Hi friends. I’ve made it to the couch after a very sweaty Monday. I taught three hot yoga classes and ran an 87 degree 5K. I don’t practice with my students when I teach yoga so the only workout I did today was the run but it was a lot of sweating. I am happily exhausted and looking forward to getting in bed to read as soon as I hit publish here.

I started The Last Thing He Told Me on Saturday night and it hooked me quickly. I love books that make me excited about going to bed to read!

Before I turn in, I owe you guys an update on a few things. First up…new hair!

I wrote my last post from the chair at the salon during a four-hour hair appointment. I needed a change and turned to Terra Jenkins at Salon 42 to help make it happen. I have been a client at Salon 42 for over 10 years. They have four locations here in Charlotte (Lake Norman, Dilworth, SouthPark and Indian Land). I always saw the owner Jason until Covid happened. Then it was whoever could fit me in to do my roots. This is when I met Terra and it was a great match. I told her that I felt a little guilty for bailing on Jason after so many years but she reassured me that they were always told that it was an awesome sign for the salon if the junior stylists were taking Jason’s clients from his chair. It means they’re training them right!

I love my dark hair and I love my long hair…but I needed something to change. I had been lusting over brunette balayage and it took me a long time to build up the nerve to even consider it as a possibility. I mentioned it to Terra one day through an Instagram DM and she she was super excited and supportive. I sent her some inspiration pics and we took it from there.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little anxious the day of the appointment. Terra did my root coverage first and then got busy on the balayage foils. I was surprised by how many she did and how long they had to process. She warned me that it was likely that my hair would pull red because of how dark it was but that we would tone it down after.

After the foils had processed, Terra washed the color out of my hair and then blew my hair dry to about 80 percent before applying the toner. She said it takes better to dry hair. I was happy to hear that the color had lifted from my hair more than she thought it would and was less red than she thought it would be. I’ve always been so picky with coloring my dark hair that it doesn’t go red.

Once we toned my hair and let that sit for 20 minutes and then rinsed it out, this is where we were. It definitely has red tones but Terra told me that it will get more caramel in the future if we keep going with the balayage. Also, as the toner fades a bit, I’ll see more contrast and lightness.

What I LOVE about this color is that it’s low-maintenance because it starts past my roots and grows out nicely. I can touch up the balayage a few times a year while still keeping my roots colored. I also love that all I have to do to maintain the balayage in the meantime is tone it here and there and that’s much less expensive than the actual balayage service. Terra also took a couple of inches off my hair and added layers to help with curls.

I know this is a lot of words about my hair but I’m so conservative about it so this was a big deal for me. I have been covering my roots for years now but never taking color out or lightening anything. I love it and I think my biggest homework is learning how to curl my hair. Terra gave me a tutorial and my sweet friend Teri has offered to help me as well.

Straight is my comfort zone and I was worried the color wouldn’t look as good with straight hair. I loved it just as much so that was a relief!

In MORE exciting news than my hair, my boy is HOME! I got Finn back on Saturday afternoon and have been soaking him up ever since.

He came home calling himself “Finnie the Pooh” and me “Mommy the Pooh” and “Mom-may” so that has kept me cracking up.

The pups are very happy to have everyone home too. <3

Time to turn in. More soon friends.

QUESTIONS

Do you color your hair? Are you more conservative or liberal about cuts and color? 

What’s your go-to style? Are you good at curling your hair?

What funny names does your child call themself or you?