My new hair-howdy-do. It's nothing drastic, but certainly the first time I've ever colored my hair.
It's kinda hard to see in the photos, but there are some blond-ish streaks up front. Still not sure I'm keen on this whole coloring business. I'm kind of low maintenance when it comes to my hair. Baby steps for me, I guess. I'm slowly working my way up to a spiky, black mohawk. Any suggestions for what I should do next?

Before, in case you for got what I looked like or if you are an internet crazy and don't know what I look like in real life
(If this were a proper "before" photo, I would be frowning)

Day of Rest

Awwww....Sweet, sweet Sunday. It's here at last.

After being "on" everyday this week, I am ready for a day of rest. Lip gloss? Check. Ridiculously thick mascara? Check. Perfectly tousled, yet free of fly-a-ways hair? Check. Hip and trendy outfit consisting of black, red, and white which perfectly reflects the hip and trendy black, red, and white decor of the salon? Check. Deodorant? Uh Oh...

That's a pretty accurate look into my first week of work. But don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it. I LOVE my new job. It feels good to be working full-time again. It's been over 2 years since I've had a "9-5" job and I like it. I'm worn out, that's for sure, though. It's hard work looking good. As my new boss reminded me several times this week, I'm in an image-driven business and it's (literally) my job to look good. Yikes! Thankfully the job comes complete with a staff of super talented stylists and make-up artists at my disposal, but it still feels a little overwhelming.

My actual position is "Salon Coordinator"--it's a big responsibility and I know it's a position I'll grow into. The salon is relatively new and in a season of transition. It will be my job to guide it through this phase and develop a strategy to ensure success in the next. Oh, and answer the phone. I'm 1/2 receptionist, 1/4 head of HR, 1/4 marketing director. At least that's how my boss sees it, I think. Regardless, it's bound to be a fire-cracker of a job, and I'm really excited. And did I mention I get free hair services? Oh, it's too good to be true...


Pics to follow...Need to find the camera cord.

A Quick Hello

I forgot that having a job keeps you busy.

I'm desperate to update you guys, but exhaustion is taking over. No more frivolous days lounging by the pool and basking in the San Diego sunshine. All my creative brain-power that formerly went into crafting mischievous blog posts is now funneled into my new job in the form of the peppy secretary. I worked a 12 hour shift today. Must sleep. I have a new hair-do. I love my new job. And I miss you all.

It's Mine, all Mine!

I got the JOB! Details to follow...



PS It's likely it will involve a make-over morph.

The Tilted Tulip

I'm been a busy little bee the last week or so and just posted a new batch of jewelry to my etsy site. Take a look and shop to your heart's content!

Job Story

The salon got in touch with me yesterday and asked me to come in for a couple of hours tomorrow to "hang out" (code for finding out whether or not I'm salon material, I think). I think that's a good sign. I guess it means I have one foot in the door and as long as I my other foot doesn't stumble and lag behind, I think I might get the job. That would be lovely, dear readers, simply lovely. Wish me luck!

Some Serious Signage

This past Saturday, Matt and I spent the afternoon traipsing around our new neighborhood exploring it's hidden delights. Over the past few weeks we've noticed this city has an over-abundance of classic, old signs, in various stages of deterioration. We couldn't let another day go by without capturing some of them on film (uhm...digital film, that is). Most of these were taken on El Cajon Blvd, a street that begins out where we live in the 'burbs and meanders all the way to downtown. If the fancy strikes you, you can peruse our findings on Matt's flickr site. Enjoy!

Definitely my favorite sign of the day. Is one elf ruining the cloth and the other one patching it up? Any theories?

Pass the Cheese, Please

Notice anything unusual in this picture?


I just found a bag of shredded cheese tucked neatly in between some books on the bookcase. I can confirm that the bag has been there at least three days. If only I could peg this one on my husband...

Hair Raising, part II

Just got back from the salon and everything went great! My friendly interviewer and I really hit it off and he seemed very interested. I'll try not to get my hopes up too high, but I definitely LOVED the vibe of the place and am VERY interested in working there. I'll know by Monday afternoon. For those of you praying folks out there, thanks for any you might have offered up. I appreciate every single one.

And to those of my readers who cast their ballot in the clothing vote, I am grateful to you all. I went with my gut and wore neither outfit. I warned you that might happen. In the end I opted for something light and breezy, as it's still a million degrees in my car and the blouse (being white) is much more resistant to cat hair than the rest of my wardrobe (which is primarily black).

Here's what I wore:

The shirt is a favorite HK purchase of mine and has nice little button detailing down the front. And for all female readers wondering about my hair, I wore it very straight and simple, parted down the middle (channeling my mother's look from her younger days).

Thanks again for all the feedback. You guys are great!




PS Rumor has it my sister-in-law's husband's aunt was none-too pleased that I went nearly 2 weeks without posting. I'm very sorry about that and I'll try not to let it happen again unless I have a very, very good reason. Like if there's a nuclear disaster. Or if MTV develops a 24-hour pageant channel. Or if I give birth to kittens. Gotta keep the fans happy!

Hair Raising

I have an interview at a hair salon tomorrow. It's a hip, little shop not too far from where I live, and they are looking for a salon director (fancy term for front desk person). The job post specifically mentioned they were looking for someone with "an overly enthusiastic personality." Pretty sure I fit the bill. Especially if you get me started talking about pageants, lottery tickets, Mexican radio stations, or vacuuming. (Have I failed to mention that I ADORE vacuuming? Yeah, I know. I'm a glutton for punishment.) If I know what's good for me, I'll probably keep my mouth shut about the aforementioned topics. Honestly, I really want the job and I think I'd be great at it. I just don't want to come across as desperate. Any tips?

You'd think I'd be preoccupied with what they might ask me and how I should answer, but frankly, all I can think about is how I'm going to do my hair. I had a non-interview interview at a different salon last week for a similar position, and it was disastrous. San Diego was in the midst of a record-setting heat wave and I had to tackle 45 minutes of highway driving (I'm breaking out in a sweat just thinking about it), in a car that only spits out ample air-conditioning during the evening hours when it's chilly outside, in order to get there. I was a right mess upon arrival. Rumpled and frizzy, enough said. They never called back. It's a lot of pressure interviewing at a hair salon.

So I really want things tomorrow to go well. The entire contents of my closet are strewn about the house as I type, since I tried on everything I own and paraded around in front of my husband hoping to glean some wisdom from his discerning eyes. What do you wear to an interview at a place where you know the interviewer is going to be fabulously but casually dressed, and you, the interviewee know you need to look hip and dressed to kill, while striking the fine balance between underdressed and overdressed. Am I rambling...?

I took some photos to show you all the two options I'm deciding between, but I'm not sure if I want to post them. After seeing them full-size on the monitor, I really just wanted to scream "WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO FEED ME ALL THOSE TACOS?!??!! *%*&@%!!!"

Yes, this was my dinner tonight.
Don't let the lettuce fool you.
It's hiding all the delicious lard lurking beneath.

Ok. I need to relax. Upon my better judgement, I'm posting them anyway. I say the camera doesn't give the outfits full justice (and isn't there something about the camera adding 10 pounds?), but I'll let you fine folks do the choosing. You have until Thursday, 11am [Central Time] to cast your vote. And don't get upset when I completely disregard you opinion and panic moments before I'm supposed to leave and change into something entirely different.

Option A
Dressy, but not too dressy?
Do I look like I'm trying to hard?

Option B
Matt prefers it without the belt.
I think he's right about that.

He is a designer, afterall.

House-Wifey

It's time to break my silence. I'm afraid I've been in a serious slump the last two weeks. It all came to a head this past Thursday when I was sitting at home on the couch for like the millionth day in a row, having finished my daily scour of the internet for plausible jobs in San Diego and coming up nearly empty handed again, watching old episodes of Desperate Housewives (and feeling like one), when I realized that the waves of self-pity that kept pouring over me were liable to take me under once and for all if I didn't do something about it.

Ok, so that's a bit dramatic. Really I've just been bored silly that last few weeks, lacking all motivation to do anything with myself besides feebly search the internet every few hours for a job that might pull me out of this slump. And why don't I explore this amazing new city I just moved to, you might ask? Well, I've got lots of excuses (all of them lame, I promise), but it really just boils down to laziness. I'm plumb lazy.

Anywho, I've finally got up the gusto to write a post again which means I'm definitely on the up and out. Oh, and since last Thursday, I've had a proper case of the craft-bug, so I've been making all sorts of fun things in the past few days. If I don't have a job right now, I might as well pull my weight by selling some things online. At least I have a fun way to occupy myself right now.

It's also high-time to finish writing up our adventures during our move to San Diego before you all forget we ever didn't live here. Ok, that's it. I promise not to waste my life away anymore. Thanks for listening and understanding. Oh, and if you know of any job openings in this corner of the world, I'd appreciate the heads up.