Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Lazy Days

On Monday my boyfriend, Justin, and I decided to go to the park to play a little basketball and frisbee. It was super hot outside so after getting my butt kicked at sports (as usual) I abandoned that dream and made friends with the swing set...something a bit more breezy and less exhausting. I love Florida weather, but it is best paired with a beach or pool scene than a park. I will definitely choose the beach next time!




This is, as Justin puts it, me with my imaginary friend :)


After being tuckered out from the park we went to the thrift store...no influence from me what-so-ever! Okay maybe just a tad. I managed to score a framed lion picture for my sister and this really cute painting of palm trees!


I also managed to get a few new pieces for my wardrobe even though I am on a strict budget at the moment, but I couldn't help myself! I thought the crop top would look cute with some high-waisted jean shorts. I also love the beaded design on the red racer-back tank! Amazingly I got all these pretty things for a steal--only $25! How can you not love that!?




Sunday, July 8, 2012

Loose Curls

I rarely ever do my hair, mostly because it takes forever and there is just so much of it! My hair is naturally straight-ish but I can still get the effect of loose, beachy curls in a few different ways, one of which I will share with you!

1. Start with towel-dried day-old hair so the curls stay in longer.


 2. Lightly spray hair with Pantene's Pro-Shaping Hairspray and scrunch it for volume.


3. Section off layers of hair and curl bottom layer first using 1" curler.
4. Continue to spray curls with hairspray and try not to brush your hair too much, the messier the better! 


This may take some time, especially if you have long/thick hair. I generally spend one minute per curl, but I am really impatient :p




4. You can always keep this really curly look, but I like to rake my fingers through the curls to loosen them up. One more spray and you are good to go with your new look!










Like I said this is the most time-consuming method for getting this look, but it all depends on your hair type. My sister's straight hair won't even hold a perm! I will post other hair tutorials in the future if you all are interested.



Saturday, July 7, 2012

Fireworks

Good afternoon!

As promised I have some pictures of the outfit I wore on July 4th rocking the American flag shirt I made in this diy. Overall I had an amazing time at the barbeque and lit off tons of fireworks, and did I mention there was food!?! Ahh I love holidays--come for the food, stay for the people!


This is me with my sister and our roommate Dan, not to be confused with my brother Dan ;)



 Outfit Details
Shirt: made it myself here
Leather Vest: thrifted, try a black denim vest or this one
Pants: Papaya
Belt/ Peace Necklace: thrifted
Bracelets: JCPenney
Shoes: Lulu's (giveaway win)

I hope everyone have a fantastic and safe holiday!

Friday, July 6, 2012

The Bookcase


Trying to organize your life can be taxing, especially if it requires reorganizing the next day! I try to set one day aside per week to clean the house and get everything in order once again. Apart from small cleaning jobs there are always those large task that many people try to avoid getting around to. I understand, repainting the hallway or filing all your important papers is only fun if you can sit there and watch someone else do it. But this week I set my mind to the bookcase--the dusty, messy, book-holding piece of furniture from hell.

My sister, Ashley, is a creative writer and is constantly buying more books for inspiration in her stories. We even had to get a second smaller bookcase to accommodate her obsession. I like our black bookcases because they bring a modern feel to the room (although the wooden ones are very classy). I like them even more when they are neat and organized so I set to the task.

I emptied and cleaned both bookcases...

 ...and put all the books back in alphabetical order.


I think the plant and globe really add some character as well as the Tardis bookends that my sister prizes so very much!


 Amazingly our second shelf is almost full and we will need to get a third one to place on the left side soon!
Do any of you have bookcases, and if so how do you decorate them, any tips?


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Red, White, and Blue

I decided to add to my festive American flag shirt post by doing a Fourth of July nails post as well.

I used Revlon's Quick Dry Base Coat 955 and painted essie's Trophy Wife on my ring finger nail. For the other nails I used Rimmel London's 320 Rapid Ruby. I put two coats of Pure Ice over top the Rapid ruby and hand painted a white star on my ring finger nail.


I decided to go for a deeper red and blue, but I am sure a vibrant red and blue would also look great!



Stars and Stripes

Hello again!

Today I have a wonderful diy project for making an American flag shirt for Independence Day! My next post will be an outfit post so stay tuned for that, but for those of you who like to get creative and turn something old and boring into something new then get ready to be amazed. Turning a plain white tee into a new personal, vintage-looking item is simple as well as inexpensive.

Materials:
  • Plain T-shirt
  • Straight edge
  • Dark blue and red acrylic paint
  • Paint brush
  • Cardboard
  • Scissors
1. Start with a plain T-shirt in whatever color you like! V-necks or scoop-necks would add some character.
Place a piece of cardboard into the shirt so the paint does not seep through to the back.



2. Use a straight edge to paint the stripes using red acrylic paint in whichever direction you want.


3. Make sure the width of the red stripes is the same as the width of the white stripes. Remember there are seven red stripes and six white stripes on the American flag (unfortunately I could not fit that many!)


4. Fill in the red stripes however you want. I went for a more "worn" look with faded ends.


5. Cut a star shape out of cardboard and paint the dark blue over it so that when you remove it, a white star remains.


6. Fill in the rest of the blue area and add as many stars as you can fit on the shirt, but don't go over 50!


7. To make the shirt even more faded I washed it inside out in cold water, then tumbled dry and ironed it.


This is really simple and you can do virtually any design you can draw so don't throw out that old boring tee in your closet, make it into something you'll want to wear all the time. I really love the result and I cannot wait to wear it tomorrow at my brother's barbeque. Food and fireworks here I come, I promise I will take a lot of pictures!

Happy Fourth of July!