Small Town Streets

Ext. Forest Ave. - Day
Sounds of the city play as she turns to leave the flower stand and walks down a quiet Forest Avenue. She adjusts her hat with each blow of the wind and keeps her eyes wide and absorbent of the every day beauty around her. 

Back in Tennessee, and feeling like I'm on set of The Virgin Suicides while walking down this pretty little side street dotted with old victorian doll house style homes. This day, I wore my Granny's old straw hat and took my little red shoes for a walk admiring the beauty of this southern small town that is often overlooked with the taste of cherry vanilla creme soda fresh in my mouth and a handful of roses I bought myself because they were beautiful, and do I really need a better reason than that? I think it's really important to keep romance alive in our every day lives, and I don't mean necessarily mean relationship wise, but just life wise. Drive by your favorite houses just because they're there. Lie out in the grass during your favorite times of the day. Wear your Sunday best on Wednesday. Let your imagination show you your tallest dreams and let it take you places you never knew you wanted to go. Don't let the world or devils in your head talk you down from them. Go off on whims, and create scenarios that have yet to happen. See the things you want and work for them. Look at all of the small things around you find the loveliness within them. Be a romantic. Be a hopeless one. It's not ignorant. It's to stupid. It's important.

Sorry about my little go off there, but I do think it's an important statement to make. Of course, now I really want some more cherry vanilla creme coke and to re-watch The Virgin Suicides now that I've let my mind go there, but unfortunately my to-do list is probably as long as Santa's at this point so I don't have time. However, I have managed to find time to recheck Forever 21's website every few hours to see if they've restocked my size in a shirt I've been dying for yet... and yep I do realize how ridiculous that sounds, but like they say, nothing haunts us like the clothes we didn't buy! That is so first world problems, but also so true.

Credits:

Top: Anthropologie

Jeans and Shoes: Forever 21

Hat: Vintage

Shaky Knees

Ext. Soddy Daisy Back Road - Day
When she got something in her head it didn't easily go away. Headstrong on leaving she rips a piece of cardboard and rummages for a Sharpie. S-H-A-K-Y K-N-E-E-S, she writes. Throwing the pin back in the drawer and slamming it behind her, she tightens up her laces, puts up her thumb, and heads down a winding back road.

Hello from Atlanta! And no, I didn't actually hitch hike. I've seen way to much Criminal Minds for that. I did, however, make it to the Shaky Knees Festival and have been having a blast since Friday (which is when I meant to post this but I couldn't find wifi...sorry!)! So far, I've completely lost my mind at the fact that I finally got to see The Strokes (duh!), found out that ZZ Ward's voice is every bit as good in real life as it is on my iTunes, brought it on the floor to Milky Chance, and didn't even think about how my feet were 100% numb until I got back to the hotel because The Avett Brothers were ABSOLUTELY KILLING IT! I'm serious! I had never seen them live before and I was so lost in their energy and their passion and the way that the cello player shreds that thing! I've also been thriving off all of this sunshine and making sure to get my daily popsicle intake. Can't wait to see what today has in store!

Credits:

Top and Shorts: Forever 21

Swim Top: Accessorize

Shoes: Target

Bouffant Hair Tutorial (For Fine Thin Hair!)

Doin' something a little different today and saving all of you fine, thin haired girls out there from your flat "I guess it's just gonna lay there" days with my trusty bouffant hair tutorial. All of my life I've had nothing but the thinnest and finest of hair, that wouldn't hold even a curl until wands became a thing. THANK YOU HAIR PEOPLE, THANK YOU! It's only taken me 22 years, but I have finally found a method that gets me as close as I think I can to voluminous hair like my girls Lana and Priscilla. So, without further ado...

One thing to note before we officially begin, you will get your best results if you haven't just washed your hair. Here, I am 2 days shampoo sober, and that is probably the prime time for this type of hairstyle. 

1. Wake up in the morning definitely not feeling like P.Diddy...but more like this is a mess. Where do I even begin? Someone fetch me a bucket of conditioner.

2. Enter my hot pink brush and Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's invisible oil which I forgot to picture...seriously Desirae you had one job.

Brush it. Brush it real good.

3. How Dry Shampoo Saved My Life

Seriously, idk what I did before dry shampoo. The stuff gives my hair life, and this particular brand smells like a garden, which is also good. Anyway, spray it in to soak up any greasiness and to add some firmness to those roots.

Sorry for the amount of turn up in this one, Adore by Cashmere Cat and Ariana Grande just hit the chorus...

Also, anyone as into J. Cole as I am right now, or? Ok, back to business.

4. Tease With Your Life

There are a couple of different teasing brushes out there, but this one is my favorite. For some reason the comb looking one doesn't fluff my hair up as well, but if you're blessed with thick hair I'm sure it would do just fine. You'll want to start at the very back of your head and tease small portions at a time. If if isn't staying after you tease it, then you may need to spray a little hair spray underneath your sections to give it some extra hold.

5. Bring it 

Bring it all the way forward to the very front of your forehead. Your arms will probably be feeling sore by now, but KEEP TEASING MARINE!

When you're done you oughta get something like this, which is nice on its own if you just fix it up a little bit. However, we're still going for something a little bigger, so keep reading...

6. Pin Up Girl

If your anything like me you'll rummage around your dresser wondering where the heck your 70 pack of bobby pins has all gone off to. Eventually you'll find two and pin the teased sections back, and yeah it'll look messy at first, but once you've got it all sectioned together take your teasing brush and lightly brush the hair backwards so that it all smooths out and sort of forms together. It's hard to explain, but just trust me, it works.

7. Deep Freeze

Again, my hair requires the strongest stuff out there, so I spray a freeze on my hair rather than a normal "flexible hairspray" thing. Just don't overdo it and make your hair look all hard. I've done that before...not cute.

And that's a wrap!

That really is all there is to it! Now you just decide if you want to keep it straight or curl the bottom. Either way it's totally cute and 60's chic! This style took me a couple of practice runs so if you don't get it the first time, just keep trying. And if you do try, please send the pics 'cause I wanna seeeeee!

In tiny Infographic form for you to keep handy :)

Doll Baby

 Ext. Majestic Diner - Day
Yeah, she knew she had some habits to kick, but breaking routine and making her own way wasn't gonna be one of them. She tucked her laces in the top of her Converse and gave her hair a quick glance in the rearview before stepping out to whatever tonight might hold.

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of me in my element, aka hanging out at a diner. It's not the first time y'all have seen me in a place like this and it's also probably not going to be the last. To catch you up, I took myself on an impromptu trip to Atlanta simply because I've been dying to get out of town. Also because there's an Urban Outfitters and a Buffalo Exchange there. It was spontaneous, super short (we're talking a few hours), and some might argue silly. I, however, needed it, and it's only heightened my taste for getting away. I just can't get enough of that driving into a big city, staring up at all the skyscrapers, dreaming of all the things that could happen here feeling. Luckily, I'll get to know it again soon enough because next weekend I'll be back in the ATL to get down and dirty at the Shaky Knees Festival. Let the outfit planning begin.

Credits:

Top: Thrifted

Jeans and Jacket: Forever 21

Shoes: Converse

Head Scarf: Goodwill