It’s taken me a while to figure out how to master a ponytail with volume and I have finally found something that seems to work!! With just a few easy steps, here’s how you can get a perky pony too.
What you’ll need:
-hair band
-a small plastic stretchy band (you can find these at Wal Mart or Sally’s)
-a few bobby pins
-a hair clip
-teaser
I usually use this ponytail strategy on the days where I haven’t washed my hair and need an easy up-do. Brush your hair out and get out any tangles.
Separate the top portion of your hair and secure with a clip. Gather the bottom portion of your hair and secure with a ponytail holder.
Take the clip out and tease the crown of your hair. Fluff it on up, y’all. Gather all of the hair that’s down and pull it back with the ponytail you’ve already secured.
Gather all of the hair together around the ponytail. Take the small plastic hair band and secure all of the hair together. Don’t wrap more than twice or the little sucker will probably pop and I’m warning you now — it hurts.
Feel free to tease some of the ponytail to fluff it up.
Grab a piece of hair from the ponytail and wrap it around the hair band, securing with a bobby pin.
Ta da! Easy breezy — a ponytail with a little more attitude, or as I like to say, kattitude. Thanks for reading! XO
Thoughtful friends who sent flowers that were waiting to greet me in my bedroom when I came home for the weekend. I had to bring them home with me so I could continue to enjoy them!
This past weekend C and I traveled to my hometown to celebrate our engagement with family and childhood friends and I was so thrilled and proud to show off and introduce Christian to longtime friends as the groom-to-be.
In special moments like these I am so humbled and thankful to see so many wonderfully familiar faces walk through the door of a neighbor’s beautiful home to share hugs and warm wishes with my family (and future family!). I cannot say enough how blessed, appreciative and thankful I am for so many amazing friends during this year in my life. It has been a sentimental and at times challenging year but I don’t know how I would get through any of it without so many loyal and loving people by my side.
Words can’t express how appreciative I am. And a BIG thank you to my sister and matron of honor, Sarah Thorne, for snapping these photos so I can always remember the lovely evening.
As I mentioned on a guest post for Always A Blogsmaid, I love pilates. I have taken several mat pilates classes in several cities and I love popping in this dvd for a quick workout at home as well. I always feel productive sweating it out with intense cardio (treadmill, elliptical, walks/jogs outside), but pilates is like getting a massage. I leave the class feeling stronger yet relaxed and peaceful, while being sore the next day as if I ran three miles.
I’d been dying to try reformer pilates and finally scheduled a class last week at The Pilates Studio of Ridgeland. The first visit is only $10 (the second visit increases to $20, but ask about the monthly deals and specials). For those of you who may not be sure what exactly the reformer machine is or how it’s used, here’s a short video example:
If you’re like me, you’re thinking, “I don’t think my body is going to move like that,” but you are WRONG! These machines are incredible and I’m not surprised…..I’m obsessed. The teachers are calming, helpful and encouraging and I quickly realized that I had no reason to be intimidated or nervous. I even asked two of the instructors about exercises I could do at home to target specific areas and they kindly shared and demonstrated several things I could do in my own time.
What’s so amazing to me is that there are unlimited ways to use this machine. Each instructor has different exercises and methods – try taking a regular pilates class and then power pilates. I took these two classes two days apart and I don’t think we did one similar move – it was a completely new class. Having so many different instructors on the schedule helps keep every class fresh and challenging. I took my measurements when I began taking the reformer classes and I’m eager to see how they change once I’ve committed to regular classes.
I love the lengthening and stretching that pilates provides and it feels like therapy for my body. In the Ridgeland studio there are ceiling fans over all of the machines, keeping the temperature cool and providing a breeze which makes these workouts even more enjoyable in this excruciating summer heat. I’m telling you – try a class. I feel confident you’ll be glad you did. PLUS you’ll get to admire the beautiful decor — one mirror and oriental runner for me, please!
Come to the Ridgeland studio and maybe we’ll be in a class together!
I’ve been researching how I can master the perfect hair bun or “top knot” and I’ve seen several instructional videos that are pretty good, but I still can’t seem to get the height that I’m looking for.
Enter the delightfully named hair donut!! This mesh ring goes around your ponytail and then you cover your hair around it — giving you the large hair bun of your stylish dreams. This little thing is seriously turning bad hair days around. I watched some tutorials and read several reviews and realized that military gals have been using these since the 80s — even though I’m just finding out about it now!
Personally, I think the messier it looks, the better — so no worries if you don’t get it perfected in your first couple of tries.
I like a messy bun–for lots of reasons. One, because it’s way easier–two, because it’s fun and goes with the flow if you have some small pieces pulled down or fly-aways that come up during the day.
And that’s all there is to it! You don’t have to have long hair to rock the top knot. As long as you can fit your hair in a high ponytail, you can pull this off. If you like this look — I DEMAND you buy this hair donut from your local Sally Beauty. It comes in blonde, black and brown — so there is something for all yous (RHONJ shoutout).
On March 5, 2012 (one day after her Uncle Christian’s birthday!), the sweetest little girl was brought into my family’s life. I had no idea how much she would change my life or affect the lives of so many.
At 6 lbs, 5 oz., 19 inches long and a whole-lotta-Aunt Kat’s-sass, Edith “Edie” Pierce Williams was born!! Welcoming my second niece was so special and sentimental and our suspicion that Edie is a lil’ diva only makes Aunt Kat love her more. She is less fussy in a cute outfit from her extensive wardrobe and likes her legs massaged…not to mention she has people wanting to hold her 24/7.
It has taken me a while to write this post because first and foremost I’ve wanted to respect my brother and sister-in-law’s privacy. In addition, I haven’t been able to muster up the courage to write anything. However, as a Christian and believer, I know that every prayer counts and prayer is powerful. This is why, with Patrick & Anna’s permission, I’ve chosen to share this with all of you.
On the Monday afternoon of Edie’s birth, my family received some devastating news. News that has proven to be the hardest journey of all of our lives thus far. On the day of her birth Edie was diagnosed with an extremely rare and fatal chromosomal abnormality. Her life will be short and it is up to God for how long – all we can do is love, pamper (Aunt Kat’s job) and care for her while she is here and support Patrick, Anna and Edie to the best of our ability – and as a Southerner I take that to mean prayer and food (WWPDD what would Paula Dean do) y’all.
I cannot describe the love I have for this child or the admiration and respect I have for her parents…this child has captured the hearts of so many, most of whom have never met Edie.
When I see this incredible photo, taken in the first week of Edie’s life and captured by my brother and Edie’s dad, I will always remember a comment on CaringBridge:“Newborns don’t normally smile with their eyes open. She has already seen the face of God! His beauty radiates through her face- which blesses us all.”
One diva to another–yep, she’s looking at me at only 2 days old…she gets it.
If I may ask something of all of you, my friends and friends of CBL, I ask that you send love, thoughts and prayers to this precious family. Please pray that Edie will learn to swallow and tolerate feeding by mouth. Please pray that as long as Edie is here with us that her life will be comfortable and that we can do everything possible to keep it that way. And please pray that God will continue to give Patrick and Anna strength and positivity and unite them as they handle this situation they have been placed in. As Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, once said, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
To learn more about Edie, you can visit her CaringBridge page here.
“He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:29
“The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Your thoughts and prayers mean so much — so much that you will never know how appreciative we are. XO –
The first time I laid eyes on this headboard I thought, “that headboard looks fit for royalty…I have to have it.” Luckily for me, my current headboard was less than $40 from a thrift store. I knew I needed one but didn’t want to invest in an expensive headboard until I found one that I really loved.
Unfortunately, CHBoo didn’t share my love for this headboard. He thought it looked girly…which is does, but I mean, IT’S GORGEOUS. Since when did men decorate their homes? CHBoo doesn’t live with me (yet), but will be moving in after we get hitched and you know what they say — what’s his is mine and what’s mine is mine.
Maybe it went on sale for 30% off for 48 hours. Maybe I finally caved in and bought it. Maybe I didn’t tell Christian because I feared his response after he specifically told me he would never sleep in a bed with this headboard. Maybe I then told him he didn’t have to because I have a spare bedroom that he could sleep in and decorate as he wished.
MAYBE I tested the waters to see how he would feel whenever I spilled my guts that I bought it anyway:
Oh snap. Now I was really scurred.
Christian is a lot like my sweet and gentle Dad. He is super laid back and low maintenance — requires very little be happy. He also rarely raises his voice or gets angry so when he puts his foot down once or twice a year…you obey.
So I got engaged on Friday. Still hadn’t told him about the headboard. While unattaching the current headboard and moving it myself (along with all the furniture so the delivery men could easily place the new headboard in it’s new home) on Sunday, I knocked over one of my beloved mercury glass lamps and it shattered into 29,473,894 pieces. WWWAAAAHHHH!!!!
I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to spill my guts. Maybe he would feel sorry for me because I was sad and the image of his sweet fiancé hoarding an enormous headboard on her back and knocking things over in the process would make him feel too sorry for me to yell at me….
I got everything set up and sent him a picture:
Not bad! This is a victory in my book!
I gotta say, I don’t regret it. I feel like I am sleeping like a queen every night.
I shared with some of my close friends recently that my dear grandfather, A.G. Abide Jr. or “Grandy” to me, passed away last week at 81.
He was quite a character and someone who has forever impacted my life in many ways that I will never be able to express through words. He was born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi and you’ve got to love a small town…they ran a story about him as a businessman on the front page of the paper the day after he passed.
My favorite quote of the article was from my “Uncle” Alex Malouf, one of my grandfather’s many nephews, “One of the best things A.G. ever did was marry Pat. It was a wonderful marriage for a long, long time,” Malouf said. If any of you have heard me talk/brag about my “Grammy,” a former American Airlines flight attendent in the 1950’s and probably my favorite person in the world, you know that I love this quote because I think she is the most fabulous!
The granddaughters dressed my beautiful grandmother for what would be an emotional day. I was surrounded by more priests in 36 hours than I’ve ever been in the 24 years of my life, as several priests who had at one time lived in Greenwood drove from out of town to see Grammy and offer their condolences. They all had Irish accents. It made me smile!
Seeing how much even the priests love my grandmother amazed me. At one point during the day she got teary and Father Bill leaned into her with a hand on her knee and said, “Pat, you were an amazing wife and you are a wonderful person.” I mean…for THE PRIEST to be telling you that you’re an amazing wife (of 57 years) and person?? Seriously?
I was amazed at how full the church was and how many people, even those in their 80s, drove from all over to come remember Grandy’s memory with us. My grandparents home was completely full of loving friends, family and ridiculously delicious Southern food. It’s amazing how people will come together in times of need. When we returned from the cemetary, there were multiple coolers of drinks in the garage (plenty of Miller Lite, no lie…and this was mid-day on a Thursday! Love the Delta!) and the house was full of people and inviting.
Every table was full of food and women were busy working in the kitchen. When I asked my mother (who is my grandparents only living child but is blessed to have 20+ cousins and loving family members) who all set up and did all of this while we were gone, and at first she wasn’t even sure!! Times like this are such a great reminder of how I want to treat others because when so much love like that is poured out to you, it reminds you that you want to make others feel that loved too.
The day was perfect and I know that my grandfather was happily with his parents, sisters and son looking down on all of his family and friends celebrating his life on earth. I think he’d be pleased.
And Grandy, if you’re reading this up there, know that Patrick and I tried to convince Mom to bury you with a handful of candy in one hand and and a handful of Lifesaver Spearmint mints in the other. She wasn’t as into the idea as we were, but Grammy thought it was funny!
Some of us had changed clothes for the ride home. Grandy’s obituary is still listed on the ClarionLedger.com and you can read it here. Thanks so much for reading – XO –
