World Market Spa Day with Mom

Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you decide to make a purchase through one of my links, at no cost to you.

You guys remember my Mom, right?

She’s always willing to lend a hand or offer words of encouragement (but seriously though, she’s pretty awesome). At almost any point when I’ve been overwhelmed with this house, Mom has been their with her own stories to relate, to offer help (and even sometimes insist upon it), and in general, simply be someone to go to when I’ve reached various points of frustration with everything I have going on. Who better than Mom to get it, right? So when World Market contacted me about treating Mom for a spa day at home in honor of Mother’s Day, I was on board. As much help as she’s given me over the years (and sometimes more importantly, the laughs that accompany them), it felt like spending a Sunday with Mom shopping and chatting (two hobbies we share in common) was a perfect way to spend a day together.

Mom and I rarely get to see each other while I’m in grad school, so we first stopped last Sunday morning for a late brunch. She’s still smiling even though the restaurant told us no mimosas until 12:30 PM. She’s a trooper.

We didn’t wind up getting mimosas at brunch, but I knew we’d be picking up some wine in our future. We then headed to World Market with a $50 gift card to do a little shopping.

Whenever I stop at a WM, I usually scope out some of their unique jewelry, but Mom headed straight for the soap.

She apparently has a thing for soap. She spent a good twenty minutes smelling all of them and admiring their packaging.

All. of. them.

“Mom… you can stop now.”

She’s got a sense of humor, I tell ya. She was cracking up after she realized I caught every single sniff on film. New things I also learned: Mom has a thing for jasmine-based fragrances. Good to know for the future. She also really liked the potpourri  but the bowl that we found to (decoratively) put them in had a chip. One of the store clerks, Debra, was kind enough to help track a new one down. Super helpful! And Mom = happy camper, which is the whole point.

I also wanted to pick up some wine for Mom’s “spa experience at home” – because what good spa trip doesn’t include a little wine? While I went in search of a bottle, Mom explored the food section. If you aren’t familiar, World Market carries a lot of unique brands and imports. Mom was surprised to find Horlicks, a brand of malted milk powder used for making milkshakes (“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe they have this!”). The company is based in Racine, Wisconsin – where I was born and where Mom lived for a long time. You can bet we took some home (she loves malts; I think they taste like chalk). We weren’t going to make them on that day, but Mom is certainly looking forward to the next few months of malted milkshakes.

We headed home shortly thereafter to unload Mom’s goodies and pour ourselves a glass of wine.

I spread out her finds on the kitchen counter and lit the candle to let the potpourri and fragrances do their thing (because obviously, Mom’s not keen on me taking pictures of actually putting the other products to use. Sorry folks. No Mom in the shower for ya. She reported that she really liked the soap though).

Mom and I have a good time when it’s just the two of us. She (like most moms of single daughters) inquires about my love life, we talk about work, school, and the stresses she’s facing with my grandmother (she has Alzheimers, so taking care of her can be really exhausting for Mom – even more of a reason to surround her with relaxing things). You might be able to tell from the pic above, but we picked up a gardenia candle as well specifically because it’s another favorite scent of hers. They were flowers used in her wedding bouquet and are also planted at our back door while I was growing up. Because the scent carries so many memories of home, I’m planning on planting one of my own near the front door of my house. But for now, a lit candle suited us just fine as we got a chance to catch up on all the things that keep us busy.

While I was glad to give Mom a slice of the spa to use at home, the more important part was that we got to spend a little time together. If you have your own amazing mom and want to treat her for Mother’s Day, consider nominating her for the My Amazing Mom Sweepstakes on Facebook. To enter, upload a photo of your Mom and write a short essay about what makes her special. Then share on your social media channels and get your friends to vote. The top 5 submissions will be reviewed and judges will choose a final winner. The prize? A $5,000 World Market gift card. If Mom had that kind of money to spend, she’d probably buy the entire aisle of imported Italian pastas, the soap display, and this chair:

Enter the My Amazing Mom Sweepstakes here. You can also skip the mom thing and enter yourself into their Fan Sweepstakes through your social media channels (be sure to go through the Facebook application for your entry to count). Ten winners will receive $500 World Market gift cards. Just want the deals? You can follow World Market on Twitter for a head’s up about sales and specials.

So while this is obviously a sponsored post (hey, I have to adhere to guidelines to disclose this stuff), I really do shop at World Market and I would never endorse something I wasn’t genuinely interested in. In fact, I picked up a few of my own items while I was there and I’ll share them with ya sometime soon. And Mom really does (apparently) like soap that much.

How are you planning to pamper Mom this Mother’s Day? Or are you a mom and scheming to get your own pampering? Hope it’s wonderful!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and World Market, but all my opinions are my own. http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO