SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Living in Lavender.

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Controversial.

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It belongs in the pond.

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What was where the heart is, babe?

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Do you smell the toast?

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Is that supposed to be a reader? Then one thing led to another.

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Don't be seeing though too much.

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You make the schedule.

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Don't be fucking rude. Wow. This is so crazy.

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Everything the people wanted and more.

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Truly. Truly, madly, deeply.

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So they've been asking for.

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And I mean, who are we to deny the people?

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You're right.

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This has been a long time coming.

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It's been a long time coming. It's been years.

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In the making, if you will. But we're here today.

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We're here today, finally.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

God bless. Yes. Had a minor meltdown this morning, getting ready.

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And you're not alone, sister.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

We'll get into that later. But well. Welcome to Living in Lavender, the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Oh.

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Brought to you in part by Shannon and Jonathan.

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And Grinder.

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Not Grinder. Grinder has entered the chat.

SPEAKER_04 1:38

Um yes, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Welcome.

SPEAKER_04 1:43

This is great. Iconic. I'm Shannon. In case you didn't know.

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And I'm Jonathan. And we are your hosts.

SPEAKER_05 1:52

And we are your host.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Hostess with the most us.

SPEAKER_05 1:56

We are trying to figure this out as we go. And you know what? I think that's a beautiful journey. It's it's raw, it's real.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

So authentic. Yeah. So authentic. Like have, you know, set the scene a few times. Have done some wardrobe changing.

SPEAKER_05 2:16

Wardrobe changing. Um lighting changing.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

Lighting. Mic swaps. God bless my husband. Shout out Matthew.

SPEAKER_05 2:25

That's Matthew.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Producer. Man behind the scene. Yes. Yes. Don't boost the ego too much.

SPEAKER_04 2:32

Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Just kidding.

unknown 2:32

Just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Okay. But. So living in lavender. Um, I'm sure a lot of people are like, why living in lavender? What does that even mean? So um we're gonna.

SPEAKER_05 2:50

Yeah, I've taken the liberty of um asking chat GPT. I know it's controversial. Um the water supply. Um what I asked Chat GPT. Hello.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

How are you guys? Do you smell the toast?

SPEAKER_05 3:15

I asked Chat GPT what a lavender marriage is. And a lavender marriage is entered into primarily to conceal one or both partners' sexual orientation rather than for romantic love. Now, I just think that there has been over the years some speculation.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Speculation. Is it speculation though? Well, stay tuned for the next episode.

SPEAKER_05 3:47

But no, but there's been some speculation on our relationship over the years.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

I mean, if you have a bond, you have a bond. I can't help it.

SPEAKER_05 3:58

That's my fucking sister.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Sister.

SPEAKER_05 4:05

And also sister wife.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

True. Okay, all right, all right. Well we'll roll with that. We'll roll with that. But yeah, so I mean, me being a gay man.

SPEAKER_05 4:18

Me being a bicarious woman.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Oh, I was gonna say a fruit fly, but that's also not untrue. This is yes, so true, so true. But yes, you know, me being a homosexual and Shannon being a um, I guess, vicarious woman who even knew, honey. Um true, I did know, but again, stay for the next episode. Um, our relationship, it just like goes so deep. It does, so raw.

SPEAKER_05 4:54

A lot of things have transpired in the course of our friendship. Over the course of how many years? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Oh my god, when did we yeah, how long have we known each other? We're in 26, 2018 we met. Yes, yes, yeah, yeah. Moved back from Texas, moved back to my hometown.

SPEAKER_05 5:14

Yeah. Um, which is crazy because we grew up in the same town, but like never crossed paths really.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

No, which is crazy. Yeah, like don't know how it don't know how I also think you know why, I know why. What the world was not prepared, though.

SPEAKER_05 5:30

I don't think we as individuals also weren't prepared.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

No, definitely not. Yeah, what have burned the town to the ground?

SPEAKER_05 5:38

But I also think it's crazy that I'm pretty sure you were in my older brother's class.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

I was, I I definitely was. So, like yeah, whatever. I feel like uh I saw you in passing a few times and said, who the fuck is that fucking weird? You know, I was just so wrapped up in the um psychic phone in the ice coffee from Duncan, your hollister jeans, yeah, your Abercrombie sweatshirt, yes, and layers, yeah. Yes, you know, was too consumed by those things to like really be in touch with what was going on around me.

SPEAKER_05 6:20

That's fair, yeah. That's fair. I was too busy hiding under whatever I could.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 6:27

Yeah, I was a timid little you would have hated me.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Um probably yeah, yeah, was uh a tad aggressive back in high school. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um apologies to anyone that ever experienced that anger. So sorry.

SPEAKER_05 6:47

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Big yikes, I've come a long way. We've learned some anger management, counting to 10, breathing.

SPEAKER_05 6:58

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Sorry, I'm nasally allergies.

SPEAKER_05 7:02

Yep, I'm with you there, Mister.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Big yikes. But yes, back to meeting for the first time in 2018.

SPEAKER_05 7:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

The um the job of all jobs that brought us together. You know, that is where the journey began.

SPEAKER_05 7:20

It began and what a journey that was.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

And honestly thankful for the experience.

SPEAKER_05 7:26

Thankful. I'm always thankful for it. Always thankful for it. It's where I began my journey as an aesthetician.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

And it also formed a lot of friendships for me. Yeah. Lots of friendships.

SPEAKER_05 7:44

It also um ruined a lot of friendships for me. Yeah. We don't have to touch on that just no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

We're we're gonna we're gonna focus on the high points of that. Yeah um, so just a little background story for everyone. Um we are in the beauty industry.

SPEAKER_05 8:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Shannon is a licensed esthetician, male technician. Male technician. Um, I come from a beauty background as well, cosmetics, makeup artist, even though I really don't like to use that term.

SPEAKER_05 8:27

Well, it's just because you're like retiring something.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

She's retired, the kit is packed away. Dusty. Don't, don't. Oh, she's not dusty, honey, but the Zooka is packed away. She needs a little swift. She's tired, she's haggard, she's done enough weddings, she's done proms. She she's good.

SPEAKER_04 8:51

She's doing enough makeup lessons. Yes. To last a life.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Oh, wow. The back is still hurting. Yeah. Two hours hunched over, teaching a lesson. Whoa. But um also a license nail tech. Shout out to the license that I don't utilize. Right. Um, management, all the things. At this point, should just like go to hair school and make it official and get behind the chair.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

But, you know.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Don't know if that will ever happen. Um, but so Shannon and I, our journey began back in 2018 working at the same salon and spa in our hometown. R.I.P. Yep. Um, so so many great moments, stories, just yeah, all the things.

SPEAKER_05 9:53

That could be like a podcast on its own.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yeah, oh, uh a series. A series. A series, if you will. So um, that is where we met and we became coworkers, and then like shortly after became friends, friends, and then lifetime partners. No, just one.

SPEAKER_05 10:14

And then one thing led to another, and here we are today to tell you all. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

So um, we then broke apart and Shannon moved. And Shannon moved to um Portsmouth, and I moved away from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, not to be confused with Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

SPEAKER_05 10:40

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Shout out to the real housewives of real Rhode Island.

SPEAKER_05 10:45

I know.

unknown 10:45

Love that.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

We'll be love them. I love a pizza chip. I love a cracker. You welcome to Rhode Island, bitch.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Love it.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Iconic. Just give them an Emmy already. Like they really saved Bravo. Bravo was struggling.

SPEAKER_04 11:08

Strugling.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yeah. They, yeah. They are doing the most over there, and I love it. Yeah. Um, and then I moved off Cape. I found my husband was commuting to another salon on the Cape. Um, and Shit and I always kept in touch and never let that spark go out. And she has returned. She's come running back into my arms.

SPEAKER_05 11:41

Back to the hometown.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

As I knew she would.

SPEAKER_05 11:45

Home is where the heart is, babe.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Facts. You're not wrong.

SPEAKER_05 11:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yes. So um we now work together again um in the beauty industry. Yes. Shannon is taking a step back as a service provider and is taking a management role. Um, and wow, what a what a journey that is too.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah. Yes. I feel like for any of our listeners that are in the beauty fields, work in some sort of service industry, you you know.

SPEAKER_05 12:31

Customer service is.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

How can I get retail experience without retail experience? And that's and that's that's the one.

SPEAKER_05 12:53

However, however, long-term customer service, um, like lifelong career in customer service is not for the faint of heart.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Honey, I'm burnt out.

SPEAKER_05 13:10

We're sick of burnt. We are sick of I thought taking a step back from being a service provider would be helpful to my mental health. Oh. But yeah, I'm still serving the public by like sitting at the desk and you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

I feel like being behind the desk, like admin, is a way different experience. Um, a service provider. Like you have a whole different experience with clientele with the general public. It is it's totally different. Yeah, it is not for the faint of hearts, definitely not.

SPEAKER_05 13:56

Not for the thin skinned.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Even though the thin skinned be the ones bullying, they be dishing it out.

SPEAKER_05 14:04

But I will say, I entered the beauty field with a very thin skin. I was a very timid person. She was meek. Yes. I was scared, I was weak, I was shy, I was I was offended by literally everything. Um, but this industry has has that changed? Is that supposed to be a read or um, I mean, if the shoe fits. Listen, I think I've come a very long way out.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

No, no, no, no. You have. I I think that you were a very different person from when I first met you. 100%. I've come a long way.

SPEAKER_05 14:43

I think I think that I attribute that to the beauty industry 1000%. Not even just the beauty industry, just working customer service, period.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:56

Has hardened me.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

It humbles you.

SPEAKER_05 14:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Humbles you. You learn so many tools like anger management, biting your tongue, like confrontation skills. Yes. Oh, I love me a confrontation.

SPEAKER_05 15:16

I know you do. I still have not mastered the art. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

And I probably won't. I don't go looking for it, it just always seems to fall into my lap.

SPEAKER_05 15:26

Yes, but when it does, you face it head on and you're like, with like, don't miss a beat, you're like, on it. Me, I'll be like, hey, okay, uh, let me call a manager. And then meanwhile, I'm like, oh, Jonathan's not here. I am in charge.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

I am in charge. Big yikes spins around in the chair. Like, hi, I am the manager. Big yikes. That that is an adjustment for sure. Yeah. Yeah, no, but it's not all bad, obviously. You know, we like we have a great time at the end of the day. We do love the job. We have great experiences, like great people that we encounter, along with the not so great, but that's that's life.

SPEAKER_05 16:12

And you know, we wouldn't be in this industry for 10 plus years if it weren't for yeah, you know what I mean? We wouldn't have lasted this long.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

100% totally. Um, so yeah, like we are just gonna be coming together to talk about life, talk about experiences in the salon, girly things, pop culture. Oh, we love pop culture, we love pop culture.

SPEAKER_05 16:46

Um yeah, we just have a lot to say. I like to think we're funny, other people think we're funny.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

So a hundred percent. Yeah. And sometimes I think people like get nervous and are like, hee hee hee, yeah, you're so funny, because I think they're scared of like what's to follow. Um, so I just want to say like some feelings might get hurt. Take it with a grain of salt. If you feel victimized by Regina George, it's probably for a reason.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

Yeah. If it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it belongs in the pond. And that's all. That's all it is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

I just, you know, you know, like just keeping it real. It is what it is. We have a lot to say, and we're just gonna say it. We're just gonna say it unapologetically. Yeah, it is what it is. This is like our diary, dear diary, dear John, dear John, dear John. Here I am. Oh, yeah, like never mind. That's a that's a story for another time. Oh god. That's yeah. Okay. Speaking of stories, yeah. Oh, I've been dying to tell you this because you weren't in the salon when this happened.

SPEAKER_05 18:21

Oh, yes, I've been waiting all week for this.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Here she is.

SPEAKER_05 18:26

Okay, this is like a prime example of what we we deal with on a day-to-day.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

And trust me, there's a whole lot more of it to come. This is just like not even skimming the surface.

SPEAKER_05 18:40

Wait, should we crack our diet cokes and cheers for our new journey? Okay, yeah, yeah. Cheers to Living in Lavender, cheers, babe.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Oh, crisp.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Crispy. She's crisp.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

We love a fridge cigarette. You haven't heard that before?

SPEAKER_02 19:08

No, never.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

You've never seen that meme.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

No.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Oh, okay. I'm gonna have to go hunting for it. Matt, at some point, I need you to locate said meme for Shannon. Thank you. Um, so um Shannon and I pretty much work together like on a daily basis, um, with the exception of like two days that she leaves me high and dry.

SPEAKER_05 19:38

You make the schedule.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

That's true. This is true. I'll have to talk to myself about that. But um, so on a set day that I was fending for myself, um, phone rings, I do my cute little greeting, and I am met with Oh no. This, you know, have you seen that TikTok where it's like when you have like the 60, 68-year-old client call and it's like, well, my grandson. Have you seen that TikTok? No, I haven't. Matthew, get that on the line too. So I am met by this woman on the other end of the phone who is frantic. Hi, yes. Um, I'm on your website. And um, first off, I hate when someone starts out. I'm on your website.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Like, like, babe.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

There's online booking for a reason.

SPEAKER_05 20:42

Why are you calling me?

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Just kidding. Keep us employed. Please call.

SPEAKER_05 20:48

Um so no, we just want to sit there and kinky.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Well, that too. That too. Like, if you just please keep all submissions to online. Thank you. Um, so she's frantic. I'm on the website, and I'm like, okay, uh, no problem. She's like, I need to book a consultation. And I'm like, okay, no problem. Like, what are we looking to book a console for? My hair.

SPEAKER_05 21:17

My name. Our salon services is mostly hair. Like, we do waxing and occasionally maybe we do look girl.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Don't be offering that. We do a brow and a lip wax. Yeah. We do we here and there. We are only do hair. We are 99.6% her. Okay. And we do it well. Um came out the cut and you were being ignorant.

SPEAKER_05 21:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 21:52

That our menu was only hair.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

So be fucking rude. So I'm like, Yeah, of course. Are we looking to have a haircut? Are we looking to have a color? Well, everything. Oh no. Ma'am, I'm trying to help you help you. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 22:11

Also, that bill is gonna be fucking $500. So you might want to narrow it down.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Is that gonna be Cash or American Express?

SPEAKER_05 22:19

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Thank you. Oh, your card's being declined. That happens a lot too. But um, so I'm already getting heated ticked. Yeah, I already can see your face. I oh, you know. Um, excuse me. I'm the dumb one. So I'm like, yeah, of course. Like, do you do a permanent color? Do we do foil? Everything. Okay, no problem. So we want to book a consult. I want to see Jess. Mind you, we have two Jesses. Yes, we might have to edit this out, yeah, but yeah. No, we're not, no, no edits, it's raw take. Yeah. So as Shannon said, we have two Jesses. So I'm like, is it Jess or Jess? Well, I don't know. I don't know why you're asking me that. Well, ma'am, you're on the website.

SPEAKER_05 23:25

You're looking at the girls.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

If you were on said website, you would see that we have two employees by that name. Okay, so I I'm just I'm keeping my cool. I'm being professional. I'm being that manager. Is she blonde or is she brunette? Blonde.

SPEAKER_05 23:50

Perfect. Thank you so much for clarifying. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Okay. So get her in the same day for a consult. Okay. See you this afternoon. Well, that time frame comes and said client walks in. First, everything's fine. I I happen to notice that she's kind of like the bag lady. I mean, I didn't know if she um hit the local grocery store and then just walked over with all said goods, but there were a lot of bags. Was a little confused.

SPEAKER_05 24:23

Oh, okay. So she like when you say bag lady, she like actually.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Oh, yeah. There, you know, you know the ones that you get at like TJ Maxx or your local shopping center for your grocery. Yeah, okay. So she sits down for her consults, and I am, I mean, I am like basically on top of the station, so I can hear a pin drop from it. And I am listening to this consult, and I am just shaking my head, like whoa.

SPEAKER_05 24:58

And poor Jess.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

I know I know she wanted to wring my neck for booking that. I was gonna say sorry, girl. I live. My apologies. Yes, girl. Yes. So listening to the console, and yes, I see someone for my color and I love what they do, but I can no longer drive that far. Then, you know, they were not doing a good haircut. So I was driving to another place to get a haircut. It's it's just a lot. Um, questioning the stylus on everything that she's recommending has her formula written out from the previous salon, and just is like, yeah, no problem. We could we could do that, and just she just keeps hitting it with all the questions. Well, I want to see the swatches. So, no problem, goes and gets the swatches, then she's the personal life. Oh, we're just trying to talk about the hair. Yeah, okay. We I don't need to.

SPEAKER_05 26:08

The consult is about you're consulting your hair, not your life.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Don't, yeah. We're not therapists. We're not. So the consult is now running at about 10 minutes, 15 minutes, which we book like 15 minutes for this lot. We're running over. She just keeps like going back to the same stories, like talking about the like grandchildren, the goldfish, the goldfish, the cousins, aunts, sisters, brothers, goldfish. You know, just right down the rabbit hole. Got it. She then, and I this shook me to my core because I have seen a lot of things.

SPEAKER_05 26:54

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

And this has I've never seen this.

SPEAKER_05 26:57

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Ever.

SPEAKER_05 26:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

She goes, I just want to show you what my hair looked like as a child. Reaches into her purse and pulls out a Ziploc bag with a ponytail from when she was five years old. Oh, she didn't. She brought baby's first haircut.

SPEAKER_04 27:24

For from herself.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

A hundred yes. From a hundred years ago. From a yes. A fossil, if you will. A fucking like not even just. We're not talking like if you've ever seen like a swatch book from the salon, like you have, or when you're shirling through like CVS or the grocery store and you're trying to buy some box color, and you have like the tiny, you know, the little bristle shine strip on the edge of the shelf. No, honey, she had full weave in sandwich bag.

SPEAKER_05 28:07

I from 1942. I think before that. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

If I had to guess, probably before shears were ever created.

SPEAKER_05 28:21

She cashed it off with a knife.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

I have never seen that. I have experienced a lot of things, but yeah, that shook me to my core.

SPEAKER_05 28:31

Stop it.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 28:33

Okay. What did Jess did?

SPEAKER_00 28:36

I, you know, I have to applaud her. She, oh my god, was so calm, not phased at all.

SPEAKER_05 28:46

I I would have I would sit in there like if I had been at work, I would have had to clock out and leave.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

I like I can't believe I've waited all week to tell you the story. I've been standing on it. I've been stewing. So comes up to book her next appointment, which that was like a whole nother experience in itself. And the client behind her even like walked up and was like, What was that? And I just that's gonna be 200. Can I book your next appointment? Make it quick.

SPEAKER_04 29:24

Because I gotta go.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Gotta blast, gotta punch out. Yeah. So thank God. Several hours later, she called to cancel appointment.

SPEAKER_05 29:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

So we are safe. For now. For now. She knows where we live. Honey, I'm off the grid.

SPEAKER_05 29:53

I mean a salon. She knows where we are. She she knows who to call.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

That's why I don't sit with my back to the door. I see you before you see me.

SPEAKER_05 30:04

And I will dip.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Out the back door.

SPEAKER_05 30:08

When you mind back door.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Sorry. I will protect you. Will you? I will save you.

SPEAKER_05 30:16

Um, I'm gonna go wash some dishes. I'll be back.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

I gotta check the laundry in the back.

SPEAKER_05 30:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

I'll be right back. Running out the back door to the parking lot.

SPEAKER_05 30:25

Now I see.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Yeah, she's on to me.

SPEAKER_05 30:27

I'm on to you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

Right.

SPEAKER_05 30:29

So oh can you like I I just listen. I think my mom might, and that's like hard might still have like my baby's first haircut, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Oh girl, I have mine. It it's in the baby book, but that ain't that's where it lives.

SPEAKER_05 30:52

Yeah, it's not in the Ziploc bag coming with me to the salon to be like, look at my virgin hair from 45 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Like, I I just want to know what the thought process on that is. Like, did you know?

SPEAKER_05 31:06

Like, I don't understand. Like, what was the point of her showing her virgin hair?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

I'm more concerned about like the mental well-being. Like, did you wake up that morning and think to yourself, and I mean, maybe her husband's name is Bob. Bob, I need to get into the garage. I need to get my baby book, I need a lock of hair.

SPEAKER_05 31:28

I'm showing birth or like parents or something. Good grave dog.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Like, I'm just that's a whole new level.

SPEAKER_05 31:39

Like, when like your hairdresser doesn't want to see baby's first haircut, they don't want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

No, honey, we were all toe heads at that age, okay? Speak for yourself. Well, yes, speak for yourself, but I was not. I well, given yes, yes.

SPEAKER_05 32:04

My siblings were. Really? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

That surprises me. Does it? Well, actually, you know, I feel like I do remember your brother, your older brother, I should say, because you have two. Your older brother was more blonde when we were in high school together.

SPEAKER_05 32:23

Yeah, especially like right after summer.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 32:26

Um but your younger brother Yeah, he was he had super light hair when he was like an infant, and then slowly his hair got darker, but not nearly as dark as mine.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

And in the summer it lightens up a little bit. Okay. Not as much as Kevin's. Interesting. Yeah. All of us have different color everything. Like hair, skin. Is there a reason for that?

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Oh, I'm just kidding. Just kidding.

SPEAKER_05 33:05

I'm not. I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

JKJK.

SPEAKER_05 33:15

I always used to tell DJ that he was dropped off by the mailman.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Oh, I used to love to fuck with my younger siblings.

SPEAKER_05 33:22

Like you're adopted.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:24

You look like none of us.

SPEAKER_00 33:25

Yeah. I used to say that to my sister and my brother all the time. I'd be like, your parents didn't even want you. You were dropped off here. Yeah. God, I was such a it's like an older sibling thing. I don't know. Yeah. Oh, I used to taunt the shit out of them and torment them. Like, oh my God. It sucks being the oldest because you have to like babysit and take care of them and all that shit. And I just like, yeah, ugh. I would just lock their asses in the basement and they would just like bang on the door, scream and cry, and they'd be like, You're gonna wake the boogeyman.

SPEAKER_04 34:00

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 34:01

I would have hated that.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Oh yeah, it was terrible. I love them now. We all get along sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes when they're not pissing me off.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

I'm dead. Oh my god. Well.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

What do you mean, Noah, bitch? We have a lot to say.

SPEAKER_04 34:27

I know.

SPEAKER_00 34:28

So um yeah. Like, do you want to do like a little more background?

SPEAKER_05 34:34

Like a yourself.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

Yeah, like give me, give me a little bio.

SPEAKER_05 34:40

Okay. Well.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Oh god, here we go. It's wended. Sit down. It's a roller coaster.

SPEAKER_05 34:53

Um, no. I mean, I mean, yes, but no. Um, I don't know. What do I say?

SPEAKER_00 34:59

I mean, like, do you want to hit us with like a true rags to riches story? Like, is she like who is she now?

SPEAKER_05 35:07

Rags to rags.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Oh, well, stay tuned.

SPEAKER_05 35:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:12

Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_05 35:13

We're on our come up. It's fine. Um, well, I are we saying like where we live? Listen any or no?

SPEAKER_00 35:27

I feel like that's a security violation.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

That's a security breach. That's a security breach.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

We already have enough people on payroll.

SPEAKER_05 35:36

Yeah. Right. You're right. You're right. Um, okay, well.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

I mean, we don't need to give like specifics, like towns and we could just say we live on an island. She's not thrilled by that.

SPEAKER_05 35:52

We could say that we live. We can say that we live in Massachusetts. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 35:57

Oh, I we live on Cape Cod. I mean, come on. Yeah, babe. We live on Cape Cod.

SPEAKER_05 36:03

Asking that. And you're like, whoa.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Well, I thought you were about to be like, should I get the coordinates? My location.

SPEAKER_05 36:11

No.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

I was like, girl.

SPEAKER_05 36:14

Okay, well, I grew up on Cape Cod, born and raised, born and bred.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

A little too proud.

SPEAKER_05 36:27

No, oh my god. Okay, please. Um, no, if you're not familiar, Cape Cod is an a man-made island uh off the coast of Massachusetts. Okay. And um yeah, grew up here and unfortunately left once for about three years and came back. Honestly, no, it was it's it's home.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

It's I've I've done the same thing. Like I picked up and moved my whole life to Austin, Texas, where I knew absolutely no one, took a new job and literally packed up my Corolla and drove across the country. Yeah. Um, and then like came back home. Yeah. And I've moved several times in between that. And look at me, I'm back now. Yeah. But I'm married. You're married. Married. Shout out to my husband, Matthew, who has moved over the bridge to be with me to build our next chapter. It's a beautiful life. It is, yeah, honestly. I mean, worse places to live.

SPEAKER_05 37:48

There are worse places to live. I I feel very whenever anybody asks me like what it was like having a childhood on the Cape, I'm always the first thing out of my mouth is always I'm grateful for it and grateful to my parents because it's a a beautiful place to live. Um, you know, it is um very much touristy. It's very much like a summer spot. So, you know, year round, it's not always um what's the word I'm looking for?

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Lively.

SPEAKER_05 38:24

Yeah, it's not always lively, but you know, um a lot of a lot of people come here to retire. Um and it's not a it's not an opportunity to live here for most people. Like it's not like a yeah, it's not I feel like it's not a very aff or it's a very affluent area.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Yes. So it's it's not it's not very easily uh accessible to most to most. And I think that um it is a very hard place to break into if you didn't grow up here or you know a lot of people. Yes. Um, it's very clicky. Yes, everyone kind of knows everyone.

SPEAKER_02 39:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

Um, there's not a whole lot of opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 39:16

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

Because it is a small community, so you don't have um, you know, big companies, big corporate, like all those things to climb a ladder and make a career for yourself. I mean, not to say that people here don't make a career, but yes, there's just not a whole lot of um opportunity as you would get in more of like a city, a hub, something like that.

SPEAKER_05 39:42

Yeah, exactly. And I I feel like I always I always say that I'm grateful to my parents for creating um that childhood for me and my siblings because it was very safe, secure, sheltered, yes.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

Um but again what do you mean sheltered? Sheltered, oh honey, no adobo habanasses, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:14

Like, no, like that, and that's the for me, that's the con side of it all is like not a lot of culture.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Um what are you talking about? The squire on a Friday night. That's culture, honey. Baby, baby, for these people for these people, reggae night at the beach is culture for these people. Whoa, oh my god, Jamaican night, yeah, Key Town, the Bradford.

SPEAKER_05 40:46

Yeah, usually DJ's by a white man.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

Downstairs, if you know you know, hide your kids, hide your wife, because your wife will be in the house. She's somebody else's wife now. No, like literally, yeah. Um but so thankful to grow up here.

SPEAKER_05 41:07

So grateful, so grateful. No, for real though, like I am, you know, my parents didn't have a lot. They grew up in the Boston area, and neither one of them came from a lot of money, and neither one of them had a lot of money. So they came here one summer and said, let's do, you know, like every other, you know, uh 20-something year old, like, let's spend the summer on the Cape. We'll just find jobs and work and whatever. Customer service industry. And um they came down that one summer and never left. So I'm grateful for that and grateful for the upbringing that I did have um for the safety of it as a child. Uh, you know, but as I got older, I was like, you know, I I didn't feel secure enough to go like in secure enough uh in myself to go off to college. You know, I had spent most of my time with my family and felt more safe in that environment. Um fast forward to a lot of trauma within the family, and then I felt like I had to kind of be the glue to hold it together. So that's another reason why I stayed and somehow fell into the beauty industry. I was always interested in beauty and um ended up in aesthetic school, um and just never left it. And I'm happy with that.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

And I feel like it's you though.

SPEAKER_05 42:45

I like do you sometimes if I have like imposter syndrome, I'm like, I don't belong in this industry at all.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

No, I feel like I feel like it's it's you. Like I feel like aesthetics and nails, like I I guess maybe because that's like what we've done together, like I I just feel like yeah, it's you and you thrive in it. And I feel like I don't really know what I would see you doing other than like the beauty industry at some capacity, you know?

SPEAKER_05 43:18

Yeah, like I before taking my little hiatus, I really wanted to get deeper into um the medical side of aesthetics and doing things with I I got um about a year ago, I received certification in oncology aesthetics. So um, meaning just being able to curate uh spa treatments for people going through cancer treatment. And um that kind of sparked a new passion for like again the medical side of things and wanting to eventually maybe work in a derm office. I mean, I have my laser certification so I can operate. laser machines and things like that. And um I want to get deeper into med spa eventually. But I always kind of feel like I've been in the I've been in the business of healing.

SPEAKER_00 44:15

Oh she's a healer mama. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 44:18

That's kind of that's why sometimes I'm like, I don't know if like beauty is necessarily where I fit in.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

But like But I feel like it is a good fit because like the beauty industry as a whole there there's so much there's so many different avenues that you could take with it as we're just talking about. But it's constantly evolving and changing. And I feel like that is good for the type of person that like likes change, needs change, like doesn't like to fall.

SPEAKER_05 44:55

Hilarious because I hate change within my life.

SPEAKER_00 45:00

It's so true.

SPEAKER_05 45:00

Like I I fall apart at the mere like shift of anything. Yeah. Like moving to New Hampshire from here was life altering. You would have thought that I was dying and being brought back to life like in a very traumatic way. Like I was it was a very traumatic experience. And then moving back from New Hampshire to the Cape was also because it was and it was only because things were changing and I was freaking out.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

So I'm not the person I am not the type of person that likes change but at the same time love that there's always something new.

SPEAKER_00 45:45

See like I in the workplace I don't like change. I like things to be like I know exactly what I'm walking into. I know how my day's gonna go I know how I've mentally prepared for that. And my personal life whoa like change honey I'm like don't like the carpets pack the car we're moving to another state like I that I don't I can't relate to that like I would pack everything up and move like every six months if it were feasible. Maybe that's why we work so well together is we balance yeah we balance I you ground me and I push you yes exactly iconic beautiful truly madly deeply and that is living in lavender that's living in that's on living in lavender yeah oh my god I don't know what else to say about me so shall I talk about myself please oh god I I know everyone's already like uh we've heard enough the gay oh the fag um I don't even know like okay so I mean everyone knows that I've been in the beauty industry um makeup artist worked for a state lauder companies for a long time doing cosmetic um retail sales um when I moved back home I took my first management job in um the salon and spa field and um realized that smaller mom and pop is more my style versus a corporate um like the chiller lean back atmosphere um the more one-on-one personal connection that you get with your employer versus working for a big corporation and being a number um I've moved around a few times I met my husband Matt uh a few years ago and that like came out of left fields and never thought that would happen for me.

SPEAKER_05 48:04

I never thought that would happen for you either.

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Yeah if any of my girlies know and they they've all said it to Matt they like well because you always said you were like never gonna get married yeah I would not even just I would not get married my phrase was always I would never marry a man yeah which is also why like me and Shannon have our little like lavender marriage lavender marriage and keep the people guessing. But um yeah I used to tell everyone all the time I would never marry a man Catholic guilt. And here I am honey a whole ass housewife now. So I met Matt like right around my 30th birthday and like I said came out of left field and it just happened so fast and naturally like I it's true. When you know you know it was crazy. Hungered down moved in together right away got engaged within the first year fast forward got married um almost a year ago that's coming up happy anniversary yeah um and we moved back to the Cape um Matt has a job that allows for him to work from home so um to cut my commute we move back to the Cape and I mean we have four dogs like they're beautiful children. We are basically um the safe haven for um French bulldogs we have four of them um we got our first one Violet fell in love with her madly and uh within I think it was like three months of having her um the place that we rescued from called and asked if we would take a second so we drove out to Ohio and adopted another one and about a year later after we moved here we were like shall we add a third so reached out to um this woman um and told her you know we think we want to do another um we see one on the website and got to talking with her and she then asked if we would take another dog instead of the one that we inquired about. So I said well how would you feel if we just took both of them and she was like you're crazy but I'm so here for it like love that so we drove out a third time to Ohio and adopted two more dogs. So we have Violet Carla Tiki and Audrey and they are our girls our babes they're so cute my reason for getting up every day oh my god no like literally um Matthew laughing in the background like self be fucking rude um love you baby so yeah we have four dogs like we are just out here playing a whole game of house you know um thriving living a stable life which is so crazy because like my childhood was the furthest thing from stable yes shout out to my family for the trauma thank you so much we will touch on that on another episode episode we'll do that whole little game with a candy dick we'll do a trauma dumb yeah yeah love that for us um and just here we are like so happy to be doing this with you starting this journey like again like we said earlier people have told us you need to do a podcast and I know this is like our first episode is probably awkward all over the place all over the place we will find our footing trust me babe yeah trust the process stay with us we appreciate you guys listening coming on this journey with us iconic I know and I don't know Shana what else do you want to say to the people I hate that to the people so sorry I don't like that I don't know you have anything to say Matthew I'm just excited for you guys awesome to see it like coming to fruition yeah shout out to Matt for being the anchor for all of us like tech support emotional support stage manager all the things he wears many hats yes God bless honestly you're doing great sweetie podcast is lying on your shoulders and we are grateful if we fail it's on you oh my god I'm just kidding totally on us because we will be the talent that failed that's right couldn't keep them engaged but that's not gonna happen because failure is not an option I refuse same all right babe we have things to fucking accomplish facts we will 100% we will all right guys we'll see you on our next one see you next Tuesday