Yesterday was a special day for my mom for two reasons.
- It was her birthday
- She got a brand new hairdo
I think she looks so beautiful. 
I know it may seem silly to make a big deal over my mom coloring her hair, but it really was a big deal.
When my mom went through treatment for breast cancer and lost her hair during chemotherapy, it grew back gray. She was hesitant to dye it back to the color it was before but always said that her gray hair reminded her of breast cancer and made her feel like she wasn’t quite herself. After undergoing a double mastectomy and struggling with lymphedema to this day, I think my mom has dealt with her fair share of body changes, so hearing her talk about her “transformation” after cancer always made my heart ache a little bit.
When my sister and I spent the weekend with her in Orlando for the Jazzercise Tropic Heat event a couple of weeks ago, she yet again expressed dissatisfaction with her gray hair, saying she was seriously considering dying it. While Leslie and I assured her that she looked 100 percent gorgeous with her gray hair, we knew that she was ready to dye her hair back to the color it was before chemo.
For her birthday, I set up an appointment at a salon in St. Pete for the color and my sister and I popped in halfway through to surprise her and be with her when the foil was removed and her hair was styled.
I felt a little emotional when I saw her because her hair looked so much like it did before her battle with breast cancer. She kept some of the gray, but added in more blonde and highlights. She was absolutely beaming and my sister and I couldn’t stop talking about how fantastic it looked. It was a wonderful birthday!
(Also, thank you all so, so much for your kind comments about my mom on the PBF Facebook page yesterday. My mom read them all and they really touched our family. Thank you!)
Dinner
To celebrate my mom’s birthday, my parents, sister, Ryan and I headed out to Hook’s for sushi.
Our meal started with edamame and included a big sushi boat that we all shared.
Then my mom was surprised with tempura ice cream that she let us all enjoy as well.
Even though we had a dozen cupcakes awaiting us back at my parents’ house, when my mom informed our table that Menchie’s frozen yogurt was buy one get one free, we had to stop by!
Big fro yo cup, I fill you up!
When we arrived back at the house, we broke in to the cupcakes that I brought with me from Ocala.
I bought them at The Blakely House, a beautiful Victorian home that doubles as a café, bakery, boutique and salon.
We cut the cupcakes into fours so we could try the flavors that called to each of us.
Domination.
It’s safe to say that we were all in a sugar coma when the cupcake eating concluded.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate my mom’s birthday!
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Your mom looks SPECTACULAR with the new hair dye- shes radiating in the photos! Happy belated birthday to her :)!
thank you so much, khushboo!
This is so inspirational and uplifting Julie! Congrats to your mom- your family has a ton to be proud of!
Such a wonderful day for your whole family!! Happy birthday to your mama!! 🙂
You are so fortunate to have had such a special day and to cherish your mom’s life with her on her birthday. I lost my mom back in 2003… Biggest personal loss of my life that left such a cavernous void in my life. Take as many moments as you possibly can to be with your mom and what a beautiful experience you have for your life based on yeaterday’s experiences. All the warmest wishes to your mom and you. Marion
i am so, so sorry for your loss, marion and can only imagine the pain i’m sure you went through and continue to go through. it sounds like your mom made a great impact on you and was an absolutely wonderful woman.
Your mom looks beautiful and what a wonderful gift you and your sister gave her. Looks and sounds like you all had a very special day. Your mom looks really happy. 🙂
You all look so happy, and your mum looks beautiful! Happy belated birthday to her!
Also, those cupcakes – incredible!
Congrats to your mom on another birthday and on all that she has been through. She is obviously a very brave woman, and a lucky one at that. What you and Leslie did for her was truly a beautiful thing. Have a great weekend! Love the pic of the cupcake massacre!
Your mom looks gorgeous, that’s so sweet of you guys to do that for her.
Those cupcakes look delicious!
She looks so beautiful!! What a special day!
I’ve been craving sushi! Everything looks amazing and like you all had a wonderful celebration!
ahh, happy birthday to your mama! her smile says it all! 🙂
You are a lovely family! Ful of love and strong ties. Happy birthday to Your Mother!
Awe. I had tears in my eyes reading this. Happy Belated to your mom. She looks absolutely stunning with her new do!
She looks so beautiful and happy. This is where you and Leslie get your good looks and beaming smiles from! Happy Birthday to her 🙂
Julie, your mom has always looked beautiful every time you posted a pic of her…but you can just tell she is beaming in these photos! She looks gorgeous! So glad she did something that made her happy! Happy belated birthday to her! My mother has never been a part of my life that I can remember and I don’t really miss something I never had but I love seeing beautiful relationships between mothers and daughters and truly cherish the one I have with my baby girl today. You all look beautiful; may God continue to bless you!
Happy Birthday to your mom! She looks wonderful with the new cut. 🙂
What a wonderful story to share about your mom!!! She is an amazingly strong woman to have gone through what she has and I think she is an inspiration for everyone! I love her hair she looks beautiful 🙂
Happy birthday to Mama PBF! A close friend of mine recently went through chemo, and it seems that losing your hair is one of the most traumatizing parts of the ordeal because you look so radically different. Your mom looks absolutely radiant- and the two of you look so much alike!
thanks so much, gabriela! i miss you & your blog! 🙂
I second all of this! The radiant mom AND missing Gab’s blog!
Happy Birthday to your mom! She looks beautiful and her smile radiate through:)
Happy Birthday to your mom as well!! Your mom looks beautiful with the new style :),and your mom, you and your sister and dad have soo much to be proud of!! 🙂
Best blog post ever! Your mom looks fabulous and she looks like she FEELS fabulous! Your precious parents seem to have raised two beautiful and loving daughters. So happy for your family and all that you have to celebrate! Happy Birthday to your mom and cheers to many more!
SO FUN!! Your mom does look gorgeous!!
That was so sweet of you and your sister to set that up for your mom! She is so blessed, and I hope she had a grand birthday! 🙂
Oh, and that was a great hat tip to the red solo cup song 😉
ha! i was wondering if anyone would notice that. 🙂
Happy Birthday to your mama! Mine was the 19th. Y’all are sweet daughters to treat her so special. She looks amazing!
Your mom looks beautiful!! I love your posts about your family. I have an extremely close relationship with both of my parents and my mom is more like my best friend now that I’m an “adult”. I think as you get older and your parents become more like people than parents we realize how much we appreciate them and the examples they set for us. I’m so glad all is well with her now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend with your family! 🙂
your mom’s hair looks beautiful! It looks like she had a wonderful birthday, and she deserves it! I’ve known a few women to go through breast cancer (and survive!) and I know the effect it can have on their self esteem. Your mother not only looks beautiful but I can tell from her eyes and smile (and your great family!) that she must be an amazing woman! Have a great weekend!
This post made me choke up a bit while reading it. How wonderful for you gift your mom with something that will help make her feel just as beautiful as she is.
It is so obvious that she was a wonderful mother to you and your sister by the way you treat her(and others) in return. She must be so proud of you!!
Such a touching story. I am so happy for your mom!
Your mom’s hair looks fantastic & that is such a wonderful story. You can tell just how happy you all are in every photo!
Triple desserts… sounds like my kind of bday celebration!!!
The new (old) hair color makes your mom look even younger! And she looks so happy! I love it.
Happy birthday to her!
Happy belated birthday to Mama PBF!! She looks so beautiful and happy! That was a great birthday idea that she’ll never forget. Hope you all continue to have a wonderful weekend celebrating her birthday!
Wow – I think that’s a great birthday gift for your mom! That’s amazing that she has gone through so much and never considered dying her hair before. Props to her for taking the plunge – a new hair color really is a big deal! Thanks for sharing this!
Your mom looks BEAUTIFUL, she is glowing in these pictures 🙂
You’re mom looks stunning! She’s absolutely radiating happiness right now, you can just tell 🙂
Happy birthday, Peanut Butter Mama!
Your Mom is gorgeous and looks SO happy! Happy belated birthday to her! My Mom is currently going through chemotherapy for breast cancer and has lost all her hair. This would be something amazing I could do to treat her when her hair grows back. Thanks Julie!
Happy Birthday, Mom PBF! 🙂
Your mom looks fantastic. That’s so great that you were there with her while she got her hair done.
Frozen yogurt, sushi and cupcakes seems like a great way to spend a birthday!
your mom looks absolutely beautiful! happy birthday to her! that is such a special and meaningful gift that you and leslie did for her. i can never get over how much leslie looks like your mom and you look just like your dad!
What a lovely post, Julie. Your mom looks so happy and absolutely gorgeous. I can’t imagine what an emotional experience that was for your whole family. As trivial as hair seems in the ‘big picture,’ I’m sure this was very symbolic and freeing for your mama. Happy, healthy, and lookin’ like a total fox! 🙂 Thank you for sharing. (And happy belated to your mom!)
exactly. it seems so frivilous, but it really was a pretty big moment for her. 🙂 thank you for your support, brittany!
Wow, your mom looks beautiful! Looks like you and your fam made her bday fantastic, how awesome!!!
she looks beautiful! Happy Birthday to her 🙂 I lost my grandpa to cancer so I know how scary it is for both the person and their family. You are all so lucky and blessed 🙂
Your mom looks beautiful! What a wonderful birthday.
Your mom looks gorgeous! So happy for her, must have been amazing birthday.
Those cupcakes look delicious!
Your mom looks so happy!! Hope yall had a wonderful birthday celebration! 🙂
Happy birthday to your mom. My mom also had breast cancer and a mastectomy and even though she was very strong thru it all I know there were times that the physical changes were difficult for her. Your mom is just beaming in all the photos and she looks so youthful in the pictures. Glad she enjoyed her day- what a nice way to spend it with her girls. Ps. I now have the little red cup song in my head!!!
thank you for sharing about your mom’s journey, mary. i’m so glad we both have such strong mothers!
you and your sister are such sweet daughters. I bet your mom feels amazing that she is able to shed that reminder of her battle with cancer.
Hi Julie! I love your blog btw, but I am so compelled to write a comment on this one (I’m one of those ghost readers… =.=)
But tell your mom I said she looks FIERCE with her new hair!!!!!
Living in NYC, I will say that despite all the fabulous people who live here, it’s the old grandmas with pink and purple hair or the ones with white hair that really inspire me and make me take a step back. I love seeing people with confidence just oozing from within. I can’t WAIT to be older and I can finally dye my hair white and look fab. I’m saying this because from seeing older pictures from your past posts, I LOVED your mother’s gray hair. I thought it was so sophisticated and chic. Please let her know that she is beautiful always no matter what her hair color is and a confident sexy older woman is just stunning in my book. I love her cut as well, it really frames her face!
thank you for such a kind comment! my mom loved reading it, too!
Happy birthday to your mom! This was such a sweet, touching post. It was really thoughtful of you to make the hair appointment for your mom, and so fun that you and your sister surprised her while she was there. She truly looks radiant. You’re all very beautiful!
She looks beautiful!!!!!!!! Truly a remarkable story!
Your Mom looks like she had a wonderful birthday & the new do looks awesome on her!! She’s lucky to have such a great daughter :-). One more reason to love your blog 😀