Menu, friends. Menu.  You want to see me happy? Offer me coffee and the new issue of Vogue with Nicole Kidman. ANDlet me drink the coffee while its still hot.   The combination is perfection. I would have happily just sat there and read and drunk coffee. But there was more coming. Like this really adorable stylist who, instead of just throwing me in a chair and messing with my head, sits me down and starts talking to me about my life. What I do, why Im there, what I imagine my hair could be. I think that stylists are equipped to be psychologists on the side.  She listens to me go on and on (because I know the antics of a two year old are the highlight of anyones day, yes?) and then says she has an idea and begins showing me images of how my hair could be. She is warm and encouraging and believes she can bring it back. So I make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I say, You know what? I trust you. You can do whatever you like.  Then I sit back in the chair with my coffee and Vogue and get to work on catching up on the important stuff. Like what people with absurd amounts of money are going to be wearing in New York this fall, and is Nicole Kidmans marriage still going well?  In case youre interested, rich people will be dressing like Mad Men with a touch of color this fall, and Nicole Kidman is currently living on a farm in Sydney when she isnt working.

            While Im hanging out, drinking a French Vanilla Latte, Katie is hard at work behind the bar mixing and mashing a variety of colors in so many little dishes for me. She tells me shes going to pull out the color my hair had at age 12. I had really pretty hair at age 12, so Im super excited. She foils my entire head, and then I am left to hang out again.  Looking around Samuel Cole Salon, I realize what I am also really loving is that it isnt salon-y. Sure, there are typical salon chairs, a washing station, color station, etc, but the ceilings are high and there are so many windows, you feel like you could be in a lounge. The air doesnt smell strongly of chemicals and everyone in the chairs lookshappy. Hands down, this was the best salon experience of my life.

            When Katie comes to get me a little while later, she tells me that she uses Oribe (pronounced Or-bay) and Wella products- vegan, never tested on animals, and free of chemicals that have been recently linked to cancer. Then she reminds me that not only am I getting this amazing cut and color, but I am also due products. I try to play it cool, like Im always getting free shampoo, but break into the same smile I had in tenth grade when my braces finally came off.  Katie recommends a shampoo, conditioner and gloss that I pay for because my hair looks that good.   

            One deal that Katie and I made was for me to wear my hair down every day for a week, and to really practice working with it to see how to make it both beautiful and every-day manageable. Thank you Samuel Cole Salon! I am in week 3, and not only is it still down most of the time, I am still getting compliments on it. Win, win, win.