Last weekend I was busy.  Busy getting my hair chopped off, that is.  I wanted something different and decided to just take off 8 inches of my hair!  I talked to the hubs about it (because he’s the one who has to look at me every day!) and decided to just go for it.  Once, when we were dating, I colored my hair blonde without telling him — he was a bit shocked.  Since then, I have at least talked to him about when I make a drastic change.  He was down for the haircut — told me to just do what I want, because I have good taste!

For your Thursday morning, I’m sharing before and after pictures, as well as some tips.  Make sure to bring a picture of the hairstyle you want. I knew that I wanted a cut like my haircut back in 2004, so I brought in old pictures.  Also, ask your stylist if the style is something you can replicate at home.  If you are a “do nothing in the morning person,” you don’t want a style that takes a long time to do.

And now, the before:

You can kind of see my hairstylist and good friend Jenna in the mirror.  Thanks to her for taking these two pictures!

As you can see, I had a ton of hair.  Cutting it was a huge step, it has not been this short since I was a Freshman in College, 7 years ago!  If your hair is long, consider donating it to Locks of Love or Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I wanted to do this, but my hair was way too damaged for that (too many years of coloring and perms).  So now I am starting over, and maybe in a few years (my hair grows really fast), I can actually donate it.  I will try not to color it!

And now, the after:

Having short hair is so much better for a So Cal summer!  My next door neighbor chopped her hair off too, it must be a trend right now.  The best part about my new cut is that I can still get it all in a ponytail. That was my one criteria.  The little almost-bangs get in my face all the time, and irritate me. But a headband solves that problem.  I can also curl it like she does. The trick to these curls is a large barrel curling iron and curling it quickly in sections.

In addition to a new ‘do, I have spiced up my wardrobe, inherited from my sister-in-law’s garage sale pile.  She has amazing taste, and I’m so glad I can wear her clothes. It proves that you don’t have to spend a lot to update your style. Having new clothes has challenged me to spice up my wardrobe (a.k.a. not just jeans and a T-shirt at work) and make things match.  The funniest moment this week was when my coworker asked me if my sister-in-law had any clothes left — and I was wearing my own outfit!  Her style has apparently rubbed off. Thanks Caitlin!

Have you changed up your hair or wardrobe for the summer?