Flat Iron Face-off Winner: BaByliss Pro

Why am I writing about flat irons?  Borrrrrinnggggg, right?  WRONG.  Flat irons are fricken exciting!!!! ESPECIALLY if you live in an area with low humidity like Las Vegas.   I've lived in Minnesota, Virginia, London, and New York, all of which have high humidity.  For a curly girl like myself, humidity is pretty much from the devil.   Now that I live in a dessert climate my hair holds it's style all day long!   That means I don't have to straighten and re-straighten my hair multiple times a day, which means LESS DAMAGE!  Yay!  So I wanted to maximize on this healthy-hair kick and show you all my favorite flat iron because, well, I don't think this baby gets enough credit!  
I used to be a Chi-addict.   I loved my Chi for the first few months... but then I realized it was simply infatuation.   The initial excitement wore off.  I found little things about him, I mean it, super annoying.... the cord tangled up, the temperature only had 1 setting, and I became impatient with the 45 minutes it took to straighten my hair.   I tried out several options, including the GHD, and after reading review-after-review I settled on the BaByliss Pro with 1 3/4" plates, temperature control, and a super cute icy blue color.   This is the BEST straightener I've ever used in the past 10 years.  It's large plates straighten my hair in 20 minutes, it never snags my hair, you control the settings, and the cord is super long!  You can find the BaByliss Pro at ULTA and JCPenny stores if you want to try it out.  The warranty is awesome, by the way.  In fact... I recently dropped my beloved BaByliss in the locker room at Lifetime Fitness... and...uh... broke it.   Oops! BUT, they sent me a new one for FREE within 2 weeks.  I highly recommend this straightener! 

Love,

Dylan

This is the way life should be!

Happy Thursday!

Love,

Dylan

Life Update: I moved to Las Vegas!

I just moved to Las Vegas to start my new job!  I left Minnesota on Tuesday around noon, drove through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, and finally arrived in Nevada on Thursday morning.  It was a 26 hour drive.  Once we arrived we went apartment shopping and visited about 5 different places.  I signed on an awesome 1 bedroom apartment that I can move into next Saturday.  Until then my home is this hotel-- the breakfasts here are amazing though, so I can't complain!  

We did a lot of shopping for apartment things, a bed, and more work clothes.   On Friday we spent our night on the Strip... but we spent a lot more time there than we intended.   Lesson Learned:  Always check your oil after a road trip, even if you're not close to being due for an oil change.  

I dropped my mom off at the airport last night, and I'm officially on my own!  Here are 5 things I have noticed since arriving in Las Vegas. 

1. My hair is way more manageable, thanks to no humidity. 

2. Never go through a green light on the las vegas strip if there isn't enough room for your car on the other side of the intersection.  

3. Parking is free everywhere.

4. There are a couple of new favorite stores that I love love love... one being "Hottie." 

5. Just because the car next to you has a limo tint on their windows... it doesn't mean they are famous.  

Alright, now I'm off to go try out a church :)  Please keep me in your prayers as I start work tomorrow!

Love, Dylan

Minnesota Bucket List Before Vegas! 30 Must-Do's

It's official-- in less than 1 week I am moving to Las Vegas!!!!  I know I will miss family and friends a lot, but I am beyond excited for this opportunity and adventure.  Before I head out there were a few things on my Minnesota bucket list that I have to complete.  Some of them have already been done, but I think this is a pretty fun list of things to do, even if you live in Minnesota or are visiting Minnesota.

1. Mall of America.... Obviously #1

2. Happy Hour at Brit's Pub in Minneapolis

3.  Swimming in a lake

4.  Completing daily 5 miles with my puppy

5.  Lifetime Fitness daily for work outs

6.  A hair cut/style from Shayla at Rocco Altobelli in Minnetonka (I would recommend her to everyone!)

7.  Visiting G Mama in the nursing home
8.  A Twin's game
9.  Going to the Paul Michell album release party this Saturday-- RSVP'd here
10.  Filling my house with  bouquets of flowers from my mom's garden to surprise her

11. Extreme trampolining at Sky Zone in Plymouth or Stillwater

12. Antique shopping in downtown Hopkins

13.  Beach days at Lake Calhoun
14. Tubing down the Apple River (the Red Cedar River is fun, too!)
15. Taking my sister, Colleen, shopping
16. Como Zoo
17. Walking down Main Street in the tiny town I live in
18. Eating at Redstone Grill in Eden Prairie on a nice day
19. An outdoor concert
20.  A small town festival or parade
21. Sitting in the steam room at Lifetime Fitness
22.  Stella's rooftop in Uptown
23.  Chino Latino in Uptown

24. A Drag Show at Gay 90's in Minneapolis
25.  Getting all photos printed from camera and starting with a fresh sim card26. Church at Westwood in Chanhassen
27. A county fair!
28. A night of beach volleyball
29.  Sitting at a bonfire
30. Swing dancing in the Wabasha Street Caves (see video)

XOXO,

Dylan

Important Life Event: Meeting Ricky Rubio

Sorry, posting this was long overdue! 

Love,

Dylan

10 Flattering Tricks for Pulling Off Neon Pants or Shorts

Neon shorts and pants no longer have that woah-look-at-her shock factor.  This previously "loud" trend has transitioned into a "no-big-deal" trend.  So, are you ready to jump on board?  Maybe you're still hesitant?  Let me give you a few tips/tricks to help you rock neon bottoms with bottomless confidence. 

1.  Feel like you have lumpy legs?  Solution: Choose a thicker fabric.  Thicker fabric has more structure to smooth over your legs rather than settle into every hill and valley.  Since some neons have a lot of white undertones, light reflects more off of the hills (creating shadows in the valleys), further emphasizing lumps and bumps.  Steer clear of neon jeggings or leggings, and go for a cotton denim with a 5-10% spandex. 

2.  Want to slim your thighs?  Solution: Choose a darker neon.  Rather than lemon yellow or light peach choose a more saturated neon blue, teal, purple, or coral.  Remember, darker colors are more slimming.

3.  What if you can't bare to plaster your thighs with neon?  Solution: Pick up a neon skirt!  Look to a skirt with a thicker cotton/twill fabric that will provide structure and lay over your hips rather than a lightweight jersey knit that will cling to your hips.  See pictures below.

4.  Feel like you're too pale to wear neons?  Solution: Choose bright over light.  Lighter neons with pastel undertones blend in with pale skin, washing you out. Brighter neons create more contrast against pale skin.  Moral of the story:  Brighter, more saturated neons better compliment a pale skin tone.

5.  Where can I get the best neon pants/shorts?  Target, Forever 21, and J.Crew (if you're looking to spend more money)

6.  Feel like neon pants make you look twice as big?  Solution: Go up 1 size.  The last thing we want is brightly colored sausage casing.  Not flattering.  (See pictures above, left vs. right)

7.  Can you mix neon bottoms with a black top?  Yes and no.  In general, neon and black look better when the black top is lighter weight and/or shows some skin.  Really heavy black fabricleather can be visually conflicting when paired with a light and bright neon.  See the pictures below, left vs. right.

8.  What can you wear on top?  There are options. You can color block by choosing a neon that is across from the color wheel or adjacent to the color of the pants.  OR of course you can go for white.  For cooler days or nights I LOVE pairing neon pants with a white cable knit sweater or white jean jacket.
9.  How do you mix colors? Choose colors in the same frame of brightness.  For example, pairing highlighter yellow with navy blue is NOT the most visually pleasing.  Instead pair highlighter yellow with cerulean blue or a caribbean turquoise, both of which have more similar levels of brightness to the yellow.

10.  What do guys think of this trend?  NEWSFLASH: Guys are less likely to care about the color of your pants than they are the FIT of the pants.  If the neon pants make your booty pop then congratulations.  But, regardless of the color of the pants, if the fit is not flattering... well... consider an outfit change. 

xoxoxoxo,

Dylan
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