Tour of California

This year (unlike last year) we made the most out of The Tour of California. Cycling has a way of getting into your blood and making you love it more and more. Desiree and I even got Steele to take some time away from his crazy busy schedule and spend a couple of days with us following a few of the stages. There is nothing quite like witnessing a bike race in action. Like Desiree says, "It's like going to the World Series and sitting in the dugout." Or like another cycling fan who will remain anonymous, "It's like the Olympics, World Cup and the Super Bowl all rolled into one."

The time trial was held in Solvang, much better than last year when it was downtown LA. If you've never been to Solvang, it's worth the drive and the delicious treats. We arrived plenty early to get a good place at the finish line. 

There was a lot of waiting.

But in the meantime we saw Andy Schleck, who has been second place the last two years at The Tour de France.

Here is the eventual race winner Chris Horner after his time trial ride.

George Hincapie. Former three time USA Road Race Champion, as well as MANY other Classics and stage race wins. One of my favorite cyclists of all time. A truly great all around racer.

Oscar Freire. Three time World Champion. Three time winner of Milan-San Remo. A top sprinter. 

Johan Vansummeren. This year's Paris-Roubaix winner. And at 6' 5.5" the tallest man in the peloton.

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. The voices of cycling. No two men know more about the sport of cycling than these two. Their british accents and unique turn of phrase make them delightful to listen to. These guys travel all over the world commentating on this fascinating sport as no one else can. And we were lucky enough to hang out with them for a few minutes while they shot a race preview segment. That's almost like saying you got to hang out with Vin Scully, Howard Cosell and Harry Caray.

The next day the stage started in Claremont. We were at the start of this race. Here we are hanging out with Greg Henderson, winner of stage 2 and Ted King, a very funny guy. You can see the green jersey winner Peter Sagan a little further back. 

A super stinkin' fun weekend! Giving us practice for when we actually make it to The Tour de France and follow it for three weeks some July. In our dreams.

Old Hollywood . . . or Aunt Pitty

Heatless curls.

Some of you might be thinking, "Why would a girl who has naturally curly hair worry about heatless curls?" I saw a vlog not too long ago about how to achieve beautifully soft curls. She did it with dry hair, but I knew my hair would be waaaay to frizzy if I didn't start wet. And I was a little apprehensive about trying it since I recently hacked about a foot of my hair off. And the girl in the video had really thick hair. Mine is very thin. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. So here goes. 

Disclaimer: Photos are not up to my usual standard because I was taking them of myself.

Start with a part. And a headband. (Not too tight a headband because you'll be wearing it over night and you don't want a killer headache). And you will feel a little like Rambo. If you are starting wet use plenty of mousse. Mine is curl enhancing. If starting dry spray hair with hairspray before you start and generously after.

You don't want the headband pulling your hair down too close to your head. The idea is to keep everything loose and a little sloppy. Next take a section of hair from the front and wrap it once around the headband. Then take a second section that includes the tail of the first and wrap it around the headband one time.

Keep taking sections and wrapping them around the headband until you reach the back of your head. Then start on the other side and do the same thing. If you run out of space on your headband as you reach the back, gently push the wrapped sections forward along the headband towards your face. I started in the morning and planned on leaving my hair like this all day and over night. It's very comfortable and convenient because it keeps your hair out of the way. 

Next morning things had loosened up a little, but that's okay. My hair was dry and ready to be unrolled. I pulled down gently on the headband.

At first the curls seemed too tight, but I started finger combing the curls and the panic subsided.

I was really pleased with the results. So was my hair dresser sister. For me, it made my curl more controlled and softer. The look a cross between old Hollywood glamour and Aunt Pitty from Gone With The Wind. I took a few more photos with a couple different Sylvia-Louise headscarves. I will definitely be doing this again and again.

If you try this let me know how it turns out for you!