I chopped my hair off for several reasons. Mostly, I never had or took the time to style my long hair. It took too long to wash, to condition, to dry and to curl. And usually the curl went flat. So I wore it in a low ponytail every day. I felt frumpy. So I chopped it.
I loved my new hair cut. LOVED. It was everything I dreamed. Wash and wear. It had a grown-up nerdy look to it that suited me perfectly. Plus, I got rid of all the hair I had previously dyed, so I was back to my natural dark color. When I wanted to style it, I could. I used a curling iron 1" in diameter and I did ringlets away from my face. Then I combed through with my fingers for some really stylin' hair. For two whole weeks I enjoyed my hair.
And then I got greedy. What if I could do that every day? What if I could put in permanent spiral curls, and just wash and wear that? I had a consultation at a salon. I explained everything. I used the exact measurement of curl I was looking for. Perhaps these people just didn't know what the word "diameter" means. And I'm sure they weren't ready for the "vertical" concept. I have natural curl in my hair, large loose curls, but it's inconsistent. I just wanted to make it uniform. They warned me that with my hair as short as it is, I would likely not have curl but wave. And it might not last you very long, maybe only two months. Perfect, I said, body wave was just fine with me. And since this was an experiment, I really wasn't looking for a six-month unalterable style. If it didn't take, that was fine by me.
Oh merciful heavens. The rods they used were about half an inch in diameter, max. And they placed them horizontally over my whole head. And on the bottom part of my hair, where it was shorter, they used smaller and smaller rods. Now the hair that grows off my neck, which used to curl into lovely ringlets all on its own, is in small clumps of hair stuck against my skin. As Heather said, I asked for wave and I got Annie.
I tried washing it out. They warn you not to shampoo or condition your hair for 3 and 7 days, respectively, for fear that your curl will relax too much. It doesn't. I tried. Thrice. They also tell you the curl gets looser over the first couple of days. And that is true. But it doesn't make the curls go from a tighter curl to a looser one. It simply makes the hair pull straighter. Now it's not tiny ringlets on my head that reach only to my ears; my hair reaches my chin again and looks like it has been put through a crimper. And it forms the shape of a mushroom, thanks to those smaller curls in my shorter layers.
I have never felt so ugly. I sobbed for hours. I confess to praying in the shower for a miracle that would fix my hair. I didn't mind the lost money, but the hair just hurt. I avoid looking in mirrors, and I have gotten Kevin's promise not to take pictures of me on our trip next week. "What if you look really cute?" he asked. I won't. That won't be a problem.
I can't wear hats, I can't blow-dry my hair straight. I can only plaster it down with conditioner, moisturizing cream and mousse. It's almost not too terrible that way, just wet looking. No worse than the low ponytail, maybe. I might be able to get used to it. I'll just go back to being frumpy all day. Who knows, maybe bobby pins or curling irons will have some effect. It's not the worst thing to happen to a person, but it is the worst thing to happen to my hair.
We have our closing date on our house! July 28th. We get to do the official walk-through on the 21st.
We hadn't visited our house in two weeks and we found many changes. The most apparent update is the driveway. But wait! As cool as it is, there are even better surprises to come.
I think the shutters around the foyer window make a nice addition. You can also see our house number -1805- under the very handsome carriage light.
The rubble has been cleared away, and all the little holes and outlets from the house have been covered appropriately.
A post holer. You dig holes. For posts.
To get ready for putting in the lawn, they scraped off all that sand and shale topsoil to reveal the special Texas clay underneath. And that's why the garden will be above ground in planters.
Of course, where that garden will go is to be determined, again. See, we were told that the fence would come at least half way up the house. Possibly further. And yet, you can see where the posts stop flush with the back wall.
Not only does the fence-less side yard mean no garden there, it also necessitates some sort of large bush right in front of the master bathroom there. Maybe hydrangeas. Also of interest to us, though maybe not to you, we have an a/c unit.
And on the inside, we have tile!
And a hideous chandelier. I will be replacing this light fixture, thanks in large part to Do-It-Yourself videos from Home Depot.
There are also doorknobs. And the trim, walls and doors have been painted.
Counters. And a sink. And a faucet. And tile back splash. The kitchen is just beautiful.
The black granite counter top is just full of colors, mostly grays and blues. It's lovely.
Here you can see the recessed lighting up above.
Our fireplace, too, has come a long way. It makes me so happy to see it. Kevin says for that reason, it makes him happy too. He's nice.
Our powder bath complete with pedestal sink and oval mirror.
Now, see, I like this chandelier. Good thing too, because as I noted before, this one is out of my reach to replace.
Upstairs bath with tile and marble counter top.
Master bathroom. The sinks are in. I do not love the square sinks, but Kevin does. And for that reason, I tolerate them. I'm not as nice as he is.
Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed.
I am so happy with the tile we chose. It goes so well with the cabinets, and it looks nice on the walls too. Here it is around the garden tub.
And inside the shower, too. Also nice are the plumbing fixtures.
Our house is fully bricked. And the siding and trim have been painted. The neutral looks far better with the brick than the yellow did.
Ignore the privy.
The pictures of the back do a better job of showing the contrast between the siding and the trim. You can see it just under the roof and around the windows.
Ta da! Cabinets! You'll be sick of all the cabinet pictures before the end, but I was terrible excited by them.
Those are my hands doing the excited gesture from Wallace and Gromit.
Giant pantry. Complete with door. The doors have gone in all over the house. As have all shelves.
The cabinets have also gone into the bathrooms.
The stairs have a hand rail.
Second bath...with cabinets.
The bay window I love.
Here you can see the door frames, doors and baseboards that all went in this week. Also, all corners have been rounded,
Check out the ceiling above the bay window. Neat.
Our house is in the process of getting brick. Yes, the siding is still yellow, but as there are now several houses around us under construction, I can now reports that the yellow is perfectly natural and will turn beige with time...and paint.
It seems that the mess has to get worse before it gets better.
Again with the mess.
Nothing has changed in back, but you can see the brick layers hard at work. They are almost completely done with that side of the house.
We weren't going to go inside, but seeing the drywall in the garage made us curious about the interior.
This is the dining room as seen from outside the window. The insulation and drywall are installed and you can see the arches to the entry and to the kitchen.
Here is a close-up of the brick for your viewing pleasure. You can see much more of the detail in the coloring.
The view to the living room is more obscured now that the bar is sheathed. I can't wait until there is cabinetry.
From the dining room looking out. I like the double windows. I also did not expect them.
Kevin surreptitiously snagged this shot of a man on stilts.
Entryway looking up. There will eventually be a chandelier hanging there. It will not be one of the light fixtures that I replace. I don't do well on step ladders; I'd hate to see what sort of wreck I'd be if I had to climb twenty feet up.
This is one of two windows in the master bedroom. The point of the shot, I think, was to show the ceilings. I enjoyed seeing how every edge of the ceilings were reinforced with little metal strips. You can see it in the dining room arches.
Our shower.
And bath. These were installed last time, but so full of dirty water that I decided against posting the pictures.
Our counters will go here. And I plan to change the mirror, lights and faucets, so this is the before-before picture. We didn't go upstairs during this trip, because we felt in the way.
