How to Wear a Beret when you have Crazy Curly Hair

I have curly hair.  Frizzy, unruly, has-a-mind-of-its-own curly hair.  On the day I took these photos, I was  having a pretty decent hair day, and I had just received a gorgeous beret from my new Etsy friend Julie Mack of Rotten Cupcakes.  But what I didn't realize was that I had NO idea how to put a beret on my head!!  So I experimented...

 Pigtails? I think not. I look like a little kid.

Over the forehead? At first I thought not {as you can tell by my expression}, however it's kinda growing on me... what do you think? Does it just look like a tiny condom instead of a beret?

To the side, Parisian-style! Beret, Je t'aime!

{excuse the kissy face - it was supposed to reflect the City of Love look, but instead I look like a dork}

Ok, now this is the style I think I can rock on a regular basis.  I have that curly hair problem where my hair is all volume at the tips, but totally flat on top - the beret hides it!!  Woo hoo!

Now head over to SIMPLE and read my review of this awesome beret!

Cheers!



>^..^<

Hi, my name is Jessica and I have Curly Hair...

Let me start by saying that contrary to the beliefs of some straight-haired maidens, curly hair doesn't automatically dry into that beachy  tousled wave that every girl wants - that takes more time and effort than most of us want to spend on a regular basis.

I always inwardly laugh and sigh when someone with straight hair says, "Oh, I just WISH I had curly hair like you! Mine is just so straight, I can't do ANYTHING with it!" #1 be careful what you wish for, because curly hair is an absolute bitch joy to deal with; #2 there are SO many ways to curl straight hair! Just go to my Pinterest board dedicated to Hair Hair Hair! and look at all of the gorgeous things you can do with straight hair. Most of those awesome tutorials just won't work with curly hair... unless it's straightened first, which means major heat damage to my already sensitive and flyaway locks. Sigh.

Though I totally understand that straight hair has its own downsides (especially the stick straight variety that won't hold a curl if sharp scissors were held to its head). But I swear, even that variety of hair has a tutorial that will transform it into beachy carefree beauty (check out The Paper Mama, who has seriously straight hair and whose tutorials I adore and wish I could use on my curly hair).

So what is a girl to do with curly hair that frizzes at the slightest hint of moisture? I'm still trying to figure that out, but I can give you a couple of pointers.

There are literally thousands of products on the market for curly hair, and I have yet to truly find that go-to brand or style that is magical for my hair. The closest I've come is a combination of products and techniques:

1. First, straight out of the shower, I lightly towel dry my hair - which means flipping my head upside down and wrapping it lightly in a towel turban to squeeze the water out.  DO NOT TOUSLE CURLY HAIR!  For the love of God, never dry your hair the way your mom used to when you were a kid.  Unless you want a serious frizzball afro style, in which case, tousle away.

2. I use spray style leave-in conditioner - I currently use Aussie Hair Insurance because it's cheap, available at Target, smells awesome, and it works pretty well. Generously spray all over, without tousling your curls! It's so important to apply product evenly but gently to be sure you don't separate your curls too much. Separating curls = big frizz.

3. Then I use a defining cream (like Bumble and Bumble) or a cream leave in conditioner. The cream is a heavy product, so don't overdo it! Be gentle and concentrate most of your effort on the ends, because frizzy flyaway ends are obnoxious.

4. Then I apply Palmer's coconut oil. Be careful not to use too much! You will look like an oily mess. Less is more. Start with literally a few drops, rub in your palms, and smooth over your hair - you can always add more. Gently!

5. Air dry... or diffuse! A diffuser is a curly girl's best friend. Some curly girls shrink at the sight of a blow dryer - and for good reason! Those suckers induce static and ultra frizz in a heartbeat! But stick a diffuser on the end of that puppy, and now you've got a curly hair friendly instrument. I just got one for Christmas, and I LOVE IT!  I don't know how I lived my curly girl life thus far without a diffuser.  I use it to dry my roots because the roots always get so flat from the weight of the curls as they dry.  I flip my hair upside down and gently pile sections of curls onto the diffuser, but I really focus on drying the first 4 or 5 inches of my hair starting at the root.  I don't worry about drying my curls completely because the bottom will create its own body as it dries.

6. Depending on how the diffusing or air drying went, you may have a few flyaway hairs - simply use a drop or 2 of coconut oil to smooth them out.

This is not a foolproof way to deal with curls. Some days, no matter what you do, they just want to do their own thing. That's what hair ties and messy buns are for!

Have you ever tried taking a photo of the back of your own head?  It's fricking hard!!

Good luck, curly girls!

Cheers!


>^..^<

10 days?! Really?!?!

I am SO behind on blogging!  It's 10 whole days into the new year, and I have at least 5 posts in draft form.  Blogger fail!

I promise, I will hop to and get some posts finished, pronto!

SNEAK PEEK :: I have a review of Track 7 Brewing, plus several tasting notes to finish typing up.  Be prepared for the onslaught over the weekend!

Cheers!!

>^..^<

Happy Christmas!

Wishing you all Love, Laughter and Happiness this Christmas and Always.

The Stomach Flu Blows {chunks}

Twas the day before my birthday and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for the dog and the cat who were wrestling in the hallway.

I had just gotten home from work to the tantalizing smell of pot roast and roasted mixed veggies wafting from the kitchen. I was expecting one of my best friends and her husband to join us for a pre-birthday dinner. As usual, my mom handed Lily off to me and headed home. Lily and I played, and then went outside to wait for Daddy to get home from visiting his parents. After Jim got home, Lily and I resumed playing, and as we sat on the couch, with her facing me on my lap, all of a sudden a weird look came across her face… and a waterfall of macaroni, cheese and green beans cascaded into my lap. Holy projectile vomit Batman!

Let me pause here for a moment… I had heard the term “projectile vomit” before, but until this moment, when I was literally COVERED in a clearly discernable variety of lunchtime foods did I truly appreciate the horror of the term.

Three more times the waterfall hit me in the chest, arms and lap, as I yelled for Jim to get towels. We headed straight to the bathtub and got cleaned up. I prayed that this was a fluke, but because I had heard that there was a nasty 24 hour stomach flu going around, and we had just had a play date on Sunday. Keep in mind, 30 minutes from this time I was expecting company to help us eat the pot roast that was not sounding nearly as appetizing as it had when I walked in the door after work.

Melissa and Peppe arrived, gift and cake in hand, just as Lily had her second wave of sick - all over the clean shirt that I had idiotically put on.  Awesome.  This time, Lily and I went straight into the shower, clothes and all, while Jim helped us strip and rinse our clothes, then handed me my pajama pants and one of his old t-shirts.  I knew we were in for a long night.

Best friend that she is, Melissa decided that she and Peppe would tough it out, and we all ate dinner in the living room, while I cuddled Lily on the couch, swaddled in towels.  After a couple more rounds of baby-sick (caught in towels this time), Melissa put candles on my birthday cake, and I blew them out with a naked, towel-wrapped baby on my hip.  After they left, I ditched my clothes, Jim covered the couch in sheets and towels, and I got ready for a long night.

And then Jim started feeling ill and had to head to bed.

Fantastic.

To make a long story short, Lily was sick from 5:30pm to 1:00am, a time filled with feeding her water from a medicine dropper (only after learning that letting her chug water or pedialyte from her bottle only amounted to another round of vomiting) and napping. After each sick, she would rest her tired head on my chest, and I rubbed her back and whispered sweet words to her. All in all, she was quite a trooper given the circumstances.  After 1am, I could tell that she was completely empty, and since I had been so diligent about keeping her hydrated using the medicine dropper, I knew she was ok to sleep in her crib.

As I headed into my bedroom to check on Jim and get some sleep, I heard him in the bathroom losing his stomach... his night was just beginning.  So I slept in the guest bedroom with the baby monitor and left my poor hubby to battle his tummy.

Thankfully, Lily was able to keep liquids down when she woke at 7am, and after an hour of no sickness, I knew my birthday wasn't a total loss.  I stayed home from work so I could keep her on a liquid diet of breastmilk and water all day.  Poor Jim slept most of the day.

The plus sides to this whole situation are that I got to spend my birthday with my family instead of in the office, I was able to keep a sick baby hydrated through a nasty stomach flu, got a few hours of decent sleep, didn't get sick myself, and stayed completely calm and collected through the whole experience.

I think this experience only brought Lily and I closer together.  She needed her momma, and momma was able to stay calm and successfully comforted her through the night.  That makes me feel pretty good.

I'll call this a win.



>^..^<

I like to play with my balls...

Get your mind out of the gutter!  I'm talking about my Big Crazy Balls from Lucky Hanks on Etsy!  Geez, what were YOU thinking?

I originally wanted to contact Theresa at Lucky Hanks because I wanted to review her wool dryer balls, but then I saw her Big Crazy Balls... the resulting review {and giveaway, ending 12/15 at midnight!} can be found on SIMPLE.

I wanted to share some excerpts from the conversations behind the scenes of this project.  Bear in mind, I don't know Theresa except from this review... but I've come out of it with a friend for sure!  We have a lotta balls between us.

Jessica:
Hi Theresa!  I never thought I would say something like this, but I LOVE YOUR BIG CRAZY BALLS! HA, that was fun!  Ok, down to business....

Theresa:
...Last Christmas I had a really good conversation going with family about my wool dryer balls. 
"people love my balls" 
"people can't wait to get their hands on my balls" 
"I ship my balls all over the world, even Australia" then after that there was some joke about my balls "going down under" 
LOL it really never gets old.... 

Jessica:
I want to get MY hands on your big crazy balls. I was originally drawn to your shop because of your wool dryer balls, but then I saw the big crazy balls and fell balls-deep in love.  

Theresa:
Anyone can have fun with my balls. Just wait till you have your next party with friends, everyone will be asking 
"where did you get your new balls?" 
"your balls in the living room really spruce up your sofa!" 
"you get to write about whose balls?" 
"you let your daughter play with what again?" 
this one is really good... "Honey go lie down on the sofa and rest your head on my balls while I make dinner" then you can tell your friends that your husband fell asleep on your balls. 
LMBO. Laugh my balls off - of course. giggle giggle

Jessica:
Gotta hit the {ball} sack for tonight. HA!

Theresa:
You are an amazing writer. Just the person I would want working on this piece about my balls.

Jessica:
I'm on the couch cuddling your balls right now, they are keeping me warm. For real though, they are! 

After reading this and my review, you know you want to get your hands on Theresa's balls too.  Enter the giveaway, and go shopping at Lucky Hanks today!

Cheers!

>^..^<

Recipe of the Day {Cranberry Oatmeal Tuxedo Chip Cookies & Cranberry Vanilla Latte Cookies}

Oh yes.  These are THE BEST COOKIES EVER.  Seriously.  I've been making these for 4 or 5 years, and they are still a huge hit with my family and friends.  They scream comfort.  They ooze happiness.  They make yummy in your tummy.

The only catch?  You have to go to my review site, SIMPLE Reviews, to get your hands on the goods.  Google doesn't play nice when posts are copied word for word (why can't I plagiarize my own works if I want to, hmm?), so it just has to be this way.

Click here for Cranberry Oatmeal Tuxedo Chip Cookies!

And to go along with this recipe, here's a link to my Cookies in a Jar post too!  There, you will find a recipe for Cranberry Vanilla Latte Cookies.  I'll admit, I haven't actually BAKED any yet, I just made the recipe into a pretty jar gift.  But they sure sound scrumptious.

Cheers!

>^..^<