The Vivacious Vagabond

Celeste Savon Bath & Beauty Products

My Celeste Savon package arrived a week ago! It was securely packed, but I was sad to open it and find some Styrofoam packing peanuts. Those things never break down, they’re like infinitesimal tumbleweeds (that would be a good band name, wouldn’t it?) The newspaper that the candle was wrapped in would be a good packing choice! If you don’t have a subscription to a newspaper, I find that old newspapers are easy to find at the end of the day in waiting rooms, recycling bins—urban hunting and gathering is fun. ;)

Enough about the packing, on to the good stuff! The products I received free for review (and my impressions of them) are:

Black Canyon bath salts--these aren't currently listed on the CS website, but in the tube they smell very nice! There's no measurements on the packaging; I estimate it to be around 1.5 ounces. It's a resiny smell, a pleasant mix between amber and musk. I poured half of the tube into a warm bath, they dissolved easily but the scent wasn't very noticeable in the bath and I didn't notice any effect on my skin.

7 oz Egyptian Amber candle--I took a sniff of the candle as soon as I unboxed it, and the Egyptian Amber is an absolutely wonderful smell. I tend to prefer woody, resinous scents overall so naturally I immediately lit the candle to see how strongly it would scent the room. Our living room is fairly large; I burned the candle for about five hours while I went outside to tend the garden. When I came back inside, I didn’t smell the candle until I stepped into the living room, and the scent was mild. I expected it to be stronger since the soy wax had a strong scent, but I think the openness of our living room probably helped to dissipate the smell. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, some people prefer a mild hint of scent in the air. I just think that when it comes to earthy resin scents such as amber, I want to perfume my surroundings with a thick, luxurious haze of it. ;) This particular candle is at this point not listed on the CS website, but there is a 26 ounce version listed here. Edit: The owner, Rachel, has advised me that the 26 ounce candle would be more likely to put a lot of scent into my large living room and that the 7 ounce candles are more effective for bathrooms and other small spaces.

Chocolate Raspberry Soap Bar--oh my goodness!! This soap is absolutely huge, and for $10! I'm not particularly a fan of food-based scents, but this soap is so pretty with its heart and glitter. :) I gave it to one of my best friends for Valentine's Day, she loves choco-raspberry scent so it worked out wonderfully!

See? Huge!!

Hazelnut Cappucino Cupcake Soap--this soap is so darling! It's not currently listed on the CS website, but I'm particuarly tantalized by the sweet pea-scented cupcake soap. The soap is the size of an actual cupcake with sprinkles, and is packaged in a plastic wrapper tied with curly ribbon. So very cute! Rachel writes on the CS page for the cupcake soaps that the top can be used as a sugar scrub, so after photographing the soap I popped the cute whipped top off of the bottom soap part (it wasn't very difficult and the sugary top didn't crack apart). The soap is a good size for a hand soap, but it didn't actually lather very well when I washed my hands with it. The sugar-top provides a nice fine-grained exfoliation, I find it easiest to hold it by the "whips" and use the flat bottom side to gently scrub my skin.

Solid Facial Lotion--The solid lotion smells very nice, it has a light rose scent. Its texture is pretty waxy, I intend on experimenting with several different ways of warming it and applying it. The first night I tried it I warmed it between my palms and then applied the lotion bar directly to my face, moving it across my cheeks, nose and forehead. It felt waxy and had a bit of drag across my skin as I applied it. It didn’t rub into my skin very well, I just let it be and it eventually melted into my skin about an hour or so later. I’m going to try some other way to apply it that might yield better results.

Organic Ylang Ylang & Tea Tree Oil Face Soap--This facial soap smells lovely and cleaned my bare skin well. I plan on testing it out again after a night out on the town to see if it removes makeup effectively. My skin felt the slightest bit dry after using the facial soap but again, I’m not sure how much that has to do with the dry, cold winter air. This soap is not currently listed on the CS website.

Frankincense & Myrrh soap--I immediately fell ass-over-ears in love with the frankincense & myrrh soap because it has a lovely gold sheen all over it! It’s some sort of fine shimmery dust (edit: it's mica!) and it just makes the soap look lovely, gilded and Biblical (get it? Gold, frankincense & myrrh. Ha!). The gold does come off on your fingers, I’m wondering if bathing with the frankincense-myrrh soap wouldn’t leave a nice gold sheen on the skin? I look forward to finding out! This soap is currently not listed on the CS website because it is seasonal to the winter holiday season. So mark your calendars and keep an eye out! ;)

Sandalwood-Honey Sugar Scrub Soap--This bar also has a hint of the golden shimmer dust on the top edge of the slice! It has a scrubby side and a smooth side, and the sandalwood scent is present but not too strong on the skin. It lathers up so richly! It left my skin feeling very clean; my skin tends toward dryness in the wintertime so I’m not sure if the slight dryness on my arms is due to the soap or to my neglecting lotion. I’ll use this soap again after the Mississippi humidity returns so I can more adequately assess how drying it is to the skin. This product is currently unavailable on the CS website.

Peppermint Lip Balm--This lip balm is wonderful! Before I even opened the package, I was pleased that the Celeste Savon lip balm contains no petroleum products. The texture is very creamy and luxurious and lasts on the lips! The peppermint essential oil makes the lip balm smell nice and feel even nice with a slight minty tingle on the lips. If there’s one product I would recommend straight out of the gate, it’s this one! Note, it doesn’t have any flavoring in it. Edit: OHMYGOD THERE'S A PINK VERSION I WANT IT I NEED IT. Colored by beet root powder! Quite naturale, I absolutely cannot wait to order it and review it in another post. :)

Sugar Cookie & Pumpkin wax melts--these wax melts smell very nice in the package, but once I popped one square of the pumpkin wax into the warmer, I didn't smell it as strongly. I haven't had a chance to test the Sugar Cookie scent yet, but the sugar cookie smelled stronger in the package so it might be able to put out more scent once it melts.

That's all I have for now, thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Yuletime Wish: Doula Training

I know I haven't posted here in a long-ish time, but I mostly rage-tweet/Facebook my feelings.

This super-duper blog post will contain my only wish for Yule: for my friends to contribute, in whatever amounts big or small, to my community doula training.

Here in Tupelo, the North Mississippi Birthing Project is doing wonderful things for mothers & mothers-to-be in the community! Pregnancy/childbirth classes, breastfeeding classes, a baby supply closet stocked with diapers, clothes, toys; time & money management classes--it is an excellent non-religious resource for mothers who can't find the help and support they need. You can read about our local chapter of the Birthing Project here on Wordpress: Northeast MS Birthing Project or, for the social media inclined, on Facebook: NEMSBP on Facebook.

In addition to the care, education, and support that the Birthing Project provides to mamas, the local coordinator Toni Hill is now offering training as a doula to interested applicants (of which I am one).

What the fresh hell is a doula, exactly? A doula, as opposed to a midwife, acts as a non-medical support system for expecting mothers, fathers, siblings & family. Doulas provide physical assistance, information about alternative methods of birthing, and emotional support to women who might not have family to confide in, or who might feel uncomfortable speaking openly with their family.

Those who know me well can imagine that my background in massage therapy, energywork, and my empathy would be well-suited to the position of a doula for women in my own community. I care enough about women & babies that I believe every possible option should be made available to them to choose from.

I believe that women who do write birth plans must have those plans honored unless a critical medical necessity arises--for example, an obstetrician's vacation cruise to the Bahamas is not a medical necessity for early induction. Just an example.

With this passion in my heart & humility in my spirit, I ask that my friends help me raise the $400 asked of me to fund my training that I can give of myself into my community. I would very much like to be the change that I wish to see in the world.

If you're not sure of what to gift me with for Yule/Christmas, a contribution to this ChipIn would make me happy as could be!

Rocked Like A Motherfucker

Rocked Like A Motherfucker: A Tale Four Years & Counting

The last night I saw him was a bad one, and it was partly my fault. 50% my fault, to be exact. This is the story of a teenager who thought she was grown and a grown man who thought he was a teenager.

It was a dark and stormy night warm and pleasant evening in the summer of sixty-nine (damn you, Bryan Adams) 2007, and I was out on a joyride with my friend Sandy. She's friends with the guys that make up the local band Betrayal, and she suggests we go to "the studio" to hang out with them. As we're driving through a residential neighborhood in west Tupelo I ask, "Exactly were is this studio?" It's in this guy's split-level house, in the basement-garage.

Sounded like a party to me (wherever Sandy and I were was a party), so whenever we pulled up to the house, I jumped out and greeted everyone like old friends (a beer had somehow made its way to my hand at this point, I don't remember how and I wasn't 21 but I gave nary a fuck). The Betrayal guys were throwing a squeaky pufferfish dog toy at one another in the yard (I didn't ask. The sight of four long-haired rocker guys playing with a pufferfish speaks for itself), and reclined against the wooden gate was the king of the proverbial castle, John. Sandy introduced me to him, and I noted a few things about him: his face was very striking, reminiscent of southeastern Native Americans. His nose was Romanesque, and across his face were deep lines where you could read his emotions easily. His face was framed by long salt & pepper hair, and from his tanned face his ice-blue eyes shone like oh-my-fucking-god-is-this-real.

He was very warm and open as I met him, and he gave me a five-cent tour of their studio before showing me upstairs, where there was beer aplenty and his then-wife Sherry was talking with John's son, Joshua, and Sandy. John and I sat down at the kitchen table with them and hobnobbed, drinking and smoking. Sherry was polite towards me, but as we sat and talked I got the feeling that she was evaluating me out of the corner of her eye.

Eat (but mostly drink) At John's.

Eventually a few more people trickled into the kitchen as the light faded completely, and it wasn't long before we all made our thoroughly-buzzed ways down to the studio for a jam session. Now I've seen a lot of rock bands play--a lot of guitarists strutting around like cocky roosters, imagining themselves as the greatest sex gods to ever hit this mortal pantheon. But I tell you this with utter sincerity: the way John played his guitar was a beautiful thing. It was an Argentine tango of musician and instrument. It wasn't even the notes he played that were so sensual, but the way he played them and approached his guitar that drove me mad. He made love to his instrument, truly, and I envied the guitar as John played with the rest of his band. I wanted him to touch me that way. He rocked like a motherfucker.

Eventually John and Joshua (his son & drummer) took a break (it was hot as hell in The Studio), and the Betrayal boys got up to jam. By this point Sherry and Sandy had gone back upstairs to talk without guitars blaring, and it was just John and I watching Betrayal have fun. It wasn't long before John went outside to smoke, and I followed him. The combination of beer and whiskey had made both of us bolder, and soon our mutual flirtations were expressed. We smoked, laughed, talked and exchanged brief kisses in the yard, all the while my heart racing like mad. John was the second man I'd ever had the nerve to approach sexually, and the fact that he lusted after me as well only made me giddier in a newfound-sex sort of way.

At the end of the night, Sandy and I left to go back to her house and sleep off our good time. The rest of the summer, if I wasn't home I could be found at The Studio, smoking cigarettes I'd bought and booze that I only paid for. In August I returned to Starkville for college to resume, but John and I maintained our fling whenever I visited home. Sometimes Sandy would be there, unknowingly providing a distraction to Sherry while John and I fucked in the basement shower, sometimes I would come by alone in the morning after Sherry had gone to work.

I'm not proud I was part of an affair, but that's just how it happened. Lust and alcohol blinded both of us, and I was doubly-blinded by the excitement of sneaking around and being lusted for. We were careful, so surely no one would be the wiser, right? It was just a bit of fun; fresh lust for the both of us.

The last time I saw John, it was a night much like the one when I met him. The guys from Betrayal were drinking, rocking and goofing off in turns. Sandy was cycling between upstairs with Sherry and the basement, joking with Betrayal. The booze was flowing as usual, and everyone was enjoying themselves, especially John and myself. Sherry retired from the hootnanny early since she had work the next morning, so John and I settled on the couch to peruse each other. Everyone miraculously stayed downstairs the majority of the night, and after "putting me to bed" on the couch John went downstairs to continue drinking with Betrayal.

My phone rings, waking me out of a dead sleep. I reach a claw-like hand out from underneath my comforter, feeling blindly around on my nightstand as I mutter curses into my pillow. "Mmlo" I grumble into the wrong end of the phone.
"What happened last night?" Sandy asks. "Sherry came storming down the stairs looking for you. Are you fucking John?"

I woke up on John's couch to the sound of a rubber Pilates ball bouncing angrily back and forth between the kitchen floor and ceiling. I peeked over the arm of the couch as Sherry kicked the Pilates ball, sending it careening off the wall above the couch at my head. I would have laughed, had I not been abruptly awakened from a nice post-orgasm sleep by a woman on a rampage. She somehow (despite the almost-very-well-placed kick) did not see me on the couch in the living room, and stormed angrily down the staircase to the basement where the party still raged with god-knows-who around. In the moment, getting up and hiding in a closet seemed like a good idea, so I did just that before John came in the front door of the house, opposite Sherry's exit. In retrospect, I think it was something straight out of a Stooges movie.
"Zola!"
I poked my head out of the hall closet near Joshua's room.
"You need to go; Sherry's downstairs looking for you. I'll handle it, but you need to go."

So I went, hastily. Slipped out to my car, drove home and snuck through my window into my bed, safe from projectiles at obscene hours of the morning.

"I'll tell you about it later, in person." Hang up the phone; seek solace in my bed again.

How It Went Down

Perhaps, dear reader, you remember the days of a website called MySpace. Once I returned to my apartment at college, I logged on to check my Myspace and found two messages in my inbox: one from Sherry, the other from John. Sherry's message was lacking in caps-locked rage, but full of wiley: she went on and on about how John told her what we'd done, and how I might as well just tell her. I clicked to the next message from John; Sherry had told him that I had told her everything, and he was upset that I had "told her" what we'd done. In the same digital breath, without waiting for a reply to that message, he told me to not come back to his house again.

I was stunned--what the hell was going on? Did Sherry really just dupe John that easily? Should I reply, pleading my case? I remember finishing off the bedraggled bottle of Jim Beam that Sunday evening, too distracted to give two fucks about whatever assignments I had due the following Monday (these were the days of my pre-veterinary studies; evaluating the bodyfat percentage of dairy cattle is really not as thrilling as it sounds). In the end, I decided to send nothing back, to just stay out of their life for good. Somehow things had gotten fucked up; the person who wasn't supposed to know did know, and I felt utterly wretched because John was a dear friend of mine. Amidst the few spans of deceitful lust I've described at length, there were more moments of meaningful conversation: I distinctly recall a discussion on the philosophy of The Beatles, on polyamory and the vastness of love in general, on marijuana legalization.

I did my best to put John out of my mind for good; it was clear at that time that I'd ruined a friendship, and it hurt terribly to think about. Eventually I succeeded in suppressing those memories, and writing them down now has proven difficult--even moreso without the aid of old blog entries and such.

Now four years later, John has requested me as a friend on Facebook. I was completely stunned whenever I saw the notification, and immediately thought it was one of three possibilities: Sherry had logged onto his account and was trying to harass me further, John was adding me just to Facebook stalk me (fine by me, I've nothing to hide), or John was adding me to honestly reconnect. I took a chance and confirmed the friendship, and immediately wrote John this message:

"Hey John, it's good to hear from you. I hope you're doing well; I want to let you know that even after all this time has passed, I still feel terrible about how my last night at your house went down.
I don't know if it was my fault or not; it probably was because I was young and stupid, hahaha. I'm not sure if you're adding me as a friend to hear this sort of thing from me or just to "facebook-stalk" and see where I am now, but whenever I saw your name I felt like I needed to tell you this, even if you have no real interest in hearing it: I'm sorry--really, truly sorry for the effect my actions had on you & Josh. I hope you've forgiven me.
Love, Zola"

As it turns out, Sherry was more than her fair share of crazy and hateful, and John divorced her. He hasn't had anything to do with her since November 2010, and he told me that he was sorry for his part in the whole mess. With her hateful attitude out of his life, John's looking to bring around again the friends that she drove away from him.

I'm glad he called me a friend, and I'll be glad to see him on Friday for the first time in four years.

Birth of a Sideshow

I really feel like putting a post here, just to let this bit of the blogiverse know that I'm still alive, mufuckas <3

So, what have I got on my plate? It's only been...almost 2 years since my last post, god damn. Well, I am:
--learning to contact juggle (boyfriend's a contact juggler, I'm employing him and a bag of oranges to assist me)
--learning to hula-hoop
--honing and perfecting my fire-breathing & fire-flow (love practicing with my firestaff <3)
--slowing down on my bellydancing and b-dance choreography...it makes me a little sad to say it, but lesson around here are expensive, and it seems like to join any troupe they want you to take a couple of classes first. Boo. I'mma do it on my own, bitches.
--Transitioning out of food service into my profession of choice: massage therapy! Yes, in the 2 years I've been absent I've gone to school, graduated, and earned a state license in clinical massage therapy. I believe that it's my calling (aside from performing just for fun), and I'm excited to finally feel as though I'm doing something of consequence with my life.

Whilst discussing contact-juggling, hooping, and fire-breathing with the boyfriend, I talk about how I'm a one-woman sideshow. How I need to put up a tent with sign that says "Mississippi Sideshow, 5 ¢", and then get myself a pair of shoes: a bass drum kick on one and a high-hat cymbal on the other. I said to him, "Boom chick boom chick boom chick boom chick will be my cry as I meander the city streets!" And spent the next 5 minutes laughing at my dumbass self.

It's ok, I'm dumb sometimes and I embrace that--but at least I crack myself up. Never depend on outside sources for true entertainment ;)

Well, I think that's all I have to say for now. Here's looking up to the next two years--I may even blog a little bit in that duration.

"Hey Tokyo Rose, How Does Your Garden Grow?"

Evidently, according to my pets, it's Lick Your Crotch Day. Why didn't anyone invite me? Why wasn't I invited? Bullshit I say. ;)

Here are the pictures from Wicked I said I would post and never did (my bad, I put them on Facebook and consider it done. Mea culpa ;)

Pre-show:

Post-show, curtain call:

Amazing. Straight up. Still get chills when I think about it.

In other news, the Coolest Apartment Ever is officially disbanded. We've all gone our separate ways, and our lease is now broken. The Big O is no longer being passed between our numerous and varied circle of cool friends. A moment of silence, Vox!

I now live in a 2BR/1.5B townhouse with an acquaintance of mine whom I've never lived with, and it may either be really cool or I may just be sad and depressed that I no longer live with my BFF. I haven't spent enough time in the apartment yet really to determine it--I just took several weekends from July to drive down and move stuff out of the old apartment into the new. My room is smaller and lacks a ceiling fan, so I've got to get something for air circulation lest I lose my mind. Or just spend all my time downstairs, which is also a possibility.

I'm just sort of worried--new roommate is working on her doctorate and anticipates graduation in December, I don't even want to think about trying to find a roommate for the spring semester. Maybe it won't be so bad--surely SOMETHING will open up. Gotta keep my chin up, there are bigger things to worry about. Like my GPA.

Going to be doing a bit of traveling in September and December--September has Southern Decadence in New Orleans plus a possible beach trip to the Carolinas or Florida with Alli, Tyler, & Sarah. In December, Alli and I are going to be taking a train trip out west to Seattle, down through California, and back across to Nashville. It should prove to be amazing.

That's the state of my life at the moment--'dyall miss me? ;)

Tell Them How I'm Defying Gravity!!

I saw Wicked today at the Orpheum in Memphis with my mother. It was momentous for two reasons:
1) Wicked is a visual and auditory orgasm for anyone living ever, and
2) my mother and I got along THE ENTIRE TIME.

I'll post pictures later, I'm too tired to upload/edit/post pics right now.

I just...there are no words. Ugh, it was beautiful. We had astoundingly good seats--close enough to see details and be blown away by the singing and the orchestra, but not right down front where you can't take in the entire stage in one glance.

I dunno about anyone else in that theatre, but we had great seats. I mean, I thought we were gonna be back under the mezzanine, but NO NO NO. I came hard when I realized where we were sitting.

I thought that, y'know, having owned and loved the soundtrack for several years now would prepare me for what I was about to experience, but no. I teared up when the lights went down, and the first chord of the overture made me cry.

The playbill mentioned there were ten local Memphis musicians in the orchestra, playing all the performances in Memphis--I have to wonder if one of them was on the lead/rhythm guitar, cuz man that shit was FUNKY IN THE BEST WAY. On the soundtrack, I didn't particularly notice any funk guitar in the "One Short Day In The Emerald City" track--but live, it was ROCKIN!! Goin' wild and OUT!!

The choreography was especially pleasing. There was a mix consisting of: a little bit of interpretive flailing, a good bit of somewhat swing-style dancing, and a dash of courtly-style dance...hard to describe, really, but it pleased me. Also, wheel-chair dancing. What.

¯\(°_o)/¯

I flat-out sobbed during "Defying Gravity". Ugh, favorite song ever. The staging, lighting, everything was amazing. Getting chills just thinking about it.

I see lots of Elphaba in myself. I think this is why it was such an emotionally big deal for me. I couldn't stop thanking my mother, but I'm pretty sure she already knew.

Ugh, wonderful. I was also ESPECIALLY pleased by Dr. Dillamond--not sure why. I think it was the masterful makeup--as a theatrical makeup hack, I approve of Dillamond's billy-goat face.

Zola Sings (It's True!)

Zola Kathryn - Those Memories

"Those Memories" -Dolly Parton

A Graphic Summary of Work Today:

Bayeux excrement

God, I love the Bayeux Tapestry (be warned, Encyclopedia Dramatica is a foul product of the very butt of the internet and is not to be taken seriously, ever. It will, in some circumstances [such as the Bayeux Tapestry] bring about lulz).

Today was not a good day. I took a cleansing bath (salt, sugar, and cinnamon in the water, also doused my scalp with Sea Breeze [a camphorated astringent, I like it for cleansing both skin and spirit]), and feel marginally better. Sleep will help with this feeling better process. Food also, possibly.

The Story So Far

Work, home, internet, sleep, lather rinse repeat.

Tea helps keep me sane, at least. I've found a new fondness for teas that have qualities other than "sweet" and "iced" (I am a Southern belle, you know). As of now I'm sipping on some vanilla chai, with milk and a tablespoon of sugar. Lipton's "Red Tea" is also delicious, as is Twinings' Irish Breakfast Tea (although it's pretty terrible when drunk cold). When brewing tea for myself at work I've found that it's almost a necessity for it to be just as good cold as it is hot--because undoubtedly it's tepid by the time I'm able to drink it.

Anyway, just having a bad day and wanted to come let my 'hood know the business.

NASHVILLE PROTESTS IRANIAN ELECTION

Information and attendance confirmation on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/nashvilleprotestsiranelection

Information on Livejournal: http://community.livejournal.com/nashvillians/1184448.html

SPREAD THE WORD, EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN NASHVILLE OR KNOW ANYONE WHO DOES! ASK YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO SPREAD THE WORD!