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Krystal Marie

@her.whole.self

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✝️ • 🎤 • ✍🏾 • 💇🏽‍♀️ @_curlhaven • 🏋🏽‍♀️ • 📖

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WE DID IT!! 🥹🏆

I’m so excited to share that Curl Haven Salon & Head Spa is officially a Regional Winner in the 2026 Best of Tennessee Awards in the Salon category!

Last year, we received an Honorable Mention. This year, we’ve moved up to Regional Winner, and I truly couldn’t be more grateful.

To everyone who took the time to vote, shared the voting link, encouraged someone else to vote, or cheered Curl Haven on along the way — THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for showing up for my business.

As a small business owner for over 14 years, I never take your support lightly. Every appointment booked, every referral made, every guide purchased, every kind word shared, and every vote cast reminds me that the work I’m doing matters beyond the four walls of my salon.

Curl Haven has continued to grow and evolve, and having that journey recognized in this way means so much to me. I’m proud of what we’re building, and I’m even more grateful for the people who continue to support it.

This win is a reminder that community matters, and I’m so glad you’re part of mine 🤎

Thank you for believing in Curl Haven, celebrating the wins with me, and helping this little corner of the beauty industry continue to grow. by @her.whole.self

You wanna know the BEST part about getting serious about my fitness journey?!

Playing dress up in my own closet. 😂😂😂

Because why am I in here trying on clothes from 2020 like I’m shopping at a boutique?!

Looking through the rack like: “Hmm… what do we have here?” 👀

MA’AM. THAT’S YOUR DRESS. 😂

Same black dress.
February 2020
October 2020
October 2026

Tonight I put it on and before I looked in the mirror I was like: Ohhhh. So we’re doing THIS again?! 😂

But then I saw myself in it… 40lbs lighter 😍

Listen, I’m not saying this is the reason I’m working on my fitness, but I AM saying I have a closet full of outfits that have been waiting on their comeback tour 😂

The clothes are getting dusted off.
The tags are getting removed.
The closet is getting USED.

And I, for one, intend to thoroughly enjoy the shenanigans that will follow 😂💃🏾 by @her.whole.self

Sunday called for a Girl dinner @thehenryrestaurant with @arneishamarie & @monique2unique before the game 🍸✨ and when we dine, every menu instantly becomes tapas style because we have to sample all the things 😂

Then we headed to Nashville SC vs Los Angeles Football Club and tell me why NSC scored literally as we were taking our seats 😭⚽️ The seats were SO good and the energy in the stadium was all the way live… like contagious fr. I haven’t watched a soccer game since my brother played almost 14 years ago, but I was LOCKED IN 😂

There were so many close calls, a random guy decided running onto the field was a good idea 🫣 and somehow my voice survived all the yelling. But NSC pulled out the win 3-2 and now it’s safe to say I’ll be ordering a soccer jersey before the next game 💛💙

It took about 5 years of living here to get to it, but so far I’ve done hockey, baseball, and now soccer…

Next up: a Tennessee Titans game 🏈✨

#nashvillesoccer #girldinner #sundayfunday by @her.whole.self

And when people say: “nobody’s coming to save you” I stay quiet because 🗣️ MY DADDY WILL! Every. Single. Time. 😌

I mean it’s his day and he still made time to talk me through some car foolishness from 650+ miles away 🥹 He’s been wiping tears, talking me off ledges, moving mountains, and striking poses with me for 37 years and y’all I’m grateful.

The years will go by and my status may change but one thing that will always remain is my love and deep appreciation for your presence in my life, Da!

Happy Birthday, My Guy 🤟🏾 by @her.whole.self

& after church, we brunch

#ResurrectionSunday #SundayBrunch #TheGirls by @her.whole.self

He’s right… I needed a little more whimsy in my life & that meant starting my week off with ‘Petals & Poses’ @luckyladdfarms with the @monique2unique and the girls

I am not usually an outdoorsy girl but something about being outside in a massive field of tulips snapping pics while the wind had us doing the iconic Marilyn Monroe pose every 10 minutes was exactly what I needed 😌

In a day when the world is crazy, people are delusional, and you could easily give in to the gloom and doom… find a way to add a little whimsy to your life!
#tulipsofinstagram #whimsy #luckyladdfarms by @her.whole.self

One thing for certain, we’re always gonna find good food and cutesy things around town to get into 😌

During a late night scroll of socials I came across The Hot Chocolate Affair @loewsnashville and it did not disappoint! It gave high noon tea party vibes with a nostalgic chocolatey twist! From the scratch-made hot cocoa and sweet treats to the live music… 10/10, highly recommend!
#TheHotChocolateAffair #LoewsNashville #CozyMoments #GirlsDay by @her.whole.self

What. A. Week. 🖤

Started things off at Mt. Zion for Managing the Mind, Mastering the Mood with Dr. Rosemary Palmer and it was such a needed word! Later that day, I met up with a new friend who just a week prior, out of pure obedience, shouted across the parking lot to remind me that God is still El Roi (the God who sees) and He has not forgotten about me. 🥹 The backstory on this alone deserves a blog post but the timing of it all is what was most profound to me. He sees and He knows.

Shameless plug: if you haven’t been to 5th & Taylor for dinner… fix that expeditiously! 10/10, no notes. 👌🏽

One of my amazing client-friends gifted me a much-needed massage at Woodhouse Spa, and then I got to see one of my absolute faves, PJ Morton, for a Piano Pop-up Concert at NMAAM! There are very few artists I’ll come outside for, but he’s definitely one of them. (Dinner at Sinatra Bar & Lounge was chef’s kiss before heading home 🎶)

I closed out the week right back where it started, at Mt. Zion, for a worship concert with Todd Galberth and Naomi Raine. 🙌🏾😭 Todd took me back to my WOCC days in 2012 when he and the team would usher us into the presence of God and we’d all just be stuck 😂. Serving in any capacity is an amazing privilege… and it can also be demanding. So any opportunity I get to take all the service hats off to sit and receive, I cherish them 😌

Between work, worship, and my planned pockets of joy as I call them, I ended the week emotionally full, but the cherry on top came today, at the start of a new week…
My Best of Tennessee plaque came in the mail! 🥹✨

#GratefulHeart #ElRoi #FaithAndFavor #PJMorton #ToddGalberth #NaomiRaine #MtZionNashville #BestOfTennessee #WorshipAndWork by @her.whole.self

😅 Yes, this is a great problem to have!

🥹 Yes, I am extremely grateful to God!

😳 Also yes, I am panicking a little internally!

It’s giving Luke 5 🙌🏾😂🫠 Lord send the other “boats”! by @her.whole.self

There was a time I thought slowing down meant falling behind. So I kept going. I mean I was always on go, even when I was running on empty.

Building on empty.
Achieving on empty.
Showing up on empty.
Pouring on empty.

I truly believed that if I just kept pushing, when the vision God gave me finally became my reality, it would all make sense. I told myself, “When I get there… when I hit that goal, when I finally do all the things, then I’ll rest.”

Because honestly, who thinks about resting when you already feel behind on your own timeline?!

But life slowly became one big performance.
I did what I knew to do. Followed the rules. Tried to be the “perfect” Christian (in both word and deed) all so I reach the ultimate destination, exhale, and finally “earn” the privilege of rest.

That mindset kept me striving instead of savoring. It made me so destination-focused that I missed the beauty of the journey… namely the restoration God wanted to bring me along the way.

And the truth is… as I kept building and achieving, the goalpost just kept moving. I didn’t need to push harder.
I needed to pause and simply BE with Him. 😌

It took me a while to grasp that because I didn’t want to accept it the first few times He spoke. It was hard to downsize my space and close the spa after investing so much into it. It was hard to see relationships end… and I fought Him on it 🫠 So yes, He’s had to “make me lie down in green pastures” a few times 🫣 … whether through a broken wrist, overwhelming exhaustion, or watching many of the things I built start to crumble one by one.

But this time, I listened.

And that pause?

It saved me in more ways than one.

The Lord is kind. 😌
He is a redeemer of time and nothing is wasted in Him. He will often cause what would typically take years to happen in a matter of months. You’ll be scratching your head trying to figure out how 😅 and grateful that He didn’t allow it a moment sooner 🥹

Apparently I’ve been laying down long enough and it’s go time, but before He really starts showing off in my life, please know: it’s all Him.

Everything I am.
Everything I have.
Everything I’ll ever accomplish
is all because of Him. 🖤 by @her.whole.self

Two months later, I’m finally coming up for air to document a pretty pivotal moment…

So I thought I was just checking “audition for a musical” off my bingo card for the year… and somehow ended up in Ragtime: The Musical with a full-blown emotional awakening, new friendships, and a level of confidence I didn’t know I had. 🎭💃🏾

I’m no stranger to the stage as I danced for a LONG time. I’ve sung and traveled with a couple groups but something about stepping back on stage this time had me all in my feels! I went in to it blindly having no idea what I was getting myself into and that made the harmonies, history, and all the feels of this story hit a little deeper 🥹 and honestly, I’m so glad I went for it 🎶

This wasn’t just a show… it was truly the music of something beginning (and possibly the start of my midlife theater kid era). Turns out, the stage missed me and the feeling is mutual 😌

10/10, would absolutely recommend surprising yourself. ❤️ #RagtimeTheMusical #TheaterKidReboot #MyFirstMusical by @her.whole.self

Last week, I had the honor of attending the final Women of Legend & Merit Awards ceremony, hosted by the TSU Women’s Center. It was a bittersweet moment marking the close of an era, yet full of beauty, reflection, and purpose.

As I witnessed the legacy of this long-standing tradition, I was reminded of Habakkuk 2:2-3: “Write the vision and make it plain… though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.”

This ceremony was the fruit of someone’s vision… written, nurtured, and faithfully brought to life. And now, even as the program concludes, its impact lives on.

Because sometimes, the influence of a thing outlasts the thing itself.

Legacy doesn’t end… it echoes. by @her.whole.self