wash your worries down the drain

So the Dow was down 777 points yesterday.  (Oh, the irony of 7 being a lucky number.)  Needless to say, I’m probably not alone in feeling a bit stressed over the state of the economy.  Of course, everyone deals with stress in their own way.  Some people pour themselves a Scotch. Some people crawl up into a little ball under the covers. I, myself, take a bath (then crawl up in a little ball).

So last night I decided I was going to take the most spend-thrifty, luxurious bath ever-
Cleopatra’s signature bath of milk and honey.

I didn't know the Egyptians invented "I'm a Little Tea Pot".

(Supposedly her favorite skin care routine consisted of a mud pack made with crocodile manure.  That recipe didn’t tempt me as much.)

Baths are an amazing way to submerge both your body and mind into a state of relaxation.  (To be read in a calm, soothing voice with New Age music playing in the background.)

I replaced milk with soy milk because soy leaves skin amazingly soft, smooth and even toned (and it’s all I had in the fridge). Honey is known for giving skin a radiant glow, helping it retain moisture, and it’s also antibacterial (in case you were less than thorough while cleaning the tub:).

I added four cups of soy milk to warm bath water. Stirred in a cup of honey.  And just to one-up Cleopatra (how often do you get to say that?), I added some Rose Otto Oil. (It’s similar to Rose Oil only cheaper).  You could also use Chamomile or Lavender Oil instead.  They all smell amazing and are good for reducing anxiety.  (You can buy essential oils in the Whole Foods body care section and most health food stores.)

Do yourself a favor and concoct yourself this bath this week. The soy milk added a weight to the water, so it kind of felt like it was enveloping me (not in a scary way). And it left my skin feeling really soft, silky and smelling like roses. Just don’t leave CNN on really loud in the other room.  Turns out there’s nothing less relaxing than Suze Orman’s voice. 

Wow.  This woman is fancy.  I just poured it right out of the carton.