Bath, Brew, Read: In the Nude

 I took a sick day last Thursday and drew up an nice, warm bath to try to ease my ick. I almost fell asleep in the bath tub, it was so relaxing, and I so needed some extra sleep.

Bath: In the Nude by Lush 
I picked this up when Lush had a free shipping promo a while back. It's online only, but I REALLY wish this bath melt were available in stores. While their bubble bars and bath bombs provide a great aroma and atmosphere to calm my crazies, Lush's bath melts actually DO SOMETHING for my skin.

 

It's a little bar of cocoa butter that you drop into a warm bath, and they literally melt in the tub, releasing different oils for your skin. This bar is brown, but melts clear and doesn't leave a residue around your tub (thank god!) I drop a whole bar in my bath, but you can break it in half if you want to.

 In the Nude smells most strongly of lavendar, the best scent in the world, with hints of rose, and chamomile and almond oils to soothe and moisturize the skin. This bath bar is exceptionally great for dry, red, or irritated skin, but the scent is so perfect that I use it just to relax. The silky smooth skin is just a perk!


Brew: Honeybush Vanilla Tea from Teavana
The last time I had a cold I bought this tea and it definitely did its part in soothing my sniffles. Equal parts honey and Madagascar vanilla bean, this tea brews up sweet. Sold loose leaf, the best way to drink tea, for $4.80/2 oz. , so it's not that expensive if you're just getting into teas. I imagine this would make a delicious iced tea, as well.


Read: Bon Appetit, January 2013
I'm just now getting around to reading the January issue of Bon Appetit, and I'm sure the February edition will be here soon enough. There were a few great hilights I'm looking forward to using:

•  Bibimbop Party - back in our sorority house, our chef used to make authentic bibimbop all the time, and I'm so excited to finally have a recipe for it. Eddie was the greatest, but hopefully this recipe will come close. 
• Making my own stocks - I've been wanting to make my own vegetable stocks for a while, and reading several articles this past month in cooking magazines makes me want to save my scraps and cook up a big pot!
• Salty/Sweet Desserts - I'm such a huge fan of the salted caramel craze, really salted anything is okay in my book! I made these salted chocolate chip cookies last night, and am looking forward to this lemon honey tart with salted shortbread crust.

How good does this look!?
Little Ellie is sleeping next to me, and I may have to join her for a quick puppy nap.

Have a great one!