Saturday, May 31, 2008

PRICES SLASHED!!!!!!
EMAIL ME NOW: my-red-dress@hotmail.com
(:


Ms Vola $5 ONLY!!!
BRAND NEW!!!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Holiday.

At the moment I am visiting my boyfriend who is now studying in Munich, Germany. I am having a lovely time - especially because the weather is so great, too. At the beginning of this week we went on a little trip/holiday to the very south of Germany, near the Alps and right on the border to both Austria and Switzerland. It was lovely. We stayed at a nice guesthouse and went on biking trips every day - even biking from Germany through Austria to Switzerland. It might sound impressive, but the distances weren't all that long. Unfortunately I don't have so many pictures from the trip as most of them are on my boyfriend's camera, but I wanted to share some at least.


Apparently, Switzerland, which can barely be seen, is on the other side of the lake.


Here I was walking on the city wall of the German town we were staying in.


And it seemed as if that is also the town that Rapunzel is from!



At a small tourist shop there were some adorable shawls that I really regret not getting.


And this is the harbour. It was such a lovely place... parts of it rather reminded me of the Mediterranean instead of Germany.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sex And The City

Today, I went to the SATC premiere, with my boyfriend, and I just love, love, loved it! The film was just great - much better than expected, everything I had hoped for, and more. From the beginning to the end I was hooked - crying, laughing, almost feeling as if I was there with the girls. My boyfriend had also gotten us tickets to the premiere, so the atmosphere was fantastic and that certainly made the whole experience even better. Plus, we got some champagne, as well.

Oh, I just can't get over how fabulous it was... It was just so great to be following what's going on in Carrie's, Miranda's, Samantha's and Charlotte's life again. And to see all the amazing clothes, and be inspired, yet again, by Carrie Bradshaw's impeccable style.
The film really is a must see, and I'm probably seeing it again as well! And I'm certainly getting it when it comes out on DVD.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I'm a Master...



I have Graduated from Baylor University with my Master of Science in Education in Student Affairs Administration! (Click below for photo albums of my hooding and graduation.)

I have yet to secure a job, although I have a few strong leads. This has been an amazing journey and I appreciate all of your support throughout. I look forward to blogging about my future. It's so bright you know, -I gotta wear shades.

Any and all graduation gifts are gladly accepted. Ha!




Hooding Ceremony Photo Albums:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Graduation Ceremony Photo Albums:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Monday, May 26, 2008

sprimmer

At last, the garden is planted! I believe we managed to stick seeds or starts into every available nook and cranny of the backyard. That translates to: asparagus, tomatoes (2 each of cherry and slicing varieties), yukon gold potatoes, artichokes (1 purple, 2 green globe), sugar snap peas, bush beans, mesclun salad lettuce mix, romaine lettuce, spinach, russian kale, carrots, shallots, scallions, walla walla onions, garlic (3 varieties), strawberries (4+ varieties), raspberries, an apple tree, blueberries (3 varieties), hops (3 varieties), zuchini, peppers (2 varieties), broccoli, cucumbers, and of course, the herb garden (mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, lavendar, oregano and basil). Also, sunflowers and nasturtiums.



And now hear this. I, Andrea, hereby relinquish all attempts at growing cilantro. Apparently it just isn't in the stars for me, and I fear adverse mental effects should I continue to attempt it. I'll stick to tomatoes, which seem to work OK for me.

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The Huge Log Cabin quilt and matching pillow shams are done, and safely in the hands of their new owners.



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It's been warm enough for Finn to take up lying in the coolest part of the house and do a little swimming...


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We went to the Padres vs. Mariners game (the Pads won that game, but lost the subsequent two)



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Isabella's quilt is quilted (but not yet bound)...

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Frohawk

frohawkmohawk"My hair-style is a frohawk. The back of my hair is a mohawk, the sides are buzzed, and the top of my hair is bought to the middle. I usually first straighten my hair for half an hour, especially the back, and then i use "TRESemme" hairspray to spike it up. I just put my head down and spray. I use to use wax and gel, but hairspray puts a better look on my style. It gives the dry look that I have been looking for."

Myspace: Yavuz

Frohawk

frohawkmohawk"My hair-style is a frohawk. The back of my hair is a mohawk, the sides are buzzed, and the top of my hair is bought to the middle. I usually first straighten my hair for half an hour, especially the back, and then i use "TRESemme" hairspray to spike it up. I just put my head down and spray. I use to use wax and gel, but hairspray puts a better look on my style. It gives the dry look that I have been looking for."

Myspace: Yavuz

Sunshine and roses

Yesterday I got a package in the post, wrapped in such a cute way with little adorable cards. 


Inside was a really lovely dress I'd ordered from vforvintage.com. The fact that the packages with the things you order from them is wrapped so nicely is nearly reason enough to buy things from there! But, of course, I really love the dress I received, too. Maybe I'll be wearing it at the Sex and the City premiere?


Oh, and yesterday I also received a playsuit I'd bought on ebay, which I'm really happy with too.


Monday, May 19, 2008

Shopping list.

Since I've been buying way too many things lately, I decided to come up with a list of things to buy for when I'm going to visit my boyfriend for two weeks. I always end up buying way too much when I'm travelling, and I thought it might be a good idea to already make up my mind what I want to buy in order not to buy to much. A little list, so to speak.

1. AA tee. I love the colour of this one. And it's so versatile.




2. I don't know which one I like better out of these two Mango dresses. I've been looking for a pretty stripe dress for ages and it seems like the perfect one, so I'm definitely going to see if I can find them.




3. I also came across this pair of high waist shorts on the Mango website, which looks amazing.



4. Okay, I don't even know if I'll be buying this. It's expensive and I don't know if I can splurge that much money. It would also be the first time I'd buy a real designer bag. Previously I've been rambling about the Miu Miu bag that I really want, but I've sort of realised that I can't have it. At least not at the moment. And this Marc by Marc Jacobs bag is cheaper than the Miu Miu too. Anyway, the mytheresa internet shop has a real shop in Munich, so that's where I'll be going, at least taking a look at it. It's really lovely.



Which one looks better, black or brown? I can't decide.

Don't panic.. just dance.


Soundcheck arrives in Las Vegas for an exclusive audience with Panic At The Disco! Dubbed as one of the most innovative bands, they spent time with lucky NYC fans, previewed tracks from their latest album 'Pretty. Odd.' and talked about fame, funk and got the low down on Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy. Check out their full performance on Soundcheck, the original performance series where you get up close and personal with your favorite artists.

Panic at the Disco Soundcheck session

Don't panic.. just dance.


Soundcheck arrives in Las Vegas for an exclusive audience with Panic At The Disco! Dubbed as one of the most innovative bands, they spent time with lucky NYC fans, previewed tracks from their latest album 'Pretty. Odd.' and talked about fame, funk and got the low down on Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy. Check out their full performance on Soundcheck, the original performance series where you get up close and personal with your favorite artists.

Panic at the Disco Soundcheck session

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Independence day

Today was my country's independence day (it's now after midnight - but the 17th it was), and it was quite nice. I hung out with a couple of friends - mainly inside - due to freezing weather. It's actually nicer being outside though, as that's where things are happening. I still had a good day, however.
Me with a couple of friends. I am wearing my national costume, but you can't see it so well
My friend Marthe and I bought some yummy liqourice because it's nice to eat sweets on this day.


Friday, May 16, 2008

Ladybird.

I haven't blogged in a while - not that it actually matters at this point since I don't think this blog has any real returning readers, yet - since I am struggling with term papers at the moment. For some reason, everytime I am completely stressed out, I neglect everything else; my flat is a complete mess, I don't go to the gym, I don't do anything else. It's really silly because it's not like I use all my time to actually work on the stuff that is stressing me out - exams, papers, whatever. Instead, most of the time I just worry, and feel distracted. It's a hopeless situation that I can't seem to find a way out of. Anyway, today, I did do something else - convincing myself that I do have some time, I went shopping. A nice refreshment! I bought:

Frill socks, which I'd wanted for quite some time now. An adorable ladybird necklace I just couldn't resist! And, bow hair clips. And it's all from H&M young, which means cheap. I love that you can get such cute, perhaps a little child-like buys from there for a very decent price.

From Vero Moda I got a white summery blouse. I had a really pretty white blouse with a peter pan collar that I loved, but somehow it's disappeared and I can't find it. I hate it when that happens!

Aaaand, some nice high-waist shorts (also from Vero Moda). I'd wanted high-waist shorts for quite some time now, so I was happy I found them!

Q&A

I recently went through my comments and realized there are quite a few ?'s that I haven't answered. I will answer what I do...and I hope that cosmetologists all over the world don't throw tomatoes at me.


Ready, Set, GO!



***I have a question -- where do you get your flowers and how do you attach them? (OK, technically 2 questions...sorry). The flowers are so cute!

***I want to know where you got the flowers too. I looked for some at Michael's and Joann's and didn't find anything.


I buy most of my flowers at Robert's. They go 40% off quite often. I also find a bunch at dollar stores. Go figure.



Remove the underside of the flower


Trim the stem leaving enough so that the petals still stay on.


Like so


Open your alligator clip up (a box of 100 at Sally's Beauty Supply goes for $4.99 in my neck of the woods) and I use a pencil eraser to hold it open. It doesn't slip that way and you don't have your glue hitting the other side of the clip.



Put a decent amount of hot glue on the stem and the petals. I use a high temp glue gun. The low temp seems to fall off for me.


Press the prong onto the hot glue right above the stem. The pencil is great as well because you don't burn your fingers...I learned THAT from experience. TRUST ME.

***I was wondering what kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use or use for the kids?

My kids, like any other child the world over, hate getting their hair washed. I LOVE the feel of conditioned hair and I refuse to go without it. Right now I am currently in love with Aussie's Moist 2 in 1 shampoo. It makes my girls hair so silky and soft and CLEAN...which is SUPER important with as much product as I use in their hair. And I only have to rinse once.

For me I use their Cleanse and Mend line. This month anyways.



***Unfortunately my little 3 year old HATES her hair being combed or done. I seriously came within seconds of buzzing off all of her hair!!! If you have any ideas to help me I would greatly appreciate it. We use a good conditioner and detangling spray in her hair, but she doesn't care...I need some help before CPS gets called on me because my daughter is screaming crazy at 8 every morning!!! HELP!!!
I have been doing my kids hair since they were born. I honestly think that is the best tip. Then they just don't know any different. I know that when I have my nieces over and I do their hair, their routines are different than mine, so I load up the bathroom with books and if all else fails, I turn on ELMO while I am doing their hair. Distraction is the best remedy. I think it also helps if you let them have a comb and help you. What little girl doesn't love to look in the mirror?


***My problem is that I have a 2 year old daughter with really fine, straight hair. The back is long but the top is not as long. I can get it into pigtails but always have to use a clip on the side to keep the shorter hair out of her face. Do you have any recommendations for cute hair styles?

I don't know if moms who are patiently waiting for their daughters hair to grow are going to like my answer. Cut it. I keep my daughters hair trimmed in little bobs until it is all one length and it can grow out pretty and even. Even my baby has short hair in the back that keeps getting trimmed. You can do a lot with a bob on the top. If you do want to keep it long, you will have to keep using that clip or you can do a lot of puffy-type braids. Part it down the middle and do a row on each side. Find a good stylist that specializes in kids haircuts and is FAST and I would cut it into a cute bob.

***What would you recommend if I am looking to buy a flat iron especially for curling with? I know you use a flat iron most of the time to curl the girls' hair. I want to buy one but don't know what kind works best for this purpose.

This is the one I use. $16 at Wal-Mart. It is the brand Andis. I know lots of women love their Chi. But I am not about to spend that kind of money. It is strictly a personal preference. My sister has a Chi and it doesn't curl nearly as well as this one does. For straightening, I LOVED it, but I rarely straighten my daughters hair.

My requirements for a flat-iron is that it has to be weighted and have ceramic plates and a heat control and it has to have a beveled edge so that I can make those cute curls. And it has to be inexpensive. I have had this one for 3 years now and it is still going strong. My younger daughter has more delicate hair and I turn the heat down to a 10 to curl her hair. My oldest has tough hair and needs hers on a 15. I am getting my old lady mom hair and I go up to a 20 for myself.



***But I must get some cute hair bows, please tell me you will be selling them or doing more giveaways.

I am absolutely doing more giveaways. Probably every other month. Watch for my 4th of July giveaway. I may start selling them, but when I start doing things for profit, they stop becoming fun for me. I know of several ladies that do sell them and I will start to post links on my blog.



***Do you have a tutorial or tips on French braiding?

I have one in the works.

***How old is your daughter? My little one is 2 and I am so nervous to use a straightener or curling iron on her hair for fear that it will fry it. When did you first start?

My baby is 6 months, but that isn't the one you are asking about. My oldest is almost 8 and my blond just turned 4. I started curling their hair as soon as they had enough that could be clamped down into a curling iron or flat iron. The oldest hair took it's time coming in and I started curling hers around 15 months. Before I curled it I used an ity bitty round curling brush and blew it into curls. My middle daughter had way more hair and I curled her hair before her 1st birthday.


***Can you teach me how to make those adorable bows!?!?

Unless you want to come to my house, I can't right now. I plan on doing a tutorial about how I make them, but with raising kids and all, I haven't had the time quite yet. This website has some excellent tutorials on how to make the bows. I mostly use the pinwheel bow because I can just wrap the center with thread and I am too lazy to pull out the needles and sew. I am going to have some bow making parties at my home but unless you live close, it would be hard.


***My daughter just turned 3 and has more hair than I know what to do with. It is beautiful and long - but she doesn't like having her hair done - and when I do it - it only looks nice for about 5 minutes (a little tom-boy trying to keep up with big brother). So, my questions are... are there styles that are better for rough and tumble kids? AND are there any products that are better for them? Any suggestions?


My biggest suggestion that I would do a lot of ponytails, Indian braids or French braids. I am going to be showing a bunch of basics next week and I should have those all included. Smocking is a fantastic way to keep those wisp's out of her face as well...and they don't fall out as easily as ponytails. When you do her hair, make sure you wet it thoroughly before you pull it back and use a wax or a putty or a max hold hair gel to tame those fly aways. Also, after you wash it, put some Infusium 23...anti-frizz in her hair. It makes it soft and sleek.


***Would you be willing to show a Morning picture and an After-school picture?


Sure. I can tell you that after they are done playing, there are definitely fly aways. It has gotten much better since I have started using Infusium 23 leave-in-treatment. It is a must have at our house now. Would you judge me if I told you that I am mostly concerned that they go to school looking nice so their teachers know that I make an effort. They always come home with SOMETHING on their shirts no matter how hard I try.


***Scarlet has more hair right on top of her head than one may think or notice. When I was a baby I had hair just like her. I remember seeing picture of me with a curl on the top of my head going from front to back... I think it looks cute...Is that still cute to do? and if so, how would I curl such fine, baby soft hair?


I did that all of the time on my babies heads. I think it is darling and absolutely still in.

When I do it, I wet my daughters hair and put in some heavy hold hair gel. I take my comb and part it and comb the hair up to the center...like a faux hawk. Then I just curl the hair around my finger or the comb. The comb has always worked the best for me. Comb the side you want to be the underside of the curl and swoop it up and towards yourself.

Any other questions for me? I am in a chatty mood today.