(liz’s balayage on my brown hair)

i am not sure what this means about me, but by far the hardest aspect of the “shelter at home” has been missing my appointments with my beloved colorist, liz. (OBVIOUSLY i mean the hardest thing other than being worried sick about dear friends in new york and the deaths of thousands of people here and around the world and the whole economy tanking.) normally, i go like clockwork to see liz at her NEW rosie girl studio location in niwot every two weeks. i had to miss two appointments which put me at about half an inch of silver roots (unfortunately, my hair grows pretty fast) and i was NOT happy. it did not help that my daughter kept saying, “oh mama… this is not good. please put on a hat!” every time my head was bare. i DID experiment with scarves (this accommodation reminded me of the women during WW II who drew seams down their legs with eyeliner when stockings were not available) and lucy also started wearing one in solidarity… it looked MUCH cuter on her!

creative “stockings” during WW II)

(lucy in a scarf even though she doesn’t have any silvers…)

finally, completely desperate, i called liz to see if there was anything to be done. we arranged a safe, “social distanced” meet on her porch where she would give me the color product, tools and detailed directions for me to color my own hair. i had to order a kitchen scale because the two ingredients need to be equal parts and weighed. liz could not prepare it for me because the mixture is time sensitive and needs to be applied directly after it is combined.

THANKFULLY amazon is still working at full tilt and my scale came quickly. it DID feel a bit like a drug deal with the porch drop and the scale but i was too relieved to care. i will say, even with liz’s meticulous directions (and the fact that i have been to her approximately 240 times) it is NOT easy to color your own hair. i have even more respect for her skills and artistry now than i ever did and i pretty much worship her. despite all precautions to stay neat (gloves, dark towels) i ended up with color all over me and i think my ears might be dark brown for a while. BUT my silvers are gone (at least the ones i could reach)… PRAISE JESUS! i feel so much lighter than i did yesterday. so THANK YOU miss lizzy for hooking me up… you are the absolute BEST!

(the adorable liz murphy)

(the nourish and company house in niwot.)

* liz opened her new studio, rosie girl, this past fall. it is a little jewel box of a space located in the “nourish” house in niwot. (niwot is now my new favorite town… my darling dermatologist is also there as well as an amazing antique store, my treasured acupuncturist AND a ramen shop in the niwot market - they ONLY serve ramen on sundays so plan ahead!) liz has been coloring and styling hair for over thirty years (practically from the day she was born) and despite her vast experience, she is constantly taking courses and staying current with the latest techniques. i am pretty boring in my hair color choices … i just want to be brown sans silver again, but liz is capable of much more exciting stuff: rainbows and sunsets and all kinds of fun surprises. follow her on instagram to keep up with her beautiful hair creations: @lizmurphyhairartist