Let's Talk Hair Vol.3

Ok, I'm ready to talk hair again.  This time I want to talk about transitioning hair colors.  This time of year women are ready to ditch the dark hair color for a lighter summer look.  Many women walk into a salon as a sultry brunette expecting to leave a blonde bombshell.  I'm here to tell you if your hair is color treated that's not gonna happen.  Transitioning from a dark brown to a platinum blonde is a process.

Allow me to explain a few beauty school basics concerning color:

1.  Hair color cannot lift (lighten) hair color.  Hair color can only lift when the hair is in a virgin state.  Therefore, (color treated) brown hair can only be made lighter with bleach. 

2.  Putting bleach from root to end on your entire head is not a wise move to lift color out of your hair.  This can be very damaging, and depending on how dark your hair is colored, can leave you with gold/orange hair.

So, what's a girl to do? Highlight!

3.  When transitioning from a dark color to a lighter look expect around 3 hair appointments (depending on your hair color some may take more, others may need  less) worth of highlights.  This will ensure the best results while keeping your hair healthy. 

I know, this may come as a disappointment when you are ready to make a drastic change, but in the mean time you can enjoy having a new look with each stage as you work up to your desired lightness.  Trust your hairdresser.  They only want to give you the best looking hair color, while maintaining your hair's health. 

**Whatever you do, don't try lifting a dark color at home, I promise it will cost you more to correct your mistake than it would have to let the pros do it the first time.

So if you want to be blonde by June, call your hairdresser and get going soon.  Happy highlighting!

A [very] Late Korean Christmas Party.

My beloved childhood friend, Lauren (above with her boyfriend, Han Joo during their last visit) now lives in Korea.  She makes up 1/4 of "The Order of the 4", half are here (myself and Meghan), and the remaining 1/4 (Lauren's twin sister, Kristin) is in Delaware.  Last week a package arrived from Korea for "The Order" and the Walker family members.  There were detailed instructions for us to all open the gifts together, so yesterday we met Lauren and Kristin's mom, dad and brother to divide the loot.  

The box was covered in bright Korean letters.  This built suspense since none of us could read what it said.  I got the whole gift opening process on video on my iPhone, but I'm having trouble uploading it to anything because it is so large.  Most of you would find this video boring and borderline strange anyway, so I'll spare you.  I'll have to resort to burning the video to a DVD and mailing it to you Lauren.  I know it will make you smile!

Lauren- We loved our gifts. (Mostly because they came from you.) I loved seeing your handwriting on the letter, and hearing your familiar jokes.  I loved being with your family and Meghan, because it made me feel like you're not so far away.  I love knowing that on the other side of the world you're thinking of us, and you're still our same ole Reem. Miss you kid.  Come visit us soon.

P.S. Send more "Calorie Balance" (they taste like lemon cookies).  In the words of Han Joo when first experiencing the greatness of Sonic, "I love it!"

Andrea's Bridal Shower.

This morning I, along with 4 other college friends, threw a bridal shower for Andrea Wyatt, (soon to be Fowler) at our house. Andrea (along with the other hostesses) was my pledge sister in Tri Chi at OBU. We were all very excited when we found out on new year's eve that she was engaged to marry Kyle Fowler on March 18th. The wedding is a destination wedding on the beach in Texas.  This shower was such a fun way to share in her excitement even though some of us won't be able to attend the wedding.

 

This was the first bridal shower I have helped with in a while. I'm just wondering when all the baby showers are going to start...

Pushing the Limits! Fantasy Hairstyling.

Fantasy hair is all about breaking the limits of traditional hairstyling. It can include the use of ornaments, clothing, and props to achieve the desired look, and it’s almost always pulled to the top of the head. Fantasy hair competition  pits contestants against each other to create a total look of hair, clothing and makeup, in a limited amount of time.

Hosted by actress Brooke Burns, this competition series pits ten of America’s best stylists against each other to see who can deliver the biggest and best in fantasy hair design.

Part sculpture and part pop art, each challenge requires contestants to create shocking coifs that resemble everything from multi-layer bridal cakes to toys with moveable pieces. The stylists then enter the ring to present their hair creations in a fully produced, dramatic and stylized performance. After each challenge, the judges critique the designers on creativity, execution and overall presentation.

In addition to blow-by-blow drama in the arena, there is also the day-to-day drama between the cohabitating stylists who fight each week to stay in the game and win the ultimate prize of $100,000.

“Hair Battle Spectacular” is produced by three Ball Productions with JD Roth, Todd Nelson, Adam Greener, and Mike Nichols serving as executive producers.

26 Treated Me Right.

I know, I've been slacking on the blog!  We had a busy week, but I'm still here.  I promise Monday I'll be back with a new "Let's Talk Hair", but first I'll share a little bit about my birthday weekend.

February 19th I turned 26.  I gotta be honest, I wasn't thrilled about that number.  It's no landmark age.  It just means I am now closer to 30 than I am to 20, or as Gary pointed out, closer to 50 than 0... it's crazy how fast life moves. 

However, despite the number, it was a good birthday.  A few days prior to the big day I began getting cards in the mail from out of town family wishing me well.  I used some of their birthday money to buy a new outfit and shoes (if you gotta get older, might as well look good on your birthday).  Then the day before the big day the finishing touch for my new birthday attire arrived in the mail from my sister and brother [in-laws], Gina and Zach, in the form of a necklace with a small pair of scissors hanging from it.  It couldn't be more perfect.  I think I've worn it every day since it arrived on my doorstep.

I arrived at work Saturday morning to a birthday banner on my mirror, balloons and chocolate on my station, and lots of birthday wishes from clients and co-workers.  Text messages, Twitter shout outs, and Facebook wall posts flooded my phone all day.  Gary came to the salon at lunch with Sonic and a balloon in hand, and I ended my work day with a birthday pedicure from Carrie.  Pink polish from the new OPI "Texas" collection now adorns my toes, leaving me ready for summer.

When I walked in the door from work a gift and and card were sitting on the kitchen counter, bearing Gary's handwriting.  (This came as a shock since I had told him not to buy me anything after impulse buying an over-priced floor lamp from West Elm last week.)  He came around the corner pushing the vacuum, saw me eyeing the gift and ran over to watch me open it.  It was a small HD video camera for our Europe trip!  (This means videos on the blog in the near  future, so get pumped.)

Saturday evening we met 8 others for Sushi at Little Rock's Sushi Cafe, one of my favorite restaurants.  The service was slow, but the food and the company were wonderful.  After dinner we moved the party to our house for cheesecake (homemade for me by Laura) and martinis. 

Sunday we met my family for a birthday lunch at ZaZa.  Afterwards we went to Mom and Dad's for cupcakes and gifts.  My sister made me an awesome gift basket full of goodies for crafting and [hopefully] sewing.

My friends and family are the best.  I couldn't have felt more loved on my birthday.  Who cares if I am knocking on 30's door, life just keeps getting better with age.

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

A lot of the lovely women I follow do a "What I'm Loving Wednesday" segment on their blogs each week.   I love reading all of their posts, so I thought I'd try one.  Since we leave for Europe in 6 weeks I am loving shopping for items for our trip.  Here are 3 travel items I'm loving this week:

1.  Merrell Siren Sport shoes:  These shoes came highly recommended online by women who have traveled Europe.  We will be doing loads of walking, so we'll need comfy shoes.  Also, we will be limited on how much we can pack, so I'm wanting to bring just one pair of shoes for sightseeing and one pair of black flats for evenings out.  I thought these would be a perfect fit, and they are cute, so I ordered them!  They came in last week and they are everything I had hoped for.  I wore them to work last Saturday and they were very comfortable for the 8 hours I spent standing.

2.  Roots-Village Bag:  I'm also looking for a good purse to take on our trip.   Something that is cross body so I can leave my hands free, while keeping my purse in front of me and away from pickpockets.  I want it to be large enough to carry my camera, wallet, passport and maybe a book, but not too heavy.  I'm liking this one from Roots, it has lots of zipper pockets inside for cash and our passports.  What do you think?

3. Panasonic Vintage Headphones:  I'm loving these for listening to my music and podcasts on the plane and train rides.  They look much more comfortable than my ipod ear buds, and are way more stylish.  I found them on Amazon for only $30!  To buy or not to buy, that is the question?

The good news is my birthday is Saturday.  Maybe if I'm lucky the bag and the headphones will be joining my Merrells in Europe!

Happy Valentine's Day.

Since today is Valentine's Day I am going to take a break from "Let's Talk Hair" and post about my evening with my sweet Valentine.

Today was my day off work, so I cleaned  house, grocery shopped and cooked dinner for Gary.  In the midst of my cleaning, my doorbell rang.   It was a beautiful pot of red tulips from my Valentine!  They came with the bulb still attached so I can plant them in our yard.  What a nice surprise.

This evening we opted to stay in rather that fight the Valentine's Day crowd.   I cooked salmon on asparagus, with salad, bread and white wine.  We enjoyed our home cooked meal in the quiet of our humble abode.  I even broke out our china.  (I think this is only the second time it's ever been used.)  For dessert we enjoyed a few chocolate covered strawberries. 

It was the perfect evening, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  This holiday may be just another Hallmark holiday for money making, but I love it.   It reminds us all how blessed we are to have loved ones to share our lives with.