Posted on Sunday, October 20, 2013

Taking Care of Your Temple: Introducing 1245 Salon and Spa’s New Look!!!

Hello World,

Don’t get it twisted! Just because we are Christians does not mean we have to ignore our outer beauty to work on our inner beauty! In fact, in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it says…

^“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

So when I was invited to tour 1245 Salon and Spa and see the transformation that has been made since the salon and spa was remodeled, I said, “Why not?” As Adrienne Bailon, who is starring in “I’m In Love With a Church Girl,” said, “Jesus didn’t say we couldn’t be fly!”

1245 Salon and Spa, located at 1245 Fowler Street NW in Atlanta near Atlantic Station, unveiled the new look this fall, following a three-month transformation totaling approximately $24,000. Terrell Dinkins, of Posh Interiors, LLC, was the interior designer on the makeover. Below are some of the makeover highlights:

Makeover highlights include:

Adding a curved wall to create a separate lobby area
Applying blue and green paint colors to provide more of a spa feel
Installing two partition walls to expand the dryer room and create privacy in the shampoo area
Lightening up the floors from an earlier drab brown to a new light grey
Replacing commercial lights in the ceiling with other types of lighting, including pistachio green pendant lights and recessed lighting
Creating a photo gallery of client head shots to showcase the work of the salon’s master stylists
Completing the salon’s look with new furnishings, decorative accessories and wall art

“At 1245 Salon and Spa, our clients are top priority,” says Terrell Mack, co-owner and master cosmetologist, 1245 Salon and Spa. “This makeover is just one way to show our appreciation to our loyal customers, while creating a home-away-from-home experience for them and our growing clientele. We couldn’t be more excited!”

Not only was I invited to see the transformation of the salon and spa, I was also invited to try out one of their services. I opted to try out a foot detox. Maybe that is what Jesus was doing when he washed the disciples’ feet! I’m just kidding! If you have never heard of a foot detox (which I hadn’t heard of prior to being invited to the salon and spa), it is the process of removing toxins from the body through the pores of your feet. A spa bath is prepared using water, salt and an ion detox unit. As toxins are pulled, the water turns a variety of colors according to the toxins in your body…Below are a few photographs detailing my experience…

A chart detailing what may happen in a foot detox…

The ion detox unit and salt…

My toesies in the spa…

Add salt and stir…LOL…

Owner Terrell Mack waiting for the results…

Here we go…

Eeewwwww!!!

I can’t believe that came from my feet…Yuck…

Apparently, in order to experience the best results of having a foot detox, you must have the procedure done at least five to six times. Results include an improved immune system, pain and stress relief and improved sleep!

Below are a few more shots of the salon and spa. Some of the shots are professional (taken by Doug Smith Photography) while some of the shots I took during my visit:

The beautiful lobby…

Barber Hamp Hamilton…

Stylist Laschea Burgess…Get that hair did girl!

More of the salon…

Wall decor…

The best part…Ample & FREE parking…Hard to find in downtown Atlanta nowadays…

The following brands are included in the makeover: Terrell Dinkins, Posh Interiors, LLC (www.poshinteriorsllc.com); Warden Contracting Company, Inc. (www.wardencontracting.com); CertaPro Painters (www.certapro.com); Lowe’s (www.lowes.com); Canvas4Life.com (www.canvas4life.com); The Company Store (www.thecompanystore.com); Kohl’s (www.kohls.com); Steve Silver Co. (www.ssilver.com); Coaster Fine Furniture (www.coasterfurniture.com); Pink Door Décor (www.pinkdoordecor.com); UncommonGoods.com (www.uncommongoods.com); Dream Room Designs (www.dreamroomdesigns.com).

With more than 50 combined years of experience, the team at 1245 Salon and Spa is focused on promoting both the health of the client’s hair and body. Siblings Terrell Mack, Tammy White and Rodney Mack are founders and managing partners for the family-owned business that includes parents Joe and Jean Mack. Services include relaxers, shampoo and styles, demi and semi color, cuts, weave and natural style services, amino acid treatments and more. www.1245salon.com

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Feeling Unpretty…

Hello World,

I am hesitating about writing this blog post because it is so deeply personal, but part of the reason that I love blogs is because it is a way to connect with others through shared revelations…So from time to time, I must reveal…So I’m jumping in the deep water today…Come save me if I go out too far…LOL…

Me at about 10 years old when the teasing started…

Since I was about 10 years old or so, I struggled with insecurities about my looks. My parents always made me feel loved and adored inside the cocoon of our nurturing home, but outside of those walls, I discovered it was a cold world. I don’t remember what boy or girl called me ugly first, but whoever said it first is of no consequence. Those words did what they were intended to do: make me question the beauty that I saw in the mirror.

A year or so later when I started to wear glasses, put on a few pounds and entered middle school, I retreated in the world of books where my favorite authors of the day like Judy Blume, Alice Walker and Brenda Wilkinson affirmed that while I may have been an ugly duckling then, one day the world would see the swan that I was on the inside. I remember trying to explain to my parents that people made fun of my looks at school to no avail. My mother and father believe I’m beautiful, and they just couldn’t fathom that others didn’t see what they saw. Plus, their Jamaican sensibilities didn’t permit a lot of whining and crying so I had to make sense of what was happening on my own.

I remember when I saw the ABC story “Teens Post ‘Am I Pretty or Ugly?’ Videos on YouTube” earlier this year. If YouTube had been in existence then, I would have probably uploaded one of these disturbing videos I was so hungry for outside positive affirmation. While I didn’t have YouTube, I did have Molly Ringwald, and I identified with her characters in nearly all of her movies although I was a little black girl. I hoped desperately that high school would be different.

In some ways, high school was different. At the white middle school that I attended in Sandy Springs, I was thought to be on the chubby side, but at a black high school in College Park, I was Coke bottle fine. Still, there were a few people that managed to poke holes in my newfound but fragile confidence…As Vivian said in “Pretty Woman,” “The bad things are easier to believe. Haven’t you noticed that?!” And on some days, I could blame no one else than myself…I picked apart my looks feature by feature…

Me in the “Miss Jamaica Atlanta” pageant…

In college, after gaining and losing the Freshman 20 instead of Freshman 15 in my case and investing in contact lenses, I gathered enough confidence to enter the “Miss Jamaica Atlanta” competition. I didn’t win one of the top three spots, but I considered it a victory that I even put myself out there…I even wore a bathing suit…on stage…in front of people…Yikes…

Me fighting adult acne, but fearfully and wonderfully made…

I would like to say that now that I’m in my ’30s (one year from 40 to be exact…Wow,) I am no longer self-conscious and in complete mastery of my self-esteem, but on my worst days when my hair isn’t quite right or another gray hair shows up or I’m fighting adult acne(Wasn’t teen acne enough God?), I’m still that 10-year-old girl…Nevertheless, on my best days, I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made; I’m learning to know that full well (Psalm 139:14)…

Any thoughts?

P.S. One of my fave TLC songs for obvious reasons-

Posted on Sunday, September 16, 2012

Book Notes: My Review of “The Deliverer” by Kathi Macias (BOOK GIVEAWAY)

Hello World,

In every book I choose to read, I always hope to learn something new. In “The Deliverer” by Kathi Macias, I learned about the hidden worlds of child sex trafficking and slavery. These are topics I would normally choose to avoid as these are likely the most reprehensible “industries” in existence, but Macias was able draw me into this dark world through the heroine of her book Mara.

In the third book of the “Freedom Series,” Macias tells how Mara, a young Hispanic woman who has been freed after years of sex slavery, must make conscious choices regarding a relationship with God, a potential romantic interest Jonathan and forgiveness to create new life for herself. Interwoven in Mara’s story are the stories of Lawan, a former child sex slave from Thailand, who is adopted by an American couple; Sarah, whose romantic desperation creates a heartbreaking love triangle; and Francesca, who wonders if she should give her soon-to-be born baby up for adoption.

Aside from the various stories of deliverance told in the book, I also appreciated how Macias was able to interweave diverse races and cultures in the book without being obvious. Both Mara and Francesca are Hispanic. Lawan’s new parents are an interracial black and white couple. And Sarah as well as some of the other characters are white. The book takes place in California, Mexico and Thailand.

For more information about “The Deliverer,” please check out the book trailer below:

For more information about “The Deliverer” and the first two books in the “Freedom Series,” please go to kathimacias.com.

If you would like to win a free copy of “The Deliverer,” please see the link below. By entering the contest, you are also subscribing to my e-mail list 🙂 Don’t worry. I don’t e-mail very much 🙂 For more opportunities for free copies of “The Deliverer” by Kathi Macias, please visit F acebook.com/CSSVBT.KathiMacias.

Note: I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting a book review on my blog; however, the opinions are mine alone.

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Any thoughts?