how to; braids

braids!

nothing much to say today. but i'm determined to try and post at least one thing a day. which is actually proving kind of difficult. here's all i could come up with on a sunday night. for a while now, everyone's been touting this new (but now kind of old) braid trend, and i thought i'd give it a try. and i actually really like it! i tried it last sunday and wore a different variation all week. haha. it's so cute and simple! a nice alternative for me, the queen of just leaving her hair down =P apologies for the bad pic, but it's the only one i had ready.

here's a site you can visit for more braid styles if you care to check them out:

http://www.zimbio.com/Hairstyles+with+Braids/articles/8/Fall+2008+Hair+Trends+Braids

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so i saw push and taken today. and taken was actually way better than i expected. which was cool. but then i ran into the HOTTEST guys from church which was certainly NOT expected. i was with my family, and not really dressed for that sort of occasion. you'd have to know these guys, they're so hot it's intimidating. for me anyway. i'm proud i managed to carry a conversation with them without melting into a pool of pathetic.

after the movies, me and my sister rushed home to watch the grammies, and i have to say, my highlights so far are: stevie wonder + jonas brothers = a musical orgasm, ditto the justin timberlake + al green combo, kanye's fro / mullet combo, coming to the realization that paul mccartney will never be "old", jason mraz (i'm not sure if he'll win, but the boy is handsome), josh groban's (small) appearance, the four tops tribute, robin thicke (he's smooth) and making jokes about the whole thing with my sister.

happy sunday!

-lovelovelove.

thoughts; avoiding catastrophe

catastrophizing.

(song of the day: did you get my message, jason mraz)

today i dodged a bullet. i only nearly avoided disaster! haha, that's a bit of an overstatement, (and i'll get to those later.) but i did nearly have a minor crisis this weekend. first you'd have to understand to importance of movies in my family. movies and tv are the second religion of this household, no lie. and i don't mean just my immediately family either, my cousin too. (man there's a lot of backstory to get to my real problem =P) a few months ago my extended family and i traveleld down to the bahamas for my aunt's wedding. and that's the first time i realized my cousins are actually people you know? real people, with lives, friends, problems and everything! They're not just "alive" when you see them at easter, thanksgiving and christmas. i hope i'm not weird. i'm told during adolescence people come to similar conclusions. so yeah, i've been hanging out with my cousin a few times a month since then, and it's been cool! (he even took me to my audition, which is probably one of the coolest things anyone's ever done for me) anyway so yeah.

last week we (jason, my mom, me and kendra) were supposed to see taken, but we cancelled last minute on account of the super bowl. (<- which i watched and liked! and it's kind of surprising, cause i normally hate sports of all kinds. i may have developed a crush on kurt warner even though i was rooting for the Steelers. anyway...) we rescheduled to this weekend. so i made plans to hang with my friend lindsay. we usually go out to see a movie and then go to denny's. it's our thing. (all day breakfast is the best =P) and i told her i wanted to see push or he's just not that into you, and since she got there first and i was running late i told her to buy tickets and surprise me.

while i'm on the way there, my cousin called me to asked me if i wanted to go to the movies right then. which you know, was a little impossible considering i was on my way to meet lindsay. i explained that. and then jason told me not to see push, cause he wanted to watch that AND taken this sunday. but then, when i got there, lindsay had already bought tickets to push and it was a) too late to switch and b) kind of impossible cause he's just not that into you was sold out anyway. so i watched push! and it was really good. and chris evans is a truly beautiful man (who i saw in person! ahh! if i could live that moment over, i would have more aggressively pursued an autograph)

but my family is big on seeing movies together. seeing a movie that you've all decided to see before anyone else is just something you don't do. when i came home my mom was all "how was it?" i didn't really have a good answer so she was like "what were you really doing?" and i couldn't really lie, when i didn't do anything wrong. so i told her. and even she, the queen of honesty at all costs, was like "you better not tell jason." i'm not really a good liar, if she can tell he can tell. soooo....

today after work i dragged my sister to the movies with me. so we could see the movie i said i'd seen in the first place. and it was really good! i mean, i'm really into cartoons and murder-mystery and sci-fi but a good chick flick never hurts. as long as it's a good one. (i'm not such a notebook/walk to remember fan.) anyway, yeah, this one was reeeeeally good. and so funny! and justin long is sex on legs. haha. it was ironic though, that the movie set out to present the women who'd view it of the harsh reality that some men really won't like them, but then showed the exact opposite. (it is a chick flick, after all) Even still, SO so good.

but it did make me aware of something. Justin long's character pointed out that women, on the whole, are addicted to drama. They're always taking the little things and blowing them up to frightening proportions. And i'm guilty of this too. My mom was actually reading something about it, and read that this disorder could be referred to as "castastrophizing." yes, your word processor won't recognize the term, but no, i'm not making it up. there are so many people, guys and girls, that take tiny problems and turn them into catastrophes. Like my movie dilemma. I mean, even though the whole thing was an accident, it's not like jason's going to (literally) bite my head off. But there's a part of me that likes taking those little things and turning them into something more. I'm not gonna lie, catastrophizing certainly does make things more exciting! But I hated that movie pointed that out! It was like it saw me naked XP

haha. Anyway. So i'm (unnecessarily) seeing FOUR movies in the span of three days, and i'm hoping you've found a more useful way to spend your money and time. But, if you feel like sharing, what was the last thing you catastrophized?

sorry this is so long. Ciao for now!

-lovelovelove

catalogue; one

black sweater: forever21, $9
grey plaid shirt: bluenotes, $14
skinny jeans: aeropostale, $20
knee high boots: steve madden, $90
pearl necklaces: made by me!

good evening! i've been intending to start a blog for a while now and when i did i had the full intention of making it about fashion. mostly because i'm addicted to fashion blogs. particularly the ones on glamour.com, ever read them? they're so witty and cool! i absolutely blogs of any kind, i like knowing what's what. and i finally began to start one, but then it occured to me, that i don't actually know what's what. that's why i read the blogs in the first place. =P but i have no problem regurgitating all the amazing information i take in and offering it back to you! or, as i may sometimes do, sharing what i've been wearing lately.

le voila! today's outfit was really fun. as i mentioned in my first post (intro) i don't wear have of the stuff that's in my closet, so i reached into that abandoned section (it's really dark back there) and pulled out that plaid shirt. for some reason, i was SURE i needed it when i bought it, and then i only wore it once. and then i leant it to a girl at work who borrowed it for like half a year, but it's back now! so yeah, then i grabbed the jeans, and the sweater. but my favourite part is the necklace!

in the summer my mom gave me a bucketful of her old jewellery that included those two pearl necklaces. so for the first one, i wrapped it around my neck twice, then added the other one about midway down with the clasp and a pink bow on the other side. i got a lot of compliments today, so that was nice =)

question; what's the last compliment you got? the best?

anyway, i hope this was interesting for you. more looks to come! =)

thoughts; the sunshower effect

Twenty-Five Random Facts

01. I don't really considerable my self all that fasionable. I don't even think I have my own sense of style. You would never guess how much thought I put into getting dressed. But not in an insecure kinda way, it's actually really fun for me. I absolutely love reading about fashion, i can spend hours, literally.

02. I absolutely adore TV. Can't get enough of it. All sorts of it. Not reality so much, but a lot of mystery stuff, comedy, regular drama, sci-fi. I watch a lot of cartoons. All types: The Batman, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Family Guy, Kim Possible, The Weekenders, Wolverine and the X-men, Teen Titans, Ben 10. I'm pretty hardcore.

03. I hate being told what to do. Which is probably why I'm so dead set against growing up. And why I'm suuuuuuuuuuuper lazy. Not sure if that one's cause or effect.

04. I love shopping. I spend a ridiculous amount of money on clothes. I looked in my closet the other day only to realize that half of the stuff i buy only get's worn once, if ever.

05. If my parents would let me, I'd be a writer. I wrote four novels last year, and they sit on my computer collecting cyber-dust. I'm in my second year of university right now, but I still don't really want to BE anything.

06. Everyone thinks I'm "the good girl." Which isn't completely wrong, but it makes it really hard to be really, truly honest.

07. I absolutely love jeans. To me they're more comfy than pajamas and sweats.

08. I'm not so good at making friends. I'm incredibly nice, but I tend to inadvertedly keep people at a distance. Not sure why that is. That said, I have seven best friends who are absolutely AMAZING.

09. September is a really good month. Everything's new again, and school's not too hard and the weather is awesome. It's not surprising that fall is my favourite season.

10. I have my licence, but my parents don't really let me drive.

11. I absolutely LOVE singing, but I'm only average at it. I'm one of the singers at my church. I've given up on magically getting discovered, but I still sing on street corners and in bus shelters.

12. I absolutely HATE rap or hip-hop or whatever. The only thing i hate more then music like that are the people who assume i like it just cause i'm black. Believe me, it happens.

13. I've never told anyone I liked them. I've also never been in a real relationship. I wouldn't be surprised if those things go hand in hand. But I'm still probably NEVER going to tell a guy I like them. I'm super nervous around boys.

14. I have a love-hate relationship with McDonald's Happy Meals. The toy makes the meal worthwhile.

15. When I was younger I was convinced my mom was Oprah. They had the same kind of hair a little while back. And Oprah was always on TV when my mom was away. Like ALWAYS. I never saw them at the same time. And I thought she was lying to protect her secret identity. Like a superhero.

16. I absolutely HATE school. Despite it. The twelve weeks it was on strike were among the happiest of my life.

17. I can't touch my toes. My legs are too long and I have a stumpy torso.

18. I really need a new job. The people there are great and all, and i probably have the best boss ever but the other day i had this horrible vision of myself in twenty years still making balloon bouquets. It was frightening. I had a nasty haircut.

19. I'm not one of those people that has to be FIRST, you know? I don't have to be the first person to discover this trend or that artist. And I'm not going to go out of my way to avoid the bandwagon if it happens to be something I like.

20. I love movies too! In pretty much the same genres as I like TV shows. One of my life's goals is to get my own page on IMDb. Not necessarily for acting. Not sure how that'll get done though.

21. One of my favourite places? The Olive Garden in Times Square. Good food and great view. I'd love to go back there.

22. I really don't like water. Never have. Water, pools, the beach. Hate it all. This is so gross, but as a kid, I used to run the water for my bath or whatever but never get in. I shower now, don't worry.

23. I have a horrible addiction to lipgloss. Like awful. I buy at least one a week and carry min. 10 on me at a time. That's the main reason my purse is so big.

24. Expanding on 22, I absolutely DESPISE rain. But I love when it rains while the sun is shining. (Sunshower, haha) I think it kind of is like my life. As Josh Groban said, "the sun's still above all the rain that's coming down." That helps me get through the rough days.

25. I may not know you, but I'm really glad you're reading this.

Stay tuned!

-lovelovelove.
(Song of the Day: The Middle, Demi Lovato)

today's been this bittersweet mix of good and bad and i'm not sure how i feel about things on the whole. today was my first day back to school. why, you may ask, is my first day back to school in the middle of february? my school was on strike for twelve weeks. and while most students were protesting and screaming bloody murder i was having the best three months of my life. i had a plethora of celebrations for my birthday, i wrote a novel, i went to an audition (that i didn't make, but still had the most amazing experience doing), i got closer with my cousins, watched a crap load of tv. In a word, it was awesome. And school just isn't. it's the exact opposite actually. i'm going to try to keep this short, assuming of course, that your attention span is as short as mine is.

i was dreading going back to school. literally dreading. i woke up this morning it was snowing and no one was bothering to plough the roads or sidewalks, which meant i had to leave earlier, and which also lead to me falling down and spraining my wrist. i'm kinda clutzy? but i never actually just wipe out on the sidewalk like that. i'm typing this all with my right hand. (which isn't too bad? i can get 40 wpm on this baby, but at least it's not my left) anyway, so basically because of the strike we have to stay in school longer and do more in a shorter time. they were explaining all the stuff we'd have to do and i was overwhelmed before we were halfway in. major suckage. there's this girl in my tuesday class who i wasn't to upset about seeing when we got back, and i managed to avoid her for a little while, but then she showed up in my tutorial. odd and unfortunate. mm. if you don't know who i'm talking about, it's a little weird, but there's a long history with this person that i'm not going to go into right now.

but then, i was on my way home and my mom intercepted WITH my favourite brownie in tow. (the white chocolate brownie from moxie's is my life) which was really really nice and so thoughtful! i'm not even sure how she knew that i was having a bad day. my sister was there, but i wish she wasn't, cause i would've gotten more brownie that way. and now i've made myself sound like a total fattie. awesome. anyway, i came home and chain smoked three episodes of avatar: the last airbender, which put me in a substantially better mood. and my mom COOKED with is so rare and amazing. but then, she flipped out randomly. i'm not even sure what she was mad out. there was just a lot of yelling involved. which you know, sucked again.

a lot of my days aren't clear cut good or bad. but a strange mix of the two, which is what i call *drumroll* the sunshower effect. hope your day's going better than mine is. or at the very least that it's either one thing or another.

-lovelovelove.

it'd make me feel better if i knew someone out there was actually reading this. drop a comment at your leisure

about;

about the site:

have you ever seen a sunshower? it's where the rain falls but the sun is shining. i absolutely LOVE them. i think in life, you've got to remember that the sun is always above the rain that's coming down, but it's only in sunshower's that you actually remember it.

i think i've always liked having two things at once. and it's no exception when it comes to my style. here's one of my favourite quotations, from one of my favourite bloggers. "style is not just what you wear. It’s what you do & how you do it." (-gala darling.) that's why i present more than just fashion. style is everything!

don't get me wrong, my style is still evolving and if anything this blog is a means of tracking its progress. and i realize i'll never be snapped by the sartorialist, or get a feature in vogue. and i'm glad for it! i think the fashion i present is a lot more realistic for those of us not living in NYC. all this to say, i like duality. i like being fashionable and comfy too. classy but never dull. extravagant but never expensive.

about me:

let's see.
i'm a style-challanged shopoholic. a writer. a christian. a compulsive giggler. a cartoon enthusiast. a lover and never a fighter.

i couldn't even pretend to have "indier-than-thou" attitude that is so common on fashion blogs. i couldn't be witty if i tried. i'm afraid, i'm just me. but i'm really awesome at it!

thanks for dropping by!

xoxo

-B