Girlfriends rock!

As this is my first post, I feel like I should first introduce myself to you, my dedicated reader. I am a 45 year old mom, wife and dermatologist. I have four beautiful boys ages 6, 9, 11, and 15 and a charming (except when he isn’t) husband. I consider myself a “girlie girl”, so it is still sometimes a surprise that I live in a world of testosterone. To balance this world of bodily humor, I have my work and my girlfriends. (To be fair, I should mention we have 3 female yellow labs named Yellow (12), Goldie (3) and Maizey (1). While I can’t shop with them, I do feel their support when surrounded by my boy world.)

I am a board certified dermatologist in private practice at Associated Skin Care Specialists in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I completed my fellowship in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology in 2004. Much of my practice is dedicated to the evaluation and management of skin cancer. Given my knowledge of anatomy from my surgical training coupled with my girlfriend’s eye for aesthetics, my medical practice is diversified into what is commonly known as cosmetic dermatology. My cosmetic practice includes the injectables Botox, Juvederm, Voluma, Bellafill and Kybella as well as laser therapy for skin rejuvenation. While I write this blog, I plan to share vignettes from clinic as well as my solid medical advice for skin care and maintenance. I hope this is helpful!

Now a little bit of personal information. I am happiest in the world when everything is in its proper place. In short, I love an organized world. Fortunately I have girlfriends who share this compulsion.

Today is really the first hot day of summer 2016. While I adore the summer (coated in copious amounts of sunscreen*, which I reapply frequently, of course), this day was set aside for Jennifer.

First, I should back up. Several years ago, two of my dear friends — Angela and Jennifer — came to my house to help me sort through my closet. Armed with champagne and a solid interest in fashion, we entered my closet. I literally tried on EVERY piece of clothing – excluding socks and underwear, of course. (We save that for our semi-annual Nordstrom shopping trips.) I was able to weed through things that no longer fit or were from a different fashion era. In addition, my girlfriends put together clothes that I had never paired. It was mind blowing! (Yes, I realize how shallow I sound.)

Today was the day to return the favor. I picked up Angela and we headed to Jennifer’s house at 8am today. Jen’s husband and boys are out of town fishing, so this was a perfect opportunity. We began by laying every item of clothing on Jen’s bed. We organized items into four piles — items to consign, items to donate, items to trash and “memory items”. Memory items are things such as the bridesmaid dress that Jen wore in her sister’s wedding. It feels wrong to get rid of such things, but these items have no place in the high rent district of closet real estate.

In four short hours, we had the closet ship shape. Long dresses hung together next to skirts. Shorts and pants had their own dedicated location. Tops were hung according to sleeve length. It was a beautiful thing. I feel a little choked up thinking about it. Jennifer now has a workable closet. She can confidently stride into her closet knowing everything fits and flatters. Girlfriends really do rock! Angela, your closet is next…

*My favorite sunscreen currently is Elta MD. It has the highest percentage of physical blockers (titanium dioxide and Zinc) of any products I have tried. Elta even has a spray sunscreen called Aero that features titanium and zinc!