Emerging of the Bombshell Within

the importance of having a good stylist

bombshellwithin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:41:21 +0000

More important than seeking a relationship for romance, the relationship between a girl and her hair stylist is paramount. You may not see one another as regularly as you should buy every visit counts. The results will stay with you until you return or cheat and go see something else.

When in Mayaguez, I had one stylist I would go to faithfully for every cut and color. I also had one in yauco. Now that I am just in one place, staying in touch with my stylist Freddy is important to me. While I was working I would go to him every 6 weeks without fail. I have been very bad in seeing him since.

However, in that time he moved to another salon. Its his own, in fact. But before he left he made sure I knew of his intentions of changing locations. You are, in my case, Freddy not only area to my hair but also the hair of all the women in my family. My grandmother, aunt and mother all adore him, would not trust another man with their hair. So when one of us got the call that he had moved and started seeing clients again, my mother and I went hunting for the location of his new place. It took some footwork as few, if any, streets have names in town. But we found it and hugged him all up on sight!

My mother and I are in desperate need of a cut so we lined ourselves up for appointments this Friday. Once we were written in, I called my grandmother to tell her of Freddy’s new place. She immediately had me line up her appointment before ours. And because I knew I could not have called my grandmother and not my aunt, I checked to see if she was interested in having her appointment at around the same time as ours.

My aunt knew she needs a trim but was not sure. However, it will be a morning together with the girls and she wanted in. All of us are now aflutter with our respective dates with Freddy. I will be getting my hair darkened to my natural color and a trim. I am in the need of feeling pretty.

Every woman needs a talented Freddy in her life. I hope you have one but if you don’t, do not despair. Here are some things to keep in mind:
– if you see someone with a great cut, ask for a recommendation. Women feel flattered and will want to share their hair god.
- if you find someone great, follow them, have their number and learn that sometimes you need to book ahead.
- check out local salons and ask if you can see someone in action.
- when seeing someone new, ask for something simple and pay attention to how well they listen.
- talk to your stylist and find out their style history. Do they have experience and passion?
- do not be afraid to tell them if you do not like something. They should be glad to fix it. It is on your head.

In the end, do not neglect your hair. Ask for product reccomendations and how best to care for your hair between visits. You should get your hair trimmed and such every 6 to 8 weeks. Its not law but you will see the difference!

And when you feel that there is nothing you can do with your hair, it is time to go get your hair done!

a girl having side effects

bombshellwithin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:26:05 +0000

So, about two days ago my mother was kind enough to administer a flu shot to me. The bad part is that I am having some side effects to it. Aside from the pain in the arm, I am achey and suffering from nausea and vertigo.

Since I was up at 2am piking my bombshell hits out, I have nothing interesting to share. Luckily I have random pictures on my phone that can be useful.

I am about to impart a little secret to all those bakers out there who are tired of having sticky cakes after they have wrapped them to cool.

Sugar.

Yes, sugar.

Once the cake has cooled to room temperature you go and wrap it in cling wrap but not before sprinkling a generous layer of sugar under and on top. The next or whenever, you simply brush off any excess sugar and your cake has remained moist and without losing chunks.

May this new wisdom serve you well.

8 tiny reindeer

bombshellwithin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:31:09 +0000

While we were at the mall on Saturday, we ventured through a craft section and perusef the aisles in the hopes of engineering some Christmas ornaments for the tree my mother will put in her office. When I saw the old fashioned clothespins I automatically thought of the reindeers I made when a little girl studying at Our Lady of Fatima.

It was probably in third or second grade. Although I sort of remember the project being a whole lot easier. My mother and I spent nearly 2 hours making 30 reindeer. Some had red noses, some didn’t. All were so very adorable. We still loved them even after nearly gluing our fingers to every surface that we touched.

Aren’t they just the cutest? All you need is the following per reindeer:
– 3 old fashioned clothespins
- pom pom for nose and tail
- plastic eyes
- craft glue
- pipe cleaners
- paper clips (these you snip into 3 purse and use as a hook in between the legs to hold the pipe cleaner loop)

a blue holiday

bombshellwithin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:04:02 +0000

I suppose I was melancholy on Friday when I was rushing to make my daily NaBloPoMo post. But the wet blanket feelings seems to be pervasive in my home. We finally got the turkey and all the trimmings but not with the usual fanfare of preparation.

As it is tradition to decorate the tree on the first weekend after thanksgiving, I thought that maybe a change in decorations would help lighten the mood. We will keep our small tree and infuse a new color.

Blue.

Yes, blue.

It called to me this year. Hopefully it will give us new life here at the bombshell house.

a stowaway

bombshellwithin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:25:33 +0000

Fletcher, my personal stowaway

Meet Fletcher.

He came to me as a gift from Florida. He is meant to be my watchdog and to carry him around. I sleep with him close to my heart and he has helped me write over 4,000 words everyday for the past 2 days.

Guess he wanted to go shopping.

A lack of joy

bombshellwithin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:29:23 +0000

I wish I could explain how there seems to be a lack of holiday spirit going on here at the bombshell home. Thanksgiving is usually one of our biggest holidays and instead of drafting our usual lists and looking forward to the day… we’re more planning how we can downsize it and accomplish it with as little effort as possible.

Christmas is also around the corner. I’m not even feeling that excited about making my usual thousands of cookies.

I can’t explain it.

Its not like things aren’t going well. I’m doing wonderfully well with my pastry studies and I’m excited for the new year to hurry up and get here already.

Yet I can’t seem to rev myself up for the holidays.

Is anyone else feeling that way? Are these holidays just not seeming all that joy-filled and bright?

Do Not Disturb

bombshellwithin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:26:45 +0000

The bombshell is writing.

With only 11 days until the end of NaNoWriMo, the serious writing has commenced. I did not write for a week. I am now feeling the consequences of such an action.

So the goal is 6,000 words written by the end of the day. I might not make it but I plan to get as close to that number as I possibly can.

Wish me luck! I will hopefully find something blog worthy for tomorrow.

time to make the donuts!

bombshellwithin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:34:11 +0000

I am kind of late getting this post together. I got out of class and basically spent the time on the phone. One was my daily cqll after class to a Sir I adore, the other was a much needed NaNoWriMo pep talk with my sister in law. She lost 10,000 words, you see, and I needed to be kind abd compassionate before getting her competitive streak back instilled. It worked, I believe. We are both feeling more up to the task of plowing through 3,000 words a day to finish our novels. I also ran my plot past her and she made me feel SO much better about what I am writing.

So today I will just post some pics of what we did in class today.

We made donuts and decorated a cake. I smell all sweet. Its bothering the hell out of me. I can’t wait to get home to shower! There were 4 types of donuts made in total with 3 different types of toppings. I made the vanilla spice kind. Donuts turned out to be way easier to make. Either that or I have been spending too much time making bread.

We also decorated some vanilla genoise cakes with vanilla buttercream. The recipes are far too numerous to post. Also pictured below is a “dead” dough decorative plate. I made the design myself. I was trying to channel the floral designs I make for my purses. Can you tell?

these were only a third of the donuts we made. They went quickly.

my homework & tests

bombshellwithin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:03:23 +0000

My homework is never like the usual sort. For the first month or so, my homeowrk consisted of going to the supermarket and the baking supply shop to check prices. I would wander the aisles with my notebook, jotting down numbers and quantities as I went. It felt like a big joke.

The second month my homework consisted of breaking down recipes in accordance to cost. I would intentionally rifle through my cookbooks and pick the recipe with the longest ingredients list. Then all those price listings were out to work with the aid of a calculator. I would calculate precisely, down to the last eighth of a teaspoon how much the recipe would cost to make. Then it would be divided per cookie or slice. Only then would I then know how much ut would cost to the consumer at a considerable markup.

My first term in pastry was a lot of theory. This second term has been anything but! My exams have become actual recipes redone for a grade.

Yesterday we concluded our class on bread. After pounds of yeast and what has felt like tons of flour, we get to move on. It does not mean that I won’t still be perpetually covered in flour. We started a class on cakes today, in fact.

This is the recipe I did for my final. It was my favorite roll recipe that we made in the course. You can do it like the egg bread roll recipe I shared last week but I will try to simplify the process for the home baker.

Soft rolls
– 12 1/2 oz water
- 1/2 tablespoon yeast
- 1 1/2 pounds bread flour
-2 teaspoons salt
- 2oz sugar
- 1oz powdered milk
- 1oz shortening
- 1oz butter

1- Proof warm water with yeast with a few pinches of the sugar.

2- Place all ingredients in mixer with bread hook. Cut butter and shortening into smaller pieces and turn mixer onto low speed to blend.

3- Add water and allow to mix until dough forms into a ball on the hook and comes cleanly off the sides of the bowl. It should feel soft and look smooth and white.

4- set on floured baking sheet and cover loosely until has doubled in size. Approximately 1 1/2 hours.

5- Collect dough and give a knead to remove air bubbles. Portion into 2oz balls. Makes approximately 19- 20 balls.

6- allow rolls to rise again for at least 30min. Brush with an egg wash.

7- Bake at 400F for 20-25 min or until a rich golden color. Check bottoms of rolls to ensure that it has colored. Because of the eggwash, tops will brown faster and to a deeper shade.

Enjoy!

i think the look sort of like eggs

bombshell favorites: Joe Boxer

bombshellwithin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:14:51 +0000

There are many things in life that I love. This weekend while shopping I was reminded of just one of those things.

I love Joe Boxer.

That smiley faced brand always makes me laugh. The colors are fun, the products are well made and even though I am a girly girl, I am not ashamed to say that I have some of the boxers from this brand (I sew up the sort of crotch flap so I can wear them like shorts around the house).

But the best part is that Joe Boxer does not just make boxers! They have an entire ladies line of undergarments as well as shirts, lounge pants and pjs. And to just add icing to the cake of my love fest, they go well up into the plus sizes!

(tmi warning! I am goint to talk about undies for the next paragraph. If you do not wish to read about it, feel free to skip it.)

Personally, I just adore bikini undies and these fit like a dream. The ride just low on the hip not to be visible but high enough so that they cover everything. And let me tell you that the cotton thongs are just the best too! They cover perfectly up front and are truly comfortable to wear. The prints are playful and the colors bright. More than one of them have cheeky smileys in all the right places. The bras are an even wider array of colors and patterns that can still be mixed and matched with the color schemes of the undies.

To some, this might not be very sexy. There isn’t this usual satin and lace (although there are silk undies and there are lace details on some bras) one would normally associate with some sort of sex appeal. I think these are just everyday clothing that just brighten ones day and makes one feel good in their own skin. So that makes me love them all the more!

The below is a sample shot of some of the holiday lounge pants I saw from the brand. There were many hilarious sayings and I am lobbying for this year’s pj, which my family always chooses to match one another, be of this collection. They had them in regular boxers and the pants and all made me smile ever so wide when I saw them.

love them!