Color, Shampoo, Cut, Repeat...

Today's Super Find comes in the ever-necessary grooming department: hair stylists. Angel from Studio FX at 1300 N. King St., Seguin, is a whiz with the scissors and the color.

I went to Angel on a fluke after receiving a really BAD haircut from Fantastic Sam's. I thought that I would save time/money without an appointment, but my shampoo, cut and style at Fantastic Sam's, which wasn't any where near "fantastic," cost $65. When I got home and realized how BAD of a job the guy actually had done, I quickly called Studio FX, as recommended by a friend.

Angel was glad to take my apointment-- she told me to come in ASAP. When I arrived, we agreed that my cut had been a massacre to my hair, and she promptly began a dry cut (a technique that I like) with a razor to fix it.

Thirty minutes later, and a mere $35 for her work, my hair was fixed. She took the time to give me a little extra volume in my style, too.

Reasonably priced, extremely artistic and very helpful: five stars to Angel and the Studio FX crew! Angel will definitely be my next color, shampoo, cut... repeat!

Super shopping near San Marcos...

This Super Find takes you a little beyond the scope of Seguin and New Braunfels, but is definitely worth the journey.

A member of the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, Calli's- A Sassy Boutique, is a part of Two Peas Boutique and Gifts, conveniently located at I-35 and Centerpoint Road, near San Marcos.

Calli's caters to the teen-and-early-20s crowd, with a variety of fresh looks and hot seasonal colors.

While the prices at Calli's average a little higher than most area boutiques, the up-to-date fashion and long-lasting wear life offered by this high-quality boutique is definitely worth the extra.

For savings, sign up for the coupon mailing list.

**Photos from http://www.twopeasboutique.com**

Good food, good tea and better people..

Take a short journey down Hwy. 46 to Seguin's newest Barbecue joint and bar. Dirty's is now a fully up and running barbecue hot spot, offering everything from a $1 cup of morning java (which is excellent, by the way) and breakfast tacos to chicken fajita or brisket tacos (my favorite!) with fries or chips and a drink for only $7.

According to the owner, Chris, aka 'Dirty,' Dirty's will be a beer-and-wine bar beginning in the first weeks of May. They're waiting on their TABC paperwork to go through, Dirty said, but they're trying to iron out the kinks in some BYOB events.

Aside from the upcoming alcohol attractions and the amazing food (which is some of the best barbecue I've ever eaten, and I KNOW BBQ) the staff and Dirty himself are always friendly and inviting. I've found myself sitting at Dirty's engaged in conversation several times.

Jessica Domel from KWED is a fan, also. Check out her review on her blog.

Head out to Dirty's, located at Hwy. 46 and Elm Grove, just past the Cordova turnoff. Try the sweet tea, and tell 'em Kessi's Super Finds sent you!

Cool things in your own back yard, TLU!

My newest SuperFind comes to YOU. This weekend will see a lot of exciting things come to the TLU campus, and I hope that you'll take advantage of this FREE series of events.

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, Dr. Bisha's advanced journalism class will be live blogging from the First Annual Academic Symposium, which will showcase the seminar work of many seniors from departments across both colleges as well as the work of certain underclassmen level classes. You can follow the symposium from a link on TLU's Web site starting Friday morning.

Saturday is Spring Fling, featuring Texas country music group Mickey and the Motorcars. They're one of my favorites-- I've seen them in really cool venues such as Gruene Hall and Floore's Country Store, so I'm super excited to see them again on my home-turf.

Sunday is Beta Alpha Sigma's Ronald McDonald House Benefit. Barbecue, games and prizes will occupy the library lawn from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday. Come out, bring your coke tabs and enjoy free food!

Decorate for spring

Despite the cold front that snapped through the area over the weekend, spring is definitely upon us. The highways of Texas are lined with bluebonnets that have a deeper coloration than this part of the state has seen in several years thanks to the rain (finally!) that spring break brought. While simply looking at wild flowers through the windshield of a passing car can be quite soothing, there are some hot deals around the area that can help you bring this part of spring into your home.

Several flower shops in the Seguin area are already running their Easter specials, such as Viola's Flower Shop, located at 745 N Highway 123 Bypass. A tulip bouquet, starting around $50 makes a great spring time present for a loved one, a friend or even for yourself. My personal favorite pick (which happens to be sitting on my dining room table at this time) is the Uniquely Chic Boquet, a modern blend of orange lilies and pink roses arranged in a modern cube vase (around $50). For those on a budget, Viola's offers several plant options, including the Easter Lilie Basket. And, to top it off, Viola's is a Bulldog Buddy, which saves the TLU student 10 percent on any purchase.

Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844

Let spring bloom, inside and out!

Bronze yourself.

Friday saw a beautiful high 80 degree day in Seguin, Texas. I was out and about at the baseball game in a tube top and shorts, wearing flip flops and sun glasses. I even got a nice tan. But that weather didn't last long. Temperatures dropped below the freezing line Sunday night, which is far from bathing suit weather. With swim suit season inevitably around the corner, many people are starting to worry about getting that special summer glow and are looking for alternatives to the natural sun.

On my own quest for the bronzing effect, I set out looking at all of the tanning solutions in the Seguin and New Braunfels area. The best bet for your buck: Tan 2000, New Braunfels. With high power bed packages starting at only $19.95/month (with six month commitment), Tan 2000 is definitely the best deal for the dollar.

The experienced tanners recommendation: use a bronzing tanning lotion, such as Swedish Beauty, which will give you an instant golden look. The moisture in all tanning lotions help your skin maintain it's tan, but the bronzing lotions step it up a notch by adding instant color. Lotions run anywhere from $20 to over $100.

If you're UV Ray shy, Tan 2000 also offers Mystic Tan, the revolutionary semi-permanent spray-on tan. First time users beware: while the spray on tan offers great instant results, streaking is common and white spots occur if you come in body contact with yourself at all during the brief spraying period. Also, be ready to hold your breath for just over a minute to avoid choking on the spray-on tan fumes.

Stay tan, Seguin!

"Surely joy is the condition of life." --Henry David Thoreau

Joy can come from a variety of things. The simple things, the things that sneak up on you, the things that you least expect. But, you can take time to plan a little joy.

This blog is dedicated to finding the simple things in the Seguin area which you can use to bring yourself joy. Pamper yourself for a day. Do something nice for those less fortunate each month. Do something new this week.

Here, you'll find suggestions on things to do for yourself and things to do for other people to add a little joy to your life.

Watch for suggestions to come!