I don't quite remember when I fell in love with tea but I do remember the most special moments of me drinking tea. I was eighteen years old and I went to live with my biological mother for four months. I had just met her months earlier and it was awkward for both of us. She and her ex-husband lived a very quiet life in Boulder, Colorado. He was a professor at one of the universities and she was a housewife. After years of drug addiction and being in and out of jail, she deserved the break. I was homeless so she and her husband agreed to let me come live with them. Each evening my mother and I would find a spot in the living room with a cup of tea and a book.

Now, years later, I'm a self proclaimed tea expert. I start each day with a wonderful English Breakfast tea to get me going. As the day progresses, who knows what wonderful tea I will crown queen. But for sure, I have at least three cups of tea a day. And yes, when I can, I have tea everyday at about 3:00 P. M. I love to invite my friends over for tea and cupcakes and so far everyone thinks it’s a delightful experience. I am always in search of the best blend of tea. Yes, I’m a tea snob, I prefer loose tea but I do like some bags also. I have learned not to judge a book by it’s cover. Some bags can be quite nice. And yes again, any Diva knows, what you drink your tea out of is very important.

Tea for me is a way of life. It's wellness for the mind body and spirit. Here, I will explore every expect of tea possible, with a high concentration on wellness. I will review the best teas, the best places to have tea, the best ways to brew tea, the best tea accessories, what tea goes best with what foods, and the list goes on and on. I plan to share my passion for tea with you. And I've been told, nothing I do is ever boring so be prepared to go on this tea journey with me.





RLT Collection Tea Ball Frosted Clear Beads!

Mint Medley by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

About This Tea:

Until recently I had never drank Peppermint Tea made with loose leaves. And Honestly, I will probably never go back. The freshness of loose Peppermint Tea cannot be denied. When I open the can of Mint Medley, From The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, I feel as if I stepped into a garden of peppermint leaves. It is a perfect blend of organic peppermint and spearmint leaves grown in the US.

Mint Medley has become a favorite and I find myself reaching for this tea tin almost everyday. It is great for on-going nausea. The health benefits and endless. It relieves muscle aches, headaches, migraines, stress. And now that it feels like someone is sitting on my chest and I have a mean cough, I'm sure it will help to relieve some of this congestion in my chest. Mint Medley has been in my tea cup more than any tea as of late. It has really helped with my winter cough, congestion related to this bout of pneumonia. You can read my full review on The Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mint Teas.


RLT Collection AIDS Awareness Tea Ball!




Welcome to my world of books! As an pre-teen books changed my world. I fell in love with the writers of the Harlem Renaissance period and the more I read the more I wanted to read. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It spoke to my own degradation and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

I love to read! Inside a book I escape into someone else's life. There is something wonderful about turning to the next page of a wonderful story. Something intoxicating about the smell of the book and the story it brings to life. Reading brings me joy, and these days with my health in the balance, I find solace in my books.

I spent hours in my bedroom sequestered with the door closed reading the classics from the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes, Larsen, Hurston, Wright and Baldwin. Books became my escape and my salvation. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

Reading is the one thing that the pain of my life could never take away from me. It was the thing that helped to make it better. And even today, living with AIDS, books continue to be the safest place for me. It’s the one thing that belongs to me that AIDS cannot take away from me.The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS.

The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS. I have read hundreds of books from many different genres and I will pick the best of my reads over the years. I warn you, it will not be exclusively white or black, male or female, fiction or non fiction, it will be all of them.

I’m so excited and I’m grateful to everyone who wants to be a part of this venture. We already have 110 Book Club Members. You can email me @ RLTReads@raelewisthornton.com. The Twitter hashtag is #RLTReads. We can make this book club as wonderful as we want to make it. Who says that Oprah has to have the only ownership to a wonderful book club?

This Month We are Reading In My Fathers House by E Lynn Harris


Read along and join our discussion July 19th at 7 pm CST







For more Tea with Rae "Vlogs" Click here to visit her youtube channel

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Beauty Tuesday: Air Brush Legs

I'm going to be way honest here. I didn't believe the hype; Airbrush Legs that look like you are wearing panty hose. Impossible I thought! My foregone conclusion wasn't based on any fact, just what I thought I knew to be true. I assumed that the outcome would be just like any old other bronzer. Something that would give you a color that really didn't match your skin tone and fade out before the end of the night.

Well, let me tell ya, I have been made a believer! A couple of weeks ago, I had an important meeting with the team over at Hotel Allegro to discuss the details of their beautiful Encore Liquid Lounge hosting my Tweet-Up-Meet-Up around HIV/AIDS.

It was a hot, humid day. I wanted to look professional but I didn't want to be uncomfortable. I decided to dress simple but classic; a black skirt, a power blue dress shirt (a must in every woman's wardrobe) and I completed  my look with a black cardigan and four inch peep-toe patent pumps.

I didn't want to wear stockings. In fact, I hate stockings!! I feel like I'm suffocating when I'm wearing them so I almost never do. But, I thought not wearing them to a business meeting would be a risky move. I didn't want to seem unprofessional. Then I remembered celebrity stylist Mary Alice Stepenson, at the More Reinvention Convention named Sally Hansen Salon Airbrush Legs a must! So I made my way over to the store and the experiment began.

I read their claims that the product wouldn't change your mani/pedicure but I didn't want to take the chance. I was on a tight schedule that day. So I wore gloves to apply the solution. You should have seen the expression on my face at first glance. It was as if I had won the lottery. Instantly my legs changed.

It is the most remarkable beauty product I have used in a very long time. The imperfections in my skin  disappeared right before my very eyes. That nasty scar down the front of my leg that I got from shaving when I was sixteen was as if it never existed. Not only were my imperfections gone but my skin appeared to be even toned and smooth. It actually appeared as if I were wearing nude panty hose. The next day I applied the product without gloves. I had to give the whole shebang a try. It washed right off my hands without staining the polish on my nails. By the end of the day my legs still looked like perfection.

Sally Hansen met their claims. This vitamin K enriched product fades freckles, veins and imperfections. It is long lasting and transfer resistant. I highly recommend this product. Whether you are going casual, chic, after-five or business, Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs will give you a polished look. I have added air brushed legs to my Diva Rules because the object is to always look polished...


PostScript: I was also nervous about matching the color to my skin tone. They have four options, I chose medium glow. All I have to say is what do you have to loose? I think in the scheme of things, not much. I have learned a valuable lesson in all this... Stop drawing conclusions based on what you think you know. This product could have been in my life years ago if I hadn't dismissed it without ever trying. I like Sally Hansen so much, I have added it to my Amazon, favorite things store. Check it out!







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