Busy Week

I'm too busy this week to write a quality post so you get bullets instead:

- We get our house tonight!!! We have been leasing back the house to it's previous owners since we closed which made the excitement linger, but we finally get it in a few hours. No big move just yet. We plan to do some work before moving day. I see a lot of before/after posts coming...

- I'm trying to drink more water this week. a.) because it's good for you and b.) I'm trying to flush out my system as I need a flat stomach by Saturday for a figure hugging dress and I'm too busy to workout, although I'm feeling extra bloated from all the water. the cycle never ends.

- My trip to Tyler two weekends ago made me miss Ashley even more!

- I just started selling ads for The Junior League of Houston's Charity Ball Program and Houston News magazine. Have something you want to advertise to 5,000+ women in the Houston area? Email me: chelsea {dot} purifoy {at} yahoo.com for more info.

- I'm almost just as excited to make a binder tonight than I am to get our house keys...dork alert!

- Don't you just LOVE this proposal? I watched it so many times this weekend and then got crazy excited when the couple was interviewed on the Today Show Tuesday morning. If you haven't seen it yet (you are living under a rock) and need to watch it now. Enjoy!

Three Years Ago Today...

...Jason and I tied the knot!  Happy 3 years of marriage to my love who puts up with me everyday.  I'm not one to BS and say that everyday is perfect, because it's not, but man we have a great life and are so incredibly blessed to have found each other.  I love Jason for so many reasons, but a few reasons besides his hair, include his sense of humor and ability to be positive and enjoy life. He is smart, hard working and loyal.  He is the best partner I could have.  Three years has truly flown by and I'm excited to see what this one brings. 

Here is a few of my favorite pics from this past year. 

No Heat Required: The Perfect Heatless Curls Hair Tutorial

Currently my hair is the longest it's ever been!  I've just always been a short hair girl.  I get very bored wearing it straight and I'm constantly lusting after all the celebrities with perfect curls and waves.  My hair is very thick so if I curl it with rollers or even with a VERY hot curling iron, the curl is gone within a few hours. 

Another hair issue I have is over-styling.  My ends are dry, but my hair gets greasy if I don't wash it everyday.  This means putting a blow dryer to it everyday...the cycle continues!  No bueno!

When I found this hair tutorial about no-heat curls I was hopeful, but skeptical. 

I'm here to tell you though that it works!!!  At least for me.  I've done it about 5 times now and every time it's been great.  There are lots of vlogs if you google "no heat curls," but I really liked this one. 

Yes, my pictures are horrible, but hey, I'm real...no makeup and all.  These were taken at about 11pm last Tuesday night.  I had an early morning meeting so wanted to be able to roll out of bed and not spend too much time on my hair...success!

Tools needed: elastic headband and spray bottle with water (optional)

Other hair products I use.  Not all at once though!

Step One:  Start with dry hair.
(I promise I wasn't meaning to give this super cheesy pose...hello Glamour Shots!)

Step Two:  Add water to dampen.  Do not do this with wet hair.  It will not dry.  Just a little spritz is all you need.

Step Three:  Put your elastic headband on, hippie style!  Make sure you pull your hair at the top up a bit.

Step Four: Take a section of hair and twist.   I've noticed it looks best with larger sections  The amount I used in this picture was great. 

Step Five:  Wrap the twisted hair over and under your headband.  You will continue to add sections of hair as you do this.  Repeat on the other side until all the hair is wrapped. 

Step Six:  Done and Spray with hairspray!  I like a flexible hold hairspray.  Now it's time for bed!  I promise it is very comfortable.

Step Seven:  The next day I woke up and got ready (makeup, clothes, everything!) so I could leave the hair in as long as possible. 

Step Eight:  Remove the headband, shake out your hair, brush through if necessary, spray and go!  My curls were VERY tight.  I flipped my hair over, finger combed and used 2 pumps of Kerastase Elixir Ultime.  My curls went down even more within the next hour to a more perfect wave.  They lasted all day even through major humidity!

Back of hair at the end of the day!

Another example of curls using this technique

Other helpful tips I've learned through trial and error:

-  Damp hair works better than dry hair.  Just don't do it on wet hair. 

-  Don't stress out if there is a section or piece that isn't perfect in the morning, you can always fix with a curling iron if needed. 

-  If your hair is very clean as in you JUST washed it, use extra product so the curls hold better.  I put BB Texture cream in my wet hair before drying it.  This worked so much better than clean hair, no product.  However, hair that wasn't super clean worked best...as in I washed it that morning and wrapped that night before bed.  You could always "freshen up"  bit before wrapping using a dry shampoo.  My favorite is by Suave (pic above).

-  Pull the band up a bit to your hairline when you go to bed.  This won't mess up your curls and will prevent a huge line in your forehead in the morning.

-  Spray before going to bed...a lot!  My favorite hairspray for this is Flexible Hold Herbal Essence (pic above).  My favorite hairspray to use after styling the next day is BB Spray de Mode (pic above).

-  The longer you can leave your hair wrapped, the better.  It has worked great for me leaving it for 8-13 hours.  I even read one blogger who said she wore her hair wrapped all day...she used a cute headband and rocked it!  When it was time for her special event that night, her hair was fabulous.  I'm not sure I'm brave enough for this unless I don't have to leave the house!

Have fun and please share your experience with no heat curls. 

 

 

Mommy!

I never did a Mother's Day Post, but by now if you read my blog regularly, you know my mom and I are super close.  She is my rock, sounding board and best friend.  This year was very special because my birthday fell on Mother's Day.  She's the one person I don't mind sharing my bday with! 

We obviously spent the day together celebrating our special days.  One of the things I got her for Mother's Day was the new Kendra Scott Elle earrings in Turquoise.  The Elle earrings are the smaller version of the popular Danielle earrings, which I have...I knew mom would like the smaller version.  They are so cute on her!

And sidenote, regarding these earrings, I love the bold statement and pop of color that the Danielle earrings add, however, I will say that they are heavy.  They don't bother me when I first put them on, but after wearing them all day my ears hurt!  I've read the Elle earrings aren't bothering people since they are much lighter. 

Elle Earrings in turquoise

Danielle earrings in turquoise

I went to Nordstroms specifically for these earrings for mom.  I got so lucky because they had one pair left!  I picked them up but continued to browse through the jewelry section to make sure this was what I wanted for mom.  I noticed a lady following me and watching my every move, but I just figured she was doing the same thing I was.  When I finally told the sales clerk to wrap up the Kendra Scott earrings, I heard the lady grunt and run off.  What did I do???

The salesclerk told me she wanted that last pair and was hoping I would drop them...sorry lady! 

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!  Love ya lots!

Warby Parker

Have you heard of Warby Parker yet?  My favorite girl at Lululemon had on the cutest frames the other day and when I asked her where she found them she told me all about Warby Parker.  So now I will pass the knowledge on to you! 

Warby Parker sells men's and women's frames and prescription lenses including sunglasses through their website and a handful of showrooms around the country.  Similar to Tom's they also have a "Buy A Pair, Give A Pair" Program also!  A couple of other cool things to note: they offer frames AND presciption lenses for $95!  If you don't wear glasses then you don't know what an amazing deal this is! 

Finally, since not everyone is near one fo their stores and they realize the importance of trying on frames before you buy, they offer a Home Try-On program that is 100% free.  I was skeptical too, but I tried it myself and it really is free.  WP will mail you up to 5 frames and gives you 5 days to try them out.  You are not charged for shipping and are even given a pre-paid shipping label to send them back. 

I received my samples within just a few days after requesting.  The box that they arrive in is very cute too.  The process could not have been easier! 



Owen in Black Matte



Preston in Tortoise Whiskey



Sinclair in Greystone

Pierce

Winston in Black

My favorite for me was the Sinclair frames, although the pair I'm lusting after (Bensen) wasn't available for the home delivery so I'm torn.  I also really like the Pierce frames, but they look very similar to my current glasses.  Decisions, decisions. 

Have you ordered anything from Warby Parker?  Please share!

Oh, and I hope you enjoyed my model poses...yes, I'm required to turn my head to the side otherwise I look so fat with a double-chin situation. 

Summer Playlist

It's time to get your iPod ready for your pool-time, driving to the beach, patio summer playlist!  Here is what is on mine so far:

The Shops by Target

I know I am not alone when I say that a normal trip to Target to "pick up a few things" normally takes at least an hour and $100 minimum!  I like to start with a stop at the Target Starbucks to fuel my shopping.  I then go straight for women's clothing, sometimes accessories, then mandatory stop at PJ's, workout wear, books and home goods.  Finally, I may or may not remember (with a cart full of treasures) what I actually needed to stop for...

The Shops by Target is out in stores now, featuring several boutique stores including The Webster which is what I was most excited for.  Unfortunately, my excitement vanished after seeing the pieces in person.  Even though the collection is very affordable, the fabrics felt cheap and flimsy.  I'm not completely dismissing everything, some tops and dresses were better than others, just proceed with caution.  I know what you're thinking, what do you expect from a dress under $40, however, I've been so impressed by other Target lines that my bar is now set very high.

Sleeveless Jersey Dress, $29.99
Love this dress!  Material was way too thin for me though.

Sheath Dress Deco Print, $39.99

Embroidered Tunic, $29.99
I really like this tunic.  The material was very soft and light.  It just did not flatter my body.  If you do buy, I recommend sizing down.

Navy & Melon Deco Tunic
This is availale online only.  Probably my favorite piece...wish I could see it in stores!

Weekend Recap: Birthday Edition!

Last week was awesome since it was my birthday week!  Jason made it so special and had a daily theme to celebrate:

Monday - Starbucks gift card to start the Monday AM off right!
Tuesday - Decorated the mirrors with special birthday messages
Wednesday - Grill theme (one of my fave summer things to do) with Grilling magazine and outdoor candle.  Planned to grill that night, but it was rainy so he treated me to Frank's Chophouse!
Thursday - Flowers delivered to my office
Friday - Pool theme included pool-drink Chevron Cups
Saturday - Shopping Day
Sunday - Mother's Day card from Tucker

My birthday love from friends and family!

So on to the actual recap...all of the birthday celebrations started on Thursday with my girlfriends!  On Friday at lunch, we had a mother's day/birthday lunch with my mom, grandma and aunt at the Sugar Creek Country Club.  Jason and I had a fun dinner with my Dad and Karin at Carabba's Friday night...so great to catch up with them.  Saturday, Jason indulged me and went shopping with me all day! Jason bought me a new iPhone for my birthday (I was rocking the old school 3 for far too long) so we shopped for a case and a few other things.  It was just fun spending a full day with him running around. 

Saturday night we had the best dinner at Ouisie's Table.  Great table, great food, great company and GREAT people watching.  In lieu of going out after dinner we just decided to go back home, get Tucker and we played pool and drank wine at our apartment's lounge. 

Sunday was my actual birthday AND Mother's Day so after sleeping in, we went to my mom's house for food and celebrations.  We grilled hamburgers and had had the best ice cream cake ever!  My mommy was so sweet to pick this up for me!  We also had to have cheese dip, my mom's favorite.   

Can you believe how much we ate!  Such a great weekend thanks to Jason, my family and friends.  Thanks to everyone in my life!  It's my last year of my twenties...and gonna be a great one!

Ombre Revisited

Ombre is everywhere on celebs (or it seems that way to me) probably because I love it and wish I could pull it off.  My friend, Allison just took the Ombre plunge and it looks amazing!  I originally posted about this hair trend over a year ago so clearly it's here to stay.  My fave celeb who wears this trend is Lily Aldridge (top three images).  I think her color is perfect!  I don't like the Drew Barrymore version with super dark roots and blond tips.  I prefer a more subtle ombre. 
I will definitely be asking Allison (my hairstylist) at White Salon, can I pull this off?  I'm thinking my hair needs to be a bit longer...