VORTEX changed our lives!

Ok friends! This is the post we've all been waiting for!

Last summer we discovered this amazing hair dryer at none other than Target. To the untrained eye it looks the same as every other hair dryer sitting on the shelf. In fact if you go out wanting to find one for yourself there's a good chance you will overlook it at first. It doesn't stand out. It doesn't cost much. (24.99 in fact) The display does it no justice.

When you do finally find it sitting amongst the boring regular hair dryers and bring it home you will take it out of the box to see this:




One of the attachments is a clear cylinder shape.
*This is where the magic happens*




INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start with damp clean hair
-I usually let mine air dry a little while I do my make up first
2. VORTEX AWAY!!
-With the blow dryer on the hottest/highest setting start inserting sections of hair into cylinder
-I usually have about 6 or 7 sections for my whole head
-Move the cylinder up and down the section of hair until it is dry and then use the cool shot button to set the curl
-If desired spritz with hair spray for a good hold
3. Let your dreads cool completely
4. Shake them out with your fingers or a brush if desired
5. ENJOY beautiful beachy waves for the entire day (sometimes even two!)

FYI- This is only our first post on the VORTEX... there will be many more.
It's time for you ladies to start submitting photos of your best vortex day ever! ;)

Guest in the house!

Guest blog time! Hi, I'm Megan, Kerri's sister-in-law! Kerri asked me to blog about a new piece of workout gear that I've fallen in love with, so here goes!

My favorite routine at the gym is a 45 minute spinning class followed by an hour of Zumba. As you may imagine, this results in a great deal of what I like to call "raining." Sounds a little classier than "sweating to death." A few months ago I had purchased a weird, huge headband that, if it starts to slide down, starts to look somewhat bank robber-ish... it does its job but it does not do it attractively.

I started searching for cute sweatbands and quickly found Sweatybands... I initially wrote them off because those types of skinny headbands all pop off my big Irish head almost immediately (even when secured with clips.) But then I saw "OMG... they don't slip!" in big letters on the website and started reading the testimonials on the site. The underside of the band is made of velvet which helps grip your hair (and absorb "rain") and there's a small strip of elastic so they fit snugly. There are dozens and dozens of pretty styles to choose from, as well! I picked out a cute black and white polka dot one and a pretty purple design and I just love them! I tested them out on a few walks and then it was time for the head-bobbing, hair-whipping spinning/zumba combo. You guys, it didn't budge! It was awesome! It did a really nice job of absorbing most of the sweat and channeling any excess to the back of my head... nothing is more annoying than drips running down your forehead!

Here are some pictures that my dog Pepper snuck into, I just have no idea how that happened! Oh, another benefit of the Sweatybands is that because they are pretty tight, they sort of give you that 60's hair bump without any of the teasing or hairspray. All I did was vortex (which Kerri and Lina should be blogging about very soon!) and then take a nap... Sweatybands can do it all!!!!

A very special thanks to Megan for being our guest! I don't mean to brag or anything... but she's kind of a big deal: http://megandailor.com/

Thrifty Girl!

I just got back from a fun trip to Greene Street Consignment in Princeton. I was so excited about the deal I got that I felt I needed to share it with you!

First off: I think it's fair to say I am modest with my spending. I rarely splurge and try to make smart choices. I am more likely to spend money at Home Depot on paint for the house than I am to spend $50 on a new piece of clothing for myself.

Up until just recently I would always wear very inexpensive jeans. I would find them on sale at Old Navy or Gap.

A few months back one of my very good friends 'handed down' a few pairs of designer jeans to me. I have to say that I had no idea what I was missing out on. They seem to fit better and just be such a better quality product. I feel more confident when I wear them and I just feel good!

Before I share a picture of my new 'Lucky' jeans I wanted to pull out some dresses that I have bought over the past year and a half at both consignment stores and thrift stores. It's amazing what a unique and vibrant wardrobe you can build without spending much! :) I bought a few of these for only $4.95 and the most expensive was maybe $15.00 at the high end!

This is the first and hopefully last time I post a picture of my butt on the blog!! I just had to share that great 'Lucky' tag that I snagged for a mere $18.00. (keep in mind folks that Lucky Brand jeans run from about $99 to $250 brand new!) I know I will be wearing these for a long time even if I am the second owner! :)

(ps. that's my dog, Jersey, and our friends dog, Archie, standing by my butt shot! I had never tried to take a picture of my own butt before. It wasn't easy!)

$100 Shopping Spree

Ok... so I wake up Friday morning to an e-mail in my inbox:

It was from my husband (funny that my husband writes me e-mails when we live together, but sometimes he does!).

He said that he hid $100 in my wallet. It was for me to go out and buy whatever I wanted!

A SURPRISE SHOPPING SPREE!

I had NO trouble locating the money with in about 3 seconds.


























Here's what I got:

Dress from Gap: originally $69.95 on sale $14.97
Bag from JCrew: originally $110.00 on sale $52.00
Body mist from Victoria's Secret: $25.00 (not on sale, but a fun splurge!)

Total: $91.97

Left me with enough left over to stop at Fruity Yogurt for a Thai bubble tea on the way home! :)

Fresh haul

Although it is technically spring, it sure doesn't feel like it. One way to inject some spring into your life is to wear bright colors. (It'll pop against the gray clouds in the sky today) Coral is a big color for spring and I found the perfect way to wear it everyday.

Enter Fresh's sugar lipgloss in Pin-up.

Not only is the packaging gorgeous but the coral shade is nice and subtle. Very pretty shimmer (none of that frosted nonsense). Plus the scent is amazing.  This will be my go-to lip color for the season.

Here are some other things I picked up while at the Fresh store on the upper west side.

 This is one of the scents at their "fragrance bar".  You can get 0.5oz of any of the scents that are "on tap" for that moment.  It's an inexpensive way to get a bottle of one of their fragrances without committing to an enormous (and expensive) bottle.  This one is "Pear Cassis"- love.

Black Tea Age-Delay Cream.  Great texture and consistency. I hate when creams go on nice and moisturizing at first only to leave you hanging an hour later.  This doesn't leave you high and dry (literally).  No SPF though so for those of you who are responsible, you'll have to still put on sunscreen. 

Overall, a fruitful experience at the Fresh store.  I even scored a sample of the Black Tea eye cream which I'm loving.  And btw- in my ideal world, my bathroom would look like the inside of a Fresh store. Word.