Wednesday, December 16, 2009

What I'm Listening To

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Winter Coats

Sorry for the lack of posts, I had crazy exams/projects for the last two weeks, but it's over now, and I'm GRADUATING!!!!! Yay! On to the post...

I'm from Winter Country (Wisconsin), and I always wanted to be where it's warm. So I moved down south. Anyways, I just realized, (like just realized) that I love Fall/Winter clothes. I love layering, boots, scarves, gloves, cardigans, etc. I hardly did any clothes shopping last summer, but I'm having a really hard time resisting all the cute outerwear that I'm seeing now. I know I'm gonna go crazy and buy all these cold-weather-clothes and next summer, I'm not gonna have anything to wear again... It's a cycle.

Here are some of my fav styles of outerwear.

BB Dakota Coat


Tulle Wool Coat


Free People Jacket


Gentle Fawn Coat


BB Dakota Blazer


L.A.M.B.



Porter Grey

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Big Chop... Sort of

Finally! All of the texturized/ relaxed ends are gone. I actually cut the rest of it off in October. I love it! I also dyed it super blonde. You can see it in my profile pic or twitter (www.twitter.com/milliejordan). As I've talked about one million times before, I couldn't have made the transition with out Longhaircareforum.com. I've gained sooo much knowledge about hair care from those ladies and I am forever greatful for that site.

I transitioned from texturized to natural for one year and four months. I had a texturizer for over four years, then I "won" a box of Creame of Nature Relaxer with Organic Oils from an online giveaway. The term "organic" tricked me, but I should've known better because nothing about a relaxer is organic or natural. Anyways, days after using it, my hair turned to straw and was breaking off in the worst way ever. After a few months, without any additional chemical treatments, my hair was getting shorter and shorter from the breakage.

After this incident, I found Long Hair Care Forum, which caters to growing, maintaining, and retaining long healthy hair. I wasn't planning on going natural at first, but I began applying the practices that a lot of the natural ladies use, like co-washing, no heat, and REAL natural/organic products, like butters and oils. I finally decided that I didn't want to texturize my hair anymore. I didn't want flat, straight, dull, limp hair that needed tons of heat EVERYDAY anymore as well. My hair thrived off of these practices.

I did a major trim in June, but I planned on cutting off the rest in June 2010. I think over the next few weeks/months, I became scissor happy and just kept chopping off more and more.

During my transition, I wore buns almost everyday. I decided that I was tired of the same styles and look, so my friend dyed my hair super duper blonde and chopped off the straight ends for me. So, thats where I am today. It kind of reminds me of the Faith Evans look from the early 90's!



I really like it and I've only had the color for about three weeks, but now I want this color.



I guess I have hair A.D.D.... I'll keep you posted on what I'll do next.

So, I guess you cant write a hair post without talking about products. So, here are my staple products that I absolutely cant live without (for now, but I've been mostly using these for months now).


Suave Humectant Conditioner: Non-organic, but goodie


Tresemme Flawless Curls: Non- organic, new to the hair care regimine


Organic Apple Cider, I don't use this brand though


Giovanni Direct Leave-in: Organic, awesome leave-in conditioner


Spectrum Coconut Oil: Organic, This is the exact brand I use


Mango Butter: Organic


Castor Oil: Organic, this is the brand I use


Denman Brush: I think this is the one I have, perfect for defining curls


Aloe Vera Gel: Pure, No frangrace or color added, longer curl hold


Garnier Fructis Matte Paste: Non organic, but lays down my edges like a dream! New product to the regimine


Deep Conditioning Products

Lustrasilk Cholesterol with Shea Butter: Non- organic, but lots of natural ingredients


Shea Butter: Organic


Vegetable Glycerine: Organic

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Lavender


I've been doing a lot of research on natural herbs to treat common problems and to replace cosmetics made with chemicals. As I've mentioned before, after going off birth control, my face went crazy with acne. I tried sooooo many things that seemed to work for a few weeks then stop, or they did nothing at all. After much research, i discovered that my acne was hormonal. I wanted to find something that I could ingest that would cure my acne. Lavender got my interest because I read somewhere that it was good for acne and reducing swelling. Since I already buy a bunch of herbs at the natural foods store I decided to pick up some lavender too.

After only a few days, I noticed major improvement. My skin seemed a lot calmer. I was shocked. Now, I had been recently started taking Chlorella for a short time, so I didn't see much skin activity because of it. Since adding the lavender tea, I rarely see any pimples and if I do, it's just a blemish that goes away the next day. I also make tea with other herbs of calendula, lavender, burdock root, dandelion, fenugreek seed, and marshmallow, which all have acne curing properties. I'll talk about the benefits of the other herbs another time. My hair has also grown like crazy. I did a big trim a few months ago (like 3 inches), and all of that hair grew back in three months.

So, if you are having skin problems, I really suggest trying lavender. Lavender produces calming/soothing effects in those who use it. It also has high anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties, which is good for killing bacteria. Lavender oil has been used to treat eczema, skin disorders/acne. I haven't tried the oil, but I might pick some up to treat past acne scars.

Lavender is a great herb to add to your beauty routine or diet because it is also used to treat insomnia, (My lavender tea knocks me out, so I never drink it before school or work), depression, abdominal complaints, anxiety, mood disturbances and loss of appetite.

Lavender oil used to treat
- fungal infections
- burns
- wounds
- eczema
- acne
- rheumatic ailments
- stimulate circulation
- soothe nerves
- cure headaches when applied to the temples

Lavender has been used since ancient times for bug bites, relieve itching, and rashes.

Lavender water used as a tonic for
- weakness
- fatigue
- fainting
- giddiness

Lavender as a food
- produces nectar which yields a high quality honey
- the flowers can be candied
- add flavor to baked goods
- lavender sugar
- tea bags

Warning
- Lavender has been known to increase photosensitivity
- studies show and three cases were found that the oils caused gynaecomastia, an abnormal breast tissue in teenage boys. Lavender can mimic oestrogens which triggered this disorder, I believe. Mostly, boys outgrow it and it goes away.

Source Source Source

Friday, November 20, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Hidden Stitches

I'm sure no one cares about this but me, but my husband always buys slacks that are too long for him. Heres a helpful video on how to hand sew a hidden stitch, which are good for hemming slacks.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Kizzi "Stay Put" Hair Pomade


I thought pomade was supposed to be waxy, and give texture and form to hair, or at least lay down my edges! This pomade really is a joke. The thick texture in the container is deceiving. The moment it touched my hair wet/dry hair, it turns into a dripping greasy mess! It's also really easy to use too much, so heavy-handed or not, it just doesn't work. It smells really good and has good ingredients. That's pretty much the best thing I can really say about it.

I really liked Carol's Daughter when I was fully texturized, especially the Hair Milk. I had really curly wash n go's. I'm fully relaxer-free now and my hair laughs at this!

I think it shouldn't be called a pomade, but something else, I just don't know what( Hair Perfume Oil?). I would say a moisturizer, but the beeswax content rules that out. I'm just really disappointed in the pomade because it's not what I'm used to what a pomade should be and Carol's Daughter products are kinda pricey. I probably won't use it again unless I find a new use for it.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Early Fall Inspiration

Sorry, I haven't been able to post so much. It's my very last semester and I made the mistake of saving Chemistry as one of the last courses that I have to take. It's killing me!

Anyways, I made this late summer and I'm not really feeling it anymore. Well, not as a whole ensemble. I like each piece separately. I could've revamped it and made something different, but I just didn't want to. Anyways, I didn't want it to just sit there in my blog drafts.