Summer Hair Inspiration

One of my favorite activities in the whole world is happening soon- getting my hair done! Holy hair Batman, I haven't been able to get into see my hair girl Nikki since she's so busy doing weddings, photo shoots, etc. I can't wait to see her! As always, I have a million different things I want to do to my hair. Dye it darker, go blonder, do a mix, cut it shorter, cut layers, keep it blunt, and so on. Lucky for me, Nikki is bomb and I can walk in and say "do what you want" and she always does a great job and somehow knows exactly what change I'm looking for. I've been trolling Pinterest and Instagram and here are some of my favorites I'll be drawing inspiration from.

What are some of your favorite hair trends for summer? Are you making any changes to your hair before fall creeps up on us?

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WCW: Olivia Wilde

Before, I never really cared or paid much attention to Olivia Wilde. Sure she's beautiful and talented, I just didn't get the hype about her. Then she got pregnant and became the most stunning pregnant lady I ever laid eyes on. The last two award shows she has just wowed me. I keep looking at her pictures from the red carpet and she is gorgeous. Ugh, I'm in love with her now. Here are her most recent looks that have me gaga for her.

I follow Revlon on Instagram, and Olivia is one of their spokeswomen and they posted a picture with a "get the look" which included for look 1: ColorBurst Matte Balm in Complex, Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink Cognito, ColorStay ShadowLinks in Taupe. For look 2: Photo Ready Cream Blush in Pinched, Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Super Natural, Color Stay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Private Viewing, PhotoReady Primer + Shadow in Muse, Revlon PhotoReady Kajal Intense Eye Liner + Brightener in Purple Reign.

The second look is definitely my favorite between the two, her hair and dress color are supreme and she is truly glowing. What are your thoughts? Who did you not care for before, but have had a change of heart for? 

House to Home: Living Room

Matt and I are back shopping for a home. We looked for almost a year without any luck and once we found out we were expecting, we looked harder, but after a few months we decided to move into an apartment and hold off on buying a home as we adjusted to having a new baby. Now that we've settled into our family life it's time to get a move on.

I'm so excited to find a home to raise Ellie and her future siblings in, it won't be our forever home (by a long shot), but our first real home. Every place we look at I try and picture how I want to decorate it to make it feel welcoming and cozy. A place that we love to spend time at and people love to come and visit us. Of course, it's not just how it's decorated that makes it a home, but the love we fill it with, but shopping to furnish a house can be a lot of fun.

And yes, you read that right. We need to furnish an entire home. Anytime Matt and I have lived on our own (we didn't live with each other until after we were married), we were living with roommates who already had furniture so neither of us have ever had to make any big kid purchases like that. Since buying a home is such a large purchase, there's no way we will be able to just buy all new furniture to fill every room, so we are going to focus on the rooms that matter the most, such as the living room!

I've been trolling Pinterest (follow me here!) and found tons of inspiration for our dream home.  Pinterest can seriously suck you in for hours. It's awesome and a total time suck at the same time. What I've been drawn to most is soft colors with pops of white. I love how a neutral palette provides the opportunity for a pop of color, and how easy neutrals are to transition into seasons with a swap of pillow covers and throws. I also realize, that having a lot of light colors is ridiculous with a growing brood (I am in no way preggers right now, but want to eventually have more children) that will inevitably color on it and wedge Lord knows what kind of food into the fabric. Here are some of my favorite pins.

After looking at my pins, I'm really leaning towards a color palette of greys, blues, silver, and ivory. I like that the blue can be swapped out easily for mint, peach, pink, purple, aqua, and yellow and create a new feel and breathe new life into the room.

What are your favorite places to shop for furniture? We need basically everything and I'm up for any and all suggestions! What pieces are important to you in decorating? Any advice on furniture buying?

InStyle and People Style Watch

I think my love for magazines is apparent. My top two favorite that I HAVE to get month to month is both InStyle and People Style Watch. I rely on these two magazines for the latest fashion and beauty news. In both magazines I find a lot of inspiration for blog posts, fashion, beauty, plus they have the best features like celebrity looks for less and products at all price points for trend items.

This week through Friday December 7, when you buy both InStyle and People Stylewatch together Target is giving a $5 giftcard! Hello. Add to cart. The summer, fall, and holiday issues are always my favorite, and definitely a must-have in my book.

My hub works Saturday morning, so it's the perfect time for me to catch up on my girl stuff. This past weekend I swooped up the most recent issues and dived in. Like I said before, the holiday issues are one of my favorites! All the glitz, glamour, and holiday gift ideas have me starry-eyed.

Here are some of my favorite features in each magazines, and images that inspired me that I hope to recreate on my own:

Each People Style Watch includes a breakdown of their cover girl's style and beauty. This is one of my favorite features! Little styling tips that are the celebrity's signature, easy ways they always look put together or accessorize. The dress above in the bottom corner, a look for less, is from LC's line at Kohls! I'm en route to check it out asap, it would be the perfect holiday dress!

Changing up your hair style can be the easiest way to update your look with little cost. I love having new ways to do my hair, little things I can perk up an everyday style, and make a ho-hum outfit looks feminine and cute. Plus it's good to have some go-to do for bad hair days. Polished ponytails? Perfect for day after curls that are messy from a night's sleep!

Theses are the holiday hair looks I plan on re-creating. Both should be simple enough, yet a completely different style than my usual. I'll definitely post pictures of how it turns out!

I've been a subscriber to InStyle for years! It's on my Christmas wishlist each year and is the gift that gives all year round. The beautiful ads, celebrity interviews, and of course the beauty and fashion trends keep me coming back for more.

A newer feature to the magazine that I'm all over is their Inspired by Instyle! section where readers send in pictures of how they recreated looks from past issues. Um. That's half my OOTD, nails, and hair looks I've recreated here on the blog. I love seeing how other women interpreted what they saw into their every day lives. Sometimes seeing how they created the looks help me to find a way to create them myself in my own way.

Man of Style is another article I look forward to each month. It's always hot actors with new projects out and include some of the sexiest pictures. This month features Eddie Redmayne of Les Miserables (which I'm seeing day after Christmas if it's the last thing I do!) and he's my new man crush. Each article also includes little pieces of what women who've worked with them have to say, and always includes a little secret from the set! Then, of course, an article on their personal style.

I'm so happy I read this over the weekend! Saturday was my girlfriend's birthday celebration and I had no idea what I wanted to wear. It was rainy and cold, so I didn't want to wear a dress, when I saw these Perfect Party Pairs, I knew right away what I wanted to wear: my liquid leggings, black heels, a basic top, and a statement necklace. Thanks InStyle! Made my life so much easier. With printed pants making such a huge statement right now, this article has the perfect pairings for the holiday parties! Then I love pairing Jazzy Tops with just Basic Jeans. Something about the mix works so well for a night out.

I'm pretty sure women everywhere love Carrie Underwood. Her hair and makeup are ALWAYS perfection. I was so excited to see her featured in this month's Beauty Talk. She talked about her beauty routine in her teens and her fitness regime, then my favorite part- her beauty must-haves. I was pretty stoked to see we use the same moisturizer (Olay Complete) and nail polish (OPI Bubble Bath).

What is your favorite sections of magazines? What magazines are your must-haves? Do you find a lot of inspiration from the articles?

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My 5 Style Icons

The other day I was flipping through InStyle's September issue and got to thinking about style. They feature one celebrity's top 10 best dressed moments (this month it's Emma Stone) and I usually always agree on their chosen outfits (although, I do think they miss one every now and then). I love this feature and think it's fun to see someone's best fashion moments. 

I started wondering who I think has the best style- someone who looks fabulous day to day and from year to year. There are so many gorgeous women in the world and I love seeing what they choose to wear. Celebrities have so much at their fingerprints and events of all occasions to wear exciting new items. I thought I'd feature who I think always looks the best and has best style all around.

So after much deliberation, here is my top 5 women who I think always look amazing. These five look gorgeous at every event and I would love to raid their closets and have their hair! I wanted to do a little blurb about each one, but the reason I love each of their style is the same: they always look feminine, classy, sexy, and push the trends without ever over-doing it.

Blake Lively

 

Kate Middleton

Emma Stone

Mila Kunis

Miranda Kerr

Aren't they gorgeous? Don't they always look stunning? I think these women will always look that way too, style stays with people, it doesn't just disappear after a season (or movie promo trail). Their looks will still look great in years to come. What I love about their style too, is that it doesn't seem like they're trying too hard. They care about what they wear, they choose pieces that flatter themselves, and they're just working simple pieces in a mega way.

Who do you think are today's style icons? What do you think of my picks? I can't wait to see who you choose!