How To Dye Your Hair Purple

I have been obsessed with purple hair for a while now. I have a whole board dedicated just to purple hair on Pinterest. Last year right before we moved I dyed my hair purple using a brand called Special Effects. The color turned out really cool, but it didn't even last a week. Huge bummer! I am no stranger to dying my hair funky colors, so I know it fades quickly, however that was a little too quickly for me to be able to maintain long term.

Then I decided to get my hair highlighted (which I hated) with the intention of putting purple on it again at the end of summer. It took me 6 months longer then I expected but I finally have my hair back to purple and I am loving it! When I first made the change a few weeks ago I got a few questions on Instagram, so I thought I would share a little bit on how I achieve my purple hair.

Before I dive in, I want to give a quick background of my hair. I have thick, long hair, that is a medium to dark brown naturally. As I mentioned earlier, I had it highlighted last summer, so I probably have 6 inches or so of regrowth. I wouldn't call my hair damaged, but I use heat styling quick regularly so I do experience some breakage. I am also over do for a trim, so I am sure that is contributing as well.

Ok, on to the good stuff. I used the Pravana Vivids in the color violet. The first time I did it, I put it over my natural color plus highlights. The affect was lovely, but still faded a bit quickly for my preference. So this time before I put the purple in I threw some random auburn color I picked up from Target.

It turned out fairly nice. I even briefly considered keeping it the auburn color, but my husband insisted he likes the purple better. If I had more time, I probably would have waited a week between dye jobs, but I only waited a few hours. I let my hair dry naturally after rinsing and conditioning from the auburn. Then i rewashed my hair without conditioner and dried it using the cool setting on my blow dryer before adding the purple. I would also recommend putting some coconut oil around your hair line and neck to prevent any staining from excess color. Better yet, just put a layer of coconut oil over your whole body before rinsing this purple out because it will stain your skin on the rinse. hahaha. I typically look like a purple smurf when I am done and have my husband help me scrub it off.

The directions say to keep it in for like 25 to 30 minutes, but I personally keep it in for an hour. Here is how it turned out.

Memorial Day 2014

I was really looking forward to Memorial Day weekend this year because my husband actually had the weekend off, so we got to spend lots of quality family time together. We have been really cherishing our time together lately because it has been so sparse. Luckily that will be changing soon, but for now we try to soak up every second we have together.

When we woke up on Monday, Aaden and I made some blueberry muffins. We used my absolute favorite recipe, but with a few tweaks based off what we had on hand. I recently picked up some coconut sugar, so I subbed that for white sugar. Some how we were out of both canola oil and regular flour. All I had in the cupboard was EVOO and some chick pea flour left over from my gluten free days. I was nervous about using both of those. I find EVOO does not typically taste well in baked goods. The last substitution I made was using ghee instead of butter. All I can say is wow! They were so good and I felt just a tiny bit less guilty eating two of them.

 

We spent most of the day hanging around the house. The kiddos got a good nap in and then we took a quick trip to the park. We have been exploring all the parks in our new surroundings, and I have to say they have all been lovely. The one we went to Monday though was amazing and we had so much fun together. We brought Aaden's scooter with us. Since he has not quite mastered the art of scooting yet, I hopped on it with him. 

I loved getting that little bit of one on one time with him. I admit that it has been a real struggle trying to balance my time between both kids.

Averlee had fun get pushed around in the stroller with her Daddy.

When we got home, we were so hungry we ate dinner up before I could get a picture of it. I did take a picture of a previous night that we had grilled, so lets just pretend. haha.

 

We also made cherry limeades to drink.

The last addition to our table were some lovely red, white and blue flowers my son picked out from Trader Joe's.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend enjoying family and good food.

Look Inside My Diaper Bag

As I mentioned in my recent What's in my Diaper Bag? video, I got a new diaper bag about a month ago. I searched for several months to find the perfect bag. I ended up purchasing the Lassig Tender Multizip Bag.

When I am searching for a diaper bag I have a few "must haves." I really don't like diaper bags that look like diaper bags. I prefer a more modern looking bag that could pass off as a purse. I also really like it to have top zipping main pocket because when I had a bag that only had a snap closure I was constantly knocking it over and spilling the contents of the bag all over the place. Finally, I like to invest a little bit in a quality bag. This is also do to past experience of buying cheaper bags that met a quick end usually lasting only three to four months. So after a few months of searching I found a winner.



(photo of bag to go here)

It has tons of zipper pockets, which I love. It helps me stay organized, but has taken some getting used to.

The front small pocket I like to call my "Mommy Pocket."

and this is how I like to pack it.

I also usually keep a small notebook in here for writing down blog and video ideas. 

The next pocket in is where I like to keep all of the kids toys and books. Its my "Entertainment Pocket." Everything kept in here is OK for Averlee to play with. She is going through a stage where she really likes to empty things, so I normally just open the zipper and let her have at it. I also keep a bib and a wipe-able placement for when we got out to eat.

In the very middle there is a smaller more hidden pocket where I keep things that I need easy access to, but don't want the kids messing with. In there I keep Aaden's inhaler, my wallet, and some boogie wipes. 

The back pocket is where the magic happens.

This is where I keep all the diapering essentials. I love that it has a specific place for wipes where I can access them without having to pull the whole package out.

The little pouch in front is totally removable if you don't want to use it, which is always nice and make it a little more customizable.

 

It also came with a really nice changing pad.  

 

 

On the very back there is a nice little "Tablet Pocket." I like to slide the nook in there when we are going to appointments and places where we have to sit and wait a while. A nook is pretty small, but I am pretty sure you could easily fit an iPad in there.

Finally, it also has stroller clips. I find that I don't really use stroller clips often, but it is always nice to know they are there. 

*Disclaimer: I purchased this bag with my own money. Lassig has no idea who I am and they do not know I am doing this review. This is my honest opinion of this bag. Amazon links are affiliate.

Easy DIY Cupcake Stand

We just celebrated Aaden's 4th Birthday! He is growing so fast and I feel like there is such a big difference between 3 years old and 4 years old. We had his party yesterday and it was Star Wars Themed. Of course I hunted Pinterest for tons of party inspiration. We went with a gold and neon color scheme. It turned out so awesome! You can see a video of how everything turned out here.

I love DIYing party decor to get the person touch. I normally do a pennant banner or something of that nature like I did for Averlee's party here, but this time I kept it really simple. The main thing I DIYed this party is the cupcake stand. I have used the three tiered cardboard ones in the past and have seriously considered purchasing a nice metal one to use over and over, but I haven't found one that will fit my needs long term. This time I wanted to do something a little different. It was seriously so easy and cost me only three bucks.

All you need is wrapping paper, scissors, tape and different size boxes. (I found this gold striped paper from Target.) I just saved a few from packages from Amazon orders and they worked great. All I had to do was seal them shut, wrap...

and voila!

I glued my two boxes together using wood glue because I was nervous about the top box getting knocked off. Also make sure to leave enough room for the cupcakes to fix when you are sizing the boxes.

I am not the greatest at wrapping but I think it turned out great. :)

I ♥ Freshly Picked {GIVEAWAY!}

I love dressing my kids in cute outfits. When it comes to shoes, I need them to be as functional as they are cute. I searched and searched stores for the right shoes for Averlee. We have had a rough winter here (like the rest of the country, haha) and just socks was not going to cut it like it did for Aaden. When he was a baby we lived in SoCal, and 'harsh' winter temps there hover around the low 50s during the day. It's a whole new ball game being back east and I NEEDED something that would stay on Averlee's feet. Freshly Picked moccasins fit that bill for me. They definitely saved my sanity in more ways then one. In addition to getting a pair for Averlee, we got some for Aaden as well. They slip on super easy so he is able to get them on himself, which is a huge deal for a three year old. He is going through that independent streak where he must do everything himself. It makes my mornings so much easier to just be able to tell him "Socks and moccs," before we run out the door to preschool. 

Since they are soft soled shoes, they are prefect for prewalkers. I admit before getting them I was skeptical that they would be as functional for Aaden. I was totally prepared for them just to be church shoes. He's a rough and tumble kind of kid so I was sure he would rub holes right through the bottom. Oh man, was I wrong! Aaden seriously wears his moccs just about every single day. He has jumped in puddles, stomped in snow, and dragged his feet along the side walk. For the first few weeks he had them I kept checking to make sure they weren't wearing down in the soles. What actually ended up happening was the leather got tougher in certain areas, forming something almost like a calus that one would get on their hand.

 After that I completely surrendered to the fabulousness of these shoes. They have met and exceeded every expectation I had for them. I would buy them again and again.  I plan for my children to have at least one pair in every size until they grow out of them. They have sizes 1 to 10 and are very true to size. (They even have a printable size chart you can find here.) 

 I appreciate all the colors they have. I feel like I can pick colors that better match my kiddos personalities and style. Right now Aaden's favorite color is orange. He has his own little sense of style that orange moccs just match right up with.

 I am swooning over their spring line that they recently released. 

Especially the camo print ones. These scream Aaden and are the the top of my list to snatch up for him when they come back in stock. Since Daddy is a marine, Aaden loves anything camo so he can be just like Daddy. You can check out their entire line of colors here. 

Are you swooning too? Want to win your own pair of Freshly Picked Moccasins? Head over The Eagal's Nest Facebook Page to enter. To see them in action check out this video. 

Be sure to follow Freshly Picked on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with new releases and get notified of sales. They also do tons of giveaway and post lots of kids style inspiration. 



Disclaimer: Freshly Picked sent us the Gold and Pumpkin Moccasins for the purposes of this review and giveaway. I was a repeat customer even before this review. All opinions are my own.