lazy sunday.

here are some images from my latest photo shoot.

the photographer was going for a "lazy sunday" feel.

nothing fancy but i think they turned out nice.

good job, carmax.

photos aren't our strong point.

but when seth comes to town, we always have a good time.

the dinner conversation was...ridiculous.

we laughed harder than we had in ages and ate

the most delicious desserts ever!

always a good time when sethie's in town.

so fast so fast.

how crazy fast have the past few months gone by?

i been doing lots and lots of hair.

photo shoot galore, people. love love love it.

whatcha been up to?

never say never.

i fought it for a long time, but i can't fight it any longer.

one never say never viewing and i've got the younger hunger.

and it's not just his affinity for high tops that's got me goin.

he's just so dang cute. i'll be your baby, JB.

born this way.

confession: i'm gaga for gaga.

not in a cultish, gays for gaga sort of way.

mostly in a "this girl is a marketing mastermind

and i gotta give her props" sort of way.

and my roomie only fuels the flames by bringing

home fashion magazines. gaga looks good.

her new single is kinda catchy too.

don't be a drag, just be a queen.

get it, gaga.

caper 2011!

last week, i hit vegas for a three day frenzy celebrating

the paul mitchell family and the art of hairstyling. caper 2011.

honestly, i'm still recovering. not joking. i've got the

vegas cough to prove it.

i spent a lot of time watching the masters on stage.

angus mitchell, stephanie kocielski, ladonna dryer.

cutting, coloring and styling like you wouldn't believe.

i had the opportunity to work backstage assisting with

the model prep. it was hard work but very exciting and

i learned so much!

yeah, i hung out with the likes of these

lovely ladies - stephanie kocielski and lucie doughty.

don't even worry about it.

this is my new friend ladonna. i'm obsessed.

the feeling's mututal. after i graduate, we're

gonna take over the world together. just wait.

caper wasn't all work. i hung with my peeps a bit.

we dressed in white and ate teeny tiny desserts.

we stood around and looked super cute.

bryce made supermodel faces. it's what he does.

but mostly, we just ooh'd and ahh'd over the

amazingness that was robert cromeans. serious.

caper was RAD. someday i'm gonna be ON that stage.

just you wait and see.

btw.

happy valentines day.

good find, peanut.

love me some divas.

did you watch the grammy's last night?

i thought the tribute to aretha franklin was UH-mazing.

i loved that florence welch was up there AND held her own.

and it's official: i love jennifer hudson. gorg.

nice work, ladies!

naha.

for the past month or so, i have been working hard

on my entry for the student stylist category for NAHA.

i submitted on february 7 (a whole day before the deadline - go me!)

and couldn't have been more glad to have it off my plate.

i celebrated with a trip to vegas! more on that later.

the past several weeks have been some of the most

challenging but also the most rewarding as well. i've never

been happier or more sure of myself. it's a great feeling.

what's new with you?

curly world.

loving that textured hair is so super trendy right now.

i'm feelin' a photo shoot recreating this look coming on.

who wants to be paula's next top model?

via

wise words, indeed.

i've been hustlin' big time the past couple months

and things are starting to happen for me.

i've gotta keep it under wraps for a bit longer

but i'm goin' places. cool places.

places i never thought i'd be going this early in my career.

it's a great feeling.

vidal sassoon.

so. excited.

deep deep deep in love.

i am OB-SESSED with adele. times a gamillion.

her new album is redonkulously good.

her voice. gahhhhhhh. can't get enough.

in my oPINion.

susan turned me onto pinterest a couple of weeks ago

since then, my pin boards have multiplied like wet gremlins.

are you pinning? let's be pin pals.

bakersfield beefcake.

my sethie came to visit this weekend.

we celebrated the birth of our beloved dusty + spent a

good chunk of time be boppin' around balboa island.

oh AND seth got a flat tire. it took a team effort

(and by team effort i mean i stood there and said: "great job!"

while seth + angel actually did work and changed the tire)

but he got the spare on and we were on our way again.

so much a man, my sethie.

come back!

tory's ombre: curly edition.

'member how tors came in for some highlights last week?

well i convinced her to come back in

for a trim + conditioning treatment!

while styling, she agreed to let me play with

her natural curl and see what we came up with.

boom! amazing hair! can you believe this curl?!

AND her hair was super soft and smooth.

call me to make an appointment for the

AWAPUHI GINGER KERATRIPLEX

CONDITIONING TREATMENT!

your hair will thank you!

built a cake.

angel + i baked a cake last weekend. angel's family recipe. important side note: angel's fam is amaze-balls times infinity. and their cake is as amaze-balls as they are. you need this cake in your life. so i'm gonna do you a solid and give you the westover family recipe. get excited.

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut

1 c. orange juice

1/4 c. oil

1 yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1-1/2 c. coconut

1 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. chopped pecans

1/3 c. milk

1/3 c. melted margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine carrots, juice and oil in blender until carrots are finely chopped. Mix cake mix, eggs and carrot mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan (we used a bundt pan...i was in the mood for a bundt cake). Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes (may be a little longer for a bundt). Combine remaining ingredients and spread over hot cake. Broil cake 3 to 5 minutes or until topping is golden brown (THIS IS IMPORTANT! watch the cake VERY carefully while broiling it...it will burn VERY easily and that would just be no good!). Serve warm or cool.

marky marc.

i'm obsessed with the hair from

marc jacobs' spring 2011 collection.

the slick side parts. the soft waves.

GORG.

one year older.

3 friends. 5 guys. balboa bars.

it's a good way to kick off another year of life.

happy birthday, angel!

old hair, new hair.

tors has great hair. long and luscious.

even still, this lovely lady needed a change.

so we spiced up her old hair...

...and now she's got this fancy new hair.

ombre baby! it's all the rage and i'm lovin' it!

soft, diffused highlights. yes yes and yes.

who wants it? come and get it!

golden globes.

i've always loved red carpet fashion

but now that i'm in the beauty industry, i obsess

over the hair. OBSESS. like...big time. so. let's talk turkey.

obv we need to talk about emma stone.

i just did a post with her glorious ginger mane.

do you like her as a blonde? i'm getting used to it.

i really really LOVE her in this peach dress!

i know next to nothing about olivia wilde.

i do know that her hair is R-A-D.

i love that it's all sleek and sexy. it contrasts

nicely with her fancy schmancy gown.

now, onto the pink ladies.

i love everything about each of their hairstyles.

lea's tendrils, sandra's fringe, megan's soft waves,

scarlett's softly swept updo. it's all gorgeous!

i can't resist mentioning sandra + scarjo's similarity.

seems like they share more than just an affinity for

men named ryan reynolds. oh snap!

and finally, i have a love + hate attitude toward

lea michele. i think it's mostly that i have a hard

time differentiating between lea and rachel.

but red carpet lea is almost all hits and no misses.

she gets it every time. can't hate her for that.

what was your fave golden globes look?

stylin.

i made ashley be my model for

a photo shoot last week. old school roller set.

comb it out. tease it up.

miss jade worked miracles with the makeup.

and here's the finished product!

get excited for the pics from the photog.

they're AMAZING!

who wants to model for me next?

W magazine + emma stone.

emma stone is hot. and funny. and hot.

i love this screen test she did for W magazine.

charmed, i'm sure.

btw, i'm obsessed with W magazine these days.

tom ford + curly mohawk. perfection.

i'm obsessed with the hair in this tom ford shoot

featured in this month's W magazine.

then again, i think we've established that i have

an affinity for curly mohawks.

how baking helped me make friends.

so i've been dying to make these peanut butter blondies

since the very second i laid eyes on them.

pretty much, if joy says it's good, it's gonna be GREAT!

see how i threw her name out there? like we're old friends?

yeah, it's cause we are.

i tweeted her a pic of my peanut butter blondies

cooling on the counter. AND SHE TWEETED ME BACK!

see?

we're friends. so maybe we've never actually met in person.

so maybe we never will. but whatevs, we're friends.

in conclusion, baking brings people together.

also, you NEED to make these peanut butter blondies.

they're not just good. they'll rock your world.

the bachelor: second time's a charm?

when it comes to bachelor dishing, i'm no aubs or natalie, but i just couldn't resist posting about this seasons bachelor. the scandal in a nutshell is this: brad womack (aka b. mack) was on a previous season of the bachelor, AS THE BACHELOR, and didn't pick anybody. walked away as a bachelor still. are you scandalized? apparently america HATES b. mack for walking away. fast forward to the first episode of the 2011 season. b. mack spent the first hour of the show talking about how he's a changed man and ready for a relationship. the show even had his therapist vouch for him (awkward).

so what do you think? is b. mack a changed man? maybe he is, maybe he isn't. time will tell. my bet is he caves under peer pressure, picks a lady and then breaks up with her 6 months down the road. isn't that what usually happens anyway?

b. mack drama aside, i think there are some pretty okay girls on this season + some girls i'm gonna love to hate. my fave is nascar emily from north carolina (?). she seems so so SO sweet and nice. i just hope she's not still hung up on her deceased baby daddy (if she is, i can't say i blame her). the other lady that i don't love love love but think is so reDONKulously gorgeous is michelle money. she's the hairdresser from utah. i think she's STUNNING but i sense a whole lotta crazy up in that mess. again, maybe i'm wrong...but prob not. ha.

so yeah...good luck, b. mack, my little hottie. changed man or not, you're gonna need it.

twenty eleven.

a lotta people been hatin' on 2010. me, i'm not sippin' on that haterade. for me, 2010 was the year of the change. LOTS of changes. some good, some bad.

i lost my job.

i went back to school.

i moved.

i moved again.

the thing with change is, it's all about perspective. losing my job sucked. but if i hadn't gotten laid off, i never would've had the opportunity to pursue my dream of being a hair stylist. and moving twice in a year. yeahhhhh. i wouldn't recommend it. but i spent a fabulous 6 months with a wonderful friend who taught me a lot. if she hadn't been willing to let me shack up, i'd never have been able to go to school. and now, i'm back with my angel. we've been roommates before, so she knew what she was getting into by taking me in, but she didn't even hesitate to extend the offer anyway. looking back, i realize it has been my friends that have played a huge role in making my dreams a reality. thanks, guys.

i just spent two weeks with my family in washington. being with them was healing in ways i didn't even know i needed. they are so loving and supportive and i just couldn't make in this crazy world without them. they help me in so many ways; some ways they realize, some ways they don't. i am so blessed + grateful to have them in my life.

i am so fired up for 2011. it's going to be GOOD! i'm looking forward to:

getting unpacked.

graduating from cosmetology school.
passing my state board exam (eek!).
getting a job as a hair stylist.
styling at NY fashion week.
being happy.
helping those around me follow their dreams.

learning how to play the guitar.

i'm sure it won't be easy but it'll definitely be worth it. and really, those are just a few things i have to look forward to. i'm sure heavenly father has plenty of other things in store for me that i couldn't even begin to dream about. bring it on. i'm ready.

what're you looking forward to this year?

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