Disclosure: It’s wellness and self-care season, you guys. Although I’m compensated for this post, all thoughts, opinions, and aggressively sustaining practices are entirely my own. (Unless one of you suggested the whole “sleep more” thing to me. Then, thank you.)
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Boy-o, who could use a handy guide to help get you through cold n’ flu season, lack of sunlight season, and…whatever you can even call this political season? I hear you. It’s no secret that I get to try out cool stuff for free, but for this January wellness post, I picked three of my favorite companies- and products- to feature for you guys. I seriously am a supreme fan of all of these peeps. So, enjoy. And be good to yourself this January (and beyond)!
The Art of Tea
This one’s a no-brainer, right? You know you should be drinking more tea. And if you’re going to be drinking more tea, you might as well be drinking more supremely well-crafted tea. Enter: The Art of Tea. Not only do they take sustainability to the nth degree (seriously, check this out to see what they’re doing, from planting practices to office supplies), but they even offer custom blending and tea sommelier training! But back to the drinking. So, does hand-blending and carefully crafting each organic tea and botanical really make that much of a difference? Well, if you ask your palate and the Earth, the answer is a resounding yes. Here’s what they sent me and here’s how quickly I drank it:
-I started with the Cinnamon Fig, as I do so love me some full-bodied black tea. After steeping the loose tea (and cinnamon bits!) for five minutes, the whole kitchen was scented with fig, maple, cinnamon, and apple. Holy moly, was this one satisfying. Even drinking it black, it had a subtle sweetness. (People say that about me, sometimes.)
-Apparently, I drink too much coffee. (Whatever, P.J.) But the herbal Velvet Tea felt a little like cheating, since it had a fullness and flavor that perked me up a tad. Their answer to a “dessert tea,” this one is all chocolate, mint, and vanilla. Being as I’m currently rocking/crawling through Paleo, I welcomed even the illusion of sugar.
-A tea called 9:00 PM gets me, since it realizes that a) 9PM isn’t even close to my bedtime, b) I’ll be wanting something tasty, and c) no, I shouldn’t be caffeinating at 9PM. (Oh, herbal, I think you and I just might be friends after all.) This one’s a Brûlée Mint with some hints of a peach cobbler. It is divine. Even without the caffeine. (Yes, I may have a problem.)
-But oh my goodness, friends, ready for The Art of Tea’s art form? I tried the fruity and floral Halo, which is a flowering white tea chock full of blueberry and white peach, and hand-tied with amaranth and jasmine flowers. It is ridiculously cool and incredibly yummy. Also? It looks stunning while it blossoms from a tightly wrapped bud to a pretty li’l flower in your cup/infuser/hipster Mason jar. (Sorry.)
Check out their catalog; they, quite literally, have something for everyone, whether you’re a gourmand, a new-to-tea-sampler-type, or simply someone who gets really, really excited about Teas of the Month. (<—Guilty.)
(Need another reason to love The Art of Tea? Right now they’re donating 5% of all matcha tea sales to the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry, you do-gooder, you.)
BeKoool
What’s the third ‘o’ doing there? If I had to guess, I’d say it stands for OhmyGAWDthisproductisamazing. Just the first thing that came to mind. But seriously, I have no idea why it’s there. However, they could name it OooGiveMeYourMoney and I’d still do just that; these BeKoool fever strips are borderline genius, and they actually work.
Free of medicine or anything which could interact with prescriptions or other fever reducers, these self-adhesive pads have a cool-to-the-touch gel which stays in place for up to 8 hours. (Yes, 8 preschooler, Sleeping Upside Down and On His Face hours, too.)
When Boy Child is sad, we’re all sad.
We (sadly, luckily) got to try out these patches o’ awesome during Jasper’s crazy fever the week after New Year’s, and then again last week when Nora fell victim to the first-grade virus going around. Jasper was stoked to see a Mickey Mouse design on his single-use gel sheet. Nora was thrilled that I wasn’t attacking her on the hourly with a dripping washcloth. And in both cases, when I checked on them (repeatedly throughout the night because I’m not exactly a “hands off” kinda parent), their respective fevers had broken well before the BeKoool pads had given up. (The first time out happened, I was pleasantly surprised. By the second time, I was ready to write a personal thank-you note to Kobayashi, the makers of BeKoool, for sending these along for me to try out. They’re like my sickness-fighting fairy godparents.)
Listen, cold and flu season ain’t gonna soothe itself. Pick up some BeKoool pads here and know that, even if you can’t shorten a virus or stave off illness entirely, you do have a ready solution for the “I wish I could just do something” guilty parent-kinda feeling.
Super
And winning the Perfectly Named Company award is…Super. They are seriously super, my friends. So what do they do? They’re a subscription-based company for homeowners who helps you out with all of those crazy, pesky things your landlord used to take care of. A household-saving company in a wellness roundup? (I invite you to go back and re-read that last sentence. When the household is happy, Mama’s happy. And when Mama’s happy…) Not only do they cover the cost of appliance/system breakdowns (which, ahem, ain’t no one else doing in this house), but they offer a wonderful Concierge Service which sets up all sorts of home maintenance and upgrade appointments for your homestead. (Available online, over the phone, and on mobile!) They book appointments based on your schedule- and give you plenty of heads-up when your contractor will arrive. Plus, every single person working for and with this stellar company is a gem. (And given that I wrote an entire book on lackluster service and/or treatment as “the little woman,” I know a great company for the home when I meet one.)
I’m not just paying them lip service, either; as part of my trial subscription they coordinated a home energy audit for me which ended up saving me buckets of money. Yes, that’s the technical term- buckets. (My home is now so warm. Talk about wellness!) And after the initial walkthrough for new clients, they keep all of your home’s info in one place. (Can you say that about anything else pertaining to your home? Let’s try it: where’s your spare set of keys? Knew it.) You can keep “dream projects” on file for the future, and Super will be ready and waiting with contractors and suggestions for when you finally convince your husband to have that door put into the back of the kitchen- er, when you’re ready. Super also treats their customers like royalty with their quarterly service rewards; actual money that can be put towards home projects.
[If I had an impressive photograph of my warm, warm, warm new insulation, it’d go right about here.]
Wanna try it out? (What a silly question.) Take a look at their plans here, and then use code LOLLYGAG50 for an additional $50 in service rewards. Yep, that’s on top of the quarterly moolah. (That back porch is practically building itself.) Friends, the future of homeownership is here.
And it’s even cooler than the Jetsons promised us it would be.
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