Brand Crush on Ban.do

I'm crushing on Ban.do; the cutest, funnest, flirtiest hair accessory line. We sell some of their cutie products at the shop where I work and I can't help but try on and mess around with their goodies every time I work. They are based out of L.A. and are constantly coming up with new "have fun hair accessories." 

Being the text, type and image junky that I am, I'm also crushing on the branding and design of Ban.do The fonts and graphics they use are so girly and whimsical.

My hair decided to revolt against me and has started breaking creating these unwanted bang things. I'm going through an awkward stage trying to repair and grow them out, so I've been looking for different ways to pull them back. Their bobbi pins and hair clips are the perfect way to disguise my awkward stage hair.

mint and polka dot $20/peony and silver $10/gold & turquoise $10/good, bad and rad $15

One of my favorite products are their Girl Talk headbands. These little pink metal headbands come in a variety from birthday to bachelorette party. They have wrap headbands, hair ties, flower hair clips and more!

happy birthday $15/hair ties $10

It's hard not to crush on all the Ban.do products. Check out their website or if you are local come into The Social Club and pick out your favorites!

Hooray for Ban.do!

xo annie

Would You Like to Buy Some Girl Scout Cookies?

Can't you just hear the little 7 year old girl at your door now? This post is totally hilarious to me, but I love it. No, I was never a Girl Scout, but I am more than willing to help a girl gain her cookie badge. With cookie season in full swing I am proudly participating. 

A week ago I bought a box of Thin Mints, Samoas and Trefoils. The best flavors in my opinions. To my understanding Tagalongs are pretty great, but my peanut allergy limits my options a bit. 

Anyways, girl scout cookies have been on the brain so I started doing a little research and came up with some fun Girl Scout related links for you guys.

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What kind of Girl Scout cookie are you? I'm a Trefoil (my fav, how perfect)

Recipe for homemade Girl Scout cookies. I have plans to make homemade Samoas, so stayed tuned for that.

The original Girl Scout cookie recipe.

Homemade  Gluten-free versions.

11 fun facts about Girl Scout cookies. 

Do you live in a world of Samoas and Tagalongs, or do you call them Caramel Delights and Peanut Butter Patties? Here is the reason why. There are two different bakeries baking up girl scout cookies every year. My cookies come from Little Brownie Bakers, so I call them Trefoils not shortbread. Unfortunately that means I miss out on Thanks-A-Lots and the new gluten-free chocolate chip shortbread. 

The ultimate cookie sandwich in my mind. Also, when I was little we used to make Thin Mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. A scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiched between two Thin Mints!

How does Samoa fried shrimp or Do-Si-Do thai peanut chicken sound?

Thin Mints take the lead in most popular.

Girl Scout cookie chapstick. Thin Mint flavor could totally be a thing. 

And finally, the cookie finder. Just type and your zip code and you can find when and where girls in your area are selling cookies. 

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And remember Thin Mints are best kept in the freezer!

Annie

Bites of My Life

The amount of cookies, chocolate, candy and donuts I consumed last week is borderline nauseating, but totally acceptable because if was all in the spirit of Valentine's day! Last week was full of studying, baking, yoga, birthdays and a date party. After my two tests I loved being able to enjoy the wonderful weather we finally got over the weekend. This week is looking to be full of more beautiful weather and very low stress when it comes to school! 

I had so much fun blogging last week and it felt great to really be in the swing of it. (I even got to guest post on a few friend's radio show blog) The same can't go for this week. I'm having bloggers block, so if you have any ideas for this week's posts please send me your ideas!

-Major walk down memory lane when I saw a copy of the American Girl Mag. I subscribed to this for about 5 years of my life and have more copies than I can count.

-Girl Scout cookie season, one of the best times of the year.

-My heart nails finally chipped off, but I hope some of you tried out my DIY.

-It's not a holiday without my sugar cookies! I have had this heart bow-and-arrow cookie cutter my whole life and it is still one of my favorites. 

-I loved working Valentine's Day morning and seeing all the boys come in to buy last minute, cards, chocolate and flowers. Here you can see four guys all lined up to get their last minute essentials.

-One of my dear friends took Lauren's calligraphy class last week too. I love having a buddy to practice with.

xo annie

V-day Jams

A little playlist for your holiday. A combination of love songs, break up songs, pump up songs and songs that just have the word Love in them. If you are on Spotify you can follow my playlist here.

xo annie

Valentine Nail Art

I am a very spirited person when it comes to almost everything. I like to really get into things, which includes painting my nails to match whatever holiday is coming up. Red and blue on the Fourth of July and red and green for Christmas. Last year I did a similar Valentine design, but with the traditional red and pink. I'm keeping things a little more subtle this year, but still celebrating the holiday on my nails!

For this nail design all you need is a good beige and white nail polish. I recently bought Essie's "Sand Tropez," and it is without a doubt my favorite nail polish I have ever had. I've had it on my nails for about 2 months. As for white, L'Oreal's "I Will" #220 is a great and doesn't come out streaky. 

Start with a good coat of your beige polish. I always do two coats of polish. (Please ignore my wrinkly dry hands and hangnails.)

Now for the heart. I don't use any special tools or toothpicks. Just get a tiny bit of white polish on the end of your brush and make a little angled mark, to form half of your heart. (Cue "Half of My Heart" lyrics by John Mayer.) The shape of most brushes is kind of rectangular, so use that to make the half. You don't have to make any strokes. I'm sorry if I just talked in circles and that didn't make any since at all.

Repeat the step again, making an angled mark on the other direction to form a full heart! Wait for your heart to dry then top off your nails with a top coat. Now you have subtle but spirited little Valentine nails!

Annie