Summertime Waves

This post contains affiliate links. Scroll down for coupon codes, updated 5/30/16

Summer is in full swing here and it's HOT! I keep thinking of wavy summery beach hair, not that we have beaches where I live. But no matter where you are, in the summer heat, easy casual hairstyles are usually your best bet! I thought it would be fun to throw together a quick wavy hair tutorial for you. It's so so easy and all you need is a curling wand. Also don't forget to heat treat your hair before using the curling wand. I really like using argan oil in my hair, especially in the summertime.

**Scroll down to see video**

Tools you will need:

• 25mm Curling Wand (I am using my NuMe wand, which I love! Coupon codes below!)
• Heat Protectant

Step 1:
Like I mentioned above, apply heat protectant before you begin curling your hair. These curling wands get HOT!

Step 2:
No need to clip sections of your hair back, just take random pieces of hair, about 1/2"-1" wide, and wrap it around the curling wand so the hair twists as you wrap. Don't wrap the ends around the wand, but leave a couple of inches hanging off.

Step 3:
This step is hard to explain, but you will clearly see what I mean in the video. But basically you want to move the curling wand up and down while your hair heats up. This step is optional, but I like how natural it makes the curls look. Either way, test to see how long you want to wait for each curl. It depends on how thick your hair is and how much hair you pick up. I waited around 15 seconds or so for mine.

Step 4:
Each time you take a curl off the wand, use your fingers to separate the curls, essentially "teasing" the hair as you go. You can see in the video how I'm doing this!

Step 5:
Finish curling the rest of your hair. This time I curled my hair away from my face, but you can play around with what looks best and how you want to do it. I didn't use any hairspray for this look, because I wanted it to be easy and natural looking. Curls like these usually last me a few days. I also want to point out that freshly washed hair will make your curls last longer!

I hope you will try this hairstyle on your hair and let me know how you like it!

P.S. I'm kind of obsessed with this nude lipstick I picked up the other day (wearing in the photo). I want to try them all!

If you are thinking of getting a NuMe wand, take advantage of these coupon codes! Using a coupon, these wands are just as much (and many times cheaper) as a drugstore curling wand and in my experience, so much better! I keep the coupon codes updated, so check back if you want a great deal!

(New discounts! Updated 5/30/16)

ANY wand $28! Use code: PICKONE (expires 5/31)

Buy any wand 50% off, get a FREE Style Setter Straightener and Free Shipping! Use code GETYOURS

Any set $88! Use code ANYSET88 (expires 5/31)

Silhouette Straightener + Argan oil $39. Use code QUICK39


(The codes below may or may not work. Some have expired.)

$110 OFF any set! Use code LOVETHIS

70% off all wands + Free US/Canada Shipping. Use code CURLS70

60% OFF all wands + Free US Shipping. Use code CURLS50

50% off Sitewide (excludes collections, haircare, access) + Free US Shipping! Use code SAVEBIG

Curl Jam + Dryer + WT Shampoo & Conditioner $179. Use code ITSALLGOOD

Megastar + Argan + FREE US Shipping $79. Use code MEGAGOOD

Power Couple Set + Free US Shipping $79. Use code POWERSET

Buy 2 CLASSIC WANDS + Free US Shipping $58. Use code 2FORME

Titan 3 + Free US Shipping $89. Use code 3WAYCURLS

Bold Dryer + Free US Shipping $59. Use code BOLD59

All Sets (including Octowands!) + Free US Shipping $99. Use code 99SETS

White Truffle Collection $49. Use code HAIRCARE

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive 10% if you make a purchase using this link. However, the item featured in this post was purchased by me and I was not paid to write this review/tutorial. All opinions are my own.  

august already?

Went to the lake yesterday for some fun with family. Jed and I took these pictures and I can't help but smile every time I look at them. I especially love this one, because it shows Jed's lovely smile.

I can't believe it's already the end of summer. We did get a chance to take a dip in the lake for the first time all summer (yes, way!) so Jed and I agreed we must try to go more often before the end of August. And now that it's the end of summer (somehow I always do my shopping at the end of the season...heh), I bought these awesome "mom" shorts at Target for under $5 bucks. I don't know what it is, but I somehow prefer the fit of these to the fit of those skimpy shorts sold in the "young adult" section of the store. Hope I get some wear out of them before summer officially ends.

Oh and yes, Jed and I are officially moving to Chicago next month! Thank you guys so much for writing to me and giving me so many wonderful suggestions! We found the perfect apartment not too far from Northwestern University. Yay! A little sad about moving, but I will rally my spirits and make the best of it. I'm determined to enjoy city life! And I'm so looking forward to decorating our cool new apartment!

P.S. I got my haircut and it turned out quite nice I think! I also made an incredibly awkward video to show how my hair looks in motion! :)

hiking at pikes peak

A few weekends ago Jed and I decided to go on a little camping trip/hike. We originally wanted to go canoeing, but that fell through so we headed about three hours north to Pikes Peak instead! At one point on the hike I was joking about how freaky it would be to suddenly come across a snake dangling from one of the branches. Right after that Jed said calming, "speaking of the devil..." and there we saw this rather scary looking snake on a tree next to the trail. I'm no good with snakes! I have no idea if it was poisonous, but it sure looked like it was! When it really comes down to it, I'm just your average wimp. I could live without snakes, thanks! Anyway, we had a lovely time, despite the heat that day (we have no a/c in the car)! Maybe our next camping trip will include a bit of canoeing!

10 goals for the summer.

1. Get Married!


2. Take a trip somewhere I've never been.


3. Sew most of my summer wardrobe.


4. Swim in the lake as much as possible. 


5. Paint and fix/reupholster old furniture.


6. Read books regularly. 


7. Eat lots of fresh vegetables.


8. Find someplace to live.


9. Work hard.


10. Go camping.



Tricia inspired me to write my own list. How about you?

dreaming of warmer weather.

I would love to write a post about all the coziness of fall, but I'm afraid all I can think of right now is the warmer weather of summertime. I am sitting here eating tomato soup and apple crisp (last of the apple orchard apples!) and kind of ticked off that I feel so miserable. But I suppose colds and sickness are what come with the cool weather. My body just needs to adjust to it. Perhaps it would help if I actually closed the window to my bedroom? It's just that this Iowa weather is so unpredictable. One day it is warm outside and the next day it is freezing cold and rainy. Well, I do like fall, but I have to say my body adjusts to the cold rather dreadfully. I have been drinking a lot of tea and that helps a little. And I love the cozy feeling of being warm inside while it's cold outside. However, I live in an old house/church and it has its disadvantages and this is definitely one of them (staying warm)! (Besides the random freakishly large spiders, weird crawly bugs and the occasional bat.) It's the time of year when everything wants in. Now I just need myself a nice space heater. But I will say, baking things in the oven helps warm up the kitchen/living room immensely.

By the way, I am truly sorry if I owe you an email, I really wanted to get caught up today! But it seems all I did was laze around and sleep and read Nancy Drew and haven't gotten a stitch of work done. Ah, well. That is what Saturdays are for, right? Have a lovely and warm rest of the weekend!

iowa state fair.

Today felt like fall weather, but I'm still dreaming of summertime. It's Iowa, though, so hot weather will be back and as soon as it is, I'm heading to the lake asap! Hope you're having a good week.

{p.s. this picture was taken by my disposable camera. i have more coming. not all of them turned out so great, though.}

hi.

Went to the Iowa State Fair with Jed last Sunday and ate cotton candy. It was a blast! I got another disposable camera and hope to have that developed today. More later. xo

weekend cooking.

I love weekends so much. I'm starting to really utilize my weekend a lot more now. Before I'd work a lot over the weekend because I didn't get as much done as I wanted to during the week. Well now I have myself on a bit of a schedule so I'm more productive during the week. This means I don't feel guilty for not going into work on Saturday or Sunday. Instead I can lounge around, sleep in, go to the lake, spend a long time making food (I love this part), stay up late watching movies and drinking wine. Maybe it's just summertime and that's why it feels so good, but I am feeling really relaxed. I also discovered my love for a new (to me) cookbook called How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I read about it on a few blogs so I knew it was out there, just hadn't been able to check it out until I saw it at my friend Heather's house the other day. (I am watching her kitties so I don't think she'll mind that I borrowed it...) I love that he explains his reasoning behind why you do certain steps or add certain ingredients. I hate it when I follow directions blindly, not really knowing what the heck will happen when I do what they say. Because you know, I like to change things and I don't always like to follow directions to a T. So far the few dishes I've tried have turned out great and I already noticed a few other dishes I cannot wait to try! For example, Eggplant Parmesan looks delish and super easy. Only I think I'll use up the zucchini I already have and then later will try Eggplant.

Welp, that's all for now! I'm planning to hang out with my boyfriend and watch the new Madmen episode tonight! Whooo yeah! Think we might even make some g+t for this special occasion.

Hello last week of July! (How did that happen all of a sudden?)

p.s. next friday i'm having a photo shoot for the new items i'll be selling in my shop. stay tuned!

swim at the lake.

Last weekend Jed and I went off to the lake and oh boy did we have fun! We each got ourselves a disposable camera. Jed got the Walgreens (generic/drugstore brand) while I got the expensive ($1.50 more!) Kodak Fun Saver camera. In the end, there isn't much of a difference besides Kodak having 800 speed film while the generic brand had 400. Also, Jed could turn off his flash, I couldn't. No biggie, really. Anyways, the lake was fantastic! Before heading out, we stopped at an ice cream/sandwich joint on the way to pick up two cheeseburgers (stopped for ice cream on the way back!). Yum. We had a blast! I love summertime. I hope you are enjoying it too.

::More pictures on flickr.

to the lake.

Jed and I have plans to go to the lake today and maybe have a little picnic while we're there. Can't wait!! I'm also planning to get a disposable camera and see if I can take any pictures worth sharing. We'll see. They might turn out like total crap. It's been ages since I've gotten a disposable camera! Hope you all have some fun plans this weekend!

to catch a thief.

I'm in a "To Catch a Thief" mood these days. I love the movie so much and every time I see it, it makes me want to read the book. I didn't realize how hard it was to find until I started searching for it. I finally gave up and decided to check my library to see if they can get it through inter-library loan. Turns out they can! It looks like the perfect summer book on a lazy afternoon.

summertime, please.

Hey, guys! Oh man, I am pretty much ready for summer. I've been coveting that bathing suit from Anthropologie. I decided that if I can sell some stuff from my closet on eBay and make enough, I'm going to get it. I don't care if it's way more than I would normally spend on a bathing suit. It's the perfect suit. I dream about it...okay not really. Anyway, I think bathing suits are on my mind because it's freaking cold here and it's only the end of January. Which means in Iowa that it's basically just the beginning of winter. Also I have taxes on my mind, which makes me want to vomit. Every year it's like this and every year I think somehow the next is going to be better. Ah, well...it's what I get for having my own business. But I guess it's worth it. Maybe one of these days I'll get organized.

Speaking of organization... You know what else I've been up to? I've been cleaning my bedroom like crazy. I've spent almost two weeks up there clearing out the clutter, sweeping and generally being ruthless in what I am going to keep and throw away. I have a pile sitting in the hallway waiting to be given to some sucker...I mean, someone who wants my crap. Or I'll drop it off at a thrift store. It feels pretty good to get rid of stuff. Stuff I never use and have almost forgotten about. My new motto is, "out of sight, out of mind." And I'm trying to remind myself of this when I'm cleaning.

I've been doing much more than cleaning lately, but there is way too much to tell in just one post. I will mention that I went to a Bowerbirds concert at The Mill last week and it was fabulous! I'm SUPER excited to go to see Camera Obscura in April. Really hope I don't have anything else planned on that date.

Well I hope y'all have a great week! I'll be back here before too long. I'm getting rid of a few vintage inspired frocks I made and some Regency (Jane Austen) style dresses, if you're into historical attire. I'll let you know when I list them for sale. Be well!

busy days.

I cannot believe summer will ever end. But it's already August and soon it will be September. Kids are getting ready to go back to school, friends are getting married, people are growing and changing. I'm changing. I think sometimes I wish time would stand still. Nothing changing. I wish I could choose how long summer would be. Maybe a year. Maybe two years. I do like autumn weather and all that, mostly because of the clothing. But I will miss my summer frocks a little more than I look forward to my flannel shirts and cigarette pants. And knitting, I guess I am looking forward to that!

Summer always goes by so fast. I'm trying to soak up as much as I can. I've been tired lately and I think I'm coming down with something. Hopefully it will go away. Yesterday I finished a project, rushed around to the post office and bank, then came home and spent a full hour just lounging on the porch reading my book. It was a hot day and the sun was beating down from the end of the porch where I was lying. But I didn't care. I was soaking up the last bits of the summer heat and sweat and sunburn. I don't get to do that often, but I'm learning I need to start making time for that. Maybe another trip to the lake is in order! Yes, it definitely is.

Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful summer!

guests.

I made panzanella salad, fresh basil pizza and pound cake topped with black raspberries (mixed with a little sugar and squeeze of lemon juice). After making that salad, I have a feeling it's going to be a staple for my lunch the rest of the summer! It's so good!

bathing suits galore!

I'm smitten with these 1930s and '40s suits from LIFE Magazine. If you're obsessed with vintage swimwear like I am, you might also take a look into this wonderful book filled with pictures of Hollywood stars in beach wear. Ahh... isn't summertime grand?

LIFE Archives.

taking a walk.

summertime.

I can't tell you how happy I am that summer is finally here. I know it's humid and it's hot, but there's something so freeing about the hot summer. And all I can think about right now is the lake and cute bathing suits that I can't afford.

Like this one.


And this pretty little number.

weekend bliss.

I've had a great weekend so far. I hope you have too!

P.S. I wore sunscreen!!