Always Wear Your Invisible Crown

Hello dolls!

As sisters, we both receive a lot of mail and messages over social media.

Most of these letters are awesome, and we love getting to share them with each other and giggle and “Awww!” over our wonderful followers.

Sometimes however, there are THOSE messages.

The ones from guys.

Guys you don’t know, have never met, and don’t particularly have an interest in carrying on hours and hours of meaningless conversation with over some website chat app.

Most of the time, they are from older (You know the type) guys who write things like “hey beautiful” “hi” “hello” “How are you” You r hot” and such elegant soliloquies along those lines.

When you don’t write these characters back, they become angry, upset or depressed. If they do not grow angry and call you every word for b*tch under the sun, they will try to place a guilt trip of why you’re a bad person for refusing to talk to them and why their happiness COMPLETELY depends on you writing them back a Facebook message.

Well Buckaroo Barbie has a video to try and help you deal with these kinds of situations! We believe women need to stick together, and since we’ve had so much experience in this particular area (although we wish we didn’t!), we thought we would share some of our hints and ideas for how to help you through it!

Take 5 minutes out of your busy day...enjoy...and remember that if you ever need help or just a friendly chat about some Buckaroo Barbie troubles, zip us off a message and we will be there…and remember...always wear your invisible crown! 

If you have troubles viewing the video in this post just click this link, it'll take you right to the video! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BelVzdWUIQ

xo xo Liz & Adrian

Adrian's Eyebrow Tutorial

So.

Eyebrows are really important. Don't believe me?? Check THIS LINK out for like 3 minutes and you'll be singing a different tune. 

Plus that, Fitzgerald devoted like an entire page to eyebrows in a short story about the makeover of some poor girl. If a literary giant (and well, a MAN), recognized the importance eyebrows take in our lives...well then you should sit up and pay attention. 

See? They're important. 

At this point in my life, my eyebrows are shit. The lady at the Brow Bar made one look like an exclamation mark and the other was a nicely pointed boomerang. Nice. Exactly what you want on your face, right?? No. 

So the last few months I have been growing out the offending features and next week I am going to celebrity eyebrow artist, Brows by Tam.  My mums thinks I'm a little wonky for doing this, and I'm not going to lie, I'm starting to wonder if I am insane...

BUT. 

Once my shape is perfected, then I can follow the steps in this lovely little video my sister put together for us...

You're eyebrows are on POINT darling!! ;) 

xo xo Liz 

A Short Guide to Hackamore Fit

Disclaimer: In posting this in no way do I believe that I know it all or am trying to say that. Experience is a wonderful teacher and you will find what works best for you and your horse as you go along. However, I thought someone using a hackamore for the first time might appreciate this video!

The hackamore is an exciting time in a horse’s training. You feel like “Yes! We are doing it!” And honestly, there is something so incredibly beautiful to me about the patterns in the rawhide that it makes my heart smile.

However, if you don’t use one properly you might as well ride your horse in a halter. If your horse is not responsive and you are not quick in your release and good with your timing, you will have a very dull horse, very quickly. Don’t be afraid to ride your hackamore horse in the snaffle bit occasionally to remind him of what he does know.

I like my hackamores to have a shorter noseband, anywhere from 7-7.5 inches long. Also, make sure to check your horse after your ride to make sure that the body of the hackamore isn’t rubbing all the skin off his face. You can wrap the bars with some tape if it feels too rough to you.

Stay away from cheaply made gear. The rawhide will be a very light color, the strings wide and not beveled very well in cheaper made gear and you’ll find these for around $100 in any feed store. It’s better for your horse and you to get something of good quality. A lot of those hackamores that are made down in Mexico don’t have a good core in them and will rub a horse raw. You pay for what you get! I love Bill Black’s hackamores, he cowboys so he has function and balance in mind when he builds them, not just looks.

My mentor Dick Bushman gave Adrian and me The Legendary California Hackamore and Stock Horse by Bobby Ingersoll years ago and it’s one of my favorites. If you’re interested in training horses, cowboy gear or just enjoy beautiful photos you’ll love this book. It’s a good one to have in your horse library!

                                                       

Good luck on your journey and I hope this helped somewhat! 

Special thanks to my friend Nicole of Dry Bridle Photography for filming this video! 

xo xo Liz 

Buckaroo Barbie's Braiding Series - How To Tie A Turk's Head Knot

Here is Part 2 of the Buckaroo Barbie Braiding Series! I know I promised a "What You Need" video next, but several people already said they were getting started on some projects so I wanted to make sure they could finish them off without fear of unraveling :) I will film the promised video this weekend hopefully!

I’ve also been getting questions about where to buy rawhide and kangaroo. When you’re first getting started, I’d just get the spools of kangaroo from Tandy. You can also buy pre-cut rawhide string there, but it is not good quality in my opinion. If you’re going to build gear you plan on using, it is better to invest in a string cutter and cut your own strings. It doesn’t matter how good of a braider you are, your gear is only as good as the strings you cut.

Have a lovely weekend, Dolls!

xo xo Liz 

Who Is Buckaroo Barbie And What Does It Mean???

Welcome to Buckaroo Barbie!! 

We've gotten so many new subscribers and followers the last little while that we felt that an introduction was in order! 

We are the Brannan Sisters.

We are best friends, sisters, adventurers, business partners, cowboy-girls, artists, writers, entrepreneurs and oh…so much more.

Liz braids rawhide, used to cowboy for the Van Norman Ranch in Northeastern NV, and is now a freelance writer (read a recent article in The Indie Chicks HERE). She also has a major addiction to high-heels and red lipstick. Adrian quills traditional Native American flatwork, officially retired from riding ranch broncs in the spring of 2012 and is a western/folk singer with 3 albums to her name. She also has a major vintage clothing fetish and is rarely seen without false eyelashes. 

Being a Buckaroo Barbie is about becoming all that you can be, taking charge of your life and chasing down your dreams and making them come true. Adrian became a recording artist with a full career at the age of 14. Liz cowboyed for a ranch that had never hired a woman outside of family before. Our dreams came true and we’re watching other dreams we have coming true, thanks to our Buckaroo Barbie outlook on life. We believe in the power of positive thinking, in setting goals and in working your cute little ass off. We believe in you and think that part of being a Buckaroo Barbie is helping others others reach their full potential.

Buckaroo Barbies are an intriguing mixture of tough and soft, strength and grace, cowboy and fashionista. They are known to wear boots with their pearls, but they also know that the most beautiful attribute any woman can have is the beauty and class of her heart and soul. Buckaroo Barbies love to be outside, their animals and wide open spaces. A Buckaroo Barbie also loves being a girl. She enjoys fashion and beauty and the finer things in life…be they good food, fine wine or cars and trucks. 

She’s part wild-child and part good-girl….she is Buckaroo Barbie! 

We hope you enjoy our little corner of the internet, please subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel!

xo xo Elizabeth & Adrian 

A Recap of 2013 With Buckaroo Barbie

I was NOT going to do one of these uplifting, humorous, "end of the year recaps" because everyone else does them. But then I realized that the reason we do them is because they are uplifting and inspiring and that's just what we all need as we march smartly into the new year!

So.

I hope this year is your best year yet. I hope that instead of seeing the negative you search for the good. And most of all, I hope you focus on the things that set you apart, the weirdness that makes you YOU and that you embrace it whole heartedly. Thank you for following along with us, it means the world!

xo xo Elizabeth 

Lizzie's Christmas Movie - A Tale Of Hope

Hello Dolls! For some reason I feel like I haven’t blogged in forever, even though it has only been a few days. I hope your Christmas was spent with loved ones and your hearts were happy and your bellies full. I ate so much the last few days that I seriously need to go on a diet ASAP…not even kidding.

Do you remember when Adrian and I posted gift ideas before Christmas, and we mentioned that we normally do homemade gifts? Well my present from Adrian meant so much to me and was so beautiful that I have to share it with you all. It is highly personal but I hope it brings those of you who are struggling some hope that you can overcome your demons like I did: with a lot of try and the right attitude! Love ya, Dolls!

I can’t believe how talented my baby sister is, seriously is there nothing the child can’t do?!?!

xo xo Elizabeth