Things you’ll find at the bottom of a coffee mug
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Loving Your Hair
Protecting your natural hair at all costs always seems everyone's last concern, until they realize that not caring for their hair whether it's dying constantly, using too much heat not washing with the right products. We all want something different from time to time, and that can cost us our natural healthy hair. For me it was after dying it multiple times in one year, using too much heat and not cutting the dead ends often enough. Always having had healthy long hair I was under the impression that, it would be okay to dye my hair, and put it through extreme heat.
I've seen the same happen to many people I know, they continually change so much that, their hair ends up lifeless and dull, for some even falling out. Seeing your hair fall out by simply running your fingers through it can be scary to say the least. I was there for a short amount of time myself. After dying my hair many times, I started to notice how dry and unhealthy my hair was. The last straw to realizing I needed to do something different was when one morning I was brushing my hair and it was falling off, as if it was being cut. I was horrified I looked in the mirror and noticed the bottom half of my head had significantly less hair than I was used to. I remembered seeing many friends with crochet braids and realized that might help strengthen my hair it was a way to leave it alone for a while.
Up until that point unhealthy hair had been the least of my worries, because my hair had always been so manageable, and strong. It took a while to get back to healthy hair. Crochet braids were definitely a big helper to getting my hair back to normal. Healthy hair now is always a must for myself over anything else. That's why I love DivaTress, trusted by professionals stylists, and beauticians. They have thousands of options for crochet braids to help protect your hair, and even help your journey back to healthy hair. There are different colors for when you don't want to wear you regular hair color making the process fun, without sacrificing your strands. I love my hair now and having a protective style was a fun way to get back to my healthy hair.
*This post was sponsored by DivaTress but all opinions are my own.*
Zara Wrap Dress
Currently crushing on this dress..
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Romantic Red
Currently crushing on this dress
Read MoreVino Roso Per Uno
Here we are again the time of the year some of us dread, while others love to love. Valentines day is tomorrow and I know there's plenty of us out there who will be spending it alone or unhappy. Let's be honest here, not everyone has someone they can gush about to friends and family, or some of us don't want to have anyone at the moment because, well we want to be selfish and care for ourselves. This post is dedicated to those people those of us who are being selfish at the moment and are worried about ourselves more than a holiday that gives people an excuse to make others feel a little bitter.
I honestly cannot count myself in that group of people who are bitter at this time of the year, it's not who I am, although I was in that position a year or two ago I am now nowhere near feeling that way. Valentines day this year is a happy one for me, and what do I mean exactly by that? I am happy with myself, this past year I had a lot of alone time to work on myself, be more independent, I love me and the woman I am becoming. Although I have reason to celebrate valentines day I am instead choosing to have that mind space to celebrate self love. We all feel that this is a day to celebrate someone else in our lives, and although there's nothing wrong with that I feel it is very important for us to remember that love begins with us, and we should nurture that in some way. Whether you're spending this Valentines day alone or in good company enjoy a drink or three and remember that in order to be happy you must love yourself first. So to you in advance I say Happy Valentines Day.
West Texas Road Trip: Big Bend & Marfa
Photo Cred: Alonzo Williams Jr.
West Texas is full of long stretches of road surrounded by rocky mountains. At sunrise the sun lights up the horizon, with the brightest hues of orange and sometimes purple. With every mile you drive the road takes you further away from home, but closer to wonder and excitement of the unknown. The star kissed sky in Big Bend is breathtaking.
If you thought shooting stars, were rare here they aren’t. One passes every five minutes, and you just cannot get enough of it once you realize there will be more than one grazing the sky during your stay. If you’re up for driving 30 minutes up the mountain from the lodge area, The Hot Springs trail is the perfect place to catch the sunrise.
It escapes from behind the mountains slowly to greet you. It’s a slow and beautiful progression of different shades, going from a subtle purple, that turns into yellow, and suddenly the brightest orange. The scenery here is beautiful in the early morning, but plan to get here at the crack of dawn if not a few minutes before while it’s still slightly dark. From a distance you’ll notice the rises from the stream at the end of the trail. When you park you’ll see a casita (ca-see-ta) is the pronunciation in Spanish. Walking toward the hot spring, you’ll pass up a lot bushes, I loved that there was a palm tree, where if you stand in the right place while the sun is coming out is a great photo opp. As you make your way through the fog, you forget that at night this is were a lot of animals rest (there's evidence on the ground), but seeing all the fog, the sun rising and being in that moment makes you forget all about it.. Beautiful isn’t enough to describe it you just have to see it, I even forgot it was in the low 30s just standing there taking in the view.
If you’re patient an hour or so after you arrive. And you might think “yeah, well I’ve seen the sunrise countless of times.” but here’s the truth you haven’t seen it like this before. After a lot of driving to get to the park and to that specific spot, it was the perfect way to begin the day, it felt like the sun brought us back to life.
All inexperienced National park goes raise your hands.. UP HIGH. Okay.. It’s easy saying let’s hike up the mountain to see the Balanced Rock, and whole different thing is hiking your way to the very top to see said thing. The trail to get to Balanced rock is in the Grapevine Hills in big bend, the trail is mostly gravel and dirt, and not too bad, but the last quarter mile is a steep on. Having to hand onto heavy boulders to get to the top, stepping as carefully as possible on your way up, although you might want to take many pictures on the way up that last quarter mile isn’t the best time. Reading the sign which tells you the rail is 0.5 miles is encouraging, but 0.5 miles will never be the same again to me.
The longer we hiked the more you feel the elevation weigh down on your body. The trail up to the top teaches you a few things, there are endless photo opps you might miss on the way up but will most definitely notice on the climb down. Prime example is me getting on top of a huge boulder that was 20 times my size. It reminds you the kind of attention to detail you have to have in that moment to remember exactly where you walked through. It reinstates the a certain fear/respect for natures
sine you're in the center of two steep mountains which could make you a target if there were animals around.
I kept thinking “oh my god what if a giant mountain lion pops up out of nowhere.” Thinking back about that I laugh. Last and most importantly remember the distance is always longer than it seems because you’re walking at an incline, and the elevation makes it harder on your body to breathe. Once you finally make it to the top the small struggle is, well DEFINITELY more than worth it. From up there you can see out for miles in multiple directions, but the most satisfying for me was to see how far up we’d hiked that view was beautiful.
* All pictures included here were taken by photographer Alonzo Williams Jr. click anywhere on this post you see his name to see more of his work*
What's on my Playlist
Hey there lovely people! I am back with another What's on my Playlist post and this week I have a list of ten new songs that I just cannot stop listening to. If you like music, and variety in it as much as I do read on. Don't be afraid to click the links below which will bless your ears with beautiful sounds!
I love this song because, it has a calm vibe. It talks about falling in love in a different way than other songs do. Chris Martin never fails to impress with his lyrics.
Can't help falling in love - Cover by Andie Isalie
I discovered Andie Isalie on YouTube purely on accident she's from Australia and her voice is soulful and soft. She can turn pretty much any song into her own, even though she didn't write it. Her covers have a twist, depending on whether she uses the ukulele, the guitar, bass or the piano.
I love the feel of this song. The lyrics are empowering, and I often find myself writing to it. Reminds me to keep going. I'm surprised it didn't get much promotion other than for the movie it was featured in.
This song is definitely a pump up song, I work out to it, write to it, dance to it. Although the lyrics are simple which I'm not always a big fan of, it's fun and catchy.
The search for everything was definitely a new side to John Mayers music, this album had nostalgia mixed with all the new things he's realizing and experiencing. I definitely love every song on it. But I specifically like helpless because he talks about a love that doesn't correspond ( we've all been there) and the take is kinda like he wants someone to yank him out of that state of mind where he wants to keep trying even though it's pointless. It's not a sad song, it's actually very upbeat my favorite on this album.
5 Favorite Sweaters To Have This Winter
I love this sweater because of the neckline, and that you can layer a dress under it or wear it half tucked into a pair of trousers, or jeans like pictured above.
Any minute now the Houston weather will go from hot to cold and back, to permanently cold for at least a good month or two which means you're going to have to bundle up for good. So I've listed below a few of my favorite sweaters all under $40 to keep you warm this winter.
This sweater just looks so so cozy, and although it comes in white I love this mauve color so much, gives a different vibe to the sweater.
This sparkly number has got to be my favorite. The sleeves give you enough room to move comfortably and I absolutely love the loose turtle neck look.
This off the shoulder look is a classic, in white perfect for all the holiday parties coming up this month.
This off the shoulder sweater gives a vavavoom you cant ignore. I love this look for those cold days when it's not too cold to bundle all the way up.
All these sweaters are ALL under $40 and are sure to keep you warm and in style all winter long.
xx -Steph
Clouds At Last ; Urban Outfitters Dress
Ever search for that perfect dress that makes you feel good every time you wear it without fail? I found that in this dreamy flowing bell sleeve dress from Urban Outfitters. When I got this dress it wasn't on sale, but after trying it on I just couldn't leave without it, it fit like a glove.
I took this dress with me to New York and got so many compliments when I wore it on one of my last days there. And although it can ideally be worn as a dress I'd go so far as to say that you can even wear it with pants and half tuck it orrr that you can hide the bottom under a skirt maybe? It would have to be tested (lol).
I just love the boho feel of the dress overall and my photographer really caught that vibe.
You can shop my exact dress HERE I've linked similar dresses Here Here and Here .
ATM Collection FW16
This past Friday I got to interview designer Anthony Thomas Melillo at Neiman Marcus and have a luncheon while models strutted in his favorite pieces for fall, many which can be easily worn in the cold winter months. ATM Collection is about taking basic everyday pieces like your favorite t-shirt, terry sweats, and your favorite cardigan and making it as comfortable and wearable as possible, the fabric will make you fall in love with every piece. Check out our interview below, and some pieces from the collection.
Anthony takes pride in having the best fabric (which is light as air BTW) Melillo owns the machines that produce his fabric in Peru, making unique to his brand, something other designers won't have. A short and honest overall thought on this collection is.. It was chic, elegant, and very comfortable.
What was the inspiration behind the fall collection?
ATM: What we see each season is that more about our brand aesthetic, we look for inspiration in fabric, to have the fit, the feel and the relaxed elegance. The drape of the fabric is important, maybe we'll add a cargo pocket to a great shirt dress, etc.
I love the brown suede dress I saw, are there any more like it in the collection?
ATM: I wouldn't say we've done this exact dress more than once, it's an easy dress. We'll do different versions maybe in silk, in washed jersey, in the spring collection I know there's one in pique, The dress might be snug around the chest but gives you room around the hips and the waist. Dresses are fashion pieces so, the fabrication changes every season, but the silhouette remains.
What can we expect for the spring collection?
ATM: For spring we developed more into fabrics, we did a group of sun bleached jerseys, sweats and t-shirts, washed silk. We also did micro modal rip, which is throughout the whole collection in tops, dresses, and skirts. Bodysuits are one of the big pieces coming for spring for us since we had really good feedback.
I love how easy going the pieces are.
ATM: We pride ourselves in our easy going color palette, but you know people fall in love with the fabric and the ease of it, people buy multiples at a time, because of how light and soft the fabric is. We always will go for softer fabrics than we had the previous season, the fabrics are really important in the way they feel when you pick it up and wear it.
