Spring Shopping List

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Spring fever has hit, and believe me, the warm weather can't come fast enough! I'm so envious of all you bloggers in warmer climes who are already wearing cute dresses and summery clothes. I want to wear them now. Seeing all the cute new arrivals in stores is also not helping. I want everything! I don't know how I am going to limit myself when I start my spring shopping. I might go way overboard. Oops?

These are just a few of the things I'm adoring in stores right now. I have no idea how I am going to restrain myself. I need them all! How can you not want Gap's awesome skimmers, or these adorable dresses?! 

What are you planning to pick up this spring?

The Green Smoothie

Last weekend, during one of my epic trips to Target, in which I buy everything I need plus approximately 50 things I don't, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a blender. I am so excited to finally have one! Not only can I chop things if I need to, but I can make smoothies! I love smoothies so much. They're tasty, nutritious, and surprisingly filling!

One thing I was eager to try with my new blender (this one) was a green smoothie. You see them everywhere, but somehow they just never seemed all that appetizing to me. They are, however! You can't even taste the greens you put in there. I grabbed some things from the fridge that seemed like they would be tasty and mixed it all up!

It's a weird, brownish color, I know. I ended up adding in some frozen strawberries, which changed the color slightly. But it was wonderful, and so good for you!

Green Smoothie (makes 1):

- 1 big handful of baby spinach

- 1 apple, cut into chunks (I used a Fuji, but I bet a Granny Smith would be really delicious)

- Honey for sweetness

- A bit of water (you could use coconut water, too) to make it a bit liquidy

- 3 or 4 frozen strawberries

I can't wait to concoct more concoctions to share with you!

Smurfette

It is official. I have joined the legions of beanie-wearers. I don't normally wear hats, because they flatten out your hair (anyone have any tips for remedying hat hair with curls?), but these are just too cute to pass up! They're perfect for the cold, dreary weather we're having right now. And with so many styles, colors, and materials, they're the perfect winter accessory! Even if they make you look like a smurf.

Sponsor MC+M!

With March almost upon us (gak, where is time going?!), I am once again bringing it to your attention that My Confidence + Me is accepting sponsors!

Ranging from a featured spot for the month to a simple button swap (it's free!), ads are affordable and a great way to expand your readership. I love working with bloggers, business, and other creators, so please check out the Contact/Sponsor page for my current stats, rates, and availability!

SHAYvorites, 2.21.13

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I hope everyone had a good (short) week!!

• Wondering how to get the perfect layered sleeve look? (i know i am). Audrey shows you how!
• I'm obsessed with lip scrubs, but they can be hard on the wallet! Fortunately, they're pretty easy to make at home.
• I have a slight obsession with chambray, and Jackie has styled it in 6 awesome ways! I can't wait to recreate all of these. Guess I better buy more chambray....
• I don't know about other fashion bloggers, but I always am thinking about branching out and including other topics here on MC+M. Luckily, Nikki has a great tutorial for food posts! And look at that cake!!
• It's no secret that I love the Everygirl (I have serious girl crushes on Alaina and Danielle). They've finally opened up about how they created the best site ever! So inspiring!
• The Oscars are on Sunday (who do you think should win?), and Emily has whipped up three tasty treats to share with your guests.
• The neon trend is still going strong, and Alyson has a great tutorial on how to wear it!

Review: Kinky-Curly Knot Today

Ever since I embarked on my journey to embrace my natural curls, I have experimented with every product under the sun. From salon-only brands, to drugstore buys, if it's recommended for curly hair, I've tried it. I'm slowly figuring out which are my favorites (even though I have approximately 75 different things at any give time...it's sad). 

My favorite leave-in conditioner, to date? Knot Today, by Kinky-Curly. It's actually technically a rinse-out conditioner, but for thicker hair it can also be used as a leave-in. Since I have incredibly thick, moisture-resistant hair, even if my curls aren't that tight, I use it as a leave-in. For which it is wonderful!

Smelling slightly tropical, this conditioner is the perfect consistency. Not too sticky (which is a problem with some conditioners), but not too liquid-y, it soaks into hair perfectly. What's more, it's a detangler! Hoo-rah! My hair needs all the detangling help it can get. Using this + gel, my hair stays soft and under control. Most of the time...

I'm so glad I picked this up to try. I won't be looking back!

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**I was not sponsored by Kinky-Curly to write this post. I bought the product on my own and am sharing it with you because I love it so much!**

Curly Girl: Week 2

Oops, I'm slightly behind in posting this... Sorry! 

My transition to no-poo is still going splendidly! I haven't reached an icky stage, thank goodness, and my hair isn't exhibiting any signs of extra oiliness as it adjusts to no shampoo. I am not even co-washing it every day, and it seems to be fine. I've noticed my scalp does get itchy sometimes, but I think that is partially the cold weather. Everything is dried to a crisp!

I have noticed, however, that since switching away from DevaCurl conditioner, my hair has been more frizzy. Perhaps frizzy isn't the right word, as it hasn't been puffy. But individual strands of hair lift away from the curls, particularly in the back, and it looks weird. I'm not sure if this is the change in conditioner, the change in gel (I bought a new kind), or just a phase my hair is going through. I've picked up a deep conditioner, so we'll see if that helps.

I've noticed, since beginning to take these pictures, that my hair is actually more wavy than curly. Which is fine. I just need to figure out how to get the top to curl, too!

SHAYvorites, 2.15.13

Welcome to my newest column, where I round up my favorite things that I've read during the week (get it? shay-vorites? you can thank amelia for that gem)!

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• Amanda gives the best advice (for every topic you can imagine) and her tutorial on how to wear a cargo vest is no different!
• Did you know that it was apparently a thing for bloggers to purchase items but credit them as gifted on their blogs? Is that disingenuous, or ok? IFB tackles the issue.
• Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day (let's be serious, any day) treat? I found it!
• I'm always jealous of those bloggers with Wacom tablets who can add doodles to their blogs. Thankfully, Victoria has created some for a free download! Thanks!
• For those of us with no casual dress-codes, here is a great capsule of pieces that still leave you feeling professional!
• Looking to collaborate with bloggers or become a contributor? Here and here are some things to keep in mind!
• Erika has a great outlook on life, from style to food to fitness. Take a page from her book and ditch the scale!
• I'm all about improving my blogging in 2013, and was so excited to see that Bri has a new series on blogging!
• All you need to know about wine pairings and hosting your own tasting!
• Like lists? Here's a great project for 2013! I can't wait to start, even though I'm a month behind.
• GIFs are the latest big craze, and this is a great tutorial to make animated images in Photoshop!

Stripes

I am obsessed with these sweaters from Loft! I have this one too, and I really want to own all of them. They're so perfect: not too heavy, the perfect length (Loft's clothes are usually reaaally short on me - I have a long torso), and fun colors! And stripes! What more could you want?

Duty

Monday marked my very first experience with jury duty. Somehow, I've managed to get out of it every year since I first registered to vote at 18. But no longer. DC found me and called me in. It was tedious, and the day was long (even though I got to report with the second wave of jurors), but I wasn't put on a panel. Hooray! I know you're supposed to be proud to serve your community, yadda, yadda, but let's be real. I am terrible at decision making. And I don't want to have to make a decision that puts someone in jail.

Love is in the Air!

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Valentine's Day is on the horizon, and while I mostly subscribe to the camp that the holiday is one completely perpetuated to ridiculous proportions by Hallmark, it does provide me with the excuse to wear my favorite color, pink. God, I love pink (and red!). And I love chocolate, so I guess Valentine's Day does have some perks. But really, in the case of chocolate, the day after Valentine's Day is better. Needless to say, I want all of these things. Particularly this.

Mmm, chocolate.

Curly Girl: Week 1

Well, I'm one week into the Curly Girl method (find out what that is here, if you're just tuning in)! So far, so good. I traded in my DevaCurl Low-Poo for some Whole Food's conditioner. I've found, in the past, that the Low-Poo is actually too heavy for my roots. They seem to gum up and be really flat and sad (I've been using that for a while, alternating with shampoo). I've used the 365 conditioner before, however, and decided to go back to that! I'm loving it so far! I bought two bottles, the lavender and the mint, one to use on my scalp and one to condition my hair with. They both smell wonderful, and I will probably alternate which I use for each part!

So far, I have yet to reach the "icky" transition stage that was mentioned in most of the things I read about the no-poo method. I'm hoping that, because I have not shampooed every day for quite some while, that this stage will not happen. Please don't happen. I have noticed that my head does get itchy if I go more than a couple days without giving the scalp a scrub, but since I try to wet it and recondition every day, this hasn't been a terrible issue so far!

Things I have learned so far:

1. It helps to flip my head upside down to scrub my scalp. This allows me to lift my roots away from my head and makes it easier to get the conditioner to my scalp through my hair. Of which there is a lot.
2. I think I have better results when I apply gel to my hair while it's sopping wet, then squeeze the water out, and then apply leave-in. I was doing it in reverse, before, and my hair was still frizzy. 
3. Kerestase Elixir Ultime is awesome. Awesome.
4. Whole Foods makes really awesome, all natural conditioner (and shampoo, I assume). And it's cheap. And smells delicious.

As you can see, my hair looks about the same as it did before I started the Curly Girl method. I was expecting more results, but I must be patient (patience is really, really hard for me)! And, as I still haven't gotten a trim, the bottom of my hair looks awful. It's compounded by the fact that the bottom layer of my hair is the straightest and always looks longer. Does anyone else have that problem?

There is also a distinct lack of frizz to my hair because I washed it and it dried without my having to go outside. I love when that happens! I also picked up a new leave-in, which I will review for you after I use it for a while!