by Audra H. Anders and Peggy Smith for The Aha! Connection
I rode by Oaxaca in Chamblee and knew it would be the next lunch and learn location. It is beautiful, has indoor/outdoor seating, is so close to Dunwoody and my favorite food is Mexican food! Oaxaca is located at 5255 Peachtree Blvd,
Suite 105 on the bottom floor of one of the new Chamblee apartment complexes. There is parking on the side streets or in the retail area of the residential parking garage.
We started with the Herb Guacamole and Esquites de Vegetales which came with homemade corn tortilla chips. Both were fantastic appetizers to share. The guacamole was especially tasty and so pretty! Peggy had a Carne Asada taco and a Pescado al Sartén taco. The Pescado taco was amazing and included a huge piece of fish with pickled onions and cabbage. The Carne Asada was plentiful and tasty but the accompanying salsa was WAY too hot for Peggy and she likes spicy food!
Audra had the Enchiladas Divorciados (gluten free) and Christine had the Burrito de Barbacoa and both LOVED their food!
Now…..have you been wondering who our unidentified Style Editor is………….?
Let me introduce you to our friend Christine Taylor! I’ve known Christine since her oldest and my youngest would cry their eyeballs out together while in the DUMC nursery during church. Those two boys had more in common than separation anxiety….they both grew up to love the game of baseball. Their first team together was the Murphey Candler Blue Claws…..they played on a few MCB Gold/Blue teams another Blue Claw team then played together for several years on a year round travel baseball team. During all of our time watching these ballgames all the other moms and I would learn so much about style from Christine. She always had the best sunscreen, the most adorable sun hats, gorgeous yet comfortable baseball mom attire and she even found a blue nail color for all of the Dragon moms to wear (OPI’s Russian Navy). She would evaluate all of our opponents baseball uniforms and we had so much fun discussing all the adorable young baseball unis. She would help us understand facials and how ESSENTIAL it is to wear sunscreen….she’s up to try any product and we loved learning from her. I don’t remember for sure but I think it was our friend Carol Gaultney who was sitting with Christine and me when we first came up with the idea for Christine to become the Aha! Style Editor…..probably EJ, Kristin and the Kims were in on it too!
Christine is not shy but she didn’t want special attention so she asked to remain anonymous. Lots of people already knew (particularly the other baseball mamas) and people have asked from time to time but now she’s ready to be “outed” and may pick up the pace with her “Style Articles” now that she’s an empty nester.
Side note: My husband drafted Charlie (Christine’s son) in one of those early years at Murphy Candler and has maintained his position that Charlie was going to make it big someday….he was right and has been a Tennessee Season Ticket holder and fan of our favorite SEC Catcher…..#14 for the entirety of his SEC career. Fingers crossed we will all be watching Charlie and the Vols win the College World Series this season!
Okay…so enough about baseball. During our yummy lunch at Oaxaca, Peggy and I GRILLED Christine about all of her latest faves and will provide some direct links for purchase to all available items below:
Nail polish
Christine has always loved to do her own nails and regularly tries out different polish brands and colors but also often frequents salons to get dipping done because it lasts so much longer. During our lunch she was wearing Without a Pout by OPI which was applied for her via the “dipping process” at Nail & Lash Studio in Dunwoody.High-Low Style Mixing
According to Christine’s research, lots of women (including her) are into “high-low” dressing/shopping. High-low styling involves mixing expensive/higher priced and inexpensive/lower priced clothing, shoes and accessories. Mixing high-end designer duds with fast-fashion affordable items is a secret weapon for every fashionista who’s on a budget. For example, choose one really nice thing for an outfit (Gucci sneakers or a luxury handbag) and get everything else from Target. Basically select one luxury item per outfit to elevate the rest of it.
Skincare/Facials/Aging
Christine told Peggy and me that the best thing you can do for your skin is “micro-needling”. She describes it as “aerating your face”. She’s a connoisseur of facials and admits micro-needling hurts…. but it’s worth it. Her advice: “Give yourself a day after at home to allow your face to calm down!” Christine does a micro-needling treatment about three times per year. Her go-to spot is Suburban Med Spa in Peachtree Corners. Other places to get this done in our area are:
Christine likes knowing all the options for beauty and has decided to begin learning about the pros and cons of plastic surgery. She told us that there are so many new options for anti-aging now and she wants to understand the options and latest trends so she can help advise friends as they consider procedures.
A few of Christine’s Favorite Products
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Vitamin C serum
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(Her favorite one is by Obagi but there are less expensive choices) – She applies this to her face daily!
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Sunscreens:
- SuperGoop Glow Screen
- SuperGoop Glow Screen mixed with Drunk Elephant drops “awesome”
- SuperGoop Play “Great for everyday outside as a lotion”
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Mascara
- Lash Paradise by Loreal but…. make sure you use the Lash Paradise Primer also!
- Lash Paradise by Loreal but…. make sure you use the Lash Paradise Primer also!
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Shampoo and hair products
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Kristen Ess entire line of hair products. “The Best”
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Hairspray
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Everyday lotion
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Hand lotion
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Hand Sanitizer
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Lip Care
- Christine uses Laniege lip mask product every night
- Christine uses Laniege lip mask product every night
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Make-up
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Laura Gellar makeup “Really good lip products”
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Pacifica Reusable Brow Mask “for smoothing wrinkles and lines”
Favorite places to shop
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- “Nordstrom is an old fave but the mall we are used to has changed so much and seems like boutiques and online is more plentiful”
- “Village Threads is excellent – quality and high end, great selection”
- “Anthropologie is great!”
- “Amazon!!!!”
Peggy and I are hoping we can get Christine to provide more style content more often! Here are two thoughts from Christine to leave you with…
- She’s all about the “High-Low”
- Have you seen this purse on sale at Amazon? See by Chloe Women’s Hana Mini Saddle Bag…Christine recommends it as a hot graduation gift for that super special graduate in your life!
