I'm Not a Farmer...

...but I have been to a Farmer's Market. So I am not sure what that makes me? Anyhoo, Nick and I are loving our new neighborhood so much! My favorite thing about moving is exploring all the new areas around you, and getting to know your surroundings. One thing we discovered is that every Thursday there is a Farmer's Market right by our house! Score! We scurried on over to check out the goods!

{I don't care where I am going, as long as it's with you.}

We discovered rows of tents selling all kinds of different foods! Have I died and gone to heaven? Unfortunately we didn't have an abundance of cash on us ( I NEED to start remembering to carry cash), so we just bought enough for dinner.

{I made a slight change of plans and purchased a Strawberry Lemonade as well. It had fruit on the straw, what was I supposed to say, no?} 

{Don't bother me. I am drinking delishesness!}

{Fake smile, but I'll take it!}

There was so many yummy food options it was hard to choose! I decided to go with a Crepe with Chicken, Cheese, Avacado, and other goodness inside. Can you believe I had never had a crepe before??

Yeah. It was kind of amazing. I wanted to get a dessert crepe SO bad, but then Nick couldn't get dinner. So then I had a tough decision to face. Dessert crepe or Nick's dinner? I decided to let Nick eat...but only this time! You better believe next time that Nutelle Crepe WILL be mine!

Nicholas decided on some yummy Greek food! The food was delicious, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but be thrown off a bit by how it looks...will someone please back me up on this????

{Looks gross...but surprisingly delish}

We had such a great time walking hand-in-hand down the rows of booth, and taking home yummy food. I am excited to go back, and get to explore a bit more. I really want to take home some fresh local produce, and home made baked goods (and of course my Nutella Crepe) next time. Luckily for me, it comes around every Thursday! 

Just a Few Things!

Today is the last day you can enter my giveaway! It also happens to be my birthday...so as a special birthday gift to me, click that little button to the right and enter!!!!

Also, I have another big announcement! My momma started a blog! Yeah, my mom! And it is pretty awesome if I do say so myself....so you should go check it out!!!

Reinventing the Ordinary

If you want to see some pretty awesome pictures of me when I was little I would go check out her latest post. It is a little dedication to me in honor of my birthday, and it is full of baby photos! I am so proud of my mom for taking the step to start her own blog, and put her voice out there. I know she will do great! Make sure you take a second to hop on over to Reinventing the Ordinary, and become a follower!

Friday Fancies

It has been a while since I have done Friday Fancies, so I thought I would throw my dream winter outfit into the mix. If anyone would like to buy all of this for me it would be great.

Friday Fancies by kmercado988 featuring crystal jewelry

Alexander Wang leather lace up boots
$236 - theoutnet.com

Dannijo layered chain necklace
$98 - dannijo.com

Eddie Borgo crystal jewelry
$1,095 - cultstatus.com.au

What is Moorpark Spelled Backwards?

Kraproom...get it? All jokes aside, I really do love to visit Nick's family in Moorpark! It was so nice getting away for a nice long three day weekend and spending it with amazing people. Nick's family is always warm and welcoming, and a blast to hang out with. Plus, they taught me how to play Phase 10, which is the best card game EVER!!!

One of my favorite things to do in Nick's hometown is going hiking in Wildwood. I had never been before, and let me tell you it was B-E-A-UTIFUL! We loaded up two dogs and three people into my car and headed out into the wilderness (kinda).

{Nick and Hudson...and the gorgeous view!}

{Danielle (Nick's sister) and Dakota. A.K.A. Twinsies}

Not gonna lie...the trail totally kicked my booty. It was a tough little hike. But honestly, I would rather be getting in a tough work-out in the sun with fun people, then in a gym with strangers. Give me the sunshine any day of the week!

{Stumbled upon this cool tee-pee. What a great place for a Family Picture.}

At the bottom of the Mountain (giant hill? I dunno) was a cool little waterfall! It was so perfect and serene. I could probably build some kind of tent, or just live in that giant tee-pee, and never leave this place. They would allow that right? Could they stop me? Who is this "they" I am referring to? So many questions!

We also found a place where Dakota usually likes to go swimming so we let the dogs off the leashes. Dakota sprinted into the water, and Hudson followed behind. The problem was that Hudson didn't realized he was running into deep water (I think he thought it was just shiny blue land)....if it is possible for a dog to look shocked and terrified, that is what poor Hudson looked like. He then proceeded to panic and get out of the water as soon as he possibly could. Needless to say Nick and I could not stop laughing...

{One wet dog. He looks happy because he is back on land.}

{Two Happy Dogs!}

It was seriously a perfect day, filled with sunshine and laughter. Followed by a three hour nap due to exhaustion...I kinda looked like this guy...

My First Tutorial

I am a Tutorial Noob (Nick is so proud of me right now for using the word Noob). Anyways there is a whole lot of me in this post...if you don't like it, then click out right about NOW. Are you still with me? Okay good! Today I shall be teaching you all how to curl your hair with a straightener! Who is excited??

Straightener Curls

1. Start with dirty and dry hair. I would suggest waiting a day after washing, because it will hold curl a lot better.

2. If you have a lions mane of hair like I do, you will need to separate your hair. Some people separate into fourths, but I usually do halves. It is personal preference, but usually you will want to tackle sections of your hair at a time to make it easier.

 (Depending on how tight you want your curls, take about an inch section of your hair, and make sure it is combed through.)

3. Keeping your straightener perpendicular to your head, start by pulling your straightener downwards. Then flip the straightener towards you, under and back over, so that the hair is facing downwards again. (Making the hair loop around the straightener once) Keep pulling it downwards.

4. Once you have reached the bottom, roll the straightener back up towards the top of your scalp. (Like you were using a curling iron.)

5. Hold that section in the straightener for about 10 seconds, or until your hair feels hot to touch.

6. To release pull the straightener down (so that it would be parallel with your face) while loosening your grip on the straightener. 

 7. Repeat steps 3-6 on each section of hair. Spraying each curl with a bit of hairspray if your hair doesn't hold curl.

8. Make sure that you are always curling away from the face. If you curl inward, towards your face, you get a funky 80's look. Not cute.

9. Work your way through the bottom section, making sure all one-inch pieces are curled.

10. You think you are done, but you aren't. Release the beast that has been resting on the top of your head while you curled the bottom half. Reactions might be similar to the one above. 

 11. If you have shorter grown out bangs like I do, curl them a bit differently then the longer pieces. 

12. Start at the bottom of the shorter hair pieces, and just roll all the way up towards your scalp, skipping Step 3 in the aforementioned curling process.

13. This creates a looser curl that frames your face a bit better.

14. Continue curling as normal with the rest of the top section of your hair. As you can see I am getting impatient because I have a massive amount of hair.

This should be your finished product! Yay! How did it go?

More importantly, how did my explaining go??? If you have any questions let me know, and I will answer them the best i can! Now get to curling!!!!

Hip-Hop-Anonymous?

Before I begin...Have you entered my giveaway??? If not, click this link below!!

I have a confession. I love Hip-Hop. Not like an "Oh did you hear that new Flo-Rida song?" love, but like an actual affinity for real Hip-Hop. I do believe that I played Kanye West's My Dark Twisted Fantasy on repeat for a month straight in my car (loudly too). 

I am sure that I look like quite the contradiction, a typical preppy girl bumping hard hitting rap in my car down the streets of La Jolla, but I don't care. I love it. It has spoken to me ever since I was a little girl. "What kind of little girl listens to rap?" you ask? I will tell you who! A little girl with two much older brothers. It all started with a thing we used to call "The Rocky"

An accurate title, because the brand of the car was a Rocky. This little gem was Shea, my eldest brother's first car. Not the highest end vehicle as you can see, but it was a trooper to say the least. My parents were pretty smart, in that they never gave any of their children super fancy cars when they turned 16. Let's face it... 

16 year-old + Brand New (insert fancy brand here) Car= Accident waiting to happen. 

Anyways, I digress. The importance of this little car is that it was where my love for hip-hop was born. You see my brother spent all of his summer savings on a ridiculous sound system for this junky little car. Around the same time, my brother was discovering the 90's rap icons, such a Notorious B.I.G, 2 Pac, Snoop Dogg, Mase, etc. Also at the same time, Shea was being forced to pick me up from elementary school. Let's see, my brother is 9 years older than me, so when he was 16, I was 7 year-old. 

{Yes that is my brother in high school, and yes he has frosted tips. I couldn't find any pics of me when I was 7.}

The combination of all the above led to a 7 year-old listening to blaring rap music in the back of The Rocky, which was very age inappropriate for me at the time (not that I knew what any of it meant anyways). My mother is probably reading this and shaking her head in disappointment. Regardless, that is where my subconscious love for hip-hop was born. 

Fast-forward to today. Yes I love all the new hip-hop, although some of it can be a bit cheese ball at times (I am talking to YOU Bruno Mars, Jason DeRulo, T-Pain, and others). But you do have to give credit where credit is due. Trendsetters like Lil' Wayne, Kanye West, Eminem, and Nicki Minaj (among others) are keeping hip-hop alive through the static of corny #1 hits on the radio. 

But give me an old-school track by Jay-Z or Notorious, and I am one happy girl. Yes, I can rap every single word to "Just Wanna Love You" by Jay-Z, and I am darn proud of it!

My love for Hip-hop is a fantastic part of me, and I am not ashamed of it. I will keep dancing away to all my favorite songs with pride. So I guess I should take this time to thank Shea and Bryn for introducing it to me at an inappropriate age. I guess you guys knew what you were doing! Pretty good role models if you ask me. 

How About a Giveaway???

In honor of all my lovely readers, I thought I would throw a very special giveaway. (One that I am particularly jealous of, and might have to get for myself as well) Are you excited or what???

UPrinting.com has offered to give a one piece 16” x 20” rolled canvas print, for one lucky winner! Canvas Printing is a great process, that gives a cool affect to any of your favorite photos, and would make a great addition to any home!

You will get a personalized 16” x 20” rolled canvas print with 2-inch border or No border.

Would you like your own Canvas Print? 

Here is how to Enter:

1. You must be a Follower of All Kinds of Complicated. If you are, leave a comment telling me what you would get printed on your brand new Canvas Print!

For Extra Entries:

2. Follow All Kinds of Complicated on Twitter.

3. Follow UPrinting.com on Twitter

4. Follow UPrinting.com on Facebook

5. Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment letting me know. Here is an example tweet for you all:

" @ComplicatedKai is hosting an awesome @Uprinting Giveaway. Check it out! http://tinyurl.com/3bu5s4q "

6. Blog about this giveaway (2 Entries)

(Please leave a separate comment for each Entry)

This giveaway will be open until September 28th. So get on it people! :)

Seriously though guys, UPrinting.com is an awesome site that offers a lot of great printing options. And if you want to buy a smaller or larger Canvas Print or Canvas Stretch, they have a variety of Canvas sizes. Check it out! 

Good luck to everyone!

This canvas printing giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given for hosting. Check out UPrinting.com for more details about canvas sizes.

A Love Letter

Dear Nicholas,

First of all, as always, thank you for putting up with all my crazy. It is constantly baffling to me how much of a rock you are for me. When my world is shaking, or when I am feeling especially dramatic (which is never), you are always right there to pick me up. 

More than that, you ALWAYS find a way to make me smile. Even when I feel like there is absolutely no way in the whole wide world that I could ever find a way to laugh, you some how manage to make me giggle. Then you start to laugh at my goofy-I'm-not-going-to-laugh-but-I'm-laughing face. And then we both end up laughing together at each other's ridiculous.

But the most important thing out of all the stuff I love about you...YOU CAN COOK. Honestly babe, I am not sure how I survived without you. You left me to cook breakfast by myself the other day, and I burnt the bacon and filled our apartment with smoke. Honestly Nick, I am dangerous in the kitchen without you.

You are my everything, and I love you more every day.

Love,

Kai

Let's Get Dirty

I am sure you all remember this post, considering it was so well received by the critics. When I say critics, I mean my mother, who makes sure she lets me know when she really likes one of my posts. Which makes me wonder what she thinks of posts that she doesn't mention to me? Anyways, here is the sequel to my love letter to my Work-out Shoes.

Ode to my Hiking Shoes:

Dear Hiking Shoes,

I first want to apologize to you, if I might have crushed your hopes and dreams. Sitting on the shelf, I am sure you hoped to be someone's shiny and clean work-out shoes. I am sure you wished to be warm and comfy in my closet all day, and not set your little soles on anything besides carpet. These are lofty and admirable goals little shoes, but little did you know that I had other grand plans for you. 

You see, as hiking shoes, I have one particular goal for you. I bought you with the hopes of getting you covered in dirt...the grosser the better. Hikes are anything but dainty, and to try to stay clean on one would be absurd. But don't you worry because being dirty is actually a good thing! Getting dirty means I took the path less traveled. It means that I pushed myself to explore places I haven't before. It means that I am getting messy and sweaty in all the best ways, and getting in a fun outdoor workout. In fact, I see it as a personal failure if you were to come back from a hike just as clean as you left for it. 

So my little Hiking Shoes, wear that dirt proud! That dirt is a badge of honor, letting all my other shoes know that you are kind of a badass, and you don't mess around. And although you have to sit in a different closet because you are too filthy, I love you just as much as any shoe in my other closet. You are my key to exploring this wonderful world that we live in! So don't get too comfortable in your personal closet, because we will be hitting the trail again soon!

Love,

Kai

Funny Girl Redemption

Remember this post, where my friend Faye Guest Blogged for me? Well apparently she was incredibly disappointed in her post the first time around, because she posted a plead to get a second shot on her blog the other day. 

It is a hilarious post called "Second Chance?" asking me to forgive her for her first post, and to give her a free do-over. Honestly, I loved her first post! It was honest, and of course funny. But who am I to deny two Guest Posts for the price of one? Okay, I didn't pay her (or did I?)...no I didn't. I didn't want to get her hopes up and have her expecting a check in the mail or anything. 

SO moral of this story, and the worlds second shortest post (the first shortest one was yesterday), is go see Faye's second go-around at Guest Posting for me over at her blog....

I really love this girl. And I love her even more now that she wrote two posts for me. Can I bring you on as a full-time write please Faye?

Fassshhhiiooonnn

I'm tired. This is Awesome.

That's All. 

Look Book Numero Tres

Guys. I am not a model. I think I have told you that before, but I thought I would just confirm that fact. I honestly don't know how fashion bloggers do this on a regular basis? I am completely fine taking pictures, in fact I love to! But as soon as I get in front of the camera by myself, showing off an outfit, all my worst insecurities come out. The only way to describe it is AWKWARD. 

Regardless, I am pushing through that and trying my best to re-invent my blogger self. I love beauty and fashion, and love to show it off. So I am getting over my insecurities, and bringing you some new looks. These were taken on my computer (hence a lot of sitting pictures! lol) so bare with me...

{Chambray Blouse: F21   Lace Dress: Urban Outfitters   Boots: Target}

I went for a winged eyeliner look, with a nude lip. Also, I accomplished these loose curls with...a straightener! Yep! You heard right! If you like the look, good! No just kidding, if you really like it, then wait until next week when you will be getting a step-by-step tutorial on how to curl YOUR hair with a straightener! (My awkward not done hair pictures included) I feel like I am selling something right now....for the price of $19.99 you get not one, but TWO tutorials. Just kidding it's free....

This picture happened on accident because my dog doesn't really know the concept of a photo shoot. Therefore, he tends to just jump into pictures whenever he darn well pleases. It is a good thing he is super cute, and makes a good model!

What am I looking at? You will never know...(probably Hudson)

I LOVE this mini dress form my Mom got me for Christmas! It is the most awesomest necklace holder EVER!

I call this "The Flasher". I think it might be my best "modeling" pose yet. You should have seen the look on everyones faces when I actually was naked underneath...just kidding...I was alone... :)

There you have it. Another one of my famous Look Books...they are famous right? No? Well you know what, my mom likes them a lot! So that counts for something! I got a new charger for my actual camera (I may or may not have lost my other one), so I will hopefully be doing this more often and with better quality.