The haircut that the hubs hates

 

On the 26th of September I decided that I needed a haircut. I was contemplating dying my hair bright pink… or red… or a combination of pink and blue… but in the end I decided on a cut.

This was my hair on the morning of September 27th. Long, dark, straight, with long bangs.

We cut off the pile of hair pictured above.

This is what my hair looked like after.

I am personally in love with it. Short hair is my favorite, especially in the age of clip in extensions. I love how easy it is to fix it, and leave. I don’t have to spend an hour actually styling my hair.

Husband had a very different idea of my hair thought.

Hubs was upset to say the least. This is his “annoyed/glaring/what the heck is my wife taking pictures of” face.. which is very appropriate to how he felt about my hair.

He’s gotten a little better about it, and hasn’t mentioned the emotional damage I’ve caused him by cutting off my hair.

Sorry Husband. It’s just hair. It’ll grow back. For now, I’ll enjoy my short, easy cut!

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Better late then never… right?!

This past Friday, I was going to link up with Natalia over at Ma Nouvelle Mode… except that I wrote up the blog, edited the pictures, but never actually got around to combining the two together and scheduling it to post.

I could spend a lot of time giving you all kinds of excuses as to why I’m late, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about how bad of a blogger I am and how I’m just SOOO tired all the time. SO, without further ado here are three of my styles.

My hair has gotten super long lately, and I have been keeping it pretty dark. My all time favorite color and the go to is the blue-black that my amazing stylist and friend mixes for me. The bangs are new, because I wanted something different. Speaking of something different, I had a few of my extensions died Katy Perry colors. Since I used my extensions when I was growing my hair out and now just use it for volume, I didn’t really need the one inch pieces so we died them hot pink, blue, aqua and purple. They stand out super well with the blue black and I love it. I also feel like I am 12 when my hair is so bright.

Day 2 was just as boring as day one, so I decided to throw in some braids. NOW, I suck at braiding my hair in all kids of cool French braids and twists sooo, I end up with boring braids as in the above pictures. I also DO NOT wash my hair daily… as a matter of fact, I wash my hair every 3 to 4 days. GROSSSSS I know. BUT it is much better for my hair. AND my color does not fade as fast. AND if you look at the first set of photos you can see how puffy and freezy my hair can get… and day two is usually much more tame.

OH… dry shampoo is my BEST FRIEND.

By Day 3, my hair needs to be pulled back, and really styled so that it does not look gross. Hence, the side messy bun. My bangs are also in need of a trim! Hence the side bangs. I usually add a few of my longer extension pieces to make my buns look fuller… however I am lazy and did not feel like putting in extensions … hence the miserable side bun.

I hope you all had a great weekend. I know mine was pretty productive, aside from a few work disasters that are going to make me cry tomorrow morning.

OH and in other news, I am now officially a graduate student and start class in 30 minutes. Can someone explain to me why I am going back to school?!

New!

 

This Sunday, I sort of took the morning for myself and visited my favorite hair stylist and amazing friend.

Kaitlin is a doll, and literally the best hair stylist here in Denver, so if you live anywhere in the area, make the drive out and see her in LoneTree. Ask me for details.

She is the one responsible for my hair going from this at the end of 2009…

Please ignore the super excited/crazy look on my face.

… through this little journey:

February 2010

November 2010 (chunks of blond that pretty hidden if I did not want them seen… and pardon the awful hair, humidity in Galveston Texas was not on my side)

December 2010 (just to show you how well the blond was hidden, and whoever it was that took this photo with my camera really failed)

February 2010, we put in some very bright red/hot pink into my hair

And Yesterday we did this number:

I love it!

Bangs always make me look a lot younger, but I honestly love them. And Kaitlin for making them look this good. My color is also perfect with so much shine I could die.
ALSO, this is how long my hair is right now WITHOUT extensions.

Have you done a hair transformation? What style are you loving right now?!

Miss Jordana Brewster was the inspiration behind the bangs, and while mine are a bit more full, I love them just as much. 

Do you get style inspirations from stars? If so, who?

Outfit – Summer Date Night

 

If I had unlimited money, and unlimited closet space this is an outfit that would find it’s way into my infinite closet!

This would be the perfect summer date night outfit. It’s so simple yet the heels dress it right up. I can see some red nails and possibly red lip stick with this one.

I’d add some Megan Fox curls to the outfit and some dark lashes! So easy, and so perfect. I might have to go digging in my closet to try and recreate this outfit.

What is your go to summer date night outfit?!

Day 5 of 25 Days of Fitness

 

“You live longer once you realize that any time spent unhappy is wasted” – Ruth E. Renkl

Welcome to Day 5!

We are now officially 1/5 of the way there! How do you all feel?! Have you kept up with exercising daily?! I know I almost skipped out on yesterday, until the Mister pretty much dressed me in my workout clothing and carried me down two flights of stairs and set me right between the elliptical and the treadmill. I must say, my Hub is the best, and the workout made me feel fantastic. I could feel all the grossness of the day leaving my body with the sweat.

Win! Zara –1 Grossness – 0!!!

Today I’m babysitting my beautiful niece, so my workout will be later in the evening when she is handed over to her parents and I have done tutoring. My hair also needs a good washing and some TLC from Kaitlin, my beautiful hairstylist. I’m thinking of turning the red back into an ash or platinum blond… Much easier to maintain and a higher contrast then red and black… What y’all think?!

I don’t want as much blond in it, but what’s the verdict on the contrast. I am debating between going back to a dark chocolate brown or a midnight black as well… Kaitlin will make almost anything happen, hence I just need to decide what I want.

Now that that’s out of the way, I want to talk a little bit more about supplements for health and fitness! The post yesterday (here) covered multivitamins, whey protein and fatty acids which are the foundational supplements. Today, I want to talk about some of the other recommended supplements that I discovered.

This group of supplements is called the Performance Supplements

Thermogenic Fat Burner:

So I had never heard of a fat burner… I was and still am a little hesitant of what this little guy does, but trainers like Jamie Eason highly recommend it. The fat burner supposedly helps maintain high energy levels, enhances focus and helps get you through the workout with plenty of energy.

When shopping for your fat burner, you should watch out for long lists and huge proprietary blends. Ideally, you want to see exactly how much of each ingredient you're getting. Look for quality ingredients like caffeine or other natural stimulants, tea extracts - green tea extract being one of the best, l-carnitine, and herbal extracts like raspberry ketones.

Mitotropin is the recommended brand from Body Building.com, and the company claims that the fat burner does all of the following:

1. Promote Increased Resting Metabolic Rate*
2. Support Increased Presence of Uncoupling Proteins*
3. Encourage Acute Sense of Well-Being*
4. Promote Mental Focus and Clarity*
5. Support Increased Thermogenesis*

For full details on the Mitoropin click here.

Q: Have you every used a fat burner? Would you recommended? What was your experience/results?

Conjugated Linoleic Acid:

This is another one that I hadn’t really heard about, so I took Jamie Eason’s word for it, and think I will experiment with this as well. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is stated to be your supporting weapon to get lean and maintain muscle mass.

CLA is a naturally occurring fatty acid found mainly in meat and airy products. It will help gain muscle and drop body fat.

 

I tried searching for other CLA brands, and it seems that this is the one that has the most reviews. You can read all about what people have to say here. I will be giving this a try as well, so watch for reviews sometime in the near future.

Q: What are you thoughts? Have you taken CLA before? What was your experience?

We are heading out for some pizza and bookstore exploration time.

See y’all soon! 

Tuesday Travels

 

Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.          --   Dave Barry

Traveling is what Donald and I do best. We love visiting different places, whether it’s here in Colorado or the United States or in another country completely. Through the years we’ve learned a few things about traveling on a budget, packing efficiently and making the best of any situation. So in this little section, I’ll share our adventures, lessons we’ve learned, tips and anything else I can come up with.

I hope that you all enjoy this section, because truly there is nothing out there that compares to traveling and experiencing the world around us, learning about cultures and seeing history unfold before your eyes.

Donald and I have a set rule to try and take at least a week long vacation every 6 months, with weekend trips once every few months. Now that I’m not working, it might be a bit harder to actually get these vacations going, however we’re determined to keep them up!

The first topic I wanted to discuss is packing an overnight bag.

As long as I can remember, I’ve always traveled. My parents moved from one country to another following my dad’s job, and we (as their children) tagged along. It was a grand adventure! However, our moves always involved packing up our lives and moving across countries and continents. So I never learned to be an efficient packer! And always over-packed.Over-packing was never a problem until, airlines begun to charge for checked bags (this is why I still love to fly Southwest when I can).

The first time I truly noticed how much extra crap stuff I had with me was when Donald and I drove to Texas for the first time. We spent a total of eight days at the coast with two days driving down there and a day driving back. I packed so many shirts, shorts, skirts and dresses that I could have made enough outfits to last me at least a month if not two. I ended up not even unpacking half the things I brought!!! Since then I’ve gotten really good about planning outfits and only taking what’s necessary. However this will be a post for another day.

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So let’s get down to business. I always have an overnight bag packed and ready to go, in case we need to run out of the house in case of an emergency, or decide to take a quick weekend trip.

I found myself always forgetting something when I packed for a trip, whether it was a razor, body wash, toothpaste or my contact case. And while it’s easy to run to the nearest drugstore to get the item, it’s always a pain in the ass. So I made a list of items that I use on a daily basis, went out and bought travel sized versions and stuffed them into a travel bag, that sits in my closet.

   

Here are some of my must haves for any trip:

Redken Blond Glam Shampoo and Condition, Philosophy Purity (a face wash, makeup remover and toner in one), Toothpaste (preferably Sensodyne because my teeth are wimps), toothbrush, body wash, moisturizer, body lotion, deodorant, perfume, shaving cream, razors, contact solution, contact case, extra contacts, Advil, vitamins, birth control, nail fail, first aid kit… and so on.

I also have an extra set of makeup brushes, and everyday makeup packed away. Aside from toiletry, I have a pair of socks, underwear, a sports bra and a t-shirt put aside.

 

I love the fact that when we decide to go for a quick weekend trip, or when I fly out to see the Mister when he’s traveling for work, I don’t have to worry about remembering all the small things that I need. I just grab my bag, and pick a few items of clothes that I’ll need!

Q: Do you have an overnight bag packed? What are some of your essential items that you need to have? What do you forget most often? How do you like the idea of Tuesday Travels?

Spring is in the Air – Day 4

 

I’d like to apologize that my post is so much later in the day. I meant to get it done this last night, but had a crazy long night that started out with work, involved some Body Pump and ended with some more work. By the time I got home all I wanted to do was wash the stink off of me and get to bed.

Then this morning I woke up and headed to the hospital for my grandfather’s surgery, which went fantastic and he is already recovering. His doctor is amazed how well he is doing for having half of his left lung removed.

So today I’m once again linking up with Amber and Meghan for the Spring is in the Air Challenge!

 

Today’s Question is:

What are some recommendations for products you’ll be using this Spring as you’re headed outdoors more?

There is only a handful of products that I can think right now, one of which is Fredrick Fekkai’s Beach Waves

This may be my most favorite hair product, even above dry shampoo (which I have a love affair with). The first time I used the Fekkai Beach Waves was when I was working at ULTA and we got the very first shipment of Fekkai products.

My hair has a nasty tendency of being either an overly curly mess or super straight (after straightening) and I’ve always had a hard time trying to get my hair to be wavy. So when I found this product I was ecstatic. It’s main ingredient is sea salt which gives enough of a firmness to the hair to stay wavy without being crunchy. Plus it smells fantastic and makes me happy!

 

The Big Skinny body scrub from Philosophy is my best friend. If you want sexy, smooth and fantastically soft legs, arms and body in general you NEED this! HaHa.. I feel like I’m back in retail trying to sell makeup to rich bitchy women!! But really, this scrub works wonders, and smells like chocolate! It is fantastic, especially if you use self tanners!

 

Fair warning… I am a little obsessed with the Philosophy skincare line. The Microdelivery Peel is aH-mazing!! Keeps the skin healthy and beautiful and oHH so clean!

AND FINALLY…

Clinique’s Super City Block Oil-Free Daily Face Protector SPF 40 is a must have. It’s super lightweight, and goes on completely sheer. You can put it over your moisturizer and double it as a makeup primer! I’ve learned my lesson of going out in the sun without sunscreen, and must say… NEVER again!

 

Disclaimer: I am not paid to market any of these products, and everything on this blog is my own personal opinion unless otherwise stated. All the products, clothing items and food are things that I use on a daily bases. The opinions on the page are my own. I am not a licensed dermatologist so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Every skin is different and can react differently to products. If you have specific questions contact your doctor before use.