MYSTERY WOMEN GETAWAY

This weekend I was in California with my high school best friend and some other women I hadn't met.
Actually, no one there knew every person, so it was dubbed the mystery women getaway. It ended up being a series of unfortunate events and a lot of amazingness.  It was most definitely a beautiful mess.

Due to a last minute flight cancellation, six of the eight women didn't have a way to California ( I will NEVER fly Allegiant Air) and that started a wave of events.  Luckily they got tickets with another airline, but they weren't able to fly out until the next day.
I was already at the Oakland Airport waiting for them.  Thankfully, one of the other women lives close so I was able to take the BART to her and we started the weekend fun, that sadly, the Utah lasses missed out on.
We bonded straightaway and I feel like I've known Rebecca forever.
We hung out in her neck of the woods and in the morning we drove down to Monterey and went sea kayaking - oh my goodness, was that fun!  One highlight was we had six curious seals that kept coming really close, one even rolled over like it wanted it's belly rubbed!

Finally, everyone was in one place and I got to hug my Kristen Pisten!

It was such a great weekend reconnecting with Kristen and getting to know the other lasses.  We rented an amazing house in Pacific Grove, stayed up to the wee hours of the night, went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, enjoyed the coastal gorgeousness, had a birthday celebration, walked around Carmel, ate at delicious restaurants (every restaurant we went to was very vegan friendly - it was so nice!) explored 17 mile drive and laughed so hard I almost wet pants.
I had no doubt I'd like all the women this weekend, but I had no idea how fast I'd fall for them.  They are spectacular!!  Although this weekend had circumstances beyond our control, this weekend gets a four star review.

RECO

I'm gushing with friend pride!

Do you remember my post about my high school friend, who is now an award winning film director? If you want to have a looksee at his award winning short film, Reco, it's on his website.

"Fear of the unknown.

We all face it daily. How often are we afraid to seek or reveal truth for fear of the knowledge it brings?

The story of Reco explores this as Annie embarks on a destined journey on horseback across Utah's back country. Sent to fetch her adoptive grandmother, she meets a woman and confronts a past that leads her to a life changing discovery.

But first, she has to come to terms with the vivid and fearful dreams that have haunted her for most of her life and risk asking the questions that could bring the truth she's been seeking."

It's a wonderful film and the scenery is breathtaking. Click here to watch.

A FOUR MILE

rainy run this morning with six of my running mates, is how I started the weekend. What a beautiful run it was with all the spring blooms to look at.Luckily, the last mile the rain let up. I was hoping I'd sweat the last of the germies out, but I'm all wet so I can't tell. Cross your fingers and toes for me.

WE'VE GOT THE BEAT!

Saturday night we had a picnic dinner with Debbie and Kevin at the zoo amphitheater and saw The Go-Go's in concert. Can you hear me saying AH-MAZING? We were having serious high school flashbacks and the people watching was beyond incredible!Elephant ears were enjoyed by these three but no vegan elephant ears were to be found. Sigh...
The opening act was Girl in a Coma and they were a great way to start a concert.
The Go-Go's played almost all our favorites and even threw in Belinda Carlisle's Mad About You, which is still one of my favorite songs.

Perfect weather, yummy food, great friends, awesome music, I could have listened to The Go-Go's all night.

PS - Jane Wiedlin would be the coolest next door neighbor. Man, someone's lucky.

ORCHIDS

Two weeks ago, my Soul Sisters dropped by the house to cheer me up. Besides their smiling faces and hugs, they had a beautiful potted orchid, numerous flavors of vegan ice cream, traditional Chex Mix, pistachios, Diet Coke and Twizzlers. Do they know me well or what?
This orchid is on my dining room table and every time I walk into the kitchen, I can't help but smile.

THE SOUL SISTER GETAWAY

at the coast was a blast.
We stayed in a 4th floor 2 bedroom 2 bath condo that had a full kitchen, jacuzzi on the deck and a beautiful, peaceful view of the ocean.

We strolled amongst antique shops and found items that ranged from uber funny to interesting to creepy and everything in between.

We treated ourselves to a relaxing pedicure and ate at many yummy restaurants.

Can I just tell you that if you think you play Ms. Pac-Man well, Heidi and Heather would wipe the floor with you. They should be professional competitors.

This was such a fun long overdue weekend.

And yes, we might have had fun with the camera's self timer.

SNEAK PEEK - BATHROOM

Kevin the Incredible and Deb the Great are still helping us with the bathroom. And thank heavens! I think it's safe to say that we would have added another week to completion time.

The surround is grouted and we get to seal it tonight.

The floor was laid last night and we will be grouting it tonight. We're really excited for the finished product. Stay tuned.....

PS - she makes me laugh.

IT WAS A BIRTHDAY LUNCH

for Deb. A delicious one at Venti''s Cafe.
I have new favorite meal - the falafel pita minus the dairy. I've been thinking about it all day. SO GOOD!

SNEAK PEEK - BATHROOM

Last night we got off to a slow start - we tiled wrong and had to take it down and start over. Luckily for us, one of my bestest friends, Deb the Great, came over to help.
I'll keep you posted on the bathroom progress.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE

It was a gorgeous day - sunny and crisp with a touch of wintry windy chill.
We went up to Brent and Juli's house to get our tree. We had a plethora of trees to choose from with hot cocoa, cookies and even Santa waiting on the sidelines.It was a such a fun afternoon and a perfect way to excitedly start December decorating.
Our house smells amazing and now we get to decorate the tree!