People are surprised to know that I am new to the nail world – 2 years Texas-licensed this year.

But actually, I’ve been doing my own nails since I was a teenager (and my own hair since I was 10, but that’s not why we’re here).

When I entered my very female mid-life crisis in 2020 at 44 years old (something no one tells us ladies about, but it IS a thing), amid all the depression and anxiety, all I wanted was a new everything –while simultaneously wanting nothing at all.

The next year, I ended up getting a divorce, moving to Houston, giving up custody of my most precious dog-baby, and living off the proceeds of my real estate sale for the following year.

During that year, I travel and rested and got to know the city of Houston a little bit.

But my nails were tragic and I was a habitual nail biter and cuticle picker. My solution was to put on acrylic nails to keep me biting and picking. And it worked.

But a light bulb also went off!

Perhaps THIS could be my new career. It’s fun, creative, I’m good at it, and it’s less stressful than real estate.

AND if my extremely introverted self can manage the 2 hours it takes to socialize with another human being, then I just might be onto something.

So for the next 6 months, I did nails on my friends and family for free (or in exchange for homemade food), until I was certain that YES, I love doing this – people and all.

By the end of that year, I was enrolled in nail school and my new second-life was well underway.

But before I jumped toes-first into doing nails, I was a serial entrepreneur and a real estate professional for almost 20 years.