We Spa-Napped a Reader! Watch the Video.

May 17, 2013 | By

In honor of The Month of Moms, I reached out on Facebook last week to learn some tried and true mom wisdom, and with that, I put the call out for a mom who was long overdue for a day at the spa. Two days later, the spa-napping went down. Watch what happened when winner Jenny Gill got a little taste of her own medicine…

“His mind is in motion and his body is in motion,” New York mom Jenny told me of her 2 year old son, Jack, as we sipped rose at Estancia 460, a restaurant on the cobblestone street next to TriBeCa Spa of Tranquility. “He’s crazy smart and physically advanced. He constantly wants to play a sport, sing the ABC song and tell you about his day. To get him to slow down and understand that you have to sleep, is a big struggle. The just kid doesn’t have time for sleep in his life.”

Although, what Jenny likely didn’t realize in speaking about her son’s misunderstanding of sleep, she was painting a pretty clear picture of her own misunderstanding of relaxation: Jenny has not been to the spa since before Jack was born. Yikes!

Jenny, who happens to be a member of Spa Week’s Hot Mom Spa Squad, clearly knows the importance of recharging your mind and body—so it’s time to give her a taste of her own medicine. How many moms out there dole out wisdom but neglect to follow it themselves? I could say: “To get Jenny to slow down and understand that you have to spa, is a big struggle. The girl jut doesn’t have time for spa in her life.”

Exactly.

When Spa Week reached out to TriBeCa Spa of Tranquility about this great public service for the sake of mom, the acclaimed wellness facility and celebrity hotspot offered up two massages for the cause.

JENNY GILL, You’ve Been Spa-Napped!!!

Filed Under: Hot Mom Spa Squad, Moms and Family, Social Media, Spalebrity Diaries, Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our Hot Mom Squad’s Mother’s Day Promise

May 8, 2013 | By

While we all scramble for those last minute gifts for mom—that beautiful, strong, devoted woman who gave you life—I had a different question on my mind. A question that invokes the inner spirit of who mom is, and who she hopes to become in the next month, year, decade. I’ve reached out to the members of our Hot Mom Spa Squad to find the answer—not what they want from YOU for Mother’s Day (that’s a Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week, of course!)… But:

What me-time promise for health and vitality will you give YOURSELF as a gift this Mother’s Day?

Roll call! Here’s what our Hot Moms had to say:

To log off social networks and the internet by 7pm each night to help me better unwind and sleep more soundly each night. –Shannon Nelson, agirlsgottaspa.com

I just finished a FAB 21 day detox cleanse and lost 10 pounds and then I bought a package of Power Pilates classes to ensure I get my butt to pilates 3x/week over the next 3 months :-)–Romy Schorr, RomyRaves.com

I’m giving myself permission to prune my professional offers. In other words, I may have taken something on expecting to be able to manage it, but when it feels like it’s just too much, I’m deciding to be okay with saying that I will no longer manage this thing. My emotional wellness comes first! –Akilah S. Richards, www.execumama.com

I’m buying myself a new camera and tablet this Mother’s Day so I can get work done more efficiently and have more time to relax! –Chelsea Day, somedayilllearn.com

My me-time promise for health and vitality that I’m giving myself a gift this Mother’s Day is a full out of pampering session just for me! I’m looking forward to my massage, haircut, mani & pedi and I will be looking good with my family this Mother’s Day! –Debra Rutt, TheHarriedMom.com

I am making an appointment for a facial and I simply can’t wait! This is the ultimate me-time, no kids, relaxation and healthy skin! –Deanna Underwood, mommyGAGA.com

My me-time promise is to remember to take some me-time in the first place. I’m making a promise to myself to get more rest and to make sure I get some time to myself each week so I can be a better me. This may or may not include regular pedicures. I wrote about that promise here. –Jenny Gill, nycjenny.com

The biggest gift I am giving myself is permission to delegate some of my responsibilities. I am currently finishing my first book, rebranding myself/my business, and building a new website and being a control-freak do-it-yourselfer, it is very hard for me to ask for help and also trust that other people can do something to my specifications as well as I can, in the time I need it done by. So I have begun working with a fabulous book editor and have entrusted my new site to a web designer/developer so I can stop feeling guilty for taking an evening off to catch up on my DVR and spend at least one weekend day doing nothing but playing with my kids. –Rachael Pontillo, holisticallyhaute.com

For Mother’s Day this year, I plan on giving myself some much-needed spa time. I have gift cards racked up for spa services! Getting away and actually using them is on my list of “gifts” I’d like to treat myself to this year. –Sondra Drahos, happyhealthyhip.com/blog

I will make time to meditate/pray/read devotions every day, even if I have to lock myself in the bathroom to do it! –Bekah, motherhood-moment.blogspot.com

I promise continue my Weight Watchers and fitness plan to meet my goal. –Nicole Kempka, redlotusmama.com

This Mother’s Day I am taking a great blog trip with 24 of my favorite friends to Destin! We are giving ourselves the gift of friendship, fun, and TIME OFF from our families so we can energize. –Trisha Haas, momdot.com

The “me time” promise I give myself this Mothers Day is the ability to unwind and de-stress at the end of the day. A mom’s to-do list is never-ending, and sometimes you need to tell yourself it is okay to leave the rest until tomorrow. I love relaxing in a nice bubble bator treating myself to a pedicure!
–Jeanine, mommyentourage.net

As moms, we are under a lot of pressure to go-go-go and do-do-do for our families all the time. It’s important, however, to take time to ourselves so we can be the best moms we can be. So, this year I will make time for: hikes to connect with Mother Nature, Pilates classes as a commitment to my physical health, chats with my girlfriends for my mental health, and the occasional ultimate treat—a spa day just for me! –Colleen Lanin, travelmamas.com

I promise to give my body a total makeover with Bikram Yoga this Mother’s Day…since giving birth to my son over three months ago, I have neglected my body but, for the sake of my kids, husband and sanity, I say no more! So vowing to be healthy, will make me one happy mom and wife. Gina Pompono, MommyPosh.com

My gift is to always embrace Skincare Sunday. Skincare Sunday is for that little bit of extra time that most have on this day to use for caring for themselves, including their skin. It makes for the perfect me-time. #SkincareSunday – it’s not just a Twitter movement that’s spread across the world, it can be your reality. –Ava Roxanne, SpaTravelGal.com

I’ve got FOUR teenagers (Triplets + 1, all born within a year) so I’m one really tense mom 365 days per year — though I do love and adore my darlings they are a bit challenging at this stage. For Mother’s Day I will treat myself to a full body massage and margaritas afterward with another
equally haggard mother friend. –Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

DAILY Me Time: Healthy eating, yoga, at least 10 minutes of meditation.
WEEKLY Me Time: Mani/ Pedi, a date with myself, window shopping for inspiration.
MONTHLY Me Time: A Facial, Bodywrap and/ or Reflexology.
Big promises, but I make big promises to everyone else in my life. Why not me?
– Ruth Staiman, Fashion Office

Filed Under: Home Sweet Home, Hot Mom Spa Squad, Moms and Family, Spalebrity Diaries Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Mom Needs a Moment Spa Guide

April 24, 2013 | By

Mom, you need a bath. Not because you’re dirty (you actually smell quite lovely!), but because you need a half hour of time to turn off that tailspun mind of yours. You need a fancy scented candle that you won’t feel guilty burning, you need yoga, you need sleep, and yes, I know, you need more Twitter followers.

Do you ever feel the need to tell your mom what she needs? Don’t think physical objects, think about mind-body wellbeing. Moms have a spectacular way of being in touch with everyone else’s needs, yet this leaves them too often detached from the importance of their own. How do you tell her what she needs? You don’t. You spa her.

Be the caretaker for a change, and send your mom for a spa experience geared towards optimal health and wellness, and make it something that will make her smile. What kind of mom is your mom? Get her a Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week, and set her up with the perfect spa treatment match.

1. THE STRICTLY BUSINESSMOM

Your mom’s got meetings, phone calls, conferences, hands to shake, and a deadline at 9AM the morning after Mother’s Day. Seriously!? You watch stress take her down at night, you watch her head off every morning to a job doesn’t satisfy her creative pursuits, and you watch her type away frantically on her dreadful Blackberry. She needs an escape from the rigidity of her daily life—both mentally and physically. She’s got business in the front… she needs a party in the back.

SPA DIAGNOSIS: This woman holds a lot of tension in her back, neck and shoulders. Your Businessmom could use a massage, but I’ll tell you what she needs even more: a twist. Surprise her with a Cupping Treatment. This ancient Chinese therapy will have both instant and long-lasting benefits relieving back tension. Using suction cups that create a vacuum, this treatment gets stuck blood circulating again like no other. It creates temporary red marks, but they will never be visible under that boxy business suit! Her cool cupping experience will also make for good water cooler talk.

BONUS: Get her crayons and paper and draw together. Life doesn’t have to be so serious.

2. THE MILF

Just face it: your mom is a hottie. She looks better in those jeans than you do, and you know what? Despite your resentment, deep down you are proud of her. You aspire to be like her one day… as if you’re not developing her neurosis already. Like a good offspring, it is your job to support her ageless face in its progression into absolute timelessness. Take Gwen here, for example. You KNOW that Kingston totally got her the airbrushing for this photo for Mother’s Day.

SPA DIAGNOSIS: Show your MILF you love her and respect her genetic superiority with an anti-aging facial. Diamond microdermabrasion facials go a long way to keeping skin smooth, taut and young. It’s a non-invasive treatment that’s great for getting rid of lines in the face that look like wrinkles, but often are just an effect of dry skin. In a few years from now, you can take her for a mani-pedi and have the discussion: Mom, would you like me to get you Botox?

BONUS: Get her a compact mirror. Write a short “I love you” message inside – in Sharpie.

3. THE DR. OZMOM

Your mom started making bi-weekly salmon dinners as soon as Dr. Oz had a salmon episode. She just this week started purchasing vast amounts of vegetable powder.  She stopped using the microwave for some time after reading an article about it on the internet, but then started again because Dr. Oz said it was fine. She only goes by her RealAge.

SPA DIAGNOSIS: Acupuncture! Because Dr. Oz is really into it.

BONUS: A day on the calendar and the ingredients to make Dr. Oz’s Lemon Facial Cleanser… and a whole skincare lab worth of his many famous at-home spa recipes. FUN!

4. THE FIFTIES HOUSEWIFE

Julia Childs in the kitchen, Mary Poppins of the soccer carpool; your mom is a stay-at-home champion! Her life’s work is the series of perfect human beings she has created, and she takes joy in all things diapers, homework and pediatrician checkups. However, she forgets that her “stay at home” title doesn’t mean she can’t ever get out.

SPA DIAGNOSIS: Send your dedicated mom to a place where she has no choice but to channel that dedication to her own self. Send her for a day at the banya. Let her soak up the childless therapy of the jacuzzi, the eucalyptus steam room, the cold plunge and the various saunas. Help her get back the simple joy of being one with herself.

BONUS: A YouTube video parody song declaring your love for her.

5. THE VEGAN YOGIMOM

She meditates in the mornings and hits the yoga mat shortly after. You are served fresh made kale chips when friends are over. She shops only at Whole Foods. She’s centered and healthy and calm and she teaches you little life lessons over the sound of her juicer.

SPA DIAGNOSIS: Your mom is undoubtedly in an eastern hemisphere headspace, so why not help her plunge in deeper? She would love Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the traditional Hindu system of medicine which uses diet, herbal treatment, and yogic breathing. She would especially love Shirodhara, the soothing and spiritual pouring of warm oil over the third eye chakra.

BONUS: A Gluten-Free Macaroni Necklace.

Filed Under: Moms and Family, Spalebrity Diaries Tagged With: , ,

The Perfect Spa for Moms

September 25, 2012 | By

No babysitter? No problem.

Our Hot Mom Spa Squad has been doing a stellar job rallying busy moms into the spa for some much-needed pampering, but in case you still have an excuse lingering, the buck stops HERE: LifeSpa, participating in Spa Week, will watch your kids—FOR FREE—while you get pampered for only $50!

Craving a nice sweaty workout too, dear mother of three? LifeSpa is located inside select Life Time Fitness Centers across the country, and when you book a Spa Week treatment there, you get full access to the facilities for the day. What a perfect day—your kids get a fun, social, entertaining romp in Life Time Fitness’s Child Center (two hours complimentary) and YOU enjoy your MomME-time, totally guilt-free. There’s a Kids Computer Center, a Play Maze and a Junior Sport Court. Your little ones will be begging you to go to the spa all the time!

LifeSpa’s philosophy is to make their guests feel beautiful from the inside out by providing a personalized experience, advanced technicians, and the best-in-class products. The spa offers massages including deep tissue, Thai, and stone, hair care treatments, makeup artistry, facials, wraps, scrubs, waxing and more.

Locations are in Minnesota, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, New York, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, and their brand new locations just outside of Las Vegas. Click here to find one near you and book your $50 spa day for Spa Week 2012!

Filed Under: Moms and Family, Spa Week Event, Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Mom Monday: 3 Tips for Pampering Yourself on the Inside

July 2, 2012 | By

By Bekah J

Going to a spa can do wonderful things for our bodies and help make us look and feel good. But what if you can’t make it to the spa? Why not try somewhat of an “internal spa treatment”? A pampering of our souls to help us feel good when we can’t receive a physical spa treatment. Here are some easy things you can do to make yourself feel good on the inside so you’re better able to tackle the outside world.

Meditate

It may sound a little cheesy, but research is continuously touting the benefits of meditation. The nice thing is there’s really no wrong way to do it. You can spend time praying, you can find all sorts of resources for guided meditation, or you can just take time to breathe deeply and focus on nothing but the sounds and sensations around you. The only thing you need to do to reap the benefits is to give yourself some uninterrupted time – even five minutes will help – is to step away from the immediate cares of the world.

Keep it in Perspective

There are two mantras that help me get through just about everything: “lower the bar” and “it’s only a phase.” Although these are particularly appropriate for parents, they work for anything. Most of us keep standards for ourselves far higher than anyone else has for us. By lowering the bar we can make our goals more manageable, and then raise the bar back up once we’ve reached them. Reminding ourselves that “it’s only a phase” can help us weather just about any storm or stressful experience, because we remember that it’s not going to last forever.

Affirm Yourself

Did you know that we have tens of thousands of separate thoughts per day? For most people, the majority of those thoughts are negative (regrets, thinking about mistakes, picking out our own faults). Consciously change that pattern. If you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, turn it into a proactive one. And spend time each day intentionally focusing on your strengths and the things you can do. It can be particularly helpful to write down positive comments that other people say about you, so that you can re-read them and remind yourself of your good traits.

When you feel good on the inside, you’ll be able to go through life more confidently. It also helps your stress level, which will have a positive effect on your health and relationships with others as well.

Bekah blogs at Motherhood Moment where she shares family-friendly tips on saving money and time, meal and activity ideas, and more. She also blogs at Motherhood Mindfully where she talks about mindful parenting and eco-friendly living.

Filed Under: Good + Happy, Moms and Family, Spa Treatments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,