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Just look at this girl’s hair color! It’s beautiful…lush, shiny, rich. I might bring this in for my hair appointment this weekend!

PS – Her name is Peony, how cute is that?

I’ve used Coco Chanel Mademoiselle for years, but I’ve finally added another perfume to my repertoire. I hemmed and hawed over Tocca’s Brigitte for months, testing it on my skin here and there in shops, and finally decided to buy it.

What perfume, if any, do you use?

I know I’ve asked you all for opinions on my hair before, but I’m at it again. I’m not sure what renders me completely helpless when it comes to hair, but I can never make up my mind. Ever.

So….help. Please.

My hair is fine, but I have a shitload of it. It’s naturally medium to dark brown with auburn highlights. I dislike red (warm) highlights, though, so I usually ask for something more ashy….although it doesn’t matter, it always looks red in the sun.

At the moment I have some major roots, although you can’t tell from the photos above. I have long bangs that are growing out, and my hair is slightly layered. I like the option of letting it air-dry, so I don’t want any style that’s too fussy.

My face is rooooouuuuuuund, I have full cheeks, a rather substantial nose and deep-set hazel eyes. And, as you all know, I am pregnant and growing exponentially.

In the past I’ve really loved blunt, shaggy, long bangs. I am considering pairing them with a bob (like Klum) that I can wear clean or messy (like Chung). For color, I’d love to go either deeper with highlights (Cruz) or lighter with some blonde that pops (Lindvall).

I really don’t know what to do, so I need you all to decide for me. I have a hair appointment next weekend.

Please share any and all ideas of what you think might work or look cute :-)

Seriously.

I am in total hair hell at the moment.  For the past few years, I’ve bounced between blunt bangs and…growing out blunt bangs.  Unfortunately, I have no real photographic evidence because my computer crapped out recently and I lost tons of photos.  Basically, like this:

Then, grow them out until they get to an awkward length, drink a bottle of wine, and take to them with a pair of sewing scissors.

At the moment, however, my hair is just LONG, and boring, and blah.  My bangs are about to my chin, and I feel like my hair just kind of overpowers me.  Forgive the photo below, it was taken in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of cleaning the house (in my robe), with my Photobooth.  You can see, it’s just like a wall of hair.  A wall of hair that I haven’t washed since Friday, but whatever.

I took the photo in sepia because otherwise my hair looked like a blob of black and you couldn’t really see much of anything.

Aaaaaanyhoo, I am thinking an Alexa Chung cut (which is why I used her photo above).  Kind of a messy bob with bangs.  Something I can potentially roll out of bed with.  What do you think?

I will take any recommendations.  I am open to any cut, just keep in mind that I have a full face.  Color is a bit more of a challenge, as I don’t really have the $$ to maintain going blonde or red, so I have to stick to darker or lighter highlights (like Alexa above).

Help!

Just saying, if you need to buy makeup anyhow, you may as well get some free samples, right?

They sell hair and skincare products as well.

Photo: Veer

My mother has been bugging me about taking vitamins since I was still in the chewable Flinstones stage, and I’ve taken them…..sportatically.

A few months back, my friend Sunni told me that she’d started taking an assortment of vitamins and could feel the difference.  I vowed to do the same.

I lasted for about a month and then slowly tapered off as I forgot or neglected to take the pills.  When cleaning my office of the weekend I found my stash and decided I’d better start up again.

On the list?  A daily (diet support, whatever that means), Calcium, C, Flax/Fish/Borage and a B-12.

How about you?  Do you take daily vitamins?  How do you ensure that you take them every day?  Why are they so HUGE?

Photo: Veer

I started a Pilates regimen when I was 12, although I didn’t know it a the time. A year prior I had been told that I had Scoliosis. It was not severe enough for surgery or even a brace, but I had to start seeing a doctor for occasional check-ups. Years later, when Pilates saw a huge surge in popularity, I realized that the exercises I had been doing since my early teens were, in fact, Pilates. I decided in my late teens to expand into the method and try some more challenging exercises.

Pilates is the only form of exercise I enjoy, with the exception of dancing and yoga. Even swimming, which is excellent exercise, has lost its luster through the years.

For those of you unfamiliar with Pilates, it’s a system of exercises developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. The method focuses on core muscles (i.e. your abdomen), strengthening the spine and improving posture; this is why I was started on the method, and also why it’s very popular among dancers. While it may seem similar to yoga, and there are some parallels such as a focus on breathing, it’s more active and involves more isometrics, increasing strength.

I am, frankly, quite lazy. I’ve rested on my generous hereditary laurels for years and rarely exercise. However, as I am nearing the big 3-0, I’ve noticed that my metabolism is slowing and I can’t simply eat whatever I want any longer and remain physically static.

I have used two instructional tools for years and I want to recommend them to those of you interested in giving the method a try. I’ve gifted them to a few friends and everyone has loved them. The first is a video by Jennifer Kries called The Method Pilates. I owned this on VHS (remember those?) in my teens and now own it on DVD. It’s the best Pilates video I’ve used. The second is a book called “The Pilates Body,” by Brooke Siler. It’s laid out beautifully, it’s highly approachable and very easy to follow. It supplies variations on exercises for beginners and follows the “proper” method steps.

Please let me know if you try either of these out! As for me, I am kicking off a late 2009 resolution: MORE PILATES.

See where my hands are?  That’s where my hair ends.

I always see long, beautiful hair in….say, Victoria Secret catalogs.  I think, “how pretty, I wish I had long hair like Gisele.”  Then it grows and I realize 1) long hair is a bitch to blow dry, 2) long hair is heavy and just kind of hangs unless there is velcro-rolling and styling involved, and 3) I’m not Gisele.

The good news is, my head of hair is basically a blank canvas.  It’s long and a bit layered, and I do have bangs that have grown out to my chin.  I’ve been thinking about two styles, either long with blunt bangs, which I have done before and really like (you can see that in the blog header).  Or, for a more ballsy move, chop it all off.  I am tempted to just move forward with the bangs because I can do that myself at home.

What are your thoughts?  I can tell you two things, I have thin hair but a lot of it.  It’s nice because it can pretty much do anything.  Also, I have a round face with chipmunk cheeks.  I am open to anything appropriate for my hair and face shape, so feel free to give me some guidance.

I’ve shared some long and short styles that I like below….

Joseph Pilates.

I am a lazy fuck, there are no two ways around it. Having coasted for almost 30 years on a speedy metabolism, I am not accustomed to the concept of required exercising. But, it seems the fun is over. My trusty metabolism is packing up its bags.

It’s not as though I’ve never exercised. I have, just irregularly….when the mood struck. I grew up dancing and swimming, so I am not a fan of anything high-impact. You couldn’t pay me to join a Boot Camp class. At 12 I was diagnosed with Scoliosis and given a strict exercise program to combat the effects of my crooked spine. I didn’t figure out until years later than it was Pilates.

I almost hate saying how much I love Pilates, because it’s become so incredibly popular and trendy…..I feel almost protective of it. For me, it’s the perfect form of exercise. It increases flexibility, strengthens the back and, if done correctly, incorporates both strength training and cardio.

So, today I honor the man who started it all, Joseph Pilates. Let’s just hope my inspiration carries into the new year.