April Playlist + Goals

I can't believe 2014 is basically already a fourth of the way over already.  This is ridiculous!  This months goals are pretty simple, I think, and there are only three.

1. Get things started -  I have an awesome birthday gift idea for someone special (which is going to take a bit of time to get together), and I also need to start jogging again. ASAP.

2. Get organized, and stay that way - after moving, things are even more of a mess than how they started... Spring cleaning!

3. Maintain my haircut + take care of my skin - Oklahoma (and e.l.f. brand makeup removing wipes) have not been good to my face and it's just starting to get back to its normal self.  Also, last time I got my haircut was in mid February (over a month ago) and I just cut it.  If you have short hair, you know this is a huge problem.  No one likes a mullet. 

Playlist!

Click here top listen to this months playlist.

Keeping it Weird

1. Rusty Belle - "Hellion"

2. Ruckus Roboticus - "Never Play With Scratches"

3. FC Kahuna - "Hayling"

4. Gotan Project - "Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)"

5. Of Montreal - "Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl"

6. I Monster - "The Great Soul Destroyer"

7. Phantogram - "When I'm Small"

8. Moby - "Porcelain"

9. The Mountain Goats - "Up The Wolves"

Today I Believe...

• It's okay to have several favorites of everything. Personally, I could never choose one color or movie or song because I change my mind every few minutes.
• Setting 5 (or 8) alarms is acceptable.  Just make sure if you're going to sleep through them, you sleep alone or far away enough that you don't ruin someone else's sleep.
  
• This right here:

• Change jars are a great thing to have, especially if you work somewhere with a vending machine.  As an adult, snacks become your meals.
• Just be a big kid and do things yourself.  You can't rely on other people to make things happen for you.
• Forgiveness comes in a lot of very small, mostly painful steps, but if it's worth fixing, it's worth the work.
• Sometimes you just have to cut it all off and start over. Literally.
  

Instalife #1

I'm a little late to the party, but its better late than never, right? I've decided that every Saturday will be the host of my 'Instalife' updates, where I plan to upload my 365 day challenge week by week. This was a short week, so it was easy to get started. Here re week one's photos.

Day 1: New Year 

Day 2: Holiday Haul

Day 3: Bathroom Counter

Day 4: Inspiration 

Which I used to show off my hair inspiration. Soo in love with this color and I'm seriously debating chopping my hair all off again. What do you think?

Holiday Countdown: Hair and Makeup Ideas

With Christmas coming up in 10 days  (Hanukkah and other winter holidays coming up quickly as well!), I was thinking of doing a few makeup and hair posts for those of you who may be going to any parties in the next week or so, or if you plan on going somewhere that requires clothes that aren't pajamas for the holidays.

Personally, I'll be spending the holidays at the house with my sister and brother in law, so I probably won't get to use these myself except for going to work, but I still look forward to showing you guys the ideas I have!

Here are a few things I've already done for inspiration and if you have any events or specific requests, let me know and I will do as many as I can! =)

Black and silver

Twist your hair up with a long hair ribbon or scarf on each side, tie into a bow under or over a messy bun!

Greens and golds are always holiday appropriate!

Glitter!

Things I've Learned: Living in Oklahoma

So after a month of staying in Oklahoma, I feel like I have a fair assessment of how I feel about this place.  Here's a short list of things I've learned living in Oklahoma:

• Oklahoma is a flat state.  Flat states mean an insane amount of wind because there's literally almost nothing to block it.

• That being said, if you're a girl, you better be good or get good at doing your hair in an updo of some sort or carry a brush with you at all times.  Or just cut all of your hair off completely.  There's literally no point in trying to leave it down.
  
  

  

  I was outside for about 4 seconds to take this...

• If you live in the area I do, airplanes are a part of every day life.  Every day, all day.  Even if you can't see it, you're sure to hear it.                                

  

                                                                             

• Whether it's considered a Southern state or a Mid-Western state, apparently there's almost no such thing as 'southern hospitality' around these parts.  I don't know if it's just the time of year, but most people I've encountered down here are grumps, too.
• The Bible Belt is almost literally visible through Oklahoma City.  There's a line of hospitals with gigantic, lit-up crosses on the sides of the buildings. 
• People in Oklahoma have NO idea how to handle snow and ice.  The schools were literally shut down for 3 days because of an inch of snow.  Also, this is what they consider a snow plow...
  

Today I Believe...

• Too much coffee isn't a bad thing until you start to seriously get dehydrated.

  

  Welcome to the midwest, where everyone drinks from mason jars (this is only sort of true).

• Songs are addicting.  I've been listening to the same few songs on repeat for days.

• The mixture of coffee, familiar songs, and being stuck inside because of an ice storm actually make things seem a little more cozy.

• Missing someone makes you realize just how important they are to you.
  

• The holidays aren't made by what you give and take, but the time you can spend with the family you have.  This Christmas is going to be very different because of far away most of my family is.

• Living in a flat state gives you a reason to chop your hair short or always rock a ponytail.  The wind just makes you eat any loose hair it can blow into your face anyways.

  

  I've been playing around with some ideas...

• Sometimes buying clothes you normally wouldn't helps you find new wardrobe staples.

Through time and space...

• Not a lot of things can boost your confidence like a good hair/makeup day.

• Goals are important, and I'm starting to get serious about mine.

Delayed Update

Hey everyone, I know I have been MIA since about a week after my sister's wedding but things have been so crazy in my life right now.  Working two jobs is so stressful and the last week has just made everything seem like it's 10 times more difficult.  On Friday this past week, I was told that I have until October 1st to find a new place to live because there are problems with the house I've been living in since May. Long story short, the house will no longer be ours... So I've been doing some apartment hunting and everything is going to get really intense soon.

Hopefully I will get back on schedule with all of the things that I had planned for you guys, especially now that we're going into fall.  I have so many awesome plans for this fall that I'm really really hoping to show you guys and also do for myself.  I love fall and usually I feel like I have more energy around this time of year so that's a good indication of how much I will actually get done.

I'm so sorry about the absence for the past almost two months.  That's crazy, I can't believe it's been that long.  Time flies when you're stressed and having some fun on the side, right?

Here's a small update on what I've been up to in July and August, just so that we don't completely miss out on that time.

Kaeley and I set the grill on fire...

I made this!

I decided to play with some makeup and came up with an Emcee look from Cabaret.

Went to Savers and found this awesome kitty/puppy sweater. (Still sad I didn't buy it, along with the Reindeer poncho below.)

Went to Lyman Orchards and picked way more peaches than I knew what to do with.

Finally dip dyed my hair!  I've been saying I was going to do it for over a year, but wanted to wait until after the wedding.

Lastly, I skewered more grapes than I ever thought I'd have to...

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Growing Out Short Hair

As some of you know, I've never really had long hair in my life.  The longest it ever was is pictured here in this embarrassingly old picture when I thought black hair and blue eye shadow were good for me...

March 9, 2010

I first chopped off all my hair in November 2011, which I had done at SuperCuts.  The woman who cut my hair absolutely refused to cut my hair as short as I had asked for so, after a frustrated drive home, I cut some of it off myself.  Since I am not a hairdresser, it was a huge fail.  However, I have some great friends who fixed it for me.

November 29, 2011

December 2011 - June 2012

After almost a full year of having super short hair, I realized how much maintenance it really is to keep it up.  If you got too long without a trim, it turns into a mullet.  If you have medium-thickness hair that has a slight wave and is prone to frizz (like me), the constant product-straightening-rewashing regimen really takes a toll on the ends of your hair.

August 28, 2012

I decided to grow it out in June 2012.  By August, I could twist and pin back the majority of my hair, which I did after dying it bright-ass red for a Poison Ivy costume at ComiConn.

September 20, 2012 - Color fading out, getting longer!

Growing hair out also takes a lot of maintenance and patience.  Trims and reshaping is unavoidable, unless you're really into having a mullet for something like six to eight months.  Luckily, the awkward length phases can be dealt with.

Before I could get it into that mini bun, I would french braid the two sides and just pin it back.  

I would also curl it and take the front sections of each side, twist them, and pin them in the back.  Curls are great at hiding different lengths in your hair and makes any awkward pieces blend in with the rest of your hair.

Now, I can get all of my hair up into a (tiny) ponytail, which is exciting for me because it's been so long since I could get all of my hair out of my face.  I want to get back to the length I had in the first picture, if not longer (without the harsh color) so I can do more of the cute things I saw on Pinterest.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for hair growth or keeping your hair healthy while heat styling (without greasy residue, I'm prone to greasy hair and it drives me crazy), or if you've also been trying to grow your hair out!

Please excuse my face, I just got home from work.