I really wanna try this

My obsession with haircolor began when L'Oreal's Color Pulses came out. I was probably twelve or thirteen when I dyed my hair with that mousse (precocious, I know) and if I remember correctly it was a purple-y shade.  

You see, my ADD is pretty general, meaning it affects other brain functions such as the "can't-have-the-same-look-for-more-than-a-month-or-else-I'll-kill-myself" function.

I have SO many hair stories; good ones and bad ones. But mostly bad ones. I've had my hair jet-black, red, purple, orange (lolz), and blonde. I've also had completely fried hair, the kind you mistake for the hay horses eat. Pretty traumatizing stuff! My best-friend and I were always picked on because of our unhealthy hair habits. I remember a boy trying to tease us saying "why don't you go dye your hair again". And then my friend called him a Sasquatch. 

The only hairstyle/haircolor I've been able to stick with is the one I currently have which is ombré hair! It goes from medium-light brown (my natural shade) to golden blonde. I've had this for almost a year and let me just tell you, it is a RECORD for me because in case you haven't noticed, I have a hard time making up my mind, which renews itself every three seconds. Kind of like my appetite. 

I'm happy to say that my hair has gotten completely back to normal; I don't blow dry it, straighten it, or curl it anymore and it makes SUCH a big difference in the quality of your hair. Seriously. No more heat for me!

LET'S GET TO THE POINT: 

I'm having a hair-ADD relapse and I'm lovin' it. I was looking at a spread Abbey Lee (model in first and last pic) did for Vogue Australia, drooling a little bit and thinking I would never do anything permanent like that. But then (and this is the juicy part) this little magic ball popped out of nowhere. This little magic ball would be Kevin Murphy's COLOR BUG which is an 'eye-shadow' for hair, meaning you can put it on your hair and wash it out JUST LIKE MAKEUP! Isn't that the most genius thing ever? 

The best part is that señor Color Bug was what was used for the Abbey Lee shoot. 

Uh-mazing. 

I'm still trying to find a store that sells it or that delivers it (this is an Australian product) and when I do get my hands on this baby, oooooh boy. It's going to be a very pink world.

Ps: make sure you check out my new (and old) sponsors! They're just FABULOUS!

giveaway: win a custom portrait painting!

I have suuuuuch a special giveaway for yallz today. The lovely Katrina from The Young Bridget Jones is giving away a FREE custom portrait painting to one lucky reader and I kind of wish I could participate. 

Mandatory entry: 

-This giveaway is open to Lulapalooza & The Young Bridget Jones blog readers only! 

Extra entries (//extra chances to win!//separate comments for each//)

-Tweet about this giveaway with: "Win a custom portrait painting by @bimbollectual on @lulapaloozablog! http://bit.ly/sdVjgO"

{> make sure we can track your tweet}

-If you don't have Twitter, you can blog about this giveaway (and give me a link!)

-Follow me on Twitter here

-Follow Katrina on Twitter here

Make sure you visit the Katrina's art blog here and her personal blog here!

She's SO talented.

Good luck!

Thanksgiving -and a little more on the side-

Before I start dishing on the abnormal quantities of turkey I ate during Thanksgiving, let me just introduce you to this wonderful family. 

They are THE nicest people ever, their house is really cozy, they always have lots of food in their pantry (hmmwhat what) as well as lots of kids running around. 

They're the Trads. 

And I kind of secretly consider them family. Not to sound disgustingly cheesy, but I DO feel at home whenever I'm at their house. 

And whoa whoa whoa. I never thought I'd find a louder family then mine, but it certainly looks like I found our match!

And I don't mean 'loud' because kids are running in and out of the house 24/7 or throwing turkey legs around but because they have THE MOST inappropriate conversations in the world. 

I obviously fit right in there. 

I won't elaborate on the discussions we had but I did choke a little here and there on some stuffing just from laughing. 

Anyway, I went to their house twice these last couple months, once to celebrate the birthday of one of the loveliest grandmothers on the planet (Marija, who's blowing out the candles in the picture below) and for Thanksgiving! So I decided to include pictures from both bunches. 

Marija. I just love her. 

KIDS EVERYWHERE!

That's Isabelle, who's in college and who's for obvious reasons, still a kid.

I think that's why we get along so well. 

I've been told that we're pretty obnoxious when we're together. 

I wonder why that is...

Okay now THAT was a piece of heaven. 

Maple syrup cheesecake with caramelized pears.

BOSSNESS.

That's Catherine. Blonde bombshell!

Props to the Trads!

Because it's always Thanksgiving at their house. 

Sponsor in December!

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I provide ad designs for both large and medium options

If you're interested, email me at lula@lulapalooza.com with the word 'sponsor' somewhere in your subject line and I'll get back to you asap!

And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

oh my god. SHOES.

Boot-obsessed child over here!

I don't know why I love boots so much but I just do. I know every girl likes shoes but boots for me are number one. I think it's probably because they just fit almost every time and you don't necessarily have to have a certain body type to wear them, it's like they're friendly, you know?

Stilettos & pumps would be a different story. Those can be very, very mean. Just don't get along with those and I most likely wouldn't be caught dead wearing them. Actually yes, you WOULD catch me dead if I were ever to wear them.

{Cause of death: fall}

A few years ago, I cleverly wore these 4 inch black stilettos on an almost 15-hour-long trip, D.C. to Lisbon. So I was 'running' (I don't even think you can call that running, it was more like little Chiwawa jumps) around the airport and let me tell you, my feet were GONE when I got to Lisbon. 

So was my dignity. 

Gotta love cruel friends and family!

Anyway. Boots. They're the only reason I like winter.

Let me just say, there is NOTHING 'free' about Free People. 

Aldo has some pretty bombastic boots and I've been a fan for a longgggggg time. 

But which ones? That is zeeeee question. 

(JUST CURIOUS!)

happy Thanksgiving!

life from a phone

weekend + new blog designs!

This weekend was a majoooor 'design overdose'. I locked myself in my room with a thermos full of coffee, some popcorn (best jaw-entertainer) and Photoshopped away!

My poor PC really suffered. And my eyes did too.

I did get some "comic relief" time before that, aka shopping on Friday, which I consider my day off from school & design work. I like to think of it as my therapeutic routine. 

If you haven't been to Forever21 in some time, I suggest you take a little trip there. A real treasure chest. Plus, your bank account will really appreciate it. That is, if you don't go to Sephora right after. 

I CANNOT wait for Thanksgiving break! My brain is so into 'work mode' that I'll automatically wake up around 8:30 AM even if my alarm isn't on. Does that ever happen to you? It's like you have an internal clock disrupting the peace. It sucks. I like it when my brain's in veggie mode.

Bring on the turkey!

Anyway, these are just some of the designs I've been working on and I have to say, I have THE best clients ever. All these girls are so so so sweet. Fantastic bloggers as well, so I really suggest you check them out!!

(*images are snapshots of test blogs; click on links to go to live blogs)

{This Little Port}

{Pursuing Dreams}

{A Little Bit Of This}

{Wearing It on my Sleeves}

{Keep Calm and Carry On}

{Piece of Cake, Peace of Mind}

{Eat Yourslef Skinny}

Header for {Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust}

Header for {A New View 365}

Header for {Cheers, Bethani}

I think these just might have been made for me

Pardon my French (even though it's technically not my French) but I thought these Urban Outfitters bookmarks & bandages were too cool not to be posted somewhere on this blog. 

The bookmarks are brilliant! and I think they would be the only bookmarks to actually help me with my non-organizing skills. 

Loud AND clear.

So bueno.

cupcakes!

I have billions of pictures from that afternoon I spent in Georgetown with my mum and since my imagination seems to have completely vanished, I thought I'd share with you what I think are the best cupcakes. in. the world.

I wonder if I can bring some red velvet ones with me to Lisbon and force people to taste them, just shock the nation a little.

Them Portuguese folks just don't like red cakes. 

I even think that my cousin who was here a year ago tried one and immediately spat it out, like she was eating frog legs or swallowing shampoo or something. HOW can you not like this?

This is probably the only disagreement I'll ever have with my 'Portugueses'. 

Oh and the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has a girlfriend. 

Thumbs up for dark circles!