Belle and the blossom

Much like our favorite tale of Beauty and the Beast, the brand Belle blossoms, has us yearning for more than this provincial life, a life full of gorgeous outfits and adventure! (Sadly these accessories didn't come with Belle's wardrobe but considering how awesome and versatile these pieces are we can't complain TOO much). I, Paola, won part of an amazing giveaway hosted by the always lovely Miss Lark Bahar (If you haven't already please give her a follow, she is the bees knees!!).  I was the lucky winner of a darling set of hair accessories by the ever so talented Belle blossoms, which included an intricate hair flower/fascinator, hair scarf, and a snood. 

We decided to take them for a test run and include a fun little review (Please note: although these pieces were won we can assure you that our review, will be one hundred percent honest as always and is in no way influenced by either wonderful ladies who made it possible). We simply felt these pieces had to be showcased in a marvelous way and wanted to offer our thoughts on the products for those curious about purchasing in the future. 

Now being best friends we tend to share accessories among other things interchangeably but for this post (as well as future use since my hair will always be short, I've got Rapunzel's affliction and just like her I couldn't be happier.) Kirsten will be donning the snood since my lack of hair makes it rather difficult to do an awesome hairstyle to truly highlight it, in all its glory and I'll be show casing the hair flower to demonstrate that all hair lengths can rock hair flowers, that most certainly includes pixies. As you know we love themed outfits something mighty fierce so when planning how to show off these pieces we decided to do something a little different than normal to give off a more enchanted and ethereal feel. We wanted simple, yet elegant and feminine outfits to make the accessories the main focal point so we went for a woodland/enchanted forest type theme for our outfits. We hope you enjoy what we've prepared for you all today!

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Review

Now since these were won from a giveaway we can't comment on Belle Blossom's packaging skills (although we're sure they're superb) because this was sent to us fromMiss Lark Bahar. However we can tell you Lark did a wonderful job at wrapping up the winnings and even included a beautifully hand written note inside. (You know us we're suckers for that extra little touch). We felt like little girls again opening presents at Christmas time while unwrapping these goodies, we've never received such elegant hair accessories before so it was definitely an experience. The first thing we noticed once the items were unveiled is how much attention to detail goes into making them and also how incredibly cute Belle Blossoms logo/business cards are. (I mean just look at that picture and even the font is reminiscent of old times, definitely something we love). Heather the owner of Belle Blossoms, goes above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction this we CAN comment on. Her pieces are incredibly sturdy and will last you for years to come you certainly get what you paid for. They are incredibly well made and even more beautifully vibrant in person.

I, Paola, will be the first to admit that upon first realizing I'd won the giveaway I was a bit wary of this hair flower,  it is definitely a statement piece and much bigger than anything I'm used too. (Not to mention the fact I went all Rapunzel and chopped all my hair off). I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull it off because its rather large size and my lack of hair but as you know we're a stubborn bunch so I decided to give it a whirl anyway. Due to its larger size it carries a bit of weight so I definitely suggest putting it on the side of your head with more hair, if you've got a pixie like me or doing a fun updo if your hair is longer to help anchor it into place. The hair piece itself is designed like a fascinator so its attached to a very sturdy metal hair clip, with the belle blossoms logo adorning it.

I, Kirsten, got the opportunity to try out my first snood, and I am so happy it was by Belle Blossoms! The snood is very well made and soft to the touch, I don't think I will be having any issues with it and it will last for a good while. At first I was intimidated when Paola told me I was wearing the snood because I had never even thought about wearing one, and didn't know how to do my hair. My hair is rather short but I managed (I just tucked the excess up and pinned it). I am so happy with the outcome and I hope that more people will take a little step out of their comfort zone, because I did and now I have a new hairstyle I LOVE not to mention a fun new hair piece to add to my collection! 

All in all we CANNOT recommend Belle Blossoms enough, even though we  won her pieces by sheer luck we  will definitely  be getting pieces of our own choosing in the near future. Although her pieces are on the higher end of the price spectrum (especially for us pinups on a budget) we consider these something worth splurging for. You not only get what you pay for but you help support a small business and you all know we're a hundred percent for that. For impeccable quality and craftsman ship we give Belle Blossoms a 10/10.

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Details

Erica's Irish Wedding

White Snood

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Outfits

  

Paola's outfit details: Periwinkle floral maxi dress -Forever 21/ White sliding belt -Hell Bunny/ Erica's Irish Wedding-Belle Blossoms/Bee-Lieve Me! Necklace - Gifted from a lovely friend but can be bought off Modcloth / Gold t-strap Mary Jane flats-Zulily

Kirsten's outfit details: Green & cream floral print 1940's gown -Ebay / Cream bow belt- Gifted/White Snood-Belle Blossoms/ Silver t-strap Mary Jane flats -Zulily

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We hope you enjoyed our different take on this fun review. We are very grateful to Miss Lark Bahar for hosting the giveaway and Belle blossoms for providing such beautiful pieces. We definitely had a good time stepping out of our comfort zones (in fact The entire time we were doing this shoot Kirsten kept commenting on her outfit she reminded herself of... Maid Marian (Robin Hood), a character from game of thrones and just plain REGAL!). These were definitely not pieces at first glance we would've picked for ourselves but after trying them we feel bold enough to go out and get some more. Lifes much too short to live in your comfort zone, even us the adventurous duo that we are sometimes forget that. So take a page out of our book and go out there and try something new. If you need new accessories look no further because Belle Blossoms is the place for you! She's got something for everyone even those a little more timid in their hair accessory choices, so definitely give her page a look.

If you still have any comments ,questions or concerns feel free to comment below and  we'll reply ASAP!

As always thanks for reading ,

May your days be filled with pretty dresses, dapper clothes and a lot of happiness

Paola & Kirsten xx

AKA "thehepburnmovement"

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Sweet as pie!

This months Bettie adventure featured our achilles heel,our one true weakness,our hearts deepest and darkest desires & our one true joy "baked goods of the sweets variety".(we've got a love hate relationship as you can see). In true Bettie fashion all the proceeds of this event went towards an admirable fund, to help people who suffer with PTSD. There is such a stigma around mental illness & at times it isn't taken seriously, as such the people affected don't always get the help they deserve or need. We strive to make a positive impact and difference in others lives in anyway we can, so we simply had to be apart of this. Often times when people are dealing with a mental illness, they just need someone to reach out and give them a helping hand. That's what we did in our bake sale although it is small in the grand scheme of things, our bake sale will help improve lives even if just a little bit and that is always worth volunteering for. Now in order to show our support we simply had to dress in the sweetest themed outfits possible & contribute to the sale right?(This is our reasoning behind themed outfits, don't question it!). So that's exactly what we did we even tried our hand at gluten free / vegan baking + included pictures of our master piece below.

The way the cookie crumbles

Sweeter than honey

Paola's outfit details: You're In Luck Dress in Pie(discontinued) -Modcloth/ Red patent belt- Modcloth/Jennifer Petticoat-Malco modes / Black Iones-Bait

Kirsten's outfit details: Pink cat dress -Ebay/Jelly Sandals -American Apparel / Pink Hair Flowers -Jezebels

We hope you enjoyed this weeks Betty adventures, we had a blast going out to raise funds for such a worthy cause. We also had a ball trying to gluten free bake, it was definitely an interesting challenge to say the least. We give props to those of you who eat this way on a regular basis, we don't know how you do it.(Obviously we had no idea what we were doing haha,but if you want to share your favorite recipes we're all ears)We also want to thank all those who came out to show their support for such a wonderful cause our significant others included + the brick  City Betties for continuously allowing us to cause change for the better. 

We feel deeply grateful to be able to be apart of such an amazing group full of kind & selfless individuals, striving to make a difference in the name of pinups & all things fabulous everywhere ! This experience really opened our eyes to the opportunities around that allow us to make a difference. We spent years hoping to find a way to truly make a difference while doing what we loved & it's safe to say we finally found it! (Who says you can't be dressed pinup style + make a positive difference ? Certainly not us !). 
If you have any comments,questions or concerns or would just like to hear more about "The brick City Betties" Comment below and we'll do our best to reply ASAP.

As always thanks for reading, may your days be filled with pretty dresses, dapper clothes & 

alot of happiness. 

Paola & Kirsten xx 

Aka "thehepburnmovement"

Daddy dearest

Happy Father's Day! Today's blog is a bit different than the others we have done, it's a craft tutorial! For Mother's Day we dressed up as our mothers but if we dressed up as our father figures for this post Kyra would be in a shorts and an army shirt while Paola would be in jeans with a white t-shirt tucked in... That's not our style so we decided to show you how we made our gifts for them instead. Our father figures have played a huge impact in our lives and shaped us to be the incredible women we are today so we wanted to do something special just for them. We made the gifts depending on the things we know they like and love including their favorite colors to show how much we love and appreciate them. We know that Father's day may be a tough day for many because they may not even have a real "Dad" to celebrate with or even want too but we're always doing things a bit outside of the box. This post goes out to all the Father figures not just in our lives but yours as well. Regardless of whether they're your biological father, foster parent, grandparent, coach, teacher, uncle etc. or even your mom because sometimes they have to play both roles this day is for you to celebrate and recognize WHOEVER you choose. Show them how much you love and appreciate all they've done for you with this simple yet thoughtful gift. This present is easy to make and very cost effective! We made two for under $10 (not including the stuff that is put inside)! The good thing about this craft is you can change the words and colors to be anything you want and it turns into a different gift depending on the holiday or recipient! 

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Things you need!

- any glass item you want to paint on (we chose two vases from the Dollar Tree)

- letter stickers 

- acrylic paints (we chose different shades of green and blue but it's up to you!) 

- sponges (we chose circle sponges in three sizes) 

- newspaper or something on the surface to insure that you don't get paint on something it's not supposed to be on

- things you want to put in it (maybe lottery tickets or candy?) 

- imagination! (Reminds us of something  figment would say) 

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First things first! 

1) Start out with your vase and place the letter stickers where ever you want in whatever order but keep in mind that you will be peeling them off so it is best to keep them a little separate so each letter is defined! 

2) Start painting, we chose to place different colored and sized circles all over our vase (it reminded Paola of bubbles)! 

3) Let the paint dry and peel this stickers off to show the letters imprinted below! 

4) Fill with all the goodies that they love!

5) Be awed at how amazing your new gift is! And give it to the person reciving it! 

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 Happy Father's day to all of the father figures out there! We hope you enjoyed our first of hopefully many DIY Crafts/gift ideas. This was surprisingly rather enjoyable for the both of us, although Kirsten is definitely the more artsy one I had a good time too. (I actually made art this is a BIG deal everybody). Anyone who knows us, knows that the art supplies don't get handed to me unless they involve coloring or very minimal parts but this is something even art challenged me can do so we know you can too. We hope we've given you some gift ideas for someone special in your life and can't wait to see what you come up with. If you use our tutorial be sure to tag us or send us the picture we'd love to feature you on our social media and show it off for the world to see. We want to give a shout out to all the father figures out there ours especially. We wouldn't be the remarkably intelligent, loving and all around wonderful people we are today if it weren't for them. It doesn't matter what your father figure looks like or even if they're blood related to you, what matters is the role they played in your life! Celebrate the love and care that they give you & tarnish societies idea of what Father's day "should look like" because how you choose to show appreciation or who you choose to give it to is entirely up to you.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns feel free to comment below and we'll do our best to not only reply but help as soon as we can.

As always thanks for reading, 

May your days be filled with pretty dresses & or fabulous dapper clothes + a lot of happiness.

Paola & Kirsten xx

AKA "thehepburnmovement"