Poppy's Easter book this year was actually a whole set of books: Fancy Nancy. She was given one of the early reader books featuring Fancy Nancy by her preschool teacher and immediately fell in love with the character. I have to admit that Fancy Nancy is quite charming in all her over-the-top ways, and the books are not really as vapid as they sound.
One of the books in the set I got her was Ooh La La Spa! It's Beauty Day, in which Fancy Nancy treats her mother to a very fancy home spa day. Poppy, of course, was immediately captivated by this idea and wanted to do it.
I am not much of a spa person myself, so I was not notably enthusiastic about the idea. However, when her brothers went on a field trip to Santa Fe with the elementary that she was not allowed to go on, I consoled her by telling her we would make it our spa day.
The book that started it all.
We followed some of the things in the book, and decided on some things ourselves. Poppy made a schedule for us:
The referenced "Boy Helper" was a last-minute addition when one of her brothers was home.
As per the schedule, we started with a foot soak. I used two packets of some absolutely ancient foot soaking powder that came originally from Blackrock. They must be at least 30 years old. I have no idea how these two packets ended up in New Mexico with us, but this seemed as good a time as any to use it.
Seriously, MiL, how old do you think this is?
Because we are country bumpkins, I used a rubber feed tub as our soaking tub. Poppy added some marbles, as Fancy Nancy did, so we could massage our feet on them.
Here we are, soaking away our foot misery.
Next on the agenda was a face mask. There was actually a recipe in the Fancy Nancy book for a face mask that was just mashed banana and honey. Because I can never leave well enough alone with recipe, I also added some oats, and then a little water to make it more spreadable.
We even had a cucumber for the necessary slices for the eyes, thanks to A.'s recent trip to the Outside World. So I found "relaxing spa music" (my exact search) on YouTube and we prepared to get beautiful.
Appropriately masked.
Poppy applied my mask for me.
She was very generous with the oats.
After cleaning ourselves up, it was on to manicures and pedicures. Poppy did this for both of us.
Pedis in the kitchen.
The end result was a lot of blue nails.
Twenty each, to be precise.
Finally, a tea party. This was not in the book, but we love a good tea party in our house. I had made cookies earlier in the day, and I made some very fancy cucumber finger sandwiches.
I even cut the crusts off, which is something I typically disapprove of.
And that was our DIY home spa morning. It was fun. And, of course, fancy.
The foot soap may date from the summers when A was in college and worked outside all day. So, maybe a bit over 20 some years. Possibly l bought it later to have on hand if needed, for one never knows when a nail might get stepped on or a spa day might come up. Mil
ReplyDeleteHow sweet! Bet this is something your daughter will remember forever! My mom once took me on a picnic in February to complete a girl scout badge---still a wonderful memory!
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome! Who needs an expensive outing when anything can be made to happen at home. Loved the face mask, and Poppy did a terrific job with the nail painting. Please let her know she was made to be fancy, just like her mom - not. This is nana by the way.
ReplyDeleteFor "not notably enthusiastic" I would say you hit it out of the park.
ReplyDeleteFancy Nancy is fun. But I have to admit that I love the illustrations most of all.
What a great day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteLinda
This is seriously adorable! I love that you made this happen and I guarantee Poppy will cherish this fun memory with you for life!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great mother-daughter day!! I love reading about it, and I'm impressed that you enthusiastically went along with the idea--and seem to have had some fun with it. I agree that Poppy will remember this event for a long time.
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