It’s crazy how comfortable we are in our everyday norm. The simple two-week changeup from my work/gym/dinner routine (peppered by a three-day cleanse and bout of the flu, mind you) has left me asking myself in earnest – do I really have to try something new today? Can’t I just cuddle up at home and watch a new TV show?

So I’ve consoled myself: trying something new doesn’t have to mean scaling a mountain, blindfolded (you know, since that was totally on my “try something new every day in January” list…). It can be as simple as wearing a bold new lipstick. Or sating flu symptoms with a first attempt at home-brewed loose-leaf tea. Or setting my alarm an hour early to see the sunrise on my walk to work. (Check, check, and check.)

Below, peep some highs – and lows – from Week Two:

Sea Urchin. Mixed with heirloom egg at Inman’s new (and totally worth visiting) Puritan & Co., this unusual little sea creature honestly didn’t taste like much of anything. It tasted runny. It tasted like texture. But it looked like a trip to the Maldives – right down to the driftwood serving board.

Coffee Detox. I said no to coffee – for three days. Actually, I did a “smoothie cleanse,” three days of drinking concoctions of kale, flax, cayenne, spinach, berries, and the like – all whipped up and primed to banish supposed toxins (read: bloody Marys) in the system of yours truly. Overall impression: drinking only smoothies for three days? Easy. Giving up coffee? So. Expletive. Hard.

Brow Threading. Using simple cotton thread and an age-old technique, my stalwart Newbury Street thread master cleaned my brows up in under five minutes. The fleeting feeling of a bajillion imaginary pinpricks aside, they’ve seriously never looked better.

Bone Marrow. On a random Sunday evening at Back Bay’s The Salty Pig, I did the unthinkable – I asked the waiter to bring me absolutely anything weird, chef’s choice. The surprise? Tiny melt-in-your-mouth nuggets of deep-fried bone marrow. (Bonus: they were gratis!)

High Tea. High Tea at BOND in The Langham hotel – a three-course affair of crustless sandwiches, sweets, and, of course, tea – was so much less Samantha the American Girl than I’d hoped. Where are the petits fours? Flowery china teacups? Next overindulgent girls’ afternoon, I vote brunch.

By Joanna Berliner, Editor 

Have a suggestion for something new I should try in January? Share it in the comments below or tweet us @ruelala. 

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