Tuesday, May 29, 2012

OOTD: Ombre Shoes and Radiohead

So I know my last OOTD post was for a RHCP concert, but don't think concerts are the only things I get dressed up for :P In case you haven't met the little fella at my feet, Let me introduce you to Moose, the best pugalier around.

 Details

  • Blue button down - Burlington Coat Factory 
  • Skinnies - Dress Barn
  • Skinny brown belt - Gift from sister
  • Canvas shoes - Target, modified by me
  • Necklace - Urban Outfitters
  • Earrings - Target
  • Makeup - Naked Palette [dark horse and sin], Smashbox lipgloss 
 




I'm so excited that these shoes came out so well that I wanted an outfit to highlight them. What better place to debut my new kicks than at a concert? I'm so stoked to see Radiohead again. I can't wait to tell you all about it! Be on the look out for a DIY post on how to make these rad ombre shoes. 

Now, off to the show! TTFN <3

Tune In Tuesday: Gut The Van Tour Live by Dispatch


  • Genre: Jam Rock 
  • Released: 2001
  • First Listen: December 2008
  • Favorite Track: Open Up
  • Found Out Through: My big brother
  • Listen to this when you're: Relaxing on the beach.


Summer is almost here! You'll want to have this album for the season. The combination of the voices of these three lovely gents is something I just cannot resist. They have that rugged, slight rasp in their voices that girls (or at least I do) fall for in a heart beat. I have a soft spot for harmonies and they go hard. In addition to singing, they play harmonica, bongos, guitars, and a bunch of other instruments.

I chose the live version over the studio because you can feel their love for performing. Some bands are meant for the studio, and some are just better on stage. I'm so excited to see that they're coming out with a new album and a tour (you can bet I'll be at the NY and/or MA show!) Their sound is funk, reggae, jam rock. It's just so much fun.












Thursday, May 24, 2012

DIY Beauty: Greek Yogurt Hair Mask


When my fro is looking tired, dry, and down right deprived, that's when I know it's time for a mask. I've tried one with a mayo base, but it was too drippy and it smelled (although the benefits were almost worth it). I did some searching and I know yogurt is another popular base, but I couldn't find much on Greek yogurt. Since that's all I have, I decided to give it a shot.

For this mask, I used:

  • 1 cup of yogurt. I found that the the Greek yogurt's superior thickness worked great my thick curls. However, Greek is not mandatory. Yogurt in general has lots of anti-fungal bacterial that will naturally cleanse your tresses. Also, the protein in yogurt strengthens your hair, which helps your curls stay curly and controls fly-away frizzies. This is a great mask for the summer because it's cool and soothing; also great for soothing an itchy scalp.
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil for shine and moisture. If you're not going with the egg, I'd go with 4 - 6 tablespoons.
  • 1 egg for shine and moisture. This is optional. I found with this mask shine is not the main goal, like the mayo mask. I get weary when I use an egg because I freak out at the thought of scrambled eggs in my hair if the water's too hot when I rinse it out.
  • 5 drops of vitamin E to help heal damaged hair and promote hair growth. How you may ask? In short, vitamin E is important to the cell membranes in your hair follicles in order for hairs to grow properly. Yay science!
  • 3 drops of rosemary essential oil, which also promotes hair growth and just smells great! 
*I have extremely thick hair that's about medium length, and this was barely enough; so adjust the amounts to suit your hair :) *


Wear the mask on your hair in a plastic cap for thirty minutes to an hour (no more than two hours, though!) and rinse in the shower under cool water. Then follow up with a mild shampoo and conditioner and continue like you normally would for your routine. If you don't have a plastic cap, you can use a regular shopping bag and use the handles to tie it snuggly around your head. I used my Jane Carter Solution shampoo and conditioner and then my shea butter mix I made myself. 

The results from this mask are still in effect several days later! It made detangling my hair a breeze, helped define my curls, and has kept my hair soft days later without having to apply anything else (I usually find my hair craves the shea butter mix almost every day; it's been five days :O). My hair felt extremely clean and fresh; more so than with just shampooing. Any natural products I make contain vitamin E and rosemary and I can honestly say I think they're helping with the hair growth (I'll talk about this more when I tell you lovelies about my shea butter mix). After this mask my fro was so huge it was too intimidating for work; I pulled it back :P



I will definitely be doing this mask again; I'm glad it worked out for me! Let me know if you try it too!

TTFN <3

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tune in Tuesday: Settle Down EP by Kimbra


Genre: Electropop
Released: October 2011
First Listen: December 2011
Favorite Track: Limbo
Found Out Through: Free music video download via iTunes
Listen to this when you're: Cleaning

Kimbra is a breath of fresh air. Unique, alluring, and talented. I'm a sucker for harmonies and her tracks are riddled with them. You can hear influences from jazz, R&B and even some indie. Some tracks like "Settle Down" and "Limbo" I just can't help but to groove to.

Every now and then I go through iTunes free downloads and download whatever they have to offer. I mean come on, it's free! Kimbra was by far the best free download I've gotten so far. I immediately purchased the EP, craving more. She's New Zealand born and raised; her album Vows is the first to hit the US; comes out today, I'm pretty sure!


*note: Tune in Tuesdays is a new segment for me to gush about the music I love. and I love ALOT of music. hope you enjoy!*

TTFN<3

Thursday, May 10, 2012

DIY - Secret Compartment book!


You will need:

  • A book
  • an exacto knife
  • a glue gun
  • a glue stick
  • felt or a thick fabric
  • ruler
  • marker
  1. open the book about 20 pages in and decide your margins. An easy guide would be to reference your cuts around the text. (ie 1mm away from text)
  2. using the exacto knife, carefully cut out pages a few at a time until the pocket is as deep as you'd like it. I applied heavy pressure until I got towards the end. If any of the pages rip (common with older books) use the glue stick to patch things up
  3. hold the book as straight as you can and glue the inside with the glue gun. By gluing the inside rather than the outside edges, it looks more believable. Glue on the outside is a dead give away!
  4. Measure and cut out a piece of felt using the template described in the video. Glue down the bottom first, then the edges.
  5. Take the next four pages or so closest to the compartment and glue them together, and then to the edges of the compartment. 
  6. Use the exacto knife to cut out a flap to enter the compartment. Voilá!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

My Facebook page has some new albums!

Today I spent the day uploading. Believe me when I say I had plenty of stuff to upload. As I'm moving away from weebly and onto here I have to find other means to create albums of my work. I'm going with facebook for now; I like that it's casual and I dont have to limit it to a portfolio amount. here's some of my favorite works that I've uploaded so far. You've probably noticed I added some nifty links on the side over there :3 -->

3 8" x 10" canvases, acrylic. my name via Warhol

my precious whale mug i cant wait to use

embossed metal set on wood. 

Watercolor and GLITTERRR (you can see it in person)


till next time, lovelies

Monday, May 7, 2012

Red Hot Chili Peppers LIVE in Newark, NJ: Two Nights of AWESOME


My awesome fiancé outdid himself yet again; for my birthday back in february he surprised me to not one, but TWO sets of Red Hot Chili Peppers concert tickets. He knows how much I love them so it was an obvious gift, but still! totally unexpected. Three months later, two days after the shows, and I'm still in shock. The whole weekend was just so surreal.


Sleigh Bells opened for RHCP both nights, and will be with them for the rest of the east coast leg of the tour. I found out about them when I used to work for Urban Outfitters; Treats was on heavy rotation, but I didn't mind. They're loud, fun, and filled with so much bass I had to find out more about them. I was SO BUMMED only because they're new, so not enough material to fill my aching needs. But alas! Their second album Reign of Terror is out just in time to promote it by opening for RHCP. How awesome is that?! 

I might have been the only fan of theirs in the section, but people were diggin' it. You may be asking,"Hey wait isn't there only two people in Sleigh Bells?" I later found out that the second guitarist is Jason Boyer who plays with them on tour. Honestly I couldn't tell Boyer and Miller apart--they had similar haircuts and style and everything. They played eleven or twelve tracks evenly split between the two albums they have out. Their set included a simple striped banner in the background and of course, their twelve Marshall amps, stacked in all their glory. Who needs twelve amps? No one, but it was awesome. 



Both Sleigh Bells and RHCP dedicated their performances for the 5/4 show to the late Adam MCA Yauch. Beastie Boys tracks were played before, during intermission, and after the show. Kiedis had MCA written on his shirt, as well. A sad day for the music industry and beastie boys fans was turned into a celebration of a wonderful life at this concert. I think this gave both bands extra motivation to kick ass on stage.
As I'm writing this post and I get to the part where I tell you about Red Hot Chili Peppers, my heart rate  increases and I can't breath. This should give you an idea of how glorious these shows were. I prefer the setlist of the first show over the second while Zack prefers the second over the first--they were both just too good. Both nights I think maybe a fourth of the songs were from their newest album. What really got me was they went all the way back to the days of SIR PSYCHO SEXY from Blood Sugar Sex Magik in addition to songs from Californication, By The Way, and Stadium Arcadium. The Friday night show I swear they knew I was in the audience because of all the songs in their discography, they did two of my favorite tracks, "Throw Away Your Television," and "Higher Ground." Not only that, but they also played "Did I Let You Know" with a bari sax solo thrown in there.




They were the fun loving band I always thought they would be on stage--skipping around, hanging from the lights, walking on their hands....I loved every single shenanigan they pulled. After "Under the Bridge" Flea goes, "That was a pretty gentle song. We'd like to take a moment for all the little babies who are trying to get to sleep and all the old ladies who need it quiet 'cause it's getting very late. They're very old, so we'd like to play the most quiet, mellow song. But not me for me when I was a new born baby my mother had to play me Black Flag to get me to sleep. Anyways what we're trying to say is we're going to play the slowest, quietest thing we've ever played right now," then promptly go into "Goodbye Hooray." I see what you did there, Flea.



The graphics they had on the screens above and behind them were pretty impressive and matched up with each song perfectly. My personal favorite was the boy riding the horse. Prior to the show they took pictures of some of the attendees across from the merch table to display in the last song, which was "Give It Away." I didn't see Zack nor did I see me (pout!) but it was still a really cool idea. 

My one and only tiny complaint about their performances was the lack of audible harmonies. Frusciante had that sweet sweet falsetto that I fear could never be matched. Josh can do it, and he was, but it just wasn't loud enough to hear. Other than that, both shows in my eyes was flawless. I am SO thankful to my fiancé Zack for giving me one of the best weekends of my life. All together now, "awwww"



Saturday, May 5, 2012

OOTD: Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were absolutely positively utterly FANTASTIC last night. I'll get to that in my next post, after I go to the second show tonight...

Details


  • Red flannel - Urban Outfitters
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers Tee - 14th birthday gift from my big brother
  • Black mini skirt - H&M
  • Taupe leggings - NY&Co.
  • Black canvas shoes - Target
  • Black hoops - H&M
  • Makeup - Urban Decay, Dangerous palette: Haight (blue) and Virgin (white)


This is my staple recipe for an outfit. Tee, skirt, leggings, cardigan. I switch things up every now and then, like this flannel, but you get the idea, right? I love this shirt because my big bro got it for me; we bond over the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In fact, we named the two cars we shared Dani (california) and (so much more than) Charlie ('s wakin' me). They've been my number one band ever since I sneaked a peek at the music video for "Scar Tissue" back when I wasn't allowed to watch Vh1 at the lovely age of 9. 

You can see in my sidebar all my tweets from last night. I will probably be doing that again. FiancĂ© and I got some amazing pictures, too! I can't wait to post them :3. UGH I cannot WAIT for tonight! 

TTFN! <3

Review: Smashbox Reflection - High Shine Lip Gloss


Smashbox Reflection retails for about $18 which is kinda pricy for me. However, I’ve had the same tube for about six months already and apply it at least twice a day (as long as it’s not lost in the bottom of my bag :S) and there’s still plenty of product left.
It leaves the lips with just the right amount of gloss so you don’t look like you just downed a box of KFC. It’s not super sticky and works great over a lip stain. I will be sure to purchase this gloss again! 

TTFN! <3

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Review: Boiing Concealer by Benefit


Can you tell which half of my face has the concealer?


This is by far my most favorite concealer I’ve ever used. It was recommended to me by a gentleman who works at Ulta; he swears by it. This concealer is the first one that I’ve owned that you can use all by itself (as I did in the photos) so it’s great for those days when all you want to do is cover a zit or under the eyes. 

I’m using number 02, about four times a week mainly for the bags on my eyes and the occasional zit. Boiing usually retails for about $20 - $25. However, it has lasted me four months so far and I’m about half way through with it. My sister uses it every day, and hers lasted about three months. Worth every penny! The Boiing concealer is creamy, smooth, and leaves skin feeling just the same. I usually only use my finger to apply it, making it perfect for beginners or people who don’t put on alot of makeup (ie. dudes).

Benefit’s packaging is cute and simple, if you’re picky about those things. I haven’t had any issues with the cap or anything. I only have to apply it once at the beginning of the day, no worries about it rubbing off.

Every time I wear this concealer in conjunction with my foundation, I get compliments on my beautiful skin. It’s sheer enough to let your natural tones (like my rosy cheeks) show without overdoing it. It IS possible to cake it on, but it’s still not so bad….you’ll just end up looking like a porcelain doll.

All in all, a great product! TTFN!<3

OOTD: Grungy Pretty Layers


This is one of my favorite recent outfits, perfect for the crazy weather in New England! It's hard to dress for drastic temperature changes, so the more layers, the merrier :)

Upload ALL THE THINGS!!

Hello lovelies! throughout the month of May I'll be uploading posts and videos from all of my other sites to make this blog more cohesive and fun. I have some youtube videos and reviews that would be better suited here.  Hope you don't mind! 


TTFN! <3
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