Simple Joys of the Week: April 15th. Edition

After my delightful staycation yesterday, I'm back and feeling better than ever. Because I had such a WONDERFUL day off, today's SJOTW post will focus on the simple joys I experienced during my vacation a la my apartment. I strongly suggest that you schedule your own staycation sometime soon...nothing will give your exhausted self a better pick-me-up!

Here's a quick glimpse at the simple sensory joys that kept me occupied and happy yesterday:

Hear: Complete Silence

Seriously. It was amazing. I turned my phone off, never turned on the TV, or music, or the computer, and thoroughly loved the silence that I was able to enjoy (AFTER Ben left for work...before he left he was making tons of noise and actually packed up his workout bag ON my sleeping legs. Not. cool.). Every time things are completely silent for a period of time, I realize how little of my time is spent in silence, and I really do love it! 5 minutes of silence per day: it does the body good (thanks, Oprah!).

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Taste: Cava Mezze Spicy Hummus 

I can't get enough of this hummus! It's from a local DC restaurant, Cava Mezze (with locations in Capital Hill and Rockville, neither of which I have ever visited), but it's sold at our local Whole Foods, which is where I picked it up for the first time over 5 months ago. I eat it almost every day--either by spreading it on sandwiches, or eating it with pita chips, crackers, or tortilla chips--and it's the best hummus I've ever had, hands-down! I consider myself quite the hummus connoisseur, so I'm speaking the truth. If you live in the DC area, TRY IT! I'll go to the restaurant one of these days and let you know how it is...

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See:  The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (you see a book in order to read it, right? So this counts...)

I spent over half of my staycation lying around reading this book, and I'm loving it. It's an interesting read, as it's written from a very different point of view--the narrator is the three sisters (yep, all of them!), so everything is written as "we" and "our," but it speaks about each sister separately and in the story, they are all very isolated characters (thus far). The book is about three sisters who all return home as adults to care for their sick mother. But, they have all come home for different reasons (failures) and are not necessarily close, so they don't discuss these reasons openly. I'm only half-way through, but their way of relating to each other/their family dynamics are extremely disjointed, which make for an excellent read. Plus, their father is a Shakespearean scholar, so their family speaks to one another in couplets more often than not, which is really fun :)  I highly recommend it to all of my fiction-reading friends out there!

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Touch: Manicure/Pedicure

In the past, I rarely treated myself to a mani/pedi. They were for special occasions only, and I was fine with that. But, since becoming a full-time yoga instructor, where my hands and bare feet are in people's faces and on their bodies all day long, I have made mani/pedis a somewhat more regular part of my life. I'm not talking every week--or even every other week--but enough to keep my dry feet in line. And wow, now that I allow myself to get them, there is really nothing like a pedicure. I love every bit of it--the AMAZING massage chair, the hot tub for your feet, the leg massage and warm towels...delish. If you haven't gotten one lately, treat yourself! You won't regret it :)

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SMELL: Avani Dead Sea Cosmetics Natural Mineral Body Scrub 

During my staycation, I took a long, luxurious bath. In order to up the relaxation quotient, I pulled out this jar of Natural Mineral Body Scrub, which I had received as a gift a few years ago and had never used. It's milk and honey scented, so it smells absolutely amazing, and you wouldn't believe how my skin felt afterward (should have filed under touch?)! I've never used anything that made my skin feel so silky smooth...and it's from the dead sea, so maybe that's why? Anyways, now that I've discovered it's magic, I'm going to start using this scrub a lot more. What a fun and unexpected treat!

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And there you have it! A day filled with simple sensory luxuries. Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Wishing you a wonderful Friday!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine