Beautiful Long Hair

They say that once you reach a certain age, it's time to go short. Well, this is one 40-something that just won't do it. I'm a long hair girl. I suffered through perms and crazy colors in the 80s and layers in the 90s, but my hair has always swung past my shoulders. I had long hair as a little girl, until one day around the age of 8, my mother couldn't stand brushing it any longer and it was cut into a pixie! I cried for days. Since then I've tried to grow it as long as possible, and when I finally stopped perming my hair, and breaking it off, it grew. But the examples you see above show just how long I dare to wear it. If it gets any longer than that it just hangs there.

I marvel every time I go into my stylists studio at all of the new and exciting concoctions they can come up with, but luckily I've found someone who really understands that I will never cut my hair short. I wish I had thick hair like my youngest daughter. I was born with stick-straight, fine hair that only looks good if it's washed the morning I leave the house, while she can shower at night, go to bed with wet hair, and wake up ready to go. My stylist understands this, too. She knows what my hair can and can't do. And that's the lesson right there. You have to know that your hair will never be naturally curly, or thick, or straight. You have to make peace and do the best you can with what you were given. Then you need to find a stylist who understands the same thing.

It's funny that both of my girls are the exact same way. They've had their hair cut short (we all have to try it at least once), but they prefer long hair, too. This past fall, they both decided that it was time to cut several inches off the length (6" for one, 4" for the other), and almost immediately after doing so, I heard the exact same words come out of their mouths, "I'm letting it grow.".

Are you a long hair or a short hair kinda girl, or somewhere in between?

Here are some great resources for long hair girls, wannabes, and everyone in between.

3 tips for growing healthy, long hair as quickly as possible.

12 long hairstyles that inspire. (Yes, even at my age.)

How to blow dry your hair like a hair stylist.

101 hairstyle tutorials. Yikes!

24 hair products that actually work.

My favorite brush.

My favorite product for fine hair.

And a couple from the peanut gallery you may have missed...

Beautiful hairstyles.

Don't let it go to your head.

Image via tableystreet.tumblr.com

Yoga

During my year-of-better-health, I got up each morning, hit the mat and enjoyed about 45 minutes of yoga. I found a great set of CDs that challenged me, relaxed me, and made me love this part of my exercise routine. Since I've gotten in better shape and improved my health (and like we all seem to do), I stopped doing some of the things that made me feel good. Yoga was the first to go. It did its job, and cardio and strength training routines eventually took its place. Now I'm paying the price. After walking who knows how many miles, I started to run a bit. And then my hip slipped out of place. No more running for me. My chiropractor slowly got it back into its socket, but not without taking me away from my normal routine. My left hip has been weak since I became pregnant with my first child, but now it has become something I can't continue to ignore. Stretching—in any form—is such an important part of an exercise routine that I now realize that I can't afford not to do yoga.

I highly recommend adding some sort of stretching, or even some version of yoga, especially as you get older to your routine. Here are some links to inspire you.

Good morning yoga sequence.

Essential stretches for tight hips.

My yoga videos of choice are from the Element series by Ashley Turner.

Inspiration for overall good health.

Do you have any resources or stories you care to share? I'd love to hear them.

Comfort Food

Spring may be less than four weeks away, but it's still very much winter here in the Northeast. The temperature isn't expected to get above freezing for the next 10 days, and that means keeping the fire burning hot and cooking delicious meals that warm you from the inside out. I've made stews before, but this is the one recipe I keep coming back to again and again. The only drawback is that you have to plan to make this stew well in advance because it takes at least 8 hours to cook. It's worth the wait.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 lbs. of stewing beef, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium sized onions, chopped into large pieces

2 ribs celery, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

About 20 mini-potatoes, cut large ones in half, leave smallest ones as is.

1  28 oz. can whole tomatoes (I use plum tomatoes)

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

3 cups sodium reduced beef broth, divided

2 bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and then lightly brown the meat in batches. Transfer browned beef to a plate and set aside.

Dump the tomatoes into the slow cooker (juice and all). Crush them with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add the onions, celery, carrots and potatoes. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the vegetables and then add the beef and any accumulated drippings. Pour 2 1/2 cups of the beef broth over the beef and vegetables. Give the mixture a quick stir. Add the bay leaves.

Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, add the peas (no need to defrost first), salt and pepper. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and remaining 1/2 cup of beef broth, creating a smooth paste. Stir into the stew. Replace the slow cooker cover and cook until thickened (about 15-20 minutes). Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Thinking of hosting a get-together this weekend? Then check out this idea for a winter dinner party.

Recipe via Movita Beaucoup

Puppy Love

 

Cooper wants to know when he can come in. Dante wonders why he's complaining (again) about the snow. These are my two boys. It's funny, because when it was just the three of us—me, my husband, and our son—I always referred to them as my boys. Then our beloved Smokey came along, and I had three boys. That all changed of course when I had my two girls, then it was three to three. Fast forward sixteen years and my son is grown and married, my girls have one foot out the door, and we have two new dogs that we happened to rescue within two years of each other. Cooper is quiet, Dante is not. Both of them are very needy. They would rather have us home than not, especially Dante. In fact, if I've been gone for any length of time, I get chewed out the moment I walk through the door.  



Just before another storm hit yesterday, my husband and I readied the house with a hearth full of wood. The dogs helped us carry in a few pieces. As soon as Cooper's paws hit the snow, he usually wants in, but if we're outside with him, he's happy to hang out. Dante, on the other hand, would rather sit outside in a blizzard.



Some of the wood didn't make it into the house.

Here are a few things that you can spoil your canine children with.

All natural dog shampoo.

How to turn an old sweater into a new doggie coat.

Keep them busy on rainy (snowy) days.

33 dog toys you can make from things around the house.

Adorable dog bed ideas. We're seriously considering buying a twin-size bed for the two of them. (So we can have our king-size bed back!)

Please rescue or adopt a dog instead of buying one. Too many animals need loving homes.

Dining Room Love

Dining rooms are the one room in the house that often gets overlooked. Situated somewhere off the kitchen, a hallway, entry, or all three, this room is commonly underused and neglected. Furniture companies want you to buy the matching table, chairs, sideboard...but I love, love, love to decorate this room with unexpected touches and a bit more creativity. Just like the kitchen, a dining room should be a place to gather. Even if you don't have a formal dining room, the table and chairs that you do dine at are what you need to focus on.

My family and I play board games, read, draw, and basically goof around at our table. It sits between a very large fireplace and a 3-panel glass door that overlooks the backyard, so it's a cozy place to be in the winter and every other season allowing nature to take part in the fun. Right now, I can see the snow falling and my dogs playing and making tracks that they'll run through again and again. The birds are eating their food from a feeder tucked away in the apple tree, and pine boughs are gently swaying under the weight of all that snow. Even if we don't always sit down for dinner, we are always at that table. Decorated with a flat-bottom basket filled with a lantern, tea lights, and a vase of greens, it's often strewn with books and papers ready to pick up when needed. Life happen at this table—breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, serious and not-so-serious talks, late night homework sessions, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Choose a table you love. Rectangle or square, round (perfect for tight spots) or oval; it should feel good to sit at. Mine happens to be a table that was made for my mother more than 40 years ago. It's seen its share of everyday living, and because it's made from a soft wood, I can still see the impression of a word or two every now and then, so it's draped with a large fabric remnant I use as a tablecloth. Those words etched into its surface are from my children and I couldn't bear for them to disappear with a sweep of a sander. And let's not forget the chairs. Don't bother matching. Swap out the two end chairs for upholstered wing chairs like I do, or swap out side seats for a bench, or better yet, a settee or sofa. Add pillows; toss a throw or two over the backs to make dining, talking, or just being as comfortable as possible. Tables don't need to be centered in the room either. Dare to move the table to the side of the room so the dining room can now become a multi-functional space.

A dining room should more than just a place to dine, it should be a room used often, and with love.

For more dining room inspiration, check out my other posts here, here, and here.

Photo: berengia.tumblr.com