Why Buy an Apple?

Why do you buy apples? Besides keeping the doctor away? 😉 Next time you are in the grocery store and you need apples, grab these Pazazz apples! Needing recipe inspiration? Last year I teamed up with Honeybear brands and created new & healthy recipes using Pazazz apples! You can find that post HERE. And if you have no idea how to even go about finding the perfect apple for a specific recipe, look no further! I have highlighted it below!

When I shared these apples last year, I received so many positive messages on the taste of them! I can’t wait for you all to try them! You can find them at your local HyVee grocery store. Pazazz apples are a mixture of tart and sweet and a descendant of the infamous Honeycrisp apple, so what’s not to love??

Did you know there are certain apples that are best for use in recipes? Below are a few tips to help you when it comes to choosing the perfect apple.

**Image provided by Honeybear brands

**Image provided by Honeybear Brands

**Image provided by Honeybear Brands

I have a MUST TRY recipe for all you apple lovers! Test out the skills you have learned from this post and pick the perfect baking apples for this Dutch Apple Pie! Tag me in your finished products or your apple picking stories! Make sure to follow me @ladyandredstyle and Honeybear brands on Instagram and on Facebook for up to date information, recipes, and apple news!

Apples 101

Who knew that apples had such health benefits as aiding in weight loss? Not all sugar is bad for you. ‘Tis the season where everyone is in the beginning stages of their New Years goals or resolutions and majority of people include healthy eating or diets into their regimens. The image below highlights some of the most important functions of an apple, including the old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

** Image provided by Honeybear Brands

Looking for more fun ways to incorporate apples into your diet? I have a few ideas below:

*make applesauce

*dehydrate them (add a touch of cinnamon to them)

*add them in when sautéing Brussel sprouts

*mix into a salad

* add it into a smoothie

*use them as dippers in your favorite yogurt, peanut butter, or cookie dough 😬

*apple snicker salad

*Sangria

This is a sponsored post with Honeybear brands. All thoughts and words are my own.

Hair Extensions

I mean who doesn't want long hair at some point in their life without growing it out for a thousand years?? 🙋🏼 I have heard your requests and questions and I thought it would be so much easier to post about my new hair extensions, my experience with them, and some tips! If you don't follow @amberfillerup on Instagram, do that first! She is adorable, inspiring and well, the owner of the extensions company, Barefoot Blonde Hair! This is how I found them! I was also searching for something easy to clip in and more affordable than professional extensions (which I have done before and cost me well over $800 😳 and I didn't even like them). I have incredibly thick hair and so 1 set of them is usually not enough and then they have a horrible time blending with my natural hair. It looks like I have an extended mullet...for real. ** Please know that I get nothing for sharing this with you all, it is not sponsored and she did not give me any discounts to share or wear** I mentioned them on my Instagram story asking my friends and followers if they had any experience with these type of extensions, and most of them said no, requesting me to try it so I could tell them! I am happy to be the guinea pig! Haha but by tagging @barefootblondehair in my story, they saw it, and replied to me immediately answering any and all of my questions right then and there! Great customer service gets me every time....so I ordered 😊

Step one is color matching. Order the 5 samples HERE , trust me it is crucial to matching with your hair. The color that matches my hair the best is Melt My Heart. Once you receive your samples, MATCH the color of the hair to the ends of your hair, since that is what will be showing!! After you match the color to your hair in natural light and indoor light, head over to the main page to ORDER.

When your hair arrives, which is really quite fast, they will send another sample for you to match one last time before opening the package of hair. Do this first because if you don't love it for some reason, you can return it or exchange the extensions. Mine were perfect! 

My advice is to watch her video before you go trying to do it yourself so you do not get frustrated and then regret ordering. I watched this VIDEO and it was the most helpful for me! (Scroll down to bottom for video). She is right, making a braid under your hair seems so silly but it really helps blend the bottom pieces better. Remember, I have super thick hair and 1 set was enough for me! 

I started by freshly washing my hair so I could curl my hair into the extensions. It turned out OK but not great. My friend tells me that I have unicorn hair because it seriously stays curled forever and curls so easy! The extension hair on the other hand curls great...but not like my natural hair. So then I just blended it in by using the curling wand on the extensions only. You take these extensions in and out every night, but do not worry, they are super easy! Literally just a few small clips on each piece of hair. 

2nd day hair was easier for me to manage as my hair is always better the 2nd or 3rd day! Plus the more you play with what pieces look best in your hair and the placement of them, it helps too! I am still, learning so please remember it takes time and patience because my hair is shorter than the extensions! If you are still having trouble blending them, contact your local stylist and have some of the extension pieces cut to add a more layered look to your hair!

3rd day hair was my best! I straightened it and it was so much more fine, that it blended the best! Remember the small braid at the neck of your hair is seriously so helpful! (refer to video above). If you already have longer hair, I don't think that would be necessary. After I straightened it, I then just curled the last 2 inches to 1 inch of my hair mixed in with the extension and that helped with the blending as well! I hope that makes sense? So curl your entire extension, but add in 1-2 inches of your hair into the curl so the look blended.

Also Amber has a ton of videos on her page or just Google it and several pop up! Endless possibilities from just mixing the hair in for a braid or a thicker high pony, which is adorable too! Make sure you follow the instructions on the care if you wish to keep them for awhile! I already use the Wet Brush so I did not have to but any new tools.

I do not feel that they will damage my real hair but I have only had them for a few days. I guess as long as I brush and care for them as they say in the instructions! I have not lost any hair taking them in or out!

I really hope this answers some of your questions and you can always comment below if you have any other ones! XOXO

**If you want outfit details from these photos, head on over to my IG page @ladyandredstyle! Sign up for LiketoKnowit  for FREE, then like my photos over on IG for shoppable links sent right to your email!! 

How to Shop with LiketoKnow.it

First off it is a huge honor to be apart of LiketoKNOW.it and I love being able to bring new things to you on a daily basis and share my style, sales and basically my life with all of you! I appreciate every one of you that is following along because you all inspire me to do more and bring better content each time! So thank you!!

Des Moines, where I live, is not really a huge fashion hub....yet, but it is up and coming and in a few short years, I think this will eventually take over our social media and everyone will know what it is and how to shop the styles they find! If you are not into fashion, which is totally fine, they also have Liketoknow.it home, family and travel posts too! So you are not just signing up to shop clothing! If you see a post and like a rug, it may be linked for you to shop.

Now lets get you signed up! It is FREE and you can control your emails, alerts and well hopefully your spending too. Haha! 

Start by signing up HERE and it will look like something the photo below.

Click the sign up button! Then it will take you to this screen:

Fill out the sign up page and click submit! Remember, if you want to change and alter email settings, like how often you want to receive them, do that on your computer since it is in the settings and you are unable to do them from a mobile device.

Once you are all signed up, next step is to download the App! Make sure you search LIKEtoKNOW.it and not Reward Style! The Reward Style app is for the influencers like me! The App looks like the very first one on the image below!

Now you are ready to start shopping your Instagram feed! I love it when people do #FollowFridays because that is how I learn about new fashionistas to follow and the more I follow, the more inspired I am! If you are not sure if you are following "shopable" images, just search the hashtags on your Instagram. 

Common hashtags for Shopable links are:

#LTKtravel, #LTKstyletip, #LTKshoecrush, #LTKunder50, #LTKunder100, #liketkit, #LTKhome, #LTKfamily, #LTKbump (pregnancy style), #LTKbaby, #LTKkids

Also make sure you are following @liketoknow.it, @liketoknow.it.family, and @liketoknow.it.home on Instagram and @liketoknow.it.Europe too!

Once you start following people and start liking photos, you will open up your App on your smartphone and it will look something like the image below. From here just click on one of the photos to start shopping!

From here, just click on what you loved and it will take you directly to that website and pull up that item! Choose your size and color if that option is available and add it to your cart! I told you it was super easy!! This is @teacherfashionista and she was the first one who pulled up, so lucky her!! She is a total sweetheart! Sometimes we are unable to find the exact products we are wearing since items sell out or are older than 1 year old, so we will link very similar items or even designer knock offs for you to shop! 

Remember I said it was not all clothing!! So below is an image I liked from a Liketoknow.it home account. I can now shop this room. Which I do LOVE that sofa! This image is from @foxyoxie on IG.

I hope I made it super simple and explained everything to you! Now what are you waiting for?? Start HERE! If you find people you love to follow over on IG, make sure you share them with your friends and family too! That is how we grow and expand our following and we all appreciate it, just tag us so we can thank you!! 

Let me know if you have any other questions! XOXO

THE Hair Tutorial- How I Use a Curling Wand

Ok, before I start I must say that I was blessed with good hair! Thanks Mom. Hopefully my daughter will thank me later on too 😉

This is my most requested tutorial or blog post to date and I know it has taken me forever to do, but mustering up the courage to do a video, plus technical problems, and a few more requests later......here it is! It is not professional so I guess that means there is room for improvement!! Haha. I will link everything I use on my hair at the bottom so you can just click on the image and it will take you right where to purchase it! Also, since I feel like I didn't want the video to be too long, I decided to answer questions in a Q&A format instead of on the video in fear I may miss something! I hope this helps some of you and it is what you are looking for!

Question and Answers!

1.) Where do you get your hair done, and who does it?

-I get my hair done at Sahar's salon in West Des Moines, Iowa. My go-to girl is Jenny Keese!

2.) How often do you wash your hair?

- I wash it usually every 3-4 days but I can sometimes get 5 days out of it! The key is to "train" your hair. Slowly stop washing it so often and add in dry shampoo. My favorite is linked below, plus it smells so good! I use the light toned one.

3.) What tool do you use to curl your hair?

- I use a wand, again linked below, and I found it on sale!! I like the 1 inch barrel. I used to be a die hard curling iron gal and once I bought a wand, I used it for a few weeks then went back to what I knew, the curling iron because it took less time. But I decided to give it another try because the wand holds my curl so much better! And I haven't looked back since! 

4.) What products to you use on your hair?

-I have linked everything below for you but I start with just shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I only condition the ends of my hair. I then apply oil to my damp hair and if I forget to do it when it's wet, I just add it on once I have dried my hair. I love that it doesn't leave my hair greasy looking or feeling. Then I just use hairspray once I have curled my hair and run my fingers through it. That's it!

5.) Do you ever get a crease from leaving your hair up?

-Yes! And I hate it when that happens. I usually avoid putting my hair up the fist day I have washed it. Plus if I do put my hair up, I either leave it super high or super low 😉

6.) What type of hair do you have?

- I have super thick, fairly course hair and if I do not dry it right away, it gets wavy and not the pretty kind of wavy either. When it is humid, my hair has a mind of it's own as well.... hello frizz ball. 

7.) Do you ever straighten your hair? What do you use for that?

- I rarely straighten my hair because honestly I can't get 3-4 days out of my hair when it is straight, I am not sure why but it looks too flat, plus I love my hair straight better the day after I straighten it. But I use a 1 inch straightener linked below!