the blending technique!

Too Faced Candy Bar ($25)
And lastly: this little beauty!  Four lipsticks in one and they are all neutral and beautifully radiant pops of color!
Too Faced Natural Kiss ($24, now $19)


Ah, daydreaming of colors and makeup.... I think I may need a little lie down from all this gorgeousness.  But I hear some sparkles calling my name.  Off to see what they want.  Be back later for more day dreams.

What are you dreaming of today?

Sparkly Twirls

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

All Plans Have Been Canceled...

...Due to SNOW!

It seems like everyone is getting snow today, and our town was no exception!  Students are coming home from school early, businesses are shutting down, and the grocery stores are mobbed by the brave.

The only craft for this Crafty Tuesday is a warm cup of hot chocolate while looking out at the drifting snow flakes.  In a Southern town where we can count the number of city snow plows on our fingers, snow means a flat-out stop to all daily activities, whether it be presentations, meetings, gatherings, errands, studies, exercises, or any of the sort.... snow in a Southern town demands family time, preferably with hot chocolate and a movie, with pjs to boot.  Now I know some Northerners are saying, "hey, it's only a few inches of snow! What's the problem?"  But for us snow is a special treat that comes in a blue moon.  So bring on the hot chocolate and movies!