Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Those Hanging Net Canopy Things

Sure, they're a little cheesy. But they're also so romantic, and make me feel like I'm on vacation in Bali.

Anyway, I really wanted one of these in high school. But my family had cats.

And then I really wanted one in college. But I had a dorm room with a bunk bed.

And then I really wanted one after I graduated. But I had another cat.

Lifestyle

Oh.

So this is what a massage is supposed to feel like.

I've had a handful of massages in my life - a couples thingy on our honeymoon (a sort of confusing mish-mash of not-very-relaxing and not-very-romantic), a prenatal massage (nice; hard to get comfortable despite presence of funny donut pillow for stomach), and a couple others here and there - but I've always felt very weird spending upwards of eighty dollars for an hour of what amounts to lavender-scented naptime.

This was worth eighty dollars. The difference between a therapeutic massage and a spa massage is basically that a spa massage focuses on relaxation, while a therapeutic massage focuses on getting to the root of your problem. The bells and whistles are gone - no robes, candles, or pretty little extras - but what you get is a massage that targets exactly what's wrong (as an example, the pre-massage questionnaire is fairly extensive). I went in with no specific problems other than the fact that I tote around a very large seven-month-old all day and have the aches and pains that come along with that - and I left feeling not just chilled-out...but better.

If you go to Eastside Massage Therapy, ask for Sarah. She is amazing, and she is the only massage therapist I have ever found who is capable of getting around my very annoying tickle reflex (as she said, "even ticklish people deserve massages").

Lifestyle

Sweetest-Ever Baby Present (For A Special Occasion)

Q. Hi Jordan! My godson's first birthday is at the end of the month and I'd like to buy him something special to have/keep/remember. I'm not opposed to spending a little extra since it's his first birthday. Do you have any suggestions?

Maura

A. I not only have "a" suggestion...I have the suggestion!