7 questions numero quatro!

hello again! it's time for another 7 questions from gentri lee. and, of course, a funny photo:

oh you know, just hanging out with this shark in the glow-in-the-dark mini golf place.

1. what is your favorite color TO WEAR? 
heather grey... the material is usually really comfortable, i love it!


2. you are given the choice between visiting every country and landing on the moon. which would you choose?
i would definitely visit every country. i would learn so much about so many different cultures, and that interests me more than landing on the moon. plus i would photograph my journey and those photos would be priceless to me!


3. what is your favorite animal and why?
my favorite animal is a shark... a great white to be specific, but bull sharks and tiger sharks are really neat too. i've always found sharks interesting and "cool" from a young age. and let's be honest, they are pretty badass!


4. you are forced to do one of the following, which would you choose? sky dive, scuba dive or this: 
ok, so that rope swing looks pretty cool! but i've always wanted to go scuba diving, so that's what i would do.


5. you are given the chance to go back in time. which era would you visit?
wow, this is a tough one. after watching boardwalk empire, the 20s seem really fun, but i like the idea of living in the 50s or 60s too. it's a toss up :/


6. if you had the power to remove one thing (ie: flies, mosquitos, junk food) from the earth for good- what would it be? 
ha, well after seeing the word mosquitos, i would definitely want them gone forever.


7. what is one thing you've learned from pinterest that made you think "GENIUS"! 
i've found SO many good ideas from pinterest, but here is my favorite so far... hard boiled eggs in the oven. i LOVE hard boiled eggs, but i always struggle on getting them "just right". i have yet to actually try this method, but i'm excited to do so :)

link up fools! :)

share the beauty: hair beauty

it's time for another installment of "share the beauty", and this week the topic is hair beauty. here are my favorite products that i use to make my hair beautiful:

1. enjoy hair straightener - my stylist recommended this product to me a while ago and i love it! i work a tiny bit into my damp hair, through the middle of my hair to the ends. it helps straighten my hair as i'm blow drying, and it seems to speed up my blow dry time - win! bonus, it smells amazing. i picked this up at my salon, but ulta now carries it too.

2. big sexy hair spray and play hairspray - i don't really use hairspray often, but i need something with good hold (and flexibility) to keep my bangs in place when i go out. nothing annoys me more than seeing photos from a night out and my bangs are all stringy and gross, lol. this hairspray is great, and gets the job done. i picked this product up at ulta.

3. redken thickening lotion - when i got my hair trimmed last weekend, i asked if my stylist could recommend a product that i could use when lounging by the pool in vegas in may. something that would protect my hair from the heat, and something that i could use on wet hair that will air dry. she recommended this thickening lotion, and i really like it so far. it's light, and when i do dry my hair, it leaves it feeling soft. i picked this up at the salon, but ulta carries redken products in store.

4. redken aerate bodifying cream-mousse - this is another product that my stylist recently recommended, and i love it! i use it when i'm planning on drying my hair most of the way, and it leaves it feeling really soft and polished. before a blow dry, i alternate between this mousse and the enjoy straightener, depending on how i want my hair to look that day. again, ulta carries redken products in store.

and lastly, below is one of my favorite ways to wear my hair during the week, especially now that it's getting warmer outside:

yep, it's the sock bun! you'll think this is ridiculously funny until you try it, or at least i did. it's a great option when i want to wear my hair up, but want it to look a little more polished than my usual messy bun. here are few tutorials on how to create a sock bun: here, here and here. taking photos of my bun was a bit difficult, my apologies, but i think you get the point.

and there you have it, my take on hair beauty. be sure to check out everyone's posts on their hair beauty, and if you'd like to post, be sure to link up!

more march photos

my latest instagram photos from the march photo a day challenge:

chantelle recently listed her april photo a day list, and i'm going to try and keep up!

it's that time again, 7 questions

alrighty everyone, here are another 7 questions from gentri lee for ya, and a silly photo:

photobooth at jayma's wedding last summer. i'm guessing this may have been taken after a few drinks, haha.

1. you're given the choice between a life with love and trials or loneliness and ease. pick one.

i would definitely go with love and trials. the lows make the highs that much more sweet.

2. would you rather live in narnia, hogwarts, middle earth, or neverland?

hmmm, it's between narnia and hogwarts. i would choose hogwarts if i could just do my own thing and not have to worry about class and stuff. haha.

3. think of your dream home... what style is it?

i always picture a beachy vibe, with blues and aquas, and some simple, vintage furniture.

4. what's currently your favorite song or album?

i'm still loving ingrid michaelson's "human again". so good.

5. who was the last person you hugged?

my boyfriend last night :)

6. you have a ticket in your hand, where is it going to take you?

on vacation! to either a caribbean beach or california.

7. who is one blogger you KNOW you'd be BFF's with in real life?

vanessa of hello vanny. from what i can tell, she is an awesome chick, and i think we would get along great :)

want to join the fun? do it! and check out everyone's answers too!

share the beauty: hair health

the wonderful heather of just lovely things posted about a linkup party with lauren and leonora called share the beauty. i missed the first link up about favorite hair tools, but i definitely wanted to join in on the hair health post :) here are the products i use to keep my hair healthy:

1. redken color extend shampoo - this shampoo is really great at protecting my color when i need to wash it, which is about every 3 days.
2. infusium 23 color defender shampoo - this shampoo is on the less expensive side (compared to redken), so it's a good deal for me. it also smells great!

1. generic tea tree oil conditioner - i picked this up on a recent trip to sally beauty. it works great for me because i have oil skin/scalp, so between washes, this conditioner minimizes the oil and has a fresh scent.
2. orofluido conditioner - i cashed in my ulta points and picked up this conditioner. it's a small bottle for the price, but it smells sooo good! i really like it.

1. argan oil treatment - i use a pea size amount on my damp hair every morning, concentrating on my ends. it does wonders for my ends!
2. macadamia healing oil treatment - this is pretty similar to the argan oil, but it's a little pricey. it does smell amazing though.
if anyone would like to participate in the share the beauty posts, be sure to click the button below and link up!

st. patrick's day 2012

hello! i wanted to share a few photos from our festivities yesterday. we met up with a bunch of friends at an irish bar in elmhurst & celebrated many, many march birthdays :) it was a blast!

hope you all had a fun and safe weekend! 'til next time...

march birchbox review

for this month's birchbox, i had the option to choose from a teen vogue beauty picks box or the regular march birchbox. i chose the teen vogue option, and this is what was inside:

1. essie luxeffects nail polish in "set in stones (silver)" - i've recently started using glitter nail polish on my ring fingers to add a little something to my normal manicure, so this color is something i will actually use... just sparingly.

2. annick goutal petite cherie perfume - from the website description, "a dominant top note of fresh, ripe pears gives way to a chorus of ripe peach, rich vanilla, and green grass. beneath it all, a base note of musky rose lingers for hours." ha, quite the description! it does smell good though, i like the mix of fruity smells.

3. peter thomas roth max anti-shine mattifying gel - i used this today, replacing the smashbox photo finish primer i usually use, and it applied similarly & felt great. it didn't do much for my oily t-zone, but most "mattifying" gels don't do much for me. i liked it though :)

4. tarte lipsurgence lip tint in "peaceful" - i was excited to see this full sized product (or at least i'm assuming it's the full size), but out of all the colors offered, peaceful is probably my least favorite. it's a really light peach color, and i usually prefer pinks and reds. i tried it over my darker lip stain this morning, and it worked pretty well at hydrating my lips... didn't last that long though. it would be great to use for a nude lip, or in a low maintence summer make-up routine.

5. twistband hair ties - i am currently wearing this under my sock bun (gotta love that sock bun!), and it does the job of the 2-3 thin rubberbands that i usually use. so it's a good deal.

this month's box was an improvement over last month's box, so i'm happy :) anybody signed up for birchbox also? what did you receive this month?

7 more questions

here's another installment of gentri lee's 7 questions, and another funny photo:

that scarecrow lied, i am 5 feet tall, but just barely.

1. pick your boyfriend: edward cullen, peeta mellark, or harry potter.

edward for sure.

2. if you HAD to have a crazy hairdo, what hairdo would you choose and why?

i would probably go with a pixie cut or a short mohawk. i would love a hair style that's more manageable than my current hair style... but i do love having long hair at the moment.

3. if you could be a celebrity what would you like to be celebrated for? 

i would like to be an actress.... that can also sing really well. i'm terrible at both things, haha!

4. be honest - do you brush and floss your teeth daily?

brush my teeth daily, yes. floss my teeth daily.......no. i need to get better about that :/

5. what is one fear you are working to overcome?

i don't know if it's necessarily a fear, but i'm trying to not plan everything to death, and allow more spontaneity in my life :)

6. white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or semi-sweet?

milk chocolate, followed closely but dark chocolate.

7. what is one trend you wish you could pull off?

mixing patterns. i think keiko lynn does an AMAZING job of this, and i wish i could piece together outfits like hers!

if you want to join the fun, check out gentri lee's facebook every week for new questions, and be sure to link up!

recent photos

here is the last set from the february photo a day challenge:

since i was able to keep up with the february challenge, i decided to keep going with the march photo a day challenge:

hope you all are having a great start to your weekend! it's definitely feeling like spring here in IL, so i'm happy about that.

'til next time,
steph

a day late... gentri lee's 7 questions

gentri lee is one of my new favorite blogs, and i was excited to see her post about a new blogging game, 7 questions. i'm a day late on the post, but still wanted to join the fun! so here we go:


funny photo of myself

edward (my friend steve) & snooki (myself) on halloween 2010.

7 questions:

1. If you could only eat savory or sweet things for the rest of your life, which would you choose- and why? as much as i love sweets (SO MUCH), i would actually choose savory things for the rest of my life. i feel like i crave savory over sweet most of the time

2. Would you rather live in the sea (under the water), the sky (on a cloud), or in space? i would live in the sea, if i could breathe underwater of course. i love to swim :)

3. Mountains, Desert, Plains, or Tropics? tropics, followed closely by mountains

4. Would you rather live with chronic pain or the worst pain you can imagine for 24 hours? my pain tolerance sucks, but i'd rather endure it for the shortest amount of time

5. If you had to do one of these over again, which would it be: Pre School, Elementary, Jr High/ Middle School, High School, or College? i guess high school. i liked high school, but i would like to go back knowing that a lot of what i stressed over didn't matter at all.

6. Tribal, Floral, Stripes, or Polka Dots? currently stripes

7. Are you right handed or left handed? righty!


if you want to join the fun, check out gentri's facebook page every week for new questions, and be sure to link up! :)

my trip to la jolla, ca

at the end of january, i traveled to san diego for a video shoot. and as luck would have it, we had some extra downtime after the shoot, since we weren't flying back to chicago until the next morning. my boss and i drove down to la jolla and took photos for a few hours by the beach. (his shots turned out amazing! be sure to check them out).

below are some of my film & iphone photos, the full set is on my flickr.

i was excited with the fisheye photos, it was my first time shooting with color film in that camera (my first roll was b&w). i forgot that i didn't have color film loaded into my diana mini, so i was a little disappointed with the roll... but they still turned out pretty ;)

i had a lot of fun messing around with the HDR options in Camera+, as well as combining filters from different apps. the shot looking down from the airplane window looks so photoshopped, but i swear it's not! haha. and those seals cracked me up! lazy dudes.

hope you all are enjoying your weekend! 'til next time...