the kitchen beautician

maybe you've heard the phrase or maybe you've known a kitchen beautician. these are the ladies and gentlemen who create the most fashionable looks of the decade...right from their kitchen. wielding no license but PLENTY of practice with perm rods, they keep friends, churches, and entire neighborhoods lookin fresh. but the kitchen beautician is all about the relationships. it's about keeping up with their friends and keeping the neighborhood close.

these are the ideas that inspired my future (fingers crossed) salon idea. though i will be licensed (which will probably work out for the best) the atmosphere will be that of community. and it will be called The Kitchen Beautician.

my decor idea is inspired by the 50's era kitchen. i chose the 50's because it's nostalgic (even if you weren't alive in the 50's), recognizable, and, of course, the women always looked fabulous in the 50's!

and there's so many fun ways to take pieces of the 50's and merge them with modern pieces to create an awesome vintage salon! not to mention the great colors of the 50's!

and to top it off: serve cupcakes and coffee! yum!

check out this salon's website, it's pretty much exactly what i want...it just needs the jenni twist!

give me the positive people.

i want to become a better person. i want to be a kind, loving, giving and selfless person. i want to work in a salon surrounded by team players, by people who don't talk about each other behind their backs but rather encourage, teach, and are kind to everyone they work with. i want to work in a salon surrounded by humans who might will mess up a time or two but are given a second chance...and who learn from each time they mess up.

maybe this is an idealistic dream but it's what i strive for. and i can't wait.

with these planted feet, i wonder.

i look at pictures of myself when i was 22 and think "things have changed. a lot." i miss traveling. i need to see something and have a sense of wonder soon. i've realized that traveling has been a huge part of my life since i was born and when i don't do it i feel unsteady and restless. i think that's happening.

picture me this...

one of my favorite things to do is use stumbleupon.com and just check out all the really cool pictures that are out there in the world. i like to save them and go through them every now and then in order to remind myself that cool things are happening in the world. here are a few that i've saved up.

so, i've been thinking about things.

i realize i have a lot of questions about science but i don't have anyone to answer them. if any of my 5 blog followers happens to be a scientist, please answer the following questions (in complete sentences):

1. where do ideas come from? i swear, one minute i can be sitting there thinking about absolutely nothing and then all of the sudden BAM! i have the most awesome thought. ever. where did that come from?!

2. how do cells know what to do? like...you got your lip cells and you got your mustache area face cells (i know there's a more scholarly way to say that.)  how do the lip cells know when to stop being lip cells and start being mustache area face cells where the lip ends? (scientist, i realize this may be a confusing question but if you and i are going to be friends, you're gonna have to let me explain a little bit more in real life. because i swear i know what i mean.)

ok, those are all the questions for now. i'll write down all of the other ones i have and post them later.

thank you, scientist!

<3 jenni

everything, everything will be just fine.

i never realized it until now but i'm a problem solver. i never really gave myself too much credit in that area because when faced with a problem, i never came up with solutions quickly or off the top of my head. i always considered that a flaw and i would clearly never make a good Commander in Chief of a country in the midst of a nuclear holocaust. luckily, i'm not applying for that job.

i'm the thinking type. the "give me a few days and i will solve the main problem and any other little problem debris" type. sometimes this is misunderstood as being lazy or careless but in reality my brain is going over every possibility. i think this commercial is a good example of how my brain works.

(haha, awesome still photo)

today was a great problem solving day. i decided to trade in my beloved Angus for an older model because i found that my car insurance is still pretty high (and yes, i've checked around...believe me!) and my car taxes are astronomical. i also needed some money to pay off school so i can graduate and take state boards as soon as possible. i found a great 01 honda accord that actually rides better than my ford focus and will probably last longer, not to mention i'm sure my insurance and taxes will go down AND i got back enough money to pay for school. BAM. problem(s) solved. 

"it just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride."

not that this is the end of all my problems...but it sure is nice to be able to breathe a little easier.

it's been a minute.

it has, indeed, been a while since i have posted. i'm sure all 3 of you missed me but it was just one of those things where i didn't feel as if i had much to say. but now...

sometimes i am overwhelmed by the sheer greatness of life and i am moved to tears. it's cathartic and motivating and it gives me a renewed sense of hope that this world/culture/generation isn't doomed. you know i tend to wallow, mainly because it's easy. but i am constantly being inspired by people and their pursuits that i can imagine myself cloaked in greatness.

i am back at paul mitchell and i have felt more at home since my return. i know that the creativity a stylist can harness is going to be a powerful conduit through which i can empty my heart. i have so much in there that i've tried to release many ways, writing being one of them, but no way felt as fulfilling as this.

and then there's this.

and this.

a few videos that inspire me today...let's see what i can create this week at school.

time to get up.

growing up, i thought i would always remain the same type of person: outgoing, silly, carefree, fun. it's rather interesting how life's events, ups and downs, and growing older molds you into a different version of yourself. sometimes it's really freaky, almost as if i don't even recognize myself anymore.

sometimes i'm on autopilot. my mouth is talking but i have no idea what is coming out. and sometimes i'm so completely uncomfortable around people that i make sarcastic comments that often sound harsh. suddenly i snap out of it and actually hear what i am saying and i get frustrated because that's not who i am or who i want to become.

i used to love meeting people. i had no problem getting to know my coworkers, my classmates, or the person sitting next to me in a coffee shop. but now...it's like i just want to avoid that uncomfortable small talk. because i know it will come up...spewing out like a red hot lava flow from a violent super volcano. it always comes up. bubbling from my stomach, expanding my ribcage, suffocating my heart, tightening my throat. and it sits on my tongue as my eyes dart back and forth, looking for an exit. one slip of the lips and it's out where it doesn't belong. and nobody knows what to do with it. "my dad died."

i've become quieter. only comfortable with a few people, the people who have truly known me for years. and now i face the first anniversary...two days from now will be my first time experiencing it. people tell me "it's not about the date...why would anyone be sad on just that one day? just don't think of it that way" news flash: it's not just that one day. it's every day. but the reason "that one day" is so significant is because the birds are chirping the way they were the day i found out. the air is warm and humid, just like the day i found out. the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air, just like the day i found out. on this one day, i'm taken back in a flash to the very moment i found out. the conditions are exactly the same and i'm still as heartbroken. and then i have to wake up the next day and get older.

i don't think my birthday will ever be the same. not that my birthday was ever a big production. i'm not really one for gifts or parties, they make me feel awkward because that's just not how i grew up. and i know that turning 27 may not seem like a big deal to everyone else...they may even argue that it's still so young. to them i say, it's the oldest i've ever been and i don't know how to do it just yet. and now getting older means getting closer to days like my wedding and (if my mindset of children changes) the day i give birth. i don't get to share any of those days with the man who should be walking me down the aisle and giving me advice on how to change a diaper.

i feel alone. my dad lived hundreds of miles away. we rarely spoke because when i tried to call, he wasn't home. he worked long days, a faithful worker. but the time i lived with him and the times i spoke with him were the best days of my life. i loved his laid back attitude and his goofy sense of humor. he taught me the importance of turning off the lights when i leave a room...something i now practice. he suffered through the most ridiculous wedgies, video taped all of my baseball games (from the long lake diner), refereed my soccer games (and cheered me on right by my side), made sure we had enough pop tarts and cereal (i went through it like crazy), cooked dinner for us. he was even the first person to teach me how to blow dry my hair so it would have volume. i got his nose, i got his toes, and a whole lot more from this man. i was daddy's girl through and through. it got difficult when i lived in south carolina because i wanted nothing more than to talk to him. i wanted to talk to him every day but soon it was only on holidays and birthdays and then it was once a year. i would hope that my phone would ring on christmas, but it didn't. i would hope for the phone to ring on my birthday, but it didn't. i held onto these hopes for years, only to find myself crying at the end of the day. i couldn't live like that.

so i wrote my father a note, explaining that i held on to these expectations for so long but it was unfair. we both had lives that required so much from us, so i released him from my expectations. i didn't want to cry anymore. i told him i loved him but it killed me knowing that he had my phone number and that we had contact on myspace for a short time but that it never lead to anything. so i released him.

one year ago on my birthday, april 27th, i was standing in his living room. the smell of his camel lights was still fresh in the air but he wasn't there. my grandmother sat in his chair and looked at me and asked in the most spiteful tone "are you still mad at your father now?" i wanted to scream at her. she knew nothing of my struggle without my father. i was never mad at him. ever. no matter what choices he made with his life. i loved him more than anyone in the world, that's why it hurt me so much that we never spoke, and that's why i had to write that letter. she knew nothing. and on the one day that i could bear to go to his house to clean anything out, i found the letter i had written to him in his nightstand by his bed, carefully opened with a letter opener.

i didn't realize i never put a return address on the envelope. why didn't i do that? it had been a year or so since i sent him that letter, so i opened it up to see why he kept it. i read these words that i had written and tried to convince myself that those weren't my words...but it was my handwriting. did he think i was mad at him? grandma sure thought so. did i use the wrong words? why didn't i put a return address on the envelope? why did i even send this to him?

i stood in his house, on my birthday, weeping. i really had lost him. every other time i cried on my birthday was nothing compared to this birthday. he was gone. every chance i had to tell him i loved him and that i wasn't mad at him was gone. the past and the future all came rushing to me...how happy i was when i lived with him. how happy i was when we did get a chance to talk on the phone...and how completely lost i would feel on my wedding day without him there. and how lost i would be when my first child would be born and baby wouldn't be held by those arms that once held me. i am thankful, though, that i got his nose. maybe baby will have a little glimpse of what it was like to be tucked into bed at night and get eskimo kisses while performing mine and dad's nightly ritual: "night night, sweet dreams, see you in the morning! work! school! yay!"

when i was growing up, i never knew that i would be changed so much by any one event. and here i am, 2 days before the one year anniversary of his death, talking to the internet instead of seeking solace in the beating heart of a friend. maybe next year.

i'm a mover and also a shaker. but more of a mover.

i thought the hard part about moving in with paul would be finding the apartment. well, now that that's done...i've realized that wasn't even the beginning!

when you live with girls all of your life, "nesting" is just a normal part of the process. but now i have to take into account that maybe this man that i'm living with doesn't want these really cute floral curtains hanging up in his man room. and i have to share a closet now?? i could barely contain all of my clothes with my own closet...and now i have to share? oh boy. so the past few days have been filled with laundry and sorting out what i want to keep, what can be packed away, and what goes to donation land. ideally i'd like to have a yard sale but paul is convinced that i don't have enough stuff for my own sale...but now that i'm going through everything and packing, i have a lot. and i have no idea what to do with this dang christmas tree that is STILL up in my house.

thankfully dehrae is coming down this weekend. that girl has got it together and she offered to help me. i love my friends! now to find boxes...

damaged hair 101.

as many of you know, i started cosmetology school in september and ever since then, i have been learning so much about hair...thanks to trial and error and my poor, yet resilient, hair. although sometimes i get kinda down about not having my long curls anymore, i'm very thankful to have had this experience for a few reasons. of course it's always good to learn how hair works while in school but my main lesson was not in how i can help myself but how i can help other people who are going through their own hair crisis.

this is for you out there with over-processed hair that is breaking off, rubbery, and just doesn't feel quite like hair but more like mush. i was there. so let me tell you how i got my hair back...

step 1: get a haircut. i know you probably don't want to do that, but it's for the best. believe me, i know it's hard. i went from medium length hair to my very first pixie. but it's important to get the hair that is beyond repair off.

step 2: get a keratin treatment. Paul Mitchell signature salons and schools offer the Awapuhi Wild Ginger Keratriplex treatment. it will reduce the breakage from over processing and restore some moisture back into your dried out mane.

step 3: change your shampoo regimen. you won't need to wash your hair as often as you regularly do. your hair needs natural oils to help moisturize and repair your hair. when i lightened my hair, i had to wash my hair once a week...and that was only because of strict social hygiene standards. if it was up to me, i would wash it once every two weeks because of how damaged it was.

step 4: change your shampoo and conditioner. if your hair is in desperate need of help, it's worth spending a few extra dollars to get it the help it needs. and drugstore/wal-mart/target "professional" products are not guaranteed. they could be watered down or expired. find a salon or school that sells the following paul mitchell products:

Super Strong Daily Shampoo: this shampoo is gentle on damaged hair and infuses it with the proteins it needs to rebuild.

Hair Repair Treatment and Super Charged Moisturizer: after you gently shampoo, mix these two together and slather it onto your hair. i recommend putting on a shower cap to let the heat from your head and from the shower help it to penetrate deep into your hair. you can leave it on for 5 minutes or for a few hours as you do work around the house.

step 5: change your styling regimen. if you normally bombarded your hair with heat every day, that won't fly with damaged hair. after towel drying your hair, spray on Super Strong Liquid Treatment. for ladies with short hair, i recommend using the Awapuhi Wild Ginger Styling Treatment Oil emulsified with ReWorks on wet hair and letting it air dry. the oil will help moisturize while the ReWorks helps style.

once you have gone through steps 3 through 5 and your hair starts feeling more like hair, use Seal and Shine after towel drying your hair and before you apply ANY heat from a blow dryer. it helps condition and it protects your hair from the heat. and for added moisture during the day, spray on Awapuhi Moisture Mist. it will reactivate styling products in your hair and it's good for your skin, too!

in order to keep your hair healthy looking, be sure to keep getting regular trims from your stylist and do NOT chemically process your hair until your stylist says it is in better condition. major breakage will occur if you process it even more!

i know this is starting to look like a major advertisement for Paul Mitchell products. but these steps are what i have personally done and i know that it will work. for anyone in columbia, check out Paul Mitchell the school on gervais street behind wet willies and jillians.

i hope this helps you! feel free to leave a comment with any questions!

bock bock bicah.

on account of the fact that i haven't really had anything to say lately (and also the fact that i think -4 people read this thing...) i've been kinda slack about updating. i reckon i could try to come up with something and make it sound interesting. let's see...

item #1:  i've been on a break from school for the past 2 weeks. nothing too serious, just kinda worn out from going to school 5 days a week, 7 hours a day for the past 6 months. but of course all i can think about while i'm on my break is hair. i can't wait to graduate and work in a salon.

item #2:  paul and i are moving in together and our leases are up in may so that means major apartment hunting time! the only problem is my lease is up on may 13...and that's right in the middle of a trip to ohio that we have planned. so i must find an apartment, pack up my apartment and move it all out before i even go on this trip. how am i supposed to pack for ohio with everything in boxes? i haven't figured that out yet.

item #3:  tomorrow is my first professional massage and i am PUMPED! but i am nervous about falling asleep and drooling all over the place. i also tend to get a little gassy during extreme relaxation. pray for me. (i'm just kidding.)

item #4:  i'm taking a class at school to be certified to do a certain type of hair extensions. since my birthday is coming up soon, if you feel compelled to give me a gift, please consider contributing financially to my certification. even a small contribution will help because the class is $279.

item #5:  i'm currently getting scared of how hot it's gonna be soon. i sweated today. wait. what's the past tense of sweat. swat? forget it. not important.

i think that's it...besides all of the other things i think about during the day like bill murray and paying taxes and giving mothership a buzz cut and what it's like in montana right now. pretty normal day.

nightown.

i love days like today...sunny and breezy and the temperature just fits with your skin. i love to ride around town listening to songs that take me back to times and places where i was in love with the day. i strive to relive those moments and i thought i would take you with me. find your name, click it, and listen to the song i've chosen for that moment. enjoy.

kayleigh

lacy

chris

robert

chelsi

andrew mundy

i could probably make an individual soundtrack for each of you but i tried to narrow it down to the best one. feel free to listen to each other's songs, you'll find a little bit of yourself in them. i miss you guys. hope you're having fun with life.

i have a few questions about things happening now.

• is it popular right now for members of a band to look as if they are possessed/emotionally afflicted/having a stroke while performing? it doesn't make me think you're cool, it makes me feel like i should move the furniture and make sure you don't bite your tongue.
• since when did babies become accessories? seems like it's the thing to have a baby and be like, ooh look how cool my baby is. your baby isn't cool, it's a freaking tiny human that you need to worry about bumping into things and getting in with the wrong crowd.
• is body odor the new eau de toilette? the answer to this is always no.
• is "giving up" something for lent becoming a fad? even non-christians are giving things up. and then making sure everyone knows. do i think you're noble for giving up fried food? no, probably not. (chances are you should probably give it up anyways.)

an intermission.

"we simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. for it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope."

-wallace stegner

i've never given nature a second thought. i've mainly lived in the midlands of south carolina, so nature to me meant hot, sticky, sweaty, cockroachy grossness and i'd rather not be a part of that. and though i have had the privilege of traveling far and wide, my vision of nature had become terrifyingly myopic.

but paul introduced me to the world of US national parks. never a big fan of anything related to "american nature," i was surprised to hear of an underground super volcano in wyoming. that seemed way cooler than the wilderness i was used to, so i investigated. one thing lead to another, and in july 2010, i found myself booking flights to bozeman, montana for a visit to yellowstone national park.

before yellowstone, i was a 26 year old victim of ennui. i thought i had seen everything and nothing would surprise me anymore. but yellowstone woke me up, shook me gently, and placed my feet upon earth that was breathing and moaning and beckoning me to be amazed. and i was.

to this day, my trip to yellowstone national park continues to be one of the most profound experiences of my life. i believe that trip was my right of passage. and what's even more amazing is the fact that yellowstone is just the beginning. there's shenandoah, virginia. there's mammoth cave, kentucky. crater lake, oregon. badlands, south dakota. everglades, florida. acadia, maine. death valley, california. glacier bay, alaska.

every corner of america parading her finest features.

if you're bored, unimpressed, or simply uninspired, i urge you to open your eyes and see the great things that have been waiting patiently for your attention for thousands of years.

day three.

i know it's been a couple of days since "day two" but i honestly kinda forgot. it's been very busy. not gonna lie, it's tough going to school from 9-430 everyday and then going to work. but that's where mountain dew comes in...

so as i sip on my first dew of the day, i shall address today's topic: my view on drugs and alcohol. my views are really quite simple...make good choices. you are in charge of your own life. if you decide to let drugs and alcohol into your life, you run the risk of ruining it. but hey, it's up to you.

well, that was a really boring post if i do say so myself.

day two.

hello friends! it's a quite perfect day in columbia...breezy, warm, sunny. it's days like this (though fleeting as they are) that make me think columbia isn't all that bad. :]

today's topic is where i'd like to be in 10 years. i knew this would be a difficult one because it's impossible to know who you'll meet or what opportunities will be presented to you even in the span of one year. my life today is COMPLETELY different from my life one year ago. but i don't suppose the point of this topic is to make psychic predictions...so i'm going to state my goals and my ideal life in 10 years.

and, OF COURSE, this is all assuming 2012 was a miscalculation...ha.

in 10 years, i will be 36 (almost 37.) i'm gonna go out on a crazy limb and say that i'd like to be married to paul by then and considering the possibility of adopting another cat. since mothership is never going to die, he'll be around too.

in 10 years, i would like to be a hair color specialist and hair design specialist. ideally, i would like to be working on runways and behind the scenes for major events. i'd also be working behind the chair.

in 10 years, i would like to be living out west in either colorado, montana or somewhere peaceful in california. we'll see how that goes with my career...

i'd also like to win a NAHA. (go google it.)

so i'm pretty ambitious for my next 10 years of life...but crazier things have happened! :]

day one.

ok, it took a while before i could get some time to sit and write but here it is! day 1 of the 30 day blog post challenge!

today's topic: my current relationship!

ah...what a wonderful topic. i really think i could write a wonderful book on this topic alone but i'll try not to. plus, it probably makes me sound like one of "those people."

speaking of "those people," you know, the ones who talk only about their significant other and how much they love them and all that mushy stuff...i used to get annoyed by them. but i've come to find that it's just one of those things that i'd rather hear about, as opposed to all of the negative things that i could be hearing about.

my current relationship is pretty rad. i'm dating a chap named paul huff. he's a student at usc studying geography. he's super smart and an awesome musician. he plays drums in a band here in columbia. but i guess the most important thing about paul is that he truly is my best friend. i've heard people say stuff like that before and i always thought they were just saying that to be sweet. but it's just so awesome to be with someone you can sit and talk with and laugh with and cry with. it's a really neat experience.

we started dating on october 31, 2009. we met in february of 09 through my roommate kevin (who plays in a band with paul.) i always liked paul, i could tell he was different from a lot of guys. i never heard him speak negatively about anyone, he was never rude, and his friends never had anything negative to say about him. another plus was that he was never extremely sarcastic. i was a very sarcastic person, sometimes to the point of being rude or insincere. i was trying to become more genuine with people, so i noticed right away that he was genuine. he would joke around but it would be a sly, witty comment.

at the time we met, i think he was kinda seeing someone and i was off being young and stupid and really just kinda going through that searching phase that a lot of twentysomethings go through. a few of my girlfriends who knew the both of us said that we would be great together and i agreed, but kevin always told me that i wasn't "paul's type." so that halted the progress temporarily.

and then there was halloween. a few people were at paul's house so i decided to go over there and hang out. after a few cups of liquid courage, i let paul know that i liked him and much to my surprise/joy, he liked me too!

and so we've been together and having so much fun. we both love cats, which is pretty awesome (and not weird at all.) he's brought so much to my life and has helped me to become the kind of woman that i want to be.

i definitely can't wait to see what's ahead...

something to look forward to!

not gonna lie...i stole this from rachel. but she stole it too! :]

i'll get started on this tomorrow!

day one.

i'm not normally the most consistent person and this blog has been an unfortunate product of my "try new things...every 5 minutes" mentality. i also didn't post the most uplifting material due to a really pitiful and self-destructing outlook.

but having been encouraged by a friend's journey on the other side of the country, i have decided to resuscitate this thing and take it along on my journey.

in the past year after my father's death, so many changes have happened in my life. some good, some not so good.

the good list

i started school at paul mitchell

(on my way to having a fun skill)

had a few meltdowns

(through these, i saw what a strong and loving man paul is)

adopted chuckles

(although i think he hates me now)

visited the beautiful state of montana

(and found my future residence!)

went to yellowstone national park

(breathtaking!)

the not-so-good list

i took all of my frustrations out on my hair

(and now i barely have any)

i also began eating my feelings

(and gained 15 lbs)

i've lost interest in things that usually bring me joy

(i prefer to stay home...all the time)

the good list gives me hope that i'll have a successful career, relationship with paul, and that i don't have to live in the hottest, most humid, ugliest city in the US.

the not-so-good list gives me something to do until then. my goals are to start minding what i eat (i don't have a teenager's metabolism anymore...) start exercising, and start finding things that i can do that bring me joy on a daily basis. basically, my goals are to get more out of life, health, and myself.

i'll be taking baby steps, i don't want to burn out. i will definitely be following rachel's blog for yummy, healthy recipes. i also plan on going on walks to exercise and take time to myself to think and see all of the beautiful things i might be missing about columbia.

and, by george, i hope to document my journey on this blog. and if it's not as entertaining as you might hope...go check out rachel's blog (have i plugged it enough yet?!)

the song is good too.

i love looking at her hair.

(i don't care if that sounds creepy.)