Here & Now

By the time you read this, i will be buff. Lithe. Four inches taller and 20 years younger. OK, I lied about the taller and younger parts—and I have to look up the definition of “lithe” to see just how far I can stretch that one. But I fully intend to qualify for buff. 

Here’s how it happened. “We’ve got the Feel Good issue coming up,” says our editor-in-chief, David Sendler. “Go forth to explore, discover and reveal ways to enrich our lives, get healthier, look better and have more fun.” Which is how I ended up spending an entire month focusing on my dip, my tail and my muffin top.

In the name of research, we’re out there exploring and discovering the amazing possibilities to get beautiful and feel good to share with our readers. Checking out Nathalie Lecoeur’s “Feel the Rush” list of ideas (p. 56), I pause longingly at three of them that involve surgical assistance to get back into one’s skinny jeans. Walk in lumpy; walk out svelte. Sweet!

Alas, a quick peek at my bank statement confirms that none of these will be happening this month. I should have one of those checkbooks that, when you flip it open, says rude things like, “Yeah, right,” “In your dreams, baby” or “Step away from the checkbook and nobody will get hurt.”

But wait. The fourth item on the list is an intriguing possibility that does fit my price range ($25). So a few days later, I’m reclined under one of those despicable mega-magnifying mirrors in Saadi Persad’s pristine treatment room at Skin, Face and Body Esthetics Spa. Saadi is one of the first aestheticians in Naples to offer the ancient Asian and Indian technique of eyebrow threading. Yes, ordinary cotton thread—the same stuff I just used to sew on a button. No tweezers, no waxing or strip of tape to leave the skin red.   

It is here that I learn that I have a dip. “It’s like a cowlick of the eyebrow,” Saadi explains gently. “We can’t make the brow grow differently, but we can groom it to camouflage the imperfection.”  

“I’m all about camouflaging imperfections,” I tell her. “Go right ahead!” But there’s more. It seems that one of my tails (that’s eyebrow talk for the lower part of the arch) is noticeably more defined than the other. And I could use a bit of general grooming.

“As I asked my son when he became a teenager,” Saadi says, “‘Would you give a party and let just anyone come?’ With brow threading, we can get more selective about our ‘guest’ list—weed out the undesirables, so to speak. I told him that girls appreciate a guy who’s well groomed. He was having none of it, until the day before prom, when one of his buddies showed up at the kitchen door. ‘Mrs. Saadi,’ he whispered, ‘do you think you could maybe do something with my eyebrows?’ His date actually noticed. After that, my son and the other guys started coming around regularly. In Naples, the women come in first, and soon they’re bringing their husbands.” 

But back to me and my unfortunate dip and tail. Saadi wraps a length of the thread around her fingers, using her teeth as an anchor. Her fingers fly like a weaver’s on a loom. She pauses every few seconds to admire her handiwork. Fifteen minutes later, I’m done: dip admirably disguised and tails nicely balanced.

The light bulb flashes on. Balance! Lightening up is exactly what I need. If a mere lightening of my arches can make me feel this good, what if I get rid of other “stuff” I don’t need? Then I remember local gurus Jimmy LeSage, founder of the New Life Hiking Spa, and Marla Ottenstein, a popular professional organizer.  

“Give me 11 days and some motivation,” says Jimmy, “and I’ll get you well on your way into those skinny jeans.”

“Give me your overflowing closets, kitchen cabinets and dresser drawers, your disorganized desk and all those bins you someday plan to go through, and I’ll help you lighten your life and your spirits,” says Marla. “I’ll see you through the sorting process and help you decide what to donate, consign, sell or pitch.”  

As it happens, Jimmy and his wife/partner Kathleen have recently left their Naples winter home for Killington, Vt., where they run 17 weeks of hiking, fitness and spa nurturing for all who care to jump-start their feel-good agenda. There’s gourmet dining involved, as well as massages, facials and bodywork.

“Come on up,” says Jimmy. “It’s not Canyon Ranch or The Ritz-Carlton—it’s a Vermont ski lodge. Besides providing the hiking, I’ll get you off salt, caffeine, white flour, sugar and saturated fats.”

Hey, it’s feel good month. I’m in. I’ve resolved my dips and tails, and I will zip up those skinny jeans. In blind faith, Editor Sendler has reserved a spot on p. 78 for me to reveal how it all turns out.

And then I’m calling Marla for an appointment.

Have a lazy, self-nurturing August. Whatever it is that makes you feel good, I hope you do it. If you like my personal agenda, start with the contact info here. If not, check out Nathalie’s other ideas. Whatever you do, savor every moment.

GO FOR IT

Brows2Envy by Saadi

Skin, Face and Body Esthetics Spa

www.threadingbysaadi.com
(754) 779-9526

Professional Organizer

Marla Ottenstein

marla@professionalorganizerflorida.com

www.professionalorganizerflorida.com

(239) 597-6277

Jimmy LeSage’s New Life Hiking Spa

www.newlifehikingspa.com

(866) 298-5433 or (802) 353-2954