Five Things Friday: Hair

I haven't posted a Five Things Friday in a while, and catching up time seemed like a good time to do so! We're talking hair this time. For most of my college years I had short hair. It was long in high school but that was before I knew what to do with it. So short it was for a LONG time. I decided to grow it out a few years ago and now I'm attached! Literally and emotionally. I hate washing it and drying it, but I adore my long hair. On the days I feel like I want to chop it off, I head over to Pinterest and YouTube to watch and read tutorials that only work for long hair. It always reinspires me to love my locks again. These are a few I've tried, some of which I frequently do!

1. Braided Headband - Inspired by Oh So Pretty the Diaries

2. Triple Braided Bun - Inspired by The Beauty Department

This was before I had a phone with a good camera. Apologies for the bad quality! 

3. Braid Wrapped Bun - Inspired by The Beauty Department 

If you think that doesn't look like my head, you'd be right! I did this one on a friend for a formal. 

4. Sock Bun - Learned from this YouTube Tutorial

Old faithful. I probably rock the sock bun a little too often. No shame. 

5. Tucked Away Braid - Inspired by The Small Things Blog 

When my bangs get too long I have to resist doing this one every single day! 

Honorable Mention: Hair Accessories   

Hair accessories should get an honorable mention here. I'm kind of obsessed. Like a lot obsessed. I collect them. I adore them. I can't get enough of them. Decorated bobby pins, flower clips, headbands, anything that has something pretty on it that I can stick in my hair. I want them all!

Five Things Friday: Feeling Pretty Things

What girl doesn't like to feel pretty? I know I'm slightly a diva and probably way more on the girly girl side of the spectrum that some women, but I think deep down inside, in some way we all enjoy feeling pretty! Not for the men in our lives (husbands, boyfriends, fiances, or the single men we're subtly trying and failing to get to notice us). Not for the women we compare ourselves to and shouldn't. But for just for us! Feeling pretty feels good, fun, and confident.


Even baby girls know this! I'm visiting my best friend who has a beautiful one year old. Yesterday she was decked out in the cutest pig tails ever, a Cinderella princess shirt, a fluffy hot pink tutu, and sparkly shoes. She's always social, but was even more social yesterday! She's often happy, but was even happier yesterday! She walked around with princess-like confidence. Grown up girls can feel like princesses too! The things that make baby Alice feel pretty, the things that make me feel pretty, and the things that make you feel pretty might not be the same. That's okay! Know what makes you feel pretty and rock it!

Things That Make Me Feel Pretty: 

1. Wearing Lace - I'm currently OBSESSED! Truth is, I've always loved lace! It just hasn't been as accessible, available, and popular until now. I haven't bought a clothing item in months that didn't involve lace in some way. Lace makes me feel pretty! It makes me feel feminine. It makes me feel smiley. It makes me feel confident! Lace is EVERYWHERE! Plus size, skinny size, expensive, cheap, it's everywhere. I prefer my lace cheap. All four of the dresses below were purchased at Ross for $55! FIFTY FIVE DOLLARS! FOUR DRESS!

If you know me, you already know I love dresses. Dresses + lace?! And for $10-$17 each?! Yes please. This is about us feeling pretty, not other making us feel pretty, BUT other people like lace too! Every time I wear lace a stranger tells me I look nice. Feeling pretty is just for me, but I never hate outfit confirmation! Oh and the black lace pencil skirt below? I got it for $4 yesterday at Bealls Outlet. FOUR DOLLARS! 70% off. Major score. 

2. Pampering My Lips - On my drive to Georgia, I was fumbling in my purse with my eyes focused on the road to find the particular lip balm I wanted. I pulled all of these out one pocket of my purse and then lastly pulled out the desired one - Maybelline Baby Lips Tinted Lip Balm in Peach Kiss. I've never been a lipstick person. I used to love tinted gloss (and still do - like Bath and Body Works Metha Lip Tints), but it didn't have the same lip moisturizing effects and staying power as balm. Then I discovered tinted balm! Burt's Bees Tinted Balm is another everyday favorite, but loving the smooth nude Peach Kiss Baby Lips! I'm also obsessed with Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains! Those are my fancy dress up lip day ones. They have the smoothness of a balm but the color lasts for hours! I also picked up one of the Covergirl Tinted Balm Glosses. Smooth like balm, shiny like gloss, and with color. Having soft, healthy, non-chapped, tinted lips makes me feel pretty!

3. Dressing Like a Ballerina - Ballet flats + high waisted, preferably fluffy, skirt + sock bun (or any kind of bun) + tucked in girly shirt + hair accessories = BALLERINA! I have many versions of ballerina outfits. The one below is just my most recent ensemble that's gotten me more compliments than any other outfit (again, not about that, but proof that feeling pretty for YOU shows for others!). I can't imagine very many things girlier than a ballerina. I'm as clumsy as a big headed baby with shoes that are too big at bed time. I'm NOT a ballerina in any way, shape, or form, but I sure do love to dress in ballerina inspired ensembles. Try it!

4. Treating Myself to a Pedicure - I used to do this often, once a month or every other month, after I had a severe ingrown toenail that lead to surgery! I was scared that my self pedicures were causing my ingrowns since I never got them when I had professional pedicures. I've learned to be less choppy with my toes and have gotten great at giving myself pedicures. Self pedicures work! They do make me feel pretty and it's what I do the majority of the time. But every once in a while, it's just so over-the-top and fabulous to get a professional pedicure. I can't stop staring at my toes for days. I only get about four a year now. Soak your feet and give yourself one OR splurge and get a professional one. I promise it will make you feel pretty.

5. Painting My Nails - If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or see me semi-regularly in real life, you know I have an obsession with painting my nails. It hasn't always been so! This obsession started last summer after a best friend's wedding. My nails were painted by a fellow bridesmaid for the wedding and it made me feel so pretty! I started collecting polish and have gone less than 5 days total without polish on my nails since August. There are lots of expensive polishes out there that can make the task and hobby seem daunting. Don't let that happen! My favorite polish? Wet-n-Wild Megalast! They have mega staying power and the best, easiest brushes ever! Cost? $2! Walgreen's and Walmart have them, but I discovered this week that Dollar General has them in three times as many colors as Walgreen's or Walmart! Go! Stock up! Don't avoid the glitter! Painted nails will make you feel pretty.

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If you do brave the glitter... WARNING! It's mega hard to get off. Any brand, all glitter, it's hard to get off. BUT, I saw this handy tip on Pinterest and it works! Put a normal amount of polish remover on a cotton ball. Place the damp cotton ball on each of your fingers then wrap the tips in tin foil. Let sit for 3 minutes, remove, and the glitter is no more! 

What makes you feel pretty?

Five Things Friday: Healthy Things

Some of the blogs I love (Cashmere & Cupcakes, Slender Kitchen, This Healthy Endeavor) do some version of Five Things Friday. I'm not committing to it, just trying it out this week and I had some relevant content! This week I give you the healthy things I'm loving! 

1. Bolthouse Farms Creamy Yogurt Salad Dressings -  I love salads, but salad dressings can be a calorie killer for something that should be healthy. Most brands do well with low-cal vinaigrette style dressings, but the creamy ones are normally mayo based and loaded with calories. These aren't! So far I've tried the Chunky Blue Cheese and the Caesar Parmesan and they are super yummy! New staple.

2. Avon Therapeutic Cracked Heel Relief Cream - Your eyes aren't deceiving you, those are my fingers and not my toes or feet and yes, this product is for feet. HOWEVER, if you ever find your fingers covered in as many hangnails as mine were this week, this stuff works! It's also good for your heels, but it is the only product that helped my damaged cuticles at all! I tried every hand cream, even an online suggestion of chap stick and this product healed it! (If you would like to buy this, or any Avon product and don't have someone you buy from, you can order from my Aunt's Avon page! It ships to you, not her. AND it's actually on sale right now!)

3. Williamette Valley Granola Company Granola Chips - These caught my eye in the grocery store and I had to try them. I was also hungry, and it's hard for me to say no to things that catch my eye while hungry in the grocery store. One day I'll learn that rule, you know the don't go to the grocery store when hungry rule. BUT, this is one impulse hunger grocery store buy I didn't regret! They are full of healthy things: oats, barely, quinoa, and more. I tried the Vanilla Bean flavor and they're great just by themselves or dipped in peanut butter! 

4. Calendar Journaling - This still fits my healthy theme! My whole life I've heard that journaling is healthy, helpful, a good thing to do, etc. I've tried a million times and failed a million times, never having consistency. I'm OCD, so I like the daily thing, but sometimes I lack words so I'd miss a day, then two, then a week, then a month and never finish. I happened upon this idea of calendar journaling on Pinterest. It intrigued me, so I made a New Years Resolution to try it out. I have successfully filled out every day of January and February (and the 1st day of March)! I missed some days here and there, but it was easy to go back and fill in the space. It's just a small box so the pressure is off to write huge paragraphs or pages. I hit highlights and have a symbol system. It has helped me SO much! I've been able to notice so many negative patterns and figure out the source of many struggles by doing this. This one act has been healthier for me than the six weeks of boot camp I've had so far! And guess what else? Doing this gave me a desire to write my prayers in a journal too. My times with Jesus have been completely transformed! If you've ever struggled with journaling, DO THIS! It helps track grief patterns and sin patterns. It reveals right before your eyes that the good days far out weight the bad, and that does tremendous work for my life and attitude just by itself. I can't talk this up enough. DO IT! Next year I'm going to go with one of the calendars that has lines for each day and not just boxes. Genius idea Pinterest! 

5. Manager's Special Labels - Kroger has these. I'm sure other grocery stores do as well, but for sure Kroger does. I've become obsessed with finding these, it's like a treasure hunt! When things are still on the shelf and about to expire, sometimes they'll mark them down at least to half price with these little labels. This week I got fresh rosemary for 99 cents! I also got this Asian Chopped Salad that is normally $3.50 for less then $2! I was able to eat the salad twice for lunches and I'm still finding ways to use up the rosemary! Also a little plug for fresh rosemary, IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN DRY! Dry rosemary, though tasty and fragrant, feels like pieces of pine straw in your mouth. Fresh rosemary is just so perfect and tender! Someone teach me to grow an herb garden?? 

What are you most excited about for this weekend?