It’s the first of December, which means we can now officially get excited for Christmas. November flew by for me, so I thought I’d share a bit about what I’ve been doing throughout the month.
Going Back To My Roots…
My hair roots, that is. Around springtime this year, I became slightly obsessed with the balayage trend – yearning for a little more darkness around my root area ever since. I decided to embrace my natural colour and allow it to grow through a little. Last week I added some honey and chocolate lowlights to break up the block of blonde. I’ve been sporting a dark stripe of re-growth along my parting for too long and I wanted a more natural/blended look.
It’s a little-known fact that I’m a qualified hairdresser – which means I’m able to colour and tweak my own hair and because I can – I do. I’m so much happier with it now, and I’ve even received one or two comments from strangers/shop assistants, with “glamorous” being a keyword. I’ll take that…thank you very much.
Having “Phone Down” Time…
Our phones are in our hands pretty much all of the time – guilty as charged. Saying that, when Lily comes home from school I try to keep my phone time to a minimum. However, occasionally I’ll look up from mine, see both Dan and Lily on theirs and think what on earth are we doing? Where’s the conversation? human interaction? Let’s put down our phones for a couple of hours and do something else… be in each others company but actually be there.
A pivotal moment for me – We were having a family meal in a restaurant and across the way was a family of three, (the same as us) except their child was a little younger than Lily. Both parents spent the ENTIRE time on their phones, including eating one-handed, whilst holding their phones in the other – transfixed.
The child was trying to engage with his parents but being told to quieten down. I was horrified, no, actually disgusted. Get a grip – put down your phones and be with your children or family members. Our children will only grow up once, cherish your time together. Is commenting on a stranger’s Instagram post really more important than interacting with the real people in your life? It was an eye-opener for me, vowing I would never behave that way.
Enjoying Pencil Drawing…
Lily is growing up, and closing in on her thirteenth birthday – that’s hard enough to comprehend and so my time with her is precious. I’m trying to savour quality time with her before the teen years really kick in and I become surplus to requirement. I love pencil drawing and as Lily’s dexterity increases she’s showing signs of becoming an accomplished little artist. We love to sit at the table together and draw…
Watching Christmas Movies
Snuggling up together with a blanket and watching a movie is something else we’ve been doing. With so many Christmas movies around at the moment – It would be rude not to… Elf is next on the list, of course.
Packing Away Summer Clothes
This is usually done and dusted well before now, but for some reason, I’m late starting this year. I’ve had to set some time aside and get it done. I swap out my winter clothes from their vacuum bags and replace them with my summer wardrobe. I’ve gone through everything properly this time and found I just have way too many clothes, so it’s off to the charity shop!
Painting Furniture
Grey. That’s the latest buzzword in my home. Earlier this year, Dan and I found a fabulous large bookcase in a local second-hand shop. We took it home and gave it a new lease of life, well, I did. See it here.
Shabby chic has been my love for many years, however, I find myself going off it a little recently. Staying with painted furniture, just not the scruffy/shabby look. We also have a quirky little dresser which a friend bought from her local church and then offered it to me for £10 I couldn’t resist! I painted it in an Annie Sloan shade of duck egg green chalk paint and it’s remained that way over the years. Soon it will be getting a new coat…of grey.
I had some paint leftover from the bookcase, so I painted Lily’s desk to match – it looks so much better. This photo is halfway through the process as it still needs a bit more sanding, a coat of wax and then a good buff up but you get the jist.
What have you been doing throughout November?
Your hair looks beautiful, as always. Love balyage! Your daughter’s drawings are amazing!
Author
Thanks lovely. Oh they’re my drawings! I didn’t share hers, should do really. I might add a pic in a bit x
Your hair looks gorgeous with the dark roots! Happy December! xo
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Thanks so much! I prefer it too. Have a great month! X
Love the colour of your hair! Phone down time is a must I have had a bit of this recently and it has done the world of good. Your drawings are amazing! Great post lovely xo
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Thank you! Yes, phone down is the right thing to do! Thanks for reading lovely x
your hair looks amazing!! love your blog xx
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Thank you so much x
Wow your drawings are amazing – that is a real talent you have there. I always wished I could draw, instead i express my creativity through my photography, decorating etc. Your hair is so beautiful too, I love the waves and the colour x
franklyflawless.com
I love this post!! I love your hair- I’ve been doing something similar but I’ve been dying my roots darker as I’m too impatient to try and grow it out and I don’t like my natural colour, but I still want to look blonde! lol. Your drawings are amazing. I love a Chritmas movie too! xx
http://www.juderivers.com
Author
I agree, trying to keep up with the roots is too much hassle. It’s quite on trend to have a darker, blended root area. I’m really liking mine now I’ve got used to it. Got to do the Christmas movie thing! X
I know what you mean about getting used to it- in the mirror it looks so brown but so much lighter in pictures! Xx
I totally agree with you on the ‘phone down time’. We are often the same in our household, but are making the effort to spend less time oggling at screens, and have started to get board games and paints out so we can spend some time actually together! I didn’t know you were a hairdresser! You’ve certainly done an amazing job. And you’re drawings are fab too! Quite the wonder woman! xx
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Aww thank you! I don’t work as a hairdresser these days but I guess it’s like riding a bike and means I can do my own hair. I’ve had it coloured in salons before but never been happy with it so I prefer to do my own.
Playing board games is a great idea, Lily and I used to play Frustration all the time but she’s losing interest as she gets older. I should get the games out again! X
Definitely! We love Snakes and Ladders! x
Your drawing skills are so incredible! I’ve been also watching christmas movies! I’m not particularly nuts for christmas I like it but I’m not crazy about – But I just love watching christmas movies all year round, especially now – they are just so cute and cozy.
http://www.themakeupaficionado.com
Oooh what a lovely post, I’ve really enjoyed reading about what you’ve been getting up to! I’ve been having more down time with my phone recently too, mainly because I’ve been extremely tried compared to usual and at work for longer without use of my phone but I also just think I want to be in the real world rather than the world of social media. I have to say I’ve always hated the whole going on your phone while you’re eating a meal no matter where you are or who you’re with, I don’t mind the taking a photo before you eat it, but after that I think you should just enjoy your meal and your company, otherwise it’s a little rude, but I guess that’s how I’ve been brought up! Also how amazing are your drawings?! They’re so good! And I love that shade of grey, the desk looks beautiful. Here’s to a fab December!
Ellie x
http://elliesbitsofbeauty.com
Author
Thank you so much lovely. I’m with you, mealtimes shouldn’t include mobiles! Glad you like Lily’s desk, it still waiting to be finished at the moment but I’ll get round to it soon, honestly, I keep forgetting about it! Haha xx
Your hair looks gorgeous, it’s always nice to change it up a bit. It’s crazy how it was just Summer and Fall, now everyone is taking out Winter clothing. But I love this time of year, very festive. Your drawings are really cool, I like to draw myself.
-Ashley
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I love winter too. Woodsmoke is my favourite smell and always get whiffs of it during the winter! Thanks for reading! x