My Gypsy Soul

So, I don't know if you all know this, but I think I was suppose to have been raised in the 70's. Or by a band of gypsies. Or a band of gypsies in the 70's.  I love chunky, natural stone/gem jewelry, fringe, leather, 70's music, culture, clothing and HEADWRAPS. I've been wearing a head wrap or scarf several times a week for a while now. I'm obsessed. Today I took one of my many handkerchiefs and wore it like this...

This is the first time I've worn it like this and I liked it! Especially since I didn't feel like doing ALL of my hair just to run errands. The back is a complete rat's nest probably. So it was either this or a beanie. FYI, hairstylist are SUPER lazy with their own hair on their day off. Hell, Hair Stylist are super Lazy with their own hair, period. It just doesn't look like it cus we're magic. 

In case you're interested, here is how I did this little Gypsy Wrap (name trademarked, Leslie Kay Rees INC. A zero liability company)... (P.S. don't judge how I look, just got done with kickboxing)

Start with a square scarf or bandanna and fold one corner down like this...

It's important to only fold a little bit or else the scarf wont lay flat enough on your head.

 



Put the side you folded on the back of your head, near the nape of your neck. Pull the corners on the sides up and tie them in a knot like this...

Now tuck the loose ends in...

Take the end that is hanging life-less in front of your face and roll it back. Tuck that in behind the knot you just made. 



 Tah-Da! I left some pieces around my face out and curled them back.

I also thought it would be cute to make a little pompadour with my bangs right in front of the knot. Or for you long haired girls, you could leave it down and wear the knot up a little bit more towards your forehead.  You could also put it in a low messy bun right below the scarf. Leave some bang out or make a little pomp in the front.

 

Tips

     -I don't think this would be very cute with a regular red bandanna, if only for the fact you'd look like Aunt Jemima. But try it out, maybe I'm wrong!

     -Head scarfs and wraps aren't for the faint of heart, Be prepared to get as many weird looks as compliments. Haters gonna hate when you're a wanna-be gypsy! It's all about owning it.

    

 

Ramble On!

-Les

 

This Post was Brought to You by:

 

-Pacific Rim. I wanted to see it in theaters SO BAD but I don't get to theaters very often anymore. Holy crap it's awesome! And NOT just because it has my two favorite Charlies in it (Hunnam AND Day)! But that helps. And how fitting that the Jager in it is named Gypsy Danger.

 

- FaceTiming with this little guy while he CUT HIS OWN DAMN HAIR...

 

He's special. Maybe I should be a better friend and go SLC and do it for him! Like the old days in Logan. Love you, Bradley!

 

-My mom's musical influences



All Hallow's Eve...or the day after

So, Halloween is not exactly my favorite holiday. Even my love of candy can't save this holiday for me. I don't like scary movies, haunted houses, or corn mazes. The only thing I like about Halloween is doing fun make up. But my friend Lexie texted me on Friday and asked if I had any Halloween spirit left because we were going to party. A costume party to be precise. Luckily, I had a easy costume I've used before. Meet Rosie the Riveter

 

So, this a poster from the 40's promoting women working in factories and such during World War II. Just a little Fun Fact for you, in case you've been living under a rock. I love this poster! So, for those of you that don't know, I collect pin-up art. This evokes that same feel for me and like I said, fairly easy to put together if you're in a pinch.

 

SO, this is what you need to Rosie yourself:

-Chambray/denim button down shirt

-A pair of dark washed straight-leg jeans

-A red bandanna

-work boots

 

For my hair, I curled it and put Velcro rollers in for added volume, like so...

Make sure you do the top curled back! After they are all cooled and set, I removed the rollers and brushed my fingers through it. You long haired girls will probably want to pin most of the back up, or use your bandanna to bundle it up. I obviously don't have this problem. Leave the front piece out and roll it back into a curl shape and pin it. Fold your bandanna and tie it on top of your head, right behind the little pin curl you made.

 



Ta-dah!

Don't mind Zi! She was mad we were leaving her and jumped into my picture. Attention whore... 

 

For my make up, I did thick cat-eye liner, red lips and a dark (for my blonde, nonexistent) eyebrow. I tied my shirt at the bottom since I don't tuck in my shirts. NOT a good look for me...ugh.

Lexie's friends were all dressed as rappers. Lex decided on Flavor Flav...

 

and it was AWESOME. I braided her hair into four cornrows, took the clock off the wall and we were golden!

 

Here is a group shot of the rappers...and me,

Snoop Dog (or is it Lion, now?), Nasty Dogg (?), Nelly, Tupac and Flav

 

It was a way fun party and I met some new people. Including this fella...



 

Obviously, I was having a good time because I thought this was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen. I just HAD to have a picture with him, so he was nice and humored me. Superman, who ever you are, thank you for making my night!

 

Hope you all had a fun Halloween weekend and ate your body weight in candy!

 

-Les

 

This Post was brought to you by:

-leftover Chili

-the pillow and blanket nest I've made for myself

-Netflix



 





 



Today

So, I just deleted a half a page worth of writing. Why? My mood changed half way through. What can I say? I'm a fickle girl. A regular Scarlet O'Hara, this one. I have the poster to prove it...

 

Like that shot? I didn't even bother to get off the couch to capture that one. I got my poster from Aunt Lynnie, who knows how long ago, but it follows me wherever I go. It resides next to a framed Casablanca post card and my James Dean picture from Gooch. Its a good corner of my house.

 

Back to my point...if I ever had one. I was waxing all rhapsodic about the what a great day I had today and how it makes up for any of the negative aspects of my job. Like how some days I feel like I have no clue what the hell I am doing. But then I look at my work and see how much I am bettering myself as a stylist and makeup artist everyday...

 photo courtesy of Mae Bolton Photography

Hair and Makeup by me! 

 

 

 and I realize how lucky I am to make a living doing what I love!

 

To sum up all of my feelings today, I'll just leave you with this...

Y'all have a good night, ya hear?

-Les

 

This Post was brought to you by:

-My awesome clients

-Pink moving her concert to JANUARY now...

-Chocolate Chex and almond milk

-The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (I highly recommend it)



COME ON!!!

I'd like to start this post by saying...
Dear Pink,
Have you ever heard of a little expression that goes, "Buck Up"? If I have to go to work with a scratchy throat, so do you.
Thanks for nothing,
Leslie Kay Rees

Just kidding! I'm sure she really was sick...ish. And I didn't let it ruin my weekend. It does majorly suck that she re-scheduled for a Tuesday night. Makes it a little harder to swing with work and all. I was going with some girls I use to work with in Logan; Kim and April (plus AMBER, of course!). They couldn't get a refund on the hotel room they had reserved so they came down for the evening. We went shopping at City Creek and out to dinner. I wanted a picture of all of us but forgot! I had Kim snap this one of me and Ap though...

 

 

Fun Fact about April here, she calls me Chow. As in Leslie Chow...



And it never ceases to crack me up. Also, we didn't dress alike as you'd think from the picture above. Both of those sweaters are mine. She was cold and obviously I have a problem.

OH WAIT! I skipped over what happened on Wednesday! This tiny little thing came to see me!

 

 

And she brought Josie!!! haha She is so itty bitty, just like her mama! They were coming through on their way to SLC and they stopped so I could do her hair (and see my little Josie Rosie!). On that note, Steph had me cut A LOT of her hair off! I loved it! So for reference, This was Steph's hair a while back...

 



 

 

It was probably 3 inches longer than this. Until I did this...

 



Cute, huh?! She use to always wear her hair short but hasn't cut it like this for probably 3 years almost. Reminds me of when we first met as little 18 year old college girls. One day I will give you a synopsis of our friendship and the many adventures we use to go on. I promise, it wont disappoint.

I had a full weekend people, so lets keep moving...

Skipping forward (or back?) to Friday, I got to see Gooch and my Beau!! I've missed them so much. I should have got a picture of them. But Candice and I have a long history of NEVER TAKING PICTURES TOGETHER and then regretting it. There is no reason for it other old habit. A 25 year routine is hard to break! Beau looks like a 7 year old next to little Josie. Even though they are only 3 months apart. He was born on May 2nd, actually. As if I needed anymore reasons for me to love him! I also went to Witches and Bitches Night (Thanks Kelli and Morgan!). I watched a poor girl get molested by Pooh Bear while she sang Karaoke at Bunny's. Luckily, Teresa intervened and took one for the team! Dancing her body between them until he was a safe distance away. What an Ace, that Teresa!
Which brings us to Saturday, when I participated in this...

 

As I'm sure you cannot tell, we are dressed as the characters from Rocky Horror Picture Show. I chose to be this hottie...

 

Also known as Riff Raff. I chose this character for one very specific reason...easy costume. All I had to get was a suit coat from Saver's and his wig. Done-zo! I had so much fun! I've seen the movie but never in a theater with all of the participation. I brought my toast, toilet paper, cards and confetti (which I didn't use. Not allowed). If you have never done this, I recommend it. We also had our own live performance by a woman writhing around in front of the screen in her underwear. Some people just cant handle their Jell-O shots... Drinks and dancing followed. Don't worry, I ditched the wig for that part. I thought the dark makeup and slicked back hair was enough for my fellow bar-goers to have to see.  After a quick Del Taco stop, we all made it home in one streaky make-uped piece!

Thanks for inviting me, girls! As a side note, I think we might have made it into the Park Record. Unfortunately.

 

I spent today allowing my liver to recover and cleaning my neglected house. Which still needs some work...Luckily I have tomorrow to finish up! Since I'm sure you are all hanging on my every word, I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

 

Let's do The Time warp, again!

-Les

 

This Post was brought to you by:

-Diet Mt. Dew

-All of that Crown and Ginger Ale this weekend...yeesh.

-Pumpkin Waffles

-this picture (1 of 5) I found on my phone...

 

 

-

    

Weiner Night

Disclaimer: The following post has absolutely nothing to do with wieners in anyway shape or form. Sorry if you got excited. I just didn't know what to title this one and they keep saying "wiener night" on The Mindy Project and its killin me!

So, now that you're thoroughly confused, I'm going to tell you about three things I'm in love with right now!
Numero 1-
Power Spray by Joico

 

I'm kinda obsessed with this hairspray right now. Its got some awesome hold that doesn't make my hair look crunchy. I've also never had a problem with it building up in my hair, which can happen with this strong of a hairspray. Bonus: It smells super good!

 

 

Number Dos:

 

Loosely Defined by Matrix

 

 

 

So Bella's (the salon I work at. Do you guy's know that? Story for another day...) sells some of the Design Pulse products by Matrix and so I bought a couple to try. I actually have a couple of their products that I've really liked but this one is one I use almost everyday! Its great particularly for short hair when you want that piecey look! You only need a little bit before you blow dry and BOOM, you look like Meg Ryan...

 

 

(Results NOT Typical)

 

And finally Tres:

Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain by Revlon

 

 

Guys...I'm in LOVE. These are the bomb.com! So, have you ever used a lip stain? The double ended ones, where you have to put the color on, let it dry and then put the gloss on top? I hate those. They are messy, HEAVY, you have to constantly re-apply the gloss, and they dry my lips out. These bad boys are nothing like those. They go on like a gloss and last like a stain. Couldn't be more comfortable or user friendly. I mean, I bought some for Grandma Louise.  Let me tell you, Gram doesn't leave the house without a her lips on so its gotta be easy! They come in super pretty colors too! (Yes, that one is pretty much orange. What can I say? I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel.) The colors I have pictured are Rendezvous (left) and Lovesick (right)  I also have a red one, buts its missing. I don't really wanna talk about it, too upsetting.

 

 

In fact, do you want a quick little makeup idea? For your eyes, do eyeliner (a cat eye maybe?!) and mascara ONLY. Don't forget your eyebrows too! Then apply a bold lip color (Lovesick, perhaps?) and all of a sudden, a 5 minute makeup application looks fancy. Ta-dah!

 

Peace out!

-Les

 

This Post was Brought to You by:

-When I was sure I put 6 toothpicks in my chicken cordon bleu but could only find 5...hmm

-Mindy Kaling

-Being under-dressed for me and Zi's walk tonight (FREEZING)

 



Horrific Weekend

This weekend has not gone as planned, to put it lightly. It started all the way back on Tuesday when I had a root canal. I would like to say it was my first root canal but it was not. I'm one of those lucky people who are blessed with bad teeth. Not in the sense that I have some awful over-bite or snaggle tooth but in the way that I've never seen the dentist and NOT had something come up. Its my lot in life I suppose. I bear it with grace, humility and without a trace of bitterness, as anyone will tell you.
     Getting back to the point, I had a root canal and on Thursday night is when everything went to crap. My tooth started hurt something miserable. Nothing would help and I finally had to call the dentist's emergency line. To make matters worse, I woke up on Saturday with a sore throat and body aches ON TOP of the toothache. I don't think I'm being too dramatic when I say I was on the verge of death. (definitely the proper amount of exaggeration, don't you think?)
    The worse part of all of this was not being able to go to Manila for Josie's baby blessing! Josie would be Steph and Stan's baby and I haven't seen her since she was born. Also, Stephy desperately needs her hair done. But alas, I've just been stuck on the couch, in varying states of consciousnesses, hanging out with this nuisance...

We've been watching a lot of Parenthood on Netflix today. That is, when we are awake. Finally. The only bright spot in this weekend is that I finally got my coffee maker to start working!

And I got to drink it out of my lucky Tom Petty mug!
     On that note I have a lovely house-hold tip for all of you: If something you own has stopped working and you cant figure out what the problem is, try smacking it really hard a few times. I have about a 60% success rate with this method. Ask my television and the lamp on my night stand!

Who says violence isn't the answer?
-Les

This Post was brought to you by
-Parenthood
-My mother bringing me Fresca, soup and my Rx (Thanks Mama!)
-sweats

UnbWEAVEable...

So...This one time I shaved part of my hair off. And I loved it!

BUT I realized what a pain it was going to be to get back to a normal length and only kept it shaved for about 3 months.  It was no bueno to grow out. Luckily, I am a master of disguise when It comes to my hair! I rocked A LOT of side braids for about 5 months and this hairstyle...

If you could even call it that.

So I evened it up when it got chin length and proceeded to never cut it again. I mean not really never but for 8 months. Which is pretty much forever for a hairstylist and a lifetime record for me. Something came over me and I decided I wanted my hair longer. For those of you who know me know this is VERY strange. I became possessed by visions of long, wavy haired goddesses. I blame Pinterest and anyone I follow who insists upon pinning 'long hair ideas'. My hair was the longest it had been since I was about 16, which is still not long by any stretch of the imagination. What happened next can only be explained by saying I had convincing coworkers and a small lapse in judgement...

Doesn't look so bad right? Well, that was the least of my problems. I underestimated how convenient my natural hair had been. I lecture my girls with extensions about maintenance on a daily basis but I was not to happy when I had had to do it day in and day out! I had to schedule when I could wash my hair based on what I was doing that week, they shed like CRAZY and I was constantly afraid my bonds were showing...

Lets just say extensions are not for me. Although, I did do this hairstyle at my friend Mal-a-roni's wedding...

Cute, huh? (Side note, I also posted this picture cus I think its hilarious! Love you Lena and Amy!)

 Some people wear them so well... And those gorgeous haired freaks can shove it! I'll just stick with the short and funky.

-Les

This Post Was Brought to You by:
-Scandal (I'm OBSESSED)
-Simply Orange
-Coffee cravings (but my Kurege is broken...very tragic)