(Lov) // Show Time!

My talented husband plays bass in three different bands here in Austin.  Saturday night he had a very special show with Whitey on the Moon, taking part in their debut performance!  WOTM is 12 piece funk/soul band that seriously brings down the house!  And being the proud, camera wielding wife that I am... I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures from the night.

It truly was an amazing night and I couldn't be more excited to see this band grow into it's full potential!  The jam-packed crowd was dancing, singing, and were having "hallelujah!" moments left and right.  They couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome into the Austin music scene and I'm sure it was just the beginning of many exceptional performances from this talented group of musicians and singers. Why to kill it WOTM!  

(Lov)e, 

-k.

(Ed) // Good Intentions.

My goal of giving my blog some much needed time and attention this year have gone the way of most of my good intentions...straight to hell. Sadly, real life has gotten a bit demanding lately leaving little time to devote to my online life and I must say... I haven't missed it much. Maybe it's because actually progress is being made, things that are tangible and physical are being attended to, and I'm so tired at the end of the day from DOING that I have little left to record the results.

My daughter is 20 months old is a little tornado of a girl.  Talking up a storm and in "go, go, GO!" mode from the moment she wakes up.  In the free time I manage to scrape together, I've been giving my Salon a much needed face lift... adding new furniture, rearranging, deep cleaning, touching up paint, and reorganizing. I've also been busy helping my husband... taking promotional pictures, creating a website and designing his business cards in anticipation for SXSW. Throw in my day to day obligations...work, keeping house, grocery store runs, laundry, meals, errands galore, and putting out the inevitable fires sparked by owing a business... and you've got one overloaded Mama. I'm hoping things will slow down and settle a bit after March, but maybe I just need to learn to manage my stress and time a bit better.  How do so many seem to do it ALL without letting it weigh them down? Maybe it's the sharing that makes it less stressful?  Maybe if I tweet about scrubbing the toilet for the millionth time it will be a more enjoyable task?  I have few answers...I'm just trying to get it all done...before it's time to do it all again. Sigh.  I need a vacation.

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Lov) // 35.

On Monday (the 30th) I turned 35.  Can I just tell you how much I love being smack-dab in the middle of my 30s?!?!  My 20's were, to be honest, a confusing mess. I struggled for so many years and made bad decision upon bad decision. Turning 30 was a true celebration in that I was getting to leave that awful, AWFUL decade behind.  And here I am 5 years into the best years of my life.

In my 30's I started my own business, got engaged and married to the love of my life, had my amazing little girl, and became the owner of a Salon.  It truly has been a beautiful time of growth, acceptance, renewal, and love.  I have learned SO much in the last 5 years, namely how to be kinder to myself.  The 30's truly are a time to "get your sh*t together" and an opportunity to apply the knowledge gleaned from the many "learning experiences" of previous years. I am so grateful to be here...to be comfortable in my skin, to know I am loved, and to be living my life with a clear mind and a hopeful heart.

My wish is that it just keeps on getting better. Cheers!

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Be) // GLOSSary

One of my favorite beauty blogs, The Beauty Department, recently featured one of my favorite graphic designers, Bri Emery of DesignLoveFest. Bri is the creator of BlogShop, a sort of bootcamp for bloggers that helps them learn about and better utilize Photoshop, photography, and design in their blogs. Bri is a very talented and influential designer with a keen eye for fashion and style, but I'll be honest... her hair is a hot mess. It's a fried and over processed bleach blond that is WAY too long (in my opinion) and frizzy as all hell. From what I've gather from Twitter, Bri and Kristin Ess (co-founder of The Beauty Department and top hairstylist in LA) are very close friends...so I've always wondered WHY, for the love of hair, doesn't Kristin do SOMETHING to help her girl out?!?!  

source

As you can see from the TBD post, Kristin finally got her hands on Bri's messy mane.  I personally would  liked to have seen a more dramatic change (cut and color), but Kristin wanted to maintain the personality that Bri's hair seems to give her...explaining that "it's her THING". That sentence is a clue that Bri wasn't down for a change. So, Kristen helped to improve the health, integrity, look and feel of Bri's hair by applying a gloss!

Hair glossing is one of THE BEST tools a hairstylist can use to transform dull, dry, and lifeless hair.  It is a MUST for bleach blonds (see Bri), redheads (red is the fastest fading color - a gloss creates a "seal" and locks the color and helps it last longer), heat styling addicts (glossing adds a layer of protection from the damage caused by flat/curling iron styling), and those who are growing out their hair (fortifying hair by filling in weak spots in the shaft; prevents split ends and breakage).  Even if you do not fall into one of these categories, hair glossing is still perfect for you because of one word: S-H-I-N-E!  Who doesn't want super shiny hair?!?!


As we get older, shine is one of the first things to go.  Be it years of styling, coloring, environmental factors, medications, vitamin deficiency, diet changes, dehydration, travel, etc... it all takes a toll on our hair.  A good trim paired with a simple gloss can give you back the feel and appearance of shiny, youthful hair!


So what exactly is a gloss?  It's basically a colorless semi-permanent color... providing the benefits of color (and yes, color does have benefits) without changing the actual color of the hair. Most people seem to believe that hair color is damaging. To the contrary, hair color (especially a semi- perm color) can fortify, strengthen, give body and volume, smooth, and condition the hair. The only color service that causes damage is lightening the hair with bleach. Think about it this way... lightening is TAKING AWAY (pulling color out of the hair shaft) while coloring is ADDING TO (putting color into and on top of the hair shaft). Permanent colors are designed to lift the hair and deposit color at the same time.  They can be slightly damaging over time, but when colored hair is periodically treated to a gloss, future damage can be minimize or eliminated altogether.

As an encouragement to give it a try, I will be offering a HAIR GLOSS (a $25 value) for ONLY $5 when you book a Salon Haircut, Color Service, or Cut and Color Combo during the month of February!  Just select the "Monthly Special - Hair Gloss" when you book your appointment!  Space is limited, so book yours today!

(Lov)e,


-k. 

(Lov) // To the Park!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Austin ~ 75 degrees of gorgeous to be exact. So we decided to make the most of it by spending the afternoon at Zilker Park! 

It wasn't too long until Lydia started making friends. 

A very sweet and fury friend. 

"Puppy!"

And they're off!

This is probably my husbands favorite thing to do in the whole world. 

Then she spotted me. "Mama!"

Closer.

A bit closer.

And closer still... I love this shot. 

Then scooped up again by "Dada"...

Twirl!

Uh oh ~ melt down. AND we're done!  

But not before I share my favorite shot of the day. Look a little closer... 

Pure JOY! 

PURE joy. 

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Ed) // BLAH-ging.

I began my humble, little blog in early July of last year ~ Almost exactly 6 months ago. Lately I've been doing some reflection on my life; evaluating how I spend my time, my goals, the levels of my happiness and enjoyment, and my personal growth in areas I find significant (marriage, motherhood, business, spirituality). Blogging has indeed changed me and has certainly effected all of the a for mentioned aspects...and not always for the better.   


You see, before I became enlightened to the Blogging community and decided to join in on the fun, I was quite a different person. Not exactly different in my actions or activities, as I still pretty much do the same things I've always done, but I've noticed a change in my thoughts and feelings. The most noticeable changes are:


Feeling "less than" ~

I've always been very grateful that I never had the desire to find my self worth through comparing myself to others.  I've never been one to judge myself or my life according to the standards of popular culture and the world. Alas, more often than I would like to admit, I've begun to view myself and my life as "less than" in comparison to other bloggers. I am not a James, the queen bee (at least to me) of blogger moms with her stunning family, impeccable style, amazing photographs and a life that all too often seems wonderfully perfect. I am not an Elsie or a Rachel; crafting and sewing my way through my brightly coordinated day. I am not a Jenny, with an Etsy shop bursting at the seems with killer vintage scores attained whilst on yet another thrifting adventure. And I'm not a Keiko Lynn, Kristen, or Amy pumping out weekly if not daily fashion, hair, and make up tutorials. I'm just Kelly.  The problem with that is the word just would never have found it's way in front of my name before I entered into the blog-o-spher. Don't get me wrong, I admire and am very grateful for all of these talented ladies...the problem is with me and how I have chosen to hold their lives up to my own. It's not fair to put people on pedestals; it's heavy lifting for some and a long way to fall for others.   

The "WANT's and Must Have It!'s" ~

I won't blame it ALL on the sponsored items featured on various blogs, but my desire for STUFF has greatly increased since becoming a loyal blog/blogger follower.  Companies sending bloggers swag to help them market their products is, in one word,... genius. Almost all of the fashion posts and most of the lifestyle posts on blogs include at least one, if not multiple c/o (courtesy of) items and most blogs have "giveaways" featuring these products. Glasses, dresses, shoes, skin care, make-up, hand bags, baby clothes, cameras, lenses, jewelry, home decor, art... I think I've seen it ALL on the major for profit blogs. At least the bloggers are honest about it and typically have enough integrity to hock relevant and quality goods that they might actually buy in real life. It's not this practice that I blame, but the covetousness inside myself that this practice is appealing to. I call it the "WANT's and Must Have It!'s" because these are the two most popular comments left on the blogs by readers.

It reminds me of junior high school... needing to get what the cool kids have in order to feel special or "a part of". Before blogs, I wasn't much of a "stuff" person and was perfectly content with living a pretty minimalist lifestyle.  Now I find myself online shopping, thrifting, and going to Ulta more than I ever have in my life. Not to mention virtual window shopping, falling down the ETSY rabbit hole and pinning for hours. Am I trying to buy "cool" and seeking the approval of my virtual peers?  Am I trying to decorate what can feel like a plain and boring life with STUFF?  Am I seeking to fill some sort of void? Have I fallen prey to the "keeping up with the Bloggers" sickness that so many companies hope we all catch?  Cough. Cough. Where's my wallet...    

WHAT'S MY MOTIVATION?!?! 

In the second post to this blog, I stated three reason why I was starting it in the first place. How have I done so far? 

1) to hold myself accountable -  I'd give myself a B.  I feel I have done a good job at "putting forth content". As a mom with a toddler who owns a business and works part time, life can be rather hectic.  Finding the time to blog hasn't always been easy, but I've stuck to it and have posted fairly regularly since it's creation.  Would I like to be a daily blogger?  Hell NO.  I tried that in December and nearly lost my mind.  My goal is make it easier on myself by coming up with a few features to help give my blogging some structure. I'm working on some ideas that will hopefully begin very soon.   

2) to remind myself who I am and what I love - I'd give myself a C-.  If anything, this blog has shown me who I am not. I am not crafty. I am not a hipster. I am not a super mom. I am not a fashionista.  I sometimes feel that I was letting "the blog" turn me into "a blogger" rather than reveling who I actually am. Discovery of self often comes during the boring parts of life and growth only happens as a result of LIVING. What I have learned in the past 6 months is that LIFE comes before "blogging about life" and not every special thing needs to be shared and not every moment needs to be documented. It's easy to get caught up in letting blogging BE your motivation. Blogging should be a product of, but not the motivation for, a life well lived.    

3) to foster a sense of connectedness and intimacy with my friends, family, clients, and perfect strangers. - I'd give myself a C.  I can tell from my stats that my blog has readers; sometimes getting up to 200 hits a day from as far away as Russia and Australia. A good number of my clients mention how they enjoy my posts and my close friends and Mom (Hi Mom) are regular readers.  Yet, very few people leave me comments. This blog may be helping people feel connected to me, but without interaction from others, the connection only goes one way.  I would love to have more interaction with people via my blog and hope to see more comments in the future. I promise I'll write back!!!  :)

And there it is.  The good and the bad. It feels refreshing to be honest and to recognize within myself what has changed and needs to be changed.  It may take my stepping back from this world on occasion to gain some perspective.  It may just take my focusing on MY blog and less on the blogging community. I will be kind and flexible with myself and see where I need to bend. For now, I'm going to take advantage of my husband being home and go have a date with myself.  Camera, coffee, and a windy Austin afternoon... YES please! 

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Be) // 2012.

The beginnings of most things are beautiful...usually accompanied by a renewed sense of purpose, hope, energy, excitement, and positivity. Beginnings are, in a way, what we all live for.  A chance to experience something new and different that has yet to be tarnished or corrupted by the mundane.  An opportunity to "get back on track" and change the trajectory of the course we have previously been traveling.  


I'm not a huge fan of making "resolutions" for the new year ahead, but rather I am one who looks at January 1st as an opportunity to realign myself with the desires of my heart.  A time to readjust my focus back towards the things, people, and places that bring me the greatest joy.  It is also my birth month which makes January a good time for reflection and change. 


Some of the goals I have set for myself this year are probably pretty similar to those of most people. I want to  exercise more, eat healthier, spend more time with my family, grow my business, etc. While others are a bit more personal to me: study my bible daily, share the gospel with anyone who will listen, rid myself of this nagging rebellion and negativity, spend more time being creative (blog, photography, art, writing), and to be generous with my love and compassion.  


I turn 35 this year and I intend on having it be a year of balance. I want to mature in the areas where I need to be more of an adult (responsible, driven, dedicated) while embracing my youth in the areas where I need to become more like a child (playful, simple, joyful).  


So here's to a New Year... cheers!


(Lov)e,


-k.