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reviews

road trip photo album // chatbooks review

by Kaylah Stroup

One of my goals for this last road trip, and really any future trips, was to get my photos printed. Apart from film, which I always get prints made from, I never get photos printed. Everything is stored on external hard drives. For a person who collects so much that almost seems funny. I treasure the few photo albums I do have and definitely want to have more tangible photos.

As soon as I got through editing all my photos I got started making this book. I didn’t want it to be something I kept pushing back and would eventually forget to do. Chatbooks was my first choice for a book since they had sent me one a while back featuring my instagram photos. I liked that it was fairly small, and looked super nice for the price. Their books are only $6 and they have free shipping PLUS you can use the
code “theda146” to get your first book when you subscribe to your Instagram Series.

I initially had a bit of an issue uploading my photos so I tried out a few other sites that make photo books. The thing was they get expensive quick, and they can take a lot of work. I loved that with Chatbooks you just upload your photos, and that’s it! They’re printed in order. (You are able to rearrange them if you’d like but in the instance you want them printed in the order you took them that’s the default, which perfectly for vacation!) You can add captions if you’d like but it’s not necessary. I reached out via twitter with my uploading issue, they responded quickly that I should try another browser. I downloaded Safari and wouldn’t you know it, that solved the issue. I added a few captions, chose my cover, ordered, and a few days later it showed up!

I LOVE it so much. It’s seriously so nice to be able to flip through my photos instead of just having them on the computer. I’ve actually been considering going back through 2014’s road trip photos and having those printed as well. A little Jeff + Kaylah road trip photo album series! How cute!

Other than the little bit of trouble uploading that was easily remedied by using a different browser this was seriously so painless to make. I basically have no excuse whatsoever to not get photos printed. Chatbooks, you rule!
xoxo 

PS. Don’t forget if you use
code “theda146” you can get your first book free when you subscribe to your Instagram Series.

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oVertone haircare review

by Kaylah Stroup

Last month I was contacted by oVertone haircare. They have a line of color depositing conditioners made to fight fading. Cool enough, right? What really sold me is that you can rinse with hot water and heat style as much as you want without worrying about your color fading. They actually encourage you to use warmer water. For the past eight years, I have been washing my hair in cold water to fight fading. It is not fun. It’s my least favorite part about having dyed hair. So when you tell me that using warmer water, to open the cuticle and let the product in, will help keep my hair color brighter I am sold!

oVertone currently has seven different colors in three intensities so there is something for everyone no matter if you’re rocking pastels, vibrant colors or suuuuper bright colors. It doesn’t lighten your hair so if you have very dark hair it’s not going to change much but it can still be used to deposit color on hair that isn’t already an unnatural color. Obviously, the color won’t be as bright but it will still be colorful.

The above photo is what my hair looked like on February 28th, the day before starting to use the conditioner.

Since my hair was/is a mix of blue and green they sent over their daily conditioner in extreme teal and extreme green as well as the deep conditioner in both colors. The daily conditioner is meant to be used anytime you’d use regular conditioner. Some days I use a mix of both colors, and other days I just used one color applied all over my hair. Since it does deposit color it tends to stain my hands. Good news is I’ve found that the staining is gone by the time I finish washing and shaving which is basically how I time how long to leave in the conditioner every day.

 This photo was taken on March 9th after using the conditioner for nine days and the deep conditioner once. 

The deep conditioner was made to be used on a weekly basis or as needed whenever you’re looking for an extra jolt of color and moisture. I used it right before I got my hair cut so that it would be super bright when meeting a new stylist. I applied it to wet, towel dried hair and left it on for around a half hour. I used the green was tickled pink to see what a gorgeous green my hair was when I rinsed.

 (March 21, after using the daily conditioner for 21 days.) 

As you can see, my hair is actually brighter now than it was when I started. I’m not even halfway through either bottle of conditioner. Obviously, my hair is also a totally different color but that’s because I was using two different colors of conditioner. That led to a huge variety of shades which is essential to making the color look natural so needless to say I’m totally into it. I absolutely adore my hair right now.

In my years of dyeing experience, I’ve found blue to be the absolute biggest pain in the butt to keep vibrant so for my hair to look like this after so long I am pumped! I am currently considering changing my hair color but only because my roots are so darn long. Normally hair fading is my sign that it’s time to touch up my roots but this color just isn’t stopping anytime soon! My hair is incredibly soft and vibrant right now.

Final thoughts ///
▴ For single color hair, or multiple shades of similar colors (like mine is now) this stuff is amazing – a must have especially if you struggle with fading.
▴ Unless you have a mirror in your shower and want to spend time separating sections of colors daily these conditioners probably wouldn’t be ideal if you’re sporting more than one color. Is it doable? Yes, totally but realistically I don’t see many being that committed. If you are, then by all means, buy this stuff.

You can read more about oVertone and purchase their conditioners on here.

Update May 2018 – If you’re unconvinced by oVertone but are still looking for a color depositing conditioner the good news is there are lots of new ones on the market these days. Keracolor comes in 13 different colors + has tons of excellent reviews.
xoxo

If you’re looking for some tips on bleaching and dyeing, check out my hair master post! 

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book review : Destination Truth

by Kaylah Stroup
Although I’m reading a lot less than I used to, not that you’d be able to tell these last few weeks, but I still want to blog about what I’m reading. The thing is by the time I get around to blogging about them I’ve forgotten exactly how they made me feel. From here on out I’ll be posting about books in a slightly different format. I’ll be posting about one book at a time, sharing the summary, a review, the bottom line, and suggestions for similar books if I have any. So here we go…

Destination Truth by Josh Gates

/// Summary
“Truth is stranger than legend . . . and your journey into both begins here.

World
adventurer and international monster hunter Josh Gates has careened
through nearly 100 countries, investigating frightening myths, chilling
cryptozoological legends, and terrifying paranormal phenomena. Now, he
invites fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at these breathtaking
expeditions.

Follow Gates from the inception of the
groundbreaking hit show (at the summit of Kilimanjaro) to his
hair-raising encounters with dangerous creatures in the most treacherous
locations on earth. Among his many adventures, he unearths the
flesh-crawling reality of the Mongolian Death Worm, challenges an
ancient curse by spending the night in King Tut’s tomb, descends into a
centuries-old mine to search for an alien entity in subterranean
darkness, pursues ghosts in the radioactive shadow of Chernobyl, and
explores sightings of Bigfoot from the leech-infested rain forests of
Malaysia to the dizzying heights of the Himalayas.

Part journey
into the unexplained, part hilarious travelogue, part fascinating look
at the making of a reality-based TV show—and featuring
never-before-published photographs— this Destination Truth companion takes readers on the supernatural expedition of a lifetime”  – Summary from Amazon description

/// Review
It was Jeff that made me start watching the show Destination Truth. I wasn’t too interested at first. Despite my love of cryptozoology, watching a show about someone searching for these creatures didn’t sound like my cup of tea. It only took a few episodes before I was sold. The host, Josh Gates, is hilariously snarky, and just absolutely makes the show worth watching. It’s hard not to love him. Of course I had to read his book!

This book is a quick, easy read that’s made all the most interesting by the fact that you basically read it in his voice if you’ve seen the show. He’s just as funny and enjoyable in this format. I may have laughed out loud more than once. I loved that most of the time I remembered the episode he was
writing about. It’s kind of like a fun behind the scenes peek. I’m not
100% sure how this book would be to someone who hasn’t seen the show.

My only real complaint is that I wish it were longer! The summary from amazon makes it seem as though you’ll be hearing lots about each of his adventures but in reality each chapter is fairly short, and his adventures almost seem glossed over. I just wanted more, which I guess isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Always leave them wanting more…

///  Bottom line
Watch the show, then read the book. You won’t be disappointed but be warned, you’re going to want to travel after you’re finished.
 xoxo

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Instax Share Printer Review

by Kaylah Stroup

Recently Michaels contacted me about the Instax Share Printer, wanting to know if I’d like to give it a spin. I hadn’t heard of it yet but a quick google search and I was sold. So, what is it? The instax share printer is a tiny little battery-operated printer that produces 62mm x 46mm photos from an Android or iPhone. You can now print all the photos from your phone right on to instax film.

This appeals to me for so many reasons. The two most obvious reasons being I love instant film and I love having tangible copies of my photos. When I shoot film I get prints of all my photos made, regardless if I love the photo or not but I rarely ever get my digital photos printed. It’s kind of a bummer but it’s a hard habit to get into! This changes that, now printing my photos is not only fun but the prints are adorable.

I own a few instax cameras but there are definitely situations they’re not meant for. Low light, fast moving subjects, and selfies are all kind of difficult. Lets not forget that it’s not the most portable camera. This printer solves all those problems! You can shoot with your phone, if that’s your thing, or if you’re like me, shoot with your camera and then send the photos to your phone and PRINT!

It’s SUPER easy to set up. I didn’t even need to read the directions. You just download the app, connect the printer and your phone by joining the printer’s network, choose your photo and hit print. The app isn’t the prettiest but it is easy to navigate. It also offers filters and templates so you can edit your photos just before printing them if you’d like.

The quality of the photos is just what you’d expect from instant film. I’ve noticed the photos are bit less sharp than they appear on my phone, and it has a tendency to print the photos a tad overexposed. It doesn’t bother me at all but since it is a consistent “issue” it would be super easy to compensate for those things before printing. 

The only real con is the price of film which really has nothing to do with the printer itself. Instax mini film, which is what the printer uses, costs little bit less than a dollar per photo at this time. You need to be a bit choosy with what you print but I guess you really should be with anything you print, right?

Bottom line is that if you’re looking to print more of your photos in a unique way, the instax share printer should definitely be something you consider. I love this thing!
xoxo 

Special thanks to Michaels for providing me with the printer!

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MonkeyLectric bike lights review

by Kaylah Stroup
It wasn’t too long after I bought my bike that I did my first Critical Mass. If you’re not familiar, Critical Mass is cycling event that happens on the last Friday of every month. It’s just a bunch of cyclist who get together to ride through the city and yell “Happy Friday!” at everyone. It’s probably the most fun thing in the whole wide world. Anyway, I went to my first one thinking “dude, I’m totally going to have the coolest looking bike”. I love my bike, I think it’s absolutely gorgeous (which I’m sure you already know if you follow me on instagram since I’m always posting photos it.) But after Critical Mass I realized my bike was missing something – lights!

It didn’t take long at all before I found the lights. MonkeyLectric makes a few different kinds of lights that absolutely blew me away. There was no way they could be as cool in person as they looked online (spoiler alert: they are!) I got the M210, which about 2.25 inches tall and has 20 different themes, for my rear wheel and the M232 for my front wheel which has 48 themes and is 6.5 inches tall. Essentially what that means is that my entire front wheel and around the rim on the rear are illuminated.

 (the M232‘s 48 different patterns)

 They’re super easy to install and run on 3 AA batteries. They’re waterproof, affordable, and best of all, they’re SUPER BRIGHT. I do most of my riding at night so I get a lot of use out of them. They look amazing but they also increase my visibility which obviously is very important. On my first ride with the lights, within minutes of turning them on, I had a car pull up and ask where they were from. They are showstoppers. People are always pointing, staring, and shouting how they love my bike. Getting attention from kids, who are almost always in awe, is probably my favorite thing about them!

One con is I can’t really control the lights. The packaging had extremely basic instructions on how to choose the pattern you’d like it to display. Jeff, and I are both very competent when it comes to electronics but for the life of us both we couldn’t set it to display the patterns we wanted. I’m not sure if it’s a glitch in the set I got, if we’re both completely missing something that’s actually really easy or it’s actually a design fault. Basically the issue is that I can’t seem to choose a specific one I want it to show, it always seems to display the one I want and then cycle to the next shortly after. Somehow I set it to display stars for a few weeks but how that happened is beyond me.

(the M210, obviously a little dirty from miles and miles of use) 

It’s a very small flaw (that, like I said, could definitely be something that is our fault! Hard to tell when the directions are so limited though!) that is completely worth overlooking. These lights are incredible. I feel so much safer with them on my bike even though I definitely got them for vanity reasons.

They surprisingly have a really great battery life too. I’ve had my set for a few months, I ride a couple times a week for a few hours at a time, and just last week I had to finally change the batteries for the first time. I’d say that’s pretty impressive.

All in all, these lights are AMAZING. If you own a bike, I don’t know why you don’t already have these light on there!
xoxo

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