Land of Milk + Honey

On my first and only trip to Austin nearly four years ago my dear friend Lisa and I happened upon Milk + Honey day spa. It was Friday night and we were looking to make appointments somewhere nice but not the Four Seasons. Hotel spas often feel like massage factories. Word of mouth, and a quick Google search, landed us appointments the following day at Milk + Honey. It was the new kid in town back then. In fact, I think it had only opened a couple weeks earlier. I booked a facial, and Lisa a massage. I fell in love the moment I walked in the door. It was small, sweet…in every way a big city boutique day spa. Absolutely perfect. I remember having one of the best treatments of my life than rainy Saturday. Lisa must have too. We were so impressed, in fact, that we booked appointments to return the very next day.

On our way out the door we met founder Alissa Bayer. She told us her story of how she moved to Austin to attend graduate school, fell in love with the city and stayed. Just one thing was missing from Austin and that was a good day spa. Combining her business acumen with big-city spa sense, she opened Milk + Honey. Since that fateful day in January almost four years ago, I’ve watched Milk + Honey grow from afar. (They’ve now got two locations and a salon.) And I’m still on the email list even though I have no idea when I’ll ever land back in Austin. I guess I left a little piece of my heart in Austin, TX that weekend thanks to Alissa and to the land of Milk + Honey.