I am inspired

Like many bloggers, I rely heavily on Google Reader to get my daily fix of what's happening at the blogs I follow. Mondays are especially plentiful as I usually don't read blogs over the weekend. Today I had more than 100 posts waiting to be read. My favorite comes from Le Musings of Moi, and is called A Personal Challenge: 21 days to a better you. Summer commits to 21 days of transformation, where each day of the 21 days she "will do or start something that will help and motivate [her] to be, do, and become better."

How inspiring!! It made me wonder: could I do 21 things in 21 days to better myself or others? What do you think? Could you? After years of flunking out from lost New Year's Resolutions and watching others succeed in their Lent vows, I just might have to go for it!

Tea time

Yesterday afternoon the book club I'm in had its monthly book club meeting. Each month we try to pick somewhere new (many of us have tiny apartments that aren't large enough to host large groups), and this time we chose a tea room. There were over 100 teas to choose from and they actually had crummpets! We all had a great time, and the afternoon inspired me to tell you a little bit about one of my favorite tea shop, Teavana.

Since it's a national chain of stores, you may have seen one in your local mall (there are currently over 80 locations across the United States). Teavana specializes in loose leaf teas available in practically any variety you can think of: white, green, black, oolong, herbal, and more. Their philosophy is that you get a better tea from allowing the leaves to actually have contact with the hot water rather than just bleeding flavor through a tea bag. I was never really a fan of loose leaf teas until I found this place. I thought that they were too hard to use, strain, etc. Teavana offers a number of products, including their signature Perfect Tea Maker, that allow you to create heavenly tea from fresh leaves.


Teavana's real stars, however, are the teas themselves. My current two favorite varieties are Almond Biscotti black tea ("with the scrumptious "cookie-like" flavor of almonds and cinnamon bits, especially tempting sweetened with rock cane sugar and a splash of milk") and Snow Geisha, a delicate white tea. Not only can you get delicious teas in dozens of varieties, but Teavana also specializes in custom blends. When summer comes, for example, I might want to brighten up my Snow Geisha with a bit of fruity flavor, so I might try their Snowy Peach Geisha Tea Blend, a combination Geisha and Rooibos Peach. Yum!

I am no tea snob - for example, I'm drinking a green tea this morning that costs $1.49 for 20 bags. However, if I'm in the mood to splurge, I visit my nearby Teavana or their website (they ship across the world). Next time you're in the mood for a "spot" of tea, I recommend that you pop over to Teavana and give them a try.

Spa treatment recipes

Recently I featured a few ideas for thrifty DIY spa-at-home treatments that I thought you might like to try out. Since then I've found a list of spa treatment recipes at Spa Index for face, body, lips, hair, hands and feet. Choices include everything from a Chocolate Facial Mask (I think I might try to eat this) to Champagne Bubble Bath to a Bay Rum Aftershave for men. There are 100 recipes on here, so there's bound to be one that suits your needs and that you can make using normal everyday ingredients you probably already have in your household.


Last night I found that I had all of the ingredients to make the Honey Oatmeal Facial, which includes buttermilk, ground oatmeal, and honey. I decided to make 1/2 of the recipe and then followed the instructions and found that I had made a paste that resembled...well, oatmeal. Yet I bravely smeared the mixture across my face and neck, thereby earning the name "Oatmeal Face" from Mr. Bean. I left it on for 15 minutes, then rinsed it off using a warm washcloth. The results? Nothing spectacular so far. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be moisturizing or help your skin look brighter, etc. but it was kind of fun to do something at home using things I already keep around. Let me know if any of you decide to try any of these recipes. I'd really like to try the Bath Cookies recipe sometime soon!

7 DIY Spa-at-Home Treatments that won't break the bank

In today's economy, it's a little luxury that we may have to learn to do without: those quiet moments that we used to steal away for ourselves whether for a nap, a workout, or a luxurious treatment at the spa. I've never really had the means to go all out at the spa, but I'm always on the lookout for DIY home versions of many of the more expensive treatments that you hear about celebrities getting. After zipping through Redbook and Glamour's websites, here are my picks:

From Redbook.com…

Take 10 minutes - Buy small river-rock stones at a florist (I found mine at a dollar store) and a silky synthetic paintbrush at a craft stores. Apply a serum to your face and use the brush to work it into your skin, making circular, upward motions. Then take a cool stone and place it under your eye at the inner corner; slowly push toward the outer corner. Repeat on the upper eye area and, with another stone, on the other eye.

Take 15 minutes – Create an energizing scrub to use in your shower. Crush a sprig of rosemary and sage into 4 ounces of Epsom salts and 1 oz of unscented body oil. Shower off, then apply a rosemary-enhanced body lotion.

Take 30 minutes - Run the water in your bathtub at about 82 degrees (think comfortable heated-pool temperature) to stimulate microcirculation. Then add 1 cup of Dead Sea salts and soak for 15 minutes. Rest afterwards for 15 minutes.

Take 30 minutes – Whip up your own body mask by mixing jojoba cream and shea butter with grapefruit and jasmine essential oils. Apply after a shower, then “cocoon” your body in plastic wrap and snuggle under a blanket for 20 minutes.

From Glamour.com…

Instead of a $500 oxygen facial…Use a cleanser with 2% salicylic acid; leave on for 30 seconds before rinsing so the ingredient can do its job. Then apply a pore mask (such as Biore). Remove it like a pro by pressing and rolling a warm, damp washcloth from your chin up.

Instead of a $700 peel…Empty a bag of green tea and a bag of chamomile into a bowl. Mix in two tablespoons of flaxseed, a teaspoon of white vinegar, and two tablespoons of honey. Massage into skin for two minutes and rinse. Then apply a moisturizer with Vitamin C.

Instead of spending $3,000 for body microdermabrasion…In the shower, rub an exfoliator all over and rinse. Once out of the shower, knead cellulite cream into thighs (new kinds have caffeine for tightening). Wrap thighs in plastic wrap for 10 minutes to intensify the effect.

Enjoy...ooohhhmmm