Hair, I Need Some Serious Help.

I don't talk about hair on here often because let's be honest,  I am lazy when it comes to my hair.  I wash it maybe 2-3 times a week and use no styling products.  On the days I don't wash it I just pull it back with a hair clip.  That is my standard daily look. I am really clueless about hair styling and products.

 If we are being really honest I am also a total blondorexic, seriously my hair can never be blonde enough.  Its a sickness people.   I leave the salon with fresh highlights and still think my hair is brown. If I had lots of money I would totally get my roots touched up every other week.

 These are a few of my favorite hair inspiration pictures.  I want my hair to look like these gals.  They all have the perfect long blonde hair that I want.

Now lets be real I know my hair will never look like Blake in the last picture, but I might can get close to the top four.

You might remember last year right around this time I chopped my hair into the long bob and while I loved it, I am ready for longer hair.  It is growing out but so slowly.

I look back at these pictures from right before Sterling was born and I want my hair to get that long again, or longer.  I have heard Biotin is really helpful for hair growth but I hate taking pills (meds or vitamins- I am weird I know).  I feel like my hair is at a stagnant point right now though and I want it to grow so it needs help.  I also wish it would thicken up and have more body.  My hair is very fine and thin.

 

 Does anyone use the Mason Pearson Brush?  My mom just got one for Christmas and loves it.  I heard it helps massage the scalp and stimulate hair growth and renewal.

What Shampoos and Conditioners work best to provide volume and lasting cleanness?  I hate ones that make my hair get too greasy too quick.  I recently picked up the Loreal EverCreme Intense Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner and while I love how it smells and that it has no sulfates my hair was on the way to be greasy the day after I used it.  I need my washes to last longer.    I am cheap when it comes to hair products but maybe I need to splurge.

I have tried dried shampoo before but I am really not a fan.  It made my hair feel sticky and it was still greasy.  I tried the Tresemme and Aveeno ones and was not a fan.  Any Dry Shampoos you peeps swear by?  Because I hear that is the key to going several days with no washes.

I will leave you with this since are all friends here (although I am most likely going to regret posting this picture).   I died my hair really dark once.  I still cringe when I see these pictures.  It looks like I am wearing a wig, right?   I think I tore up most pictures from this dark hair stage but found this one.  I will never go dark again.  I felt so weird and so not me with dark hair.  I call it my dark period (ha).  So I obviously need some products to take care of my over colored hair because I am staying blonde!  

 

 

Dish it to me ladies and tell me the secret to long healthy hair!

Roasted Vegetable Israeli Couscous

As of lately I have been really into Israeli Couscous.  Like I have been making it at least once a week.  It is the perfect side dish or lunch salad.  I had been buying the Near East box kind- we love the Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil and the Basil and Herb flavors.  They are both fabulous if you don't feel like making your own,  but I decided I wanted to branch out and make my own version. I found a box of the plain Couscous at Trader Joes but I am sure any supermarket carries it.  We served ours with baked Salmon for dinner and then I ate the leftovers for my lunch.  Light, Healthy, and Fresh.  Would also be great with grilled chicken or shrimp over top.  I think this is best served at room temperature.  It will save great for several days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

{ROASTED VEGETABLE ISRAELI COUSCOUS}

- 1 Box Israeli Couscous

- 1 Zucchini Sliced

- 1 Squash Sliced

- 2 Green Onions Sliced (white and green parts)

- 1/2 Pint Cherry Tomatoes quartered

- 1/4 cup Sun dried Tomatoes

- 1/2 Cup Crumbled Feta (one 4oz package)

- Olive Oil

- Juice from one Lemon

Cook Couscous according to package and set aside.  Roast Zucchini and Squash at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes til tender.  I drizzle the zucchini and squash with olive oil and salt and pepper before roasting.   Toss Couscous with roasted zucchini/ squash and next three ingredients.  Meanwhile mix together 1/4 cup olive oil and juice of one lemon. Season with Salt and Pepper.  Toss mixture over Couscous (you may not need the whole mixture).  Toss in feta last.  Great served at room temperature.

Obsessions

{ARCHIPELAGO ARUGULA CANDLE}

My sister in law gave me this candle for Christmas and I am obsessed with it.  It is such a clean fresh scent.  It makes my whole house smell lovely.

{LINEN NEON TRIMMED NAPKINS}

I am totally obsessed with these cute napkins from Etsy.  So cute for a Summer Party.  I love the neon pink.

{GAP STRIPPED KNIT MOTO JACKET}

This is the perfect spring jacket. It is light weight,  so it is perfect to throw on with anything from jeans to workout clothes.   Casual yet stylish!

{LEATHER STRIPPED TOTE}

I love this stripped tote, another great find from the Gap.  It reminds me so much of the Celine stripped bag I wanted last year but for a fraction of the price.  I can't decide which color I need in my life more.  I love a giant tote for carrying all my stuff and Sterling's too.  The bigger the better!  Today you can get 20% off your purchase at Gap with the code GAPGIFT.

{ESSIE SHORT SHORTS}

I am on the hunt for this Essie nail polish need it for Summer.

{SUSANA MONACO JOSEPHINE DRESS}

Can you tell I am ready for Summer?  All I can think about is building my maxi dress collection.  and the truth is now is the time to shop for maxi dresses because the good ones get gone fast.  I have wanted a white maxi dress forever.  It looks so good with a tan in the summer.  This one is cotton so it is perfect for rolling around town with my little man.  Plus I love the detail at the neckline

Scenes From Our Weekend

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  We sure did.  We made not one single plan.  After a few back to back weekends filled with plans we were happy to just sit at home and watch Homeland- finished the first season.  So good!!  Need to get my hands on season two ASAP.

Friday Sterling had no school- no idea why they needed to be out Friday and Monday for MLK but they were.  Days without school can be long so I hosted a playgroup with a few of his friends.  Us moms enjoyed mimosas while the kids played and ate lunch.

How adorable is this picture of the boys praying before lunch?  Melted my heart.  They all go to the same school and learn the prayer "God Our Father" and they sang it before lunch.  Seriously wish I had recorded this sweetness.

My blurb book came in the mail and I could not be more thrilled with it.  I did only Instagram pictures since they are hard to print.  The quality was fantastic.  I ended up doing a soft cover book because it was cheaper and I am so glad I did.  Sterling is obsessed it- my child is totally vein, he loves looking at pictures of himself.  I highly recommend!  The site was easy to use and my book came in less than a week! 

I tried my hand at mixing patterns this weekend.  I am normally not really one for mixing patterns.  I think it looks cute on others but not me.  But here is my look for Saturday errands.

(Joie Stripped Sweater (old), Missoni Scarf, Rag and Bone Jeans, BR Booties (old but similar here))

I went to two different drugstores and Walmart trying to find the Revlon Soft Nude lipstick.  Not one had it of course.  However at CVS for 75% I found the shade darker than Soft Nude called Rosy Nude for a whopping $2.  It is darker than I wanted but actually not a bad color.  And surprisingly the lipstick went on well and stayed on.

 

Excuse my nasty hair in this picture but this is how the lipstick looks on.  Subtle color and it lasts awhile this was after it had been on about 2 hours.  Totally worth $2.

 

Upon further researching I found out the elusive Revlon Soft Nude is now discontinued.  I managed to find an Ebay site however that sells them so I ordered one to test out.  You can't beat the price.

I found some fab new pillows for our guest bedroom from HomeGoods.  Seriously how awesome do these pillows look?  It makes me happy everytime I walk by this room.  Its coming together slowly but surely.

When did my little baby turn into such a big boy?  He is almost too big for the baby swings.  Time flies.

I did manage to force him into a cute outfit this weekend, bribery always works.  Dressing him has become such a pain in the arse and a challenge.    He is so opinionated and all he wants to wear is his spider man shirt.  Every. single.day.

Case and point as soon as we got home from church this came back on. And he wants to wear shorts everyday no matter how cold it is.  So hard headed.

Boys will be boys. 
Happy Monday.  No school again (ahhhhhh)!

Thoughts For Friday

Since I have been reading Grace Coddington's Memoir I was inspired to watch The September Issue (not sure why I never watched this before).  Anyways I rented it from my favorite place the library and really enjoyed it.  I loved seeing a sneak peek in Ana's life and loved that it featured Sienna Miller my favorite girl!!

I found the cutest neon drawstring dress at Target this week.   The dress is so comfortable, the perfect little weekend dress for running errands or lounging.  Check out my little man in the background, he likes trying on clothes too:)

{Mossimo Drawstring Dress}

Rembrandt was nice enough to send me there THERSday kit.  It was filled with so many great goodies.  My sister and I had a ball using them all and my mother in law loved the Cosmo mix! Might I add Sterling was obsessed with the band-aids.  What is with kids and band-aids?  Thank you Rembrandt for a fab kit!

I think I have narrowed down the paint for our living room to two colors.  Revere Pewter and Horizon both Benjamin Moore.  Ordering samples to try out and then deciding!

I think you all know I am a cookbook hoarder, I can never have enough.  I received this one for Christmas and have really enjoyed reading it.  I have earmarked a few recipes to make.  Alex used to write the food column for House Beautiful.  He is funny, gay, and likes Southern Cooking so of course I love him.  A great cookbook!

Has anyone tried this Revlon Lipstick/Lip gloss?  I keep hearing they are the best neutral lip color.  Think I am going to try them out, but would love to hear from someone who has actually used them.

The lipstick is called Soft Nude and the Lip gloss is called Peach Petal. It would be great to find a cheap version I love because right now I am hooked on Chanel.

Matt did not think this E-card was funny at all.  But I sure did- kind of true (sorry honey).

 I hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo

Coffee Tables + Ottomans.

I am slowly but surely crossing shiz off my house to-do list.  I have wanted a new coffee table for awhile now.  Our old one which I had since my pre-marriage days was just way too big in our den.  It dominated the room.  I wanted something smaller and sleeker so I could have room to do two ottomans on the side for extra seating.  

I first spied the perfect coffee table on Pinterest (of course) and stalked it to find it was from Urban Outfitters of all places.  Here is the original picture I saw that sold me on the table.

 

{Criss Cross Coffee Table}
A great table right???  I loved the sleek modern look and the fact that it was not too big.  Plus Urban Outfitters has great prices and free shipping over $50.  A no brainer when ordering furniture.

Here she is in our den.  I think it is just the look I was going for.  It made our room feel so much more spacious without our giant coffee table.
(sorry for the grainy pics I was lazy just using my iphone plus our camera sucks)

  Now I just need two ottomans for the other side.  I can't decide if I want X-Bench ones or small square nailhead ones.

I adore the snakeskin x-bench ones in Jen Ramos's home.  Just perfect, they make me lean in the direction of x-bench.

However I also love these square ones.

I have been scoping out these two from Ballard Designs.  The prices are pretty good although not sure about quality because I have never ordered from there.   There are also alot of fabric choices which is nice.

Then I found this set on Overstock.  Such a freaking steal.  $199 for the pair!  Only thing is they are made with faux leather can't decide if that would look cheap in person and bother me.  Is faux leather lame?

Lastly here is my other concern, this bench under our entryway table.  I don't want it to look like too many similar benches in our den.   Or do I want them all to relate and look similar.  I can always move it to a bedroom but it fits perfectly under the table right now.

So what would you do?  X-bench or small square ones?  Any other places to shop for them?  Any of the above winners?  Give me your best decorating advice!  What should a girl do??