Is time accelerating or am I just getting older and it all seems to be so precious? This photo is from our 10th annual holiday preview with some great clients and friends... l-r alayne, linda, val, elaine and gina (the famous pedicure goddess)I can't believe that it has been 10 years since we opened the first alayne white spa in Bristol. We have been blessed with a growing business, great clients and the most divine team of women I am fortunate to have in my company, literally and figuratively.

I have noticed lots of things in this wacky economy over the last few years, but most has been positive so these are the things I wish to share with you as we leap into 2012 for more adventures, more hopes, and a sense of newness that the blessings of a new year always brings. Read on for my thoughts on aging, life, spa, women and the joys of growth when we are conscious, truthful and coming from a place of clear intention.

I am a beach lover, this year i spent a lot of time in the sun as many of you probably noticed in my blogs from my travels. i make no excuses for my behavior, i love the sun, was raised on it in Jamestown and Newport and it births a creative juice for me that nothing else does. As I approach 47 however, I am beginning to notice the results of my yearly jaunts in the sun. The skin tags, the pigmentation, the lines, blah blah blah. Yes I notice, but I don't freak out. I just slather on more moisturizer, mask more, oil up more, smile more and do more good breathing with some kind words.I have noticed that when I do this, I feel better. I thought I would share my routine with you so you can see what I do during my week to keep myself happy, creative and feeling love. so here you have it....

I talk to my aunt kiley almost everyday in the morning around 6. We talk about nothing and everything. It is my morning meditation. Here is a photo of her with my son at his Bar Mitzvah.

We talk recipes, life, breathing, relationships, family, travel, you name it. I love her so much. We have a special bond and I am most grateful for her in my life. I try to tell her as I try to tell most of the people in my world I love that I love them. I always try to end conversations with I love you, especially my dear girlfriends. This always makes me feel calm. I am liking feeling calm, it is a new feeling for me. My friend, Melissa, just gave me a great thing to say. STAY FLAT, meaning to stay calm that the a sound in those 2 words actually help to calm me. Anytime I am feeling activated, I try to say these 2 words. STAY FLAT. It has been so helpful.  We have been friends since 6th grade, that is over 35 years! Here is a photo of us.

She is one of the most amazing women I share my world with. All the music we play at the spas is from her mom's store in Provincetown, Mass called Muir Music. Friends, I cherish them. Family, too. I try to focus in the things I love about them and not the things I don't. I have definitely spent the last few years ridding myself of toxic relationships. I like realizing that when relationships no longer serve other than to bother, it is time to let them go. As difficult as that may seem, it is most liberating.
Onto other things... routines, eating well, cooking well, having great clean food in my fridge that serves my soul. Massaging Kale with olive oil and some sea salt makes it this yummy salad that for some reason has worked as an incredible cleanser for my insides. Trying new recipes, spending the afternoon cooking on a Sunday to have food for the week that is healthy and nourishing, I do this a lot now and am so happy midweek when I don't always have time or feel like going to the grocery store to have this food in my space.
Rediscovering Pilates, one of those perfect exercises, I have been using Aull Pilates in Middletown, RI lately, there is one in Bristol too, but I like the excuse to take a drive to a new space and meet new people. Walking, running, pilates, yoga, a great mix for me and keeping my insides fit which makes me feel like my outsides look a little stronger. I like that feeling.
Products and services. I am telling you that I have some super faves that I can't live without. For services, it is leg waxing, underarm waxing and the hotcat bikini wax, I do this year round as I also do pedicures and lately manicures year round. I know you are probably saying of course I do these, I own the spa, I could do anything I want. Yes true, but there are some things as a woman I have been doing for years even before I owned my own and they are the ones I just mentioned. I love a great facial and a great massage too, but I do those about 4 times a year.
Here are my absolute favorite products I use and can't live without. Wonder Cream by Earth Essence, Rose Toner by the same company. Essential Cleansing Solution by Dermalogica, Treatment Foundation by Dermalogica as well as Conditioning Body Wash and Exfoliating Body Scrub also by derm. Moroccan shampoo and hair mask and hair oil and curl creme, cannot live without those essential hair products now. I love The Balm eys shadows, the blushes and the lipsticks. I love Revitalash mascara. I can not live without Hobacare organic baby oil, I put this on my entire body everytime I get out of the shower without fail. My skin is never dry now because of it and I will tell you that as you get older, there is nothing more annoying then dry flaky skin, Try it, if you use it, you will love it.
I love our alayne white spa t shirts we sell now, great form fitting shirts that have cool quotes on them. As a matter of fact if you take a photo of yourself in one in your travels we will put it on the website and or hang it around the spa. We also sell Aquidneck Island Honey, which is so good for you and the sweetness factor we have become addicted to over the years. This product is the real deal, local honey is some great medicine. I read somewhere that if you eat a teaspoon of local honey, it will help your allergies. Not sure if this is true, but doesn't it make sense? We are also selling this Greek Organic Olive Oil that I have been using for over 20 years imported by an old friend and former boss of mine in my old Aveda days. If you are using commerical olive oil, come try this product, it will be hard for you to cook and eat with anything else.
My world as I get older and my son is now 14 is getting easier. I choose calmness and peace in my interactions and guess what? I usually get this in return. For this I am humbled by my relationships, my friends and family and of course our clients and my extraordinary staff of spa goddesses who serve alayne white spa clients and my business every day. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by all of this beauty and I never take it for granted.
Peace and Light in this upcoming 2012. May your adventures be bold and bright.
Alayne

First of all since Beauty is my business, I'll start here. What is beauty anyway?

Is it more makeup, more expensive creams, more thoughts of plastic surgery or invasive pharmaceuticals to plump, hide and firm? Is Beauty how we look or how we feel? Of course they go hand in hand in my eyes, I have met thousands of beautiful women in my years as a skin care expert ( and self proclaimed spa goddess) I have met 80 year old women who have more wrinkles than you can imagine, but smiled in away that you didn't even notice, who travelled to exotic places at 85 alone on a tour, and I have met women in their 30's who have bought into life's television show and Pottery Barn catalogue on how life is supposed to look from the outside and yet their insides don't match. Beauty to me is living our Truth. Beauty is using the fricking "good china" every day because you love it, because your grandmother gave it to you and it makes you feel good. Beauty is taking care of your body with something that makes you feel strong and lovely, maybe it is running, maybe it is yoga,but if it makes you feel strong and peaceful then it is good for you.

Beauty is taking some time in the morning when you are in the shower to scrub your skin and slather some great oil or cream on when you get out. It amazes me how those 2 extra steps can not only make your skin feel, but how those 2 steps can make your insides feel. I have been doing this ever since I moved this year and I feel so girly and pretty when I get out of the shower now and it only takes an extra 2 minutes. Life is short on this planet and the time it takes to make and excuse is the time it takes to do this simple morning ritual.

Beauty is learning something new and taking on something you have been avoiding. For me it has been more cardio working out. I simply have been avoiding super cardio, so this past month I started running, well actually jogging. All the years I have absolutely thought I detested runnning based on nothing other than my own perceived ability to be able to actually do it, here I am jogging. When I am finished I can' t believe how great I feel. I am up to a mile without stopping and I am trying to get to 3 miles.

Beauty is seizing the day. I set my alarm now for 5:30 am and now wake up and read or write for at least 30 minutes. I am up before the sun, but from 5:30-7:30 am i get so much done. This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. What I am suggesting is seizing some time any time that is just for you to do something you enjoy, even it is only 15minutes. What can we do to bring more joy in our world?
I buy myself fresh flowers, usually roses every 10 daysor so and put them in my kitchen, I take 1 and put it by my kitchen sink, where I seem to live at times washing dishes, and I put one in the bathroom. Fresh flowers give me a moment every time i see them. I am more calm when I look at them. To me Beauty is about loving yourself and not waiting for someone else to do it for you.

Beauty for me this year is telling people you love them when you hang up the phone, when you hug them goodbye, family, friends, kids, spouses. What is it about this 3 words we sometimes shy away from. They feel great to say them and they sure feel great to hear them, why do we keep them locked up? On that note Beauty is being able to tell a stranger that they look great, or that you love their dress or lipstick color or their smile. Beauty is also being able to tell tis to your friends even when you a not feeling beauty inside.

(To throw one spec of spa in to this blog, Beauty is using your gift cards that you have lying around for that special day. Every day we wake up and have our health should be cherished and embraced. Today is special, use those gift cards.)
I have a gigantic whiteboard in my hall way that I have to look at when I leave and when I come into my house everyday.
Here is what I wrote on it and maybe some of it will resonate. I change it every once in awhile, but this will probably stay up for the next few months or so.

Enjoy the rest of your month and have a splendid New Year.
Alayne's Whiteboard
I love and accept myself as I am.
I am worthy of love.
I am calm and approach life circumstance and people calmly, peacefully and with empathy and compassion.
I am good enough.
Conflict, disagreement does not equal withdrawal of love.
I trust love.
I am always divinely cared for.
I have light and share it freely with others.
I allow myself permission to feel a feeling without judgement and criticism.
Enough is Enough.
I speak my truth.
I am willing to release old toxic patterns, I let them go, they have served their purpose.
I have a voice.
May you Find your voice this year and learn to enjoy the moments in time that pass unnoticed.

Here I sit at 5:20 am wide awake. November 2011 is almost over and I can't help but think that time is accelerating in my soon to be 47th year.
My reflections are based on my year, this year and the upcoming 2012. I have previously mentioned that 2011 has been quite a year of change for me personally and professionally. No need to bore you with the details, I have spoken about this in previous blogs, but some may think the year has been chaotic. I would agree, but in my world thrive on chaos.I used to thrive on dysfunctional and crazy chaos almost creating it unintentionally when life seemed to calm, but I have learned to lasso it and calmly approach it in a way I had never imagined myself capable. I think this comes with age and paying attention.
I hired Lisa Griffith who is the goddess of organizing. She has a company called The Organized Way. Now i am a pretty organized person, but she came over and tweaked my kitchen cabinets and drawers and my utility room. Let me just say that her expertise changed the way I cook, the way I put my groceries away, the way I drink tea and the way I store my shit. She is a consummate professional and is also reasonably priced. Thorough, funny, self deprecating at times which made me feel like she is one of us too and Beautiful in her smile, personality and light. If you have something to organize do not hesitate to call her. lisa@theorganizedway.com www.organizedway.com
She hosts workshops as well. A great gift for yourself.
Some additions in my world this year have grown me and taken me to places in my psyche that I embrace and I wanted to share some of them, perhaps one or two may strike a chord for this upcoming new year or give you a chance to reflect on this past year. As I often say, take what feels great and leave the rest for some other time when it may speak to you.
First of all since Beauty is my business, I'll start here. What is beauty anyway? Is it more makeup, more expensive creams, more thoughts of plastic surgery or invasive pharmaceuticals to plump, hide and firm? Is Beauty how we look or how we feel? Of course they go hand in hand in my eyes, I have met thousands of beautiful women in my years as a skin care expert ( and self proclaimed spa goddess) I have met 80 year old women who have more wrinkles than you can imagine, but smiled in away that you didn't even notice, who travelled to exotic places at 85 alone on a tour, and I have met women in their 30's who have bought into life's television show and Pottery Barn catalogue on how life is supposed to look from the outside and yet their insides don't match. Beauty to me is living our Truth. Beauty is using the fricking "good china" every day because you love it, because your grandmother gave it to you and it makes you feel good. Beauty is taking care of your body with something that makes you feel strong and lovely, maybe it is running, maybe it is yoga,but if it makes you feel strong and peaceful then it is good for you.
Beauty is taking some time in the morning when you are in the shower to scrub your skin and slather some great oil or cream on when you get out. It amazes me how those 2 extra steps can not only make your skin feel, but how those 2 steps can make your insides feel. I have been doing this ever since I moved this year and I feel so girly and pretty when I get out of the shower now and it only takes an extra 2 minutes. Life is short on this planet and the time it takes to make and excuse is the time it takes to do this simple morning ritual.
Beauty is learning something new and taking on something you have been avoiding. For me it has been more cardio working out. I simply have been avoiding super cardio, so this past month I started running, well actually jogging. All the years I have absolutely thought I detested runnning based on nothing other than my own perceived ability to be able to actually do it, here I am jogging. When I am finished I can' t believe how great I feel. I am up to a mile without stopping and I am trying to get to 3 miles.
Beauty is seizing the day. I set my alarm now for 5:30 am and now wake up and read or write for at least 30 minutes. I am up before the sun, but from 5:30-7:30 am i get so much done. This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. What I am suggesting is seizing some time any time that is just for you to do something you enjoy, even it is only 15minutes. What can we do to bring more joy in our world?
I buy myself fresh flowers, usually roses every 10 daysor so and put them in my kitchen, I take 1 and put it by my kitchen sink, where I seem to live at times washing dishes, and I put one in the bathroom. Fresh flowers give me a moment every time i see them. I am more calm when I look at them. To me Beauty is about loving yourself and not waiting for someone else to do it for you.
Beauty for me this year is telling people you love them when you hang up the
phone, when you hug them goodbye, family, friends, kids, spouses. What is it about this 3 words we sometimes shy away from. They feel great to say them and they sure feel great to hear them, why do we keep them locked up? On that note Beauty is being able to tell a stranger that they look great, or that you love their dress or lipstick color or their smile. Beauty is also being able to tell tis to your friends even when you a not feeling beauty inside.
(To throw one spec of spa in to this blog, Beauty is using your gift cards that you have lying around for that special day. Every day we wake up and have our health should be cherished and embraced. Today is special, use those gift cards.)
I have a gigantic whiteboard in my hall way that I have to look at when I leave and when I come into my house everyday.
Here is what I wrote on it and maybe some of it will resonate. I change it every once in awhile, but this will probably stay up for the next few months or so.
Enjoy the rest of your month and have a splendid New Year.
Alayne's Whiteboard
I love and accept myself as I am.
I am worthy of love.
I am calm and approach life circumstance and people calmly, peacefully and with empathy and compassion.
I am good enough.
Conflict, disagreement does not equal withdrawal of love.
I trust love.
I am always divinely cared for.
I have light and share it freely with others.
I allow myself permission to feel a feeling without judgement and criticism.
Enough is Enough.
I speak my truth.
I am willing to release old toxic patterns, I let them go, they have sever their purpose.
I have a voice.
May you Find your voice this year and learn to enjoy the moments in time that pass unnoticed.

What a year! Many times our illustrious team is asked if there is in fact an alayne white! My job over the past few years has changed from being an omnipresent force in the spa (which usually drives my team a little crazy) to being out and about through our little state at events promoting and driving business into my spas. In the midst of all of this outside work, I spent the first part of the year planning my son's Bar Mitzvah. Why am I telling you this? Why is this picture on the homepage of our website? To start with, these are my grandparents in the forefront, my son in the Bruins shirt is in the back so these are his great grandparents and that is me in the back. I thought that October would be a good time to catch you up on what I am thinking, what I have thought and just general brain energy from my non stop mind. I hope you enjoy my thoughts on beauty, life and the never ending world of transitions we seem to be an integral part of.

Yesterday I went to the beach, yes I go to the beach, often. It is my peace, my meditation. The beach is filled with stories of people, family images taking photographs trying to capture the essence of the moment, children running around with their dogs, their sandy bottoms, relaxed people. I was there with an old and amazing friend whom I have known for over 20 years and recently reconnected with. The mood was calm, we were reading, chatting, watching and sitting in quiet.The beach does this for me. Mind you, it was October 10 and it was well over 80 degrees out, but the sun, the air, was different, there was a coolness to the atmosphere which reminded all of us how special this day was. I was somewhat modest in my sunscreen application, you know that mindset when sitting at the beach in October gives you permission to be a bit slack in the sunscreen department. As it turns out, of course this was a mistake. I am absolutely religious about application of sunscreen. SPF 30 Head to Toe, the entire summer, no exceptions. As a result I never burn, and get a nice tan. I know in doctor's eyes, there is no such thing, but more on that some other time.

I got home last night with a bit of a burn on my back and am definitely feeling it today, but in trying to look at the glass half full, I am enjoying its reminder that I was in fact at the beach on October 10. I was there as a witness with all the other grateful souls trying to capture this special gift of the possibility of a final bonus beach day in October. My house was a mess back home, bed unmade, dishes in the sink, clothes needing folding, and many other loose ends that I know drive my female friends bananas, (as well as my former husband). The key message here though in our constant need for clean and orderly is what are we missing while we are busy doing all the stuff we think we are supposed to be doing before we get to the magic? Why can't we do the magic first? I know many of my friends would say that they can't relax until "it" is all done. I used to hear it all the time when women would come in to the spa to have a 90 minute service and they would be using the time feeling guilty about taking the time when all that "stuff" would be home waiting for them. I get it and my goal here is not to try to change the way we women think I know this to be impossible, we are all doing the best we can, we are all in the right place at the right time for whatever reason. I do not sit in judgement, but rather offer a different perspective that I hope is worth a look at.

Life is flying by us. As i approach my late 40s, and perhaps this is why I am starting to see that the stuff gets done in time, maybe it is age, but whatever the reason, I am choosing to do the things that speak to my soul more often. The things that make me pause, feel gratitude and appreciation. When I get in that zen state, I am a better mother, a better leader to my team, a better partner, friend and general human. I speak for myself here. We all get joys from different places, but sitting at the beach yesterday with a wonderful person enjoying each others company, I was struck by how many people were doing the same thing. I was happy to see it. In this year of lots of change, a move, my marriage moving on, my father dying, my son's Bar Mitzvah, a power outage causing our Bristol spa to close for a week, staff getting pregnant, engaged, etc etc etc, Life happens, this is for sure, but in my time at the beach yesterday, all I could think about was my time then, the present moment, with someone I enjoyed being with, appreciating and feeling in awe for my good fortune.

So here I sit with loads of body moisturizer on, the dishes are still in the sink, the bed is still unmade, but I have gone for my morning walk with my dogs, witnessed the morning sunrise on the bay, talked to my friend, and written this blog and it is not even 8am yet. I pose the question today for a point of ponder. What gives you joy? Are you doing it right now? Can you? When was the last time you felt a good dose of joy in your heart? How can you get some if you haven't in awhile? Don't we all deserve in all of our hard work and busy-ness a few moments each day to connect with that joy and just feel good? Maybe today is the day to eat dessert before you eat dinner, or maybe it is a great piece of bubblegum or calling an old friend you have been meaning to call. Maybe today is the day, you write a loveletter to your partner bringing you back to when you first met. Maybe today is a walk in nature instead of the laundry. Whatever "it" is, we never know tomorrow, so why not be here now and enjoy the it.

I look at my grandparents in the photo, 91 and 93, still driving, living together in their own home. My grandfather still goes to the gym, my grandmother still volunteers at her local temple and they enjoy each others company after 69 years together. If that doesn't give me a pause for gratitude, I am not noticing the important stuff, but I am and I am so grateful to notice. May today give you an opportunity to take notice and experience a little spark of happiness.