Health & Spa | Sweet Peas & Stilettos: The Modern Mommy Guide

Posts in the ‘Health & Spa’ Category

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Friday, April 27th, 2012

It is that time of year again – Mother’s Day. I think moms everywhere deserve a special month, not just a single day, but I guess we will take what we can get. I have compiled the Sweet Peas & Stilettos 2012 Mother’s Day Gift Guide – a list of fun and fabulous Mother’s Day gifts in a wide range of prices. A little something for everyone… I hope you find the perfect gift for your mom, your grandmother and your mother-in-law. At the very least,I hope these ideas help inspire you to find just the perfect gift for everyone special in your family. Happy Shopping!

Posted in Art, Beauty, Bling, Cute Shoes, Fabulous Handbags, Fashion & Style, General, Health & Spa, Holiday, Mommy Moments, Mommy Must Haves, Shop 'til You Drop, Yummy | No Comments »

The Honest Company Product Review

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Many of you have probably read about Jessica Alba’s company, The Honest Company by now. They have been getting a lot of press lately and I must tell you – the products are fabulous! This picture shows a number of the products we have been trying at my home and I am here to fill you in on my thoughts.

1 – The packaging is close to perfect. I swear – even the cardboard box that arrives at your doorstep is cute. (I actually converted it into a recycling bin in my office because I didn’t want to part with it.) And then you open the cardboard box and you are greeted with vibrant turquoise blue happiness and a surprise ‘thank you’ note at the bottom. They have not skipped a single detail and have been incredibly thoughtful in making every aspect of interacting with, and consuming their products a delight. The colors and flowers on the individual packages are so pretty too. These are not items that you will want to hide in a cupboard under your sink. They are so fabulous you will want to proudly display them near every sink and bath in your house. If I was giving out grades here, I’d give a hands down ‘A+’ to the graphic designers and packaging team at The Honest Company. Kuddos!

2 – They smell so so so so good. I hate most scented products for the bath and end up sneezing away whenever anyone lights any sort of scented candle. Of course I love the smell of warm chocolate cookies baking in the oven – but this is not about cookies… (Maybe I am just hungry tonight for something sweet…) All of the products from The Honest Company smell incredibly clean and fresh. Not that powdery fresh – just really crisp and clear and clean smelling. The items that are in fact scented, like the tangerine dream bubble bath and sweet orange vanilla conditioner, are farmer’s market fresh. The scents are subtle but delicious. My son has been asking me why I have been putting so many bubbles in his bath lately and the answer is easy – because they smell so darn good.

3 – Light but effective products. It is one thing for the products to be pretty and for everything to smell yummy, but do they actually work? Yes! The face and body lotion is so sheer – perfect for an infant and his 40 year old mother alike. The conditioner, the hand soap, everything I have tried, I have honestly loved. When I first saw that they had dish soap, I thought it would be good for baby bottles and sippy cups. I have to tell you it has actually worked on all of my pots and pans too.

4 – Giving back in an honest way. At the heart and soul of The Honest Company is a foundation of giving back. “That’s why with every product you purchase, The Honest Company donates product, money, time, and effort to addressing critical health & social issues affecting children and families.” It doesn’t get better than that.

I want to thank the team at The Honest Company for their generosity in sending me some of their products to try out. I can honestly tell you it has been a sheer delight to use them.

Posted in Cool Baby Stuff, Cool Kids Stuff, General, Giving Back, Great Green Ideas, Health & Spa, Mommy Must Haves | No Comments »

Burke Williams Spa

Monday, March 19th, 2012

I recently endured the stress of applying to a number of private schools. (Technically it was my 5 year old son who was applying – but I did all of the work.) For those of you who have lived the process – you can sympathize with me how it brings back flashbacks to high school and those darn college essays. I was a bit of a wreck I must admit… A lot of the stress was self inflicted I know. But of course all of us moms talk and ask each other way too many questions so we spin and spin and stress and stress. I reminded myself that it was a huge financial decision (along with obviously being a personal one impacting my one and only child) so I felt that my stress was legitimate. By the end of the process my body was tied up in knots, my back ached and my shoulders and neck were so so so tight. I tried to remind myself that “it’s only kindergarten” but that did not work at all. Luckily, I easily convinced myself that the only way to make myself feel better was to enjoy a day at the spa. Luckily, Burke Williams was just a phone call away.

I had visited Burke Williams twice before, once a long long time ago in Santa Monica and just a few years ago in Santana Row (San Jose). I was thrilled to have an excuse to go back to Santana Row. Burke Williams is a great spa for people who have a little extra time to enjoy the steam rooms, soaking tubs and sauna. All of these extras are including in the price of your treatment. I am a sucker for steam rooms. I just love them! So needless to say I sat in there for as long as I could endure as my private school stress just melted right out of my pores.

Then it was time for my massage and this time I opted for hot stones. I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to Trisha who did an amazing job working out my knots and getting me to such a relaxed state that I almost fell asleep on the table (literally!). It was a perfect combination of a really relaxing massage with just the right mix of warm rocks woven in throughout. In my very relaxed state I walked down Santana Row and enjoyed a late lunch at the Left Bank, an authentic Parisian-style brasserie. I must admit it was an all around perfect day of peace, quite and relaxation. I think you deserve one too!

And in case you were wondering…my son got his acceptance letters last week – yeah! I think I need to celebrate with another trip to Burke Williams. This time I’ll try a facial and pedicure.

I also want to thank Burke Williams and Trisha for their generosity in treating me to this fabulous trip to the spa. I needed it!

Posted in General, Health & Spa, Mommy Moments | Comments Off

Mommy Makeover Tips

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Mommy Makeover Tips – brought to you by AboutPlasticSurgery.com

Many new mothers experience a number of negative physical effects after pregnancy, and begin to look for ways to restore their bodies. As we all know, the process of pregnancy and childbirth are extremely stressful on the body, and not all of the stress is physically reversible by natural means. This is why there are a number of plastic surgery options that can be used as portions of what is commonly referred to as a “mommy makeover.” For details on a number of these procedures, you may want to look into AboutPlasticSurgery.com. For now, however, here are a few tips on different surgeries, as well as some information on how to ensure swift recoveries.

To begin with, many new mothers struggle to lose all of the weight that they gain during the pregnancy. Of course, much of this weight comes off naturally with childbirth and in the weeks after it; however, if you as a new mother are having trouble dropping all of the excess pounds, you may want to consider liposuction, which can help you to quickly drop weight and get back to a starting point that you are comfortable with.

Once the weight is lost, a number of women also struggle with excess skin remaining, and giving off a false, “flabby” appearance. Fortunately, you do not have to be stuck with this excess skin, if you are experiencing this problem. A tummy tuck procedure can help to cut away the extra skin, and give your belly area the tighter, more in-shape look that it had before the pregnancy began.

Finally, a number of women also experience drastic changes in the size and shape of their breasts following pregnancy and childbirth. This is generally more noticeable in some women than others; however, there are procedures that can help. A variety of breast augmentations, including enlargements and re-shaping techniques, can help new mothers to regain the breasts they had before pregnancy.

For all of the procedures listed above, the most important aspect of the process, and of the recovery, is to deal specifically with your surgeon. No two surgeries are exactly the same, and your doctor will be able to provide you with the specific recovery techniques that you need to ensure that you remain healthy and pleased with the results. In general, you will want to be sure that you stay inactive for an appropriate length of time, and that you refrain from touching or affecting the surgically altered parts of your body. With proper care and attention following the right surgical procedure, you can be back to your pre-pregnancy body quite quickly.

Note: This post was brought to you by Aboutplasticsurgery.com

Posted in Beauty, General, Health & Spa | Comments Off

Las Vegas Family Vacation

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Never in a million years did I ever think I would say that Las Vegas was a fabulous place for a family vacation. My memories of Las Vegas include leather pants and leopard print and lots of things my 4 year old does not need to know about. So when some new family friends invited us to join them in Vegas for the weekend, I was cautiously optimistic. But I must say it was the best 48 hours we’ve had in a long long time. Vegas was fabulous!

When we landed in Las Vegas we quickly settled into our room at the Mandarin Oriental. It is a gorgeous hotel, very low key and has none of that icky smoky smell you get at most hotels. My son loved pressing all of the magic buttons to open and close the curtains. Once we were able to peel him away from that great toy, we went over to Serendipity for a yummy family dinner. I had the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich. Yum!

On Saturday we enjoyed the hotel pool and then the moms went off for an afternoon of shopping (Chanel and Louis Vuitton around every corner – love that!) while the dads spent a few hours with the kids – the M&M store, the lions at MGM, the Ferrari store at the Wynn, and of course a trip through ‘the castle’ and a happy meal at the McDonalds at ‘the pyramid’. The hotel was able to arrange for Mary Poppins to come take care of our boys why the adults enjoyed an incredible dinner at StripSteak – Michael Mina’s amazing restaurant. In lieu of bread and butter they serve crispy French fries with dipping sauce. Need I say more? The husbands went out for a night (and morning of gambling) and we went back to get a good night sleep with the kids.

We wrapped up the weekend at the hotel. The boys enjoyed a few hours splashing at the pool while my friend and I went to the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental spa. Between the steam room, and bubbling pools and perfectly relaxing facial – it was a blissful end to an amazing 48 hours. A huge thank you to our new friends Colleen, Andrew and Cooper for a perfect 48 hours.

Posted in General, Health & Spa, Travel, Yummy | Comments Off

Skincare for moms & babies

Monday, September 12th, 2011

When I travel abroad the first think I shop for is shoes. The second item on my list is always cosmetics. I love to see what sorts of make-up, lotions, perfumes and cleansers women all over the world are using. My bathroom is full of sun block from Thailand, lotion from the Caribbean, and nail polish from London.

Some of the best Korean skincare products for moms and babies are now available in the US so you don’t need to fly around the world to try out some wonderful cleansers and lotions. Plagentra is a market leader in Korea and was voted the 2011 best luxury skincare brand by the Korean Government’s Department of Ministry of Women and Family. Plagentra also ranked #1 in stretch marks in the 2011 Korea Satisfaction Consumer Index, and in 2010 was the #1 ranked brand in Korea for moms and babies. Needless to say – Korean women love the product so I think it is worth giving it a try.

I have been using the Plagentra cleanser the last few nights and it has done an amazing job with my large pores. This fragrance free foam cleanser is made up of fine micro beads that gently remove make-up, dirt, dead skin and oils. It leaves your skin feeling and looking incredibly clean, fresh and renewed.

I have also tried the Ato Plagentra cream which is a moisturizer made especially for dry, sensitive skin. Ato Plagentra cream is specially formulated to form a protective barrier to lock in skins natural moisture. With no steroids, colorants, alcohol or perfumes, this cream helps nurture skin while relieving irritated skin. I am incredibly sensitive to perfumes and this cream left my skin feeling soft without leaving a noticeable scent.

For over 10 years CA Pharm has been committed to developing effective & gentle skincare products for moms and babies. Their safe & effective formulations focus on solving common skin problems, such as stretch marks and eczema. Please visit www.myplagentra.com to see their complete line of products.

Note: CA Pharm is a sponsor of Sweet Peas & Stilettos. They supplied me samples and compensated me for my time to write this post.

Posted in Beauty, Cool Baby Stuff, General, Health & Spa, Maternity/ Pregnancy | Comments Off

Everyday Shea Bubble Bath

Monday, June 27th, 2011

I popped into Whole Foods this afternoon to pick up a few random things. Top on my list was bubble bath for my son. I was in a bit of a hurry and without much thought I picked out this EveryDay Shea bubble bath. I guess I picked it for two reason – I liked the fact that it smelled like mint and also, it was one of the least expensive options on the shelf. I must tell you – it was such a great purchase.

With one cap full of soap the bathtub was completely full of bubbles. My son was thrilled. He hid his boats and animals in the tub and loved the fact that they would ‘go missing’ under the thick fog of bubbles covering his little ocean. The bubble bath has a really clean minty smell (not like a strong breathe mint or anything – just kind of fresh and clean minty) and makes incredibly long lasting bubbles. While my son was splashing and playing I started to read the label and began to love this product, and the company that made it, even more.

Here is the scoop, “EveryDay Shea is an extension of Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care. Alaffia was founded by Olowo-n’djo Tchala, a Togolese native, as a way to generate funds to conduct community enhancement projects in his home country and other West African nations in order to reduce poverty and gender inequality….This bubble bath supports the Alaffia Healthy Baby Program, which provides nutrition and health care for babies in central Togo during their critical first 18 months in an effort to reduce child mortality and malnutrition rates. According to UNICEF, 27% of children in Togo under the age of 5 suffer from stunting, and over 20,000 children die every year. Studies show that improved nutrition has a significant impact on a child’s quality of life and their ability to rise out of poverty during their lifetime.”

Needless to say I will be buying the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion…..you name it…

Posted in Beauty, Cool Baby Stuff, Cool Kids Stuff, General, Giving Back, Great Green Ideas, Health & Spa, Mommy Must Haves | Comments Off

Lollia Hand Creme

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Last month I received this wonderful Lollia hand creme as a birthday gift from my dear friend Liza. I just love it and have been using it every day. It is full of macadamia nut and avocado oils (2 of my favorite things to eat) and many other hydrating ingredients that leave your hands feeling soft and fresh without the slimy or sticky feeling that you get with other hand cremes.

The packaging itself is so lovely. I actually can’t throw the box away because I adore the print and colors so much and don’t want to see them end up in my recycle bin. WIth such cute packaging the hand creme makes a great gift that you don’t even have to wrap. Lollia also carries a beautiful selection of candles, fragrances and other pretty items for the bath and lounging.

And if you don’t trust my word – when I went to their website to grab the links I noticed on their home page that Oprah Magazine loves Lollia too. Lollia made the all time list of favorite things. Oprah and her team have great taste!

Posted in Beauty, General, Health & Spa | Comments Off

Juice Beauty

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

JUICE is no longer about watered down apple juice in a pink sippy cup – it is all about BEAUTY.

Spring is the season to quench your thirsty soul and finally get the healthy radiant skin you deserve. Your body absorbs over 60% of what you slather on it – so why not make sure your lotions and potions are pure, safe and organic. Juice Beauty was launched by a business savvy mom who is passionate about organic living. She and her team are committed to putting the healthiest, most effective ingredients into all of their fabulous organic beauty products and equally luxurious organic skin care. Let you skin drink in these healthy nutrients, and in no time at all it will feel great and look even better. It is time for all of us to get rid of all of the yucky chemicals on our bathroom counter and remember that what we put on our skin is just as important as what we eat.

SWEET DEAL: Use the code PEAS before April 6th when you check out at Juicebeauty.com and you’ll get a free, full-size Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate ($36 value!).

Blemish Clearing Serum - The sweet and delicious combination of certified organic apple, lemon and raw cane sugar are blended with white willow bark and coenzyme Q10 and Voila! A fresher, radiant complexion awaits you. This powerful hydroxy-acid complex will improve your skin’s tone and texture too. I know we all thought our ‘little blemishes’ would have left us long along with those high school crushes – but alas they come back!

And for those of you with older kids – this is perfect product to use to introduce your teens to organic skincare. Teach them to make the right decisions from an early age.

My personal recommendation to all teenagers – just say NO to baby oil and YES to Juice Beauty!

Stem Cellular Repair Moisturizer - I have always believed that the most important beauty product is a great moisturizer. Top of my list is anything with “advanced age defying results.” I need all the help I can get! Juice Beauty’s proprietary blend of fruit stem cells deeply penetrates the skin to repair DNA damage and encourage new cell growth to aggressively firm and eliminate wrinkles. Antioxidant-rich fruit juices, Vitamin C and plant oils will hydrate and improve your skin’s elasticity too.

SWEET DEAL: Use the code PEAS before April 6th when you check out at Juicebeauty.com and you’ll get a free, full-size Organic Facial Moisture Concentrate ($36 value!).

Please note: This is a sponsored post from a Sweet Peas & Stilettos featured *Go Green* company.

Posted in Beauty, FREE & Giveaways, General, Great Green Ideas, Health & Spa, Mommy Must Haves, Shop 'til You Drop | Comments Off

Belli Skincare & March of Dimes

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Help give all babies a healthy start and support the March of Dimes. I wanted to let everyone know about a wonderful promotion going on right now at Belli – the makers of top-of-the-line, super duper safe skin care products especially designed for moms-to-be, babies, and mommies.

Here is the scoop: Now through March 21st (the day before my wedding anniversary – in case you see my husband you can remind him!), when you shop Belliskincare.com a portion of the proceeds will go to the March for Babies. In addition, if you spend $100 or more you will get to pick a complimentary Belli Duo set (and not just a few .5 ounce bottles – real products valued between $19 – $40!) as a special thank you from Belli. Treat yourself to some amazing products, pick out a little something for your best friend, and help support a great cause too. Sounds like a perfect online shopping trip to me….