hearst castle.

last weekend, some buddies and i made the trek to hearst castle.

it's not actually a castle. just a really REALLY big house

built by w.r. hearst ('member newsies?) ages ago.

the house...glorious!

the grounds...divine.

the views...absolutely breathtaking.

i'd be willing to swim in this pool for the rest of my life.

wouldn't you?

seeeeriously. hearst castle. do it.

**yes, iphone pics still. embrace it. and get excited for the

"real" camera photos i took while on the road. they are GOOD!

tell me.

what do you think of this (not so) little headband?

i've wanted one for ages, finally found one awhile ago and

now i just can't decide if i like it.

the floor is now open for opinions. be kind.

holy life.

i haven't blogged in 12 days.

pretty sure that's some kind of record for me.

in case you were wondering, here's what i've been up to:

i got my car broken into. 'twas annoying.

don't ever ever EVER leave anything valuable in your car.

seeeeriously, just don't do it.

i took my floor test at school...i passed.

on to the floor do to real life hair cuts.

craziness!

i baked a vegan chocolate avocado cake.

it wasn't half bad. i'd been wanting to try

the recipe for ages and finally had the chance.

i made this totally rad blanket.

we had a gift swap at school to celebrate

our graduation from core. i drew dez. she's the raddest.

rad dez + rad blanket = pure awesomeness.

what have you been up to the past 12 days?

martha's in london.

today, we took a field trip to hyde park.

pip pip! cheerio!

cutting week: a doll head's story.

cutting week: not as easy as it sounds.

cutting week requires strength, endurance and

a whole lotta stick-to-it-iveness.

no seriously, this biz is hard.

dolly started out the week lookin' a little rough.

washed her up and gave her a nice

square one length. first (sort of) haircut ever.

success.

up next: triangular graduation.

it's the foundation for the haircut mrs. beckham

made famous. 'member that sexiness?

reportedly one of the most difficult cuts to master.

i concur but still...success.

moving on to men's haircuts.

uhhhh yeah...EPIC fail. like seriously folks.

this is my business look. i call it the bruce jenner.

and just when i thought it couldn't get any worse,

i was challenged to create an edgier,

funkier, faux-hawkier men's cut.

EPIC fail! are you seeing a pattern here?

women's cuts: mostly pass. men's cuts: FAIL!

next week: spa week. who wants to get waxed?!

thank you for being a friend.

texture week.

did you know perms are making a comeback?

true story.

classic perms. spiral perms. loop perms.

perms perms perms.

curly is IN!

this week, i looked to these ladies for inspiration.

good ol' dorothy, blanche, rose and sophia.

even after all these years, they never disappoint.

lush lips sink ships.

'member when i was OBSESSED with NARS' cruella?!

here's the thing: i still am! unfortch, it's almost impossible

to find so i was forced to look for a new red. eureka!

enter stila's long wear lip color. it's incredible!

i bought it in lover and intriguing then went back and

bought it in paramour. i am OBSESSED!

RUN, don't walk to your nearest sephora and check it out!

NOTE: i feel like the color swatches are a little "off" on the

website, so i would HIGHLY recommend trying them in store first.

the best.

there's nothin' like a shampoo at the wash house.

i try to spend as much time here as possible.

it's pretty much the best part of school.

in a pickle.

lookin' for a FAB lunch spot?

head over to li'l pickle in costa mesa.

it's the cutest little sandwhich shop

and the food is SO good!

i got #4: the natural. turkey with avocado spread.

and don't forget the pickle! seeeeeeriously good!

need a lunch buddy? i could be persuaded.

gimme a call and i'll meet you there!

trust me, you don't wanna miss out on this place!

ballers.

we rallied the peeps and hit the

bowling alley this week.

as per usual, i whooped up on everybody.

see that? one thirty five, baby!

i wish every night were bowling night.

sort of.

hair did.

i did my first haircut this week! can you believe it?!

yeah, me either. m'girl katie taught a haircutting class

and helped me through it all. i was SO nervous

but m'friend josh was a GREAT sport about letting

me have a go on his glorious locks.

aren't you so proud of me?!

p.s. sorry for all the iphone pics lately.

i don't carry my big girl camera much these days.

i'll be better...maybe.

color week!

it's color week!

yes, it's as scary as it sounds.

mr. chris showed us how to

mix up color with STYLE!

the color wheel is the foundation

for all great colorists.

i won the prize for most creative color wheel today.

i'm not gonna lie, it was a high point in the day.

second only to this fundraising moment.

yes, this learning leader is TAPED to a pole.

anything for charity.

i wish EVERY week was color week!

a girl named paul.

i survived my first week.

not without a bit o' drama and some hilarious stories.

here's a tidbit or two from the week.

these are my learning leaders - miss linda and mr. chris.

they remind me a LOT of jack and karen. it's pretty hilarious.

they basically babysit us for the next 8 weeks.

we learn all the basics from them before we get turned out

to the clinic floor and have to put the teachings to work.

they've got their work cut out for them.

these are my classmates. can you see the wild fear in their eyes?

the confusion, the lack of direction, the inability to process

what the he%$ is going on at any given moment?

yeah, it was pretty much the norm this week. every time a

new concept was introduced, you could smell the fear

running through the class.

this is my arsenal. every brush, comb, curling iron and styling tool

i need to become a stylist paul mitchell will be proud of.

i have to schlep this crap to and from class every day. EVERY DAY.

confession: before these kits were handed out, i didn't

even own a brush. true story.

{p.s. those white boxes are doll heads. more on that later.}

most students spend about 40% of the week in this position.

sitting and suffering through someone learning to shampoo

or round brush or curl or backcomb or any other

of the styling lessons we're given this at any given moment.

in this particular case, nicky (mohawk) had to round brush

my hair straight. sounds easy enough but really isn't.

he learned that real quick. poor sucker.

there's something else you need to know about paul mitchell the

school. these people LOVE to dance. second only to styling, it's

their most favorite thing in the whole world. any time there's

down time,the music comes on, the chairs get pushed back and

the dancing begins. i wish i was exaggerating. i'm not.

not even a little bit.

so far, so good.

besides the fact that my name tag said "paul" the first day

and that i didn't know how to use a curling iron, things are

shaping up quite nicely. i'm really looking forward to spending

the next 11 months of my life here. oh the stories i'll have when

this is all over. and maybe even a tutorial or two. and who

doesn't love a good tutorial?

good hair.

have you seen chris rock's documentary good hair?

it's suuuuper interesting. highly recommend.

school is going great! oh the stories i'll have

when this is all over. i'll fill you in very very soon!

xo

back to school.

'member the first day of school?

the excitement. the nervousness.

it's all coming back to me now.

wish me luck!

i am a girl.

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

have you seen this?! it's ridiculously delightful.

the clothes. the hair. the song.

i've had a major girl crush on brooke white since her AI days.

can't get enough.

shout out to m'peanut for sharing.

animal print.

obsessed with these sharon montrose prints.

i love them all but the giraffe is especially adorable.

seen via a cup of jo and 20X200.

day of delight.

miss katie and i were both free tuesday.

so we decided to have a day of delight and wonder.

we started with the original pancake house.

oh my dee-lish.

katie ate too much. she was sad.

i cheered her up by taking her to the movies

and forcing her to stand in this movie board.

worked like a charm.

after the movie, we had some time to kill

so we headed up to balboa for a stop at dad's.

balboa bars. hippo cookies. heaven.

we cruised pch on the way home and just sung our

little hearts out. it was good times.

all in all, a delightful day. mission accomplished.

what would YOU do if you had nothing to do?

blur blur blur.

santora's pizza and wings.

good friends. good food. good fun.

can't quite get the hang of shooting in

low light situations. blurry and grainy is annoying.

any tips?

seismic waves.

southern california had a 7.2 earthquake yesterday.

holy craziness! it was a doozie.

this little cartoon made me laugh...a lot.

so funny 'cause it's so true.