Pastel Lavender Hair

So I decided to add some lavender to my hair a few days ago. Ion Color now carries a pastel series available at Sally's. I didn't have to mix it with anything.. Just put it on, let it sit for 20 minutes, rinse, and tada!

Here's the after! I am so happy with this shade of purple. I can't wait to try the pastel pink and blue next time.

:+:+:+:+:

And since I don't have many pics of my new hair yet, here are some from the past I enjoyed having!

My College Graduation

An interesting fact about me that some of you may not know is that I received a bachelor's degree in 3 years! I graduated from West Texas A&M University on May 12, 2007 with a degree in Fine Arts! When I graduated from high school I didn't have any college credits. But I took summer school every summer and even took classes during winter and spring breaks. It was a lot of hard work, but I was determined to graduate early. I was inspired by my brother, who also finished in 3 years! It was great because I was able to go to cosmetology school sooner and begin my career as a hairstylist. That's always been where my passion is. But I am very proud to have a degree because education is super important to me. 

I graduated with Honors, too, and was on the Dean's List each semester!

The Fine Arts and Humanities banner is on the right. It was a really fun program to be apart of.

I'll never forget that the CEO of AT&T was our guest speaker at the ceremony. He held up a tiny device and said "The only thing you will remember about my speech is that I showed you the very first iPhone." And sure enough .. that's all I remember.. But how cool is that?! It wasn't even for sale yet.

At WTAMU the mascot is a buffalo.

My family surprised me with lots of balloons and decorations that day!

I also got this amazing cookie cake. It says "Now you can slow down, Anna" .. That's because I took so many classes back to back to back to back.

The thing I wanted most for graduation was EverQuest 2. I briefly played the original EverQuest 1, but during school I didn't have much time to play games. So this was on the top of my wish list. I was so stoked to get it! I've been playing it ever since :)

Since I didn't blog 6 years ago, I figured now is as good as time as any to make a post about it! I can't believe it's been 6 years already. I have accomplished so much.  I am extremely proud to show off something I worked so hard for!

:+:+:+

P.S. Grats to the winners of the Wizard Wand Giveaway and thank you to everyone that entered! I have so many ideas for future prizes now! So keep checking back :)

Wizard Wand Giveaway!

I am excited to announce that I am giving away FOUR HANDMADE WIZARD WANDS! My Facebook page hit 200+ Likes, and this coming Monday will be the 1 YEAR anniversary of my blog!! I am so grateful for all the support that everyone has shown me, and I am thrilled to celebrate this milestone!

If I could give everyone a wizard wand, I promise I would! But that would require lots of magic. I do, however, have four wands for four lucky wizards.

These unique wands are completely handmade by me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You have until May 27th at 12:00 AM EST to enter. At this time, it is only open to US residents. I will notify 4 winners on Monday (May 27th) by email. Winners will have 48 hours to reply and provide a mailing address. If I do not hear from a winner in the time allotted then a new winner will be chosen. Also, the wand chooses the wizard - meaning winners will receive one of the four wands shown above at random.

Good luck!

Dallas Comic Con 2013

I had been counting down the days to the Dallas Comic Con since their last convention (Sci Fi Expo) in February! This marked my year anniversary of going to comic conventions and doing cosplay. It's hard to believe that the weekend has come and gone now. I had an AMAZING time and met so many nice people! It was great running into friends from past conventions, too, and seeing their new costumes. I went with my mom and together we took over 300 photos. This will be a major post so slow computers beware! Lots of pictures ahead! If you don't see your picture in this post then check out my Facebook album with ALL my pics from the weekend.

 My cosplay's for the weekend included Princess Zelda on Friday, Fiona from Shrek on Saturday and Evil Mary Marvel on Sunday. This is a glimpse at the night before the convention getting all my props together!

Fiona Cosplay Tutorial

Since the Dallas Comic Con is this weekend (woo!) I decided to make a master post showcasing my Fiona cosplay. I have posted bits and pieces of the process, but this is a full detailed look at all the hard work I put into this costume. I didn't get a chance to take any finished photos with the green body paint because I am nervous I won't have enough for the convention. So after Saturday I am sure I will have plenty of pics to share of the completed look! But for now... enjoy this tutorial/process of Fiona's costume from Shrek Forever After!

Warning: Lots of Photos!!

Disney World 2013

So last year I was surprised with a trip to Disney World for the very first time! You can check out that adventure in this blog post. One thing that happened last year was our flight was delayed in New Orleans for FIVE hours! It sucked! So Southwest Airlines gave me and my dad $200 vouchers each to use before April 30, 2013. So of course we wait to the last minute to decide where to use our vouchers to and end up picking Disney World again! I really wanted to go back to see the new changes to the Magic Kingdom and spend more time there. So we made it happen!

Last year I carried Minnie Mouse with me on the plane, and this year my parents got me a Mickey :)

Lots and lots of pictures after the link!!

Happy Things #14

I have been so busy lately and so many things have made me happy! I had to delete a few because I had so many pics in this post!

This is my salon Hair by Anna Lee. I decided to get that cute black and white zig zag bench for my salon and move the bulky shelf to another wall. I love having more seating for my clients.

Speaking of hair.. I bleached mine again the other day and toned it with some purple conditioner. It is looking very platinum!

My kitty Pixie had to have surgery on her front paws. You can read about her injuries here. We went ahead with the surgery because she just wasn't healing on her own. But now she will be a happy kitty!

I am addicted to the mystery bags of My Little Pony. You never know which one you'll get so I buy a bag any time I see them. I was SO HAPPY to find Barber Groomsby this time!! He has a scissor and comb cutie mark and barber pole colored bow tie. I put him on my station at my salon! So perfect!

Kat Von D released this new palette called Lady Bird .. It's a matte set and I am in loveeee with it.

Recently Groupon had comic book headphones on sale for only $8. I got the Green Lantern for my mom and the Flash for me. This was my first time buying anything from Groupon and they arrived very quickly!

Last night I saw Jimmy Buffet in concert! And on my way back to the car I found this coconut bra on the ground. No one was around to claim so I figured it was meant for me :P  Now my mannequin is in Margaritaville.

There was an update on EverQuest 2 with some new content added. This is the boss Volot in the Siren's Grotto. He is hilarious.. he'll summon a million little frogs to attack you. I won, of course. ;)

I've been on a search for macarons for awhile and never found any in town. I finally got to try some in Houston once. But the other day at the mall I saw this little kiosk that had cake balls and french macarons! I just squealed!! The raspberry one was delicious!

And finally, here's an update on my Fiona cosplay. I made the ears and finished the axe!! I decided to remake the shirt because the first one was really uncomfortable. I think I am just about done with it and hope to get some finished photos soon.

:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:

Anything make you squeal with happiness in your life lately?

:)

Makeup Tutorial: Wonder Woman Inspired

Late one night I had a burst of energy to do my makeup. No place to go - just wanted to try something new. So I felt inspired to use themes from superheroes. I decided to start with Wonder Woman!

This is a simple tutorial on how to create a look based on Wonder Woman's colors. 

I plan to do more makeup looks inspired by other superheroes and comic books, too!

(Art by Terry Dodson)

For the eyes I used the edge of a kleenex to make the blue a straight wing. Then I added the red and finally the gold. After that I went back with white eyeshadow to blend the edges of those 3 main colors. Add some eyeliner, mascara, and glitter and you're done!

Since I did this randomly at night I didn't fix up my hair. But to channel Wonder Woman try using rollers or a large barrel curling iron to get a voluminous look.

For my lips I used a reddish gloss as a base. Then I lined them with my red eyeshadow using a skinny brush and dabbed on gold eyeshadow in the center with my a finger. The eyeshadows stick to the gloss great.. just be sure to blend well.

Here's a peek at what I used. The gold, blue, and white shadows were by Kat Von D and the red was MAC's loose pigment. The gloss was by Urban Decay and the glitter liner is Sephora brand. I did my skin with my basic routine found in this tutorial except I added more gold to my cheeks here.

:+:+:+:+:+:+:

I would love to spend more time recreating this look again. And get proper photos, too. But I was pleased with my first attempt at it!

Has a superhero ever inspired your makeup or outfit?

Who would you like me to make a tutorial for next?