Last year I talked about my sob story of how it was going to be the final year getting a family picture taken with Santa because 'our' Santa was retiring & the timing was right because my husband was tired of the Santa Picture (he's been doing a Santa photo since birth!). So we agreed it best to leave it to our son Roman get his photo with the Big Guy from here on out.

... Well, that didn't happen! At the very last minute, right before it was Roman's turn to see Santa, I turned to Christopher and said, "I can't stand it. I've got to have our picture with Santa!" So, of course, he obliged (probably not happily, but willingly). So that's the story with this recent photo. :)

At the salon, the close of the year brought me to something that I've been anticipating since the spring: Emily's wedding!
The day finally came and her hair ended up looking stunning. We had been slowly transitioning her color from a strawberry blonde to a firey red. I think it went perfectly with her wedding attire and the holiday season. :)

I stole a few of these photos off of Kelly Manno's website to show off her hair:






It's been nice to end the year with a bang!

Merry Christmas and see you next year!

I'm improving my skills so that I can improve YOU! :)



I am so excited that our salon is offering regular classes for stylists to improve their techniques! This Monday we had a color class.
In the future, I look forward to taking more classes on color, cutting, and styling YOUR hair.



Anamaye was my model for the day. While her color isn't drastic, it's a dramatic change for her!
Thank you Anamaye for being my model! I hope you love your new color!

Here is the before and after...

Want to be my hair model?

This Monday, November 2nd, I will be taking a color class at the salon. If you are interested in being my hair model (and are available for a couple of hours Monday afternoon), contact me, and you'll get your service done for FREE!

If you have a friend that's interested, pass this along to them!

NOTE: Being a hair model means agreeing to a change in color or trying something different from your existing formula that we've been using. While I don't plan on giving anyone a pink mohawk, only contact me if you are willing to make a color change. :)

Thanks!

Tuesday Special from 10am - 2pm!




If you're on my mailing list, you'll be getting a special offer from me for 20% your entire service between the hours of 10-2 on Tuesdays! It's a special way of reminding you that I am now available on that date/time. Join me, won't you?

If you aren't on my mailing list and would like to get special offers, click here.

Changes! Changes! Changes!


Tonight the salon staff said farewell and good luck to Mark.
He has offcially sold the salon and is moving to Saint Thomas-Virgin Islands. It's a sad day for me. I will really miss Mark! He is moving on and embarking on a fabulous journey in an exotic place. Our new owner, Suzie, has great plans for the salon that I am super excited about! I can't wait to see what is in store for me (and you as my clients) as we experience the newness that change will bring.


Mark, I wish you luck in this next chapter in your life!
I will miss working with you! I will never forget my first Saturday working with you (at the Central School Rd. location, which you affectionately call the 'armpit of Saint Charles'). I had a bad day and you gave me a hug and words of encouragement.
I will miss the super fun Christmas parties that you put on. I will miss hearing about your newest project, purchase, or adventure.

I will miss your many quotes, here are just a few:

"You know what I always say...I may not start on time, but I always end on time!"

"If you have a 1 and an 11 you can make any color."

"...looks like all the good stylists are busy!" (my personal favorite)

:)


As you said yourself, there are good things on the horizon for all of us.
I can say with certainty that the salon will never be the same without you!

WOW! Is it really September? Actually almost October! I haven't been blogging but that doesn't mean that I haven't been living!

I've been reflecting lately how much I love my clients. It is because of my clients that I feel so successful as a business woman. Without my loyal clients I couldn't enjoy the life of having a successful career plus being able to be home with my son!

I also feel blessed to have a job that allows me into people's lives. I feel thankful for how I continually get to keep up with my regular clients lives and grateful for a job that connects me with old friends.

First let's talk about Dina. She's a friend of mine from GRADE SCHOOL.



I haven't seen her in years and never really expected to see her. You see, she lives a full life in Canada with her husband and 4 beautiful children. She's an amazing person that I've had the pleasure to know and discover by following her blog
Well, anyway, she was visiting her family this summer and decided to also make an appointment to get her hair done while she was here. I felt honored that she asked!
We did a pretty drastic haircut (which she was super nervous about!).

But all worked out great in the end and we both loved it!



Dina, I can't wait to see you the next time you come in town to visit. I had a wonderful time talking with you and look forward to catching up even more!

While I'm highlighting clients, I'd also like to feature a favorite family of mine: Howard and Holly

I styled Holly's hair for this family photo session. I loved the was it turned out that I thought I'd share.




I've enjoyed getting to know Holly from the very first time she came in to get her extensions taken out. That was also the day she found out that she was expecting a baby! We were pregnant at the same time and have enjoyed swapping parenting stories. I've also been cutting Howard's hair for awhile now. It's great to get the whole family. While I have yet to meet their precious little girl, Addison, I feel like I know her from seeing all the photos and hearing all the stories.

Thank you Howard and Holly for letting me share your photos. Thank you for being great, loyal clients! Can't wait to see you soon!

(Howard & Holly's photos are by Kristen Mueller of Synergy Photography)

Roman Giovanni




It's been too long since I've talked about this guy on my blog!

Roman is 16 months old now! I can't believe how fast time goes by. After he turned a year, I stopped scrapbooking, writing stuff down, and feeling like I had to record every milestone. However, if I HAD been keeping up with that stuff, I would have something new to record EVERY DAY. He's growing so quickly, talking and running and reading and chasing our dog and cat.

Here are a few cute things that Roman has been doing recently:

**He can say every one of his extended family members names and will tell them to you when he sees their photograph.

**When we sit down to eat, he reminds us to pray by saying "Amen? Amen?" and of course, once we are finished praying he says "AMEN!!!"

**He has recently fallen in love with watching his video and will ask me constantly if he can watch it... of course by saying "Video? Video?"

**He's super smart and now has a few books that I read to him memorized. I hardly have to finish a sentence and he will finish it for me.

So, there you have it. My little joy, growing so fast. :) ...Now I'm off to go play with him!

On Wednesday night, August 19th, you can tuck your kids into bed, kiss your husband goodnight, and head out the door to get your hair done from 8pm to Midnight for our first official Club Metro Hair Night!

The salon will have live music, free drinks and light snacks and a special running on services.

This August, Club Metro's special will be $40 haircuts and $80 color.

It'll be great fun to get away and get your hair done! I've only got a few slots that are left open, so give me a call! If you're out and about, feel free to stop by and check out the evening atmosphere. I'd love to see you even if you don't need a service done. There will be plenty of food and drinks to go around!

How easily we forget!





So I was browsing around on Facebook, and I noticed that one of my clients had posted her daughter's wedding from a couple of years ago. And as I look through I wonder, "Who did her hair? It looks fantastic!"

Then realized, "Oh yeah! That was my work!"

So I thought I'd brag.

:)


Images courtesy of Josephotography.com

What an adorable bride!


I've been doing Amber and most of her family's hair for a while now. They are the sweetest family you'll ever meet. Last weekend, Amber was super excited to get goin' on her hair and get out the door to be married. I was glad I could help make that happen! She was a super laid back bride. She was overjoyed about her hair, it totally made my day.

Congratulations Amber! Jacob is a lucky man!

My job is to brush it, cut it, color it and encourage it to grow... her job is to remove it all!



I wanted to take this time to talk about my friend Cindy. She owns Resolve Hair and Vein Care. The name of her business might throw you if you're thinking she's a hairstylist! She's actually a registered nurse that performs laser hair removal and spider vein treatments.
I have been receiving laser hair removal treatments from Cindy for about a year now and I am SO happy with my results that I felt like I couldn't hold onto her as a secret any longer! I've had my underarms, legs, and bikini area treated with full success...and just in time for warm weather!

One of the great things about Cindy's services (besides the competitive prices) is her 'bedside manner'. She has that perfect blend of professionalism mixed with friendliness that helps you feel at ease during your service.
And don't think that you have to be rich to enjoy a little less hair in your life! Cindy gave me permission to offer 10% off of your service if you mention this blog when you schedule your appointment.

Resolve Hair and Vein Care is located on Main Street a few blocks down the street from the salon. You could even get your laser treatment the same day you get your hair done!

This past weekend was my son Roman's 1st birthday! I am excited to share pictures with everyone as soon as I get them from Kelly Manno.


Here's a link to his awesome birthday cake. I was so proud of myself for making it all on my own I thought I'd share it with the world.
Show me the pictures!

As I started this blog all I could think of was "My Favorite Things", you know, like how Oprah has her favorite things? But it's true so I'll just succumb to it.


I've got two favorite things in the salon right now. The first one is Moroccanoil. This is an amazing product! It softens thick unmanageable hair AND restores shine and body to dull lifeless hair. This stuff is almost magic! I can use it on any client and it does to their hair what it really needs. It also strengthens brittle hair. This product was handed out to celebs in their gift bags at award shows all last year and is really growing in popularity!

My second fave is Keune Root Volumizer.





It's a spray volumizer that gives the hair lift. The Multi-Fruit Complex gives the hair extra shine. Best for the styling thin, fine and dull hair. I use this all the time (on myself and others) and love it!













If you are reading this post via Facebook Notes you can check out my full blog here.

My Brother Sal

He was a proud dad and grandpa

Sal with his two kids and our Mom

Sal, his daughter and grand-daughter

Sal and Mom

The Five of Us!
Sal was my "youngest-older" brother.

1987
:)


Sal's Obituary
On Friday February 6th, my brother Sal passed away. I have very little words right now. I don't think anything I could write or any pictures I post can show how much he means to me and to my family. He will be missed by so many people. He was a great brother. I will love and miss him always.

Play the Video to see "Our Life with Max"

Earlier last month my dog Max had a seizure that lasted too long and caused his body to give out. We had to make the tough decision to put him to sleep. It was horrible. He was totally the same dog from the neck up but his body twitched uncontrollably from the damage caused by the seizure. I could never allow myself to selfishly hang onto my dog knowing his quality of life would be so poor. The decision didn't happen immediately. We kept him at the emergency vet for 48 hours to see if anything could be done. Once we knew that his condition would not be reversed we decided to formally say our goodbyes. We brought our other dog Reggie to see Max and we spent time with him and took some goodbye photos. I loved him too much to not be with him while he went to sleep forever. I was so glad to have his head in my hands, petting him and telling him how he was a good dog, knowing my voice would be soothing and relaxing until the end.

Max was my best pal. I got him when he was six weeks old and he became my little buddy... he quickly turned into my BIG buddy! At over 80 pounds, he was a huge ball of smiles and energy. He loved to play, swim, fetch and run (or you could even say gallop). He loved the snow in the winter and the sprinkler in the summer. We took walks at Creve Coeur Park together. This guy was always by my side. I never had to use a leash with him... he would never go far. He was the leader to the other pets in our home. They will never be the same without him.

When I was sad, he would run, literally, to my side and put his paw on my knee or head on my legs. He was a great comfort and such a joy in our home.
He was incredibly smart. He knew all the standard commands. He also knew so many other ones like "hug", "let's go for a ride", 'get the paper', 'let's get the mail', 'where's your blankie?', 'go get a drink' and many many more. I felt like he understood so much. There will never be a dog as smart as he was.

I will miss Max's joyful spirit. There aren't enough words to express what a wonderful dog he was. My life was unknowingly changed that day we chose to be spontaneous and get a puppy. Now my life will never be the same without him.

I miss you, Max. Love you forever.

My Beloved Dog, Max, passed away yesterday. I am planning on posting pictures in his honor. If you knew me at all, you know that he was my baby. I will love him forever.
....will update soon!

Donna