Sometimes you gotta treat yo'self

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know I started on a "project hair grow" this year.  I started growing out my hair in January and it's been quite a process, especially given that I've started from a very short, spiky pixie.  It's finally growing into a nice bob and I have a vision for my hair and what I want it to look like.  I'm growing the bangs now and then I'll kind of have this angled, stacked bob.  But, getting to this point has been a challenge - and that was made more difficult by the fact that I've still been going to basically a "cheap" hair spot for my maintenance cuts.

About four years ago, right before I started this blog in fact, I broke up with the salon.  I had gone to several different stylists over the years.  The one I was with four years ago was a great salon super close to my house.  She understood short hair really well, she was young and I liked her a lot, but her prices kept skyrocketing every time she passed another skill test.  I would have even paid her high prices, but the other problem was, she was NEVER on time for an appointment.  I was have a 5:30 appointment after work and she wouldn't even bring me back sometimes until 6:15 or 6:20.  She always had excuses.  So I decided to stop going to her.  I found another salon that had lower prices and found a great gal who also did well with short hair and she was on time - score!  I would always make my next appointment before I left as she had limited hours and I remember the last time I saw her we decided at my next appointment I'd do both a cut and a color.  Then I wrote the time down on two different calendars on two different days and lost my reminder card, so the week of the appointment I called the salon to clarify.  The person who answered the phone sounded slightly embarrassed and said "Oh so and so doesn't actually work here anymore.  She went somewhere more corporate."  Um what?  I made an appointment with someone else since I needed the haircut desperately, but I decided with how short my hair was and how frequently I needed trims that it was just time to go to a cheap walk in type place.  So I did and never looked back.  Until now.

Lately I just feel that the walk in type places are just not, excuse the pun, cutting it.  And for reasons that I won't get into right this moment, I just really wanted a good haircut.  I had met an awesome stylist through a friend at a party last summer and had been meaning to go see her for quite sometime. After talking to my friend this week I decided it was time to take the plunge.  I went in on Friday and OH EM GEE.  I have missed the salon experience so much!  The personalized treatment, the massage when they wash your hair.  It was just so needed, it felt amazing and my stylist just gets me.  She said my hair should likely look pretty much exactly how I want it in about four months.  She talked me through what to do to style it on my own - and so far I've been successful!  So I'm pretty much sold. I'm a salon girl again.

I'm trying to live a more budget friendly life, but this is something I feel is worth making room in the budget for.  There is something about a good haircut that gives you confidence and makes you feel good.  As Tom and Donna say in Parks and Recreation, "Sometimes you gotta treat yo'self."  This is my treat.  I'm already looking forward to my next appointment!

What do you do to treat yourself?

High Five for Friday

I haven't done a High Five for Friday post in months.  I thought today would be a good day to do so as it's a good way to share what's new with me a little bit too!  So here are five of my favorite things at the moment.
Haircut - It seems like I've been making changes to my pixie cut a lot in recent months but I think I finally stumbled onto what I have really been wanting to do.  Basically I was tired of my side swept bangs, so it was either try to grow them out or go all out on cutting them super short.  I'm not a very patient person so I bet you can't guess which option I chose.  Short spiky bangs for the win.  I'm just not meant to have longer hair.  I'm a short hair girl for life I think.

Bye Bye to Bessie - As long as Oliver does well with bottles of only almond milk (the dairy free alternative we chose after confirmation of his cow's milk allergy), we have made the decision that I will stop my daytime pumping sessions.  I had still been pumping twice a day, especially after he was so sick and only really able to handle breastmilk for a bit, but now that he's well it seems like a good time to try.  I've been mixing his bottles to be half breastmilk, half almond milk, but now we're going to just go straight to almond milk.  He seems to like it in his oatmeal and I think he's going to be fine with it. I am SO happy to be done pumping I could dance.  I am going to continue to nurse Oliver for now a couple of times a day though - he'll get his morning and evening nursing sessions and probably a little cuddle at lunch during the workweek.  We'll work towards weaning those eventually too, but for now he still seems to enjoy and need it - and quite frankly so do I.  Nate said the other night, "you seem to enjoy the nursing, just not the pumping, so I don't see any reason for you to totally stop right now." But otherwise, farewell Bessie the Breastpump - you served me well, but I'm glad to put you away now!

Shows returning from break - We have a bunch of shows that we love that seem to come back at this time of year instead of the Fall.  Shameless, Parks and Recreation (last season, sob), Portlandia and The Americans will all be back with in the next couple of weeks and I'm super excited about it!  Of course we would start another show from the beginning at the exact time all of our favorites are coming back - we started Homeland and man, we're hooked.

New skills - Oliver is learning new skills by the day it seems - he is actually starting to try to repeat words when we say them to him, and while it's still mostly gibberish, things are starting to make sense.  I love listening to him babble, he has the sweetest little voice.  He's getting more and more interested in his toys and independent play. We're getting soooo close on the walking front but not quite there yet, any day now I think. And he totally understands taking selfies with mama, I pull the phone out and he smiles immediately.  It's pretty freaking cute.

Tea - Nate had a bit of a chest cold last week and decided to start drinking hot tea at home again - I love tea too, what I love the most is while there is caffeine, I seem to have no problem drinking it into early evening and having it keep me awake the way coffee does.  If anything, tea relaxes me.  So my favorite thing right now is we'll make a pot of tea to share in the afternoon on the weekends.  It's been great since it's been so crazy cold!  Nate bought himself some items to allow him to make tea for himself at work during the week and I have to say, I'm slightly jealous!
So there you go!  I'm celebrating surviving an entire full week of work for the first time since I believe the second week of December.  I'm looking forward to the weekend though!  Hope you all have a great one!

Comfort and warmth

It's getting to the point that I'm dressing for comfort as much as anything else.  If I can be stylish, well awesome, but man, the bump is getting big guys.  It's getting to be more and more of a challenge.  And then you throw lows in the single digits above zero this morning and it becomes about comfort AND warmth.  So this outfit is basically a repeat, I wore this combo earlier this Fall - but today I added my Mr. Rogers sweater for extra warmth.

You know what is not so much fun when you're pregnant and it's freezing cold out for the first morning of the season?  Getting up early to take your car in for maintenance.  I wanted to get it to the auto shop right when they opened - which didn't go exactly to plan, but I was still there within the first half hour so that counts right?  I'm not excited to do this, it won't be cheap, but should keep my vehicle going for a bit longer and with the baby coming, it's still more cost effective than buying a new car.

Shirt - TM Style, consignment

Pants - Oh Baby, consignment

Sweater - Vintage, Hill Valley Boutique

Bag - 31 Gifts

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Shoes - SO, Kohls 

I also got a haircut yesterday.  I try to go about every five weeks - so my next haircut may not happen for a bit depending on this little guy's arrival!  Crazy to think about that.  Thankfully she cut it pretty darn short so if I have to put it off for awhile post baby, that's ok.  Besides, I think I'll probably care a little less about it at that point in time!  That's what hats and headbands are for right?

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Mama got a haircut.  I feel so much better.  I'm happy to have stretched it out to five weeks again, but man, it was getting shaggy towards the end here.  I'm hoping to be able to get two more trims before baby comes, that's kind of crazy to think of.  For now I'm just enjoying short spiky hair again!

We're into that tricky part of Fall that the days warm up pretty nice but it's still a bit chilly when you leave for work in the morning.  A jean jacket seemed like the perfect option to keep me warm but not too warm!  And I managed to squeeze into my pink pencil skirt yet another time.  Each time I wear I think, this will be the last time I will wear this until after the baby - and then I surprise myself!

Jacket - White House, Black Market, consignment

Shirt - QT Maternity, consignment

Skirt - two birds vintage via b (a resale shop)

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Shoes - DSW 

And now I get to go spend an hour learning about a new phone system my work is getting.  Apparently the new phones will have the ability to see the caller on the other end - at least for the internal calls.  That concept kind of scares me a little bit!  Oh technology!

Fresh and re-freshed

I got a haircut!!  Oh man do I feel ten million billion times better.  I brought a picture of what I wanted this time and I think that really helped the stylist a lot.  Then again, I think I also had a stylist who really knew what she was doing this time too.  At any rate, I feel so fresh and renewed.  I just hope it stops growing so darn fast, but again, with the darn prenatal vitamins, there are no guarantees.

 Also helping me feel fresh is this outfit.  My mom was sweet enough to pick up this shirt for me at our favorite consignment shop.  I realized yesterday I had been wearing a string of peach and orange for the last several days - no surprise as it's been my favorite color as of late - but I decided I needed to change it up a bit.  So you get blues today!  And yes, in the next picture is a new bag - I hosted a 31 Gifts party to help out a friend of mine and was able to get a few fun free things.  I mostly chose storage items (gee, wonder why?) but also was able to pick myself out a new wallet and I decided to give this Inside Out bag a try.  I have the Lotsa Dots pattern facing out, but the reverse side is really fun too, bright colored floral pattern.  You can knot it and wear it as a shoulder bag or un-knot it and wear crossbody.  Kind of fun.  And it's washable - which will be useful when the little one arrives I'm sure!

Shirt - Duo Maternity, consignment

Skirt - American Eagle (very old)

Sandals - Old Navy

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Bracelet and earrings - swap with CC

Bag - 31 Gifts

It's much less humid outside today too.  It started improving last night.  We have so many things to do at home and chores and yard work and the list goes on - but Mr. Monkey has been stressed at work and so we just took last night to grill some burgers and sat outside on our deck for quite some time.  He had some beer, I had some lemonade and then we shared a little Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream (Late Night Snack flavor - crazy good, it has caramel and chocolate covered potato chips in it, no joke!) while playing some cards.  It was so nice and I think what we both needed to feel more refreshed.  Sometimes you just need to do those things!

Eye candy and my hair cut

So I just have to say, when I get off my no-buy, I seriously think I am treating myself to this bad boy for my 30th birthday. It's everything I have been wanting in a red purse.

 

It's from Mimi Boutique, I have never bought anything from them before, but I keep reading good things about them on other people's blogs, so I think I may just have to give it a try.  Besides, I deserve an awesome birthday present/treat for not shopping for a whole month right?

And as promised, here are some pictures of my new haircut!  It's definitely short, but it's really what I wanted.  Kind of like Michelle Williams, kind of like Carey Mulligan.  I think it works!