It's going to be a pink winter :-)

Ok, ok Autumn!!

:-) I am a homebody, and I am always the first person to complain its too cold outside! I bought 2 sweathsirts today and a pink fluffy sweater to make sure I stay extra toasty when there is a crisp wind out there.
If you are gonna wear sweatshirts, then you might aswell look pretty right? Right.

Pink sweatshirt- would look great with black pants.

This grey sweatshirt is covered in pretty flowers.

Sweatshirts often have a bad reputation for being slouchy or untidy, but if you combine it with the right clothes, it can be a statement, even if you are passed your college years. They are comfortable and easy so a MUST have for ever mom, house wife or hard working woman who wants to relax after a hard day. If you pair them with smart pants and a matching bodywarmer, you can look stylish and classy. Add a nice long necklace and some heels and your outfit is complete.

My chunky heels. <3

I can also wear these heels with dresses, jeans, shorts, anything really. I love them so much I might wear them with my wedding dress. Hahaha

Fluffy pink Sweater. SOFTNESS... Mmmm

And of course, it can not be a complete PINK autumn with out.....

PINK HAIR

How to Bleach your Hair Platinum Blonde or White

I am in the process of getting my hair from my dyed black hair to light blonde/white.

Going from dark brown to blonde, first stage. 

It's not an easy process and I have been asking advice from silver haired ladies and searching the Internet for tips and tricks.

I am by no means a hair pro or hair dresser, this is just my own personal experience so what works for me might not work for you.

First of all, you need to get your hair down to a shade of pale yellow. If you do not have experience with bleaching or mixing bleach, please go to a professional or ask a friend who does know what he/she is doing. It's very dangerous to do it if you have no idea what you are doing and can damage not only your hair, but also your scalp.

Buying a packet of blonde hair dye at the drugstore will not turn your hair that gorgeous blonde that you so desire, it will only turn it orange if your hair is too dark!

After the first bleaching session. Orange and copper. Will have to re-bleach the ends in a few days to a week. 

 That means you did not bleach it enough and it will have copper tones that a purple or blue toner will not be able to remove. You will have to wait a week and re-bleach it again, and in the mean time use silver shampoo and A LOT of hair conditioner to keep it from going dry.


Also use hair masks and leave them in over night for a nice glossy feeling. It's very important to feed your hair and keep it soft or it will go to a straw like texture and that is not pretty or attractive.

So please do not try those over the counter blonde dyes.  Rather buy a hair lightener or go to the experts.

Once your hair is a pale yellow, you have a good base to work with. You will need to reduce the yellow colour first. It might take a few bleaches to get the desired colour, think vanilla custard or bananas (peeled!). When you finally have this colour, you can use a toner. Not before as it will have no effect.

Toners are usually a pale violet/purple or blue and it will neutralise your hair colour and remove the brighter yellow bits.

Once the hair is even in tone and as ligt as you can get it, start using the toners. 

These are some good toners. Apply them as soon as your hair is pale enough, on towel dried hair.

Directions SilverTone
This is good for getting rid of yellow tones that remain after you bleach your hair. Silver is great for making bleached hair a silvery grey or for enhancing a blue colour. The dye will have no effect on non bleached hair.

Manic Panic VIRGIN SNOW™
Virgin Snow is a white toner for bleached hair. It's designed for use on hair that is already bleached to the lightest possible shade. It will remove all yellow from your hair. If you use this, leave it in for at least 30 minutes and cover it with a shower cap or plastic to create some heat. It will speed up the process.




Goldwell Oxycur Platin-lighter Powder
This can lighten your hair up to 7 shades, so its a good product to use if you still have dark hair and need to get it to a more platinum shade. This gives the perfect blonde colour. If you want non of the straw like texture or blotchy coverage, then get this.

Roux Fanci Full Temporary Color Rinse
This is a light gel-like product that is easily applied to damp hair. Comb it through for an instant brightening effect. It does not damage your hair.

The lilac will give you a paler colour. 

If you find your hair to be turning blue or purple just get back in the shower and rinse and rinse. It will wash out, so don't worry or freak out. Now depending on your hair, you should see results such as these.

Or if you are very lucky, then you end up with this :

Buying a silver shampoo is a good idea. You want to keep using it to make sure you keep the yellow tones or copper colours from creeping back into your hair.

Schwarzkopf Reflex
L óreal Silver Shampoo
Indola Silver Shampoo



You will have to redo your roots every 4-6 weeks.

Or if none of the above works for you- then you can always try a wig, like me :-)

White wig, the altarnative 

What is Steampunk

Steampunk you ask? It's an adventure for all ages...
It's something different to almost everyone you ask but breaking it down, it is essentially a sub-genre of the fantasy culture. Here are some key words to describe it:

Victorian
Jules Verne & H. G Wells
Industrial revolution
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Tea Time
Clockwork Mechanics

Old inventions are re-invented as elaborate works of art and fashion. Imagine old Victorian England and then it taking a course into a different future universe. I like to use the term "Futuristic Victorian" actually when people ask me what steampunk is to me. 

In the last few years, Steampunk has evolved and has become integrated with music, fashion and design, film and even for some, a life style. People want to "steampunk" their gadgets, such as computers, phones, ovens, and even cars! It's a creative outlet that let's you explore and experience all the machines from literature from Jules Verne & H.G Wells and more. 

The "Guidelines of Steampunk"

*It should be based on the Victorian era
No matter how outrages your idea's are, or how far in the future you want your project to be, it should always hae a sold Victorian base.

*It should include moving mechanics or steam powered gadgets. It must be functional

*Goggles - for some reason or other this is the most frequently seen steampunk accessories. You can't be seen with out it. 

*It must be brown, tea stain or sepia in colour. Imagine old, faded Victorian photographs or old moving pictures. Seeing as this is just a rough guideline, you could how ever make it as bright as you wish, but always include some element of brown or earthy tone.



Oh my goodness, so many explanations when pictures really do say a 1000 words. 

Movies featuring Steampunk

*Wild, Wild West
*Back to the Future part 3
*City of Lost Children
*League of Extraordinary Gentleman
*Treasure Planet by Disney
*Sherlock Holmes - 2009
*Hellboy

16 tips on how to invite passion and inspiration back into your life

Write a love list

Sit down with pen and paper and make a list of everything that you love. Include all the things, people and concepts you are attracted to, passionate about and interested in. Don’t limit yourself.

 

Take opposite action

Very often, what we most feel like doing is not what would help us the most. So if you’re having low energy – you often feel like hanging out at home, while getting out and doing something actually would be more helpful. The same thing goes for feeling uninspired – we often don’t feel like doing anything. So whatever it is you want to be doing right now – try experimenting with doing the opposite. Sometimes doing something you’ve never done before will excite and ignite you like nothing else.

Loosen up

Being uninspired and feeling detached often has a physical component, as we very often end up stationary or doing physically slow things. A good way to guide yourself to a better mental state is to do something physical, like dance, running, or hiking – or yoga. Anything that will move and stretch your body will help you thinking become more flexible too.

Do something fun and unusual

I know you’re not feeling it right now, but there’s nothing like doing something spontaneous when you’re uninspired. Try something you have never tried before, like a trapeze class, a photo safari or go to a lecture on a topic you know little about yet.

Pump up your creativity

Even though you might not feel particularly creative, doing something that requires you to stop thinking and start doing is usually a great way of getting inspired. If you need ideas – try fingerprinting, writing or crafting something with your hands. Pinterest is great for DIY ideas!

Talk about your dreams

Tell a friend about something you would like to do one day. Try to describe it in as much detail as possible. If you don’t have a friend you can talk to about this, try writing it all out. See if you can reconnect with a dream by thinking differently, or connect with a new dream entirely.

Smile and laugh more

Smiling and lauging – even faking it – will make you feel happier. I’m not encouraging false laughs here, but if you are feeling low and uninspired, try watching a comedy or just smiling to strangers. This totally works! You might feel goofy, but if that can make you laugh of yourself – even better!

 

Focus on what you are feeling, not what you aren’t

As the Buddha said; “Suffering is arguing with reality”. When you are feeling flat, uninspired and tired – but feel like you should be feeling passionate and excited about something – you feel even worse than if you just focus on what you actually are feeling.

Do what interests you the most

You might feel like nothing excites you. Like you don’t have anything. But I’m sure there is something in this wide world of possibilities that is more interesting than other things. You don’t have to be wildly in love – just moderately curious. Start there.

Let nature hold you

Sometimes all we need to get back on track is to allow ourselves to be off track for a bit. Take a walk in nature, walk barefoot on the beach, lie down in the grass and feel the earth support you. Relax, then move on.

Pay attention to your black and white thinking

When we are not in our element, it is very easy to slip into absolute thinking. As in “I am never inspired. Or I am not interested in anything. Or I always feel stuck”. Watch out for words like never, always, nothing, everything, everybody, nobody, everywhere, anywhere etc. Try to see if there is a good middle way in there. A good way of checking your thinking is to ask yourself “is this true?” whenever you catch yourself thinking in absolute terms.

Don’t be avoidant, isolate yourself or over-think

One of the best pieces of advice someone gave me when I was searching for my purpose and passion was to don’t avoid doing things that need to be done (like paperwork and housework), don’t isolate yourself by staying in too much, and don’t think too much about what to do, why it’s not working, where to go and so on. In other words; do the work, get out there and spend more time acting than thinking!

Be limitless

So much of our stuck-ness originate from these short words; can’t, won’t and shouldn’t. So when you are searching for your spark – don’t limit yourself. Do it anyways!

Hire a life coach

Life coaches – like me – are experts at helping people find more passion, excitement and energy in their lives. Why fumble around in the dark when you can have someone guide your way?

Accept

It is what it is. And right now you are not in the zone. And that is alright! Just accepting that can make all the difference in the world. It’s like deciding to stop looking for a boyfriend and then suddenly there he is!

 

Check yourself for depression

I feel that it is important to address this topic too. Loss of interest, flatness in emotions and loss of energy can be symptoms of depression. It’s better to be safe than sorry – the sooner you get treatment the easier it will be. So if you think this might be you, don’t hesitate to get help.