Short Hair Do Care

The line "long hair don't care" became infamous last year after the song No Hands came out. It was my friends fav drunk statement and our go-to Insta caption.

This is the story about my friend and I who, with much sadness, are no longer qualified to slur that statement on a dance floor or caption it on a FB post.

I've had long hair my entire life. The shortest it's been was been I was birthed and I grew it out ever since.

Now that I'm a post-grad working lady, I knew my hair was getting a little long. I went to my hair dresser with a couple pics and asked for about 4-5 inches off - a big change from my usual "just a trim please."

Instead, he cut 11 inches off. ELEVEN.

Here's my hair before:

The picture I showed my hair-dresser:

How I left the salon (an hour later):

THAT IS NOT THE PICTURE OR 4-5 INCHES.

My friend Hannah had long hair her entire life as well, but a year ago got it cut to her shoulders and it looked fab so she's kept it that length for a while.

She went to her hair-dresser and showed some pictures as well and wanted a couple inches off, and instead got a BOB. The lady kept the two pieces in the front longer, but legitimately gave her a bob in the back with some layers two inches long at the top of her head.

Her hair before:

The picture she showed her hair-dresser:

How she left the salon (a day later):

Obviously you can't see in this picture, but the back is a bob - the only long pieces are in the angled ones in the front. Let's just say she sobbed AT the salon.

Moral of the Story: There is nothing more traumizing than going to a hair-dresser with an idea, picture, and thought in your head of what you want, and leaving with something completely different.

I liked the change for about 3 days, and then decided I'd grow my hair out for the next five years. My friend Hannah looks great with shorter hair, so she's waiting until all the layers grow out to her shoulders again.

Many tears were shed and we were reminded how much power hair-dressers have. It sounds so silly to get this upset over hair, but whether people admit it or not, it is a BIG part of who you are and effects how you feel about yourself.

We're semi-over it now, but will definitely be more cautious and assertive with our hair-dressers.

Ayear ago when when we were Long Hair Don't Care betches:

Trying to own our new haircuts:

nyc

This past weekend, I spent another 3-day weekend in nyc - my second in 2013. (pretty good seein' as it's only the beginning of March). It was so much fun even though I'm paying for coming home every night at 4 a.m this week at work ;)

Every time I go to new york I am reminded of how amazing it is and how vital it is for me to live there within the next couple of years. Being a military brat, I have been to and lived in a shit-ton of cities, and none have struck me like new york has. My family got the chance to live in Brooklyn for one year in 7th grade, and since then I have been back periodically to visit different friends and every time I come home with the best memories and funniest stories.

This past weekend, my friend Hannah went up with me to visit our really good friend Kelly who lives in the Upper East Side. The weekend is a honestly a blur of alcohol, laughing, dancing, changing outfits a million times, playing games, walking, music, cabbing, red bull, talking, and of course, eating.

From the night we got there, we went straight out. We went to a place that actually mimicked a scene from a Fun. music-video. SO cliche to say, but it really was "so new york." Taxidermy animals everywhere and 50s-60sish music. And lots of shaggy hair and nose-rings. You couldn't find a place like that around DC if your life depended on it. So fun!

The next night we went to probably my favorite bar in nyc so far, called Pianos. They had a huge bar, multiple rooms with a live band and then an awesome DJ with the best music. I was in a very "dancey" mood as I like to call it (unfortunate enough for everyone around me) so I decided it was appropriate to get up on the empty stage and dance - luckily other people followed suit - and eventually the DJ told me to stop talking to him because he needed to concentrate. Talk about knowing when you should go home... woops !

The next morning we did Sunday brunch (with endless cocktails) which is apparently huge in the city everywhere. We played "Drink If You Have" at the table with about 7 of us for at least an hour and it was honestly a hoot.  You definitely learn a lot about people after just a couple of rounds. My girlfriends and I have no clue what time we got home that day / night. Whether it was 7 pm or 3 am. None of us have any texts / pictures / phone calls to ever know. Another indicator of a good night...

I have a list of hilarious stories, but unfortunately most are way too inappropriate to ever go down in writing.

I do have a couple that are PG: My friend was talking to a guy from Australia, trying to be casual and cool, and I pranced up to them and said, "Have you heard of Chris Hemsworth?" in a wanna-be Australia accent, followed-up by "Have you seen the movie Thorrrrr?" Let's just say I'm not the best at accents and my friend wanted to kill me. The guys was like "Um, yea I have... it's a good movie."

Secondly, I was taking a picture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and backed up into a picture on the wall with my head (ouchies). I don't want to even guess how much the picture costs... Or if they have a "You Break it, You Buy it" policy. You can dress me up, but ya can't take me out!

Some pictures from the amazing weekend!

first night out - obsessed with kel's red lipstick!

love this lady 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Speaking of Year of the Snake...

Pinkies Up

Face of guilt after nearly causing a picture to fall.

love it 

Snowing out? No problem 

xoxo 

new nyc friends ;)

The Penny Farthing

Bestie from High School who lives in Brooklyn met up!

At the Pianos bar

After deciding to be the Dancing Queen...

 

Guessing this is shortly before the DJ gave me the boot

Endless Brunch

Much-needed recovery green tea

New plan is to be an nyc dog-walker

The Year of the Snake

The last couple of weeks at work we did a small social media campaign promoting seafood during the Chinese New Year -- which is a huge holiday for the Chinese, and it's now officially the Year of the Snake.

We have an intern with us for the semester who is from China, and she wrote me a brief report about our outreach efforts and what it means to the Chinese and it suddenly dawned on me... That's my sign! My zodiac is the snake, betchesss!! ;)

So I went to Xin's office totally excited and told her it's my year! (This shiii only happens once every 12 years) and she reacted with complete... skepticism which made me so confused. I was like "What?! Isn't that good? It's my year!" And she told me that good things can happen yes, but it's also a very explosive year for me and bad things are more likely to happen. WTFCome again?!

I asked her what I should do about it and she told me I need to wear red to ward off bad spirits, so I was like, "Oh, okay, so during the Chinese New Year?" and she responded, "No, all year!" Ummmm, Xin, I have 2 red shirts (really not my color) so this is going to be a problem.

I didn't think too far into it, even though I can get weirdly superstitious about certain things, until my boss told me a story. He gets his hair done by an older Chinese woman, Mrs. Choo, and she asked him how old his mom was because she knew they were close to the same age. He told her turning 72 this year and she said "oh my gosh... sign of the snake, she must be careful!" She knew because it's always your sign in intervals of twelve. So let's recap here: Two unrelated Chinese women have essentially "warned" of the dangers of this year for people with the Snake as their zodiac animal.

So next, I read an article in the Wash Post about, you guessed it, the Year of the Snake. It says the Chinese see snakes as an object of fright (umm who doesn't?) and they're "overwhelmingly repulsed" by them. So at first I thought the Chinese act this way when it's anyone's "sign year," but then realized it's specifically the Year of the Snake that makes them so nervous!

The Wash Post says, "The Year of the Ox is connected with being productive and successful, as the animal represents hard work or simply a bull market. The Dog is loyalty, the Monkey is smart, and the Rooster crows. Even the year of the Pig wouldn't be a problem, as the mud-rolling creature symbolizes good fortune in traditional Chinese culture. This year, however, the Chinese lunar calendar has tossed up a major challenge: the Year of the Snake. Chinese idioms, phrases and old saying related to snakes are often negative."

The Post goes on to interview Chinese people who say they "could find nothing positive to say in cards to family about the Year of the Snake... so just went with Happy Spring Festival." (What the Chinese New Year is called). Rude.

Then the Post said: "People who were born in the Year of the Snake should be extremely careful, Qi said. "According to feng shui theory, people who bear the same zodiac animal of the year tend to suffer more disaster and damage."

So now I've gathered that the Chinese really don't like the Year of the Snake in general, but also that whenever it's the year of your sign you have to be careful. Take that Ox's, Dogs, and Monkeys!

On a lighter note...people born in the Year of the Snake include John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso, and Audrey Hepburn. "People born in the Year of the Snake are quick-witted, clever, charming, sharp and funny. They have excellent taste, are a good friend and generous and loyal to others."

I'm choosing to end on that note versus the your doomed the rest of this year note. Even though I guess I did just end on that. I believe in a self-fulfilling prophecy, and I truly think 2013 is a great year for me -- it already has been! But at the same time... this stuff is a little freaky. What do you guys think?!

Spring Shopping

So, thanks to the lovely presidents of America, my fav is James Madison, I had today off work, which was beyond necessary after a hungover rough Sunday.

I was able to sleep in (... at least until 9:00), went to a workout class with my mom, made a big brunch, and then spent the day shopping.

I knew I wanted some spring outfits... but didn't know I would act like a crazy woman in every store I entered. I really don't feel too too guilty because I went to outlets and got amazing deals. I didn't pay full-price for anything. And had coupons. And hadn't been shopping in forever. And yes, justifying my purchases to myself does work.

Some of my purchases:

Da-da-da-damageeee

New spring jacket! (looks cuter on - below)

Excited to try it with denim.

color didn't translate on camera - it's bright orange

didn't have anything this color in my closet, looks cuter on!

 ready for st. patty's :)

cropped above ankles

lovin' this whole bright pants trend more than anything

put a bow on a shirt and i will buy it.

Silkaaay and perfect for any of my 193 cardis.

Only item on my must-have list was more white shirts

Hard to see, but a cut-out at the chest / neck

blouses on blouses on blouses

because i didn't own enough cardigans... 

Couldn't resist A. the stripes B. the colors

I've been looking for khakis forever... finally found at Banana.

 new light-wash skinny jeans from J. Crew... obsessed

gray and black casual clothes... my weakness

Yea... this happened.

Got this dress for 30$ (Orig 100). Turned it in to have hemmed above the knee

I also got a bright orange pair of pants from Banana, but turned them in to get hemmed. So, I'd say I was pretty successful! How was your Presidents day?!

The Irony of New Year's Resolutions

So... one of my new year's resolutions was to post in this blog more, yet I haven't posted a single one in 2013! WTF, is that the epitome of new year's resolutions or what!? Gah I hate when I prove stereotypes to be so completely right.

I usually don't make a legit list of resolutions, but I definitely think about it and come up with some in my head around the end of December and early January.

This year, from what I recall, I thought mostly about these:

• The usual: work out more, eat better
• Post in the blog more
• Be better at staying in touch with friends 
• Be less grumpy in the morning (hah)
• Think outside the box & be more innovative at work
• Plan more trips / adventures with friends
• Meet and be more open with guys (L.O.L.)

Now that I've written them down maybe they will happen!? That's what they always tell you in school when you have a goal :P Let's just say I will never be happy-go-lucky before my first cup of coffee in the A.M... which isn't until I get in my car and head off to work, sorry parents.

If it makes my lack of posting more acceptable, I've had a crazy busy and amazing 2013 thus far! In the past, I have never ever ever ever liked January. My birthday, my sister's birthday, and Christmas are all in December so when January rolls around post-holiday blues doesn't begin to explain the mental breakdowns that happen daily. 

But this January was jam-packed with exciting stuff and work was crazy-busy, planning for a conference, so it flew by. 

The first weekend I helped a friend move into her apt in DC and we had a low-key weekend, involving a Top 100 Countdown of the best songs from the 2000s, pure joy. Your love's got me lookin' so crazy right now. The next weekend a bunch of friends came to DC to go out to celebrate her first week of work. It was pure chaos, my friends are crazy and I love it. The next weekend I went to NYC to visit another friend over MLK weekend. It was amazing. It deserves a post of it's own, to come. The next weekend I went to a work conference in California for the week; that deserves it's own post too. Then I finished out January with dogsitting, where my friends kept me company and we day-drank, cooked delicious things, and took great care of my dog, of course. 

SO the lesson here kids, is that January actually isn't that miserable. In fact, I'll go as far as saying this first January as a post grad human might be the best I've ever had. You da best I ever had, best I ever had.

AND it's the Chinese New Year and is officially the year of the snake...MY YEAR! Be afraid people... big things are happening this year. :) Oh and I chopped 12 inches off my hair. Maybe January did get to me after all...#mentalbreakdown

Pictures and more posts to come, I promise!

Christmas Calories Do Count

Ah.... like always Christmas came and went way too fast! But it was a good one. My family usually goes somewhere for Christmas, Key West, Hawaii, a cruise... but this year we stayed in good ole suburban Virginia, and I loved it! Although my dad is planning on Hawaii for next Christmas and I don't hate that at all. 

This was my first post grad Christmas and it's going over really well. Don't get me wrong, I am super jealous of my brother who is all but hibernating during his month-long break, but at the same time, I am a person who thrives best when on a routine. So, it was awesome having Christmas Eve and Day off, but it's been nice to get up and do my normal work routine (from home- yes, amazing - and only half a day) which gets me back in some type of routine.

Yesterday I met up with my Little sister from my sorority (who is on break and lives in Northern Va) and we went shopping. The shopping was great, I got 70$ Gap jeans for 25$... a dolla makes me holla! And Anne Taylor was 50% off everything *deadly*. However, shopping was a bit of a rude awakening at the same time. The fitting rooms showed me that Christmas Calories do, indeed, count.

Our family's saying during the past couple of weeks has been "Christmas calories don't count hehehehe." Welp, that is beyond false. I have been so bad the whole month of December. Starting the night before my birthday (Dec. 6) I jokingly told my mom "I give up being healthy the month of December" which was a dumb thing to say because.. I did just that.

I've worked out a good amount but 45 minutes of running and lifting weights can only hold so much ground against 2 slices of pecan pie, peppermint bark, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, chips and dip, cookies... I think you get the point.

Excited to essentially detox and be healthy in January! And the rest of the year!

Out in Arlington weekend before Christmas

The biggest mistletoe there ever was

very patriotic tree in my office building... gotta love DC!

  

started snowing on our Christmas Eve walk

Moxie loving the snow

brother-in-law, brother, me, and sister on christmas!

My sister and favorite puppy before presents 

Michael Kors camera case from the brother

Fav Christmas present, Tory Burch ballet flats!

Thank you Santa.

So regal

Casual Christmas tree ornament circa pre-school

Mark my words... I will have a King Charles at some point in my 20s!

Christmas dinner, all of my favorites!

my number 1 weakness

my number 2 weakness

snowy day after Christmas!

thoroughly enjoy working from home