It's Almost Here

I can't believe how close we are to Christmas. For the first year ever, I think I can say I am fully prepared ALREADY! This might actually be a Christmas miracle. I am usually one of those crazies running around the 23rd maybe even Christmas Eve getting those last few gifts. Not this year! I am all done and fully wrapped.

Do you love the Holiday Season as much as me? Are you all ready?

Hot Yoga

When Bill and I moved to NYC I had to forgo a couple of personal training sessions I had purchased as a package to get in shape for our wedding. Since I have been traveling back and forth I have often thought I should finish them out while I'm there, but to scared to make the call because I know how hard they make you work. Well last week I took the plunge and jumped back into getting healthy, and with that came a hot yoga class too.

I have often thought about trying a hot yoga class, but to hesitant due to the heat. My physical fitness routine was non existent and enough was enough. I decided I shouldn't judge unless I had first hand experience so I gave it a try, and happy to say I was pleasantly wrong. What an enjoyable experience I had.

My friend joined me and we went to The Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse in Grand Rapids, MI.

I can't believe how much it loosened me up, and I believe it was because of the heat. It also helped relieve some stress. The room was 95 degrees, but it wasn't like in your face, sauna kind of heat. It was more like, "well it's hot in here and it is going to make me sweat, but I'm not miserable."

Surprised to admit I think I would go again.

Have you tried hot yoga? What did you think? If you have been thinking about giving it a try I would definitely encourage you to try it out!

Holiday Gift Ideas for Him

Guys are hard to shop for, plain and simple. I came up with a few ideas for any guys in you life that you are still struggling to find that perfect holiday gift for. Happy Shopping.

 

1. Bag // 2. Tie // 3. Scarf // 4. Watch // 5. Kindle // 6. Iphone Case

It's Friday!

TGIF! I can't believe it is Friday, but I especially can't believe it's only 11 days till Christmas. Thankfully I pretty much have all my Christmas shopping done and wrapped. Gasp!? I know, me actually being prepared this year, big surprise!

To start out our Christmas shopping, Bill and I knocked out a lot of gifts at the Holiday Markets in New York before I headed back to Michigan.

 

Etsy opened a Holiday Shop where you could view some shop owner's items and speak directly with them. Some of the shop owners were working right as you browsed. It was an awesome way to see the behind the scenes of Etsy and some of the shops.

After that we headed over to Bryant Park where we browsed the Holiday Shops set up there. The little glass kiosks transform the park into a great shopping experience. The variety of goodies sold make for great one of a kind gifts.

We shopped till we dropped literally and then headed back to Jersey.

Where do you do most of your shopping for the Holidays?

December Birchbox

For those of you who haven't signed up for Birchbox yet, you should because it is amazing. I look forward to mine each month with so much excitement. Whoever said a box was boring was so wrong. 

You pay $10 a month and receive a box in the mail full of sample size products to try out and review. If you love them you can purchase the products online at the birchbox store. Also you get points for then reviewing the products as well as points for dollars spent. With 100 points you receive $10 off any purchase. To find out more click here.

This month my box didn't disappoint. I was surprised on how large the samples were. 

To start I dove right in and ate my Dark Chocolate Peppermint Holiday Fortune cookie. For some weird reason I love fortune cookies and this one was great. I mean what girl doesn't love chocolate. If you don't your crazy!

Eyeko supplied a Skinny Liquid Eyeliner which I am excited to try out because I usually use a pencil.

Everyone has been talking about the new CC creams and now I get to try out Juice Beauty's Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream. This went right in my makeup bag. 

Juicy Couture sample is sweet with a little bit of floral notes. It's nice to always have new perfumes to try.

Lastly, since you know I am a hair girl, I am super excited about this large Advanced Volume Shampoo sample from Nick Chavez Beverly Hills.

Pretty Ponytail

So you want to know what to do with all those curls from yesterdays tutorial? Well your in luck because that's exactly what I am going to show you today.

This tutorial is great for putting your hair up in a little fancier way than just a boring old ponytail.

Curling and Setting your Hair

This tutorial is great for a fancy updo that needs to be super curly or have a lot of texture. Also, this is great for those of you that have hair that doesn't hold curls. If you wanted a similar look with not quite as tight of curls you could use a little bigger curling iron than a 1" like I did.

This tutorial is going to be 2 parts in 2 days. I wanted to show you how to curl your hair like this first (part 1). The part 2 of this tutorial, which will be tomorrow, will be how to put these tight curls up into a fancy ponytail. 

DIY Scarf

Want to learn how to make this little gem of a scarf? Well, it is pretty simple as long as you have a lot of time on your hands. It took me a full day to make this scarf, but it is cute enough to be worth it! I found the tutorial here. 

What you need:

- wool fabrics in at least 4 different colors (9" by 13" cuts)

- wool fabric in a solid color used for backing (1/4 of a yard)

- thread in opposite colors of wool

- beads (optional)

- Patterns and Diagrams

Cut two strips 37" long and 1 1/4" wide of your solid color for your backing. Over lap pieces about 1/2". Sew them together. Trim extra fabric. Set aside. 

Cut flowers. (38 small, 20 medium, and 18 large)

(You can draw your own small medium, and large flower pattern or print them out here.)

Once your flowers are cut you need to stich 3 or 4 veins lines in the center of all the small size flowers with contrasting thread color of flower. Use a triple stitch if available. (Diagram 1)

With the medium and large flowers, pinch 1/2" tuck in center of flower and tack it down with a few stitches. (Diagram 2)

Pair one small flower with a medium or large flower in a contrasting color. Tack the small flower on top of the larger flower with same color thread used for veins. Repeat until you have 38 pairs of flowers in an assortment of color combinations. 

Pin flowers along one side of your strip. Fill the strip from end to end, placing strips close enough to fill the space but barely touching. (Diagram 3) Flip the strip over filling in the spaces between the flowers placed on the first side. Tack them all down to the backing using the same color thread as used on top small flower.

(Optional) Hand stitch a contrasting bead onto the center of each flower. 

 

Maybe this can be used as a holiday gift for someone you aren't sure what to get? Once your done though, you might just be to in love with it to give it away!

High Five For Friday!

Wow! This week flew by. I know I have said this before, but really, where did this week go?

1. Brrrr winter is here. Broke out the winter coat for walking around in the city.

2. Did hair and makeup for a commercial Bill was directing. 

3. Got a little crafty this week. (Look for a post soon on what I made.)

4. Bailey went beauty shoppin' and got the Christmas special!

5. Went to the Rockettes last night at Radio City Hall. Let's just say, I have been bitten by the Holiday Bug. Love this season!

Hipsters and Fingernails

So my husband, Bill, asked me to be in one of his commercials that he is working on for this new t-shirt company. In the commercial I had to play is a hipster. Nothing against hipsters, I think they are pretty cool, but it is not my style.

Anyway, the day of the shoot I decided my nails looked terrible, and since I knew my nails would be showing, I figured I should get a manicure. Once I got to the spa I realized I probably couldn't choose a color that I normally wear because I needed to be a hipster. I decided on Suzi Says Feng Shui by opi gelcolor.

After my manicure I headed over to the IAC building in Manhattan and got to work. From Bill's directions I need to not do my hair up in my normal "Texas Size Hair" so I left it  flat and went for the messy "undone" pony. 

All I had to do was stare at a computer with an "adoring look." (It was a lot harder than you would think.)

I guess they are going to take out the green background, keep my reflection, and put in a new background. I don't know, some nerdy stuff.

Holiday Wish List

1 Scarf                   5 Bracelet       
2 Watch                 6 Shoes
3 Slippers              7 Sweater
4 I Phone Case


Some people are just hard to buy for, period. I know it's easy to just grab a gift card and be done, but sometimes you feel like need to purchase an actual item. Think about every aspect of their life to maybe spark some ideas. Who knows, some of these items will help. I know I would enjoy anything off this holiday wish list ;).

Blowdryers

I decided to write some tips to use when looking for a  new blowdryer. (Maybe a great Christmas present for someone on your list.) It is often a daunting task as there are so many out there to chose from so follow these simple steps and you should be all set.

1. Wattage. You know how some blowdryers take forever for your hair to dry? That's because the wattage is low. The higher the wattage the more powerful the heat will be. 

2. Accessories. I would definitely look for a blowdryer that comes with both a concentrator and a diffuser.   

3. Controls.  A blowdryer that has hot, warm, and cool options as well as high, medium, and low speed options are important. The cool option or sometimes button, helps to set a style and smooth the cuticle down while being able to change the speed and heat are important depending on what you are doing to your hair. Also you might want to change the heat and speed setting depending the condition of your hair. 

4. Weight. While this is more important for some than others it is nice to not have a blowdryer that weights a ton. For someone with really thick hair that takes forever to dry or someone that straightens their hair with their blowdryer and concentrator I would definitely go with very lightweight dryer.

5. Lastly, the words ceramic, tourmaline, and ionic are thrown around a lot. While I don't know if these are the most important things or how big of a difference they make in a dryer I will let you know what they are. If a blowdryer is ceramic it is also ionic. This just refers to how the heat is distributed through the blowdryer. If a blowdryer has these qualities the heat should be a more even and powerful heat. Tourmaline promotes smooth and shiny hair because of the ions it emits. All of these qualities will make the blowdryer price increase significantly.

My favorite brands. While I am not saying these are the best, these are the ones I have found that I love the most over the years.

Rusk Speed Freak 
Of all the hairstylists I have worked with this one seems to be a favorite.





















Super Solano 
This is what I currently own and love.

CHI Pro Dyer
Both with blowdryers and straighteners this company knows what they are doing.

It's Almost Friday!

I don't know if it is because last week was a holiday or what, but this week has just dragged by for me. So happy that tomorrow is Friday and then back to New York for a week off before the holiday craziness kicks in at the salon.

On a lighter note, Bailey received a nice Christmas onsie. Too bad, she is NOT having it. If you are a dog person I thought this would make you smile, and get you through tomorrow!

She is so mad at me, but I just had to. I love Christmas and maybe she will come around!

Makeup

I'm often asked what brands of makeup I use, and I have to say I am pretty set in my ways. Once I find a product that works for me, that I love I stick with it!

(The 4 eye shadows in # 3 are: top left strappy sandals, top right dirty pink, bottom left effortless, bottom right guest list)

These are my basics for everyday that I stick to always beginning with Clinique lotion moisturizer. I have a stash of makeup that I use when I am feeling creative to spice it up or have a little extra time on my hands (which is very rare these days).

Messy Bun

You know those days where you are running so late and you just don't have time to do your hair. This tutorial is perfect for those days. It should only take 5 minutes or less to throw your hair up in this style and it still looks cute.

To see how to curl your hair like I did before I got started refer to my everyday waves tutorial here. To see a more in depth tutorial on teasing click here. Otherwise all you need are two clear elastic bands, a fine tooth comb, and hairspray.

 Sweater: Loft

Top: Loft

Leggings: Macys

Boots: DSW

New Purse

As a tradition every year we hit the streets of Chicago for Black Friday craziness. We leave Michigan Thanksgiving night around 9:00 PM, hit the Michigan City outlet around midnight, and then drive straight through to Chicago. Once we arrive we shop till we drop, literally. This year we made it till 7:00 PM Friday. I know what your thinking, what a nut! right?! Don't judge until you try it out because it is a blast. The nice part is you don't deal with crazy traffic or drivers, you just park your car and walk.

As we walked along the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) I wandered into Cole Haan and feel in love with this beauty. They were having a 20% off everything in the store sale, and I just couldn't resist. I have always loved Cole Haan and it was finally time for me to own one of their purses.

 

It is the perfect size, not to tiny and not to big with lots of pockets inside for organization. It also has an adjustable strap, so it can be used as a shoulder bag or cross body bag.