You've got the Puffy Eyes of a Stranger

This morning came to me, as it always does, in the shape of a rotund, furry beast yowling in my ear: “It’s 7:00 in the morning, Madame, where is my din?”

Don’t be fooled; Monty can appear a charming and plump darling, but it’s only a ruse. He’s at his brattiest and most cunning when he desires his breakfast and has perfected his approach to receiving it: provoking my fury until I concede to his demands. This consists chirping, squawking, standing on my pillow, nibbling on my shoulder, sitting at my vanity and flicking off every object on its surface to the floor (this is the worst), glancing over to see if I’ve noticed and continuing until it is hopeless to resist. It makes my blood boil, but I’ve got to hand it to him, Monty has made a great point of getting his way.  I might take cue from him the next time I want something: I’ll just start pushing inanimate objects off of tables until my opponent finally yields.  

So now that my fluffy alarm clock has won this battle of wits and quietly gorges in his dinner bowl, I’m left with the aftermath of war: exhausted, grumbling and squinting through pink, puffy eyelids.  Ew, we all hate that – looking like a playful boxing match gone sour or as though you've been sleepless for a year will never be considered a trendy look.  Don't even try. 

Swollen eyes are caused by many factors, but major issues can be dehydration and lack of sleep (Glad you got my back, Monty!) The skin around the eye area is also extremely thin and sensitive, packed with tiny vessels that can react in unfavorable ways due to your dancing the night away or having an abusive cat-mate.

I can’t justify going into the world looking this way, so I reach my weapon of choice: Tea.  That is, the Tea Bag, in fact.

Using a tea bag as a hot or cold compress for the eyes is a sensational way for treating unsightly baggies, puffiness and dark circles.  These healthy (tea) bags of fun can even heal soreness, discomfort and release really awful looking and quite painful stys.

Green & Black tea leaves are also packed with anti-oxidants – preventing and protecting damage and stimulating cell reproduction, YA YA YA!!! 

Warm or cold, black or green, it’s all good -- paving the way to a perfectly bright-eyed day.

Me -- I like to use them all because I really like to look wide-awake and not appear sleepy or inferior to my peers.  

Also, I just love tea!  Tea is so nutritious (et delicieux) topically and ingested -- chock-full of benefits a healthy body just can’t help but love.

Here’s what I do:

1) Boil that water. You got that? Great! No judgment if you’re stuck so far.  Get two mugs, one for GREEN and the other for BLACK tea.  Today instead of Black, I’m actually using Rooibos (also high in anti-oxidants AND vanilla flavored in case anyone wants to gets that close to my eyelids.)

2) Steep the teas.  I like mine strong, baby.  Take the Green tea bag out and leave it in the freezer, say about 15 minutes.  Take the Black tea bag out of its mug and leave it to cool on a plate until lukewarm temperature.  At this point, I would start sipping at the Rooibos…mmm…Vanilla. 

 

Tasty

3)  Once lukewarm, place that Black Tea on the eyelid and let it rest for ten minutes; once finished, flip it over onto the other eye for the same amount of time.  Relaxing! 

4) By now, the Green Tea bag should be out of the freezer and have been sitting about five minutes.  Repeat the same action as you did with the Black Tea bag.  Refreshing, Si? 

So sleepy...

5) And then BAM, you have happy, restful looking eyes and have helped to reduce puffiness, dark circles and that look of tiresome rage. 

6) Drink your Green Tea! (I personally like mine a little cool, but you can drink them in whatever order you like, I won’t discriminate)

From here, you can add a little of your favorite eye cream because it’s crucial to keep the eye area moisturized.  Then go forward and seize the day.

You can use do the Tea Bag treatment every day to once a week or whatever tickles you pink. 

The more frequently you do it, the bigger the difference you’ll see.  Also, it’s a relaxing, spa at home treatment: inexpensive and perfect for that “just for me” time that’s so needed when dealing with stress. Right? 

Let's talk fashion... 

I didn't wear anything particularly interesting today so instead I’ll tell you what I love and I’ll try to make this quick: Riding Boots.  I love them best with a heel, but flat ones are great too -- they are sleek, refined and a great finishing touch to nearly outfit!

They are also a constant reminder, for me, of Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy (as well as the costume of that period) so my heart can’t help but flutter a bit. 

That Mr. Darcy look, oh so proper, charming and handsome: A long, black coat, white button down shirt, fitted riding pants & paired with big, black, riding boots.  If a man dressed that way just happened to stroll by and ask for my hand in marriage, I'd be inclined to say yes. However confusing that may very well be...accepting the proposal of a strange man from an entirely different century...

My boots (my Darcys) are my boot-crush (another new term, I guess?) 

Walked on through great cities like Paris, Florence, Munich and...Toronto, they are no longer well, are worn to the nub, and areexposing the wood on the heel (I did so notice one day when I didn't feel quite so tall.) I’m not ashamed to say I will continue wear them, bad heel or not, but I promise to have them fixed...eventually.

My Darcys were bought 3 years ago at Sterling Shoes: were originally $199.99 and sold to me for $25.  It’s the truth. Albeit, I had to restore the zippers on each shoe, costing me an extra $80 (Oh, price karma.)  

And now my beloved Darcys need a shoe doctor again!

I wonder if I can just fix it myself – take a cork to the heel and nail it?  Maybe not?  I’ll research some DIY Cobbling and see how that goes.

It's been such a pleasure! Thanks for listening!

Hope y'all will have a safe and Happy Halloween!  

Plenty of Kisses,

Mary

PS. I’m thinking of blogging Tuesdays & Thursdays and some Sundays (which are my fav!)  

I’m sure my legions of fans from across the globe will demand more but for now this will have to do.