SpaTini 2012

SpaTini 2012 has come and gone so quickly...

I actually love to camp for real..like in the woods...with a tent...and no showers.  But my precious mother?  She is definitely the woman in the poster above.  Girlfriend loves her hotels, coffee, and 25 minute facewash routines with WARM water.


Any time the 3 of us get together, we are always in for good food, good drinks, and good laughs (not to mention a little irresponsible debit card activity).


We always stay in Biltmore Park which is about 2 hours from Knoxville and 2 hours from Charlotte..it's the perfect halfway meeting spot for us!  The Hilton hotel is in the square and it's surrounded by places to eat and places to shop...not to mention a movie theatre for all you movie buffs!  We are way too talkative to go to the movies together.




Biltmore Park!

We started Friday with a great lunch at 131 Main and then it was off to the spa!  Sensibilities Spa is located right inside the Hilton so we don't have to drive (great thing since most of you saw my mother after her last spa treatment).  Don't think we want her on the road!

I opted for the Hot Stone Massage and a Pedicure this year.  The pedi was simply because my feet have been walking (barefoot, of course) on hot pavement all summer and needed some TLC.  I was super excited to try the hot stone massage as I had heard mixed reviews on it.  Let's just say...I AM A FAN OF THE HOT STONE MASSAGE.


Listen.  I am a terrible relaxer.  I feel silly getting massages.  I am usually freezing to death during the massage and am ALWAYS thinking of stuff when I really am supposed to be zoning out.  This time was different.  I was actually relaxed and never got cold since there were 150 degree hot stones being used to massage me.  I even had little hot stones in between each one of my toes!  HEAVEN!!!  Needless to say---momma liked and recommends. ;) (PS..I was NOT holding a flower during my massage...ha!)

Friday night we went to our favorite Italian place Travinia and had a wonderful dinner (slightly interrupted by an obnoxious, loud mouth Northerner who needed some southern women to put him in his place).  ***SIDENOTE---Men...it is extremely unattractive and RUDE to yell and snap your fingers at your female waitress.***  Just sayin'.

With our fabulous waitress at Travinia...she needed to feel some Southern love after her rude Yankee customer. :)

Saturday we headed to Biltmore Village for a little girl time including shopping and lunch.  We had a great time browsing and looking around and stopped at a yummy little place called The Corner Kitchen for lunch.

I cannot discuss what went on after lunch but I will say it involved the White House/Black Market store...several outfit changes...and some super cute red shoes.  I may have passed my Sorceress of Shopping title to someone else. ;)

That night, we went to a fabulous dinner spot called the Red Stag Grill.  It is in the bottom of the Grand Bohemian Hotel and we had a great dinner in a fabulous atmosphere.  I would highly recommend this grill if you are looking for a dinner on the "fancy-shmancy" side.  PS...I ate Elk for dinner!  Delish!

The room we ate in (with a slightly smaller table)

You can't tell...but the menus LIT UP when we opened them...ha!  We were extremely excited by this!

After dinner, my party animal mom didn't want to go to bed yet, so we sat outside on the patio at another place and had a little champagne and people watched (best sport ever).

The Temptress of Mixology strikes again!  This is her idea of fair sharing the champagne?  I think not. ;)

Sunday morning we always eat at Tupelo Honey for breakfast.  YUM!  I despise breakfast food but they make an amazing "breakfast bowl" with black beans, goat cheese grits, bacon and melted cheese.  I add a little hot sauce and BAM...my kind of breakfast.  (Some of you probably just threw up in your mouth.)  If you are ever in A-Ville, I highly recommend looking it up!

All in all, there are few things in life that I enjoy as much as a weekend with my mom and sister-in-law. 

I love to laugh..we laugh. 

I love to eat..we eat. 

I love to shop..we shop.

I love to dance at clubs...we...ok I haven't gotten them to do that quite yet.

LONG LIVE SPATINI WEEKEND!

I Can't Make This Stuff Up...

This post needs some explanation.  Actually...my whole family needs explanation. ;)

Every year, my dad, brother, and husband go on a "Father-Son Fishing Trip".  It's called the "Smackdown in Cherokee Town" and they compete for 3 days to see who can catch the most fish.  Of course, up until 2 years ago, the women were doing our womanly duty of watching the kids.  Now that the kids are older, they both go on the fishing trip with the boys and WE GET TO HAVE A LADIES ONLY SPA WEEKEND!!!  This will be our 2nd annual ladies trip while our men are out fishing for the trophy.

To go along with this annual tradition, my hysterical brother sends out an e-mail every year to "announce" the trip and get us all excited about it.  We get a guy e-mail with the fishing competitor list and a girl e-mail with the spa participator list.  I had to post this year's e-mail about our ladies trip because I literally about peed my pants and was doubled over laughing so hard that Matt thought I couldn't breathe...and I really could not.

I wanted to share this e-mail so you could laugh along with us.  If you know my family, this is no surprise.  If you do not know my family, you will probably wish you did after this. :)  The best part is dedicated to my sweet mother...who lives for massages.  Last year after her massage, my sister-in-law and I saw her wandering around the spa in a trance with hair like Michael Myers.  After we fell over laughing, we checked on her to make sure she was ok.  She looked like a mental hospital escapee...for reals.  She REALLY enjoyed her massage and evidently her hair did too. ;)

Well...enjoy this e-mail from my brother.  He truly missed his calling in life....

What happens when 3 women converge upon the quiet, sleepy town of Asheville, NC….complete and utter CHAOS!

Yes that’s right native Asheville citizens, lock up your children and your household pets because the 2^nd Annual Mother-Daughter Spatini Festival is about to hit your town in a LARGE way!

From July 27-29, these 3 women will drink, shop and massage their way through the town of Asheville in hopes of coming back to reality refreshed and energized to face the challenges ahead of them. But beware, in order to be refreshed and energized, they will tear your city apart in a matter of 48 hours!

Be on the lookout for these women as nothing but trouble will follow their winding path!

MOST WANTED SPATINI FESTIVAL MEMBERS

Name: Amanda Mallery

Nickname: Sorceress of Shopping

Crime: Her wand will mesmerize you as she snatches up everything in the store right before your very eyes!

Tip: Do not shop during the weekend of the Spatini Festival

Name: Deana Hicks

Nickname: Temptress of Mixology

Crime: Her smile is devilish, but as soon as you are hypnotized, she has ordered another drink….on your tab!

Tip: Do not visit any establishment where Adult Beverages are sold

BEFORE:                                                    AFTER:

Name: Mary Hicks – The Ringleader

Nickname: Michael Myers

Crime: Once she has been to the spa, she roams the town in a trance with crazed and unruly hair looking for her next victim!

Tip: If you hear the Theme Music to Halloween….she is nearby….run

Be wary of these members of the Spatini Festival!

If you run into any of these wanted women, do not make eye contact! You are urged to seek shelter immediately and contact your local authorities. In case of city evacuation, please follow the nearest evacuation route and leave as soon as possible!

Please tune in to the Emergency Broadcast System for further instructions!

I'm telling you...when I saw that picture of Michael Myers and the walker...I about died.  Just wanted to share!

*I will try to get a real picture of mom after the spa for this year...haha!

For the Haters ;)

Listen.  I know this only applies to about 5% of the general population, but I just had to get it out there.  I ran across some pictures today while cleaning out my camera of NY pictures (that blog will come soon) and had to share them.

I know personally that when someone asks me what I do for a living, I am busting at the seams proud to tell them I am a teacher.  I think all careers are respectable and I commend everyone for doing a job you love or simply doing a job to provide for the needs of yourself or your family.  I am fortunate to have a job I believe I was made to do.

So...when you find yourself a little bitter (ahem) about teachers having the summer off, keep in mind all the work that goes on the other 10 months (yes...summer is now down to 2 months) of the year.  I am in no way patting solely myself on the back.  Teaching is a team effort between tons of different players.  However, these pictures sum up why I do what I do.  Why I dream of classroom organization at night, why I get excited about Dr. Seuss Day and why I am already excited to meet my new kiddos.  If it's a disease...I hope I never find the cure.

This first picture is from the first day of school...it is his version of writing a "story".




And yes..what you see is random letters strung together to make a "sentence".

Now...this is his letter to a future 1st grader at the end of the school year.  Ya'll...I'm not lying one bit when I tell you that I cried when I saw this.  We worked SO HARD all school year to develop this child and to see his progress and share it with others literally made me emotional...happy emotional.



I see periods, space between his words, and several words spelled exactly right!  Are you crying tears of joy yet???  Ha!

Well, just thought I would share my happiness upon rediscovering these pictures.  I am gearing up for a new school year (I go back August 2nd...kiddos come back August 10th) and ready to work hard another 10 months.  This may just be my motivation! ;)

I am also extremely thankful for these 2 women and the impact they had on my Noah this past school year.  He came a little into the year and they welcomed him in with open arms and loved him like I do.  We love you Yancey and Marsha! :)

*Noah wanted me to make sure everyone knew it was Pajama Day that day..ha!

In Short, TEACHERS ROCK! :)

Keep Walking, Friends.....