I’ll admit that I don’t have the “do-re-mi” to treat myself to frequent massages, manicures, pedicures… but I’ll take full advantage of a gift certificate for some personal spoiling.

Tonight, I cashed in a gift certificate at Bliss SoHo for their Blissage75. I’m not sure how to describe my treatment, but here’s what the site has to say about it:

“A virtual countdown to ‘butter’, this 75-minute combination of Swedish and Shiatsu techniques, begins with our amazing, warm wax foot softening pack, and is designed to loosen you up and target your most trouble muscles. For relaxation, improved circulation, and stress and fatigue reduction.”

Ahhhh.

Oh my. This was as great as they say. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as relaxed during a massage. Usually, my head starts to wander and I can’t get it to stop, but Barbara (my massage therapist) was amazing. She paid perfect attention to me and how my body was reacting and used the right amount of pressure. Of course, the fact that the SoHo location is so clean and welcoming doesn’t hurt. I actually wished that I had gotten there hours earlier to hang out in the lounge for a lot longer.

Here’s more proof that this massage was so damn good. I didn’t mind that I went in the wrong direction on the R train at the Prince Street stop after I left Bliss, and didn’t mind when I switched to the 1 at 42nd street and found out that all uptown trains were cancelled because of the rain, and I didn’t mind walking and melting through that crazy long tunnel just to get from the 1 to the A,C to meet my friends uptown.

Even if I was a little frazzled, a tasty margarita at the newly re-opened Gabriela’s on the UWS fixed that right up. It’s a bit out of the way, but I would go back. Good amount of outdoor seating, good space inside - including private “nooks” to do whatever you want, yummy margaritas, good prices, and a tasty Guacamole. I’ll admit that it wasn’t the best guac, but I think I’ll have to try this place out again when I’m not on a massage high to really judge it.

Go spoil yourself!