Bath, Brew, Read

Bath: Lush Father Christmas Bath Bomb

The Scent: I wasn't much drawn to this in the store. It's a spicy clove scent. Nice for Christmas, reminds me of a spiced wine. But the packaging was so cute, I thought I'd give it a try. And it did deliver.

When To Use: This isn't really the bath bomb to wake up to. I'd use it at night, after a long day. Say a nice Saturday in. The spiciness feels like a warm blanket in the bath tub. Super cute packaging, this bomb would make a great stocking stuffer.

The Perks: Super cool packaging and effects in the bath tub. Drop Santa in and he starts off with red fizz and LOTS of red glitter. But as he melts away, a green bomb is unleashed for the ultimate "Christmas in the bathtub" experience.  Plus at 7oz and $6.40, he's probably one of the better deals in a bath bomb.

Sad Face: I just wasn't a HUGE fain of the scent. Clove isn't really my thing in a tub. Plus, I was scraping red glitter off myself for 20 minutes. And my tub looked like  a craft store. The red and green does leave a bit of a stain on the sides of my tub. (wasn't as bad as some, thought).



Brew: Trader Joe's Chamomile Tea
 I love TJ's Tea! 20 bags for $1.99, you can't beat the price, and it's good quality, too.
I find it hard to find a chamomile tea that holds a strong flavor for a long time. TJ's Chamomile Tea has a great sweet flavor, and I'm considering mixing it with a peppermint tea for an Aveda-like effect. It would also be good with some honey, but was sweet enough to drink it plain. Naturally caffeine free, this tea is perfect for night time, paired with a hot bath and good book.

Read: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami...Still!
Man, this book is long! But it's good. I checked out a few reviews, and there are a lot of people who criticize this book for its length and for being too obscure. The book is long, but I don't think it ever gets boring, it's just a bit frustrating that I keep reading and reading and reading and.... The two story lines are beginning to intertwine more, which makes me want to push forward, wondering how one story will respond to the actions of the other, and I'm slowly understanding the world that they live in. Again, if you want a good book that will make you think, pick it up!

Bath, Brew, Read

Me-time is very important. I constantly schedule myself to do something "productive" or "new," if I didn't take some "me" time, I think I'd spontaneously combust. 

To alleviate some of the damage done by my recent Christmas shopping, I've picked up about 15 extra group fitness classes to teach over the next month. I'm going to be busy and sore, but it's definitely a necessity to make up the money difference. 

This weekend, I taught my regular spinning class on Friday, picked up a Spinning class Saturday morning, plus my usual Saturday afternoon BodyPump class, and then picked up a Spinning class this Sunday morning. 

This schedule (on my days off, mind you) means two things: TEA and BATH TIME! 

Bath time seems to be the only time I can really take it easy. Probably because I'm sopping wet in a tub. I suppose I could run around the living room, kitchen, and bedroom like this, picking things up and putting things away, but would that really be appropriate? 


Last night I popped "A Gold Star" Lush bubble bar into the tub. 

This yellow and gold star sells for $7.95 and is only available online at Lush.com I usually pick up a few "online only" products when Lush offers a free shipping promotion.

 

The website says the scent is frankincense and sandalwood, it basically smells like lemon. The scent was nice, but not my favorite on from Lush, by far. I'm more of a floral/lavendar fan. 

Golden glitter/confetti bursts out of the star as you crumble it, leaving your bathtub with a pretty golden glow. I'm not the biggest fan of Lush bath products containing glitter and confetti. They make for a pretty bath time, but when I have to spend 3 days cleaning up little starts from the side of my bathtub, I quickly lose any sense of calm that I had earlier. 

On the plus side, the yellow color did not leave a yellow ring around my bath tub, like some Lush products are known to do. 

Overall grade: B ; nice, but I probably won't buy it again.

I also brewed myself a cup of Adagio Candy Cane Tea.

This is my new tea obsession. I love Adagio teas, and this limited edition black tea brews full of flavor with actual bits of candy cane mixed in. Adagio Candy Cane Tea is by far the best candy cane/peppermint tea I've had. Because I'm a tea snob, I brewed it in my Breville tea maker  at 212 degrees for 3 minutes. 

 Overall Grade: A+ ; LOVE IT!

What was I reading? 

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. I read "Norwegian Wood" last year by Murakami, and loved it, so I figured I'd pick up his newest book. It follows two stories, one about a male author hoping to re-write a story written by a dyslexic, enigmatic teenage girl, and the other about a female assassin who finds herself in an unusual time.

I'm loving this book so far. I really enjoy reading Murakami's books. Although he's a Japanese author writing about Japanese characters, I have no trouble relating to the people and situations he creates. His writing is poetic without being flowery, and provides a solid amount of mental stimulation - more than chic-lit fluff, not as incomprehensible as philosophy. 

A good choice if you want something to think about.