Friday, July 11, 2014

Room Pinspiration

I've accidentally (or not so accidentally)  gotten really into designing my "new pad" even though I have over a year before I'm allowed to leave my home for a better place- aka college.

Now, I don't know where I'm going to go, or how I'm going to pay for it, or what what I'm going to major in, but I do know that I'm incredibly excited to decorate my apartment/house post-college. I recently created a Pinterest board dedicated to such. It's so fun! So I thought I's share some of my favorite pinterest board things on here because they're beautiful. Here's to pinspiration for a house I'll probably never have. Like at this point I'm basically fan-girling over furniture.

Here's a little office that's wooden desk and stuff. It's cute.
It's a full wall book shelf! It's perfect for books. Lots and lots of books.
This kitchen is like rustic and country and beautiful and amazing and everything.
 This sitting room area is bright and happy and lovely and I would live all up in it.
I would kill all of these plants, but this outdoor space is so pretty.
This reading nook looks like it belongs to a royal.
There's something about the grandma floral prints and the colors and the wood that just makes this great. I want this living room.
This map is cool. And you can mark places you've traveled. And the rustic flowers and the pot. I don't know. It's great.
This vanity makes me feel some type of way.
I hate laundry but I love this laundry room. I would just come in here and I wouldn't even do laundry. I just like the room.
These are like bunk beds for when I have all the sleep overs as a grown up. Wait, do grown ups have sleep overs?


I love pinterest so much. It's so great. All this furniture in rooms and it's aesthetically pleasing. If you're not on Pinterest, what are you doing? You're probably living a much more productive life than I am.

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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It Principle

So lately I've been on this lipstick binge. I've been wearing it nearly every time I go out. It's the most miraculous thing ever. It's a small investment that makes me feel like a million bucks whenever I put a color on my lips. I know this may seem superficial, but it's actually a thing that economists have seen to be true.


It's a beast of many names. I've heard the Lipstick, Manicure, or Salon Principle. Basically what it is is that people (here mostly women) will pay for small indulgences that improve their outward appearance (like getting a new lipstick or a manicure or a salon trip) when they are in tougher financial situations to make them feel better about themselves. This means in lieu of Jimmy Choos or Louboutins, we go to the Wet N' Wild display and fill our carts with $.99 lipsticks and nail polishes.

One time I was watching a documentary (let's be honest, it was probably an E! Special) about people who made it big in the "pamper business," and there was a story about a man who did manicures for celebrities. This was the first time I heard about this "Manicure Principle." I don't know the specifics, but I think he got laid off from a job doing art of some sort, and a relative of convinced him to pick up the nail polish brush. But he said something along the lines of, "No matter how bad the economy is, people will still pay to look good." People will pay to look good, to feel good about themselves, no matter how bad their economic situations are. Especially if it's immediate gratification. That's why the "diet" industry is a billion dollar construct.

But it's not even specifically when the economy is bad, it's in any type of distress. A lot of our knee-jerk reactions are to look good, even if we're not doing so good. One time I asked my mother if she could bring anything to a desert island (provided she had enough food and water) what it would be, and she responded with "red lipstick." Because even though no one would ever see her, that red lipstick would make her feel okay and normal and pretty and confident like she could conquer that island.Even in Sex and the City, the all powerful Carrie Bradshaw used a makeover to mend her broken heart. Like a new look, a new life. It's why we make New Year's resolutions, buy new wardrobes, change hairstyles, get makeovers. It's more like a Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It Principle.

It's kind of weird how our outward appearances effect how we feel on the inside. A great hair day can make you feel like you can conquer the world, but a pimple can make you cower in the presence of someone attractive.

It's not a bad thing to make yourself feel pretty. I mean sometimes, especially when times are tough, putting on a little lipstick can make you feel great about yourself. And there's nothing wrong with decorating your body however you see fit. However, it's not what's on the outside that gives your life meaning, it's what you put out into the world. If you put out great stuff into the world, you'll get great stuff back. But if you want to put out great stuff while wearing hot lipstick and killer shoes, go ahead. It's all about how you feel about yourself. Moral of the story: wear your red lipstick on your desert island if it makes you feel good about yourself and gives you the confidence to survive.

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Special Skills Include

So I send off college applications this Summer. What even?
I still believe I'm slightly overdeveloped 12 year old boy in a 16 year old girl body.
Anyway, for this resume, there have to be certain skills that make you "marketable" to colleges. Things like honor societies and clubs.
But I have a few special skills that I think will make an interesting appearance on the "other" category on my resume.

Special Skills Include:

  • using the word "swaggie" in excess
  • Autumn Face- a face that reads disgust and hilarity at the same time
  • not being offended by blood and guts, but brains and puke really freak me the freak out
  • spending hours upon hours on YouTube 
  • not moving body positions for 6 hours at a time
  • not sleeping in a moving vehicle
  • not doing homework then pretending I left it at home
  • not waking up from naps
  • liking guys that are emotionally unavailable
  • avoiding people in the hallway by going into a nearby classroom
  • BS-ing my way through life
  • not working out
  • having too much confidence with nothing to back it up
  • crying for no reason
  • spilling substances all over myself (this is why I have no white clothing)
  • tweeting away my existence
  • making people feel uncomfortable by asking really personal questions too quickly
  • having no work ethic
  • living in my own filth
  • pretending I'm cool 
  • actually being really nerdy and introverted
  • knowing the entirety of Magna Carta Holy Grail by Jay-Z
  • listening to the same CD over and over again until I can't listen to it anymore
  • still knowing what mixed CDs are 
  • coming up with witty comebacks way after an argument ended
  • procrastination
  • eating alone in public
  • drinking my weight in coffee
  • sleeping my problems away
  • getting water proof mascara on my nose after I already applied face makeup
  • watching an entire series in a weekend
  • taking awkward selfies
  • being annoying and stupid at the same time
  • multitasking
  • putting on red lipstick without a mirror
  • taking ugly snaps on Snapchat and feeling no shame
  • turning down for life
  • turning up for pizza
  • singing loud and proud for all to hear
  • not singing very well
  • knowing how to use Google to make myself sound smart on the internet
  • trying to be hip by having a blog
  • not getting lipstick on my teeth
  • getting really nervous in front of cute boys
  • staring at cute boys from behind plants
  • selective hearing
  • giving strangers makeup advice
  • pretending I know who people are talking about to seem cool
  • fake crying
  • working with my face everyday
  • having frizzy hair
  • giving judgmental looks to everyone I see in the hallway
  • scaring freshmen by walking down the hallway with an ugly look on my face
  • not walking in heels without twisting an ankle
  • spending hours complaining about how much homework I have and not actually doing any
  • being a strong independent black woman who don't need no man

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Monday, March 3, 2014

Quick and Easy Hairstyles for School/Work

If you're anything like me, everyday is a battle with me hair. When I wake up it looks a little bit like this:
It's one big hot mess of curls/waves/frizz/tiny birds that may have made their homes in there/knots.
I need simple go-to hairstyles that make it look like I put some thought into what I'm doing with my life, or look like I actually care what other people think, and most times I have to be at the bus in ten minutes because I woke up late. So these are my easy hairstyles I actually do on the regular.


Double Twists:
This look is great if you're growing out your bangs, want to get your hair out of your face, or want to channel your inner Miranda Sings.

I start off with my hair in a middle part because that's what I like with this hairstyle, but you can do it with your normal parting.

Then I take a section that's about an inch on both sides.




Then I twist and pin with my bobby pins in an x- shape.
Then I repeat the same steps on the other side. 



I pull apart the front a little so It's fluffed out a little bit, then I end up with something like this.
This style took 20 seconds. 


Lace Braid Crown:
This look is also good for growing out bangs, but I wear this hairstyle like twice a week because it takes like 2 minutes and it looks like I care, which is the theme today apparently.
So for this look I started off with a side part.

I started with a small section, then I lace braided it. Lace braiding is like french braiding, except you only pick up hair from one side. In this case, it will be from the side that your face is on. I only do like 5 full stitches on each side.
Then I did the smaller section. On that one I pulled from the hair at my part so it wouldn't look like I went all the way down my hair line on one side, and not do the same on the other.
Click me for a tutorial of the lace braid. 

This is what I ended up with at first. As you can see, I wasn't too satisfied with it because it looked a little tight to my head.

So I fluffed it out by pulling the sides of each of the braid stitches to pancake it and make the braids look a little more full. And after pulling out the braids the clock read 1 minute.


Some up, Most down:
This hairstyle looks classy without being trashy. Plus it takes like thirty seconds to do.
Again with that sexy side part.

What is this face?
Anyway, I take a small section, from each side, twist it a little, then pin it in the back.

I grab those sections from the sides with a little bit from the back, and pin it all together with a small butterfly clip that can barely contain half of my locks. I left my bangs out because that would require bobby pins to hold them back, and I didn't really care that much (plus I think it looks more effortless and like I planned it like this).

I removed the bobby pins I used to pin both sides back and pulled the top a little so it looks more voluminous.
And voila! Looks like it took like 20 minutes but it took like 30 seconds.


Top Knot, Ball, Mess Thing:
I like this because it is big and the messier it gets the better it looks. Plus it takes two minutes, and if you add a little tease to the sections, you look like those girls on Pinterest.
So I started with a high ponytail.

I separated the pony into two sections.

I twisted the right section to the right, then twisted it around the based, as if i were doing a regular ballerina bun. Then I pinned it down.
I then twisted the left to the left and twisted it around the section I had pinned down.
Making the top knot this way gives it more volume. 

Then I pulled it apart (I mean physically pulled bits and pieces out) and pinned random sections down so that this big top knot, ball mess thing was on my head.
Then I pulled the front and back of my hair to make it look not so tight on my head.


Ballerina/Sock Bun:
I like this style because it looks classy and looks like a whole ton of care went into it, when in reality I'm still half-asleep.
Start off with that high ponytail again.

Get that bun maker or sock.
My bun maker comes unraveled, so it's just like a mesh sock. If you have a regular hair doughnut, just put that at the very end of your hair in the ponytail.
Then you roll it starting at the ends, making sure you wrap up all of your hair.
Then spread your hair over the doughnut so that none of it (the doughnut, not your hair) shows.

If you have layers like I do, you might end up with something like this.
But not to fear it's not a problem that bobby pins can't fix.
I pin all if the stray pieces and pin them under, but I also like to put my palm on the top of the bun and pin down my hair so It isn't as "ball" shaped.

Final product. Yay ballerina buns.

This is the side view. I don't know why my neck is going forward like it is.
Any way this style took 1 minute.



Rocking that Natural:
This isn't actually my natural hair, it's a two day old curl from when I did sponge rollers. However, that frizz is all natural. You rock your hair's natural tendencies. Your hair is wonderful the way it is girl. Werk it!
I wake up, and make this face in the mirror. Turn my head upside down, and shake it while finger combing.
Then I rock this wonderful mess that is frizz because I actually don't care what people think. You do you girl!
This look took ten seconds (Not including actually curling it though).

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