Summertime…and the livin’ is easy

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Here it is, another grey and cloudy day in the ATX …but you’re not going to hear me complaining.  Why? Because as long as it’s cloudy, it won’t get up to 100 degrees! 

And because a tangerine-colored Cardinal just landed on the railing right outside of my window as I write this. I’ve never seen an orange Cardinal…have you?

Which brings me to three fun summer things I’ve been thinking about:

  1. A  citrusy way to create smooth, glowing skin.
  2. A mixture to get your feet sandal-ready that’s so easy you can sleep through it.
  3. And an ‘old-school’ cocktail that’s just perfect for our summer heat.Citrus

I’m sure you’ve seen the pretty sugar or salt scrubs for your skin that you can buy in jars…why buy them when they are so easy to make at home?  And, here’s the best part, you can customize them with your favorite citrus and oil!  The basic recipe is: 1/2 of a lemon + 1 T of olive oil + 1T of honey + 1/2 C of sugar. Mix in a break-proof jar or bowl and take into your shower with you. Gently massage over skin and rinse off. The fruit acids and sugar act as exfoliants, the oil and honey act to help retain moisture.

I have customized mine (sensitive, dry skin) by using an orange instead of a lemon and using almond oil rather than olive oil. I’ll bet an orange + coconut oil would smell delicious, too!  You can’t do this one wrong…experiment! (Caution: the shower floor can become slippery.)

For those sandal-ready feet I promised:  Be sure to use a pumice stone on your heels in the summer, but be gentle and do it consistently. Dry, cracked heels are unsightly and unsexy!  At bedtime once a week, slather your feet with your favorite moisturizing cream (I love Skin Trip from Whole Foods – it reminds me of my friend Teresa, and it smells like coconut!) and put on a pair of socks. When you awake in the morning, both you, and your feet, will be refreshed.  (Both the citrus scrub, and the overnight treatment for your feet, would be great to share with the man in your life!)

Down to the finish line – that summertime cocktail I promised.  The Whiskey Sour is a classic drink that’s back in fashion and never feels too heavy in our heat!  This is my favorite recipe from Ina Garten. (and if anyone of you knows her, I’ve always wanted to meet her!)cookworks_wk1B04_whiskeysours_lg

Ina’s Whiskey Sour

3/4 C Jack Daniels Whiskey (I’ve tried others, but this is best), 1/2 C fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 C fresh squeezed lime juice, 2/3 C simple syrup, maraschino cherries for garnish.

Combine the whiskey, juices and syrup in a pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full of ice, add drink mix to the 2/3 full mark and shake for 15 seconds then pour into chilled glasses. Add a cherry for garnish and enjoy the compliments!

Don’t know what simple syrup is? So simple; Mix 1C water with 1C sugar in saucepan. Bring to boil, stir till sugar dissolves, cool before using. Pour into jar and store in fridge.

Your skin is going to glow, your feet will be gorgeous in your sandals and you’ll have mastered a classic Whiskey Sour.  Invite friends to your home, mix up a batch and have fun!

Now for a little sexy music…Buddha Bar?  Electric Guest?  Martini Lounge?

XO  Donna

Here comes the sun

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austinbigWe’ve had a remarkable spring here in Austin, Texas! It’s been cool, cloudy and rainy…some people are even complaining that it feels like Seattle. As if!  It feels like the good old days. The days before the drought that has lasted for years, began. The grass is green. The plants are flowering. The vines are snaking their way up trees, across fence tops and twining all through their trellises, and the smell of Star Jasmine fills the air. Pretty. Magnificent.

(Amazing photo by Debra Lineberger, 2012)

But…the sun will come out tomorrow. Or later this afternoon. It will burn off the clouds and will be just-what-everyone-needs, for a while. Then it will become hot. Unbearably hot.  XXX Texas hot!

The point of this is that May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and this is a friendly reminder. Skin cancer is the most preventable type of cancer…if you take precautions and protect yourself. Sunscreen is your friend! And avoiding the sun between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. when the sun’s rays are the strongest is a good idea. Get your exercize in early…which is when it’s coolest here, anyway.

For you younger people: Mr. Sun dissolves collagen and elastin in the skin. These are the elements that keep your skin smooth, full, and wrinkle-free. Working on your tan ages you faster. And trust me, it all comes fast enough!

For we ‘sexy-past-sixties’: let’s circle-the-wagons, and minimize any further damage.

For everyone: Remember to put sunscreen on your hands whenever you’re out. (We seem to remember our necks, faces and decolletage, but rarely our hands). They will give your age away faster than a jealous cousin!

A broad-spectrum, physical sun-block (containing zinc-oxide or titanium dioxide) is best at protecting you from UVA and UVB rays. (A = aging. B = burning).  You should wear sunscreen every day, whether it’s sunny, partly cloudy, or cloudy. Whether you’re running errands for a few minutes, or playing a game of tennis mid-morning!   It is NOT a myth that the left side of your face ages faster from driving because of accumulated sun exposure coming through the window of your car! And your hands – Mr. Sun is shining on them as they grasp the steering wheel to get you where you’re going – please protect them.

CLINIQUE CCThe easiest way I have found to protect my skin daily is by adding a CC cream on top of my sunscreen.  Yes, I’m still pushing BB/CC creams…if only I could get one of them to sponsor me!  I love them, I believe in them, I use them!  If you have a favorite make-up line, see if they formulate a BB or CC cream. If not, go to Sephore or Ulta and ask someone there for a recommendation based on  your skin type, and how you want the cream to feel. Dewey, (no, not Donald Duck’s nephew) and moist, or a powdery finish. Super lightweight, or more coverage. Try them on. A quick perusal of Sephora’s website revealed BB and CC creams from:  Clinique, Urban Decay, Sephora’s own, Boscia, Bobbi Brown, Dr. Brandt, Shisheido, Peter Thomas Roth and many, many more!  

What is the difference between a BB and a CC cream, you ask?  Well, BB creams are lighter (generally) than foundations, provide coverage + skin care benefits such as an SPF and anti-oxidants, depending on the brand. CC stands for Color Correcting – useful for correcting redness and sallowness by utilizing light-reflecting particles. They are generally more lightweight on the skin, with a fluffier feel. Think of them as an improved version of the BB creams that can be even better for mature skin!

Here’s a great link from Allure: http://www.allure.com/beauty-products/2012/best-bb-creams-and-cc-creams-for-all-skin-issues#slide=1  umbrella drink

For now, I will continue enjoying this cool weather and it’s verdant results…but I know, some like it hot!  Get ready by applying your sunscreen, adding some CC cream and a luscious lip gloss, find a shady spot and stick a little umbrella in your cocktail! 

XO Donna

A Crime Against Fashion

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Isle of CapriThose aren’t my words…they are Tim Gunn’s, and I love Tim Gunn. “A crime against fashion,”  is how he described Capri pants, but I think he was referring to the modern, and usually unflattering, variants of the original. 

The first cropped trousers were introduced by Prussian designer Sonja DeLennart in 1948.  The original Capris were a casual trouser-like pant with a tapered leg that ended just above the ankle and featured a vertical slit at the bottom edge.  Sonja DeLennart 1949They were named after the Isle of Capri (above) on Italy’s coast which was just emerging as a European tourist destination. Ernest Hemingway and his first wife went there with their friends F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Their crowd of friends followed, and then the movie stars began to come.

Grace Kelly was one of the first movie stars to wear them there. AudreySummerCapri Audrey Hepburn adopted them and made them her signature style in the 1950’s.  

They had become quite popular, but hadn’t been shown on television until the early 1960’s when Mary Tyler Moore caused both a fashion sensation, and a bit of a scandal, by wearing them on her program for a sexy dance number. Until then, women had always been shown wearing dresses, but Mary, playing housewife Laura Petrie, wanted to show a more  realistic view of  women, real housewives, who had adopted this latest style.    Mary Tyler Moore Capris                                     

Back to Tim Gunn…his objection to Capri pants is that most women want to look as long and lean as possible, and current capri styles cut us off at the widest part of the calf making us look shorter, and not flattering our legs in the least!  He points out that to make matters worse, some have cargo pockets on the outer thigh which adds even more visual width. Cuffs and pleats should be avoided since cuffs make your legs look shorter and pleats make your tummy look poochy, and who needs that? Never leave the house These are a “never-leave-the-house-looking-like-this” pair of cropped pants. Well, maybe you could change into these at the gym for your work-out, but change out of them before going back out in public!

 If you choose to wear capri pants, the kindest cut is above the fullest part of the calf, or just below it, where it begins to taper down to the ankle. Just above the ankle, like the originals, is very retro-chic and also very flattering if your legs aren’t what they once were (age and gravity being what they are).  Be mindful of the fabric, be sure it has some body and stretch to it. If you like designs, keep prints small so the scale of it doesn’t overwhelm you. I know Audrey Hepburn popularized ballet-flats with her capris, but I still prefer a pointy-toed flat with capris. Better yet, I love an espadrille with a bit (or a lot) of height to it. Generally speaking, the best choice for cut and length is the one that shows off whatever part of your legs you want to highlight. If you find yourself smiling when you look in the mirror, I’d say that you’re good to go!

XO Donna

Nature…red in tooth and claw

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A client came in for her haircut yesterday, and she was not her usual cheerful self. She told me she was sad…mourning the loss of five owlets that they had been watching grow and thrive in a tree on their property. Some critter had climbed the tree and snatched all five from their nest. Now there were none.  And they had listened to the parent owls call in despair for their babies all night. Her heart was broken. I thought about her, and the owls, all night.

Mother Nature is a bitch that way! We love the ocelots, the tigers, the lions… but they have to eat. If only it didn’t have to be that pretty zebra or that graceful gazelle! 

We live in cities and suburbs these days, where the wild things are not. We are mostly out-of-touch with Mother Nature, and mostly like it that way.  There are occasional interactions with wild things, like the possum that comes on your porch to eat your cat’s crunchies. Or that racoon that figures out how to open your trash can lid and makes a big mess. Out where I live we have racoons, skunks, snakes, owls, hawks, coyotes and roaming herds of deer. I’m sure there are other things I neither see nor hear.

A few years ago I heard a racket in the back yard and went to see what it was all about. A baby jay who couldn’t fly yet, had tried and failed, and was hopping around on the ground. He had a cheering squad on the fence (at least I assumed they were giving him advice and encouragement….anthropmorphization on my part, I’m sure) squawking loudly and standing by.  Bluejay is down!This went on all day. I worried what would happen that night since it was supposed to rain. Would he get under the leaves in the garden? Would he figure out how to fly?  I went out with my coffee at first light.  He didn’t make it. I buried him under a canna that had lovely red flowers and marked him with a smooth blue river rock.  We’ve tried to rescue many things since we’ve been here. Mostly to no avail. And our hearts break a little more with each loss. Our biggest loss came when our “outdoor cat,” a huge, old, fluffy black-and-white male that loved nothing more than hanging out outside, became a bobcat’s dinner one night. (Well, he may have loved murdering squirrels more, but we discouraged him in that!)  There were only some tufts of his fur scattered about the lawn as evidence, and just like my client, I racked my brain for what would have done this…the loss didn’t make sense to me. In Mother Nature’s big-picture I guess it did.  We are still pet-free after two years. It’s not that I worry about getting attached again, but we enjoy how clean the house is and how chic it looks with the pillows and throws right where you artfully threw them. And how much less often it requires vacuuming  without dustbunnies and fur everywhere!

We should all keep putting ourselves out there. We should all keep loving even though we know our heart will always be broken in the end…by death. Love is it’s own reward. Do it for the sake of loving…expecting nothing in return.  It’s sexy-as-hell to throw yourself wholeheartedly into it! The planet needs your love, as does every living creature on it.

XODonna