My First Dating App Pic & A Little Dating History…

Finally the day has come, we moved into a different space. Remember when I moved into this tiny apartment and I was so happy?  I believed that was literally all I needed in life, a perfect shelter.  I’m still on the small living environment kick, too much space gives me anxiety.   I know most people hate moving but I’ve decided I love it,  I’ve moved a lot and lived out of a suitcase more years in my life than I’ve had a closet.  Not really.

Getting rid of shit is my jam. It gives me the same excited butterflies you’re supposed to get when you see your significant other.  Moving forces you to really purge shit out.  All those things that Wafiq was making us hold on to because “we have space” are officially at Goodwill. And all the stupid clothes, cheap gimmicks and nonsense you can find on THIS list are gone!  Moving is a breeze because all our “things” (besides the bed, sofa, and TV) fit in a few boxes 🙂  Awww my favorite feeling.

One of the many reasons we’re so excited about our new place is that the view is open to trees, no more walking path!   What do you guys see when you look outside your window?  We started feeling a little like we were living in a hamster cage because our windows opened to a walking path that people loved to bring their dogs to, so we happy peeps right now.

As you may have heard, there’s a hurricane that recently f*cked up parts of Texas.  In Austin, we lost power for 20 hours & had wind + rain but nothing much larger than our regular storms.  Please remember, when you’re thinking of Houston and all the damage it’s done, there are several smaller communities that have been damaged as well & also need help + resources.  The less popular babies need attention too 🙂   I have to say, it’s refreshing to run through my Facebook feed and see all my Texas friends coming together to love & support one another.  No more wrestling over topics that don’t serve a purpose or creating fights & arguments because we’re bored.  There was awhile there I didn’t even check FB.  So, proud of Texas right now and proud to be a part of the state.

And mother earth must be freaking PISSED off right now, brewing storms all over the place.  EEEk. I pray everyone stays safe & cuddled with their people. Love love love.

I’m doing a throwback post today.  I’ve been editing prior posts & came across this Olive Oil + Hair story.  I died laughing because I vividly remember smelling like a kitchen & trying desperately to convince myself that I could NOT walk around all day/w olive oil in my hair.  Way too much alone time.  But the post made me laugh so I figured I’d repost it today & hopefully enhance your day w/a little humor – Enjoy!

I saved my life.  More like my hair’s life.  I have super long, thick, blonde hair that has been severely neglected since my move to Dubai.

I rarely wash it. I try to go as many days as possible in the most extreme ways not to wash my hair. (The key is finding different ways to wear your hair the second & third/fourth/fifth day without a wash.)

The problem happens on the days I choose to wash my locks.  I’ve been using shampoo that I believe physically assaults my hair. I’m nearly positive my hair is crying when I put the shampoo through it & it continues to cry until it gets oily again. In truth, my hair has probably been crying since I landed in Dubai.

I used to buy expensive shampoo + conditioner because I spend a lot of money highlighting & want to stretch the color as long as possible. I don’t want to waste the money I spent highlighting, by ruing my hair with bad product. Miss High Maintenance, Hiiii

That all went out the window when I got to Dubai. I RARELY do my hair. And when I do put in effort, it  means half blow drying it & leaving it down. Most often I braid it or put it up in a bun.

The neglect started when I ran out of my good ol American shampoo & couldn’t find the one I was previously using. Shortly after that, I found a few pieces of my hair that I think missed my last trim, so I cut them myself..?   I’ve never done that before.  Between nasty shampoo and a self trim, I  thought my hair was treacherous.  I started putting it in a ponytail every single day, which again I don’t think is good for your hair. The color started fading (probably just in my head) and it turned into Rapunzel length.  In a bad, ratty way.

So I booked an appointment to get my hair cut & highlighted.  BUT, I was completely terrified to show up to a nice salon with my hair being dried out, self cut & brassy. I went to Pinterest in last minute efforts to find a solution that could fake maintained looking hair until it was fixed.

Olive Oil.

I’m back w/a few other kitchen favorites!  I’m all about trying new flavors, doing new things, and not getting too comfortable with -anything!  Including food.  I keep these 5 ingredients in my kitchen most of the time, and think it’s worth a try if you haven’t.  Sometimes, when they’re sitting there starring at you, you’re more likely to make use of them. I might not cook w/these guys every day, but they’re common enough ingredients to keep around