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copyright ©1999-2005 |
when
the
weather
outside
is frightful... by
Sumi Raghavan | 1
2 3 continued from page 1 1 Take a bath. I mean a REAL bath, bubbles and all. No, this doesn't just apply to chicks. Even you manly men deserve to lavish your rugged bodies in bubbles on occasion, and a rainy evening offers the perfect opportunity. Here's one great thing about your tiny post-college digs -- you can laze in the tub without pissing off twenty-five other kids who are late for class, and oh yeah, you don't have to fear exposure to meningitis, hair, or miscellaneous bodily secretions -- yechh. So rejoice in your relatively hygienic tub and give yourself twenty good minutes of soak time. The steam from the hot water is good for your skin and your lungs. And if you don't have any fancy spa products on hand, here's a tip: any basic liquid body wash (like Dove) will lather into a luxurious bubble bath to calm your body and soul. 2 Pamper yourself. This takes #1 another step further. If a warm bath isn't sensual enough for you, or if you only happen to have a stand-in shower, fear not! Pampering yourself at home can be easy and fun. Check out websites like Homemade Beauty Recipes or AtHome Spa for ideas on how to make masks, creams and cleansers out of household ingredients like lemon juice, cucumbers and honey. Aside from giving yourself an exfoliation sensation, you can revel in the gooey mess. What's not fun about that? 3 Cook something different. Hey, if you're stuck at home all evening, you've got to eat right? An evening to yourself is a great time to try a new dish, no matter what your level of culinary skill. After all, even Annie's Mac & Cheese can be jazzed up by frying up tomatoes and adding some Tabasco to the mix. Ramen can become fancy noodles by adding scrambled egg, onions and tomatoes, along with some soy or stir fry sauce. But as long as you've got all evening, why not try something a little more complicated? Websites such as allrecipes.com and epicurious.com (and of course, Digs!) have all kinds of tasty and easy recipes on them. Experiment with different veggies, spices and sauces and have fun with it! 4 Become a stitchin' bitch. Bitchiness not a requirement. One excellent rainy evening hobby is knitting -- it's not just for our grandmothers any more. Making your own scarves, gloves and miscellaneous accessories is not only fun and cheap, but also pretty hip. If knitting's not your thing, no big deal; bust out a simple sewing kit and work with that. I've spent more than one rainy evening on the couch, hemming pants and reattaching buttons. It's productive and enjoyable, and you can do it while you're watching TV. Haven't got anything that needs fixing? Your needle and thread can be use to funkify a plain t-shirt or tank top; just repeat a basic stitch pattern -- say, a star -- and voila! You've got a new shirt. Seriously, I've modified old tops like this and then seen similar shirts being sold at Urban Outfitters for thirty bucks. Ah, there's something so satisfying about self-sufficiency.
---------------------------> lounge . nourish . host . laze . home . |
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