local fave: hiatus spa

the year i planned our mystery girls trip, i was doing some online research for spas in austin.  hiatus spa kept popping up in my search, so sight unseen, i booked services for each of us.  the staff was incredibly accomodating and helped me arrange this surprise entirely over the phone.

once we arrived in austin, we were treated like queens.  there i had a pedicure unlike any other i had before.  it has turned into the pedicure that all of my future pedicures will be measured against.  does that sound dramatic?  likely, but that doesn't mean it's not true.  now granted, it's a pricier pedi than say, at that place down the street from your house where you sit in a massage chair and soak your feet in a giant tub while you read an us weekly.  no sirree, bob.

because my husband is a genius and/or a really good listener, he bought me a spa package at the hiatus spa in DALLAS (there is one here, too, hallelujah!) for mother's day.

i could finally have my pedi repeat.

let me explain the glory.

they soak your piggies in a copper basin and pour warm water from a pitcher over them to start.

then, once you select your color, they recline you in your zero-gravity chair (i'm talking, laying almost flat on your back, people).  

the manicurist then asked me to close my eyes while i selected my aromatherapy scent, just before she placed the neckroll behind my neck and a weighted mask over my eyes.

and the finishing touch, before she began the tedious work of srubbing the god-awful skin of my feet, she said, "enjoy your time.  see you in a bit", as she placed headphones on my ears which played thunderstroms for the next EIGHTY minutes.

my goal was to not fall asleep because a) i wanted to enjoy every second consciously and b) i thought i might snore and/or drool.  i entered some blissful zone between consciousness and unconsciousness for the remainder of my mani/pedi.

once it was over, i walked slowly in my comatose state to the locker room (surely they don't call it that in a fancy spa) where i saw a sign placed between the sinks which read, "D Magazine, Best Mani/Pedi 2013".  well, duh.

i think i'll go ahead and give them my vote for 2014 as well.

now go treat yourself.  

it's an order and you deserve it, i'm sure.

p.s. you are welcome.

xoxo

hiatus spa + retreat

5560 W. Lovers Lane | Suite 250 | Dallas, TX 75209 | 214.352.4111 

hot tub mix

guess what, guess what, guess what?

mystery girls trip is this weekend!!!!! (if you are thinking to yourself, "what in the hell is mystery girls trip???", read here)

and even better, i am not planning it this year.  all i have to do is show up.  the mystery is bliss.

however, i never show up empty-handed.  i make a soundtrack of sorts every year for the trip to give to the girls.  usually i make one "mix-tape" but last year i made three because, well, i was in charge.

i shared each mix with you here and here, but i just realized i never shared my favorite mix with you on the blog.  so in the spirit of girls trip week, here is the final installment of last year's mixes.

*preface: the cabin we rented last year had a hot tub.  i got the giggles everytime i envisioned a bunch of whitey-white girls in their mid-thirties, sipping cristal bud light in the hot tub while listening to biggie.  it still makes me laugh just typing it.*

girls trip 4

girls trip 3

enjoy the music.

NSFW!!!!

love,

coco

girls trip 4 mix-tape, volume two

via

as promised, here is the second girls trip mix-tape from this year.  since i planned the trip, i decided to step it up with THREE mixes.  heeeeeeeeey.

here's volume two.  there's no rhyme or reason, only that i try to include upbeat songs (slow songs can be a downer for a dance party).  these are just songs i like and decided to make into a mix.  (to listen to volume one, click here.  for past playlists, try here and here.)

spotify playlist

1) from nowhere- dan croll
(this song makes me a really good dancer ;)
2) time to run- lord huron
3) ramona- night beds
4) everlasting arms- vampire weekend
(this song makes me a really good singer. by far the best album purchase of 2013 for me!  AND they'll be at acl this year.  holla.)
5) royals- lorde
(radio is trying to kill this for me, but i won't let it.  nosiree, bob.  p.s. did you know that she is like 16 or something ridiculous like that?)
6) 1957- milo greene
7) breezeblocks- alt-j
8) spotlight- leagues
9) feels like we only go backwards- tame impala
10) let's go- matt & kim
(oh please, oh please go see them live.  you will not regret it).
11) diane young- vampire weekend
(this song turns ben into a really great singer.  he must get that from me).
12) float- pacific air
13) two fingers- jake bugg
14) keep you- wild belle
(i linked to a live performance so that you could develop a girl crush similar to mine).

what songs are you loving?  i neeeeeeeeed to know.

i'll be back with the icing-on-the-cake of mix-tapes.  to be continued....

love,

coco

girl trip 4 mix-tape, volume one

via

***know what's funny?  i average 25-40 pageviews per post (a pageview is how many times people have clicked on your post, if i'm not mistaken).  i don't normally share my blog updates on facebook, but i did for our family pictures because i wanted to tag our photographer.  ummmm, 195 pageviews!!! holy cow!  should i keep fb posting?  decisions, decisions.

***the band widespread panic is in town so my hubs is off pretending he is back in college (go get 'em, honey!)  i figured to stay on a music theme, i would share my first installment of music from this year's girls trip.

***i got a little theme-y with the "mix-tapes" this time and since we were headed to the hill country, i thought we should most definitely have a little country music accompany us on our road trip.

***the girls thought i hid a clue in each song, so they were listening intently and drawing all kids of crazy conclusions.  actually, i only strategically included the first two songs.  the rest are just songs i like (none of which indicated where we were headed).

***here's the playlist on spotify.

1) play a train song- robert earl keen, jr.
(i accidentally tricked the girls into thinking the trip involved a train, so i threw this song in as an opener.  just for giggles.)
2) southbound 35- pat green
(why yes, that was the direction we were headed.)
3) wagon wheel- old crow medicine show
(the original is always better, am i right?)
4) right down the line- bonnie raitt
(oh man, the more i hear this, the more i love it.  saw her at jazzfest.  girl crush since.)
5) she's like texas- josh abbott band
6) one chord song- stoney larue
7) good times- charlie robison
8) one more night in brooklyn- justin townes earl
9) truth no. 2- dixie chicks
(my favorite dc song, and quite possibly one of my favorite songs ever.  i miss these girls.)
10) hell on heels- pistol annies
11) i can get off on you- willie nelson
(i couldn't find a good live willie version on youtube, so here are my boyfriends the avett brothers singing their version.)
12) in my arms instead- randy rogers band
13) every girl- turnpike troubadours
14) strawberry wine- deana carter
(since i spent my seventeenth year with the majority of the women on this trip, i thought i'd include this oldie but goodie.  this song was such a BIG deal when we were in high school.  we felt a kinship to this song, considering we were also seventeen and drank copius amounts of strawberry wine.)
15) sangria wine- jerry jeff walker
16) springsteen- eric church
(i love, love, love this one.)
17) you never even call me by my name- david allan coe
(a college anthem...that is if you attended college in texas.  a bar closer every time.)

what do you think?  what would you have included?

stay tuned for volume two (woot!)

xoxo,
coco

greatest hits: girls trip

done and done!  mystery girls trip 4 was a success.  to read more about our girls trip tradition, click here and here.

as you know, this year i planned the trip (which is no small feat).  we were down two girls for the first time ever *sniffle* so our budget had to streeeeetch this year.  mission accomplished.

here are the greatest hits:

1) not pictured: the girls trying desperately to guess our location while on the road.  hilarious.  i gave them some false clues to throw them off (it worked).  i also planted some hints in a couple of songs on our annual girls trip mix-tape, but they were under the impression that there was a hint in every song.  oh, it was entertaining.

2) we stopped in austin for "lunch" which really took place in a spaaaaaaaaaa (cue my best joey tribbiani evil plan laugh). we were pampered (hard-core) for after having lunch catered in.  bliss.

sarah called in an order of cocktails for us all the way from portland, so we toasted to her.

y'all, i had an hour-long pedicure in a "zero-gravity" chair, which basically means i was fully reclined with a neck roll, a blanket and an eye mask.  i may or may not have woken myself up by snoring.

jenn was informed a few times by her sweet (?) aesthetician that her skin was dry.  very, very dry.  um, thanks?

3) we battled the friday afternoon austin traffic to arrive at our cabin on canyon lake an hour or so later.

4) because it was my year, the girls got not one, but three mix-tapes as a momento.  including a "hot tub mix" complete with biggie and tupac.

5) we had really friendly hungry neighbors.

 6) ummmm, there was a swimming cove.  perfect for floats and dubs (dubs are those giant thermos' we pour our booze in.  dub is short for dub-tee, short for white trash).

 7) did i say hot tub?  yep, there was a hot tub.

8) we took christy's tubing virginity and floated down the upper guadalupe river for six. long. hours.

drunk. water-logged.  bruised.  happy.

 9) we ate and ate and ate.  for the first time ever, we i went to bed early both nights.  we took breaks from eating by drinking or dipping in the tub or sitting on the porch sipping coffee and reading celebrity magazines.  we didn't have to report to work or answer calls or wipe butts or seperate fighting children.  we were away from them long enough to really miss them.

i hate when it's over.  i am already anxious for next year's surprise!

per tradition, i'll give you my mix-tape playlists soon.

links:

where we were pampered

lunch in austin

where we stayed

where we floated

our catered dinner

viva, girls trip!

(most of these pictures are marcy's.  thanks, marse!)