Posted by Pia
on
28 February 2009
For those of us on the East Coast, it has been a cold winter, no doubt about it. I'm entirely ready for spring, but meantime my skin is showing every sign of a mid-winter crisis — it feels taut, itchy and generally uncomfortable. So for the past few weeks, I've been grumbling and rummaging around for various solutions that would fit into my new 'returning student' budget!
I decided to take a chance on an Alba Botanica body cream since I've been pleased with their body washes (see my review of Honey Mango Bath & Shower Gel, and Bois de Jasmin has a review of their Midnight Tuberose Shower Gel). Their Kukui Nut Body Cream seemed like a good bet — chock full of rich nut oils plus shea and cocoa butter, hypo-allergenic, 100% vegetarian and it comes in a jar which always makes me feel that tad more luxurious…
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Posted by Pia
on
27 December 2008
My memories of India are of mornings filled with mystery and anticipation. The haunting sound of the first call to prayer from the muezzin swirling in through an open window with the pre-dawn mist, waking the peacocks who add their plaintive cry. Chants from the Sikh gurdwara follow soon, as do tendrils of rosy sweet dhoop (incense) that meld with the dung-fire smoke from the villages, as early morning puja begins. By the time morning has settled in, the mists have burned away, and the koyal birds have begun their sweet song that will continue through the rest of a day bursting with sunshine, as the green parrots in the trees resume their daily gossip and the vendors begin to make their rounds, crying out their offerings of fresh orange juice, vegetables and shoe repair. Cows come grazing along the street, sometimes stopping to inquire mildly into the goings-on of the households they pass…
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Posted by Pia
on
30 November 2008
It would seem that the end of autumn has hit the east coast. Dreary skies have arrived, and blustery rainy afternoons turn quickly dark as city lights shine on slick wet streets. A last gasp of bitter crackling brown leaves swirl on the highway as I drive home from school, like djinn rising up in the desert sands, and I have a feeling soon the deep silent cold of winter will set in. (As an aside, the squirrels around these parts have been unusually frantic chasing and burying nuts this autumn which only confirms my pessimistic ponderings.)
Happily, this season I have found the perfect antidote to the cold. Alba Botanica's Honey Mango Bath & Shower Gel is a delightfully sweet-warm way to wake up under the shower on a leaden gray morning. It's something like mango ice cream mixed with honey — the kind of honey you find in Winnie the Pooh scratch-n-sniff books…
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Posted by Pia
on
16 November 2008
I first came across the Lollia line of products when I added a mini handcreme to a drugstore.com order to qualify for free shipping. As I'm sure a lot of you can relate, it makes no sense to me to pay
$5.99 for shipping when for $5.99 I can pick up a little sweet-scented doodad that I can slip in a friend's purse when she's having a bad day! Anyhow, the creme was a big hit, and the packaging absolutely delightful, so I decided to explore their other products.
Since I was in the market for a home scent that would be relaxing and appropriate for bedtime, I decided to order their Relax candle. The notes — white orchid, Tahitian vanilla, bee blossom honey and Indian amber — sounded tempting, and the packaging charming, with a lilac-colored paisley pattern printed on the glass and a little crystal droplet designed to hang from the rim. It seemed whimsical and happily romantic…
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Posted by Pia
on
14 September 2008
The other morning, as I was pulling out of my driveway, I happened to notice the charming scene of my neighbor across the street watering some tall green plants in her backyard with a great big watering can. I can't be sure, but from a distance they looked like large leafy tomato plants. I was reminded of my own adventures in trying to grow tomatoes; one year I had cherry tomatoes which gave me plenty of fruit but none of it very good, and so the next year I tried the larger kind, which proceeded to overwhelm my garden with their large stalk-y bases and profuse green leaves. They also attracted some extremely odd looking (and rather large) caterpillars who took shelter in the dark shade provided by the plants, and which gave me a queasy feeling whenever I tried to pick a tomato. Whatever the reason, once again, the fruit was mealy and the skin too tough, and so this year I decided that perhaps my climate is not the best for tomatoes and to forego them altogether.
Unexpectedly, the joy of lush ripe tomatoes found another way of appearing, in the form of Roger & Gallet's Cherry Tomato Bath & Shower Gel. I picked up this little body wash on sale early in the summer…
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