A friend of mine is in need of some distraction...and specifically mentioned blog-reading as a good one for her. This post is dedicated to you, Duchess!
On Sunday of our trip to visit family (back in early August), my sister hosted a Lush party. She had won a contest and the gift was an at-home spa party for her and 7 friends hosted by representatives from Lush! Since I was the one who whet her appetite for these fun, great-smelling bath products, she planned the party for the weekend of our visit.
And so it was that Mom and I drove to Indianapolis for the day. Since there is no direct (diagonal, in this case) route to Indy, aside from slow-moving/meandering state roads, it is a 4-hour drive at best. We didn't want to drive 8 hours round trip in one day, so we decided to leave on Saturday night and make a pit stop at my Grandpa's. We spent the night at his house, took him out to breakfast, and had a great time visiting. Then it was time to hit the road and head north so that we could make it to my sister's on time: Indiana residents have two different time zones, so it can be a real challenge to arrive anywhere on time. Evansville and Indy are on the same time, but Corydon (where my extended family live) is on Louisville, KY time (EST). We had to take the one-hour time difference into account when figuring our departure time.
My sister lives in a great house with a couple of other young women (and maybe a male roomate too...I lost track). They host house shows, and had just had one the night before. What that means is that they host bands who are traveling and want a small, intimate venue in which to perform. They often accompany these shows with art installations by photographers, painters, sculptors, etc. Apparently there's a whole network of house party homes. It ensures that they get to hear lots of good music, make new friends, and continually broaden their horizons. What fun!
The Lush ladies arrived just before the catered lunch: a couple of hundred dollars' worth of sushi! It was very tasty...and there were beverages, fried rice, and other goodies aside from the fish. We ate while they set up, and enjoyed the opportunity to get to know each other. My sister's friends were funny and nice, and it seemed to me that we all hit it off pretty well.
The party really got going once we all settled into the living room. Out came the facials, lotions, potions, massage bars, foot soaks, you name it! Man, that place smelled good! We scrubbed and soaked and massaged hands. We talked and learned more about the company and its philosophy. We (well, me really) voiced concerns about ingredients (what's up with the sodium laurel sulphate?) and quality (where do they source their essential oils?) and received good, insightful answers. It was relaxing, fun, and educational!
The Lush ladies brought different kinds of masks for different skin types. My sister and I both used the same kind - one for sensitive, acne-prone skin. It was fun to commiserate on our tender/tough skin and compare notes. Here's the group all masked-up:
Here's one of the ladies of my family, honoring my sis for winning such a great prize:
See the family resemblance? Ha ha ha - it's all about the lovely, big smiles!!!!
We all had a great time, and were sad to see it come to an end. Then we learned that it was the gift that keeps on giving - we each got a fabulous box o' Lush to take home with us! It was a cool octagonal box (interesting to try to get home on a plane, let me tell you!) packed full of bath bombs, soap, lotion bars, conditioner - you name it! Plus, the ladies left all the stuff we'd used so the 8 of us got to divvy it out amongst ourselves. Yes, we were the epitome of polite and solicitous. No need to get catty over an abundance of bath products!
Sleepy, but ready to head home, Mom and I hit the road once more. I drove for about half the trip, then Mom got us the rest of the way to Evansville. It was a lovely day and I was so happy to have been there to be part of it!
That was so sweet of you Kelly! Thanks for the distraction. It looks like you had a great time. I've never heard of a house show before, very interesting.
Posted by: Duchess | September 24, 2007 at 12:26 AM