Farewell, bad hair year

Dear hats, bobby pins, headbands, ponytails and dark corners:

It's been a not-so-great run together, and I'm happy to report your services will no longer be needed thanks to the talented women at Ide Mania. They've restored my faith in quality hairstylists and shown there is hope out there for those fearful of follicle follies.

I hope we never have to meet again. Peace out!

P.S. Please excuse the MySpace-esque bathroom pic. :)

Follicle fear be gone

Can someone please tell me why I'm perfectly ok with jumping off cliffs, hang gliding and rock climbing, but a pair of scissors and a stylist's chair scare the ish out of me?! It's been almost a year since I've had my hair cut (the Bang Incident of 2010 was traumatizing), and today I'm taking the plunge again. 

Part of the reason I've waited almost 365 days is because my hair was butchered the last time I had it cut. There was a complete miscommunication between the hairdresser and I, and the end result was anything but pretty. It's also really hard to find a stylist I trust. The lady who I had in California was so great (too bad she couldn't have made the move with us), and I haven't been able to find that again in Arizona. I did some research and came across an Aveda concept salon not too far from the townhouse I'm going to try.

Plus with all of the upcoming fun adventures, it's time for this mop to get cleaned up. The look I'm going for is long and brunette (which I have now) with a little side bang. Here's hoping I won't be scerrrred off into hair hell again.

Lovely locks - Clockwise from top-left: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Blog loves to play dress-up

How boring would it be if everything stayed the same? In my little neck of the Internet woods, I like to keep it fresh, and that means changing up the blog every now and then.

This time, I created a new main header. I have a few different candidates and two I'm kind of torn between, which is where you come in. I'd appreciate any feedback on which one you like, dislike, fits the style of this space the best, etc. Thanks, friends.

Variety is the spice of life ... and this blog

You know the old saying. Well, I've taken it to heart in regard to my little corner of the Internet. I changed the look of the blog again, going from a two-column to a three-column layout, adding social media icons and a spot for some of my favorite photographs. 

I figure the design and information available here should grow with my HTML skills, and I'm pretty stoked with what I've come up with so far, being self-taught and all. Of course, any suggestions, feedback, comments, concerns, questions are always appreciated.

Do you like the new goodies? Has the three-column style enhanced or hampered the blog navigation? I'm toying with the idea of making two skinny columns on either side of the post section, but for now, this is the design.

A sample of my favorite snaps in the Polaroids section:

Cha-cha-cha-CHANGES

As you may have noticed, the blog received a makeover just in time for the start of summer. Actually, I got bored with the old design and wanted to test out my Paint.NET [think Photoshop for free] skills.

Trial and error style:

After creating a few different headers, I achieved what I think is a pretty, yet clean look. The minimized depth and fun berry mosaic don't dominate the page as the original header did.

The finished product:

 

I also eliminated the background image to reduce the busy feel of the blog's first design. I think the flag and plain background are enough to carry the page, yet don't detract from the elements in the posts. I still haven't decided on the background color, though. Suggestions are welcome.

 Another addition is my newspaper page design and headline portfolio. With the sad demise of NewsPageDesigner, my clips were tucked away on the computer without a public home to call their own. It's nice to be able to share my past work now that I'm not longer a print journalist. Click the pages below or the link on the right hand side of the blog to check it out.

I'd also like to welcome fellow bloggers and rad friends Brandon Jones, Sarah Reijonen and  Andrew Marden as the newest members of my "Homies" section. Brandon writes on all that is the NBA, Sarah gives us a glimpse into her life as a South Dakota resident and Andrew will update you on everything Central California-related and its connection to the sports world.

I promised to change up the blog and I'd love your feedback on the revamp. I hope you enjoy reflecting on the creative process with me.

And in keeping with the theme of this post, a little David Bowie to take us home.