a pop of color

When weather's wet grey
pops of color here and there
brighten up the day.

If you want to start a novice herb garden, grow mint! You can harvest leaves right away for tea, and it will put up with almost any abuse. Forget to water it, leave it in the rain, you name it. Mint don't care. 

You can also add it to juices! Yum! I added some juice pulp to my latest muffin batch, and forgot I had added mint. It actually turned out delicious! Random surprising bites of mint in the muffins really start mornings off right. 

Also, feather hair extensions and pink umbrellas are pretty important too. Make sure you have some on hand. 

What's your favorite method to stave off depression when weather is damp and gray? 

Summer Solutions: Braid Crown

With temperatures in the triple digits for days on end, sometimes a girl needs something other than a high bun to keep from dying of heat stroke and boredom. Lately, I've been favoring the braid crown; kind of like a double Heidi. It works really well especially if you have extremely thick hair like me. 

This has been the hairstyle that has seen me through my first few days in NYC! And here are some written instructions on how to recreate this look for yourself. Read them and follow along with the pictures to see how it's done. 

Separate hair into pigtails, and then into fourths.

The back section will be pulled under the front section and over the top of the head like so. 

Braid the back section up and towards the top of your head. Do not braid too tightly at the scalp.

Braid the front section towards the back of your head, beginning behind the ear. 

Tie off braids and save for later.

Do the same on the opposite side of head.

Make sure to stare in shock at whatever is happening on the TV as you braid.

Now you should have four braids! Take the back braids and pull them under the front ones and over the top of your head.

Use overlapping bobby pins to secure. Try to pin through the braids so pins aren't as visible.

Pin both braid-ends, tucking them underneath each other. 

Now time to do the back! Pull the right braid over to meet the braids on the left side. Pull it pretty close to your head so that your crown won't be loose or lumpy. 

Throw some pins in 'er

Cross the remaining left braid over the right one and pin.

Go through crown and add pins throughout for good measure. 

Taa-daa! Congratulations, princess, you are now crowned.

Now you can go traveling to see your painter friend in NYC (that's the talented artist, Jackie Dorage, in the background of these photos), confident in the knowledge that your hair is secure, cute, and most importantly, off of your neck!

put a sock in it.

Your hair, that is. 

A friend told me about this super easy trick to get a perfect ballerina bun and easy curls. Wear the bun all day then take it down to have lustrous curls for the evening. Or wear the bun out at night, sleep in it, and enjoy bouncing curls the next day! 

1. Cut off the tube part of a tube sock and roll up into a donut shape. 

2. Place sock around end of pony tail and slowly roll it up towards your head.

3. Fold hair into sock as you roll, creating the same donut shape with your hair.

4. Voila! You have a perfect bun! 

5. Take the bun out many hours later to enjoy cascading curls.

I prefer putting the bun near the crown of my head, so I start with a very high pony tail and slightly damp hair. I wore the bun at work all day and slept in it, which is surprisingly comfortable. 

Once in the hair-down phase, I actually found my curls a little too 80s full (I have very thick hair, this might not happen with all hair types), so I pulled them back with a ribbon for a tamer feel. I am so full of ideas now for different ways to use this trick; Like using multiple child's socks for tighter curls, or starting with a side pony or pigtails!

I hope you will try out the sock bun and let me know how it goes.

heidi seek

With temperatures rising into the 80s, it is time to get that mess of hair OFF your neck! Heidi braids are a cute way of doing it. Your hair gets to ride around like it belongs to a Von Trapp daughter, which is fun for everyone! Until, you know, you have to flee into the Alps to avoid Nazi persecution...

This jumpsuit I found at a thrift store a long while back. (Click here to see it in 2009, rolled all the way into shorts, complete with a pixie cut!).  The trousers are actually an unflattering boot-cut that just kind of hangs there. Solutions: rolling them up, which doesn't always stay, or I suggest popping on two hair rubber bands to give it some elasticity without actually having to sew anything.

I'm certainly no expert, but if you'd like to try out the Heidi braid for yourself, check out my tips and some links to helpful video tutorials HERE!

Wearing:
Vintage jumpsuit
H&M Cardigan (worn inside out)
Minnetonka moccasins
Sunglasses from $10 store at Dallas airport

the heidi

Made my first attempt at a hairstyle I've been fawning all over since last summer: The romantic, chic, playful, sweet, perfect Heidi braid. My hair isn't as long as would be ideal, but with the help of these two youtube tutorials (the second by fellow blogger Aya of Strawberry Koi), I managed it.

This one is really good and makes a super pretty braid, but my hair wasn't quite long enough to start the braid low and close to the nape of the neck like she directs. Tips I did take: Braiding a bit more loose and messy, using your fingers to loosen up the hair at the scalp, using your finger as a braid-folding tool, pinning down the puffy bit behind the ear when done. (I actually just discovered she has a pretty amazing blog, too, which I intend to follow here).





This video by Aya is also really good, especially if you have shorter hair. She shows you how to start the braid closer to your ear and gives good tips on the best types of bobby pins.



It took me about 4 tries and 45 minutes to get a heidi braid I am satisfied with, combining wisdom from both of these ladies' generous gift of youtube knowledge. I want to know... how did anyone ever learn to do anything before internet?? Wish I had better pics to share of my final product. Commence Photo Booth parade!

Responsible School Girl Outfits

I want to apologize for the radio silence on my end, but as the title suggests, it is now that time of year when I must shed my summer frivolity and become a responsible school girl. That combined with an internet crisis at my apartment made it difficult for me to blog and to comment on other blogs. (I've never been as consistent and frequent of a blogger as some of the other amazing dedicated ladies out there, and I hate to say I'm going to become even less active as the semester consumes me). Thank you to everyone who wrote me to ask where I was! I am so touched people worried about my well being! Your comments, no school on Tuesdays, and a shiny new internet cable bring me here today.

As depressing as it is to say so-long to summer, I can't pretend I haven't been excited about dressing the part for the school year! Nothing helps me get my mind in the right place like the right outfit, so last week I specialized in responsible school girl looks. Here are two I managed to document:

  

                  Skirt: Swapped                                             Skirt: Hand Made by me :~)

            Glasses and Scarf: Sam Moon                                       Pearls (totally fake): thrifted

Chinese Slippers: China!                                      Flats: Vintage

Bag: Sam Moon                                                Bag: Sam Moon

I know everyone has their little back-to-school resolutions and rituals and I am no exception. Here are the things I've been all about for fall.

My Must Have School Girl Accessories:

Comfortable flats! 

I love heels but they aren't realistic for running around all day and for showing up for my outdoor center job in. I've been living in sensible flats like these, especially my chinese slippers!

New School Bag: 

Every year I treat myself to a new school bag. I love this satchel style one with gold chains, something about the shape and texture just says "no nonsense hot mama" to me, which is a vibe I want to embody as the school year gets tough! I got it at Sam Moon which is this amazing gigantic wholesale accessories warehouse in Dallas. If you're ever there, hit this place UP!!

Up-do's and Pearls: 

My hair is waaaay over grown at this point; in fact, I'm embarassed to report that it may be treading dangerous mullet territory very soon. To counteract this, I have been pinning it up with a million bobby pins and clipping different little bows and barrettes in it. This combined with pearls just makes me feel dang classy and ready to take important notes and meet with influential people!

Other than that, I've just been sure to bring my water bottle and a cardigan with me everywhere. Has anyone else started a nasty old school year? What are your rituals?

40s Factory Inspiration

Let's talk about my hair woes. Although I love the pixie cut, the truth of the matter is that it lacks variety. I miss the days when I could choose different hair styles to suit my mood-- braids, curls, half ponytails, headbands, barretts, hair accessories in general... The nice thing about this haircut is that it looks good messy, a must for lazy people like me, but sometimes I don't feel like being messy. Sometimes I want to look put together and yet still the busy lady I am. 

Which is why I have been borrowing looks from the busy working ladies of the wartime 40s! What better way to hide your hair on off-days while still looking sharp and expressing yourself? It's amazing how wrapping a piece of cloth around your head can slice right through the monotony of seeing your reflection with the same old haircut every day. I'm sure people who know me from flickr have already noticed my newfound devotion to the 40s/50s headscarf turban seeing as I rarely leave the house without one these days. At least I know my friends and coworkers have noticed, as I have been receiving lots of "I Love Lucy" references.

    

I absolutely love the headscarfs and turbans popularized during and after World War II. Not just for the I Love Lucy washer woman, you can see how chic they could really be in these high fashion photographs. The last picture came from Vogue in 1953, but like so many trends, the headscarf really came into play for practical reasons. 

At the beginning of WWII, women were encouraged to come work in the factories to help fill the labor gap left by enlisted men, and the scarfs were worn simply as a method of keeping hair clean and out of machinery.  I'm sure everyone is familiar with the Rosie the Riveter image, which captured my imagination growing up (particularly the Norman Rockwell painting), and indeed headscarfs like hers became the symbol of the Woman Ordinance Worker (W.O.W) and a source of pride. Check out these other propaganda posters of the time period that inspired contemporary women of the 1940s as well as myself!

But probably most inspiring of all are the real live Rosies that actually populated the factories! These propaganda posters and the amazing color photographs below are from the Library of Congress, which I highly recommend for perusal if you're an old picture lover like me. What would it have been like to go from a shut-away house wife to an empowered figure of strength with a real patriotic duty to fulfill? It must have been exciting. I'm sure the real issue came in trying to send these ladies back to the kitchens once the war was over. How could you ever find pastry baking interesting after building fighter planes?

Not that I have anything on these tough cookies, but I like to think I can channel at least some of their energy and attitude by wearing my fun versions of their serious headgear. To spice it up, I've been adding vintage pins and even made some poor attempts at pincurls, although I don't know how they achieved those amazing fluffy bangs peeking out. 

If you're having a bad hair day, try a turban on for size! I highly recommend some 40's factory Inspiration.