Here is a casual chic pink and white outfit I put together for a summer night out to a rooftop bar in New York. Since the top had beading around the neckline, I kept the accessories simple by just going with bracelets. Hope you enjoy! 😊
Top: Socialite
Jeans: J Brand
Shoes: Steve Madden
Accessories: Mixed different bracelet pieces from Forever 21
Nail Polish: #350 Pink a Card by Sally Hansen
Do you have a favorite spot to watch the sunset? Or a special place to go to think?
On a recent road trip down the coast to San Diego, I discovered the most amazing location in Encinitas, Moonlight Beach. I got there right around 8pm and just stood at the edge of the water, taking in the scents, sights, and sounds. The waves washing up the shore, my toes dug into the sand, and the smell of salt in the air with a faint scent of a bonfire burning nearby. There’s just something so serene and mysterious about the ocean. I stood there for a while, allowing the space to clear my thoughts, closing my eyes for a bit to just listen to the breaking sound of the waves. As the sun set, I tried to capture the imagery as best as possible through these photos; however, photos just don’t do it justice.
Interested in visiting Encinitas or Moonlight Beach? Find more information on the San Diego County website. 🙂
In my previous Brazilian blowout post, I explained my obsession and gave a few tips on how to maintain and expand the life of your blowout. Now I’d like to dive a bit deeper into Brazilian blowout maintenance and give you a glimpse as to just how easy it is. My routine is a simple four step process: 1) shampoo, 2) condition, 3) deep condition, and 4) moisturize. The most important thing you can do to expand the life of your Brazilian blowout is to use products that are sulfate-free. I have experimented with a variety of expensive and less costly products and found that the price does not necessarily make a big difference. The key is to keep it simple and invest in a few key pieces that will elevate your hair game to the next level!
Air dried hair with moisturizers noted in Step 4. This is month 3 of the Brazilian blowout.
STEP 1: SHAMPOO
Shampoo your hair once every 2-3 days (or wait longer if possible). Choose a shampoo that is sulfate-free and contains keratin. Shampoo strips your hair strands of their protein, so you want to pick a product that will be as gentle as possible. The purpose of choosing a shampoo with keratin is to add back the protein that the shampoo may be stripping in an effort to extend the life of your blowout. My favorite shampoo is “Keratin Color Care Shampoo” by Keratin Complex. It is both sulfate and sodium chloride free which is perfect for colored hair maintenance. 
STEP 2: CONDITION
Condition your hair after every shampoo. Choose a conditioner that contains keratin and leave the product in your hair for at least 3 minutes before rinsing. Try to divide your hair in half when applying to penetrate as much hair as possible. My favorite conditioner is “Keratin Color Care Conditioner” by Keratin Complex. 
STEP 3: DEEP CONDITION
At least once a week, deep condition your hair in place of Step 2 after you shampoo. Choose a deep conditioner that contains keratin and leave the product in your hair for at least 5 minutes before rinsing. Focus the deep conditioner on your ends, as this is where the hair is the most dry. I like to rub regular conditioner on the upper part of my strands after putting deep conditioner on my ends. I then wrap my hair in a bun and let that sit on the top of my head. My favorite deep conditioner is “Vanilla Bean Deep Conditioner” by Keratin Complex. This conditioner leaves my hair feeling silky soft and smells like vanilla bean frosting. You can even see the vanilla specks in the product.
STEP 4: MOISTURIZE
Step four is broken up into a two-part step; a) moisturize the hair when wet, and b) moisturize the hair when semi-dry. For those of you that have very dry hair, this two-part step is very important in extending the life of your blowout. Use a styling serum when wet to tame frizz as your hair air dries. A serum is a very concentrated product which you want to use sparingly. After washing and conditioning, towel dry your hair and add between one to two pumps of product (depending on your length and thickness), massaging the product into your hair and focusing on the tips. You can either blow dry your hair on a low setting or let it air dry after applying the serum. Because I like to keep a low maintenance routine, I will usually let my hair air dry unless I am in a rush. Once your hair is semi-dry, add a moisturizing heat protection product prior to utilizing a flat-iron or high heat. I find that moisturizing in this two-part step leaves my hair very soft and manageable. My favorite products are “K-Pak Color Therapy Restorative Styling Oil” by Joico and “Keratin Dry Oil Mist” by Ion.
K-Pak Color Therapy Restorative Styling Oil
To say that I have thick hair would be an understatement. As you can see from my photos, my hair is extremely thick, dry, and curly. It basically does whatever it wants when given the opportunity. That’s why feel it’s so important to maintain a regular maintenance routine in order to tame the hair beast!
After following my regular maintenance routine and using a 2-inch ceramic flat-iron to straighten. This photo was taken the day after the photo of my hair above.
What are your tips and tricks to keep your hair under control? 😉
Kona Cafe is my favorite breakfast place when visiting Walt Disney World. Located across from the Magic Kingdom theme park, it is easily accessible by monorail, boat, or car. Kona Cafe is probably best known for their Tonga Toast, a banana-stuffed sourdough french toast rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with a strawberry compote. Yum! Now that I have your attention let’s talk breakfast. Kona Cafe offers lunch and dinner options, but breakfast is really what they do best. During this visit we ordered a variety of items and shared. The portions are not huge so if you go with a large appetite I would recommend that you order one dish per person to share. The breakfast menu consists of various island flavors. The Liliko’i Juice Is fantastic. It is a subtle and sweet blend of orange, passion fruit, and guava juice. Guava and passion fruit complement each other so well and have the ability to transport you back to Hawaii. The Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes are served with a delicious macadamia nut butter and pineapple sauce. The Tonga Toast is amazing, but it’s the strawberry compote that really takes it to the next level. It tastes almost like a strawberry smoothie. When you taste it, you’ll want to just drink it up. 😉 Check out this recipe from the official Disney blog if you want to try to make your own: Tonga Toast. Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy!
Kona Cafe Menu
Lilikoi Juice, $4.49
Condiments: Strawberry Compote, Maple Syrup, Butter, and Ketchup
Egg White Omelet: Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese with a side of Fruit, $10.99
Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes: Served with Macadamia Nut Butter, Pineapple Sauce, and your choice of Ham, Bacon, or Sausage, $10.49
Tonga Toast: Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote and your choice of Ham, Bacon, or Sausage, $12.99
Ham and Cheese Omelet: Served with Home-fried Potatoes, $11.49
Pork Sausage
Portion view
Tonga Toast Inside View
Here’s an insider tip: If you don’t have time to have a sit down breakfast or don’t want to spend that much money, checkout Capt. Cook, a casual quick service cafe located downstairs at the Polynesian Resort. While they may not have all of the same breakfast offerings as Kona, they do offer the Tonga Toast at a cheaper price, which is definitely worth a try!
You know that saying, “you are your own worst enemy”? It couldn’t be anymore true. We, as individuals, are our own worst critics. Who else is with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and knows every detail of your life, every thought, every secret, every capability… only you! Once you realize that you have more control over your life than you allow yourself to have, you can shift your mindset. You can shift the way you view or perceive situations and their expected outcome. In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey refers to this as the “paradigm shift”. It is the way we perceive the world and the mental map that we use to base our actions.
Here is a simple exercise to kind of put things into perspective. Think about all of the things you have to do this week. Now state your list of things out loud: I have to [cook dinner]. I have to [make the bed]. I have to [take out the trash]. Etc. etc. Now, take a moment to go over that same list again, but this time instead of using the terms “I have to” replace that with the term “I want to”: I want to [cook dinner]. I want to [make the bed]. I want to [take out the trash]. Now pause and think for a moment, how did replacing “I have to” with “I want to” make you feel? Were there different feelings attached to the situations depending which term you used? Did it make you feel more positive to do something by saying “I want to” do this versus “I have to”? What you experienced is the paradigm shift.
A paradigm shift is necessary in positive decision-making. Emotional intelligence takes effort and, most importantly, time. Now, you are not always going to be able to quickly change your mindset in situations. But if you can at least exercise awareness, it is a step towards the right direction. The way you view things and make assumptions can greatly dictate the outcome of a situation. You have control. You can decide on your attitude and how you allow things to affect you. Now, this isn’t a catch-all for every situation in life. Obviously, as humans, no one is perfect and you are allowed to have feelings, but you should be aware that there is hope, and that by empowering yourself you are capable of accomplishing great things.
This book really motivated me to move forward with this blog. I’m a pretty private individual, but I really wanted a creative outlet to reach out to people to inspire and motivate them to try something different and fun. I highly recommend reading the 7 Habits for Highly Effective People. At the least, it will leave you with a sense of empowerment and, hopefully, it will inspire you to take action. Because, at the end of the day, you can have all the best tools in the world, but unless you make a conscious decision to use them, they won’t serve you any purpose.
The Seven Habits:
- Be proactive.
- Begin with an end in mind.
- Put first things first.
- Think win-win.
- Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
- Synergize.
- Sharpen the saw.
Know that you are important, you are loved, and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. XOXO
CURLSXOXO 