I remember a Valentines Day about 15 years ago. My boyfriend didn’t think to make any plans in advance so we called a bunch of restaurants and they were all booked. So we went to a mediocre restaurant and they only had a 5:30 seating available and that was it. We sat down at 5:30 and we were given a prix fixe menu instead of their normal menu and had only a few options of things to order. We were rushed through our dinner so that they could accommodate the next wave of seating at 7 pm. Instead of a memorable, leisurely dinner, we had a rushed, overpriced and limited selection dinner and felt cheated out of what should have been a beautiful evening.
So now, what me and my hottie, hellenic hubby do to celebrate Valentines Day is we go to the best seafood market, get two live Maine lobsters and cook them at home with some chocolate fondue and asparagus by candlelight.
We then give each other warm oil massages… quite a luxurious and decadent night for under $50, instead of the $300 plus if we went out to each at a pretentious restaurant and then to a fancy spa.
It’s evolved into our tradition since it’s just not romantic to eat out at restaurants on Valentines Day. They are so focused on making as much money as they can, that it end up being a price-gouging kind of day for all their customers.
So here are some things you can do with your sweetie… For God’s sakes turn off your phone, tv and no internet either.
1. Cook dinner at home together- Make sure it is something decadent that you would not normally eat like scallops, lobster, fondue, oysters, red wine. Ideally they are finger foods that you can feed each other. Total Savings -$150.
2. Spa Night – Oh, how I love to be pampered and fawned over while lounging around in my white fluffy robe. Give each other facials, manicures, shave each other, foot and back massages. Total Savings -$200.
3. Dance like the Stars – Put up your disco ball, turn on some funky music for the beginning and then have some slow music for later. Dress up in your suit and tie and your black cocktail dress to make it more special.
4. Karaoke Night – Is there anything more romantic than being serenaded by your sweetie. Make sure to get nice and liquored up first though.
5. Dessert Party – If you are more inclined to spend Vday with other friends, then invite them over for a dessert and wine party. Everyone should bring their favorite wine and dessert ……..and everyone should come dressed in red or pink. We did this a few years ago to a smashing success!
Cook Dinner Together on Valentines Day
6. Partner Yoga – You didn’t think I was going to leave this out. If you’ve never done this, get some partner yoga DVDs or find some on youtube. Light some incense, crank up the Deva Premal music and twist and bend away.
7. Board Games – If you are going to be home with the kids then get the Monopoly and Clue out and find out who killed Mrs White in the library with a candlestick. Everyone should wear red or pink and decorate the place with hearts to stay in the spirit!
8. Staycation – Can’t afford to go away to Aruba? Decorate your place all tropical, put some beach towels out, get out your tropical attire, Bob Marley music and some margaritas and start planning your next vacation like this.
9. Cook him dinner in your bikini – The kids better be away at Grandma’s. Get some fake spray tan to get that nice golden glow in the midst of winter. Put on your high heels and bikini or lingerie and start cooking your pasta primavera.
10. Watch a Chickflick – Rent a copy of The Notebook, Lust-Caution, or The Lover and turn the lights down to snuggle in close during these tearjerkers.
I’ve been making my hottie hellenic hubby a bit wonky with all the natural beauty treatments I have been dabbling with lately. He’s actually limited me to no more than one beauty experiment a day (what century are we in that our men can try to impose rules on us anyway?) As I write this I am making my own rosewater from roses I plucked from our garden. Here are some wallet-friendly beauty treatments that I have been experimenting with lately. Most of these things you will probably have in your house anyway so no need to go out and buy a bunch of new products. I love all the beauty stuff at Whole Foods with their commitment to clean ingredients but my wallet feels so naked after I shop at this place. Some of them get a bit messy though and I had a few failures as well (don’t ever put a bunch of Pepto Bismo on your face…stained it pink!) .
These can be fun girls nights or slumber party stuff to do together instead of spending $150 a person at a local spa. Some of these will stay for awhile ( like the scrubs, Milk of Magnesia and rose-water toner) so I am even thinking about buying little containers , putting my own pretty label on it and giving them as Christmas presents.
Chuck your Toner and Grab Your Lemon – How much is toner anyway, like $20 a bottle? Yikes! Instead of using this, I just rub my face with a lemon, I actually use the same lemon a few times so I only need to use about 2 lemons a week. You could also buy some witch hazel at the $1 store if you aren’t partial to rubbing produce on your face.
Morning Face Rinse – You can use a tomato, splash of whole milk or lemon to rinse and activate your skin the morning.
Cucumbers – Next time you peel and seed a cucumber for a salad, take the seeds and put the green mush on your eyes while laying on the ground with a towel under you and some paper towels nearby to wipe up the drippings. You’ll lose about 5 years from your eyes. Put your legs up the wall as you lay down while doing this and you will get a restorative yoga pose out of this.
Body Scrub – How much have you paid for these things? Up to $20 a jar? Take some olive oil, sugar and lemon and scrub them on your feet, elbows and knees. Yay! You’re all shiny and new.
Blond Brightener – Make a few gallons of chamomile tea and let it steep and cool. Rinse your hair with it to bring out your blond highlights. You can also put in a spritzer and spray on your face for a pick-me-up.
Brunette and Red-head Brightener – Take 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 cups water and rinse your hair with this after you shampoo and condition. Will be a bit sour smelling at first and then will go away. I’ve also heard beer works but I doubt hubby would want me to waste a can of his beer on my hair plus it will be stinky at first but then smell will go away.
Milk of Magnesia Mask – Most people have a bottle of this in their medicine cabinet and never use it. I think this one is one of my favorites, but also one of the messiest. Put on an old-shirt you don’t wear out of the house. Dab it on with your fingers and let dry for 30 minutes. Go up to the dog and yell “BOO!” since you will look kind of scary in this. Ideal for oily complexions, especially in summer.
Honey Face Mask – Dab your face with honey and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry off and now you’re all silky.
Avocado Face Mask – Best for dry skin. Whatever parts of the avocado you don’t eat, just rub the rest on your face for 15 minutes and then rinse off. You can use this for other body parts, feet, hands, elbows. etc.
Banana Face Mask – Good for all skin types, Mash up 1/2 a banana and then apply and leave for 15 minutes and then rinse off. Now your skin is all dewy and radiant.
Oatmeal Face Mask – Good for all skin types, Whatever you don’t eat from your breakfast, go apply and leave for 15 minutes and then rinse off.
Rose Water Toner – Instead of chucking those roses once they start falling apart, combine with 1-2 cups boiled water , let them steep and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Petroleum Jelly – Rub on your hands at night, wear cotton gloves, go to sleep feeling a bit funky and kinky wake-up with baby-soft hands.
Lip Stainer – Either beets or cherry jello powder can be applied to your lips to stain them combined with a bit of petroleum jelly.
Bath Time – Get some herbal tea bags (not the black tea though) and chuck a few of these in your bath. Recommended flavors are chamomile and sage.
Stinky Feet? Get some black tea (not herbal) and boil a few gallons worth. Let cool and let your feet steep in this.
Teeth Whitening – Conventional teeth whitening can be pricey or can be painful ( my teeth always seem to hurt when I leave the bleach on). Take some burnt toast (the charcoal is what will take away the yellow) and rub, brush on your teeth vigorously for awhile. This won’t taste great but your wallet and tender-teeth people like me) will appreciate this technique.
What natural beauty treatments have you tried and what results did you get?
I run away from the perfume counters when I go to the department stores. I’m actually terrified those waif-girls, dressed in all black with their hair slicked up into a bun will spray me with the latest scent du jour. When they do that, I will not only smell like I just stepped out of a whorehouse, but will have a raging migraine the rest of the day.
I noticed my sensitivities to many large brand name beauty products and perfumes. I had even started avoided going to the movies since if I sat behind someone that slathered them self in some rose scented lotion, even that would give me a headache.
Working in the spa business, I was often offered complimentary beauty treatments such as facials and massages but I would always decline mani-pedis since going into those places would mean insta-migraine. I would often give an instant negative review for any spa where I was greeted with the scent of nail polish. Why do those workers always wear masks, like they are working at a nuclear reactor? If those environments seem so toxic, why is it that women feel it is a treat (and often an excuse to get together with a girlfriend) to get their nails done?
What is in these products I was wondering? Why don’t these beauty products affect other women they way they do me? Am I just more aware or is there something wrong with me, Am I oversensitive….I would often wonder.
I started to seek out products with no scents, botanically based and with the USDA organic seal of approval. The word “natural” in the beauty (and food product industry) has no regulatory or legal merit behind it and is probably the most cliched, abused and meaningless term in both of these industries. I guess using ingredients that have been proven to cause birth defects can render something “natural”, some well-compensated executive started thinking and slapped this moniker on every synthetic formulation and put some flowers and green leaves on the packaging to make it appear like it was made directly with ingredients that came from virgin soil.
Even using some of the major very expensive high-end beauty products would start to make me feel heady and yuck-brain. Working in the aesthetic medical business, I was exposed to some of the best and the worst practices and products. I became increasingly more aware of the toxic melange that was added to most of beauty products and started to have a deeper appreciation for the cleaner lines – Jurlique, Juice Beauty, Soleo, Bare Escentuals, John Masters, Waleda, Burt Bees, Avalon Organics, Evan Healy, Dr Hauschka, Jane Iredale, Josie Maran and a few others (as mentioned in the book).
Reading this book made me rethink all of my choices related to how we buy (or why we don’t buy) cosmetics.
So many of my paranoid conspiracy theories about the poisonous ingredients were confirmed. This book is well researched, written in down-to-earth language and is filled with great tips on how to beautify ourselves with both home-made tips which range from using egg whites for hair mousse, avocados to moisturize our bodies and hair, to using beets for lipstick. It also lists which beauty brands are ones that are made with cleaner ingredients that also perform just as powerfully. They also include well-known stores, such as Whole Foods and Target that carry some of these more pure beauty lines.
What is in these products I was wondering? Why don’t these beauty products affect other women they way they do me? Am I oversensitive?
This book also gives a few tips on advocacy at the end on what we can do to incite the FDA and our politicians to start to regulate and police this industry so that our bodies and faces are better protected. It’s written in a no-nonsense but entertaining fashion that makes it a compelling and informative read.
Let’s not forget the most powerful tool all of us have – our wallets. Buying products that are made with our health and lives in mind is the most daring action we can all take. The authors of this book are to applauded for the daunting task of researching this gigantic almost unregulated industry that affects our bodies and faces in the most intimate of ways.
At the start of this year, I figured I would revisit how to polish up various facets of my life. With the new year, all kinds of thoughts of rejuvenation and renewal and improvement come into our heads. I’ve been pretty frustrated with diet stuff. I feel like I have a fairly clean diet but I think one I can do is to cook with very high quality oils. I was under the disillusion that vegetable oil, soybean oil and some kinds of olive oil are the healthy fats. Most of these oils are highly refined so you are losing out any potential health benefits and you are better off using grass-fed organic butter than any of those oils. Organic coconut oil and cold-pressed Olive Oil will be my new cooking and salad dressing oil. This is a great tip I got from Mike Geary’s Health Newsletter
I started to look at Amazing Self’s ( excuse the cheesy name….. there are some worthwhile tips in there) about health, wellness, skin, personal finance, relationships and mind-set. It’s a long book, over 100 pages but the writing is a breezy read. I think there are almost too many great tips in here so you start to feel a bit overwhelmed. I wish it was broken out in 8 seperate books so that you can really take it all in and start to make some changes.
For the diet tips, they are pretty adamant about not having caffeine. I know there is a lot of controversy with caffeine and gaining weight. I think we can all agree that those froo froo drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup and whipped cream will not be kind to your butt or your gutt. There is a big emphasis on eating unprocessed, non-farm raised, organic 1 ingredient food…. eating clean as I like to call it. They actually are pretty anti-vegan and very pro-meat so you won’t have to make any major lifestyle changes for all of us carnivores out there.
I think soda is one of the major downfalls of the American Diet. Cutting out all kinds of soda seems to be one of the first lessons for any wellness or gut-busting plan.
She is also a big proponent of eating fruit, which also has been a somewhat controversial food group in the health and wellness circle since there are sugars in fruit.
Tracy also talks about getting great skin… after all, what one thing makes you more attractive and youthful looking and she recommends to exfoliate like crazy but with only medical grade crystals. I went ahead onto EBay like she suggested and got 2 lb bag of this for $10 ( but the shipping was $12…. YIKES) …I wonder who long that will last me if I exfoliate every day. I love beauty experiments since I used to work in the medical aesthetics industry so this tip will be fun to explore.
Hot Yoga Benefits for Weight Loss
They are also big proponents of using heat when you exercise, meaning you exercise in a hot room or just hang out in a sauna. One of my 5 year goals is to have an infra-red sauna in my house and I know that nothing tones my body and gives me that cut look like a hot yoga class.
I remember a Valentines Day about 15 years ago. My boyfriend didn’t think to make any plans in advance so we called a bunch of restaurants and they were all booked. So we went to a mediocre restaurant and they only had a 5:30 seating available and that was it. We sat down at 5:30 and we were given a prix fixe menu instead of their normal menu and had only a few options of things to order. We were rushed through our dinner so that they could accommodate the next wave of seating at 7 pm. Instead of a memorable, leisurely dinner, we had a rushed, overpriced and limited selection dinner and felt cheated out of what should have been a beautiful evening.
Day
I’ve been making my hottie hellenic hubby a bit wonky with all the natural beauty treatments I have been dabbling with lately. He’s actually limited me to no more than one beauty experiment a day (what century are we in that our men can try to impose rules on us anyway?) As I write this I am making my own rosewater from roses I plucked from our garden. Here are some wallet-friendly beauty treatments that I have been experimenting with lately. Most of these things you will probably have in your house anyway so no need to go out and buy a bunch of new products. I love all the beauty stuff at Whole Foods with their commitment to clean ingredients but my wallet feels so naked after I shop at this place. Some of them get a bit messy though and I had a few failures as well (don’t ever put a bunch of Pepto Bismo on your face…stained it pink!) .
after you shampoo and condition. Will be a bit sour smelling at first and then will go away. I’ve also heard beer works but I doubt hubby would want me to waste a can of his beer on my hair plus it will be stinky at first but then smell will go away.
