My Cleaning & Organization Schedule + Tips for a Clean Home!

Wow - it's been awhile! Time to switch things up and get back in the gear of blogging :)

Today I decided to do a video all about my cleaning and organizing routine because I realized I live by my schedule and don't know where I would start if I didn't have one. The video is a bit long... like 17 minutes long. But if you're in the mood to get inspired and keep your home clean without needing to set aside hours at a time then look no further. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pU6vCJ7dY4&feature=youtu.be

I keep my cleaning schedule in a cheap Ikea frame but ideally I would laminate it and place it in my cleaning supplies bucket that's under my kitchen sink. 

Save this image to your computer and either print it out or use it as inspiration for your own cleaning schedule!

Come Meet Us at Macy's!

Come see us at Macy’s in these 5 locations across the country!

Hi guys! Guess what? We’re partnering with Macy’s for Back to School!  We’re hosting fashion shows across the country and meeting viewers in celebration of our new book, “Where Beauty Lies.”  At the 5 events that we will be appearing at below, with any $50 purchase in Macy’s mstylelab department, you will get a free copy of our new book (while supplies last) and VIP access to meet us*! You can still meet us even if you don't get a book - but why not get a book for free if you can, ya know?

*While time permits. Limit one per customer. No exchanges or returns.

"Where Beauty Lies" isn't supposed to be released until August 13, but we're making a special exception for all of you who show up to the Valley Fair event on the 10th! You get the book 3 days early!

AUGUST 10:  Macy’s Valley Fair, Santa Clara, CA at 2pm

AUGUST 17:  Macy’s Willowbrook, Wayne, NJ at 2pm

SEPTEMBER 14: Macy’s Perimeter, Atlanta, GA at 2pm

SEPTEMBER 21:  Macy’s Mall of America, Minneapolis, MN at 2pm

SEPTEMBER 28:  Macy’s Beverly Center, Los Angeles, CA at 2pm

If you can’t make it to one of our live events, you can still check out our Back to School picks for Fall at Teen Vogue’s Back to School Saturday at Macy’s! 

Just head on over to one of the 12 Macy’s stores below on Teen Vogue Back to School Saturday, August 10th from 2-4pm.  This is THE day to get your back-to-school shopping done in the Macy’s mstylelab department! Check out our must-have items for fall, and enjoy sips, sweets and DJ beats.  Plus, with any $50 mstylelab purchase you’ll receive an adorable mini-emergency kit as a free gift while supplies last.

·         Macy’s Sherman Oaks, CA

·         Macy’s Town Center at Cobb, Kennesaw, GA

·         Macy’s Florida Mall, Orlando, FL

·         Macy’s Town Center at Boca Raton, FL

·         Macy’s Greenbrier, Chesapeake, VA

·         Macy’s Christiana Mall, Newark, DE

·         Macy’s Concord Sun Valley, Concord, CA

·         Macy’s Arden Fair, Sacramento, CA

·         Macy’s Southcenter, Tukwila, WA

·         Macy’s Twelve Oaks, Novi, MI

·         Macy’s Castleton, Indianapolis, IN

·         Macy’s Westfarms, Farmington, CT

*These events are sponsored by Macy's

Comment below if you can make it out to any of the events! Hope to meet you soon :)

Tried and True: Sedu Revolution Blow Dryer

So there I am, getting ready to celebrate July 4th with the girls in Newport, minding my own business blow drying my hair when I hear laughing. I spin around to see Remi and Sami laughing over something, but I can’t figure out what. I immediately check to make sure my skirt isn't tucked inside my bathing suit bottoms. Nope. Is there something coming out of my nose? No. Do I have toilet paper stuck to my foot? Ketchup on my white shirt? All negative. What on earth could it be?!

That's when Remi chuckles about how it's funny that the self-proclaimed "beauty obsessed" girl in the group is the one with the most beat up, worn out looking blow dryer she's ever seen. I'm appalled. This is my Sedu Revolution 4000i! You cannot make fun of her! She's amazing!

The sad thing is, Remi's right. I've known for awhile that this baby was getting old, I just wasn't ready to face the truth. I've had this blow dryer for years, and it's the best one I've ever tried. I refuse to use any other one. But through the traveling and normal wear and tear, she's gotten old. I've dropped her a couple times (typically when I'm in the middle of drying my hair and a cute boy texts me) and airport security has not been too kind. The vent in the back of the dryer, which is supposed to catch dust and unwanted particles that you don't  want flying into your hair, broke off some time ago. This results in me having to be very careful that my own hair on my head doesn't get sucked in. This is difficult, and has happened more times than I'm willing to admit. (Okay, it's 3... maybe 4.) Every time I'm forced to cut the knot out of my hair, which totally messes up my layers, especially when the knot is high up towards my scalp.

I decided to sit down and have a talk with poor, broken Sedu. This is how it went down, "There comes a time in every beauty appliances life when it’s time to say goodbye. Unfortunately for you, little blow dryer, your time is now." Okay, maybe I really didn’t say it, but I thought it. I'm going to donate this blow dryer and treat myself to a fresh, new one. I'll try to keep her in better condition, but no promises. 

There are many reasons this blow dryer has been my favorite    for the past few years. Here are a few of them:

1. My hair dries in literally half the time of any other blow dryer I’ve ever tried. The power behind this tool is incredible. Anytime a friend tries it out they always comment about how quickly their hair was dry and ask me where they can get one too. (Except Remi... she just makes fun of me.)

2. It’s compact and lightweight. For someone who travels as much as I do that’s a huge deal. It takes up less space in my suitcase and doesn’t weigh it down so I can fit more makeup. Or shoes :)

3. My hair never frizzes up when I use this blow dryer. Any other blowdryer, and it takes a ton of products to make sure my hair doesn’t turn into poodle syndrome. With the technology behind this product, my hair is silky, smooth, and frizz-free every time!

The model I have is the 4000i which is outdated. The upgraded version is the same price but is technically called the 6000i. You can get your own here, here or here. 

Happy blowing! 

**wait....... that doesn't sound right....... oh well!**

Big Brother is IN and Strep Throat is OUT!

For those who follow me on twitter - if you don’t, you should ;) - you’re already aware of my ever so sucky immune system. I’m constantly getting sick, and the last few months have been no exception. On May 11 I went to urgent care and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. One or the other feels unbearable, but together they’re torture. Eventually I got over that and my body started feeling normal again. Fast forward to June 17... I was back at urgent care. It’s funny, they never actually told me what I had. My tonsils were the size of golf balls and hurt so badly. They gave me two shots (one steroid and one antibiotic) in my booty which hurt like a *****.

Exactly two months from my first visit and only 3 weeks from the last, I found myself back at urgent care yesterday. I actually didn’t want to go! I was terrified they were going to give me more shots and I’m typically fine with pain, but these bruised and made my butt sore for days. To top it off, when I stood up from the shots I threw up then passed out. Not a dandy experience, that one was. Amanda insisted I get in the car and ended up driving me to urgent care. I tested positive for strep throat but said no to any shots. I walked out of there with three medicines and doctors orders to stay in bed.

So what do I do? Go home and start crafting. I’ll show you guys what I made in a later post. (It’s a surprise for a friend on Saturday and I don’t want her to see it yet!) I love doing DIY’s and crafts, but it’s hard to find the time. Therefore, being sick is the perfect excuse to lock myself in my apartment wearing my Ariana Grande snuggie (LOL she gave one to everyone who came to her 18th birthday party) and pulling out the craft scissors.

This morning I woke up with a still sore throat but not as many body aches. I don’t think I have a fever, but how do you really know without a thermometer. I swear I had one two weeks ago! I can’t find it now... humph. I love doing “ins and outs” whether it’s for my personal life on the notes of my phone, or made up for the characters in Beneath the Glitter, there’s always a way to squeeze them in there. So here I go, squeezing and all...

Ins:
~ Big Brother! SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THROUGH LAST NIGHTS EPISODE SKIP THIS SECTION! I’ve been obsessed with Big Brother for years. When I was little, I would wait for summer for school to be out. Now that I’m older, I wait for summer because that means one thing to me. Okay two. Vacations and Big Brother. The latter may be even more exciting to me. Gosh that’s so lame to admit. Anyways, this season has not disappointed so far. Rachel and Brittany have always been my favorite players, so I love that they brought Elissa in to play the game.

Although I understand why she wanted to keep her ties to Rachel a secret, there’s really no way around it. She’s a spitting image and acts just like her. I was so happy (I may have jumped up and down... don’t tell anyone) when I saw Britney back on the screen - and to see that she was pregnant! Maybe baby Britney will be a contestant 20 years down to road! That would be amazing. We just all have to wait and see I guess.

I’m hoping Nick will go home this week for the selfish reason that I love Elissa and want to see her stick around. And Helen won’t go anywhere. She’s way too sweet. She may actually win the whole thing, who knows? All in all I’m obsessed, and I love that it comes on three times a week instead of once like a typical TV show. I haven’t ever watched the BB Live feed, but I’m thinking of getting it this year. Is it worth the money?

~Quality time with Teddy Bear! You guys know I recently had to give my pug, Lucy, to a new home. Now that Teddy is back to being an only child (aka little emperor), I find myself trying to spoil him more and more. I've been taking him on way more walks then he actually needs to go on, just because he loves them. I'm constantly searching for more toys and treats he would love. I cuddle him so hard at night he wouldn't be able to squeeze out of my arms even if the place was on fire. Okay, that's not true, but you catch my drift. I can slowly see he is starting to be happy again. I truly believe dogs can have depression, and when Lucy was here Teddy was diagnosed (by me) with it. Now he's starting to get back to his old self and I love it! 

~The one minute rule. I've talked to you guys about this before, but moving into my new place has really reinforced it for me. It's basically where I won't let myself walk away from something that has to do with home cleaning and organization if it will take less than 60 seconds. Walk in the door and throw my purse on the table? No. It takes less than a minute to hang it on it's hook, so that's what I do. Take off my jewelry at night before getting ready for bed and stack it on my bathroom counter. No. I put it back in it's designated spot. Finish eating lunch and set my plate in the sink? No. Less than 60 seconds to rinse it off and stick it in the dishwasher. I've caught myself doing this more and more the past few weeks and it's really helping me to keep a tidy home. You should try it out! The little things make the biggest differences.

Outs:
~Being sick. Enough said.

~Coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I still drink it pretty much everyday. But I think it’s only because I’m addicted. Really tho. I prefer the taste of tea so much more so I’ve been sticking with that as my afternoon drink (when I typically have a second cup of good ol’ joe). Teavana is my favorite but I’m too lazy for the whole process, and the cleanup isn’t as simple as tossing away a teabag. So for now I’m loving the Starbucks Tazo Teas in "Zen" green tea and "Passion" herbal infusion. 

~Not being in Destin, FL with the rest of my family! I love our summer vacations down at the beach house, but I already had prior plans in LA that prevented me from going this year. Now I'm here all alone wishing I was with Jelly Bean going crab hunting and walking to the Whales Tail with my parents every morning. **Maybe I should just get on a plane and go?**No, self, you have strep throat, stay in bed.**But YOLO, self!**palm to face**Okay, I'll stay here.**

Where's Lucy?!

First things first, she’s okay! That being said, this is still a hard post for me to write. I tried filming a video about it twice in the last week but it’s tough to talk about. Even though I only had Lucy for a few months, I really bonded with her and feel like she knew I was her mama. The main reason I got Lucy Goose in the first place was because Teddy (my yorkie) seemed so lonely. Every time Ted and I would be on a walk he would get so excited to pass another dog and was always so playful with them.   

Growing up my family had a pug named Pebbles and she was the sweetest thing ever. To this day my mom still says it was our best pet (and that’s including my little sisters goat, Alphalpha). When I started thinking about another dog I knew I didn’t want another “pocket puppy” so to speak. Teddy is only 4 lbs and sometimes I wonder if he’s supposed to be in a guinea pig cage. I originally thought about a big dog, but living in a condo I decided it would be unfair. Insert my solution... Lucy!

When I first introduced Teddy and Lucy they got along so well. They played all day, chasing each other around and playing tug of war. I was thrilled with how happy Teddy seemed, and excited to give Lucy a great home. Once the “newness” wore off to them both they started getting snappy at each other. I think Teddy realized this was my dog as well, not just a friend that comes and goes, so he got jealous. Lucy didn’t quite realize her size equaled power over Teddy and would constantly pick on him.

When it was just Lucy and Teddy together things were always tense. Teddy would try to be as far as her from possible while still being close to me, and Lucy would bite his ears and constantly play “too hard” for a dog half her size. That being said, when I would take Lucy to the dog park she had so much fun playing with other dogs her size and bigger. She always seemed so happy and met even met another pug named Brutus at the park. I got to talking with Brutus’ momma and brought up my worries about Lucy being around Teddy. She’s not a mean dog at all. She’s just a little wilder. (Heck, she’s still a puppy!)

After meeting up with Brutus at the dog park for a few weeks, his mom casually told me if I was ever looking for a home for Lucy she would LOVE to add her to their family. I immediately thought, "No! I can’t give my Goosey away!" After a few days of thinking about it, we really talked it out and decided to do a “trial run.” Which was basically where Lucy would go live with them for a few days and make sure she got along well with Brutus and the whole family. I wanted Lucy to have the best home possible, so if that wasn’t going to be it I wanted to know! She has never seemed happier.

Teddy is my baby. When it comes down to it I want what’s best for him. You guys know a best friend of mine passed away about a year and a half ago, and I had originally adopted Teddy from her. There’s something about having Teddy with me that makes me feel like I still have a piece of Shay with me. She’ll always be in my heart, but it’s nice to cuddle with Teddy and know he got to share a bond with her as well.
 
As much as I want what’s best for Teddy, I want what’s best for Lucy as well. It was the kind thing to do to. I still see them at the dog park all the time and Lucy definitely still remembers me (it’s only been a week since she went to her new home) but she doesn’t seem to be sad when she leaves in an opposite direction than me. She’s so excited to be with Brutus that I don’t think she even notices.

I hope you guys understand this was a tough decision for me to make, and I didn’t take it lightly. I think it was sweeter to give Lucy to her new home than being selfish and keep her just because I loved her so much. I’ll never forget when she looked up at me with that under bite though... gosh she’s so darn cute!

Loco for Coco(nut Oil)

Let me preface this post by admitting that I’m not a huge fan of coconut. I love the scent of it (not the fresh stuff, but the made-in-a-factory kind you smell in inexpensive lotion and bath product - eek I love it!) but I’ve never been one for the taste. Let’s put it this way, I’ll skip a dessert if it has coconut on it. That’s saying a lot. I love dessert. So when I realized my love for this - err... beauty product? - I was quite surprised. 

I first found out about this when a group of my girlfriends were prepping in Leah’s bathroom to go to dinner. I was minding my own business, applying lipstick while waiting for the glue on my fake lashes to dry when I smelled heaven. I mean, I don’t really know what heaven smells like... but I think it’s something like this. Or donuts. I whipped my head around to see Leah with a jar of Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Oil. She was slathering it all over her legs. Being a beauty addict, I had to see what it was. 

After re-reading the label three times I realized nowhere on it did it mention anything about applying it to your body. It was a cooking oil! Startled, I asked Leah in a joking way if she was planning on cooking herself for dinner. She laughed and explained a friend of hers had told her about using this organic oil instead of body lotion. Not only does the coconut smell amazing (and taste too! Because it’s normal to care about what you taste like, yeah? O_o ) but her legs looked as silky as a Victoria’s Secret model! That night I applied some to my arms, legs and chest and felt super sexy the whole evening. 

The next morning I headed to my neighborhood Trader Joe’s to grab my own jar of the magic slime. Of course I ended up leaving with a cart full of groceries including daisies and fresh frozen salmon. (How in the world is the salmon fresh if it’s frozen?!) When I found the holy grail item that sparked my shopping spree I was quite confused. Some of the jars looked as if they contained absolute liquid oil and some seemed to be the same but in more of a solid form. Almost as if it had been frozen. I picked the latter since it looked the most like the one Leah had. I also think it would be easier to apply like lotion instead of a straight up liquid that would slide straight through my fingers. Let the odds be ever in my favor. 

Fast forward a week and a few days. I don’t know what I did without this. I’ve realized that I love applying it to my legs everyday when I get out of the shower (Use sparingly so it soaks in properly! If you glob it on it stays greasy.) but I’m not a huge fan of it on the rest of my body. Don’t get my wrong, I won’t use anything else on my legs now. But there’s something about it that I would rather use regular body lotion on the rest of me. Maybe it’s my irrational fear that I’ll smell so good the bugs outside will be attracted to me and attack me. Who knows? It could happen. Anyways, I’ve never had silkier, smoother legs and I’m just glad I was introduced to this product before summer is over!

I did some online digging about this oil and here’s what I found...

1- A lot (and I mean a lot) of people know and rave about coconut oil. Where was I when everyone was discovering this miracle product? Living under a rock - or coconut - obviously! 

2- There are a ton of beauty uses for this product. Everything from using it as a makeup remover to a hair mask. I’ll keep you guys updated on which ones I try and whether or not I liked it. 

3- You can get your own 16 oz jar at Trader Joes for $5.99

For those of you who don’t live near a Trader Joe’s (I didn’t even know what it was for the first 17 years of my life) I found some online alternatives for you... here, here, here and here!

Welcome to Crushing on Chic!

Don’t get me wrong, videos are amazing. It’s a great way to connect with you guys and really use my voice - literally LOL - to explain a product. But sometimes it’s nice to be able to sit back, take some photos and write about it. Most of you have noticed ElleandBlair.com is down, and has been for a couple months. I’ve been having anxiety about not being able to blog. Elle started up her own blog dreaminginblush.com to cure the need to write. As always, I copied her. Gosh, story of our lives. Elle starts YouTube videos. Blair starts YouTube videos. Elle wants to move to LA. Blair wants to move to LA. Elle gets a deaf cat, Pinecone... well that’s a tricky one. Anyways, you see the pattern here.

So cheers to being with me from the very start of a new chapter in my life! I'll be blogging about everything from beauty and fashion to home decor, travel, health and lifestyle.

A little background on me for those who may be new!

1. In 2008 I started making beauty and fashion videos under the screen name JuicyStar07. (Still kicking myself over the porn star sounding name. What can I say, I loved Juicy Couture?)

2. I'm 20 years young with a lot of living and learning still to do! I graduated high school when I was only 17 and haven't started college yet. It's still in the plans, timing has just been off. However, I did teach a seminar at Harvard Business School on the power of social media... twice. I think I'm doing alright for myself :) 

3. My partner in crime/best friend/mentor/inspiration is my older sister, Elle. She’s amazing and, as I already mentioned, vlogs and blogs too!

4. After almost five wonderful years of vlogging I still can’t get enough. Unfortunately, my life consists of more than just videos so sometimes I can’t put up as many as I’d like. 

5. Elle and I have a novel out that is loosely based on our lives called Beneath the Glitter. The sequel, Where Beauty Lies, hits shelves August 13, 2013. We also own a cell phone accessories line with Cellairis

 

6. I live in sunny Los Angeles, CA and wouldn’t swap it for anywhere. Elle and I bought condos in the same building! We’re still super close, we just both have our own space and investments. 

7. I have a yorkie named Teddy Bear who is the sweetest and most mellow dog you’ll probably ever (online?) meet. 

8. I was born in Augusta, Georgia. Then lived in New Orleans for a bit but mainly grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee.

9. I would do absolutely anything for my little sister, Jelly Bean (not her birth name, but it might as well be).

10. Elle and I have been nominated twice for a teen choice award for choice web stars. It was such an honor to be recognized for doing what we love!