(Lov) // The Green Chair.

I asked my husband Brendan to write this blog for me since it is one of his all time favorite "stories of us". 

Roughly 9 years ago I found, sitting next to a dumpster across the street from my old apartment, a fully functional though slightly worn, green, stylist’s chair. Just a few weeks earlier through a good friend,  I had been introduced to Kelly who had mentioned that I “needed to do something about that”. The “that” she was referring to was my teenage ponytail, ill-fitting corduroy pants, and Birkenstocks. I was a kid from Colorado, newly 21, and new to Austin. I had long hair because I had no money to pay someone to care about it for me, as I certainly wasn’t capable of concerning myself with such things, being newly 21 and all. The next time I saw Kelly we made a deal: This old stylist chair in exchange for free haircuts for life. Neither of us had any concept to the magnitude of this agreement.

This month I turn 30 and Kelly has been my wife for almost three years. We have lived on the same street where the chair was found since being married. It has been our daughter’s highchair for the first two years of her life. I have had countless cuts and cups of coffee in this chair. Family, bandmates and other friends have come to our living room to get trimmed and styled. It has left ringed rust stains on the desk mat we have laid underneath it. We now own a salon, with many chairs. Some of which have made their way into our living room.    

We have decided to allow this chair to move along by placing it back where it was originally acquired, next to the dumpster, so many years ago. We also thought it a great occasion to take some family photos. I drove it around the corner, unloaded it from our truck, and placed it in the grass by the curb while Kelly and Lydia walked from our apartment. The first person to drive by stopped and got out of the car, looking at the chair in disbelief, “You’ve got to be kidding me! WOW!” I walk over to him and tell him the chair is fully functional, but if he wouldn’t mind waiting to take it away, as this chair has a bit of a story.   -Brendan 

And he patiently waited while we took our pictures. Goodbye and thank you, Green Chair!

(Lov)e,

-k.

(Be) // Enjoy the Season ~ Spring 2012

To make my client's haircuts extra special, I offer scalp massages using an essential oil blend of their choice; offering a new selection each Season. This Spring, I have chosen two of my favorite florals and one citrus for my latest *Enjoy the Season blend. Gardenia is sensual, soothing, and sweet...Jasmine (what I wore on my wedding day) is romantic and intoxicating... while Grapefruit is fresh, clean, and even believed to be a male aphrodisiac! It's SPRING...let me pamper you and then...make like a bunny and get to hoppin!  *all ingrediants: grapeseed oil, vitamin E, essential oils and distilled water. 

(Lov)e, 

-k.

(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.