Review: Spa Bleu

On Friday, I received my first ever spa treatment at Spa Bleu--Savannah's newest, hottest spa located on Bull and Broughton. I went in for a raindrop aromatherapy massage with Morgan Godwin, the owner. When I came in I didn't know what or how much to expect, but I left with an experience that exceeded my expectations in ways I never imagined.

When you first step into Spa Bleu, you instantly feel a serene energy coming over you. Sunlight blankets the waiting room as your eyes are met with a cool blend of blues and white. You wait on the comfy couch listening to uplifting classical music while drinking wine, graciously provided by one of the lovely desk attendants. 

After a short wait, Morgan called me back into one of the massage rooms, which she designed herself. The room is adorned with different calming relics such as an intricate dream catcher and images of birds and feathers. The light cast upon the walls seems to transform the blue into a moody blend of purple which strikes you with a comforting feeling of calm and relaxation. As I lied face down in the comfy massage table, Morgan explained to me that the raindrop aromatherapy massage has detoxifying benefits, and is her favorite treatment to give. I felt a connection with her sincerity and apparent passion, feeling even more excited as I closed my eyes and waited for the sensations to take over.

The treatment started out with an array of different essential oils like frankincense and thyme sprinkled across my spine like raindrops. Even from the very start, I felt an invigorating sensation come over me with each drop. After she sprinkled the oil, I felt Morgan spread out the energies in my spine one by one. She did this with all the lines in my body, such as in my legs, arms, and feet. I felt intensely relaxed and taken care of, while at the same time being very aware of my body and its energies. With the raindrop aromatherapy massage, I felt a luxurious sensation of relaxation and also a deep connection with my body that I hadn't felt before. As I listened to Morgan's soothing voice and felt her hands work their magic, I could almost hear my body thanking me for the gifts it received.

After my golden hour was over, I was able to lie with my back down to the massage table with a clear, free mindset. I closed my eyes and slipped into a blissful meditation, my mind quiet and my body nestled. I felt comfortable and  happy. As I rose from the table, the luxurious, buttery feeling in my body stayed with me until I said my good-byes, walked beaming down the street, and carried out the rest of my wonderful, uplifting day.

For those of you who have never received a spa treatment, let me assure you that the benefits are completely worth it. It's my personal philosophy that it's far better to spend your money on worthwhile experiences rather than material possessions or vices. I think Morgan puts it perfectly when she says that "People spend money on things that are bad for them without even thinking about it, but they are so hesitant to use that money towards things that are truly beneficial and therapeutic".

Your body will thank you for giving it such rewards, and you can't put a price on the way a spa treatment soothes your soul and lifts you from the periling world.

I say this to all Savannah locals and travelers to our beautiful, mystic city, the next time you wish to escape stress, visit Spa Bleu for a true experience in refined Southern comfort.

Suffer for Fashion

I don't feel I belong to any particular subculture, so it's very easy for

me to observe/make fun of everyone else.

I can name qualities from any subculture here in Savannah.

Hipsters

• Can be seen wearing any combination of flannel, raggedy-ass pants, fashion sunglasses, a beard/stache, slutty shorts/skirts, and looking painfully self-important

• Drink PBR and ride fixed gears
• Hang out in packs with other hipsters while denying they're hipsters
• Sentient Bean is their mecca

Crust Punks

• Go out of their way to dress dirty/unkempt/unfashionable but ended up creating a whole new fashion of their own (note the link).
  

• Hop trains, dumpster dive for food/goods, then talk about how they hop trains/dumpster dive with all their crust friends

• Drink cheap liquor and Four Loko, the shittiest alcoholic energy drink ever. Just drink Sparks people!
  
• Hang out at the Pony Pen and listen to terrible music

New Age SCAD Hippies ::shudder::

• Claim to be these worldly, humanitarian, live-by-the-earth people but then post pictures on Facebook of themselves at their parents' million dollar vacation house in the Virgin Islands.

• Wear stereotypical hippie clothing/accessories ironically considering their parents gave them the money for it.

• Don't kill cockroaches, but still eat meat.
• Loaf around in Forsyth Park playing shitty, cliche hippie guitar and hula hooping while consuming goods from Brighter Day.
  

• Once again, claim to be these down-to-earth, natural people, but are really just ASS HOLES!

Gag, gag, gag. Well, the point of all of that was that all these different subcultures have their own codes and inner-workings, but they all have one thing in common--they claim no reason for acting/dressing the way they do. They buy the clothes and adopt the lingo, but refuse to admit that they're doing it because they want to emulate what they see. They choose to go down that path because that's the person they want to be.

Basically, they just like the fashion of it. They like the dress. They like the talk. They want to project themselves in that way. They want to put on the fashion of it and make it their own.

But fashion is a sinful word to most of these people. They'll refuse to admit they're following any kind of trend. Like they've always been the way the are. Whatever.

All I'm suggesting to everyone is how about we just admit we're doing what we do for the fashion. Why don't we just drop the front that we all have of being impervious to trends and style? We all do it. It doesn't matter who you are. We all want to embody a certain ideal. We're all just picking our costumes and striking a pose.

Maybe we'd all get along better, we'd all stop being so snooty, so exclusive, and high and mighty and intolerant of others if we admit that 15% of everything we do is for the fashion of it. Maybe we'd all finally see eye to eye when we admit we have the same, human common ground. You materialist piece of shit. ;-)

Not So Sweet Home Alabama

I used to want to want to be remembered, but now I'm glad that this town has forgotten all about me.

Now that I'm back here in Alabama I realize now more than ever, despite all the months I've been thinking it, that this place truly is not my home anymore. I feel so out of place in this state and this town that I could puke. All of my friends, acquaintences, enemies have all moved on or gone. They're in their apartments going to their colleges, they're pregnant at home with their 22 year old husbands, or they're marrying junkies and getting addicted to some crazy substance.

I don't know why this is all coming as a surprise to me now. I've always been out of place here. Alabama was never, ever the home for me, and I always knew. I mean, how can you be home in a state where people hound you with the stink eye for having long black hair, full pleated skirts, and dresses with loud, colorful prints?

People in Savannah are always trying to out do each other with their style and their art, but as for me, I'm just happy to be exactly what I want to be in a city that it's ok to do so. I've been able to discover so many sides of myself. Kia the Gypsy. Kia the Vixen. And I'm so anxious to uncover all of the identities that I have yet to find.

I am a Savannah girl now, and I'm proud to be. I love everything about it. I love my city's nature, her culture, her people, her Southern Gothic charm, the way she sparks life into all those who walk her streets.

I never said I wasn't a Southern girl. And now, I'm so happy to finally be home in my true Southern town.