Turquoise Dip Dye

A few months ago before I chopped off my locks, I had bright turquoise tips. As usual, I did it myself. My baby sister, Harper, told me when she saw my hair that it was exactly what she was planning to do after graduation. So, now that my hair is different, and now that she has indeed graduated, it is time for a change.

 We started by discussing how much of her hair she wanted to be colored, and what it should look like. We decided that the color should have an ombre look, sort of fading into the brown instead of a blunt change from one color to the next. Then, we broke out the bleach kit and the foil. I purchased a kit for $10 at a beauty supply store, but I added in a couple of brushes, one to spread the bleach, one to spread the color, and aluminum foil to keep it all nice and neat. I also bought the demi-permanent color at the same beauty supply store for  about $8. P.S. I also highly recommend plastic gloves.

We broke our processes up into two different days so it would take less time. For hair as dark as hers, the bleach processing time was a little over half an hour. 

She thoroughly washed out the bleach, and the next day when her hair was all dry again, we let the color pigments stain her hair for another half hour or so. When you wash out the color, it takes what seems like ages for the water to run clear, and I always get a little panicky that none of the color will hold... but it always does. And as you can see here, it looks AMAZING. Especially on my already gorgeous baby sister.  

Of course we had to try a fish tail braid. It looks so pretty with the color woven in.

10 Things In My Beach Bag

I'm an oddity of a girl in that I don't dream of the beach all year. I'm generally bored after a day or two. I don't tan (I burn), I don't fish, I don't excel at water sports. I enjoy swimming in the sea, but after a jelly fish sting or two, I'm land bound. BUT, I do enjoy the sensation that I can spend my day reading and taking walks, and that's all anybody expects of me.
I have two weeks to prepare for our short beach trip with Andrew's family, and ever the list person, I've compiled the 10 things you'll never see me at the beach without.

1. A vintage inspired one piece
2. Retro sunglasses
3. A protected glass water bottle. Never underestimate the importance of hydration
4. A pair of Keds. Much more practical for those down the beach strolls than dainty sandals
5. A 1920's style cloche. Again, something I won't just use at the beach
6. A hard-to-put-down book. I've read this one already... still looking for the next great series

7. A well curated AND well written magazine, like Anthology

8. A Multi-purpose tote that I also use for picnics and farmers markets
9. A sunblock of at least 50 SPF that does well on sensitive skin
10. SPF healing lip treatment

Don't Wanna Buy Groceries Meal

Sometimes when we don't have a lot of food around, we improvise.

At the end of this past week we were running out of groceries. Since we were going out of town for a few days, we didn't want to spend money on things that would just sit in the fridge and possibly wilt or ruin while we were away. We also didn't want to eat out since we knew we'd be doing that quite a bit while we were gone. SO, we played the improvise game, and I think it turned out pretty well.

We used eggs, a dash of milk, sea salt and seasonings, swiss cheese slices and baby spinach we had left over from previous, more planned out meals to make the omelets. Andrew's is so much prettier than mine because of the color of the bell peppers he added. The crepe is a little trick I do when there's not much in the pantry but I want something that looks a little fancier. Are you ready for this? It's a tortilla. You just butter your skillet or griddle, and place your topping-laden-tortilla on the butter. Cook it just enough to lightly toast it and make it all warm and melty, then roll it up and enjoy. These particular crepes are filled with cream cheese and strawberry jelly, but I've made them before with Nutella and sometimes peanut butter. Voila, looks so fancy.

Once Upon A Time Themed Watching Party

Every now and again a show comes on that not only fascinates me, but inspires me. Pushing Daisies was one of those shows before its untimely cancellation, and now ABC's Once Upon A Time is that show. Like many people, Mary Margaret is probably my favorite character. From her apartment to her clothes, she's has become an icon.

For the season finale, my friend Jill of Blackberry Jelly and I decided to have a fairy tale themed evening. We decided that bread crumbs and apples were the way to go, so we made cheese fondue with pumpernickel bread cubes and apples, plus rosemary roasted potatoes and broccoli for good measure. If you've seen the show, you know about The Evil Queen/Regina's apple turnover, so some sort of apple pie was a must. We made Apple Pie Cookies loosely following this recipe, and we washed it down with a blueberry beer.

Pickin'

I have such talented people in my life.

Sometimes we pretend like there's a power outage. We turn out all the lights, burn some candles, and play board games. 

Atlanta Part 3: West Egg

In the same little part of town as Yeah Burger, that old mill shopping center, and the west side Anthropologie, is a wonderful little eatery, West Egg. If you're a Fitzgerald fan, that name may ring a bell. It's from the Great Gatsby, and it's obvious that the book provided inspiration for the food and the decor.

It's a perfect spot for brunch. Though you'll likely meet a wait, it's worth it. I opted for the Fried Green Tomato Wrap with Roasted Garlic Grits, a biscuit with Spiced Honey Butter, and a freshly squeezed Lemonaid. Andrew went for the Belgian Waffle with Maple Syrup and Spiced Honey Butter, a side of Fried Green Tomatoes, and a Cappuccino.
I noticed the special of Red Velvet Pancakes pictured to the left only after I had ordered, or I would have seriously struggled over what I wanted.
We were too full for dessert, but I couldn't help but notice they had pies and banana pudding in jars. How lovely!

Andrew fits right in, in his characteristic suspenders.

Two things about this surprised me: how much I loved these grits, since I could usually just do without grits entirely, and how much the horseradish dill sauce made the wrap. I asked for it on the side because I wasn't sure if I could handle such a strong flavor, but it was more mild than expected, and it complemented  the tastes so well.

It might just be the southern girl in me, but I love a fresh, REAL lemon-aid. Just a little tart, not too sweet.

Fried Green Tomatoes. There's a reason there's a movie named after them. This tasty southern staple was served at our wedding, along with a biscuit bar with options like local wild honey, homemade preserves and jam, and pepper gravy.

I love attention to detail. This little hand stamped item was tucked under Andrew's coffee cup to catch any drips. 

I had Andrew ask for extra Spiced Honey Butter with his waffle which I then stole to eat on my biscuit. Crafty, eh?

My date, goofy as usual. 

It wouldn't be a Great Gatsby themed restaurant without some form of a mint julep. 

Appropriate quote... also a hint if you didn't catch the reference to the Fitzgerald classic. Now I just need to see Baz Luhrmann's version of The Great Gatsby that comes out this December.

Atlanta Part 3: Antico Pizza

After hitting up Sweetwater, we were it was pizza time. We decided to visit Antico Pizza on the west side of town. It was the perfect late night snack stop, because they're open until 11:30 or until they "run out of dough." Always in search of yummy vegetarian options, we tried their version of a white pizza. It wasn't amazing, but the atmosphere was. The dining room is in the same room as the pizza chefs and their wood fired, brick oven.