How NOT to Curl Your Hair: A Tutorial Gone Bad

We've all seen the hilarious hair-tutorial-gone-wrong on the Internets where the young girl attempts to do a video tutorial on how to curl your hair with a wand. And, well, the results are pretty devastating. The reaction is actually quite funny, though. Oh, you haven't seen it? Take a look...

                                   

To avoid a similar hair-tastrophe, I've included some tips/advice below on what may have gone wrong in this video and what you can do to avoid this. And these tips are from a licensed, bonafide cosmetologist (who just happens to be my sister) and not a well-intentioned young lady. :)

1. Make sure your hair is 100% dry. No damp hair with heat products. When moisture hits your hot styling tool, your hair will burn. Imagine cooking something in a hot, greased frying pan...whatever you put in there is gonna sizzle, regardless.

2. Check the temperature on your flat iron/curling iron. Don't ever just turn it all the way up, unless you are a professional using a professional styling tool. Maxing out the heat is recipe for disaster.

3. Use caution with the length of time you hold the styling product on your hair. Ideally, you don't hold the iron on your hair for longer than 5 seconds, counted slowly. You can always go back and re-curl, but you can't go back and glue on your burnt off hair. (I think our friend above left this on for like 20 seconds or something cray.)

4. If you use a styling product, make sure it's a heat protectant product and not something that is for detangling or split ends. Heat-protectant products are designed to provide a barrier from the heat to your hair. Other products may actually have ingredients that could make your hair more susceptible to burning.

5. Don't use the same heat tool everyday. Switch it up and let your hair go heat-free every once in awhile. This will ultimately help your hair to be healthier.

OOTD: Nautical Mint

Navy & White Top | Cardigan | Jeans | Necklace: Via Groopdealz | Purse | Shoes: Payless (similar)

It's amazing how the addition of a new mint purse can take a basic outfit from blah to BAM! After admitting that I had almost no mint in my wardrobe, I've quickly remedied that with the purchase of this purse and the necklace recently. I also love navy and mint together so I figured I'd put together some of my old favorites (navy blue and stripes) with my new favorite (mint) to get a very fun outfit.

Also, this bag. Oh, this bag. I literally stalked it at Target for over a week (because there was only one on the racks) and when it was still there a week or so later, I decided it was fate. ANNNNDDD, it quickly made its way into my buggy. (which is a shopping cart for you Yanks) It's the softest fake suede and I've already received tons of compliments on it.

Would you ever wear navy and mint?

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy.

OOTD: Casual Basics

Shirt: Target (similar) | Jeans | Shoes | Sunnies

First off...I know. Horizontal stripes are usually a no-no for girls like me. However, I'm obsessed and really can't resist the lure of stripes.

I picked this tee up from Target a few years ago and busted it out Sunday afternoon when the temps peaked at the mid 60s. I cuffed my jeans and wore my trusty Sperrys. Side note: I've recently been reacquainted with my love for these shoes. I know they aren't the most feminine of shoes, but they are oh-so-comfy!

I would also like to note that I do actually have on a white tank under the shirt. It peeks through right at the "v" of my shirt. However, due to my paleness and a slightly overly white-balanced photo it basically blends in with my skin. Sigh...

But, you really can't go wrong with jeans, a striped tee and boat shoes, right??

Red Carpet Round Up & Oscars Moments

Well, in case you live under a rock, the Oscars were last night. Man, there were some hilarious moments and some not-so-hilarious moments. Below is my re-cap of the Oscar Best and Worst dressed followed by some fave Oscar moments.

Best Dressed List

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

Stunning. Just stunning. Hair & makeup are flawless and the dress is regal. A+++!

Jessica Chastain in Giorgio Armani

I'm gonna go ahead and give her the award for Most Improved. I do love this dress with her beautiful pale skin and red hair. I must say the fit of this dress is SO much better than the blue disaster at the Golden Globes.

Reese Witherspoon in Louis Vuitton

I mean, I love me some Reese ANYWAY, so I was so glad she glammed it up tonight. This color is amazing on her and her hair & makeup are on point. Get it, girl!

Naomi Watts in Giorgio Armani

This dress fits her to a "t"! She looks awesome and elegant. I love that she's not trying too hard. She makes the simplest of dress cuts look stunning. I also love the unexpected neckline. Also, the hair and makeup (which must be awesome as well to be included on my Best Dressed list) are gorgeous!

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

This is quite an interesting dress. It's more peachy-blushy pink on tv than it looks in this photo. It looks more white here. However, I think she's made some excellent dress choices recently. Despite her age, she's proven herself to have great style and great taste when it comes to these events.

Honorable Mentions

Kristin Chenoweth: I loved that her dress made her look very tall, but I wish she would have been a bit more adventurous with the color.
Jennifer Aniston: The color was gorgeous. I wish she'd done something to her hair. Other than that she looked great!

Worst Dressed List

Brandi Glanville in Unknown

Um, Brandi...lock those girls up. I don't hate the bottom of the dress, but the top looks more Moulin Rouge appropriate than red carpet.

Naomie Harris in Unknown

This dress isn't THAT bad (sans the slit that's WAY too high) but the color is awful. It totally washes her out.  Maybe some red lips would have warmed up the whole look but this just makes her look sick. And her toes are hanging over her shoes. Oh man. (shakes head)

Melissa McCarthy in David Meister Signature

I love this lady. For reals. She's hilar!! However, this look is all wrong for her. The dress itself isn't that bad, but she suffers from the same syndrome as my pick before...the color is just boring and bland. I would love this so much more if it were a bright color. Also, her hair is unfortunate. I would have liked to see it up or a little more modern and sleek. Big hair on her just doesn't work.

Dishonorable Mentions

Helena Bonham Carter: To be fair, she ALWAYS looks like a train wreck so it's kind of expected that her and/or her hubby make it to the worst dressed list. 

Fan Bingbing: The color of the dress isn't bad but the fit looks too much like a Project Runway mistake. And, by the way, who the heck is this? This can't be a real name?!

Memorable Oscar Moments

Seth MacFarlane's opening sequence | Anne Hathaway's beautiful quote at the end of her acceptance speech | Jennifer Hudson bringing the house down with her performance (love her!) | Most of  The Avengers cast presenting an award | JLaw's fall and acceptance speech. I love her!!! | The musical performances from Les Mis cast members | Charlize, Channing, Joseph & Daniel's dance sequences!!

All photos courtesy of Getty Images and were found here.

Agree with my picks? Disagree? I'd love to hear what you think!!

Linking up with Meg for the Mingle Monday Blog Hop! :)

The ABCs of Me!

I just love these things. Kelly posted hers on Tuesday and when I saw, I KNEW I just had to do it. So, in lieu of Confessional Friday, I'm posting a few li'l things about me.

The ABCs of Me 

A — available or married?
Technically available because I'm not married. But I am seeing someone...

B — book?
It's been an embarassingly long time since I've read a book. As someone who claims to be an avid reader, I just haven't had time for any of it!

C — cake or pie?
Definitely cake. Always. Cake>pie forever. (Did I do that right? I always get < and > confused. I know the alligator mouth eats...one of the numbers...)

D — drink of choice?
Water. AAANNNNDDDDD Diet Dr. Pepper.

E — essential item?
Lipstick/gloss/balm.

F — favorite color?
This fluctuates. I'd say aqua. Or I can be a nerd and say Pantone 3105 c. ;)

G — game to watch or play?
Well, football. And hockey. Maybe baseball, but only live and with hot dogs. I also like Cranium, Things in a Box and Scrabble.

H — hometown?
Carolina girl, born and raised. Born in Columbia, SC and raised in NC.

I — indulgence?
Good wine or expensive makeup.

J — job?
Marketing/PR for an accounting firm.

K — kids and their names?
No kids. Except for Hewitt.

L — life is incomplete without?
Jesus.

M — music group of singer?
Lately, I've been listening to a lot of classic rock. The Who, Zeppelin, The Stones, Clapton, Heart, you know...

N — number of siblings?
One younger sister and one older sister

O — oranges or apples?
Apples. Oranges are just really messy.

P — phobias/fears?
Thunderstorms, snakes, frogs and probably lettuce.

Q — favorite quote?
"Boy Scouts are the bane of my existence." - Name Withheld for Identity Protection. You know who you are...


R — reason to smile?
I have a date tonight. Qdoba and shoe shopping. Be still my heart!

S — season?
Fall. Or spring. I'm not a fan of weather extremes.

T — tattoos?
Two. Maybe more someday. Who knows?!

U — unknown fact about me?
My picture has been on a billboard before.

V — vegetable you love?
Yeesh. Um, potatoes. Are those a vegetable? If not, carrots. Or green beans. Maybe I'd even venture as far as saying zucchini...

W — worst habit?
My sweet tooth.

X — X-rays you've had?
Teeth, neck and chest.

Y — your favorite food?
Pizza. Macaroni and cheese. Chocolate. Taco Bell. [Quick...throw something sophisticated or healthy in there...um...]Filet Mignon with shallots and butter.

Z — zodiac?
Capricorn. But that mess ain't real. :)

  

Random Fashion-y Things

Hello friends. Today's post will be somewhat of a random, all-things-fashion post. Chalk it up to the random fashion-y thoughts floating  through my mind. First, I've got somewhat of a point to prove.

Let's talk about jeans and heels. While conversing with M, I made the comment about wearing heels with jeans and was met with laughter. Apparently, he didn't know that jeans and heels were a "thing". Really? So, of course, I set to prove that they, indeed, are a "thing"...

jeans with heels! by aprilanne147 featuring printed skinny jeans

I'm a fan of jeans with heels. There are a few points to consider when wearing this look though:
a) Fit of the jeans. In general, I like a more fitted, skinny or bootleg style jean with heels. However, I also think the look can be cute with boyfriend jeans, cropped jeans and trouser jeans. It's more of a case-by-case basis.
b) The rest of the outfit. Jeans with heels and a blazer is a classic look. I also like a blousey, or fitted button down with jeans and heels. Even a t-shirt can work if the jeans are more distressed and the heels aren't too fussy. Unfortunately, this one, again, is a case-by-case basis.

Moving on, while browsing around for some new shoes (!!!!) online, I noticed that the same three colors kept popping up in shoes, clothing and accessories. I'm guessing we'll see a lot of mint, coral and peach this spring.

mint, coral and peach by aprilanne147 featuring mimco

I absolutely love mint. Sadly, I only own one item of clothing that could be considered mint. (I know!!) Crazy. However, I do have a few pieces of clothing in coral. The big difference between coral and peach is that peach is more muted and is closer to a nude or skin tone. I cannot really ever wear peach unless it's REALLY pinkish in tone. Peach is my skin color. Me wearing peach would essentially make me one of those people that you have to do a double-take when you see them to make sure they are, indeed, wearing clothes. Yep.

What are your thoughts on jeans with heels or mint, coral and peach? Would you ever try/wear any of these trends?

Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Pictures

Hi friends! Happy Wednesday.

Continuing in a not-so-frequent series on my sister's wedding, I thought I'd share with you some of her fab engagement shots.

I was absolutely thrilled when she decided to ask ME to take their engagement pics. Though I'm an amateur that dabbles in photography, I absolutely love the opportunity to practice my skills. Aaaannnnddd, let's face it...I'm free. :)

I should probably also note that I was incredibly sick when I took these photos. My only regret is that I didn't take a few more risks with poses...but to be honest, staying upright and avoiding sneezing on the camera lens were my top priorities.

Nevertheless...I think I got some fairly good ones. Regarding the editing...my sister wanted "warm and soft". Those were her words, not mine. Had I not been so sick I might have Michael Scotted that comment...too much?

Deserving of being posted on their own...some of my favorites...

Yay for engagement shoots!! :) Now I just need more engaged friends so that I can get better!

Top 5 Tuesday: Rants & Raves

Though I'm not a naturally angry person, I do have a propensity for sarcasm. Here's to hoping today's post comes off more as witty sarcasm than actual anger. (crosses fingers)

Can I rant about a few things, y'all? Just five things that have annoyed me lately. Feel free to share your latest rants in the comments section. But let's keep it all in good fun, okay? The last thing I need is for some psycho weird cat to leave a racist rant on my blog and it go viral. Good viral=excellent, bad viral=not excellent. Mmmmkay?

1. Apparently Gap has decided to unleash their new Skimmer pants/jeans on the blogging world with reckless abandon. No lie...I read 4 different c/o blog posts just yesterday where the blogger was given Gap Skimmers to review. I get that Gap wants to make a splash...but why not infiltrate the blog world a little more like a trickle than an exploding dam of sponsored posts? Geez.

2. Let me have my snow, people. I'm a Southern lady. Born and bred. Snow is a novelty for me. So, it annoys me to no end when Yankees and mid-westerners laugh at me for getting excited about snow. I GET IT. YOU'RE USED TO IT. IT'S NOT COOL TO YOU. But it is to me. So, leave me and my snow squeals alone. Geez.

3. Toothaches. I'm not sure if I have a toothache or a headache at the time I'm writing this post. But whichever it is, it's annoying me. Do you know what annoys me more than a toothache? Having to go to the dentist. I hate the dentist. Laying there with your mouth all open and not being able to control your drooling...y'all know what I mean. It's weird. I couldn't look at people's mouths all day. Creeps.

4. Can we talk about how annoying it is to be one or two episodes behind THE ENTIRE WORLD in a tv show? Just because I don't watch a tv show as often as everyone else (because I usually will watch more than one episode at a time) doesn't make me weird. Does it? But then I sometimes get overwhelmed when I think of having to catch up. Does anyone else do that? I just need a tv show catch-up day.

5. Lastly, I think it's annoying that hot dogs and buns never come in equal amounts. I always end up having more left of one thing. And it's never remedied by buying another bag of hot dog buns because then you just have extra buns. You can not use extra hot dog buns interchangeably with regular bread. PB&J is not the same when eaten on a bun. You cannot use extra hot dogs without the bun and sliced bread isn't a good substitute for a missing bun. What in the world can you use extra hot dogs for? This is the kind of dilemma that keeps me up at night.


Well that and why we do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Share your [niceish] rants and raves below! Happy Tuesday!

Snow-nanigans

Happy Monday!

I'm linking up with Sami for this little recap on my weekend shenanigans.

Well, y'all...the headline of my weekend would have to be the SNOW we got. (Well, other than a super-awesome snow date with M...of course.) Y'all it didn't just snow, it SNOWED!!! And, in typical North Carolina fashion, it was mostly gone within 24 hours of falling. In a-typical N.C. fashion, it all fell within about an hour.

I was literally squealing like a toddler when it started snowing. I love snow. For reals.

Prepare yourself for a snow photo dump...

What did YOU do this weekend?

InstaFriday!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Happy Valentine's sugar hangover recovery day. :) Oh, is that just me?? Anywhoodle, it's been awhile since I've done a plain ol' InstaFriday post. So, for today, I give you the last week or so in Instagram photos...

 L-R: Me and my V-day flowers; V-day dinner at Taco Bell (don't hate!); Valentine's and candy for my coworkers....AND for me. :)

 L-R: Valentine's Day outfit; an eerily similar outfit in a bit of a different color scheme earlier in the week.

L-R: The little Hewman barking at me to walk him (no that's not a noose...it's a rope toy that just looks like a noose); Hewitt on guard. This means he's neither sleeping nor awake...he's just...aware. 

Well, I've got all sorts of fun things planned this weekend...including a little trip to get Patty's oil changed (boo) and her tires rotated (double boo) and a dinner with M. Oh, and I'll probably bribe him into watching some of the Twilight movies with me this weekend. Oh and I'll probably do some online window shopping. You know... 

Happy weekend!

Things I Love Thursday: Valentine's Edition

Happy Valentine's Day, my blog loves!

In honor of the day of love, I've got some V-day inspired things to share. (And, also, just some really funny and/or really cool things to share too that don't have anything to do with V-Day.)

//I thought I'd start off this V-Day post with a little wisdom from Dwight Schrute...

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//Kaelah B. shared photos of her wedding on her blog this week. Y'all better believe I'm going to be using some of these ideas in my sister's wedding.

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//Stop what you're doing. Right now. Click here and see this post on pretty girls making ugly faces. Proof that there is a little ugly in everyone.

//I stumbled across this YouTube channel and y'all I'm obsessed. This Aussie, Lauren, does some of the best and easy make up tutorials I've seen. She uses a mixture of semi-expensive make up brands (Bobbi Brown, MAC, etc.) and super-cheap/drug store brands to achieve some fave looks. Among my fave vids so far are this this one and this one.

//Meanwhile, in Brazil, it's raining spiders.

//Want to read some real-life, normal people, Valentine's Day stories? Click here.

//Geeky Valentine's Day cards. YYEESSS!!!

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//In case you were wondering what to get me for Valentine's Day...how about a bouquet of plush unicorns?

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//Yum, yum!! Who doesn't love a red velvet cupcake?

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//Finally, not Valentine's-related, but certainly hilarious: 42 People You Won't Believe Exist.

//Also, here's a double-dose of Valentine's cuteness. Maryam's precious baby and her puppy.

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Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. May you love and feel loved today!

A Love Letter in List Form

 

With Valentine's Day being tomorrow, I thought I'd seize the opportunity to link up with Joelle at Something Charming for her "Write it Down, Link it Up: Love Letters Edition" post. The idea is very simple...write a love letter and post a picture of it on your blog.

 

Because I love so many things and so many people, (and because I literally live by lists) I decided to make my love letter in list form. So without further adieu...

 

 

Come back tomorrow for a "Things I Love Thursday: Valentine's Edition" post. Happy Wednesday!