Entries Tagged as 'luxe'

Massage at Luxe

December 29th, 2008 · No Comments

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Roscoe Village, Chicago

For my birthday (in September) Dallas told me to pick a day to get a massage and he’d treat me. I ended up not getting it until early November, the weekend after we moved, which was the perfect time.. new job, new house, new stress. I went to Luxe, which is where I got my first massage ever. The massage therapist wasn’t the same, but it was still a great experience. They were having a special where you got a free salt scrub and it made my skin so soft! Afterward I had to take a shower to get all the salt off. This photo was taken in the bathrooms. I like the colors and the natural wooden bowls they have around the salon. So soothing.

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Last Day in Hawaii

March 31st, 2007 · No Comments

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Spa Olakino, Waikiki, Honolulu

The last day of our trip I got a massage at the spa in our hotel, Spa Olakino. It was a nice spa and everything, but I enjoyed my first massage at Luxe Salon much more. At Spa Olakino, my massage therapist was just doing it too hard and I had to keep telling her lighter and then I felt like a wuss, but the rest of the time I just kept thinking “ow! ow! ow! ow!” and couldn’t relax that much.

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Leonard’s Bakery

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Leonard’s Bakery Malasadas

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Leonard’s Bakery Malasada

Our main focus for the rest of the day was spending time with Dallas’ grandma and family before leaving. We checked out of the hotel, stopped to get malasadas at Leonard’s (the best!), and then drove up to Dallas’ aunt & uncle’s house. Dallas’ grandma said she hadn’t had malasadas for a very long time, so I was glad we stopped for them, although we couldn’t resist digging into them in the car when they were super-hot and fresh. We hung out at the house for a while, then went out for lunch at CoCo Ishibanya Curry House. Dallas cousin, Kala, needed to be dropped off for her basketball game, so Dallas took the opportunity to drive through his old school, Kamehameha, to show me what the campus looks like before going to lunch.

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CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

CoCo Ishibanya Curry House is a national chain in Japan and has 5 locations on Oahu. It was strange, because their menu was in English, but there were certain things still only in Japanese. And there were posters on the wall that were all in Japanese too. Because Dallas’ grandma is Japanese, we asked her what they said, but the only word she could make out for sure was “curry.” Great help grandma! She’s so cute.

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Chicken Cutlet Curry With Cheese, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

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Grandma & Dallas, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

Ordering is pretty easy. I remember there were a lot of photos on the menu so you could see what you were getting. Basically, all they have is curry. An you can choose whether you want it hot or mild. Then you pick what sort of curry you want – pork cutlet, seafood, ahi cutlet, chicken cutlet, beef, etc. (photo of the menu here). Finally, choose if you want any add-ins. Gyoza, kimchi, and other meats and vegetables were some of the add-ins available.

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Quincy, Jessica, Grandma, Dallas :: Alewa Heights, Honolulu

After lunch we went back to the house and hung out for a while with Dallas’ cousin Quincy and his girlfriend, his grandma, and his aunt’s father who lives there too. And his cousin Jessica dropped by, so we had to take a photo together with their grandma. When we left, we stopped to do a bit of shopping at Ala Moana and then headed off to the airport.

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My First Professional Massage

February 3rd, 2007 · 10 Comments

2007_02_massage.jpgBefore today, I’d never gotten a professional massage before. I don’t know why, I’m surprised, myself, that I haven’t. Most of my friends have, if not in Chicago, New York or California, then on vacations to tropical places. But somehow the massage has eluded me on my visits to Hawaii and the Virgin Islands. Anyway….

Earlier this week Allison sent me an email about this promotion Pretty City promotion called “Love You” where participating salons and spas in large cities across America were featuring popular treatments for only $59. The promotion was also raising awareness of The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.

So, I clicked the link and browsed the list and noticed that Luxe Salon & Spa, which is only a few blocks from my apartment, was offering a $59 hour-long massage which is normally an $85 value. “So, why not give it a try,” I thought? Also, I’ve been having back issues and pain associated with stress and repetitive motion, so it could only help!

I just got back a few hours ago, and it was awesome. I don’t really have the experience to say, but I think that Leah the massage therapist at Luxe is the best. I had scheduled an hour-long full-body massage, but in reality after checking out my shoulders and back, she spent most of the time, 45-minutes up there. For which I’m thankful, because they’re nice and loose now. Mostly, while Leah was working on me I felt so decadent. And not that I really felt guilty about it, I loved it. I deserved it, I told myself, but I kept thinking about every movie I’ve ever seen where some big fat guy was getting a massage and someone came busting in saying “The cops are here!” I kept feeling like someone was going to walk in. I need to relax more. I also kept thinking how celebrities like Madonna or Oprah Winfrey probably get massages every day.

Laying on the heated bed at Luxe with the aromatherapy and the soothing music and everything, I wish I could have stayed there all day, but out into the cold I went to meet up with Dallas for lunch. Great experience.

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