Cleopatra's Choice: Unique Skincare Products from around the World

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to visit local pharmacies and stock up on local skincare and beauty products. Whenever I return from Italy, my suitcase is packed with Roberts Acqua alle Rose and fennel toothpaste; in France I stock up on Klorane's Chamomile Shampoo; in Israel, Dead Sea bath salts. I even returned from Mali with a homemade salve made from goat's milk by the local witch doctor!

I was thrilled to be recently introduced to Cleopatra's Choice, an online boutique that features unique skincare products from around the world. Cleopatra's Choice sent me some of their most-wanted products, African Black Soap, Adovia Dead Sea Hand Cream, and Calming Essential Oil.

The African Black Soap is a rich, natural alternative to traditional beauty soaps. I use this soap on my face and body, and afterwards, my skin, which has a tendency to be dry, feels fresh and moisturized. Hand pressed by women in a small village in Ghana, this soap is fair trade and made with entirely organic products, including 100% pure and organic Shea butter. I definitely feel that this soap improved my skin's appearance, and though I don't suffer from acne, eczema or psoriasis, many believe that African Black Soap contains healing elements.

Check out http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/african-black-soap/  for the traditional black soap recipe, including pictures detailing the hard work that goes into making it

The Adovia Dead Sea Hand Cream will remain on my desk as my ally against dry skin on my hands. Rich and moisturizing, it contains the Dead Sea minerals that I so appreciated when spending time in Israel. This cream is therapeutic, absorbs quickly, and has a more natural smell and feel as opposed to traditional hand creams.

I have so many special memories of time spent on the Dead Sea

My favorite product by far is the Calming Essential Oil blend, which contains a lovely mixture of lavender, rose,  cedarwood, marjoram and frankincense essential oils. Since I prefer wearing essential oils instead of perfumes (I get a headache from synthetic scents), this was a special treat for me. It's a fragrance that radiates calm and peace, with a fresh and natural blend of essential oils. Cleopatra's Choice also offers a number of other essential oils and blends, and the prices are much lower than Whole Foods, where I usually purchase my essential oils and other natural products.

Frankincense has been traded for over 5,000 years and is derived from a tree

Check out Cleopatra's Choice at www.cleopatraschoice.com. Be sure to sign up for their coupons, specials and new product notifications, too. 

Disclosure: Special thanks to Cleopatra's Choice for sending me product samples. I was not asked to write a review of this products and I was not compensated for doing so; all opinions are my own. 

Cirque Shanghai at Navy Pier: A Don't Miss for Summer 2012

Last night my two kids (ages 2 and 11) and I were lucky enough to attend  the opening night of Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon, and all three of us were enthralled.

These performers may look dainty, but they hide incredible strength and nerves of steel

This is a show for kids of all ages, from 1 - 100. My 2-year-old loved the bright colors, the twinkling stars, the "scary" dragon, and the "Princesses" (seemingly dainty acrobats that hide not only incredible strength but also nerves of steel). My 11-year-old was in awe of the bike balancing and hoop diving feats. The grand finale - The Wheel of Death - amazed us all. 

Chicago journalist Desiree Chen profiled the talented China-based Cirque Shanghai performers in an interesting Chicago Tribune article in 2006. Their daring feats will have you holding your breath for their lives. I felt like I should have reached out my arms to catch one of the performers as they expertly managed the incredible Group Chair Stack.

Don't miss Cirque Shanghai, now playing at the Navy Pier Pepsi Skyline Theater, this summer! Tickets are $15.50 - $29.50 and will be available by calling 800-745-3000 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com/shanghai. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are available by calling GroupTix at 773.327.3778 or visiting www.grouptix.net.

Chiara with two of the amazing Cirque Shanghai performers

Campers Have S'More Fun

This past weekend weekend will go down in my funny family memory books. We went camping! And I love camping. And based on the many fits of laughter, squeals of excitement, and the fact that they had to be dragged away from the beach every day, I'd say my kids love camping, too!

My son has a few camping trips under his belt, but this was my daughter's first camping trip. She's two, and loves to be outdoors and putter around in our backyard for hours on end, so I just knew she'd be thrilled to spend two nights in the great outdoors. When we arrived at our campsite, she had just woken up from a long car nap and found herself in the middle of a forest. Her eyes opened wide with delight. We set up the tent and once again, she was happily incredulous: We were really going to sleep - all together!!!  in a tent!!! in the middle of a forest?!!!!

This past weekend, my daughter learned the importance of s'mores. She learned that we need to pick up every single scrap of garbage and respect nature. We told her stories about Ricky Racoon (the guy who lurked around every night, looking for scraps), and she gathered rocks and we drew faces on them and put them to sleep in acorns with blankets made of leaves. She played, at length, with an ant and a Daddy Longlegs and tried her best to catch a butterfly. She learned how to dig in the sand until you reach water (with a little help from her big bro). Early one morning, at sunrise, as the birds greeted the day with a chorus,  she awoke and exclaimed, "Mamma, the birds are singing to me!" and then magically let them lull her back to sleep.

My son honed his camping skills, kayaked, and swam out to a pier in the middle of a lake where he jumped in again, and again, and again. He learned how to best start a fire. He hiked, gathered firewood, helped cook meals over an open fire, pitched and took down a tent. He built castles for his sister and dug just about to China in the sand.

Daniel, digging to China

There is just something about spending a few days in the woods, unplugged, with only family, fresh air and the forest to keep you company - that makes me feel renewed and refreshed. There is just something surrenderingly wonderful about not having to shower, wear a bra or makeup for a few days. I feel reconnected after spending 100% of my time with my family and nature.

I've stayed in some of the finest hotels in the world, but I'll take sleeping squishing into a tent, meals cooked over a fire and at a picnic table and mucking around with my kids in a forest and on a lake beach over five star elegance any day.

My Happy Campers

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Take a big bite into summer! 

Treat: A Great Giftcard Service for Father's Day and Beyond - Plus a Code to Make a Free Treat Card of Your Own

Father's Day is upon us, and I'm happy to share Treat, a wonderful new resource for creating your own custom cards. 


I used to Treat for the first time to create a Mother's Day card for my Mom. It turned out so cute - (I customized the card with pictures of all the grandkids) - that I framed it for her. 


Let's face it - most cards wind up in the garbage can. These cards are so cute that they'll be cherished in picture frames.


Here are some of the key features that make Treat cards stand out from the rest:

·         You can add a gift card to top retailers (such as Amazon, iTunes, Target & more) in any greeting card.

·         You'll never forget a birthday again - you can import birthdays from Facebook and set up reminders.

·         You can schedule cards for delivery—up to year in advance! 

Follow Treat on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TreatCards, twitter https://twitter.com/#!/treatcards, Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/treatcards/ and Google+ https://plus.google.com/b/117542183382899885395/ for ideas and specials!

Best of all, your first card is FREE! Just use the code FREETREAT at checkout. 

   

 

Disclosure: Special thanks to Treat and Tinyprints for sponsoring this post!

SELF Magazine's 19th Annual Workout in the Park! Ticket Special on Gilt City Chicago

Have you ever been to SELF Magazine's Workout in the Park? 


When I was a 20-something, I attended this fun event twice. I loved catching a workout outdoors, in the park, instead of at my usual gym. On Saturday, June 2^nd,  The SELF Magazine Workout in the Park returns to Grant Park for their annual fun fitness fest, hosted this year by Dolvett Quince, trainer for The Biggest Loser. 

Today (and today only!) Gilt City Chicago is offering members an exclusive Workout in the Park package.  You'll get one ticket to Workout in the Park, a copy of Dolvett’s workout DVD, a SELF tote, a Crunch sweat band, a year’s subscription to SELF and one Bar Method class at any Chicagoland studio…all for only $20 (over 70% off)!!  Simply log onto www.giltcity.com/chicago now to take advantage of this great offer! 

Here's what's on the workout menu for this year's event:

§  Fly Girls:  Stay super fly by counting down to your favorite 90’s pop hits with easy-to-follow dance routines.

§  POUND Rockout Workout:  Fuse pilates-inspired movement with the art of making music at this trendy new class that uses Ripstix™, weighted drumsticks, to work the core, upper, and lower body. 

§  Hippie Yoga:  i.e. yoga that focuses on opening up the hips! Leaves you feeling restored and renewed like no other.

§  Reebok Toning Zone:  Participants will perform unique total-body exercises inspired by Reebok shoes, one of today’s biggest fitness trends.

§     WHAT:  SELF Magazine Workout in the Park

§     WHERE:  Grant Park (Butler Field);  June 2, 2012

§     WHEN:  11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., rain or shine

HOW:  Tickets for SELF magazine Workout in the Park are $20 and can be purchased in advance of the event at http://www.selfworkoutinthepark.com/

  

Disclosure: Gilt asked me to share this info and I was happy to do so because I think it's a great deal. I was not compensated for this post.

The Kindle Wars

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to read. Seriously, I have a phobia about not having enough reading material on hand. I usually am reading two or three books at a time, in addition to the many magazines and newspapers on my weekly must-read list. There are worse things to be addicted to.

I came late to the eReader party, mainly because I always loved having my beloved books on hand, ready to read, no battery required. But a few weeks ago, I finally broke down and bought a Kindle Fire. And I'm in love.

I love that I can download a book in seconds. This is also dangerous for a reader like me, so I've limited myself to having three books at a time on my Kindle, and then I add to my queue. Currently, I'm reading Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son by Anne Lamott, Dropped Names by Frank Langella, and a book written by my friend, Marla Rose: The Adventures of Vivian Sharpe, Vegan Superhero (and though it's billed as a young adult novel, I'm adoring it, and especially one of the main characters, Tolstoy!).

I love that when I travel (I traveled with my kindle for the first time, to San Fran, two weeks ago), I now have access to several books and magazines on my slim and lighteight Kindle!

The only problem with my Kindle Fire: The kids and I battle over it constantly. My daughter wants to watch  Yo Gabba Gabba on it, my son wants to read his latest novels on it. My kids especially love the kindle because they can cuddle up with it in bed. In fact, one of the main reasons I bought a Kindle Fire, as opposed to an iPad, was because I knew my kids would be nabbing it from me and it seems sturdier and less breakable (and is less expensive) than the iPad. We don't have cable television in our home - no one in our home watches television in fact. We are a family that prefers to catch our media through smaller devices, I guess. And now it looks like we are in need of at least one more device.

So it looks like we'll be purchasing yet another Kindle. I'm thinking of buying a more basic Kindle for my son. My daughter will be stuck sharing with me, for the time being.

Do your kids have eReaders or iPads? How does your family catch media these days?  

Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this post. I just adore my new Kindle Fire!