Ladies who Lunch

Today Lauren and I pretended to be big-city women, rather than the small-town, Midwest, mid-twenty somethings we truly are. We spent most of the afternoon at a trendy, overpriced spa on Michigan Avenue... 1/2 block from the Hancock Building.

Back story! Lauren was given $100 in SpaFinder gift certificates for Christmas from her sister. SpaFinder certificates are neat because you can use them at multiple spas nationwide. Lauren decided to pick up $100 more in gift certificates at Costco (great deal... $100 worth of certificates for $75). She gave me that second set of certificates for my Christmas present, contingent on us going together to get pampered.

We did not plan on waiting for Christmas until mid-March, but life has a way of moving quickly. We have both been extraordinarily stressed lately, so we finally decided to make the appointments. Lauren hates cold-calling people just like I do, so I offered to find a spa and make the appointments. Lauren gave her input into where she would like to go, the appointments were made, and we were happy.

So we met up on campus today around 11:15, walked a bit into the city until we found a cab, and took it to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa and Salon at 919 N. Michigan Avenue. Arrived and checked in exactly at noon. We were shown to the changing room, where we ditched the coats and scarfs, put on the smocks, and then were shown to the waiting area. My stylist came to get me immediately, so I left Lauren sitting and went to put my hair in the hands of Nichole.

Of course, the first question was, "So, what are we doing today?" I did not go in with any set idea of what I wanted, I just knew it was time to get things cleaned up and re-shaped. So, in answer to Nichole's questions I responded, "Well, if I told you that you have free rein over my hair, what would you do?"

I often ask this of new stylists, and I have come to know that the first thing out of their mouth will tell me a lot about their training and skill. Those that immediately recommend coloring my hair do not have the level of skill I want them to. Nichole's answer? "Well, we are definitely NOT doing color of any kind! You have great, healthy, shiny hair with natural highlights that is absolutely beautiful. We're not going to mess with that." BINGO!!!

Nichole asked me a bit about my lifestyle, hobbies, and abilities regarding taking care of my hair, and came up with a great recommendation. Shorten it about 2 or 3 inches, layer softly, keep the bangs growing out, cut the front to wrap and frame. Blow dry and leave alone.

I decided I liked Nichole.

Off to the shampoo area. Nichole got me settled and then disappeared. Someone else came to wash and condition my hair. Definitely a swanky place when the stylists have nothing to do with the shampoo or (as I discovered later), the coloring.

Post-shampoo, back to Nichole's chair for cut and style. I was able to chat easily with Nichole and the time flew. It was fun to scope out the other clients in the mirror during my cut. There were a lot of older women in the salon this afternoon, obviously in for their weekly shampoo and style. They all cracked me up.

Round brushing during the blow dry took forever!! I'm used to it, but still! There is a reason I don't attempt that type of blowout at home! I may have fine hair, but dang there is a lot of it.

Finish with some pomade, check it out front and back, decide I love it. I could tell Nichole was really pleased as well, beyond the typical stylist's pride in their work. I like to think she really enjoyed working with me.

Many thanks and then off to find Lauren. Find her with her stylist, Chance, back by the shampoo room. Shocking! She had told me what she was planning on doing, but it still surprised me. She cut it all off!

Explanation. Lauren looks like a pin-up model from the 30s or 40s. She's petite, tiny, and pale. She also has naturally bright lips, dark eyes, and natural dark, curly hair that she normally keeps about chin length. She is a gorgeous girl. Her new cut is adorable and very adult.

When I found her she was still about 1/2 hour from being done. We knew we each had some $$ leftover on the gift certificates, so Lauren told me to head to the front desk to see if we could add manicures to our afternoon. Of course, that was not a problem. I scheduled those then went back to the waiting area to drink lemon water and flip through high-end fashion magazines.

Lauren got done and came to join me. About ten minutes later they came to get us for our manicures. It has been over a year since I have had a manicure and I was a bit embarrassed to put my hands up on the table. Winter was not nice to my hands, with cracking skin and short, stubby, broken nails. The nail technician "tsk, tsked" me then gave me some advice on how to keep my hands nice.

Meanwhile, Lauren is next to me with her technician. They were chatting and I overheard Lauren mention this was her first manicure ever. Yayy!!! More fun stuff to add to the story!

The manicures did not take long and felt WONDERFUL! And my nails turned out looking not bad. I opted for a deep red with strong purple undertones and a bit of glimmer. Lauren went for deep red with pronounced undertones of brown.

We waited about 15 or 20 minutes for our polish to dry, gathered our coats, settled the bill (we owed all of $7 after the gift certificates) then out onto Michigan to find some food!!!!! We were both starving, so we only walked about a block before settling on the Cheesecake Factory.

We had a yummy lunch/supper, then grabbed a cab back to the middle of downtown, where we could hop public transit to our respective homes. We both take the same train line, just in different directions. Stand on the platform together talking until Lauren's train arrived, a quick hug and thanks, and she was off. My train came in a few minutes later, and in 10 minutes I was home.

It was a great day. We had planned on doing some shopping after lunch, but Lauren was exhausted (she got up at 5:30 this morning for work) and really wanted to head home and take a nap. We'll just have to do the shopping trip later. Lauren gets to pick the store and shop up to X amount on my dime. That's my Christmas present to her.

It was a much-needed afternoon of relaxation and pampering for the both of us. We got to escape our normal selves and experience new things.

I'm so grateful I have Lauren as a friend.

Mom is currently about 45 minutes away from my apartment. She's coming in to the city to spend the weekend with me. They are dyeing the river green for St. Patrick's day tomorrow morning. We're going to go see that, and then kick around and do some final "Chicago" things. My time here is quickly coming to a close and mom wants to make sure I experience as much of the city as possible before I leave.

This time next week I will be back in Iowa, beginning 9 days of spring break gloriousness.

I enjoyed being a lady that lunches. Back to reality for me, though!

Love!!

~g