Wedding Hair!

I'm back!  I finally submitted my final term paper on Tuesday night, which means I'm back in business!  I've missed the blogging world. 

I thought I'd start off with a quick post about my wedding hair.  If you remember, I'm getting married in a few months!  I decided to book a hair stylist that will come to the wedding hotel in the morning.  That way, I don't have to a) find a hair salon that will be open at 8 am on a Sunday (on a long weekend to boot!) and b) have to transport 2 bridesmaids + my mom to said hair salon.

I wanted my hair to be down, because when I wear it up it feels too much like I'm about to do research or work out.  Also, my hair is super thick (think like a horse's tail) when it's up in a ponytail.  I can only imagine how much hair spray would have to go into it to make it stay.  It would probably be a pile of concrete, which would be a nightmare to comb out the next morning.  I also wanted my hair to be curled, because if I was just straightening it I might as well do it myself. 

On a side note, if you have super thick hair and need a product that will help you style your hair and dry it in a manageable time, try Aveda smooth infusion style-prep smoother.  I guarantee you that it works, and is well worth the money.  Check out the reviews here.

Okay, back to my hair.  I had my hair trial with the stylist, and she did an amazing job.  Mind you, there is a lot of back-combing that will hold in my super amazing veil (that I picked out and put on hold before I found the dress, thank goodness it matched!). 

I absolutely love it!  I can't believe my wedding is only a few months away.  It's all so exciting!

So I dropped off the face of the Earth...

Dear readers,

I'm terribly sorry I haven't posted in a long time.  Graduate school became much more of a time suck than I ever could have imagined, which has taken a significant toll on my Yelp reviews, Twitter, Facebook status updates, and most importantly, this blog.  I am very poor at time management, especially when I'm stressed out and balancing assignments/exams/wedding planning/volunteer obligations.  It is not fair to you readers.

I have one major exam on Tuesday, and then my schedule should calm down a bit.  Until then, please check out my Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/fashionchemist/) and look here for more posts very soon.  Please keep following, I promise it will be worthwhile!

Sincerely,

Martina

Wedding Dress Shopping

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger.  But, now I have more exciting things to post about!  One of my lovely bridesmaids took me wedding dress shopping, and I thought I'd share some of the dresses I tried on.  Now, my fiance reads this blog so I can't post about what kind of dresses I like (I don't want to spoil the style of dress I'm thinking about), but I can definitely post about the not so pretty dresses.  I really wish I had taken photos, but I don't think you can do that? 

I know a lot of girls were excited about the Twilight wedding dress, and have even been faking engagements to try it on.  I haven't seen Breaking Dawn Part 1, bu I decided to try on the infamous dress for kicks, mostly. 

If you are short, small in the bust, and require a bra, this dress will NOT work for you.  It was the only dress I looked absolutely atrocious in.  Really girls, Kristen Stewart has a very special figure for this dress that 99% of the population does not have.  Don't do it!

I was really, really excited to try on some of the Disney Princess wedding dresses by Alfred Angelo.  The bridal shop we went to only had the Cinderella and Snow White dresses, so I tried on both.

Here is Cinderella's dress.  I tried this on, and it is really quite lovely and sparkly, but for my wedding I want something a little bit different. 

Here is Snow White's.  It's very cute and whimsical aka not my style at all.

I really wish they had the Ariel, Belle, or Sleeping Beauty dresses, because I would have loved to try them on.

I ended up painting my nails "Yodel Me On My Cell" by OPI the night before I tried on dresses.  Now, originally I was going to paint my nails a stereotypical light pink for my wedding.  Now I'm not so sure, the nail color really popped against the white dresses.  Maybe I should consider a bright pink instead of subtle?

Now on to something that horrified me a little bit.  I was looking at garters, and I noticed that there was a huge selection with "Prom 2012" and "Grad 2012" written on a ribbon in rhinestones.  Now, garters are really pretty, and really I have no idea what color or style I'm going to choose for my wedding.  However, is it really necessary for 17 year old girls to be wearing a garter to their prom?  It's just asking for trouble, really.

What I Read On The Internet

I would like to apologize, once again, for being MIA from this blog.  Somehow the life transition from working to graduate school did not go smoothly.  In fact, I would say it went quite poorly.  But I'm back, everybody!  I have lots to update (even more since I never did write the posts I promised), but I'm going to start updating slowly.  Thank you to all of my followers who didn't abandon me while I've been neglecting to post, well, anything. 

So, let's start with the websites that I was actually keeping up with on my blogging hiatus.

Give Me Back My Five Bucks - This is probably the only money blog I read.  I can't really recall how I discovered it.  It's about a girl who was in a ridiculous amount of debt, worked super hard to get out of it, and is now giving great money advice in Vancouver. 

Rocket Shoes - I found this blog because the writer wrote a post on A Day in the Life of the Modern San Franciscan, which made me laugh.  I just like the mix tapes the writer posts along with every blog entry.

The Frenemy - I really wish I was real life friends with this girl. She just sounds awesome.  Words won't do it justice.

1000 Awesome Things - Why buy the books when you can read it online for free?  At the very least, the blog posts will make you smile.

Thought Catalog - A smattering of really interesting (and true) observations about life.  There's something for everyone!


Celebitchy - My first choice for celebrity gossip. 

Lainey Gossip - My second choice for celebrity gossip.  She's even based on Vancouver!

Television Without Pity - I go here if I missed an episode of a popular show, or if I want to see what the fuss is about with a show without actually watching it (*coughGleecough*).

I also follow a few Blogger blogs, which you can see from my profile.

So, that's where I waste time on the internet.  I guess we can also count Facebook and Yelp.  I'm kind of over Twitter (though I envy people who post 10+ times a day).  I guess I don't think I'm that interesting?

Why I've Been MIA

Okay, I am officially a bad blogger.  After the whole Anthro ordeal I sort of stopped checking out a lot of blogs for a few weeks.  I unfortunately didn't post anything new on my end either.  I really want to elaborate on a lot of these topics, but here's a quick update on what's been happening with me.

First off, I got engaged!!! My wonderful boyfriend now fiance proposed last Monday at the Rose Gardens on campus.  I didn't expect it at all, and it honestly hasn't sunk in yet.  We're planning to have the wedding next year, but for now I'll post the one thing every girl probably wants to see, which is the ring!

It's absolutely stunning in person.

He also bought me the most gorgeous pink roses.  They lasted so long! 

If you follow me on Yelp at all, you'll notice that I finally got my shiny Elite '11 badge!  This just goes to show that if you put the effort in, write quality reviews, and interact with other yelper's you can become Elite too!  I went to my first event last night with my fiance, and it was really fun!  We met lots of great people, and I hope I can attend another Elite event soon :)

I've been super busy with graduate school.  Between being a TA, my involvement in two committee's, and my courses, I've been jam packed busy.  I didn't realize how much work being the secretary of the chemistry graduate student society was, and I can definitely handle it, but it was a bit of a wake-up call.  I have to give a presentation on a research article in one of my classes next week, which is a bit scary, but I'm sure it will go fine.

So yeah, I feel really bad that I'm not blogging more.  I do have lots to write about, I just haven't had time to write it all out.  Please bear with me followers!  I promise I'll write more posts!

My Thoughts on the Anthro Ordeal

I'm sure most fashion bloggers have heard about the controversy that's unfolded in the past few days.  I don't really feel the need to re-explain the whole situation since it's plastered on blogs and forums.  If you're interested, here are a few links:

GOMI Discussion
The Pursuit of Hippyness: Her Personal Experience
Anthroholic's True Colors
Effortless Anthropologie's Post (read the comments)

I'm really new to the fashion blogger world.  I only started reading the majority of these blogs a few months ago before I started my own blog.  I unfortunately don't blog often, but I do read posts every day on my breaks.  I have been a fan of Anthroholic's blog for months, and even posted at the end of August that I was featured in one of her Reader Outfits posts.  I wasn't even aware that she offered a personal shopping service.  I only knew about recent contests on her blog because I entered a few.

I have a lot of sympathy for the countless victims of this deception.  There is no good reason that this should have happened, and I really hope that everyone receives the refunds they are entitled to.  The manipulation and quite frankly abuse of those affected is wrong on every count.  I fully understand why the victims kept believing the lies and deceitful messages they received, because the impression Kim gives on her blog is one of a sweet girl who's unequivocally in love with fashion and Anthropologie.  When you read someone's blog and exchange messages for a long enough time, you start feeling like they're a friend, and therefore someone that can be trusted.  Unfortunately, this situation has rocked a lot of people's confidence and trust in the fashion blogger world.

In all honesty, I'm just surprised it took so long for all of this to come to light.  If a seller was doing this on any of the clothing exchange sites (Lululemon Exchange or Ebay for example), they would have been banned a long time ago.  I'm just glad this got exposed before even more people got affected.  Whatever the true reason is for why this happened (debt, personal problems, mental issues), the fact of the matter is that it is inexcusable.  The victims deserve more than the apology given on Kim's blog (which isn't even up right now).  I just hope that she can find the help she needs.

I'll close with some links helpful posts from Effortless Anthropologie and J. Crew Aficionada detailing how to avoid getting scammed online.

Alert! Protecting Yourself From Online Transaction Scams - Effortless Anthropologie
Make Sure You Are Protected With Online Transactions - J. Crew Aficionada

Mini Happiness Project - Reflection

I will shamefully admit that I did not succeed nearly as well as I wanted to on my mini happiness project.  Let's break it down:

1. Write A Yelp Review Every Day

This actually didn't turn out too bad.  I ended up writing 23 reviews for the month of August, which is 8 away from my goal of 31 reviews.  I can't really beat myself up for that one.  I wrote a few multiples in a day, but the point of the matter is that I worked towards my goal of being Yelp Elite.  I'm not Elite yet, but I'll keep working at it until I get that shiny badge on my profile.

2. Contact A Different Person From My Past Every Day

Fail!  I wrote maybe 2 lengthy facebook messages.  I wrote an email to a girl I've semi kept in contact with since I moved from California.  I wrote a quick message on a few facebook walls.  Not even close to my goal.  I want to work towards fixing old friendships, but I feel like graduate school is the start of a brand new chapter in my life, and that some of my old friendships weren't exactly healthy for me.  I think I can forge many new friendships while maintaining some of my older ones I cherish.  I think I'll still reconnect with older friends, but I don't know if I necessarily have to write a facebook message to everyone.  Besides, a lot of them haven't tried to contact me at all!

3.  Write A Blog Post Every Second Day

Well I was smart on this one knowing that I wouldn't write a post every day.  According to Blogger, I wrote 8 posts in August, which is halfway to my goal.  August was just such a mess of plans and getting orientated in the lab.  I'm not saying it is going to be easier to write more often in September (I mean, it took 6 days to write this post), but I do enjoy updating my blog and I'm really excited I have some followers!  I'll keep working at it readers.  Don't give up on me yet!

4.  Spend Less Than 30 Minutes Wasting Time On The Internet In The Morning

Bingo! I rocked this one.  So many wasted hours were being spent on the internet in the morning, which made me late for everything in the past.  Now that I'm back to set schedules (and 9am classes!), I simply can't be late.  I'm getting better at checking my internet and facebook on my phone in the morning, and then just letting it go and getting ready.  I have unfortunately noticed that I'm on the internet a bit more in the evening, but old habits die hard.  At least I can make it to school early now!

5.  Accomplish One Thing On My To-Do List Every Day

This has mostly involved household chores, so it hasn't been that successful.  At all.  I mean, stuff is getting done at home.  Things are being dealt with, I'm caught up on all of my forms and duties that way, but there's a pile of laundry sitting in the bedroom that hasn't been sorted since Thursday.  That's 4 days of laziness!  I mean, I've had other things to do, but that 10 minutes I need to accomplish that has definitely been there.

So, what have I learned?  Well, one thing I learned is that I lost interest in keeping track of this on Excel really quickly (like August 6th quickly).  I should really write things down in a book, not on the computer.  I have an agenda for such purposes now.  I learned that I really need to work at things, because I get in crappy habits and I don't change them unless they are brought to my attention again, and again, and again.  I also learned that I don't really need to sit on the internet checking websites constantly. 

So, what's next?  Well, for starters, I need to start setting long term goals that are more meaningful.  I really want to be a better, more rounded person, but I have to work at it.  I think the next step is to try to figure out what I want to accomplish by the time I finish my Masters.  I am going to over-haul my Day Zero List completely, and then write it out and keep it where I can see it.  I will blog about that once that happens (which may take over a week!).

I have so many fashion posts in my head, I just need to take pictures and write out posts.  Look forward to more posts soon!