Ramshackle Glam (Tumblr)

I’ve never been to DryBar before. It is so nice.

Despite said niceness, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to dress like Britney Spears c. 2008. I have no excuse for that one, other than the fact that you really can’t put denim shorts and sparkle stars together in a single item of clothing and not expect me to hand over a credit card.

Anyway, DryBar is lovely. You get a little “menu” of options for blow-out styles (I went for “The Straight Up”: a straightforward blowout with a little volume at the roots and slight bend at the ends, but I saw lots of other girls go for “The Mai-Tai”, which is beachy, loose waves), and you’re out the door in about half an hour, including washing time.

Here’s me getting my blow-out…

…And here’s the finished product.

The Dove products that my stylist used: Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo + Conditioner, Frizz-Free Shine Cream-Serum when my hair was still damp, and a bit of Style+Care Nourishing Ends Serum to finish off the look.

And this was my view upon leaving DryBar. I mean…really?! Did the weather not get the memo that I had just gotten one of the better blow-outs of my life?

(The style did survive the trip home, though, thanks to the aforementioned anti-frizz products and the fact that a small miracle occurred and I discovered a mini umbrella hidden in the depths of my handbag.)

And this was the scene that I arrived home to. Monsters.

P.S. On June 15 at 2PM, I’ll be hosting a Twitter party with Dove during which I’ll be answering questions and offering up some styling tips and tricks. Stay tuned for more info (and click here to follow RG on Twitter).

 All non-Instagram photos: Amanda Caplin Photography.

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Pulling stuff out of the bottom dresser drawer, freaking out over it a little bit, and then throwing it on the ground.

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Not gonna lie: Father’s Day is a tough one. Dads - at least my dad, anyway - are historically reluctant to tell you what they like (unlike, say, mothers, who will happily provide itemized lists and links to appropriate purchasing outlets). Dads With Hobbies are a bit easier, but sometimes you need to step outside the golf ball box.

Clockwise from far left: 

1. King’s County Distillery products: My friends Colin and David own New York City’s oldest operating whiskey distillery (really), and make hand-crafted moonshine and bourbon using traditional processes and “unorthodox distilling equipment.” It’s good stuff. Click here to find stores and order online.

2. A really awesome iPad case: this Orvis case is made of 100% tanned Tennessee steerhide and can be personalized.

3. A very, very cool clock: clap your hands, and red digital numbers appear on this simple wooden cube (which also has an alarm function).

4. Kodak’s PLAYFULL Waterproof Video Camera, to record the poolside or beachside action this summer.

5. A hammock (the one pictured is from Target). Obviously.

One of my favorite new finds: the whimsical limited-edition (and affordably priced) prints from Stephen Campbell (via Stampa): perfect Father’s Day picks include 5 Ties (pictured above), Springsteen, and Mug.

I also want to mention Daniel Horowitz’s archival inkjet prints (starting at $100, also via Stampa), both because they’re so very cool, and because I was buddies with him in high school, so that’s cool, too.

(Use discount code DAD at checkout for free shipping on all Stampa products through June 8.)

And finally, if you’re in the market for a majorly luxe gift for papa, it does not get better than Brera Orologi watches. I gave one to Kendrick for Christmas, and the things are just awesome: stylin’, rugged, classic…all that.

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Ogunquit Trip from Jordan Reid on Vimeo.

Every year, we try to make it to Ogunquit (the town in Maine where we got married; that video is from our trip last summer) for at least one weekend. This year our travel plans are sort of up in the air what with the total life upheaval and all, but we’re still going to do our best to make it work. I need me some lobster rolls, mini golf, and seaside restaurants where “dinner attire” means capris and flip-flops.

Just in time for summer, LOFT is giving away 3 $500 gift cards to spend on fabulous warm-weather pieces (head over to my Pinterest page to check out a few LOFT looks I chose to inspire my summer vacation style). To enter, follow LOFT on Pinterest and create a style board showcasing your favorite LOFT picks for your #1 vacation destination (click here for full contest entry rules).

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My friend Beth is in this (she’s the Social Security Number Bachelorette), and if you’re a Bachelor obsessive like me, you have to watch it. Dying over here.

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Weird little joy of mine: buying a brand-new bottle of hand wash and placing it next to the sink. I love how it looks; I love trying out a new scent; I love feeling all virtuous washing my hands fifty-six times a day (a slightly obsessive habit I developed when I gave birth to a) protect my newborn from germs and b) protect myself, because I was so devastatingly exhausted that had I managed to catch a cold on top of it all I would have just given up, handed Kendrick our offspring, and crawled under the changing table until spring came along).

Anyway, Method’s hand wash (in the Cucumber or Sweet Water scents) is what I’ve been using for…oh, years now. Ever since I first spotted the bottle on a drugstore shelf and picked it up figuring it would be way too pricey for my taste, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was adorably packaged, totally didn’t smell like Clorox misted with raspberries and sparkles (as a lot of hand washes can, no?), and affordable.

And! Every Method hand wash is formulated withouttriclosan (a chemical found in many comparable products that’s presently under FDA review, and that Method believes is unnecessary - and potentially harmful - overkill), made with biodegradable, naturally derived ingredients, and contain Vitamin E and aloe.

Check out the video above and head over to Method’s Facebook page to guess exactly how much hand soap went into the making of that rainbow. The entry with the closest guess (without going over) will win $100 to use on soap.com and their very own rainbow of hand wash. Ten runner ups will win a $50 gift card, and fans can guess daily for more chances to win.

Method is a sponsor of Ramshackle Glam.

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…of what’s over on my Facebook page (click here to check out more).

Click here to follow RG on Twitter…

and here to follow RG on Pinterest.

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Yesterday we were talking fireplaces on JITH…so let’s keep that theme going for a minute.

Reader Stephanie recently sent me this photo of her (gorgeous) nonworking fireplace area asking for suggestions for how to fix it up. At your service, Stephanie!

I love so much of what you’ve done already, and think that the space could be even more spectacular with the addition of a few key pieces and some more texture.

- Add some additional greenery to keep things light; maybe move that tall plant down to the bottom ledge and replace it with a lower plant that hangs over the edge a little.

- A bright blanket would be beautiful thrown across the lower area, and would add some color and coziness.

- I love the box in the space on the right; how about some DIY birch bark candles in different sizes and shapes to fill the area on the left? That way you get some natural texture in the mix, which is always nice. If you’re not in a DIY-ing mood, try a large candle in a beautiful glass container (click here to learn about how to scent different rooms in your home).

- Alternatively, you could fill the empty space with extra greenery, like faux moss balls or potted plants of different sizes and heights.

- The buddha head is great, but why not add a little extra whimsy with an owl vase? (I love that vase.)

- Finally, I’d add one pop of color to the mantle: a hint of red or orange (like that oversized vintage service station letter) would be amazing.

Product info for the items pictured above after the jump.

- Use the area to display artwork (we have a wooden Balinese headboard sitting in ours)

- Fill it with flowers in vases of different heights or potted plants

- Transform it into a bookshelf (just keep the books neatly stacked so the effect looks deliberate rather than messy)

- Fill it with decorative logs

- Add mosaic tiles to the space, or paint it to create a blank canvas

- Cover the interior with copper panels (you can buy stick-on ones at Home Depot) and fill the space with candles to create a stunning glow effect

- Fill it with a ball of light

- Change up your decor with the seasons (flowers in the spring, pumpkins in the fall, artificial logs and pinecones in the winter, seashells in the summer)

- If the interior is irreparably ugly, consider filling it and adding a coat of paint or some wallpaper to the front panel (it will still serve as a pretty frame for items placed in front of it)

- Use it as a frame for your TV

- Place an antique mirror (or several mirrors) inside to open up your room

Product info (clockwise from top left): Faux fern in ceramic pot ($100), Calypso St. Barth throw ($65), Kate Spade Owl Vase ($60), Large Molton Brown candle, Crate & Barrel Moss Balls ($15 for 9), Antique steel service station sign ($60).

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In which I head to a rustic, cozy ski lodge to check out the decor and to go snowboarding.

Only problem: no snow.

But what I found instead was way better.

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The other day, I read a post by Jaclyn Day (one of my favorite ladies in the bloggerverse) titled “I’m giving up (sort of)”, and it got me thinking. And so now I’m all curious what you think.

In the post, Jaclyn talks about how she started taking outfit photos in a mirror, for fun, and then started taking “better” ones (with a tripod, etc)…and then eventually decided to stop.

“I’ve written before that I’ll blog until blogging stops being fun. Well, self-timer tripod shots are definitely not fun for me anymore. There are millions of bloggers out there taking gorgeous, model-worthy outfit photos and sometimes I wish I could do that too, but I just don’t have the time or resources.”

I get this.

You know, the very first time I ever took outfit photos (above) I did it, like Jaclyn, for fun. Because I had a new camera, and basically wanted to play dress-up. I wasn’t really planning on making it a regular thing on RG, but then this person made me angry, and I realized that it was important to me to challenge the notion that I shouldn’t post about fashion because I’m not a “fashion person” and thus “not qualified”. That idea is total crap on many levels, but mostly, here’s the thing: I think that there is enormous beauty in the variety of what people love and choose to put out in the world, and that the confident expression of individuality is important regardless of how it’s expressed. Through politics, through music, through writing, through miniskirts - whatever. It’s all good stuff.

So eventually I started getting more into style blogging, and just kind of did what I thought made sense. But after awhile I started paying attention to the images I saw on other blogs, and I started feeling…not competitive, exactly, but definitely a little…inadequate. Amateurish. Like Jaclyn said, there’s some truly gorgeous stuff out there, and my little prancing-about-on-the-roof pictures started to look kind of lame in comparison.

But I don’t have a photographer husband (although Kendrick does help out from time to time) or passel of artistically-inclined buddies at my disposal, and I’m not the worst photographer in the world, but I’m certainly no professional…and so I just kept…you know…

having fun with it.

And wishing on little stars that the pictures turned out OK. Or at least not horrifying.

Sometimes it worked.

Sometimes it didn’t.

And then I had a baby, and unless I felt like balancing a bouncy seat on my rooftop ledge (mehhh), I was headed back indoors, to the land of bad lighting, Jumperoos in the background, and shoots consisting of five pictures rather than fifty.

So these days my photos are hardly works of art - not that they ever really were - but you know what? They’re what make sense in my life now. They’re a reflection of the way that things are for me these days: mostly good, sometimes bad, and always frazzled. And sure, sometimes I wish I was putting up photos like Rumi over on FashionToast, but the fact is that that’s not even in the realm of possibility for me.

I am not that glamorous or pulled-together.

Ever.

And on the rare occasion when, by some twist of fate, I am, someone - be they infant or canine - tends to immediately punish me for my pulled-togetherness by vomiting on me or eating my hair.

But, you know, I think it’s OK - even, maybe, valuable - to say “Here’s an outfit that I really like, but oops, I totally forgot to shave my kneecaps and my manicure is chipped and the exposure sucks because my son woke up before I was able to adjust the settings (not that I really know how to adjust them anyhow, but I could at least pretend to try).”

Because what is fashion, anyway, if not a way to help you traverse the disasters of life with a little extra confidence and joy?

The thing about those beautiful fashion blogs out there is that while I love to look at them the same way I love to look at, say, In Style, they bear no resemblance whatsoever to anything I recognize from my own life. Which makes total sense, because I know a lot of these girls personally from blogger events and such, and their lives bear as little resemblance to mine as their photos do. I mean, these girls are really cool. I’m not being facetious: we’ll be at an event and it’ll be winding to a close and I’ll be all, yawn yawn, time for bed, and they’re just heading out to some very spectacular club or restaurant wearing things like hats and harem pants. Oh yeah, and they’re twenty years old.

That doesn’t make these blogs irrelevant to me - not at all, they’re fun and are great for inspiration - but over time I’ve come to realize that there’s room for both styles; one doesn’t invalidate the other. One isn’t “fashion” while the other is “not”; it’s not even that one is “fantasy” while the other is “real”. Both are real, and both have their place.

But while I love to look at fashion bloggers’ beautiful pictures, the fact is that it’s lives and looks like Jaclyn’s that I recognize, and hers are the photos that I want to see most of all…because I can create those outfits without stopping into Barney’s on the way home from my trip to St. Barth’s. And that’s cool.

More than cool…

it’s fun. Exciting. Inspiring.

It’s why I read blogs in the first place.

In photos, as in life, it’s a pretty great deal to just do what makes sense to you, and do it as best as you possibly can…and then let it go.

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Now this is an apology.

Summary, if you haven’t heard the story: Jason Alexander went on Craig Ferguson and made a joke calling the game of cricket “gay”, with some accompanied (effeminate) imitations of the way that the ball is thrown (pitched? hurled? I know nothing about cricket). Of course, he was called out for his statements…but the apology he made went far beyond what you’d expect.

You know what I found most interesting about the apology? In it, Alexander addressed those who would call negative reactions to his words “oversensitive.” And this got me thinking, because I agree to some extent that as a society we’ve gotten so precise in our political correctness that making a joke can feel like traversing a minefield - you’re always going to offend someone.

In fact, I’m reading Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (go read it immediately; it’s one of the funniest books I have ever read and I’ve been cackling over it in bed every night while Kendrick looks at me like I’m a crazy person), and in the preface Jenny addresses this very issue:

“I apologize in advance for [rambling], and also for offending you, because you’re going to get halfway through this book and giggle at non sequiturs about Hitler and abortions and poverty, and you’ll feel superior to all the uptight, easily offended people who need to learn how to take a fucking joke, but then somewhere in here you’ll read one random thing that you’re sensitive about, and everyone else will think it’s hysterical, but you’ll think, ‘Oh, that is way over the line.’ I apologize for that one thing. Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Now, I really appreciate a good, insensitive joke. I also am terrified about making said jokes to anyone other than…well, Kendrick. Because I’m also very much aware of how devastating one person’s idea of “humor” can be to the target of a joke, and not hurting another person is more important to me than getting a laugh.

And, as Jenny suspected of her readers, I also have fairly arbitrary guildelines in place in my own head that tell me when - to me - something has gone “over the line.” But the key word there is “arbitrary”; to each his own. What I found most enlightening about Alexander’s apology was that he explained why his statements fell outside the bounds of innocent humor, and were not something to shrug off as mere comedy:

“It is not that we can’t laugh at and with each other. It is not a question of oversensitivity. The problem is that today, as I write this, young men and women whose behaviors, choices or attitudes are not deemed “man enough” or “normal” are being subjected to all kinds of abuse from verbal to physical to societal. They are being demeaned and threatened because they don’t fit the group’s idea of what a “real man” or a “real woman” are supposed to look like, act like and feel like. 

For these people, my building a joke upon the premise I did added to the pejorative stereotype that they are forced to deal with everyday. It is at the very heart of this whole ugly world of bullying that has been getting rightful and overdue attention in the media. And with my well-intentioned comedy bit, I played right into those hurtful assumptions and diminishments.”

And that’s it, exactly. It’s not about whether you have a sense of humor or you don’t - it’s about understanding how something that to one person is nothing more than a comedy bit can be something very different - very damaging, and very dangerous - to another. Then you can choose to make your joke - or not - but at least you’re not ignoring the very real fact that words can hurt, and that their repercussions can extend far beyond the moment when they’re uttered.

What do you think about Alexander’s apology?

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At the Salvation Army. It needs a little love.

But STILL.

!!!

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Michelle Jonas Mich Long Hippie Skirt

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