Beauty Tuesday's: Getting the Hair You Want

Happy Tuesday! I want to share with you a little about my hair history. I'm almost always been blonde. Naturally I have what we in the South call dishwater blonde aka not quite a brunette but not blonde either. I started dying when I was 12 and I've never really gone back. I tried being a red head for a bit, but while it was fun it wasn't quite me. I've also died my hair darker to a medium brown, but I never really felt like ME with dark hair.



Winter 2006

Winter 2007

Spring 2008

Fall 2008

Spring 2010

Spring 2011

Fall 2011

Spring 2012

Okay... so I didn't want to inudate you with pictures, but there were a LOT of blonde moments in between those brunette winters I've had the past few years. So now that you know I change my hair color a whole bunch, let me tell you a story.

It's the Summer of 2011. My hair is extremely damaged. I have crazy split ends, horrible flyaways and a general strawlike texture I can't seem to get rid of. Fast forward 9 months and I couldn't be happier with my hair. It's long (for me) but not too long. It's soft, it holds a curl for more than a few hours, no fly aways, no more straw growing out of my head. Yay!

I did a LOT of research on how to fix my hair and consulted with my trusted hairstylist (Krystal, who has since left my salon and I can't find her!! But thats a story for another time) this is what I did.

Clear Glazes

 Are translucent, demi-permanent or semi-permanent haircolor that can do a lot in less than 15 minutes! Available in a full range of sheer colors, as well as clear, this deposit-only, ammonia-free salon treatment lasts from two to six weeks (depending upon application and the condition of your hair) and boosts color but will not lighten it. If you’re not interested in color, but would love long-lasting shine, ask your stylist for a clear shine glazing treatment after every haircut. It makes hair feel thicker, too!

A Good Hair Cut

Cut off as much of your damaged hair as you can. You need to stop the cycle of split ends before it gets worse. Your hair will grow back eventually, and look healthier imediately. 

Use Heat Sparingly

This was the source of my problems. Daily blowdries, curling irons, straightening we put our hair through the ringer. Give it a break when you can.

Use Heat Protectant

I'm sure you all do this already, but I didn't and I can't believe the difference it has made.

Rock a Dirty Hair Style

I always thought I had super oily hair that needed washing daily, but if you avoid brushing it throughout the day (with a brush or your hand) and use a little dry shampoo the next day you'll be amazed how it can last. My go to 2nd day doo's are the top knot, a poofalishous pony or the "Sarah Palin"

Products

I DIE over its a 10. If you buy one product for your hair, it needs to be this. It claims to do 10 things: repairs dry damaged hair, adds shine, smooths and controls frizz, seals and protects color, heat protectant, detangles, prevents breakage, creats silkiness, enhances natural body and prevents split ends. Honestly it really does all this. They aren't paying me to say so *but feel free to send me more!

Amika Oil Treatment

Birchbox: "Obliphica and argan oil pump hydration into damaged strands, smoothing the outer cuticle for noticeably sleeker, shinier strands. This nourishing formula also improves overall hair health, from elasticity to dehydrated ends." First off this smells amazing. I use this on days where I'm giving my hair a break from all other heat and styling products. Its silky smooth, a little goes a long way and it add a ton of shine.

That's all I've got for you today. I'll save my other styling products for another post, but try these steps and see what your hair is like in a month or two. I promise you won't be disappointed! Let me know if you have any other suggestions on how to improve the condition of your hair!

Happy Monday

Oh do I feel better. It's amazing what a weekend with no stress and good friends can do for your mental well being. As I mentioned before I went to Williamsburg, VA with my two roommates BW and KJ to visit my bff and her wonderful husband. I need to settle on a nickname for her (because she has several: LoPro, LoRay, Lars, LoProRay and the Lawfully wedded wife) but Lauren is a wonderful hostess. After a not so horrible drive down 95 with the obligatory stop at Chick-Fil-A we were greeted by the LWW with a variety of the most amazing individual tartlets. Our options were coconut lemon curd nutella cream. Obviously my obsession with chocolate won out and I opted for the nutella. They were so good.

Saturday was wonderful. We hit up this AMAZING Spanish (as in Spain) food store called La Tienda. I did my study abroad in Spain a few years back, and miss it terribly, so I jump for any opportunity for authentic Spanish food.

They did not disappoint. Amazing olive oils, HUGE wine selections, jamon serrano, machego, and some yummy bread. Unfortunately everything was a tad high for my budget, but I picked up some amazing pimenton which is a smoked Spanish paprika that I can't wait to try out once lent is over.

Then we headed off to Alewerks, a local brewery to do a tasting tour. Day drinking is the best, am I right?

 
The highlight of the weekend though was finding my new child. I have been rocking a Longchamp for a while now, and I love it. but it was time for a new bag. I'm at a point where I  am spoiled appreciate nice things so I wanted to invest in a bag that I can enjoy for years to come. I've been crushing over a Michael Kors Hamilton.

  

and a Kate Spade Quinn

but I knew there was an outlet for both in Williamsburg so I was holding out.

After much though, a pre-purchase scouting trip on Saturday I settled on an amazeballs satchel from Kate Spade called the Melinda. I love her so.

  My own personal photographer took a few pictures of me showing it off. For your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

*all photos courtesty of the Lawfully Wedded Wife and Google Images

 And in true fashion blogger style: Sweater: Banana Republic, Cami: Forever 21, Top: Michael Kors from YEARS ago, Jeans: INC, Shoes: Vintage, Watch: Michael Kors, Bag: Kate Spade Melinda

Hope y'all have a great day. To read more about the weekend go here.

DIY: Nightstand Revamp

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I moved up to DC with only 2 suitcases and have eventually brought the rest of my stuff (as long as it fit my my Jetta) so I have been lacking furniture for the past year. I spent 4 months sleeping on an air mattress! I know. But now that I have a real bed, I needed a real nightstand. After numerous trips to ikea, target, and a few more "expensive" furniture shops I decided I needed to DIY something to get the look I wanted. I trolled craigslist for a few days, and found this baby for a STEAL.  

What do you think? It's a beautiful solid wood piece, and I wanted something basic (and small) for my bedside table. I love that it has this cubby to display books, baskets, trinkets or whatever else I would want, and still has a drawer (which is currently housing lots of papers). So I thought about this for a while... How should I paint it? My room is painted grey with white bedding and pink curtains. Since I'm obsessed with my grey walls, and I love the monochromatic look I decided to save some $$ and paint it the same color as my walls. I also I wanted something that would blend nicely, but would still work with a new color scheme should I chose to change it in the future. I also decided to tackle a stencil. I realize it was a tad ambitious as my first project, but hey when I was 8 my mom and I re-did an antique dresser for my room. We painted it white with an antique pink for the handles. THEN when I was 14 we spray painted the handles silver... so it's not exactly my first attempt at re-doing antique furniture. I attempted to take pictures all the way through, but I missed a few steps so I apologize and please just use your imagination.

Once I settled on a color scheme it was time to execute it. But... one problem. I live in a small apartment, no porch, no garage, nothing but a sidewalk to paint on. So spray paint was out. Then I decided I didn't want to invest in any industrial sanders, so what to do? Oil-based primer my friend. Yes. Not only didn't I not have to sand the piece, but the primer was so thick the application with a brush created these lines similar to wood grain. Love it.

One coat wasn't quite enough to cover the dark color, and while I'm sure it would have been fine, it really didn't require that much paint, so here's coat #2.

Background information. I have a black and white damask bedspread. I love all things black and white damask. like... LOVE. I was going to attempt a damask flower on top, but couldn't find a good stencil and decided it was too difficult. So, what to do? After searching blogs and blogs for stencils, I finally decided on a fleur de lis. I work for a Louisiana company now, so why not? Let me tell you, thank god I did something simple, because this part was HORRIBLE. as opposed to creating a stencil, I simply cut out the shape, traced it, then taped over that (the worst part), then painted over the whole thing, peel off the tape. Done. Thankfully it turned out well, and I only had to do some minor touch ups.

Time for the big reveal... are you ready?

Yay!!!!

So cute right? I am planning on spray painting the handle white, but haven't gotten a chance to get back to home depot. What do you think???? I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with myself.

{Friday Cocktail} Fancy Gin Cocktail

If you read my post from earlier you know that I have been in need of several yummy cocktails lately. Last night my roommate KJ and I headed to a local bar/coffee shop/restaurant in our hipster-hood called The Big Bear Cafe. Each of us selected a yummy sounding cocktail from their list of hand crafted concoctions. I ordered what Big Bear deems the "Fancy Gin Cocktail" It was SO good. If y'all live in DC you need to seek out this joint and treat yourself. For anyone else, you need to make this at home!

In a shaker muddle 1.5 oz Genever with some orange peel and 1 tsp cane sugar. Add 3 shakes of aromatic bitters and top off with ice. Enjoy!

If you try one let me know what you think! Hope y'all have a great weekend! I'm heading to Williamsburg, VA for some much needed R and R.