It's Water Time!

The trees are turning green, flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the weather is getting warmer.

You know what that means right??

It's water time!

Who cares if it's the pool, a water park or the beach?? I just want to spend my summer by the water. I 100 per cent prefer the beach, but I live in Georgia, so what can I do?

This summer I insist on going to the pool at least once every other week. Last summer I only went to the pool twice and only actually got in once. I did get to go to the beach four times though. Once in Tybee Island, once in Orlando, and twice in Nicaragua (although I didn't go in the water once in Nicaragua).

Point is, summer means water. Water means... bathing suits!

So I totally decided to be a dreamer and go on the Michael Kors website to look at their bathing suits (as if I could ever afford one. Maybe one day when I'm super successful and rich... Hopefully I'll still be young enough when I reach that). I must say though, as much as I used to hate one piece bathing suits, I've recently developed an affinity for them. Somehow, my opinion about them has changed from old people, prudish bathing suits, to classy. Just goes to show how my style is growing and changing.

Here are some of my favorite Michael Kors maillots:

I'm really digging the 'dress' look of this maillot on the left. The plunging neckline, the belt, and the flare bottom really give it a sophisticated look and I feel like I could totally walk off the beach and down the street with that on. Too cute.

And on the right, this is just a really classic, sporty, one-piece look. I also like the belt effect.

I like these two because they have the halter neckline look. The one on the left is very Michael Kors style with that golden neckline, which also gives it a cute accessorizing look.

The one on the right is supposed to be snakeskin. Talk about exotic. I like the halter neckline, and yes, I'll admit, I do like the print too. It's cute!





These one shoulders are totally adorable! Orange is far from being a preferred color for me. As a matter of fact, it's at the very bottom of the palate of colors I like, right along with green. I just don't like orange, but this maillot is too cute, even in orange I would wear it! (Maybe not if I had to pay $112 for it). These two are the same maillots, just different designs, and I'm totally digging them.




And again, here I have the same maillot in two different colors. They're just so cute! The ruffles are super cute, and I really like how the maillot is actually pretty simple, but the design stands out anyways. I also feel like I could throw on some shorts and just wear it as a cute top after leaving the beach!




And we're back to the belted look. I really like belts. They're a great accessory to break the monotony of any one piece clothing (dresses, long shirts, maillots, etc), they're slimming, and they do a super job at hiding that nasty extra tummy fat that's always poking out from me.
I like these two because they have untamed prints. The one on the left could be called zebra, maybe, but they're just two really cute, out there maillots.

This last one is a bandini, not a maillot, but it was too cute let slip, and it covers just as much a maillot, so I let it slide. The two negatives with it: I usually avoid anything strapless, simply because I hate having to keep pulling my top up, it's just really annoying; and second, horizontal stripes always make me look wider (thus fatter) than I really am, and I don't need the added virtual pounds. However, it looks beautiful on the model, so I'm just going to pretend that it would look just as good on me.

All these adorable bathing suits, and the cheapest one was $112. I can go to the mall and come out with 12 different things for $112, and that's on an expensive, splurging day. But hey, it's fun to catalogue browse and dream.

A Love-Hate Relationship

I have an extremely emotional and wearisome love-hate relationship.

It's tiring and amazing at the same time.

And it's with my hair.

I am extremely vain and my hair is a huge source of my vanity. It is long, dark brown, and full. And it's naturally very very curly. And here's where the love-hate part comes in. I like my hair curly sometimes. It's a fun, bouncy look for me, and great for when I want texture,

But my hair looks so much better straightened! My hair in the above picture looks like it just goes slightly below shoulders. False. In this picture, my hair length was well below the bra line, but it curls up so much, it looks short. When I straighten my hair it's loooong and sleek and shiny. So pretty.

Both looks are so much work though!

To wear it curly, I have to wash it and drench it in hair mousse while it's still wet. And by drench it in hair mousse, I mean make sure every single strand has hair mousse in it. EVERY single strand. And then I can't brush it or tie it back well, and it sits there bouncing against me and getting in the way.


To wear it straight, I have to wash it, dry it, and spend the next two hours straightening it strand by strand, layer by layer. If I miss one layer or strand, my hair turns out poofy and has bumps in the back. But once it's straight, I can do everything and anything with my hair, and it's great and easily managed until my next wash.

The struggle is real.

Here comes the hardest part of this relationship... I absolutely 100% despise haircuts!

No one understands my plight! They see my hair, understand it's hard to handle, understand that I wear it straight most of the time, and they want to take the easy way out and perm my hair! NO!!! I have virgin hair and I'm not changing that anytime soon! It has never been dyed or permed or chemically anything. The most I have ever done to my hair is deep condition and relax it. Stay away from me and your confounded chemicals!

But I hate my hair, I do. It's so thick and hard to handle and it takes forever to fix! I love it as soon as it looks good though! So cutting it off is not an option. Especially since I look like I belong in the 90s with the extreme poof of my short hair.

As much as I hate hair cuts however, they are necessary, or else my hair ends up looking like this

The dryness and split ends makes me nervous

That is simply not acceptable. I haven't cut my hair in almost two years. I hate everyone who approached my hair with clippers, and I feel like no one ever does a good job. I have only ONCE walked away from a haircut that I liked when I left the salon and I liked a week later after all their salon magic potions had been washed out of my hair.

Me in 2009 after my happy haircut

I went to Brasil in the beginning of summer, got my hair done there, and it looked great well into the fall. It was the only time I have ever been truly happy with a haircut.

My next haircut was so bad, I had to leave the hair salon while my mom was paying so I could cry over how terrible my hair looked. (I actually have quite a few hair salon crying episodes, ranging all the way back since I was 5 years old. I told you I hate getting my hair cut) We went to another salon to fix it less than 3 months later. I have not cut my hair since, and have ever since then been convinced that I would only ever cut my hair again in Brasil, because every American salon had ruined my hair.

This has led to me not getting my hair cut since Luis's senior prom. As in over two years ago. My hair is a disaster. So finally, I have been cajoled and tricked into getting my hair cut. As soon as I stepped foot in Florida this time around, my cousin took me straight to his friend's house, who happens to be a hair stylist. Yay...

Of course, I was super nervous, like heart palpitating nervous, but I know that my hair is in serious need of some treatment. The split ends are taking over me. So I let them take me in, with the agreement that the hair stylist would not cut a millimeter more than I said was okay. That's another big issue I have with hair salons. I say only two inches off and all of a sudden they think they work for Locks for Love and are chopping all my hair off. I have a really bad story about going from waist length hair to above the shoulder... I started crying in the salon that time.

So here I am super nervous at the hair salon

She was pretty nice. She kept checking with me on the amount of hair to cut off and asked me about style and framing at least half a dozen times. THANK YOU JESUS! Finally a hair stylist that cares about how I want my hair! She did try to push a hair treatment on me, which I adamantly said no to, but she did semi-convince me. If my hair turns out good this time and after I do some more research on this treatment, I might cave in to what she wanted. It sounds like a relaxer to me so if that's what it is, bring on the relaxing!

I only got a deep conditioning this time though. And she snipped away, styling. And after 4 hours in that salon (I told you I have a lot of hair...) here's the final results:

My hair is so shiny, I had someone ask me on Instagram if I dyed it. My hair is still lovely and long. It feels great and soft. She layered the front almost perfectly. I'm happy! I just hope that it still looks and feels this good after I wash it on Saturday. I have to spend 3 days without wetting it to let the deep condition really set in (Which totally sucks because we're going to the beach today!) So if on Sunday, my hair still looks good, I may have found myself a keeper in a hair stylist!

Here's my post-haircut glam shot!

Florida!!!

I'm going to Florida this weekend!!!

The best part of living 8 hours away from my mom is the fact that I have an excuse to go to Florida every month!

Not to mention my season pass to all four Disney parks!

I am obsessed with my Minnie ears!

And it's right by the beach, so I have every intention of getting a tan this weekend!

And it's Mother's Day this weekend! I bought her an awesome present that I can't post a picture of yet, just in case she sees it!

So now it's super packing time, because my bus leaves at midnight tonight!

I can't wait to be home tomorrow morning (: