May Madness

Things are getting a little crazy in the Presley house now that summer has pretty much arrived and I was hoping to be picking up the pace with some of my bigger projects and blogging more, but my toddler is preventing that by siphoning all my energy and draining my patience.

Anyways, let me jump off my crazy mom-of-a-toddler train. I have been trying to work on some projects this month and try out some new stuff I found on Pinterest. But I only really got two things done. But I did get some new ideas for projects I want to work on (see more on that at the very bottom of this post!)

 French braid up the back with a sock bun topknot

This is actually pretty easy if you know how to french braid. I like it better than regular french braids because my arms don't get as tired when I am braiding with my head upside down. I think this may be a go-to this summer for my 2nd-day unwashed hair. The sock bun was super easy too. There are a million tutorials online for this. 

Leopard Dresser

I am in the process of transitioning baby A's room from cutesy baby room to a room more fit for the chic, diva almost-preschooler that she is. I finished this painting part, now I am just waiting on the awesome drawer pulls. I am working on a post about the room re-do, which should be up soon!

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I haven't done much else in the project department, but I have decided that I might change around the log side table I did a few weeks back. We had originally decided to leave it natural and plain, just coating it with a protective water proof sealant, but we don't really like the raw nature as much as we thought. I saw this stump stool idea on pinterest and I would really like to make that (or a set, I have more logs!) I also saw this idea too which would give it a colorful update, but still keep it natural without feeling like we have a tree in our room. I have also considered making both of these since we have several log pieces I could work with.

via Pinterest

via Martha Stewart

So I decided to take a poll! 

Stool or Side Table?
	Stump stool all the way!
	Stick with the side table!
	Make both of them!
pollcode.com free polls

Gossip Girl Birchbox Review!

I decided to try out some multi-media blogging, and played around with my video editing software.

If video blogging is something that you guys would like to see more be sure to message me, comment or let me know! 

Enjoy :) 

PS. The Bachelorette starts tonight (at 9:30!) so be prepared so see the occasional "Rose Rant" if this is  anything like Bachelor Ben's season! 

December Birchbox

I was browsing Pinterest a few months ago and came across a really cute blog called "The Small Things Blog"
It's super adorable and packed with great hair/make up/cooking/everything. I was scrolling through her blog and came across a post she did about receiving a Birchbox. I read the post and I had to sign up.

Birchbox is sort of like a magazine subscription. But instead of getting a magazine you will flip though once or twice and then leave around to clutter your house, you get 4-5 samples of beauty products, that you will LOVE. And it's only $10 a month. It comes in a hot pink box, so you will never miss it in your mail. Not that you would, if you are anything like me,  practically sprinting to the mailbox to check for my box every month.

I got my first Birchbox in November and I discovered my new favorite perfume Kate Spade 'Twirl' and Jouer Cosmetics and amazing Alex & Isabella Hair Bows (the hair ties don't leave the weird pony tail hump when you take your hair down, and they are too cute!) 

I got my December Birchbox and I was absolutely thrilled with what was inside, again. They usually show up around the 10th but this month's came a little late because inside everyone got an exclusive pre-launch of  Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue Cologne Absolue. So, they sent everyone 100 Birchbox points, which is essentially a $10 credit to shop on their website. Awesome.

Here is my review of all the December products in my box. 

 It is always packaged up so cute! Ribbons, shimmery paper :)

 In this month's box I got: 

EBOOST Orange Natural Energy Booster

It is a packet that you mix with water and drink, supposed to be a natural energy booster. I have not tried it.

 pre-launch Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue Cologne Absolue

It smells amazing. 

It's elegant and mature and what I imagine classy, old Hollywood smelled like.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse® OR Multi-Usage Dry Oil Shimmer 

Amazing product. I used a little on my décolletage and on my legs and it looked amazing. Just a little shimmer, it made all the difference! It really took my whole look up a notch. We were going to a Christmas party that night and it was perfect  On my legs, it gave that flawless sheen that wearing nylon pantyhose can, but without the itchy stuffiness of pantyhose. It only takes a little bit so my sample size is going to last a while, but when it is gone, I am restocking this one for sure. 

Showstoppers® Designer Fashion Tape in Nude

 I love fashion tape, so useful. I have actually used this brand before, it is great.

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss 

The color I got is 'Birchbox Pink'. It is a nice color and consistency, isn't too sticky, and very moisturizing

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo

I use dry shampoo a lot, but I wasn't particularly impressed by this one. I didn't like the smell and it didn't blow me away. A full size bottle costs 28.00 and I didn't think it worked any better than my 4.00 Tresemme Fresh Start (which smells awesome and works like a dream)

I love getting Birchboxes every month and I will most likely keep my subscription forever. It is a great way to find some stellar beauty products without having to do the hard work or buy a full size product that you end up hating.

If you are interested in Birchbox and getting started with a subscription click here.

Pretty Hair Pins

I use bobby pins like crazy. CRAZY.

And I usually buy the ones that at least sort of match my hair color, but I change that so often I rarely have a bobby pins for the current color so it never matches.  Not too long ago I bought some neon bobby pins and embraced using the hair pins to accessorize.

I saw this on pinterest and went nuts. It doesn't link back to a blog or anything, it's just a picture of pretty bobby pins with the description of :

"Paint your bobby pins with nail polish! - very cute & EASY!"

 It is cute and easy. And this is how it turned out: 

the colors are much brighter in real life. and look awesome in your hair!

 COLORS USED:

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails X-treme Wear #140 Rockstar Pink
Claire's Cosmetics "Mean Green"
Zoya "Noel"
Sally Hansen HD #01 Cyber
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri #11 Sonic Bloom
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri #22 Jumpin' Jade


If you can't tell, I have a Sally Hansen obsession. Some of the best polishes I've had have been Sally's and the Insta-Dri line is amazing for doing toddler mani/pedis or quick polish changes!

A Blue Streak

If I could, I would have rainbow streaked hair and more tattoos and piercings...but I have a job at a law firm and if you want a professional job (especially here in the deep south)  you usually need to be a little more conservative. I saw this pin (it links to a tumblr page, so the only instructions I have were in the description of the pin) that explained how to get temporary hair color streaks and I was more than excited. This could give me a little fun for the weekends, but rinse out for work.

The pin says to use oil pastels to color on the section of hair you want and hair spray it to hold.

Not Your Mother's 'She's A Tease' Hairspray and Cray-Pas Junior Artist Oil Pastels

So I did exactly that and it worked like a dream! I tried a few different colors and was pretty satisfied with all of them. The flash caught some of the shiny particles from pastels I guess but the color is more smooth and not grainy like that in real life.

Update: It washes out easily! I washed my hair the next morning and it came right out.