An Ode to Hairspray

What is an ode?

"An ode is typically a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode."-from the one and only Wikipedia

The ode that I am writing today will not be lyrical, however it will be full  praise for something that all girly girls use on a regular basis. My ode will be an ode to hairspray.

Hairspray is probably the hardest working beauty product in history. Hairspray is always putting in those extra hours at work. Hairspray never fails to hold your hair in place whether it be for prom, a beauty pageant, or just one of those days where you need a little curl in your life. Hairspray is always there in your hair's time of need. As my friend Emily Lewis says, "Hairspray is my hair's best friend."

I received my first bottle of hairspray as a gift this past Christmas. This was quite a relief for my friends because I had been constantly barging into their rooms and asking to borrow some. After that, I would just spray in a little bit, or a lot since my hair is so long, and happily go about my business for hours with my hairstyle intact. I did not have to worry about my curls falling out after only 20 minutes anymore. It was such a relief.

My first bottle of hairspray was from Suave.

You may be wondering what got me thinking about the outstanding skills of hairspray. Well, it is quite simple.

Tomorrow is August 4th. This is usually just another day of summer to be wasted away with sunbathing and relaxing. However, this August 4th is different. I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. On this day, we will get the chance to see hairspray at its best. Tomorrow is the premiere of the 4th season of Jersey Shore.

In this season you will get to see the cast find their way around Italy, beat each other up, AND use an extreme amount of hairspray. These people take pride in their hairstyles, and depend on the use of hairspray to keep it looking fantastic all night long. In the show, big hair and hairspray are a way of life.

Snooki showcasing her hairspray spraying talents.

The moral of the story is, hairspray is a product that you need in order to become a girly girl. If you want your hair to stay the way that you styled it, it is a need. I am a huge fan of hairspray and I will continue to sing its praises to girly girls everywhere. Plus, the Snooki poof that we all know and love would be nothing without it.

Birds of a Feather

When I was young, I used to love to find bird feathers laying around the yard. Not only were they beautiful, but they were also used to soar above the clouds. The way birds fly has always intrigued me and made me a little jealous. Why wasn't I born with wings and feathers? I would like to give flying a shot.

I now have a chance to have my very own feathers. Unfortunately, they will not help me fly, but they will help me look very stylish.

Feathers are the new fashion accessory that has all the girly girls going crazy. We first caught a glimpse of this trend when celebrities began adding feather hair extensions to their luscious locks.

Ke$ha has a thing for feathers.

Selena Gomez and her trendy feathers.

After the paparazzi captured celebs rocking the feathers, the race was on among us normal folks to get our hands on the trend. Feather extensions have now sprung up in salons and hair care product stores everywhere. You can purchase the extensions in all different kinds of colors and styles. You can even purchase an extension to go with your many different outfits.

However, while the feather hair extensions are super trendy and stylish, I find myself loving the feather jewelry even more. I am very excited about the feather earrings and feather necklaces that have popped up in stores like Charming Charlie and Forever 21. You can choose a smaller, classier type of feather that could dress up elegant evening attire. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, you can choose some colorful, over the top designs.

 

The good news is, the feathers will be loved by all of your girly friends, no matter what style you choose. Oh, and I also have some more good news. I know of a place where you can get your own custom made feather hair extensions and earrings.. (Don't worry, you can thank me for this information later).

My friend Amanda Sowards is super knowledgeable in the ways of being girly, and is the writer of a blog called Stiletto Confessionals. In her blog she writes about everything girly, from what hair supplies to use to how to pick out the perfect outfit.

Amanda is in the feather making business and is currently holding a feather sale through her blog. She is selling clip on hair extensions and changeable earrings that she made herself. All of her designs are very stylish and I assure you that you will love them. If you are interested in seeing her designs  or purchasing some feathers from her, click here. This link will take you to her feather sale page where she has displayed her designs and prices. I am super excited that she is making these feathers and I plan on purchasing a pair of earrings myself.

Now get your girly girl self in gear, get to her blog, and buy you some beautiful feathers.

It's Friday...Again

I know, I know..I have been missing in action lately. I apologize for neglecting all of you girly girls. I know that you have missed me. I have just been so busy lately looking for jobs, spending time with my family, and working in the tobacco field in the morning. My momma and I have even joined a gym during my absence, so I am working on getting myself in shape.

ok, so that's not me, but you get the idea

Anyway, I know that all of you have been waiting anxiously on the edge of your seats to see what I will write about next. Never fear, Erin is here to quench your reading thirst. So brace yourself, for the wonderfully, amazing blog post that you are about to read.

On this happy Friday I have 2 words for you: Katy Perry.

Yep, that's right, Katy Perry is my inspiration for today's blog post. How has she inspired me you ask? Is it her hair, her style of clothes, or maybe her lovely nail polish designs? Well, while all of those are very inspiring, the reason I am talking about Katy Perry is because today is Friday and she has a new single all about this glorious day.

Maybe it is just because I actually get a break from the tobacco field tomorrow, or maybe I just really like songs about Fridays. Whatever the reason, I have found myself turning the volume way up whenever this song comes on the radio. It is called Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) and I wanted to share the song that is currently rocking my Fridays. The video is kinda long, but it is worth the watch, and it features that other singer that sang about Friday...Rebecca Black! So, sit back, relax and thank God it is Friday with Katy Perry.

  

Kinda reminds you of college doesn't it?

Oh So Charming

Today I have something to share with all of you girly girls out there. It is a store that I have come across this summer. It is called Charming Charlie.

Being the broke, unemployed, college graduate that I am, I don't get to go out shopping very often. I only make exceptions when one of my friends wants to go. In these cases, I will tag along because I am an excellent window shopper. I like to look at all the clothes that I could have, if I had the money to purchase them.

On this particular occasion, my friend Katie Parham wanted to do some shopping in Greensboro and asked me to go along. I agreed to join in on the shopping trip because I had a little bit of money from graduation. So we hopped in the car with her momma and headed out.

During the car ride, they told me we were going to a store that I would love. They told me it was a girl's dream. Naturally, I became very excited. I had been told about this store before by my friend Nicole Harper, but I had never seen it for myself. I could barely contain my excitement when we pulled into Friendly Center and located the store.

Let me tell you ladies, this is the store for girly girls. It has dresses, headbands, watches, jewelry, shoes and any other kind of accessory you could dream of. The best part about the store is that everything is arranged by color. So, if your favorite color is pink, you can just head on over to the pink section to check it out.

I was amazed at all the different colors and accessories. I could probably spend hours in the store, just looking at everything. You can check out the store at http://www.charmingcharlie.com/home. Do not be discouraged by their lack of pictures, the store is amazing, I promise. I didn't make any purchases on that shopping day because I was too overwhelmed and could not decide what I wanted. But, next time I head to Greensboro, I am planning a stop. 


PS- please take a look at these new shoes by Chanel. They are flaslights, how crazy is that? Would you wear flashlight shoes?

Baby You're a Firework

BBQ, families, lakes, beaches, lemonade, parades, cookouts, and fireworks. It's that time of year again...the fourth of July. It is the day that we declared our Independence from Great Britain. It is a celebration of America, a time to be patriotic and reflect on everything that our country stands for. But...for many girly girls everywhere, it is a chance to accessorize.

If you are a true girly girl, you know that you are guilty of running out to the store to purchase something red, white, or blue. This year I chose to paint my toenails blue in order to be patriotic. Blue is also one of my favorite colors :)

When it comes to the accessories, some girls keep it simple, like a stylish red necklace. Others can go a little overboard....

No matter what Fourth of July style you choose, you can always sit down and enjoy one of my favorite parts of the holiday...Fireworks :) They light up the sky and they sparkle..what more could a girly girl ask for?

So throw on your Fourth of July attire, whether it be a new red dress or an American Flag bikini, get out there and celebrate.

To all of you girly girls out there, Happy 4th of July!!

I ♥ Boobies

"Erin, what does your bracelet say?!"
"Hey Erin, where did you get that bracelet?"
"Well that's an interesting bracelet."

These are all comments that I have gotten whenever I wear my pink I heart boobies bracelet around town. Some people think it is cute, and others shake their heads at the term 'boobies'. However, I wear my bracelet with pride because it means a whole lot more than you would think.

My friend D.J. Shipp was the first person I ever saw wearing one of these bracelets. I giggled when I saw it on his arm, thinking that it was just a silly bracelet that he found somewhere. Then I began noticing other people around me sporting them, and I decided that I might need to get one for myself.

During a random shopping trip to Concord Mills with Brandon Coble and Stuart Thomson, we finally found the bracelets at a skateboarding store called Zumiez. Brandon, being the always generous person that he is, purchased a bracelet for each of us. He said that these bracelets could be our friendship bracelets and that he was never going to take his off. I was very excited that I finally had my own boobies bracelet.

These bracelets are super cute and stylish, everything a girly girl would want...AND who would have thought that they were a way to help stop breast cancer. When you purchase a bracelet, the proceeds will go to The Keep a Breast Foundation. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support." The idea is to increase breast cancer awareness in young people so they will choose better lifestyles in order to stay healthy and hopefully keep a breast...hence the name.You can learn more about the cause and donate money to the foundation at http://www.keep-a-breast.org. You can also shop for all types of I heart boobies apparel.

The bracelets come in many different colors, so you can pick one that matches your own unique style. You can also purchase other types of items like shoes and lanyards. After I visited the website today, I have my eye on this pretty bracelet. I also would not mind being the owner of this super cute zip up sweatshirt.

I believe that all girly girls and manly men should help out with the cause and rock a I heart boobies bracelet. We all know that the world would be a much sadder place without them.

Ps- last time I asked, Brandon was still going strong and had not removed his bracelet.

Hair Dying: Randolph County Style

Dark roots plague every girly girl that highlights her hair. When the roots begin to show, it is always a sign that it is time to hand out the big bucks to get your hair highlighted again.

Last year, when those darn dark roots began to show, my cousin Katelyn Kidd suggested that I let her dye my hair instead of paying to have it highlighted.

Being the broke college student that I was, I decided that the experiment was worth it. We headed off to Target and bought the color, and after the second try (the first time we didn't like the color), we had successfully gotten rid of those roots.

When I arrived home this summer, my roots were bothering me again. Katelyn, being the hair stylist that she is, said that it was time for another dye job. So I headed over to Kerr Drug to pick out just the right blonde for me. I ended up choosing a very light blonde from L'Oreal. I would highly recommend using this brand. Although it is a little bit more pricey than other hair dyes, it definitely got the job done.

When I showed up at Katelyn's house to get to work, she informed me that instead of the tub, we were going to do the hair dying in the yard. Being the trusting cousin that I am, I headed outside and Katelyn got to work.

You can call me a redneck if you want

About halfway through the first bottle of dye, Katelyn decided that because my hair was so long, we were going to need another bottle. So what did we do?

We grabbed my aunt Lisa, who could not stop laughing, and headed back to Kerr Drug for another box. I need to add that  the dye from the first box was still in my hair. I was too embarrassed to go inside the store, so Lisa went in for us and picked up the color. Then we headed back to the house to complete the transformation. The moral of this part of the story is, when dying long hair always purchase 2 bottles of dye, you will need them.

Upon arrival back at the house, we applied the other bottle of dye, left it in my hair for the appropriate 40 minutes, and then promptly rinsed out my hair with the garden hose. After this, Katelyn sent me inside to condition and dry my hair.

Now I know what you are thinking, this redneck dye job could not have possibly turned out well right? Wrong! I love the way the color turned out, and I have been getting compliments on it from people all over the community. However, all the credit should really go to Katelyn. I believe she should start charging for her hair dying services. Check out my root-free hair!

AND that is how you dye your hair, Randolph County style :)