Welcome to the twelfth and final day of our extravaganza!
Everyone's drinks sounded equally yummy so we decided to make the daily winner a randomly chosen contestant. This means Andrea S. (Peppermint white chocolate mocha? Yum!) is the lucky winner of a $25 gift certificate. Congrats! We will be in touch with Andrea and all the other daily winners by end of day today.
The Final Challenge
This one is about giving. Imagine you could give a Bloom Essentials Picasso Pedicure gift certificate to a special person. Who would that person be (no real names please) and what made you choose them?
Comments
Perfect answer! That relaly gets to the heart of it!
I know it’s the obvious answer, but for me it would have to be my Mom. For all the reasons you would expect (her selflessness, generosity, all the thankless hard work she did raising my sisters and I)—plus the fact that she has never had a pedicure. Starting her off with a Picasso Pedicure would set the bar high! She has dry heels and is self conscious about her feet. I’d love for her to feel confident enough to show off her toes.
It was way too hard to just pick one person! Picasso pedicures might just be my favourite gift to give…. But, I suppose if I had to pick one person, it would be my momma. She’s had a bit of a rough year medically, and although much better than she was, stress still plays a large role in her life. She loves the times when she does have a pedicure, and I love seeing her relaxed and taken care of (especially by the best estheticians around!!)…
I have a friend that loves your Picasso pedicures, and who needs/deserves/wants to win this contest badly. She has had a very rough last 3 months and something like your prize could only make her un-sugar-coated life a little sweeter right now. As much as it would be awesome to win, it would be even better if she did!
I want/need to change my answer…although my man does deserve it, one of my bestie’s just lost her father last night. She’s only been to Bloom twice, both times with me of course, and she’s loved it! I think that a Picasso pedi may bring a little smile to her face, in this time of sorrow.
hope I’m not too late!
I would gift a picasso pedicure to my sister. she puts herself under a lot of pressure and takes on a ton of responsibility. she is also 100% there for everyone in the family. she loves a good pedicure and certainly deserves one!
I would give it to either my sister or my friend…my sister and I both work at the same hospital and it was a crazy day today. It would be a nice treat for her tired toes standing up for 12 hours. Or I would give it to my friend who recently gave birth to her 2nd child. She was a superstar in labour and got discharged the next day! It would just be nice to be able to pamper her swollen tired mommy feet!
If I could give a Picasso Pedicure gift certificate to a friend, it would honestly be a hard decision between two special people. I might have to give it to one of them (for a double date with me of course), and then treat the other one another time for another double date :)
One friend has an 8 week old baby, a husband who has been unemployed for 6 months now, a father who lives deep in the US who is newly diagnosed with a serious strain of cancer and is dying. She has been under a lot of stress, but has been handling it well, and relying on her family of friends around here to get her through. I’d love to pamper her for a day!
The other friend that I’d have to flip a coin for, is one of those surprise friends you meet a work and becomes a lifelong friend. We are 10 years apart, but with my surprise baby, and her new marriage and baby, we are going through a lot of the same things and it has given us even more to talk about! She has been through and is still going through a lot of stress this fall/winter. Her dad is seriously ill, with kidney failure and a number of other problems, her brother is in major pain, and they can’t even get in to figure out what it is with the way his organs are swollen up, she has an 18 month old child, and the other night was out trying to get grocery shopping done while the baby slept so they could all spend better time together on the weekend, and got hit on the way home, so that her car was damaged, and she is now dealing with the physical effects of that, and then when she was on her way to meet me for coffee so we could talk about all this, her car died on the side of the road (she luckily got it started), but it’s just been one thing after another for her right now. It would be so fun to spend a couple of hours with her being pampered, and giving her a way to forget everything else going on for a little while.
I would give it to a new friend I have made while working at the Extreme Homeless Shelter. She gives tirelessly and had been run off her feet doing the scheduling to man the shelter all while being mindful that everyone has busy and complex lives outside of the time they spend at the shelter. It is a thankless job that she never complains about and is always trying to accomodate everyone else, even coming in in the middle of the night if an hour of the shift isn’t covered. I don’t know her well, but I am sure, like every mom and volunteer I know, she doesn’t take near as much time for herself as she deserves. A couple of hours on just herself???? What an amazing gift to someone who is working so hard to provide a service for our community.
I would give it to my cousin who has only had one pedicure in her life and it wasn’t at Bloom! She never spends money on herself and I think she would love the whole Bloom experience :)
I would take my mother in law. I just had my second baby and we moved all within a month of each other. She came down to help me out with the boys, and when we moved into our new house, she slept there for 2 days before we moved in to do repairs and painting. She had wanted me to be able to move in and to not have to stress about doing things around the house. Our relationship over the years has sometimes been rocky, but I so appreciated everything she did for us and would like to be able to show her how thankful I am. Plus, a little extra mother-in-law & daughter-in-law bonding wouldn’t hurt either!!
Well, the one person I would love to give it to would be my mom. For everything she did for me over the years and because she took care of and looked after (and put up with) me and never treated or pampered herself. Sadly, she is no longer with us sooooooooo, I would give the Bloom Picasso Pedi to my BFF from Winnipeg. She is a lifelong friend who puts up with me, shares my brain and helped me through some of the roughest times of my life. She was my parents adopted daughter so my losses were her losses too yet she still offered a ridiculous amount of support, opened up her home for my kids and I to live there when we moved back to Manitoba for 7 months when my mom was ill. She even gave up her bedroom and slept on the couch in the basement so there was room for me and my two kids. My parents often commented about what an amazing friend she was and I could not agree more. She comes to visit every summer (and cuts our lawn when she is here) so I would love to give her a Bloom Pedi because she also thinks her feet are one of her best features but imagine how amazing they would be with a Picasso Pedi!
An employee of mine. She is 5 days over due, which is brutal as many of us know AND I loved the FB post awhile back of the woman who came in to get hers while in early labor!! Merry christmas Bloom!!
If I had a Bloom gift certificate to give away I would carry it in my pocket and the next time I saw a frazzled, worn out mama on a plane, in a grocery store line up, at a doctor’s office waiting room (you get the idea)…I would give her a hug, hand her the gift certificate and offer to babysit her kids while she gets pampered.
Definitely for my mom for the next time she visits Vancouver (she lives in Winnipeg). She’s on a really tight budget, works really hard and isn’t ever able to treat herself to spa services.
My sister for sure!
She never gets pampered :)
My sister , she is my hero! She is a single mom who works full-time and has a 7 year old special needs daughter and a bi-polar son . This year she under went open heart surgery and major knee surgery , no matter what life throws her way , she always has a smile on her face. She works at a medical lab and stands all day , so a special treat like a picasso pedicure would make her day or for that matter year!
I would give a Picasso Pedicure to my mom, because she does so much for me all year round, 24/7, and I always look for ways to show her my appreciation, and I know she loves you guys, so that is why I would choose her.
I would give a Picasso Pedicure to my partner at work, because she doesn’t do a lot of nice things for herself, especially since she is going through a rough time in life right now.
Definitely my Mom. Last year when I took her for a Picasso Pedicure, it was the first time she’d ever had a pedicure in her life! She was so nervous at first because she wasn’t sure what to expect. But after the service was done, she was extremely happy and realized there was nothing to be apprehensive about. I bought the groupon for this year so we’ll be going again for her birthday coming up!
My Mom so we could come & have a pedi together!
I’d give a Picasso Pedicure to my sister-in-law. She has nine week old twins, and while they are so happy after the deep sadness of a stillbirth two years ago, it is an insane amount of work to care for twins. The first while was almost 24 hour a day nursing but they are now at the point where she can get out for short periods and its so important that some of those times are rejuvenating for her so she can sustain her wonderful mothering.
Back in 2009, I found out that one of my good friends had never had a pedicure before! So I got her a Bloom certificate for her birthday that year. She asked me and another friend of ours to go with her and she loved it!!! (like there was ever any doubt, right?)
The 3 of us had such a good time that we came in together again last year for Groupon pedis :)
Well, this year, my former pedicure virgin friend was unable to get the Groupon deal again because she’s been really tight on cashflow.
So I would definitely give the Picasso Pedi to her, so that the 3 of us can continue our new yearly pedi tradition :)
I’d give it to one of my good friends who is going through a rough time in her life/marriage right now. She is a hard worker (running her own business and raising her two toddlers with so much love) and is ALWAYS a ray of sunshine no matter how much she is hurting emotionally, always checks in on her friends. A bloom pedicure is like a mini escape and I’m sure she could use one! I will have to arrange babysitting for all our kids and take her after the holidays, thank you for putting the thought in my head!!
Once in a while a patient really gets to me at the heart. This year, it’s the little boy with the new diagnosis of leukemia I mentioned earlier. It was really poignant to see the little family of three (no other family in town) huddled in his hospital room and to imagine that that’s how they are going to spend the holidays. I’m sure his mom is not going to treat herself this year and spend all her energy and courage to comfort her son and husband. I would want her to have the pedicure to take sometime away, to be taken cared of, even for just one hour, before she gets back to supporting her family. I bet mom’s Christmas toes will also get a giggle out of the little boy.
My big sista, I’ve never known a woman who could love pedi’s so much. I swear she’d give up her cat (like a child) for this contest, so hopefully it really is something I can surprise her with…A Christmas Miracle come true ;)
I would give it to my husband. Even though I worked at Bloom for almost 10 years, he only got 2 pedicures that whole time (it’s kind-of the whole baker’s family has no bread/ cobbler’s family has no shoe sort-of thing). Not only is he an wonderful husband and my #1 fan, he is an amazing father. A true co-parent in every way. It’s been a stressful couple of years and he definitely deserves a little pampering! Plus, I think he could rock some skulls & crossbones!
Hmm. Don’t get me wrong, I love to give and feel great when I do but it would be hard to give away a pedi from Bloom! :)
I think I would choose my husband – when we were first married he used to buy me nail polish sets and paint my toes with little designs on them:) he tried so hard!
For my boyfriends Mum, she does so much for his family. His Dad is sick right now and I know that must be so scary for her, but she stays so strong and keeps it together for everyone…I think its a Mum thang, they just are so strong!
My mom because she deserves to be pampered
I would give it to my friend who moved from Vancouver in September to a small town on the island where she didn’t really know anyone. I miss her! We used to enjoy going for pedicures together and I know she would love to come visit and have a Picasso!
Getting Bloom pedi’s is a special treat that I always do with a good friend…so I probably wouln’t give it to her or she’d go without me :-P I think I’d give it to my neighbour whose husband almost died last summer & is single-handedly nursing him, driving to chemo & doctors appointments, and at the same time working, raising 2 teenage boys, taxi-driving them around, cheering at their sports games, taking care of the house & yard, etc.
I would give it to a friend that has just gone thru breast cancer.
Please pick me as I would love to give it to my boyfriend. He’s never experienced the utter bliss of a pedicure or manicure. Despite my best efforts to make an appointment for him, he resists due to his old-fashioned prairie-boy thinking that pedicures are for ladies only. I think he would really enjoy a pedicure as he’s on his feet all day as a chef. Plus his toenails are atrocious but not smelly (don’t worry, Bloom staffers!). I’ve had the picasso pedicure before and it was amazing and I would love it if my boyfriend could have it as his first. Happy holidays, Cheryl :)
To one of my closest friends who shares the same birthday as me. She rarely treats herself to any spa experience and it would be a great way to show her how a real pedicure is done!
I would give it to my Mom – we rely on her for so many things including babysitting during the week while we work. She is always doing something for me or my sister be it babysitting, taking kids to hockey or preschool and she never treats herself to anything. So I would definately want her to enjoy it.
I would give one to my little sister. She is such an amazing kid. She has tons of friends and is liked by everyone. She does great in school and tries so hard. She is wonderful with my son, and is the best babysitter I could ever ask for. Last night he woke up in the middle of the night and she soothed him back to sleep – she is the FIRST person besides my husband and I to do this! And at 16 she’s a natural. :)
Just one person? Then a new friend. A friend who has been there for me this year. For the 2am phone calls when I couldn’t sleep. For offering up her home when I needed to get away. For sitting with me when I got so upset I was physically sick. For finding me a temporary job when I needed it. A new friend, a good friend. I can’t begging to express my thanks to her and her husband for everything they’ve done in the last 3 months.
I would give it to my sister in law who has three kids under the age of 4 and does everything for everybody else. She deserves to take some time for herself and I am going to make it her New Year’s resolution for her :)
Hmmm, very hard to decide. But I think I would give it to my hubby, to make him understand why I love going to Bloom so much. I don’t know if he’d have the same appreciation, but it would be worth a try!
definitely my sister! life has given her more than her fair share of ‘bumps’ and she doesn’t get much time to even think of pampering herself.A few years ago, she came to Vancouver and we had a picaso pedicure together – well, she still talks about how great it was! :)
I would give it to a family friend whose one year old daughter is receiving cancer treatment at Children’s Hospital. Their baby was diagnosed at three weeks old so the past year and a bit has been difficult for the whole family and I don’t think that her mom (or her dad) have had an opportunity to do anything for themselves.
I would like to give a Picasso Pedicure to my best friend and business partner. She is always there, ready and willing to do anything to help her friends, family and clients. So much so that she doesn’t take much time to treat herself. She deserves some pampering!
Most definitely my Mom. She lives 3 provinces away so i don’t get to see her much but she never treats herself to things like that. She’s always too busy taking care of others to put herself first. When she was out here two years ago i took her to Bloom and we got pedis together – to this day she still talks about it :) I would choose her without question because she deserves it AND i would join her so we could have time together again!
I would definitely give it to my Mom. We came in on 10 November this year for pedis (we got a Groupon to try it out because you never know…) She was off to Mexico with my Dad two days later. and got red polish with little flowers which lasted for weeks and weeks and she was so pleased! She hasn’t stopped talking about it since and has even asked when I want to go back with her!
My Mom is one of those people (a typical female/Mom I think) who worries about everybody else around her, she gives and gives and gives and rarely does anything for herself but never moans about it. So if I had a Picasso Pedi to give away, there would be no question at all – it would have to go to my Mom….she’s provided for me for the last 30+ years without spoiling me, she’s my hero :o)
That’s easy, to my best friend! She is one of the most giving, generous, unselfish people I have ever met. She travels twice a year to build with Habitat for Humanity and rarely ever pampers herself. She is also involved in many local charities and is always giving. She is so deserving of a little Picasso Pedicure!
I would gift a Bloom Essentials Picasso Pedicure to a very special colleague. She’s one of the most giving, kindest people I have ever met. She’s always there for her friends, family, colleagues, and clients. She’s my office neighbor and was someone I confided in early during both my pregnancies, while I was so sick. She checked in with me every day and listened to all my complaints. I don’t think I could have made it through those dark days without her.
I have a feeling she would probably try to give the pedicure away to someone else. She’s not used to treating herself. But we’d get her there!