KAREPMU OPO SE

THE D.I.Y. FAUX-UNDERCUT

YOU WILL NEED:
-one small hair elastic
-some hair clips/bobby pins
-hairspray or smoothing cream
-if you want to do wavy hair, you need hair elastics to hold braids

DO IT YOURSELF:
1. wash your hair.

2. make a deep side-part in your hairline. I did one above the arch of my left eyebrow.

3. if you want to do alice dellal style waves, dry your hair until it is almost completely dry, just a tiny bit damp. you may want to put in some volumizer or hair styling cream. otherwise, dry your hair completely straight or however you want to do it.

4. go to the faux 'undercut' side of your head. grab a small amount of hair from the front, not too much. pull it back and twist around, put into a small hair elastic. pin to the side of your head near the back. don't worry about making that side super smooth/shaved looking yet...

5. for the waves, put your hair into braids. my hair is layered so i put it into 3 different braids. leave to dry for about 30 minutes, shorter or longer depending on how wavy you want your hair to be. i don't braid the 'undercut' part, so it stays smooth.

6. take out your braids. if your hair isn't totally dry yet you can grab a hair dryer and blast your head, or let air dry until completely dry.

7. go back to the faux 'undercut' side of your head. now that your hair is dry and wavy you may want to adjust that side a bit- pull the hair back as tight as possible- don't worry about any whispy bits that stick out. keep the hair elastic in, and get your bobby pins or hair clips and clip over the elastic to hide it and hold that part of the hair back.

8. because of my layered hair, i always have little bits of hair that stick out. i used hairspray to smooth out the 'undercut' side to give it a shaved look.

i'm really happy with how it turned out! this was my first time trying it out, so i think next time i'll pull my hair even farther back, maybe pin it underneath the hair on the back of my head and slick it down a bit more so the 'undercut' is even more intense. this d.i.y. will change and evolve. let me know if you try it yourself!

a 'real' undercut would look way cooler, but this is a good way to try it out and see if it suits. i'm thinking about even doing cornrows or something like that. not sure if i want the shaved head commitment!

undercutting it

recently i've become obsessed with undercuts (kind of like my obsession with side braids...). i blame alice dellal and cassie. but mostly alice dellal.

i definetly think that i have the guts to do it, it's mostly about making the commitment to having a half-shaved head and then the painful process of growing it back out at some point.

i think i'm going to try a faux-undercut, a la Issa's fall 09 runway show, which was actually inspired by alice dellal, who walked in the show. they did a really deep side-part on the models and then slicked back the other half of their hair to imitate alice's locks. even if you have no interest in shaving your head, i think what they did is such a cool idea!

another faux undercut from another show:

style star: Pixie Geldof

goth rock queen. she makes me want to inject a little bit more gothic romance into my wardrobe...

The Sunset

This is for the Hubs. He is so frustrated with where we live and most of the time I don't blame him. We moved to this condo thinking it would be a great investment opportunity and a nice starter home. It is a revitalization area and because of the nationwide economic turndown, it has taken a little longer to become a nice area that either of us anticipated. They are still building in the area, which is a good sign, but some of the bad parts have not turned around as quickly. I still believe that this home was a good investment. It is close to the Metro and close to DC. Those things are always a plus. But the Hubs is not impressed. And he is getting frustrated. But sometimes when I look out the window I do not see all of the negatives. I see this.

Yes, I know if the nasty building outside my window was gone the view would be 1000 times better. But it was still a beautiful site. Watching the sun disappear behind the trees, ah, you just know that something so beautiful did not happen by accident. And yes if I were a better photographer the true beauty of the scene could have been captured. But this reminds me that sometimes life isn't as bad as we think. Because I did not "plan" to view this sunset. It was just a beautiful night and I happened to look out the window and there it was. It was just what I needed right at that time. I will have to remind the Hubs to take a look up sometimes and not always look down.
And it just happens to check off another item on my list.

#22: Make 10 new recipes

Shrimp Scampi with Linguinitaken from the Food Nework recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence
I love seafood and I love easy recipes. Something about spring has brought me back to life. While I do not love cooking I just feel like doing things in general. So for dinner I decided to pull open my Food Network recipe box and try something new. Hopefully this will be as successful as my last new recipe. I want to have a couple of easy go-to recipes in my arsenal.Ingredients1 pound linguini4 tablespoons butter4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling1 large shallot, finely diced5 cloves garlic, slicedPinch red pepper flakes, optional20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail onKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper1/2 cup dry white wine1 lemon, juiced1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leavesDirectionsFor the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.My edits:I used whole wheat linguini and I forgot to get some parsley so I just used some dried. I also followed the pasta instructions on the box because I knew the Hubs would complain about al dente pasta. The verdict: It was good. When something does not taste as great as I thought it would, I have no idea where i went wrong. Was it the wine I chose? Did I cook it too long or not enough? I know one thing, I had leftovers and it tasted better to me than it did after it was immediately cooked. So maybe the flavors needed to settle. I know I will make the shrimp scampi again because that was delicious and flavorful.
To check out the rest of my 101 in 1001 click here.