My Chic Life

My dear friend and confidant Erika Kurtz got my the most thoughtful Christmas gift this year… the Smoke out Kit from Urban Decay. You see, Erika knows of my deep passionate love for a smokey eye… and more than that she knows my even deeper love for not having to deal with things that require too much time or energy.

The Smoke Out Kit is everything one requires for the perfect smokey eye AND turn-by-turn directions on how to pull it off. The shadow, the liner, the mascara, the mirror and the handy carrying case for it all complete with a small drawer to hold your directions.

My peepers have never looked so good!

I found this post on thedieline.com and I simply had to share.  I personally have no idea what the logistics of nail painting entails, but I can only imagine.  Everytime I see my sisters painting their nails it’s almost as they’re about to set a diamond… with their eyes cocked and steady hand.

Anyway, I needed to share.

Some of you Chic readers may be wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t been sharing my fabulous recipes or rad reviews (or you haven’t noticed or don’t care but …come on…humor me). Well here it is, the big reveal…I had cancer. Melanoma in fact. Yup. Here is my story and what I learned (Cliff’s Note’s Version).

I am not a moley person. I have maybe 5-6 total and they are all small. All except for one on my lower calf, which has always been pretty normal looking. But about a year and a half ago I noticed it growing…and growing…and getting darker…uh oh. So I did the responsible adult thing and had a derm check it out. They measured and prodded and told me everything was good and to come back in 6 months. When I went back and it was bigger, they said it was probably just growing as I grew and my legs got longer blah blah…which I thought was weird because I haven’t really grown much in the last 10 years. Hmmm

Finally I decided to have the darn thing removed. They numbed me up, scraped it off, and put it in a tube to send to the lab. Weee! So long creepy mole! I thought I was done. Nope. It was the beginning.

I got a call a week later from the dermatologist who removed my mole letting me know that the mole was in fact cancerous. I was diagnosed with the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma. Worst phone call ever. Great. Now what? Surgery to remove the area around the mole as well as a few lymph nodes was scheduled. I was scared.

Luckily, my anesthesiologist was amazing and the meds they sent me home with were even better (Mmmm…vicodin) and one month later…I am back in action. I’ll spare you the gory details (Frankenstein-esque scar, tennis ball sized swellage, lack of lymph node leakage) but I will tell you a few positive things that came from this experience. Read on…

What I learned:

1. YOU are responsible for your own health. If you think something is wrong, get it checked out. Ask questions. Be persistent.
2. Be grateful. I never realized how lucky I was to be healthy and able to walk until I wasn’t and couldn’t. Now I walk everywhere. Just kidding. But I do enjoy a nice stroll.
3. It’s okay to ask for help and lean on those who love you in tough times. That’s what friends and family are for, right? They can hold you up when your leg is bandaged and you can’t hold your own. Accept all of the soup, flowers, cards, and kisses you can. I know I did.
4. Survival is Chic.

As many of you already know, October is breast cancer awareness month, so it makes sense that the following month would focus on men’s health and specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

I had noticed just walking around that a lot of guys had more facial hair than usual…going back to a previous post to flavor save…or not, I figured it was just trendy. I recently found out that the month previously known as November has become Movember…the annual, month-long celebration of the mustache, highlighting men’s health issues – specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

The Movember Foundation was created to bring awareness to men’s health issues and has partnered with the Prostate Cancer Research Fund and Livestrong to raise money for cancer research. Basically, each Movember they encourage men everywhere to start off the month clean-shaven and then stop shaving for the entire month. At the end of the month, there are giant parties in major cities, where all participants are invited to come, with a mustache of some sort and a costume to match it…awards are given to the best of the best and the whole month brings awareness to men’s cancer.

It’s not too late to start your Movember participation! Even though I’m not a huge fan of facial hair, it is definitely more appropriate when it is for a good cause. Check out the Movember website for more information about how to participate, donate, or attend one of their events!

Being an event planner is somewhat like being a Boy Scout, you should always be prepared.

But just because you’re ready for every near miss and possible disaster, doesn’t mean your Worst Case Scenario Kit should be dull. Chic Readers, I give you Help I Need Help. A ton of “fixes” provided in a simple/fun carrying case. And at only $3.99 a pop you could buy them all, use them as stocking stuffers, gift them to employees, hand them out to people on the Metro… whatever, they’re only $4 and they’re adorable!

I can’t decide if this product is insane or totally genius… but I suppose the fact that I can’t decide means it’s a great item to blog about!

Ladies, I give you…Go-Girl.

As far as I can tell, this is some kind of contraption that you can use to pee, standing up. Yep, I said it, PEE STANDING UP!! Imagine never having to use a disgusting port-o-potty again… never having to hover above the seat, balancing for dear life in 6 inch heels, in the club bathroom. According to their website European Women have been using a “female urination device” for ages and we Americans need to get with the program.

This concoction is reusable and earth friendly, and small enough to pack in your purse… AND it comes in a few different colors, so you can choose a Go-Girl to match your personality.

Hmm… the jury’s out on this one ladies. Let me know what you think.

Learn it.

Know it.

Love it.

Even people who aren’t obsessed with Oprah like I am, still have appreciation for Oprah’s Favorite Things! I do have to say, even though Oprah clues me in on a ton of new things… I actually knew all about the Clarsonic Brush BEFORE she gave it away to loads of adoring guests on her Favorite Things episode.

The Clarsonic Brush (the first of it’s kind) is kind of like a tooth brush for your FACE. It only takes a minute (you hear a little beep every 15 seconds to remind you to move to a new location on your skin) and afterwards your face is GLOWING like a pregnant woman. It’s amazing! Ooooh, also they have different types of brushes so you can use it on your, ahem, “rougher” areas, like elbows or knees and scrub everything to a shiny hue.

They’re not exactly cheap, but I use mine every day (just keep it in the shower) and I think it was TOTALLY worth the expense. If you want more info, call my friends at Skin Haven (who use these brushes during every facial and turned me on to them) and hear how great they are, book a facial to try one out, or purchase one from them directly.

Happy Scrubbing!

Okay, so RACHEL is gonna hate this one, but whether she likes it or not, The MUSTACHE is back in business. Earlier this year I shaved myself one of these little flavor savors because I thought it would be funny, but actually thought it was boyish and classy. So it turns out, I was totally right and I just had to know exactly how to shape my style. After moving to San Francisco, I was dumbfounded by the amount of mustaches. From the STRAIT men with CHIC urban duds, right down to the fixie riding hipster… everyone is partaking in the fuzzy little landing strip! Teen heartthrob (and not so teen), James Franco sported a little painters brush style mustache in the Oscar winning movie Milk. This was a marketing overhaul for our lip warming friends. The list of celebrities who have been photographed with different variations of the stache include Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Robert Downy Jr.,Collin Farrel, George Clooney…. and the list goes on and on.

Now I know what your thinking, but just ask your parents…. The mustache has always been a form of male stature. The earliest mustache ever reported was on tablet drawings from ancient Greece in 300AD depicting men of stature fighting wars with nothing on but Sandals and a Handlebar. (I don’t even want to know how the treated razor burn in 300AD). In the 20’s, the mustache represented class, and status. Skip ahead to the 70’s and the mustache was a right of passage (hence the porn refrences) . In the 80’s Tom Selleck paired up with his furry little friend and fought crime once a week on the show Magnum PI. This, in my opinion, is where the world found its negative association with the mustache. The mustache has had a great vacation, but now after 25 years in hiding, its back and more diverse than ever.

Clearly the mustache is not for everyone but if you feel inclined to explore your face (or your mans face), check out the different styles you can choose from. Now, I know some women agree with Rachel and think, “no way on the stache “, but let your man give it a shot… It only takes a couple days to grow back. You never know, maybe your just scared because your excited.

Let us know what you think….

I am going to admit something that is slightly embarrassing for a 24 year-old woman to divulge. I am clueless about food freshness. Unless something has an expiration date clearly written on the packaging, I have no idea if it is good to eat to if it’s time to toss.

In college, my roommate, Sarah, had to monitor my food storage and preparation habits. She taught me many tid bits that may have saved me hours of… discomfort and maybe even my life. From her, I learned that eating an egg salad sandwich that sat in your hot car all day is not okay. Apparently, the mayonnaise is perishable meaning this food is now spoiled, and it could make you sick. She also explained to me that if raw chicken touches something, anything (a knife, cutting board, your hand) you need to WASH IT before it comes in contact with other food items. Yes, I know, I am a total loser for not knowing this.

Well…Sarah moved out and my new roommates are just as clueless as I (sorry ladies) about the rules of freshness. Now what? Will the perishables lead to us to perish ourselves? THANK GOODNESS for stilltasty.com, a site that gives all the answers to food storage and longevity. Stilltasty.com can answer all of those burning questions like, ‘Should you store bread on the counter or in the fridge?’ and ‘Should you eat steak that is turning brown?’ Mmmm…

Questioning grubbing on that leftover orange chicken for lunch? Check out stilltasty.com first and stay fresh Chic readers!

Chic Readers, let me tell you, I have worn more lip gloss in the last two months than I’ve worn in all the previous months combined… this is mostly because every time they turn the camera on to shoot, someone on our crew looks through the lens and says:

“Where is Rachel’s lip gloss? Does she have lip gloss? Seriously, someone find some lip gloss!”

These people are more concerned with the sheen of my lips than with lighting, or production schedules and invariably I’ve become concerned with it too. I typically don’t like globs of gloss or lipstick harrassing my face and trapping my hair every time I talk, but if I’m going to wear it, I wanted to find one I love.

The answer, Lip Glass by MAC.

If you wander into a MAC store, it can be a little overwhelming… overly-glam hipster makeup artists with hair colors that rival the color wheel, are prepped in every corner, clad in their special leather makeup fanny packs. They stand poised, sparkly navy eyeliner in hand asking “Can I help you? Can I do your makeup for prom? Can I make you look like you’re trying too hard??” Just by-pass those chicks and head straight to the Lip Glass counter for more color choices than you ever thought was possible. I love Lychee Luxe for every day and Oversexed for evening. Let me know which are your faves… they’re all so light and easy, you can’t help but snag a few.