Thursday, April 10, 2014

Treat Yo Self 2014

Best Day of the Year!

What, you haven't heard of a Treat Yo Self Day? Please let the nice folks over at NBC's Parks and Recreation explain the rules. It's only 24 seconds, you can spare that much time.

 

So basically, you take the day to, you know, treat yourself. You want it, you got it. For me this meant a mix of pampering and (of course) eating a bunch of things I usually deny myself. Hey, you keep Treat Yo Self in your way and I'll keep it in mine.

First stop! Haircut. I was long overdue for one, but while I usually just get a quick shampoo and trim at the place around the corner from my mom's house, this time I decided to go the whole nine yards and get a cut, blowout, and style at a nice salon.  Turns out my friend Barbara from work's (whom I was just with in Lincoln, Nebraska), husband works at a salon and is a fantastic hairdresser. Sounds like a plan.

So on my most recent benefit day (I get every other Monday off from work since I work longer hours on all the other days) I got myself an appointment in the morning at Muse Boutique Salon in Arlington. The place was pretty empty, so I waited only a few minutes while Atilla finished up with the client before me and sat back and relaxed while I got my hair washed (scalp massage!), cut, blown out, and styled. It looked pretty damn good, if I say so myself.

...and wow, I look eerily like my Mom.

Look! It's straight! That doesn't happen very often with my hair, trust me. And it even survived the windy day...well, mostly.


After getting my hair done, I headed to Shirlington for a massage. I've only had three massages before--it always feels amazing, but it seems like such a splurge. There's always other things that seem to make more practical sense to purchase, even for myself.

But anyway, this massage was too good a deal to pass up. At Nirvana Reflexology Spa in Shirlington, you can get a one hour full body massage for only $45, compared to the around $75-100 cost at other places in the DC area. You don't get a private room or the oils rubbed in to you like at other places, but there is still privacy with heavy fabric curtains separating the areas of the room and the massage is still amazing. And, if you are one of those people who has problems being naked in front of people, you get to keep your clothes on. They still use lotions on your arms and legs and it just feels really nice. I recommend it!

After my haircut and massage I was hungry! And if I was going to treat myself, I wanted something I haven't had in a really long time. Specifically, cheese. Ever since I figured out I was lactose intolerant two years ago, my cheese intake has gone down to almost zero. Unless it's goat cheese--goat cheese I can handle and it's also my favorite. But I wanted other types of cheese. So to Cheesetique for lunch I will go!

Appetizer: a glass of the house red wine (balanced, smooth, and fruity) and a cheese board with the chevre (goat cheese). Since it's the cherry blossom festival, they had mixed fresh cherries into the cheese and oh my stars it was delicious.


Next up: something I hadn't eaten in all the time I have been lactose intolerant. Macaroni and cheese. This was the Billy Goat Mac with several types of cheese (including goat and cheddar) and chicken. This was blow my mind amazing.


For dessert, I decided to leave the cheese shop behind and walk a block down the street to Cake Love. It wasn't an entirely selfish decision; I needed to order my Aunt and Stepmom's birthday cake from there (they have the same birthday and we always do a joint celebration). But while I was there....I figured why not have a cupcake? A Drumstick cupcake to be exact. Vanilla cake, salted caramel middle, vanilla buttercream frosting, and a layer of chocolate on top (with some salted peanuts).




The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home and then over at a friend's playing a little D&D. All in all, I declare the first Treat Yo Self Day a total success.

Is it 2015 yet??

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