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??

via

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!).

via

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.

randoms

I was going to do a post about Noah's birthday. But I kind of can't. Our office right now is a tad bit... unorderly. Also, we're having a huge storm right now, and our lights are flickering. So no point in starting something I can't finish, right?

***

We successfully moved out a bed yesterday from our guest room/office. Originally, we planned on keeping the mattress and box spring and just storing it in my grandparents' attic. It seemed perfectly fine. So Tuesday night, I moved out the mattress into our loft. I figured Noah would really get a kick out of it, since he loves to bounce on stuff. And he bounced his little heart out, while I kept cleaning. But after about 15 minutes, I noticed he quit. I also noticed there seemed to be a weird... um... stench. A very mildewy smell.
There's never ever been a weird smell in our guest room. People stay here all the time. I wash the sheets frequently, Lysol down the mattress every so often, and it's always smelled fresh in there. But this smell? Like stinky feet.
So I called up my mom to see when they had purchased that mattress for me. Her response: "Hmm... how old are you?" I told her 28. She thought for a moment and then answered, "Well, I guess it's been about 25 years." Blech. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to change them every 10 years or something like that. So yeah. It's time for a trip to the recycling center.

My dad and brother dropped off our (their? used to be mine too, and is again. soooo... my?) sofa bed. It's not quite the right color, but it serves its purpose. We're making that room into Noah's playroom, so he can watch movies, hang out on the couch, and have his own little space in there. If we have guests? We can just fold the bed out. And yes, I've thoroughly inspected the mattress. And I vacuumed and Lysol'd it. Just for good measure.

***

My family has always been huge fans of Lucille Ball. My mom has her magnets and posters. My stepsister and I grew up collecting the VHS tapes with episodes on them. And my little sister did a post about her a few days ago. Since that whole "Lucy turns 100" weekend, I got myself hooked on watching the reruns again. What baffled me was that Brad never really watched her (or any of that old stuff, for that matter). So I made him watch a couple episodes with me (the ones with John Wayne), and we were seriously rolling. It was hilarious. And I'm so glad they still air it, because that woman had talent. I'm all for some reality, trashtastic crap tv sometimes. But at the end of the day, I'd much rather get myself some popcorn and watch a good "I Love Lucy" episode. Best antidepressent ever.

***

I sort of jumped on the Weight Watchers bandwagon (anyone out there NOT on WW now??). It seriously feels like the entire blogosphere has joined WW. But really, I'm not officially on the program, I don't guess. See, my mom has been on and off of WW since I was a kid. She has the cookbooks and food calculator and all that stuff. And I swear Brad would shoot me if I said I wanted to pay money for something else fitness/weight loss related. So I'm doing it my way. I know my point limit, and I'm not calculating everything. It's kind of fun. I've only been on it for the last 48 hours, so I don't think I have any major weight loss announcements just yet, but I can certainly tell a difference just in habits. It makes me more aware of what I'm putting in my mouth... makes me ask myself "is it really worth the points?". The first night, I'm not gonna lie, I was hungry. But it got better. And now I fill up very quickly and only on healthy things. I still get to have an Oreo if I like. I just have to make sure it's really what I want to use my points on.
So we'll see. I'll let ya know if there's anything to share.

***

My little sister spent the night with us last night. She had complained about her stomach hurting the night before and hadn't eaten all day. She figured it was something she ate, because she didn't feel sick sick. I agreed and shrugged it off as a food issue. Then it dawned on me...
From the time I was 10 to about 15, my life was pretty... interesting. Lots of changes, lots of drama, lots of feeling-a-loss-of-control-over-my-own-life type things. I never went anorexic or anything. However, when I get nervous or depressed or afraid? I can't eat. My stomach hurts, and I'm afraid anything I eat will make me sick. It's very weird. It's like my body just shuts down until I can gain a sense of normalcy and comfort again.
So here's the link... my little sister is about to enter into high school. A new, big high school. She's always gone to a very small school, so this is totally out of her element. On Tuesday (the day she started feeling bad), she had gone to some kind of orientation thing. That night, she felt sick and didn't eat hardly anything yesterday.
She's scared (rightfully so) about going to a new school and only knowing a handful of people. She's worried about looking nerdy and what others will think about her and if she'll get stuck in the cool crowd or the dorky crowd and all that completely normal teenage stuff.

In an attempt to help her out, I've declared Tuesday to be a Sister Day. I'm taking her to a fancy salon, and she's getting highlights and a new haircut (one we've already picked out that's super cute and easy to maintain).
We're going to do a makeover at home, where I'll give her some makeup tips and show her what colors are best with her eyes/skin/features. If we have time, I'm hoping to fit a manicure in. Because in all honesty, I would like one. :) We may do a little shopping or whatever. In any case, we're going to make sure she feels like the prettiest girl at school. Boost that self-confidence up a notch, y'know? Hopefully, this will help calm those "what do they think of me? how do I look? do I have a booger on my face?" thoughts. :)
Our grandmother was a total fashionista (and a fabulous shopper), and I'm pretty sure if she were here, our MomMom would be the one taking her to get all of this done for her first day of high school. So I guess I'm also partly acting in her place. You're welcome, MomMom. We'll try to do you proud.

***

We've contacted Early Intervention for Noah. We got some info, and we're going to talk to his pediatrician at his next well check in two weeks to see what she says and recommends.

It's very disheartening for me. Not because I'm all worried something is "wrong" with my boy. I don't care either way about any of that. I really just want someone to tell me how to help my baby. If I knew what to do, I'd do it.
I feel like I've tried it all, and he's completely uninterested. If I try to get him to repeat words, he grins at me and babbles back like we're having a conversation. He "talks" plenty, just in his own language. He completely understands us, responds appropriately (for the most part), and doesn't act frustrated ever if he's trying to tell us something. I think my biggest issue is being one of those hovering moms, where I don't give him the chance to ask for things. I don't have a problem admitting it (that's the first step, right?). It's just natural for me. If I see he needs more water, I grab it. Same as I would if I saw a piece of trash on the floor... I see it and throw it away; problem solved. Unfortunately, in his case, I'm not "solving" anything. I'm setting him back. So I'm trying to be more intentional about waiting to let him tell me what he wants.

If he's not very far behind (he has to be more than 30%, according to the lady on the phone), then they'll just give me a few tips and tools to help me help him. And that's really all I want. Someone tell me how to help him, and I'll do it. If they tell me to relax, he's just fine? Well then that's great too. Whatever I need to do, that's what I'll do.

Style

I know I don't talk about it much. I probably give off this "throw on a tee and jeans and be done with it" vibe. But I actually do love shopping and clothes and playing with trends.

The problem? The mu-lah situation.
I've never been one to splurge on $400 coats or a new Coach purse or any of that.
I like to look for deals, refusing to pay over a certain amount for stuff. I also try not to get too caught up in trends. I buy what I like. In fact, unless I'm pretty much in love? I don't bother. Which leads me to my abundance of way-too-old clothes right now.

But currently, while I'd love to hit the oh-so-incredible 70% off sales going on right now (seriously, walking through the mall right now is torture...), we kind of have to do things like eat. And have water to bathe. And a little AC so we're not literally living in an oven.

So when it comes to dressing myself? The overall goal is to have clothes on, preferably in something besides a potato sack (do they even use potato sacks for anything anymore??).
I'm not one to get all self-conscious if I'm not wearing the latest and greatest. It really doesn't bother me. Because my kid is happy. I'm happy. Brad is... mostly... happy (he'd be much happier if the freakin house would stop trying to cave in on us... another post for another day).
Speaking of Brad. He use to have awesome style too. He was one of those AE/A&F types in high school and college. It fit him well. Mr Eagle Scout needed to be all hot-lookin as he slept in trees and helped little old ladies cross the street.
Since we've been married, he's had to change that too. We haven't really crossed over into all-out frumpiness yet (I'll set up a lemonade stand or something before I let that happen...). But having spouses and kids and a mortgage and trying to live debt-free tends to change the priorities a little. And really, in this economy (would somebody DO something please??), is anyone splurging these days?

So when it comes to style... I have it. I just can't necessarily use it.

However... that doesn't mean I don't do my fair share of drooling.

So this post's alternate title is... "If I Had a Million Dollars".

For Noah...

Superman Shoes

seersucker shorts

Leather Boat Shoes

birthday tee

For when Brad finally drags me out into the forest and attempts to convince me that "this" is real-livin', when I'd much rather be in a comfy bed with access to a normal bathroom with walls and running water and all that.

Yeah. Might as well have some fun with it and dress my kid cute.

happy camper

And have y'all seen this??

check it out

 Gwen is going to be designing a line (Harajuku Mini) for Target this Fall.

Kinda curious to see how this turns out!

For Me...

Love her hair...

H&M

"I love you" necklace

source

pretty

I kinda have a thing for slouchy sweaters...

source

For the Man...

j.crew

sportcoat

(ready for some sticker shock? That coat is $995. Holy mother of Pearl...)

Hope everyone's kickin' off the week on a happy note!

xoxo.

Got my hair did.

Y'all remember this post where I was thinking about getting my hair done again? (I mean, it's only been a year, what's the rush?). Well, I started researching salons for the heck of it. Just in case we ever came up with a spare couple hundred bucks to spend on my hair. Out of nowhere y'know. That happens all the time.

Anyway, I'm a chronic "salon hopper". I've never had a salon that I considered my salon, or a stylist that I loved and therefore would follow wherever she/he went. It's not because I'm too hard to please. It's usually because I don't ever leave a place feeling super impressed. I've gone to every kind of salon under the sun... the small, neighborly types; the big, flashy, gotta-take-out-a-loan-to-afford-this types; and then everything in between. This time, I wasn't going to take my chances.

Although y'all were sweet about my last haircut (the short one with bangs)... let's face it. They butchered my hair. It was nothing like I'd asked for. I wanted fringy bangs and a cute layered cut that fell right above my shoulders. I got a helmet head.

I would never tell my mother this, because I used her stylist, and it was a gift from her.

Anyways...

I did my research. I looked up every salon in the nearby Charlotte area. I wanted good service, an awesome haircut, to feel pampered, but not have to pay a buttload of money (where did that expression come from?? I suddenly found myself slightly grossed out by that term just now...).

After reading review after review and looking at pictures and prices... oh yeah, and fyi to you salons who don't list your prices?? If you don't have them listed, then I assume I can't afford it, and my hair should not cost that much. The end.

Yeah so after doing a ton of research, I finally found a place I wanted to go to... eventually. Y'know, when my husband magically found an extra hundred in his pockets. Then out of nowhere (or not so much... I wasn't being all that discreet), Brad asked me if I'd like to get my hair done. I told him no way, I couldn't justify spending that much money on HAIR. We could use that money for something else we needed. You never know, the next plague may include frogs or gnats or something. He let it go, since he realized I wasn't backing down. The other day, he came home from running an errand and informed me that he'd made an appointment at a salon. I was getting my hair done on Thursday. I asked where he'd made it, and when he told me, my heart sunk a little. I didn't want to rain on his desperate to make my wife hot sweetness parade, but I'd been there before. They charge too much and don't do that great of a job. Last time, I'd gotten the owner's daughter. It was stupid. She had the personality of a rock and did an ok job.

I thanked him profusely, but I asked if I could switch and use this other salon I'd found. He said he didn't care, that it was my hair. He just knew I wasn't going to ever make the appointment myself.

So today was the day.

I tried not to have any expectations, but this place had 65 reviews, 63 of them being 5 stars. I was pretty excited. I even wore a dress. Because I didn't have a toddler. I could be a girl and not a mom for once.

I've dragged this out, I know.

Without boring you to tears, I'll just say this.

I found my permanent salon.

It's happy and friendly and fun. They did an amazing job. They gave me their input without being pushy. Everyone was stylish and professional, but still stayed true to themselves.

If you live in the Charlotte area, do yourself a favor and check this place out.

In case you were curious, Jen and Amanda were the girls who worked with me (they have pictures on the site), and they were fantastic. And yes, I already left a review for them. :)

Before I show you the pictures, I need to clarify something.

Remember that random fact post I did where I mentioned how my right eye was messed up when I was born and it can't go up? Yeah, well here's your proof. Sorry if it gives you the willies...

So here's what I got...

(I couldn't decide which one to use, so I did both)

Honey/caramel highlights... because the hubs likes my natural color (it always looks more red in the light), I decided to go really natural with them. They add a little depth, which is what I wanted. I may go a little lighter again next time around, just for fun.

Got it chopped a few inches, right below my shoulders, with a few layers.

I had a good shot that Brad took of the back, but it was in RAW, and I'm not PS saavy enough to figure out why it won't open up a RAW file yet. Anyways, I'm really happy with it.

OH! Best part: After leaving a tip and buying some good shampoo, I was still $50 under my budget!!

They use Arrojo products, which I was all happy about. Did any of y'all ever see Nick Arrojo on TLC's What Not to Wear? They have a new guy now, but Nick used to be on there for a long time. His contract was up, and turns out, he was busy producing this product line and opening up a school. Awesome, right?

Normally, I get all skeptical when stylists try to upsale me on their products. But this shampoo actually left my hair feeling like silk and it'll prolong the color. I haven't had any good shampoo in years, so I'm all kinds of thrilled.

On another note... and not that I'm not completely happy and definitely feel these girls deserve a medal... this is just something I've wondered for years.

This is an honest to goodness, sincere question to any of you former or current hairstylists (or anyone who has an answer)...

why is a tip expected?

The price of the haircut is already stated, based on the level of expertise/education/etc. Regardless of whether they could do the style before they got more training, the price goes up as they get smarter.

I'm paying the amount quoted to me.

If you're a plumber, you give a price. After the work is done, you don't get tipped. Same goes for an electrician. Or most service industries, except for the restaurant, and on that kind of minimum pay, they live for tips (I get that one). After my mom has an interpreting job, she doesn't get a tip, regardless of how well she did or how friendly she was. So when did this practice of tipping for hair/nails/massages start? Just curious. Maybe I'll google it.

Happy almost Friday! :)