Sandy Nguyen and Cassie Ghaffar

BEST FRIENDS AND mompreneurs Cassie Ghaffar and Sandy Nguyen are behind some of Houston’s most stylish new restaurants. Their Ordinary Concepts hospitality group is anything but — not to mention the powerhouse duo is raising seven kids between the two of them, and rapidly diversifying their business.

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Food

A private casita with pool at Enchantment

BURROWED BETWEEN PHOENIX and Flagstaff, at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, the iconic red-rock formations of the Sedona valley rise against a bright blue sky, timidly at first, and then in all their pine-forested, majestic glory. At 4,500 feet in elevation and around 160 miles from the Phoenix airport, Enchantment Resort, Sedona's luxury go-to for mountain biking, hiking and outdoor adventure, provides a premier socially distanced getaway.

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People + Places

Stevie McCord at her Rice Military skincare boutique

WAY BEFORE GIANTS like SkinCeuticals and BareMinerals started custom-mixing serums and foundations, and the phrase "personalized skincare regimen" gained traction, Stevie McCord, founder of the new Urban Alchemy Lab in Rice Military — formerly Heights Skincare on Heights Boulevard — was already custom-blending serums for her clientele in the Heights. "It's been interesting to see it become so popular nowadays," McCord says. "I've done them long before a lot of different companies out there started making them."

McCord is a licensed esthetician and CIDESCO diploma recipient with 23 years of experience. She has worked in education with brands like Biokosmetik of Texas and has consulted and worked for local spa standouts like the St. Regis and Adara Medical Spa, before stepping out on her own five years ago. She's an herbalist, an aromatherapist and an ayurveda practitioner who's loyally sought-after for her holistic approach to beauty — from facials and peels to lymphatic massages and her famous ayurvedic Shirodhara healing technique, which involves pouring warm oil into the client's forehead, followed by a scalp, body and head massage. "Skincare is my jam, but I incorporate a more holistic approach," she says. "I do a lot of lymphatic drainage, talk to my clients about their lifestyle, their diet, and might also refer them to an acupuncturist and nutritionist. At the end of the day, it all starts in your gut."

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People + Places