After 3 weeks of brutal illness and work travel, I am back! I am now writing from my parents home in Longview, WA, capital of bad chinese food, meth addicts and paper mill polluted skies. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Nothing beats the spicy aromas of pumpkin and ginger in the fall. It's probably one of the reasons I love this time of year much! If you're considering a fall spa treatment or products to tantalize your senses, rest assured knowing that there are healthy benefits of Pumpkin and Ginger extracts.

Last summer, after receiving a hair cut at one of San Francisco's high end salons, I reluctantly purchased a $30 Kerastase hair masque for my dry, brittle, broken ends. After using this masque every week, I did notice that it softened my hair, but it really wasn't worth the high price. I noticed that Kerastase was, in fact, a L'Oreal product, so I headed to the nearest Walgreens to find a L'Oreal conditioner that was comparable. Sure enough I found that L'Oreal's drugstore brand called Smooth Intense had a masque for $4.99 with the same ingredients!

Last weekend, I spent my Sunday lounging in front of the T.V., unable to switch the channel from Dr. 90210, a reality show about reputable and infamous plastic surgeons of Beverly Hills. I was amazed to see so many women with beautiful faces and bodies and their "heartbreaking" stories of what brought them to their decision opt for plastic surgery.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all. The beauty tricks like Preparation H to dab around swollen eyes and rubbing coffee grounds into your thighs and wrapping them in plastic wrap as tight as a rubber band around the finger to diminish cellulite.