Update: Engaged!

It started10 years ago in high school.

 A very, very long journey full of everyday dragons and literal pitfalls later...

We're engaged!

My wonderful fiance and I got engaged in January this year!

We got DISNEYLAND tickets for Christmas and after an amazing and fun first day at Disney together, he proposed to me in front of the Walt & Mickey statue, in front of beautiful Sleeping Beauty Castle, right as the fireworks lit up the night sky and the bubble snow started falling around us.

They call it the most magical place on earth, and now I fully understand why.

A proposal is a wonderful thing, but the things that happened in the park that day, that led up to a perfect moment, are nothing short of a miracle.

(Imagine my panic when I found out later he'd been carrying the ring all day in his pocket....while on Splash Mountain...and Space Mountain..)

We'd been talking about it for a few months beforehand, and we went to pick out the ring together but my hands are quite small so I didn't expect it would have been back from resizing, 

in time for the Disney trip!  So even though I knew what was coming eventually, I was quite surprised and happy - timing is key, guys (and girls)!

I've been busy with wedding planning, organizing, figuring out guest lists and decor and tuxedos and dresses, but it's been incredible good fun.  Especially for cake and food tastings.  

Which are so bomb.  

It's also been incredibly stressful and somewhat panic inducing at times, due to budgeting and scheduling and my tendency to worry about things going wrong.  

He's been beside me through everything, like he always is.  He's also always telling me that things have a way of working out, and that everything will be all right - which has been my saving grace more than once, during wedding planning and through our entire time together.

(I do hope he keeps this mindset for the rest of our lives, and reminds me to keep my head up too).

10 years is a long journey, and we both know it.  Neither of us gave up on the other and I'm so grateful that he was determined and I was patient.  Nobody has ever made me feel so at ease, and so precious & cherished as he has, and I want to stand beside him with all my love and support. 

We're getting married in November so it's still a ways away, but we're very much excited and I can't imagine how much more we'll be as the day gets closer!

~

PS.  I would like to thank the three cast members we met.  You started by taking our photo in front of the castle, and out of a spontaneous act of kindness, you ended up setting in motion something that will always be one of the most magical moments of our life together.  

I hope we meet again at the park someday so I can tell you that you made a miracle happen.  

Please never lose that spirit of fun and being young at heart, and keep sharing it with the people you meet so that maybe someone else's life will be touched the way ours has been.

Review: Dear Beaute Himawari (by Kracie)

UPDATE:  I'm still using Himawari and I have no intention of switching to another brand anytime soon (or at least for as long as HW is offered/available in the US).  My hair's never been this silky-strong and healthy in the last three years, despite piling masks and conditioners and serums into it.  Just goes to show, everyone has a haircare that's just right for THEM out there!

Hello everybody!

The Japanese hair care company KRACIE recently released an all-new hair care line called

DEAR BEAUTE HIMAWARI

The line has a shampoo, conditioner, and hair conditioning treatment/mask!

Formulated to soothe, smooth, and soften dry frizzy hair, the set is infused with premium

sunflower oil and extracts to balance the moisture in your hair.  

Even better, it's sulfate and silicone free!

My local Marukai store happened to stock the value set of all three pieces for $23.95 pre-tax, and

since I was pretty much empty on my Shiseido HEAD SPA set I decided to try a new product.

I have only ever tried Kracie's ICHIKAMI line of hair care, and it worked well for a couple weeks

but eventually made my hair too oily and heavy with residue...

But not Himawari!  This stuff is great!  It really smells like fresh sunflowers in the sunlight, it's a gentle and (to me) unisex scent that lasts all day but is light enough not to be overpowering (to me at least).  My fiance likes the scent, and it doesn't smell as heavily as Ichikami or Shiseido SHINING (red).

I've been using it for about a month now and I've seen much improvement - I have 

a huge problem with split ends, and I'm not visibly developing any more since using this shampoo/conditioner/treatment.  I also am not noticing any residue or heaviness/oiliness in my hair, 

it's just as bouncy and healthy as ever and I think it might be even more volumized at the roots.  I definitely noticed a lot more bounce to my curls, which the Shiseido Head Spa kind of...wilted.

I'm also able to go at maximum 2 days without washing, although typically I wash every other day.
Even after that time, my hair still feels light, soft, and smells good.

I also have a problem with dry scalp which this cleared up beautifully, and FAST!  Shiseido Head Spa is supposed to work for healthy scalp as well but it worked so slowly, and I didn't notice any real change until the bottle was nearly empty.  After just 3 weeks I don't have any issues with dryness, using HIMAWARI!

The shampoo is lovely and thick, and foams up beautifully.  I read some people have had issues with getting the shampoo to foam up, which may be a case of not using enough product and/or that it has no silicone or sulfate.  My hair's now about touching the small of my back, so two pumps is perf.

Same with the conditioner, two pumps, and I leave it in for a few minutes while I wash my face etc.
^NOTE: 2 pumps is the amount I need after 2 days inbetween washes, but one pump is PLENTY when I wash every other day or every day!  

Twice a week I use the treatment cream - this is VERY thick (and the conditioner is thick as it is!) and is more strongly fragranced than the other two products.  I do concentrate this on the ends of my hair and everywhere else I noticed split ends tend to form, and I think this is really helping!
A dollop about the size of a quarter is plenty, since I don't use this on my scalp.  Even though the shampoo and conditioner don't weigh my hair down, the treatment IS a deep moisturizer so if you use it on your scalp....it stands to reason it will probs affect the volume/lift of your roots.

The only con to this shampoo is it's kind of expensive.  A set of Shiseido HEADSPA runs about $15.99 for shampoo & conditioner, and the HIMAWARI set ran for $23.99 - although it did come with the extra hair mask treatment, and it had a much better impact on my hair (including being sans silicone and sulfate).  It's not something I would have probably purchased piece-by-piece because of the cost, but I'm glad I tried it and this is certainly a case of getting what you pay for!  

RATE:  4.5 STARS!

PROS:

• Softening and smoothing 
• Highly recommended for damaged hair, dry hair, frizzies, and curlies
• Sulfate and silicone free - so it's more gentle on your hair
• Smells lovely and longlasting
• Moisturizes without weighing down (increased volume and curl bounceability for me!)
• Even moisturizes scalp!
• A little goes a LONG way

CONS:

• Price point - but you get what you pay for and this is definitely worth it for what it does! 

DISCLAIMER:  I was not given these products for free to review, I purchased them myself and did the review independently of any sponsorship.