The Verdict Is In...

The verdict is in - the Brazilian keratin treatment (BKT) was a big fat fail! After four looong days of greasy hair I was so excited to hop into the shower, special sulfate-free shampoo in hand, and see just how well the treatment worked. As soon as I started to lather up I could feel the curls returning. I was pretty upset with that I saw when I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror.  My hair appeared to be less curly than before, but only by a small amount. Certainly not worth the time and money I had put in.

One the left is my hair right after getting the BKT done. The photo on the right shows how curly my hair was after washing it for the first time. The second time I washed my hair (not pictured) it seemed to have completely returned to its naturally curly state.

I got out the blow dryer and flat iron and went to town. The straightening process didn't seem to go any quicker than before. The only positive that I could see what that my hair didn't frizz up when I went outside and it felt very smooth and silky.

Despite the fact that I had very limited success with the treatment I'm still glad I did it. I had been wanting to try it for a long time and now I finally know what it's like. I heard some positive reviews of the Japanese hair straightening from some of my classmates so I may consider trying that in the future. In the meantime I'll continue to use my blowdryer and iron to straighten my hair into submission or, more likely, just let my curls do what they do best and try to accept it.

Oh, and on another note my in-laws will be visiting for the weekend. They are nice enough to drive my new car down and will be staying for two days to visit. I'm not sure what our plans are, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do.

Set Me Straight

Last night I got the Brazilian keratin treatment done. It was quite an experience! As soon as I opened the door to the salon I was hit by a cloud of smoke. The hair stylist said he was running behind so I took a seat and started flipping through magazines. A few minutes in and my nose and eyes were burning. I looked up at one of the girls who was in the process of getting the treatment done and she was holding a napkin over her face. I started to panic about what was in the air and knowing that this would take a few hours I questioned if I would be able to handle it.

I tried to push those thoughts into the back of my mind as I anxiously flipped through more magazines. Finally, over an hour later, the stylist was ready for me. I came in with my hair shampooed twice with no conditioner or other products in it like he asked so he jumped right in by brushing my hair and applying the product. After my hair was coated I sat under the dryer for 20-30 minutes. My thick mane had barely dried so his assistant came over with a blow dryer to speed things up. 

Once my hair was dry it was back to the stylist who worked his magic with the straightening iron. He used a comb as he went along to protect his hands from the scorching 450 degree heat. It was a bit disconcerting to hear my hair sizzle as the stylist worked near my ears. After he was finished straightening he did a quick trim and freshened up my layers. 

    

The end result was stick straight hair. I actually prefer my hair with more volume and life to it so I'm hoping that it will come back after I am able to wash it. Which brings me to the fact that I am not allowed to wash my hair for four whole days! I also can't tie my hair back, wear a headband, or anything else which might mess my hair up. I'm still very curious to see how it holds up over time. I have to say that the time, expense, and pain of it all is probably enough to keep me from doing it again unless it lasts for several months.

The Grass is Always Greener

The struggle with my hair began at a young age. It's curly or wavy (depending on its mood), super thick, and frizzy. Despite my best efforts I feel like I can never get it to behave.

I entered the world with a full head of nearly black hair.

As a toddler my curls turned blonde.

Slowly my hair darkened and up until high school it refused to grow past my shoulders. Instead of growing down it grew out, into a big frizzy mess that I like to refer to as the mushroom or the Princess Leia look. It was bad - really, really bad. As horrible as the photo above is, much worse photos exist, I'm just not willing to share them! (Note: No kittens were harmed in the taking of this photo.)

Finally, in high school my hair started to grow, but I still wasn't happy with it. I bought my first hair straightener, but rarely used it. It took about an hour to use and within 30 minutes of stepping outside the humidity would cause it to turn into a complete mess, even worse than before!

During my freshman year of college Andy convinced me to try something new with my hair so I went to the salon and got over 10 inches cut off. I had a better straightener which I used more frequently, but my hair still had a hard time standing up to the high humidity.

I feel like I need to look a bit more polished and professional, but I just don't have the time or patience to spend an hour straighten my hair every morning. I finally decided to make an appointment to get the Brazilian keratin treatment done. I'm curious to see how straight it gets my hair, how long it lasts, and if it's worth the money. I'll be sure to post the verdict after I get it done!

Goodbye Zoom Zoom!

Over the weekend I sold my car. It was a bit hard saying goodbye to my first car, but Andy and I got a good offer on another car with really low mileage so we figured it was time to make the change. 


When we took my car to Carmax they gave us a reasonable offer and everything seemed to be going smoothly. We decided to sell with them, but when we took the car in there was a bit of a snag with the title. I'll cut out all the boring details and just say that when you go to get a title for your car, NEVER estimate your odometer reading, even if the people at the office act like it's no big deal. They can wait for you to go out and check. 

In the end it was going to take weeks and some additional money to fix the title so we sold the car as is, with full disclosure regarding the title mixup, by listing the car on Craigslist. Within 3 hours of posting the listing the car was sold and to top it off we got more that we were going to get with Carmax. 

In memory of my car...

5 years ago, right after I bought my car

and Saturday, the day we parted ways

Dream Home Design

Back in elementary school I used to write my cousin Samantha who lives in another state. We would draw sketches of our house because one day we were going to live together on a horse farm! While the drawings were simple and we've since abandoned our horse farm dream (although she currently lives with her husband and baby on a real farm), I still remember how fun it was to put my dreams down on paper. 

If you have thought of building your own home someday, assuming you haven't already, have you ever sat down and actually tried to sketch up a floorplan? Recently, after telling Andy how I knew what I wanted in our future home, he encouraged me to draw it up and we might even be able to get a cost to build estimate. After multiple attempts I've come to realize that I need the help - it's so difficult!

My laundry list of wants: 

• 4 bed
• 3+ bath
• 2 story
• 2 car garage  
• Library/study
• Spanish/Mediterranean influence outside
• Lots of storage (large closets, pantry, linen closets...)
• Tons of light, relatively open floor plan
• Limited "wasted space" - No living room that's just for show or formal dining room that gets used 1-2 times a year 
• Moderately sized rooms - I don't need a sofa in the master bath or a whole living room in the bedroom! Cozy, but not cramped, is key!
• Bedroom closets accessible from the bedroom - I don't want to have to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet
• Master bath: separate toilet, single sink but plenty of counter space, jetted tub, doorless walk-in shower (Andy's wish)

Are there any must haves on your list? If so, what are they?