Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! All is merry & bright at our house. I'm probably wearing leggings and a huge sweater as we speak and most likely stuffing my face with a yummy poppyseed roll my mom baked last night. Sebastian woke up as excited as ever which warms my heart beyond belief. It's funny how children really make this time of year so magical. Before I had Sebastian my feelings towards Christmas weren't as warm. Just ask the people around me during that gloom of my life. I hated Christmas music and movies and all that come along with Christmas. But now that Sebastian's been around for quite a few years things have changed for the good. I love all those things and more. 

This year seems to be the first year that Sebastian is really truly believing in the magic of Christmas. He's never been this excited about all the details of Christmas. We had to answer lots of questions this year and our elf-on-the-shelf, Jack, was the most talked about critter in our house this year. Tonight is the big night in our house. Our tradition is that we open presents on Christmas Eve! You know what's the best part of it all? Seeing Sebastian's face light up when his eyes land on all his gifts under the tree. That's worth existing on this universe! 

Christmas is really all about family. I hope everyone has the chance to be around the ones they love the most, people who make you feel happy, make you laugh and allow you to be yourself around. I hope you get to eat good food, listen to festive music and make memories. I leave you to your merrymaking and share this poem that made me thankful for having this joyous Holiday in our lives! 

Recipe for Christmas All Year Long

Take a heap of child-like wonder
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.

Mix in fond appreciation
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.

Add some giggles and some laughter,
A dash of Christmas food,

Stir it all with human kindness;
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.

If we use this healthy recipe,
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.

By Joanna Fuchs

pear

A pear face shape usually has a forehead that is narrow and a jaw that is the widest area of the face. When I think of pear I instantly think of Kelly Osbourne. She has the purest form of a pear shape. She's a great example since she's done so much with her hair over the past few years.

Kelly proves that you can do long, medium or short with her face shape. She's lucky in regards to having a nice neck that also helps with all that but really I believe that even if you have an angular jaw that you shouldn't hind behind your hair. Pear shapes can absolutely wear longer lengths but having some hair frame the face helps with softening the jaw as well as helps leave some hair at the face when you have one of those days where you need to pull your hair up. Bobs or lobs are cute and so in style right now but I think it's important to leave some fringe to softly drape the forehead. 

Minnie Driver is another face that comes to mind for a pear shape. She has worn her hair pretty long and textured throughout the years and it works for her because of that very actively textured hair that softens her features.  

Always know that no matter what face shape there is always a way to constructively achieve a hairstyle that balanced and suits your wants. 

Christmas is coming

Can you believe that Christmas is just a few short days away? I'm loving it. I've been baking cookies like my life depended on it. Not to mention it's been helping me not go crazy with being home full-time. It's been tough going from super busy barely home to being home 24/7. Oh well, due to all that we're all going to gain ten pounds after all the cookies I've made.

Need any last minute cookie recipe ideas? I found some here that you may like to try out.

Hey, if you have Amazon Prime, today is the last day you can order to get two day free shipping and for it to arrive before Christmas! Get on that!

I love these 5 creative ways to wrap gift cards. I know we can all use that. Gift cards are our savior.

Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Whipped Cream. Yes. Please.

Here's something to help add a little whimsical touch to your Christmas dinner table. Elf shoe napkins!

Who can pass up some photo booth props. Such a fun way to make memories with your family and friends this year.

Are going to a Christmas work party? Need to look fancy. I love how this blog has some basic makeup tutorials to help us out.

(playlist via)

FA LA LA LA!

curried chickpea salad

I love chickpeas! And I love curry. Combine the two and magic happens. Lately, since I've been home more often, I've been wanting to make a quick lunch that is simple yet tasty. I made enough to be able to store it in my fridge for a couple more lunches this week. It's a perfect combination of flavor and texture and you can eat it so many different ways.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 stick celery, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
2 tablespoons mayo, tahini or hummus
1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:
In a small bowl mash chickpea. I simply used a fork. Add in chopped celery, green onion and carrot. Mix in binder, I used tahini but you can use mayo or hummus. It's a little just to help hold everything together. Lastly, stir in the curry and vinegar.

I made a sandwich using the curried chickpea salad topped with spring greens, tomato and cucumber. This salad would be great as a dip with crackers or served with cut up green peppers or pita.

Enjoy!

my wishlist

When my husband asks me what I want for Christmas my mind usually draws a blank. It's quite silly really because there's a million things I would love to have but it's something about being put on the spot that it all just rushes out of my head. This year most of everything on my list is to do with anything hair related. Now that I'm going to be a licensed hairstylist I need all the fancy things that come along with it. Of course, I'd like other things as well and today I'm sharing them here. I love wishlists. They are so fun to put together and they are usually how we do things in our house. For birthdays and Christmas we all write down out all that we fancy. Do you make a wishlist? It's kind of embarrassing but I usually keep a wishlist throughout the year so that I don't forget at times like these! 

1// Tarte brushes are to die for and makeup and all it's glory is something I want to start a collection of. This foundation brush is a must have for me!

2// No Rest For the Rad Tee...Need I say more? I think not. 

3// I've been on a hunt for the perfect septum jewelry for a long time now. I've been trying to find something that is good quality that isn't a million dollars and that also fits my personality. I found it on Etsy! I don't know why I never went there to begin with. I found this amazing handmade piece from Indonesia. Head over heals for it! 

4// These platform shoes have been rubbing their laces in my face for a while now. I found out about them on Instagram for months now. But then again everything on Deandri is perfect. 

5// PUG! I have no link to share with you on this one. A pug is on my wishlist and has been forever. This dream won't be happening at least until get a house so until then it's just that..a dream. But if you know me then you do know a pug tops all wishlists out there. Amen. 

a dream

A year ago going to cosmetology school was just a dream. I've had the same dream for quite some time. Once I started at Toni & Guy that dream of going to cosmetology school was finally achieved. I still remember my first month of going and how starry-eyed I was with all that was coming together. It was a great feeling. Days, weeks, months went by with the same feeling of happiness of finally being able to pursue my dream. 

It was a lot of hard work. The traveling got to me from time to time with the long journey I had to make each day to and from school but it never brought me down. I aimed to learn all I could learn and never let fear get in my way. 

Friday was my last day. It was bittersweet. I couldn't help but walk in the doors of Toni & Guy Seattle Academy, at 7:30am, and just look at everything. It was my home for ten months. I came early everyday and hung out with a village of mostly younger people, some who I had absolutely nothing in common with other than the fact that we were at the same school learning the same things and others who I ended up creating a serious bond with. The group of diverse instructors who taught me literally all I know became my idols. 
I couldn't help but go through my day telling myself, "this is my last shampoo here", "this is my last haircut here".  And at the very end of my time the hardest part of it all was saying goodbye to my regular clients. Nancy, who I've been seeing twice a week for months become a special friend who I had meaningful conversations with. Then there was the fact that my little sister was the one of the front desk girls and being able to see her on a daily basis was beautiful blessing in disguise.

Since then I've gone through my practical and written testing in order to receive my license and let me tell you, I hands down haven't felt this confident or overwhelmed with pride with anything else I've done in this life. Both tests were a breeze and I couldn't help walking out of them with a huge smile on my face. I can thank my education and my passion for that! 

Here's to accomplishing a huge dream and not letting anything stand in my way! 

{via}

Ninja Blender DUO with Auto-iQ Technology

I don't know about you but having a blender in the kitchen is a must. Making delicious smoothies are my favorite. I've had a Cusinart blender for a few years but it's been slowly deteriorating. So when Ninja sent me the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ to use in my kitchen and tell you all about it I couldn't help but do a little happy dance. This blender is something from my dreams! It's a 2 in 1 blender with one Total Crushing Blender and with two Nutri Ninja Cups.

One of my favorite features of this blender is the Auto-iQ. When I first saw this blender in action at the International Food Bloggers Conference I didn't really fully grasp what the Auto-iQ really was until I got to push a button and see for myself. Each button on the blender is strictly designed to fit each jar. So some buttons are for use of the blender and some are for using the cups. The technology behind Auto-iQ  is all about that unique pulsing, blending and pausing patterns to achieve the best results. It's really awesome how these patterns work. Before with my other blender I had to continuously stop and start the blender to get it to mix and blend my smoothies all the way and even then they were never quite like I wished they would be. So much work! With the Ninja Auto-iQ it automatically does all that after you press the button. Once! 

When placing the blender on onto the base it locks right in so that there is no shifting around as well as the top of the blender with it's secure lid that locks so there isn't any accidents with it popping off or mixture coming out the top! The stacked blade within the blender is like nothing I've seen. Typically blenders blade are restricted to the bottom of the blenders but Ninja has a stacked blade to insure ultimate blending, crusting or pureeing. 

There you have it! I totally recommend this blender to be one that sits on top of your kitchen counter to use for all sorts of things. The best part about it is that it completely breaks down fruits, vegetables, seeds and ice within seconds. Winner!

c/o and sponsor by Ninja Kitchen