Girls Weekend (s)

One of the (many) blessings of living centrally located in the country and close to the home base of the majority of my friends is that I can participate in girls weekends more readily. I should also mention that these events also require and extremely flexible, capable, and willing husband who graciously volunteers to fly solo with the kids for an extended period of time....thanks love.

 

So June brought an Amtrak trip up to Chicago. Britt Britt has a love/hate relationship with LA, and she decided that her big 2-9 should be spent in the Midwest with good Midwestern people. She flew to Chicago and I met her there for the weekend. I do regret that my only pics of this trip are blurry from my camera phone, but I don't know how to download in to a reproducible file from facebook.....so I'm sorry!

Saturday we met at a Dunkin Donuts (Britt runs on Dunkin) around 10:30 a.m. We grabbed our Toasted Almond drip with a touch of cream and promptly walked over to the theatre (I forgot the name) to stand in line for lottery tickets to 'The Book of Mormon'. We've both been dying to see it, and I'd heard rumors about the show that led me to believe Britt would be the best company with whom to view the hilarious, racey, political satire written by the creators of South Park. (I can attest that after seeing it you should never, never go with anyone that has a parental role in your life).

After the show we grabbed a quick pedi and walked back to our hotel that so generously offered a happy hour of free wine and apps with live music. Score. A glass of red was then finished off with this champagne that Britt's folks had sent to the room. Several hours later we finally made it out for some Sushi. I think this was, perhaps, a perfect day.

 

 

Sunday, Britt's actual 29th birthday, we started out with Dunkin (duh), shopping at J.Crew and Banana on the Magnificent Mile (duh), brunch at a restaurant that serves cinnamon rolls as a side instead of toast (duh), and a Cubbies game at Wrigley (that took a bit more convincing). I did enjoy watching two minor league teams (Cubs vs Astros) play at a historic stadium, though, and the company was fantastic. Britt's aunt, uncle, and cousin happened to be in Chicago that day, so we took in the game and a Navy Pier happy hour with them before we met up with a group of Britt's best Chicago buds for some delicious tapas and (more) red wine. Again, a perfect day. 

 

Those 2 days were so full of activities that I greatly appreciated the 5 hour train ride to rest and transition back to real life.

 

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July's girls weekend celebrated Kim's last single days as a Dodson. I've participated in many weddings but I have never been involved in such an elaborate bachelorette party. The events were planned by her college gals, and they really have time and money and party planning skillz.

 

The events started with a Friday night dinner which I did not attend. I joined in Saturday for brunch and a spa/pool day at the Chase hotel. After being totally pampered we went back to college-friend Kelly's house for apps, drinks, and the classic underwear party.

 

You're supposed to get the bride-to-be a pair of underwear that would remind her of you. I picked out this lovely pair of black cotton panties, because when we met at 14 years old, this would have been our definition of 'sexy'.

Classic shot of opening lingerie in front of your future mother-in-law.

 

Kim's friend hand made these beautiful (and delicious) cookies. Impressive!

I.love.this.girl. We've made memories for literally 1/2 of our lives,

and I was thrilled to celebrate her last days of Dodson.

 

BTW, Saturday night's events continued with dinner at an elegant wine bar and limo accompanied bar hop downtown STL. I went to dinner and skipped the limo because I.am.old.

Sunday was shower day at a beautiful bed and breakfast called Fleur De Lis. It's owned & operated by a British woman who serves authentic high tea. This is one of my absolute favorite meals, and it totally fits Kim & her sisters' style.

 

While welcoming the party, the owner mentioned that her normal staff was not available that day and that she had stand-ins. She 'hoped' it would work out ok. Moments later, Kim's dad and brother walked out to 'crash' the party and serve us tea. It was an awesome surprise!

Robby, Kim, and Mr. Dodson. This is one of my favorite families of all time. On Saturday, Kim became Mrs. Green, and I can't wait to tell you all about that wedding.

 

Thanks again to my wonderful hubby for spoiling me rotten with so much Heather/friend time. It's nice to take a break from Mommy every once in a while, but mostly it's amazing to have precious time with these amazing ladies who live far, far away!