where to find us: Holiday Boutique Dec 3rd

Click on an image for a closer look.

New! Sharon Bolton BODY WASH and LOTION

I'm happy to announce 2 new local products added to our existing Sharon Bolton line: luv, soul, truth BODY WASH and BODY LOTION, the Santa Barbara collection.

Intoxicating, ultimately feminine scents for every busy woman. Make your own discovery. Will it be Luv, Soul or Truth!?

Shall I dare say what perfume oil you can find in my purse...
Luv. But of course!

Not only are her scents uplifting but the woman behind the product is equally inspiring. View complete line here:
Sharon Bolton scents

**Gift idea** Essential oil perume for the ultra feminine woman.

Holiday Boutique show Dec 3rd mark your calendars

Let the Season Begin!
Mark your social and shopping calendars.

What: Holiday Boutique Show event
When: Sunday December 3rd, 12pm - 4pm
Where: Tone-Up Santa Barbara
36 W Calle Laureles (de la vina and state)
Santa Barbara

Join us for a day in celebration of creativity and shop early for a stress-free holiday, Santa Barbara style - fun, care-free!

This holiday's creative cast will include:
Yachtie-Girl, apparel for the boat and beyond
Bella Notte 2 - lingerie by Jean Babbe
Jan Winn Jewelry Designs
Alex Clothing - vintage bags and clothes
Dorothy Turk scarves
Teal Turk - hand designed T-shirts
Cathy Fletcher Baskets
Thomas Rhodes Jewelry
Alycia Rhodes - hand painted greeting cards
Karen Schoer - knit purses
Little Bumble - baby t's
Cindy & Mark DeAnda - Cookbook/CD sets
(and finally, me) Destress Essentials - soylicious candles, aromasticks, comfort essentials, bath & body

Social consciousness and support of entrepreneurship and creativity is an important value of De-Stress Essentials. A portion of our proceeds and all other fabulous vendors will be donated to The Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara. On their website, they write: "If we help with "basic needs" we can prevent "homelessness and welfare dependency". No progress is possible without shelter, food and clothing. And we can't agree more.

Aaahhhh, back home in Santa Barbara

Back home from road travels from west coast to east coast (and back) with muse and husband. The challenging part is summing up trip highlights. None stands out more than another... it was an all around great trip.

I however gathered a deeper appreciation for ALL things around me... high-speed internet, our highway system, clean restrooms, changing landscapes, breathtaking scenery, diversity of the states, their rich history, family and the friendly people we met along the way. I am refreshed, with new perspectives!

One wonderful new thing I did for myself since I got back is writing in a journal what I'm gratful for that day. This allows me to focus on positive experiences. Takes only a few minutes before you lay your head to rest at night and you'll be amazed at how quickly your thoughts change.

Coming soon... highlights from the Inside Beauty Conference & Exhibit NYC / Green Festival Washington, DC.

Santa Barbara Wellness Expo

De-Stress Essentials will have a booth at the Santa Barbara Wellness Expo event. Featuring Spa Exclusives: Spa Soy candles and Home Spa Luxurious Comfort Essentials.

Santa Barbara Wellness Expo
July 29, Saturday 12pm - 5pm

where:
Yoga Soup 28 Parker Way
go to mapquest for directions
$2 admission
catered by Spiritland Bistro

Mini Boutique Summer Sale

We'll be in Santa Barbara, CA for a mini-boutique show -- tomorrow night! Come join us if you're in the area.
Shop Spa Exclusive home spa products and more!

July 25, Tuesday 6pm - 9pm
Mini Boutique Summer Sale
Enjoy wine & great shopping

Where:
Tone-UP Santa Barbara 3006 De La Vina St.
go to mapquest for directions

Cell phone recycling campaign!

Answer the call and donate your used cell phones.

We've partnered with CollectiveGood, a company that focuses on funding charities through mobile pone recycling and helping the environment.

There will be several cell phone drop box locations thoughout Santa Barbara. We still need a few more locations, please let us know if you'd like to house a box through Labor Day, locally only. No work on your part. Great for companies. Contact me today. Not local? You can still help. Click on the link below to see how you can donate your phone.

maria@destressessentials.com
learn more here
beyond the store

Earth Day Santa Barbara 2006

Earth Day in our town is always a day I look forward to. Haven't missed a year since I moved her. We spent the day soaking in the sun spread out on the courthouse lawn. We visited the booths, learned about holistic dog care, got a chair massage, ate yummy food, and listened to the music on the solar powered stage. Enjoyable day.

The Community Environmental Council puts on this amazing event each year. click here to see photos.

In the community

De-Stress essentials coughed it up for the annual Santa Barbara Fur Ball!

Having just launched my store, what better way to kick-off the giving spirit with a donation of de-stress items nicely displayed for silent auction goers at a Gala Event benefitting the Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation for the homeless and injured animals in our county. The Foundation works in collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Animal Services and its volunteers in efforts to move forward to fulfill their goal -- to make the all the shelters in the county "no-kill" for adoptable animals. The Foundation is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that supports the homless animals in all three of our local county shelters.

We adopted our very pampered pooch, below, who might otherwise have been euthanized in one of our county's animal shelter so we're very happy and lucky she's with us today... and I couldn't resist shamelessly promoting our bundle of joy... http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=861. What does all this have to do with de-stress. Alot. Our pets are instrumental in de-stressing us. They love unconditionally, they get us out and their quirks make us laugh.

This is my small leap in response to ethical consumerism and responsible capitalism by helping those whose voices cannot be heard. I started on this venture by combining my skills and talents to create a store that provides wellness and stress relief to a stressed-out world. My intention has since naturally evolved further by blending my experiences in my non-profit background into a for-profit world. I started out raising major gifts for the metro Washington, DC area public TV and classical radio station http://www.weta.org then went on to business development at http://www.pbs.org in Alexandria, VA where I worked with the the brightest and kindest people in the business, and in Santa Barbara, CA at http://www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org, where I was so lucky to be a part of a small group of passionate caring and dedicated people. My non-profit career was slowly waning with the Girl Scouts http://www.gstc.org and Sansum Diabetes Research Institute http://www.sansum.org and my internal compass was leading me again to something different... but still keeping grounded in the non-profit world. So, here I am today working on blending making people feel good and to do good. Be well.