DRY. {the curl files}

here's our quick tips on drying curly hair.

and to think...there was a time when it didn't mattered the technique I used to dry my hair...

those days are long gone and i'm no longer that blonde!

Even though it's not as easy as it was then, there are some things that I think make drying curly hair easier...

DRY:

The drying process is just as important as the washing process, but let's be honest...a lot of times, we just don't have the time to dry and style to perfection. A couple things to keep in mind...

Traditional bath towels can be harsh on curls, causing breaking and frizzy fly aways.  

**Do NOT scrunch or tousle your hair to dry it, just gently ring it out.  you want to keep those follicles as smooth as possible.  The key to keeping hair from becoming frizzy is to keep those cuticles smooth = treating those wet strands gently and helping them to be as smooth as possible.

We recommend:

Microfiber towels 

if not microfiber, then an old t-shirt also works perfect, reducing split ends and keep those curls happy.

APPLYING PRODUCT:  

next time we will talk specific products, just too much to do in one post.

The best way to apply product {in our humble opinion}

1. separate hair into sections

2. rub a generous amount of product in your hand for each section

3. start at the scalp and smooth the product into your hair down to the tips

4. repeat with every section

5. shape your curls {again our preferred method next time}

to diffuse or not to diffuse...that's the real question. the verdict is out, this is really one of those personal preference situations, depending on how you like your curls to turn out (ultra springy vs. wavy).

seriously I {Kirsty} have been using this same diffuser for the last 15years.  granted it only gets used a few times a week at most.  if its not broke why fix it right?  look at how well seasoned and patinaed it is!  I believe the brand is vidal sassoon.  

if you choose to diffuse, always make sure to keep your hair dryer on the low setting.

We recommend:

                              A deep diffuser 10$                     A traveling diffuser sock 4$

                                                                                                    because what a pain to travel with the huge diffuser

                                                                                      

Ouidad Air Diffuser 18$

and if my trusty diffuser old pal pictured above ever decides to finally break, and I am in a place to splurge, this is the one I would love to try out.  so many people swear by it and isn't it intriguing looking?  any of you ever tried it?

Devacurl Dryer and Devafuser 149$

please share.  we would love to hear any other tips you may have to keeping curls smoothed and polished.

{instagram}

Happy Thursday Curls.

xoxo

Ali {and Kirsty}

cookie quality time.

i love dessert, in particular chocolate chip cookies.

it is a quest of mine to find the best.  these are definitely in my top 3 right now.  thats major.

{nutella-stuffed brown butter and sea salt chocolate chip cookies.}

i made these cookies with my sister in law this week and i had to share.  if you are a fan of the salt and sweet combo you need to make them.  hopefully we can all just stop and make cookies today with the ones we love.  and share some quality time.  that's my prayer.

thank you for reading this today.

happy friday.

best,

kirsty

what i wore {California part 1}

Yay!  we are in California for some much needed vacation time and family time, with a little bit of work mixed in as well.

there are a few rules I have for California.

1. no socks.

2. must eat mexican food every single day.

i had this grand plan to take pictures of all the outfits I was going to pack.  but it is always a mad-dash-last-minute-hope-everythings-clean-throw-in-suitcase-packing-job.  aka absolutely no time to stop and take pictures.  seriously what was I thinking?!

outfit #1 - the only outfit I planned.  this is the outfit I decided to pack for church.

headband - made by her {not intended for Cali wear, just to tame non-washed hair in this photo}

shirt - Splendid, Nordstrom Rack

jacket - AG Jeans

skirt - Anthropologie

earrings - Lucia K. Tag

necklaces - Lucia K. Faye Knotted Ball and Blake Painted Chain

when we go to CA, we love going to the Little Church by the Sea, it rarely disappoints.  and I will say the darling children's Christmas pageant and sermon were spot on this week.  such a tough job to speak of celebrating JOY - the 3rd Sunday of Advent and still acknowledging the pain and sorrow and trajedy of Connecticut.  highly recommend this sermon.

and of course when near LA I must visit the bead district.

outfit #2 - {looking slightly familiar to above} Lucia K. Jewelry scouting...

 soooooooo much to look through...

my husband and sister-in-law came with me.  good to have others to brainstorm with and bounce ideas off.

shirt - Splendid, Nordstrom Rack

jean jacket - AG Jeans

jeans - Vioss, Nordstrom Rack

shoes - Dolce Vita, Anthropologie

earrings - Lucia K. Juliette Aquamarine

headband - vintage trim tied around my head for curl-control

purse {just because when do I ever have a purse in my photo!} - hobo international

I'm so excited for my spring/summer collection, can't wait to get home and get working on it.  although I can.  also looking forward to more quality time with family and friends.  and spending time remembering the reason for this holiday season.

happy wednesday.

best,

kirsty

what i wore {gold.navy.striped}

only one outfit this week.  its been a whopper of a week.  these are the only pictures I managed to capture, sorry for the lack of detail...

you can't tell very well in the picture, but this sweater has glittery gold stripes in it.  its very fun, takes a pretty classic, conservative sweater and gives it some personality.  and can't go wrong with stripes.

and there's my littlest one, who has made it his mission to get in as many of mommy's outfit shots as possible.  at least he is wearing pants so I can actually use them.  notice the mismatched socks of his outfit.  this is pretty normal.  how about that serious face pose he is giving.  kills me.

sweater - French Connection, Queen Anne Dispatch

lace tank - Volume One, Nordstrom Rack {such a great place for tanks}

jeans - J Brand, Nordstrom Rack {and for designer jeans}

booties - Kelsi Dagger, Queen Anne Dispatch

earrings - Lucia K. Taylor in Copper

thank you to everyone for stopping by to see my outfit posts!  and to those who have left comments, thank you!!  I try to shop a lot of local boutiques, and sales.  I loooove a good deal.  but I will try my best to leave links as to where else these items can be found. 

linking up with pleated poppy for what i wore weds.

happy wednesday.

best,

kirsty

WASH. {the curl files}

oh curly hair...lets talk about it.

no two hair days are ever alike.  and no two heads of curls are the same either.  a blessing or a curse, Ali and I both have curly hair.  Ali has that fun hair that looks amazing curly, wavy, straight.  mine is just curly or messy.  but there are definitely tips and tricks and products that we have found that work

disclaimer - no two sets of curls are alike and everyone has different methods and products that work {example: I just saw this - and I love her curls but not sure I could brush mine after they are dry.}

so I asked Ali to help me in sharing our curly hair tips and tricks....

Ali - it's true, if you have naturally curly hair and you meet a new friend with naturally curly hair, something automatically endears you to each other. It's been true for me in many cases and some of my closest friends are natural curly heads just like me.

This was the case with KP and I went we first met...many years ago, over the years we've shared tips, and tricks with one another, shared the annoyances that comes along with curly hair, and made sure to lay the compliments on heavy when the curly locks are maintained!

Here's some of our favorite latest and greatest curly hair products, tips, tricks that we just had to share with all the curly haired girls out there...

WASH:

the key is to find something that's ALL natural, and we don't shampoo daily. Shampooing once or twice a week helps to keep the natural oils necessary for moisture and shine from being stripped from your curly locks.

our current favorite: its sulfate free so there's no lathering - takes a little while to get used to this.  lather is lovely but sulfates are bad.

Deva Curl No-Poo 

{$40 for 32 oz}

Conditioning is essential.  We condition even when we don't shampoo.  Finding a product that you love {scent, consistency, ingredients} is also really important and sometimes difficult. It's good to change up the shampoo/conditioner you use every so often, but here is our current fave:

Deva Curl One Condition

{$40 for 32 oz}

Did we mention how important conditioning is? Take the extra 5 minutes each week to deep condition those curls, it makes a huge difference in the daily wear. 

our current fave:

amika nourishing hair mask

{$40 for 500 ml}

I've also found it really helpful to pair the mask with the Obliphica Oil Treatment {which also uses natural ingredients}. It's great for medium to course hair like mine and successfully replenishes moisture, creates shine, and smooths out those fly aways that come along with curly hair.

**A final rinse with cold water will help seal the follicles and create shine, just shut the shower off and turn on cold water just on the faucet, tip your head under and rinse away.  Bonus - it wakes you up for the day.

We would love to hear what works for you too, there is always room for improvement.  just when we think we have our hair figured out - it usually changes.

xoxo

Ali {and Kirsty}

what i wore {another sweater}

I feel like my outfits have been sort of redundant lately.  sweater, or long shirt, skinny jeans, and boots and earrings.  I do love this look though.  its both comfortable and flattering.

outfit #1 - new sparkly turquoise sweater, can you see the hint of sparkly thread in it?  my friend invited me to go along with her to a Nordstrom's private shopping event.  it was so fun! {thanks b}  shopping while drinking champagne and eating little mini desserts {which then tricked me to think I could eat many many many minis}.  this is the sweater we both bought.  I was very good and didn't buy several other items I would love to have in my closet.

from the front looks like a comfy quite conservative sweater.  excuse the claw hand above.  weird pose moment.

and then from the back just a little bit if exposure.  also a little bit of air-conditioning, with a big warm sweater on its a strange sensation to feel a breeze on your back.

sweater - Hinge, Nordstrom

jeans - citizens for humanity {old}

boots - steve madden {old}

earrings - Lucia K. Tag in gold

bracelet - Lucia K. Nora in guilded turquoise

outfit #2 - again a very similar outfit.  this shirt really should be labeled a night gown its so comfortable.  I wasn't sure it would be flattering at all but I think it kinda works.  and I love the crochet details on the hem and the cuffs.  plus it goes perfectly well with my copper taylor earrings.

after I looked at this picture I decided to change my boots.  I keep trying to wear the ones up above but they never make the cut.  maybe this means I need give them away.

  shirt - Scrapbook Clothing, Queen Anne Dispatch

jeans - Citizens for Humanity

boots - Frye 

earrings - Lucia K. Taylor in copper

next week I will try to mix in something else.  hope you are all enjoying your December.
linking up with pleated poppy for what i wore wednesday.

happy wednesday.

best,

kirsty