Hair Today, Dye Tomorrow

I admit it...I'm addicted to dying my hair.

From the time I was 16, I've had red highlights, purple highlights, and all various shades of brown hair and highlights (sometimes stepping dangerously close to blond or brassy orange-brown). I'm fortunate that I have genetically nice hair butI also have very thick hair, lots of it and long, and naturally jet black hair...so changing my color every other season has its challenges.

Anyway, these days I'm not so fixated on my hair color and opt for a more natural look, close to my natural shade so the maintenance won't be high (yuck to black roots with hair 4+ shades lighter). I also want my hair to stay healthy, regardless of the many changes I put it through, and I don't want the hassle of going to a salon (color charge, tip, fitting your schedule into your hair stylist's, waiting, traffic, etc.) so I turned to box dye...and look what I found.

Moisture Mania

Based on a friend's rave review, I went to Walgreens to buy the Merlot™ Grape Seed Moisturizer and Moonlight Radiance Night Cream. Yay for antioxidants and very affordable prices ($14.99 for the moisturizer, $20 for the night cream, both are 4 oz jars).

Crunch Time Vs. The Holidays

I've been thinking about it all year and now I'm finally applying for grad schools. Applying for an MFA program is different because the most important thing I'll be submitting, aside from transcripts and letters of recommendation, is my writing portfolio. My 20 or so pages of fiction have to showcase that I have great potential as a writer, and basically knock out hundreds of other writing submissions...but hey, no pressure.

The best thing that eases my mind is knowing my friend Jamie will also be applying, so we're doing it together and able to motivate each other and share information and perspectives. That's the way it's been for 10 years with us (we met in my first creative writing class in high school and both graduated from college as Creative Writing majors together) and I'm so thankful to have her. I love you, J!