My healthy happier life

ashleyd / May 10, 2011

The Best Stress and Anxiety Relief Giveaway

Over the past few days, my life has been getting more and more stressful. Due to some circumstances out of my control, I’ll be doing two jobs for the next few days. This means longer hours and a steeper learning curve.

Instead of heading to the office this morning, I headed down to Philadelphia with my new team. An iced green tea and unpictured spinach feta wrap were enjoyed during our smooth trip down.

In between work discussions I relaxed with some new music and enjoyed the scenery.

I forgot how much I love the Main Line suburbs and the Philadelphia skyline! I said a quick hello to the Schuylkill River as we passed over it! I can’t wait to return in two weeks and enjoy a run with Meghann along Kelly Drive! IMG_2007 (640x478) While the trip down to Philadelphia was great, spending all day left me absolutely exhausted! By the time I got home at 8pm my feet were swollen and tired from visiting stores, my mind was whirling with the many unanswered emails in my work inbox, and I was stressed about what the next few weeks hold.

Over the past few months, I’ve discovered every unhealthy way to deal with stress including a few to many happy hours, too many sweets, and too little exercise. Luckily, over the past few weeks, I’ve done my best to fight stress and anxiety with healthy alternatives. But, nothing I’ve discovered melts away the stress of the day like a warm bath. Tonight that relaxing bath received an upgrade thanks to a new treat I purchased today: Ahava Muscle Soothing Eucalyptus Mineral Bath Salts. IMG_2022 (480x640) After hearing rave reviews of this product from friends and co-workers alike, I finally splurged today! This 32 oz jar of soothing bath salts doesn’t come cheap but it does more than any bath salt or Epsom salt I’ve tried before. The descriptions sums up these salts perfectly!

100% Pure Dead Sea Salts provide mineral healing to help relax tight muscles, soften skin, and release stress
Therapeutic essential oils of eucalyptus revive tired, aching muscles

The smell is stronger than most bath salts but the strong eucalyptus scent is what ads to the sensorial affects. The salts literally pulled the pain and swelling out of my legs and feet!

In fact, I’m so in love with these salts, that I will be giving one away to a lucky reader! In order to help other stressed bloggers and readers alike, I want to dedicate a post to your stress relief ideas!

You can enter this giveaway a few different ways:

Leave a comment on my blog letting me know how you best relieve stress and anxiety.
Tweet about the giveaway: @healthyhappier is giving away @ahava muscle bath soak so you can soak your stress and anxiety away!
Add me to your blog’s blog roll!

Please leave a comment letting me know that you did #2 and #3.

I will pick a winner, in the continental US ONLY, Wednesday at midnight!

Follow:

ashleyd / May 8, 2011

Diamond Derby Party 2011

Last night’s party went off without a single hitch! At 6:24pm, over 35 people were squeezed into 500 square feet to watch Animal Kingdom win this year’s Kentucky Derby.

While the Derby itself only lasted a few seconds, are house was alive with the sound of new and old friends for more than 6 hours!

This year’s outfits were far superior to last year’s Derby outfits and the hats and spectators took up lots of room in our small apartment.

The food was enjoyed by everyone! We set up the buffet on our dining room table and bar area. There was plenty of space for people get food and converse around without it becoming too crowded.

We decorated the area with authentic Kentucky Derby items such as tumblers and pitchers. In addition, we carried the red, yellow, and rose theme throughout this area with red napkins, yellow tablecloth, and red roses.

The hits of the evening were the macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and pimiento cheese. Buying pastry bags and tips from William-Sonoma yesterday made the deviled eggs so much easier to fill and ten times prettier than last year’s eggs!

We set up a full bar on our kitchen counter, using a large tin beverage tub for the wine and beer. Bo was the bartender, making mint juleps and bourbon slushies for everyone!

Blue Smoke catered the meat items last night (pulled pork, barbecued chicken, and brisket) while Bo and I cooked the sides and desserts. We also offered three different types of barbecue sauce for guests to use.

Around 7:30, guests realized they could control the music using Bo’s iPad. This turned out to be the tipping point in the party. For the next two hours everyone danced and laughed as we all made fools of ourselves dancing to our favorite songs. People screamed requests and then quickly downloaded or found it on Bo’s iPad! There was more than one Journey session, random Rihanna dance party, and Ludacris rap session!

Overall, we couldn’t be happier with the outcome of our 2nd Annual Diamond Derby party! Everyone seemed to have a great time, get along, and enjoy the food and drink.

We’re already looking forward to next year’s party and making note of the changes we’ll make including printed invitations, increased portions, and mint juleps by the pitcher!

Question: Did you watch the Kentucky Derby or go to a viewing party?

Follow:

ashleyd / May 7, 2011

Gettin’ Ready to Derby

The weather is finally Spring like in New York City!

It’s a perfect day for party! But first, I had people to see and places to go in order to finish all our last minute errands! I sipped a delicious iced green tea from 57 Irving early on for the first round of errands.

The second round of errands were done on foot with some super cool sweat stains! I ran from our place, up towards Times Square before turning back down towards Chelsea. I had two stops, Pottery Barn and Williams- Sonoma. Four miles later I was sweaty and probably a bit scary to the innocent shoppers who had to deal with my sweat and smell.

But, after waking up to this crazy mess, Bo and I have taken it from cluttered to shining!

We finally hung pictures which have been a year in the making featuring memories from our engagement, wedding, honeymoon, and even our trip to Disney World.

The hand towels have been put out with care and the new candles have been lit. Dozens of red roses have been purchased in keeping with the Kentucky Derby theme.