girls' weekend

8 girls got together in palm springs to celebrate gaby's bachelorette.  i knew that gaby did not want a "las vegas experience", but instead just wanted her bridesmaids to get together, relax and do some girly things.  so that's what we did.

jennifer and i emailed each other over the last few months working out the details of the weekend.  her in-laws were kind enough to let us use their very nice house for 3 days.  jen, rachel, gaby and i arrived on friday afternoon.  the house had 3 bedrooms and a guest house.  so everyone had a place to sleep.  gaby and i lucked out with the master suite.  it was awesome.  the bed had a massager for each of us.

we hung out, chatted and then headed to the store to get the groceries.  i came up with the menu for the weekend and wrote up the list.  we had dinner reservations and needed some time to get ready.  so our shopping time was limited to 30 minutes.  it felt like an episode of top chef getting around the store, buying what we needed while keeping track of the time and money.  but we made it and went just $2 over the budget.  not bad.

then we went back, put everything away and got ready to go to dinner.  we decided to eat at circa 59 in the riviera hotel.  i had been here just last month with bobby and the kids and thought the girls would enjoy it.  great food.  we sat outside by the pool.  but the weather was so warm, we were sweating.  and it didn't help that the waiter was kind of creepy. but overall a great time.

after dinner we went back to the house and took a dip in the pool.

the next morning the rest of the girls arrived.  my sister-in-laws, niece and another friend.  gaby and i put together little gift bags with things they might need for the weekend; water bottle, flip flops, a pedicure set, hair ties, fruit bar, a journal, and pen.  just  something to make them feel at home.

everyone got comfortable, had lunch and then went for a swim.  for lunch i set up a rainbow salad bar.  i saw a picture of this on pinterest and wanted to do it for the girls.  we also made grilled cheese sandwiches with goat cheese, avocado and tomatoes.

after a bit of swimming everyone got to participate in the at-home spa.  i found a few recipes online with natural ingredients for a hair mask and body scrub. we also had a clay mask, foot bath and tons of pretty nail polish.  and of course there was food.  cheese, crackers, and fruit.

then it was time to get ready for dinner.  jenn picked out las casuelas for our group.  a fun, party atmosphere mexican restaurant in downtown.  we went around the table and gave gaby advice on marriage.  it was fun listening to everyone's perspective, married or not.  (sorry my camera had a smudge so everything was coming out glowy.  or was it just our joy shining through?

we also did a little shopping for hats.  i picked this one up at a souvenir shop.  

back to the house for her lingerie party.  no pictures to share on that.  but let's just say we had a blast, laughing, quizzing and embarrassing her. you can't have a bachelorette party without a little blushing, right?

we served fruit cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  sweet.

everyone went to bed and a few of us stayed in the kitchen chatting.  we ended up staying up until 4am!!  i can't remember the last time i did that.  i laughed so hard and really enjoyed sharing everyone's company.

sunday morning we had fruit salad, toast and eggs for breakfast.  then we sat around the table talking.  it's amazing how we never got tired of just chatting and learning so much about each other.  we shared things we loved about our husbands and things we do to let them know how much we love them.  i can say that we all have some good guys to share our lives with.

by the time we were done chatting it was time for lunch.  no one really wanted to go out so i picked up some pizza at bill's pizza.  the same place i took the kids for lunch the last time we were here.  it was delicious.  and we finished up some of the leftovers too.

and then it was time to go home.  we didn't even make it to the outlets.  that's how much fun we had hanging out together.  and yes, all we did was talk, eat and laugh for three days.  not a bad way to spend the weekend.  we even made friendship bracelets in the wedding colors to remember our time together.

i secretly hope that we can make this an annual girls' weekend.  whether here in palm springs or some other place.  one of the girls lives close to napa.  now that would be an amazing weekend.

what a great time, with some great women.  i love the way it all turned out.  and i can't wait til the wedding.

i will be off for a few days.  have a lovely weekend.