I am back from all of my crazy travels. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts, well wishes and welcome home messages that I have received. I know that I am truly blessed to have such great friends and clients. I heard from a lot of people that they lived vicariously through my adventures and that makes me super happy.
Over the next few weeks I will be working on all the blog posts from the trip since I was too lazy to get it done during my trip. I have lots of fun things to share.
I will be giving a presentation on Saturday, January 23 at The Istanbul Cultural Center. This is their monthly Ladies Coffee. I love this organization. They have great events (this is where I have been taking my Turkish Cooking Classes) and the people are very friendly.
They work with the Atlantic Institute to encourage understanding and diversity among all peoples. If you haven’t checked them out before you should. They are having kids story time on Dec 5th and 19th as they read a portion of “A Coat Named Mr. Spot” each time and participate in two community activities.
“We believe that despite our differences of faith, language and culture there is something that unites us at a very fundamental level and that is our common humanity. For this common humanity to reveal itself, people must do something very simple; spend time and really listen to each other. We believe that the difficulties we face in the world today can only be solved by mutual respect and cooperation on what is good.” – From the website of The Istanbul Cultural Center, a statement that I thoroughly support and believe 100%!
http://www.istanbulcentersc.org/
http://atlanticinstitutesc.org/index.php
I have more info coming about my January presentation next month.
Clearance Time at the Shop!
We are clearing out some goodies and getting ready for our Raspberry Moonlight Market December 1st (more details on that below) so there is a whole section of clearance items – 50% off. Come in and check it out.
Love,
Nicole, Embers and Smokey
Menopause: Power Surges, Hormones, Night Sweats, Oh My!
The Joys of Being a Female and all the Changes that come with it!
Ladies Lunch and Learn Tea
Saturday, November 7th from 11 am – 130 pm
There are still a few openings for our Menopause Lunch and Learn this Saturday. It is going to be very fun and informative. Be sure to wear your best tea hat!
Read the full details for the tea on our blog.
My Asian Facial Experiences (And they were experiences!)
During my 6 week trip I had some type of massage and/or facial treatment every week. It was pretty fabulous. For sure things are done differently everywhere!
In India when you get a facial it includes the skin almost down to your hoo-ha or at least to the belly button and most of the time they never leave the room for you to change and there is no blanket or covering unless you ask for it. I always ended up with a covering because even though it is India and it’s hot, I always get chilly when I have services done.
And they put this disposable diaper-like g-string knicker on you. It is pretty funny. I never got a lot of pictures from these experiences but it was an experience none the less. I always felt the massage therapists were a little too close to my hoo-ha so I had to work on relaxing! lol
I will be doing lots of blog posts about my trip, including some funny spa stories! Subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss any of the action!
Until I get off my butt and write, my friend Elizabeth Mira wrote an amazing guest post about one of her experiences on the trip. Please read her powerful story and let me know what you think.
Raspberry MoonLight Market is 5-9pm December 1st – Mark Your Calendar!
This year we are having another Market Style shopping experience. Raspberry Moon will have all the goodies I brought back from India and Tibet for sale.
The beautiful textile pieces that I bought in Jaisalmer in the Rajastan province of India are simply breath taking. They are made from the pieces of wedding dresses. The various pieces of art work are in different hues and level of sparkle based on the caste systems that are technically illegal in India today. Although it’s illegal, it still seemed to me that the system was still alive and well. You have 4 main castes – The Warrior, The Brahmin, The Business Men, and the Untouchables. I am going to write a blog post that explains this in a little more detail. Once you see a few pieces of the textile work you will be able to start picking out the different castes all on your own.
I also have some pieces made by the Muslim ladies. They are not part of a caste but are a completely different group and you can see it clearly in their work.
I am excited about these pieces. I think you can use them for more than just wall hangings. I think they could be the focal point of a padded bed frame, used on a table (under a piece of glass or high end plexiglass). All of the colors would shine through and it would be a conversational piece for sure. You might even be able to turn them into some kind of valance if you have a smaller window. I will be interested to see what other ideas people will come up with to show them off.
We will also have silk scarves, marbled greeting cards, photography items, jewelry, herbal teas and candles, painted glass, crocheted items, recycled and handcrafted goodies.
I am working on the menu now but I do know that Masala Chai will be on the menu! So be sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 1st from 5-9pm.
We’ll have door prizes, lots of discounts and sale items, gift wrapping (or bagging! :)), food and for the first 5 people to spend $200 or more, I have a fabulous goodie bag.
Santa is coming, Santa is coming…
This isn’t just any run of the mill Santa! He is the Maharaja Santa (and one of my favorite yogis ;))! So you can get your picture taken with Santa in exchange for a donation to Speak for Animals. Bring your little heathens as well. They can come dressed in theme to make the pictures even more fun and you will have the most unique Christmas cards and Facebook Profile Picture around!
Come one come all to the most festive MoonLighting event this year! Come dressed in your best holiday festive outfit – ugly sweater, elf, Christmas Tree, Santa, or even in traditional Indian wear, and receive a coupon at the door good towards any Raspberry Moon or Saucy Chica Skincare purchase!
Give Thanks on our Grateful Tree this Month
With the Thanksgiving season among us it is a good time to remember all the things (and we have plenty) that we have to be grateful for.
Traveling overseas reminds you of even the little things that you take for granted – like hot showers, sitting toilets, clean bathrooms (yes even the gas station bathrooms are cleaner than some of the bathrooms we experienced, I think I will have to write a blog post on that! lol), toilet paper! Even people with less here have way more than a lot of people in Tibet and India.
I know some days we are down, feel alone and downright yucky but it’s always good to remind ourselves of all we do have. Even if you can only say “I have nice soft toilet paper” :)
If you are at the shop or near by just stop on in and fill out a leaf and hang it on the tree.
Create Mystery and Spark Imaginations this Month
So I saw this a few months ago and forgot all about it. Today it appeared while I was researching quotes for November. I think this is the most awesome idea if you have little kids or even any kind of kid. I would love to see what the little gremlins had gotten into while I was sleeping (as long as I didn’t have to clean up the mess!)
Really it could be used with any set of toys but I love the dinosaurs. Let me know if you do this and what the kids think. See the full graphic (and the important message) here.
A 48 Day Yoga Challenge for the Holidays
It seems unreal that the holidays are already here and it will all go by in a blur, but to help us slow down and not get tangled up in a mess join me at Greenville Yoga or in the comfort of your home for a 48 day challenge starting Sunday, Nov 15.
Get on your mat every day – even if it is just for 5 minutes in a meditation or child’s pose. You can come to the studio or do it at home. Just do what you can. The aim is to take time to remember what is important and what is of value to you each day so as not to get caught up in the holiday stress and hoopla.
Then join us on Friday, January 1st with a special class from 2-4pm. I am generally (when I am not being a lazy sod) at class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Liz from 915-1030 am. For more info check out Facebook – and be sure to like Greenville Yoga while you are at it!
Holiday Schedule and Online Booking
Did you know that we now have an online booking system? Check it out at www.RaspberryMoonST.com (click the Book Your Appointment button on the right). This system enables us to send appointment confirmations, reminders, and allows you to change your appointment.
I do my best to get everyone in at their preferred times. If for any reason you are unable to make your appointment please let me know a minimum of 2 days beforehand. You will receive an email when you book your appointment and should also receive your appointment reminders via email 2 days beforehand. Please be sure to check your spam folder and add us to your safe list! Remember this is a courtesy reminder, not reading your emails is not a good reason for missing your appointments. If you do not show up for your appointment you will be charged the full service or if cancel with less than 24 hour notice you will be charged a $25 fee. I understand emergencies happen but we all need to respect each other’s time.
Holiday Schedule:
I will be out of the office starting Sat, Nov 20 until Fri, Nov 27 – heading up to see Nan and then my nephews want me to come to FL to do all that fun Tia (Auntie) stuff. Then I will be around the shop all weekend setting up for the Raspberry MoonLight Market on Tuesday, December 1st.
I will be working until late Christmas Eve – Mom and I will be leaving early Christmas morning to head to Nan’s and will be back in town in Tues, Dec 29. This is the first year without my Shoopy – it makes me cry just to think about it. It still doesn’t really sink in until I have to go to Nan’s then I realize he is really gone. So if you happen to think about it and can say some well wishes for us, we would greatly appreciate it.
January 1 to January 4 will be all about cleaning, inventory and accounting!
Sundays I will be working through the end of the year:
- November 15
- Dec 13 and 20
