Blondes have more fun? I think my position has changed...

This past weekend, I gave myself a mini-makeover. I finally got my hair cut—and colored! I think it's safe to say I am no longer a blonde anymore. Well, maybe in spirit, but not so much in appearance. It took a few days to get used to the "new me." I have been a blonde my whole life! Well, I didn't actually have any hair until I was two years old, but once my fuzz grew out, I was what you would call a toehead. But over the years, it slowly got darker and I started doing a color weave (blonde highlights all over) to maintain my blonde-ness. My new hair color is close to the dirty blonde that naturally grows out of my head, but we (and I mean my hairstylist) did a medium color weave of a brown that is two shades darker. Basically, this gives me a brunette look without the full commitment since I didn't dye my whole head, just pieces.

Anyhoo, check it out and tell me what you think! I have a little side-swept bang thing going on too.

It's funny because the most random people have noticed my new look. The city manager said to me after Monday's council meeting, "So, you're changing your look? We (the city council) were passing notes back and forth saying, look at Carissa's new hair." I was like, OMG, I hope not! How embarrassing! Haha. My editor also noticed. We were talking about my stories and mid-sentence he says, "Is your hair darker?" Yep. And when I went to do the police blotter on Friday, the lady didn't recognize me at first! 

I don't think it looks that different, but I was surprised when I went to my friend Stephanie's bachelorette party on Saturday (more on that in a minute)—the same day I got my hair done—and she didn't notice until I mentioned that I wasn't blonde anymore! I think she had more important things on her mind—like her impending nuptials—than my new hair color, but still. And my bestie didn't notice when I visited her at work the other day. Granted, my hair was pulled back, but come on people! This is big to me!

Also part of my mini-makeover? Painting my toes! The painstaking process reconfirmed my great disdain for doing my own pedicure, but at least I had cute pink toes when I went out with the girls Saturday night.

Ok, the Bachelorette Party. I am sure you are wondering what kind of craziness we got ourselves into. But really, we weren't that wild. We were actually pretty mild. See, Stephanie is not exactly the partying, dancing, binge-drinking kind of girl (not that I am all the time, but she is more tame than me...). Still, it was a fun night with the girls.

Jen (Steph's soon to be sister-in-law), me, Stephanie, Ashley (Steph's sister) and Anna (my friend since 3rd grade!)

Before I get into the details, let me first say that I arrived at Stephanie's house FIRST. It was like the Twilight Zone. I am NEVER the first to arrive to ANYTHING; I am a chronically late person. It is bad. So when I stepped into the house a few minutes after the meeting time and saw no one else was there, I was shocked! Stephanie and her mom were too. They know me well.

Once everyone arrived, we made our way to Musashi in Simi for a Teppan Yaki dinner. So so good. I love Teppan. It's dinner and a show. And I feel like you appreciate your food more because it is made right in front of you. My favorite part is when they bounce the egg on their spatula and light the onion volcano on fire (if you don't know what I am talking about, you must immediately go have Teppan right now!)

While they don't normally serve sake bombs, the server made an exception for us. It made quite a mess on our table, but it was a fun way to kick off the evening. Although, Stephanie got her party started a bit earlier, in the lobby. One of her co-workers pulled a tiny bottle of alcohol out of her purse and promptly poured it into the Bachelorette shot glass around Stephanie's neck. Down the hatch!

After a long dinner—when going out for Teppan, plan to spend about 2 hours at the restaurant—we raced over to Laugh Factory in Hollywood, only to encounter ridiculous traffic. We had tickets for the 10 p.m. All-Star Comedy show and were a bit nervous we weren't going to make it but we ended up getting there just in time and still got pretty good seats. The show was great. I am not too familiar with the all-star comedians who performed, but Maz Jobrani and Sebastian Maniscalco were hilarious. The night's comedian host, Al Del Bene, had me LOL-ing, too.

The best part of the night, however, was when surprise celebrity guest DAVE CHAPPELLE came on-stage. The whole place erupted in applause and cheers; people stood up and grabbed their cell phones to snap a photo—it was crazy! Honestly, I'm not a "Comedy Central" kind of gal but when he came out, I was just as excited as everyone else! I snapped some photos on my cell but they are pretty blurry. Just trust me, he was there AND he made fun of Stephanie a bit. That made the Miss Bachelorette's night for sure.

Outside the Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard.

Even though it was after 2 a.m. when we left—and Dave was still on stage, talking. Yes, we got made fun of when we walked, er, ran, out!—we went back to Steph's place for cake, which was shaped in the form of a certain male body part. Credit for that lovely baked good goes to Steph's sister, the maid of honor.

Overall, it was a fabulous and funny night with friends. Who could ask for more? The wedding is tomorrow and I still can't believe Stephanie, who I have known since 6th grade, is getting married. I'm sure I'll have photos (and maybe a new dress?) to share with you on Monday.