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"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing...kissing a lot. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls."
Audrey Hepburn


Saturday, June 25, 2016

The Nashville Boogie 2016



It has been more than a month since my return from the 2nd annual Nashville Boogie, and I feel it's time I said a few words about it. Now that the newness and the thrill has faded, it seems easier to give an honest review based on my memory of the highlights and the lowlights (or does that just apply to hair?).

This year, the Nashville Boogie took place between May 12-15 at the luxurious Gaylord Opryland Hotel and we all had very high hopes for it. The line up was incredible, and based on last year's success, it was by far 'the event' I wanted to attend in 2016. So did it measure up?

In a word, YES!



Simply put, I was very upset that I had to choose my event this year. My budget didn't allow for me to go to both VLV and the Boogie, and so we conscientiously booked rooms at both and waited for the band list to be announced. Although I like many of the bands that played Viva Las Vegas this year, the Boogie line-up was on a whole other level. Great international acts like Marcel Bontempi and the Go-Getters, as well as excellent artists in the states, like James Intveld and The Planet Rockers couldn't be denied. Although I knew I would miss my dear friends from the west coast, whom I only ever get to see at Viva, I knew that making the local choice this year was a much more responsible plan.


If you saw my Weekender Recap from last year, you know that the venue is a very big plus in this case. The Opryland Hotel is a legendary hotel of the south, being one of the largest non-gaming facilities in the world, and offers a whole world of options in terms of entertainment. While the food is still expensive, we made better choices this time, like eating our big meal of the day during lunch, so as to take advantage of the better pricing during that time. Wasabi, the asian eatery located with 'outdoor' seating in one of the hotel's three, lush conservatories, was especially yummy, as was the Jack Daniels Pub, which offers a lot of upscale comfort food. The cheesy grits were especially delectable at 11:30pm!



The bands we most looked forward to were staggered throughout Friday and Saturday, so we decided to sit out Thursday and spend that time with our kids, who had traveled to the area with us. We left them with family Friday morning and headed to the Opryland Resort just in time to check in and head to the main event venue for The Doel Brothers, one of my favorite acts of the weekend. The Doel Brothers hail from the UK and offer up some of the best traditional country that I've seen in a long time.
From that point on, the weekend was a rush of running back and forth to the Nashville Palace, where many of our favorite traditional acts were booked. We did a pretty good job hoofing it though, since we saw almost everyone we wanted to. Also, there was plenty of room to dance and cavort and people-watch to our hearts' content.

As far as negatives, there were very few. It was a bit of a walk from the main hotel to the principal venue, and the weather did get a bit chilly sometimes, but honestly who cares about a little stroll when Deke Dickerson is being backed by The Reverend Horton Heat!? I sure don't! And yeah, maybe the sound wasn't the best in one of the other showrooms, and maybe the cars were not as plentiful, but that was easily balanced by the abundance of great vintage shopping, a fabulous western couture fashion show, and the chance to see Chris Issak at the Grand Ol' Opry! So I certainly won't complain.

Let's just say, the Nashville Boogie is definitely shaping up to one of the best vintage themed festivals in the world, and there couldn't possibly be a better place for it than the birth state of so many great musical genres. So in my opinion, it's here to stay!

Give the following video a look-see, for a few more photos and a taste of some of the entertainment we enjoyed over the weekend.
Tim Next Time...
So Long, Dearies!






Friday, June 17, 2016

Using Foam Rollers in Vintage Styles


So many people have asked me to do another tutorial in 'real-time' of myself rolling my hair into a foam roller setting. I guess I sometimes forget that even the basics aren't so basic to those who are just starting out.

Therefore, I created the following tutorial, which is a bit lengthy and chatty, but which really tries to do just that...walk you through the basics of the foam roller set.

In it, we'll discuss a few of the following Frequently Asked Questions, which I will also answer in the most simple way here, but I do hope you'll also watch the demonstration since it's pretty important to the final process:

1. Why foam rollers instead of a curling iron? In southern United States humidity, as in many other tropical and humid parts of the world, a heated set just doesn't cut it...especially on straight hair. Foam rollers are one of several overnight sets I depend on to give myself that retro vibe without having to work too hard. It takes me about 15 minutes to roll up a haphazard set (about 20 to be more precise) and literally 5 minutes to style my hair after I unroll it the next morning. Now I don't do super complex styles for every day (or really ever) so this is the easiest thing I can do to my hair while still keeping it healthy!


2. Is a setting pattern important for every day hairstyles?
Probably not. You'll find that rolling you hair a certain way will likely become your favorite when it comes to the final outcome. But a 'setting pattern' is not necessary for a basic every day style.

3.Do I roll hair wet or dry? I see people do both! As a rule, towel-dried, straight-out-of-the-shower wet hair will be more trouble than it's worth! Not only is the hair more delicate when it's wet, thus risking breakage when you lay down to sleep on the rollers, but it most likely WON'T dry by morning, especially if your hair is wet! Even for the thinnest hair, I recommend starting with dried hair, prepped with a styling lotion, and spraying each section damp before you roll it, concentrating on the ends.

4. What setting lotion do I use? My all time favorite setting lotion was the Sahag Sculpt Mousse, which has been discontinued. Try to find a similar foam mousse that is good for crushable styling (get recommendations from your stylist perhaps) or go with the old standards: Motions Foaming Wrap Lotion and Lottabody Setting Lotion, both available at beauty supply shops. The former is more moisturizing so keep that in mind, and the latter has to be diluted and can sometimes make the hair a little 'crunchy' so use it sparingly.

5. How tightly Do I wind the curl? Pretty tightly! Start at the end of the hair, wrap the ends first. Then tightly roll upwards to the scalp before claiming in place. A tight roll guarantees that the curl will keep its shape as the foam base relaxes and the hair dries.

6. Do I protect the curls as I sleep? With what? I use a chiffon hair scarf OR a hair net interchangeably. The net has more 'give' but also holds nicely and won't slip. So it's probably the best choice. It's also a good option for protection other roller sets. Not a good option for pin curls,however, since the clips will likely tear the net.

Other questions and concerns are discussed in the following embedded video. Thanks so much for sticking around, Dearies!!


xoxo,
Ashley


Friday, June 10, 2016

Belle Blossoms Giveaway!



My friend Heather, at Belle Blossoms, has had a busy few years. Not only was she baking a baby (twice) for the majority of the time, but she still kept adding gorgeousness to her site!

As you know, Belle Blossoms has been a supporter of mine since WAY back...I'm talkin' 2009-sh. So I'm always happy when she sends me new stuff to review and demands that I give some of it to you guys as well! This time, the selection is out of this world. Lots of beautiful extravagant blossoms and don't forget those Grip Tuth side combs and fascinators! She's also just stocking some nylon head scarves for ya'll! So make sure you check out the site here, as well as visit the video embedded below so you can enter to win some of these babies for yourselves!

Giveaway is open to everyone and rules are posted in the info bar of the video. And if you decide to go ahead and purchase you also have the added perk of a 20% discount if you use coupon code LFS16! It's a win-win, so knock yourselves out!