Easy pea-sy

I made a tasty dinner the other night that was pretty easy:

Pasta — any kind, but I used bow-tie, because I’m a formal kinda gal
Peas – about a cup
Butter – about a tablespoon
Prociutto – 2 sheets from a  Trader Joe’s package
Parmessan – sprinkle  throughout. I use a Vegan parmessan product. Delicious right?
Salt & pepper

Finding a (cross) body bag

What’s Cracking Good — Cross-body bags

I’ve been looking high and low for a cute, non-sporty cross-body purse. Something I can wear while riding my bike, that has enough room for a few grocery items and my Kindle…but also stylish (of course!).

I looked at some bags made of recycled leather, but most are more than I want to spend. Some others in consideration :

Mojave Fringe Handbag, $31
Brown Color Shoulder or Tote Bag, $88
Crush Purse in Purple, $79
The Sweet Talker Bag, $228
Lucky Brand Abbey Road, $178

The jury is still out.

Bushy-arch nemisis

What’s Cracking Good today — Beautiful brows

I like Koltton Fox, brow shaper extraordinaire, and not just because he tamed my rough eyebrows.

I visited Fox at his studio in the Stephen Paul salon in downtown Scottsdale. As I situated myself on his plush table, sounds of ocean waves crashed in the background. “When did you last pluck? When were you last waxed?” he asked as he sized them up.

“It’s been awhile,” I said, an understatement.

With that, he started applying wax.

I jumped right in asking him how he got into the brow biz. Fox is a pretty strapping, young-ish dude. I might be guilty of stereotyping, but he’s not really the kind of guy I’d take for a talented aesthetician.

“I started out in aviation — and did some stupid things as a kid — and couldn’t go back.”

Okay…there’s some unexpected candor.

As he considers my brow follicles, I pepper him with more questions about his work. Fox is also a facialist, and has his own product line of face and body products coming out soon.

He volunteers at the Children’s hospital, where he noticed that many patients have skin problems — to the point of not wanting to be touched. This spurred him to add Nicitinic Acid, a B vitamin, to his body products,  making them good for extremely sensitive skin.

He has an interest in Chinese herbology, which explains  the addition of  Fo Ti, a common herb used in Chinese healing, to his body products.

The body line will be mostly vegan.

I’m liking him more and more.

He continues painstakingly plucking, intermittantly asking if I’m okay. (I was. I didn’t feel a thing).

When he’s done with the shaping, he offers some suggestions about  putting my best brows forward: Maybe a little powder here and here will fill out the sparse spots.

So I won’t look like you took a face-first trip across a long carpet, he pats  a little SPF concealer over the area to tone the redness down.

He’d like to see me with slightly thinner brows…but will wait until he’s seen how they grow — until he knows them better.

He will get to know them better.

Koltton Fox at Stephen Paul Salon
7045 E. 3rd Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 603-1002

Woven sandals by another name

What’s Cracking Good — Woven sandals

Back in the day, my dad wore a pair of huarache sandals he got in Mexico, which he pronounced “hur-AH-cheese.”

I saw someone wearing them not so long ago and was taken aback by the nostalgia, “OH hur-AH-cheese are back!”

My Cuban friend cringed and offered a less butchered version of the word. Now, I just call them woven sandals. Woven sandal-inspired styles are everywhere this spring. Here are a few:

1) Sonya Huarache Platform Wedge, $140
2) DV by Dolce Vita Woman’s Damsel Sandal, $66.95
3) Tashkent by Cheyenne, $387
4) UO Hurache Sandal, $48
5) Jessica Simpson “Delanco” Sandal, $89
6) Pierre Dumas Rachel, $45