Dream A Little Dream of Me.

This was me about 8 weeks ago.
At a traffic light, I snapped the above.
My hair: DIRTY.
My hair: ON ITS WAY TO BLISS.
Dream a little dream of me, won't you?


This is my salon. Dream Hair Studio.It is elegant, sassy, and comfort all rolled into one design space. Located in the downtown artsy-crafty district of Chattanooga on Frazier Avenue for all you locals. The music is jive'n and hair is thrivin' in this studio.
Meet Ashleigh Carver. She is my hair engineer; my stylist; my lock lover, if you will. She is exactly what I need too.

A perfectionist.
Meticulous.
Down to earth.
Helpful.
Honest.
Edgy.
Humorous.
Passionate.

Hair color is like toothpaste to me.
You don't leave home without using it.

Now, I realize that not all women abide by this code, and that's okay. I have several friends and loved ones that are Au Naturele. Others who are once-a-year streakers and even a few who are Clairol straight-out-the-boxers.

And it's all good. If you will remember, I even had my stint at playing kitchen beautician. Here and here tell all about it just to keep us all up to speed.

I NEED color you see.

NEED not WANT.

My hair does better. I do better. Mama is happy. Nuff said.

Now, I fully realize that having my hair professionally done is a perk and a treat. I even will budge so far as to say that the NEED not WANT statement up above is a stretch. I don't wanna admit that, but I will.

Not that having your hair professionally done on a consistent basis needs justification or anything, but just to make myself feel better, ahem:

1. I don't get manicures or pedicures.
2. I clean my own home.
3. I do my own landscaping.
4. I pay nothing in day care.
5. I ONLY shop at Goodwill and yard sales for my clothing with only the OCCASIONAL Target clearance item splurge.

There. I feel better.

Because Dream Hair Studio is a TREAT.

More importantly, Ashleigh Carver is a TREAT.

Allow me to ramble, won't you?

Here she is acting all silly before I jumped in her chair and the mane magic began. Now let me just say, I am a loyal customer. Before finding my way to Ashleigh, I was with my previous stylist for almost 6 years. {I can't help but note the slightly comical comparison here to dating. "I was with..." It's so true in the hair world, isn't it?!}

Client's time and a stylist's performance have to match, you know?

And with Ashley and me, they do.

"I don't think I will ever not be a stylist. I have a passion for it too much."

That was one of the first things she said to me. And let me just say it spoke volumes about her as a stylist. She totally is passionate about her profession. Allow me to elaborate:

• This girl had me bring in everything that went into styling my hair at home from the shampoo to the last finishing product so that she could watch me style my hair and help me get the look I have when I leave Dream with MY OWN products! She guided me with styling tips, and even advised me on what over-the-counter products were "worth their salt" and which professional products were musthaves. Her words, "I want to make sure you can style your hair to make it look the very best for 2 reasons. First so that you feel confident and happy about your hair, and secondly, your hair is my billboard. If people notice your hair, then that's an opportunity for my business to grow." Entrepreneurial and an advocate of one's personal best: I love it.
• I go every 8 weeks for service. She has me come in at the 4 week mark just to have my bangs trimmed up to keep good styling shape...FOR FREE.
• She actually looks over my color and if she sees something she would like to correct or make better, she asks me to come back in the next day so that she can fix it. She has done this twice all with a smile and the determination to make my head of hair its very best.
• She is nice and down to earth.
• She went on a missions trip with her husband to Yemen to teach hair to the ladies there so to help them learn job training for income.
• She shoots me straight. Ashleigh is a quick read on what kind of style her clients can pull off. And I quote, "I am not here to make people think they look good in one style when they really don't. I am here to find the right style for their personality and face shape. From there, I find my desire to create." Genuis.

And Ashleigh has helped me to step out of my conventional blonde highlight box. She asked me to tell me a little about what I like for my hair. So here is what I reported:

1. I am a huge fan of blonde. Always have been. I want to resonate with the mousy brown I naturally am, but who's kidding here. I just feel better blonder.
2. I also love the reddish-auburn chestnut look.
3. I have a high forehead.
4. I like being unique. I love to create, design, paint, write, and sew. Texture and color mean a lot to me.

And here's the finished product:
Long bangs. Holy cow has this cut my mile long forehead in half. I have not had bangs since my sophomore year of high school as in high school I was given the nickname, "Blossom" after the TV show. See what nicknames can do to you?
Auburn-chestnut saturation in the back. Yippee!
Color and texture changes.
Punky fun to fit the creative side of me. This last trick was Ashleigh's idea. I was a little nervous at first, but have fallen in love with this edgy look.
So, I like her. She cracked up when I came bee-bopping in with my camera and told her I wanted to do a blog post about her. As you can see, she obliged with a happy heart and sweet smile.

I have been going to Ashleigh for about 8 months now. {I can't help but wanna change "going to" to "going with" just to keep the dating comparison going from above. ALAS, I will refrain.}

I just had my hair done again this past Thursday too. Subtle new look from the above...tee-tiny chestnut low lights into the blonde front for a bit more definition, more blonde added to the crown of my head in the for a little more pop of color, and a shorter, shiftier bang set. So far, I am lovin' it! {No visual here as my head has been immersed in pool water since then in celebration of the 4th!}

Thanks for the vein outtake and all to "Dream a Little Dream of Me." I couldn't resist the title.

If you are a local and need a stylist, Ashleigh Carver is your girl. Stop by and tell her I sent you!

And I wanna know the low down on your own locks.

Let me offer you a choose your own adventure question set:

1. Are you happy with your hair?
2. Do you like your stylist?
3. What do you like best about your locks?
4. What would you like to change?
5. What do you like best about your stylist?

Do tell!

"Locked" and loaded,

.mac :)