Your green hair isn't pretty enough

Colourful hair is a lifestyle choice.

So I wanted to write a proper post about having brightly coloured hair. I did write a post about my hair journey before, so check that out if your interested  (also you can laugh at old embarrassing photos of me!) But I have never really spoken about the impact my hair choices have made on my life. Whenever I talk about it with people, I always tell them that having *instert current colour here* hair was a real commitment and a definitive life style choice. Aside from the obvious risk of damaging your hair and possible DIY disasters, you do put some things at risk when you choose to go bright.  

Firstly, when you want to go a very bright colour, you have to take the time to bleach it at least once all over (for me three times) and then commit to having your roots bleached every inch or so. This is unless you naturally have very light hair, if so, I'm jealous of you! But for me this is maybe every 8 weeks or so. Once you are bleached, you have to colour it several times in order to attain a really vibrant tone, if you only do it once you will probably be very disappointed with a mediocre or worse result. I have had so many people tell me after bleaching they coloured it once, it looked crappy and they had "ruined their hair" and almost immediately went back to their previous colour. You just have to have a little patience. After that you might have to dye it every single week to maintain it. I only dye mine every other week now, but I also only wash it twice a week at a push. I also have abandoned my hair dryer in favour of gentle natural drying (my favourite way is to wear pigtail plaits when it's wet, the next day it's soooo mermaidy) and I straighten my hair rarely. Heat styling will further damage my hair and fade the colour  ( as will sunlight. Hiss!)  My hair also bleeds colour when wet, so I wear a hairband on my hairline for exercise, I don't swim, and take my own towels when I know I will be showering away from home. My bed linen and pillows are also stained, so I always take spare sheets or pillows as a guest when I stay somewhere. 

Unfortunately, as we all know, being unconventional can also affect our careers. When my old boss got wind of my plans to go blue (back when I was brunette) he threatened to fire me if I went ahead. I was on a zero hours contract at the time and he was pretty crappy to most of the staff, so shortly after this I quit in favour of the pub I work in now, the manager was my boyfriend's friend, and he offered me a job regardless of my appearance. Although at the time he had super long hair and a beard! But the kind of atmosphere at our place is very laid back and casual, we are a locals' pub and every one knows us. We never even had a uniform until a month ago, and even so it's only a t-shirt and we aren't forced to wear it. Sometimes I think about what I might do if I ever had to get another job. It's a difficult one because I really don't agree with judging someone by appearance  (as long as they don't look scruffy that's what matters) and if someone didn't want me to work for them because of how I look then I wouldn't want to work for them anyway. But my opinions on work and careers are another subject entirely.

There are also people's opinions to contend with. As I have said before, I normally have nothing but compliments from most people when it comes to my appearance. You get the snarky "it's not halloween yet" comments every now and then, and there's the people who throw me a patronising back-handed compliments about wearing skulls and bats in my hair. There was this one guy who used to drink in the pub where I work, and he would always get drunk and give me the same speech about how much prettier I would be if I was "normal" and his daughter also went through this stage, she had red hair and her nose pierced you know. It was funny because I would just nod and smile along with him, and then the next time he came in he would have forgotten all about it because he was so drunk, and would proceed to give me the speech all over again.

When I went to pick my four year old sister up from school (situated in a quintessentially English village by the way) all the mums were pointing and whispering behind my back. The mother of my sister's little friend was the only one who had met me before and indiscreetly went around the playground proudly dishing out the juicy gossip surrounding us.

But since we announced a couple of months ago that we are getting married my hair has become a hot topic once again even among close friends and family who have long since become used to what I look like. "So, will you have green hair at your wedding??"
"Are you dying your hair back before you get married?"
"What colour is it going to be for the wedding? Not green surely?"

It's like just because I'm getting married I am expected to suddenly become "bridal". My leafy coloured coiffure is some how not deemed feminine enough for the mainstream ideal of how a bride should look. Even those close to me have questioned me, who outwardly seem accepting of my colour when to begin with they thought that green was an ugly colour choice. It's  as if to say, "Well this green haired stage you're going through right now, that's all very well and good but it's not really a suitable choice for a wedding is it? I mean you've had your fun with it now but you should pick something a bit more sensible for your wedding dear."

Honestly I don't know what colour it will be when we get married next year. I've been feeling like a change for a while now, so who knows!

Anybody else had these sorts of opinions to contend with? How did you handle it? 

Good news

So a little explanation as to why I have been so quiet this past couple of weeks, WE ARE MOVING HOUSE! We are so happy, we got the news a week and a half ago and it has been all systems go trying to get the new house in a livable state so that we can move in ASAP. It's only five minutes away from where we live now, with three bedrooms and a nice garden. We are planning to finally grow our own vegetables! Although at the moment I'm in the process of pickling all of the jalapeños that Rob's dad has grown, because nobody in the house likes spicy food but me, and I couldn't possibly eat them all myself. At the moment the house has no central heating so we are having a wood burning stove fitted tomorrow. Then we have to replace all the carpets and the kitchen and paint the walls before we can move in.

Source

We have already started painting two of the rooms and my inlaws already disaprove of our colour choices. Guess what boring people? I DON'T CARE IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. WE LIVE HERE NOW!! Hahaha.

Yep, our living room is now pink. Ish. 

This is us and we are expressing ourselves and making our own mark on the house. We won't be living there for longer than two years, but we want to love living there whilst we do. I'll post updates and photos as we go along so keep your eyes peeled!

Small changes and some eco product reviews

I'm really trying hard at the moment to make some positive changes in mine and my family's lives that will hopefully have less of an impact on the environment. Environmental issues of all kinds are really very important to me, as they should be to everyone, and I don't think that one really takes much explaining. But as a young family some factors of our lifestyle will particularly affect the environment and those are what I'm concentrating on right now.

Here are my biggest concerns:

1. Disposable Nappies/diapers. The conventional sort are full of chemicals and take a very long time to break down in landfill. If one child can use an average of 8000 disposable nappies before they are potty trained, when four out of five mums that I know use them, that is A LOT of waste. Various sources claim they can take anywhere from 50 to 500 years to break down, depending on their make-up and the particular landfill site.

2. Our heavy usage of plastic. I have to say this one really gets me down. Sometimes I feel like we are drowning in this unsustainable, non degradable material. I know most plastics these days are recyclable but in my opinion it just isn't enough. When you have children you are suddenly surrounded by it, dummies, bottles, toys, toothbrushes, cups, spoons, bowls. Argh!

3. Toiletries cosmetics and cleaning products. Not to mention most packaging is plastic, a lot is animal-tested or paraffin based (you know oils, moisturisers and the like) or just plain artificial.

Now I'll tell you about some of the ways I'm trying to change our habits for good.

First up- nappies. Our living situation means that there is usually a queue for the washing machine, so whilst I desperately wanted to use cloth nappies it just won't be possible until we have moved house. So instead, I use eco disposables. They can be expensive compared to the dirt cheap deals you get on conventional disposables but the environmental difference is huge. They are all natural ingredients  (this also goes for the wipes and nappy sacks) they are completely bio-degradable and compostable. They take such a short time to break down that when I empty the outside nappy bin once a week the ones at the bottom have dissolved their nappy sacks and are falling apart already. It's great.

Plastics: obviously this one is particularly difficult. When you have a child, people buy them things. You can't just tell them no, or that they can only buy nice traditional wooden toys. You can gently encourage books and wooden toys of  sorts, but you can't keep them away from plastic toys completely, plus it kind of just feels cruel. But as parents we only buy one special gift for our daughter for birthdays and christmas, for example a baby trike for her birthday. Reegan just doesn't need that many toys, she has a lot of them and half of them she isn't even that interested in. Sometimes I give her a big mixing bowl and a spoon or a whisk and she will play happily for ages, the same with some wooden blocks or a cardboard box.
But things that I can control, I do try to make good choices. I have recently switched us onto wooden toothbrushes because I couldn't bear the thought of between six and ten of them (if you follow guidlines to replace every 3-6 months) going in the bin every year, just from the three of us.

So this is the eco bamboo toothbrush, which I found for a reasonable price on amazon. I bought myself a child's brush because  I have receeding gums, so I need soft bristles. Aside from the length of the handle I don't feel that the size has really been adapted for a childs mouth because the head is quite big. The bristles are nice and it's grippy to hold but the dry smooth wood against my mouth can sometimes make me gag, so if you have problems with gag reflex (hah) normally then do not go for the adult size (hah).

I also have a bamboo hair brush, which is barrel shaped for fringe styling. It's fine for purpose but you couldn't brush your hair with it normally because the bristles are extremely spiky and uncomfortable. I won't replace my normal (plastic) hair brush unless I absolutely have too, and then I'll switch to a bamboo one.

Finally cosmetics. You have probably heard me talk before about switching to cruelty free and small makeup brands, which is going well and I am also discovering some quite nice brushes (Eco Tools and So Eco). Eco Tools do a wonderful set of brushes for the eyes, and So Eco have a 'finishing brush' supposedly for blush and powder that is perfect for stippling on my foundation. It's feels all lovely and posh (get my fancy adjectives!) and the bristles are very soft. I used to use the Real Techniques stippling brush but the So Eco one is a lot bigger and softer so I am officially converted.

Real Techniques on the left, So Eco on the right

I have also been using a 'natural' deodorant for my underarms, after years of switching between Nivea and Sure roll ons because of my sensitive skin, plus after a little while I would seemingly become immune and smelly and so have to switch brands again. But this new stuff is great. It comes in a tin and you rub it in with your fingers like a balm, it's lavender scented and thick with little grains that feel exfoliating.

Putting it on in the mornings is a little ritual I quite enjoy and it feels nice on my sensitive armpits even after shaving. And it really works! It was about four pounds I think, and supposedly lasts six months, when I used to use one in under 2 months at £2.50 a pop! I got it from a website called Boobalou in case anyone is interested.

I'm still using E45 liquis paraffin cream on my face and body because it's the only consistent solution to my dry and sensitive eczeme prone skin. I use it as a facial  moisturiser morning and night and before makeup. If anyone can suggest an alternative I'd be grateful!

One year of little bean

On Saturday my daughter Reegan turned one, my little baby bean, no longer a little baby. I still don't know where the time has gone, I am in awe of the transformation she has gone through in just twelve short months. She is now a functioning human being, a real tiny human! I mean she has been all along, but she is nowhere near as dependent on me as she once was. She can just about walk now, she says lots of words (her first was "dog", how could it not be!) she can use a fork without too much difficulty and she loves books.

I'm very proud of her, especially over the books part, when she brings books to me and asks me to read them too her it makes my heart swell, and I hope when she is older she will still love books as much as I do. I practically worship them, so I will be teaching her always to respect and take care of them.

I've also found myself going through a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the weekend, revisiting all the memories of that night one year ago, both the highs and the lows. I have nothing but positive and fond memories of my labour and her birth, but the following day in the hospital I didn't have such a good time at all. After five days cooped up in hospital I wanted more than anything to go home to my own bed and sleep. That night I cried and cried until they let me go home at 10pm, where Rob and I spent most of the night trying to get Reegan to breastfeed from me, with more tears and lots of anxiety over everything. I don't think anyone in our house slept that night. Rob's brother wanted to go and stay in a hotel. I wish I could go back to that night, and hug my former self, tell myself everything would be ok, because I am strong, we would persevere because I am stubborn, I would face my parenting battles and I would win.

In this one year, everything has changed, and yet it feels as if this is how it always was. I feel very lucky to have a daughter like Reegan, being her mama has taught me so much about myself and about life. I have grown. I know now what I want out of life and being a mother has given me the drive to go out and get it.

Weating her Ladybug hat crocheted by an old friend of mine.

I FOUND THE HAT!

I think I may have tempted fate by saying British weather was on the turn towards Autumn now, because we seem to be having another last little blast of sunshine this week. For once I'm hoping it holds out just one more week because we are having a barbecue for little R's birthday on Saturday and it would be nice to have the pool out for the little ones like we did this afternoon. But the main part I'm ok with the hot weather still is because I actually found a decent sun hat that I LOVE and don't feel silly in.

Today we went to look at prospective wedding venues (although we only looked at one because we fell in love with it and now it's settled!) and had a snacky lunch in the car, so I wore smartish casual with an emphasis on staying cool.

So as you can see, its a large floppy black hat, 100% cotton, with a little wreath of roses around it. You would think that a hat so seemingly simple would not be hard to find. But no, I have been searching for a hat such as this for a couple of years now with no luck. Yet one day I stroll into Primark with no intention of buying anything, and find this beauty. There was no way I was leaving without it. The only thing is that it is quite thick, and it takes only the slightest bit of wind to pick up for it to be blown away, so I think I may attach some crocodile clips inside to keep it in place. Woohoo! Finally a sunhat that is in keeping with my style and that I feel comfortable in!

Outfit rundown:

• Hat - Primark
• Strappy vest - H&M
• Velvet mini skirt - H&M
• High waisted lace bustle overskirt - Necessary Evil
• Shoes - Ironfist
• Bag - LoungeFly 
• Sunnies - Primark

What kind of sunhat do you like best? 

Tiny Tophat Fascinator Tutorial

As promised, I am posting a how-to for the fascinator I wore to the Mad Hatter's teaparty last week. With a just two rigid elements already at my fingertips, some cardboard and a whole tube of superglue, here's how I did it:

What you will need:

• Scissors
• Superglue
• Paper or fabric glue
• Double sided tape
• Small glue dots
• Some fabric
• Cardboard
• A small plastic pot (shape of your choice, I used the container from my Method laundry liquid because of it's large bottom and small top).
• An Alice band
• A black felt pen
• A small selection of adornments (I used feathers, ribbon, a pocket watch charm and some brown card with 10/6 written on it)
• Possibly a needle and thread if you are stretched for time

So firstly I removed the label from my detergent bottle, marked the desired length, and used a serrated knife to cut the bottom off (the bottom is the part we need). Make sure you cut off slightly more than you think you want, just in case. 

Next, I made two circles from cardboard, one slightly smaller- to glue to the top- and one slightly larger for the bottom, which will be the brim of the hat. After this step, it is time to cover all of your parts in your chosen fabric, which is where you may need to do some experimenting. Don't just go straight on in there with your glue, because (as I learned, thankfully on a practice piece) your glue may just soak straight through your fabric and leave an unsightly sticky splodge when dry. So for the plastic part I wrapped it completely in double sided tape, with each piece on a slight diagonal slant, making sure to overlap so that the fabric adhered to the plastic the whole way around. 

I then folded the excess tape over the top and bottom edges before peeling off the non-sticky coating and rolling it carefully across the fabric to stick it down evenly.

So here you can see all three of the hat-parts are now covered in fabric, and if you look closely you can see a white splodge in the middle of the larger disc, but this is fine because that side will be adhered to the bottom of the hat. Be sure to cover both sides of the larger disc in fabric because the underside may show.

The next part was somewhat tricky, and to glue the top disc to the hat I used copydex in the middle, and then went around the whole edge squeezing superglue into the gap and holding it down until it was dry, I did this about an inch at a time and had to squash thr whole thing down firmly throughout whilst trying not to get superglue on my skin. But the results were good because it pretty much closed the gap and made it look neatly finished. To attatch the bottom disc, I used some tape running from the inside of the hat body and folded it down at the bottom to secure it to the disc whilst I used the same superglue-the-gap-and-press method as before.

Once all of the glue was dry and sturdy, I decided to decorate straight away as I only had a few hours to go until the party and had to get it done. So I used glue dots at either end of my red ribbon to secure it around the bottom of the hat, and made sure to line up the join of the ribbon with the join of the fabric so that my embellishments would disguise them. I used another glue dot for the feather, another for the pocket watch on top and went in with some more superglue just to make sure. 

Luckily I already had an alice band covered with black satin, or I would have had to make one to match myself, and used another small disc of fabric covered card to stick the hat to the band, but this time it was oval shaped to ensure maximum surface area for gluing. After gluing the disc to the alice band, I used a needle and thread to stitch it on for further stability and finally glued it onto the hat (with yet more superglue). 

Tada! This is the only closeup I could get of me wearing it so sorry it's so blurry. Anybody else tried making hats before? How did you find it?

Mad hatter's tea party and a DIY hat

Saturday night a few friends of mine put on a 'Mad Hatter's Teaparty' at a local bar in honour of Alice in Wonderland's 150th birthday. They had been planning it quite a while, with fancy dress, teapot cocktails and a teapot decorating competition, it was -excuse the pun- JUST  my cup of tea. Down to the very blend and spoons of sugar. Just perfect. So as you can probably tell, I was very excited and had planned my outfit and hat weeks ago.

Yum yum and yum, cakes made and decorated by the lovely hosts. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take any proper outfit photos, but honestly although perhaps I looked "in costume" I was wearing my normal clothes... (Spin Doctor skirt with chinese style silky blouse from a charity shop, on top of a corset from ebay.)

This was the skirt I was wearing.

Please excuse my rediculously excited expression. As you can see, I also wore a teeny top hat fascinator (made by me, DIY post coming soon) a key and pocket watch on a necklace, and drank my g&t from a Hello Kitty teacup. There was an agreement from the manager of the bar that party goers could bring their own teapots to drink from, and would charge accordingly as to how much liquid each could hold. I also had a teapot full of cocktail for £8, which was delicious and very reasonable.

 

As you can see there were some wonderful and dedicated costumes, I always have time for good fancy dress, so I rather felt as if I was cheating by wearing my normal clothes! 

Did anybody else celebrate the birthday of Alice In Wonderland??