Gettin' Beautified

Monday night, my little sister Madison spent the night. I had scheduled a hair appointment for her in hopes that it'd give her a little added confidence in going to her new (much bigger) high school. During Noah's nap, we played with makeup, and I showed her how to use the colors she already has to enhance her natural beauty. Not take away from it. Seriously, nothing drives me nuts more than seeing a teenage girl with globs of mascara and way too much foundation caked on her skin. Thankfully, Madison isn't one of those. In fact, I showed her how to glam-it-up (in a simple, age appropriate way), and she still felt uncomfortable with it. lol.

Tuesday morning, Brad stayed behind with little man, and we headed off to the salon. I was going to take her to the place I got mine done, but they didn't have anyone open on such short notice. It's a gorgeous place, and I hadn't realized this when I booked the appointment, but they're the official salon for the Top Cats (Panthers cheerleaders). Cool, right??

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They immediately offered us something to drink and took her to the chair. I explained to her stylist what we were after as far as cut and color and all that. She was super sweet and knew exactly what we were saying.
Madison brought a picture of the style she wanted, which always helps. And I have to give the man credit... Brad picked it out.

The waiting wasn't all that fun, obviously, but it was for a good cause. They had oversized comfy chairs, and I had Brad's Droid with me to keep me occupied. My only complaint was that the only magazines they offered were Sport's Illustrated. I mean, I love sports and all. I enjoyed reading about the draft and the comparison game between Tiger and Federer. But after awhile, I was really missing my usual selection of People and Style and all the magazines I don't subscribe to in order to save money.
However, I did resolve to go back before the beach and get a feather. Because they're just fun, and the guy that does them is fun. He reminded Madison and me of Guy Fieri.

Anyways, back to the point...

They did a fantastic job on her hair.
But I'll let you see for yourself.

Before:

(Sorry, Madison, I had to steal one your pics from your blog. All of my before shots of you were either with your hair pulled back or us in the pool)

After:

Gorgeous, right?

By the time she was all beautified, it had been 2 hours, and we were staaaaaarving. I'd remembered Brad mentioning a place nearby (it was in the same shopping center where his Target is) that he goes to breakfast at sometimes for meetings called The Flying Biscuit Cafe. It's a small, hippy-style restaurant that serves all organic food (and breakfast all day long!).

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And since we're total breakfast lovers (and it had only just turned into afternoon), we both indulged. I got eggs, grits, and turkey bacon; and Madison got some buttermilk pancakes.

After lunch, we headed off to get our nails done. We picked a random place nearby, and it worked out. We both got a French manicure. It was nice for me; this was the first manicure I've had since I got married. It was definitely needed.

We had a great time, and it was nice to have some girl time without worrying about diaper bags and strollers and snacks. It was nice to just be me for a bit.

And on a related note, my blog bud Katie did a post today on braids she's been rockin' lately. Thanks to pinterest, I've been trying my hand(s) at it too. Now, I have to admit, I'm not very good at doing my own hair. My arms get tired, and it's hard for me to braid my hair while looking in a mirror. It confuses me, being all backwards and stuff. A couple months ago, I decided to give one of the ideas a try. I got close, but I couldn't quite get it. So I asked my awesome hubby for some help. And I think he did great! Seriously, how many men do you know that would be willing to sit and braid their wife's hair for them?? He's my hero.