Monthly Archives: December 2013

Life

A Winter Wonderland + Christmas Recap

December 26, 2013

Ah, Maine. Sometimes I forget how different you are from the rest of the world. Up here we find ourselves encased in a layer of ice. As beautiful as it looks, many people were without power for several days. We lost power Monday evening around 5pm, but it returned sometime that night while we were all sleeping. At some point, the words “get me out of this God-forsaken wasteland” were uttered out of frustration (by, you know, me)… but I know that when I move to San Francisco, I’ll miss the familiarity of this icy, winter wonderland.

Dramatic contrast. Light and dark.

Ice-encrusted branches and berries.

The stuffed stockings above were hand-knit many years ago by my grandma. We love you, Gram!

Our tradition: my Mom’s fish stew. She’s been making it every Christmas Eve for 27 years.

FaceTime-ing with my love over in San Francisco. See you soon! :)

Things are about to change for me, but I’m ready for it. 2013 was a great year, and I know 2014 will be even better (and more challenging)! It was wonderful to catch up with my family and friends and make the most of our time together here. San Francisco, here I come!

I truly hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday. Bring it on, 2014!

XO, J

Life

New Year, New Resolutions

Doesn’t it seem like every January 1st we tend to make the same resolutions? We resolve to finally get in shape, find a boyfriend, and floss our teeth religiously. Aren’t you gals tired of making and breaking the same resolutions, year after year? Instead of dragging out those old, tired resolutions, try this exercise that will actually help you succeed.

The Power of Knowing What You Want

All too often, people focus on what they don’t want in their life instead of clarifying what they do want. By completing this circle exercise, you can begin to define what it is you want to do in the future.

By completing this exercise, you’ll be able to visualize your goals. You will realize what is (and isn’t!) important to you. You may find yourself writing down things inside the circle like “a stable career,” and “travel” and realizing that you left out things that seem important to you now, like getting a new tattoo or buying a pair of shoes. This exercise puts your life into perspective and is a great way to visually focus on your goals, thus making them seem more tangible and attainable.

Let’s make 2014 a great one, gals!

XO, J

P.S. The circle exercise inspired by igolu.com.

Beauty - Hair

Olive Oil Hair Treatment

December 18, 2013

hair treatment

Once upon a time, there was a girl at my school with the most gorgeous, shiny, thick hair. I went up to her one day and asked, awestruck, how on earth she got her hair to look that beautiful. Her secret? The girl’s mom did hot oil treatments on her hair. After school that day I asked my mom if she would do hot oil treatments on my hair, too (she finally relented after a lot of begging). The outcome was seriously phenomenal hair… and I’ve been doing hot oil treatments ever since.

It may sound counterintuitive to add extra oil to your hair (especially if you have an oily scalp to begin with), but the oil will deeply hydrate, soften, and repair your split ends. Follow my easy steps for a seriously sexy mane!

Step One: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (you may need more/less depending on hair length & thickness) in the microwave for 1 minute, or until oil is thin and warm. Be careful not to overheat the oil, otherwise you will end up a burn victim.

Step Two: Wear a towel around your shoulders and do this by a sink. You’re going to make a mess.

Step Three: Start by dunking the ends of your hair in the oil and using your hands to work it through the rest of your hair. By the time you use up the oil, your hair should be saturated from root to tip.

Step Four: Gently comb through hair with a wide tooth comb to distribute the oil. Clip your hair up and cover your head with a shower cap. The heat from the oil combined with the heat generated by your head will open the hair cuticle and allow for better oil absorption.

Step Five: Leave oil on your hair for 20-30 minutes. Jump in the shower and shampoo and condition normally.

Indulge in your olive oil hair treatment once a week for best results. It makes such a difference and people will be asking YOU how to get that gorgeous head o’ hair.

XO, J

P.S. The secret to shiny hair.

Home Decor - Organization

How To: Organize Your Bathroom

December 8, 2013

I’m not perfect. I’ll even reluctantly admit that I’m somewhat messy and disorganized. But what’s a girl to do with too many products, tools, and accessories and not enough space? When you’re sharing a bathroom with someone else, however, I guess it’s pretty bad etiquette to leave it looking like this. I even debated not including the before shot, but I had to convince myself that this is what every girl’s bathroom sink looks like (right… right??). So here we go, an unedited photo of my extremely cluttered bathroom sink:

The biggest problem for me was that I had nowhere to put my hair styling tools while they were cooling down, so I would just leave them on the sink to cool. This is a pretty common problem for girls, no? I found a genius solution, though….

The Container Store is where it’s at, gals. I picked up a four-tier acrylic organizer to store my hair elastics, bobby pins, jewelry, lip balm, and any other loose odds-and-ends that were taking over my countertop. My cotton balls were still in the giant plastic bag from the store, so I also grabbed a glass apothecary jar to display and make them easily accessible. The best organizer I bought, though, was the Style Station Organizer, which I mounted under the sink on the cabinet door. This organizer can hold a hairdryer, flat iron, and curling iron – even when they’ve just been used and are still hot! No more “leaving it to cool off on the counter” business. I also used a woven basket (not pictured) to store the rest of my hair brushes, combs, and products. The whole process was so easy I finished it in one evening. So, no more excuses, gals! It’s time to get organized!

XO, J

P.S. How to organize your makeup.

Beauty - Skincare

Your Winter Skin Regimen

Your symptoms: flaky face, raw nose, chapped lips, and cracked hands. The culprit? You make be suffering from… winter. Even before the snow flies, winter weather is taking its toll. Amp up your usual skincare regimen and you’ll be glowing even when it’s snowing (I’m corny). Keep reading for my recommendations!

There’s nothing worse than dry, cracked lips! Every night before bed, exfoliate your lips with a damp washcloth. Then, apply an emollient lip balm like Aquaphor Lip Repair. It also works wonders on a raw nose!

Before showering, dry brush your entire body with a natural bristle brush. Brush the skin on your arms and legs up towards your torso, and the skin on your back down towards the floor. This promotes circulation, rids your body of dead skin cells, and stimulates your lymphatic system. After showering, apply Kiehl’s Creme de Corps to damp skin.

You gals know how much I love my Clarisonic! Use it to keep your face clean and smooth and to exfoliate dead skin cells.

Winter weather calls for a heavy-duty eye cream like Mario Badescu Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream. The eye area does not have any of its own oil glands, therefore, the area needs to be supplemented with a rich eye cream so that it doesn’t dry out! Every night, apply three dots to each brow bone and under eye area and lightly tap to blend.

Even during the winter your skin still needs to be protected from the sun. Use a light, yet emollient moisturizer like Mario Badescu Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15 during the day. It protects the skin from moisture loss without the use of heavy oils.

After washing your face at night, apply a thicker, richer moisturizer to your face. I like Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream because it leaves my skin soft and silky without clogging my pores.

What are some of your winter skin regimen recommendations?

XO, J

Giveaway

A Wink Blog Giveaway!

Welcome to The Wink’s very first giveaway! My beautiful and talented friend, Kelsey, runs her own Etsy shop and one lucky reader will win one of her gorgeous handmade flower ornaments just in time for the holidays! Kelsey and I have been dear friends for a very long time (see her featured in this post) and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to proudly support her shop here on the blog.

ornament 1

These unique, handmade, eco-friendly ornaments are made from recycled books. Each petal is folded individually and assembled into this beautiful ornament.

ornament 2

To enter, please leave a comment below sharing what you love in Kelsey’s Etsy shop. Additional entries can be earned by liking The Wink and Kelsey Fahey Originals on Facebook. The winner will be drawn at random this Thursday, December 12th and emailed directly. Winner must have a US shipping address.

Good luck!

XO, J

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