Places to Go (Vacation) - A Bicyle Built for Fifteen, Peach Sangria, and Drag Queens During Moms' Weekend in Savannah, GA

In case I haven't mentioned this enough already - I love our neighborhood, it's like a party that never stops. Well, until the party moves. A good friend/neighbor/soccer coach/ awesome female was turning 40 - the perfect excuse for a celebratory weekend getaway.

Savannah is a slow town, not a lot of museums or organized activities. No open container laws (i.e. you can walk and drink). Streets full of little shops and boutiques and yummy food. Perfect for relaxation. And friends.

And drag queens.

And 15 person bicyle-like contraptions.

And sangria. PEACH SANGRIA. got to love the south.





















I thought the slow ride pub crawl would be part drinking and part history tour. But it was 100% drinking. On a bike built for 15. With cup holders. Which we probably needed more than the history part.

















Light like this doesn't exist in Arlington. So I made my friends jump around for an impromptu photoshoot. I still don't really know how to photograph Savannah's crazy intense sunset, but it was fun to experience.















We spent a lot of time wandering around. Well, some of us used maps. And I followed the people with maps.



The hat stayed on for one hot second. Not that I blame Dori for taking it off.



There is something rather awesome about strolling around with a rum and coke in hand. My eyes are courtesy of Janet, who is a genius at makeup stuff. On the upside, I loved it. On the downside, I now need to learn how to make myself up. How is there always so much more to learn in life?



Janeese found an online list of the top 25 things to do in Savannah. Number 16 was a drag show with Lady Chablis. When in Rome . . .













Lady Chablis had a missing front tooth, a bad attitude, and kept talking about her pussy juice (ick). In other words, Lady Chablis was sort of a bust. But her friends kept us entertained.



After numerous failed weight loss attempts (I still blame my extra 10 pounds on December's broken foot), this is my new diet plan - find a drag queen to accompany me everywhere. All of a sudden I'm tiny. As in TINY!!









On our last night we ate dinner at Billy's Place, which was pretty much perfect. Amazing food (as in AMAZING!!!), great service, and a female "piano" man who takes requests (yes, I did cry during "In My Life", wouldn't you?), but was quiet enough that we could still talk and bond and drink. and drink. and drink. Seriously, five stars all the way.
____________

So that was last weekend. This weekend involves a return to "real life" (i.e. back to back soccer games, sleepovers, and cocktails on the porch). Whatever you're up to, I hope it's fantastic!! Happy Friday!!

Places to Go (Vacation) - Denver Girls' Weekend

Returning to Denver always feels a little bittersweet. Even though I moved away over seven years ago, I've never gotten over Denver, with its mountain backdrop beckoning adventure and new possibilities. Dan likes to remind me that even if we lived there now our lives wouldn't be the same as in our twenties - we wouldn't spend our weekends backpacking long distances with three kids in tow (though kudos to the families who manage it), instead we would purchase the "easy" trail books, searching for destinations under two miles at most. Plus, Dan would still work long hours, those things don't change with city (though we'd all like to believe they do), and he would need to travel more for work.

Perhaps he's right, perhaps my love for Denver is just love of my younger, freer self. But still, so many close friends still live there (though they've all opted for houses in the suburbs rather than apartments in the city) and they all have kids approximately the same ages as my kids. Whenever I visit, I picture our children growing up together at mosquito-less barbeques (unlike Arlington, Denver is almost bug free, yet another reason to live there).

Oh well, enough reflection, we had a great weekend (minus some hiccups on my part) - a crazy pedicab ride to the Black Eyed Peas, dinner at Vesta (my favorite restaurant ever), drinks in bars with chandeliers, pedicures and wine on the patio (with mountain views), bbq hamburgers and trampolines, and (as always) so much catching up to do.

It's nice to have a short getaway every few months. I read a whole book (The Tiger's Wife: A Novel) and slept in every morning (the two hour time difference made that easy). On Monday, I arrived home to tons of drawings/gifts, a super clean house (still not sure how Dan managed to keep it THAT clean with all three kids), homemade strawberry shortcake, a wonderful family, and Mad Men on tivo. Reminding me that life's not about where you are, it's about who you're with. always.



My first pedicab ride and now I'm a true believer. Like a mini-roller coaster through the night.



When I fly, I always find it crazy that above the clouds the day can be perfect, but then you land to a cold, grey, miserable afternoon.

Places to Go (Vacation) - The High Line, NYC

I first visited the High Line last summer, as part of our family's weekend trip to NYC (click here for the post). During that trip, Dan and I had a great time watching the kids run and checking out the wonderful views of the city. This year my trip to the High Line was a little more mellow, but still really enjoyable. Such a great place to catch up with an old friend. I wish DC had something like this, I'd go all the time, camera in hand.

RANDOM LINKS:

*Loving this print.

*A short interview with Mo Willems. He's so awesome.

*Holiday gift-guide from pinhole press (I think I might make one of their photo calendars) (link via Bluebird Baby).

*Fortune cookie necklaces - I really really want one of these (thank you Miss Moss for the link). I also really want to read Mindy Kaling's new book.