The Look of Love

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. These are worth $1,000....actually, quite a bit more than that. I don't have the final count (YET), but I can tell you, an impressive amount of money was raised to help fight Ovarian cancer at the Cruisin' for a Cure with Crazy Hair event last Saturday. These kind, creative souls (pictured above) are part of the reason why. Don't they look fabulous? I sure think so!

Katy Perry is on the cover of InStyle this month wearing lovely pale pink locks. She's a pretty girl, of course, and she's got enough sass and presence to pull the look off. As colored coifs go, though, she's got nothing on the ladies above. Yes, they have big, bold hair, but they've got bigger, bolder hearts. In my book, anyway, there's nothing more beautiful!

Cruisin' for a Cure...with Crazy Hair!

Just found out about a fundraiser Hot Heads is organizing. I’m planning to participate and I’d love it if you’d join me. It’s called Cruisin’ for a Cure with Crazy Hair and it will be taking place at the Seminole Towne Center on Saturday, September 17th at 11 am. It’s a one mile walk that will both start and end at Hot Heads. The cost is $10 and all of the proceeds will go to The Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Florida.

There’s so much to like about this event I don’t quite know where to start. For one thing, it’s a Saturday am charity walk that won’t result in my inflicting harm on my alarm clock. There will be no 5:30 am phone call from my friend, Cindy, telling me to stop hitting the snooze button and get out of bed. Nobody will have to bang on my door to inform me that all the girls are in the car waiting and I’d better get a move on. We won’t have to drive to the event with our brights on so as not to run over possums or armadillos. We can have coffee BEFORE the walk and we’ll be all bright and eyed and bushy tailed by the time the event begins.

Also, when I do roll out of bed, after my restful Friday night’s sleep, all I’ll have to do is throw on sweats, tennis shoes and a t-shirt. Because crazy hair is not only allowed, but encouraged, showing up with “bed head” would be a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

Not only that, If I do show up for the walk with crazy hair, I’ll be in exactly the right place to remedy the situation if I need to freshen up my look before I venture off on the rest of the day’s adventures. That’s because the walk starts and ends at the salon. Can you imagine? Even world class athletes don’t have their hair stylists waiting at the end of their events poised and ready to make them look beautiful. (OK, you might want to make an appointment if you’re planning to get your hair styled after the walk, but it could be done and how great is that?)

The venue for Cruisin' for a Cure...with Crazy Hair is the Seminole Towne Center…the home of great fall fashion, stylin’ shoes and a pretty fabulous salon! Because of this, if you’re not quite done walking when you get to the finish line, you can spend the rest of the morning strolling through all the stores.

The registration fee is affordable. It’s only $10. No matter how tight your finances are, you can probably scrounge up $10 for a good cause.

This is exercise disguised as fun. You know those cookbooks that encourage Moms to sneak pureed vegetables into their recipes and onto their unsuspecting children’s plates? Well this is kind of like that. This will be a fun activity, but make no mistake, you’ll be getting a nice little workout.

The first 50 people to register will receive a goody bag valued at $100. Let me repeat that… the first 50 people to register will receive a goody bag valued at $100.
Prizes will be given to the team with the craziest hair, to the individual with the craziest hair and to the individual who has raised the most money. I do a lot of these charity walks/runs and I never win a darn thing. The reason for this is that you generally have to do something ridiculous like run faster than every other person in your age bracket to get any kind of recognition at one of these events. At this one, however, all you have to do is round up a bunch of friends, be creative and/or have really crazy hair and you’ve got a really good chance of taking home a prize. Now those are things I can do.

It’s for a wonderful cause. Sadly, I have personally lost two women I loved to Ovarian Cancer, so this cause is one that means a lot to me. I will be walking this event in memory of Lucretia McMinn (my Grandmother) and Evelyn McKnight (my Stepmother).

Anyway, sure hope you’ll consider joining me. This is a win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win :) event and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun!

For additional information, please call Joanne Brake at 407-221-3092.

Time to Channel Your Inner (Coco) Chanel

Just found out we were voted one of the worst dressed cities in America. We're #26. Here is the write up:

26. Orlando, FL It's hard for a city to have a solid fashion identity when most of its population is just there for the weekend, living out of a suitcase in a discount resort hotel. But the fact is, something is sartorially awry both inside and outside the hallowed gates of Disney World. There's a saying about this part of Florida—that it's closer to Georgia than it is to Miami—and boy, is it ever obvious in Orlando. This is NASCAR country, really, less than an hour's drive from the track at Daytona, and you'd look right at home in a "Dukes of Hazzard" T-shirt (sans sleeves) and a rat tail. It's a wonder, really, because they sell new T-shirts and hats at every local neighborhood Disney gift store.—Mark Byrne

I'm not sure who this Mark character is, but I can attest to the fact that I have never, in my three plus decades of living in Central Florida, gone out in public in a Dukes of Hazzard t-shirt and a rat tail. I don't have any friends who have done such a thing either. In fact, at the risk of offending some of my dear friends in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I can tell you that I saw that type of attire much more frequently when I lived there.

I'm not going to be offended though. Instead, I'm going to start a campaign to change our image. :) Effective today, I think we should all take a pledge to ask ourselves the following question each morning before we venture out into the world: WWJOW? (What would Jackie O wear... if she were still alive and still in her 30s or 40s ....and living in Central Florida in the midst of crazy high July heat ... and not able to access Jack's or Ari's money?) This morning, I think Jackie O would be wearing a lovely, nicely pressed, peach sherbet - colored cotton button down with three quarter sleeves set off by a tasteful gold necklace and earrings, an understated two tone silver and gold watch, a single ring, a charm bracelet, a pair of white slacks and a pair of white t-strap leather sandals with the cutest little retangular - gold accent on the "t". I'm also betting she'd have her hair back in a tortoise shell barrette. She'd be wearing a pair of her iconic shades and she'd be carrying a smart looking peach straw bag with wooden handles. What do you think she'd be wearing today and what will you be doing today to keep us off next year's list?

If you need some guidance or a new piece or two for your summer wardrobe, might I suggest a trip to The Seminole Towne Center? Might I also suggest that you also swing by Hot Heads while you're there?

I'd like to see our fair city recognized for a number of things. I don't think we need to be on this list though. If we all pull together, tap into our civic pride and channel our inner Chanel (as in Coco), I think we can redeem ourselves. I know I'll be doing my part. Have a lovely Nascar t-shirt free day... and stay cool! All my best! The HHG

Got It Made With This Shade

Thought that's been going through my mind since I left Hot Heads yesterday afternoon: I can't even imagine the trouble I would've gotten into in in my 20s if my hair had been this shade. YIKES! It's scary to even think about. I'll write more later! Gotta go soak up the last few hours of a lovely summer day. Have a great week! Hope to see you at Hot Heads soon! :) 407-671-0480.

Hair!

Gimme head with hair
Long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer
Here baby, there mama
Everywhere daddy daddy

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair

Going to Hair this week! Can't wait!!! :)

Tan in a Tube... or Two

Don't think I've ever just posted a link to someone else's blog post before. This one just seemed too good ... and too timely... not to share. :)

http://thecreativityexchange.blogspot.com/2011/05/recipe-for-best-self-tanning-lotion.html

Since I've been offering advice about cute beach clothing and hair lately, I feel compelled to pass along this little tip. (Can't have you going to the beach in your sweet little tunic dress and your sun kissed locks looking like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Woman.) Anyway, check this out... I plan to and I'll report back. Four days 'til the weekend! :)

Ahhh... Summer Clothes

Hello beautiful thing,
maybe you could save my life
In just a glance,
down here on magic street
Loves a fool's dance
And I ain't got much sense,
but I still got my feet

The girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes,
pass me by

The girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes,
pass me by - Bruce Springsteen

Apparently Bruce isn't the only one who ain't got much sense when he sees girls in their summer clothes. Let almost any man catch a glimse of a happy, care-free gal in a fun, batik-y print and watch the results....

Today I discovered some particularly fetching - and affordable - summer clothing and I felt the need to pass the information along. Five words.... Calypso St Barth's for Target. Calypso is a island nymph best known for captivating and waylaying Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. I'm guessing that as an island nypth/temptress, Calypso wasn't always wearing a lot of clothing. I'm also guessing that her island didn't have a Target. No matter....I still find the line aptly named. (If a goddess-type was looking for the perfect outfit to wear to a beachside candlelight dinner with her dashing, distractable royal beau, I feel certain a number of these adorable outfits would fit the bill.)

There are times when it makes sense to save up and purchase a really well - constructed dress or pair of pants and there are times when it makes sense to swing by Target.

I mentioned a while back that I'm enjoying my beach hair. I can't think of anything better to pair that beach hair with than the lovely aqua, belted, fan print tunic dress featured on the front page of the Sea Collection link. Isn't it just the cutest thing? It doesn't really look substantial enough to be worn as a "real" dress, but I think it would make a great beach coverup. I already know which sandals I'd wear with it too.

Anyway, just wanted to pass this along. If you're looking for affordable duds to take with you to the beach this summer, you might want to check this out. Sadly, most of us don't live on a remote island and we aren't cavorting with any handsome traveling Kings. The upside of that is that most of us do live near and can afford to shop at Target.

Step 1 to looking and feeling fab this summer: Stop by Hot Heads Step 2: Stop by Target (There's one right down the street from Hot Heads.) Step #3: Get on I-4 going either direction and drive until you hit a beach. Five more days to the weekend! :) Have a great week!