Sunday, July 21, 2013

A Week at the Spa

A few weeks ago I taught enjoyed a week at the Spa with a few of students at my school. Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to plan out a really fun week with eight girls and we enjoyed facials, manicures, pedicures, mediation, yoga, and a few crafts. 
Every day was a new "spa-perience" This would such a fun party-theme idea!


Here's what our week looked like:

Monday-MEDITATION DAY:  Morning yoga and stretching. I found a few yoga videos from re-sale stores (just make sure you test them out before) I did Gentle Yoga for the first three days until my students started falling asleep and saying they were bored...so I busted out Yoga Pulse. After that they didn't fall asleep anymore.


 Spa Water:

Ingredients:
2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves


Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a pitcher
Refrigerate overnight
Strain water
Enjoy over ice cubes
Add mint sprig for garnish (optional)

Recipe found here



The girls were indifferent about the taste..I on the other hand LOVED it. So I had no problem drinking their water all week. I plan on always having a pitcher of this in my house from now on.

Spa Flip Flops

I purchased an assortment of different sized flip flops from the Dollar Store and a package of Room Essentials white hand towels from Target here. The only other materials you need are scissors and a hot glue gun.


Cut the towel into thin strips

Continue to wrap around the shoe until it's covered. Hot glue on both ends.
Tie towel strips into a pretty bow and glue to the front.

Seriously, so simple and cheap! You barely need any of the hand towel to cover the flop, I think each girl used three strips. $5.00 for towel pack & $8.00 for 8 flip flops: $13 of cuteness!


Tuesday-MANICURE: We started the morning off with another yoga session and stretching. 
We then began our manicures!
First we made a Citrus Salt Body Scrub

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sea salt 
1/2 cup sweet almond oil 
(can substitute light olive oil or vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

In a medium dry bowl, combine all ingredients making sure to not let any water touch them as it will dissolve the salt. Pour mixture into an airtight container and store in a cool dry place.

Recipe found here





This was a BIG HIT! I have made a lemon sugar scrub before using essential oil extracts instead of the zest and I have to say using zest makes it 100% times better! The smells were fantastic! And so much cheaper than purchasing the oils.

We then soaked our hands in water and I used my very old Mary Kay Satin Feet/Hands cleansing gel and buffer scrub. We gave hand massages and then the girls painted each others nails. Myself and my assistant helped paint flowers and polka dots.

WEDNESDAY-PEDICURE DAY: Another yoga and stretching session.
I filled up large tupperware containers with warm water and added lavender bath salts to each. I also brought in my Foot Massager from our wedding registry and I knew that would be a favorite! I popped in some relaxing nature CDs and for an hour we soaked our feet and rotated into the foot massager. We ALMOST made it the whole hour with a spill.....hence the word ALMOST. After, we painted each others toe nails.






















While the girls did a pedicure I made a homemade lotion. I let the girls measure out the ingredients, but it involves melting and staying by the stove, so it became a "teacher" project.  I can't seem to find the recipe I used..and I'm honestly not even sure if it worked.

THURSDAY-FACIAL DAY: After yoga and stretching we crafted sleep masks. I purchased colored foam, glitter glue, pom-poms, and ribbon. I created a template and the girls did the decorating. 

Cucumber Mint Mask:
1/4 cup cucumber, shredded with skin
1/4 cup minced, fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup aloe (I could not find this)
4 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops chamomile essential oil (I skipped this part)

1. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until reaching smooth consistency
2. Remove, cover, and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes
3. Apply to clean, damp skin, and leave on for 15-20 minutes
4. Rinse thoroughly with cool water

Recipe found here

Now, this didn't turn out looking likeI thought it would. It was more liquid-like and chunks of cucumber..but if I say it's looks good, the kids have no idea. So we covered our face in wet chunks of cucumber and mint.



FRIDAY-FINAL DAY: Our last yoga session, I made them do Yoga Dance, they were most definitely not falling asleep after that. We made Sprite & Gummy Bear popsicles (which need more than two hours to freeze..my bad) and homemade candles

What you’ll need:
- Soy wax flakes -Hobby Lobby
- Wick -Hobby Lobby
- Containers. I purchased Tea Light holders b/c they were $1 each
- Pitcher with spout
- Fragrance oil (I offered orange or lavender)
- Popsicle stick

Melt soy wax flakes in a double boiler, add in your favorite scents and dye. Once flakes have completely melted, set your pot away to cool down for a few seconds. In the meantime, warm up your glass containers using a blow-dryer for a minute. This will help the wax cool more evenly! Pour wax into containers, thread wick with Popsicle stick and let it cool for a few hours until solid. Cut wick about 1/4 inch long.
Recipe found here

It's opportunities like teaching this camp (& getting paid for it) that I have to pinch myself with how lucky I am and hard it will be to leave my job. I'm teaching a DIY craft class in a couple weeks and I'll make sure to do a post of what I have the kids do.
Thanks to all the blogs and websites that helped me put together such a fun week!

From Miss to Mrs.

Well, I am back. Just not quite there yet. A lot has happened since my last blog in mid May. First and most important...I got married! It was the most perfect day and I surprisingly had very little stress. All in all I could not have asked for a more beautiful wedding that is the start to our even more beautiful marriage. We were surrounded by our very best friends, family, partners in crime, and soul mates to share in our joy, and I think we threw a pretty good party too! Here are some pictures of our wonderful day, along with a little vendor love.














Bridesmaid dresses were from Love Lane in crinkle chiffon sage fabric. Purchased at Bella Bridesmaid
Suits were purchased from St. Louis Suit Company in dark charcoal. I highly recommend going the route of having your groomsmen/ushers purchase their suits. These boys got a three piece suit for only $170!




Vendor Love:
All photography done by Laurie Nowling Sneed at Bliss Eleven Studios
Ceremony at Graham Chapel
Reception at NEO on Locust
Flowers & Center pieces by Angela Lopez at Elegance in Bloom
Wedding Coordinator Tami Heroff at Perfect Day Weddings & Events, LLC

I can't say enough about our fantastic vendors. They all made my dream a reality and took all the stress off me!! Especially my wedding planner (she was the best money spent!)
 I'll do another post later on the details, my DIY additions, florals, and centerpieces of the wedding.

In other news, our first two months of marriage haven't exactly been normal as most couples. I am currently sleeping on an air mattress in our old apartment in Kansas City and Brandon is working 14 hour days in Orlando in his first month of residency. 

We made the big move the week after our honeymoon and I will join him in a little over two weeks! Please except some more blogging from me as I begin my journey to Florida and whatever new adventure is waiting there!

But for now, I will keep you posted on any activities happening in the last few weeks, including my best friends up coming bridal shower I'm hosting (I've going DIY crazy over here!)