We welcome Dana W. to Chic Mom Magazine! Dana has been married to Greg for 17 years and has two boys, aged 15 and 11. She has primarily been a stay at home mom since her oldest was born accepting a few part time jobs over the years, the most recent being as a crossing guard for school children. Dana has a degree in nursing and is an RN.

Dana’s heartfelt letter to Chic Mom expressed a desire to be “40 and Fabulous!” She has willingly and happily devoted the past 17 years to her family, and now feels that she has time to work towards some personal aspirations.

As we all know we can emerge from the vacuum of parenting and realize, “YIKES! Am I out of style or WHAT? Where do I begin?” The show ‘What Not to Wear’ should be mandatory for all of us. Needless to say, Dana was putty in our hands as the stylists and aestheticians completely changed her look.

All Aveda products were used on Dana. The first big change was her hair. Dana has been wearing her hair long for many years. The stylist, Lacy, advised a mid neck cut with volume at the crown and long bangs to complement her triangular facial shape. Five inches came off. She was given warm, golden highlights to lessen underlying pink skin tones and make her blue eyes pop out.

Dana’s face was then transformed with a brow wax and updated concealors and tinted moisturizer. The make up artist used a bronzer rather than blush and finished off her new look with a great Aveda lipstick called Hot Pepper and Mango Juice gloss.

As the day went on, Dana was so enthused about the advice and wonderful attention she received. We talked about what touches her in Chic Mom Magazine. Dana has been thinking a lot lately about her clarinet and old friends. She played clarinet for many years as a child, and then gave it up.

She has been trying to ignore the images of her clarinet popping up in her head, or her lips trying to remember what they felt like around the reed. By the end of the day, we both agreed that it is NOT a waste of time to listen to our souls – which is what is telling her to pick up her clarinet. She may only do it for 15 minutes a day and it may lead to nothing – except a better ability to pay attention to important parts of her that are longing to be expressed.

Amidst life in a fairly new city and raising two boys, Dana has a lot of acquaintances, but it is time to reconnect with an old friend – someone who is easy to be with, whom she can laugh out loud with and spill her guts to. By the time we left, she was planning a call to this dear friend to plant the seeds about a weekend getaway. Remember your souls, ladies! Let them soar.