OMBRÉ!

Ombré hair is a thing these days. I've never been one to jump on the trend wagon, but for months now, I've told myself that it's time for an overhaul on this mop I call hair.

I needed it cut.
And, since I'm already there, I figured I would get something snazzy added on to it.

However, the last time I entrusted my mane to the hands of a salon professional, I dontated 17 inches of my hair [voluntarily] and came out with a shoulder length Asian school girl hairdo [the not voluntary part]. No good. NO. GOOD.

So it was with extreme trepidation that I reached out to Samantha, who is married to one of my first and greatest friends all the way back to my freshman year at college. I've seen her work multiple times on Facebook, and felt I could trust her.

So I went for it. Today was the day I sat at Salon Beck and had the best haircut experience I've ever had! (:

THANK YOU, SAMANTHA!!!!

Time for before & afters! (:

before & after

before & after

I owe all of this to Samantha.. thank you for doing such an amazing job!!!

love this gal!

I completely understand now how anyone's hair stylist can become a social outlet and sounding board, especially for those women [& men] who go on a regular basis. I will certainly be visiting again, but for the time being, I'm loving the new subtly-done hair & can't thank her enough (:

To celebrate overcoming my salon anxiety, Rob & I had a little impromptu date night.

mango tree

I love this guy. I'm home now and stuffed to the gills with sushi & fried rice, but just looking at that picture makes me a little hungry [again]. Haha. Weird, I know.

Anyway, we're home, we're cozying up for the night, and I'm a happy girl.
I've said it before & I'll say it again - life. is. GOOD!

xo | cmd

To Chop or Not to Chop?!

Oh, hello...  

july 2013

Dilemma: I've been at war with myself for the past two months [at least] now, over whether or not to make the leap of cutting my hair. Honestly, I've never had this much trepidation over having short hair.. and I had to stop and wonder why that was...

Oh yeah, that's right. Two things!
1] The last time, I donated 13 inches of my hair. I shattered my collarbone into 10 pieces the following weekend and had to deal with the task of managing short hair.. with one arm.
& 2] When I did donate it then, I went to one of Cincinnati's best-known salons and came out with a bob that looked more like the shoulder-length-with-bangs do I had when I was 7. Not quite the edge I was hoping for... yeesh.

yeeeeup. short hair + newly-installed metal plate + 10 screws. awe-some. >:|

MMkay, bad timing. Since then, I've been overly-cautious about losing massive lengths at one time, which is an absolutely stupid thing to fear, I know.

That being said, the collarbone incident was over three years ago now, so I think I'm finally in the market for a new haircut.. and if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it.

Thanks to the input from a few folks, here are some of the top contender styles [as of now.. I'm fickle, so for all I know, next week I'll be shopping for extensions. Who. Knows.].  Anyway... here:

For a much shorter, slightly conservative look:

If I'm thinking more bob-ish, but not too drastic [& the gal on the left has texture very similar to mine, if not a little straighter, naturally].. I almost picture the straightened version of the left picture as something like that on the right [two different people]:

Slightly more daring, I can't deny considering singer Kina Grannis.. because I love her, with long or short hair. She also has hair texture not unlike mine if I don't touch it with a straightener or a dryer...:  

Of course if I was really feeling like going polar opposites, I could always do one of those and throw in an undercut [not undershaved, sorry] side, just for kicks [something I could still conceal, if need be] .. Of course, this fascination could also be that I just think Rosario Dawson is classically-gorgeous, as well. Who knows:

Lastly, I'm looking to my cousin for some encouragement; she just chopped her hair a few weeks back and while she.. looks... stunning in that particular cut, my hair would never agree with that so I'll be adding my own twist, of course. It is inspiring, motivating and encouraging though. Haha.

my too-beautiful cousin & her new do

*Sigh. I still wish I didn't feel so apprehensive about it, but I now know a few gals who I'd actually trust to the task and so that will be where I start, if I'm brave enough. The issues I have with my Spanipino [dad was Spanish {Madrid!} & Mom was Filipino {Cebuana}]

First world problems, I know.
#spanipinoproblems, more like it.

For now, I'm taking this to the streets of facebook; We'll see if I can find some solid advice from any of my friends who do this, yenno, for a living. (:

xo | cmd

Ninjas. Tyra Banks. SYDNI!

[three unrelated things, btw]

So.... As most of you know, my day hinges on people.
Among the many firsts that I have encountered in the past few years of my job [usually in the form of the most bizarre answers to ordinary questions], today presented a new one:

#icallbluff. #ohreally #inthatcaseyou'rehired #youwin

^ Yes. The applicant put NINJA as a job title. This is real life, on a real application, at a real place. We didn't know what to think on this one, other than, "wow" and that this is just one of those amazing firsts that seem to be so rare anymore.

What's the weirdest thing you've seen on or put on a job application?

.... Moving on... here's something else to wrap the eyes around today.. I saw this on a friend's page and wanted to share. I'm not a prolific follower of Tyra Banks, the fashion industry, or really anything pop-culture in general; call me mildly savvy and informed, but certainly not a daily subscriber. This peaked my interest and I thought I'd share. I'm no makeup artist or stylist, but I know a few and give them all the credit in the world when their work is as exact and skilled as this.

Tyra Transformations!

l: cara delivingne | r: tyra... as cara

l: kate moss | r: tyra... as kate

l: cindy crawford | r: tyra... as cindy

Take note: I'm not promoting or supporting any certain lifestyle or image here [I have a self-obligated need to say that; I spent a lot of time in college counseling younger girls on the importance of inner-based self-worth, which so absolutely trumps physical and material worth.. but I digress]... I do see this as an incredible art form: the ability to transform into another person essentially, all via hair and makeup, is beyond my skillset and kind of cool to marvel over.

But.. FYI:

♥ this

^ I have nothing against models, but I do find it fascinating. The ladies on the bottom, to me, are gorgeous, and if we're being honest.... realistic. Again.. I digress. - Just sayin.

Last to mention but first on my priorities: Sydni's here this week and that means.... it's going to be a GOOD WEEK. (: (: (: We're stickering [yes, that's a verb when you have a 4-year-old] and having a party. Attending will be Mike Wazowski, Rapunzel, Curious George, a couple sorority girls [aka, Barbies {no disrespect intended}], a kangaroo, Frank the Ladybug Pillow Pet... and of course, Mickey Mouse.

Betcha wish you were here, huh.. haha.

Party time.

xo | cmd

We Don't Work Tomorrow (:

Tomorrow is Independence Day!

We still had to work today. Oh well. Tomorrow we're off.

Today was pretty much a lazy little day, aside from work, that is. I picked up Sydni and we headed home to veg out for the evening and not worry about having to wake up at any certain time tomorrow. It was awesome.

Speaking of the munckin, I've been in the process of planning a mommy-daughter photoshoot with her. I know, it sounds absolutely insane that I am planning something for once. As in.... these photographs, when they happen, will have been pre-meditated. As in..... I am coordinating every last detail down to the nail polish for this one. Wild, right?

The first step of this whole thing was to find the right outfits. I didn't have any specific dates in mind for this thing - still don't - so there's no deadline. I happened to be out and about the other day in search of a kitchen table, and found myself on the other side of the local Snooty Fox. I bought this dress for myself, along with a coordinating one for Sydni [no super spoilers here!], but didn't notice this until today when I was preparing to drop it off at the drycleaner:


bargain shopping... duhhhh.

Well okay, then! (: I should've had a super proud moment when I bought the thing, but hey, it's never too late to feel justified.. haha.

Anyway, when we got home, I had Sydni help me experiment with the mesh bun wrap that I finally caved and bought. I know these things have been around and in use for a while now; I was never really on that wagon, but I saw a style a few days back that sparked my interest, so of course I had to try it.

Behold, the braided bun! Why I boycotted this thing for so long is beyond me. It's easy, it's quick, and it definitely wouldn't look even this shabby if I were taking my time and being serious about it... 

easy peasy.. and pretty stinkin' cool (:

All these things I'm just now learning... tsk tsk haha. Oh well - better late than never.

So anyhow, I've got some movies to go watch with a little girl who's currently drawing me the prettiest montage of circles and squigglies I've ever seen.

NO WORK TOMORROW.
Scooooooore (:

xo | cmd

New Digs.. New Door??

I realized this morning that my office space has finally come together into a space that's going to feel like home. Good thing, too, since we have a boatload of stuff to do here in the next few weeks. I am excited. (:


top left: day 1 - 13may2013
bottom: week 2 - 20may2013
top right: today! 06june2013

happy braids!

I even managed to get my hair into a manageable and surprisingly in-tact braid while sitting at my desk, on the phone. Go figure. I thought for sure I'd have to take it out and start over, but this was one of those rare hair moments that I'll probably never again repeat on the first try, but realized it's perfect for work. Thought I'd share...

 It's the random stuff like that that keeps me going sometimes through the days that otherwise get a little stuffy and more methodical than I feel like being at that very moment. Hey... we've got to entertain ourselves somehow, okay?

Work out of the way, I hopped in the car, Fairfax-bound to get the KEYS... to my new digs! (: 


home!

Mission accomplished, and I got to see Trish and the kiddos for a quick minute before I made my way back to Milford and then down to Northside. Becky and I decided on Skyline for dinner, after much fickle consideration [nothing new there]. Good call.

On our way back, we were discussing my list of to-do's once I get fully planted into the new house this weekend. One of them is to fashion a table of some sort out of an old door. I've always wanted to do that, and I figure now would be a better time than any to take a dive and go for it. At the moment I mentioned it, we were on foot nearing Becky's apartment, and she nearly took off in a run towards the trash area for her building. Apparently, there was a stray door in there; she couldn't have been more excited.

Long story short:


dooooooooor (:

Yeah, I can dumpster dive [or in this case, pick] on a whim with my friends. Haha. Becky called Mike, who was there within minutes with his truck to haul this thing off and store in his basement until the weekend. It looks like I've got my work cut out for me on Pinterest or wherever that happens to be, until I find some sort of doable transformation for this.

TOMORROW = FRIDAY.
Hallelujah (:
See ya there...

xo | cmd

Snips of a Saturday

I've not yet become gutsy enough to go through with as drastic a change as I did a couple years back. the last time I donated my hair, I gave 14 inches of my mane and was left with the expected short hair - only problem was that I wasn' t thrilled in the least with the execution by the stylist versus what I'd requested. It was a cute bob look, but certainly not my style. I was going to be much more conservative this time around, if nothing else than to at least test out the stylist.

I had the recommendation from Cathie for her current stylist, and while Cathie keeps her hair much shorter than mine, it always looks great, especially right after a visit to the salon. I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

6 inches.. see ya later :)

hunger games!

I love it, so far, even though it is exactly as conservative as I thought it would be. I'm still conflicted a bit on whether or not I really even want short hair at this point, so this for the time being at least gives me the liberty of options while dropping those dead split ends. Pretty silly when the stylist holds up a measured 6-inch chunk of hair she's just snipped, when in looking at it now, it still seems long. Haha. I'm satisfied, and I will definitely be making a trip back to see the gal who did this when I'm due up for a snip again. Not a bad way to start the day! 

my doodlebug ♥

I made a stop off at Target after the 8:30AM hair appointment to grab some groceries, and ended up also walking out with a copy of The Hunger Games. Don't judge me, haha. I am completely excited for Mo coming by to watch this with me. 

Back home, it didn't take long for us to decide we would head right back out the door for some breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Sydni loves this place especially for its artistic provisions; I don't know why it is, but she spends more time coloring and doodling when we're here than any other restaurant it seems. Today she even bragged about her left-handedness. Great. haha. 

Back at home, Sydni and I went down for a short snooze while the boys took off for a run; Eric's got an Ironman coming up next weekend, for which he's been training since about this time last year. Pretty impressive, I'd say. It's too bad we won't be able to go and watch him race, but there's no doubt he'll do an awesome job and have some good stories from it all.

The boys headed off to drop Eric at the airport a few minutes ago; I hear Sydni starting to wake up in her room, so I .. am.. outta here :)

xo | cmd

This & Thats

Once in a while, I forget to expect the unexpected. My husband is king of unexpected [in some regard]. Today was one of those days that was interrupted with one of his impromptu little tokens from afar [Utah, currently!]:

the "non-girly" bouquet .. lol

He made it a point to request the flowers sans excess pink or otherwise frilly adornments. I'm not typically a huge fan of flowers [weird, I know....], but these really hit the spot. Cute, if I dare say so ;)

straight hairs? sure, if i've got the time :|

Good thing, too, because I ended up having to buy a new car battery today. And get an oil change. Yay, Nissan!

Last but not least, I tried something with my head that I haven't tried in a looong time: STRAIGHTENING it. There's a reason, I remember now, that I don't do this crap all the time - It takes waaaay too long. The mop on my head is just about at the necessary length for donating. Woo -ha!


Overall, not a shabby day, by any stretch. Here's hoping for another one just like it tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Random Ramblings of a DIY-ish Day!

I showed up to work early this morning!
-- But not for the reason that most people show up early. While it was project-oriented, it had nothing to do with staffing. Christine had sequestered my assistance in readying her hair for a benefit she was attending tonight; we were in the process of coordinating in on a lunch break but realized she'd be out of the area on calls all day. We finally settled on coming in a half hour early and knocking it out then. I toted my beloved Marianna hair pins and all the other essentials for an up-do up to the office, and we made with it, from a design she'd scooped off Pinterest.

Success!


welcome to salon de express... haha. | pinspired!

It's still in the 90's here in the midwest, in May, and I love everything about that. I spent lunch between errands at Panera sorry... it's Bread Company here in IL... to bask in the sun. It was definitely hard to get back into the office, if for no other reason than simply trying to readjust from sunlight to flourescent light. Egghh..
Work ended promptly at 5, and I spent the next 45 minutes traversing all over the local territory hunting down giftcards for Meagan's going-away present. With all of them secured, I made my way back home to get started on the crafting. Three hours later, I was finished [*mega thx/shoutout to my bestie, Kalyn, for the template!]; this puppy is ready for signing!


[props to kp for this template ;) ]

 About a third of the way through the evening, I got a phone call from my sister's boyfriend, saying that he was en route from Kansas to Ohio to see her for her birthday [tomorrow], and that his sister's home over in Missouri had been struck by lightning, thus rendering it useless as an overnight pitstop. We gladly accepted some overnight company; he showed up around 10:45 and we briefly caught up with him while I put the finishing touches on Meagan's book. I ended up having to make an almost midnight run to Wal-Mart, which apparently yields an even finer clientele at that hour than during the day [s.a.r.c.a.s.m, heyaaa].

I'm home now with just minutes to spare before it's Friday.

It's almost the weeeeeeekend! :)

xo | cmd

First World Problem #2: Flimsy Hair Pins

Okay, so this is admittedly a big, fat, genuine First World problem if I've ever had one, but I figured I'd share it anyway. Here goes.

[Unrelated, today really was a great day. My husband joined us for church for the first time in weeks! He's back in town and back with us in the pew. We even had a special little lunch date with the Sleemans and Sandvens afterwards. Good day? GOOD DAY! xo.]

K, so back to it:

I have thick hair. I'm not the only person on this planet with this challenge, but either way: I do, and sometimes it's a drag managing the mop on my head. It was by chance early last year that I came in contact with the hairpin that has now revolutionized the styling process of what is often a belligerently tangled mess. As part of the 'bridal party' for Kalyn's mom before her wedding last May, we all gathered at the Regency Salon in Eastgate and had the students exact their up-do skills on our hair. Mine was completed with the help of three different students and a battery of little black hair pins. Not bobby pins; hair pins. Excuse my frankness, but I'd never really put much thought into delineating between the two.



i didnt' realize they'd send me a 1 pound box, but okay. i'm supplied.

Since those gals loaded my hair down with over 45 hair pins [yeah, for one up-do], I had a pretty solid supply up until just a few weeks back when I realized I was running low. The mystical labyrinth to which those suckers wandered, filled with important store receipts, dental retainers and mismatched socks, must be a booming metropolis, for all the stuff I've contributed to it alone. Good grief. Anyway, I was running low, so I didn't think much of it when I ventured out to a local corporate retailer and snagged up some seemingly-okay hair pins. On not one, but two separate occasions over the past 2 weeks, I've been severely disappointed at the flimsy, pithy nature of my new purchases. Enough was enough, so I finally put a call in to Regency, way back in Ohio, and asked them where they got theirs. I don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place; it would've saved me a boatload of time and approximately $9.00. Haha.

Anyway, these little guys arrived a day or two back, and I. Love. Them.

Just thought I'd share that pointless tale of all things ponytail, if for no other reason than to deviate from the regularly scheduled ramblings of my day.

Oh, yeah, and as a PSA for our 2012 Towerview Relay for Life: If you didn't get your $$ in to Gordon or Diana today for the Cards tickets, you'd better call someone; today was the last day! :) [My phone is literally ringing; is it you??]

... It wasn't you. :)
See you tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Hair Gone Wild

Hi, guys. :)
It's me, Cori.

p.s. - oktoberfest.. best known for:
feeding people ginormous pretzels since the beginning of time :)

This will be fun [for you moreso than me]. I'm fairly certain I'll take some heat for it, but history is history, and I can't change it; why then deny it, right? Haha.

ANYWHO:

yes, please.

While we were all sitting at lunch yesterday [after the moments of food-induced {in this case, Olive Garden breadsticks} silence that blankets a table of Baptists at the exact moment the food lands on it {don't act like you don't know}], we somehow brushed across the topic of our individual styles way back in the day. I love these conversations mostly because my imagination is excellent at fabricating the what-if from it, which is probably just as hilarious as what it actually was. For me, my hair is certainly one of those markers that I consider accurately indicative of what stage of life I was experiencing.

Here's the Hair Tale:



curly kiddie locks :)

I'm a hybrid Spanish and Filipino, so I had naturally curly hair when I was a youngster. It was usually tamed out with simple blowdrying, but yeah. Couple that up with a perm, and a haircut that landed right below my ears, and you had me, lanky, brace-face with poodle hair. Holler. Sorry folks, I don't have photo-documentation of that part, for many reasons. Just imagine it :). 

oh, junior miss pageant days.



cori & emily.
a stellar picture, altogether. haaa.

I grew out the curly mess eventually, and by the time I graduated high school, it was manageable. However, over the course of the four years of high school sports: track and soccer primarily, I tapped into trying different methods to keep the mess out of my face. The most conducive fix had to go far beyond the standard ponytail, so I wound up giving myself cornrows here and there for various sporting events. Yeah, it happened.



goin' brown!



short brown

Once high school was behind me, I ventured out on my own into the world of college. My poor hair didn't know what it was in for, but Not only did I chop it, but started in with color alteration. I didn't go overboard [at least not at first], but I certainly went a few shades lighter. I don't know why I didn't just stop there while I was ahead, but I didn't, and wound up chopping it all off again. *sigh.



a catastrophe.



Move forward a year or so, and you would've found me in the early portion of some sort of revolutionary phase and decided that my hair should be different colors. As you see, I started off with subtle caramel highlights - nothing too extreme there. Again, I should've stopped there. Here's the thing though: A lot of gals [and hey, guys, too] probably don't think dying hair is that big of a deal, but let me remind you of something: I have black hair. For girls with black hair, obtaining blonde hair is not a good idea. I never got that memo, at least not on time. Somewhere along the line I also got some facial piercings to add to the disaster. Here's how well that worked out for me.

Riiiiight.



short, again.
[p.s. - sister, love!]

Luckily, the downward spiral that was my hair eventually picked up some positive momentum, and I returned back to something much closer to natural state. I will say this, though: if you ever go from black hair to blonde hair, it will take a .:long:. time to heal itself. *sigh. The good news is, I grew it all back out and left it alone for a good 4ish years, got married, had a baby, and then decided to donate it. Wouldn't you know I'd be the one to chop 14 inches off two days before shattering my collarbone into 10 little pieces. Anyone with short hair can tell you that maintenance of short hair is no fun with one arm.



present day



Wellllll..

I'm sorry to disappoint you that the story pretty much ends there. I haven't done anything ridiculous since my last donation, and I'm not sure that I will again, for a very long time. As it stands now, I'm back to normal, and for the time being, I'm completely cool with that. :)

What's your story? ;)

xo | cmd 

And Saturday It Is.

I don't have anything earth-shattering to report for today, however, I do have an exciting salad story to report.

It goes a little somethin like....

high five, awesome salad.

this.

It was a spur-of-the moment indulge while I was out and about, but I've got to say a big thank you to Quizno's for the saladspiration that is what you see there. I'll be replicating that on a regular basis from here on out. :)

It doesn't take much to get me riled up, yenno.....

Oh, and I fished out some curlers today and experimented with them. Pardon me for showing my complete and utter disability when it comes to using these things; I am doing some research on how to make them work once they're taken out, too. Haha. 

Joe will be speaking tomorrow morning at church, in our head pastor's absence. Here's hoping he keeps his nerve and the words come to him.

Early night :)

xo | cmd