Lately, I have been loving festival buns. 

Now in case you've been living under a rock, festival buns (otherwise known as tiny top knots) were really popular during coachella this year. They're typically worn to a festival or outdoor concert, but honestly, on a hot day it's nice to get your hair out of your face. 

I begin by doing a middle part. Then I grab half of the hair on one side of my head. I take the elastic and make a tiny half pony on one side of my head. Then I do the same thing on the other side. 

Once the elastics are securely in (sometimes I need to double up because I have thick hair and they break through the elastics easily), I grab a handful of bobby pins. I take one of my tiny pony tails and I wrap that hair around my fingers until I come to the end of the pony, then I begin to pin. 

Although I don't think any part of this tutorial is difficult, this would be the part that takes the most time - or at least it does for me because I want them to be even. 

And that's it! 

What are your favorite hairstyles right now?

People say that Minnesotans constantly talk about the weather, so why should this Minnesota blogger be any different?

This week's weather has been crazy, yesterday it rained in the morning, had sunshine by noon and then snowed in the evening, but today it is beautiful. The sun is shining, the air is fresh and it's time to break out one of my favorite mock neck dresses and find some mural walls around town. 

I've highlighted another mock neck piece before (here) and I hope this trend sticks around, as I have been loving turtlenecks and mock necks this year. 

Recently, I was asked by a friend how to style mock neck pieces because the neckline is too high for a choker and many jewelry items they had tried to match with the mock neck resulted in an overcrowded look. 

In my experience, the best way to style a higher neckline is with a longer necklace. Because mock necks can visually shrink your neck, you want a jewelry piece that elongates you.

For this look, I paired this LaLunette Jewelry earrings and necklace set together to create a uniform look that draws the eye toward your neck (showing off both the earrings and the mock neck feature) as well as elongates your body, as I suggested earlier. 

LaLunette was started in 2014 by two best friends living in Minneapolis (yay for local business!) They make one of a kind, handmade pieces that are perfect for any occasion. To see more pieces from them, you can either look at their website here or shop at Fair Anita, Tandem Village or Caroline Wood. 

If you've read my blog for a while then you know that I love versatile pieces. If you can style it multiple ways, for multiple occasions or for different types of weather, then it's good in my book.

 

That's why I am a huge fan of jumpsuits. A whole outfit encompassed into one piece, that is airy enough to be worn on a hot, sunny day but also covers enough skin for some unexpected weather AND can be dressed up or left casual is a win!

I've styled other types of jumpsuits before (casual style here and dressed up version here), but I wanted to mix this one up a bit. 

Inspired by the lustrous fabric and stand out color, I created an edgy, sleek look that can be worn to a job interview, a modern wedding or a day in the city with your best friend. 

For my hair, I used a boar bristle brush to smooth back all of my flyaways and did a minor amount of teasing to the ponytail to give it some volume. You can see a step by step of my makeup process here. 

*Once again, I would like to thank Miranda Xiong for this incredible makeup look. You are so fun to collaborate with and you really brought the whole look together just as I had envisioned*

Continuing on my Old Navy binge, I wanted to create a sophisticated spring look (all from ON) and show you two SUPER EASY ways to style it. 

The outfit consists of a coral colored button up top, High Rise Rockstar Skinny Jeans (on sale now) and navy blue flats. I left my jewelry simple, wearing a BeadLife bracelet. The beads are made out of recycled magazines and paper and their giveback program is incredible! You can find out more about their company here.

As for the styling of the outfit, the changes are effortless. You either 1) tuck your buttoned up shirt into your jeans or 2) leave the buttoned up shirt untucked while defining your waist with a belt. 

For finishing touches , Miranda Xiong did a natural makeup look that I absolutely LOVED. Click this link if you'd like to see a step by step process to recreating it.