Christmas in July

My version of Christmas in July is when my birthday (February) comes in May because I finally make an appointment to use the spa gift certificate I was given by my favorite 2-friends-and-a-baby.

Ira, Illa, and Irina at Serenity served me amazing treatments, most of them enjoyable and relaxing, topped off by a "spa snack" at the end of my afternoon. It's hard to take a picture when you're getting a manicure (actually, it's a little hard to eat, too), but I memorized the details to report back to you.

Serenity Spa Snack

• banana slices (half a banana's worth)
  
• walnuts (4 or 5)
  
• almonds (small handful)
  
• blueberries (small handful)
  
• strawberries (3, large)
  
• dates (2)
  
• dried apricot slices (3)
  
• green grapes (2)

With a glass of water, this was a welcome plate to pause over after an hour-long massage; 30 minutes with my hands trapped in paraffin, plastic bags, and oven mits; ten minutes of steam blowing up my nose; and a fair amount of extraction pain.