A New Normal Weekend

My weekends used to be a mishmash of exciting activities. There were times when each long weekend merited a road trip, the usual weekends were a combination of new activities, drinking or partying with friends at some happening club or some hipster bar. Some days, I even wonder how I got home {kidding, I always know how, I'm just not always sober}. Those were the days.

Circa 2008

The change hasn't been overnight but it had been a change so long ago it is now a norm. Add to that traffic these days for the last years has been crazy exhausting, I'd very much rather be at home and not come out unless necessary. I never really go beyond an hour on my daily commute but since I'd been coming to Manila the last three days, I also had to go two hours each way back and forth. It has been exasperating.

Thankfully, I had devised a way to cope up with my distress from this traffic, I've made plans on how to cope up with this very congested weekends instead:

So this is my weekend guilty pleasure: I stay in the bath tub on weekends, toss my favorite bath bubbles from Lush (in Comforter), put on FRIENDS on the iPad hanging on top of our tub and stay for hours. This is the best time for me to lather on my new obsession, Origins Rituali-TEA body mask and powder face mask. After this, I also put on my most favorite scent in the world from Yankee Candles in Christmas Cookie and spray Bath Origins Lavender Spray on our pillows and beds, make sure I have my satin sleepwear on and doze off.

Origins' Rituali-TEA in Matcha Madness is Origins newest foray into the Mask Madness taking over Manila right now. With all this pollution and stress, most days I just want to hang out in our bath and apply fresh and organic ingredients to take away the bad memories, the stresses, the exhaustion. I know that it might sound rather superfluous but never ever under estimate the value of good rest and pampering thyself. For me, I am a fan of the Matcha Madness variant, with green tea {it's so real I have to keep it away from Mike just in case he mistakenly drinks it!}. But this Origins line comes in four variants:

Mind Over Mate (Yerba Mate and Citrus) for Normal Skin - cooling and rejuvenating with citrus extract to uplift the senses.
Feeling Rosy (Rooibos Tea and Rose) for Troubled, reddened skin - Calming and soothing with AHA and zinc that helps calm skin problems.
Oolong La (Oolong Black Tea and Chai Spices) for Oily Skin - a purifiying mask.
Matcha Madness (Matcha and Green Tea) for Dry Skin - has L-Theanine to help relieve stress, can revitalize and has a superb antioxidant benefit.