My Road Trip Essentials

Last week I was contacted by a representative from RelayRides and invited to participate in their Road Trip Essentials campaign. RelayRides is a peer-to-peer sharing car rental service that connects you (and/or your car) with other folks who need some wheels. While I have never tried their services, I have taken some road trips in the last couple of years, and definitely have some "must-haves" when it comes to hitting the road. (This isn't a sponsored post - I was just invited to participate for fun!)

Here is my list of essentials when it comes to getting in your car and GOING FOR IT like a pro!

Sunglasses. Obviously a long car ride warrants some eye protection. Nothing says "God dammit" like being blinded by sun while you're trying to drive. Personally, I can't be trusted with nice things, so when it comes to sunglasses, Forever21 is my sanctuary. Sunglasses that cost more than $10 can go pound sand, or find some fancy girl's face to hop onto.

Cardigan. The inability to regulate your temperature in a car is one of life's biggest biatches. Pretty sure it's one of Jay Z's 99 problems. A comfy cardigan that you can take on and off as the temperature fluctuates in the car is a must.

Comfy socks. Whether it's summer or winter, taking my shoes off in the car on a long road trip is necessary for me. As a passenger, I need to be able to kick off my shoes and get into a comfortable position. This makes a nice, cozy pair of socks a necessity. In the summer, if you've got the cool air cranking in the car, your footsies will get chilly and need some snuggles. In the winter, you'll probably be wearing comfy socks anyway because... coldness. Go the silly fuzzy sock route, or do what I do and bring along some SmartWool or cushiony hiking socks.

Water bottles.  One big one for every person in the car! If you're savvy and have a cooler in the car with you, bring a couple gallons of water and keep them chilled. Refill your bottles at every rest stop or gas station. 

Dunkin Donuts. If I had my way... Dunkin Donuts iced coffees and Coffee Coolatas would be a part of my daily diet. Unfortunately, Dunks don't exist in Canada - or at least not on this side of the country. It's still on my list of road trip essentials. Just because I don't have it doesn't mean I don't NEED IT. 

Maps. Because I have neither a smartphone nor a Garmin (because it got stolen), road maps and printed directions are kiiiiind of still part of my road game. No matter to me - it's a great exercise in building my directional awareness and map-reading skills.

iTrip or similar iPod connection to your radio. To play dose tunes doe.

A selection of your favorite CDs. Think you're too new-age to use CDs? Joke's on you. In the cities or more densely populated areas, your iTrip will be useless. This is where having your best selection of CDs with you will be a life-saver! Oh, what's that? Your car came equipped with an iPod player and/or auxiliary plugin? Well THAT MUST BE NICE FOR YOU. CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL YOUR SUCCESS. I suppose you're also taking your private jet for your trip, and thus don't even need my "road trip essentials"!?!

Full gas tank and general knowledge of where gas stations and larger towns are located along your route. Just keeping it real logical, guys. You don't want to be stuck out in the desert with no gas for 30 miles in either direction. You just don't. Keep an eye on that gas gauge, too.  Don't zone out and forget to notice when the red "E" is flashing. (David, I'm looking at you.)

Football. Well, why not? Bring along a football to have something fun and active to do when you get out of the car to stretch at rest stops. My personal favorite option is my Nerf Turbo spiral football with the whistle...

Camera. No matter where you're going, there are no doubt going to be some cool things to see along the way. If you don't think that's true, then YOU'RE THE PROBLEM. Sorry for yelling. But it's true. Take pictures, capture the memories you're making!

Snacks. WHOOHOO probably one of the most fun parts about a road trip - picking the snacks! Some good ones to include: Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix, granola bars, Freihofer's Powdered Mini Donuts, gummy candy, almonds, animal crackers, apples, and bananas.

Other less exciting things you shouldn't leave home without:
- fully charged ipods
- fully charged phones

- car phone charger

- paper towels/Kleenex

And just for fun, here are some pictures from one of the last road trips I took - a trip from Vancouver to all parts of Oregon and back again!

What are some of your road trip essentials?
What are your favorite snacks to bring on the road?
Where was your last road trip?

If you'd like any more information about RelayRides, check out their site here. Please note that I've never used the service personally and can't make any claims about how awesome it may or may not be! Poke around and check it out for yourself!

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My Haircut + Anti-Breakage Hair Tips

As I've mentioned already, I finally got a haircut last week after not having had one since last summer. My hair was hella long, which is my favorite way to have my hair... but it of course had plenty of split ends. Breaking hair is also a big problem for me, so I was also interested in chatting with my hair stylist about that to see if he'd have any recommendations for how to improve the problem.

Here's how my hair was looking when I went in to see James at Acacia Hair Boutique in Downtown Vancouver last Thursday:

Now, just to give full disclosure - yes, my hair looks like absolute shit above BUT a) it was partially wet in that photo and had just been taken out of a haphazard braid, b) it hadn't been shampooed since the Monday prior, c) I had just power-walked 2 miles in the rain to get to the salon. So try not to judge me too much based on the completely ratchet look I've got going on in that Before pic.

Originally my plan was to ask for some long layers - I brought in this picture of Kristin Cavallari as a reference:



I've been getting layers cut into my hair for years but have never been especially thrilled with how they've turned out.  I always kind of felt like they weren't very noticeable, whereas you really can't miss the layers in the picture of K. Cav above! Maybe my hair wasn't right for layers?

James didn't think so - with my breakage problems, he recommended keeping the hair all one length if I wanted to keep it long. He also recommended a few other things to help the breaking:

• I already use the Davines Mellow Anti-Breakage Lustrous Conditioner 1-2x/week, but don't currently use the Davines shampoo to go along with it. James recommended that I switch to using the complementary Davines shampoo, in order to get the full benefits of the conditioner I was already using. Note - they don't sell Davines products at Acacia, so it's not like he was telling me that in order to sell me an expensive shampoo!
• Normally I let my hair air-dry every single day - honestly, I can't remember the last time I blow-dried it. You'd think that would be a good thing for my hair - no heat products, right? But in actuality, since wet hair is naturally more prone to damage/breaking, the longer that it remained wet each day, the longer it was left "vulnerable"! So he recommended that I start making a point to blow dry my hair each day, making sure to use a heat protectant spray first. He said if I did this for a month, I'd probably notice an improvement.
• Finally, James suggests using an oil to help protect and nourish my poor, poor fragile strands. He'd used on my hair a Kevin Murphy oil treatment product called Young Again, which - I can't even stress enough - left my hair feeling incredible at the end of the appointment. I couldn't stop touching my hair, and when I asked James if that was due to the shampoo he'd used on me or due to another product, he said it was this oil! By the way, he also dished that you can make your own treatment at home using coconut oil. You can find lots of tutorials about that online!

So here's how much better my hair looked when James was finished with it:

He said it was incredibly satisfying for him to chop my hair - hair stylists must really get a buzz off of taking a woman's hair from bootleg to beautiful.

I couldn't resist buying a $40 bottle of the Kevin Murphy Young Again oil treatment before leaving Acacia. I learned after purchasing the Davines conditioner back in the fall that it's totally worth it to spend some money up front and invest in your hair with nice products every once in awhile. The $33 conditioner seemed expensive in October... but here we are on March 31 and I'm still making my way through it. Makes a $33 conditioner seem a little less frightening, right? I'm assuming the same will be true of this $40 oil treatment - it's going to last me awhile.

What are some of your favorite hair care tips?

Do you currently use any oil products for your hair?

Any other tips for me on how to improve the strength of my hair? I'm all ears!!

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Lovin' On Vintage T-Shirts

Pay no attention to the lack of blogs this week... A touch of mental laziness has come over me recently.

Let me start this blog about vintage t-shirts by telling you a little about my dad. My dad is a multi-talented musician (singer, guitarist, pianist, banjoist, harmonica..ist... etc!!). He played in several bands with his friends in high school and beyond - and to this day still performs and plays out at bars around Berkshire County back in Massachusetts.

Some of his cool band names include Bad Habits, The Moore Hill Gang, LYNX, and The Prohibition. There are definitely several more, but those are the ones I can name off the top of my head.

Alright so what does any of that have to do with awesome vintage t-shirts? Well AS EVERYONE KNOWS, every good band has a great t-shirt. And that means there was a pretty sweet stash of old awesome t-shirts in boxes at my parents' house... which I inevitably got my hands on, as teenage daughters do. And then I wore the shit out of them!

Here are some of my favorite vintage t-shirts from my dad's current stash:

The two LYNX t-shirts and the Moore Hill Gang shirt were on heeeeavy heavy heavy rotation for me in college. The lighter-grey LYNX tee (which I favored because it was more worn-in than the other) has a trillion holes in it at this point, and the Moore Hill shirt has faded quiiiiite a bit since college. Here I am rocking that one 10 years ago back in early 2004:

.  #tbt  .

See how much brighter it used to be?! Imagine how much better it must have looked when it was in its prime...

You can see from the first picture that band t-shirts were not the only vintage tee I was interested in owning. The old school Orioles shirt is one of my absolute favorites. That one also has special meaning because it is from the era in which my late uncle Mark played for the Orioles.

There were many more of my dad's t-shirts that I used to wear over the years, but I literally wore them out to the point that they were filled with holes and no longer salvageable. I mean, even the ones I've still got are filled with holes, as you can see. My dad acted irritated that I was swiping his shirts, but I have a feeling he was also a little proud that his daughter thought his t-shirts were cool enough to steal and wear. Or at least that's what I tell myself to feel better about destroying his precious memories.

Here's an honorable mention vintage tee...

This awesome Science t-shirt was given to Dave by his good friend Joey. Dave's enormous muscles and general manly bulk prevented him from fitting into it comfortably, but lucky for me - it's just my size! I don't know the story behind this shirt - where it came from or how old it is. But it's got a totally vintage feel, and for me it's special because David is a scientist, so it's kind of like I'm reppin' my man when I wear it.

Now, I realize that not everyone is lucky enough to have a dad with awesomely personalized old band t-shirts, so here are my top tips for getting your hands on a great vintage tee yourself:

1.  Ask your parents/aunts/uncles if they have any old t-shirts in a random storage box somewhere. I mean, might as well start with them, right?

2.  Don't shy away from the t-shirt sections of the thrift shop. Check the women's and men's sections, and be sure to browse through all of the sizes - not just the one you think is your size. You just never know what you will find!

3.  Browse eBay.

4.  Fake it till you make it. If you can't find an actual vintage tee that suits you, tons of stores/sites sell shirts that they've made to look vintage. Look for intentionally faded logos of iconic brands, bands, or teams, and you can't go wrong! If you can't find any that you like, and want to DIY a vintage feel, try following this Pinterest tutorial that I've seen all over the place.

In terms of caring for your vintage tees, I have a few big tips... not all of which I follow myself. #DoAsISayNotAsIDo.

1. Keep them in a cedar chest or use some other form of cedar-esque protection to guard your shit. Moths want to eat your vintage t-shirts SO bad, you have no idea. They are really connoisseurs of finely aged cotton goods. Those little bastards.

2. Wash your shirts inside out, in cold water. This will help protect both the logo and the fabric color.

3. Don't put your t-shirts into the dryer. Just don't.

Do you love vintage tees as much as I do?

If you have a favorite vintage tee of your own, what is on it?

How do you like to style your t-shirts?

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How to Make Perfect Polka Dots On Your Nails

Normally I wouldn't post a blog announcing how amazing I am at something... I don't think? But because people leave comments asking about it pretttttty often, it seemed like a good idea to just go ahead and write this blog dedicated to how I make "perfect" polka dots on my nails.

If you pay any attention whatsoever each Friday, you've noticed I use polka dots on my nails frequently...

So while I am definitely not an expert, I have made quite a few polka dots on my nails at this point - and here are my top tips for getting yours to look boss:

1. USE A DOTTING TOOL

If you give a crap about your dots being symmetrical and/or all uniform (and it's totally fine if you don't), you are going to have to step up from the bobby pin or toothpick you've been using. Yes, both of those tools work fine for putting "a" dot onto your nail. But it won't necessarily be a very well-shaped one. And it's also trickier to have all of your dots the same size when using these tools. Here's an example of what I mean...

These dots are the work of a toothpick - pretty impossible to get all the dots to end up the same size:

You will probably have a bit more luck with a bobby pin than a toothpick, but I'm not in love with the uniformity I get from a bobby pin either. I say "splurge" and get yourself a dotting tool, ladies!

As a bonus point - I think you'll find dotting tools are easier to hold, too, since you can grip them naturally like you would a pencil (or a pen, for all you youngsters out there) (or a Stylus Pen for all you snobby little iPhone-owning pre-teens) (wait, why is that last group reading my blog?) (I've gotten sidetracked).

2. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! 

Seriously, don't ever be scurred to practice your polka dots on a piece of scrap paper. I do it every time I am doing a polka dot mani. Every time! Just make a tiny puddle on a piece of scrap paper with 2-3 drops of polish - don't make a big puddle because the polish will begin to dry and change consistency, becoming tackier the longer it sits exposed to the air. Dip your dotting tool into your tiny puddle and then do 5-10 practice dots on your scrap paper. After enough practice, you won't be nervous or shaky when you go to do the dots on your actual nails.

3. RE-READ TIP #2. BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOU REALLY BELIEVE ME. 

No, seriously. Practice dots, guys. I'm not messing around. Please see Jennie's post here for further proof.

4. THE FRESHER, THE BETTER

It took awhile before I fully realized this one, but the fresher your bottle of nail polish, the better your dots will turn out. With older, thicker, gloopier polishes - or even a newish polish that hasn't been "stirred" well in awhile - dots have a tendency to just look wonkier. The polish comes off the dotting tool sort of tacky, and you may even get a "rise" in the middle of your dot as you pull your tool away from the nail. But with a fresh polish, the dots come off the dotting tool smoother and they look much more fluid and flawless.

And on that note, recently I heard a trick about keeping bottles of polish fresher for longer - make it a habit to wipe the rim of your bottle with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover to remove any excess polish before you put the brush back in and twist it shut. I mean, I don't do it myself. That would take too long. But I hear it's a great tip. #DoAsISayNotAsIDo.

5. AVOID BUBBLES

Sometimes I make a perfectly shaped dot that gets ruined by a rogue bubble inside of it. This is especially annoying when I'm looking at pictures that I've just snapped of an otherwise lovely mani.

Oy! Avoid bubbles in your polish (and thus, ultimately, your polka dots) by rolling your bottle of polish between your palms rather than shaking it like a Polaroid picture or violently smacking it against the heel of your palm. Rolling the bottle between your palms warms up the polish slightly while also mixing it gently.

Annnnd there we have it - my top tips for making perfect polka dots on your nails! Did you learn something new today?

Speaking of learning something new today - it's my 29th birthday! So in honor of growing older, wiser, and WAY more attractive (obvi) - let's hope that I learn at least one new thing today, too. #FistBumpToMyself.

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{Linking up with The Nail Files, Friday's Fab Favorites, What I'm Loving Fridays}  

A Homemade Fruit Fly Trap that Actually Works

Seriously - who else is struggling with fruit flies this season? I swear they're getting more and more ballsy everyday over here. They've started perching along the handle of my refrigerator door, thinking I'm not going to notice them there and that I'm going to just let them right into my food supply. We've tried several different homemade fruit fly traps, but none of them were working to both trap and kill the bugs.

I finally found the solution!!

Here's what you need:

Tape (I used packaging tape)

A 1- or 2-liter plastic bottle

Apple juice

Dish soap

Scissors or a serrated knife

5 fingers to pat yourself on the back afterwards, because this shit is going to work.

Step 1:  Use your knife or scissors to cut the top portion off of the bottle:

Step 2: Pour about 1" of apple juice into the bottom of the bottle. Add a squirt of dish soap and stir:

Step 3: Take the top part of the bottle that you'd removed and flip it upside down. Insert the upside-down top of the bottle into the bottom of the bottle so that the two pieces fit together snugly. Use your tape to secure the two bottle pieces together at the top edge:

Now all you have to do is place this bottle somewhere that fruit flies like to gather in your home. You can make additional traps and place them in different rooms if need be.

So why does this fruit fly trap work?

WELL let me tell you.

The flies are attracted by the smell of the sweet apple juice, so they fly down into the bottle. The dish soap in the liquid breaks the surface tension of the apple juice, preventing the flies from being able to stand on top of the liquid like Jesus. Thus, they sink into the liquid and drown. Another reason this bottle thing works is because I've read that fruit flies aren't great at flying straight up, so once they get into the vertical chamber of the plastic bottle, they're kind of screwed.

Some other techniques I tried that did not work:

- Covered half an empty watermelon with plastic wrap and poked holes into it. This seriously attracted the fruit flies and they did fly into the holes in the plastic. However, there was nothing in the watermelon that would kill the flies, so rather than drowning they just flew around and around inside the watermelon long enough that most of them were eventually able to escape. Fail.

- Mashed up some blueberries in a glass jar, added some water and a bit of dish soap, covered the jar in plastic wrap and poked holes into it. No idea why, but the flies never even went near this one. I don't get it - who doesn't love soapy blueberries?? Fail.

My only hope is that someone finds this helpful. I've definitely heard some other "fruit fly" rumblings and grumblings around Facebook and Twitter lately, so I'm sure I'm not the only one with the problem. The several dead fruit flies at the bottom of my plastic bottle are the best proof that this trap works better than any others I've tried.  Now go forth and kill those little sons of bitches.

Also, I'm a featured guest blogger over on Much Ado About Somethin' today. Head over to check out all of the nail care and nail polish basics I'm sharing with her readers!

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{Linking up for Miscellany Monday, Tell Us Tuesday and What I Learned Wednesday}

Coffee Cubes: A Great Way to Use Leftover Coffee

Do you ever find yourself with a little bit of extra coffee leftover in the pot that you end up having to toss out? I have a great way for you to use that coffee rather than waste it - and it's even more perfect now that we're approaching spring and getting ready to get our iced coffees on.

For no good reason, really, Dave and I have a tiny 6-cup coffee pot. This means that on most days we end up having to brew a second pot of coffee to make enough for both of us.  Some days there's a rogue amount left in the second pot and I just can't bring myself to drink another cup. Lately I've been letting the remaining coffee cool to room temperature and then pouring it into an ice tray that I've designated just for the coffee cubes.

I throw some coffee cubes into a glass jar, add a couple teaspoons of sugar, pour some cold coffee over the top of it all and then add a few splashes of low-fat milk. Mmmm...

Use these coffee cubes in place of regular ice cubes in your next iced coffee at home. This way, as your cubes melt, your coffee isn't getting watered down and stays delicious till the last drop!

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How to Remove Glitter Nail Polish

OH HEYYYYY!

Last night I put on the ultimate pain-in-the-ass-to-remove nail polish combo of all time:  glitter ON glitter. Yup, I went there. I was trying to get my bling on!

I used 2 coats of Beware by Pure Ice - which, by the way, is my favorite silver glitter:

.  beware by pure ice  .

Topped with 1 coat of Dust by Urban Outfitters - which I wrote an entire blog about here.

.  dust by urban outfitters  .

If you ever wear glitter polishes, then right now you're all, "OMG girl, bet that ish was a bitch to take off!" Yes, glitter nail polish is notorious for taking 10x longer than other types of polish to remove entirely from your fingernails. You really have to work at it to scrub it all clean off.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon an awesome tip several months ago - an easier way (I won't say an "easy" way... it takes a few steps) to remove glittery polish from your nails.

What you need:
- ten strips (about 1"x4") of aluminum foil
- cotton squares
- nail polish remover
- approximately ten fingers, including fingernails
- bitchy, stubborn glittery nail polish all over said fingernails

What you do:

Take one cotton square and moisten it with nail polish remover. Wrap one finger tip with the cotton square, with the moistened part against your nail (duh):

Take one of your aluminum strips and wrap it around the cotton, securing it onto your finger by sealing the foil at the top and folding it over your fingertip. Repeat this for all "affected" nails:

Let your fingers chill in the foil for a few minutes - do something fun in the meantime like watch the Patriots game or poke your boyfriend with your new aluminum fingers.

After a few minutes, remove the foil and twist the cotton against your fingernail a bit as you remove it from your finger. You may have to do some clean-up around the edges of your nails to remove the glitter remnants there, but more or less your glitter should come off relatively easily:

Why does this work better than simply using a cotton square/polish remover to scrub the glitter off? The aluminum foil helps to keep the alcohol in the polish remover from drying up before it can really work its magic on the stubborn nail polish. Notice how much more quickly the nail polish remover will dry up when it's on a soaked cotton square that's exposed to the air. Science!

I encourage you all to liberally use your glitter polishes now, fright-free.