Who’s going to the Beauty Goes Red event this Thursday at the Long Center? We’ll be there giving complimentary chair massages and nail polish changes — and we’ll have our favorite products on hand for you to shop, at up to 40 percent off!
All the details here. Can’t wait to see you on Thursday night. Let us know you’re going by telling us on Facebook or Twitter.
Jamie Kelsch Her latest jewelry line, “Flight,” was inspired by her move from Colorado to Austin eight years ago and is marked by elegance and urban appeal. Each and every piece of J. Kelsch Jewelry is made by hand with the kind of attention to detail and quality craftsmanship that turns wearable art into potential heirlooms. “Wearability is important to me,” says Kelsch, “I keep my jewelry lightweight and integrate a lot of hinges to create movement.”
See and shop Kelsch’s pieces at our Downtown – 2nd Street location from February 11 to 13.
Anna Gieselman The Bee Amour collection, created by artist and backyard beekeeper Anna Gieselman, is both a tribute to bees and outlet to help them. Every piece is made locally in Austin, is detail-oriented, dedicated to original design, and donates 5 percent of company profits to bee-loving nonprofits and institutions.
See and shop Gieselman’s pieces at our Downtown – 2nd Street location on February 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Valentine’s Day, oh Valentine’s Day. It’s amazing that one day in the shortest month of the year could make so many women cringe, so many men panic about questions such as “one dozen or two?, and simultaneously impress upon us the importance of showing just how much you love someone. To pay homage to the most romantic day of the year, we’re sharing our best — and worst — Valentine’s Day memories. Enjoy.
“For Valentine’s Day in 2006 — I had been with my boyfriend for 2 years at this point, and we had just bought a house — he surprised me with exactly what I wanted: a treadmill. It WAS exactly what I wanted. The card said ‘Not because I think you’re fat. I love you, Travis.'” — Summer Langhorne, general manager
“One of my favorite Valentine’s Day memories is of being a kid and getting all of those cute little store-bought V-Day cards from all of the kids in my class. They would tape up homemade envelopes on the blackboard with each person’s name on it, and you’d drop the cards in them. I remember giving the ripped up mangled one to the boy in our class that was a mean bully, and scratching out the eyes of Snoopy or whom ever was on the card because my mother said I had to give one to everyone. And, I loved when my Dad came home from work on Valentine’s Day with those “red hot” hearts, balloons, a stuffed bear holding a heart, and chocolates. Oh, those were the days!” — Alissa Bayer, founder and owner
“My friends and I decided to have an anti-Valentine’s Day party. As part of it, we actually lit a heart-covered box on fire in our long driveway. It felt very rebellious at the time, but we must have put too much lighter fluid on it because a neighbor called the fire department… and they actually came to put it out. Ha.” — anonymous
“I spent Valentines Day one year drinking a bottle of red wine out of a thermos on the Pedestrian Bridge while overlooking downtown Austin as the sun set with my two best friends. We all held hands and watched all the couples strolling by. It is still one of my most favorite Valentines Days!” — Laurana Kuhlman, licensed massage therapist
“Valentine’s Day 2005: I found out that the first boy I had truly fallen in love (ah! first love! which happened to coincide with my first year living in NYC as a college freshman) was cheating on me with a girl living in an apartment two floors above mine. What a day! Thank goodness for amazing friends. That was also the day I discovered one of my favorite bars in the East Village, so all’s well that ends well.” — Marisa Tom, marketing manager
“Worst? He bought me a toy-size keychain board game. As in, it was my favorite board game (sweet!) on a key chain. Best? Going out for drinks with my girlfriends.” — Cara DuPre, concierge
“The Valentine’s Day before my and my now-husband’s wedding, he sent me flowers from 1800flowers.com. I was livid with him, and could not believe I was going to marry someone who could not even go to the store, buy me flowers, and give them to me in person. I think you should only send flowers like that if you can’t give them in person. He ended up talking to my mother about it, and she told him that being in a relationship with me would never be easy or predictable. He was just confused as to why a girl would be mad that she was given flowers. Boys. It took me several days to not be mad at him. After that, I didn’t get flowers or anything for years!” — anonymous
“First time I was single in a long while, Valentine’s Day comes around, and I am feeling super down. So, I buy myself a homemade red velvet cupcake, get a bottle of Tisdale Sweet Red, and watch an entire season of Firefly. I felt fabulous.” — Erin Catherine Brannen, concierge
Written by guest editor and milk + honey licensed massage therapist, Matt W.
With the holiday season behind us and February in our sights, let’s review our efforts and the fruits of our labors.
Consider taking a moment of refuge and asking for sanctuary.
Where does the idea of “sanctuary” come from?
Sanctuary as a Western concept arose from an older (ancient Greek and Roman) recognition of sacred spaces, and the right to use these spaces to make contact with the divine, or at least to seek refuge within that holiness. They chose places of natural beauty, quietude, and awe to represent their sanctuaries. The Catholic church later adopted the notion of sanctuary, the dominant characteristic of which was protection from civic and criminal persecution. It was meant as an opportunity to repent, and to take refuge in the higher laws of God, thusly enjoying a reprieve from the sometimes unjust lower laws of society. A similar concept of higher law pervaded serious Buddhist concepts. To take refuge in Buddhism ultimately means making a commitment to practices of wakefulness, thereby taking refuge in ultimate truth.
What does sanctuary or refuge mean now?
When I turn the words, “sanctuary” or “refuge,” over in my mind, notions of security, protection, but also humility and sacredness arise. This doesn’t have to have religious connotations my scientific friends. The sick day is a perfect example of taking refuge from ordinary life. To take refuge is to remove oneself from outside influences, and sometimes to remove oneself as an influence to others. It is to temporarily escape the laws of noise by taking refuge in the laws of quiet.
So, how do we do it?
For many of us, the refuge we enter must be a place whereby we can drop off our preoccupations before entering. We must access provisions that separate us from the storm. A powerful refuge, one worthy of being called a sanctuary, will take this to the next level. It will provide refuge from the the more aggressive aspects of our own personalities.
You need to recognize the need to step back. Set aside time to do so. Find a place to go, and go alone. Don’t make demands on any sanctuary or refuge, but give thanks and be respectful to it. Make agreements and allowances. If you seek refuge in nature — say, on the Green Belt in Austin — take water and put your phone on airplane mode. Refuge can be portable. A yogini takes refuge in her breath. A child takes refuge in play and imagination, or in the arms of a parent. We all need refuge, and the good news is that most of us can access it somehow.
We need pauses and rests, and we do so by taking refuge.
Source: zug55/Flickr
Tennis @ The Parish, Austin, 01.15.14
Don’t let the odd-seeming choice in band name deter you from listening.
This husband-wife duo (Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore) put forth a full sound, marked by Moore’s beautifully rich vocals, an underlying nostalgic harmony, and a healthy amount of tambourine and “maracas.” While Tennis has officially been on the music circuit since the debut of their 2011 album, “Cape Dory,” it’s safe to say that they’ve really hit their stride with the addition of their 2012 album, “Young & Old,” and their just-released set of singles entitled, “Small Sound.”
On Wednesday evening, they played at The Parish to a sold-out crowd. With a disco ball reflecting its fragments of light from above, excited fans bopping and swaying to the feel-good verses, and a very petite Moore belting catchy lines like, “Coconut Grove is a very small cove,” in her sweetly soulful voice, it was hard not to walk away from the show with a smile on our face.
Here are a couple of our favorites. Take ’em for a spin this weekend:
We stopped by the FOUND: Photographs of the Rolling Stones private opening on Tuesday evening at the DEN Property Group space to pay homage to one of our favorite Brits: Mick Jagger.
This candid set of Rolling Stones photos almost went totally unaccounted for until very recently. One might say the whole sequence of events that led up to this gallery showcase personifies the unpredictability of rock-n-roll. The photos were found in an unmarked box at a Los Angeles flea market, and to this day, the photographer remains unknown. What we do know — and see, front and center — is a snippet, a glimpse into the Rolling Stones’ 1965 American tour.
Set in both Savannah, Georgia and Clearwater, Florida, the now-familiar (and legendary) subjects, along with founding member and road manager Ian Stewart, chill around the pool and drink beers, capturing a time and feeling that reflects the beginning of a true rock-n-roll era.
If you find yourself on or near the corner of 3rd St. and Guadalupe St., definitely stop in.
The Details
FOUND: Photographs of the Rolling Stones
@ Den Property Group: 317 W. 3rd St.
Open Tuesday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Now through March 14, 2014
FYI: we’re in today’s Austin-American Statesman: section D, page 3.
If you’re an online subscriber, you can read the piece in full here.
Thank you to The Statesman for shedding even more light on our new milk + honey products — we love the write-up, and we appreciate the local support.
So, you’ve made your New Year resolutions — namely, don’t skimp on the exercise, to eat healthier, and to remember to squeeze in dedicated “you” time every week. Now it’s time to follow through. It can be hard, it can be an uphill battle, and it can be a little discouraging… especially when the sore muscles (after an indulgent holiday hiatus) kick in.
Our advice to you? Stick with your new fitness routine — you got this! But be sure to give those aches and pains a little extra TLC, too. Courtesy of our Hill Country Galleria location, here are a few milk + honey ways to keep morale high, your body stretched and limber, and your mind at ease. Hey, there’s a reason we were voted “Best Spa Exeperience” by Austin Fit Magazine:
– Treat yourself to a sports massage. How is this different from, say, a Lux Massage? This full-body massage incorporates deep stretching and tissue manipulation to ease stiffness and pain in muscles and joints. It’s particularly useful for restoring mobility, preventing injuries, and relieving stress. In other words: athletes, fitness-minded folk, and people looking for a way to offset exercise-caused stiffness, what are you waiting for? Reserve your sports massage at milk + honey’s Hill Country Galleria location stat.
– We’ve got this magical potion — okay, it’s technically called Sore Muscle Bath & Body Oil No. 18 — that helps fight the not-so-fun soreness for you. This new milk + honey blend features Arnica oil, a potent anti-inflammatory, which speeds up the healing process while eucalyptus and other essential oils reduce joint pain and delight your senses.
– Have you ever heard of Arnica patches? We’ve got those too. And they’re life-savers. They’ll help treat bruises, sprains, and muscle pain.
– Finally, after the massage, the oil, and the patches, don’t forget about one crucial way you can help alleviate and prevent future soreness: use a foam roller. Among the many benefits of utilizing a foam roller? It smoothes and lengthens your muscles, and breaks up adhesions and scar tissue. You’ll also be setting yourself up for better blood circulation, which in turn speeds workout recovery and boosts performance. Lucky for you, we’ve got foam rollers on-site too.
Now, keeping your fitness resolution doesn’t have to be painful — in fact, it will feel really good.
Source: fitnessmagazine/Instagram
If last year’s hair craze was “the lob” — that’s a long short bob, in case you were wondering — then 2014 is already all about the bob. It’s chic, shapes/sculpts your face, and let’s face it, it’s one of the easier hair lengths to manage on a day-to-day basis. You can do an edgier cut (blunt layers), a softer one (reminiscent of a 1920s flapper bob), or have a little more fun with it and add some ombré while you’re at it.
Look to the most recent slew of celebrities to go short and blunt for proof of its now-trending popularity.
Kristen Wiig
Julianne Hough
Reese Witherspoon
Zosia Mamet
and Beyoncé, for just a hot second.
There’s also Michelle Dockery of ‘Downton Abbey,’ Lena Dunham, Elisabeth Moss of ‘Mad Men,’ and Kat Graham of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ doing it too.
Are you feeling the bob? With the New Year-new you resolutions and attitude set into motion, this is the time to experiment. Translation: chop it all off. And we’ve got just the place for you to do it…
Source: getwiigywithit/Instagram, juleshough/Instagram, swartists/Instagram, hamadiorganics/Instagram, beyonce/Instagram
Happy birthday to us!
We turn eight today — but it seems like yesterday that we opened our doors in the 2nd St. District.
Now, three locations later, we have you to thank for our continued success. {Thank you!}
