Christkindle Market Chicago Every year Christkindlmarket Chicago hosts people from around the world.  There is German food and drinks, holiday entertainment, oh, and let's not forget the shopping. It has become not just a German past time but a Chicago tradition around the holiday season. ...

You know I love a shirtless moment the summer offers, but I'm quickly falling into autumn with ease. You see, while others are getting all frazzled about the cooler weather, I'm excited to see the colors change. I am also excited to wear the clothing that fall demands. Oh, and I changed my hair color for fall too :) ...

Vulnerable Its easy to fall into the "pity party" or "Debbie Downer" attitude, I know this first hand. I think you have to have the good with the bad though. After all, how would we know the good times without experiencing the bad ones? Ying to the yang as they say. There are times I will be scrolling through my Instagram feed and realize I have to evacuate or I will get sucked into the feeling bad about myself trap. Come on, we have all been there, there is that one person on Insta who is all "look at me, my life is amazing, I have it all, I am a "positive influence". I get it, we want to show the world the highlights of our life. The negative or bad times will do nothing but expose us and make us vulnerable. When I started out as a small business owner 7 years ago, I set out to be one of the best salons in the Chicago area, and decided to go for it. The plans didn't work though, so I tried again, that plan failed too. The third pl......

Devils Lake State Park We decided to take a little mini vacation close to home. Randomly while searching the internet for stay cations in states close to us, we saw a recommendation for Devil's Lake in Sauk County WI. We thought why not?! The ride there was a simple one, just a couple hours from where we live in Illinois. It was apparent when driving up to the lake that we we're headed to a marvel. Check out the video of our drive up... It is absolutely beautiful there and considering it was so mountain like, which is so strange for the Midwest, we knew a hike was in order. It was 90 degrees and hot af by the time we were done, so we decided to head on into the lake for a cool down. Devils Lake I encourage everyone to visit and experience the beauty of the "secret hot spot" it was so cool to see this in the middle of flat lad Midwest. Comment below with your experience. XOXO ...

Microblading 101 If you have been a long follower of me on Instagram you know from my posts that one of my biggest insecurities has always been my super blond non existent eyebrows. I've been filling them in for years with brow powders and all sorts. I even did a brow make up tutorial for quick brow applications on YouTube. Well in March of 2018 I decided that I was going to try this new cosmetic procedure everyone was talking about called microblading. As with any cosmetic procedure I recommend going to someone with experience and a social page that backs up the results of their work. Havy Tran at Chicago Microblading was recommended by my hair pal Jacquelyn Marie (who went with me to get hers done too). Havy had both the experience and the results on her social page. I decided to reach out and schedule an appointment as I was running low on my brow powder. Below I will give you all the details about my experience so you can be educated about if microblading is for you......

Balayage Blink and it will be summer. What better way to usher in the season of more light with... even more light! I teamed up with Balay Powder to produce a bright look that combines traditional foils with balayage. Balay Powder provides maximum lift and best consistency for color control. In creating this look, I choose Flash Lift by Redken. I begins with a babylight weave foil application around the front hairline, so the brightest pieces will be around the face. I then paint the balayage between the foils, using my perfect-consistency Balay Powder and lightener mix. This will add an even more brightening effect to the overall look. The combination of the two techniques creates an ultimate balayage look, but with the added brightness and drama the foils create around the face. You can utilize this easy technique of adding balayage between your traditional foils to create the ultimate light and bright trendy blonde for spring/summer. Balay Powder and your own favorite lightene......

S an Diego LA is our usual stomping grounds for business and this trip was no exception. This time though we decided to take a few days for R&R to do something a little different and visit another part of California. San Diego was at the top of the list as it was driving distance away from our business event in Los Angeles. I was pleasantly surprised at how different the vibe is between the two cities. There was so much we planned/did and I wanted to share it, because maybe it will assist in preparation for your next trip. San Diego Hotels Destination #1 The historic William Penn Hotel Its condo style with all the amenities of home. Its located in Gaslamp district in the middle of night life, so bring some ear plugs y'all. I'm not really into the club scene, but it was pretty cool to be central among all the hustle and bustle. Destination #2 Urban Leaf Because when its legal, why not?lol   Destination #3 Old World Trolley San Diego is a huge city so y......