a little bit about me.

Hi lovelies!!

I realized I rejuvenated this blog and some of you dear visitors may not understand the concept or "know me."

Here is a little background.  I am a 24-year old, soon-to-be momma, recent college graduate looking for a job/career in my field.  I graduated in December with a B.S. in Health Services Management, which honestly just means Health Administration.  Throughout my last year of school I had started a very small business, which some of you may remember.  {This business is no longer in existence but I am still able to perform a lot of the duties that came with it.}  Leading up to graduation, I had two jobs and a full school load.  What can I say, I like to be busy, busy, busy.  Upon graduating I had shifted one job to another but still maintained my part-time work with a well known preppy brand (I loved that job. So much fun!)  In mid-January I became pregnant, but didn't know until late February, after I had the amazing opportunity to work downtown at a quaint bar during Super Bowl.  (Sadly, the Indianapolis Colts were not even close to having a team healthy enough, or good enough, to play.)  After leaving this job shortly after Super bowl, I found out I was pregnant.  Let me tell you, so many things were going on in my life and in my mind at that time!  I had just moved back in with my parents.  And that alone was a fairly difficult transition after living on my own and in my own way.  I had just left the job I loved of two years, for a hopefully more open growth experience.  I was also fresh out of an interesting relationship.  SO here I was trying to cope with these fairly big things and some minor ones, when BAM! I found out I was pregnant.

Since then I have moved with my father across the country, "back home", to Oregon.  We now live in central Oregon, and it is so nice!  I found a great job quickly and have started to set up base here.  However, it hasn't been without struggle!! The first weeks here were very difficult, because I felt alone and was going through an emotionally difficult time with my pregnancy.  {This is very personal, so please if you have comments make the constructive or, kindly, keep them to yourself.}  The baby's father and I are not amicable at all currently, though I made efforts in the beginning, the relationship quickly soured.  Now we each have our own personal side to the story and I respect that maybe he was doing his best, just not in the best way.  There are a lot of personal details I will leave out simply because it does not paint the other person in the best light, and because he is not a part of my life or this blog he does not have the opportunity to defend himself or explain his actions, therefore aside from saying he is not involved, nothing more will be spoken of him.

As you can imagine, moving is a difficult process to begin with.  Moving while pregnant even more so.  So many emotions are amplified, as are the things you can't help with like lifting and carrying.  I am a helper, and a people pleaser, so for me it was emotionally difficult to not help (even though we had movers).  Then came the struggle of being, seemingly alone, in a new state and new place.  My family is from Oregon but they all live in Portland or the "college region", which spans Corvallis to Eugene.  I live in Central Oregon about 2-3 East of all of them.  So being near, but not next to a support system was hard.  My dad has been awesome throughout this ENTIRE thing, but my mom is still in Indiana.  For all of our hard times, it is difficult not having your mom near you when you are on the roller coaster ride of pregnancy.  We talk frequently, but it is not the same as having her here.  It has also been hard adapting to being a single mom.  To all single moms out there, you are the strongest, bravest women on this planet and you can truly do anything!!!

Being in Oregon has had its fair share of ups & downs, but I will never regret moving "home" ever.  I am still friends with the women that are my true friends, and no matter where we live that will never change.  I am finally getting really settled here and in my own life.  And it has been truly amazing.

Revamping this blog recently has definitely helped.  It has helped me focus on things that are truly fun for me to write about and create.  This will not become a mommy blog, but a blog of things that inspire me to create and be better.  This is my fun time and my fun space!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

xoxo,
-J-

Room Design

Hi lovelies!!

I hope you had a great weekend! It was super HOT here.  Bless those outdoor weddings for enduring the heat!

I have recently rekindled my love and passion for interior design.  Maybe it is due to redesigning, and nesting, in my room, but I am obsessed!  I have been using the web application Polyvore(R) to design a few spaces.  (If you want to follow my polyvore click here!)

After being inspired by assorted design blogs, catalogs, and websites, I knew I had to start "decorating" in a visual forum.  Insert Polyvore!  I had though Polyvore was only for clothes, but NO!  I did some quick browsing and found some home wares on the site. (much to my extreme joy!)

Here are a few of the rooms I have put together so far!  (These are screen shots from my polyvore, the items are from sources on polyvore)

1) Palm Desert Siting Area

2) Pastel Office

{If you visit my polyvore you will notice a third interior.  Try as I might screenshot and this particular room were NOT getting along when I was grabbing these.  So, please jump on over there if you are interested!}

My personal favorite is #1.  But I am "designing" these space for others to look at, and possibly build a small internet based portfolio.  Please feel free to leave comments and words of wisdom in the comments section!!

I hope you enjoy these little spaces!

xoxo,

-J-

Processed to Curly: Part 2

Hi lovelies!

I know you all are SUPER concerned about my hair. It's a crucial topic for a lot of women, and I honestly have never had complaints or issues with my hair... Until now.  I very rarely have I had "bad hair days" or serious salon blunders, and I know I am very fortunate in that.  But now my hair has morphed into a semi-untamable beast.  (If you have curly locks like I do, you understand every day is a new day to "tame the beast.")

Week 1 is behind me, and I've got to say, it has been FRUSTRATING!  I spent all of 10 days washing my hair with a baking soda mixture and apple cider vinegar/water mixture before turning back to shampoo and conditioner.  In the past two days I have added argon oil & a mild frizz tamer.

Baking Soda & ACV Rinse:
I've got to say, for all those advocates out there, this did absolutely nothing for my hair.  Maybe I didn't keep with it long enough.  Maybe my hair is too damaged for this routine right now.  Who knows!?! (A hairdresser probably.)  It dried my already damaged and brittle locks WAY too much for my hair to anywhere close to manageable.  My hair just became very frizzy, kinda kinky, but mostly limp and straight.  Here are some pictures of my hair using this routine:

Top 

(how awful is that?! It looks, and feels, like straw!)

Middle 

(Not too bad, still pretty frizzy and limp)

Bottom

(Oh sweet shine and body!)

Shampoo & Conditioner:

After seeing my hair the day I took those pictures, I snapped, wholeheartedly snapped.  I just want what my hair used to be back.  Maybe this is repayment for a couple years of styling twice a week.  

So, the next day I ran errands and made sure one of my stops was a beauty salon to purchase S & C.  I am currently using Paul Mitchell(R) Awapuhi Shampoo & The Detangler. These are two products I grew up using, and in silly teenage angst or whatever, I abandoned them at the first chance I had to buy "my own products."  Silly, silly me.  Sometimes mother does know best.  But I have gone back to them, and so far my hair is more manageable.  It is still unruly, but I honestly think it needs a cut. 

I have only washed twice with the S & C, but I can tell a minor difference, that I think, in time will be far greater.

*Side note: I will be doing a blog about Paul Mitchell products, and in it I will describe the benefits of both products listed above.*

Finishing Products:

I have only been using any finishing products the last two days.  One day was a wash day, the other was just a normal shower.  (Wash days are days I S&C my hair.  Typically twice a week, on non-consecutive days.  "Normal" days are days I exclude S&C from my routine, or add a tiny bit of C to the ends.)  

The products I have been using are: A sample size of Redken(R) Argon-6 & Davines(R) MOMO / fluid Moisturizing Anti-Frizz Protective Fluid.  How I use these products: I place a quarter size dollop of MOMO in the palm of my hand and add 3-4 drops of the Argon-6.  My hair is noticeably softer, and mildly less frizzy.  The hairline around my face, and crown areas, are deeply damaged, so there is still quite a halo of frizz in these areas.  However, the rest of my hair is reacting quite nicely to these finishers.  However, I may not continue with them once they are gone.  I prefer Moroccan Oil(R), and I haven't found a Davines(R) retailer where I currently live.

Hopefully, I will have some progress to show and tell about in next week's, Part 3!!

xoxo,

-J-

happy thoughts

via.

happy thoughts for this week:

1. It is FINALLY getting warm here!  Now, the weather can be quite fickle in this part of the world, but it is mostly nice here constantly!

2.  "Remodeling" my room/nursery!  And by remodeling I mean striping a horrid wall of its color and texture and rearranging the furniture.  (Blog on this process to come!)

3. Buying two very flattering, very comfortable maternity maxi dresses. It's about gosh darn time!

4. BERRIES!!! Lots and lots of berries.  That are OH so yummy!

5. Missing my pre-pregnancy clothes.  How is this a happy thought you ask? Well, I am looking forward to wearing them again.  It means I have accepted my body and my pregnancy.  Also, that I appreciate the clothes I have curated over the last few years! And I really do.  So I am excited to wear them once again!

What are some happy thoughts from your week??

xoxo
-J-

Happy Birthday America!

I hope you all have a safe and fun Fourth of July!!! Hopefully the weather is good for everyone and you get to celebrate with friends and family!

I will be working tomorrow but will have the night off to spend with my dogs and my dad.  And hopefully catch a glimpse of a firework or two!!

xoxo
-J-

Makeover

Hi lovelies!!

I recently posted about my hair trials and tribulations, and the drive to "makeover" my hair.  Well,  as I am sure you have noticed there have been a few changes around here too!  This may be a minor, short-lived ongoing process as I settle into a new name (coming soon!) and a new topical theme.  Though AOA served me well for awhile, I felt it somewhat of an obligation to fulfill the theme I had set for it.  The theme, though a very large part of me (planning, organizing, and events) felt much to contrived to really connect with readers the way I wanted to.  So going forward, this blog will be full of things I find inspirational and that I hope you find inspirational too!!

I am going to try my hardest to not make this a mommy blog, no offense to mommy blogs, I just think there are plenty of spectacular mommy blogs out there that are far better than one I could do!  However, there will be some baby/child related things, I plan on publishing helpful and inspiring tips/tricks and ramblings!

If there is a topic you would like to see me cover, please feel free to post in the comments section of any past or current posts, or e-mail me at jrude88{@}gmail{.}com with the title Blog Topic Idea.

I hope you will enjoy me on this exciting ride!

xoxo

-J-

Processed to Curly

Hi lovelies!!

I hope all is well for you all!

For my first post back I will be starting a mini-series that is to last about 6 weeks (hopefully).  Many of you may not know this, but I actually have VERY curly hair, or I used to until I started straightening it and iron curling it twice a week.

I don't know if it is because I haven't had a cute in ages, well months, or the fact that I style it so frequently, or being pregnant, or ALL of the above, but my hair is awful now!  It is so fine and damaged around my face and the top of my head but underneath is so luxurious and thick.  I swear I have at least 3-4 different kinds of hair on my head, which is entirely possible!  I know I have at least 3 types of curls on my head!  The front and top are kinky/frizzy, the middle is wavy, and the underneath is on the curlier side of wavy.

So in order to correct or help mend the damage I am putting my heat styling aids aside for 6 weeks.  One reason is what I am assuming is horrible damage.  The other is out of sheer vanity.  I have found that unless my hair is done and styled I do not feel as though I look attractive.  Ummm, yuck! I have curly hair, if I take care of it, it should be beautiful!

Also, I am trying to break the styling habit, because I certainly will not have 30-45 minutes every 3-4 days to style it with a newborn! I'll be luck to shower every 3-4 days!!

So lovelies, today I am starting a 6 week journey to healthy, natural hair.  I will update you once a week for the next six weeks on the progress of my hair!

I have stopped using conventional shampoos and conditioners for washing, at least for the next couple of weeks to rebalance my hair.  In turn, I am using a baking soda mixture and an apple cider vinegar diluted rinse.  I have used this method twice and so far my hair is softer, but much, much frizzier!  But I chalk it up to hair detox! Hahaha.  I am considering adding a Nioxin(R) product into the mix called Diamax(R).  Now I do not necessarily have thinning hair, I don't believe, but this product is said to increase the shaft size of your hair, making it more voluminous.  And since one of my main issues is the thinness around my face and crown, it may be worth a try.  I have also noticed a general "thinning" or loss of body in my hair.  This is most likely due to any chemical treatments and heat styling over the years.  So, I thought I would take a step in slowing the process.  Hey, its worth a try, right?!?  If I do begin to use this product, I will let you know when I start, and how it is progressing.  I will also let you know if I add a curly friendly shampoo & conditioner back into my routine.  It will most likely be Paul Mitchell(R), a brand I grew up using, or rather my mother used on my hair and I never stopped until those awful rebel teen years.  I could write an entire post on Paul Mitchell(R), and I may when I do re-incorporate their products back into my routine.

That is all for now loves.  I hope you have had an incredible weekend and have a safe, FUN Fourth of July!!!

xoxo,

-J-