Category Archives: beauty

What a Difference A Year Makes

. beauty, Cancer, celebration . , ,

haircut1Last year at this time I was reeling from the effects of my second chemotherapy.  Now, I’m healthy and happy and grateful for every moment.  I’ve spent the summer relaxing with my kids and various friends and family members, but also doing things that I wasn’t able to do last year.  One example is eating – fresh fruit and veggies were on my no-no list because of the risk of infection from any bacteria.  I have been eating fruit and salad like it’s going out of style. (I had a strawberry and spinach salad with sesame dressing the other day – WOW!)  I have been swimming a few times, which I never did. I also went white water rafting and zip lining in Harper’s Ferry West Virginia with some amazing friends.  The entire time I kept pinching myself – I was just so grateful for the air onhaircut2 my face and being outside and using my body to enjoy myself.  It might sound hokey to you, but I have been focused on appreciating every moment I have.

Today I went to see Nancy Emamian at Images Salon in Chevy Chase, MD.  You might remember that about a year ago, she shaved my head as my hair started to fall out and she made it as lovely and gentle of an experience as possible.  Today I needed a haircut.  We both said a little prayer of thanksgiving as she trimmed my growing mop. She is such a warm and loving person – and a wonderful stylist to boot!  I am thankful to be under her care. Here’s how the hair looks now. Still curly!

What a life!  Enjoy your summer, wherever you are.

Ask Me About My Bracelets – Alex and Ani

. beauty, Cancer, celebration, Friendship, women . , , ,

alexandaniIn recent months I’ve been walking around with a little jingle jangle on my wrist.  These bangle bracelets are not just for glamor, though; these bracelets have meaning.

The bracelets themselves are from a company called Alex and Ani.  Popular in the U.S., the company mission embraces values such as mindfulness, positive energy, sustainability and corporate consciousness. They pride themselves on supporting local business and manufacturing in the United States.  Every piece of their jewelry is accompanied by an explanation of its meaning and phrases of empowerment.  It is a great business model to support.

My first bracelet was a birthday gift.  My darling friend Bonnie’s daughter bought it for me.  Bonnie’s birthday is just a few weeks after mine, and Julia (age 15) bought the best friend bracelets for us.  (Bonnie is the friend who managed my cancer care from start to finish, you might remember) I treasure the meaning of the charm, the sentiment behind gift, and most of all, the friendship it represents.

My second bracelet I bought myself in November, just a few weeks after Dr. Siegel pronounced me cured of lymphoma.  It says “Live a Happy Life” on it.  The card it came with says that the bracelet embodies the spirit of courage, appreciation and choice. The full content says,  “Choose kindness, love, and joy.  Live life to the absolute fullest and open your mind up to spontaneous ideas.  Live fearlessly, be optimistic, and become blissfully aware of life’s gifts. Adorn yourself with the Live A Happy Life Charm to acknowledge the blessings in your existence and to be an inspiration to all.”

I don’t know about inspiration, but I do know that I strive to live every day acknowledging my blessings, for they are myriad. The jingle that I wear reminds me all the time that I am loved and even in times of challenge, I am strong and lucky.

So please, next time you see me, ask me about my bracelets; I’m proud to show them to you.

An Incomporable Dining Experience

. beauty, Food, Japan, Tokyo . , , , ,
An oasis in the city

An oasis in the city

Tofu-ya Ukai, housed on what used to be a sake brewery, sits on a huge parcel of beautifully landscaped  land right in the center of Tokyo below the specter of the Tokyo Tower.  Rather than one dining room, the restaurant has 50 private tatami rooms, all done zashiki style – meaning spare and beautiful, with exposed beams, tatami floors and genuine beauty all around.  Though diners must sit on the floor, removing their shoes first, there is a foot-well so no one has to fold their legs unnecessarily.  All of the servers and hosts are clad in kimono and skilled in the art of fine service.  The food is done kaiseki style, consisting of multiple courses mostly comprised of fish and tofu.

Today was an exceptional day to go to Tofu-ya Ukai because Tokyo had the largest snowstorm of the past 40 years just this past weekend and the juxtaposition of the lingering

Tomoko, Marlene, and me enjoying a glass of umeshu, plum wine in our private tatami room.

Tomoko, Marlene, and me enjoying a glass of umeshu, plum wine in our own tatami room.

snow with the persistent blossoms painted an extraordinary picture of Mother Nature’s joy – or sense of humor, depending on your view of the situation.

We had a menu of eight courses – only in Japan can eight courses be small enough to just be a taste of everything yet big enough for diners to feel full and not overstuffed.  Each course seemed to linger and depend on the one coming up in that the quality and complexity of the courses created a crescendo of taste

Blossoms peeking out of the snow.

Blossoms peeking out of the snow.

and texture.  The fried tofu had a satisfying crunch, while still being smooth.  The sashimi and other prepared fish exploded in a bloom of freshness.  Everything was presented with grace and beauty, from the pouring of the sake, to the dishing out of the soy milk with two perfect pieces of tofu floating in it.  The mixture of seasonal: tastes, sweet and savory, salty and fruity, all combined to make an exquisite dining experience.

The pictures barely do it justice – the food or the surroundings.

After lunch, Marlene, Tomoko and I took a short walk through the Japanese gardens where we

The Course Menu we selected.

The Course Menu we selected.

saw the small out-building where chefs were hard at work frying tofu, as well as plants, rocks and lanterns that traditionally make up a Japanese garden.

It was a beautiful day.

The food:

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The surroundings:

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Sometimes Beauty IS Skin Deep

. beauty, Cancer, control . , , , , ,

makeupThe side effects of chemo are getting a bit stronger as I’ve gone through the treatments, but I’ve managed them pretty well so far.  As expected, I lost my hair fairly quickly.  Now I’m losing my eyebrows and eyelashes.  I’m not normally so vain, but I’ve been feeling like my face is a little “blank” as the brows and lashes thin out and disappear.  So today, I took myself to Nordstrom and the Bobby Brown counter, where I met Fiona, yet another angel on my journey.  I explained my issue and Fiona spent at least an hour with me, not just doing my makeup, but showing me everything she was doing, step by step.  She showed me fionacolors and brushes and described uses for each item she put on my face.  She helped me use the brow brush to create natural looking eyebrows to frame my face and line my eyes from the inside to the outside to create the illusion of lashes. She also helped me figure out what I “needed” to create the look as opposed to what was just an extra benefit.  I bought a lot of things, but with no pressure. Fiona made me feel like a million bucks – and definitely gave me back a modicum of control over my appearance.