christmas and new year's - although a lovely break from work, did not leave me as well rested and recuperated as i would have liked to be when i came back to london, raring to start work again for a new year. couple that with the fact that i then spent a week in bed sneezing, and then a week back at work when i wish i could have just ~stayed in bed, and i think i have a solid case for "needing a break" - right?
so, when ocean finance got in touch, offering me the chance to relax on them much like many of their own customers do, well i was hardly in a position to say no. i fact, the position i was in meant that it was very ~easy for me to say yes. that position: exhaustion. so, come saturday morning i woke early, squeezed in a few chapters of the new marian keys thriller (lol) in bed, then layered all the clothes i own onto my body as i let myself out into the day. first stop: aromatherapy massage.
coffee in hand, i made my way to my booking at le crisadore spa, which is a short walk from my flat. it was such a beautiful day - despite the chill in the air; the winter sun had really outdone itself. i'm a big fan of winter - not the rain and sleet and crap winter, but the bright blue days, where it's so cold you have to rug up and wear all the layers, but where you still feel the warmth of the sun on your face, you know? so this was the perfect way to start my relaxing day.
i've been to le crisadore before, so i knew what i was in store for, and once again, i was not disappointed. i had explained my week in bed and aching body to lucky, my therapist for the day, and she got to work on all the lumps and bumps my neck muscles had created through coughing, sneezing, sleeping funny and the like. thirty minutes with her is never enough, but considering how fragile my muscles were already feeling, i think it was just the right amount of time for a bit of rehab.
once i'd been wiped down and was able to reapply my face somewhat, i was released back out into the wild, to continue my mini pamper sesh. which obviously included donuts, because they were two for a pound, and also en route to my next stop: the hairdressers. thanks to the power of wahanda (which apparently is now called 'treatwell'..?, i'd been able to book both sessions in within an hour of each other, which left me just enough time to eat both donuts, have a wee, and change my shoes before making my appointment at whistles on brockley hill rise.
my appointment was with georgia, the junior stylist; as i was just after that world-renowned head massage and wash, plus a blunt cut and blow dry, i was positive she was the right stylist for the job. we chatted about tattoos and pastel hair while i instagrammed my ridiculous head, and generally just zoned out a bit. i love having my hair played with, so choosing the junior stylist was definitely the right choice: she took her time with everything she did, which meant that i got to have my hair played with for longer. she gets practise, i get relaxation. win/win!
by the time i made it home just after two, i'd been out and about for hours, but came walking back on air. my body was relaxed and rejuvenated, and i couldn't stop running my hand through my newly-shortened hair (poetry)! for the first time in weeks - and despite ~still being congested and headachey from the cold air on the sore sinuses, i felt more 'me' than i had done in weeks. which just goes to show that a little bit of relaxation - and not just the standard 'saturday night in' or 'pizza on the sofa', can do a tired body the world of good.
what have you done to relax and unwind yourself lately?
*treatments were complimentary, all experiences are my own*
