Distressed Shorts All Style Up!

Hi my lovely friends, here's the post/video that I promised you featuring the distressed, studded hi lo denim shorts that I created in this earlier post here. I hope you like and of course, always leave us a comment on what you think about the.

TTYL. Love
Debbie

DIY: Distressed & Studded Hi Lo Denim Shorts

Hey guys I'm here with a DIY for you!!!! This is my first attempt of creating my own bleached, distressed and studded denim shorts and I hope you like it. I purchased these high wasted jeans from a thrift store a while back and I have been eager to do this tutorial for you guys, I love the way they came out and I plan on doing more DIY clothing in the future, but until then enjoy this post and definitely let me know what you think of them in the comments :)

Here's what you'll need

Pair of old denim jeans                                               Studs
Bleach                                                                        Scissors
Tape measure                                                             Thimble
Chalk/pencil/pen

Here's how the pants fit before:

How To:

STEP 1: We are first going to take the chalk/pen and mark the initial length of the pants; you should ideally do this in front of a mirror to get a better view of what you're doing. N.B. the first markings on the pants should be longer than the actual length that you want as we will be making a second cut later. Draw a diagonal line at the front and a curved line at the back as you can see below to achieve the hi lo effect.

STEP 2: Once you've established the first set of markings, were going to go ahead and take the tape measure and replicate the length of those markings from the waste on the opposite leg. This ensures that there's symmetry to the shorts. AT THE FRONT: measure the length of the inner and outer thigh and AT THE BACK: measure the inner and out thighs as well as through the center of the back pocket. Take a look below.

Front measurement

Back measurement

STEP 2a: No it's time to play connect the dots! using your chalk just connect the markings that you made on the opposite leg

 STEP 3: Now your ready to begin cutting your shorts. Start cutting from the front and then continue to the back of the shorts. Be careful when cutting the shorts especially at the back, always cut through the leg and never through the crotch. I actually made the mistake of cutting through the crotch of the pants and had to sew it back up and be mindful of the front pockets so that you don't cut those either.

First cut

STEP 4: After the first cut then you can determine how much more fabric you wish to take off after that. I opted to cutting my shorts a little shorter by repeating the above steps so that I could have a symmetrical hem line.

STEP 5: After I had achieved the length that I wanted, I began making random slits in the shorts to which will add to the distressed look. You could also use sand paper to further distress the shorts. Be careful not to cut through the pockets.

STEP 6: Before bleaching the shorts I wet them first, this makes for a gorgeous bleached effect. I squeezed out the excess water and crumpled the shorts into a small ball. I then took the bleach and splashed it onto random sections, I also rotated the shorts so I could pour the bleach on the back of the shorts while it was still in a crumpled ball. I left mine for about 1 1/2 hours until I got the desired look I was going for.

STEP 7: After they've been bleached to your liking, rinse then toss the shorts in the washing machine BY ITSELF. Using the washing machine will help to fray the slits and hem line of the shorts and it will get rid of all traces of bleach.

STEP 8: Once the shorts have been washed and dried, you can stop at this point, but I went on to add a little more pizazz by placing some pyramid studs along the front pocket. To secure the studs I used the thimble to help me close the clamps on the back of the studs without hurting my fingers.

STEP 9: YOUR DONE!! now you can style your new studded distressed shorts however you like them.

So.... you wanna see how mine came out? check out my upcoming video on how I style them and
I hope you enjoyed my DIY project, and if you try it out for yourself, make sure to let us know! Take Care...
Debbie

Fall/Winter Nail Colours

Now on our wonderful little island of Jamaica, it's pretty much a tropical climate 365 days of the year but that doesn't mean that we can't keep up with fall trends even though we don't really have a 'fall season' per say. I picked out some colours that I love and I think they  would be perfect for the fall season, and oh! your gonna see some bright colours thrown in there as well, I just had to add a few brights to reflect our island heat :)

I also failed to mention that I have a lot of nail polishes so this is gonna be a mega nail polish show and tell, I just couldn't choose only one, so sit back relax and enjoy the blog post

Blues

These are great for adding a pop of colour or if you want an alternative for black, Light My Sapphire is perfect!

Sally Hansen: Pacific Blue | LA Girl: Dance Studio | OPI: Light My Sapphire

Glitters 

Great for layering over other colours

Wet 'n' Wild: Kaleidoscope  | Sally Hansen: Strobe Lights| China Glaze: Snow Globe | Sally Hansen: Ice Queen

Plums and Purples

The darker purple shades are great for vamping up your look

OPI: Ate Berries in Canaries | Wet 'n' Wild: Eggplant Frost | Revlon:Plum Attraction

Reds

The vibrant colour of the Christmas season

Wet 'n' Wild: Red Red | Revlon: Cherries in the Snow | Revlon: Raisin Rage

Whites and Metallics

Love these colours on accent nails or for creating unique nail art designs, and a good gold nail polish is so hard to find but Charge It! is a gorgeous yellow gold. 

China Glaze: White On White | Wet 'n' Wild: Metallica | Sephora by OPI: Charge It!  | Sephora by OPI: Already Famous

I unfortunately didn't have any darker green colours in my collection, but I would have definitely added that to my favourites for fall.
Do you have any favourite nail polishes for fall? Let me know...
Debbie

Get Ready With Me!

I am the type that during my exam period, I completely neglect myself and am completely engulfed in my studies until they are over. After feeling extremely overwhelmed I decided to take a study break and  headed to the movies to watch 007 Skyfall...which I must say was an awesome movie! You can check out the video below of me getting ready.

Hope you're having a wonderful day!
Shannon

1 Day...2 Events! (picture heavy)

Two weekends ago we decided to attend a few events that were going on over and luckily for us we could kill two birds with one stone so we attended both the Health, Home and Garden 2012 Expo as well as the Beauty and Health Care Expo 2012. Expos such as these are a great way of finding out what the Jamaican market has to offer as it relates to health and beauty of course, and as Jamaican beauty and fashion bloggers we figured these expos would be right up our alley.

Health, Home and Garden Expo 2012

Admission: JMD$500 for adults
Venue: National Arena
Date of event: Rescheduled to November 9 - 11, 2012 because of Hurricane Sandy

Overview:
This event was not exactly our cup of tea as it was more geared towards home improvement, gardening, furniture and home decor, and companies which manufactured or sold specialty home related items. Now don't get us wrong it was a fantastic event, well executed and very organized. The floor plan allowed you to walk around with ease and besides the huge array of home/house related booths there were also banks, insurance companies, health test booths, etc. There were also live demonstrations, giveways, discounts and free sampling from Lasco and other food booths. When we own our own homes then we can appreciate this event even more, but it was great to see the wide variety of home decor items and companies that are in Jamaica, you actually don't need to go shopping outside of Jamaica if you're looking for unique pieces because it's all here! It was interesting to see how fashion actually inspires home decor as well. Our favourite booths were Matahari, they had gorgeous, but very expensive home decor items and also Custom Furnishing and Joinery Limited they have exquisitely made custom furniture/cabinetry/closets...virtually anything!

Shannon & I at the Flow booth

Matahari

Custom Furnishing and Joinery Ltd.

Beauty and Healthcare Expo 2012

Admission: FREE
Venue: Pegasus Hotel
Date of event: November 11, 2012

Overview:
*Kiss Teet* (as we say in Jamaica). Where do we start? We were expecting a whole lot more from this even quite honestly and we were not impressed to say the least. The booths showcased the typical hair products that you would normally find in beauty supply stores in and around Jamaica and the prices of the products were not reduced at all, for us an expo should showcase products at a cheaper/discounted price and honey these prices were not cheap. It was a bit crowded and when we initially arrived we were greeted by a very loud person performing on stage... ah boy! Apart from a very crowded L'oreal booth, we did not see any other makeup retail booths and there were not many locally made natural hair and beauty products being showcased besides Tropic Isle (manufacturers of Jamaican black castor oil products). We were hoping that it would have been more of a learning expo, but it was simply a showcase of products...with hardly any samples of these products and, how do you classify this as a beauty expo when it seemed to be more centered around hair and hair care products, what about makeup, nail care, etc? The highlight of the night however was meeting Youtube guru JamaicanMakeupArtist at the Motions booth and receiving some free goodies (which we cannot mention *wink*).

Hope you enjoyed!
Debbie & Shannon

World Aids Day 2012

Hi guys! This is one of the special days that I commemorate since the inception of the blog and I will continue to pay homage to those who are affected directly and indirectly by this debilitating disease as long as possible. In 2011 I created this simple nail look here but this year I wanted to test out my makeup skills and try out this graphic eyeliner look with a bold red lip. I hope you enjoy the look, but most importantly I hope that you understand the meaning of this day which is that AIDS can affect anyone so GET TESTED,  ALWAYS PRACTICE SAFE SEX, and most importantly people with AIDS should not be shunned and as a society we can grow to become more tolerable of those infected with this disease.

All the junk I used

Stay Safe friends
Debbie

Restaurant Week Rundown 2012 Part II

Hello everyone, I wanted to share my dining experience during Restaurant Week 2012 with you all as I think that the concept behind the week long event is absolutely fantastic! You get a chance to basically sample a variety of cuisine at a discounted cost and you definitely can't beat that.


Gloria's Seafood

Category: Tasty (JMD$1600)
Location: Port Royal
Type of Cuisine: Jamaican Style Seafood and Fish
Review: The bf and I hadn't planned on going to Gloria's for Restaurant Week, since we normally go on any other typical night, but friends of ours were in the mood for fish, so we basically went on a double date. We went to the restaurant located on the foreshore. I know that Gloria's typically gets really bad reviews in regards to the service, but luckily for both myself and my other girlfriend knew the waitress from childhood, so we got the 'royal treatment', so to speak. We didn't wait very long for our table and the food came out in good time. We all ordered basically the same thing; Conch Fritters, Fish and Lobster Medley, and Chocolate cake. The entree was definitely the highlight of our meal. The portion was very large and you know no one prepares steamed fish better than Gloria's, so that was delicious! However, I know of other persons who went to Gloria's during Restaurant Week and because of the bad service they received, it spoiled their experience. With that said, I would recommend the restaurant for the tasty seafood, but not for the service. (Shannon)
Rating: 4.5/5

Fish and Lobster Medley

Ristorante Baci - Wyndham Hotel

Category: Savoury (JMD$2200)
Location: New Kingston
Type of Cuisine: Italian
Review: 'Le sigh', what a disappointment! I went to Baci with a group of friends and I think we all left somewhat indifferent towards this restaurant. I think I went with such high expectations because I am a fan of Italian food, I believe it's one cuisine where you can't really go wrong. For my appetizer I had the Calamari Fritti, which was very good. My main course was the Chicken Parmesan which for me was 'blah'; I didn't end up finishing it because I got bored mid way eating it. My bf however got the Veal Prosciutto which I tried and it wasn't too bad. For my dessert I got the Cappuccino Cheese Cake which was delicious! The service was great and the best part of the evening was the company. I would go back to this restaurant, but I would certainly order a different main course. (Shannon)
Rating: 3.5/5

Left: Veal Prosciutto |  Right: Chicken Parmesan

Cappuccino Cheesecake

South Beach Cafe

Category: Savoury (JMD$2200)
Location: 8 Lady Musgrave Road
Type of Cuisine: Fusion of Jamaican and International cuisine
Review: This was date night for me and my bf. We went there without making a reservation so we had to wait about 7 minutes for them to prepare a table for us which wasn't too bad. The hostess and the servers where very professional and did a fantastic job. I always loved the outdoor atmosphere of this restaurant, and the fact that the decor was modern and cozy made for a lovely romantic dinner for my bf and I. For my appetizer I ordered the Oakland Smoked Salmon; I was extremely shocked by the portion as it was only a bite size amount, however, it tasted really good. My bf had the  Brompton Remoulade (crab and shrimp cake) and it was just as shockingly small. For my entree I ordered the Broiled Lobster with Saffron rice; this was the best part of my meal because it was really delicious. The disappointing part again was the portion size which was very small. The dessert was the worst part of my evening. I ordered the Dulce de Leche cheese cake, and not only was it extremely small, there was nothing 'dulce' about this cheese cake; it was bland and dry; it was the worse cheese cake I have ever had in my life! With that said, I do have mixed feelings about my experience at South Beach, as my entree was delicious, but I left hungry. However, I will be going back outside of Restaurant Week to see if there is any major difference particularly in regards to the serving size. (Shannon)
Rating: 3/5

Oakland Smoked Salmon

Left: Broiled Lobster  |  Right: Medallion of Pork Tenderloin

Left: Dulce de Leche cheesecake  |  Right: Sherry Trifle

So how was your Restaurant Experience? Let us know some of the restaurants that you dined at.

Shannon xoxox