Unpacking after a trip is always a drag but this morning I had the best surprise that made me cry. It's tiny but decadent it comes with a lot of love and thoughtfulness from a long time friend and big sneak!
I am not a fan of fancy perfumes....but I do love essential oils and pure plant based fragrances. On our last day we popped in the Riviera gift shop and I was instantly in love with the smell of Kai, it's heaven in a bottle. It's light and clean and smells of white flowers, gardenia and sweet jasmine.
Kai is also rather precious as it's pure perfume oil and preciously priced so I quickly moved on as it didn't fit with my holiday budget. I happened to be shopping with my dearest Shannon at the time who must have noticed my swooning and while unpacking today I found a small box with a pretty taupe bow tied around it. From the size I knew right away it was the Kai. Her thoughtfulness brought a tear to my eye and made me whoop with joy and of course immediately roll on some fragrance and inhale. It even got the thumbs up from hubbie, which is good as he has to smell me all the time.
here is the Kai story from their webpage...
gaye straza spent her youth vacationing in the tropics. after years of avoiding mainstream perfumes because they did not agree with her, straza decided to create a scent for herself that embodied the exotic white flowers she loved. for several months she worked tirelessly with a small boutique fragrance house to develop what we now know as kai fragrance.
kai took on a life of its own. there was so much demand for the fragrance that straza sold her boutique in 1999 to develop the line, launching kai as its own company.
today, kai is sold at exclusive boutiques and spas all over the world, with many devotees including jennifer aniston, julia roberts, charlize theron, reese witherspoon, jennifer garner, naomi watts and others.
Wow, I feel so swanky wearing the same scent as the celebs. A perfect way to have some sensory memories of our days and fun in Palm Springs together...dressing up and playing at the Riviera where the rat pack used to hang out was such a cool experience. I took lots of pictures on our last day or two and will share them soon. Thanks Shannon...you never let me down as a friend and you and the Benzels (Cathy + Meghan) were the bestest travel mates, I'm so grateful and spoiled.
Us gals made perfect roomies. Our first day we set up our room in little zones to keep it looking pretty, and as a way to organize four girls with lots of stuff in one space. We also needed to have things put away so we could lounge in the room clutter-free when we wanted. Meghan found a silver jewellery tray and made a fascinator display...which I had nothing to contribute to as I don't own a fascinator but I had lots of Stella & Dot bling I bought to share. We made a reading materials table, a shoe spot, a vitamin drawer, a snacks drawer and luckily the bathroom had lots of glass shelves for toiletries.
Cathy and I assembled a lovely bar. Silver trays, ice buckets and tongs, a gorgeous big red owl Cathy bought, a mirrored bottle cover Meghan bought, glassware and of course some takeout cups for sipping by the pool. We each picked a bottle of something new and some mixes and shared throughout the trip. We had lots of yummy cocktails without wasting our food and shopping budgets on expensive drinks poolside. My pick was a new flavour of Absolut and I mostly mixed it with coconut water or soda and some pure fruit juices we got a 7-11...although one day I mixed it into sugarfree white berry/coke Slurpee and it was delish.
Not to mention the beautiful bottle! I am sure I will pay at least double the price to buy a bottle here in Canada but I'm a lightweight drinker so it's worth the investment. Shannon and Cathy also invented a Caramel Vodka, apple juice and soda drink that was fabulous we had our last night.
There will be no cocktails being sipped here today, I have a slew of work to catch up on after my lazy days off....but it was so worth it. A hit of sun and dry heat, swimming, a bit of shopping ( I bailed early and missed out on the $40 Coach purses! and awesome $20 Kate Spade bags), some amazing meals out, dancing and live music and most of all time with friends who've got my back (and sometimes my forgotten suitcase!) and I can be completely be 'just me' with was exactly what I needed.
It took me a couple days to get my bearings, catch up on sleep and really get into Palm Springs mode and then we made up for it with enough laughs and dancing the last two days to keep me going another year. Thinking next year a big Snicks Palm Springs Retreat might be in order....did some chatting with the manager this year and hopefully I can share a grand dealio with you all next November.
Who wants to come?
oxo
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