Tea or coffee?

Tea or coffee?...Well, if it's been a long week, for me coffee or a diet coke sounds really good! I admit it, I love to indulge in a latte at the Daily Grind on my way to work -- the caffeine helps me wake up and the hot drink just gives me comfort especially on a Monday morning when I'm wishing the weekend wasn't over! And then there's Diet Coke -- in the afternoon, when I could use a little pick me up and the cold, crisp carbonation is delicious!...But...I know that long term, these drinks are not ideal for my health, energy or even my skin. So I do try to drink tea -- especially green tea and when I drink tea instead of coffee or diet coke, I feel better; it's that simple. I recently found a tea product -- Pure Inventions Tea, that makes it easy to "make the switch" from coffee to tea because it's so yummy. I just added it to my "Gotta Have it" list -- check it out! My fave is the raspberry green tea! Has anyone else tried it?

Santa Barbara.com

I'm so excited about the partnership Spa Defined formed with www.santabarbara.com. In 2005 I provided spa info for www.santabarbara.com; recently the information has been updated and Spa Defined info has been added. This is a great news for both websites! Santabarbara.com is a wonderful resource on hotels, restaurants and other Santa Barbara information for tourists and locals. John Dickson -- the founder of santabarbara.com, loves to check out new restaurants and give reviews on all of the great places to eat in Santa Barbara. I love doing the same for spas and since Santa Barbara is a spa mecca...well spa defined and santabarbara.com is a good match! Check out the spa information on www.santabarbara.com, click spas.

Peaches Skin Care

On my way to work every morning, I walk by Peaches Skin Care on Mission Street. I can see that they are doing rennovations and the new owners seem to be busy! I can't wait to see the new Peaches and get a facial! Has anyone else received a facial at the new Peaches? Would anyone like to wish Grace a farewell -- she will be missed!

Oregon Spa

This past week I went to Portland with a friend/co-worker. We were there on business for Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine, recruiting students at college fairs. We were so busy going to this fair and that fair...but we squeezed in time to visit one of Portland's best spas -- Aequis Spa (www.aequisspa.com). It is such a beautiful ayurvedic spa and the treatments were so incredible. We were glad that we arrived early; we relaxed in the waiting room in comfy robes, sipping tea and getting foot soaks. Thank you to the wonderful staff and therapists -- we can't wait to visit again!

Dr. Murad

I visited the Murad facilities yesterday with my esthetician classmates. Murad is in the Santa Monica area so I enjoyed a great drive on Hwy 1! The Murad facilities are awesome and the educators there are always so informative and friendly. We got to meet Dr. Murad and I had a ton of questions for him! We found out that Murad is working on adding an all-inclusive wellness center (acupuncture treatments!) in 2007. A tour of the spa left me wishing I had time for a facial! I did leave with an autographed book (The Wrinkle Cure) and some great products. I got home just in time for class, but took a five minute break and stopped in Carpinteria to get a hot dog from the Surf Dog guy -- Thanks Bill for the yummy hot dog and lemonade!

Thanks for the feedback

It's encouraging to receive positive feedback and enthusiasm on the website -- thank you for the emails! I really want to thank ChadRick Photography for the beautiful images of the spas and thanks to Ricky Mia for designing and creating Spa Defined!

6000 Hits and Counting!

Since the launch of Spa Defined in February, there have been over 6,000 hits to the website! The visitors are from all over the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. Internationally, I have seen hits from: Ireland, India, and Spain. It's exciting to me to know there are people all over the world that have been referred to Spa Defined. Thank you for visiting!