How to host a Spa Day at home

Blog, let’s review. Last Christmas Eve, my daughter Amanda and I opened packages from my other daughter Katie that contained baskets full of all sort of fun spa items: facial mix, “gator butter” for softening skin, socks to use for foot treatments, soft cushy slippers. There were also certificates to enjoy a day of treatments at a spa called “Carpe Diem.” Click on the image to see the lovely array of inclusions at said spa day!

Well, there had been a $50 limit on all our gifts to each other, so I questioned how Katie could afford to give us these spa days. “Because the spa is my house!” she explained. Which to our amazed minds made it even better!

So this past Saturday Katie hosted us for our Spa Day, and it was even more awesome than we had dreamed. Readers out there, this could be a great gift for you to give a loved one! Here’s how it all went down.

A relaxing arrival

When we arrived, we found Katie had prepared her cozy arts-and-crafts style living room with comfy chairs flanking the faux fireplace, scented candles, and fresh flowers. Manzi and I put on our robes and aforementioned slippers. Katie had made us each a relaxing heated shoulder wrap made from a sock stuffed with rice and gloriously scented with vanilla sandalwood. We settled into our chairs with lovely glasses of sparkling cucumber spring water (cuke and lime slices). We also had bowls of organic dried fruit and pepitas/cocoa nibs/dried cranberries to snack on.

Foot treatment

It was time for a little party for our feet! Katie had a large dishpan type-tub for each of us, into which she placed warmed river rocks and a hot soak of honey, milk and oatmeal. The rocks are so you can wiggle your feet and get a nice massage, and they really did feel great. Katie used another homemade concoction to exfoliate our feet, made of vanilla, brown sugar, oatmeal, milk-soaked ground almond and extra virgin olive oil. She rinsed us off with cool milk and toweled our tootsies dry. Then she indulged us in an actual foot massage, using shea butter, extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil and vanilla sandalwood whipped into butter. We put on our socks to let the buttercream work even more magic to soften our feet.

A healthy, uber-tasty lunch

Katie had prepared us a scrumptious spa lunch, which was served to us in our chairs. She made smoked salmon, Greek yogurt and chive open-faced sandwiches on whole grain pita bread, and balsamic quinoa salad with spinach and feta. Satisfying for both soul and body, not to mention super yummy!

Hand treatment

Our hands were up next for pamperization. We soaked them in bowls of warm milk, honey and oatmeal. Then they got the whole buttery treatment and massage similar to our feet--the lotion was like the foot stuff except with emulsifying wax and water in place of the shea butter. It’s amazing how much effect hand and feet massages alone can accomplish! Afterwards, our warm and relaxed hands cozied up in hand towels for awhile.

Facials

We were actually given three options of facials and could pick our preference. Manzi chose the one suited for normal/dry skin, and I picked the one for aging skin. Katie gave us each a headband to keep our hair clean, and proceeded to cleanse, tone, and apply our skin-specific masks. We relaxed in our chairs for awhile, and it was essential to have cucumber slices placed on our closed eyes...both to refresh them and to provide entertainment as Katie rescued them a few times from sliding off! Then after 20 minutes or so, Katie wiped the facials off gently (yep, we didn’t even need to go rinse in the sink) and then applied moisturizers. All natural ingredients were used for everything, including eggs, banana, ground avocado pit, lemon and honey!

Katie all the infos she used for everything by searching online, Blog. Here are some websites she recommends:

• 
  
  ingredients and recipe ideas: www.fromnaturewithlove.com
• awesome source for shea butter: www.nasabb.com
• ehow is always a great source:www.ehow.com/homemade-masks

Here’s to our health!

We capped off the day with lovely glasses of dry champagne with fresh raspberries. It was time to just chat and enjoy each other’s company for awhile. That was the perfect way to conclude the perfect day!

It goes without saying that Katie put a lot of prep, research, and work into treating us to this wonderful spa day. (She also took all these awesome photos during the festivities!) But speaking for her, Blog, it was all worth it. It was a day her sister and I will never forget, and meant so much more because she did it for us herself.

So if you dabble in home spa or would like to get into it (Katie was totally new at it), what better to do than treat a friend or family member or two into a spa day?