Wrap Snap and Go Hair Rollers

I admit it. I see infomercials for As Seen on TV products, and I am mesmerized. Mouth agape, eyes round and glassy, I must have this amazing product. Sometimes I am impressed, sometimes sorely disappointed.

This time, I did not even have the opportunity to be entranced by the infomercial. I spotted the rollers on my weekend thrift store adventure. They appeared to be brand new and unused, and at 99 cents, the price was right. My daughter is always looking for some good curl for her straight hair, so I thought these might be worth a try.

Our first attempt was a total flop. After her shower, she towel-dried her hair and I rolled it up. After a night of sleep, I unrolled the hair. It was still wet, and not curly. Not at all. Boo. Ever hopeful, we tried it again last night, this time after blow drying her hair until it was just barely damp. This morning, we were delighted to see lots and lots of springy curls!

I imagine that any rollers would do the trick, but there are several things that I do really like about these. 1)They are comfortable to sleep in because there are no hard plastic parts. 2)Since there is nothing on top of the hair holding it onto the roller, there is no ridge in the hair from where the rod or clamp would have been. I give the Wrap and Snap Rollers an A+!

I've never bought something directly from the As Seen on TV website, but I have heard of people doing this with terrible consequences, from credit card issues to spam email and constant phone calls. If you don't happen to be as lucky as I was and find these babies at a thrift store or yard sale, you can purchase them at Walgreen's without the unfortunate side effects of dealing with a company that doesn't always have the best reviews.

Have any of you tried these? What other hair-curling methods have you found that really do the trick? I'd love to hear your comments.

A New (to me) Nightie, Thrift Store Style

Since my post a few weeks ago where I vowed to shake off the frumpies and glam it up a bit in my every day life, I've had my eye out for a decent nightie.

For many years, my typical sleepwear has been a big, old, faded, raggedy, and sometimes even holey tee-shirt. (sexy, huh?) It is the polar opposite of what Movie Star Me would wear.

I've got a few super-slinky things that I might wear to bed now and again, when the children are not home. Those are fun, and hubby enjoys them, but they aren't so conducive to an evening at home with the family, or running around making breakfast and getting kids ready for school.

I was looking for something comfortable, cute, and fun. Maybe a cute cut, long enough and thick enough to cover myself should I choose to run to the mailbox, and short enough that I'm not drowning in it at night. I didn't want a cutesy cartoon character on it, and no loud, bright prints.

I found just what I was looking for at the Last Chance Thrift Store. It's pale blue with blue-gray polka dots. (Polka dots are fun!) It hangs mid-calf, and has a slightly gathered seam at the bust where the long part attaches to the top. The fabric is a light terry cloth. Some of my sewing friends could no doubt describe the cut more clearly and accurately than I just did, but hey, I'm no seamstress. I'm just happy to have found something to wear to bed!

Oh-- Hubby is not impressed. He says it looks like a hospital gown in the picture (which he was kind enough to take for me) and a "granny gown"  in person.  Maybe I will keep looking, but for now, I'm loving this one and it stays. Surely it's an improvement over the holey tee-shirts!

What would Glamorous-Film-Star-Me look like?

We've all heard it said that we feel better when we *look* our best. I've been trying something new for the last 5 days or so that makes me believe that what they say is true. I was inspired to try on a new attitude by something I read in a blog post, and the results so far are so positive that I wanted to share.

I have been guilty many, many times of sleeping just as late as possible, throwing on some clothes-- whatever is clean and not *too* wrinkly, brushing teeth and hair and running out the door for work, or for whatever I am doing that day. I'm not smelly and dirty, but I'm sure not turning any heads.

I have been experimenting with a whole new way of thinking. Whatever my activity for the day is, be it going to work, going shopping, staying home and cleaning house, going to a function at the kids' school, I ask myself one question. What would Movie Star Me look like when doing this? What would she wear? How would she carry herself? What would her hair and makeup look like? Would Audrey Hepburn run off to work half-asleep with wrinkly slacks, no makeup, no jewelry, and frizzy hair? She wouldn't dream of it. Would Film Star Me be cooking dinner for the family in paint-splattered sweatpants 2 sizes too big and a holey t-shirt? Nope, she's way too classy for that.

Since I have been masquerading as Film Star Me, my mood is better and my confidence is better. And this is the amazing part: Even though I am getting up on time instead of sleeping in until last minute, I have more energy. I am coming home from work and getting things done instead of napping in my chair. I am eating better, more healthy. (Would FSM really gobble up a whole bag of potato chips?!) The whole thing is quite refreshing.

I've been doing the same for my 11 year old daughter, Sid. Instead of doing the minimum to get her off to school, I've been fixing her hair in fun and funky ways, making sure she has fun matching jewelry and hair accessories to wear with her school uniform, helping her to look her best. I really feel that it is affecting her in a positive way, too. How can you feel bad when you look like a million dollars?

Only time will tell if I keep up this new outlook or if I will go back to doing the bare minimum necessary in order to be clothed and presentable. I hope I do keep at it, though.

It's almost my bedtime as I write this. Some new sleepwear is in order... Film Star Me feels a bit grungy in an oversized men's t-shirt.

Hairstyles-- a different kind of art

I practiced a different kind of art today! I woke up bright & early, grabbed the brush and the hair do-ees, & informed my daughter, Sid, that she was getting an extra-special hairstyle today. And after that, a special hairdo for myself!

I came upon a really fun blog called Babes in Hairland,  all about cute and different styles for little girls' hair! Here I found the bobby pin secret, as well as inspiration to fix up Sid's hair. Lots of good, quick videos there to show you how to do it.
I ended up with an updo with no back combing, and I have to say it looked fantastic. I got compliments all day. A nice side benefit was that with this classy hairdo, I was compelled to spend some time putting on makeup and accessories. I looked my best, and consequently felt good about life in general.

Sid ended up with THIS look. She was excited to go to school with her new do, and she said she got lots of compliments, too! Two very cool side benefits here: a) It still looked nice when she got home from school, which, if you knew Sid, you'd know is nothing short of a miracle. b) We both really enjoyed the time spent together doing the styling in the morning. It was nice to be close and talk in the morning rather than rushing around to get out the door on time.

I get an F because I didn't take pictures of either one of us. Tomorrow, I will attempt to do it again, or maybe something different, and at least get a picture of Sid, if not me.

 

 This picture was taken the day after I posted this blog.. not exactly the same style as yesterday. I forgot to "pull through" the little ponytails and I pulled the one in the back through the wrong way. My brain doesn't function so well at 6am. I do still like how it turned out, though.

In case you were wondering: The bobby pin secret, complete with pictures and videos. I can vouch for it's greatness. My updo stayed firmly up all day!