The Princess and the little monkey sister!

So these two little sisters are too funny! They were all about the glitter and the curls!

The big sister (you might recognize her from this post) was telling me her full name, her middle name is very unique and when I asked about it she said it's a princess name (of course;)...."I'm a princess and my sister is a Monkey!" Ha! I thought that was hysterical...When I asked Paige...she agreed, she was definitely a monkey and explained in detail how she can hang upside down and climb very difficult things! Too funny!

They were both in a wedding and very good little clients, waiting patiently for their curls and braids!

Happy 2 year anniversary Bijou!

First I would like to say...Holey Moley, my oh my, how has 2 years passed in the blink of an eye! (what is with this rhyming...i'm not even trying..omg, I did it again!)

On Monday I had a wonderful evening, a special treat for me, from the Bijou girls (and boy)...Most of us went to Rosalie's for dinner...had some wine..some laughs and really good food...we celebrated 2 years! Most of the girls have just been with me for about a year. Here is how Bijou's story went...(I'll tell it again..because last time it went a little bit like this;)

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take over Angels by the lake (the angels that were housed in this gift shop, held the space just for the future Bijou, it was Kismet, as I attended a small business course with the owner of that gift shop, 4 years prior to her opening the angel store:) I almost did not take the place, stating that I was "just fine where I was"...Me who really does not like change, although change calls me all the time...Normally I know it's inevitable, but resist for longer than I should...sometimes my intuition speaks to me, but I just occasionally need a kick in the butt! Luckily my close friends and confidants did just that...I took the leap, taking over the shop on August 15Th, and with many helping hands, Thomas and the kids by my side, we were ready to open on September 4Th of 2007!

Here is how the next year flew by...So first it was Kimberlee and me...I had one by my side, she's my girl. I was number 1, she was number 2. Then Jackie came, at the moment I cannot recall if she started with us in that year or after the new year in 2008, she was number 3. (this is where it goes really fast!) Michele, number 4 in April. Courtney, number 5 in June. Lori, number 6 in July. (I was saying for our 1 year anniversary, wow, look how much we've grown..thinking this was it, no one else could possible fit)...Then... Linda number 7 in December. Samantha, number 8 in January! Wait! Did I mention I had 4 chairs?? And only 650 square feet? Crazy huh!?

Then something came out of the blue...well actually it came out of Bella Blue (that was the name of the clothing store we shared space with)...funny;) Edie had told me that she was looking for someone to take over the business, but if she could not find anyone to buy the business, would I like it? Now this was more of a gamble than last time...Yet, I didn't need nearly as much convincing, I said YES! Yet...letting fate take its course! I learned early on that it's best not to push things...I always say..."Gently push the door open, just give it a nudge....if it's meant to be..the door will swing open with a gust...if it's not meant to be, the door will remain closed for perhaps another day". I was fine with either scenario. The Bijou girls were itching though...They really wanted to grow...we were on the "wait and see" bus for a long time. I think I drove them crazy with how calm I was...(I really wasn't that calm, I never really let them see what I'm feeling;)

February we got news and we were set to have Edie move out on the end of the month. It was bittersweet, because we became very fond of our neighbors and knew we would miss her dearly! However, now we had renovation on the mind and Edie had grandchildren and her horsey waiting for her!!

We started March 1st and changed a lot! It's funny, had I been on the outside looking in, I would have been so impressed at myself. But doing it, I was like..this looks harder than it was..I mean really once again I was incredible lucky and fortunate that the owner of the building, for whom I have loads and loads of trust and respect in, owned a business...a building business...I didn't even need to shop for a contractor, I knew he would be fair. So that part was easy. And I guess my requests for what I wanted to do were easy enough. (I know Thomas will remind me after he reads this...easy? don't you remember all the sheets of paper we made, playing jenga with all the items you wanted in this other small space..I do remember, but now it's like labor..you have a lovely baby, so you forget the real pain;) The guys were great, they were so respectful of our space and working time, we couldn't have asked for a better crew! James was our favorite and we all...sniff sniff, miss him! (Hi James and Amy:)

By April 1st...okay maybe it was like the 4Th or the 5Th...it was close enough! We were open and ready for business...Looking back, I wish I had recorded it, because I find it all a blur, we just did what we had to do and there were alot of sleepless nights, but everyone, all the girls and all our most loyal friends helped us. To say we are blessed somehow is an understatement!

So now to continue, we now have 8 girls, we added 2 massage therapists..Michelle and Maria, And we have full time front desk help all the time. We now have 1300 square feet, 6 chairs, 1 relaxation room. We added a full Aveda skincare and haircare line and the famous Baremineral make up!!! And now in July, we added our 9Th girl, Stacy! Things continue to be as busy as ever, and every time I hear someone compliment me, the salon or any of my team...I pinch myself, just to make sure I'm not dreaming and graciously accept the compliment (something that has been hard to get used to...I'm a better giver of compliments and such than receiving..I tend to want to say...aah it was nothing, but I have learned to be proud:)

So tomorrow on my two year anniversary, I look ahead to our next year and the years after that and then I look over my shoulder and remember...that without making many mistakes and learning from them, without a lot of hard work and collecting my ideas and experiences...none of this would be possible today! I am so thankful for every opportunity that I have been given and most of all I am grateful for the people in my life!

Happy Birthday Bijou, Thank you for all the joy you have brought to us!

Can anyone guess what this means??

So just a little teaser...with more information to come...what happens when you have a field like this and three pink cows!?

Think! Pink!

How does a professional photographer photograph?

Laure Lillie...extraordinaire!

Stealth like...

Hiding in every corner...to capture every detail..

Caught up in her own creative world...not even noticing that I was snapping away...

Fascinated at her focus! Selecting her settings carefully...

And creating amazing results...

Coming soon...to a blog near you...the Bijou photo shoot! We can hardly wait!!

Major bithday party!

A very special group of girls...
The most girliest girls you could find!
Feather boa's around their necks and plentiful shades of pink gracing their toe's!
Polka dots, stripes and flowers on their fingers...
Singing all the words to their favorite Hannah Montana songs, with a splash of frosting on their nose!
What a wonderful afternoon it was with such energy and spunk!

Summer does that to you!

I've been a bad blogging salon owner! But it is summer and I do know most of you would really want me to enjoy some of the summer we have had:) right;) ?

If only my brain and computer were compatible...So often during the day, when things happen at the salon....Things...great things happen all the time...I will think...and even go as far to take a picture...I'll blog this!! And then of course my day goes, we enjoy the sunshine and my post only remains in my brain...under the cloud of other information! I think I need a Lacie drive for my brain!

So, I'll do a little recap of the past month!

We've had so many wonderful bridal parties at Bijou! We've met tons and tons of wonderful people. People that have long come and gone, yet, the Bijou girls and I will say..."Remember that bride...she was so relaxed, so calm...and remember those bridesmaids, they were hysterical!" We really have a great time and it's our honor to help make those special days even better!

Let's see what else has been new? Oh yes, Laure Lille one of our most favorite photographers came in and did a Bijou photo shoot! The Bijou girls were really great and smiled pretty, plus helped me shine up the place! We are waiting patiently for the results, (but don't rush Laure, we want you to enjoy sailing, getting K off to school and enjoy those last days of summer!) However, if you want to see some STUNNING photos of our front desk girl, Victoria, check out these....

Thomas and I are also working on a new webpage, it's a bit of a long process, and of course we have had lots of guests this summer, including his brother and his girlfriend from France (ask me, I really learned firsthand how Frenchwomen do not get fat!!)...I want to thank all my clients for going with various Bijou girls during my summer vaca, I really love it that every client really seems to be happy with whomever does their hair. In fact, I had the best best compliment from Kelly P. today, she said..."Kim, I have never gone to a place to get my hair done more than once, ever, in my life...and I just love Bijou, all of your staff is so great, I love every single one of them!" I can't tell you how much I bust with pride when I hear things like this, because this was my vision and what I really wanted, for people to just be able to come in and enjoy everything about Bijou. Thank you Kelly for telling me that! The same day Kathleen M. was in and was complimenting me on the website and blog, I really do enjoy doing this and I'm really thankful when someone mentions this! I'm proud of everyone who works at Bijou, we are all very different, yet we all have a very common bond, making Bijou the best it can be! I am so grateful for everyone who affects Bijou in a positive way!

Oh a bit more of exciting news. We have our 9th Bijou girl that just joined our team! (including me) I will be doing a little feature on Stacy, she is also a little gem from Indiana, she was formerly a Chi educator for color and has joined our team with such a positive force! Everyone already adores her and it's as if she was always a part of the team!! Stay tuned for a picture and Bio of Stacy Oneal coming soon!!

Just one last, buy not least important thing, I wanted to let you know of our exciting fundraising results! I do have photos to post, however my camera is not cooperating with me at the moment! I want to thank Tim Green for letting us have this great opportunity and more importantly for suggesting it! (This was from my last email newsletter, in case you don't receive it, this info I thought was particularly important!)
Hello! I just wanted to give you the totals for the special we held last month! The lavendar pedicure special where you both save and gave...

The deal was you got to have a spa pedicure, all of Laura's list lavendar products which people have been buying to bring home to use...(The whip is great for shaving!) We made it so you could save $5.00 off the spa pedicure price and also give 10% of the $45 to either the Vera House or the John Dau foundation! It was a great success! I think I loved this special the best so far!

Laura presented the check to Dr. Barb who will hand the money to the John Dau foundation and save lives! We can thank Debbie, Marilyn, Ellen, Donna, Mary Ellen, Kimball, Susan, Debbie, Lisa, Dr. Barb, Kim, Helen, Robin, Carol, Laura, Lynn Anne, Rose and Beverly!

Tomorrow, Debra Hurley from Vera house will come to Bijou, and we will present her with the check and she will help make lives better!! For that we can thank Sharon, Kathy, Margaret, Kari, Beverly, Kathy, Becky, Shelly, Miss Ros, Deborah, Patricia, Lynn, Sue, Jane, Carolann, Chris, Miss Betty, Debbie, Elana, Chris, Chiara, Edie, Janet, Elaine, Salli, Denise, Annemarie, Kate, Stephanie, Katya, Tracey, Stephanie and Jennie!

ALSO, for the Tim Green Raffle, we really scored! Tim was so wonderful to offer this opportunity to us and we successfully raised $980. Little Peter Major came to draw the name, he pulled Griffin Lendyl's name first...then preceded to pull his own name. One of my dear clients had written out 5 raffles and put Peter's name on there...He was very disappointed and had a look on his face, I assured him I would keep whispering his name in Tim's ear!

WE are still working on the Susan Major flip flop project and got two new shipments in, my goal for those is to sell all 50. We've sold about 25 of the first batch and have more of the faith, hope and love in all sizes! All of the profit goes to Susan:):) Also Deb Zenamo has some wonderful smelling soaps that she handmade herself for the great make, bake and take fundraiser at Drooz Studio's, she had leftover ones from the sale and truly made them with all the love in the world, we have them at Bijou and all the proceeds will be given to Susan Major! (They are $5.00 each)

Thank you everyone!

If you haven't seen our new window yet...

Our new window stickers finally were delivered, yahoo! Here they are being put up, I love how everyone was watching, just as exciting to them as it was to me...Hence the reason I put front desk in charge of taking photos to document it...you know just for you...(and me;)

Our little friend Em was watching...look she drew Bijou, how perfect is it, next time I need a mural..I'll call Em!
Ha, I had to include this one, I know Ellen reads this and she'll get to this photo and think...I'm gonna kill her;) haha gotta stay out of my camera's way..or else you too could end up on the Bijou Blog!!! Muahhahahha!


AHhhh the finished product, so nice! Now we just need the other sign on top to be finished...the one that will say....A little gem!

Just another wedding party at Bijou in Skaneateles!

Our Bijou boat is ready to be launched!!

From years ago when they first started the antique boat show in skaneateles, I remember seeing the red and blue boats and how the different shops decorated them! I always adored looking at what was in them and always bought a raffle to win one...I think I did win one once!

I remember working at places previously who participated in the little boat show and once I do believe I even got to either help decorate one or do it all, my memory is not that good that I actually remember what I did....But I do remember thinking....if this were my boat...I'd really decorate it up. You see to me I always saw these little boats that businesses made up, as mascots or shall we say floats in a parade...They should be decorated to represent your business...I guess just for fun, but for pride too! (At my High school each class had a float that we decorated, that was my favorite memory...these little boats are like little floats to me)

I want to Thank the Chamber of commerce for still offering these boats to the local businesses and for those of you who have as much fun decorating them, kudos's to you:)

So tell me, we win the float contest...I mean boat contest..no? Our Bijou boat is pretty awesome if I do say so myself, and I don't toot my horn all that often;)

Lavendar pedicures at Bijou!

Bijou and Laura's List teamed up together once again, for a fabulous month long special! It's a win win situation, you save and you give all at the same time!

For the month of July, you can get a Lavendar Spa pedicure, complete with a nice lavendar fizzy, a lavendar sugar scrub, a lavendar whip on your legs and then hot towels to soak the moisture in. All while enjoying a lavendar lemonade! Normally our Spa pedicure is $50, but with this special, you receive $5.00 off, so it's only $45 AND 10% of your pedicure goes to your choice of either John Dau foundation or The vera house!

The tower of Laura's list lavendar products have little leaves on it....each little certificate has the peoples names on it, plus their choice of charity that they designate their 10% to go to! As you can see, we are filling it up quickly! This photo was taken on the third day of offering pedicures...we've had to rearrange the "leaves" a couple of times! Thank you for your help!

Kid's at Bijou

So I have a new b/f/f!

Her name is Chloe!

Anyone who ever says compliments will get you nowhere....have a little munchkin give you a compliment like Chloe gave me...then you'll be saying exactly what I said..."Kid, compliments will get you everywhere!"

Chloe: "This is so relaxing..."
Me: "What is?"
Chloe: "Getting my haircut and having my hair combed."
Me: "Aww Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!"
Chloe: "Who's the boss here anyway?"
Me: " I am!"
Chloe: "Oh, but you're really pretty to be a boss."
Me: "Awwww Chloe, you can have anything you want in here, can I take you home with me, will you be my new best friend and tell me things like that everyday!?"
Chloe: "Sure, you are really pretty"

So this came at the most perfect time, after my computer crashing, my blow dryer making a ridiculous noise, the motion detector detecting a spider or something late last night (good news is the Skaneateles police dept, now knows exactly what Bijou is!!) Linda giving the back of the salon a nice hose down and having the third person show up thinking they had an appt, only to have to tell them that the crash from the computer has lost their appt, THIS truly made my day brighter! Thanks Chloe!

Haven't you heard...Bijou is known for their princess haircuts...

Here is our little friend Leah! She is so pretty don'tcha think?? Do you see her kitty cat ears?? She's a hoot!

A little wild her hair was, a bit like Rapunzel......Leah sat patiently while her Mommy got a haircut and wax done...and then it was her turn!!! The requested haircut? can you guess which princess she asked for??

Why Snow White of course!!!

I think Leah is pretty darn happy with her new "Snow White" haircut! And I do know for a fact that everyone who was at Bijou during her haircut, was as tickled pink as she was:) Kid's always make your heart smile!

Milfoil monster, here we come!!!

I cannot believe it, this milfoil monster is really a big pain!!!!

First we see the big giant prints at our door, trying to get a mani or pedi, as he says on his twitter...the big green monster actually had the nerve to try to get a mani or pedi at Bijou, that is so shocking to me!

If he peeks in our window, he will see, we are not fans of his, he is not welcome in our lake, nor is he welcome in our lovely little salon...Although, we could do a nice trimming, that is true, it is very enticing, yet we do not service monsters, no way, nuh huh! We have a bright green lovely box sitting in our waiting room, waiting for change to support the fight against milfoil! Won't you join us, just drop your extra change and help fight this nasty weed!

This is so exciting, while adding a link to this nasty beast, I just realized there is a contest, a HUNT! I love contests, I love hunts! WHO wants to join me?!?!?!? Get your own team or join ours! Read all about it here!

Join the Fight!

You may have heard him slithering down Genesee Street late at night. Maybe you have even seen his fluorescent green footprints on the sidewalk.

Who?

The Milfoil Monster, that’s who!

It is time to stop this green menace from terrorizing our community! Grab your torches…and let the hunt begin!

We need your help to capture Milford in a Labor Day scavenger hunt! Here’s how you can hunt the Milfoil Monster…

1. Grab a group of your friends or family up to six people

2. Click here

3. Click on “Make your own fundraising page for Tri County Skaneateles Lake Pure Water Association”

4. Make your own, cool page and tell the world why you want your Lake to be milfoil-free

5. E-mail your page to everyone you know, post it on your Facebook, MySpace, Twitter…. Post it anywhere and everywhere you can think of...and start raisin’ some moolah!

The team that raises the most money and the team that captures Milford at the scavenger hunt both win a Skaneateles Family Fun Basket…

....filled with a Midlakes Navigation Lunch Cruise, a Bluewater Grill gift certificate, a Mark’s Pizza gift certificate, Milford the Milfoil Monster t-shirts, goodies from Imagine and Green Mountain Coffee…and many, many other fantastic prizes! Remember…. Keep an eye out for that sneaky, green Monster… you never know where he may be lurking!

I do believe his days are numbered! HA!

Michele makes a little girls birthday so special!

Here is Michele and Noelle, aren't they cute!?

Michele came in on her day off to make this little girls birthday special, she not only came in gladly and with a huge smile, she also came with balloons and cupcakes for the little princess!

The grandmother is a long time client of Michele's and when she told Michele that Noelle's only birthday wish was to come into Bijou for a manicure and her hair done, our Michele stepped right up and offered to come in to make her day special! Noelle and her Grandma were going to see High school musical at the Merry go round theatre! What a special day little Noelle had!

Very important information!

I'm so excited, we have more flip flops...these are even more special...they say Love, faith and hope...the epitome of Susan Major! (just read her archives on her blog, you'll see for yourself!)

So our last flip flop project was so successful! I mean I see them everywhere! Did I mention we raised over $1000, our goal was that and we (of course, thanks to Laura) exceeded it! So that money went to Jennifer Tom of Positively pink packages, but this time, all proceeds will go to Susan Major! You can buy these flip flops at the community center, Skaneateles Jewelers and of course Bijou!! PLUS..... ONE MORE THING....TIM GREEN is donating a character name for his next book!!! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN YOU SAY??? Well it's very simple, you pay $10 for a raffle ticket, and write your kids name, your name, your mother or fathers' name and we run the raffle for 1 month, (ending August 1st) on that day we pull a name from the box and whoever is the winner will get that name as one of his characters in his next kids novel...Football frenzy is the current name! Seriously how cool would that be to open a book and see a name you know, to read along and see where your character goes?? (read the poster at the top to see all the places where you can purchase raffles!!)

NOW I DON'T WANT YOU TO FORGET........


My good friend Shelly (my fairy godmother in decorating Bijou) is having an old fashioned tag sale at her studio! You should make it a point to come down, there will be so many goodies...She has amazing connections and the whole community is pulling together for some really cool and affordable priced gems! (Plus I just read, there will be a psychic there, how fun!!!) THE FLIP FLOPS AND RAFFLE TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THIS EVENT!

AND ONE MORE THING....TIM GREEN is donating a character name for his next book!!! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN YOU SAY??? Well it's very simple, you pay $10 for a raffle ticket, and write your kids name, your name, your mother or fathers' name and we run the raffle for 1 month, (ending August 1st) on that day we pull a name from the box and whoever is the winner will get that name as one of his characters in his next kids novel...Football frenzy is the current name! Seriously how cool would that be to open a book and see a name you know, to read along and see where your character goes?? (read the poster at the top to see all the places where you can purchase raffles!!)


(I couldn't say it better than Laura Ponticello from Laura's book list...)

Susan Major always has a smile on her face, with lipstick that typically coordinates with her outfit; but it's her inner beauty that radiates. Founder of Sacred Mornings for Moms and Our Joyful Journeys, Susan has ignited many women to believe in a better day, nourish their spiritual side and to think about giving back to others. I have witnessed firsthand Susan's ability to sow seeds of hope for others. Many women have stopped me with tears in their eyes to tell me how Susan has positively impacted their life; now that circle of love that she creates is the ripple in the pond that we all feel. At age 39, Susan was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer That's why the community is coming together, especially Bijou Salon, www.bijousalon.net to help raise awareness.

100% of the proceeds of every flip flop purchase will directly support Susan in her road to better health. Flips are stylish, various sizes and inscribed with words "Love, Faith and Hope".