The Price of Beauty

Last night was a night of pure luxury.  Why?  I had my hair highlighted at “my house” by an amazing stylist, Casey Schlachta.  We talked, laughed and had a blast and the whole time I’m getting foils put in my hair to give me that perfect blond to carry me through one more month.  What? You thought those blonde strands came naturally.  Oh yes, you’re right.  They do…really.   I felt very diva like and fabulous as dear, sweet Casey did Madeline’s (my son’s girlfriend) and my hair.  This was totally decadent and ultimate fabulousness.  Casey is the stylist for my son’s group, Cinema Sleep and she wanted to put a little champage pink (oddly enough there is no pink involved L) in Madeline’s hair for a photo shoot and stopped by to do so.  My house was the rendezvous point.  I was the lucky recipient of a spontaneous highlight( which is definitely better than spontaneous combustion).  It was so incredible!!   All I can say is thank you Casey.  My blond is completely fabulous thanks to you and I am all good for one more month.

I am a girl.   Maybe I should say that a little louder. I am a girl!! And with me come just a few maintenance items.  Do guys really think girls just naturally fall out of bed gorgeous.  Well most girls don’t.  Yes some do, but I have yet to see the most natural beauty who couldn’t be helped with a little “something”  When I look in the mirror I see this person staring back with things that needs….. well help…a lot of help.  The good news is I am armed and dangerous!  I have an arsenal…not even a small arsenal of beauty items.  If my beauty products were guns I would have enough arms to decimate a small country.

Speaking of hair, let’s start there…got to have the color.  That is my number 1 necessity.  When I was younger I had to color because my hair got a little too dark and well now, it’s a little too light, if you know what I mean.  So color once a month (for me; a lot of gals can go much longer).  Just for hair alone, not counting any other product to keep us fabulous,  every girl needs  product… shampoo,  conditioner,  gel, root lifter, and what I call hair glue.   You need a round brush (2 sizes), a flat brush, a regular comb, a rattail comb…Nice and Easy root touch up for that in between time when your stylist can’t just stop by.  J You need a hair dryer, a flatiron, a curling iron, hair rollers (Velcro and hot).  Oh and hairspray….I used to spend a ton of money here and found out that Auqua Net for $1.99 on sale is just as good as Shaper (over $15). Oh I almost forgot we also need bobby pins for that occasional French twist and  hair  ties because who can sleep with that hair going everywhere and hanging on your neck?  Those are just the necessities…not including items for the occasional need.

Here’s a little Susan Secret that is just fabulous.  I almost always do my own hair  color….(having Casey do it was completely luxurious).  Clairol Colorsilk does a great job and for the low price of $3.99.  I usually buy it when Walgreens puts in on sale for $2.50…add a coupon and it’s almost free. 

So is maintenance  required  or a luxury?  My answer is that it is required.       Imagine you’re a car owner …like me…who hates to do maintenance on it.   It’s expensive and worse yet, it’s a time suck!  How long does it really take to do a once over on  a car.  It should surely not be any longer than the time for a highlight.  Regardless… cars, girls, guys (even you guys need it)  all need maintenance.  Just like a car, if you don’t get maintenance things will start to fall apart.   So as a girl all my life who loves all things girly, take care of yourself.  It doesn’t have to be expensive.  Walgreens and coupons can keep you fabulous for less than you could ever imagine.

Every now and then, though, treat yourself.  Go to Casey and let her give you the best color and cut this side of Bumble and Bumble , NYC.  Her color is as good and it’s a fraction of the cost.

Great hair is a blessing (and work).  But remember great hair and makeup doesn’t make you who you are.  That comes from within.  No amount of color, no great cut can change who you are inside. That is where true beauty begins.  Happy Thursday!

If I Had a Daughter

If I had a daughter, what I would say to her...





Be Happy!

Use your brain and not your heart to make decisions.

Don't buckle under pressure, whether the pressure is from someone you love or  peer pressure.

Trust your gut.  It will never lead you wrong.

Listen...to others but mostly to the little inward voice that seems to be on your shoulder.

Never make a decision in a fit of anger or without walking away and thinking about what you're doing.

You have a very important voice.  Use it.  Don't ever be silenced.

Take risks.

Be a vixen in the bedroom and a siren in the Boardroom.

Use Sunscreen (and botox if you should need it :).

Follow your heart, but don't let it get you lost.

Don't ever let anyone make you think your opinion doesn't count, because it does.

Find a man who loves you for you and doesn't want to change you.

Love a man you don't want to change.

Travel and inhale deeply to enjoy all in life you can.

Don't try to save the world.

Put your oxygen mask on first. 

If you reach the glass ceiling, break it.

Keep your independence and never allow co-dependency.

Buy one great pair of shoes and love them, because every time you put them on you will be fabulous.

Stay true to yourself and don't ever lose yourself, because you may never get her back.

Smile!  It takes fewer muscles to smile than frown and you will grow old gracefully.

Be strong but not hard.

Be empathetic but own only your problems.

Love with all your heart, but don't give it away.

Most of all love yourself because you are unique and beautiful.



Dedicated to the young women I love and appreciate everyday.

Seeing the World through Rose Colored Glasses

Some people think the sky is blue.  Mostly I see it as pink.
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I have often said that if I could paint the world pink, I would. I think Pink is the  most fabulous color in the universe and just looking at my  pink board on Pinterest makes me smile and brightens my morning.  I wear pink when I can, use pink accessories, and  have also been accused of seeing the world through rose colored glasses.    I shared one of my favorite photos this morning….my pink pig adorned in lipstick and pearls.
Now there is a lot that could be said about that picture and why on earth I like it so much.  First of all, you already know that  I love pink and this is a pink pig….she also has pink lipstick and as a bonus, she’s wearing pearls.  I’m also imagining those hooves are painted in a very bright pink OPI color to make her even more stunning (if that’s possible).  And she’s wearing rose colored glasses and I think she's fabulous.   OMG this is me as a pig!

I was involved in a very tough real estate negotiation a few years ago.  The other Broker used every form of degradation and intimidation trying to get me to "back down" and do it his way.  I'm tough in negotiations and always look out for the best interests of my client and wasn't going to budge!  He became so frustrated, he said, "Well you are going to lose, because you are looking at this through rose colored glasses."  I sort of chuckled knowing he was just trying to strong arm me and I said (with a huge smile on my face) , "Well yes I guess I am wearing rose colored glasses".   Of course we got the deal accepted as presented and I won for my client; I didn't lose.  And I thought to myself, "Rose colored glasses are fabulous."

I grew up on a farm.  I was a scrawny little thing with a tassel of long blond curls, big eyes and evidently a pair of rose colored glasses.  Farm life was brutal.  The house was small, the summers long and hot and the winters long and cold.   But the thrill of the farm was the animals.  . . All of  them, especially the pigs.  I loved the pigs because they always seemed so interested in everything you did or said.  They'd look at you like a spellbound audience and retort with their loud snorting and an occasional squeal, prepared to give you the standing ovation, if they could only figure out how.  They were an amazing, adoring audience and they were mine… always waiting for words of wisdom from a 5 year old.  
 
Somehow we ended up with a little orphan pig.  She was pink, small and precious and I loved her at first sight.  Pinkie’s future was in jeopardy.  You know what happens to pigs on a farm…..well let’s not discuss that.   I must have been about 5 or 6 at the time and decided that the only thing that would save this sweet little pig was for me to kidnap her. I knew I had to.  It was not an option.  She had to be saved and I was the only one who could do it.  I went to bed that night hatching a plan to save the pig. 

I image that little girl waking up the next morning with a tuft of curly blond hair going everywhere, wide eyed and a little scared.  She would carefully put on her boots and reach over to the bedside table, grabbing those rose colored glasses and putting them on, to start her mission.  I see her, so tiny, climbing into that pig pen and maneuvering through the other pigs to get to this poor little pig. This seems a risky mission for such a tiny little girl, but the mission was a success.   And a pig was saved.

 Now what on earth is any farm girl going to do with a baby pig that still needs to nurse.  Of course, you would move her right into your bedroom and somehow come up with a baby bottle to feed her and be the mom!  Getting a pig to nurse a baby bottle the first time is a challenge, but once we got the knack, we were a pretty good team.  Luckily she was the recipient of warm, freshly milked cow's milk every day. (I didn't think of the impact of a pig being raised on cow's milk, but it worked out)     Pinkie resided in my bedroom under my bed until she grew too large to hide and too loud to keep quiet.  My parents were furious with me but Pinkie ended up having a good life, becoming Queen Pinkie and living to an old age.

Lessons Learned!  First of all everyone needs a little help now and then.  Sometimes it just is very clear that it's "your job".  You were the one chosen for that particular task.  Sometimes these tasks make you feel good and sometimes they are just painful. It also proves that you can do whatever you put your mind to.  There really are no limits.

Sometimes you just have to take a risk.   And you may need to put on "your" rose colored glasses to see the world, your world in a different light. Maybe a little pink cast is all you need to make something bad, look good.   It may change your outlook and may help you to see things more clearly. It may even help you to make a difference in your life, someone’s life, even if it is a pig.

So  today, as I continue my adventure…my journey,  I will be dressed in pink. When I open my bag, you will see the pink lining and you may or may not see the rose colored glasses when you see me, but be assured, they are there and I think that's fabulous!

Isn't it fabulous that Election 2012 is history?

I think it’s fabulous that the election of 2012 is OVER and that we can get back to the task of hand of just being Americans, because we still rock!  I love us!  We have the most fabulous lives …still!  Where else in the world could you speak so openly about your own opinions and be so blatantly against the leader of a country or his opponent.  Democracy was truly at work and this was definitely a test in freedom of speech as barbs flew both ways between the the parties and we were allowed to say what we think with no repercussions.  The sun came up this morning shining on America, signaling that we are still “One Nation Under God”.  And so we are.  What could be more fabulous than that?

I started this blog on August 10, 2010 and called it Everything Fabulous because I wanted to write about things that make me feel wonderful.  I haven't written much (and I like to write), so that has caused me to really think about why?  Is the world around me less fabulous?  I don't think so.    What is going on with me that I don't write about all those things fabulous (and there are so many)!

The thing I've discovered (and  this  is SO fabulous) is that those things that make you smile and feel good do not start from the external stimuli in our lives. They have an affect but it has to start from within.  If you don't feel fabulous inside, those things you love, that make you smile, won't have the same impact.  Of course, experts and wise men through the ages say that you have to reach within (hence the huge section of Self Help books in every bookstore).  But how many of us really take it to heart?  Well today I begin.  And it will be an adventure! As with any adventure, you need stuff . . . a map...an idea of where you're trying to get to.  And I know there will be bumps along the way, just like wandering around hours lost in a foreign city, trying to get back to where you need to be.  

My adventure is going to be an adventure of change....starting and ending each day with something positive and inspiring. I am such a procrastinator . . . everyone who knows me knows that!  And changing that will become a part of my adventure.

Adventures are exciting!  Webster defines it as "an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience of activity.  It's also described as engaging in hazardous and exciting activites.  It's the exploration of unknown territory."

What could be better to explore than your own fabulousness?  Well that's what I'm about to do.  I will try to write about this adventure here so I have some sort of accountability, and of course that means exposing those awful, nasty flaws and challenges.  If anyone actually does read this, please let me know with a post, so I know someone's really watching. (Pleeease let me know you are here...don't be a creeper).  I appreciate all input, and who knows, it may help you find your inner fabulous self along the way.

My first piece of change and becoming more fabulous is to NEVER watch morning news shows again.  I am done!  I am a NEWS JUNKIE and the election is 24 hours away.  But I did it.  I turned off the TV and will find out some other way who won. (Like reading which is totally fabulous).   This is a very small step, but it's my small beginning.  And when I get to the office today, I will continue! 

Be fabulous, or at least help make someone else's life more fabulous (it might just take a smile).  Happy Monday!