Back and...

Well lets just go with the "back" part for now and leave the "and better then ever" for later. Although I never intended to take a few months off from blogging... it happened. Although I now intend to get back into things and start posting regularly again.... I will probably just sleep more. So let me catch you up on how my year ended. Spoiler: on a high note.

1. I graduated from cosmetology school and I am now a licensed cosmetologist! I had such an amazing experience and met so many wonderful people and It was so nice to have them all standing by my side when we accomplished this goal together.

2. I went to New York for the first time and competed in the Matrix 2013 Spread the Love campaign
(a competition for recently graduated cosmetologists and bloggers) The experience was one of a kind. I met so many influential and encouraging people and I was able to attend with friends that I hold near and dear to my heart. I did not win but my good pal Erwin did and that honestly feels just as good!

3. I had a lovely Christmas here in Arizona with the fam and then had a blast spending New years in California with my other family, my best friends.

2012 was quite the year for me and I have a feeling I will always look back on it as being one of the best. Now I am just getting back into the swing of things. I still need to hang a 2013 calendar on my wall and I need a job. Anyone need a haircut?

All Rav-4's go to Heaven

So remember that friend, Jerame, I told you about the other day. Filipino, psycho, obnoxious, bff? Got it? Okay good.
Well he has this car. It's a SeaFoam Green 1997 Rav-4. Yeah, SeaFoam Green.
It's a piece of shit.

Now you might be thinking, "Well gee Bri, its old. It's not the cars fault".
But the odd thing is, I sorta remember it being a piece of shit from day one.

I think Jerame upgraded to the Rav-4 from a little red car that smelled like cat pee when I was about 15. I did not have a license when I lived in California so the Rav-4 was my primary mode of transportation. But I am no freeloader. I payed my fair share of gas money and many halved cold cut trios from subway.

We had many adventures in this car. This little car took us everywhere. It's played confessional many times. It has heard way too many stories and knows too many incriminating secrets.
I cried a lot in that car but I know I laughed twice as much.
I once had to sit in the backseat to make room for a teddy bear named Cocoa and I was locked out of it in the middle of a McDonalds drive-through.

It has been a karaoke bar and even a trash can during a very unfortunate protest.
It has had more people in it than seat belts too many times to count and it was forced to make it on as close to empty as it possibly could for long periods of time. Don't worry. We put a post-it in front of the gas gauge and if you can't see it, it does not count.
Oh, and it was rarely cleaned and I am pretty sure there are diseases in it.

As you can tell it has seen better days. At the beginning of the week, before I got to San Francisco,  it took its final shit. It was inevitable, Jerame had to buy a new car.

And that he did! Sasha and I ventured to the dealership with him on Saturday morning to pick up his new Prius!

He looks all cute and proud right? We were pretty proud too. Even though we were stoked for Jer to finally have a car with a windshield you could see through, a working horn, automatic windows and air conditioning... we were sad to see the Rav go. We had to pay it one last visit, while it sat in the parking lot at Jerame's work unable to move.

We all became just a little more adult that day as we said goodbye to yet another piece of our childhood. We already made some great memories in the new Prius, but the Rav can never be forgotten.

You served us well little sea-foam green beauty, now the salvage yard awaits you.

RIP.

Because the night, belongs to us...

I have this friend. His name is Jerame. I hardly remember a time when we were not friends. Which means I hardly remember a time he was not driving me crazy. I am almost certain there is a tumor like substance growing in my brain and I am almost positive he is the cause of it. We have basically been to hell and back with each other and we also may have tried to kill each other a couple times. The thing is though, I love him to death (which might happen for him soon), he is my best friend in every sense of the word and life just would not be as exciting (or fun) without him.

Now then there is my friend Sasha. If you don't believe in soul mates, you should hang out with us for a couple hours. You will change your mind, because I don't know anyone who understands my soul better than she does. She laughs at her own jokes, often squeals in excitement over dead rock legend memorabilia, quotes literature and song lyrics like its a symptom of tourettes, and is highly skilled in the art of sending postcards. She  is a huge part of my heart.

Now put the three of us together and we create this weird, amazing, dysfunctional, triangle of friendship superpower. I mean, I might be on the inside, but I would imagine its probably pretty amazing to see. Possibly, annoying, but mostly amazing.
The thing is the three of us never get to hang out.
I can't escape Jerame's 2 am drunk dials, but Sasha and I hardly even get a phone conversation in these days, let alone a hang out sesh.

We remedied that this weekend when Sash and I flew to San Francisco to visit Jer and as soon as we arrived that weird, amazing, dysfunctional, triangle of friendship superpower was in full effect.

This weekend was perfect. I am pretty sure that part of our super power is that when we are together we suck the friendships our of other people for power or something and that's why this can't happen as often as we would like. It's not fair to the rest of world who want friends too.
 It didn't really matter what we did, all that mattered was that we were doing it together. I know that might sound cheesy, but we've been long distancing it for a while now and sometimes that makes just having lunch together seem like something quite special. To be honest, with these two, it really is.

My heart is so full and I am so blessed.

P.S. This is the soundtrack I made for this weekend. If you don't love it, you probably don't love life.

Matrix Spread the Love 2013- Semi-Finalist Submission

*This post is an entry for the Matrix Spread the Love 2013 Competition

It's hard to believe that I am now nine weeks away from becoming a licensed cosmetologist. I never thought I would be in this position but it seems more and more to me lately, that the experiences you least expect in life are the ones that bring you where you need to be. 

Eight years ago, I would never have thought this Southern California born and bred girl would be moving to the desert of Chandler Arizona. I have to be honest and say that at 16, I left kicking and screaming and although Arizona may not have the weather and waves I miss so much, it provided me with things I may not have known I needed. I have been able to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with my family by staying close to them here and there is nothing more important to me. 

I may never have discovered Penrose Academy, in Scottsdale Arizona. A school that has provided me with an extensive and enjoyable education that has overly prepared me for a career as a hairdresser. 

I would never have imagined that at the ripe young age of 18 I would meet a man that would become my husband just a few short years later. It would have been impossible for me to foresee the incredible life and love we have created together. 

I would not have envisioned myself to work in the Pension Industry for the last seven years. It may not have ever been my preference or my desired career choice but it to had its place. I learned how to be a team player and a leader. I learned what it meant to be a professional and I learned life skills that will benefit me in any endeavor. 

I could have only hoped that my closest friends as a child would still be my closest friends into adulthood. I am thankful those loyal friends are still by my side. 

I never desired tragedy in my life, but that too came and made me a stronger, and more compassionate and understanding person. 

Now at 25, I could have never dreamed that I would be following my passion and pursuing a career in cosmetology. All of the unexpected experiences in my life helped to prepare me for what I was really meant to do. In some way, shape, or form they provided me with knowledge, convictions, confidence and persistence to welcome the unexpected and openly accept opportunities that are presented in my path. 

Spread the Love is a welcomed and unexpected opportunity in my life. I may not have always been so apt to jump on a chance like this, but with the life experience  I have now, I know that these sort of events are part of the big picture. They cannot simply be passed by, they must be pursued. 

I am crossing my fingers and hoping for the chance of a lifetime, and however it plays out, I welcome the experience.

* In addition to the essay above, we were required to create two videos: One showcasing a salon of our choice and one answering a few provided questions. I thought I would go ahead and post them here in case any one would like to take a gander... enjoy and thanks for the support friends!

Matrix- Spread the Love!

One of the things I love most about being a part of the beauty industry is that there is truly an endless amount of opportunities available to you, aside from regular employment. There are always shows, and demonstrations and conventions and contests. It really makes me feel confident in choosing this industry to pursue a career in.

Recently, I entered the Matrix- Spread the Love 2013 competition. Six recent cosmetology school graduates will be chosen to travel around the U.S., all expenses paid, visting schools, salons, events and learning and experiencing all they can. It really would be an opportunity of a life time. To top it all off, one of the qualifications is that you must be a blogger! Well gee golly, I do believe I fit that category. So, basically what I am saying is that this competition was made for me :)

Today, I received an email notifying me that I have made it to the Semi-Finals! I have to admit, even though from the beginning I have been excited about the idea of winning, I shocked myself a little with how happy I became when I got the news. I know there is still quite a process before I find out if I won, but at this point, I really am just glad I am a part of it.

This contest is social media driven so you may be seeing quite a bit more about it here on the ol' blog. I am excited to move forward with the process and I will keep you updated!
A big shout out to all my family and friends and my awesome classmates who encouraged me to be a part of it and made me feel confident about my ability to do it. And I am excited to say that a handful of those special classmates have made the semi-finals along with me! Love you guys!

If you are interested to take a look, here is my video entry...

Ombre is here to stay...

I am not so sure it would be fair of us to consider Ombre a trend anymore. It appears like it may have made its way over to the classic style aisle along with the little black dress and the short bob.
I know I jumped on the ombre train a couple years back and now that I am in the salon, I see a request for it almost everyday. You can't really blame anyone for giving it so much steam. Its that perfect little something to brighten up your locks with out major commitment and it makes everyone look like they spent the last few months lying on the beach. When my sister in law was in town a couple weeks back, I had the pleasure of lightening up her ends a bit and making her look perfectly sun kissed. Lucky for her, she looks pretty much perfect in any look.

And then you throw in an adorable dog and it really can't get much better!

Come on, Vogue...

For the first time since starting school the dreaded group project has waved its ugly head. We were warned by senior students that this class is usually the one that makes you or breaks you because of the detrimental-to-your-life-if-not-completed group projects. Maybe group projects aren't so bad but when your a little bit controlling (just a little bit or more maybe?) and you are working on something creative, it can sometimes be hard to put that in the hands of others. Thankfully, the premise of this project was exciting and fun enough for me to set my worries aside. Very closely to the side.
I was lumped into a group of three with my dear little friend Sully and our classmate Katie. The objective of the project is to mimic what it is like to do editorial styling perhaps on a photo shoot or on the runway, where you are required to change looks fast. You have to choose an inspiration, select three looks and re-create those looks. Simple enough, right? The catch... each look in regards to both hair and makeup cannot be broken down before moving onto the other. So if you start with cat eyes and red lips, your gonna end with it too. You were required to write a 1000 word essay, do a photo shoot, create a storyboard and present a multimedia of your choice.
We decided to turn to one of the most important players in the fashion and beauty industry for inspiration...Vogue. We chose three vogue covers, of different eras and different looks to recreate. 

Look 1- Hair, Sully / Makeup, Bri/ Model, Katie

Original:

Re-Created:

Look 2- Hair, Sully/ Makeup, Bri/ Model, Katie

Original:

Re-Created:

Look 3- Hair, Sully and Bri/ Makeup, Bri/ Model, Katie

Original:

Re-Created:

We had a good time putting these looks together and surprisingly enough, we were able to knock all the photos out in one evening with a couple of weeks to spare before the due date! 

Naturally, you would think I would continue on with this ahead-of-the-game momentum and get a head start on the video portion of the project, right? But then how exciting would that be?Instead I went to Comic Con and waited until 12 am to start editing and finished sometime around 4am. What can I say, I do my best work under pressure. 

Procrastination might as well be my middle name, but I am glad it's not because that would be weird. Tim not so secretly wishes failure upon me every time I delay responsibility in hopes I might one day learn my lesson,  but the gods of time management always seem to grant me just a little more grace. 

Bb Challenge Video from Brianna Kim on Vimeo.

This was basically my first time testing the waters of editing video. Which makes all the more sense why I would wait until the morning before its due to take a swing at it, right? It definitely has some flaws, but overall I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It's really fun to see your hard work turn into something. 

So I guess group projects aren't so bad....but that might change when we get our grade next week. Fingers Crossed!

P.S. 

A couple of thank you's are in order. 

My wonderful husband TK- for helping hold lamps, buying us girls dinner, shooting a little bit of video and just being an overall great help during the photo shoot. Husband of the Year!

My BFF Jerame- For finding the perfect music for the video, after which I am sure was an obnoxious time of him showing me a bunch of different music and me complaining about all of that it just wasn't right! Your a trooper!

and to Sarah Rodes at Arrow and Apple- I recently took a class from Sarah on creating light indoors and I honestly could not have completed looks 2 and 3 (which were shot in my kitchen after sun down) without her tips. I know they aren't perfect, but boy they could have been so much worse! She is a genius and you should sign up for her new e-course here!

Now go get yourVogue on.