THE DAINTY SQUID
  • blog
    • all the posts!
    • stroup mansion
    • some of my favorite posts
    • plants + gardening
    • beauty, fashion + hair
    • reviews
    • window shopping
    • explore everywhere
  • about me
  • contact
  • shop
Tag:

Archive

My five must-have hair products!

by Kaylah Stroup January 23, 2014

Whenever I post about my hair I always get more than a few questions about how it looks so healthy despite what I put it through. I’ve been dyeing my hair unnatural colors consecutively for nearly ten years now so its safe to say I’ve found a handful of products I swear by!

1, 2 + 3 // Coconut oil,  Garnier Whole Blends Nourishing Mask, and EVA NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask are three products I like to use before bleaching my hair (not at the same time, of course.) They each smell wonderful and leave my hair so much more smooth, shiny and manageable than before applying. Before bleaching your hair you want it to be in as good of shape as possible, using a hair mask will definitely help. Of course, after dying your hair you could use one as well but since they all need rinsed out in the end there is the chance of your color fading so I recommend using them often in the days leading up to the day you plan on bleaching.

4 // Hask Placenta. Yep, you read that right. With a main ingredient like placenta, sheep’s placenta to be exact, I can understand any hesitations you have with this product. I’ve been using it for years though and couldn’t be happier with the results. I spray it on every day before I brush my hair out after showers. It works wonders when my hair is less than manageable after bleaching and keeps my hair shiny, always. It is my ABSOLUTE favorite hair product.

5 // Boar hair brush. I picked up a boar hair brush at Target one day just because I needed a new brush. I got in the car, started brushing my hair and immediately realized this new brush was making my hair reeeeeal greasy. Come to find out, boar hair brushes are great for distributing your scalps natural oils to the rest of your hair. The thing is I have very fine hair so this brush makes my hair embarrassingly greasy. This was actually a really great discovery though. Now I always brush my hair thoroughly with this brush before bleaching my hair so the bleach does as little damage as possible. Your oils help protect your hair.

Other than those things I don’t use too much else. I’m a big fan of Sparks Color Care Sulfate-Free Shampoo + Conditioner which are awesome for helping maintain my hair color.

These products won’t save super damaged hair and they’re not miracle workers but they definitely help keep my hair super shiny and as healthy as possible. What are some of your must-have hair products? I love trying new hair masks!

If you have any hair questions or are looking for more tips, check out my hair master post! I’ve got 7 tips for maintaining bright hair color, two tips for switching hair colors easily, bleaching your hair 101+ so much more!

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

orange you glad?

by Kaylah Stroup January 13, 2014

I used a mix of Special Effects Hi-Octane Orange, Manic Panic Sunshine, Punky Colour Flame, and Manic Panic Electric Lava mixed with equal parts conditioner to get this b-e-a-utiful color. The red from my last dye job had faded a bit, but the biggest reason for change was my roots. It’s like one day I woke up and magically had inch long roots. I applied the bleach to just my roots and then combed it through the rest of my hair after my roots were finished. While my roots lightened the rest of my hair decided to turn an even brighter shade of the red/orange than it was previously. I contemplated not even dyeing it but my roots were pure white which looked a little strange. Anyway, I’m smitten with how it turned out. It’s such a fun color.
xoxo

You can find all my tips on bleaching, dying and maintaining colorful hair here.

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

Weekly Nail

by Kaylah Stroup January 12, 2014

Supplies used…
American Apparel Hassid
Revlon Bare Bones
Sally Hansen Grass Slipper
Revlon Mesmerize
Scotch tape (+scissors)
Seche Vite as a top coat

Happy Sunday!
xoxo

*These nails are Klaus approved, clearly.

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

2014 bulletin board

by Kaylah Stroup January 9, 2014

At the beginning of each year I take everything off my bulletin board and start over. It’s a cleansing process. I love thinking of the beginning of each year as a brand new start even I don’t necessarily feel like I need it. Plus it’s fun to have a little change of scenery every so often. For the past two years I’ve shared a peek at my fresh bulletin board (2012 + 2013) so of course, I’m here today to share 2014’s bulletin board.

I try to leave off things things that were up the previous year but there are some things I just have a hard time parting with. The banner I made from an old book last year was way too cute not to leave up. That key with the guy on it, I’m not even sure where that came from but it’s been up there since 2012. The deer mount too, I don’t think I’ll ever leave that off.

A few sources :
girl with tooth print, fuck yeah ribbon, cat watch, mouse pin, camera crew patch, cactus queen, tooth embroidery, mushroom, beetle + planet patches, stay home pennant, bear mount, mushroom calendar.
Deer mount, cat postcard, and mushrooms are vintage. Raccoon brooch, and banner are handmade.
xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

what I wore : tiny horses

by Kaylah Stroup January 7, 2014
details 
sweater – Knitted Dove (from last season, this one is similar)
shirt – thrifted
skirt – thrifted
tights – Target
belt – thrifted
ring – fox ring c/o Sea of Bees
shoes –  thrifted
camera bag – Siena c/o Jo Totes
coat – thrifted (similar)

I always liked to say it doesn’t matter what color my hair is, it won’t affect what colors I wear (except red when I have purple hair. eugghh! so gross.) but this orange/red I’m rocking right now has me eating my words. It’s just so fun to pair outfits with this color. Blue looks incredible with it, it pops with black and white, meshes perfectly with tan and my favorite might just be gold. I’m crazy about how all the colors in this outfit look with it. I think I’ll be sticking with this color hair (or a variety of similar shades, and definitely one a bit more orange) for a while! It’s a really fun color.
xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

This year I…

by Kaylah Stroup December 30, 2013
For the past few years I’ve been doing a “This year I…” post. I feel like I just finished writing last years but I guess it’s time for this years already. I feel like 2013 was one of my best years yet. Without further ado, this year I…

designed nail stickers for Scratch.

 tried out lots of new hair colors.
bought my very first car, and got my license.
amassed quite a collection of plants, all of which are thriving.
drove hours upon hours to visit silly roadside attractions.
was adopted by the cutest puppy.
took a taxidermy class taught by a great new friend.

spent loads of time at the beach.
sometimes in clothing that wasn’t completely weather appropriate…
hung out with a bunch of deer, on more than one occasion.
got my braces off!

moved into a new office.

shot tons of film.

helped my favorite stray find a furever home.

collected oodles of beach glass.

visited my first, and likely last, casino.

And oh so much more!
xoxo

PS. If you do a “This year I…” post, leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check it out. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

favorite outfits from 2013!

by Kaylah Stroup December 26, 2013
 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 
5 // 6 // 7 // 8 
9 // 10 // 11 // 12

For the past two years I’ve done a little recap of my favorite outfits from the year. (2011‘s favorites + 2012‘s) Above are a few of my favorites from 2013. It’s neat to see the differences in the way I dress not only from the beginning of the year until now but now versus previous years. 2013 was apparently the year I started wearing jeans again.

It was hard to choose just twelve outfits from the many posted this year. So I also picked one extra, sorta like an honorable mention. It’s not a particularly striking outfit but it’s definitely one of my favorite photos of the year. You can find the rest of the post here.

 xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

what I wore : blue + gold

by Kaylah Stroup December 24, 2013
details
sweater – Sugar and Pumpkin Spice Sweater c/o Modcloth
button up shirt – thrifted
necklace – c/o Manic Trout Jewelry
brooch – c/o Under The Shade Of A Bonsai Tree
camera bag – Siena c/o Jo Totes
jeans – Target
shoes – Amazon

I’m still on that sweater kick I mentioned. I see no end in sight. How did I even go this long hating on sweaters?! I actually didn’t like this one the first time I tried it on. Buuut that was most likely because I hadn’t showered yet for the day, had the gnarliest morning hair (which is definitely a daily thing. I’m talking bangs straight in the air errrrday!), and was still wearing pajamas pants. So when I put on the sweater and looked in the mirror I was disappointed it didn’t somehow turn me into a pretty pretty princess with perfect hair. Anyway, after a shower, the sweater and I fell in love. It’s so cozy and that color looks awesome with my hair color! I’m going to be kind of bummed when it gets too warm to wear sweaters again.
xoxo
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail

What I’ve been reading…

by Kaylah Stroup December 23, 2013
My last three books of the year! Finishing up the last one left me at 40 books read in 2013. Not too shabby, aye? I’m pretty stoked with surpassing my goal by ten books.

What I’ve been reading…
Chicken by David Henry Sterry
The Last Living Slut by Roxanna Shirazi
Brothel by Alexa Albert

I’m unsure what to even say about The Last Living Slut. I love the idea of the book, it sounded promising, but it actually just made me feel uncomfortable. The one line in particular really killed it for me?  “I didn’t want to do this, but I wanted to be polite.” She’s talking about having sex with someone. Ehhh. In the beginning of the book she started off talking about how important a “female’s pursuit of sexual pleasure” is but it never really felt like it was about her pleasure, more like she was the one being used by these “rock stars” (I had no idea who half of these people were.) I’d have no problem with the book if it were more transparent from the start but various stories mention her being uncomfortable with what was about to happen. There was no grand redemption in end, I just left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Brothel started off slow but quickly picked up the pace. It was really interesting to read about a brothel from the perspective of a “square” -meaning she wasn’t a prostitute- female. Alexa Albert visited, lived with, and eventually became really great friends with the ladies of Mustang Ranch, one of the most prominent legal brothels in Nevada, while conducting a public-health study. 

Chicken was my favorite from this group and easily one of my favorites from the whole year. I’ve previously read Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys and Johns, Marks, Tricks and Chickenhawks which are collections of writings written by… well… everyone that titles mention, both books were edited by David Henry Sterry. I’d seen him mention Chicken in those books but finally got around to picking it up recently. Oh my goodness, it was wonderful. I’ve read a lot of books on prostitution but never one by male prostitute. I highly, highly recommend it. 

I’m so excited to hop into a new book. I’ll definitely be setting another reading goal for 2014. It’s so wild to think that just two years ago I thought that there was nothing else out there I’d enjoy reading other than Chuck Palahniuk. Once I got started I just kept unearthing more and more subjects I really enjoy. I encourage you to set a reading goal for the new year as well, it doesn’t matter how small. Reading one book is better than none!
xoxo

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrRedditEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts

About Me

About Me

Hello!

I'm Kaylah! Renovating a 150-year-old home in Northeast Ohio. Likely found in my garden.

Categories

  • all the posts!
  • animals + nature
  • beauty, fashion + hair
  • explore everywhere
    • abandoned
    • cemeteries
  • plants + gardening
  • reviews
    • books
  • some of my favorite posts
  • stroup mansion
  • window shopping

disclosure

click to drop down
The Dainty Squid is a for profit blog. and we participate in a number of affiliate programs meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase through one of those links. For more details click here

psssst! while you're here, check out my stained glass. Dainty Squid stained glass

copyright 2026 the dainty squid / kaylah stroup. please contact me about photo usage.


Back To Top
THE DAINTY SQUID
  • blog
    • all the posts!
    • stroup mansion
    • some of my favorite posts
    • plants + gardening
    • beauty, fashion + hair
    • reviews
    • window shopping
    • explore everywhere
  • about me
  • contact
  • shop