At Least My Buns Look Good: How to Master the "Perfect" Top Knot / Bun

About 6 weeks ago I was standing in line at Urban Outfitters and a rolled-up piece of sponge caught my attention. It was a bun maker - nothing I hadn't seen before. But this one was light colored intended for use with blonde hair. For $6 I added it to my pile to try out at home. 

And then I forgot about it. 

And then I cut bangs. 

One afternoon I spent a 2 hours playing with my "new" hairstyle. Seeing if I liked it curly, straight, up or down, braided or.. in a bun. After watching a few video tutorials on YouTube, I mastered just how easy it is to do a "sock bun" or "top knot." Since then, it's been my go-to style. 

It's simple and easy and looks nice for work or running around in Lulu's. Its perfect when you need to wash your hair, or if you are headed to the gym. But since I'm always getting asked about it, I thought I would show you how I've been doing it. 

What you need: A bun maker, 2 elastics, a few bobby pins.

Steps 1-3 - Put your hair in a pony tail, then pull the pony through the middle of the bun maker

Steps 4-5 - Fan your hair out over the bun maker, smoothing it down and covering the bun maker. 

Step 6 -    Slip the 2nd elastic band over the bun, securing the hair down over the bun maker. 

Steps 7-8 -  Take your ends that are sticking out and slowing start rolling them together around the base of the bun. As you go around the base of the bun, keep grabbing all those ends and adding them to the roll. When you get to the end, tuck the under the elastic under the bun. Now secure with a bobby pin. Then use the additional bobby pins to secure the bun to the head in a few different areas. If you have long / thick hair, now is where you can pull pieces out to make it look messy. If you have thin hair (like mine) just make sure you bun maker is covered! 

Step 9 - Give it a little spray and VOILA. You are now #BUNTASTIC

So this totally happened: Lauren Conrad "liked" my outfit.

One of the regular columns over at Savvy Sassy Moms is "What I Wore Wednesday." This weekly post showcases us real life, savvy and stylish moms and what we are wearing on a weekly basis. For this week's column I sent in a picture of me in my new Free People sweater and a pair of boyfriend jeans. I thought the look was a good "run around" look and I'm currently loving my new, cozy sweater. 

Chief SSM Andrea went about pinning some of the looks from the post, and I re-pinned my picture from that post. A few hours later I was procrastinating browsing Pinterest for some ideas for what to cook for dinner (ahem) and noticed that LAUREN CONRAD not only LIKED my pin of my outfit but COMMENTED "Love it!" 

Lauren Conrad - one of THE stylish girls out there - Liked. My. Outfit. 

While at first I thought it was fake, it does look to be legit.

And while I'm almost positive it was her social media girl doing the pinning ... I WILL TAKE IT. 

How BAD Reality Television Changes your preception on everything - or - I thought I was having a baby on the toilet.

The other night we went to see Zero Dark Thirty and I ate way too much yummy buttery popcorn. I also had a bit of a headache, but thought it was because my top-knot bun was a little too tight… After staying up until almost 1 AM watching the Season 3 Premier of Downton Abbey (BTW: I say that's THE wedding dress of 2013…) I headed to bed where I continued lay there for god knows how long. 

I my stomach hurt. I couldn't sleep. I was hot. I was cold. Then a certain 5-YO shows up and huddles into bed between Jason and I. I lay there just feeling horrible as I dozed in and out of a light, obnoxious sleep. 

I jerked awake at around 3 AM with a shooting pain in my abdomen. Tripping over the dog as I stumble in the darkness towards the "water closet," I noticed that my flannel PJ bottoms felt almost damp. I don't bother to turn on the lights as I sit there, doubled over in pain. Then it hits me.

OH MY GOD AM I GOING TO HAVE A BABY IN THE TOILET?

I've never watched the show "I didn't know I was pregnant" before, but I've seen the clips of the staged re-enactments on The Soup. It's always the same thing; The woman sitting on the toilet, thinking she just had a stomach ache and BAM! She craps a baby into the toilet.

Those of us who have actually HAD babies recoil in shock. I knew I was pregnant both times before even getting a positive pregnancy test! How does one not KNOW?!

But in the dark, alone at 3 am your mind does crazy things…

Beth: "There is no way you are pregnant. You just had your period."

Beth: "That doesn't mean anything! All those other woman still got their periods! And your's was EARLY last month!"

Beth: "But Jason's been fixed…"

Beth: "That's NOT 100%!"

Beth: "I have been complaining about my bloated stomach for a few months.."

Beth: "SEE?! OH MY GOD, AM I HAVING A BABY IN THE TOILET?!"

Beth: "Oh how embarrassing would this be? I don't want to be THAT GIRL."

Beth: "I can't have another baby… I don't have anything for it.."

Beth: "You are not having a baby…"

Beth: "I never went into labor before.. I don't know! My pants were damp.. did my water break?! What the hell??"

This went on for about 10 minutes. I went on to chastise myself for drinking wine and taking prescription medications. I thought of what my Facebook status would entail to tell the world that I unexpectedly had a baby. I even relieved myself of the guilt I had been harboring due to the Christmas Cookie binge I was on in December. 

Fried and now anxiety ridden, I got back into bed and finally fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up the next morning I was happy to find myself in bed with just a low-grade fever and not an unplanned infant. 

HipMamaB Lit: 3 Books for {January} 2013

The best part of the past few weeks is that I actually had more time to read. A few train rides, self imposed “Pajama Days” and down-time while the kids played with their new toys gave me some much needed lay-around-and-read time.

And yet I was still up to 2 am reading a few nights…

Here are my picks for the 3 books you should should read in January 2013:

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

One of the other authors I follow on Facebook sent out a plea last week to help her friend reach number #1 on the Amazon sales list. I like this author, and the book was only $4 so I downloaded the book without much thought. While I had hoped it would be a good read, I was shocked by JUST HOW GOOD it was.

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies...

That's what Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she's never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he's nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn't at all who he's been claiming to be. When the secrets he's been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky's life will change forever.

I read this book in 24-hours.  I honestly almost cancelled a babysitter and a date night out to finish this book. While the characters are teenagers, this is NOT a book for teens.  It’s a bit of a romance, but more of a mystery.  I enjoyed the characters and felt their emotions – highs and lows. I also think this book would make a fabulous movie.

Summerset Abbey – TJ Brown

If you are fan of Downton Abbey, you will enjoy this book. It’s set in 1913 England, and while the storyline is different than Downton, it’s the same subjects… the high-bred daughters and the servants, their worlds and coming to terms with their place in society.

1913: In a sprawling manor on the outskirts of London, three young women seek to fulfill their destinies and desires amidst the unspoken rules of society and the distant rumblings of war. . . .

So here is something that I’m embarrassed to admit – I only recently watched Downton Abbey. I KNOW. I KNOW. Why it took me this long I don’t know… but I will also say that I’ve had a glorious time watching both seasons back-to-back.  Reading this book before watching Downton Abbey I had a hard time visualizing some of the things that I didn’t know about – such as the bells that were rung to get the maids to come up and even some of the fashion and styles that are mentioned in the book. After watching DA, I realize what another great view of this lifestyle in the early 1900’s this book is... and I can't wait for book 2, due out in March!

A Passion for Him – Sylvia Day

Since Sylvia Day’s Bared to You was such a huge success, it appears that her publisher is jumping at republishing all of her older titles. This one is another piece of historical fiction, also set in England, also about a young lady trying to marry in her same social spectrum.

Stranger

He wears a mask…and he is following her. Staring at her like no other man since Colin. But Colin is dead and Amelia believes she will never again shiver with pleasure, never again sigh his name.

Lover
Until her masked pursuer lures her into a moonlit garden and a single, reckless kiss. Now she is obsessed with discovering his identity. Perfectly attuned to his every desire, his every thought, she will not stop until she knows his every secret.

Just like her other novels, this one is a good, quick steamy read with lovers that shouldn’t be together but can’t be apart and multi-orgasmic virgins. All the things one would EXPECT in a good, sexy, romance novel. 

Those are my picks for the month - what books are you reading? 

2013: Hopes, Dreams and Goals for the New Year

Looking Back:

2012 was interesting. Not the best of years, not the worst of years. I had great months, I had horrible months. 2012 was just there. 

Looking Forward:

Marking the start of a new year is always a good time to set ideas, goals and thoughts down. As we all know, resolutions are made to be broken - so why bother? Of course I want to lose weight and be healthy and make more money... but I want so much more out of these next 12 months. And while yes I would love to accomplish these things from inside a pair of size 6 skinny jeans, I also don't want to deem the year a failure if come next December I'm the same size. 

I've been trying to organize my thoughts on things I would like for 2013... some are materialistic, some are emotional, some are physical

HOPES:

I hope that by 2013 I've regained my confidence. Somewhere along the last few years I've lost the ability to be happy and proud of myself - I want to get that back. Not just the ability to say "I rock." But the ability to feel it. To look in the mirror without criticism and smile without worrying that there is something in my teeth. 

DREAMS:

I want to go to Italy and Malta. I put this under "dreams" because we have yet to take a BIG international trip with the kids and we've been saying this for YEARS now. But our good friends are over there and we want to see them and I think that by 6 and 9 the kids may be more ready for traveling to, an appreciating, Europe. 

GOALS:

These are the basics. Things I WILL achieve for my sanity:

• Re-do our home office to make it a comfortable, creative space for both Jason and I to work in tandem or alone.
• Organize my "craft closet." Seems simple, but this one is daunting to me... 
• Get more spa treatments (because I deserve it).
• Lose 20 lbs.
• Become Rich and Famous so I can hire someone else to do this all while I travel to Malta on a private jet. HAHA. 

What about you? What do you want to achieve in 2013?