Busy, busy, busy!

Hello all!
How are you? I am good! Just staying busy, as you have probably guessed. I always think summers are hectic, but once the weather cools down, I am reminded that I have lots going on at the end of the year too! Do you find it's the same for you? Between the move and such, there's also friends and family visiting (or us leaving to visit), shopping, weddings, holiday parties... Not to mention we have opened up our home to all our friends, family, and neighbor's every Wednesday night, for what we call our "midweek mingling sessions." I make a bunch of food and pull out the party games, and we just enjoy each other's company. It's been such a fun way to get to know people and form new relationships or strengthen existing ones. I have definitely felt an abundance of love these days.

To add to the mix, I am cohosting a baby shower next month, and a holiday housewarming party in December, too. Plus Chris' birthday is the same weekend as Thanksgiving, and we will be going to Myrtle Beach to see his family.

Just this past Saturday, I hosted a Stella & Dot Trunk show. Have you seen their stuff? I had never heard of it until my friend became a stylist for them, but I guess I am just out of the loop. They have been featured in all kinds of magazines, not only for their amazing, fun jewelry and accessories, but also because of their business model. I called the trunk show our "Bubbles & Baubles Brunch". It was so fun! Really casual, and just a good way to introduce friends to my friend's new business, while catching up over snacks. And I think I did an alright job as hostess, if I do say so myself! First of all, our new place is perfect for entertaining. The food was close to the jewelry, which was close to the sitting area. Nobody was separated from the group. I served champagne and various juices (mimosas!), coffee, apple muffins, chocolate muffins, fresh fruit, croissants, and fig brie. Yum!


This was a great way to get a bunch of ladies together for a chill morning of girly things. We talked about our kids, tried on jewelry for each other, and laughed a lot. It was a small, intimate group- less than 10 of us. I had so much fun and would do it again in a heartbeat. Plus everybody loved the jewelry. I wish you could have been there. It was the perfect way to start off a busy weekend.

My friend, Allison is the stylist who sells the gorgeous jewelry. She always looks great, and only partly because of the jewelry! She did a great job styling up the ladies. Allison is not only a fabulous stylist, but also a wonderful mother to her son, and a great friend. She is also a breast cancer survivor. She is so active in all kinds of things, and I wonder how she does it all. I was so happy to help out her side business by having a great time with my friends! Check out and "like" her Facebook page!

If you are interested in checking out the jewelry, go to http://www.stelladot.com/allisongresham and take a look! There are lots of great styles, and this is a great time to look. Not only will you probably find great gift idea, but you'll probably find something perfect for that upcoming holiday party! If you shop this week (Before Friday 11/18), you can even select my name as the hostess at checkout and give me referral credits (which, would give me more towards free jewelry, and I would be so grateful!)

Here are a few pictures from the trunk show, and some of me, too, so you can see where my hair is at.

don't you love these?!?!

some of the jewelry

shopping

and mingling

 After the brunch, a bunch of us went out to eat, and then that night we attended a housewarming party in the neighborhood. It was a fun filled Saturday. Here is me later that night. Can you tell I was tired?!

So, my hair is doing something... but I'm not sure what. It just looks like curls, but I think you can at least tell I'm attempting to loc my hair, now. Lol. I am seeing April's sister this Saturday to finally get groomed. I need it. I have beds creeping, and also just want to look like I have nice, groomed hair right now. I have to have a change, cuz I am getting in a FUNK about it! I will be sure to take some pictures and post them next week.

 I know one thing, it's definitely growing! Remember this? Back in April?

 Doesn't seem that long ago, does it?

So, looks like this pace of one post a every week or two may be where I'm at for the rest of the year. Please bear with me! I haven't forgotten about you. Once I feel like my hair is doing something, I will have more hair posts to write about, too.

 I absolutely love this time of year. I love layers and sweaters, scarves and boots! I love hot drinks and warm desserts. I am so looking forward to decorating too! And lots of time with friends and family. I hope you all are staying warm and happy. What are your favorite things right now?

check it out!

The incredible Chescaleigh featured my recent hairstyle in her weekly loc stars video! Each week she picks three people who have posted hair pictures on her Facebook page, and features them in a video. And this week, I am the first one! How cool is that?

Here's the vid:

Remember the post I did on this hairstyle? Check it out to see more pictures from that day. If you're in the Charlotte, NC area, check out Creations Hair and Makeup, who did this style on me. Joni was terrific.

Thanks Chesca, for featuring me! I am so excited and honored!

O.M.Geeee. Chescaleigh likes meeee!

So, I recently found, watched, heard, laughed with, and obsessed over Chescaleigh. How many of you already knew about this amazing personality, embodied in a beautiful woman with a gorgeous head of dreads- and didn't tell me? And you call yourselves my friends. (shaking my head.) Lol. I am so just kidding. I love you all.

If you haven't been exposed to the awesomeness that is Chesca, prepare to lose yourself. This chick is fun! I totally want to be her for like, any amount of time possible. I love her hair, I love her style, and that piercing is to die for. Why won't my hubby let me have one??? Argh! Plus this woman's got jokes and she can sing! I mean, is she perfect??? She says no and references baby hairs and weak spots in 2 or 3 locs to prove that she's not. Hardly convincing...  ;)

I have gotten lost in her blog instead of being productive, and have spent so much time watching her youtube videos, that my husband probably thinks I've been abducted by aliens and replaced with a cooler chick. (I always get on him about spending too much time on YouTube.)

Anyway, I found her on Facebook, shared a picture, and not only did she comment on my picture (she loved it!) she also "Liked" my Chinky Kinky Blog Fanpage! I sqealed with excitement and may have wet my pants a little bit. Haha. No, really. Ok. Not, really.

Anyway. Here's my newest love. This is an old video, but kind of introduces you to her and displays her gorgeous crown. Enjoy!

wedding inspired hair

At the start of the summer, our photographer friends asked if I would help them out. Their hair/makeup stylist friend, Joni, needed some faces (or I should say heads) to prettify to update her portfolio. I quickly obliged, wondering if this person would have any clue how to handle my young, short, unruly teenage locs. Well, you can see for yourself, but I think she did a great job. She wasn't even daunted, let me tell you. She just jumped right in!

So waht do you think? Fit for a bride? It was a sweltering hot day, but we had a lot of fun. Who doesn't like getting all dressed up and made up? The photographer told Joni to give me a "fun" look. I think she succeeded. The hair is just the right combination of romantic and flirty and fun, in my opinion.

My hair is growing. And the temperature's rising. I need to get my hair off my neck! I am not that into styles, but this shoot has put the bug in my head. What other fun looks can short locs achieve?

compliment someone today!

What is it about getting a positive word from strangers that makes us feel so dang good? 

I was out with my hubby looking for an outfit to wear to my 10 year high school reunion next weekend. I wasn't planning on buying anything new to wear, but I just did not feel comfortable trying to squeeze into a too small cocktail dress and hoping it would still look as good on me now, as it did when I bought it to slide onto my past, much thinner frame. Rather than wait to till the last minute, on a whim after small group, I told my hubs that we were going shopping. Not wanting to spend a bunch of money on something I was hoping would soon be too big for me, we hit up Ross and TJ Maxx.

Long story short, at Ross I guessed on my size, grabbed 8 dresses, and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't cry in the dressing room. They fit. Phew! So I narrowed it down to three dresses, and let my husband make the final decision. He did good! I wasn't wanting to get a black dress, but that was the color of the dress I ended up loving. It was also the cheapest of the finalists, and I could grab any pair of black sandals from my closet to match. Plus, you can never go wrong with a LBD. And I needed to have one in my size just in case.

We went to TJ Maxx after that for something else, and I stumbled upon some shoes that would look amazing with my dress, so even though I have some black sandals that I could have worn, I splurged. Well, not really- they were cheap. But, it was an impulse buy. One that I'm very  happy about! Even my husband said they were perfect for that dress- which he said looks good on me. :)  All smiles about that!

Anyway, when we were checking out, the cashier just could not stop talking to me about how much she loved my hair. I mean, she just went on and on. She told me she was thinking about going natural, asked how long I've had my locs for, asked me if I've ever done pipe cleaner curls, told me what styles I should try...! She was telling me about her friend who's "dreads just started dropping" and how they were shorter than mine and how she loved them. Guuuurl! Go ahead and do it! Sounds like you want it bad, lol. I actually felt bad wrapping it up, but there was a line behind us, and I have a feeling she could have gone on for hours.She must've told me at least 3 times how good my hair looked on me. Considering I haven't retwisted in a while, and I was a hot mess, that made me feel really good!

I still feel good, remembering the scenario and sharing it with you. I'm grinning right now! So, I just wanted to tell you about that, since I don't have a hair update. Though, I will! I'm getting a retwist tonight. Oh yeah- I have good news! Remember how April was moving? Her lease at the salon was almost up and she was shutting down shop? Well she decided to keep Lockstar open! They are just moving to a new location. I'm sure she is still moving to Florida, but I know I'll still be in good hands, and may even get to see her once in a while. I don't know much more than that, but will fill you in after tonight's groom!

Take care, you wonderful people! And give someone a compliment today. Don't hold back- it will make them feel good. Maybe even for days, like it did for me! Peace & blessings!

Deathly Hallows part 2

So,  last night,  we saw it all end.  It was awesome. I did squirm a little at some parts that were not true to the book,  but overall,  it was a win in my opinion. Very well done!
We saw it in IMAX 3D,  which made some scenes of beauty really pop! I am ready to see it again, (not in the wee hours of the morning,)  to really scrutinize it,  as is my tradition.
I only got a couple of pictures,  and none of our full group of 8 people. You can see I was in my (usual) getup. Ravenclaw patch adornedcloak, with a Ravenclaw tie, complete with shield pin. Last year I gave away my snitch necklace, otherwise I would have worn that too. I got a "Ravenclaw love" shoutout entering the theater,  but this year,  my attire shadowed in comparison to the throngs of witches and wizards that were there. There were many more than I expected.
While we were in the theatre,  killing a couple hours until the start of the movie,  the theater employees performed a funny, surprise skit. Nothing special,  but it got lots of laughs and made the evening that much more memorable.
So that was the last midnight showing for me. Bitterswet,  but worth it all. When we left the movie,  there were tons of people queued up for the second showing of the night/morning. We saw one person dressed up and on crutches, who walked out of the first movie,  and to the back of the line for the next showing. Now that's love.

House update

So, I know I've mentioned that my hubby and I are building a house. Well, I'm finally gonna tell you all about it. Chris and I had visited this community long before we ever thought to make a home here -even before we were even engaged- when we were just thinking about building a life together. A year or two later, and we're building house together! We fell in love with this floorplan the moment we stepped into the model. It is a big place, but the thing we love about it is how open it is. The first floor doesn't have any walls seperating you from the front entry to the back wall of the house. There are columns supporting the second floor instead. We've taken tons of pictures, and are so entertained by them, but that's probably just us! Haha. I won't bore you with all kinds of construction photos, but every week there has been huge changes, and it has all been very exciting.

About a month ago, the clearing and foundation were poured, and 30 days later:


Voila!

Pretty amazing, huh? These people don't waste any time! Seriously, one week before this picture was taken, only the first floor was framed, and there were no walls or rooflines. Crazy and amazing!

 

We are scheduled to close mid/end of September, just after our one year anniversary. :)

God has been providing for us every step of the way, and even seems to be blessing others involved. I know He's got something awesome in store for us in this new community, and can't wait to see how we can make a difference there.

Fun things about this past weekend

Friday night,  my husband and I were walking through this street market,  and this lady called out to me to try and sell me some dreadlock beads.  That made me happy! My hair looks like locs!

And on Sunday, I was helping out a photographer friend of mine, who was helping her colleague update her hair/makeup portfolio. So,  I got to dress up as a bride again! It was fun! As soon as I have the pictures,  I will show you what she did with my unruly hair. I didn't think my short teenage locs would do much,  in terms of a style or updo,  but with a lot of bobby pins,  she manager to do a very fun style.  The back was gorgeous! I'll show you as soon as I get the pics. 

In the meantime, here's my 8 month locs.  :-)

another fuzzy wuzzy sneaking out the end. I pulled it out.

up close.

from behind.

Summertime, Summertime!

It is heating up around here! I worked up a sweat planting some peppers and tomatoes the other day.   We also had a yard sale out in the sun. I needed to at least rinse out my hair every day this long weekend.  Plus,  because I haven't been retwisting,  my hair looks crazy when I wake up. Super flat in back,  and pouffy everywhere else.  On Memorial Day, we went out on the lake,  so,  my hair was soaked yet again. Here are the photos of my hair and how it held up to being wet pretty much the whole weekend.

Fashion fun!

So, at my mom's the other day, what started out as my mom showing off her new (gorgeous) earrings, quickly became a jewelry show! My short hair was perfect for showing off earrings and necklaces. We got silly and had a ton of fun.  Here's a snippet of her jewelry collection, and our silliness. :) enjoy!

I LOVE these. wantwantwantwant.



notice I'm only wearing one earring in this pic? lol.



 

This one is mine. I was wearing it when I went over there that day.

We have matching rings. I think this is our third set! :)



this is in my mom's bathroom. I love her style :)



close up



aren't we just too silly? I love times like this with my mom.