What I've Been Up To!

This year has been busier than most for me, but in a good way. :) Just weeks ago, I have started my own business selling cookies and so far, it has been a success! It's a very small business, being run mostly by me and my husband (I do all the baking and the work, and he helps out by bringing them into his work and selling them to his coworkers), but it's really off to a good start. I'm so excited that I'm actually getting requests and orders of a dozen!! However, since the whole thing is fairly new, it still has lots of room for growing and improvement. I've just ordered some business cards and I still need to get some pastry boxes and a Costco membership so I can start buying ingredients in bulk for a good price to help me earn profit. This will be very important, especially if I'm going to branch out to Korea (my brother is stationed there and has ordered cookies from me and soon will be helping me sell them where he works as well). It's going to be a lot of work, but I think I'm on the right track. I just need to give it time and be patient is all. In the mean time though, I'm really having fun doing this, as I really love to bake and it just feels so good knowing that people actually look forward to the days I sell cookies! ^_^

It's kind of funny, the reason why I actually started this little business... I've always wanted to run my own bakery, but my love of baking isn't what spurred this idea into action. The real reason behind it was actually so I could help fund my newest hobby of Pullip (and Dal, respectively) collecting. xD For those of you unfamiliar with them, Pullip and Dal are both Asian fashion dolls that are part of the same line and company (they were originally being manufactured by Jun Planning, but are currently manufactured by Groove). They've got rather large heads and slim bodies, and have an almost anime-like quality to them. There are also a few others in the Pullip family as well; their names are Isul, Byul, Taeyang, and the newest addition, Yeolume! I think they're such beautiful dolls and I've become quite captivated by them! I've even started a new blog dedicated to them to (hopefully) attract Pullip lovers from all over and to write reviews on the dolls I personally own! If any of you are interested, please check it out at iheartpullip.blogspot.com! 

My Dog Is My Hero!

Surprise! After what seemed like forever, I finally convinced my husband to get us a dog! We got ourselves a handsome and dashing golden retriever puppy, Odin, just a couple of months ago, and have been loving every bit of our time together since then. In the short amount of time that we've had Odin, he has already saved me from my anxiety just by keeping me company and having me focus on things other than my fears when I'm alone and my husband is away on missions. He has already become so dear to me and Odin and I have forged an amazing bond already, so much so that even my husband believes that Odin truly is my dog, since he and I are pretty much inseparable and the fact that he listens to me over him. xD Aside from my husband, Odin's the only real friend I have, but he's starting to change that, too, it seems.

 Lately when I take him out for walks, we have been getting approached by many people, some of which we now encounter regularly. At first, it all started out as small talk about Odin and their own dogs, and then escalated into talking about ourselves and getting to know each other better. For a shy girl like me, this is almost like a miracle. I've always had trouble talking to other people and tended to keep to myself, and now I find myself opening up more and more, all thanks to Odin. To think that he could bring so many positive changes into my life in such a short window of time is just incredible to me and it blows me away. What is it about dogs and their magical powers that can change someone for the better?

He blinked!

Snow Day!

I woke up this morning thinking that I heard it raining hard outside. I dragged myself out of bed and sluggishly walked over to the window, and to my surprise, it was snowing! I became so excited that I ran out to the porch and stuck my hand out to confirm whether it was really real or not. xD I was in disbelief, because I've never ever lived in an area where it snowed before, so seeing it just seemed so surreal! 

Throughout the day, I kept checking outside to see if the snow was letting up or not, and each time I looked, the trees and the grass became more and more covered under a sheet of white. The snow flakes from the sky kept falling toward the ground more rapidly and in larger amounts. I was counting down the minutes waiting for my husband to come home from work so we could play outside together. ^_^

Luckily for the both of us (since my dear hubby felt the same way I did about wanting to go outside), my hubby was let off of work early, and almost immediately as he walked through the door, we both started to put on our coats and mittens and head out the door! We were like little kids, running around, throwing snowballs at one another, and rolling around on the fresh snow~!  We then decided to try to make snowmen, something we've always wanted to do but never had done. We had tried to attempt making one once before, but the snow was too hard and just wouldn't stick together to form a ball. :( It turned out to be awful... This time around, however, was much more successful! It was incredible how easy it was to form a giant snowball with freshly fallen snow. ^.^ It made such a huge difference. :3 It took us about an hour or so to finish up building our snowmen, but we are both very pleased with how they turned out in the end. ^_^

My snowman, standing roughly around 3 feet tall

My husband's snowman. His is probably around 1/2 a foot. It's cute though!  I think it has lots of character!

After we finished up our snowmen, our faces were stinging from the cold, our clothes were soaked, and our noses were dripping, so with that, we figured we'd best head back inside. We took a quick bath and then right after, got cozy under the kotatsu! Let me tell you guys, those things are made for days like these! During the other days, it seems like our kotatsu tries to cook us alive, but coming in from the snow, it seems so comfortable underneath it that I can almost fall asleep huddled under it. x3 It's really the perfect way to end the day~!

My Winter Fashion Wishlist!

This is coming out slightly late, but the winter season isn't over yet! With the changes of the season, changes in fashion must also be made. Time to trade in the short skirts, shorts, tank tops, and sundresses in favor of things like coats, scarves, sweaters, boots, and so on! ^.^ So, here are some of the things that I've been eyeing up this winter:

1. A Faux Fur Stole

Because real fur isn't cool, yo! :P But in all seriousness, I've always thought this single piece can add some glamour to an outfit!

2. Lace tights

Cute, feminine, and adds something a little extra to an ensemble without being too distracting and over the top. ^_^


3. Newsboy cap

Just because... I've really been wanting one for a little while now. I've always loved this style of cap. It's simple and cute, and hats are really just perfect for this time of year.

4.  A cute trench coat

As most people know, a coat is absolutely essential in cold weather, and since I've never been a fan of  bulky, fluffy jackets, a sleek and stylish trench coat is the way to go for me!

5.  Boots

No, boots in the winter time is nothing ground breaking or unique, but I just never seem to have enough pairs of cute boots! x3 My wishlist just wouldn't be complete without boots on there!

6.  Long satin gloves

Satin gloves can look so classy when you're all decked out to go to a formal event, and they can also be quite functional by keeping your hands and arms warm! It's a win-win! ^.^

7. Knit scarf

Again, nothing earth-shattering, but I know I can really use a nice, knit scarf. Almost every winter, I complain about freezing to death, so it's time for me to do something about it! Plus, scarves can make for nice accessories, as well.

8. Knit leg warmers

Some people love them, and some people hate them.... I'm one of the ones that love them! It's one of the few trends from the 80's that I actually really like! They also come in so many adorable styles lately, so I really want a pair or two!

9. Ear Muffs

I've always wanted some similar to the ones in this picture! Ear muffs are again both cute and functional, and look great being worn properly or around your neck. x3

10. Hand muffler

An adorably stylish way to keep your hands from stinging and becoming icicles when you're out and about! Not to mention, they're really cozy, too!

And that's all, folks! ^_^

Catch up~!

It's been over a few months now that we've been here in Japan, and a lot has occurred in that short amount of time. So much had happened within that time period, that I didn't have much time to post about it all! So here in this post, I will be updating you all on everything (well, at least on all of the biggest highlights, anyways) that had went on so far up to now! ^_^ Brace yourselves, this is probably most likely going to be long! Here we go~!

Oct. 6, 2012 -

This is the day when we first took a trip to Harajuku, Japan's fashion district! I scheduled a much needed hair appointment at Watanabe Hairdressing and had booked with Kenichi. We got lost trying to find the place, and we had to resort to asking people in Japanese if they could speak any English and for directions on how to get there, and thankfully someone had pointed us in the right direction. ^.^ We managed to make it there just in time.

We had to walk through this sea of people to get there. O.O

The entrance to Watanabe! We made it!!!

My experience over at Watanabe was hands down the best experience I have ever had at any hair salon by far! The staff was very kind and attentive. My husband and I were offered tea once we had walked in. The shampoo process was very relaxing, as they massaged my scalp and were very gentle throughout the process. Then, once that was done with, I was escorted to a chair where I received yet another scalp massage, this time with essential oils added to my hair. Following that was a neck, shoulder, and arm massage, and then came time for the haircut! Kenichi was great at listening to what I wanted, and seemed to be very knowledgeable with what would look good with my face shape! Needless to say, once he was finished cutting and styling my hair, it looked fabulous! My hair was so soft and shiny, and even when the wind blew it all over the place once we left, it fell perfectly back into place. I felt like a pampered princess~! I'm definitely going to be a regular customer there as long as I'm here in Japan!

Other than Watanabe, Harajuku has some of the coolest and cutest clothes and accessories I have ever seen! I never thought I would see stores like H.Naoto, Angelic Pretty, Liz Lisa, and so much more with my own eyes! It was so exciting! (Too bad I didn't take pictures of them though... Too many people hustling past us. Hopefully on my next trip, we can get more pictures!) They also had a lot of neat stuff being sold outside of the brand name stores, as well. A lot of the stalls out in the streets had so many things for sale that I wish I could have bought~!

Loooove these shoes! I don't think they'd fit me, though. I don't think they carry 9's... TT_TT

To my surprise, there was also a building dedicated to Tamagotchi!!!! I was so curious as to what was in there, so I begged my husband to go check it out. x3

There wasn't too much inside, but it did have a lot of gashapon machines with Tamagotchi related items in them, a little game center, lots of posters, and a Tamagotchi ID L with items that can be downloaded onto your own tamagotchi that you can't get anywhere else. I thought that was pretty cool, and I regretted not bringing my tamagotchis with me.... TT_TT

Oct. 24, 2012 -

The day of my dear hubby's birthday! We decided to celebrate at home, so while he was away at work, I worked my tail off in the kitchen preparing a surprise! I thought it would be fun to maybe add in a celebratory Japanese dish for the occasion, so I had prepared some osekihan (basically, it's a glutinous rice prepared with adzuki beans and topped with gomashio, which is black sesame seeds mixed with salt). As a bonus, I had also baked a Pikachu cake with pokeball cupcakes. <3 That was probably the most difficult part for me, because cakes aren't my strong point when it comes to baking. In fact, Pikachu's face tore right off when I tried to remove the cake from the pan, but somehow, I managed to salvage it. Once I frosted it, it wasn't even noticeable! See?

The cake, sekihan, and a Sena Kashiwazaki figure (a gift I bought for my husband)

It turned out pretty well, but the frosting was a little hard to work with, since it kept crusting over and it came from a tube.... I couldn't find any food coloring at our commissary, so that was my only option. ^^;  Still, I need to work on improving my cake baking and decorating skills! I don't work on it nearly enough. :P The important part of it all though was that my husband was ecstatic when he came home from work and saw everything! All that hard work paid off in the end. ^.^


Nov. 28, 2012 -

We FINALLY got our beloved kitties back to us! We drove 2 hours one way to get to Narita Airport, but of course it was well worth it. We were just so happy to have them back with us after months of not being with them. It honestly felt like forever! To think that we could have possibly had to go even longer without them is just crazy! We really wouldn't have been able to get them back when we did without the help of our friends and family members. They contributed so much, so I'm really grateful! ^_^ We really missed Blair and Sundae so much, and now everything feels so complete again now that they're here. I'm also so happy that they remembered us still despite having been away from us for quite some time. :)



Dec. 14th, 2012 -

It was back to the airport yet again, only this time, it was to pick up my mother-in-law! xD She was (and currently still is) visiting us for the holidays. She was sick with bronchitis for the first couple of days she was here, but thankfully she's a lot better now. We've been showing her around base and off base, taking her to our favorite restaurants and hang out places. She seems to be enjoying herself, but she's also still in shock by how different everything is out here compared to the US. She's so used to just striking up conversations with random people, but she finds that to be rather difficult over here for the most part. ^^; We've also been teaching her some simple but useful Japanese phrases to kind of help her along and to get by, and she's been doing pretty well considering she didn't know anything about Japan before she came out here. :) She's gotten used to thanking people, greeting them, and responding  with "hai!". Lols! She also fell in love with Purikura booths out here (which I totally understand, since I've fallen in love with them, too! They pretty much guarantee that you'll look flawless). She even managed to drag my hubby in the booth with us to take a picture today!

My mother-in-law's first purikura pic! (Taken a couple of days ago)

Me, my husband, and my mother-in-law (Taken today!)

Dec. 22, 2012 -

Today, we picked up an assortment of Christmas cakes from Cozy Corner at Seiyu! They just looked so sweet and delectable, we couldn't help but get them and dig into them right away, even though Christmas is still a few days away. xD They were too irresistible! 

So that's what I've been up to as of late. Looking at it now, it doesn't really seem like I did much, but it felt like of done a lot this entire time. O.O Funny how that turned out.... ^^; Anyways, I should be posting more tomorrow, since we'll be taking a trip to Caretta Shiodome for the Shiodome Illumination! So I'm looking forward to that and sharing pictures of it here for everyone to see!

Oooh Boy....

I can't believe I haven't been posting lately.... 0_0 It's not that I've forgotten to, it's just that in the past month, things have been extremely busy, and not in a fun way. Our furniture came in a few weeks ago, so we had to do lots of unpacking, reorganizing, and have been trying to piece back our life and home together little by little. It's looking so much better now though, but the work was so exhausting! x_x Still, we aren't quite finished yet. There's still some little things that need to be taken care of (mainly just buying a few things that we need to replace our old furniture that we weren't able to take with us, restocking our cabinets, figuring out where to place our gaming systems, etc.), and one big thing.... we still have to find a way to bring our cats here.... It's taking much longer than anticipated. We know that they're okay where they are staying at the moment, but we miss them like crazy! I miss Blair following me around everywhere and sitting in my lap for hours on  end, and I miss Sundae's constant meowing (I never thought I would say that). In the little time we have had them, they've become such a big part of our lives and we have come to  love them very dearly. We can't wait until they're back in our arms again!

Thinking about our cats can't help but make me think of our guinea pigs and rabbits, too... It makes me feel awful that we had to surrender them... We would have had to give them up anyways when they got here, though, since we're only allowed to have two pets living on base. :( It hurts thinking about them, but I can only hope that they have found loving homes with people who can take care of them properly, especially the rabbits. They can't be kept in a cage all day and need their running space, can't be put under stress, need their areas cleaned at least once every two days, need to be petted and loved often so they don't shed and so they warm up to you, and need lots and lots of timothy hay to help their digestive system. Taking care of them is a lot of work, and I wonder just how many people have the time and dedication to do that on a regular basis. Some people eventually start to neglect their pet rabbits after the initial excitement of having them wears away too, or so I've heard. I don't want that to land up happening to them.... I can't help but be worried about them so much. My husband says to remain positive, but sometimes that's a bit difficult, especially when we don't know where they may be now. I wonder if I will ever stop worrying about them...

Kawaii Nails!

I ordered a set of nails from kawaiinails.com a couple of weeks ago, and they finally came in today! x3 I was surprised that they looked just as pretty in person as they did on the site! The only thing I was a little sad about is one of the nails was missing rhinestones.They stated on their site that sometimes rhinestones will be missing, though, and they aren't responsible for rhinestones falling off, so I can't really pin that on them, but still... I wish they would have provided more replacement beads with in their little baggy of backup rhinestones and jewels so I could fix it properly.  Oh well, not like rhinestones are that hard to come by, anyways. :P Overall, they're very nice looking, and the glue that comes with the nails seems to dry instantly on contact with your nail bed. I didn't have to press down on them for too long at all in order to get them to stay. 

I ordered a small, and for the most part, they seem to fit comfortably enough, but I think next time, I'll order a medium and see how that works, or I'll just order custom sizes. I almost wish I did that, but I didn't realize that was an option when I got these. ^^:

Amazingly, they're already holding up better than other press-on nails that I've tried in the past. The real test is seeing if they stay on while I'm asleep, though. I've had nails just randomly disappear on me overnight, never to be found again... Q_Q I also worry about how well they'll hold up in the shower, since in order to remove them, you need to soak your hands in warm water for about 30 minutes. I'm just curious if being in the shower for that amount of time would have any effect on the glue... I'm hoping it doesn't, because I really don't want to accidentally lose one down the drain or having to keep re-applying them constantly! >.< 

 If they hold up well, I'll definitely stock up on these and get other sets. They're cheaper than getting acrylic nails done at a salon, and you can get more uses out of them. Plus, it seems that these are far more gentle on my nail beds than acrylics, too, which I totally love since my nails really can't take much abuse (they're paper thin and always have been since I was little). I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

Machida!

Ahh.... So this post is kind of overdue... ^^; I got into one of those moments where I started writing, but then got distracted by something else and completely forgot about the whole thing! @_@ Anyways,we went to go spend time with my husband's friend and his family over the weekend! ^_^ They met us up at Machida Station, and then they took us out to see the lovely city of Machida. I don't know why, but every time we visit new place out here, it feel like I've stumbled into some magical world. There's just always so much going on, something new to see or to try... It's incredible! Each place we've been to offers up something different. :)

Walking out of the train station!

Le wild cosplayer appears.... :O

Their main goal was to show us this one store called Animate, which as the name might imply, stocks just about anything and everything pertaining to anime, video games, and manga. xD I'm actually amazed with just how many stores they have out here that are dedicated to nothing but anime. Though, maybe it shouldn't come as such a surprise since even convenience stores carry things like mini figures, manga, and even what looks like hentai magazines. :P It seems like almost anywhere you go, you'll find something anime. 

But yeah, Animate.... It's pretty awesome! My husband and I were walking around staring in awe over various items and drooling over them! It was so packed with things in there, that it was actually kind of difficult to move around. ^^; 

This is pretty much what you see as soon as you walk in Animate. You can kind of see how much is in there already, sort of. It's a little hard to tell with Sena the floor map in the way, but yeah, my husband really likes her for some reason and wanted a picture of her.

We really had to control ourselves while we were there, since there were so many things that we wanted! xD  We landed up getting a few things that we really liked though. ^.^ We got:

A chie figure....

The September issue of Newtype Magazine....

I screamed in delight when I finally found this! I've been looking for Newtype all over since we arrived here in Japan! xD I was such a fan of Newtype USA and had always made a trip to Barnes & Noble every month just to get it up until it was discontinued. It was so disappointing... :(

A P4 Poster of Rise...

Annnd.... This fan.... -_-

I swear this isn't mine. =_=

After that, we went over to my husband's friend's house (I don't want to give out his name, so sorry that I keep referring to him as "my husband's friend"....). We spent the rest of our time just talking and playing with their adorable son. :3 He really is a funny kid and made us laugh the entire time. xD He even made my husband wear this mask in the picture below:

We also landed up eating dinner over there, all prepared by said friend's wife. :D It was really delicious (we had rice, vegetables, and what seemed to be pork fried in a sweet sauce with sesame seeds, along with a couple of other dishes that I'm not very familiar with... all I know is all of it tasted amazing!) and we tried to practice our Japanese etiquette while sitting at the table. ^^; For dessert, we had the peach roll that we had bought from Cozy Corner! <3 Never in my life had I bought a cake with such fresh tasting fruit! :O  I also liked how it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet, and how fluffy it was. I was really impressed! I'll definitely be going back to try out other things from them in the future. ^.^ If any of you are visiting Japan or are planning to, keep an eye out for this place! :D

*Ahem* Now that I've finished raving about Cozy Corner, back to our little adventure... There actually wasn't much to it after that, but we didn't land up leaving until 9 pm, and didn't make it back home until 1 am. O.O We accidentally had landed up getting on the wrong train, and had to take another one back... ._. We're still trying to get used to the whole train system out here, but we're slowly learning. Lols! It's a good thing I don't mind getting lost at all, because I'm sure we'll land up getting lost again on our next big trip. xD It makes it more fun, in a way. ^.^

So yeah! That pretty much sums it all up! :3 Everyday here so far has just been truly wonderful, and I'm really loving it! My husband is too! We're really considering permanently living here already. Lols! Anyways, see you guys in my next post! 

So Pretty~!

About a week or so ago, my husband and I decided that we would check out the BX (it's sort of like a tiny mall) on post. We came across this one store that was selling a ton of Japanese toys and antiques, and we were automatically drawn to it. xD While we were in there, I spotted these adorable Hello Kitty figurines, and I couldn't stop eyeing them up. They all were dressed in different kimonos and  carrying different items such as fans and toys... They were all so cute! x3 I was really hesitant about leaving that store because I wanted them sooo badly~! 

Until today, I haven't really thought about them since then. The only reason why my thoughts have returned back to the dolls was because today after work, my husband came home, and told me to close my eyes because he had a surprise for me. He told me to hold out my hands and placed a box in them. I ran my hands over the surface trying to figure out what it could possibly be. I eventually gave up trying to guess (I kept thinking it was food-related).  I opened my eyes, and to my surprise, I saw a picture of one of the figurines that I had been admiring! I couldn't wait to get it out of the box!

I still can't stop staring at it as it sits so beautifully on top of our table! My husband sure does know me well. ^_^ I didn't think that he would even remember how much I had wanted it... I kind of forgot, myself, so there was no way I would have expected him to! I feel like such a lucky girl to have someone who thinks so much of me and who just wants to spoil me all the time. xD  Now, I'm going to have to think of way to return the favor.... ^.^

I Think I Love Seiyu

Really, Seiyu is actually a lot of fun to shop at. >.> It's almost impossible for us to go to a Seiyu and not buy something. O.O We went yesterday to go buy my Tamagotchi ID L 15th Anniversary Version (I'm kind of a freak for Tamagotchis... I'm currently taking care of 3 at once!), and we landed up not only buying that, but green tea and vanilla ice cream flavored kitkat bars, a Tamagotchi Nano (which my husband had wanted for himself), some yokan (a gelatin-like dessert usually made from sweetened red beans), and mitarashi dango, among other things. ^^; We always seem to walk out with more than what we came in for. It's kind of dangerous.... What makes it worse is that it has a pretty good-sized arcade on the very top floor, so we spent even more money playing Taiko Drum Master and even Pachinko there. xD

Either way, I'm so happy I finally have all of the latest tamagotchis~! They're so much fun, even though sometimes it's so hard to keep up with them all. @_@ But yeah... I've been wanting the 15th Anniversary one for a little while now. It's so cool, because with the 15th Anniversary one, they added some of the older and original Tamagotchi characters back in! I think it's pretty cool that you're now able to see them in full color and in more detail now. ^_^

Ignore the mess in the background.... Just focus on the pretty  Tamagotchi....

Isn't this surprising? I actually got a purple one instead of yet another pink!

My Princess Spacey ID L and my husband's Tamagotchi Nano side by side.... Look how tiny it is! It's also very reminiscent of the older Tamagotchis....

Oh! And also, while we were shopping, I also found this super cute Alice in Wonderland stationary set!

I've already opened it and have written out two letters for my mother and my brother so far. I thought it would be nice to actually send them both a handwritten letter. It's so much more personalized than typing out an email to them or talking to them through Skype. It's such a shame that not too many people write letters anymore... I used to love receiving letters from my friends in the mail when I was younger. It was just so exciting! There's just something special about them... I still have all of the letters from my friends to this day, and every now and then I love to pull them out and re-read them.^_^ It kind of gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside! Does that sound strange? 

I kind of went off topic there.... xD Oh well. :P It's my blog, so I guess I can do that if I'd like~! ^.^ Plus, it's more fun if it's random.... Or at least that's what I think. Anyways, I think I'll end my rambling here. Bye bye, everyone! 

Bath Time Beauty Tips

It didn't cross my mind until a couple of days ago, but I had pretty much just realized that I can actually take a bath where we currently live now! Back where we used to live, our tub was way too small and cramped, and fairly shallow, so it made taking a nice, soothing bath somewhat difficult. Anyways, I've been taking an advantage of soaking in the tub over here, and I thought that it might be a good idea to share some of my bath time beauty tips with everyone! So, here they are...!

1.  Just add milk!

We all know that drinking milk helps build strong bones, but it also does wonders for the skin, too! The lactic acid helps exfoliate and remove dead skin cells, and the protein helps keep your skin hydrated, leaving it feeling soft and silky to the touch! All you need to do is add 2-3 cups of milk into your bath water (you may also use powdered milk, I just prefer to use normal drinking milk), and then let yourself soak in it. After about 5-10 minutes of soaking, take a loofah and gently scrub your skin.  Then allow yourself to soak some more for another 10 minutes. This will help your skin look more healthy and radiant, and also, it seems to help very much with keratosis pilaris (they're usually little reddish bumps that resemble chicken skin. Keratosis pilaris is more commonly found on the upper arms, thighs, and sometimes even the face). I personally have keratosis pilaris on my upper arms (mainly on my right side), and doing this has proven to be quite effective in helping it clear up!

2.  Or would you prefer tea, instead?

Another option is to add green tea to your bath! You can use either matcha or teabags, it doesn't really matter much either way (if you use tea bags, I suggest using either two or three of them, and I would keep them in the water for the entire duration of your bath). Green tea baths are great for cleansing your skin, helping with acne, and can even help speed up the healing process of cuts and scrapes! It also has lots of antioxidants and vitamins that can keep your skin looking younger. Not only that, but it'll make you feel very relaxed and rejuvenated after your bath is done! 

3. Don't just sit there!

Okay, So most people take a bath to relax and wind down, but did you know that exercising in the bath is quite good for you, too? The water provides some resistance, so you can get a nice, light workout from it! I like to start off by doing some stretches, such as trying to reach for my toes as I sit down in the tub with my legs stretched out, bringing my knees to my chest, and stretching my arms up toward the ceiling. Then, I follow this exercise routine (be sure to place a bath mat down at the bottom of the tub before you start, though!):

A) Reverse Crunches

Lay back as far as you can without submerging your head under water. Keep your arms to your sides and use them as an anchor to keep yourself from floating. Lift up your legs and bend them at a 90 degree angle. Using only the lower half of your body, lift your legs toward you, then bring them down away from you. Try not to bring them down too low!

B) Sit ups

Lay as far back as you can in the tub (without submerging your head under water) and place your hands behind your head. Place one foot on each side of the water faucet and press them a bit against the wall. Have your knees slightly bent (they should be pointing toward you a little bit) and begin doing your sit ups!

C) Body Lifts (?)

So, I don't really know what to call this exercise or it's proper name, but what you have to do is sit straight up, with your legs stretched out (again, keep them together) and toes pointed. Your body should be at a 90 degree angle. Then, take your arms to your sides (palms facing down at the bottom of the tub) and then slide them back a couple of inches. Use your arms to lift your body up and hold it for as long as you can. If your bottom touches the floor of the tub, set yourself back down, and try again.

D) Flutter Kicks

Lay out far enough to where you can stretch out your legs out comfortably. Place your arms at your side with your palms face down on the bottom of the tub. Point your toes up. Now, start kicking, but don't let your legs go above the water or touch the bottom of the tub.

After doing these, finish off with more light stretches and some breathing exercises, and you're done! ^_^

Extra Tips

* You can add in some essential oils along with your milk or tea bath such as sandalwood, rose, jasmine, or lavender to make your bath even more relaxing and beneficial!

* Be sure to rinse off and wash up after a bath! Bath water contains all of your dead skin and dirt, so you definitely don't want to keep all of that on you!

* Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! It's always good to re-hydrate your skin, especially after rinsing off!

And there you have it! Hopefully you guys find this information to be helpful! :D