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chicks and salsa

Travel

Best Drive of 2019!

I have shared before that I live in a small town.  Living far from places I like to visit has turned me into quite the driver.  Give me a destination and I am there! 

Desert Babe
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I have really grown to cherish my time on the road, I love being alone with my thoughts and of course my music! When I travel, I always make sure to rent a car to get around. Some of my most memorable drives have been around Hawaii and most recently on my trip to the Grand Canyon.

Surprisingly the drive from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon is less than 4 hours and the route goes straight through one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE cities of Sedona.  I had good company (my kids) and good music to go along with the scenic views. 

Road Trip

Check out our ride and some of the landscape in the video below.

Grand Canyon

At the Grand Canyon we signed up for a jeep tour with Grand Canyon Jeep Tours and Safaris.  Although we enjoyed the tour, I recommend skipping the pricey jeep tours and heading straight for the Visitors Center where you can easily build an itinerary according to your time available and personal preferences.  There are hikes and view points to accommodate all ages and interests.  They also have a cute and FREE Junior Rangers program for the kids to keep them engaged!  Two things to keep in mind when visiting the Grand Canyon: it’s COLD, you are between 7000 and 9000 feet high, bring layers, it was 41 degrees the day we went in October. Secondly be sure to catch the sunrises and sunsets, they are breathtaking.  Whether you watch the canyon light up in the morning or turn down for the night, the overwhelming beauty that is the canyon is really captured at these hours. 

  • National Park
  • Sunset at Grand Canyon
  • On Top Of the World
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Sedona

On our way back we stopped for a while in Sedona.  This incredibly beautiful and unique city has had my heart since I first visited ten years ago.  Something about its isolation, desert landscape, and tall red rocks just captivates me.  Unlike in the Grand Canyon, in Sedona I HIGHLY recommend a jeep tour.  Getting up and around these rock structures is not easy, but with the Pink Jeep tours its fun and scenic! We had lunch at the tasty Oaxaca Restaurant that has the most beautiful view in the city.  Be sure to swing by the Fine Arts and Crafts Square where there are interesting boutiques and art galleries, live music, cafes, and more!

In The Desert
  • Good Time With Good People
  • Good Time With Good People
  • My People
  • Desert Botanical Gardens
  • Desert Botanical Gardens
  • In The Desert

This drive was truly one for the books and with the beautiful Arizona sun on our side. We enjoyed every minute we spent on the road.  Now, I am off to plan my next #RoadTrip.

Your Chick,

Rina

Desert Babe
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Fashion

Where to Find The Trendiest Fall Styles

The days of brick and mortar shopping are a thing of the past. As Amazon has personally taken over my shopping habits, I’ve found Trunk Club for Women to be my next favorite way to shop.  I’ve always loved to play dress up, but never enjoyed the process of digging through racks to find what I want.  

Off The Shoulder Weather
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How it works:

You visit Trunk Club’s website and fill out a profile.  Once completed, the website will match you with a stylist who will select curated items from @Nordstrom that fit your needs. 

I’ve been using my personal stylist @laurenhookham for a few years now and she hits the nail on the head every time!  You can bypass working with someone who hasn’t been vetted and reach her directly by clicking on this link: www.trunkclub.com/mystylist/lhookham

NORDSTROM.com

I met Lauren after filling out my profile in their beautiful downtown location. @Trunkclubwomen has multiple locations throughout the Chicago area that make for a perfect setting to find the perfect outfit (I’ve even taken girlfriends there over some champagne for shopping parties)!  

In our first meeting she came prepared with a few selected outfits she thought matched my initial profile. To be honest, I didn’t love all of her selections the first time around. Just like anything else, it takes time to develop a relationship and understanding about what the other person is looking for. 

Sweater Weather
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Spanx for the Win
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Over time, we have developed an understanding of what my style, size and needs are!  Now when she sends a Trunk, I like majority of the selections she’s made.  Since @TrunkClubwomen is in partnership with Nordstrom, you know what you’re getting is going to be good quality. I can’t always say for my Amazon purchases. What I love most about it is once you find someone who gets you, you can get trunks seasonally to keep you stylish without any of the effort of following trends and digging through racks of clothing.

NORDSTROM.com

If you are a Nordstrom card holder the $25 styling fee gets waived AND you get points for your purchases…what’s best is it shows up at your front door so need need to put in any extra effort!  Could this seriously get any better?! Click here to join now: http://www.trunkclub.com/invite/293MAC

What are you waiting for? Give it a try!

Rina and I at Trunk Club

Your Chick,
Sonia

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Beauty

Buy This NOT That: Shampoo Edition

This year has been an explosion of content on Chicks and Salsa and we are grateful for all the partnerships we have had with brands that we are familiar with and others that are new to us. In bringing some brand awareness to you all, we have tried several different shampoos and here I have ranked them from best to worst. Hopefully this will help you make an informed decision about what is right for your hair next time you go shopping.

Hair Care is Self Care
Hair Care is Self Care

I have ranked these shampoos according a few criteria. 

1- Lather – When a shampoo lathers up, it allows for a full scrub of the hair follicles and leaves the hair itself feeling really clean. 

2- Texture – The thickness, stickiness, and consistency of the shampoo are all the components that I have factored into texture.

3- Overall Impression – Size, packaging, and scent all fall into this category.

Argan Coco

Argan Coco

This is hands down the winner across all categories.  It feels great, smells amazing, and lathers up like a full bubble bath on your head.  This all natural shampoo is available exclusively on their website.  Luckily we have a steep discount code for you so that you can experience Argan Coco for yourself. 

CODE: CHICKSANDSALSA for 70% off your order.

Hair Care is Self Care

“It’s A 10” Hair Care

As the only one in this category to come with a pump, I give it major kudos on packaging.  Am I the only one obsessed with pumps on my shampoos and conditioners? For those of you who blow dry often this one really preps your hair for styling. It leaves the hair feeling light and bouncy. I have NO IDEA how they do it, but this one comes in second for me!

Garnier Whole Blends

This organic honey blend delivers on texture and scent.  Let’s face it, Garnier knows that they are doing.  It also lathers well, but not as good as Argan Coco.  This one comes in a close second/third.

shampoo

DO NOT BUY THESE

Wow Skin Science

Wow Skin Science

This company has a really good concept by incorporating apple cider vinegar into their product, unfortunately you can smell it when you use it…gross!  It also lacks a lather that cleans your hair the way you would expect from a shampoo and conditioner combination. 

Briogeo

Briogeo

Briogeo This brand has so many good products as part of their product catalog, check out my video here on their root volumizer (amazing!) BUT their smoothie shampoo and conditioner leaves much to be desired.  The ingredients include fruits like bananas and coconuts which of course means that they smell and feel amazing.  The shampoo and conditioner don’t leave you feeling like you have really discovered something special.  I can’t really think of any good reason to buy this product.

Hopefully you have heard of or tried some of these and agree with my assessment. I have long hair and I am kind-of particular about what I think works well with my hair.

Thanks for checking out this post.

**This post is in no way sponsored, all opinions are our own.

Your Chick,

Rina

Fashion, Lifestyle

SPF 30, 50, 80…What does it all mean?

Ahhhh, the summer heat is upon us and Lake Sinclair is looking like the perfect getaway!  Nothing beats when the sun hits your skin and the breeze tosses your hair.  But to keep comfortable in this kind of heat, we all need to take some precaution with helpful skin care designed for #LakeLife.

Taking care of your skin does not have to come with an expensive price tag.  We have great drugstore brands that you can scoop up anywhere as long as you know the key ingredients you are looking for. 

Understanding SPF

Waterproof, sweatproof, UVB, UVA, SPF 30, 50, or 100, what does it all mean?  I asked several people to explain this to me and I was alarmed how many people don’t exactly understand what it all means! 

SPF stands for ‘sun protection factor’ and is designed specifically to protect against ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. UVB is what causes sunburn.  Suppose that your skin would normally start to burn after 10 minutes without any protection — with SPF 30, you would get 30 TIMES the protection…that’s 300 minutes (10min x 30 SPF)! 

BUT the Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that reapplying sunscreen does NOT reset the clock, it just provides continuity of the existing protection.  So using the example above, if you go for a swim about an hour (60 minutes) after applying your SPF 30 sunscreen, then you need to re-apply and will still only get the remaining 240 minutes of protection. 

So what is UVA? These ultraviolet rays don’t generally cause visible sunburn, but can cause damage to tissue that causes wrinkles which means they penetrate deeper into the skin.  

The Takeaway

As someone who is particular about my skin care and of course style.  I love to pile on my protection with a moisturizing sunscreen, make up with SPF in it, and a cute hat or sunglasses just to keep my face out of direct sunlight for a prolonged period of time. 

Sun Essentials
Chicks #LakeLife Essentials

I hope that you found this information helpful next time you stop by CVS or Walgreens before you head to the lake. 

Lather up!

Your Chick,

Rina

**This piece was published in Milledgeville Scene Magazine May/June 2019**

Sunscreen