maybe katie

well, my friends, i finally did it! i got hair extensions, and since today was my day off, i tried them. i have to say that while they are not perfect, i'm actually quite happy with them.

i bought the extensions at sally beauty supply. they were $79.99 and i have a sally's card, so i got them for &75.99. they are a remy product called euronext. i read a lot of reviews online before buying them because they are non-returnable. i ended up buying a color called "blonde frost," which really matches my hair well. it's two-toned, so it blends easily color-wise (even with my weird purple/grey hair i still have despite it not being visible in my photos). the box looks like this:

i'll show you the steps i went through and the final result. but first, i thought it might be fun to show you the playlist i listened to while styling. as you can see, i have a love for the barenaked ladies.

the old apartment - barenaked ladies
jacksonville skyline - whiskeytown
AM180 - grandaddy
take it from me - the weepies
two boats - mary lou lord
almost rosey - tori amos
a perfectly good heart - taylor swift
enid - barenaked ladies
on the bound - fiona apple
she's amazing - team dresch
studying stones - ani difranco
maybe katie - barenaked ladies

i was very proud of my iphone's shuffle feature today. it was a wonderful lyrical backdrop for my activity. and if you know me personally, you know that the last song is a propos for this situation.

ready? here goes:

first, i washed my hair with my moisturizing david babaii for wildaid shampoo so it would be as smooth and sleek as possible:

you're also seeing something you usually don't see here: me completely sans makeup. when i don't have to go anywhere, i try to let my skin breathe since i otherwise wear at least a primer and bare minerals foundation on my entire face.

after i washed it, i dried it. i just use a really basic hairdryer i got at target. i'd love to have a fancy one like my stylist uses, but i am absolutely confident i'd burn myself. i have a hard time with a dryer and brush combo, which i usually need.

(i look like my sister k here, which is strange because i don't usually think we look alike at all.)

i didn't use any hair products at all because i wanted to have a basic idea of how the extension would look and how it would blend without any products before experimentation.

step 3: after drying my hair, i straightened it. my extensions are straight, so i wanted to see how it look unstyled. we have a really great straightener by hot tools. i cannot take any of the credit for picking it out; my sweetie did all the research and selection.

finally, i applied the extensions. i followed some general guidelines i read online, including using the lovely idèe gèniale's awesome tutorial along with some trial-and-error.

here's how they turned out:

(this one is backwards; i took it in photobooth and forgot to flip it!)

(backwards, again)

as i said before, i really like them. for the first time, i think they turned out great. in order to make my hair blend better, i'll probably curl them a bit (i know you can see my underneath hair and a little of my front layers on my left a bit). as they are, i feel a bit like a barbie doll (and kind of smell like one; hair extensions smell strange).

i also feel like they make me look younger, at least here with no make-up on, but that's not the worst thing. i kind of thought i might feel really strange when i saw myself, but since i have had hair this long, it wasn't jarring.

it's fun to remember what long hair felt like. i forgot that you have to untuck it from your clothes when you get dressed!

so, while i don't know how often i'll wear these, i'm really glad i got them. they're a fun way to do something different, and i'm excited to see how i can style them. but i'm curious ...

what do you think?

be mine, be mine

february is a month that most folks either dread or adore. i am the latter, so please indulge me in some valentines fantasies. no, not those kinds of fantasies!! what kind of blogger do you think i am!?

i'm talking about the materialistic kind! many of my favourite stores have valentine's specials and gifts. i've selected an item from several sites to showcase as my valentines picks.

viole lace mariana dress at fred flare


heart dainty ring (get it quick; all of the other styles have sold out!)


silk blend romper at forever 21


aerie floral ruffle tank (at aerie, of course)


flutter flower clutch from j.crew
you can also see this bag (and a funny story about it) on
the lovely chloe's the chloe conspiracy blog
(this is technically from the "spring" collection, but we'll bend the rules here)


pressed buds cardi from anthropologie (now on sale)
(way prettier in person too!)


ipod shuffle in pink (now only $59!)
you can even get it engraved for free!


clustered pearls bobble necklace from betsey johnson
(in my opinion, everything betsey johnson does is a valentines collection!)

i love valentine's day. i love love. i got engaged on valentine's day. and i'm just that cheesy.

so my dear readers, will you be mine?

xoxo!

prettiness

i'm kind of inept at lingerie. the things i like either make me look like i'm five or just foolish. i ordered this bralette and tanga set from aerie. what do you think? pretty?

as i mentioned in my last post, i love lace these days, and i'm hoping these turn out to be as pretty in person as they look online. i'll let you know (but probably without an outfit post. that might be a bit too much).

xoxo!

common as the rain

i've been a bit bored with my (lack of) style lately, so i attempted to make what would usually be a pretty boring outfit just a bit more interesting with some accessories. i'm really loving lace right now, and as i was getting ready, i remembered a remnant of lace i bought and never used. i had hopes this morning to make it into some kind of vest or overlay for my top, but that would have required more time than i had. so, i decided instead to turn it into a scarf. it looked a bit better this morning before a full day of work, but i was still pretty happy with how it turned out.

shirt: the gap, blazer: abercrombie and fitch (from my hs days!), pants: target, hairclip: anthropologie, shoes: jessica simpson, "scarf": jo ann's fabrics

i am a bit exhausted from a day of retail and a day of rain. i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xoxo!

anthro and blogfriend deals

i mentioned in my last post that i got some amazing deals lately, and here they are! first, the other night i couldn't sleep and i did what i often do when i'm up late: make impulsive internet purchases! this time i shopped the lovely elaine at clothed much's awesome online shop, SHOP clothed much. i hope she won't mind me borrowing her image (elaine: let me know and i'll take it down!) to show you the amazing cream trench i got.

the coat is beautiful in the photos, and elaine is close to my height and size, so i'm hoping it will fit me! if you don't follow her, you MUST. she has amazing style and a wonderful heart. i cannot WAIT to get it. i don't have any long coats anymore, and i love a cream coat.

yesterday after my tattoo (which means "refuge and strength," for those who asked!), we stopped by anthro (which you know is my absolute obsession) to take advantage of her 15% off birthday coupon. as you may know if you shop anthro, they don't do coupons often. this one was awesome because it was good on sale stuff too (and my wallet requires a sale room!), so we stopped by. i got some jeans, which i really needed. my favourite jeans are nearing their end. the denim has worn thin near a major seam, and i'm hoping the day they rip through happens at home and not out in public. everytime i wear them, i take my dignity into my own hands. anyway, there's no picture online and mine are already in the bag to go to the tailor (i am so short! i have to hem them 5 inches!). but, they're a really cute dark denim with a fun floral belt. they're comfortable enough for everyday wear and nice enough for denim days at work. they were an AMAZING deal and about 1/3 of what i thought i was going to have to pay for new jeans.

i also got a dress i've been coveting for a really long time. i'm glad i waited because it's now half the price it was during the beginning of the winter sale. i got it for 78% off the original price! see ladies (and gents, and everyone), you can find good deals at anthro!

the belt is detachable, which is great. it too is in the "to the tailor" bag because it was just below the knee and i know it will look better where it's supposed to hit, just above the knee. it's silk and has my most favourite accent: POCKETS! did i tell you my dear sweetie's wedding dress has pockets!? can you believe it!? POCKETS!! i'm so jealous. luckily i adore my own dress, even sans pockets.

finally, i got my sweetie an early birthday present, a beautiful green sweater that looks like it's straight out of alice in wonderland. i wish i had a picture, but it too went fast online when it got marked down. she looks fabulous in it, and i'll have to get a picture of it so you all can see it.

i apologize that the post is a little less picture-full than usual. i wanted to show you everything but these sale items are selling out so fast!

i have a migraine (again, i know!), so i'm logging off. love you all!

xoxo!

i did it!

i did it! i got the tattoo that i mentioned about a month ago in this post. the pictures are tinted a bit strange because the lighting in the bathroom is odd (and i didn't realize it until i uploaded them). it's brand new (just a few hours old here) so it's still swollen and red, but you can get the idea!

by the way, the letters are right-side up when i look at them (and as they are in these pictures), in case you wondered!

on a completely unrelated note, i had a few shopping successes lately and i'll share them with you in the next post!

purple rain, of sorts

no, this post doesn't have anything to do with prince (as the title might suggest), but his famous "purple rain," describes my day in two parts. first, i woke up grouchy. i attribute this primarily to the yucky freezing rain outside. it did wash away some of the snow, which was nice, but it made other parts an icy mess. i could never live in washington (state) or oregon because the rain depresses me. luckily, my mood improved as the day went on.

before i went to work, i went across the street to sally's beauty supply store to look at hair extensions (i think i know which ones i'm getting, and i even have a coupon to save $10!) and to get a toner to take some of the brassiness out of my hair. the didn't have the toner i have used before, so i made the not-so-great decision to listen to the sales associate who, by the way, had all of her hair tucked under a hat. well, years of coloring your hair at home is bound to produce a few mistakes, right? my hair turned out PURPLE! i thought the violet-based toner was supposed to be violet-BASED, not actually make my hair look like i was an 80 year old woman with a violet rinse! it's not tooooo bad, and you can't really tell in these pictures (other than it looks like a much cooler (as in not warmer, not as in hipper) shade. i like the cool-ness because it goes much better with my skin tone, but the purple has to go! so i ran to ulta to get a cool hue of the shade i used last time. luckily, my hair loves hair color, so i think i'll be okay.

eventually i got it together to go to work, and i wore a new sweater i got for $15 at abercrombie's winter sale. i haven't shopped there in a while (i can't take the noise and smell; i guess i'm turning into my mother), but working at the mall is a dangerous scene, and i eventually went in. i'm glad because, aside from the giant moose emblem (no offense to those who like a&f, i just don't love logos), i love the sweater. here it is!

shirt: target, sweater: a&f, pants: the gap, shoes: danskos

the rainy weather necessitated a pants and shoe choice that did not involve my hem nearing the ground. i HATE it when my pants get wet at the bottom. i'm cold all day and feel gross. luckily, my danskos facilitate the process of keeping my pants dry and also support my feet. they may not be beautiful, but at least they're patent leather, right?

i did the front/side braid to help conceal the violet ends. (the ends are the worst because they were pretty light to start with.) even though i often feel like this is a cop-out hair-do, i usually end up liking how it looks.

in other news: it's february! and as much as some folks hate it, i love it because it means it's VALENTINE'S DAY SOON! we got engaged on v-day last year, so it's very special to me, and even before that i had a fondness for it. today i wanted my sweetie to have a little pick-me-up, so i got her a papyrus card (they make amazingly unique cards!) and then the mini sample of the alice in wonderland nail polishes from ulta.

she LOVES nail polish and alice in wonderland, so it was perfect! i should have waited for the offical v-day, but i couldn't. she put on the blue ("absolutely alice") and it's a really amazing sparkly blue. when i saw it i thought, "wow, that's such an AIW blue," and then i remembered that it was (duh!) part of the AIW collection. she let me try to the black-multi glitter ("mad as a hatter") which is really pretty on its own and would also look awesome layered over another color. i don't paint my nails often, but i really like it.

even though it started gloomy, today turned out to be a pretty good day. i felt really productive at work because not only because i got a lot done but because i finished things that really felt like they make a difference in our day-to-day. i felt thrilled about my outfit all day, which also helped. do you ever have those items you wish you could wear constantly? that's how i feel about this sweater. it's already fuzzing a bit--the cost of an inexpensive sweater, i guess--but i love it. i thought about stopping back in for another for when this one eats it, but i realized that might be a bit extreme so i won't.

tomorrow i have an exciting thing planned. i don't want to say too much just in case it doesn't go as planned, but if it does, i'll share it with you tomorrow night (which is technically tonight) or thursday afternoon.