How to Host a Spa Slumber Party

When the Professor's daughter asked if I would host a spa slumber party for her 8th birthday party, I was happy to oblige. I have a tendency to over-plan, over-spend and generally over-do things like this, but this time I decided I was going to exercise restraint and try to make it fabulous on the cheap.

In searching through Pinterest, I was surprised at how few parties like this were pinned. Most of what I found online was geared towards hiring someone who brings everything in for you and costs upwards of $500-$600 for the party OR the most basic info like how to create a label template for making your own bubble bath or something.

In the end, I just decided to do it all myself and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Originally, we planned on have four girls including the birthday girl. We wanted it to be manageable and modest. I figured with such a small number of girls, I could really go all-out and still not spend a fortune. And I succeeded!

To start, I knew each girl needed a spa robe, so with my 40% off coupon, I headed off to Joann Fabrics. Unfortunately, there wasn't any terry-cloth, but I made do with some bright pink fleece. I made these simple robes using a one-cut method. In other words, I cut the entire robe in one piece and then simply sewed up the sideseams to finish it off. I got a little fancy by adding the loops on the side for the waist ties, but other than that, I kept it very simple. In total, these robes cost $35.97 in fabric and an hour of my time. Literally- it took one hour to cut and sew all four of them- that's how simple they are.

Once the robes were completed, I was able to focus on creating their spa bags. The way I saw it, each girl needed a spa bag of items that she would use at the party that was separate from her spa goodie bag, which was her take-home party favor. 

The spa bag included a robe, a pair of flip flops, a sleep mask, a stretchy headband and a small towel. Believe it or not, everything I needed, I found at the DOLLAR STORE!!! And the best part was that everything except the towel was the same shade of bubble gum pink that I used to make the robes!

As each girl arrived, she was given her spa bag (that had her name written on it). We started with mani/pedis, but before their nails were painted, they were given some creativity with decorating their flip flops. Ribbons, glittery stick-ons, and more ribbons were in abundance. The girls' creativity came out in spades and they each ended up with some seriously fabulous flip flops:

After mani/pedi time, we took a break to eat dinner and have cup cakes. Not long after that, it was time to change into swimsuits and spa robes. They used their pink headbands to hold back their hair so I could smear a strawberry-scented mud mask (that I brought from home) on their faces. Cucumbers covered their eyes for the few, brief moments of "relaxing." Finally, they all hopped into the Professor's jacuzzi tub complete with bubble bath and, of course, a chance to wash the mud off their faces. They loved every minute of it and I think they all felt very pampered. It was fun for me to plan as well. 

I mentioned their spa party favor goodie bags, so I have to show those as well, or at least what went into them: 

What's pictured above isn't a complete photo, but you get the idea. The flip flops, sleep masks and head towels (at the bottom of the photo) all went into their spa bags. The rest was in their party favor goodie bag and it included: 

A manicure set

A pink glitter nail file

A bottle of pink glitter nail polish

A bottle of scented hand lotion

A tube of cherry lip gloss

A pink hair clip

A pink loofah

A mini-bottle of nail polish remover

Most of what I purchased came from the Dollar Tree, but a few things were purchased at Sally Beauty Supply from the clearance section. I also threw some candy and glow-in-the-dark rings and bracelets in there as well, but I didn't take a picture of them. Grand total for all the bags and their contents was about $48, so that combined with the cost of making the robes came to a total of $83.97 or around $21 for each girl. Not too shabby, if you ask me! I think I got a lot of bang for my buck since each girl went home with a boatload of goodies including her own spa robe!

I know that as the Professor's daughter gets older, there will be even more spa-parties and hopefully actual trips to the spa in our future! And fortunately I know how to make spa robes on the cheap! 

Have a great day, everyone and thanks for reading! 

My New Hair

As you all may remember, I had a hair appointment on my birthday last week. Even up to a few days prior, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, but I knew I was ready for a change. When I walked through the salon doors, I knew in that moment that I was going to make a big change. And here it is:

It's hard to tell in the photo, but it's actually a dark eggplant color and it's completely cropped in the back, as in pixie-cut short! I absolutely love it! 

All in all, my birthday was completely fabulous. It started a day early on Tuesday when the Professor had a gorgeous arrangement of flowers sent to work for me. I didn't get a very good photo, unfortunately: 

The next day, my actual birthday, I had a fabulous lunch with my mom at one of our favorite restaurants before she treated me to a hair make-over. After finishing that, I stopped at home to discover the Professor's birthday gift had arrived in the mail. Also, my step father had sent me a gorgeous arrangement of flowers, too! 

So pretty! I love how both arrangements make me feel like spring is right around the corner! 

Next, I drove up to Portsmouth to have dinner with the ladies from work. We got some Indian take-out and they baked me a cake!

I'm not sure why my face is so red in that photo, but my guess is that it was a combination of the spicy food and a whole lot of laughing and smiling. The evening was such a great surprise and a perfect finish to a wonderful birthday. 

Even though I was very specific about not wanting presents or a cake, there are always a couple of friends who just can't help themselves. And you know what, having a birthday cake and a couple of gifts when you don't expect them is really fun! The cake was delicious- it was a strawberry cake with vanilla frosting. It tasted a lot like a strawberry frosted donut. The next day at work, I was treated to an enormous cheesecake- the kind where each slice is a different flavor. So delicious! I think I had a bite of about six different flavors. 

As for gifts, the Professor was very generous and gave me a Wii! We've played MarioKart together before and I'm looking forward to playing it with him on a more regular basis. It kind of blew my mind when I learned that we can play that game together even when we're 1,000 miles apart! Technology is amazing! In addition to that amazing gift, two different people gave me two very similar presents. They even had similar packaging: 

Two bright green gift bags and each one had something similar inside: 

Two brand new STUPID LITTLE HATS!!! These ones are the fanciest of all and the one on the right looks more like a fascinator than a hat. I'm thrilled about both of them and can't wait to wear them! You can bet I'll be posting photos when I do. 

Thirty-four is going to be a great year. It's certainly off to a great start! 

A Hair Conundrum

Right now, my hair is about shoulder-length with some serious blonde roots that blend into a dark brown. For my birthday, my mom is treating me to a new hairstyle and that appointment is just days away. I'm feeling a little stressed because while I'm ready for a change, I can't quite decide on what kind of change I want to make! I went online to try another one of those virtual make-overs. Here are the options I've come up with:

Option #1

Option #2

I like option #1 because it's drastic. I like the idea of a dramatically shorter haircut, even a pixie style. The problem is that I don't want to look too boyish. Short haircuts have to be just right in order to also be feminine. Option #2 is good because while it is slightly less dramatic of a change, it also looks like it would be more versatile. I could even curl it for an effect similar to this: 

As of this minute, as I type this post, I'm leaning towards option #1, just because it's such a departure from what I've had for so long. I'm ready for a change. The question is: Will that haircut be the right change? I'm also going to get some color done. You may remember my tweet from last week, "My roots are so bad, I'm going to have to start telling people it's the new 'ombre' look." True story. So, do I stick with the dark chestnut brown? Or maybe try a little bit of a different color? 

I love this look: 

So, what do you think? I've only got a couple of days to decide, so leave a comment right away! The thing about hair, is that it grows, so any change I make today is far from permanent and I've never been one to get that upset over a botched haircut. Still, it's fun to plan it out and try to come up with something a little outside of my comfort zone. 

And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a dramatic make-over. I used the virtual make-over website to give myself a completely new look: 

Very dramatic make-up along with the short haircut make for quite a statement for me. I do love the lip color, but it's a little too much when combined with a dramatic eye. Fortunately, this is all just make-believe! 

Have you ever tried a virtual make-over? It's pretty easy to kill a couple of hours playing with it. I speak from experience, of course. Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone! And as always, thanks for reading! 

Rate My Look: Stellar Selling Hair

A little over a month ago, we had a little seminar with the sales staff at Madeleine's and one of the reps from Jenny Packham. We learned all about great selling techniques, specifically geared towards selling bridal gowns. Because let's be honest, we're in the business of selling dress. Yes, it's magical. Yes, it's emotional. Yes, it's all about "the experience" of shopping for the gown for the bride. But at the end of the day, we don't give these dresses away, we have to sell them. Or in my case, I have to sell the accessories.

In case I've never explained it before, on the weekends at my job, I take on a slightly different role from my Alterations Manager duties. I do accessory appointments with brides. It's a blast. When a bride's gown arrives in the store, she makes an appointment to try it on and shop for accessories. After all, you can't exactly pick out accessories for your bridal gown while you're wearing a pair of jeans. Accessorizing a bridal gown is tricky for most brides because it's something they have never done. The learning curve is steep and they rarely have any idea of what will look best. Fortunately, I have an excellent idea of what will look best, so those appointments are really fun for me. I get to be their bridal stylist and help them put together the perfect overall wedding look. Like I said, it's a blast.

Unfortunately for me and the store, many brides use this appointment time to get the overall look figured out, but then purchase little to nothing and tell me at the end of the appointment that they want to "shop around." They go to Etsy. They go to Nordstrom. They try to replicate the look I created on their own. They ultimately want to spend less money Sometimes they succeed, sometimes not. Every now and then you have a bride with a cohort who knows enough about sewing that they think they can replicate the style of the veil on their own. They snap photos, they scrutinize the details, they ask me how to do it.

I'm not trying to write a rant about the rudeness of wasting my time or anything like that. (That's another post for another time.) My point is simply this: after the seminar with the Jenny Packham rep, whose name is Petra, we all started referring to her sales methods as "Petra-fication." And we all resolved to utilize them in our appointments in the future. The first day we decided to do this also happened to be the day of our company holiday party. This is significant (at least to me).

That morning, when I was getting ready for work, I decided to spend a little extra time on my hair and actually put it up in preparation for the party that night. I teased and sprayed and bobby-pinned it into submission. Then I donned a basic black outfit (it being Saturday and all) and went off to work. My logic was simple: If we work till five and we need to be on the road to the party no later than six, there's  a possibility I might not have time to get my hair looking perfect for the party. I was just being practical.

As the day went on, and I incorporated the "Petra-isms" into my appointments, I found myself selling like a pro! Every bride bought every accessory that I put on her! It was like magic! I couldn't believe it! It was amazing and incredibly fun, to boot. The next week, I tried it again. I was only slightly less successful, and so I started to try to think about what I had done differently. And then it hit me: my hair.  My hair was normal for the next couple of Saturdays. And despite using as many "Petra-isms" as I could, I just wasn't selling quite as much.

So, this past Saturday, I did my hair again. I teased and hair-sprayed and bobby-pinned it to within an inch of its life. Then I donned another basic black outfit and went to work. I combined the "Petra-isms" with my amazing hair and guess what happened? I once again found myself selling like a pro! It worked! So, if you take nothing else away from this very long post, remember this: appearance matters.  (At least in my experience.)

I know you're probably dying to see this stellar selling hair, right? Well, wait no longer, friends. Here's the entire look:

This dress is so cool- it's a high-low hem and when I strut around the store, it flows behind me like a dream. The asymmetrical top is super chic, too. 

It's really the back of the hair that's so great: 

The feather and rhinestone fascinator really completes the updo and dresses it up like New Year's Eve. 

The pictures hardly do the look justice, but leave a comment anyway and tell me what you think. Would you trust me- and more importantly, my hair- to put your bridal look together? Or do you think I'm just getting better at sales?

And just in case you were wondering, NO, I am not wearing a Bumpit.