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July 15, 2007

Who's Who: Chelsea Mitchell and the art of the full-body massage

If Chelsea Mitchell weren't specializing in flexing her fingers while giving full-body massages, she said she would be working in landscaping or with animals.

Working with the earth's soil by planting flowers and digging, letting the dirt sift through her fingers and creating an environment becoming to well-designed scenery is one of her passions. Nurturing animals and making them feel wanted is what makes her tick.

All in all, Chelsea wants to make the world a more comfortable place, and using her hands is her implement of choice.

So I visited Tycoon Harry's, which was recently voted "Best Male's Salon" by City Beat's Best of Cincinnati 2007, to undergo the fruits of Chelsea's art: Full-body relaxation.

"My goal is to really make people feel comfortable and relaxed since they have taken the time to treat themselves. I want them to feel like it was worth their time," Chelsea said.

Chelsea is a specialist in massaging; she knows how to remedy tense muscles and place a patron into a state of somnambulant bliss.

"Don't feel bad if you fall asleep, it means I am doing my job," she said, directing me into a dark room dimly lit by diminutive lights canopied with a thin veil of drapery.

She puts on some soothing, earthy music to set a relaxing ambiance and blankets me in a soft, high-thread blanket that makes me feel like a caterpillar in a cocoon. When it is all said and done, I will feel like wings have been attached and I'm ready to flitter back into the real world.

But for the time-being, I have been transfixed into a tiny world where the tensions from the outside world have been left in the hallway.

Chelsea offers half-hour, one hour, and 90-minute full-body massages. She utilizes lotions and concentrates her fingers to soothing the face, shoulders, arms, hands, back, legs and feet to induce an overall feeling of stress-relieving detachedness from everyday problems, stress from work or soreness by over strenuation of one's muscles and joints.

But prior to commencing the massage Chelsea asks if there are any areas that I would like her to concentrate the majority of her efforts, such as my shoulders or calves; or if there are other areas that I would like her to ignore.

I think to myself, "My feet are particularly ticklish, maybe I should have her avoid them," but for the sake of experiencing the full treatment I tell her to conduct her art, feet included.

If the only part of my body that was given the royal treatment was my face, I would have been completely, fully satisfied. Applying slight pressure to my forehead, running her fingers down through my temples and soothing the bottom of my chin was tantalizing. The sensation of incessant and delicate attention to my face procured a natural smile that was near impossible to remove.

Chelsea was quick to learn that my shoulders were tight and tense, noting that my deltoids and muscles that connect to my shoulder blades naturally "lifted" my upper-back off the table.

"You have a lot of stress in your shoulders. Take more deep breaths, and after today be sure to do more stretching," she said. She was able to work them into Jell-O, which succeeded in making them lay more casually with the rest of my body.

What I found most gratifying, though, was what she was able to do to my hands. Her technique in rubbing the fatty areas between thumb and forefinger nearly put me asleep, my fingers nearly curling themselves into a passive clinch of sleepiness themselves.

But my feet. I thought I would laugh. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep them still. But any notion I had of not being able to withstand someone rubbing my feet without flinching or grimacing was completely rendered void of any such worry. Chelsea was able, to the greatest surprise, to make me yearn that this 30-minute session be elongated by a few extra minutes just so the attention given to my feet would not end.

When the session was over, she told me to take my time getting off the massage bed. I needed it, for I didn't want to leave. I just wanted the effects to linger a little longer. I looked up at the speckled starlight shimmering on the ceiling, yawned, stared a little more as the music continued to conduct its adjutant job of massaging my inner ears, yawned again, and decided it was time to face the light of the real world. Opening the door to exit the dark room, I had to squint my eyes, but I felt wonderful.

I floated up the stairs to the salon. I immediately wanted to retreat back down in to the recesses of the womb-like confines of the massage room, but I had a job to do: Tell others about this wonderful experience.

If you've never had a full-body massage then take the time to treat yourself. It is convalescent to the daily droning of work and anxiety. Consider it a gift to yourself, or, a gift to someone else.

Chelsea works by appointment so feel free to give her a call at 300-6246. Chelsea also specializes in hair coloring, highlights, low lights, and gray blending. Tycoon Harry's is located on Mariemont Square, situated a couple doors down from Graters.

Posted by johnston at 11:51 PM

July 08, 2007

It is a Belgium taste that is brewing

These are always fun and people always tend to have a good time: A Dilly Deli tasting event.

The Dilly Deli hosts a handful of unique wine and beer tastings each year, and the next one involves Belgian beer on Wednesday, July 25.

The beauty with this particular tasting is that there will be two, count 'em two, sessions so as to offer the opportunity to taste a brew or two to more people.

"This is something very unique. What we'll have are two single barrel lambics from Frank Boon, one of the most highly respected lambic blenders around," the owners said. "Each one of these two barrels is literally the only one in the world, an individual lot."

What Boon normally does is blend all those single lots together to produce one beer. Attendees will be served three glasses - two with distinct and separate lambics, and one empty glass.

"After you sip each separately, you can use your third empty glass as a lab beaker and create your own blend. Half and half? Two to one? You decide," the owners said.

There will also be four or five other Belgian brews to sip and contemplate.

Due to the nature of these servings, the Dilly Deli will only able to accommodate 40 people at a time, but, as we previously stated, there will be two sessions. Reservations for a specific session are a must. Cost is $25 per person. The $25 will get you a pack of tickets, each one good for a specific beer, including the single barrel lambics. Reserve by return e-mail, or by calling the wine and beer shop at 561-5233. The first session will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the second session will be from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Posted by johnston at 09:05 PM