Mama Style File: Hair Update

Here we are in the early stages of spring and I feel like everything around us gets that age old spring cleaning! My den just received a massive update with a major clean out and clean up! We just cleaned up the yard yesterday, cleared out all the weeds from our gardens and got those planted, and I'm making a mental list of all the rooms in our house that need a major cleaning as well. But, the homestead isn't the only place that needs a spring cleaning. Our appearance does as well!

And when I say appearance, I don't mean a makeover, I mean a maintenance cleanup! I've been slowing cleaning out my closet and getting things ready for donation. I've cleaned out dresser drawers for all the same reason. I'm doing the same thing with McKinley's clothes as well. But, I've also been taking a look at me. I am trying to make a mental note to drink more water so I can hydrate the body, especially my face. I have been neglectful of my skin and it shows from the winter months! It needs a spring lift and brightness and that's something that healthy eating and drinking can assist with! But, I'm also looking upward to the hair! I've been on this, "I'm going to grow my hair out" kick for months now, but I'm not loving the growing out process. And, I'm not loving my hair! (Yet another reason to get to drinking that water!) I have a much needed haircut and color coming up this week, and I was spending some time on Pinterest this weekend looking at colors I like. I showed a few to my mom, who always weighs in, and I told her I was thinking of continuing to grow out the locks and she asked why? She told me my best haircut is below and that I shouldn't go long again. It only weighed my face down and that I should go back to the shorter lengths. Well there you have it folks! I never would have thought I would "short hair" and "on me" from my mother!! I've always been a long hair girl and she supported that. I guess with age comes change and I love it!

So, I'm going back to shaggy shorter lob look and I've picked several cuts I love. I've also found a couple of colors I like to help brighten my face as well! Check out my hairspiration!

My personal fav of all the cuts is the upper left hand corner! I love the color as well. However, I love all the cuts and think they would be so cute and chic for spring and summer. Sure I wanted to get to the ponytail stage, but who cares at this point! I just want a cute cut that's flattering.

Are you looking to make a hair change with the change of the season? Anything on your trend radar? Which of these styles is your favorite? I would love to hear your opinion! Cut is scheduled for Wednesday!

XO,
Andrea

Mama Hairspiration

I am at it again! I just told my mom the other day that I was thinking of growing my hair out. I'm constantly at odds with my hair. I like it long, I like it short, I like curly, I like it straight. It never ends. Am I the only one like this? But then my girlfriend Carolyn told me she was cutting off her locks this weekend and provided her current hairspiration....

 

I was sold! Time to mix it up and cut a little off! These shorter dos have me wishing I had less texture in my hair, but I also think it might help. I'm not sure that I can go as drastic, but I might. I have a birthday coming up next week and I don't want to look my up coming 43....

What do you think? Is it time to take the plunge and cut the cut? These styles are darling! Do you have a favorite? I have to say I'm leaning a little toward Hillary Duff's cut in the lower right hand corner. Love her pink hue, but I am definitely not that risky!

Are you feeling the need for a little clean up? A little makeover with a new look? What would it be? A new color? New cut? Both? 

Happy Wednesday All! Check back later to see what might have happened....

XO,

Andrea

Lazy Hair Days or The Mom Cut

Have you ever looked in the bathroom mirror, or any mirror for that matter, and thought you needed to do something to your appearance. A little something to smooth out the fine lines around the eyes. Maybe a little Botox in the forehead area. A little tuck of that skin right under the chin. You've never had those thoughts? I must be really vain! I would never do any of those things, I think, but what I do see sometimes is the tired hair I've been growing.

I've had a love and hate affair with my hair for years. I'm a naturally curly haired girl, that fights my curls more then I ever embrace them, and always want the smooth locks of those straight haired curls in my midst. But instead, I rely on my trusty flatiron, something I'm truly thankful for since the 80s left me with unruly hair that could never be straightened. And my fabulous hairstylist Lisa who is always listening to me drone on about the new cut I want and if it would really work on my hair texture and face. She's so patient!

Through the years, I've scoured fashion magazines and tried the latest celeb hairstyles, captured screen shots of my favorite bloggers and their cute cuts, and pinned Pinterest images in a board I call Hairstyle Ideas. And it's full let me tell ya! But I'm not super adventurous with my hair. Because of the natural curl, I have to be careful of how short I can really go. If I went pixie, what a mess that would be. If I took it to the chin line, the curls would be up to my temples. Really, anything shorter than the nape of my neck would be disastrous! 

I've rocked the long(ish) hair (and when I look back on this pic, I wish it were still this long), but I found that it didn't always look like this. It takes a long time to get it to look like this. Time I simply no longer have. I wore it curly, more often than not, or pulled it up as an easy out for the day. My lazy hair day, if you will.

Now, when I did have the long locks, even three years ago, I loved rocking this look! And there are times I would love to be able to still do it. It's easy. It's familiar. But I always saw it as an easy way out of doing my hair. Being lazy, like I mentioned above, and I was mad at myself for constantly relying on this look. But look how chic it is!

And then there was that whole personal style blogging thing. I constantly felt like I needed to keep up with the Jones'. Had to have the long flowing locks you would see while scrolling through their daily outfit pics. The hair that had to take hours to achieve. Hours I didn't have. I worked an 8-5 job. I was chasing a two year old. I was trying to look stylish every day and was exhausted while doing so. Then I got laid off and thought, the time has finally come to be that stylish blogger with great hair, but I found I was throwing on a hat to get to the zoo or farmstead on time. Hair just wasn't ever a priority. Why? Because apparently, mom mode took over my life and my hair took a backseat.

Then I got this cut!! 

 

I was finally in hair heaven! And it appeared that all my friends loved it too. But it was a lot of work. That curling technique, that I still can't manage, takes a lot longer than I truly have time for. I find I only did it for nights out, not days to the park. I would just straighten it and go, which is fine as well, but I felt like a hair failure. (That's when I'm a little thankful for the curls. Just don't tell my hair!)

So then I decided to start growing it out to a longer bob a la Carrie Underwood. And as she mentioned in this article, she cut her hair as total mom move. The ultimate, uber chic, mom hair cut! What is it about becoming a mom and cutting the hair? Because we need ease!

So now I'm in the growing out phase, and all I'm longing for is the hair from the chic haircut above. I find that I'm pulling my hair back in a ponytail, because I'm lazing. I'm putting on a hat, because I'm lazy. Or just throwing it up in a short messy bun, because I'm lazy. I need the short do back to force me to try and do something with my hair!

So I'm relying on these images that inspired the decision to go with a cute mom cut. I'm going back to the shorter(ish) locks from a year ago. It's easy, but not lazy. It's cute. It's sassy. It's perfect for a mom! This Kansas City Mama, really! 

Sure, short hair is a sign of being a mom, at times. I know so many women who have taken to the short do for this very reason. It's easy. It helps when you feel lazy and don't have time to do the hair. You can wash and go. Or in my case, throw in some product and go. But it's still sassy. Edgy. And makes you feel put together when instead you're sporting stains on your white tee from ice cream, or jelly, or dirt from their shoes. Those fine lines are there for reason!

How many of you have the mom cut? Embrace it? Or decided to keep the long locks because you didn't want to be that mom? I want to hear from you! 

XO,

Andrea