Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Nude Attitude






In the spirit of my previous posts on aesthetic adventures, I found myself at Spa World in Centreville, VA on President's Day. Before actually making the decision to trek all the way out on 66, I was careful to read the reviews on Yelp, as honestly, I had no idea what to expect. Reviews were mixed, with the main concern being the required nudity in certain areas of the facility. Ahhh, Americans! Pssh!

Nudity--my own and that of others--does not bother me, so I decided to take the plunge. When you arrive, your shoes are immediately taken from you and you are required to go shoeless for the remainder of the stay. Before heading to the whirlpool area, I went to the gym to get in a quick workout where I found other Spa World visitors working out barefoot. Is this unappealing to anyone else? Maybe my problem is with foot nudity? Thank goodness I had my running shoes hidden in another bag and was able to shoe up before getting on any of the equipment.

After I was done exercising, I made my way to the whirlpool/sauna area. I'm not totally retracting my statement that nudity doesn't bother me (well, non-foot nudity), but I will say that since it was very crowded when I went, I think the proximity to other naked people took some adjusting to. Once I blocked out the fact that I was thisclose to Naked Nancy and her bff Buff Betty, the whirlpool was actually very relaxing. And for those of you wondering-- no one had a Miami Beach body, so men, stop your fantasizing about a bunch of hot girls prancing about in a pool of water, and ladies, no worries about how you look in your birthday suit.

Once I was done in the whirlpool, I made my way to the poultice rooms, which were basically heated rooms featuring different minerals. This was all good until I decided to test out the 'Red Clay Ball' room, which is a room heated to about 103 degrees that has little clay balls the size of marbles all over the floor. Yes, there was a sign that read 'Watch Your Step' and yes, I thought that I was watching my step. I guess I also wanted the other 10 people who were half-asleep in this room to also watch my step when I fell face forward into their sleeping area. Oh, heeeeeeey, sorry, did I wake you?

At this point, I decided I had enough of bare boobies and tripping, so I got myself a bubble tea and bounced. All in all, it was a fun and interesting experience. I'd go again on a non-holiday!






IN YO' FACE!

I am an aesthetics adventurer! I've been using myself as a guinea pig for as long as I can remember in a lighthearted attempt to have luxurious hair and glowing skin. And at times, it truly is an experiment; In high school, I put raw egg in my hair because I read in 'Seventeen' that it would make my hair super shiny. Instead, I ended up with partially scrambled eggs in my hair as I used hot water instead of cold to rinse it out. Hmmm, breakfast.

Other times, I've been more successful. After a so-so haircut, I always take pre-natal vitamins to help nourish my hair and encourage growth. It totally works! And if you need to get rid of a zit quickly, crush one uncoated aspirin, mix it with honey and lemon juice, and apply it to your face. The aspirin acts as an exfoliant and decreases inflammation while the honey and lemon have anti-bacterial properties that start attacking the blemish. BOOM.

Currently though, I'm embarking upon the world of anti-aging products. While I don't have too many wrinkles just yet, I would like to stop them in their tracks, lest I have to overcompensate for them later in life and end up looking like Kenny Rogers. Things I am incorporating into my routine include: rosehip seed oil, grapeseed oil, Omega-3-6-9, and foods high in anti-oxidants.

I will also be trying face yoga--no stretchy pants needed!



Sunday, February 12, 2012

Bun in the Oven

For those of you who clicked on this post thinking that a) I'm pregnant or b) I put Hay Hay in the oven--NO NO NO!

This past Saturday I went to my lovely friend Lorraine's baby shower. Now part of me is in total denial that my friends and I are of the appropriate age to be having babies and I feel as though I'm watching my own non-white trash version of MTV's '16 and Pregnant', but nonetheless, I am very excited to soon have more miniature playmates. And pick out teeny tiny baby fashions. 

As I am basically a Calvin Klein for wee babes, I expertly designed this at the shower:


My dear friend Maura, who designs for the house of baby Chanel, crafted this:


So now that the baby has some beautifully designed pieces, let's get that bun out of the oven!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

This is Why You're Single

Do you feel like being really uncomfortable at your desk right now? Perhaps that side of extra greasy fries at lunch didn't quite do the trick. Let me help you with this step-by-step instructional kissing video brought to you by Jamie Otis of the Bachelor.

http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-oklahoma-city/watch-ben-and-jamie-kiss-video

Jamie, you're cute as a button and so very well-intentioned...but this is why you're single.



P.S. For those of you who knew me in college--yeah, this straddle looks familiar. But the wiser, more mature Michelle knows this is not the way to go. At least not on national television.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

If ya like it then you cana take a class on it



Leave it up to New Jersey. Rutgers University's Department of Women's and Gender Studies will soon be offering 'Politicizing Beyonce', a class that will explore the social and cultural significance of Beyonce's music and image. Does she exemplify female empowerment? Or is she the prototype of gender stereotypes singing lyrics like, 'All up in the kitchen in my heels, dinner time. Do whatever that it takes, he's got a winner's mind. Give it all to him'?

I have nothing against Beyonce. I've been known to throw my hands up when 'Independent Women' comes on. To shake it like that, alley cat to 'Get Me Bodied'. She is obviously an extremely hardworker and quite the entrepreneur.

While I am not convinced of this class' worth, it will be interesting to follow-up in a few months after students have had the opportunity to discuss the responsibility Beyonce holds in creating her own image and debate the target audience of this video. I think an equally interesting discussion would be though why Rutgers didn't choose to offer a class on Hillary Rodham Clinton or Condoleeza Rice.