Date night

After my meltdown on Thusday night, I was thrilled when B reminded me that he had taken off Friday afternoon so he would be home at around 2 and therefore I could go do whatever I wanted after dropping Ella at daycare, I wouldn't have to be home until late. All I had to do that day was show the apartment twice (both of which went well) and I was off duty. The cleaning lady was even planning on coming so I didn't have to worry about a thing.

I immediately called up the salon , L'Appartement 217, I had been wanting to try to see if I could still get an appointment for that afternoon and by some miracle, they had an opening. After getting Ella to school, I went straight over, since I wasn't sure exactly where the place was. In fact, its right next to the Colette shop on rue St Honore, super easy to find. The only downside is that the room that I was put in has windows onto the street and so inevitably, you lay there and listen to scooters buzzing by and horns honking and kids screaming at each other as they leave school. They don't have music in the rooms, I could hear what they were playing out in the main areas but it wasn't the most serene atmosphere. On the other hand, the decor is great. Its a typical Hausmannian apartment so high ceiling, moulures, and parquet floors. Everything was painted a beautiful soft grey and there were spots of bright color scattered around. I loved it. Made me even more excited about the idea of getting my hands on a new apartment.

The best part was the actual "facial". Its half facial and half massage, so she started by spraying some sort of oil in the air and then massaged my stomach and chest. She did the basic facial with all sorts of lovely different oils and then while the mask was setting she massaged my shoulders, head, and top of my back. After the facial was done, she had me roll over to massage the rest of my back with lavendar and rosemary oil and then finished by going over the rest of my body. It was absolute heaven. Then she had me lay on the chaise longue with a cup of tea, while I got my strength back. That is pampering. They use a line of products called Les Senteurs des Fees, which is a French brand that I had never heard of before, and it smells as wonderful as it feels. An hour and a half of absolute bliss and the price was great as well. If I was going to rate this spa, I would say that it is nearly as nice as the George V spa, which is my absolute favorite.

I think that I'll make an appointment on Monday for the first day in January that I have Ella back in daycare. After all the holiday stress, it will be just the thing and how nice to have that to look forward to when I am stuck in the airplane with Ella, going on Hour 18 of our endless journey home.

After that wonderful afternoon, I still had our date to look forward to that night. I had made a reservation for B and I at Market. After reading La Petite's entry about her dinner there, I started getting hungry. Was very lucky and they managed to squeeze us in at the first sitting (comme d'hab, when I called they were a bit snotty about it being so last minute and said that there were only tables left in the smoking section. I said that would be fine- although those tables are awful- and then when we got there, we managed to get a really nice table in the main room. NEVER BELIEVE WHAT THE RECEPTIONIST SAYS is rule number one of dining in France.)

I really like that restaurant. I don't think its phenomenally good, but we definitely ate well last night, had enough space around us to have a good chat, and basically it was just a nice grown-up night out, which was what I was hoping for before the madness of our 3 week holiday at my parent's house. The funny thing was, most of the night, the tables on either side of us were empty. But then when we were waiting for our dessert, people were seated on both sides. To the right was a couple with the woman quite a bit older than the man (who sported the best mullet I've seen in a long time. And I couldn't really tell if he was being ironic about it or not.). On the other side, there was a man in his mid-50's with a stick-thin girl in her early 20's. The Mullet Man didn't talk much, so I didn't pay much attention to them. On the other hand, the Old Guy wouldn't shut up and all the better to eve's drop on them. It just confirmed all my negative ideas about those sort of mismatched couples- he wanted her beauty, she wanted his money and they were both so fixated on that they seemed to ignore the fact that they were completely miserable. He was some sort of bigshot at an advertising agency and actually seemed like a decent enough guy- smart, interesting, well-travelled, well-connected. It seemed like she didn't have anything to say, she couldn't find anything on the menu to eat (well, I suppose, considering her size, food isn't something that she is well-acquainted with), and actually seemed really bored with the whole thing. I don't want to be too hard on her because I think she was possibly even younger than I am guessing and when you are that young, you're automatically sort of stupid and gauche. That is why it is so nice to finally be a grown-up on day. The guy was a bit of a tool, because the only reason I can imagine he was so excited to be out with her was because she was so attractive. But it baffles me- is that kind of relationship (even if its only a night out) fun for either of them? Between the uncomfortable silence at the table to the right, and the blah-blah-blahing of the guy on the left, we were ready to get out of there by the time our bill came. The Smoking Section was starting to look like it wasn't so bad after all...