A Sprinkle of Life

Donating my hair to Children with Hair Loss

September 7, 2021 No Comments

Today, I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, I donated some of my hair for those in need. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I hadn’t had a hair cut in well over a year and a half, so I’ve been meaning to get it cut. The questions that came to mind were where should I donate, and is my hair long enough for their requirements.

After doing some research I was surprised to see the “big names” we all hear about when it comes to hair donations didn’t have the best reputation, and actually charged people for the wigs, which didn’t sit well with me. Eventually, I found a non-profit that gave wigs to children who were suffering from hair loss, and that they could receive a wig at no cost to them or their family. That charity is Children With Hair Loss. I also liked that they would take donations as small at 8 inches, as well as previously dyed hair or even grey hair. I found their inclusiveness to be really attractive.

As a redhead, our hair color is really special to us and hard to find in the wild, so I wanted to donate at least once in my life to help a fellow redhead have their special color back. I imagine red hair donations to be far and few inbetween so I wanted to support my fellow gingers out there in this small step.

I hope you’ll consider donating your hair one day if you have the opportunity. You could make someone’s day a little brighter.

Here’s my before:

And here’s me 10 inches shorter.

Pandemic hair no more!

Time to package up my ponytails and send my donation out the door! So happy I could finally donate.

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DIY Home Improvement – Lighting

August 28, 2021 No Comments

During the pandemic, my significant other and I decided to purchase our very first home. While the house wasn’t a fixer upper by any means, it needed a little TLC, aka paint and a little modernization here and there to make it our home. Follow along as I chronicle some of the improvements, tasks, and projects we take on.

One of the more recent projects we took on was replacing outdoor light fixtures. We have a balcony off of our kitchen that had a very dated light fixture that was original from when the homes in this neighborhood were built around 15 years ago. Below this balcony is a little patio area on the ground floor that had the same matching light fixture, so we figured we’d tackle both and make sure they matched since we were replacing one.

We live right off of the water, and get super crazy high wind gusts every now and then (I think the highest we recorded from our personal weather station was in the 50-60 mph range). Due to the wind, one evening the light off the kitchen fell to the ground. The fixture was made of glass panels, and one of them even chipped a bit, but we were able to put everything back together and use the light still, but I felt it was finally a sign to take on our outdoor lighting plan. It’s also worth noting that due to the wind, and living right off the water, there was also a lot of water damage/erosion done to the metal of the light. The metal had a rough texture and really lost its shine and former glory. Because of these factors, we decided to get a dark color metal/base for whatever light we ended up choosing.

Looking around at the porches of our neighbors, it seems just about everyone has kept their original lights on their porches and patios, expect our next door neighbor, who had replaced them with black sconces. Figuring we should blend in a bit with her style, and because it looked clean and nice, we decided to be on the lookout for something that was simple, not too eccentric, and would look like it belonged with the house. What we ultimately chose was a simple black sconce, similar in design shape to our neighbor, and to the lights we all have above our garages at the front of the house.

Why black? It’s modern, clean, and can go with any aesthetic, it also doesn’t seem to “date” as much as say gold fixtures do, like the ones we had. We also decided to go with some vintage style light bulbs, going for the edison bulb look, mainly because I think they look cool, but also because they give off a nice warm light.

The replacement was pretty easy. Brian did one of them, and had me do the other so I could get an understanding for the wiring and installation steps. I appreciate getting hands on in these types of home improvement activities because it gives me a new skill, confidence to tackle projects I want to do, and makes me feel like I’m living my dreams of wanting to be on one of those home improvements shows in the 90s and early 2000s.

Here’s how the new lights look fully installed. We’re super pleased with them, even though we don’t use the lights that much, it gives the outside a nice clean updated look.

On to the next project…

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Luvn Beauty, an honest review on quick fashion

June 5, 2021 1 Comment

Quick fashion companies seem to be all the rage lately due to sites like Facebook, Instagram, and perhaps more than any other site, TikTok.

On TikTok you’ll find tons of videos of women trying on clothing items from a lot of the Quick or Hot Fashion websites that have popped up and gained popularity on the internet. Most of these companies tend to be from overseas in Asia, where sizing and quality are really up in the air and it’s almost like a game to see what you end up with.

I was feeling the quarantine boredom and blues and made the decision to click around a site advertised to me on social media (most likely Instagram) called Luvn Beauty. The clothes looked cute, the prices were cheap, and there were reviews on the site for the items I was looking at, so I figured it couldn’t be that sketchy, could it?

I gave in, and purchased two rompers after what I thought was extensive review of the items, the size charts, and the customer feedback. I ended up purchasing the Sleeveless Round Neck Stripy Romper in a size medium, and the Fashion Sleeveless Round Neck Tie Button Romper in a size small. I really went back and forth a bit on what sizes to get, and it seemed based on size charts I was a different size in each. I figured the items were cheap enough that hey, let’s get the different sizes and it’ll help me understand better for the future what size I really am from this company.

Both looked cute, the first one a little more form fitting, and the second baggy and loose. There were reviews for each and people seemed to love the items, so why not?

Then reality kicked in.

I used paypal to checkout, and then a couple days later on my mobile banking app I checked to make sure the purchase went through and saw the paypal purchase went to a random place in China, no reference to Luvn Beauty. That was my first clue I had made a mistake haha. I had hoped this wasn’t coming from China, because I knew shipping would be slow and that what I got in the mail may not be what I ordered.

After talking to support, eventually my item shipped. It appeared to sit in Jamaica Queens in New York for several days after it “shipped” which probably meant after it made it to America, and then after a week or two after that it made its way to me. What was strange on the package was that the from address was in New Jersey, another odd indicator that this was a strange setup.

The first item, the stripped white and blue romper seemed decent-ish. The fabric was not what I expected. From the photos the fabric looked a bit heavier and stiff. This romper had very silky thin fabric instead. From a fit perspective, I was able to get it on and fit into it, but it was a bit loose in the armpit chest area, and was longer on my torso and legs than I expected.

The second, tan-ish looking romper which gave me safari vibes, was cheap looking. The fabric was very thin, didn’t look great, and was just a disappointment right out of the bag. Trying it on was another thing. It felt like it was riding up on my lower half of the body, and I couldn’t get the buttons to button around my chest. Of course as I was putting this post together and looking for the item on the site I realize I was wearing it backwards and the buttons are supposed to go on the back, but I would need help with that.

I reached out to learn more about returns, but of course they wanted me to send it back to some random address in China, which I expected would be costly and take forever so it wasn’t worth it. I bet they do this on purpose, knowing most people won’t go through the hassle. I did end up wearing the blue and white romper this week while working from home, and it was ok, but I’m not sure I like how big/loose it is on my frame, but alas it’s acceptable for a day at home.

While I was browsing Reddit in bed this morning, I saw a post in one of the Women subreddits about what’s something you saw and bought from social media, but regret. One of the comment threads was about clothes you see advertised online, that look good, seem well priced, but end up being a fail. The one company I recognized the name of in the thread was Shein, which I see everywhere on TikTok. For the commenters it seems that site is a hit or miss, and from TikTok it seems most people enjoy the items they get, but I think I’ll stay away. Maybe it’s time to try a clothing subscription box again. Stitch Fix maybe? I’ve also heard a bit about Wantable, and they seemed to have decent reviews. We’ll have to see what the Summer months bring to my wardrobe.

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Rothy’s – The Sneaker Review

May 21, 2021 No Comments

I’ve been a fan of Rothy’s for a few years now, having purchased a few different colors of their Point shoe, and enjoying the fact that the shoes were washable and made of recyclable products. I was recently looking for a neutral sneaker and recalled seeing Rothy’s advertise about “The Sneaker” shoe for a while, so I figured let’s give it a try.

I bought The Sneaker in the Sand color, liking that it was a nice light neutral color that I felt I could wear with most things in my wardrobe. The size I went with was my usual shoe size (7), as the site said this shoe fits true to size, unlike some of their other options that they recommend sizing up a bit in.

At first try on, I wasn’t sure I was going to be a fan of the shoes. The material rubbed a bit on the upper part of my foot, and I couldn’t tell if I should wear socks, no-show socks, or nothing at all when donning these neutral kicks. I figured there’s no better way to figure it out then to try all three combos and see what looked and worked best for me.

Since at first I wasn’t sure I liked the feeling bare footed, I slipped into the shoes with my normal fun patterned Pusheen socks. This seemed to feel better, but eventually I determined normal socks were a little too thick for these snug shoes and opted to give no-show socks a try.

Everything seemed ok enough, so out the door and to the nature walk outside my front door I went! A few minutes in I felt that the no-show sock was biting into my heel a bit, rubbing with the back of the shoe. It didn’t feel great, and I was worried I was going to get a blister, but thankfully I didn’t. After breaking these kicks in for a day, I decided to give the no socks try again, and it was a success!

It seemed these shoes and my feet just needed to break things into together for a day or so, stretching out the sides a bit with my socks previously, and everything started to feel pretty comfortable. I’ve been wearing the Rothy’s sneaker exclusively for about 2 weeks now, testing them out in various scenarios, walking the nature path in the heat, walking through home depot, doing a grocery run, driving, etc.

After my 2 week test drive, I’d say these shoes are a winner. They are lightweight, a cute color with a pop of fun on the back heel, and they don’t require much breaking in. I’ve also found they are easy to wear and look good with just about anything, from jeans and leggings, to dresses and rompers you can make the look work.

I was hesitant to try a slip on sneaker style like this, since I don’t tend to wear slip ons, worrying that my skinny heels will slip right out, but I haven’t had any slippage issues with these shoes. If you’re like me and have trouble keeping slip on shoes on your heels and ankles, these just might work for you too!

Want to give Rothy’s a try? Use my code for $20 off your first purchase!

Next up, I’m going to be trying out The Wrap Sandal from the company. It’s getting hot here on the East Coast and I’ve already brought out my shorts, so it’s time to bring out the sandals.

Reviews, Style

Saying Goodbye to Infinitely Loft

April 17, 2021 No Comments

For the past ~2 years I’ve been using the rental service Infinitely Loft on and off. I took a several month long break for quite a while during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic and in the midst of us moving into our first house. I figured I could save a little bit of money while I spent a bucket load setting up my new home, buying furniture, and working from home that I didn’t really need to get all dressed up for the time being.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when I resubscribed. I had been working from home for almost a year and decided why not do something for myself and get some cute outfits here and there to spice things up a bit.

It worked out well until a month or so ago when the announcement came that Loft would be shutting down the service due to Covid-19 difficulties. To this day I’m still not sure if that means Infinitely Loft is done for good, or just for a few months or so until they figure out what’s going on in the country pandemic wise. The good news is that vaccines have been rolling out more and more so maybe that will make things come back to life?

When I got the news I was saddened since I had just gotten back into the groove and excitement of getting new items every week or so. Knowing that my time with the program was limited, and seeing that they were giving more discounts off if you wanted to buy an item, I decided to use this time to my advantage and request items I really loved the look of and wanted to possibly buy.

I threw in items for Spring and Summer, even though it was still in the 40s around here, thinking why not see if I can get some of my favorited items for really cheap!? In the past, I’ve had really great success buying some of the items I’ve rented. I’ve never had a problem with the articles of clothing being damaged, looking used, etc.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the items I snagged for 85% off during my last month on the service.

Trellis Garden Ruffle Jumpsuit In Whisper White – Infinitely Loft
$15.00

Tortoiseshell Print Belt Strappy Romper In Black – Infinitely Loft
$13.50

Flutter Romper In Whisper White – Infinitely Loft
$13.50

Summary:
In total, I rented 123 items throughout my time on the program.
Of the 123, I purchased 17 items.

What I enjoyed most about Infinitely Loft was that I was able to try a variety of new styles that I might not have otherwise. From jumpsuits to maxi dresses, there was something new and exciting always available to rent. I also got to play around with colors that I typically don’t purchase or wear because of my coloring as a redhead, but found some colors I really enjoyed (burnt yellow/mustard).

I’ll be crossing my fingers for the program to return in the near future. I know I’ll be happy to sign back up, especially as life starts coming back to normal and return to the office will be coming soon.

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