HAIR WEEK: NO FAIL CURLS

You asked for it people. 

On Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram...in emails and comments. My curl tutorial:

If I had to name this something other than no-fail curls, I'd call it "Choose your own adventure curls"...because you really can decide how they turn out. 

Curl & leave? Tighter waves.

Brush out with your fingers? Loose waves.

Brush with a brush? Soft, barely there waves.

The steps are easy, I promise! You don't need any fancy equipment, no special products.

All I use is THIS hairspray and THIS curling iron (which cost $13 and I've had for about 7 years). If you have longer hair, go for a 1 -1/4 inch barrel. Shorter haired ladies, go for 3/4-1 inch barrel.

Let's begin, shall we? This is more pictures than I'd usually do in a post, but I guess if I'm going to do this, I might as well do it right!

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Prep:

Brush your hair out. Spray LIGHTLY with hairspray. Too much and you'll have a crispy mess.

If you have really thick hair, clip up the top half of your hair & do in two sections.

(I just roughly split mine in half in the back and do the left side first, then the right)

Step 1:

Starting from the back and working your way forward, grab about a 1 inch section of hair and pull away from your head 45-90 degrees. Begin wrapping around the curling iron about 4 inches down from your scalp. 

 Step 2:

There is no eloquent way to describe how to wrap, so bear with me. Rather than keeping the hair flat and wrapping it around the barrel, allow it to bunch/twist naturally and you wrap it around. Forcing it to stay wide and flat will lead to more fake looking, Shirley Temple curls. See below? 1 wider, 1 thinner because it's less spread out? Go for the thinner, less spread out!

 Step 3:

Continue wrapping until you get to the end. Leave the last 1-2 inches out from being curled- just hold them away from the barrel. DO NOT clamp down. No. No. No. Clamping=kinks, or ripping at your hair. Don't do either. Hold for about 20 seconds, or until warm to the touch.

 Step 4:

Unwrap from the barrel! Enjoy your magical curls! Look at them! There they are!

 Step 5:

Brush out with your fingers. Don't be worried that they'll fall out. You're just making them more relaxed & natural! If you really do have straight hair that doesn't hold curl well, go ahead and skip this step. 

 Step 6:

Spray lightly with your hairspray, and gaze lovingly at your pretty, perfect curls. 

What else makes these curls the bomb?

You can sleep on them, wake up, and still have killer curls. 

So here's the deal. 

Try out the curls, take a picture on instagram- and tag me (@lpodlich) so I can see how awesome they turned out! 

Happy #hairweek, everyone!

xo, lp 

*all images by louisa marion photography

Pin to your curly hearts content, dollfaces:

NOT PROLIFIC...

I shot just a single roll of film between February and August this year.

HAIR WEEK: PRODUCTS TO LOVE!

Hair week wouldn't be complete without a roundup of my favorite hair products. 

Some of these products I've used for years, and some are new additions- a couple of which I found out about from other bloggers! Of course not everyone has the same hair - but these are ones I highly recommend! 

1.  This stuff is the bomb. Normal shampoo causes buildup on your hair, whether you realize it or not. Slowly but surely it dulls your hair. Boo to that. This Neutrogena stuff is magic-I use a little bit once a week- and it makes my hair crazy soft, and crazy shiny. Plus, it's cheap. Which I'm a fan of. If you take one thing away from this post to buy GET THIS!

2. This Ego Boost smells so good. I use it if I want to leave my hair wavy, but don't want flyaway frizziness, I use this stuff. It keeps my hair from looking crazy without weighing it down!

3. No, bobby pins aren't revolutionary, but I use them more than any other hair product. Just ask Michael- he finds them allllll over the place.

4. Please tell me you're hip to dry shampoo. I don't need to explain it, right? I've tried a handful of brands, but shockingly- this Suave stuff for under $4 is the ticket. And it smells soooo good!

5. This Herbal Essences shampoo & conditioner reminds me of being a kid at camp. Does it cause eventual dullness like mentioned above in #1? Yes, over time. But it smells so good I use it anyway. LOVE that they brought back these old school scents & bottles.

6. Frizz Ease hair serum is magic 2.0. I mainly use it on my ends when I straighten my hair- it keeps them looking super smooth, even if I'm in between haircuts.

7. I have tried about 32403298 kinds of hairspray in my day. This one smells the best, is pretty cheap, and holds my hair in curls without being crunchy. Get it.

8. I like these hair ties only because they are pretty. They still kind of leave a kink in your hair...but when you have them around your wrist they look purty.


What's a must-have hair product for you?
If you haven't tried the Neutrogena Shampoo- you must!

xo, lp

HAIR WEEK: STRAIGHTEN IT OUT

Let's talk about straight hair.

Growing up, curly hair wasn't cool. Straight hair was cool. So, what did I do? I murdered my hair by straightening it for most of middle school & high school. Sorry, hair!

After letting it rehab for the past...eh...7 years - it fully doesn't hate me anymore. Now I straighten it much less- and having a straightener that doesn't burn my hair to a crisp sure helps! Here's my before and after:

I mean, major improvement, right? What's great is that when I straighten my hair now it is SHINY. Not dull and crunchy from having all the life sucked out of it! So what straightener am I using? 

This guy:

 The cute kids at Misikko sent this Hana Professional straightener my way- and to be honest, it was one of the VERY few offers to test things I've accepted. Normally I think doing lots of reviews just sounds so fake. I mean, HOW do those bloggers just loooooooooove everything that is sent to them? I call bull crap. So when they sent me this, they said I could be as honest as I wanted. Rather than do a post right away, I actually used it- for about 4 months. I actually saw if I liked the thing before putting it on the blog. And honestly: I love it. 

It heats up in like 30 seconds.

It doesn't cool down until you're done- so no waiting halfway through to get up to full heat again.

It glides over hair rather than ripping it as it goes.

It leaves hair shiny and super soft. 

So friends, here I am today telling you honestly that while this straightener was gifted to me by Misikko- it is ABSOLUTELY one I would invest in if I had known how great it was. This isn't an ad to tell you to buy- but if you're looking for a reliable straightener that won't wreck your hair, check them out. They're on super sale right now, which doesn't hurt :)

Do you have a hair styling brand that you love?

I'd love to hear what you have up your sleeve!

xo, lp

This product was given to be by Misikko, but I received no payment for doing this post. All opinions are my own, ya dig?

images by louisa marion photography

HAIR WEEK : HEIDI HAIR HOW TO (aka princess leia braids)

Hair Week: Day 1. Let's do this!

I'm starting out with the Heidi Braids because they are so. dang. easy. Perfect for a "crap I woke up late Tuesday and need to do my hair in 5 minutes flat" moment. Of which I have had many. Damn you, snooze button. 

This hairstyle is called the Heidi, or the Princess Leia, or heck- throw some flowers in there and you can call it the Frida Kahlo. 

If you don't know who at least 2 or those 3 women are, get your Wikipedia on. Stat.

This hairstyle takes 4 steps.

The best part is it doesn't look like it only takes 4 steps- hence why no one will assume it's your "get up and go" hair. Hurray!

Let's start, shall we?

PREP:

 Before you start, brush out your hair well, and part down the middle in the back. I prefer having it parted to the side in the front because middle parts ain't mah jam. But if you want a middle part in the front too, go for it. ALSO: Have a lot of bobby pins handy. You might not use them all, but they'll be good to have just in case you need 'em.

MAKE IT HAPPEN:

Step 1: With your hair properly parted, braid your first side, tugging your hair away from your head slightly. This will keep you from having a big bump when you move to step 2.

Step 2: Fold/wrap the braid around the back of your head. Your next braid will go in front of it, so don't worry if it looks a little funky being back so far. Pulling it tightly, secure with 2-3 bobby pins. You'll have a lovely little side-rat tail-embrace it. 

Step 3: Braid the second half of your hair and then repeat step 2, just folding it in front of your first braid. Secure it well!

Step 4: This is clean up time. Make sure the side-rat tail is tucked/pinned in, and pin down any rogue bumps or flyaways that may have come up. Once you feel you're secure, you're good to go!!!

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This really is a pretty fool-proof hairstyle. Plus, the more you do it the easier it gets. 

TIPS:

* if you have thin/slippery hair: spray some hairspray in your hair first to help the bobby pins grab your hair

* if you have really curly hair: you may want to straighten the front few inches of your hair for a smooth look!

* if you have really short hair and are mad at me that you can't do this: sorry, grow it out girl!

* if you're lookin' for a fancy look: pin some tiny wild flowers along one side. 

So that's it!

Have you tried the 'Heidi'? 

Any tips or tricks you'd like to share?

xo, lp

*tune in every day this week for more #hairweek fun!

** if you try this out - share it on Instagram and tag me- @lpodlich, i'd love to see it!

For you pinnin' fools:

images by louisa marion photography

HAIR WEEK.

People, it's Hair Week. Whaddup.

This week was due to popular demand, as evidently people are more interested in how I curl my hair than any other aspect of my life, which I'm totally cool with. I feel like it's a pretty low level of creepy, and I can get down with that.

I'll have 4 hair-related posts for ya this week, so I hope you all enjoy! If you are having lazy week and know you won't be trying any of these- pin them on a board for later.

Here's what to expect for the week (not in any particular order):

You asked for it. Again. And again. And again. Mainly on Instagram. This is it team, the no-fail curls how-to!

I've had the same straightener for years, thinking it was the best. I was wrong, the one I'll be sharing this week is!

Everyone has different things that work for their hair, but this week I'll have a list of my ABSOLUTE favorite different hair products- many of which I found from recommendations from other bloggers, so maybe you'll find something new, too!

 And finally, the Heidi Braids. If you think you can't pull these off, you're wrong. You can. PLUS they are crazy easy, but LOOK like you put a ton of effort in. Win-win.

Big thanks in advance to Louisa Marion Photography for snapping these pictures of me. You da bomb.


Alright, I'm being annoying here- but which post are YOU most excited to see this week?
Let me know!

xo, lp

PNW- TAKE 3

This is the third and final leg of our awesome trip to the Pacific Northwest!

I'll actually be back with a Food Guide sometime next week- so for all of you with future plans to visit the areas I mentioned here and here, be sure to come back!

When we got back from Washington we stayed with our friend Scott, who played tour guide for us the remainder of our trip. We brunched, we shopped, we explored. I was a little Instagrammed-out by the end of the trip, but I have to call out the AWESOME ice cream we had at Salt & Straw. Coffee & Bourbon? Yes.

What I did snag pictures of was our trip to Seaside, OR for a morning while Scott was at work. It's a small town on the Pacific that is full of charm and, most importantly, salt water taffy shops.  It was hazy-cloudy while we were there, which was kind of a welcome break from the crazy sun we'd been getting:

I mean, how cool are the clouds hanging over the bluffs? 

We grabbed some food and wandered in and out of tacky tourist traps before heading back to Portland.

Scott brought us up to an overlook of the city- and told us we needed to stop taking couple selfies (his words, not mine)- and snapped this perfect picture of us. I love that it's not overly posed or anything!

After a quick drive around town it was time to catch our 8 pm flight, so we said goodbye to this awesome town!

Thanks to Elliott & Scott for being amazing hosts, and thanks to all of YOU who gave us great suggestion on sights to see and places to try!

We need a new state to visit next-

Anyone have any great ideas??

xo, lp

Blogger Buzz v.2: Spill Your Bag!

The Blogger Buzz is back, and this time we're sharing some interesting items you might find in our bags!

1. // Lauren Felix of La Petite Fashionista

La Petite Fashionista Koozie: You never know when the occasion might arise during football season—I always like to have a LPF koozieon hand!

Samsung Galaxy Camera: A blogger's dream; perfect for uploading pictures on-the-go to all your social media feeds.

Naked Eyeshadow Palette: My go-to eyeshadow palette in a convenient purse-sized compact. 

2. // Ashley Fine of One Fine Day

USPS Notification Slip: At any given time, you will find one of these peach paper slips in my bag. I'm a big fan of online shopping; it's just SO convenient and fun. However, we have a super steep driveway and our courier can't get his vehicle up to the house. Womp, womp! Needless to say, I visit the Post Office regularly to pick up my recently purchased loot! I toss the notification slip in my purse as a reminder that I have a 'piece of happy' waiting for me at the Post Office.

Backup Battery for iPhone: I'm on my phone probably too much, so it's imperative that I have this on me just in case I run out of juice. I should also note that I'm a sucker for anything with polka-dots, and it never hurts to have something cute AND functional in your bag.

'List Makers Gonna List' Notepad: In true Type-A fashion, I'm the queen of making lists. My sister sent me this adorable notepad from Sapling Press and it couldn't be more true.

3. // Meghan Anderson of Downtown Daydreams

Kate Spade Pocket Phone Case: I am constantly switching bags, clutches, totes — so sometimes I wind up pulling out cards from my wallet and tossing them into my bag loosely.  This case is just brilliant. It holds my ATM card, subway pass, and my work ID perfectly—that way I am not fishing around for the cards at the bottom of my bag!

Clinique's Chubby Stick: The saying 'mother knows best' holds especially true with my first pick. My mom introduced me to these fabulous lip balms. They achieve the look of lipstick, without the consistency. The 05 Plushest Punch is a top contender for my favorite.

Back-Up Jewelry and Makeup: My girlfriends all make fun of me and say that I am Mary Poppins because I always have multiple pieces of back up jewelry (and makeup) in my bag. You never know where the night is going to take you! I bought this Baublebar piece recently at their SOHO PopUp shop [ended 8/14] in NYC and love that you can wear it with everything from white t-shirts to cocktail dresses.

4. // Katherine Nolden of The Duchess of Plumewood

Business Cards: I had some made for myself in law school, and I've been handing them out like candy! It's not what you know, it's WHO you know!

Red Cross CPR Kit: Now that I'm certified, I carry it around with me  just in case I have to save someone's life.

Dog Treats: I always carry some for Winston just in case he needs a little encouragement to do something, or if he's being a really good boy!

5. // Laura Podlich of Beauty and the Beard

The Bow: At all times I either have greeting cards or ribbon/bows in my purse because I'm always afraid I'll forget someone's birthday or special event! It sounds crazy, but there have been multiple times I've slapped a bow on a last minute gift—it makes it look like it wasn't last minute!

The Ginger Ale: I am totally 25 going on 85 because Ginger Ale is my favorite drink. A can of the fizzy stuff is a constant in my bag!

The Ninja Figure: Okay, now I look 25 going on 5. I can explain! My dad sends me silly little gifts he gets out of 25-cent machines (he has since my sister and I were little) so I usually have one kicking around my bag. I'm sure when I go through airport security the TSAmust think I am insane for those figurines, but whenever I come across one of them I think of my goofy dad and smile!

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To be fair, I didn't post the last time we did Blogger Buzz, but you can see it HERE!

What's something odd you keep in your bag?
I expect some cool answers from you!

xo, lp

RASPBERRY LEMONADE MARTINI

Today's drink recipe is awesomely easy, and can be served two ways- on the rocks (on ice) or straight up in a nice martini glass! Dani & I sipped on these by the pool the other night, and they were the perfect, refreshing, end of summer drinks! 

What you'll need to make them happen:

- Vodka (1.5 ounces per drink- I used Svedka)

- Fresh Raspberries

- Lemonade (I used CountryTime powdered)

- Ice & Toothpicks or skewers

How to make them happen:

Step 1: Mash a small handful of raspberries into 6 ounces of lemonade. You can use a spoon- or a blender if you're feeling REALLY ambitious. Let sit in fridge to get cold.

Step 2: Add your vodka to a shaker or glass with ice and shake like crazy until it's super cold. Pour into a martini glass, or leave in ice if you're having it on the rocks.

Step 3: Filter your raspberry lemonade mixture if you're drinking it straight up, or just pour it over ice & vodka as is. It's annoying as heck to try to drink little raspberry bits out of a martini glass- but isn't too bad with a straw :)

Step 4: Garnish with some skewered raspberries, and enjoy!

Easy, right? The lemonade keeps it just tart enough that you can drink one without feeling like you just drank a cup of sugar, but there's enough sweetness to cut the vodka.

I highly recommend this for a girl's night or a bachelorette/bridal shower!

What's your go-to, easy cocktail?

If you don't have one, feel free to steal this recipe!

xo, lp

For more drink recipes, click here!

IT FELT LIKE A WEEKEND.

Damn this weekend was good.

Sorry for starting the post off with a swearword, Mom- but it was necessary, because it was that good.

This weekend FELT like a weekend. Fully. We utilized every minute to either run errands, see friends, or do work around the apartment.

Bonfire-ing, grilling, drinking, pool partying, and catching up with friends felt fantastic. Seeing some old coworker friends who moved away a few years ago & then stopping at the Farmer's Market were a few of my favorite moments. Sunday I met with some lovely Wisconsin blogging ladies for brunch- which was fantastic to meet some new people in the area! Of course, like a champ...I didn't take any pictures. Meh. You can all picture that, right? 

Here's what's going on lately: 

Finally getting back into taking some #ootd pictures on Instagram. Those red pants are the comfiest. And like $20. Thanks Gap!

Public Service Announcement: Go here and buy this candle. Now. It's on super clearance, and it smells live heaven and Fall. Beside the amazing cedar scent, it also comes in the form of a cute tin mug! Also- ladies- if you live with your dude and he is anti-candle, BUY THIS ONE. I promise he'll like it. It's such an outdoorsy, manly scent!

Gap's new denim is the bomb. Seriously. The Always Skinny and the Legging Jeans are the most flattering jeans ever. Gap is 40% off sitewide ending TODAY, and denim is FINALLY included in the sale. I'll be checking the mail compulsively this week until my order comes. Use code FALLFIX

This next image makes me SUPER happy, because it is telling you all that next week will be HAIR WEEEEEK! Hands down, the #1 thing I get emails, comments, and tweets about is asking how I curl my hair. SO next week I'll be doing a few posts including a couple tutorials and a hair must-have list! 

What are you excited about this week?
Besides cheap Gap denim...


xo, lp



ALSO:

People, this song is my jam. Am I the only one that loves it? Seriously. I have played it wayyy too much for my own good lately. I love that the video just perfectly encapsulates what she's singing in the song. Just the average, mundane day in the life of us normal people :)

PNW - TAKE 2

So as you saw Monday, the first leg of our trip in Portland was success!

We headed off to Washington next...

1. We stopped in Olympia first to check out the State Capitol Building. Nothin' compared to Wisconsin's cap building...but I'm pretty biased.

2-4 Turns out Sea Fair was going on in Seattle which meant every hotel on earth was booked, so we ended up staying in Tacoma. I'm glad we did too, because while searching for a hotel we got to see a lot of awesome things around town! We explored the waterfront & the Tacoma Glass Museum, and had a great date night at Dirty Oscar's Annex. Diner's Driveins and Dives was right- it was delicious!

5. The next morning REALLY early we headed downtown Seattle. First stop? The Original Starbucks! 

6. We spent a ton of time walking around Pike Place and watching the guys throw fish around. I wish we lived in Seattle and had access to that amazing market daily!

7. The Post Alley Gum Wall- we just had to do it. We just HAD to.

8. Rock Bottom Brewery beer tasting. Totally sucked. Don't go there. For realz.

9. Fremont Troll- you just have to Google it, such a crazy cool "statue".

10. Oh come on, you didn't really think we wouldn't do the Space Needle, did you??

11-12. After one of our days in Seattle we headed to Woodinville, WA to do a little wine tasting and brewery touring. Chateau Ste Michelle had great wine- but the chick serving us clearly thought that because we are young we didn't know wine and pretty much ignored us. Major bummer. To forget her, we went to Red Hook Brewery where we had the most fantastic tour guide. The beer was DELICIOUS, we learned a ton, and we ate&drank at their brewpub afterwards. I may have gotten tipsy. Oops. Sorry Michael!

13&14. The next morning we headed to Gig Harbor, WA- cute little sea town on the Puget Sound. I bought even more taffy and we checked out yet another brewery (seeing a theme?). By far best beer of the trip.

15-16.  Finally, we spent our last day in Washington visiting Mt. Rainier. Holy shit it's gorgeous up there. The trees, the waterfalls, the mountain- completely stunning. I now see why crappy scent companies try to create the smell "mountain air". Ahhhhh.

17. Our car for the trip? A Chevy Spark. Aka the clown car. Aka the worst car ever.

18. Just kind of a pretty drive back to Portland... these PNW states love their bridges, I tell ya.

So that's the second leg! We packed a ton of stuff in, and Washington was a stunning state...I already want to go back!

Have you ever been to Washington? What was your favorite part?

If you're planning a trip please email me, I'd love to give more details!

xo, lp

Some of my favourite moments of this summer so far: midsummer's night on the Thames after seeing Patti Smith perform at the Royal Festival Hall, with her son and daughter as back up band; the cat in Parisian bakery window shot never gets old; a drink after watching Hiroshima Mon Amour (without subtitles!) at Le Champo; an unexpected bonus of a cancelled Eurostar train = an

ONE OF THOSE POST THINGS...

I feel like posting a bit now I've got that off my chest! Anyway, this is Andalusia back in June - 2 midsummer days of hot white heat at a villa surrounded by wildflowers and mountains. The only neighbours for miles were a few shepherds and their flocks. The light was so strong that I was unable to take actual pictures with a camera before 10pm, when it was still light. We ate

PYRE...

It was this blog's eighth birthday yesterday and I was unsure what to do. Throw a party, or a wake? I considered putting it on a boat, setting fire to it and pushing it out into the Serpentine lake to watch it burn from a distance while sipping Pimm's. Since the whole "all my images were irretrievably deleted by Google" debacle I have been feeling unenthused. But honestly, as I've posted