Outfit architecture: Drape cardigan, cowl neck top, Anthropologie; belt, scarf, h&m; jeans, BDG via Urban Outfitters; Shoes (not pictured), Jeffrey Campbell.

Then spring finally arrives about mid-May, wilted, spongy, brown and sopping wet from the thaw of the brutal winter here in Lake Country, smelling of decaying leaves and twigs that had been trapped under the ice for three months, now feeling the air and disintegrating back into the soil. And then after the slow, grey melt, we see a few trees blooming, perhaps some grass growing again, when suddenly we find ourselves under oppressive heat of a full-on summer, no evidence of beautiful blooms or flower fragrance floating on the air.

“Spring” in Michigan is a cruel, cruel joke. And yet it is one we hope for every single year.

The Hana Elite 1″ iron is a powerful yet gentle hair straightener, which I found to be far superior than other irons I have owned in the past! (See my review HERE.)

Misikko.com will bestow one lucky reader with a Hana Elite iron of her very own just by being an avid reader of this website!

The first rule about Fight Club is that you don’t talk… oh wait, wrong set of rules. :)

1. Comment on this post, and tell me briefly what your go to hair style is. = 1 Entry.

2. Blog about the giveaway with a clear link back to thereafterish. (http://www.maeko.org, in case you didn’t know) and this very post (USE this shortened link: http://www.bit.ly/dn2vzo). Comment back here with the URL to your blog post for another entry.

3. Tweet about it for a third entry. Comment back on this post (USE this shortened link: http://www.bit.ly/dn2vzo) with a link to your tweet in order for the entry to count. (To grab the URL to your tweet, go to your Twitter Home Page, click on the actual tweet, then grab the URL from Address bar.)

4. Re-tweet the giveaway and comment back the URL for a fourth entry.

Multiple comments or blog posts do not = multiple entries. Maximum # of Twitter entries = 2. Maximum # of entries = 4. Tweets must contain a link to this post (USE this shortened link: http://www.bit.ly/dn2vzo) in order to be valid.

Open to international readers!!!

This sweepstakes/comments will close on 3/15, and I will announce a winner shortly thereafter(ish). (See what I did there?) :)

HAPPY HUNTING!!

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Yesterday I went to Cleveland for a business meeting which lasted 2 hours. My round trip from Detroit to Cleveland was 8 hours. For a 2 hour meeting

Upon conclusion of the meeting, my sales rep CP said, “Well, Mae, it’s nice to see you, but it was completely pointless for you to have come out all this way.” …. Yeah, that’s what I said.

If your muscles are wound up and tight,
then I will loosen up the knots until it feels right.
If your ears just ache from listening,
then I’ll supply the remedy in the melodies I sing.

—

Be sure to check out yesterday’s Product Review on the Hana Elite 1″ Ceramic Ion Straightening Iron which I will be featuring in a sweepstakes on this site this weekend! A GIVEAWAY!!! Check it out here!

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Immediately, you have to give Misikko high marks for presentation. The felt travel pouch was wrapped in a ribbon, and 3 silk roses completed the top layer of protective stuffing. A+ presentation.

The package included heat styling protection hair serum–which smells divine–as well as a silicone heat mat, two travel pouches and a tin storage case. There were also a few freebies. A+ on extra schwag.

The Hana Elite 1″ Ceramic Flat Iron features two grey 1″ solid ceramic plates with slight beveling on the side for soft curling and flipping. The iron heats up pretty quickly, and has a temperature adjustment wheel, much like other prestige brands like FHI and Chi irons. The irons I’ve had in the past take pretty long to heat up, which adds up when you have a hectic morning routine.

The ceramic plates straightened my hair with optimal shine, and didn’t leave weird indentations on my hair when I pulled the strands up to volumize my hair, unlike OTHER irons I’ve had in the past. The slight bevel (not completely curved) edge of the plates also creates a soft curl, rather than a hard spiral. Which is totally perfect, and in line with today’s softer, wavy curl trends as opposed to the tight, super exact, paper-thin spiral curls of wedding hair. The cord swivels well, too, making curling hair a cinch without the irritating cord tangle of some irons. When you’re all done, just roll up the silicone heat pad, and then slip the iron into its handy storing pouch, and you’re good to go!

The slick, shiny ceramic plates also boosted the shine factor of each shaft of hair. When combined with the Hana heat protection styling serum, my hair looked lustrous and shiny. The serum is light, smells divine and doesn’t leave a nasty residue on the iron plates.

All in all, the Hana Elite is definitely a superior iron than all the many I’ve had in the past. A for performance, A+ for accessories.

Check out the gallery of my Hana Elite Style evening. (below)

If you’re interested in securing a Hana Elite for yourself, visit Misikko.com yourself and snag one! It’s on sale right now at 36% off!

Misikko also offers a bunch of other awesome hair tools from brands like FHI, Chi, T3, Babyliss, Bio-Ionic and many others. It’s a great resource for the salon and for the girl who wants to treat her hair to the best.

OR, you can try to snag a Hana Elite for yourself right here! I will be hosting a giveaway of a Hana Elite 1″ Flat Iron this month here on thereafterish.. Be on the look out!

More information on Misikko:

Misikko – Flat Irons
Chi flat irons
Babyliss flat irons
Misikko best flat irons

[View with PicLens]

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Sweater, tights, watch, belt: Tarzhay. Skirt, earrings: F21. Legwarmers, necklace: UO. Shirt, some random store. Shoes: Dolce Vita.

I stole this from my cousin Ria, because, well, I am lazy as hell, and the reconstruction on my site isn’t going as quickly as I thought. I have way too many categories. So I’m posting again. ^_^

Current Book(s):
None. We’re a magazine family. National Geographic, WIRED, Monocle, People StyleWatch, Real Simple.

Current Music:
Jesca Hoop
Anya Marina (she has this fantastic song on the New Moon (Twilight 2) OST)
Corinne Bailey Rae’s The Sea

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Cheddar and dill scones with tea.

Current Colors:
Teal and mustard yellow.

Current Obsessions:
Club Monaco, Anthropologie, ankle booties, flouncy skirts worn with opaque tights, clashing patterns in clothing;
English tea with creme and sugar.

Current Drink:
Red Rose Tea — Canada’s #1 Tea!

Current Songs:
“Intelligentactile 101″, Jesca Hoop
“Blackest Lily”, Corinne Bailey Rae

Current Movie:
The Sound of Music. It’s a classic I’ve watched about 300 times since I was a child.
How to Steal a Million (Audrey!!)

Current TV Show:
Californication, X-Files, Dollhouse (haven’t seen season 2 yet), Fringe, LOST, Little Mosque on the Prairie

Current Wish-List:
More money.

Current Needs:
Suiting dress shirts, ankle booties, colored tights. A watch. And, of course, more time.

Current Triumph(s):
Working with my husband–he thinks I’m worthy enough to work with now.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
Girl scout cookies

Current Goal(s):
Reorganize my closet, work more projects, learn faster recipes, replenish my wardrobe so I can stop hating it.

Current Indulgence:
Asian Pears.

Current Blessing:
My husband and my dog.

Current Slang or Saying:
My hips hurt. I feel sick. (This is pretty much a constant.)

Current (Fav) Outfit:
Textured tights, ankle booties, flouncy skirt, wife beater, cardi with belt, scarf.

Current Excitement:
Working with my husband in the Lab.

Current Mood:
Cutesy… I’m working with my husband!

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I love you, Ffin. Happy anniversary.

It seems I have been, from the start, hopelessly devoted to you. Not in a sickening, codependent sort of way, but sometimes bordering on an unhealthy obsession. There is never a time when I can NOT love you or feel in love with you. Despite our many, many faults. Yours, being overly annoying. Mine, being temperamental, prone to worry, freakishly bi-polar-ish. I find myself loving you and thinking about you, wanting to talk to you, when traditional relationship wisdom says that couples who have been together for as long as we have, on average, speak less than 12 minutes a day, and touch less than 6 times.

It may not feel like it, but I love you more and more everyday. Sure, I take us for granted sometimes, and I lose sight of how sweet–and by “sweet”, I mean “totally awesome”–our life together keeps becoming.

I never would have made it as far in life as I have without you, would not have grown up if you hadn’t pulled me out of my bubble and woke me up.

And for that I will always be grateful.

You showed me the world. So I give you mine.

And I will be hopefully always hopelessly devoted to you.

Here’s to many more years together.

—
An oldie but a goodie.

Excerpt from a letter I wrote you a couple of years ago:

I tried to rein in my obsession, tried not to let it boil over or become insurmountable. And it wasn’t for lack of things to do: I went to the Market, I went to the club, I cooked myself dinner, I watched movies, played games, went out to dinner. But creeping in the back of my head was this nagging, tiny bubble, aching to burst. It would pulse, “Don’t forget him, he’s coming home soon for you to moon over him.” And during dinner, the bubble would pop and its poison would emanate from me.

Conversations turned into rambling odes to your greatness. My girlfriends would roll their eyes and daydream of better days when I was not obsessed about boys.

More at:
Wandering

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I’ve been lost under a wave. Pessimism, stress, frustration, fear. Drowning under currents and tides I did not foresee, did not help to create. My puny arms flail against the raging currents, cool, dark waters sweep past me. My pathetic efforts lose, and I am lost in the undertow, dragged down, down into a quiet, sinister abyss. A death without much struggle, an inexorable sinking into nothingness.

I was stumbling in darkness, heavy in sleep. I woke up a few times with fear and sweat, and prayed to the Universe to remove the apprehension and uncertainty, to give me conviction and courage.

I feel stronger now. Lifted. Taken from the waters, washed up, disheveled but somehow alive, on the shore, where I stagger forward.

Let’s see whether I can continue forward throughout the day. I look to the Sun, and feel its Warmth, and somehow I gain strength that I haven’t had before well up in me. It’s about time.

—

Past and Future are a duality of which Present is the reality. The now-moment alone is eternal and real. – Why Lazurus Laughed by Wei Wu Wei

Of course the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you–if you don’t play, you can’t win.
–Robert Heinlein (1907 – 1988)

Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves.
–Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)

The best way out is always through.
–Robert Frost (1874 – 1963)

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
–Thomas A. Edison (1847 – 1931), (attributed)

—

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Outfit Architecture: Cashmere wrap, VS; belt, F21; satin miniskirt, Club Monaco; socks, Tarzhay; Maryjane straped wedge booties, All Black via Anthropologie.

Took my cashmere blend warp cardi and pinned it so that it became a drapey, slouchy, blousey thing. I like how it turned out. Pretty neat. I was quite proud of my improvised draping skills, and I plan to do it again sometime soon.

We went out to Birmingham to a restaurant called Forté for scotch and perhaps some dinner. By the time I got finished getting ready (which can be quite long sometimes), we were both starving. N ordered a Glengoyne 10, and I ordered a Spanish Coffee to celebrate our very rare free night. The bread was superb! I can’t even begin to rave about it. I ordered the special fish of the day, ahi tuna steak tempura served on a bed of seasoned grilled veggies and quinoa tabuli. So amazing. I wish I could eat like that every week. We finished out the night with a duo of mint chocolate mousse and creme brulee.

Best night in quite awhile…

…Until I got some seriously rude looks from older women in the washroom. But whatever, F them.

What was your weekend like? Or your Monday, depending on when you read this.

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Scarf, vintage. Cardi, F21. Jeans, BDG. MaryJanes, All Black, via Anthropologie.

Feeling like rubbish emotionally today. I rushed out the door this morning, and so therefore chose an easy outfit without realizing it wasn’t very stylish other than the shoes. Hence my iPhone images heavily edited in Picnik/Flickr.

The other day I posed some questions that I didn’t answer myself.

{ What is/are your favourite thing(s) to wear when you feel like shit? }
I make a point of making sure I’m wearing mascara on curled lashes and a bright shade of red on my lips to make me feel better about my face. A bit of black eyeliner can’t hurt, either. I also make sure I’m wearing a strong, statement-y type of shoe of some kind, because if there is one thing to instantly improve and transform an outfit–you know, other than posture, it would be a pair of shoes. Like what a great pop of colour on the lips does to transform an otherwise blasé face, a pair of shoes dramatically changes the tone of one’s clothes.

My ideal outfit in ideal weather would be a flouncy skirt, belted high, a comfy t shirt, sheer stockings, funky heels or flats, a beret and a cardi. Or pant-like leggings (I hate thin legging-leggings), a button down shirt/striped knit shirt, scarf, beret, big cardi, funky shoes.

Alas, this never works out. 1. because I live in MI, where we have weather, and 2. because I don’t own enough inventory of the above to make it a usual uniform.

{ What is your biggest pet peeve? }
Failure and bad self image. I also hate it when I walk about with socks on and step in something moist, water dripped onto the kitchen floor from dishes, water from a cup we used to water the plants, the spot where we cleaned up dog vomit. I don’t like it when people put in the toilet paper so that the paper falls from the back instead of the front. And I don’t like it when people willingly give in to ignorance, because it takes too much effort to be aware and informed and involved. I.e., refuse to listen to the news, read only tabloid magazines instead of news sites or papers, watch only reality TV, refuse to make an effort to go green because it takes too much brain power to remember to recycle, etc.

And when I forget to wear my wedding ring. I did that today. D’oh!

—
In other news:

Let’s all say a prayer and give a farewell to our dearly departed friend, Yulanda Yee of Little Thoughts.

I have had a few exchanges with her through email, and we had agreed that we should meet up for delicious food the next time I was in Toronto. That chance never surfaced, because Yulanda passed away last Thursday after a brutal six month long battle with Lymphoma cancer. From what I learned through email and from her journal, is that she is an incredibly strong person, emotionally and mentally, with a fierce love for family and friends. She never once felt defeated or depressed about her disease, and always felt her chief concern was making sure her family was alright. She knew that pain was simply part of her condition, and she never let it corrode her self-confidence or awareness and love of the world. She had a delicate, feminine style and grace that I’ve always admired. Her pictures were always styled beautifully and simply, but with an elegance many other bloggers cannot match.

She was one of the brightest lights in the blogosphere, in my opinion and she will be missed dearly. Please pray for comfort and peace for her family.

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Coat, Blazer: F21
Scarf: Merona via Tarzhay
Belt: Limited
Inner saffron blazer: ShopRuche
Tank: H&M
Skirt: Vintage from Korea
Shoes: All Black, via Anthropologie

Today has been one of the kinds of days I don’t feel like saying anything. So I will just ask you some questions.

Tell Mae all about it. I’m dying to know! I will answer my own questions tomorrow.

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San Diego.

I once lived there. All of my formative years, and most of all my childhood memories were formed there. It is sometimes my pride for close to twenty years to say I grew up there. It’s such a golden, warm, beautiful town that it’s really easy to forget that there’s a whole world out there to be experienced and explored. In Southern California, we all lived in some sort of sheltered bubble, encased with our endless seas and perfect sandy beaches.

About five years ago I met a man on the internet that tore me out of dull-brained existence, and woke me up. Meeting him left me salivating for a greater world. And in June of that year, I packed up most of my worldly possessions and moved across the country to Detroit.

Before I left, I wrote San Diego a good-bye letter.

—

Dear San Diego, Once upon a time, I loved you.

As a little kid, growing up on the border of the ghetto, I would feign a ghetto-fabulous accent and holler “reppin’ the 6-I-9″ (for 619, the original sole area code of the Greater San Diego Area). I’d frequent San Diego-only chat rooms on AOL as a teenager. If we saw a San Diego Store (like the Made in Detroit store in Detroit) I’d go there and try to find a bunch of San Diego gear to sport my loyalty for you.

But the thing is, you’re just one big typical Southern California town with a big attitude, pretensions of being a big, bad bustling metropolis with edgy urban things to offer, but you’re really just a vacation town for old Republicans to retire in if they have the money, and stupid fat head frat boys and sorority girls from all over the US to come and make party time hell for the people who actually live here.

You’re stunningly beautiful, don’t get me wrong. Very beautiful. And you have a history and culture all your own. There’s no denying that. There is an artistry in some of your neighborhoods that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. There is a poetry that can be felt in the nature found here. Balboa Park and it’s gardens and museums. Historic Gaslamp Quarter and its restaurants and old building facades, and the many drunken Friday and Saturday nights I spent there, giggling and dancing with my best friends… Hillcrest and all its vintage shopping grandeur. La Jolla Cove and its cliffs and small grotto. The beaches. God, the beaches. The mountains. The quaint tea and coffee shops hosting acoustic folk pop and poetry slams well into the indigo night.

You’ve got a simple gorgeousness that you won’t find in big, complicated, drama-filled LA. There’s nothing else like you anywhere else in CA.

But after living here for so long, you’ve lost your lustre for me. Even this letter is losing its lustre.

Let’s just say I’m ready to move on. For now. My eyes are looking East. Detroit. Chicago. Toronto. Enyce? Maybe. Anything is possible. And the only thing I know is that my love for this city no longer resides in the city itself but in the people who live here who love me and I love in return.

After all, home is where the heart is. So, I guess, you’ll always be a home to me. A place where I can return and still feel all the warmth of love I’ve always felt.

I just didn’t know it was possible for me to call more than one place home. I guess I can now.

Take care of yourself. And never change. I’ll see you again some day.

Love, Mae

Img cred: Balboa Park Lily Pond (www.sommersetsuites.com>; Historic Gaslamp (Ron Niebrugge via www.californicating.wordpress.com ); Hillcrest (hillcrestlodgings.com); La Jolla Cliffs (www.pdphoto.org); San Diego Beach (www.cbnsandiego.com).

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