DIY Projects

The Attractive Decongestant

Here is my friend Brie busy being awesome and having great hair

P.S. Ten points if you can spot the random hanging octopus doubling as bathroom decor.

P.P.S. I love the title of this post, but I want to be clear right from the start that it does not refer to Brie herself. She is indeed attractive, but (as far as I know) does not herself possess anti-congestive properties.

P.P.P.S. PSes can totally come before any actual content, if the person who is writing said content says so.

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You know those friends you have to whom you can say things like “So how about we throw a couple of pairs of jeans in a bag and then get on a bus and go to Montreal and find somewhere we can drink wine while taking a nude painting class?” and they’re all “YES OBVIOUSLY”? And then they grab, like, a boom box and some old En Vogue CDs and a really great hat and are out the door five seconds later?

Those are the people I want in my life. Like, exclusively. They are the best.

My friend Brie – a relatively new friend, actually, but one who’s quickly becoming my personal hero because of the aforementioned quality (which I’ll call “Game For Whatever”) – does things like spontaneously burst into ballet positions when a camera is turned on her, and tie-dye blankets for no particularly good reason, and put tassels on things. She created an Instagram hashtag, #theflowerthief, dedicated to her hobby of creating bouquets from flowers that she finds along the side of the road, and brings along a headlamp on daytime hikes, just in case. And the other night, when we went back to her house after dinner in Venice, she was all “Hey, how about we make a bouquet out of eucalyptus that I conveniently have growing in my front yard and hang it in the shower and then take photographs of it?”

And I was all “YES OBVIOUSLY.” (Because apparently I, too, am The Best.)

And Brie’s suggestion wasn’t even as bizarre as it sounds, because what hanging eucalyptus branches in the shower achieves is twofold:

  1. You have eucalyptus branches hanging in your shower, and eucalyptus branches are pretty (especially when you artfully arrange them using twine, as Brie is doing in that photo up there;
  2. When you turn on the shower the steam activates the essential oils in the plant, which clear up a host of respiratory issues (this is very exciting to me, because it turns out that I’m allergic to California).

Presenting: The Attractive Decongestant.

the benefits of hanging eucalyptus branches in your shower

Ta da. 

white distressed wood frame on a mirror

P.P.P.P.S. Here is a photo that Francesca took of me in my #awesomenewdress watching Brie assemble branches. I don’t know why I look annoyed here; I wasn’t. I was, in fact, extremely pleased that Brie was, at that very second, essentially writing a blog post for me. Thank you Brie. You are awesome. And you have great hair.

P.P.P.P.P.S. If you’re less “let me cut and assemble branches using gardening shears and twine” and more “I’d like to pay someone to achieve that effect for me, thanks,” some eucalyptus-y options for you, below.

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