Low-maintenance hairstyles & Lionesse Beauty Bar review

This post is brought to you by Lionesse Beauty Bar. They graciously offer an exclusive code of 20% off to use on their site. Please use SFD20 at check out to receive your discount.

I used to wash my hair every single day. With little to no time in the morning, I slowly learn how to work with my hair and not washing it so often. Today, I wanted to share a few different hairstyles that I repeat every week. They are not really "hairstyles" per say..just things I do differently everyday to change up the look.

 

Day 1: I start off the week with freshly washed hair. I always make sure to spray the TRESemme protective spray before using any heat styling tools. After blow drying, I run the Lionesse straightener through it quickly. This particular straightener has temperature controls which is important because you would want to be able to adjust the temperature to prevent heat damage.

Day 2: I love styling my hair on day 2 because it is still clean but has some grip and texture. I begin curling by taking a small section of hair and wrap it around the curling iron. I am a fan of tapered curling irons. It works best for loose and relaxed curls. The curling iron made of tourmaline ceramic which helps create long lasting curls while protecting the hair's natural luster. I hold each strand 5-8 seconds, release then finish off with the TRESemme hairspray to give it a lasting hold

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Low-maintenance hairstyles & Lionesse Beauty Bar review

Ways to wear a strapless maxi dress

I love wearing maxi dresses in the summer. They are hands down one of the most effortless ways to look fashionable and chic during those hot summer months. This particular maxi dress is insanely comfortable and flows beautifully as you walk. You always hear that vertical stripes make you look taller. Diagonal stripes would have the same effect. I came up with 6 different ways to wear this strapless maxi dress but the versatility is endless. Which one is your favorite? Linking up with Manic Monday today!

Outfit details:
Laila Jayde dress c/o | Similar necklace | Sunglasses | Sandals | Denim jacket
Similar chambray shirt | Similar crop top (on major sale!) | Ampersand Tee | Aviator sunglasses

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Ways to wear a strapless maxi dress

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part III): Wrap dresses

Continuing my series of “What to wear when you're expecting”, the item I wanted to highlight today is a wrap dress. (Part I: How to style a boyfriend blazer and Part II: How to style a maxi dress).

For the office, wrap dresses are a great solution. The beauty of the wrap dress is the wrap portion. You can make it as tight or as loose as you want. Since it’s a wrap dress, I have the ability to adjust it. For expectant mothers, wrap dresses are great for transition to and from pregnancy. I lived in this Old Navy wrap dress throughout my first and second trimester. Although, it is getting shorter since my tummy is getting bigger every day.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part III): Wrap dresses

Tips for visiting Disney with young kids

My little girl just turned 7 last week. This year, we decided to take her to Disney World for her birthday. It wasn’t ideal for me to visit Disney at 6 months pregnant but with the second one is on the way, I knew I had to do it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lots of personal photos to share (and I will tell you why later). However, I do want to share my experiences at Disney and a few tips on how to make the most of your Disney vacation when traveling with young kids. We took a week vacation but spent the first 3 days in Orlando, FL (1st day visiting Sea World, 2nd day visiting Magic Kingdom and 3rd day visiting Hollywood Studios).

1. Tickets: Park tickets are not cheap. For 3 days, we spent almost $1000 on park tickets alone for the three of us. The best deal is online of course (rather than the gate) but the Walt Disney website still gives the best total online price (after taxes). There are a lot of other sites that show prices without taxes and fees which is misleading. There are a lot of discounts, codes, etc. on Disney packages (hotels, cars, etc.) but for base admission tickets, Disney does have that tightened up. Sites below are full of info, tips and ideas if you’re interested to learn more. We didn’t go with any third-party sites. We purchased our tickets at the gate and I wouldn't recommend buying the tickets off eBay.
http://www.mousesavers.com
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/
http://www.tipsfromthedisneydiva.com/

2. Tips for navigating quickly at Disney parks:
• First thing to know is you will have more stuff to do than you can handle even if you arrive at open and leave when they kick you out of the park for the night. I am not much of a planner but I did spend time and plan our entire trip BEFORE hand. I am proud to say that we hit all the popular rides within a few hours and still had time to do most of the less popular rides towards the end of each day. Disney’s attraction ticket wait time system will save you a lot of time in the park. You can learn more about it here.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Tips for visiting Disney with young kids

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part II): Maxi dresses

Congratulations to Saimaeve for winning the lovely dress from OASAP. Please email me your shipping info. My family and I are taking a vacation at the moment but I will get back with you as soon as I can. Thank you, everyone for giving your feedback on the new site as well as submitting your entries for the giveaway. I really appreciate it! Now, onto today's post...

In part I, I was talking about blazers were my favorite thing to wear to work during the 1st and 2nd trimester. When it comes to casual wear for weekends, I literally live in dresses. I love wearing shorts during summer but they just simply don’t work when you’re expecting.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part II): Maxi dresses

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part I): Blazers

I've had a few emails from readers asking how to get the most out of the clothing budget. I decided to put together series of posts on what I thought would be helpful to others in terms of what to wear when you’re expecting. Of course, I'm still figuring things out so any thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

What to wear when you’re expecting (Part I): Blazers

Guest Post: How to pack for a cruise

The winner of LYLIF's giveaway announced here. Recently, I received an email from a reader asking “what clothes should I pack for a cruise?". I've been to 4 cruises in the past but have always overpacked. I could use some tips on how to pack efficiently myself. I know the lovely J of J’s Everyday Fashion just came back from a cruise. I asked her to share some tips on how to pack with us.

________

I recently had the opportunity to take a cruise to the Bahamas with a good friend , and Sydney asked me to put together some packing tips for you guys! Packing is one of my least favorite activities (what do you mean, I can’t take my entire closet?!) and I learned some good lessons on this trip that I’m excited to pass along. Here are my tips, tricks and past mistakes in hopes of helping you become a better packer!

1. Pick your shoes first.
So… where to begin? With your shoes, of course! My #1 packing tip is to start with your shoes. These are by far the biggest and bulkiest items in your suitcase, so I always start there first. Often, I will pick either black or brown shoes and stick with that same color theme for the whole trip. Another tip: wear your bulkiest pair of shoes during your trip to travel to and from the boat to save room in your suitcase.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Guest Post: How to pack for a cruise

My favorite ways to wear a scarf

I admit, I wasn’t a scarf fan before but now, I love them. Today, I decided to make a little video to show you guys 3 of my favorite ways to wear a scarf. There are certainly countless ways to wear them. Scarves not only keep you warm, but also make your plain and simple attire look more fashionable and put together. That’s the reason why I chose to wear a pair of denim with a plain tee. This is my first ever attempt at making a video, please bear with me. Also, please excuse my awkward moments =) It took me 3 hours to edit this 3-minute video. It’s not anything extraordinary but I hope you’ll enjoy it. Thank you, Happy Scarf for sending over these beautiful scarves.

Products mentioned:
Checkered in camel (buy here)
100% wool scarf in floral print (buy here)
Skull scarf in black and gray (buy here)

Have a great week!
Sydney

Disclaimer: I received these scarves courtesy of HappyScarf.com. I will not be compensated for posting this review on my blog.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

My favorite ways to wear a scarf

Reader Corner: How to shop for petite-friendly maternity wear

I recently got an email from a reader. I thought it would be fun to share my experiences:

I've been following your blog but have never posted anything = ) I am about 3 months pregnant now. I've put on about 8 lbs since but still can fit into XS stuff. I am wondering if you could share any tips on shopping for petite-friendly maternity clothes. I am from Singapore but shop compulsively on US sites.

First of all, congrats on being pregnant! Pregnancy can be one of the most exciting times of a woman's life. With my first pregnancy, I was lucky that I didn’t have to buy a whole lot of maternity clothes. At that time, I worked in a very casual work environment. I bought a couple pairs of maternity jeans and a few oversized T-shirts. I wore those items throughout my pregnancy. Here are some do's and don'ts while shopping for materinity wear:

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Reader Corner: How to shop for petite-friendly maternity wear

Seven Ways To Wear A Flower Pin!

Accessories are just as important if not more so than clothes. I am a firm believer that the right accessories can glam up any outfit. Flower pins seem to be the hot trend right now. Wear them in your hair, pin them to your clothes, or update your favorite necklace. Sadly, I don't own one. The owner of Sproos has kindly offered to send over a few products for me to try. Since I am not a headband kind of girl, I opted for flower pins instead. I did a little research and came up with 7 easy ways to wear a flower pin. I'm sure there are other ways that I haven't come up with. These are probably the most common ways to wear a flower pin.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Seven Ways To Wear A Flower Pin!

Age-Appropriate Dressing (Part I): Avoiding logos

There is no doubt that my style has slowly changed since I started this blog. Being smaller than average, it's easier to be mistaken for a teenager. Hence, dressing age-appropriate becomes even more important. I do think your style depends a lot on your personality, where you live, your purchasing power and mostly your sense of style. I believe in age-appropriate dressing. After a certain age, some styles and looks just don’t work. When it comes to casual fashion there are two trends that I don’t mind leaving behind. One of which, avoiding logos, I am going to talk about today.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Age-Appropriate Dressing (Part I): Avoiding logos