Hey girl! Looking for fun things to do at the lake or a place to snap that insta worthy photo?
I got you!
Here are Tiffany’s Top 10 places to hang at the LOZ …


1.  Of course we gotta start the list at the Bagnell Dam Strip.  See the historic Bagnell Dam, walk the strip to check out the shops and restaurants, or take the kids to the skytrail and the arcade.  Check out the LOZ night life by hitting one of the bars at night to hear tons of live music and grab some amazing food.

2.  Just up the strip is one of the best lake views around.  Stop into Shawnee Bluff Winery and sit out on the deck to enjoy a glass of wine and take in a breathtaking view of the lake (sidenote, sunset is the best time to be there!).

3.  Looking for something active to do?  Book a session with Kirby’s School of Wake to learn how to surf the lake (or just get better at it).  He has the best surf boats and is the most encouraging coach to help take your skills up a notch.

4.  How about a dance lesson?  Book a personal dance lesson with one of the teachers at Club La Roca to learn to salsa or line dance (and lot’s of other dances).

5.  Maybe just want to take in the beautiful outdoors of the Ozarks?  Just out of town is Ha Ha Tonka state park (or Honka Tonka as my kids called it when they were little!).  So many trails, fishing, and even a castle with a fascinating story behind it.  I won’t give away all the secrets so you can go check it out yourself!

6.  If you are looking to celebrate a special occasion or just want to enjoy the finer side of life, 1932 Reserve is the spot for you.  The Reserve offers an upscale fine dining experience that cannot be topped at the Lake and a modern, upscale lodging experience with several lofts and a personal penthouse to choose from.  The penthouse has a pool with a view like no other.  

7.  I know what you're thinking.  But WHERE can I shop?  The lake has so many hidden boutiques, owned locally and carefully curated.  I have a complete highlight reel over on my instagram @shopthegray to help guide you to the best of the best of the best shop for you!

8.  If live music is your thing, look no further than Lake of the Ozarks.  Two of the best venues at the lake to catch a favorite band or even one you’re just discovering are Ozarks Amphitheater and Shawnee Bluff Vineyard, but let’s be honest this is the lake and live music is everywhere!

9.  If I know you well, you’re here at the lake having the best time and might need a recovery drink or shot! Girl, get yourself to SQeZ Juice + Health for a wheat grass shot and an acài bowl that will make all things right again!

10.  Lastly, I can’t make a top 10 list without mentioning The Gray! I hope you’ll swing by 1296 Bagnell Dam Blvd and check out the space I have created at the lake to bring you all things super cool styles you might not see other places around.



 xoxo - Tiffany

When it comes to hair extensions, the options are endless.  Glue in, tape in, sew in, or even just clip in. My first time ever getting more hair on my head was so exciting.  Like Christmas Day! I envisioned the long, thick, flowing hair of my dreams.  And I pretty much got it.  My extensions were sew in and I was hooked.  In fact, those sew in’s were all I ever knew until recently.  I loved them so much that I had them for about 4 years.  With consistent maintenance and care, they became a part of my regular routine.

My hair stylist happens to be a good friend of mine, and one day she texted me an invite to a weekend get away …. just one caveat, she had to attend this new extension thing.  YES! A girls weekend in the city. I paid little attention to her class because I already loved my extensions and didn’t think this new method could sway me over.  We shopped, we ate, and she did her class thingy, lol.

Soon after it was time for an appointment with her to take care of my extensions.  She talked to me about the new method, extensions that are keratin bonded rather than sewn in.  Stylists use a cold fusion method that bonds the hair using ultrasonic waves.   This wave,  or “vibration” action, allows the bond to mold around the hair.

The price was comparable, so I reluctantly decided to give these new extensions a chance. Still not sold but willing to try it  anyway ; )

You guys ….. GAME CHANGER.

I was shook and still am by 1)  how much lighter my head feels, 2) how easy these are to take care of, and 3) the quality of this hair!  As a business owner who models a lot of my own products, I need my hair to be looking good even when I’ve given it little time or effort.  Enter HMDstyle and this cold fusion method!

So here are the deets you need to know for sure:

• The extensions last 4-6 months WITHOUT maintenance.  That’s right, nothing.
• No heat is used to apply them.
• Every set is unique to you.  Every bond size and color is customized to you.
• The bonds are made of synthetic keratin protein which mimics the protein found in your hair.
• The bonds are strong, tiny, and don’t damage your hair.
• They are also easily removed.

Pic for attention 😜
10/10 recommend keratin-protein-cold-fusion-bonded extensions baby
​(I’m sure that’s the professional way to say it)!
​

 Todays influencers are pro’s at taking basic looks and making them bomb.  And to be honest, I’m here for it.  In todays style world casual can become high fashion with just a few tweaks.  So, let’s talk t-shirts and high fash.  I love a vintage tee, a rocker tee, or a tee with an impactful message.  Here’s three of my favorite ways to wear them:

I never dreamed I would be a business owner.  As a little girl and even as a young woman, my career aspirations always involved serving and helping people.  As I studied, I grew more and more passionate about psychology and in college chose to get my degree in that field and later a masters degree in counseling (by the way - don't be impressed by any of that... I went to college because it was a way to improve my life, not to look good in front of people).

I love peoples' stories, their journeys, and I love getting to be a witness to self growth and the process of becoming.  So, why did I leave that career and open a boutique?  

I guess that's a part of my own process of becoming.  As a counselor in a high school, I worked with so many young women.  Their struggles with one another and in life in general were ones I could connect with.  I had a burning drive to create and build a culture among the girls I  worked with of  kindness, support, and  confidence. I worked with girl after girl on issues that involved girl hate, low self esteem, and and even self harm.  On many days though, I closed my office door behind me feeling defeated.  There were 2 counselors at my school, and 600 students.  The needs were overwhelming and I was spending my days in reactionary mode.  I needed to get in front of the problems.  I needed to lead by example.  I wanted to create something that connected with women, something that had meaning and purpose.  I decided to become the woman I desired for these girls to have in their lives.  I chose to leave a career where I was spinning my wheels, and to pursue another passion within the style industry.  

And here I am today still believing and hoping so strongly in this message.  The message that girls won't stop being mean to each other until we do.  Girls won't believe the best in each other until we do.  Girls won't learn how to respect one another until WE DO.  

Gold+Gray is a platform for that message.  The fashion/beauty industry has a loud voice of influence in the lives of all women and I want to use my little space of it for something good.  

Thank you for being a part of this journey.  Thank you for allowing me to learn and grow with you and to offer what I've already learned.  Thank you for always reminding me WHY I STARTED  🖤

Mom Bod.
It’s the body you’ve earned, not the body you were given.
It’s the body that stretched and grew and ached to create life.
The body that tore and broke to give birth.
The body that fed and rocked and comforted your babies.
It’s the body that you drag out of bed for 5 AM workouts.
The body that craves caffeine and chocolate but thanks you for water and vitamins.
The body that you celebrated love in and grieved heart break in.
It’s the body with scars that houses a heart with scars.
But a body that has astounded you with its strength, potential, and ability to heal.
It’s the body that sometimes you have hated.
But learned to love.  
Love your mom bod for all that she is and will become. 

​

In July 2007 I woke to a phone call that changed our lives forever.

Fast forward to July 2020. This morning when my phone dinged, as I was just about to head out for my run, it was a text from my daughter letting me know she’s been accepted to one of her top colleges.

And in these moments my heart explodes with joy, and sinks with grief.

Sometimes I don’t even recognize what I’m feeling until my feet hit pavement. Today.  Today, I ran long and hard and  I let myself break.  

It’s not fair that the ONE other person who would be as proud of her as I am isn’t here.  

It’s not fair that he’s missed birthdays and recitals and  Casey’s graduation and first dates and boyfriends. 

It’s not fair that Casey is navigating the work force for the first time without the leadership of his dad.  It’s not fair that Lydia doesn’t have a man to tell her she’s beautiful and worthy and amazing.  

It all came pouring out of me this morning, in the form of sweat and tears and my feet pounding the pavement for mile after mile.

A lot of you might read this and think, “it’s been 13 years, time to get over it already.”  Yes - thirteen years of watching our kids reach milestones he’s not here for.  Thirteen fathers days that we visited a grave instead of a threw a party.  Thirteen years since we’ve felt his presence or heard his voice.  And I’m here to tell you that time doesn’t heal a loss like this.  Sometimes… time makes it harder.

But we’ve also experienced thirteen years of watching God show up when the passing time and the heavy absence of the man we loved so much is just too much.  We’ve watched him heal and re-heal our hearts.  Because “healing” isn’t a one time event.  It’s a process of breaking and healing and breaking again and healing again.  I personally have been through thirteen years of becoming closer to a God who, frankly, I don’t get.  And growing in a faith that doesn’t look anything like what the christian devotionals say it should.

And my constant prayer and hope has been 

“beauty for ashes, Lord”.  

“Turn the pain into something good, Lord”  

“Take what was meant to break us and use it to make us stronger, closer, wiser, Lord”

And what I’ve learned is that one of the gifts of a grieving heart is being able to live and find peace somewhere in the middle of the healing and the breaking.  It’s understanding that some questions won’t get answered and some pain will never go away, but believing and trusting in spite of it all is the essence of faith.  

Maybe that’s the Gray.  

A place where it’s ok not to have all the answers, a place to be breaking and healing at the same time.

I go to bed tonight shook from today’s news.


Not because Kobe was such a super star athlete.


Not because everyone knows him.


My heart actually aches for those he leaves behind.


Tomorrow starts a journey his loved ones never asked for or could ever fathom.  And they’ll only learn to navigate it as they actually go through it.  Grief is darkness.  It is confusion.  It is silence and abandonment when you are desperate for help.


There is no manual.   No right way.  Just hold on and let go all at the same  time.


The hardest part of grieving as a mom and wife was that it was the hardest thing I’d ever done and I had to do it without the one person I had grown to lean on and confide in.  The one person I needed to go to for love and comfort, was gone.  It felt like being asked to climb  a giant mountain but my limbs weren’t functioning.


And I had to be a source of strength for my kids, but I had little strength to give on most days.


All the news coverage brings me to a place of so many feelings and so many memories. 


And I just pray.


I pray for God to give strength that only He can give.  And that though this mother’s heart might be broken for a season, that it will be mended and healed and that she will rise from these ashes with strength and wisdom and faith and straight up LOVE like she’s never known.


I was thinking tonight about the strength of a woman.  The mama’s heart that will not surrender to the heartache this world can and does throw at her.  The woman who takes all that was meant to destroy her and her family…and instead surrenders it to God, grows through it, fights  through it,  prays through it, and in the end USES  it to live  more full and alive and awake than ever before.


This is my mission.  And it’s not one and done.  It’s a daily choice to remember my pain,  and to   live on anyway.  To not just survive the loss, but to allow the breaking to produce growth that honors the relationship  and time I spent with the one I lost.


Our days are limited.  People don’t seem to get it.  Even though we get reminders all the time. It’s why I hate gossip and pettiness and drama.  


Life is short.  What are you doing with your time?

​