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?
