Get Gorgeous Hair!!

Okay, I am not the authority in gorgeous hair - not even close I assure you!  I do however have A LOT of hair.  I have spent years trying to take the best care of it that I can.  Since I like long hair and still keep mine long it is a challenge to also keep it healthy.  As I have gotten older I have noticed (really seen it in the last 5 years or so) that keeping longer hair is quite a challenge. My ends get more dry more quickly and my scalp seems to get oily more easily (yuk!).  Of course, dry ends mean split ends and breakage so growing it longer is difficult. Oily scalp means a need to wash it every day which dries it out further and so we have a vicious circle.

Well, over the last few years I have come up with a tips and tricks that I would like to share with you - and of course the products that I am using to help me achieve healthy strong hair.

Now, I understand that what I use may not be for everyone, but for my hair texture and type it works. What is my texture and type?  Natural wave, thick and course and very very over processed! Okay, so here goes.......

So here are the products that I regularly use and love:

My tips:

1. First things first - get a regular trim.  I used to go every 8 weeks for a trim of the dead ends, but I have played with the timing and between my stylist and I, we have figured out that for me it seems to be best if I get trimmed every other trip into the salon. I am generally in for highlights every 8 weeks (I know this is damaging, but another thing that gets tougher as I get older is keeping my blonde as blonde as I want it to be!). I used to get a trim each time I was in, but now I do it every other time - saves money, too - BONUS! ;)

2. Wash your hair no more often than every 2-3 days - seriously! I try to wash my hair every 3rd day (depending on what is on the calendar).  If I  don't want to cover it with a hat then I use a dry shampoo on day 2 and 3.  You can see my favorite in the pic above - Batiste.  I have tried them ALL. This one is by far my favorite. It doesn't weigh hair down or make it feel "gunky" like many of them do. It comes in several fresh scents (my favorite is "blush" - the pink can). The best part might be that it is only about $8 and can be found in many grocery stores and drug stores.TIP: spray it on the roots around your face before going to bed - when you wake up in the morning your hair will be fresh and bouncy and there won't be in residue!

3. Supplements/Vitamins:  I recently (about 2 months ago) started taking Nourage (red container in pic above). Yes, it is due to the fact that I think Kyle Richards (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) has amazing long thick hair and I figured if it worked for her then what was wrong with giving it a try?  The results? I truly feel that my hair has improved since I began taking this. The active ingredient in Nourage is Keratin.

3. Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioners: I really love this product line. My favorite product by far from Fekkai is the Salon Technician Color Care Moisture Mask. I use this pretty much every time I wash my hair since that is only about every 3 days. After shampooing I wring all the water I can out of my hair and slather a pretty good amount of this all over the hair shaft from about mid way up to the ends and I use a wide tooth comb to comb through my hair evenly distributing it. I then take a very light amount and smooth it from my forehead back and massage lightly into my scalp. I leave this on while I finish the rest of my shower (usually about 5-10 minutes). The final step is to wash it out with luke warm to cool water. I always turn my water temp way down to do this final step and it is cold, but important. Cool/cold water seals the hair shaft and will leave you with silkier shinier hair immediately!
I also have picture above the Silky Straight Ironless Shampoo and Conditioner. These are also wonderful and really do help to smooth your hair!  I wouldn't say it makes my hair "Ironless" if I want to wear it straight,  but it does seem to keep some of the natural wave at bay :)

4. Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo: I recently discovered this shampoo (is it new?) and I love it.  I am not really a Pantene user generally, but I think this one is a winner. It does not have silicone in it which really helps to not weigh hair down.  It is clarifying enough to really get all of the product out, but without over stripping my hair. So far so good.....at only $5 a bottle it's worth a gamble to see if it works for you!

5. Argan oil: I know that adding oil to your hair has been all the rage this past year or so I have to admit when the news first came out about it I thought there is no way that would work for me. I mean, yes, my ends are dry and damaged, but how could I add oil to my hair and not have an oily, gross mess? Well, I set out to try many different brands (above I have pictured 3 that I have used). Of all of them that I have tried only one has truly worked out for me and that is pictured in the golden bottle above, "Agadir: Argan Oil Leave in Treatment".  I put a small (nickle sized amount) in the palm of my hand when I get out of the shower and distribute it through my hair starting with the ends and then working up to the roots. I then comb it through (starting at the ends and working up).  An added benefit is that it reduces drying time!  I had no idea that the product even claimed that until recently, but it really does work.

6. Air Dry and Use an Anti-Static wide tooth comb: I always air dry my hair as long as possible before finishing it with a blow dryer.  Typically I wash my hair in the evening so I can let it air dry for an hour or two before using the blow dryer. If I tried to let my hair completely air dry it would take at least 4 or 5 hours - maybe longer - so I do always have to "finish" it with my Ulta Ion Anti-Static comb and a blow dryer. This comb (pictured above) is my favorite ever. It is an incredible comb and completely eliminates all static from my hair - completely!  I have not dealt with ANY static at all this year (first year I have used this particular wide tooth comb! :)  I highly recommend this one!

**Update - I didn't mention this originally, but it is worth a mention: your hair will actually "get used" to going longer between washes and your scalp will slow it's oil production.  Try it for a couple of weeks and you will notice a big difference (Another great tip from my stylist :)

Okay, well this post has been entirely longer than I anticipated, but I guess I had a lot to say! :)

I would love to hear your thoughts and any products that you love for gorgeous healthy hair, too. I look forward to your comments!

XO 

Jessy 

Polka Dot Blues

This has been a tough week  - yes, I know it is only Tuesday!!  This is the first "normal" week since the kids just started back to school and the nanny just started back today with Gabrielle. I am trying to get myself back in some kind of routine and going to be at a decent hour, but it isn't going very well so far - ha! 

Anyway, I did get a bit of work done in my home office today (including my blog) and I do head into the actual office in the morning to catch back up with clients so that should be good.  

For today's post just have an outfit of the day to show you. This is what I wore to a recent family reunion. Comfortable, easy to wear and I just love the pop of color in the blue scarf. I think this is probably my favorite one (out of 78) - okay I don't actually know how many scarves I own, but that is probably pretty  close to an actual number! ;)

Polka Dot chiffon blouse via Forever 21(previously worn here) 

Black Cardigan via Target (old - previously worn here and here)

Scarf via Etsy (see it worn here)

HUE Jeggings via DSW (old)

Vince Camuto "Norway" boot (previously worn here & here)

Steve Madden fringe studded bag (previously seen here and here)

Okay so I mentioned my completely ridiculous amount of scarves (or at least I think it is)....do you have an accessory that you think you have way too many of (or you are told you have too many of)??  Jewelry, scarfs, bags, boots, etc?  Maybe my collection is nothing compared to what you have going on!  I would love to hear your answers and comments! I am listening....... ;)

XO

Jessy

TJ Maxx haul

Well, yesterday I posted about my "Clearance only" trip to TJ Maxx with my OOTD post.  And, as promised, here is what the trip yielded!

 (ALL marked down with HUGE discounts on Clearance which makes each item even better!!)

D&Y (David & Young) 100% wool Bucket Hat w/ flower: Not something I would usually purchase, but there is a first time for everything!  It goes so well with my coat and it was such a great deal....clearly I needed it :)

DKNY Leather Clutch - fold over with chain strap. Perfect sized dinner clutch with fold over self closing compartments. Clearance price on this bag just wouldn't let me leave the store without it!

My baby girl approves! :)

Steve Madden Faux Fur vest: immediately in love when I saw this beauty hanging on a clearance rack that was holding a bunch of ski jackets! Ahhh...it was love at first sight :)

Guess sunnies: These were just so comfortable and lightweight. I love the pink color on the frames, too. I will be in sunny California next month so I was imagining cruising the PCH in the rented convertible with my fun new sunnies and my hair blowing in the breeze! LOL....So anyway, had to take them home ;)

And finally, I love these fun socks!

Muk Luks Slipper Socks: Sooooo comfortable AND they have a padded sole so you can pad out to the mailbox quickly without having to find some shoes to slip on. Super warm and super cute :)

Urania Italy Houndstooth Angora Socks: Super super soft warm socks perfect to wear with boots!

I hope that I have helped inspire you to go out there and see what great clearance items you can find. If there is a TJ Maxx in your area I think that would be the place to start :)

If you have already been out in this first week of Jan. searching out some great clearance deals tell me about them!  What have you found and where? I LOVE sharing shopping tips and would love to hear from you  - leave me a comment! 

XO

Jessy 

Oversized comfort (OOTD)

I am up to it again......  

Shopping at TJ Maxx - AGAIN (what else is new)!  It is literally across the street and I knew that was going to be a problem when we moved here :) Anyway, here I am taking my OOTD pics so I can save time later. And maybe a little bit so I can change into my comfy sweats without having to wait for my husband to get home to take OOTD pics! LOL ;) Okay, now that I have aired my dirty laundry here is my "outfit of the day" courtesy of the TJ Maxx dressing room (sorry for the poor quality pics!):

I.N.C. Bootcut Jeans via Macy's (current)

Dorothy Perkins Open Oversized Cardigan jacket  (current but sold out)

Floral top - thrifted

Steven Madden Jessii studded booties (no longer available)

Green scarf via Target (past fall)

Loft Pave Earrings (current - sold out) 

Stella & Dot Renegade necklace (current)

Be sure to watch for what I actually bought while at TJ Maxx - you didn't think I only took pics for this post did you?? LOL ;) Look for a blog post coming soon - it was an awesome haul. I challenged myself to only buy things that were on clearance. Not a bad challenge for the first week in the new year - they were clearancing out so much!

XO

Jessy 

Great deals come to those who wait!

Okay, so I have had my eye on this gorgeous Trina Turk dress since I saw it on another blogger's post this past fall. At $338.00 it was not to be mine.  Well, I added the link to my "favorites bar" on my laptop and thought I would check back on it and grab it if it went on sale. Things got busy, holiday's ensued as usual and I totally forgot - until today! 

I saw that little link and clicked it only to find the dresss had been so deeply discounted that now I could have it (including shipping) in my hands for only $165!!  And the best part is they had my size left :)

Check it out!

I can see this with tights, boots and my new Steve Madden black fur vest!! Oh, yes I can! I also see it in the spring with a jacket and some colorful wedges!  

Whether you like this dress or would like to check out what other styles she has, you should go now!  Additional 20% off all SALE items at checkout PLUS FREE shipping today!!  www.TrinaTurk.com

XO

Jessy

Long overdue baby post!

 Today I decided to do a LONG overdue post about our precious baby girl, Gabrielle and some products that I really think other Mommy's might appreciate knowing about. Especially if you are into natural and organic products as we are.

 

First let me introduce Gabrielle. Gabby, as she is usually called, is 10 months old. She has 3 older brothers that she ADORES, but she is still such a girly girl - yes, you can tell that at only 10 months old!  She loves baby dolls, stuffed animals, hair brushes and her purse (please see pic below for proof on the purse thing! :)  She just got this one from Aunt Sarah at Christmas and she loves it!

Gabby is 21lbs (yes she is a big girl!!).  Most of her clothes are 12-18 month size. I just bought her the most adorable polka dot skirt last week on clearance in a size 24 month and she can actually wear it!  ;)

 

Gabby's Care Essentials:

I do want to bring up the diaper brand that I use for Gabby and would highly recommend to any mom!   We use the Honest Company for her diapers, wipes and baby shampoo. 100% non-toxic, chlorine-free, sustainable, and plant-based materials - NO harsh or synthetic chemicals (ever!). This is very important to us. We try very hard to eat organically as a family and to use cleaning products free of chemicals - especially around the kids - so I thought why would I then put my baby in toxic materials 24hrs a day??  In my search for something safer for her these diapers and wipes are what I found - the company was started by Jessica Alba who was also looking for the same thing for her girls and couldn't find anything like it out there. I am so glad she took this on! The best part is that they are delivered every month right to my door. I never run out and I am never worried about getting to the store to pick up diapers. With my busy household this is a welcome thing!  I also LOVE the fun girly prints that the diapers come in. She gets compliments all the time (silly, huh?!).....her doctor even commented on how "stylish" her diaper was the last time we were in there! ;) The diapers are also super high quality.  I can't tell you how many times I have pulled the tabs off of Huggies (really dislike these diapers!) or how many times Pampers have leaked or even worse, broken open spilling all the little beads inside out. 

I have never had either issue with Honest Co. diapers and I have been using them for 10 months solid! 

I also think it is worth mentioning that Gabby has never had a diaper rash - ever. Again, I don't know how much of that is girl vs boy (my older 3 are boys), but her brothers had many diaper rashes by the time they were 10 months old. Chemical reactions on their skin? I also used Pampers almost exclusively with them.  Just thought it was worth a mention.

 

(All pictures found on Honest Co. website - a sampling of what they offer)

I also really like "Burt's Bees  - Baby Bee" multipurpose ointment for just about anything you can think of....around her lips, cheeks and nose in this winter weather to protect her from chapping, for any dry areas on her skin and on any new cut or scrape she manages to get (which are happening more and more frequently the more she is mobile!).  Baby Bee is petroleom & paraben FREE,
hypoallergenic and all natural.

What Gabby eats:
As you may have gathered from Gabby's size, she really does love to eat!
I did start out by steaming and making her baby food myself (in my Cuisinart food processor), but recently switched to mostly Earth's Best organic jarred food and Happy Baby Organic Pouches for when she does eat food on the go. Otherwise, we try to make sure that I have things that she can eat with us at dinner. Often I will just steam some fresh carrots and cut them up to bite size for her and/or some green beans or avocado.  She doesn't care much for the mashed up food anymore and far prefers anything she can feed to herself and chew up. We also found that she loves mashed up beans (usually black beans is what we have) and she really enjoys rice.
For snacks I love "Happy Baby - happypuffs Organic Superfoods" in greens puffs and sweet potato puffs flavors for her. They kind of look like little cheerios, but melt in her mouth. She has been eating these easily for the past couple of months. She also really loves "Hot- Kid Baby and Toddler Mum Mum" organic rice biscuits. They come in strawberry and banana flavors. They also melt quickly and she has been eating these well for a couple of months. These are all sold at my local Kroger and Target stores.

She also loves to drink from her "big girl" cups (anything with a straw!) to drink her water (the only other thing she drinks other than formula). I got her an Avent sippy cup early on and had her using that around 3 months for water, but she never really figured out how to pick it up and it like I thought she would (several months later). So around 6 months old we were out to dinner and I had forgotten her water cup so we tried to give her a sip of our water from the straw. She figured it out and has been drinking her water with a straw ever since! She now picks up her own straw cup, holds it straight and steady and sips right out of her straw - perfect!   I am not sure how this will work once we switch her to milk and off the bottle, but I think I am going to just steer clear of the traditional sippy cups altogether - for many reasons.  I guess we will see how this all plays out in a few months!
My favorite straw cup she has is the Playtex Gripper straw cup - the one you see on her high chair tray below.

Enjoying a pancake breakfast with the family on New Year's morning :)

Gabby's milestones:

Gabrielle has been standing and cruising for a couple of months now...she can usually be found cruising around and around the gigantic leather ottoman in the center of the family room :) Although in the last couple of weeks she has began to let go of the ottoman (or piece of furniture or person or dog or whatever she has a hold of!) and just stand there. Sometime for nearly an entire minute before either sitting down so she can crawl away of grabbing back onto the object. She just will not take a step. Not that we are really encouraging it too much!  I remember what comes after they start taking steps!! ;)

She has 7 teeth fully up and in use already!  I think the 8th is beginning to break through now (4 on top and 3 currently on bottom).  

Gabrielle is a great sleeper for us. 7:30pm until about 8:00am every night and really she has been doing that since she was a few months old. Really all of our kids have been great sleepers, though. I am not sure why we have been so blessed with that, but I am super thankful!  She was taking 3 naps a day in addition to the overnight, but in the last month she has phased out the 3rd late afternoon nap. Now she is pretty set on a morning nap from about 9:30-11:30 and an afternoon nap from about 2-3:30pm.  This is when I try to get EVERYTHING done!  LOL

Gabrielle is our precious angel!  She is just the sweetest little thing we can imagine. She is completely upbeat and happy pretty much 24/7!  She loves to follow her brothers or my husband or I around the house, but she will also just sit and play by herself for long periods of time. After having 3 boys, I am not sure if she is different because she is a girl or if it is just her personality in general, but she really is just a sweet sweet little thing. She is very outgoing (waving, talking, smiling and laughing at just about anyone who will talk to her) and wants to be in the middle of whatever is going on - no fear! 

Below are just a few more pictures of Gabrielle randomly from the past month.  I can't believe her 1st birthday is just around the corner!  Where does the time go??

All bundled up for some shopping

Always exploring! (this is an art display at my son's school)

Waving "Good-bye" to her brothers as the get on the bus......and checking out the snow for the first time on her own - look at the hand to the mouth! You can almost hear her saying, "oooohhhh" (which happens to be her favorite expression! ) Notice our 2 year old Standard Poodle is often by her side - I think she is his best friend! It is so sweet :)

Her introduction to Mr. Clause :)

 

 Gabby for her 9 month pics....she is due for her 10 month ones this week! 

Taking these pics have been so fun. I ordered these onsie stickers from Etsy and just stick them onto the front of her onsie each month for the first 6 months. It is wonderful to look back at her 1 month shot now that she is 9 months! Each picture was taken in a plain white onsie in the same glider in her bedroom. As she got older we photographed her with different hats and/or ribbons/bows in her hair.

 

I hope that you enjoyed and I hope that something I said will help another mom out there!  This is not my first time doing this (4th actually!), but I am constantly learning still and love to get tips and pointers from other moms, as well. Feel free to leave any comment or suggestions for me, too.

XO

Jessy  

First OOTD 2013!

Outfit of the Day - 2013

 

Happy 2013!!!  I hope you all had incredible New Year's celebrations and were surrounded by family and friends to bring in the new year! This year we had a low key family game night for New Year's Eve. It was so much fun!  All the kids were able to be here (which was key since my youngest is 10 months and I really wanted to be with her for her first New Year's celebration!) so it was a really fun mix with all my kid's cousins hanging out and playing all night. We played a bunch of family friendly party games and laughed so hard it hurt :)  All counted we had about 25 people enjoying all the festivities. We had an incredible spread of yummy foods, too!  I ate WAY too much - typical! - but enjoyed every second. Of course we toasted the New Year with a little "bubbly" - kid friendly, of course :)

 

For our casual laid back night I didn't really wear anything very exciting, but I have posted a pic or two below any way.  I have also posted a couple of fun photos from the night!

 

This was the dessert table......so many yummy things!

My husband, our cousins and my mother in law enjoying the games!

 

More games - this is "Beat the Parents" which yes, the kid's did!  They are the "official" champions :)

 

 

"Game on!!" ;) 

 

I.N.C. boot cut stretch jeans via Macy's (current)

DKNY v-neck Sparkle Sweater (last season)

Steve Madden Jessii Studded Ankle Boots (no longer available but I found some here!)

Lucia Bracelet via Stell & Dot

Renegade Necklace via Stella & Dot

Pave Earrings via Loft

Nails in "Bobbing for Baubles" by Essie

 

XO

Jessy