Halloween!!

Are you good at Halloween costumes?  It is not one of my strong suits.  So if you are like me and are struggling to come up with an easy costume, I hope this post will help you find something. I put together some super easy costumes and hairstyles with them.  They should be costumes that you can put together right from your own closet.

I had Kinsley be my model, but some of these are ones adults could use also.  Now if you have a boy, I am sorry. Those costumes are hard.  Nolan is at the age where he isn't really in to super-heroes, and I don't like him being anything scary, so his options are limited.  Being a sports player never fails though!

First costume is a farmer or a western girl.  It is just a simple plaid shirt, braids, and some cowboy boots!

Next one is our take on Minnie Mouse. We didn't have any white gloves but if you did, that would be cute!  We made her hair to be like Minnie's ears and then added a red bow.

Rosie The Riveter is probably the easiest and is a great costume for an adult as well.  You will need a chambray shirt and then a red hair scarf.  We did a messy bun in the back with the bang area back combed and then added the scarf.

Last for Kins is a ballerina.  All you need is a tutu or leo and a hair bun.   Now if you do some sort of indoor halloween event this would be great, but here in Michigan halloween is generally cold, so it may be hard to fit a coat under a leo!

Haddie wanted to join in on the fun as well, because who doesn't love to dress up?  She wanted to be a fairy.  She found a pink dress up dress and some wings and she was a perfect fairy!

Hope you all have a great Halloween with your kids! I love to see those pictures of kids in costumes!

Lilla Rose

Lillia Rose is a company that sells beaded hair accessories. They are excellent quality. The bead work is beautiful.  It was so fun to have these hair accessories to add to our styles.

Before a few weeks ago, I had never heard of Lillia Rose before.  They are a company that works off of having parties except, the parties are done online.  However, the nice part is you don't have to have a party to buy these products. They do have a website.  A lady who is a stylist for them was gracious enough to send me two products for me to try and see how I liked them and how I could incorporate them into our hairstyles.

I was sent the beaded headband and a set of dragonfly bobbie pins.  The headbands are great for many reasons, but one that I really loved was that you didn't have to slip it over your head. It has a clasp on the bottom like a necklace.  You can place it right where you want it.  While 90% of the head band is all beaded, they have this great little part that is stretchy and adjustable, so that they ensure that the headbands fit the head exactly. These comfort bands also come in two sizes, standard and long, so that the fit is perfect. It did not move, roll, or budge when it was on my head. Even though it is full of beads, it never felt heavy or tight. These would make great pieces for wedding or formal occasions to just add a little something more to your style. On the website they also have some really cool braided headbands that would be fun to add to a casual style.

The dragonfly bobbie pins are super fun!  Kins loves them. They have been fun to add to some of her hairstyles.  These bobbie pins are such great quality.  The bobby pin part of them are nice and tight to the hair.  They do not fall, even in Kinsley's silky smooth hair.  Kins has a few circled that she wants to add to our collection.  These would make such a great stocking stuffer or a fun gift for a little girl in your life!

We had fun playing with these new hair accessories. Here a just a few ways I used them.

Now these are just two of the many products they have.  Take the time and browse this website http://www.lillarose.biz/LoveLeavingLegacy

Deborah is the lady who sent me these and she was so wonderful to work with. She is so helpful and great about sizing. If you have any questions she knows the products very well.  I think these would make perfect Christmas gifts!

Podcasts!

Do you guys listen to podcasts? I love them!  I run a few days a week and sometimes I get sick of just listening to music so I listen to a lot of podcasts.  I thought I would share a few of my favorites!

1.  Serial Season 1. This is a series put out by This American Life from WBEZ Chicago.  Serial Season 1 is about a murder and trial that from 1999.  It is so unbelievably interesting.  You will not want to stop listening to this.  Go download this right now.

2.  This American Life.  They are the group that put out Serial, but every week on Sunday they put out their own podcast.  The topics vary greatly, but they are always entertaining and interesting to listen to.

3. How I Built This.  Just this past summer I started listening to this and have really enjoyed it.  It is a podcast about well known business that we buy or use all the time and how they got their start and what their story is all about.  Tom's shoes and Airbnb so far have been my favorite.

4. The Village Church is a church in Texas pastored by Matt Chandler. If you are looking for Biblicaly sound doctrine, give him a listen.  He is easy to listen to and always has sermons that I love and listen to again.

5. Freakonomics.  This one is interesting.  If you love to learn about strange happenings, different events, or life things, this is a podcast you would like.

If you are completely new to podcasts and have an iPhone, you should have an app on your phone that is purple and has a P on it.  Once in the app there is a search button. There you can search any of the podcasts I listed above.  If I was first starting out, I would first start listening to Serial Season 1.  It is so gripping. It will get you hooked!

In a Hair Rut?

Are you in a hair rut? It happens. You feel like you wear your hair the same every day.  I know that it happens to me.  Every day I do the same thing because I just get in a pattern and don't think outside of the box.

The style that I am showing you today is a great one to break out of the routine. You can do a couple passes in a regular French braid, or even in a Dutch French braid, and everyone can do a messy pony tail.  It is easy and it looks so pretty, especially considering that it is just a small braid and a pony.
I did take my curling iron and put a couple big curls in my hair because my hair is so straight that it needs a little body sometimes.  I then like to put the tiniest of back combs at my roots just for a little lift.  After that, all it is a braid and a messy bun.

While I do feel like pictures and the description would probably be easy enough for this style, I did a short video for you because sometimes it is easier to see.

Shoelace Braid

I love showing you guys new braids, especially new braids that are so easy but look complicated. This one is called a shoelace braid because the first step in tying your shoes is exactly what you are doing with the hair. You just do it over and over again until you get down to the bottom of your head.
You can do the shoelace braid a couple of ways. You can stop it after three ties on one side and secure it with a small hair tie and combine it into a pony tail.  I like to do it the way I showed in the video which is on two sides secured with a messy bun.

If you are dealing with thin hair, make your sections for the "ties" a little bigger so that they keep their shape.  If the hair is thicker, do the opposite. Make the sections smaller because you are dealing with a lot more hair.

I can't wait to see this braid on you or your kiddo! It always looks so cute!!!

Carmel Corn

I like sharing recipes with you all.  I look at this like I do with my clients.  We talk about a little of everything.  I love hearing people's favorite recipes and sharing some of my own.
We make this carmel corn all the time, to bring places, snack for movie night, or a big game.  It is so good. A bonus is that it only takes a few ingredients and a few minutes to make.

We make our popcorn in a stir crazy popcorn maker and that requires 2/3 cup kernels.  I am not sure how much popcorn that actually make. However you make your popcorn use that full batch and place it in a paper grocery bag.

Carmel corn recipe

popcorn

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup karo syrup

3/4 stick butter

In a a microwave safe bowl, mix together the brown sugar, karo syrup, and butter.  Microwave for 2 mins, remove, and stir.  Put it back in the microwave for 1 min, remove, and stir again.  And once more, return to the microwave and stir.  Now remove the bowl and add 1/2 tsp baking soda to the carmel mixture. The mixture will start expanding and getting lighter in color.

Put your popcorn in a paper grocery bag and pour the carmel mixture over the popcorn.  Fold up the bag so that it can fit in your microwave.  Microwave it for 1 1/2 mins, remove and give it a good shake, to help distribute the popcorn and the carmel.  Put back in the microwave for 30 seconds, remove, and give it another shake.  Put in the microwave one more time for 30 seconds.  Once that is done pour the popcorn on to a sheet cool.  

Enjoy and Go Green!

Snarls and How to Get Rid of Them!

This post applies to everyone.  If you have hair, you have gotten snarls or still do get them.  We go through a good deal of detangler at our house.  We spray some on Kinsley's hair almost every day. She must fight her pillow when she sleeps because she needs detangler every morning.  I like to spray a tiny bit on my hair before I brush out my wet hair.  It just helps the brush go through hair more smoothly and makes sure that I am not pulling too hard on my hair.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite products!

 I do always recommend a conditioner in the shower but these spray-in detanglers are just added conditioning for your hair.  They are nice to have around, especially when winter comes and you are dealing with static. The extra moisture is helpful.

My favorite leave-in detangler is It's A 10 miracle leave-in product.  Just a few sprays and your wet brush will be gliding through your hair.  It has a pleasant smell and does not leave a build up.  I use this on myself and the girls.  It is light enough for thin hair, but works great on people with tons of hair and lots of texture as well. Remember with all detanglers, that they do not go on the roots, just the ends.  Spraying on the roots can make it look oily for any detangler.  This product can be found on Amazon, Ulta, or ask your stylist if she carries it!

There isn't very many products from Paul Mitchell that I use anymore, but one that has stood that test of time is Paul Mitchell Lite Detangler.  It is truly as lite as they claim.  If your hair is ecspecially thin, this would be a good one to consider. If you have very thick or textured hair, do not use this. It will not help you!

Another one I like to recommend is Not Your Mother's Knotty to Nice conditioning detangler.  This one is made with Brazilan Keratin.  So, not only is it detangling, but keratin is a product that is used to help build up the strength in your hair.  This can be found at Ulta or your local drugstore.

One that I do like for kids is L'Oreal Kids Tangle Tamer. I think this is one of the top selling detanglers.  It is gentle and truly works so great on a kids' snarly mane.  It has a pleasant smell and from what I am able to tell it does not leave any build up on the hair.  The best part is it can be picked up at any store and is never more then $8.