Top Twist

I started this with dry hair. I don't see why you couldn't do it with wet hair.



Section off a square on the top of the head. I used her natural part as my guide. I then pulled out the spray bottle and sprayed the section till it was fully saturated. I put gel in it as well.



Then I twisted. My twist went towards the back of her head. Twist it down until you have three or so inches on the bottom. Make sure you twist it TIGHT!

Then, fold the twist in the middle. If you have done it right, it should start twisting on itself.

I didn't want a full on curly worm thing, so I guided it so it just made a simple rope twist.

I have a bunch of these barrettes that I don't use very often on my bigger girls because their hair is too thick for them. You may have them as well. Just the simple snap barrettes. I used one of those to attach the bottom of the twist to the top of her hair.

I then took my handy dandy flat-iron and puffed out the ends.


Voila! A "Tween" twist.

Butterfly Hair

A new family is moving across the street from us. They came to our ward (congregation) on Sunday and her daughters had their hair done like this. They called it butterfly hair, because it looks like butterfly wings.

Divide the hair into four ponytails.

Braid each ponytail down to the end.

Secure with an elastic but before you let go, take the elastic and pull it up over the original ponytail.

Repeat with each braid.

Top off each ponytail with a pre-made ribbon.

Bye, bye.

I'm leaving for London in a few hours, and I won't be taking my laptop with me, so I won't blog for a week or so then. But, I will take a lot of pictures, and you'll hear all about my trip when I'm back.

It's actually too bad I'm leaving today since the weather is so good - perhaps the best we've had so far this summer.

Skirt and shoes from H&M, top from Vero Moda.

central oregon: days 2 & 3

My field partner (and survey manager) noticed how I tended to rely solely on the GPS and not at all on my compass (are those things still around?). So he gave me a refresher course in orientation and bearing reading. By the end of the day I was at it like an old pro. He also kept marveling at how smoothly the surveys were going and said that tomorrow should be a light day, and some of the folks are leaving earlier than scheduled. I am hoping for a few extra hours on my way to the airport for a quick trip to the High Desert Museum in Bend – if not time for an entire visit, at least enough time to pop into the gift shop for a t-shirt for Eric, as his old HDM shirt is long past it’s prime.

central oregon: day 1, or:an inauspicious start

I started packing for my field trip to central Oregon at around 9:30pm on Friday. I’m quite used to traveling for work, so I thought it would be a routine pack up and that I’d be in bed by 10:00. Wrong. Should I bring my low-top hiking shoes, which I (and my feet) would prefer, or should I bring my massive boots, just incase? If I bring my big boots, do I wear them on the plane (keeping shoe doffing in mind) or pack them, relinquishing valuable packing volume to a pair of shoes I’d prefer not to wear. Do I really need to bring rain gear, if two forecasts for the area are predicting 77-80 degrees and sunny the entire time? Thundershowers are not out of the question…. And don’t forget the cell phone charger!

As Eric was dropping me off at the airport, I got halfway through the sentence “I’ll call you as soon as I get there” when I realized that I had forgotten my cell phone. I couldn’t (and still can’t) believe it. I panicked a bit more than usual, quickly eyeing the security line and determining that, short as the line was, I couldn’t take a cab home and back in the hour I had before my flight. I’d just have to figure it out. Prepaid disposable cell phone? (the mere thought of those make me feel a little nauseous) buy a phone card and hope I have access to a landline? I was relieved when I remembered that one of the people I’d be meeting in Bend is one of my colleagues at the office, and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and that she’d probably let me use hers (she has).

I arrived in Redmond to clear, crisp weather – ahhh, the high desert! I had a leisurely drive to Sunriver (an (overly) planned resort community), where my colleagues had set up headquarters in a nice rental house. After a brief orientation, I prepared to head out into the field with my partner for the day. Change of clothes, pack my lunch and my three-liter camelback bladder, to go in my pack. Except, this is the bladder that doesn’t have the screw-on lid attached to it (the tether broke some years back), so I had a three-liter bag of water and no way to keep it closed. My misadventures in packing, I started to call it.

Well, I did remember the important things: my laptop, my camera, and a cord so the two will talk to each other (photos coming soon!).

London.

On Tuesday I'm off to London for a week, which I am really excited about. Last time I was there, two years ago, I was only there for three days and didn't get to see very much (since I spent most of my time shopping, evidently). So, this time, I've been doing some research to find out what exactly I want to do.

That list includes, going to Spitafields market, which I've heard is great - for both food and shopping.

Nearby, Brick lane is located, which should be great for vintage finds and exotic food.

Then, I want to see London's Chinatown, as I've never been to Chinatown in any city.

I want to go to Hyde park, or Regent's park, or both, as I didn't go there last time.

And I suppose these museums are rather compulsory; the Tate Modern and the British Museum.

But, I also plan on going to the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, for a bit of nostalgia. No, I'm not that old, but old-fashioned toys are so nice to look at.

Last, but not least, I want to have a picnic at Hampstead Heath, since the view is great, and it looks really nice.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. I so much want to see a musical in London, so that is a must, too.

I will be seeing other things as well since I am going with my boyfriend who loves architecture. I'm not that into it, but I suppose I'll just have to tag along. At least, he'll have to come to the places I want to see, too.

I hope you didn't think I wasn't going to do any shopping - I am, absolutely. I have also made a little list of the places I plan to go to.

Quite a few vintage shops; Beyond Retro, Rokit, Bang Bang Clothing exchange, and Absolute Vintage.

I also plan to go to Harrods, which may be a little cheesy, but I wasn't there last time either.

Top Shop and Urban Outfitters are both shops I must go to, but also Kiehl's, Marc Jacobs, Selfridges, A.P.C., and Cath Kidston...

Are there any other places that I need to see, or go to, or do?

Pictures from Flickr.

I am now a quarter.....

This week was my birthday week!! I have been very busy celebrating.






The birthday week schedule is below:

Monday: Margarita Monday & Ritzy Dessert at Diamondbacks.
Tuesday: Craft Night w/ Boyfriend (postponed due to boyfriend needing hair redone.
Wednesday: So You Think You Can Dance viewing party & The Dark Knight (so good!)
Thursday: Date Night With Boyfriend
Friday: Clue Themed Birthday Party
Weekend: We shall see...probably taking it easy

I plan on posting this weekend about my fun week, so stay tuned!

I feel myself becoming one of those bloggers who always takes pictures of their food

...but I just had to show you the best pancakes ever.

Blueberry pancakes with blueberries from our garden. Eric mixed them in with some Snoqualmie Falls Pancake Mix.... yum!

WIP Thursday

I've just finished the Kimono quilt top, and I'll give you a peek, but I'm going to wait until the recipients get it before showing the whole thing....

Quick on the Kimono quilt's heels is the Red Quilt....

And the Stained Glass quilt patiently awaits the love it rightfully deserves...

New shoes.

As I mentioned a few days ago, some shoes I really liked went on sale yesterday. I had planned on buying them in gray, but then I decided that I really liked this powdery colour, too- which is also leather and not textile like the gray ones.

I'm really pleased with them.

Today's my day off and I had planned on going to the gym, but it's so rainy outside so I don't know if I feel like biking there and home again and get soaked. I don't have any cash on me, and my bus card is empty so I can't take the bus either... I just hope it'll stop raining for a little while.

T-shirt: AA, skirt: H&M, tights: Noa Noa, shoes: Bronx.

Country side.

On the weekend I went to the country side with some of my family, to meet relatives, and to enjoy myself. I hadn't been there (it's where my maternal grandfather grew up) in years, and I have many fond childhood memories from that place, having spent parts of my summers there.

So, really, it was fantastic being there again, also because I got to meet some of my English relatives I had never met, and some which I already had met.



I didn't take a lot of pictures when I was there, but here are a few:






My dress is from H&M, and the blouse underneath from Vero Moda.

Soft and a little more grownup.

My girl is growing up. She is throwing her locks in with the likes of HSM and Hannah Montana. She wants the soft curls and the trends. Which is okay with me, so long as she lets me braid it once in a while.

We started out with dry hair. I curled the ends and teased all around her crown.


Then we pulled back the hair where her bangs (if she had them) would have been. I usually use four bobby pins. Make an X and then another one over the top of that. Pull out the front just a bit to make the pieces a bit more uniform.

It looks fine down, but we weren't finished.

So we split it in two and made some soft, loose, low ponytails.

She thought she looked SO grown-up. But you and I both know that two ponytails are the very essence of little girls. Don't anyone tell her that. K?

if life gives you sour cherries

make cherry cobbler!

Some generous soul at my office brought in a bucket of sour cherries, which I had never seen fresh before (apparently they perish quickly, so are hard to find fresh, even where they are grown more commonly, as in the southern US). Lacking a pie pan, I made a cobbler with them this afternoon. I'll let you know how it went after Eric and I partake of it tonight.

Babydoll dress and apple muffins.

I haven't blogged in a week now - which is quite some time, but I have my reasons. I've been working a lot, and not doing much else than that... something that has resulted in me having no inspiration whatsover to write a somewhat decent post. I rather prefer not to write at all over forcing myself to write.
Today has been nice though, since I only worked until noon and had time to drop by the city centre after work to pick up my new contact lenses, hand in some books at the library, and drop by a friend with her belated birthday present. To my joy, I also found out that a pair of Bronx shoes I've been eyeing are going to be on sale from Monday.
They also come in white, black and light pink/beige, but I think I like the gray.

I wore a babydoll dress, tights and a shirt from H&M, shoes from Din Sko and a bow from Glitter.





I also found the time to do some baking as I'm going away to the countryside on the weekend. I baked some delicious apple and cinnamon muffins that I found a receipt for in 'Skinny Bitch in the Kitch' - meaning that they are healthy and vegan.