7 Ways to Style Dirty Hair

If you knew me in real life, you would know I'm not a huge fan of taking a shower.

Okay…so now that it's out in the open are you glad you can't smell me through the internet?

Haha…with that said nobody has accused me of stinking too bad…at least not to my face.

But just to clarify…I do shower…I'm just not a huge fan of it. It's mostly due to the fact that if I get my hair wet it adds another 30 minutes to my "beauty" routine.

So back in college I began to "train" my hair to skip shampoo treatments. What better time to rock greasy, nasty hair than college right?

It took a few months to make my hair look non greasy until that day 4 shampoo. Now that I've been at it for a few *ahem* years, I can get my hair to go 9 or 10 days without a shampoo. And still be in public.

A lot of dealing with the "dirty hair days" is about how you style it.

So here's my top 7 ways to wear my hair on those "dirty" days.

For the record…that photo is 3 days after shampoo day (don't mind the roots…I'm too cheap to get a touch up) 

So I can easily get 3-4 days with treating my hair any differently. I just will usually brush it and curl it. 

But come day 5…it needs to be up. It just doesn't have the bounce or the volume that the earlier days do. 

1. My secret weapon is to tease it. Now, I can't tell you how healthy it is to tease your hair. But I do know that my hair is pretty darn healthy (according to my hair stylist, at least). Teasing tutorial here. 

Before I begin any new style for the day I will always tease the crown of my head, then smooth the exposed area of the hair. I don't know why…but teasing it completely hides the fact that it's dirty. 

So after the tease…here's what you can do with it.

2. The french side braid. 

3. The Phony Tail. This one is an optical illusion. You can make your pony tail look longer by making two instead of one!

tutorial here

4. The Gibson Tuck

tutorial here

5. The undone bun.

tutorial here

6. 10 second Top Knot (this one I do all. the. time)

tutorail here

7. Topsy tail bun

tutorial here

If you actually looked up any of those tuts you notice that my hair is always messier than the "originals". I always have fly aways, and by day 7 it looks a bit more "frizzy" due to the teasing. But it doesn't look greasy….and that's the whole point!

What about you? What are your top style for skipping the shampoo? I'd love to hear it!

The Best Way To Paint A Door

I took the plunge and finally painted my pantry door.

I don't know why, but I've been super reluctant to just up and paint a door.

Seems like such a big commitment.

A while back I had painted my garage door and I loved the way it turned out (the hubs even agreed).

I'm a bit compulsive and one day after dropping off Jo to kindergarten I decided today was the day to paint it. Plus…it was crazy hot outside so I knew the paint would dry quickly. 

Because this was the second door I painted I've learned some lessons along the way. So here's my best tips for painting that door. 

Take your door off of the hinges and lay it flat. Take off all the hardware too, like the doorknob.

This way I was able to lay it flat giving all 5'1" of me better leverage. I was able to paint it so much faster without having to tape around hinges and doorknobs. 

One of the best things I've ever found when it comes to painting wood is a microfiber roller. It leaves no lines or marks and smooths the surface wonderfully!
Seriously…worth every cent!

I also used an oil based paint so that it was super shiny and really easy to wipe down.

After it's laid down here's how to get in done in no time!

Step 1: Paint the grooves with a paintbrush (not your roller).

Step 2: Paint the width of the door with your roller.

Step 3: Paint the length of the door with your roller.

Doing it this way will mimic the way the wood was laid when the door was manufactured. It won't leave you with any unnatural looking lines. 

 Step 4: Paint the remaining large surfaces and the centers using your roller.

This took me 3 coats. Because it was drying in the sun it took me about 2 hours to do all three coats. Dried and all. Love that Colorado sunshine!

Once this was done I stood it upright taped the edges and finished it off…and hung it back up!

I'm really loving the way it looks in my kitchen. Having a stark white door in the kitchen area didn't make sense with the dark appliances and other decor of the room.

I love that it brings a little attention to my chalkboard door too.

Such A *Good* Mom

Sometimes I realize that I am the world's greatest mom.

Like…why hasn't a publishing company contacted me about writing a book about how to be an awesome mom.

For example…

I play board games with them. I don't let them cheat…and I'll even let them lose sometimes.

OR….

I never let them wrestle until somebody gets hurt and starts crying.

I let them jump on the bed…but get annoyed at them when the pictures keep coming out blurry. 

See….I'm such a fun mom. 

I never let them leave the house looking a hot mess (or without being fully clothes). Never. 

I teach them to respect property. I never let them hang on the bathroom sink and the make them do it again so I can photograph it.

I only let them each healthy food. I would never give them FROYO at 8 am…never.

I always make sure they are well rested…as to never fall asleep in public. 

I never…under any circumstances…drink wine in front of them. I mean…really…what kind of a mother do you think I am?!

See….I told you…I'm the world's greatest mom.
Now…who wants to publish my book?

Cross, Anchor, Heart Wall Decor

I won't lie to you about this….James is not a fan.
Haha…

Generally speaking James doesn't mind my little crafts….but he's not so in love with this one.

Well….I kinda like it!
So it'll stay for now.

So the easiest way to make this is to just plan on using a ton of glue.

I think it took me one of those excessively long hot glue sticks to get the job done.

Your first step is to lay it out the exact way you want it. I made sure to count each cork to make sure it would be equal on both sides. 

The I glued them one by one together on the sides. 

Once everything is all glued together make sure you cover that baby with a ton more glue. Seriously…I needed to cover the it. But it worked!

Flip it and hang it. I used 10 nails to keep it hung. Under the cross, in the inner edges of the heart and under the anchor. It hasn't fallen yet…so that's a good sign. 

So what do you think?
Too cheesy?

Haha….well it's up for now at least!

Home Tour {Living Room}

I finally got around to snapping a few photos of our living room.
If you want to see the rest of my home you can find it here, here, here, here & here.
I'll be honest and tell you that this is one of the least favorite of my rooms in the home, and naturally it's the first one to be seen.
This is the entry room of our home.

While I love the staircase…I just struggle to decorate it. I'm struggling with the bookshelf decor. We need access to books….so this is the most practical way store them. Right??

Anyway…on with the tour!

Our family verse is Isaiah 41:10 and I've been wanting a creative way to display it somewhere…I think I found a unique way to do it! 

This is the view from our front door. 

My little Ikea plant is struggling a bit…poor guy. 

This mirror.

I adore this giant mirror. 

My brother in law gave it to me for a gift when his old apartment building was getting rid of it. 

Swoon

I also love this antique end table that James' grandfather gave me.
And the little box is perfect for hiding tiny shoes.

And here's that blasted bookcase. I've tried my best with it. I'm sure it will get better with time. 

My Greatgrandparents had the horse and buggy on their home. I love that it's an antique and graced the home of another generation of my family.

So there you have it. Our Living Room. For a front entry room we sure use it a lot. It's perfect for reading, cuddling, and playing. 

First Day

Well….I didn't have a total melt down people.
Are you proud of me?
I did tear up when he was walking into the classroom (and off into his future), but I was wearing sunglasses….nobody could judge me.

I just can't wrap my head around the idea of having a kid in school. Granted it's Kindergarten and it's only half-time…but still.

What made it a bit harder was the fact that James was out of town for work. Ironic right? He's a schoolteacher and he wasn't here for Jo's first day. Huh….

The night before we got pizza and cookie dough, played outside and then made a french toast bake together. It was easy…and the next morning I threw it in the oven and 50 minutes the kids gobbled it up. :Note to self: Make this more often for school days

I did my best to make sure Jo was super excited. But just seeing this pics makes my heart a bit sad. I do feel as though it's just the beginning of their relationship changing. Now they are inseparable. They want to be together. It is the only thing they have known.

They love each other. No. Matter. What.

Brothers. I've said it before, Micah is the best thing we have ever given Josiah.

When we picked Josiah up the first thing he said to me was "I didn't learn to read yet".
That's all he wants…to learn to read.
I tried my best to teach him, but it was never going to happen with me. He needs his teacher (who seems great).

He was so happy. He had a great first day.
My heart was full of joy. 

Then we headed to the park for a picnic with a few treats.

I'm so grateful I get to parent this boy. But it's so hard to let him grow up. I am excited for his future and who he will become.

He will be a force for Christ.