It's that time of year again when the holiday season is in the air and visions of sugar plums dance in our heads and often we are nostalgic for the magic of the seasons of our childhoods... it's not the most wonderful time of year for everyone... but I'll get back to this later...
The holiday season is undeniably one of the busiest and perhaps the most stressful time of the year with so much to do between late November and early January... one of the things that I've found to be one of the best anxiety relievers this time of year is to simplify... so much so that I do it all year long... Not a day goes by living in NYC that I will be walking and something will catch my eye and remind me of Nora Ephron I can relate to her viewpoint and sense of humor on almost everything she has ever written or said... She once wrote not having to worry about the overwhelming amount of time and money spent on maintaining your hair might be the up side of death... My hair for a long period of time was an all consuming battle of trying to have straight bouncy hair that involved expensive trips to salons, hair dryers, straighteners... irons, sprays you name it I tried it...but truth be told hair...like nature really can't be tamed or controlled... you have to really work with what you have and make it be the best it can possibly be. Learning to embrace my natural curls meant giving up blow drying it every day (which really damaged it) and getting a good hair cut that works with my face shape and daily activities and does not need excessive maintenance. A good haircut will fall into place no matter where you part (or don't part) your hair.
It took a long time and a good stylist to finally convince me you don't have to wash your hair every day... you only need to wash when it needs it... every couple of days or as needed depending on perspiration and oil buildup. I wrote previously that the people who can walk out of the ocean or swimming pool and shake their hair and look great have a good haircut. When your hair becomes difficult to manage... that's the time to go back to the salon for a touch up. I want to add one thing here... if you are going to add color go to a professional... here is where you get what you pay for; a bad color job can be spotted a mile away. If you can learn how to do it yourself... you will save yourself a fortune... until that time pay attention to the colorist and ask questions if you want to learn.... but be subtle.
People have said "clothes make the man" I tend to disagree... intelligence, a sense of humor and a sense of decency make the man... the clothing is the icing on the cake...you can go back and re-read everything I written about picking the right thing for your body type your complexion and lifestyle... but one of the things that has always served me well when shopping and getting dressed is that I have sort of tingle (kind of like little hairs standing up on your neck) when I come across the perfect item (it does not happen as often these days) if you don't have this fashion sixth sense it will help you to ask yourself... "Do I like it or do I love it?" "Do I need it or do I want it?"... but when you try it on look at yourself in a 3-way mirror and ask... "Does this look great on me?" if you are not sure about the answers to any of the questions then I would say it's not for you.
One of the other things Nora Ephron wrote about was that you can do all the things that everyone tells you to do to live longer and healthier... but you are still going to die eventually so invest in yourself by taking care of yourself by staying in the best possible shape and eating the best and most healthy food to nourish yourself... but that does not mean you can't sometimes go to a restaurant and order two desserts...because we only have one life we need to enjoy some of the tantalizing things things that sabotage a healthy diet once and a while. One of the best things I have ever done for my health and appearance is I stopped smoking... truthfully I've never felt better in my life... but I'm not going to kick myself for starting smoking because I enjoyed every cigarette I ever smoked and because of that I ended up meeting Catherine Deneuve, Brad Pitt and Penny Marshall... and a load of other fascinating people sitting in the smoking section on Pan Am... but the day a doctor told me "you are really lucky because you are in perfect health... the minute you have a smoking related illness your life is never the same!" and that was my motivation for stopping.
The one thing I will tell you in terms of keeping yourself healthy and attractive is water... water and a little more water (especially during air travel or in dry climates)... that rule of drinking eight glasses of water helps your insides and much as it shows on your face....and keeping your face clean will help keep your game face ready... All of this is so simple and there have been countless books and magazine articles written to tell you the latest trends in styles and health... keep things simple and do it in ways that work easily for you and your life will make looking and feeling great as easy as you want it to be.
You can think of your routine the way you view the holidays... you start with something as simple as a tree and you can dress It up any way you like. For me personally I love some of the traditions from my childhood but I treasure the traditions that I helped build as an adult and as a couple by trading some for others that are more interesting and fun or more rewarding at this time in my life. But always keep in mind not everyone has wonderful childhood memories and some people are alone this time of year... so without being invasive or condescending try to put a holiday smile on someones face if you can... sometimes the smallest of compliments can light up someones day, week or year.
This is the time of year when I walk away from drama and the people who create it and focus on the good things life has to offer and the people who make me laugh and feel good about myself. Life is just too short to be anything but happy but remember that falling down once in a while is all part of life... but getting back up and going forward is living.
So I'm taking my usual break during the winter holidays and will return in January...have a wonderful holiday and a bright new year!... and don't make the mistake of over indulging at the office party... people will talk about it forever! Cheers!
