ootd – The Big Hair Diaries

Christmas Fun and My Newly Acquired Fairy Wand

Published on December 8, 2018 by hellosamanthadear3 Comments

Hallå!!! 🎄

Everyone has their own personal feelings about Christmas time. Some feel that magical joy, others may feel indifferent, and then some may not like it at all for various reasons of their own.

Me? I absolutely looooooove this time of year! BRING IT ON!!!

I took some photos at a local Christmas tree farm recently. It was an enchanting little place that only fueled my already-existing Christmas cheer I’ve been all about lately!

My “not ready for the camera” face…also, this photo accurately shows just how short I am.

This bow is literally a Christmas decoration from Dollar Tree. I turned it into a clip-on pin, and there you have it! I immediately turn into a Christmas present. 🎁

I hope you all feel the Christmas magic in some way, shape, or form. There’s plenty of it to be found; all you have to do is look around, really. ❤️

I have my Christmas shopping complete! My favorite part is wrapping it all up and making it look pretty. In addition to the main gifts, I included pink snowflake confetti, chocolates, German cinnamon star cookies (Zimtsterne)…I went all out!

In my next post, I will show you my gift wrapping! 💜

In other news, I now have a squishy wand in my purse, if I ever need it. For anything. Like maybe, granting a wish, turning a pumpkin into a carriage, self-defense against an assailant, etc. It’s very multi-purpose.

Assailant sitting in jail: “Yeah I went to purse-snatch this woman but she bludgeoned me over the head with a fairy wand.”

This great wand was given to me when I went walking down Candy Cane Lane to see Christmas lights with a group of adorable human beings who dress in Lolita fashion.

DID I MENTION IT LIGHTS UP IN BURSTS OF FLASHES??? 🌟 So not only is it a wand, but it can also be used to have a spontaneous one-woman rave, wherever I go.

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Lastly…I put up my PINK CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

I have always wanted a pink tree! I finally did it and went with a Barbie theme for the ornaments. I absolutely love it and it turned out just as lovely as I envisioned! 💖

‘Til next time!!!

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Harajuku Night

Published on December 2, 2018 by hellosamanthadear6 Comments

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Heeeey!!!

What a Saturday it’s been! I’m happy to share a fun event I attended tonight called Harajuku Night, which was a Japanese Fashion show and concert!

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I was invited to take part in the fashion show, which was totally new and different for me! The J-fashion style that I resonate with the most is hime gyaru, which consists of lots of pink, pastels, florals, bows and big hair. 💜 I incorporated those elements into my ensemble, of course!

There were lots of other girls and guys who took part in the fashion show, and I actually ended up being the most casually dressed of the bunch, haha!! Everyone looked amazing. 🌸

You know, if you’d have asked me years ago if I would have the courage to get on stage for a fashion show, I’d probably say no way. I am really thankful that I’ve grown confidence as I’ve gotten older!

Takin’ the stage…a deer in the headlights!!!

PhEri is an adorable, Southern California-based musical duo who performed after the fashion show, and were the main act. You can check out their Instagram here. They were SOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEE… 💜

So glad I got to chat with them and take a photo! Totally fun night and a neat experience for me!!! ❤️ Aren’t they just the epitome of cuteness?!

I hope you all are having a fun weekend! See ya again soon!

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Thirty-one? Thirty-Fun!

Published on November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 by hellosamanthadear12 Comments

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Hello there!!! 💜

I hope you all are having a splendid week! I wanted to share some photos from my 31st birthday with you guys!

Sit back…and enjoy! 🎁 🎉

Alright, so I wore a tiara all day. This was strangely on my bucket list in life…wear a tiara on my birthday. CHECK!

I received some reeeeally puzzled looks from people but, that’s okay with me. 🙃 I was happy as a clam!

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Can I just say how much I looooooove my sparkly tights I bought off of Amazon?! They just add so much fun to an outfit! I’m obsessed with these!

Some snapshots of lovely gifts I received and yummy food 💜 :

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I HAD A RETRO BARBIE CAKE!!! AND MY FAVORITE ICE CREAM! (with a macaron!) ❤️

I finished the day off with Indian food – my favorite!

This was a fantastic birthday; I’m thankful for another year on this beautiful planet! I love being in my thirties…it’s honestly the happiest I’ve ever been. 💜

I hope you enjoyed…have a beautiful day!

See ya!

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Felt like Being a Cat

Published on November 22, 2018 by hellosamanthadear7 Comments

Hi!!

The title says it all.

Felt like being a cat today, and so a cat I was.

PIN: THRIFT FIND

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I love this outfit because it looks somewhat professional, but the final touch is like, JUST KIDDING, CHECK OUT MY CAT EARS.

Sometimes I wonder how eccentric I will be if I live to be an old lady? Probably very eccentric, to make an honest guess. I aspire to be that little old quirky lady who lives by herself in her cute little house with…no pets, honestly. A nice garden will do!

I hope you all have copious amounts of Thanksgiving food and enjoy your holiday! 😀 Share and spread that attitude of gratitude! ❤️

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An Evening with Ghost

Published on November 16, 2018 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

Hi!!! Last night I attended a Ghost concert in San Jose, CA. And it did not disappoint! I’m still floating in the air… 😍

I have so much to share, so sit back and enjoy. Grab a warm cup of something and be entertained!

Firstly, here was the outfit I picked out:

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This is a closeup of the pin I made for the concert, featuring the Cardinal himself. ❤️

I went for a very bold, girly look, with gloves and pearls…the whole nine yards!

I was even more so excited that this tour – called A Pale Tour Named Death – was featuring songs from their most recent (and my favorite!) album, Prequelle. Apple Music describes it better than I ever could:

“Set in medieval times, when the bubonic plague spread death across Europe, Ghost’s fourth album is a sociopolitical allegory for our own times.”

And set against the ominous backdrop of medieval-looking, oops-I-think-I-walked-into-the-wrong-church stained glass windows, the opening intro was playing “Ashes”, which features children sweetly yet creepily singing Ring Around the Rosie.

And enter, GHOST!

There’s something indescribably majestic, dark, yet beautiful about their concept and their songs, in my opinion. You can’t look away from their stage presence, and the lead singer especially enjoys being comical and also seductive to the crowd. He’ll make you blush, whether you’re male or female! ☺️

Here he was singing Pro Memoria which, funny as it may sound, is a song that helped me overcome an anxiety I’ve had since childhood.

I used to wake up in the middle of the night as a kid and suddenly be acutely aware of mine, and everyone else’s, mortality. I’d then feel deeply concerned.

So when I first heard this song with its haunting lyrics – “Don’t you forget about dying, don’t you forget about your friend, Death” – all I could think was, Hey! This is like the SONG of my long-standing, middle-of-the-night thoughts!

It’s really not an anxiety for me now, but more of an acceptance. Life and death go hand-in-hand, inevitably.

Reading about Jesus Christ helped eliminate a lot of my anxiety towards death, and strangely enough, Pro Memoria, which on the opposite end of the spectrum references Lucifer reminding us of our mortality, helped dissolve that anxiety for me.

People ask me why I typically seem so happy? That’s simple. Someday we won’t be here anymore…that’s all the reason to live each day with as much gratitude as you possibly can. I have air in my lungs, so it’s a good day. ❤️

“Black candles burn, all minds aligned…”

It was an amazing night, and one I’ll never forget! I’m just so happy I managed to get a perfect, clear photo of him dressed in his red Cardinal gown – my favorite of his outfits. ❤️

‘Til next time!!!

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Doll Parts

Published on November 13, 2018 by hellosamanthadear5 Comments

Hey hey! ♥

Don’t ya just love when you find one of your favorite albums on vinyl? I managed to get Hole’s 1994 album Live Through This this past weekend!

I really love this album; it has that distinct 90’s sound I’m quite partial to. Courtney Love has such a unique, edgy voice and there are a lot of great songs on here, in my opinion! “Doll Parts” and “Miss World” are my two favorites. ♥

I plan on collecting more 90’s records I love. The next one I have my eye on is Dizzy Up the Girl (1998), my favorite Goo Goo Dolls album. 🌸

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Again, the gloves are back…don’t be surprised if you see these more often! These are the pale pink ones I’ve been waiting for… 😃 😃 😃

Shades of purple!!! 💜 Can’t go wrong with that, am I right? Paired with the gloves, I just really loved this outfit. REALLY LOVED IT. Plus, the sweater was warm (it’s getting chilly).

So, I was thinking today; who was your first style inspiration? Did you have one? I certainly did, and here was mine, funny enough:

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You didn’t see that coming, did you?

Poison Ivy from Batman and Robin (1997) was my first fashion inspiration as a kid. I was 10 years old. Her over-the-top style and the fact that she was nuts made her all the more endearing, but the main appeal for me was her hair. I actually wanted to style my hair just like the above picture at the time, but I reached a compromise with my mom and ended up making my own ivy headband (Haaa! My first DIY project!) that emulated what she wore in her hair here:

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I wore that headband all the time. I even had lime green sunglasses like the ones she wore in the movie.

And that was just the beginning of what was to come of my future in dressing myself. I think this was the starting point in which my family at first, when I’d debut something interesting I wanted to wear, would answer with a collective “…why?”

But then it was too late. From then on I swam so far out into my own ocean of fashion lunacy, that they decided to just smile and wave supportively from the safety of the bay docks, rather than try to swim after me and stop it.

Figuratively speaking, of course…

Which is good! 😀 I’m glad self-expression was an okay thing to embrace growing up. If it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be who I am today, which would make me sad. 🙁

Snap shots from the start of the week!!!

I went to a Parisian-themed café:

I then took a nice nature walk and enjoyed the changing of the leaves:

So needless to say, the start of my vacation week has been splendid! 💕

See ya next time!!! Ghost post is next!

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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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