Recovered.

Whew! What a weekend!

I am very pleased to have survived Valentine's Day weekend. This was the first year at the Spa that February 14th has fallen on a Saturday. In previous years, we had an increase in spa sessions and rentals spread over the weekends on either side. If you had a session with us, please feel free to email me with feedback.

I know one of the things that will change for next year is that we will require deposits. There was one "no show/no call" on Sunday morning. That was very frustrating as I had put in a reminder call to the couple the day before. I understand that plans made weeks, sometimes months in advance, can more easily go awry. Life gets a bit chaotic and schedules have to be pared down. Please call and I will gladly cancel and reschedule your session. We have a generous policy of asking for a minimum of 6 hours notice to cancel a session without incurring a cancellation fee of $50. However, if something pressing or unavoidable comes up, I will gladly waive the fee if someone takes the time to give as much notice as possible when canceling.

We have decided to implement a new policy for "no shows" that takes into account that sometimes things happen that can't be mitigated or acted upon before a scheduled session. There is a fee of $50 for not showing up that is already on the books. However, if you haven't come into the spa and filled out your new guest paperwork, you don't know that. For the first time you are scheduled, if you do not show or call in a cancellation for that session, the next time you call to schedule, you will be asked to prepay for your session. After your first session, we will gladly revert your status back to that of all our other guests and you will not have to pre-pay after rebuilding trust.

Hopefully this does not seem harsh. I want to be as fair as possible. However, scheduling a block of time at the spa and then not showing up means that there is someone out there that was told they could not schedule with us and missed out on the experience of their choice. Please respect the time of our practitioners, but also think of the faceless people who were told there were no session times available.

Thank you for your understanding and your responsibility.

Patience, please.

Today started the beginning of a busy Valentine's Day weekend for the Little Red Day Spa and the Little Red Studio. The Red Show is sold out both nights and the Couple's Spa Night & Party reservation list is filled. We have had such good response that we have decided to bring these Couple's Spa Parties back as a quarterly event.

I helped set up for the Red Show this evening and stayed for the first half hour of the show. I had forgotten how rich and exciting the show is. If you have tickets, consider yourself lucky and enjoy! If you don't, you can always show up and get on the waiting list. To give away a secret, most of our sold out shows have a small number of tickets/reservations no show. So, there's hope!

I'm off to bed to prepare for an insanely busy day tomorrow. When calling the spa this weekend, have patience. I am not able to answer the phone as much when we are this busy, but leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The schedule is filling up!

Valentine's Day at the Little Red Day Spa is full. Whether you were planning to come to the Couple's Spa Night & Party or you wanted to have a spa session with your sweetie, there are no more spaces or times available on Saturday the 14th or Sunday the 15th.

On Friday the 13th, we do have the late morning to early afternoon and one late evening appointment time open, though. Please give me a call at 206-963-0772 and I will get you on the schedule!

As a reminder, this special edition of Couple's Night on 2/14 is a reservation only event. No drop ins will be admitted. We aren't being mean, we just can't go past capacity! (Don't worry, we'll do another Couple's Spa Night & Party next quarter.)

Massage with Tuning Forks?!

I had a massage recently by a very good therapist, Sheila Fox, who incorporated Acutonics into the treatment. Acutonics is the use of vibration, rather than needles, applied to acupuncture points of the body's energy meridians. The web site makes it sound a lot more woo-woo than I am comfortable with, but the experience was pleasant enough that I can forgive their hype. I have had quite a bit of energy work in my time. My mother was always a little out there and us kids were often along for the ride. I became quite the connoisseur of woo-woo, picking out the "good stuff" from the "yeah, sure, whatever."

Acutonics definitely falls into the Good Stuff category. I had similar sensations, though much gentler, when the forks were applied to various points along my body as when I received Acupuncture. The vibrating forks were generally pleasant and soothing, something I didn't quite expect. Not only because of my experience with acupuncture being stressful yet extremely beneficial, but I also don't care for vibratory sensations.

She had an array of different sized tuning forks but only ever used 2 at any one time. She would strike the forks on a pad type thing to get them vibrating and then held the tips to various points on my body. This was not as loud as you might think, or annoying having a thump-thump precede each application point. I got used to the sound as it became a rhythm. Once she just held them close to my ears so I could hear and feel them. That was most interesting of all because I felt muscles loosen and shift even though the fork were not touching me physically. She also did some brutal myofascial work on my legs so the gentleness of the forks was greatly appreciated.

Overall, it was a good session. I have not had more than mild improvement of my complaints, but it was very relaxing and enjoyable, so the small amount of change is acceptable to me. I will definitely work with Sheila again. If you would like to experience this treatment, email me and I will gladly give you Sheila's contact information.

Valentine's Day Spa Night & Party

Saturday, February 14th @ 9PM until about 1am.

Instead of the Sensual Repast, the Little Red Day Spa will be holding a special event that will be part Couple's Night, part Sensual Repast, part Little Red Studio.

Here is what Jeff wrote in the newsletter:

Valentine's Day is on Saturday this year and I know you are all wishing you had something really fun and fresh to do with and for your Sweetie. Well, we are offering something special at the Spa. We have a special evening planned that is only for couples, of all persuasions, of course.

Starting at 9:00 Sophie will have the spa ready for an evening of food and fun. While we are not preparing a feast like the Sensual Repast, we will have heavy hors devours and lots of chocolate and desserts. In fact, we have something crazy in mind for getting you and yours truly involved in dessert. We will also have a Blues Dance Lesson and some dancing in the upper studio. Sophie will be encouraging everyone to Hot Tub, massage and body paint.

Then, around midnight, the cast from the Red Show will be coming over to party after their show. It will definitely be a wet and wild night.

Cost: $50 per person

Note: To reserve tickets you must call the office at 206-328-4758.

Ladies' Spa Night!

Tonight is Ladies' Night at the Little Red Day Spa!

I hope you will join me from 6 - 9pm as it is the first Monday of the month. Tonight we will have a new salt scrub. I am ushering in spring's scrub early as pomegranates are going out of season. The few I have been able to find have been small and anemic.

I also discovered the the variety of strawberries generally used for freezing are quite juicy. Add to their genetics that they are picked in their prime and then frozen gives a better flavor than I have experienced with standard grocery store fresh strawberries, since they are usually picked so that they ripen en route. Of course, local strawberries from the farmer's market are a completely different animal. I look forward when I can use those later in the year.

These nights are designed to be a casual and social evening. There will be a practitioner, usually myself, present to make you feel welcome and facilitate use of the spa's equipment. There will be areas set up for clay, salt scrubs and massage for you and your friends to pamper each other. For an extra fee, one can get a short massage or watsu during the evening from our massage therapist on staff.

Please call 206-963-0772 or e-mail Sophia@hengststudio.com for more information.

Ladies' Spa Night - 1st Monday of the Month!
Drop In: 6-9pm
Cost: $15
Little Red Day Spa
1506 Franklin Ave. E. Seattle

Please park on the street so that our parking spaces are available for guests with mobility difficulties.

Rumors about Valentine's Day Sensual Repast

We are getting more requests for spa sessions than we are getting reservations for the Sensual Repast on February 14th. Kerry in the main office has let me know that we don't have the minimum number of reservations yet. This is not uncommon, as people tend to make reservations for the dinner the week before, anyway. However, I have been turning down people who want spa sessions on the evening of the 14th because a Repast is scheduled.

For the above reasons, last night Kerry said that a decision of whether to hold or cancel the Feb. 14th Sensual Repast will be made within the next day or two. If you were thinking of attending the Sensual Repast as a Valentine's Day treat for your sweetie, I highly suggest that you put in a call to Kerry at (206)328-4758today or first thing Monday morning in order to secure a reservation. I will keep everyone updated as soon as I hear what decision was reached.

I have to admit, I am ambivalent as to what I want to happen. I love doing the Sensual Repast dinners, as the conversation and food is always of the highest caliber. Christina, one of the Little Red Studio troupe members who is a vocalist, is invited to sing during dinner and she told me of the luscious aria that she had picked out. An incredible night has been planned.

But if Repast is canceled, I will get to do spa sessions with couples instead, that is always a joy. There are few things better than sharing my knowledge with people so that they can take those tips and tricks home to pamper each other.

Sharing joy. Either way, I win.