Aging Beautifully

Do you use a night cream?

One of the most drilled-into-me lessons I got from my Grandma was related to skin care. She'd sit me down on the edge of her bed, facing her vanity, as she got ready when I visited, and repeat the following mantra: "You MUST put lotion on your face, neck and ears every morning when you wake up and every night before bed. THAT is the secret to beautiful, youthful skin." I literally got that lesson on every visit. And to her last day, truly, my Gram had the most beautiful, softest, wrinkle-free skin you ever saw. So I take that lesson to heart.

There was a turning point in my skin-care regime five or six years ago when I realized I couldn't rely exclusively on my youthful vigor anymore. I adopted and have remained true to a routine that includes day lotion with SPF, eye cream, and night cream, as well as super hydrating lip care. I don't go a day without my morning routine, but I must admit that I'm less consistent in the evenings. This is mostly due, I think, to the fact that I haven't found a night cream that I love. I've tried lots of different store-bought brands, and samples from name-brand lines, and just can't land on one I can stick with. They either feel too heavy for night, or a bit oily, or they're too fragrant -- none of which I can handle as I try to get to sleep (also, regarding fragrance, my husband would be grossed out by heavy scents at night, and he wouldn't hesitate to tell me so in the kindest of words).

So I come to you, friends... do you use a night cream? What do you recommend? I'm open to any and all recommendations, and would love your input. Pharmacy? Makeup counter? What's your go-to? Actually, I'll take any skin care recommendations... I'm interested to know what you do to keep your pretty faces so pretty.

Thanks! Now comment away!

New Year Shout-Outs

Happy New Year! Is it just me, or did 2011 really zip by?! I feel like I blinked and it was the holidays again. And now here we are in 2012! Holy moly!

2011 was filled with lots of good things and bright moments. Lots of friends, lots of laughter, lots of family, lots of fulfilling and active choices. And there is only more good to come in this next year. I'm going to try to write more meaningful posts, though there will inevitably also be some good ol' fluff, because, well, who am I kidding. First up - the Golden Globes are around the corner, so get ready for A's and my second round of Award Show Fashion Recaps! Whee!

But before we go there, I want to start the year off with a little shout-out to some of my friends who have some noteworthy things going on in their worlds, electronic or real. In no particular order...


* A's new(ish) blog, Anthologie, is great. Just all around great. She themes each day, and therefore has some really good fodder for consistent, content-rich posts. There are good updates for those who know her and her family, but there's also regular good stuff on crafts, food, beauty products, fashion, and lots of great ideas. If you're on Pinterest (and if you're not, get on Pinterest), you'll want to pin a million little tidbits from her posts.

* Another friend A made a hugely bold move and quit her (amazing) full-time job at a major magazine in NY to pursue a freelance career and move back to Chicago (yay for us in Chicago!). First and foremost - I am incredibly impressed by A's bravery, and also by her tenacity. She's been writing away, taking this freelance life by the horns and killing it. You can check her out in this month's Whole Living, where her article on being healthier in the work place made the cover - WOOT! Go A!

* My friend EA is also taking on new challenges in 2012... And she faced her trepidation and is doing it in the blogosphere! The 52 Project will have E and anyone who chooses to join her doing something different each week for the year, with the over-arching goal of simply living a healthier, more balanced, more meaningful and inspired every day. How wonderful is that?! I'm going to join her wherever I feel inspired, and you should, too! It's a fantastic idea, and an inspiring way to approach the new year. I hope she doesn't kill me for posting this on Owlet............

* My former (and maybe soon will be again) trainer and now great friend C is going to kick 2012 in the pants. She's opening her first studio (yoga, fitness, personal training) in Chicago in the coming weeks! It's in Lincoln Park, and as soon as I'm given the green light to release more details I will, but you can feel free to email me if you're local and interested! She's so talented and so strong and she really connects with each of her clients - a gift that makes anyone lucky enough to work with her get more out of their fitness/yoga/training experience then they likely ever had before. This new facility is going to be beautiful and incredible. I will be there regularly. Come with! AND... her previously self-produced annual detoxification guide (earlier versions were printed and sold low-budget to clients only) has been given a total overhaul for the 2012 edition, and it will be sold on Amazon (and at the facility) starting this month! Oh, did I mention I'm the editor?! (a little self-promotion - forgive me)

Good things for good friends to start the year off right. Here's to a wonderful year to come...

Healthify Your Work Day

My dear friend Randi is gorgeous, funny, clever, creative, talented, and really smart to-boot. Constantly striving to discover her truest self, Randi writes the blog Home Harvests, has designed and harvested her own home edible garden, has cleansed and refreshed her diet, and each day hones in more and more on who she is, what she wants, what her body needs, and what she can do to live a fuller, healthier, happier life. Open to her own mistakes and missteps and stumbles, she is just an amazing model of a woman, and I'm proud to know her, to call her my friend, and to be able to learn from her.

And today I'm just so proud of her (more than usual) because she's published on modernhippiemag.com!

Don't you want to healthy-up your work day? Here's a snippet from her piece, The Healthy Nine-to-Fiver (full article here; original post here):


"Sometimes the line between living to work and working to live can blur – we all have cable and cell phone bills to pay. But sacrificing health to get through the day should not be part of the job description. In fact, controlling our food and liquid intake during the work day is a win/win for you, coworkers, clients and even the boss.

"Sticking to well-rounded, nutrient rich fare throughout the day helps stabilize blood sugar, mood swings and tummy noises, and keeps you feeding your brain. Productivity, efficiency, happiness – sounds good!"

Highlights from her tips for a healthier work week routine:

"By controlling your lunches, you can ensure you are getting proper amounts of protein, fats, fiber and carbohydrates to power you through the rest of your day... [and] how is anyone supposed to make important decisions, sit through long meetings or close lucrative sales when they’re counting down to dinner? Skipping meals wreaks havoc on your metabolism, adds to your stress level, makes you cranky and can actually lead to weight gain... [and] Although they may be sugar free, [diet sodas are] often loaded with sodium and other chemicals. If you must have that afternoon Diet Coke, try drinking a giant glass of water first. After 10 minutes, if you still want the soda, then go for it – at least you’ve diluted its effects!... [and] If you start making healthy changes to your diet and eating for wellness, I promise that the energy you would normally get from caffeine just happens!"

See how great she is?! I highly encourage you to add her blog to your Reader or RSS feed. Her posts are thoughtful, purposeful, meaningful, and chock-full of really good information, ideas, and inspiration. Her voice is sincere and relatable - she's not forcing any mantra down your throat, but rather showing you how easy it is to incorporate tiny changes or additions with big impact into your life. And when she's not doing that, she's just sharing her world and heart, both of which are beyond lovely.

LOVE YOU LADY!

Running Downtown

I've started running again. Slow and steady is my plan, so as to protect my knees and hamstrings and what-not, because that's what halted me abruptly last year. Short runs at a slower, more steady pace. I think I can manage it. Especially if I'm running downtown to take a break during work. Not so hard to do when the River Walk provides such a perfect path and perfectly distracting views:

(all photos my own; taken on my iPhone)

I sure do love this town...

Putting it Out There: Fitness Accountability

I'm a fairly fit and active person. I'm also inherently lazy. Not usually a solid combination. So I'm at my best when I set a specific target or goal, or else when I have someone else with whom to work out regularly (like a class partner, or a running partner, or a gym partner). I don't always have people, which is why I've decided to hold myself accountable publicly. Last year was a big milestone birthday year, and for someone who is known to celebrate her birthday as a national holiday (more on that in another post!), it was the first time I kind of geeked out about my age. I got over it, for sure, but it happened. Part of how I dealt with that weird reaction was deciding to train for an athletic event I'd never tackled: a half marathon. I trained from around February to August, but an injury prevented me from actually doing the event. I'm not disappointed; I was pretty proud of myself for training consistently, and I did run several small races along the way, and ran further/longer than I'd ever run before at a time, so it was all good. But the outcome has clearly been that I can't really run that much. Old soccer injuries and general wear on my knees/hamstrings makes me ache in new and irritating ways every time I try to hit the road. So, I've been looking for a new motivation and goal, and I think I've found it! It's novel, it's inspired, it's walking!

We were flying home to Chicago from the West Coast yesterday, and for me, flying goes hand in hand with buying an excessive number of magazines (duh). So, I was flipping through my loot, specifically in the health/wellness category, and read several separate pieces about walking. Light bulb. If I'm going to walk for fitness, it's going to be serious. I'm not going to saunter or stroll, I'm going to power it out. So the first thing I've decided to embrace is the Walk Off 10 Lbs in 21 Days challenge from this month's issue of Health (p.s., the image on their page is different from my copy, but whatever). I'm not necessarily claiming that I'm trying to lose any specific amount of weight or anything - I just need a kick-start and a kick-in-the-pants, and this sounds like a good challenge.

The Challenge includes three basic components: simple strength moves, intervals, and hills. The exercises are good, and promise good intensity. The strength-cardio circuit they provide (they recommend doing it twice a week) includes push-up-jumps, step-ups, tricep dips, and lateral walking lunges. I enjoy circuit training, so this sounds great. You shoot for five workouts a week, so you do this one twice, and then you have three other days of your choice of speed-burst intervals and long-hill intervals. They also offer a diet plan, but we'll see. I'm a pretty healthy eater.

I did sign up for the Self Drop-10 Challenge, too. Again - not stating a weight-loss goal, but using the tools it provides, which include exercise ideas, recipes, meal/fitness trackers, etc. It's good for me to be held accountable in multiple ways. The good thing about the meal tracker is that it's making me (already! Day 1!) think about and plan better eating during the day. I'm solid at breakfast and dinner... it's the work-day that's my trouble-zone. I basically skip lunch most days. (See... lazy.)

(Ryka Transition)

Thirdly, I am inspired by the Best Sneakers of 2011 article in this month's Fitness. Last year when I was training to run, I took the shoe-support seriously and got fitted by pros at Fleet Feet. It changed my life, and it changed my running. So, if I'm going to be a fitness walker, I need to apply the same logic. The Fitness coverage provides great details about the shoes they tested, and I think they have given me a good place to start. I'm thinking that instead of a shoe for walking-only, I'll look for a good cross-trainer. I like the Fitness-recommended Ryka Transition, but I think I'll also go try on other options at a store before I make a pick.

I'm also looking for more partners in crime. So if anyone in my general proximity goes to a great class somewhere, or wants to look for one together, or wants to join me on a walk, just say the word.

I've got spring fever, and I need to capitalize on it before my motivation lags and my lazy kicks back in!