Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

The late, great Christopher Hitchens on how to make a decent cup of tea.

It's always fun to check out everything from eye shadow and moisturizers to nail polish and perfume in Sephora ... A new Culver City location opened yesterday, March 9. I want to try Benefit's new "Hello Flawless!" Oxygen Wow foundation.

One of New York's most legendary restaurants, Le Cirque, is going on a cross-country pop-up tour, with the "LA" stop being at Orange County's Center Club on April 6. Click here for more about An Evening with Le Cirque.

Now open: UMAMIcatessen - 846 Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

Today in the Times: the new Saturday section, and Jonathan Gold.

For weekend browsing, the March / April issue of Lonny.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Martin Parr / Magnum Photos, via Slate

Eat In. Easy egg salad.

Homemade egg salad makes for a great simple lunch or snack. I made a batch using six eggs last Friday, and it turned out really well, with Hellmann's mayonnaise, French's classic yellow mustard (I considered buying Dijon but decided to just go with what I had), and a handful of green olives.

After hard-boiling the eggs, I cooled them in a big bowl of cold water, then peeled and chopped them, tossing a few yolks away in the process. I also included some chopped pimento-stuffed green olives from the supermarket's olive bar.

In a large bowl, I put a good few tablespoons of mayonnaise, and a generous squirt of mustard, then mixed in the chopped eggs and olives, stirred it all up, and it came together really well.

Served on toast, with juicy tomato slices on top, and plenty of salt and pepper, it made a great late lunch, with a mug of PG Tips tea. And there was plenty leftover for Saturday.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Check It. Tazo Zen tea.

Green tea is often touted as a healthy alternative to coffee--but I find it difficult to choose green tea over coffee.

After a long and emotional weekend, I found myself at LAX early Monday morning about to board a cross-country flight. And in a long line at the airport Starbucks. I was majorly sleep-deprived and needed revitalization, but somehow didn't see relief coming from a strong and steamy Americano. I opted for a Venti Iced Green Tea (they use Tazo's "Zen" green tea). Wow. It was so refreshing and delicious, I made involuntarily "yum" noises. Slight hints of lemon, and the use of spearmint leaves, make all the difference in this outstanding green tea.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: stylehive.com

Check It. Honesty Day.

Today, April 30, is Honesty Day. Ok, so it's not one of the major holidays, but if I can "celebrate" a holiday by drinking delicious organic iced tea, I'm going to go there.

Before you take a sip of Honest Tea's Heavenly Lemon Tulsi tea, you can smell in the clove-like aroma of the tulsi how good it's going to be. It's one of the newer products for the brand, first introduced last fall, and I think it will be a keeper.

Native to India, tulsi is also called "holy basil", and is one of the most important plants used in Ayurvedic medicine, and is grown around Hindu temples. Dr. Andrew Weil notes the herb's importance for treating stress, "The most compelling evidence I've reviewed indicates that holy basil may counteract the effects of stress."

And who doesn't love some good lemon in iced tea? Heavenly Lemon Tulsi contains lemongrass and lemon peel (as well as lemon myrtle, lemon juice concentrate, and lemon extract--all organic).

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Etc. Royal Wedding.

No, I didn't get up at 3:00 a.m. pacific time to watch the Royal Wedding, but when I was up at 8:00 a.m., I was glued to the TV watching coverage. So exciting!

Have a great weekend, and toast William and Catherine in true British style (even if you don't have a vintage Aston Martin to cruise around in).

From the BEAT archives:

a full English breakfast at home

English beer at the Village Idiot

an Essie manicure (one of the two shades used for Kate's wedding mani was 'allure')

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: telegraph.co.uk

Drink It. Irish Breakfast tea.

I know, I know, today is all about beer (and maybe some whiskey too) ... but in case any of you feel it's still too early for Guinness, Irish Breakfast tea is a nice non-alcoholic alternate that still allows you to drink something Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Irish Breakfast tea is a bold black tea blend very similar to English Breakfast tea, but a bit stronger. Like with English Breakfast, it's common to use sweetener (sugar, honey, or an artificial sweetener if you must) and cream or milk in the tea, which is served hot. "Malty" is also a word often used in describing Irish Breakfast tea, appropriate as I'm suggesting it as a beer alternate this March 17.

Barry's Tea was founded in 1901 in Cork, Ireland, and today accounts for 40% of all tea sales in Ireland, according to their website. Can't get much more Irish than that!

Cheers, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Barry's Tea is available at the Tudor House in Santa Monica, and at their online shop.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.theirishshop.co.uk