We know it’s your big day, but this Wedding Wednesday we wanted to give you gentle reminder to give thanks to your bridal party. They’ll be with you on the big day, to make all the moments along the way special, to for all your breakdowns and catastrophes along the way. So why not treat them (and yourself) to some pre-nuptial pampering?  They’ll be standing in heels just as long as you are, so we say manicures and pedicures for all are in order.

Here are 6 creative  mani/pedi ideas to try for your Fall wedding (and if it falls during Spa Week you can the ones mentioned below $50.)

1. Pumpkin - Get in spirit of the season with pumpkins. May we suggest you try the Pumpkin Enzyme Manicure and Pedicure at The Salon & Spa at Saks.

2. Chocolate – Who doesn’t love chocolate? Make your toes edible with a Haute Chocolate Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment from Carol’s Daughter.

3. Green Tea - Green tea is no longer for your Starbucks order but now it’s on your salon menu. This anti-oxidant provides many benefits, including anti-aging when applied directly to the skin. Experience Spa & Salon in New Jersey has a Green Tea Spa Pedicure.

4. Sea – Escape to the ocean with sea salts, which help remove dead skin. Try a Seascapes Spa Pedicure with Aromatherapy Sea Salts.

5. Organic – Going green was one of our 10 Hottest Spa Trends for Fall. Try an Organic Manicure and Pedicure with Cranberry Pomegranate, Pear Apple or Blueberry Soy Sugar Scrub. Or even go vegan with a Go Green Vegan Spa Pedicure with Eucalyptus Aromatherapy.

6. Shellac - Quickly becoming every woman’s go-to manicure, these babies last up to 3 weeks! Nails Naturally Hand & Foot Spa has them available in Chicago.

Bikini season may be gracefully bowing out after this weekend, but you’re smart enough to know that even jackets and sweaters aren’t a ticket to give up your healthy living motives. But try this: when watching your figure, instead of thinking about what you need to remove from your diet, focus on what to ADD to it. In this week’s post by Healing Lifestyles & Spas, take a tour of 10 fantastic foods that studies have found to curb cravings, fight certain food addictions, boost metabolism and burn fat. Chew and savor these slimming sensations… when it comes to your lose-weight mission, these foods (not structured jackets!) are your greatest allies.

1. Eggs Averaging 6 grams of protein per egg and only 4-5 grams of fat and 30 calories, eggs have been superstars in many dieting studies. One study found that obese women who ate 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast accompanied by toast ate less in the next 36 hours than those who ate a bagel of the same calories. 36 hours is a LONG time to control your cravings—wouldn’t it be nice to have your food do it for you?
2. Beans Keeping food in your stomach longer is the key here. I know, that sounds like bloat waiting to happen, but actually slower-digesting foods will lead to a tighter tummy in the long run. Beans contain a digestive hormone called cholecystokinin, which is known as an appetite suppressant. One study found that men who ate beans had cholecystokinin levels twice as high as those who ate a low-fiber meal. Beans can also stabilize your blood sugar, minimizing those sneaky snack attacks
3. Salad Everyone enjoys the process of eating. Cutting up your food, creating that perfect bite and savoring the flavor is most of the fun. That could be why one study found that women who ate a large salad before a meal consumed 12% less pasta than the women who just dived into the carb-heavy plate. Just the sheer volume and effort of eating the salad made the women feel full.
4. Apples I believe the saying is “an apple a day” but change that to 3 apples a day if you’re trying to lose weight. With 3 grams of fiber per medium-sized apples, and the blood-sugar stabilizer pectin, apples can greatly curb inter-meal cravings. In one study, women who ate just 3 small pears or apples a day lost more weight than women on the same diet who did not.
5. Lean Beef Muscle loss is a big problem for dieters. Fight this unwanted side effect with 9 to 10 ounces of beef a day. The amino acid leucine—found in lean meats and fish—helps you lose more weight and fat without losing muscle.
6. Green Tea This could be why the Japanese don’t struggle with obesity nearly as much as Americans—they consume the stuff with almost every meal. The antioxidant called catechins helps speed up metabolism and burn fat.
7. Olive Oil… for Breakfast? Mixed with cereal, it sounds a little funky, I know. But one study found that women who ate muesli cereal with oil-laced skim milk benefited with a boosted metabolism. Not to worry, the stuff is just as great on salads and grilled vegetables, too.
8. Grapefruit Drop 3 pounds in 12 weeks! No, this isn’t an infomercial. This is what 91 obese people did in a study observing the benefits of eating half a grapefruit before each meal. Three glasses of the juice per day will result in the same weight loss.
9. Vinegar Not just for salad dressings, this tangy stuff contains natural acids and enzymes that act as an appetite suppressant and boost your metabolism. Research has also found a link between vinegar and insulin response, showing vinegar’s power to slow down blood sugar rise after a meal, keeping you full longer.
10. Cinnamon You may associate it with unhealthy foods like holiday cookies, but cinnamon has actually been found to help fight diabetes by increasing your body’s insulin response. One study observed the affect of two teaspoons a day of cinnamon on the blood sugar of type 2 diabetics. Participants experienced lower blood sugar and increased insulin production.

First photo courtesy of Womens Health Magazine, all others via Healing Lifestyles & Spas

Column by: Kavita Jhaveri-Patel

Did you know that you could go to Starbucks and pick up a drink that will burn fat? This drink has been around for centuries, and has proven to burn fat simply by consuming it. What is this magic potion you are asking yourself right now…?

It is the infamous green tea! If you haven’t heard already, green tea is a great drink to have that will give you a small dose of caffeine, and a whole lot of health benefits including shedding those lbs.

A long time ago, I had read about the effects of green tea on weight and my question at that time was, but how? I was definitely a skeptic. So, I went on a mission to consume as much information as I possibly could to answer this question, and I am happy to report the following:

Tea type is determined by a how heavily the tea is oxidized during processing. Darker the tea the more flavor and caffeine it will have. Hence black tea has more caffeine and bolder flavors than green tea. Green tea is completely unoxidized, this means it has less caffeine, but it retains more of its nutritional value, especially the antioxidants.

Antioxidants are awesome! They help you look and feel younger, reverse the aging process, boost energy, and help you lose weight by accident (heck ya).

Green tea contains powerful antioxidants called EGCG, along with the caffeine, the central nervous system is stimulated and causes fat to be released into the blood stream for the body to use as fuel. Hence an increase in metabolism.

So, when you are having green tea it is preferable for weight loss to have it warm, but if you must add a little ice that is totally fine.

I have to admit personally I love lose leaf green tea, but at Starbucks get the following: Green Tea Latte, China Green Tips Brewed Tea, or Iced Green Tea Latte, so you can feel better about what you are putting into your body!

If you loved this topic “like” it above and share it with your Facebook friends and family, also don’t forget to tweet it up! From the bottom of my heart thank you so much for spreading the news to your peeps, keep on keepin on!

Body confidence expert and health and lifestyle speaker Kavita Jhaveri-Patel. She has been featured in Time Out New York, Healthy Style NY, and has been mentioned on FoxLive News. Receive her free report 7 Mistakes Most Women Make When Trying to Lose Weight and How to Avoid Them by clicking here.

Life after 5 PM usually involves a handful of women circumventing a bar table cascaded with a half-dozen martinis. We would love to serve you the same intoxicating effects with a twist.  We’re taking happy hour from the bar to the spa with six different ingredients.  Here’s a dash of spa treatments to put on your calendar, inspired by the happy hour.

Champagne toast! Celebrate with bubbly, not just because it’s fancy. The fizz helps close pores, making the skin tight, firm and glowing—a natural toner. Worried about the alcohol being bad for your skin? Champagne actually contains less alcohol than most store-bought toners.

• Champagne Rose Mani-Pedi The ultimate manicure and pedicure for the privileged! Sit back and relax while you are served a flute of champagne. Your feet and legs will be treated to the healing and soothing qualities of a champagne extracts. Enjoy a warm whirlpool soak of champagne oil and grapes, followed by a grape seed masque, topped off with a soothing massage. This treatment will leave your hands and feet feeling smoother, more hydrated, and relaxed. My’ Amour Salon and Spa

Raise a glass of red or white! A calming glass of wine can be the perfect stress releasing remedy after a long day. Just imagine those effects applied to a spa treatment. Pure relaxation. The grape mixtures in vinotherapy assist in soothing the skin and helps to slow down the aging process. Plus in moderation, wine can be good for you. A glass a day has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and slow the progression of certain cancers.

• Vinoperfect Treatment The radiance and vitality-restoring facial for fatigued skin. A stimulating, sculpting massage with essential oils and alternating hot and cold basalt stones awakens the luminosity of the complexion and restores tone to facial contours. A radiance mask, and application of Caudalie’s Vinoperfect Radiance Serum and Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream SPF15, draws out the skin’s natural radiance from within and prepares it to face the world outside, better protected from the pollutants of city life. Caudalie Spa in NYC

Happy hour like The Queen – Think high tea. Green tea has been incorporated into healing remedies in Asia for centuries. It is naturally rich with antioxidants which help the body protect from free radicals, whether you’re sipping or slathering it on. Her highness would approve.

• Asian Green Tea Ritual This aromatic experience begins with a selection of green tea or mandarin water. A gentle sugar scrub exfoliates the skin in preparation for a complete mud mask to detoxify the body. In warm candlelight, ease into a green tea bath to soak away stress. Your ritual is complete with an anti-oxidant – rich massage using green tea massage oils. The Spa at the Crescent at Rosewood Crescent Hotel

• Green Tea & Ginger Wrap This sea enzyme wrap begins with a body scrub that contains a healthy dose of antioxidants and nutrients. It is followed by a body wrap with green tea to balance the yin and yang, ginger root to invigorate your mind and a seaweed algae to stimulate your body’s metabolism. Finally a tropical-scented papaya pineapple lotion containing rejuvenating protein enzymes is massaged in leaving your skin invigorated and nourished. Hammock Beach Resort

• ARIA Signature Massage with Green Tea Eye Treatment A Massage Therapist creates a custom full-body massage, focusing on particular areas to provide stress relief, ease tension, or just “get the knots out.” Soothe tired or strained eyes with green tea compresses rich in antioxidants. Includes a face massage with cool marble stones. The Spa at ARIA

• Hot Spiced Tea Scrub A sugar scrub for sensitive skin, this treatment helps exfoliate and detoxify the body as it hydrates and nourishes the skin. The Crystal Spa- Saratoga Springs

Venti Spa Latte? Why certainly, and it won’t even keep you up all night. Coffee has a variety of applications in the spa. Caffeine from coffee is a blood vessel constrictor, so it helps people with rosacea, reduces dark eye circles and puffy eyes. Coffee is also used in a lot of anti-cellulite creams because, well, have you ever had cottage cheese with your frapp?

• Green Coffee Wrap, a cutting edge, metabolism boosting anti-cellulite treatment. The Green Coffee Wrap will smooth and enhance skin texture and reduce the dimply “cottage cheese” look using a unique blend of micronized green coffee powder, chlorogenic acid and essential oils. During your wrap experience a relaxing face, neck and shoulder massage. After your wrap you are treated to a full body hydration with Pevonia’s smoothing and toning Body Svelte Cream. An ultimate luxury for the beach bound! Not recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers. My’ Amour Salon and Spa

• Espresso Body Polish, A gentle blend of crushed espresso beans, Indian sarsaparilla and black clay is lightly massaged into the skin removing dead skin cells and restoring balance to the body. An application of Creme de la Creme body moisturizer completes the experience. This treatment is ideal for sensitive skin. The Ritz-Carlton Spa in Denver

• Caffeine Manicure and Pedicure A blend of ground coffee beans and sugar to stimulate, detoxify and regenerate your tired hands and feet, followed by a cocoa clay mask and an invigorating massage with a combination of advanced moisturizers.  D. Tour Spa at the MotorCity Casino Hotel

Milk and honey baths… Cleopatra was onto something. The hydrating properties of milk really do a body good, applied on the outside too. Milk promotes moisture and prevents dryness. The Lactic acid in milk helps to cleanse the skin gently down to its deepest layers.

• Milk and Honey Body Wrap A luxurious hydrating treatment for any skin type. A lavish milk-and-honey emulsion is applied and then combined with a hydrating wrap and lotion application. The Spa at The Stoneleigh Hotel

• Milk and Honey Body Wrap A gentle brush exfoliation will prep your skin for a full body application of this hydrating body wrap that contains an exotic blend of coconut milk, raw honey, and exotic nut extracts containing a rich source of natural antioxidants and a bounty of nutrients to revitalize, moisturize and balance the skin. Finish with a nourishing body butter application for soft and replenished skin. The Catamaran Spa

Cocktail Specials. If it sounds like a girly martini, chances are it’s a spa treatment too. Who knew alcohol could be a good buzz for the skin? Alcohol acts as an antiseptic and works to exfoliate dead skin, and sugar is one of the best natural exfoliants we know.

• Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Wavelike and fluid Pineapple Passion fruit scrub. Full-body massage Hotel Valley Ho in Arizona

• 50 Min Mojito Body Exfoliation Smooth and rejuvenate the skin with organic sugar crystals and peppermint leaves to refresh and exhilarate. Close your eyes, enjoy and escape.  EnviouSkin

• Cocktail Vermouth Twist This “happy hour peel” is a potent 15% salicylic acid and 2% retinol peel that improves the appearance of all skin conditions. It helps regulate oily skin, decongests open comedones and smoothes the overall texture of the epidermis. The formulation is fortified with powerful antioxidants, including Spin Trap, Resveratrol, and Vermouth to minimize the effects of free radical damage. The Spa at BHPS

• Vodka Hydrating Face Wrap and Pedicure. Ambiance Salon and Day Spa

Images Courtesy of  University of Texas, Choice News, Gold Wing Cars, The Daily Green , Le Tourment Vert, bernardfarrell

I originally started out this blog post with: “January should be National Tea Month. I declare it!” After Googling to make sure there was no conflict, it turns out January IS National Hot Tea Month. Glad to know I’m onto something here– as the world turns over a new leaf, it turns over a new tea leaf too.

One of the teas we’re enjoying over here at SPA WEEK® is the Gentle Organic Lemon Ginger Green Tea by Villiage Tea Company. Kaitlin, Dina and I first tried the  flavor  in December (The National Month-Before National Hot Tea Month). We took turns with the muslin tea pouch, steeping personal portions in our little office microwave. It was as delightful as a frigid Tuesday morning gets. 

Tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world (to water), and the human race is healthier for it. Tea is not only served in spas, but also used in many treatments that capitalize on its greatness. We encourage you to make tea a regular part of your diet in 2010! Village Tea Co. shares all ingredients and health benefits on their website. Some are… 

Green Tea – Organic Lemon Ginger 
Ingredients: organic Chinese green tea (guo lu), organic ginger root, organic lemon grass, organic lemon myrtle
Health Benefits: antioxidant rich, heart health supportRoyal English Breakfast Tea supports heart health, Ginger Orange and Ginseng Oolong  is good for digestion,

Rooibos – Cherry Me Bloom
Ingredients: South African Rooibos, sour cherry, lemon grass, flavor, acai, sunflower petals
Health Benefits: antioxidant rich, caffeine free, weight management support , natural energy

Green – Sassy Green Tea
Ingredients: chinese green tea, ginger, flavor, orange peel, peach pieces, chilies, cloves, safflower, acai
Health Benefits: antioxidant rich, skeleton density support, heart health support, natural energy 

Oolong – Ginger Orange and Ginseng 
Ingredients: Ginseng Oolong – chinese green oolong (renshen), ginseng root (eluthero root) Ginger Orange Oolong – chinese dark oolong, ginger root, dried orange pieces, orange essence
Health Benefits: digestion support

See all their flavors and the health benefits on their website and follow them on Twitter! Follow Bryce Gruber too. It’s her tea company, besides the fact that she’s just hysterical.

Happy Hot Tea Month… stay warm and well! 

Tea provided by the folks at the Village.