Cat Show!

I mentioned a few days ago that I planned on attending a picnic and a cat show. Strange combination, but I had a lot of fun! The picnic was for work, and I got to see my husband run and win in a pop-the-balloon contest. So very proud of him! To be fair, the competition was mostly his height. I also ate TWO biscuits and was supremely content.

It rained out, though, and after a bit, we headed over to the CAT SHOW!

Let’s just say, as a cat person, I was super excited. Perhaps beyond excited. Like, if Maker Faire was heaven for my husband, this would be mine. Luckily, he loves cats, too!

I. Was. In. Love. Looooove.

We may just have to show Dylan.

OOTD
Forever 21 dress
Old Navy belt
Target sandals
eBay cat tote
Amazon cat cell cover

NOTD
American Apparel Sunset Blvd

Sadly said goodbye to some great friends after the cat show. Fare thee well, Amber and Aaron!!!

After Party

After the Orlando Mini Maker Faire, I was dead tired. But there was an after party to attend! I quickly changed out of my volunteer outfit into something new, including my new Antisparkle tee. You can’t clearly tell, but the shirt says “Geek is Gangster.” Cos that’s how I roll.

OOTD

Dyed American Apparel skirt

Antisparkle tee

LED headband

View a short video here.
After Party

At the Offices of NiftyBa

Well, I didn’t have a real desk until today. I kind of did, but it was a full on nail station. Now I have a dedicated work desk with a fancy nice computer and everything, in a room I had been reserving for a future child, but let’s face it: having a cute girly office right now is pretty tempting. This is what I did on my day off.

I received a desk for our wedding anniversary from my husband, and now we co-desk. My side is cuter, and now he has to listen to my horrible taste in music. The only things that are new are my desk and three of the frames. Everything else was sourced from other places in the house. I have an intense amount of decorations. If I have a skill, it is cultivating the art of organized clutter. One of my favorite things to do in life is style a room into looking very Ali.

OOTD

Aerie cardigan

Hollister tank

Sears shorts

Crack: A Habit Forming Hair Fix

This is my hair. Hello, hair!

For the past year, I’ve had short hair. It used to be pretty long. Like, longer than long. But it’s quite nice like this. I would like to think that my hair has been in better health because of the shorter length, but… I dye my hair at home, so it is dried out. And conditioner? Eh, I just spent two weeks not using any, so it felt super meh. I am blessed with thick Asian hair (and seven gray hairs!) that does what I want, but it’s not soft.

BUT I HAVE FELT THE SOFTNESS! And, man, I’m missing out!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I run my hands through my hair underneath the top layer to feel how soft it is. The top of my hair is just always so frizzy and coarse since I don’t take care of it. I tried this new product a few days ago and it made all my hair feel soft. OooOooOooOOOooo.

Meet Crack. Apparently it is “a habit forming hair fix.” The blurb on the back of the tube says “Crack is a leave-in hair cream made with Acai Extract and Silk Protein. This addictive multi-tasker moisturizes from the hair cuticle to the ends of the hair to protect from dryness and chemicals including chlorine.

One is supposed to work a small amount into towel dried hair.

I let my hair air dry. I couldn’t tell the difference after a few hours, so to put the product to the real test, I had my husband run his hands through my hair. Success! He said my hair was really soft!

I had incorrectly applied the product to the top of my hair only, and at least that part was soft. I tried Crack again the next day, wetting my hair and making sure to add product to all areas of my head. Air dried, and then something a little different: I curled my hair.

This is my hair the day I curled it.

And this is the next morning.

Wow, on curled hair… I love it. My hair is usually easy to curl, and I try to make sure I haven’t washed it in a few days to build staying power. The instant after I did my first curl, I could tell a difference- it was so much easier to curl it and oh my goodness, the staying power. I did not add any hairspray and I went to work on a rainy day. I slept on it, and the next morning, it looked near perfect. That’s incredible.

You can purchase Crack from Drugstore.com for under $20. My experience may be completely different from others, but if you have thick crazy coarse hair, I can actually recommend this. This product is more expensive than I’d usually purchase, but a little bit goes a long way. If you use too much, the hair just gets to feel heavier. To learn more about the product, visit Prolocks. Thank you for being a sponsor of the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers, Prolocks!

Products shown were provided for review.

Faux Haul for the LOLs

I was looking at my iTunes just now and rediscovered this haul video I made last year. It was a joke. Girls love hauls, y’all. Watch til the end, it’s funny. Look how much makeup I was wearing! Haven’t worn that much in a looong time. *imisseyeshadow*

2012 Orlando Mini Maker Faire

Before I start this post, I want to thank my husband. This past holiday weekend was busy for the both of us, and it just so happened that our wedding anniversary coincided with a business trip and a big geeky cultural event. I am very grateful that he took the time to properly celebrate with me, and he was equally thankful that I was there to experience Maker Faire with him. We’re so lucky and blessed, and here’s to a million more years together! <3 Believe me, after the sheer amount of drugstore makeup aisles he’s had to endure after all these years, he might as well cash in his favor for me to attend a techfest.

Now on to the techfest!

The normal person, let’s say you and I, are probably above average when it comes to things like computers and the Internet. It’s all pretty commonplace now. But there are people out there who know a lot more, and use their knowledge to make amazing things. Maker Faire came from the creators of the Make magazine, and in a nutshell, it’s an event made to inspire you. People from your area get together and showcase something they’ve made, whether it’s DIY or scientific. The What can be anything the mind imagines, and Maker Faire encourages a person to ask a Why and How. My husband is part of a hackerspace called FamiLAB in the Central Florida area, and I volunteered with him at the first Orlando Mini Maker Faire this past Saturday. You *may* have seen me tweet about it in real time a bit too much (gotta get the word out there!). I was a social media volunteer for the day, and the coordinators were genuinely thankful for the web presence throughout the day. Another volunteer even recognized me from my posts online and said they were great! Cool beans. Also, if I make anything besides awesomesauce, it’s definitely a lot of pictures… no matter where I am in the world, I have always had a camera next to me in the last ten years. I took HUNDREDS of photos while volunteering, and I do not think I can post them all here. To see my most recent photos, you can always visit my Photobucket album. Please take a look- I was at the faire from the beginning to the end, and it’s great to not only see who was there, but what kind of work went into the setup.

To make it easier on my blog, however, I decided to simply feature my Instagram photos in today’s post.

First things first… girl’s gotta look pretty at the faire!

OOTD

Dress from Kiwi

Maker Faire tee

Old Navy flip flops

Also, my headband had LEDs light up all day long.

EOTD

Milani Runway Lashes mascara and Eye Tech Extreme eyeliner

NOTD

Based on the iconic Maker Faire banners!

I helped as a balloon runner before the faire started. That was super fun!! I got to make a wall of balloons, place them around the fairgrounds, and pass them out to booths.

I made several signs at the front gate.

When the Maker Faire began, I was in the Guest Services booth up at the front. Treating Orlando to smiles!

My haul…

I had a lot of fun, and the best part was seeing everyone else have fun as well. I’m new to these sorts of things, and I loved seeing families come into the fairgrounds and leave with a smile on their faces. So many children had this great look of awe on them, and I shared that as I watched a water bottle rocket go off or I screen printed my first shirt. Also, I had a lot of fun running around near R2s all day! And I saw a FLAME JUGGLER. I was pretty excited the entire day. This was a very hands-on event, and I learned so much and saw a lot of things to ask questions about. You don’t necessarily need to know what this is about or know what you are seeing. If you have a passion for learning and want to experience something new, I’d definitely recommend this type of event. I know that this first Mini Maker Faire was a lot of hard work, and the best of everyone came out of the woodwork to show Central Florida a good time. I can’t wait til next year.

EDIT: I couldn’t help myself- here are some regular pics as well!

Also, one of my favorites of the day… this amazing puppy!

Honeymoon

Billy and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by taking a day trip to a nearby beach. We used to live on the east coast of Florida, but have never been out to the beaches on the west side of Central Florida. I chose Honeymoon Island, about 2 or so hours away, and it was a nice trip that was ahead of the holiday weekend crowd.

OOTD

Highlighter yellow top, dyed at home, purchased at WalMart

Sears shorts

Vintage beach wrap

Swimsuit from WalMart

Of course, I had him stop at a thrift shop. Didn’t buy anything, though.

My favorite thing about Florida is the clouds.

End of the Rainbow

I loooove that I found this skirt, so trendy. And so not me! A couple co-workers noted that it looked different from what I usually wear.

OOTD
Thrifted shirt
Target skirt
Old Navy belt
Dillard’s flats

NOTD
Barielle End of the Rainbow
This is a newer shade from Barielle’s 90 colors that just came out recently. I’m not usually loving colors like this, but I did like it matte! A very summery color.

With Hard Candy matte.

Too bright outside.

Outdoor full length mirror.

Kitten sibling hug!

Some products shown were received for review.

Picnic

I am criminally behind on posting, but for a good reason. This past week was my wedding anniversary and the Orlando Mini Maker Faire. Now that those are over, let the good times begin! I am so lucky it’s a holiday weekend, and future plans include a picnic, a CAT SHOW, Ikea, and making an office. I’m a pretty (busy) happy camper right now, so bear with me… especially since I’m about to post an outfit from LAST week.

The OOTD I shall feature today fits in perfectly with Memorial Day weekend- red, white, and blue, and All-American, or about as All-American as I can make it. I wore this to work and someone said it looked like a picnic. I wished I was going to one!

I hope everyone has a safe and lovely holiday weekend. Have fun and remember to put aside a time of remembrance for those who have fought for our country!

OOTD
UO dress
Target cardigan
Old Navy belt
Payless flats

NOTD
Gradient Cult Nails Happy Ending

Are you ready for the Orlando Mini Maker Faire?!

This was pretty much the last time I wore the Orlando Mini Maker Faire shirt, and I wore it all around town! Target and food trucks!

We’re all very excited about tomorrow! In case you do not know, Orlando will hosting their first Orlando Mini Maker Faire at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. It will be held from 10AM to 7PM. I will be hanging around the FamiLAB booth with my husband- supporting his hobbies since he spends so much time at CVS and Walgreens with me. Such a dear. Come out and meet our local makers! Learn something new! See grown men race in tiny cars!

OOTD
Vintage thrifted skirt
Mini Maker Faire shirt
Vintage thrifted belt