books – The Big Hair Diaries

Florals and 800 Page Books

Published on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

Happy day to you all!!! I hope you’ve been enjoying your week. 💜 Today is a fun floral outfit that is just wishing for spring to be here already. 🌸

I figured, let’s brighten up this otherwise cold and cloudy day where I live and put on some brights:

The skirt is a thrift find and the cardigan is from New York & Company!

I’m still trying to be somewhat warm by wearing my boots (if my feet are cold then I feel miserable!) and since I don’t own a pair of pants, boots are a must for me this time of year. 😀

In other news, I’ve began this book that will probably take the rest of my life to read considering it’s 800 or so pages. The Decameron is a collection of one hundred stories in one book, though!!

It was written in 1353, and the author survived the Black Death (hence why it’s considered such an important piece of literature, because he gives an extremely rare first-hand account of what it was like in the beginning of the book).

The basic premise of the book itself? Ten young people run away from medieval Florence, Italy during the plague to take refuge in the countryside, where they distract themselves from reality by telling each other ten stories for ten days.

Collectively it comes out to around 800 pages (at least the edition I have is around that number!) It will be a long read that will take me through the remainder of the winter, then through spring and summer. I’ve never read a book this long so I can’t tell how long it will take to get through! 😜

What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?! This is definitely the longest for me… 😝

Seeee you next time!

January Friend

Published on January 1, 2019January 1, 2019 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

Hi!! 💙 I hope you are having a great start to your new year, 2019! ⭐️

Did you all enjoy your New Year’s? I really did; I had a little New Year’s Eve party with my mom and sister at home. We had cheese and crackers with a bottle of root beer, and watched the Rockin’ New Year’s Eve countdown. 🎉 Fun fun fun…

Here are two outfits from last week!

I really love exploring the world of colors, and what pairs with them. I remember how much I enjoyed taking Color Theory in college. I could easily spend an hour browsing color palettes on Pinterest, getting ideas for outfits. 💜

I really don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I have started a tradition where I pick out three books to launch the start of the year! And the above book is my first and current read to start off 2019: The Cistercian World: Monastic Writings of the Twelfth Century.

I didn’t know what to expect with this, but I wanted to immerse myself in something that was, hopefully, profoundly spiritual. And boy is that what I got. It’s actually becoming one of my favorite books.

The book is a collection of writings penned by monks, and it’s actually very easy to understand, which surprised me. It’s mostly their thoughts on spirituality and their personal experiences in a monastery. I feel like this book is a gem, like I found it nine centuries later hidden in a tree or something, and I’m getting to see a glimpse inside their world and their thoughts—like a secret friendship.

I wandered around Barnes & Noble a few nights ago, sipping a hot peppermint mocha from the café and perusing the aisles. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when I came across a book for beginning Norwegian!!!

I was so surprised to have found it that I had to get it; I actually plan to study Norwegian after I finish my Swedish course, so it’ll be of good use. The nice thing is that both languages have strong similarities, so I already recognized a lot of Norwegian words.

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My newest illustration: Coffee with Friends. This wonderfully weird gal has insects, a rat, and a plant that is apparently alive and drinks coffee too as her friends. Cute, no? 💜

See ya next time!!!

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Bringing Back the Gloves

Published on November 8, 2018November 8, 2018 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

Happy November!!! ♥

I don’t know about y’all, but I am a really big fan of gloves. I’m aiming to incorporate gloves more into my outfits with the coming cold weather. Although, these really aren’t for warmth as you can see; I wore these this past weekend when it was warm (like 80 degrees).

They’re just added for an extremely old fashion look. And I think I succeeded! The skirt is a hand-me-down (my mom wore it in the 80’s).

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that my inspiration came from watching some 1930’s films as of late. Gloves were a staple back then (as a fashion accessory)…

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it…. *Tim McGraw voice*

I ordered a pair of light pink lace gloves, as well! Can’t wait for those to arrive.

I feel like gloves add such a ladylike look to a dress or skirt ensemble, that you don’t see much of anymore. It’s definitely old school but I say, wear what you like! Whatever that may be, whether it’s something super trendy or extremely outdated! Just dooooooo eeeeeeeeeeet!!!!

It has been a delightfully quiet week, which is nice because next week will be much anticipated!

I ended up with quite a bit of vacation days left, it being the end of the year and all, so I took all of next week off. That paves the way to the GHOST CONCERT next Thursday (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Anyway, that is a LOT of time off, and I’m not even sure what I’m going to do with myself. But that’s the fun part. I will just take it one day at a time… 😃

Other fun stuff from this week…

I finally found a book about the Gulf War. I have wanted to learn more about Desert Storm for WHO KNOWS how long now…finally picked one! I heard this one is really good. Can’t wait to start it soon!

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This is so random, but I ended up going through the entire discography of Sugar Ray this week. LOL!!!

I listen to Spotify a lot at work. Up until now, I’ve only known of Sugar Ray’s famous 90’s hits, but listening to their albums start to finish was pretty darn good, I have to say! Glad I listened, two thumbs up 👍🏼👍🏼 .

In retrospect, I’m going from listening to every Sugar Ray album to being catapulted to the polar opposite end of the musical spectrum and will be under the same roof as Ghost next week…someone pinch me because I feel like I’m dreaming!!!

‘Til next time!!!

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Little Red Coat

Published on October 6, 2018 by hellosamanthadear9 Comments

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♥♥♥ Happy October!!! ♥♥♥

Well, the month has arrived! Let the fun holidays of the ending half of the year begin. I wore these on the second day of October, so I didn’t waste a moment to get started on Halloween. Nice touch, no?

And the spider background is a foreshadowing to my Halloween costume…muuahahaha.

Pumpkin cookie from Panera…yumm. 🎃

We had our first rain this week! It started at a whopping 6 a.m., in which I heard the distinct sound of rain pouring down on the roof. I was ridiculously excited; it doesn’t rain here at all during the summer, so this is truly a reason to celebrate. 😉

Rain, at the beginning of the week.

End of the week.

The rain didn’t last long, unfortunately. I managed to see a huge lightning storm that was happening to the north while I was driving on the freeway at night, though. 🌩

Since the cooler weather is on the way, I’ve brought out some jackets. Here’s a red one I wore this week!

I’m really glad I have this little red jacket. It’s quite warm, and I also have a new khaki jacket that’s similar in style that’ll be great to wear when it rains. I could’ve worn it this past week during the rain, but it hadn’t arrived in the mail yet. Next rain storm and it’s onnnnn!

My current read!!! After being knee-deep in a book about the Black Death for the past few weeks, there’s only so much of the bubonic plague a gal can take. Hence, a light-hearted and happy read was a must after I finished the book. I chose wisely!

I love the show, so it’s easy to love the book.

Here’s a favorite passage I came across:

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I hope you all are enjoying the start of this beautiful month and getting into the festive spirit! I’ll be going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, so I’m super excited about that. There will be photos and a blog post, naturally. 😜

‘Til Then! ♥

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Golden Hour

Published on June 26, 2018 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

Ahh…summer evenings. ♥

There really is something lovely about golden hour, especially in the summer. Despite how hot it was here (a little over 100 degrees or so), I still enjoyed sitting out in my backyard on Saturday evening before I made the short drive to Barnes & Noble later on.

Out here, I get to hear all kinds of things. Mostly the rustle of leaves from the gigantic tree that shades the backyard, and then the hum from the cars on the freeway. It’s a perfect blend of nature and city life. ♥

Just sitting out in my backyard for a little while feels like a full recharge. As much as I enjoy being out and about, I definitely enjoy moments of complete solitude as well. My tiny backyard feels like a secluded corner of the world where I can admire the greenery and be alone with my thoughts. 🙂

My outfit, incidentally, went along fittingly with golden hour on Saturday evening!!!

This is probably my favorite go-to wrap dress. It’s light, comfortable, and simple! I love the color so much. It’s from Forever 21.

Paired with a bow, it makes for a very retro-casual look. And perfect for frolicking around the bookstore, no doubt!

I made this bangle bracelet awhile back. ♥

I got my nails redone!!! This time, much much shorter (well, to me they are short compared to what I previously have had!). I decided to be a risk taker and let the manicurist create whatever design she wanted. Thus, I ended up with an artsy, almost animal-like print on my nails. It’s very different for me, but I love it!

Golden hour…how I love you!!! I managed to take these outfit photos at just the right time, no?

So after this, I went to Barnes & Noble. There’s nothing like ordering a cold drink at the café there and browsing through the store aimlessly, stopping to look at books that catch your eye…

Like this!!!

By the end of the evening, I looked through books about unicorn-inspired food, wolves, and serial killers. A pretty strange mashup but, rather interesting reads nonetheless.

My week has started really nicely! I had a conversation with one of the regulars I see at my favorite coffee shop before work today, and we were discussing creativity. He was talking about how he has learned to appreciate art much more as he’s gotten older, and that ‘creative people make the world a prettier place’.

I love that! ♥ How inspiring!

See ya next time! 😉

Le pique-nique

Published on May 11, 2018May 11, 2018 by hellosamanthadear7 Comments

I’m not actually going on a picnic. But this outfit looks like I am, huh??

Gingham! A print I truly love and find oh-so-charming is coming back into my wardrobe, with summer rolling around soon. It just has that summer feel, so this is the time of year I tend to start wearing it.

It is from H&M, but I bought it last year, so it’s been awhile. 🙂

First off, I hope everyone’s been having a good week! Mine seemed to fly by in a blur. Although, it was a quiet week at work. I’ve been reading a lot, on my own time. My current read is a historical non-fiction book, and actually I’m just about wrapping it up…

This book is soooooooo fascinating, albeit very creepy at the same time. It’s just an eerie subject because the author is concluding that no one will ever truly know what caused this, and I also learned a tremendous amount of things about this time period…some of it, I kind of wish I was still oblivious of.

It mentions the writings of the Brothers Grimm in a theoretical thought, which I found to be super interesting:

So fascinating to think the dancing plague could have been an inspiration in the original Snow White story!

All-in-all, it’s a fast read that pulls you in and keeps you engaged throughout, and I have truly been enjoying it!

Outfit time. 🙂

Ahhhhh…blue and white gingham: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz vibes! I’ve always been fond of her dress in that film, since I was little. It has such an old-fashioned, demure look to it.

And if you add a little floral tie headband in your hair, you’re definitely stepping up the retro look.

Doesn’t the backyard look cute? It’s funny how the entire look of it has changed since it’s been painted green. I absolutely love it.

There was a two-lane highway of ants on that tree, by the way. Silly me had my hand on it until I realized I was not alone. Fortunately I was spared from having any ants get on me…hahaaaaa.

Well folks, I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!

‘Til next time! ❤

Pink Yarn & Navy SEALs

Published on February 26, 2018 by hellosamanthadear10 Comments

Welcome back! 🙂

Crocheted rose pins have made a frequent appearance on my last few blog posts, I know! My sister has been so generous to voluntarily make me a few sets of them. The latest are these light pink roses that will go with a lot of my outfits!

I think these are my favorite! Soft pink is just one of those colors that I gravitate towards, as you all know by now if you’ve been following my blog long enough. 😉

Here’s a nice blurry hand photo…

These are my new favorite shoes, I think! I just got them from B.A.I.T. footwear, and they’re a dream. They’re extremely comfortable and I really didn’t even need to break them in. I have a feeling I’m going to be wearing these a lot. ❤

I know I mentioned in my last blog post that I wanted the next book I read to be something on the Gulf War; however, I couldn’t find a whole lot to choose from on the subject matter. Perusing Barnes & Noble last night, it didn’t take long for me to stumble upon this one: The Last Punisher by Kevin Lacz. I’m already hooked!

Why am I so into military books, you might ask? Well folks, I live a very quiet, peaceful life. Imagine a quiet lake with no ripples on the water. I’m happy and feel blessed that I live such a peaceful life! However, some adrenaline-fueled reading is a nice change of pace to such tranquility. ❤

Tag: books