Dry, Tangled Hair Rescue

Since about 2 months into my pregnancy, I noticed that my hair texture was changing. It became really straight and extremely easy to manage. It also grew very long, even though I used heat every month to straighten it. I straightened it because it normally takes me a looooong time to detangle my curly hair in the shower. When it's not straight, I wet my hair in the shower every few days, if not every day. (Because it's relaxing, not for any healthy hair reasons) I wet my hair often but don't comb it often...see where I'm going with this... Tangles tangles tangles when it's finally time to comb! Well, I had no patience for that while pregnant because back hurt, tired, rather eat, shower can't be as hot as I want etc. Straight was just easier. I could wash, dry and straighten it an hr because it was unusually easy to manage. Bun at night, waves in the day.

 Fast forward to my postpartum self. My curls are growing back, and my hair is very long but the ends of my hair are dry and straight. (I will be getting my ends trimmed next week) I also have less time in the shower because baby...see where I'm going with this... Tangles tangles tangles.

Here's my hair straightened after baby.

You can see my dry, straight ends here.

The product that I can 100% count on in the shower to detangle my hair (so I can comb it) is Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Mask. I wash or rinse my hair, squeeze it out a bit, GENEROUSLY apply the mask then shower shave etc. After I shower, I comb my hair with a wide tooth comb while the water runs through it. I use my trusty Denman brush next to really get all of the tangles out. Done! Some days, I leave the mask in for a day or 2 before I rinse because I'm just a conditioner junky. When I rinse this stuff out, my hair feels really soft and moisturized. I love it and I'm positive it will help me have healthy hair again. 

Here's The denman brush I use. I got mine from Sally's for about $10

Ulta and CVS sell the repair mask for around $36 for a 8.5oz jar. This stuff is expensive and worth it but I buy mine on Amazon. $16, comes to your door, order more when you start running low. Perfect. I've also seen the line at Marshall's and TJ Maxx but I've yet to find the repair mask there. 

**Ever since about 3 months postpartum my hair and hairline have been falling out like crazy. I read it would happen so I'm ok with it, although it's really not cute. It's starting to grow back so hopefully soon I'll have a hairline again. I haven't done anything to try to grow it back because it's hormonal and I'm just gonna wait it out.**

You can see how much has fallen out in this picture :(

**Yes, I'm nursing in this picture and I'm one of those people who feels comfortable feeding my baby in public. There's a whole seperate discussion surrounding that**

Julia's Wedding!

One of my friends, Julia got married to the love of her life, Derrick, last weekend! She was beautiful and I had so much fun at the reception. Julia and I went to high school together so lots of my friends were in the wedding and invited to the wedding. That really made for a good reception. We danced until the DJ made us leave! Good Times!

I had the misfortune of running late and didn't get to grab my good camera before I left the house. I ended up with some shoddy iphone pics and some after the party, kinds sweaty pics of me after I got back home. Ehh, oh well...here's what I got.

So 2 nights before, I washed and air dried my hair. 

The night before, I blow dried my hair using Tresemme heat tamer spray and this sample of Chocolat blow dry cream by Carol's Daughter. I could do a whole separate post on this stuff cuz I hated it so much. My hair felt really dry and tangled after I straightened it. When I tried to wash it out a few days later, I had to wash like three times and use a clarifying shampoo to get it out :/ Won't be using that anymore. If anybody has tried it and loves it, I will send you this bottle! 

I use DDF oil free moisturizing dew which I love love love after washing my face. The urban decay naked skin is really good. Def my new favorite foundation. It's lightweight and buildable for medium to heavy coverage. My color is 9.0

I used a wand to curl my hair and this is the finished product a la Instagram.

Here I am with the lovely bride with my horrible iPhone 4 camera

Here's Julia looking amazing! This pic is one of her professional shots...obviously not taken with my stupid phone. 

Here's how I looked afterwards...

My hair was completely sweaty and disgusting!

My hair was so bad when I got home :/ That means it was a fun reception!! 

Half way through the reception, I put my hair in a top knot. I added the headband when i got home lol

My dress is by Blue Juice and my clutch is from Aldo Accessories. 

Madewell and I Will Marry Soon.

Ever since I was a child, I used the comeback "If you love (inanimate object) so much, why don't you marry it?!" Unfortunately for my friends, I still use it. Seeing as how, I don't want to be a hypocrite, I have decided that I should take my own advice...I love Madewell so much, that I should marry it. I hope that we will share this long journey called life together and be happy, as one, forever.

In honor of my love, I shall disclose that the Southpark Mall Madewell, in Charlotte, NC will be having an additional 30% off of all markdowns today, June 13. Yes, you heard me right! Madewell sale section is life for me, so I will be there tomorrow afternoon, getting all the good deals. If you are new to Madewell, this is a great chance to join the family of great clothes on your body! Put on a little makeup, do up your hair and everything you try on will look amazing. Seriously. If you go to try on clothes and you're lookin cray cray, you'll hate everything. If you look cute when you arrive, you'll feel good about what you see in the mirror. Works for me...just a little tip for people who claim to hate shopping.

You should be so excited and grateful because a friend of mine, who lives in New York, said that her local store NEVER has sales. She's originally from Charlotte and is considering moving back to Charlotte just because Madewell Southpark has sales all the time. I would too, it would be totally worth it. (ok, she didn't exactly say that, but it would probably be a smart move if you ask me!)

Typically I like to hide in the dressing room while trying on clothes but the girls (and guy) at Madewell are so cool, they'll make you wanna strut around because they are so complimentary!! Whew, if you're ever depressed, go to Madewell and try on a dress and they'll be like...YOU LOOK AWESOME! Best part about it, they won't be lying...you'd really look awesome cuz their stuff is so cute! ok, enough with boasting about my future life partner, Madewell. I'll just prove to you how cute everything is...

This is the last shirt I bought from Madewell, a silky button up number than can be worn in soooo many different ways. These pants are my favorite. I bout them about 2 years ago from Madewell and I wear them at least once every week.

I hate my iPhone camera with rage a passion! It's so horrible except when there's bright natural light. Anyway, it'll have to do since I took this in the house, at night and was too lazy to fool with my real camera. 

Look Of The Day!

A lot of you who are following me on Instagram already know that I went to see Alvin Ailey the other week and it was soooooo good. It was at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Knight Theater. It's at the Levine Center for the Arts which includes 4 amazing museums! I love watching dance just as much as I love dancing and I can't even begin to describe how obsessed I am with strong bodies, so it was a win win for me. They're touring until October so if you can catch them in your city or somewhere near, it's a definite must. Here's what I wore.

Dress-Mimi Chica
Shoes- Matisse
Belt- Madewell
Necklace- H&M
Watch- Michael Kors 

The other pictures make the material look shiny and it's not, it's like crocheted. 

Inside 'Firebird' by Niki De Saint Phalle

I love this sculpture and I always called it Phoenix before I learned (yesterday) what the real name was.
 I asked my friend who works at the Mint Museum and she filled me in.
She blogs at http://kinkythought.tumblr.com/ so check her out! 

Here's the Mint Museum, I think it's so pretty.

1920's Game Night

A few weeks ago, I went to a 1920's themed casino game night hosted by the 100 Black Men organization. It was at Extravaganza Depot, just outside of uptown Charlotte, which is a really cool event space and production company. Gambling is illegal in NC so we used fake money but I was rolling in it by the end of the night. I was hot on the craps table for like 30 minutes straight :) It was a lot of fun and less stressful than real gambling, lol. For anyone who's planning a party and can't think of a theme...if you have the time to plan it right, game night works really well. The food was catered by Outback Steakhouse so it was yummy, but there were no desserts :( What's a party with no dessert? Not so sweet.

I decided to go with the theme and wear a 1920 something party dress. I got it from Hong Kong, a vintage boutique in Plaza Midwood. With a few alterations, (done by me, scissors, some fashion tape and a glue gun) it was exactly what I wanted. I didn't want to go all the way flapper, like a performer would wear but I also didn't want a super heavy beaded gown. Those were my only two options at Morris Costumes. I'm happy with how it ended up!

So here's how the dress started out. Pretty ugly with those puffy sleeves! The velvet was nice though :)

I got my hair straightened and made sure that she used lots of pressing creme and hair spray because
I needed the curls to stay. Don't worry...I got my ends trimmed after this! 

So here's how I left the salon. It was so funny because I got so many compliments from guys as I went
around running errands with my hair like this. wtf? Did I remind them of their grandmas and it put
a warm feeling in their heart? I would never wear my hair like this! 

The finished product. I chopped of the shoulder pads and the sleeves. Then I made the neck into a V.
 I tied a knot into my pearls also, but not until after this picture.
I used bobby pins to make a faux bob. 

I made this feather clutch from a Walmart feather duster, black ribbon and a cheap plastic
bag from the beauty supply store. You can learn how here.
These shoes are really old from bebe...maybe 4 years old.

My headband is a ribbon, hot glued to a hair elastic. I added an applique from one of my old dance costumes.
 If anyone wants to know how I make headbands, just leave a comment.
My lipstick is MAC Girl About Town. Lipliner is MAC Magenta

I love this picture because I think it looks most authentic. It's all grainy because of
 my crappy iphone camera quality+black and white thanks to Instagram.
Follow me if you haven't already:GStarMi

I got these lace gloves from the beauty supply store also. 

Here's my handsome date :)

Look Of The Day!

This Saturday, I went to the opening of the Behailu Academy in NoDa. It was a great event and this new academy will fund so many children's arts education...which I'm such a big fan of! Having grown up dancing and having a life-long love of the arts, it's really nice that other people also see how special the arts are to children. Here's what I wore.

Dress- Ruby Rox
Belt- Madewell
Shoes- Mia
Cluth- Zara

Look Of The Day!

This Friday I went to a charity dodgeball tournament. It was a lot of fun and the participants raised like $70,000 for the new women's shelter that's being built in Charlotte! United Family Services does really great work in our community to help victims of domestic abuse.

Here's me walking my dog, Roxy, after the tournament :)

Shirts- Express
Jeans- Zara
Watch- Juicy Couture
Flip Flops- BC Footwear

Look Of The Day

If you know me, you know how much I love Marshall's and TJ Maxx. Here's one reason why... this dress was a random find from Marshall's that cost me a whopping $15! It's one of those great, fuss-free, throw on and automatically look cute, go-to dresses (we all have them)! I especially love that the belt came with it, which means I don't have to look for something that works. I also love the lace back, an unexpected, fun twist to an otherwise normal nautical cotton dress. I wore my dress with Tom's, which are equally fuss-free and my Zara bag that I've been wearing all summer :)