SJP Big Hair!

I have always been an admirer of Sarah Jessica Parker's hair. It is big and messy and beautiful and I love it. It is freeing not to wear your hair perfectly coiffed. It doesn't have to be perfect, just embrace it and rock it.  So I have been wanting to try her styles for a while and I just thought I would go for it.  Here is what I came up with.

I washed my hair last night and put them into little buns all over my head.  I twisted them so the hair would be back from my face, the same way I would have curled it if I were using an iron.  I think you can use an iron, but that takes longer and I like the idea of no heat in less time.
There is just no reason these pictures should be bigger... You get the idea.

Then this morning I woke up and took them out.  My one-year-old was eyeing my funny as I came into the room with a bun on top of my head, but hey, the price of beauty!

I took it out and it was a big afro!!  Like big, I didn't get a picture, I wish I would have.

So I threw it in a pony to wash up and put my makeup on and when I took it down, it was just big and crazy curls!!

So another no heat curls way to do your hair!!  Another thing I have been doing lately is trying not to wash my hair in less than 3 days.  Unless it is really nasty.  It is healthier and some styles do better on the 2nd and 3rd days.  So I will use my fro-curls for two more days!

What did you do to your hair today?  Something a bit creative?  Snap a picture and link up Friday for my Creative Hair linky party!!

Oh and until I get my act together and clean up my linky party page, I am linking to all the parties here.

The Hair Challenge!

Are you tired of your hair looking the same old way? Are you sick of the boring ponytail? Me too!! Let's be better. Let's be different!

I want to challenge you ladies to wear your hair different everyday this week. NO ponytails!! Try braids, buns, curls, anything even just a tad bit more creative for this week. I am going to take this challenge too and I will be posting my looks throughout the week for inspiration. And maybe, just maybe, I'll have a video to match!  My big goal is to try to channel Sara Jessica Parker.  I have been dying to do something like this:

Source: bing.com via Natalia on Pinterest

Here is some inspiration on the web for ideas to stay away from the pony tails:

My fake short hair
My big side braid
My boho side braid
My Yellow Sandbox has a lot of great tutorials
Love, Maegan has some interesting and creative hair ideas

And of course the beloved Pinterest!

So here is your challenge. Do something creative, something different for you, everyday this next week. Take a picture each day. You can make a tutorial if you are so inclined, but don't have to. Then on Friday I am going to open a linky. If you have a blog, link up a post (or multiple if you did more than one) with all your awesome styles. If you don't have a blog, send me your picture by Thursday before 6:00 PST and I will feature it in the post Friday! Excited yet?? I am! There are going to be so many hair ideas floating around!

Okay, get creative ladies! Can't wait to see what ya got!

Jackie O style with a twist! Guest blogger ~ Christina Dely Photography

I want to introduce you to my friend Christina from Christina Dely Photography.  She was the featured photographer at the last creative connection LA and I had such fun chatting with her we continued our friendship via Twitter and Facebook.  I am so excited to have her here today.  And she is very fashionable, so very appropriate for fashion week!  Take it away!

Let me preface this by saying, "I am in NO way a fashion expert. Not even close!" I am sure I make a zillion fashion faux pas that would make Coco Chanel turn over in her grave. Never the less, I adore fashion! And I only wish that I had the budget to clad myself in Gucci & Dior daily. Until then, I will make do with what I have & share a little bit of my personal style with you :)

While sometimes I wish I could be the next Gwen Stefani at the party, I know that is just not in my personality. If I had to sum up my personal style in a sentence, it would be... Jackie O with a twist! I gravitate towards classic lines, quality fabrics & colors that compliment my features. While this may not be every one's cup of tea (don't fall asleep on me just yet!).... If you do not have Donatella 's budget, you can still get away with using key pieces again & again for years to come!

Now this is not to say that my personal style is "plain". I pray that people do not think this of me (although if you see me on a sleep deprived day, feel free to judge!) I absolutely adore taking a timeless piece & pairing it with an edgy accessory! To me this brings a bit more of my personal taste to the ensemble & allows the entire outfit to fit in with current trends.

Case & Point I: Del Mar Race Track Ensemble

Obviously I would not wear this hat on an average day... but it was Del Mar! I matched this fairly simple pattern dress with an edgy cuff! Looooove cuffs!

Case & Point II: Everyday Ensemble

I hope this doesn't make you cringe, but I am obsessed with Hanes tank tops! I have been for years. They are so comfortable, form fitting, easy. Now pair this with cute jeans & you have a VERY plain outfit... But if you add a flashy/chunky (aka the best!) necklace, you are making more of a statement!

P.S. After reading all of Natalia's fabulous hair styling posts, I was ashamed to share my horrific "hair in a ponytail look"! So please overlook the headless poses ;)

Ok, I think I have rambled on long enough! Thank you for listening & thank you Natalia for being SO fabulous!!!

Make sure you check out her website at Christina Dely Photography.  You can also find her on Facebook,  Twitter and her blog.  She is a pretty talented lady!!

Boho Side Braid ~ I'm a stylist...

I am sure you saw the outcome of the photo shoot that I was so privileged to be a part of about a month ago.  I had so much fun doing it the women involved are just incredible.  It is an excellent way to promote your business, specially if you are in the wedding industry.  So I thought was a better way to help my cousin get her little photography business off the ground than a styled shoot.

And I was the stylist!  I put together a vintage 1940's travel themed shoot.  I thought our model looked beautiful and it was a lot of fun to do.

I thought it was only appropriate to dress like a stylist.  So I got my torn jeans, my baggy shirt, my bangles and hippie tree necklace and I was ready to go.

And to really complete the look, I gave myself a boho side braid. 

{I am really totally kidding about dressing like a stylist. I didn't think that at all, I just happened to feel like a stylist with how I dressed and my hair and all, so I just went with it.}

By the way, my 4 year old son is my photographer.  Not bad, eh?  He might have a future here.  Anyone looking for a 7 foot photographer??  I guess he could get some different angles...

And again, I have a video!  Aren't you proud of me?  And again I apologize for quality! 

So how is my little challenge coming?  I haven't worn my hair in a regular pony tail since I started my 30x30!!  What kinds of hairstyles have you been trying?  I have some new ones up my sleeve that I saw on Pinterest today.  Can't wait to try it!

E-mail me a picture of your hair efforts!  I want to feature them!  Even if it is just a cell phone pic, who cares, it's evidence that you did it!! manouvellemode@gmail.com

Have a Happy Hair Day!!

By the way, here is a sneak peek at the shoot I styled. Isn't the makeup incredible? And I made her little veil thing and did her hair. So fun!

I got pinned! And another hair tutorial

So yesterday was kinda a fun day. I hung out with a friend, took my boys for a walk, got featured on STYLE ME PRETTY!!! I mean, I am actually not getting featured, I was just the model. The real talent lies in the photographer, Brienne Michelle {sidebar people!}, the florist, Petalicious {incredibly talented, serioulsy}, stylist, Tasteful Tatters {sidebar again!}, and paper goods, The Pomegranate Basket {everything they create is beautiful!}.  Here's a favorite:

My husband's hot...

Source: stylemepretty.com via Style Me Pretty on Pinterest

Oh ya, and Style Me Pretty pinned some of the images!  So I am now on Pinterest, yay!!  You can check out the full shoot at Style Me Pretty. 

Now back to fashion week!!  This top is actually a swim cover from Target.  But ssshhh don't tell!  I don't really like the belt with it, but hey, that's why you take pictures!!  I won't wear that next time, now will I?

 I wore that necklace to my cousin's funeral.  His favorite color was purple.  I love him and miss him and it is a nice, simple way to remember him.

My hair is two front braid sections all the way back and pinned.  Easy-peezy!  And it kinda gives you that poof effect that is so popular right now!

Do you remember this hairstyle that I did last week?   Welp, I made a tutorial for it.

Once again, there was no editing going on here, this is raw footage.  It is kinda dark, too, sorry!  And I didn't watch it all the way through so I don't know how awful it is.  Hope it's still helpful!!  At least you'll get a good laugh!

Have you tried any new hairstyles?  Consider this my challenge! No ponytails or normal (whatever that is for you) hairstyles for the rest of the week!  Ready. Set. GO!

Sooo, something kinda cool is going on today!

Since I redid my design I have had a few people comment on the pictures in the about me section and my new blog button.  Well today I can reveal why I took those pictures in the first place!

Today a photo shoot I was a part of about a month ago was published on Style Me Pretty!!  If you don't know, this is a pretty big wedding blog.  It is so great for the vendors involved, they get a lot of exposure through posting their weddings on this site. 

The shots were done by Brienne Michelle Photography.  She is one.talented.lady. {and a proud sponsor - button in the sidebar!}  I was so impressed with her design and work, I felt so beautiful!!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know about Nakate.  Shanley Knox has brought back jewelry to America to sell to support the African women who make it.  What a great thing, right?  Well they needed models for a photo shoot and I of course offered Lavar and myself for it!  Lavar was less than thrilled, but like the good husband he is, he bucked up and headed out.  I mean, he's so handsome, it wouldn't have been so great without him!

If you want to check out the extent of my modeling career, you can see the pictures from the Bohemian Styled shoot here.  You can also see the entire gallery of pictures here.  

Hope you like them!  I would love to hear what you think!

Fashion Week!!! Fake Short hair

Good Monday morning everyone!!

I am actually excited about this week for a number of reasons.  ONE: it's fashion week, duh.  Not only in New York but here at Ma Nouvelle Mode.  TWO: I am leaving Wednesday for Denver for the SITS Girls bloggy boot camp on Saturday.  Yep, I won a ticket.  No joke.  And THREE: something kinda cool goes down today, can't wait to tell you!

But for right now I have an outfit or two with a hair tutorial.  I don't know if my hair tutorials are all that original, I am just proud that I did them.  And actually, I did them twice.  I recorded them all and was ready to put them all on the computer and come to find out that I guess my Flip Camera is devective and I can't.  And I have no way to get the last years worth of videos off it.  BOO. {including Eli's first Christmas. Like, serious bummer}

We'll call this outfit #2 in my 30x30. I'm not keeping exact track

The outfit above I liked.  It was a bit different for me because the shirt is a bit more fancy and the shorts are casual.  So crazy, I know!!  The headband I was proud of myself for.  I am trying to do things different with my hair and style and I never thought I would wear a headband like that even though I see them all over the place.  But I did.  Go me.  (I am aware it's really thin and you can hardly see it, but it still counts!!)

In other news, I CUT MY HAIR!

Just kidding.  If you didn't get that from the post title.  This is the tutorial for the day.  Like I have said, I am trying to find different ways to wear my hair without throwing it in a pony tail.  So far - success.  This last week it was hecka hot in Cali, like I can't handle life kinda hot so instead of the pony, I gave myself short hair.  What do you think?

I made a tutorial for it.  But like I mentioned above, I didn't edit it.  I actually drop the camera at the beginning, so you know there is going to be super awesome stuff going on here.  And remember, this is the second time I did this tutorial, so the hair isn't perfect, I just wanted to get it done, haha.  Anyway, I know you'll get a good laugh, but don't make fun of me too bad.  At least to my face (or in the comments...)

I hope you like it.  Remember, stay tuned for my little surprise thing I have this afternoon!!  It has something to do with my blog button.  Just a hint for ya!