The One with Organized Baking

Sometimes, I just need to organize. 

It's amazing how cluttered one's drawers and cupboards and hiding spaces can become over many months. Though most people would have probably still identified my baking cupboard as "organized" I knew, deep down, it needed some serious attention. 

I have accumulated a massive amount of baking mix-ins (mostly chocolate)--semi sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, unsweetened baker's chocolate chips, mint and chocolate chips, Hershey's kisses, toffee brickle bits, sweetened flaked coconut, candied ginger, raisins, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and more. 

When I see a sale, I stock up. For instance, I may or may not have 4 jars of molasses. Yes, I love molasses cookies. Yes, I was baking them non-stop over the winter. Yes, they will get used eventually. Yes, each bottle was 8 cents per ounce cheaper than the other varieties. No, you may NOT make fun of me. I'll know you're laughing inside, though. 

In any case, I also have a frugal streak when it comes to food storage. My salsa jars, pepper jars, and pasta jars have all been washed and cleaned and used for other purposes (such as homemade salsa storage.) I won't even mention the 6 boxes of canning jars in the basement. Oh wait, I just did. But it occurred to me in a moment of brilliance, "Why not use the abundance of jars to contain all of my bags and bags of baking ingredients?!" Bags are not easy to access or stack or organize, plus they require the use of my bag clips that seem to be a hot commodity as of late. 

And so I set to work. Mason jars went in the dishwasher and the already-clean salsa/pasta sauce jars went right to use. Now I have a highly organized cupboard and beautifully stored baking products which can be identified through the clear glass. Heck, they're pretty enough to display on open kitchen shelves. 

I feel awesome right now. 

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The One with the Hair Style Strategies

I am now going to attempt a little tutorial on hair styling.

None of my hair styles--up, down, straight, wavy--take longer than 5-10 minutes. 

I know I am blessed because I have hair that doesn't take long to dry, 

and hair so fine it doesn't take long to wrangle, 

but I believe some of these tips could work for you too!

None of this is to say my hair is amazing and I should be a hair model.

It's not all that fabulous.

But I've learned to appreciate what I have and even manipulate it to get it looking pretty nice (some days.) 

1. Love your hair. 

If you can't embrace your hair for what it is, 

and not stop wishing you had the other girl's hair, 

then you're never going to get anywhere.

2. Treat your hair well.

Use a shampoo and conditioner that leaves your hair feeling awesome.

It doesn't necessarily have to be expensive to be the right choice.

4. Don't overdo the use of the blowdryer.

Allow hair to air dry whenever possible.

5. Find the right products for you.

Ask around--friends, stylists, etc.

I use this product from Frizz-Ease to help on days with crazy fly aways and split ends and humidity.  

6. Go with the flow. 

If it's humid out, I let my hair dry naturally.
(Or if I blow dry and don't feel like going straight I'll use this method too.)

Then I use Paul Mitchell's Fast Form Cream Gel to style. 

THIS is what's changed my styling life.

My hair stylist sister gave the product to me. 

I've learned to embrace my awkward curls thanks to this product.

It's not too heavy. 

And it doesn't leave my hair hard. 

I apply it when my hair is almost dry. 

Start with a small amount--you can always add more.

I flip my head over. 

Scrunch my hair up from the tips to the roots.

And voila! 

No, it's not that perfectly scrunched look I was always wanting, but it's my hair. 

It's tamed waves. Natural looking. Embracing what I have been given.

Something like this: 

7. Pony tails don't have to be perfect. 

Pull your hair back with your fingers.

Tipping your head back, give it a good shake. 

Twist in the hair tie. 

And unless it looks terrible, just go with it. :)

6. Up-dos are not difficult at all.

And they saved my life this summer when it was 95 degrees in my office. 

I never knew how to use bobby pins. They seemed lame to me. 

Now they're my best friends. 

The easiest way I've found to do an up do is to pull your hair into a pony tail.

Divide the pony tail into three equal sections, as if you were going to braid it. 

Starting with the middle section, twist it into a bun.

Pin in three or four places--just to hold it in place. We'll come back and edit later.

Do the same with pieces two and three. 

Now you have a larger mass of hair rather than one teeny bun. 

Using more bobby pins, tame the crazy pieces and make sure things feel secure. 

Don't worry about getting every last piece in place. 

Go with the flow, remember?

7. Along these lines, I've come to love the twist. 

I start twisting my hair along the edge of my hairline where my part begins. 

I twist back, pulling in strands along the way. 

This is a great style for those of us with fly aways! 

Once I have one side done (I stop twisting when I reach the back middle of my head), 

I twist tightly and actually pull the twist around and hold tightly with my lips.

Gross, I know, but it works. 

I repeat on the other side of my head. 

Secure with a pony tail.

And use the instructions in step 6 to create a fun low, updo. 

Something like this: 

8. Combine steps 6 and 7 into a chic side chignon. 

It might look something like this.

I prefer the look of the hair in the second photo to the pictures shown in the wiki article. 

Those hairstyles are too crisp and bun-like for me.

Though buns can be rocked too.

This is a somewhat terrible photo of the front of my hair as I tried my favorite side chignon. 

You can also leave the hair down in a side pony. 

If I do this with my hair just barely damp, I can twist the pony tail with my fingers for a while (which is kind of bad habit of mine), and end up with this cute curly cue side pony.

9. Use those handy hair types found in magazines. 

I know, I can't believe I'm saying this.

Those instructions and styles always seemed so unattainable. 

But with the current styles being casual and loose and classy, it's ok to not be perfect. 

And I've learned quite a few great tips from those articles. 

They really work. :)

10. Keep experimenting. 

Have a goal or two in mind for the looks you hope to achieve and don't give up. 

Your hair may not cooperate one day for one particular style.

But maybe the next day it's perfect. 

Good luck!

[this post is a participating in Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.]

The One with the Bad Hair History

I'm going to share with you the things I've learned about doing my hair that I probably should have known years ago but I'm sharing them with you anyways because someone somewhere might appreciate knowing what I should have known years ago.*

*I've always wanted to rock the run-on sentence.

As a young girl I had many a bad hairstyle. 

I'm sure all of you would say the same thing (about yourself, that is.)

Unless of course, your hair has always been awesome. 

Mine hasn't and probably never will be.

My hair is super fine, 

but not thin. I have a LOT of hair.

Sometimes I wonder how I still have hair left, though, when I see what falls out post-shower.

I have zero oomf and body to my hair. 

It's a weird color that no one can seem to put a finger on.

Seriously, I ask around and no one knows.

Is it blonde? Brown? 

Dark blonde? Light Brown? 

"Dirty dish water blonde" is the most common description. 

Which is awesome.

Really. 

But aside from the color there's the natural wave of it. 

It's not curly. 

It's not straight. 

It's not even wavy, really. 

It's random, and it has a mind of it's own. 

I have a few cowlicks on the crown of my head. 

They're stinkers when I'm straightening. 

But if I were to let my hair dry naturally and go with it, it's not a pretty sight. 

Everything is every which way and frizzy to boot. 

I look like a 4 year old girl who just got out of bed. 

When I was younger, I thought my hair had to be perfect if it was in a pony tail of any kind. 

Slicked back and everything.

My mom can attest to this.

She tried to stop the madness, but I would have none of it. 

My hair looked awesome.

Moms are right. always.

So there I was 9, 10, 11, 12 (and maybe older)...using a squirt bottle of water and a fine toothed comb to make my pony tail perfect.

If it wasn't, I was starting again. 

Combine that with the really thick bangs 

(which happened to be permed in kindergarten! 

Ok, maybe moms aren't always right),

the cowlick in the bangs, 

the lack of definition in style ("Is it supposed to be straight or curly?")

and you've got yourself a winner.

I never owned a curling iron or a straightener until college. 

Sad day. 

I figured my hair didn't matter all that much.

How I was mistaken.

Exhibit A. Permed Bangs plus Bow plus the rest of my hair waving at will. 1st Grade.

Exhibit B. 5th? Grade. Crazy thick (wavy) bangs plus huge bow.

Exhibit C. 8th Grade. I try the 'no bangs' thing. I stick with my policy of "slicked back is best." And I still don't realize that the rest of my hair needs some guidance.

Exhibit D. 10th Grade. I try out the bangs again, only this time a little this thick. Still don't understand the concept of a straightener, but I seem to be getting over the watery-slicked back look. Add to that my new glasses and braces and I'm the coolest kid on campus.

I can't believe I just did that.

I put four of the worst pictures of me out for the world to see. 

Oh well, it's all about growth right? 

I've come to LOVE my hair. 

I love how soft it is. 

how shiny it is. 

how I can blow dry it and straighten it in 6.5 minutes. 

And I've even come to embrace the crazy wave thing of it (see below.)

Because after 24 years, I'm finally learning how to do my hair.
(And it probably doesn't hurt that I got over that whole puberty thing.)

Tune in next time to hear the ins and outs of simple hairstyling.