Wayne's in the Bay today and tomorrow, visiting friends, so what have I been doing with all this "me" time? Tonight, I watched "Pretty Woman", which was showing on TBS, and then I spent the rest of the evening watching how-to hair tutorials on youtube. Tomorrow, it's the local farmer's market and then scrapbooking!!!
Oh, and speaking of hair, I was totally daring this past weekend and did my own hair for Alton and Charissa's wedding, which is actually unprecedented and completely uncharacteristic of me (this was pre- youtube tutorials, mind you). I am HORRIBLE with hair, and I had no idea what I was doing (and didn't really trust Wayne when he told me it looked fine, because really, what does he know about hair?), but I think it turned out okay!
I'm washing the towels right now, so there were none in the bathrooms for a little bit. I just went to our linen closet to pull out some fresh towels and was really puzzled that one of them was slightly damp. Was it from Sam, who slept over last night, needing a new towel in the morning? No, it would have dried by now... Do we have some sort of a leak? Confused, I went over to Wayne and told him about this mystery towel, and he said so casually, "Oh, that was me." Apparently, after using the bathroom and washing his hands, he had no towel to wipe his hands on, so he went into the linen closet and instead of pulling out a new towel to restock, he simply stuck his hands in there, wiped them dry, then closed the closet door again!
It's such a funny scene in my head; I can't stop laughing!
Karli wasn't bad... she was super nice and easy to talk to. But she did give me a mushroom (augh!!), which was first a mullet until I asked her to even it out. And because we had to cut off the mullet, my hair is shorter than I had wanted it. She did do a good job on the actual layering, though, so I'm sure my hair will look great once it grows out... sigh, the story of my salon experiences.
Okay, so here are the pictures.
...Ready?
Are you sure?
Brace yourself....
AUGH!!!!
Okay, it's not that bad, right? But that was right after coming back from the salon. You can really see the mushroomness after I styled it myself the next day. See the poof on the left side of my head? Yeah, I don't like that. At least now I know I don't like shorter layers framing my face. And believe me, it's worse when it's not fresh from the flat iron, because the layers meld, creating that dreaded mushroom.
Here, I have pulled that chunk from the side of my head. I'd rather my hair be like this:
I'm crazy, huh? But I'm just not completely sold on this new cut. I'm not so devastated as in the past, though, perhaps due to the fact that I'm older and mature enough to know that life will go on, even while sporting a mushroom cut. I don't know if I'll go back, though... maybe. I mean, all relationships need work, right? And perhaps Karli and I just need time to feel each other out. I think I should have emphasized more how untrendy and low-maintenance I am, and I've had bad experiences with mushroom cuts, so please don't give me one. Maybe I SHOULD have worn jeans and a sweatshirt, since really, I'm a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of gal... with an Anthropologie top thrown in here and there. Or maybe I'll just check out Honey Salon next time. We'll see.
In the mean time, I'll be mastering such tools as The Flat Iron and The Bobby Pin to manage my new 'do.
I left Magic Salon a few months ago. I loved Michelle, who gave me haircuts that I actually LIKED right out of the salon, but when she left, my coif was entrusted to another stylist. I gave her two chances, but she wasn't cutting it (haha, get it?), so I did what I had to do. I started searching for a new salon.
It's hard finding a good salon. There are many out there, but I want a quality place that is still affordable, that is progressive without being pretentious or overly trendy, and most importantly, I want a stylist whom I trust and will give me a haircut I love.
I scoured yelp and found two salons that fit the bill: Honey Salon and Amithyst Boutique Salon. I actually really like the name Honey Salon and almost made an appointment based solely on that, but Amithyst had an opening tomorrow morning. Plus, they have cheery yellow walls and Amithyst, herself, makes darling feather hairpieces that she sells on Etsy. And anyone who sells anything on Etsy is cool in my book.
So I have an appointment with Karli at Amithyst Salon tomorrow, and I'm excited and a little nervous at the same time. Kind of like a first date, if you will. When you think about it, your relationship with your stylist/salon is much like dating, isn't it? You bounce around from salon to salon, arriving at each appointment with high hopes, only to have them dashed when you leave with a mushroom cut. And this happens over and over... until you find "The One". And then you stick with them for life.
I keep thinking about what Karli will be like. Will she listen to me, or insist upon her own ideas? Will she be patient with my wishy-washiness and how I never know what I want exactly but know exactly what I don't want? and... oh, should I even dare to hope... Will she be able to tame my baby hairs?? And as ridiculous as this sounds, I've even thought about what I am going to wear tomorrow, because I want my outfit to most accurately reflect who I am, so Karli can give me a haircut that will suit me best.
So here goes! Tomorrow morning, 10am. Wish me luck, and if all goes well, hopefully I'll be posting pictures!
So today was one of those days I missed having a group of friends to hang out with. We went to Life Point(e?) Church in Elk Grove (super close to our house--we could walk there), and the people are nice, but since we don't know anyone, we just stood around for a bit, chatted briefly with a couple of people who came up to us... then went home. We had lunch at home on our own, took Lucy to the dog park on our own... and then saw all these people playing football and barbecuing--with friends... and I realized just how lonely we are. :( or I am, anyway. Sigh, I miss having friends to hang out with. I have a few here and there, whom I am so thankful for! But no one to do anything and everything with. No group of friends to invite over. My boardgames lie untouched on the top shelf. Everyone seems so busy... and I suppose I am too. Is this just the life of an adult? Is this what being a grown-up is like?
I'm five years old and it's getting cold
I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides
Look now the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home
I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today
I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop till I forgot all their names
I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today
I have an excellent father
His strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
Inside and out he's better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you
There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world
Now I know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine and I didn't know if you knew
So I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today
Wayne and I have talked about creating a San Diego-themed bathroom--not teeming with seashells and dolphins and other kitsch, but something that would tastefully remind us of our favorite place... where I still consider Home, in many ways. But what that actually looks like, we were unsure... Harvest group picture on the wall? (haha, that would be weird). UCSD pendants? Triton shower curtain with matching towels and bath mat? hmm, not quite that either.
While in San Diego a few weeks ago, we decided to make a trip to the UCSD Bookstore, and while no Triton shower curtain (darn!), we did find this!! Perfect inspiration for our San Diego bathroom!
The lady at Aaron Brothers helped me find a suitable frame and this beautiful color for the mat! And ta-da!!!
I am now ready to tackle the rest of the bathroom! ... shower curtain, towels, bath mat, and... yikes, paint color!
rollers, poles, brushes, and other painting tools = $75
40 mini-cans of tester paint, all varying shades of green = $160
at least 16 gallons of paint, many that were discarded after I changed my mind = $400
money and time wasted = lots
turning a house into a home to call ours = priceless
It's been many moons since we moved in, but finally, here are some pictures of our place. There's more I want/need to add (like curtains, framed artwork, etc.), but I'm a slow gatherer, and I realized I would never get these pictures up if I was waiting for our house to be PERFECT. So, here I am, stretching myself to let go of my perfectionist tendencies AND posting these pictures, which I've been meaning to do for months. I would say this is a good start to my day.
entryway, living room, and dining area
shoe art by emily to.
framed calendar art by Dana Heacock, local artist in Ogunquit, Maine, where we visited last summer.
family room and Lucy
need curtains.
kitchen
my favorite room! we painted all the cabinets and added new handles, which made the hugest difference. notice the striped backsplash! that was meticulously painted on as well.
master bedroom with huge walk-in closet!
i would like splashes of orange in here.
sunny guestroom and craftroom
wayne's office, aka "man-cave"
laundry room with new washer/dryer
thank you for visiting our home; please come visit for real! :)
next project: San Diego-inspired guest bathroom... not sure what that means yet, exactly, but I'll keep you posted!
