Leisure: Renew Yourself

I love corporate America and its ladder. I love my family, friends, food, and the arts. I also love renewing myself regularly so that I can continue living and contributing to all of these things that are important to me. So, to ensure that I take care of myself, every morning I look in the mirror and repeat after Vanilla Ice: “All right, stop, collaborate, and listen.” Joking! However, I do enjoy very much taking a few moments out of the day or week to take care of my soul, mind, and body (and face).


Soul
Sometimes we put ourselves in cruise control and we just go, but where does that get us? We run around in circles, as they say, and we exhaust ourselves and start to lose our sense of self-confidence, self-control, and concentration. When I was in this state of mind last summer, my friend Erin Murdock suggested I see an energy healer, so I went to Tanya Sowards at Dharma Wellness & Spa (thank you for the recommendation, Jennifer David!). Tanya was fantastic. She helped me identify which chakras were unbalanced and for a month we managed my intentions. Being more self-aware of how I treated others, as well as myself, allowed me to be more compassionate, and from compassion came balance and then harmony.

Interestingly, wanting to find balance and harmony led me to dabble in yoga, golf, and even served as the catalyst for taking cello lessons. The goal was not to master each of these activities (which would have been in typical fashion for a Virgo) but rather to put myself in challenging situations where failure was likely. The goal also was for me to learn how to be empathetic toward others when they did not meet my expectations. Even though these activities were very different in nature, each questioned my confidence, control, and concentration. Each humbled and centered me, mentally and physically. Each impacted my soul, mind, and body.

And, for those who may be curious about the progress of these activities: I fell off the yoga wagon but am looking for a class that fits my schedule. It really was rewarding. Golf will be resumed when the weather permits. And cello, well, my lessons are postponed until I am done with school at the end of summer. Learning how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” on the cello was a challenging yet rewarding experience; however, my guess is that for me to play the cello well will require developing a little bit of an obsession. But watch out Yo-Yo Ma!


Mind
My best mornings start off when I can sit in silence for a few minutes, plan out the week, and drink a cup of Tazo Zen tea. My best afternoons and evenings are when I have a group of friends over because those moments come with good food, good drinks, and good conversation.

The food is always good thanks to many of the Barefoot Contessa recipes, which are predictably delicious but more importantly, manageable. The drinks are always good and plentiful, and serving a non-vintage Veuve Yellow Label or even a Gloria Ferrer is always a perfect and affordable way to start a party. But it is the conversation, the discussions about ideas, rather than people, that I value most, that make me laugh, or even challenge my dispositions. However, my last two events at my house were intimate but meaningful: afternoon tea and pre-opera bubbly. You know, simple. “Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Cover Girl.”


Body
As I mentioned above, yoga and golf were great for helping me find balance and harmony but for a rigorous, aerobic work out, OMG, there is no other place for me than the group fitness classes at Life Time Fitness. FIT, Strictly Strength, STRIKE!, and Total Conditioning are my favorites so far. Man do these classes work me. They push me, they shock my body, they are awesome, and they are perfect for someone like me who is not disciplined to do cardio and weights on his own.

LTF offers over 30 different classes varying in level and focus, and they are taught by instructors who are effective, enthusiastic, and entertaining. Where else will you hear an instructor countdown the reps by using the names of The Housewives of Atlanta (“Kim, Sheree, NeNe …” instead of “8, 7, 6 …”? (If you want a tour of the St. Louis Park or Bloomington facility, ask for Ryan Lewis or Tyson Norman, respectively.)

And if you prefer the outdoors, walk or run around a lake! Let it just be you, the concrete, and the fresh air. No frills, no money. But maybe wait until spring.

But for a more decadent way of renewing (and rewarding) yourself, try Sprinkles cupcakes. My dear friend Jocely Bowman – wife, mother of two little ones, member of the Junior League, and a buyer of beautiful cabinetry for an international manufacturer – introduced me to Sprinkles the last time I was in Dallas. Prior to managing her domestics, she renewed herself by shopping. But now with limited time, a quick stop into Sprinkles will do the trick. (My favorite Sprinkles cupcake is either the peanut butter chip or the vanilla.)

Or sometimes Jocely will do quick spa treatments for busy moms. However, if you are in St. Louis and want a new do and relaxing manicure and pedicure, I highly recommend David Brown and Kieu Connell, respectively, of Christopher’s on Clayton Road across from the Galleria. I followed both of them from their previous salons and was fortunate they ended up at the same salon. Quality and convenience are key drivers for me!


Face
I really only have one thing that I do to renew my skin and that is once a week I use the Chantecaille Detox Clay Mask that my dear friend Melissa “SFM” Reel, a real life Mirabelle, introduced to me. It is so delicious. It is soothing and soft and does not dry and crackle like old school clay-based masks that my mother used to use.

However, even though this post is about renewing ourselves, I just have to mention La Mer, which I love and use daily. For the last five years, SFM has been my La Mer “dealer,” if you will, and I have since converted two friends to using La Mer products, as well. My daily regimen is to use The Cleansing Gel, The Tonic, and either The Moisturizing Lotion during the summers or Crème de la Mer during the winters. But The Eye Concentrate is my absolute favorite La Mer product. I think I actually look younger today at 34 years old than I did at 29 years old. Seriously.

But for the budget-friendly consumer, Consumer Reports has recommended Neutrogena’s Fresh Foaming Cleanser and Olay’s Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Booster Eye Transforming Cream. I have yet to try either of them, though.

So on that note, sometimes you just need to take the day off from being fabulous to take care of yourself, to renew yourself.

Best,
Hadley