The winner of the competition would receive a full day's pampering and indulgence on 5 December. That was the clincher. Because 5 December to me personally means a hell of a lot of things. It's my mother's birthday. And then it's the day my mother passed away in a car accident. Miserable memories, happy memories, and seven years of coping with this particular day each year as it rolled around inexorably, as it does. So before Mum passed away, it had always been a lovely day to spend with her, to take her out, to indulge in good food and laughs, and then watch her get tipsy on the tiny bit of wine it took. Fun times.
The last seven years has been about remembering the things we can longer do, and longing to have another dream of her (I've had two since she died, both very memorable and real). Mother's Day is sort of similar, and I deal with that by being in the ocean because nature heals all. But the day she was born and the day she also died - well, that's more personal, and also harder to deal with. I still go to the beach, and always cry a bit. I try and keep busy as well. And I'm always glad when the day is done, for another year. I'm not sure if Mum was being considerate by dying on the same day she was born, but it does give me one less memorial date to suffer through in the calendar year. Thanks Mum. It certainly makes you very unique, but we knew that!
So this year was now going to be different, because how I would spend the day would be radically different. In fact, I'd never ever spent a whole day like that, ever!. So of course it's worthy of a good blog, so here it is!
I work up early as usual, showered, and defuzzed my legs even more than usual, because I didn't want the poor masseuse combing through my hairy legs with her fingernails. OK, I'm not that bad. So I combed my wet hair, looked in the mirror at my almost half a century year old face, and wondered what on earth anyone can do with that! Well, I was about to see. So I didn't bother with makeup, knowing the facial was going to be taking it all off anyway, and not that I wear much at all anyhow. It's just too damn hot here, and plus I'm always in the water. My skin has the texture of an expensive handbag these days, and all is right in my world, hehehe
I felt I should wear a dress for the photo shoot which would happen at the end of the day, because I'd apparently be looking so glam and so unlike myself, I might as well go the whole hog and not be myself... So I slipped on a dress I'd had for a little while and never worn, and then tried to get used to the idea. I almost got there.. and then my daughter woke up and glanced at me as she was walking to the bathroom. "Oh... what's that?" with a disinterested sideways glance, and then she disappeared. I called a little anxiously after her, "It's a dress, honey. What do you think?" No answer. "What do you think?" Still no answer. Sigh. I go back to the mirror and look at myself searchingly. I see a woman who's no longer young. Scrap that. A woman who no longer LOOKS young. Raggedy looking wet hair dripping down my neck, a non descript blonde with dark roots. Well I hope they're dark. They're probably grey.
The dress is colourful and cheery, and makes me look, to my way of thinking, quite the opposite. I don't think it's going to get a run today. Then Nicolle emerges again, glances at me and says, "Are you gonna wear that?" I guess that, as one would say, was my A-ha moment. A-ha, this dress looks crap on me. I glance at my watch; 15 minutes before I need to leave. Just enough time, I'm thinking, as the dress gets pulled over my head and thrown into a corner, and I reach for something more "Me."
This turns out to be a pair of 3/4 length pants in a dark khaki, a white singlet top with a black lacy overtop, and my clunky black sandals. A-ha. Better. No makeup or hair to do, so I simply grab my bag that I'd prepared earlier, and flee out the door before Nicolle can say anything else to have me doing another costume change, but this time with only 5 minutes to go. I'm on my way!
My first stop is at Sunshine Beach, a little cafe called The Deck. My host Kym is there, and she's looking very polished in a navy dress with white polka dots (why do they called them polka dots anyway, why not just dots for heaven's sake; and why do I wonder about such stupid shit anyway!) and she's wearing red patent shoes which look really funky to walk in, and a matching red belt. She's beautifully made up and groomed, and I of course am not. And I know she is the lady I am meeting, by the big red basket sitting on the table beside her, resplendent with interesting looking girly gifts. It can only be her, and I guess that basket can only be for me! I can feel a big grin already splitting my face wide open; I'm feeling like the kid in the candy store already.
So we sit down, order our coffees, and start chatting. Kym is very easy to talk to, and we natter away easily, and enjoy those delicious aromatic coffees on that sunny big deck overlooking the park, with the waves of Sunshine Beach foaming away just beyond. It's a lovely spot, and it's already quite warm. A year ago, I would have been quite intimidated by meeting someone who looked so professional and polished, being the diamond in the rough that I am. But it's amazing how different it is when you're operating from a positive mind space, because suddenly there are no limits as to what you can do, or who you can relate to! It didn't hurt too that Kym was very down to earth, and great fun!
After running through the agenda for the day, and inspecting that glorious basket (mmm there's even chocolates in there) it's time to get to my first appointment, which is with Melanie at Sunrise Beauty. Melanie operates a home business, and she greets us at the door of her sunny townhouse with a big friendly smile and greeting. She then leads me into her treatment room, which is warmly decorated in sunny tones, and is quite the prettiest massage venue I've ever attended. It's time to strip off and envelop myself in those big fluffy towels, and then she comes back in and starts the massage. We chat a little, and it's great. Not an annoying endless stream of mindless conversation to fill a silent space, or any stony silences. There's lovely relaxing music in the background, and I feel myself sinking further and further into sublime bliss as the massage goes on. After a while, it's time to flip over, and we gradually slip into the facial part of the treatment. Melanie tells me what she's using at each phase, but I'm off with the fairies by now, and can only tell you there was a bamboo scrubby something or other, not its technical title by the way! In between waiting for masks to set and the like, she's giving me head massages or other attentions. At no time did she apply something and then just wander off while I lay there waiting; she kept the momentum going, and even somehow managed to slip in a new set of eyebrows for me!
So after enjoying over two hours with her, and feeling incredibly soft and silky and totally rejuvenated, Kym was back to take me on to our next adventure, which was the Rose Room Cafe on the Noosa River for lunch, and to meet with my stylist, Amanda, for a consultation on, well, style (or my lack thereof!).
We were greeted by Amanda from iAM Styling on the deck of the Rose Room, and she looked very smiley and welcoming and, well, stylish... and after a couple of photos, it was time to sit down, order up, and then start talking - you guessed it - styling!
After a quick fun quiz on my style savvy, it was confirmed that I was a "comfy" dresser who was also a bit "eclectic". Hmm, must be that funky zebra skin thingy I bought the other week that's tipped me over from plain boring to borderline interesting, but anyhow it saved me from the scarily dull label of Mrs Comfy Dresser. But the whole thing was so much fun, laughs, and even some useful tips that I took away with me. I now know how to focus people's attention on the bits I want them to notice. OK, the zebra skin thingy might get a run yet, cos you sure can't help noticing that!
Amanda and I also had a giggle about the fact that she was wearing a dress but had almost worn 3/4 length pants and a singlet top, but changed her mind at the last minute and put on the dress... while I did the exact opposite. Her dress was very similar to the dress I hadn't worn. It was obviously the Universe's way of ensuring we didn't get confused, and start fighting over who was in fact the stylist.
The food at the Rose Room was divine, as was the pineapple punch. The chocolate brownie that we shared was to die for, and its creator Deb came up and gave me a big congratulatory hug for winning a competition that she originally brought to my attention on Facebook. It takes a lovely soul to do that, and I hope she remembers me for her next batch of brownies, because they truly are the best I've ever had! Thanks Deb!
While I was eating and styling away with Amanda, Kym my lovely hostess was off checking out the parking situation, and making sure I didn't score a parking ticket to dampen my joy. Nothing was too much trouble for her, and the hardest thing for me was just to thank, and accept, accept, accept today... whew! She then came back and made sure we placed my car in the right spot for the afternoon session, which would be what turned out to be a long haul at the hairdressers for cut, colour and full makeup. This wasn't going to be a minor service; this was a damn overhaul!
We arrived at River Terrace Hair Studio also on the Noosa River, a very funky upstairs salon with a very charming view straight across to the water. I was introduced to Lisa and her daughter Emma, and then after a little bit of discussion and clever guidance from Lisa, the old tired locks started to fall.. and fall.. and fall. There was way more hair on the floor than on my head, and oh it felt good! Then my hair was washed and dried, and you could see how good the style was going to look, even before the colour. And then I had roughly 176,549 foils applied to my head, ok maybe not quite that many, then got to sit under what looked like a spaceship orbiting around my head (but which was in fact a dryer) and then it was time to wash it all away, and dry and style and fluff me into the incredibly pampered creature I was fast becoming...
Meanwhile my photographer Melanie McNiven had arrived, and she ended up having to wait for quite some time while I was fluffed and buffed, and whilst Emma then worked her makeup magic on me. The end result was a very natural but polished look. Meg Ryan I wasn't, but I sure liked what I was seeing!
The next and final thing to do was get some great photography happening down on the riverfront, and then I really felt like I was getting the star treatment, playing up to the camera, and enjoying lots of different locations along the river. My lovely friend Denise had come to the hair salon, so she joined in with the photography fun along the river, and we even managed a besties shot that I'll treasure forever... and it was then time to say farewell to the wonderful Kym who had made this day possible for me, and also to Melanie our very creative photographer. I'd been rubbed and buffed and preened and fluffed, and now it was time to fly the coop for an exciting evening. My day wasn't over yet!
Denise then drove me down to main beach for the sunset, after stopping on the way to collect a cool six pack of my favorite, and we then walked over towards Little Cove beach where I'd scattered Mum's remaining ashes some months ago now, and there we cracked open beers, enjoyed a breathtaking sunset, and drank to my amazing and gorgeous mother, who would have been out enjoying the waves, just as she always did in life. Here's to you, Mum! And here's to the most beautiful soul restoring place on this planet, that we are so lucky to enjoy each and every day of our lives here, and here's to the most amazing friends that I'm so privileged to have in my life, both here today and elsewhere. Cheers, cheers, cheers!
And still my day's not over yet!
After picking up my car down at the river, I collected my daughter some dinner (not one drive-thru takeaway, but two, as my girl deserved a Mackers frappe with her Red Rooster chicken of course) and then went home to deliver said dinner, freshen up (not that I needed too much of that!) and then I was being whisked away to a gorgeous steak and seafood dinner back down on the river with my special friend, Vic, who carefully told me how gorgeous and young I looked (carefully because as he said, it's always dangerous telling women they look better and younger, in case they then feel that previously they looked older and worse!) Dinner was stunning, and I felt stunning..and incredibly spoilt! And then it was down to Hastings Street for some Nitrogenie ice cream to finish off with, and admire the incredible light show that Noosa has put on this year for us all to enjoy. OK, we even stopped to take photos like a pair of awestruck tourists, because it just begged for that. Then it was time to head home, and call it a day...
Just because you've not spoilt yourself in years, doesn't mean you ought never do it. And just because someone you love has passed on, doesn't make them dead. They still live in your memory, and in a thousand little visions and insights you have, especially on these sorts of days. My mother was alive in every ripple in that ocean, with the sun setting across Laguna Bay, to the tune of a funky pink and golden speckled sky. Mum was saying to me I deserved this day. So did all those nearest and dearest to me. So I'm going to accept that for myself, not just for this day, but going forward, and from hereon I declare 5 December to be a most special day on my calendar, one which is going to be filled with great things, good cheer, and much happiness. It started with this day. The path is always there, sometimes you just need an angel guiding you in the best way forward.
My heartfelt gratitude to Kym, genius and shareshop extraordinnaire, and all round amazing person, with the coolest red shoes ever! Thank you to Melanie of Sunrise Hair and Beauty, you reawakened the joys of being spoilt again in a person who'd truly forgotten that side of things. I'll be back to see you soon, with daughter in tow! Thank you to Amanda of iAM Styling, such a fun lunch filled with clever styling tips, and thanks for sharing your brownie with me too, glad I could help! To the crew at Noosa Terrace Hair Studio, Lisa and Emma, you both rock, and so does your studio! To Melanie McNiven, guru of all things photographic, thank you for the fun and inventive shoot, I really was queen for a day! And to my dearest buddy Denise, what more can I say but I love you more than any words here are ever going to express, you know it, and we get to live the dream up here together every day of our lives and are truly blessed. To my gorgeous dream child Nicolle, love you most of all, and thank you for your very un-teenage patience on this, my ultimate indulgence day, and especially going into the evening as well, so I could end the day by enjoying a lovely dinner with a very special man.. Vic, thank you for joining in making this day so perfectly wonderful!
Lastly thank you Noosa, for being that special magical place we call home Xooxxx
