Hotel Soap Project No. 7: Aveda Edition

Manufacturer: Aveda

Product Name: Blue Malva Shampoo & Rosemary Mint Conditioner

Source: Unknown (Blue Malva Shampoo); International House, New Orleans, LA (Rosemary Mint Conditioner)

Comments: Blue Malva Shampoo appears to be one of Aveda's "specialty" shampoos. It is designed to "add...silvery brightness to gray hair, and neutralize...brassiness in chemically-treated hair and all shades." Since my hair is neither chemically-treated nor gray (at least most of it anyway), I'm not sure what good it's doing me. Even so, I still like it, if only for the color (purple, or "amethyst" if you're fancy) and the scent (like opening a bottle of almond extract).
Malva, by the way, is a genus of the family Malvaceae. Cotton, okra, hibiscus and marshmallow are also of the family Malvaceae.
As for the Rosemary Mint Conditioner, it's the Honda Accord of the conditioner world. It's relatively cheap, reliable and it makes you feel like you're saving the planet a tiny bit every time you use it.

Wedding: Sandy Spring, MD

I spent the weekend in D.C. to attend the wedding of my friends Jill and Greg. Nothing makes me happier than to see these two wonderful people wed.

As I expected, the service was so brief it barely happened. If you had sneezed at the wrong time you would have missed it. But that, I'm sure, was the point. The point was not to listen to some interminable recitation of vows but to sit under the shade of the largest Norway Spruce in Montgomery County, MD, drink mimosas and play cutthroat games of ghetto croquet with old friends.



Then all too soon it was off to Dulles for a night flight to New Orleans and some of the most repulsive (yet tasty!) red beans and rice I've ever eaten.

Construction Sites San Francisco Style

If this had been in the Castro, those shoes would have vanished in a heartbeat.

Red Beans & Rice New Orleans Style

Once I got over the fact that it looked like a butt nugget floating in the bowl too long, it actually tasted pretty good.