Awkward and Awesome Thursday: New Do and Doin' What's New

Christmas tradition of dressing up and heading to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

Awkward:

• Joshy was gone on a business trip from Sunday morning until last night. I was all alone without a car and pretty gosh darn miserable :-(
• We didn't make it to the Rochester Philharmonic Christmas concert last night until the intermission. Boo. 
• Finding an internship for next semester. None of the places where I really wanted to work have responded to my query letters.
• Josh bought me a whole crate of clementines because he knows I love them, and by today they were completely devoured by mold!
• He also bought me two Christmas presents today and literally could not keep them a secret. He told me within hours of buying them, hahaha!
• The Thurston's childhood kitty cat is very sick. Prayer's appreciated! Mom is really upset.

Awesome:

• New look! Or should I say, old look back again! This was my hair circa 12th grade. Mid-length, dark brown, and bouncy. Josh is a big fan.
• Having hubby back! I came in to work today, and Stryker said, "Is Josh home? I thought so. You look super extra happy today." Well, I am!
• My honey made a lot of big sales while he was gone. Save up that moolah!
• A ragtime version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" written for an orchestra and a xylophone soloist. That happened at the Christmas concert!
• Josh's parents are having their bathroom remodeled by a guy from Birmingham. The one in England.
• Making super-cool personalized Christmas presents for the family. It's a secret! But I'll tell later ;-)
• Off to spend Christmas with my side of the family in PA by enjoying a matinee of Les Miserables on Christmas Day.

Hunger Games Beauty from the Runway to the Arena

Don't judge, but I waited until The Hunger Games movie came out on video before seeing it . . .

Yeah, I'm almost four months behind the bandwagon, but I saved six bucks! Besides, why shouldn't we keep talking about this both well-loved and controversial work of pop culture for months and even years to come? Especially since it's progressive fashion and beauty elements have so prominently influenced high-fashion trends and vice versa ;-).

I've been wanting to write a post like this for ages. I admit that it would have been more powerful if I had written in it Spain when the film first came out, but I felt like such a poser speaking authoritatively when I hadn't even seen the movie for myself.

Possible Inspiration for Hunger Games Beauty

While the world of the Capitol supposedly exists in some extravagant distant future marked by outlandish fashions, hardly a single beauty look described in the book or depicted in the movie hasn't been realized already by a current or past fashion designer.

My theory is that to make the styles seem futuristic, film producers and designers (and maybe even Suzanne Collins way back when she was writing the book), assigned haute couture looks to the Capitol's everyday citizens. In fact, these citizens would probably look very familiar to us if we were all more easily influenced by high-fashion beauty trends.

Peroxide and Pastel Hair

As the vain Effie Trinket, Elizabeth Banks rocked a plethora of bleach-blonde wigs spritzed with pastel colors, one of which (lavender) was almost the exact shade featured on Proenza Schouler's models in Spring 2010. The coloring style found on these and other runways could have provided some definite inspiration for Effie's lightly colored locks.  

The Braid

Braids have been in fashion for a while now, but nothing could have prepared the world of hair and beauty for the explosion of the single, over-the-shoulder braid caused by Katniss's signature look. Which fashion forward designer first rocked the look in true hipster fashion? Alexander Wang back in Fall 2010.

Pink Smoky Eyes

Pink eye makeup is another favorite of Hunger Games' Effie, and less recently, of high fashion designers everywhere. Even if it's not always extreme as Burberry Australia's interpretation, I have to say . . . If Chanel is doing it, it's probably a good idea.

Gradient Lips

Shimmery two-toned lips are a popular trend in the fictional Capitol. The dynamic lip look often called the "petal pout" because of the increased lip fullness it suggests has been everywhere from Gucci runways and Burberry ads to British Company magazine's high-fashion issue. This ombre lip look, not surprisingly, took off in the high-fashion world shortly after the ombre hair trend took hold in street style culture.

Gold Glitter Eyeliner

Lenny Kravitz seems to have de-throned Johnny Depp as our new favorite man in eyeliner, perhaps because his incarnation of fashion-wise stylist Cinna opts for a shinier option. Who knew that gold eyeliner and even real gold-leaf eye shadow has been swarming the runways from Fendi to Vivienne Westwood ever since Spring 2011? This has become so popular that Emma Watson even tried it on for size at last summer's Deathly Hallows premiere in New York. On the other hand, we do give Cinna credit for being the first dude to rock this look.

Bejeweled Beauty

Believe it or not, rhinestone beauty spots and butterfly lashes are not the sparkliest things to hit high fashion in the Capitol's world or our own. Check out these loud beauty looks from this year's Galliano and Dior runways.

Green Skin

Although she didn't make it into the movie, prep team member Octavia was written into the Hunger Games novel as having green pigmented skin, perhaps not unlike this controversial look Fyodor Golan sent down the runways last fall. Let's hope this is one style that never catches on.

5 Elements of a Happy Workout Routine

I've never been particularly into New Year's resolutions. For some reason the month of January is always a hectic time for me and not particularly ideal for taking on healthy new lifestyle habits. I am instead a practitioner of the summer resolution. The change in routine and the slowed pace of the summer months provide an ideal environment for me to start something new and challenging.

This month I have started a serious workout regimen for the first time in my life. I am aiming to do either a cardio workout or weight training every weekday, but usually end up working out 3-4 times a week. Now, I am not an athletic person, and I have struggled with significant asthma for my whole life. Motivation can be a hard thing to come by for me.

Fortunately, I have discovered 5 things that make my workout sessions more tolerable and even enjoyable.

1. A Purpose

And I don't just mean, "I want to be healthy." Try to be as specific as possible in your purpose for working out. Think along the lines of, "I want to have more energy at work." "I want to lose ten pounds to fit into my new dress." "I want to tone my leg muscles to look sexier for my man."

If you have a specific goal in mind, it will be easier to see exactly how the sometimes difficult exercises you are putting yourself through are helping you get closer to that goal.

2. A Pal

I know we don't all have friends or family members whose schedules allow them to be our permanent workout partners, but any time you can work out with someone by your side is a plus.

Even if you aren't working out with anyone you know, I challenge you to strike up a conversation with someone at the gym. We're all shooting for the same thing--health and fitness--so a sense of camaraderie is very powerful.

3. A Pet Peeve

It might sound like a strange thing to strive for, but having standards and making choices can be very empowering experiences.

For example, I don't like to work out in the weight room when it's just me and one other guy. Mad awkward! Unless it's Joshy, of course. This pet peeve means that if I'm planning on pumping some iron and there's some well-built jock hogging the weight room, I usually opt to go running instead. In this sense, I'm not running because I have to. I'm running because I chose to.

Just a silly thing that helps to motivate me :-)

2 more motivation tips after the jump!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Big, Fat, Hairy Ordeals

Awkward:

• Using up over an hour of mine and two good friends' time to recolor my roots for the first time without professional help and washing out the dye to find . . . no difference.
• My roots! They won't go away!!!
• Still haven't gotten ice cream. I need to make this more of a priority.
• Motion sickness to the max on the bus ride to Segovia. Maybe it's because I haven't ridden in a car for a month and a half.
• Whitney Houston's untimely death. RIP, lovely lady.
• Getting pegged with snowballs by punks on the Segovia aqueduct.
• Spanish kids are boogers.
• Being about half-way through our adventure in Spain. Part of me feels like we just got here, and part of me feels like we've lived here forever.

Awesome:

• Valentine's Day! It was so nice to have the girls over for a little bit and then get to relax with my honey. White chocolate cherry popcorn, strawberry cream cake, and Malibu Libres ;-)
• Otherwise lovely trip to Segovia.
• Meeting Pablo, Luis, and Lupo. Nice boys (men), one and all.
• Already being done filing our taxes! Ah, sweet relief!
• Also, tax returns. Thank ya Jesus!
• Tortilla sandwich. It's potatoes. And eggs. On a sandwich.
• Shakira. One thing you have to give this woman is that she is DIVERSE. She can transform from Lady Gaga to Lil' Wayne to Kelly Clarkson to Faith Hill in the course of one album. And she sings in both English and Spanish!
• Working on a short film project with the class. It shall be epic.

First High-Fashion Shoot: Part 1

Finally, I've finished editing the photos from the most wonderful photo shoot with the most wonderful Kelly Sullivan! There are tons, so I'm planning on posting a new batch every few days, dividing them according to "themes." In most cases, this just means according to outfit, but not necessarily.

Little disclaimer: Some of these are very unique and feature a variety of photo styles, but some of them are very similar to each other because they're just variations on the same pose. Hang in there! Don't get bored on me. Many of them are very nice.

Thank you again, Kelly!

**UPDATE** If you're wondering what happened to the other photos in this post, Josh and I decided (a little late, admittedly) that they weren't all appropriate for the blog and took them down.

Favorite pic of me ever! Facebook cover for life, haha.

 

 

Stay tuned for more in future posts!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Donde Esta Mi Brain???

 

Today is a very Awkward and Awesome Thursday indeed, the most awkward part being that it's actually Friday and not Thursday at all. 

Yes, I forgot again, but I have a really good excuse this time.

Pictured above is the chemical makeup of the prescription drug Amitriptyline Hydrochloride. It is a powerful antidepressant but in low-doses is prescribed for neuropathic pain. Right now, it's what I've been prescribed for my IC discomfort.

I am on a mere 30 milligrams a day, but the nurse practitioner under the specialist I have been seeing of late recommended that I work my way up to 50 mg a day since I have not been experiencing dramatic relief. Yesterday I took a fourth 10 mg pill, bring me up to a whopping 40 mg--about enough to sedate a small hamster.

I swear these things happen to me every now and then just to remind me why I don't do drugs.

I AM SO MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY COMPROMISED RIGHT NOW!

I would call it "high," but that implies a good feeling, and me no likey this one bit! I could write pages and pages of awkwardness resulting from this drug-induced stupor alone!

• Thinking that the combination of a bird flying by and a car driving by equaled a fighter jet about to crash into the house
• Watching the windowsill turn into a snake
• Repeatedly thinking that I heard my host mom pass gas
• Speaking better Spanish when trippy than when alert
• Being immensely fascinated with hairs I find on the couch, peeled skin on my lip, lint on the floor, etc.
• Trying to explain my symptoms to my host mom. Apparently the Spanish word for "throw up" literally translates to "to return." Your food returns to you. Lovely.
• Writing trippy poetry because I'm so bored of being in bed.
• Really wanting french fries and having my host mom tell me "No, not while you're sick. Eat soup . . . and fish." Que???

Okay, I guess you get the point. I could use some prayer right now. I get so frustrated not having full control of my faculties, but the security of knowing that it's just a side-effect of my meds (thank you, internet) has made me feel a little better.

Back to the usual program.

Awkward:

• Saying "estoy caliente" in Spain, which literally translates to "I am hot," apparently implies "I am good in bed." My professor had to teach me this in the middle of class. I should have said "Tengo calor," literally "I have heat."
• Refusing second helpings is harder in another language.
• Plankton of the Spanish Spongebob has a high squeaky voice. It's just not the same.
• I was all excited to have my first dream in Spanish, but then I realized in retrospect that I hardly understood a word they were saying . . . in my own dream.
• In Spain, they don't say "excuse me" or "thank you" in public. And you get weird looks if you do. 
• Facebook blocking my blog. What is this?
• Paella with whole baby squids in it. Tasted good, though.

Awesome:

• "Amitriptyline" autocorrects to "Pantyliners." There's my laugh for the day.
• Being able to walk to school in five minutes and not needing to trek anywhere else until school is over.
• Watching Monk in Spanish <3. How I've missed you, old friend.
• Apple flan. I didn't know that such a thing existed!
• Being told by my host sister that I speak Spanish very well. She "understands me perfectly."
• Writing a fairy tale for class about a boy who gets drunk on mushroom ale he got from a pixie.
• The grandson of our host mom who spends a lot of time over here after school has taken to calling Josh and I "Chaqueta" and "Mesita," which mean "jacket" and "endtable." I have no idea why, but it's hysterical.
• A pillow fight with Miguel (the grandson in the above post)
• Planning travel for spring break.
• Spanish coffee. It doesn't even belong in the same family as Starbucks . . .
• The view here. Period.

Secrets to Great Second-Day Hair

Photo credit: dirtyblondegirl

 
Ladies (and some gents, I'm sure), you know what I mean by second-day hair. You know all about that second day after which you would have normally washed your hair but didn't because you stayed up all night, your alarm clock didn't go off, you were too busy making breakfast/doing laundry/letting the dog out, etc.

Well, however you got here, here you are with second-day hair. Do not despair! Your lovely locks need not give away how hectic your life really is right now.

You have some options concerning ways to style your hair without needing to shower:

• Put it up! Easy enough. You probably do this anyway, but let's be more creative
• Wear a headband! Hides greasy, flaky, or dull roots
• Wet it! Often, just giving your hair a chance to dry as it naturally would will fix any styling problems
• Don't overdo it! I'll give you some ideas for products that you can use to prolong the life of your hairstyle, but using too much product will always always always make your hair look heavy and dull.

RULE OF THUMB: Do not touch, scrunch, tease, or otherwise fiddle with hair once it starts to dry. Applying your products and styling your hair while it is still wet and then leaving it alone will promote sleek, frizz-free styles. This, of course, does not apply to heat-treating hair. You should always wait for hair to dry before using a curling iron, flatiron, or blow dryer.

Now, for some secret weapons in your battle against second-day hair:

1. Mousse

If you shop around, you can find one that will do wonders for your particular hair. This particular product is designed to help your hair retain shape while staying soft and shiny. Applying a generous amount can liven up dull hair and tame flyaways. I am incredibly partial to Aussie's mousse and would recommend that you start with them. Their "Catch the Wave" mousse is engineered specifically for girls with curly hair! Their "Opposites Attract" collection is also designed to give your hair strong hold and soft touch.

2. Shine Serum 

Aussie's "Catch the Wave" mousse has leave-in conditioner built in, so I rarely have to use a shine serum, but when I do, I am always delighted by the results. When applied while hair is still damp, a good shine serum will tame frizz and promote shine, but don't try applying it to dry hair. You'll end up frizzy and greasy.

3. Powder

By powder I mean any of the product pictured above. What you'll be using this as is a drying agent for any greasy buildup you may have accumulated overnight. If you are a blonde, baby powder will work just fine. Brunettes are better off using a bronzing powder. Bronzer will probably work for red hair as well, but in my days as a redhead, I have learned that blush works well for me. Simply apply a generous amount to your roots, massage it into your scalp a little bit, and brush away the excess with a makeup brush. You could, of course, just use a dry shampoo, but these always leave a heavy residue in my experience.

4.Charmeuse Silk

I have not personally gotten around to trying this trick, but every stylist I've ever asked says that sleeping on a genuine silk or satin pillowcase will keep your hair from tangling and getting frizzy overnight. What a relief that would be! Amazon is currently offering one that will fit most budgets. Give it a try and let me know how it works! Maybe it will be worth it.

Happy second day to you! And may your hair be forever cooperative.