Polka Dot Top and Red Necklace

Hey, everybody!

Today the weather was pretty hot. About 100 degrees hot. I usually find it a challenge to get dressed up during that kind of hot weather, since I can't add layers to my outfit to make it look more interesting and put together. But I liked the outfit I put together for church this morning, and I was able to stay cool all day! I wore a nacy, polka-dot top with a pair of denim shorts and some basic black flats. I accessorized with a black ribbon tied around my waist, a red, beaded necklace, gold bangles, and some gold earrings (no picture of those, sorry!).

 

 

So, what do you think of this outfit?

 

~Kendra :)

 

My Outfit

Polka Dot Top- Forever 21 (similar-ish style here)

Denim Shorts- Kohls (similar style here)

Black Flats- C28 (similar-ish style here)

Black Ribbon- came with a dress from Papaya.

Red Beaded Necklace- not totally sure about this one, but maybe Kohls (similar style here).



Gold Bangles- these were given to me as a gift, so I don't know.
White Camisole- Kohls

Black Gold ~ Nail Tutorial

Hello, everyone!

I had a fun time painting my nails this past week. I was perusing Pinterest, in search of something to inspire my nail design, and I decided to try out a black and gold style. It is really easy to get this look for yourself. Scroll down for the steps!

 

 

If you have a base coat of polish, apply that before you start.

1.) Paint two coats of black nail polish onto each of your nails. Let dry completely.

2.) Take a glittery gold polish and use a very light coat of it from the base of your nail to the tip. If you use a big glob of the polish, then the black base won't show through. You want a light sprinkling of gold glitter all over your nail. Let dry for a few minutes.

3.) Now apply the gold polish just to the base of your nail. Focus on covering the base of your nail completely with the gold glitter, not letting any black polish peek through.

4.) Let dry at least a little bit before applying the top coat. If it isn't totally dry when you apply the top coat, some of the glitter from the base may sweep over the rest of your nail, possibly enhancing the gradient effect.

Done!

 

This nail art is pretty easy to do, and the results are really cool. I wish I had silver glitter polish, because that would look fantastic with the black base. Do experiment with different color and glitter combinations. You might find a look that you absolutely love!

 

So what do you think-- you want to give it a try?

 

~Kendra :)

 

Accessory Pile-Up

Hi, everybody! I came home from school today and started to take off some jewelry I was wearing. I dropped the accessories on my dog's crate, and realized what I mess I had made getting ready this morning.

 

 

Before I go to bed, I try to choose an outfit to wear to school the following day, so I can get ready more quickly in the morning. But those outfits will usually have a few different ways in which I can accessorize them, so I'll lay out the options on my dog's crate to decide in the morning. As you can see, it can become a very messy process!

 

 Do you make a big mess picking out what to wear in the morning?

 

~Kendra :)

 

P.S. If you see an accessory that you like, feel free to ask where it came from.

Pinterest Tutorial - French Braided Updo

Hey, everybody! In continuation with the idea from yesterday's post, here is another one of my attempts at following a Pinterest hair tutorial! Today I tried out a French braided updo. Click on the photo to go to the pin (sorry, my pin didn't link to the original instructions).

 

 

I thought this would be a pretty simple hairstyle to try, and it is-- as long as you don't French braid the middle of your head! I tried this tutorial yesterday, but I had grabbed too much hair near the middle of my head while I French braided, and I ended up with French braided pigtails.:P You need the middle piece of your hair unbraided so that you can braid it later! I gave up on it last night, but I gave it another try today. My second attempt, where I grabbed less hair to start braiding with, was much more successful.

 

 

 

The supplies I used for this were a brush, three hair elastics, some bobby pins, and a flower clip. I would suggest using hairspray on your updo before you add a decoration. The hairspray will help keep your look in place throughout the day.

 

So here are the instructions--

1.) Brush your hair out, then grab a small section near the top of your head to start French braiding (if you don't know how to French braid, leave me a comment and I make a tutorial, or you can look up a tutorial on YouTube or Pinterest).

2.) Finish French braiding near the nape of your neck, then braid normally a couple more times. Secure with an elastic. Repeat on the other side of your head, making sure that you have a medium sized piece of unbraided hair in between the two French braids.

3.) Once the braids are finished and secured with elastics, braid your French braids and the free piece of hair in the middle of your head together until you reach the end of your hair. Finish with an elastic. You should now have one braid.

4.) Take the braid and roll it up to the nape of your neck to form a rolled updo. Secure with as many bobby pins as you need, and check in the mirror to see if you have any pieces of hair that need to be pinned down.

5.) Set with hairspray, and finish with a cute accessory-- like a flower, a bow, or a headband.

 

While I pinned my bangs back for this style, this hairstyle would look really cute if you wore your bangs down (if you have bangs). Either way, I think this look is super cute, and it would be great to wear on a hot day, if you want your hair off of your neck. You could even do this style with wet hair!

 

So what do you think of this style?

 

~Kendra :)

Pinterest Hairstyle - Braided Bangs with Waves

Hi, everybody! So today, I wanted to share with you a hairstyle that I tried out this evening. Have you ever seen those articles about "Real Women Try Pinterest Tutorials," where real women try out hairstyles and things from Pinterest and compare the final results to the model? Well, this is my version of that!

This is the original tutorial for the hairstyle I tried today. Click on the photo to go to the original post.

So that is how it's supposed to look at the end, right? Here is my final look.

 

I realized that I didn't get much detail of the braid, so I took another photo.

 In the tutorial, when you curl your hair, you apparently shouldn't use the clamp on the curling iron, but should just wind your hair around the iron. I just used a wand instead. Compared to the model, I braided my hair on the opposite side of my head, and my hair isn't quite as curly as hers. Also, my hair is not blonde, and I have bangs while the model doesn't, so those will also factor into the end results too. Even though my finished style doesn't look exactly like the model's picture, I liked the results nonetheless. I'll describe my process so if you want to get the look, you can!

1.) I made a deep part on one side of my head, but it wasn't totally straight. I let my bangs part slightly farther on my hairline than the rest of my hair (if that makes sense :P).  I have short bangs that are cut across my forehead, so I had to use those in my braid. I French braided from one side of my head to the other, then used two, strong bobby pins to hold the braid in place behind my ear. Bonus points if you can make the pins hide in your hair!

2.) I used a large barreled curling wand to curl random pieces of hair. I curled all of my hair, but it wasn't systematic.  I didn't curl near the top of my head, instead I went to about the middle of my piece of hair and wrapped from there. No small pieces of hair either, I wanted larger chunks for more wave and less curl.

3.) All done! You can finish your hair with hairspray to keep it in place. This style took me about ten minutes to do.

So what do you think? Do you want to give this look a try?

~Kendra :)