mad about moss

I've spent the better part of a year growing my hair out. The emergence of sock buns was my inspiration. All of my girlfriends in Chi-town have long hair and I was mildly envious. Everywhere I looked ballerina buns mesmerized me. My goal: to grow my hair long enough to put a bun on top of my head.

A few weeks ago, perfectly aligned with the Mad Men Season 6 premiere, GQ published a piece on the fabulous Elizabeth Moss. I saw the pictures and my desire to keep growing my hair out all but evaporated.

After a few heartfelt discussions with my best friend, co-worker, and mom, Tuesday night I took the plunge. I chopped off over four inches. Lucky for me the girl I got at the Aveda Institute was fantastic. I couldn't be happier with the results!

A woman's hair is an interesting beast. I've found that the decisions we make about our hair often represent inner emotions and feelings. I love the fact that I'm brave enough to chop off my hair. It makes me feel brave and fierce. And yet, sometimes I think having short hair makes me different in a negative way. I crave the perceived safety and security of long hair.

Hair is funny business. Complete madness at times. Thank you Miss Moss for inspiring me to make a change. Right on que.

P.S. I never tried an actual sock bun but I did make my goal. Leave it to a haircut for me to break my blogging silence. I'm back!

Elizabeth Moss photos via GQ

Going Red

The first time I went red was my last year of college. Inspired by the fabulous Kate Walsh and motivated by the need to change things up after a love life disaster, I took to the bottle. It was fun for awhile and then, come summer, I transitioned into blonde highlights.

By fall I'd moved from Logan to Salt Lake City and started a new job. More change meant another hair style. I went back to my standard, natural brown hue and chopped my should length bob into a pixie cut in an attempt to resemble Carey Mulligan's Vogue cover. Easiest haircut...ever.

When I moved to Chicago a year-and-a-half ago, I decided to grow out my Carey Mulligan cut. Combined with a botched haircut at the Aveda salon (most of the time their $16 grad student budget-friendly cut is fabulous, but this girl didn't know what the heck she was doing) and the glacial pace at which my hair grows, I'm still working on reaching my desired length. I can finally put it up in a high ponytail without bobby pins. Hooray!

Most of the time when I'm hanging out at home, HIMYM is playing in the background. I've lost track of how many times I've re-watched the seasons. Lately, Lily's hair has caught my eye. I especially love the hue and cut she has in seasons five and six. My hair isn't quite her length yet but it's getting there. On Saturday I decided to take the plunge and go red again. And....I love it!

I'm toying with the idea of getting some soft blonde highlights like Lily's for more dimension and depth. But, I don't dare do it myself and I'm not sure I can really afford it. I have several weddings coming up in the next few months so I don't want to botch my hair. We'll see how I feel in a few weeks.

If you're looking for good, DIY hair color I highly recommend Clairol Perfect 10. The shade on me is 5R Medium Auburn.

Lily photo