Life in the City...

Keratin Hair Treatment

2010-04-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Now I realize this post has very little to do with New York, actually, nothing to do with it. I just thought this might be the best way for me to tell my clients about a new service I'll be offering at the salon!
I have recently added a keratin protein treatment to my list of services offered! What is a keratin protein treatment some of you might be asking yourselves? Well, I'll tell ya!
Here's some information on the keratin treatment I will be using:

* I use the Peter Coppola keratin, the #1 treatment on the market

* Keratin treatments infuse keratin deep into the hair cuticle, eliminating 95% of frizz and curl

* The more you treat hair with keratin, the healthier it becomes as build up of keratin makes hair smoother and silkier, straighter and more shiny. It also makes hair faster and easier to blow dry.

* It is gentle enough to use on chemically processed, highlighted, colored, and bleached hair

* Formaldehyde free

* Results typically last 3-5 months, depending on hair type.

* Pricing varies from $200-$450, depending on hair length and texture

Everyone I know who has had this treatment done absolutely LOVES it! It is an investment, but is well worth it. It is wonderful on naturally frizzy and/or curly hair. If you enjoy wearing your hair straighter and smoother, but hate the time it takes to achieve this look, the keratin treatment is definitely for you! With this treatment you'll never have to worry about the humidity bringing out your frizz after you spent so much time to get it smooth!

I'm very excited about being able to offer this service for all my clients! Let me know if you're interested in making an appointment to have it done!

It's Finally Here!!!!

2010-04-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hello!!! I realize it has been an eternity since I've last written, just haven't been in the blogging mood I guess....
That being said, you are probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about when i say "It's" here... well, It is... SPRING!!!! Finally!!! Kyle and I both honestly weren't quite certain we would make it through the winter here but finally it is over and Spring in all it's greatness is officially here!!!

The city is coming alive, people are once again out and about, walking around, much more cheery than they were through the brutal winter weather. Along with the people, the plants have emerged from the thawed out soil... beautiful tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and so many trees are covered in blooms! I feel my spirits lifting and the smiles spreading across my face once again! I always forget how much of a 'summertime girl' I am until I am dredging through the frigid temperatures of a NYC winter... Ah, so glad those days are behind us... at least for the next several months!

Hugs and Kisses :)

You Can Go Home Again...

2010-03-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a dream come true for me... I took my first 'working trip' home. It was all I could have ever dreamed of and more! I probably sound like I've lost my marbles, but KC still has it all for me! Family, friends, The Style Room, my wonderful clients.... Oh, it was just awesome!
I had the pleasure of staying with Rosa during my time home. It was so great to spend some time with her. She actually got a toy poodle puppy, Teddy, on Friday night. He is darling! He whimpered some throughout the night, but it was actually pretty cute!
I had a wonderful time with all my clients at the salon. Getting to catch up with them and see what life has brought their way was just a blast. I've actually lost my voice from talking so much while I was working, but it was absolutely worth it!
I was also able to spend some really quality time with my family and my friends. Going out to lunch and dinner and just being able to catch up. And the best part of all... I get to do it all over again in three weeks!!!

Cupcakes....

2010-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to one of my greatest loves... not Kyle, not Roxy, not fashion, no no no, it's to CUPCAKES!!! I have always loved all things sweets, but recently that love has become more fine tuned in the cupcake category! After walking into all these bakeries here, I realized one of my dreams would be to open my own cupcake shop someday! It just makes since, I love them so much, and how fun would that be, seriously?!Who knows when this will happen or where, but I will do it one day... And what better place to search for the best cupcake than New York City?!?! This is definitely a passion of mine that Kyle has been more than willing to jump on board with! We've made the rounds to several of the famous cupcake shops throughout the city, and here's some of our thoughts about them...

First, we have Crumbs Bake Shop, probably the most famous of all the NYC bake shops. They have several locations across the city. Rosa and I stopped in one when she came out to visit a couple weeks ago. I just love this shop! They were voted best cupcake shop in all NYC, a pretty huge feat, considering how many different bakeries are here. So needless to say, they know what they're doing! They are massive, super sweet, and most come filled with some form of either frosting or fluff, making them even sweeter. Sometimes a bit too sweet for my liking, however, I doubt I would ever turn down the chance to eat one!

Second, we have Babycakes NYC! I dragged Kyle here Tuesday when we were off work, and we both agreed it was well worth the long subway ride and the trek through the snow! This shop was by far my FAVORITE! They specialize in cupcakes and treats made for people with food allergies, or people who just enjoy living (and eating) a healthy lifestyle. Their treats are all vegan, mostly gluten-free, and mostly sugar-free. The only sugar they do use is from agave syrup, a more natural form of sugar than your typical refined white sugar. Most people know, Kyle and I love eating this way when possible, so we were both loving this cute little bake shop that had such tasty treats you didn't have to feel guilty about eating. We started out sharing a tea and a carrot cupcake and pumpkin cupcake. Even though their icing is dairy free, it still tasted so much like cream cheese frosting! We loved them so much we had to go back for seconds! We got a chocolate cupcake with choco icing, and a red velvet cupcake with 'cream cheese' frosting and shared a natural rhubarb soda the second time around. The red velvet was awesome, however I was a bit disappointed with the chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, the cake was just a little dry. Regardless, we loved this little shop, I fell in love with their tasty little treats!

Third on the list, we have Billy's Bakery. After I left work today, I decided to walk over to Kyle's restaurant to say hi since I won't see him tonight. On my way, I noticed an adorably little bakery that had that very unique, local look. After I left the restaurant, I could've sworn I heard Billy's calling out my name... SO... I had to stop by and see what this place was all about! This is necessary research for my cupcake shop I'll open someday, right? I decided to try the carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting. It was very tasty, but again, just too sweet for my taste. I didn't want to leave in a sugar coma so I ended up scraping off all the icing, and ate just a tiny bit with each bite. It was much more enjoyable that way. I just don't like the super sweet icings (which is another reason I enjoyed Babycakes so much, it was just the right level of sweetness! Every cupcake from here on out will be compared to those lovely little babycakes!) Billy's had a wonderful, homey atmosphere that made you feel like you were a little kid sitting on your screened in back porch eating treats your Mom just pulled out of the oven for you... and I loved that about this place...

Coming home to do HAIR!!!!!!

2010-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
As most of you know, I have decided to come home every three weeks to do hair! I truly couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to do this! I'm so grateful to my husband for being so supportive of my dreams and helping me to fulfill them! (Although, I'm not sure he's realized this means when I'm gone he'll be responsible for taking Roxy out to potty for 3 days straight, that's his least favorite 'household chore'!) I'll wait to remind him of that until it's closer to when I leave, there's no need to bum him out right now! :)
Anyway, back to the matter at hand! I wanted to go ahead and give everyone my schedule for the next few months to make scheduling a bit easier. Here's a list of the weekends I'll be home:
Feb 25-28
March 18-21
April 8-11
April 29-May 2
May 20-23
June 10-13
July 1-4
This is as far as I've gotten so far!
If anyone wants to go ahead and plan out any appointments, feel free to email me at hannahwilliams1026@gmail.com, or text me at 816.739.2021 :)

Also, I have learned some new techniques and services since working here that I will be offering at home. Here's a quick overview of what they are, and how the pricing will run for these services:

"Fashion Hilights": Subtle hilights which frame the face, giving a very natural, sun-kissed look. $25 and up (must be combined with a haircut or other color service like all over touch up)

"NYC Blowout": This is what I do at the salon I work at here. Your hairstyling is achieved with only the use of a blow dryer and brush, no hot tool is used. I can create soft waves, and that "Victoria's Secret" style look this way. Because of the extra time and effort it takes, it cost a bit extra than a normal style. It is a fun style to have done if you have a special event, like a date, wedding, etc.. but aren't wanting an actual updo. Or if you just feel like treating yourself to something special! Pricing runs from $28, $34, $40, depending on hair type, texture, and length.

"Bolyage Hilights": Hilights painted on without the use of using foils. Creates a few different looks. Can be used to achieve a more natural, subtle effect, or can be used to create a more chunky, funky look. When applied in the more natural way, it helps your outgrowth line to not be as dramatic, allowing you to go a little longer between coloring. Usually requires a toner applied at the bowl. (This is what I'm doing for my hair right now.) The pricing on these will be as follows: partial $50, full $65

Also, I will not be able to accept credit cards, as I know longer have an account with the company we use at The Style Room. Hope this isn't too inconvenient. I will accept cash and check.

This is all I can think of for now!

Let me know if you have any questions for me!

Hugs and kisses... :)

Lessons Learned...

2010-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things New York City had taught me:

1) Public transportation isn't as scary as it sounds...

2) How beautifully important family really is...

3) How rare it is to find true life-long, wonderful friends, and how grateful I am for the ones I have...

4)How to give a pretty freakin' good hair blowout... :)

5) To have self confidence, and be able to stand up for who I am... (so what if I'm a friendly, smily girl, and people can tell I'm not from NYC? I take that as a compliment!)

6)My absolute LOVE for all different styles of architecture! I love how there can be a 250 year old ornate building right next to an ultra modern sky scaper... so awesome!

7)To go have fun any day of the week, even if you might be tired the next day... Why else did God make caffeine? You only live once, right?...

More to come as this city continues to teach and grow us as we're challenged in our daily lives...

Lucky day...

2010-02-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our day together and Kyle told me he had a surpise for us to do that evening! We left the house around noon to go get something we would need for that evening. We decided to bring the little Roxinator along with us. She gets nervous on the subway, but all in all, does really well. We got off in Times Square and Kyle told me we were going to go to The Phantom of the Opera that night!

I was so so excited, I've been wanting to see that show since we moved here. It's the longest running Broadway show! We met a guy that had coupons for last night's performance, so we were able to get our tickets for 1/3 the normal price!
Here's the guy that helped us, and look! He's standing in front of a deli called Roxy!

Then, as we were leaving, a girl stopped and asked if we wanted to go to the David Letterman show for free. It was being taped from 3:30-5:30, so it would be perfect timing. We rushed home, got ready, then headed down to the Ed Sullivan Theater for the show. When we got there they decided to give us the front row seats! We had the perfect view. It was so cool to watch a tv show being filmed! I had no idea what all went into a quick one hour show! We stopped off and grabbed a tasty Valentine's cupcake at Crumbs Bakery (my favorite!) then headed down to the Majestic Theater for our next show!

Here's the infamous "Phantom Chandelier"

When we arrived at the theater, we got to our seats and quickly realized we were sitting in the middle of a very obnoxious, rude group of tourists! We went down to see if they had any other seats available, being as it was our first Broadway play and we didn't want the tourists to ruin the experience, and they let us have a private box office! The show was FANTASTIC!!! We both loved it! The talent was just unbelievable! When the show got out, we left the theater and went to a cute little restaurant that was participating in NY Restaurant Week. We got a great little table and watched the snow fall as we ate dinner...
We decided that after lucking out all day it might be a good idea to buy a lottery ticket! We did as a joke, but really and truly, we count our blessings every day. God has been so good to us, and even does little things (like free upgrades and vip seats!)to make our lives more enjoyable! We had so much fun on our day off in the big city...

Hugs and Kisses :)

HGTV...

2010-01-21T19:10:00.001-08:00

When Kyle got back from Florida Tuesday afternoon, we went to this little salad/sandwich shop called Lenny's right up the street from our apartment. When we sat down to eat, I noticed that the guy sitting a couple tables away from us looked really familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out why. After hearing him talk a bit, I figured it out. He is one of the hosts on HGTV's show Hidden Potential! It was pretty entertaining too, because he was there with some lady, maybe an agent or something. He was complaining, telling her how he is "so tired" of doing makeover shows, and how they're all the same thing over and over and over again! I thought it was just such a small world that of all the places we chose to ate, here he was at this little local Mom and Pop place in the middle of Manhattan. We will have to keep our eye out for him on some other network, maybe he'll be the next host of Survivor and The Bachelor or something! We shall see...

Home Shopping Network

2010-01-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

This morning Kyle left for Florida to do Home Shopping Network with Todd. Todd has a line of cookware he sells on HSN. He always brings one of his chefs with him to do cooking during the show while Todd sells. This time he had Kyle come with him! They did the first show this afternoon, and have five more to do tonight and tomorrow. He will definitely be busy! Kyle has to get there before the filming to prep and set up all the food he'll cook during the filming. Kyle said he was a bit nervous at first, but then got right into the groove of things. I couldn't be more proud of my amazing husband! Anything he puts his mind to, he can accomplish! If you would've told me this past summer that we would be living in NYC, and Kyle would be one of Todd English's executive chefs and 'right hand men' I would've laughed and said you were nuts! This happened so fast, but I am so proud of all that my husband has already accomplished in his budding career. I know he will only continue to get better and better, and I am honored be along for the ride!
Hugs and Kisses :)

p.s. We have some of the Todd English Greenpans, and they really are great! They are nonstick without the harmful chemical in normal nonstick pans. I would like them, even if Kyle didn't work for Todd :)

Surprise, Surprise!!!

2010-01-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

No, no, I am not pregnant. Thought I'd clear that up right away after the title to this post! This past weekend however, Kyle was in for the surprise of his life! I had told Kyle I wanted to bring a girl from work in to his restaurant to try it out. (until this weekend I hadn't been in to try out all the TASTY menu items) When my 'friend' and I walked in to the restaurant, it was actually Scott (Kyle's older brother and best friend) who was eating dinner with me! Kyle was in total shock for most of the evening!!! He couldn't believe his bro was here for the weekend! Scott and I had a blast eating dinner and people watching while Kyle finished up work for the evening. Scott and I both got to meet Todd English after dinner too. :) Scott was in town Saturday-Monday. We went out after dinner Sat night, and stayed up super late catching up. Sunday morning we walked up to the corner and ate at The Barking Dog diner for breakfast. That's where we have breakfast every Sunday, so we thought we'd share our little local spot with Scott. We spent the day Sunday walking around the city and had lunch at the Carnegie Deli.

We just had so so so much fun having Scott in our new city, getting the opportunity to show him around NYC. Kyle had a great time catching up with his brother. He misses him so much, and it was great that they were able to spend some quality time together!

Hugs and Kisses :)

A New Chapter...

2009-12-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today I started my first day at my new job! It went really well! I am working at a very well known salon in New York called Blow. Their website is www.blowny.com if anyone wants to check it out! They are a 'blow dry bar', meaning that they specialize in blow dry styling. They have been featured in several national magazines: Allure, Vogue, Self, New York Times, etc... for their styling and product line. Most of their clients come in regularly to have their hair shampooed and styled out, either for a special event, or just for everyday life. I am very very excited about the opportunity I have to work at this salon. I will have the chance to learn some very awesome NYC hair techniques here. Even stylists who have worked in the city for years don't know how to do blow-outs the way Blow salon does them, so I will definitely get to learn some killer stuff! I will also get the chance to do cuts and coloring after I get down the styling methods. I really like everyone I work with also. They have all been very friendly and helpful. I'm hoping I'll be able to make some good friends there. One thing is for sure though, they won't be able to take the place of all my Style Room girls!
It's finally starting to get pretty freakin' cold here! I really am hoping we get our first snow at Christmas, it would be awesome if we had a white Christmas for our first NYC Christmas!
Hugs and Kisses :)

Excited for Christmas!

2009-12-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to KC to visit family and friends. I had such a great time catching up with everyone! Kyle had to work the entire weekend, so unfortunately he wasn't able to come with me. :(
When Kyle got home from work Sunday night, the two of us went out for a late night dinner to catch up on how our weekends were! We left Roxy in the living room as we always do, and she always does fine being in there, never getting into anything.... except last night! You see, I had completely forgotten about the fact that I had put all the gifts from Grandma Marilyn under our Christmas tree before we left for dinner. Normally Roxy leaves these things alone (she really is a good little girl, she'll be on Santa's nice list this year!) Well, apparently there was one gift that just became too tempting, as she decided to unwrap it while her Mom and Dad were away at dinner! Kyle and I came home after being gone for about an hour and a half to find our little Roxy laying on the couch chewing on not one, but two raw hide bones! Wrapping paper was shredded up everywhere, bones were all over the living room, and little Roxy had a guilty look on her face. She knew she had been caught! After I had picked up all the mess, I looked at the bag the bones had come in, and it was a twenty pack, which means that our little ten pound dog ate 9 bones in 1 1/2 hours!!!! Maybe she will be on Santa's naughty list after all! :)

Christmas Windows...

2009-12-04T15:02:00.001-08:00

One of the things I've LOVED about moving to New York is that we were able to get out here before the holidays! I am a Christmas QUEEN! I LOVE Christmas! :) Christmas in NYC is HUGE! All of the stores decorate their windows, I mean ALL the stores, grocery stores, restaurants, retail stores, everyone! I LOVE it!!!! I went shopping today and got Kyle some presents... I snapped a few pictures of the store windows at Bloomingdale's on my phone as I walked by! OF course, my favorite is the shoe display! It has a Christmas tree covered in shoes, a huge shoe with a shoe 'escalator' going up it and everything!!! Enjoy!
Hugs & kisses :)

Favorite Buildings

2009-11-29T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorite buildings I've discovered so far...

Central Park...

2009-11-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

It was a BEAUTIFUL day today, the weather was perfect, just a light jacket was all you needed, so we decided to take Roxy to Central Park. She LOVES it there, all the kids, people, other dogs, squirrels, pigeons, and food on the ground! What's not to love?! She thoroughly enjoys eating her fair share of coffee cake, bagels, and bits of pizza off the sidewalks whenever possible. Kyle was hungry once we got to the park, seeing as it was 2:30 and we still hadn't eaten yet today, so we stopped off at a little street vender's cart and got him a hot dog and a knish. We walked into the park and sat and listened to some live Christmas music from a sax player as we enjoyed our afternoon snack. Roxy realized that the knish, a fried Jewish potato cake, is so far her favorite New York food! She went nuts over it! It was adorable!
We continued into the park and came across the Belvedere castle at Turtle pond. This is my favorite spot in the park so far. I love that we live close enough to walk to Central Park several times a week!

Hugs and Kisses :)

Pleasant Surprise

2009-11-27T18:32:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise, Kyle mentioned to me tonight that he thought it would be cool if we started a blog. (If any of you know my husband, you know that he usually thinks blogging is a ridiculous waste of time.) ( Sorry all you bloggers out there!) This will be an easy way for us to keep up with all our friends and family back home, and around the country, to be able to share our new life here in the big NYC with all the people we love.
I've only been here for a month, but we've already done and seen so many cool things, I will do my best to update everyone over what has been going on lately!
I also want to say really quickly how much we really appreciate all the help, support, and prayers from all our family and friends. This move wouldn't have been able to happen so quickly without all your help. We love you all so much and miss you. Can't wait to have all our friends and family out to visit!!!! hint, hint :)
Hope you all enjoy having a little peek into our life in the big city!

Hugs and kisses to you all :)