Doro’s Day Off: Solo Date (Pilates, Facial, & Coffee)
Summer is the perfect time for a solo date. You’re in great spirits, the sun is shining, your clients are out of office more often than not, and nothing can ruin your day. During the summer, my firm gives us an extra day off for each summer public holiday, which extends 3 day weekends into 4 day weekends.
I kicked off my BC Day weekend with a much-needed solo date featuring Lagree West, a laser facial at Plain Jane Skin Bar, coffee at Aperture Coffee Bar, and a bonus stop at Burgoo. Read on for details!
stop #1: lagree west
If you know me, you know I love my pilates. If you didn’t know, now you do. I don’t think I need to say any more.
Lagree West is a low impact workout that targets your slow-twitch muscle fibres using patented equipment that relies on counter-resistance and your own body weight. I started going to Lagree in 2018 and still find myself constantly challenged by the classes due to the quick transitions and endless ways to use the Megaformer.
What I indulged in: Megaformer with Mikaela Millington
stop #2: plain jane skin bar
In June, I attended an outdoor pop-up Jaybird class at Parq Hotel, led by Mikaela Millington of Jaybird + Lagree West, and won a gift card for a free laser facial at Plain Jane Skin Bar. Due to my hectic schedule, I didn’t have a chance to use it until August, but I was so excited for some much-needed pampering.
Plain Jane Skin Bar offers medical-grade facials in 30 minutes, delivered with little to no downtime from specialized technicians. They believing in keeping it short and sweet because we don’t need to disrupt our days to save our skin.
This was my first time at Plain Jane and the skin bar is absolutely gorgeous. It was also my first time getting a laser facial. Although it wasn’t painful, it certainly wasn’t comfortable. Do you know that feeling that you get when you sit dangerously close to a fireplace or a firepit and you feel the sparks flying extremely close to your face? That was the feeling. For 30 minutes. Post-facial, my skin felt refreshed and renewed, which is exactly what I wanted, so the sparking sensation was worth it.
Facials at Plain Jane start at $200 with a 40% off discount (CODE: FIRSTFACIAL) for your first facial. They also offer annual memberships for $179 per month. I enjoyed my laser facial but nearly $200 per month is something that is currently out of my budget, so this will likely be a “treat yourself” kind of thing. With that said, if you have the financial means, I would recommend incorporating a facial in your skincare routine once per month or at the minimum, every quarter, to give it the care it so deserves.
What I indulged in: Laser facial with Chloe
Plain Jane Skin Bar from Main St
The interior of Plain Jane Skin Bar
stop #3: aperture coffee bar
I had some time to kill post-facial and before my late lunch date so I wandered down Main St. I stumbled upon Aperture Coffee Bar and figured I would sit for a while to avoid the blistering heat.
I am an espresso gal through and through because I love the punch, but I also cannot handle copious amounts of caffeine because I am naturally energetic. If you’ve had the pleasure (or displeasure) of hanging out with me in real life, you will know that I am a bundle of energy that cannot always be contained. Due to this, I usually opt for a decaffeinated beverage. Depending on my mood, I’ll either get straight espresso, a cortado, or a flat white.
A cortado is a beverage consisting of espresso mixed warm milk (roughly 1:2 ratio of espresso to milk) to reduce the acidity and present a sweeter taste. It’s my favourite - if you haven’t had one before, I would highly recommend trying it the next time you grab a coffee!
What I indulged in: Decaf cortado!
Decaf cortado from Aperture Coffee Bar - my favourite!
Happy as a clam post-laser facial
bonus stop: burgoo
This is a bonus stop because I had amazing company during lunch so it doesn’t qualify as a solo date, but it deserves an honourable mention. Every quarter or so, I meet up with an old teacher from high school who headed up the gifted program, which I had the privilege of participating in. This quarter, we opted for lunch at Burgoo.
We usually chat about current times, laugh about old times, and she always asks me for updates on the alums from my gifted cohort. I usually don’t have the answers on hand so it involves pulling up Instagram and/or LinkedIn on my phone to bring her up to speed (along with “DO NOT DOUBLE TAP!! That picture is from February!”). She loves career updates because she is so proud of where we all ended up, and obviously adores every single engagement update because we love love!
What I indulged in: After school special: tasty chicken sandwich + sunset corn and chicken soup
I hope you enjoyed joining me on this solo date! What do you have planned for yours?
