Triple the Fun

What?  An outfit post, on this blog???

That's right, I loved one of the outfits I bought in Edmonton so much that I had to share it.   Not to mention three of us bought the exact same outfit and 4, almost 5, bought  the same skirt.  

A little back story on the outfit.... Deena showed up hunting for the striped skirt that she saw on Lisa's blog.  

If you don't already read Lisa's blog, you should!  We went to H&M on Friday night and Deena set out on her hunt.  It was a hidden gem in the store, literally.  She walked out one happy lady with her striped skirt.  

When she tries it on for us that evening in the hotel room she had us all sold.  This skirt is stretchy, long, flattering , and only $14.99.  

Three of us went back the next day to buy it.  

While we didn't set out looking for the floral top that Lisa pairs with the skirt in her post, we stumbled upon one anyway.

 

When the mall opened on Saturday morning we were standing outside Anthropologie waiting to barge in.  Lucky for us, it was 30% sale items so that is where we headed and surprise surprise Dee and I ended up with the same shirt in the change room and eventually it came home with both of us.

I love this outfit.  I'm not going to lie, it is a little out of my comfort zone.  Maybe a lot.  But I love that I could see it on my friends and witness how great it looked giving me confidence to wear it. In public.  

   

Friends who shop together stay together!

Celebrating Friendship

Our annual girls trip has once again come and gone.  A weekend that always leaves our hearts fuller and our wallets lighter.  This is at least our 11th annual get together and one that comes with certain expectations, or shall we say traditions that have developed over the years.  Let me tell you about them.

Copious amounts of coffee consumed

It seems when we all get together there is always a pot, or 6, of coffee on the go. Not to mention the multiple stops to Starbucks, second cup, and most recently Dee introduced us to the yummy tasting mint tea.  When there is women, there is always coffee!

Wine (and beer and cocktails!)

When there are woman, there is most likely wine, or any other beverage you can get your hands on!  Lucky for us we have cheap taste.  Three of us were happy to drink our massive bottle of Moscato white and my fave bottle of red, Apothic.  All at under $20 a bottle... score!

Playlists from the 90s

I was lucky enough to be the DJ for the weekend using my 90s mix full of songs that remind be of the gals I've known for 25+ years!  There was Salt and Peppa (Deena), Cher (Sara), Dirty Dancing soundtrack (me) and many more.  In preparation for the weekend, on the 3 hour drive up to Edmonton I cranked up my play mix and sang at the top of my lungs.  Thankfully, I was travelling solo.

Dance Party

Along with the singing and 90s tunes comes dancing. Mostly by me.  Though we no longer dance in the clubs, there is dancing in the room, in the mall, in the change room, anywhere really.   I didn't realize how much I danced when I was with my BFFs until Dee kept video taping me.  The boys in my family (all three of them!) don't put up with any singing or dancing with out whining so I guess I save it up for the annual trip.  Lucky ladies.  Ha!

Early to Bed

Yes, we have fun. Yes, we have drinks.  Yes, we are in bed by midnight.  No regrets!  We are all tired mamas that need to catch up on our sleep when we have the chance to be kidless.  There may be a pic of me sleeping since I was the unfortunate soul to fall asleep first on Saturday night.  Sigh...

Early to Rise

When you have 6 gals sleeping in the same room you go to bed with the last and get up with the first  The first is always up before 7.  When you are used to getting up at the crack of dawn it is hard to sleep in.  In this case it is a bonus to be up early so we have time to drink all the coffee before the mall open.

BMs

I'm just going to put this out here.... I have been on multiple girl trips with different groups and the conversation eventually turns to talking about p-o-o-p.  There is one who claims she doesn't poo, one that says she poos all the time, and others that want to go and can't.  Please tell me I am not alone on this one.

Shopping

Our trip is focused around the mall.  We park at the mall Friday and leave again on Sunday.  WE eat  and sleep at the mall.  It is fantastic.  There we are, standing outside our first store as the gates are opened at 10am sharp...  This year, that store happened to be anthropology.  While I had the most success at Loft.  We collectively agreed that Simons was the our most successful store for the second year in a row!

Waiting

Put 6 girls in the mall with different tastes and different must have items and you spend a lot of time waiting in the hall or jumping forward a few stores and texting where you are.  We don't split up per se but we stick to the same general area of the mall and move together.  Patience is a virtue.

Eats

We are creatures of habit.  On Friday we eat at earls.  Saturday for lunch we do food court and I always get Taco Time.  Saturday night we have Cactus Club.  At each meal at least 3 people got the same meal.  Like exactly the same.  I was never one of those people since they would always get some type of seafood that I wasn't into.

Twinning

Just like our food... we also like to dress the same.  We always come home with the same outfits.  This year, 3 of us came home with the exact same skirt and shirt combo.  Stay tuned for Wednesday when I show you that popular outfit.  We also take a break mid afternoon when the mall is beyond busy.  We have a fashion show where some decide to go back and return items they aren't crazy about and others decide to buy something that looked great on someone else.  I was happy to report back to James that I spent the least amount of money this year.  He said unless it was zero it was too much.  

Choosing the next date

As we prepare to say good bye we always choose a date for the following year to make sure that everyone has it in their calendar  It is not a weekend that any of want to miss so we want to make sure it is the first item in the calendar for the following year.  Hello June 2018!

Celebrating Friendship

I have known these ladies for 25+ years.  Deena I've known for 33 years.  I am never going to make friends like these again.  They know me like no one else ever will.  Friendship isn't always easy. It is something that you have to work at.  But I firmly believe that you get what you put in.  Someone once told me that I wouldn't always be friends with the same people since life changes and so do people. I am adamant to prove this theory wrong. These are my people and I want them to be a part of my life always.  

Here's to friendship, because its worth it!

Toronto: The Agenda

I just spent an amazing weekend in Toronto meeting the ladies of the Blended Blog IRL!  It was such a surreal experience to see them and hear them rather than just reading and looking at pictures.  The weekend did not disappoint!  Deena was the ultimate tour guide and since I am usually the family trip planner it was nice to sit back and just enjoy.  I didn't even look at the itinerary which she so diligently sent out.  Oops.  I was relatively certain my bed mate wouldn't leave me behind and she didn't.

Grab your coffee, this is going to be a long post!  Why don't you just blog about it?  Don't mind if I do.....

The Travel

I was fortunate enough to share my 3.5 hour flight with the BFF, Dee.   Lana was supposed to join us but due to flight delays missed her connections.  Big fat BOO.  Deena and I talked for the full flight and the 2 hours before we left.  She may argue that I did all the talking but I did a little listening too, I promise.  We also passed the time looking at every. single. photo. I on my phone.  And apparently, I have too many.  Never a dull moment when the 2 of us are together.  

The First Meeting

Unlike most of the other girls, I wasn't nervous.   Maybe a little overwhelmed when we first walked in but not really nervous.  Deena wanted to hold my hand as we walked in and she had already met over half of them!  Dee and I were almost last to arrive so we were greeted by lots of hugs and welcome greetings from all.  One of my fears was not recognizing one of the gals or forgetting their name.  That didn't happen thankfully.  It didn't feel like meeting a group of strangers, it felt more like reuniting with friends you hadn't seen in a while.

The Sleeping Arrangements

I had the privilege of sharing a room with Deena and Lana.   I became the room DJ with all my 90s music instead of Deena's gangsta rap.  We stayed at the grand and it was fantastic, I can't say enough good things.  From the free breakfast, big rooms, fitness center and roof top hot tub it was fab.  I must say my only complaint was the dim lighting making it very hard to put on your makeup.

Dee, Sarah, Lana, Me - all twinning in our converse

Funny story about Lana.  When we had lunch on Saturday Lana ordered a what she thought was a Caesar salad.  She said I'll have a Caesar and pointed to the drink special without reading what it said.  When her drink arrived instead of a salad she gave it to me since she doesn't like Clamato juice.  Who doesn't like Clamato.  Lana is one of our American friends and didn't even know what a Caesar drink was!!!

 

Deena and I shared a bed and she only snored a little.  She was my alarm clock each morning only giving us just enough time to get up and ready before we met.  Us west coasters needed all the sleep we could get.  She started by setting her phone alarm on the first day and I told her it was too aggressive.  Day 2 we slept in somehow and I got a firm smack in the stomach telling me we had 10 minutes to get ready.  On day 3 I got a nice back tickle as a wake up call.  It just kept getting better....

The Wine Tour

To kick off the first day, we hopped on a bus tour from Toronto to Niagara with a quick stop at Pond View Winery.   I had no idea that Toronto even had wineries. Not to mention that the area provides 80% of the ice wine to the world.   We got to sample a red or a white and then sample an ice wine.  Personally, I didn't enjoy the red one but rumor is the white was decent.  Many of the Americans had never had ice wine.  I don't have it often but I sure do enjoy it when I do!

The Niagara Experience

I was so excited to see Niagara and if I were being perfectly honest it wasn't as breathtaking as I hoped it would be.  I think lots of if came down to the weather. It was much colder than I expected it to be and I shivered, all day.  It was overcast and the mist from the falls blended in with the sky making it hard to see.  It cleared up just as we got on the boat tour.   The sun felt great on our faces and just as we started warming up we drove straight at the falls and got misted and cold again.  It is definitely a must see but not at all as I expected.

The Mexican Joint

We booked a reservation at a Mexican place where we ended up having a 7 course feast.  It was amazing.  Absolutely amazing. I also consumed a few delish margaritas.

We all agreed that the corn and churros were the best.  Such a great was to try so many dishes.  I would never had ordered those 2 items.  Actually the item that i was considering ordering was in the menu and wasn't that good.  If I knew what the restaurant was called I would definitely recommend it!   When you share a room with the tour guide you don't have to pay much attention the schedule.  She just tells you where to be. Thanks Dee!

The Walking Tour

We were told to bring runners, or tennis shoes as referred to by the Americans, because we would be walking a lot on Saturday.  We essentially covered a large portion of the downtown area by foot.  And can I just say that walking around with a bunch of bloggers means everyone has their phone out taking pictures of each other or taking selfies or anything really.  Embarrassing....  With that being said, I have no issue using all the pictures they took to compose this post.  Sarah has mean selfie skills of getting us all in the picture!

My favorite part of the walk was graffiti alley.  It was actually a back alley that ran 2 blocks full of graffiti.  It really was something else.  Nicole is a photographer and offered to update our pictures for the blog with a unified look.   She did a great job if I do say so myself.  

The Shopping

We finally arrived at the mall for the first time at 3pm on Saturday.   To say I was gitty with excitement would be an understatement.  I love the mall and since I have not shopped in nearly 3 months I was ready for a little guilt free shopping.   Of course there was some twinning as there always is on girls shopping trips.   Sarah and I both bought this cute pink Kate spade crossover that they were practically giving away.   Especially if you were converting back to USD like she was!

 

Deena and I also bought the same black jeans from express which I was sad to hear is closing all Canadian locations.  Before it closed, I scored these great distressed leggings that may be the most comfy jeans I own and at a 30% discount!

The Hot Tubbing

After a mall dinner on Saturday we headed up to the rooftop hot tub.  Did I mention the weather was a little chillier than most of us packed for?   Lisa even bought a tuque, or a hat as the Americans call them, on the first day!  It was super 'crisp' on the upper level of you weren't actually in the hot tub.  But, they played music videos on a large screen that reminded us of the drive in and the view was phenomenal.

 

There may have been a little excitement when Dee pushed the emergency button instead of turning on he jets.   To our surprise no one came up to see what our emergency was and the group engineer figured out how to turn it of on her own.  I laughed so hard that my abs actually hurt the next day.  For reals.  

The Goodbyes

    

Sunday morning people started to head home in stages.    We are no longer saying goodbye to strangers, but to our new in real life friends.  I will be reading their blogs with a new light now having met each of them in person.   While I liked them all before, I have grown quite fond of these ladies and how wonderful they are.  Stay tuned for the next post on the friendships.  I just couldn't squeeze it all into one post!

What I learned this weekend? You are never to old to make new friends. 

Things I learned in Scottsdale

I survived girls weekend and actually came back feeling more refreshed than I expected.  Probably because we spent 12 hours laying around by the pool on Sunday recovering from the previous 2 days!  To sum up the trip, here are top 22 G-rated things I learned this weekend.

1.  Scottsdale is its own city, not a part of Phoenix.  I always thought that it was part of Phoenix but it is actually a city all of its own but we fly into Phoenix.

2.   I packed too much makeup considering I only wore makeup once.  The other 2 days I didn't so much as put on power, heck I would just sweat it off anyway given it was nearly 40 degrees with not a cloud in the sky.

3.   Kraft dinner is called Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner in the US because Canadians are smart enough to know what it is without putting it the 'macaroni and cheese' part.  Or because Americans don't want to be sued when they open the box and don't find an actual real dinner inside.  Google said it, not me!

4.   Everything I wore would inside fit inside my new mint purse.   I wore a lot of bathing suits and the same short and tank top all weekend.  I brought approximately 6 too many outfits.

5.  Don't go too hard on the first night or you may spend the next day nursing a hangover.  While the other ladies were living it up at the pool party I was busy re-hydrating with water until mid afternoon.  My fun came from people watching and trust me, there was lots to watch.

6.  Don't forget to put sunscreen on your butt.  I thought I was lying in the shade and it turns out my butt and leg were hanging out.  Putting sunscreen on my knees and feet, the areas I never want to burn, did not help me.

7.   The pool party scene in Phoenix is more age appropriate then Vegas but the pool is just as gross.  We refereed to it as the pee pool because although we were using the toilets, the bathrooms were always empty.  I wonder where those people were going....

8.  Speaking of toilets, the bathrooms were coed.  Not the actual toilet area but the hand washing area.  Awkward.  Except that I was always the only one in there per #7 above.

9. Golf cart cabs are scary.  The idea is great but there are no seat belts and riding in the back row facing on coming traffic is quiet scary when you've had a few drinks.

10.  We should have bought more peanut butter and less crackers.  Who knew that between 6 girls we could eat a whole tub of peanut butter but we bought 3 boxes of crackers and didn't even open one box.

11.  I really missed a trip to mall even if the exchange rate is terrible.  The mall is my happy place and I wish I would have walked to the mall for a change of scenery on our quiet day.

12. It is possible to not bring anything back from vacation.  I wrote $10 on my custom form for the amount of dollars spent on things I brought home.  For real.  I spent $10 on some candy and toys at the airport for the kids but nothing on myself.  I consumed all the money I spent.

13.  It is possible to get up before 7 am on  a trip without kids. Twice.  With 6 girls staying in close proximity and 2 that get up at the crack of dawn it was hard to sleep once the giggling started.  That's what coffee is for after all.

14.   I am still able to take a nap when I go to bed late and get up at the crack of dawn.  I can't remember the last time I had a nap but between the lack of sleep and a touch of a hangover a nap was exactly what the doctor ordered.

15.  Not leaving your vacation house all day and laying by the pool can be the most relaxing and longest day you've ever had.  It is actually how I imagine big brother to be, a bunch of people lying around the pool and talking for 10+ hours.  Except we did it for 1 and they do it for 90+ days.  

16. I learned about the benefits of pro biotic drops and ordered some to try.  Keeping this G-rated, I learned that they help with digestion and we'll leave it at that.

17.   You can never order too many chicken tenders.  One day we had chicken tenders twice!  These girls love their chicken!  

18.   I can still bust a move on the dance floor after a few drinks.  Even though I tell my friends I don't dance.  I wish I was wearing my fitbit Friday night as I think I would have gotten many steps.  I left it at home for the record.  I didn't want it to record how inactive I was all weekend.

19.   It gets dark by 7pm. Like pitch black.  Reminded me of Hawaii.  Made it hard to walk anywhere in the evening since we didn't know where we were going and they only had like 1 streetlamp per block.  Hence the use of the golf carts!

20.   We learned that Instagram hacks are real.  One of the girls had her internet hacked while we were away with a link advertising casual hook ups.  She wasn't all that concerned but we certainly had a laugh or two over it.

21.  The men to woman ratio is high in Scottsdale.  There were so many guy trips and us on the airplane.   

22.  Always check your VRBO rental for toilet paper.  Two rolls is not sufficient for 6 girls for 3 nights.  

As you can see, this trip was full of learning opportunities and life experiences.  It is a very good thing that I went since it turned out to be more about education than having fun.  I wonder what I will learn next year.....

Five (plus 5) on Friday - Girls Weekend Edition

{one}  Last weekend I headed north to the West Edmonton Mall to visit my BFFs from Saskatoon.  It is the most anticipated weekend of the year.  Since my Calgary side kick couldn't make it this year I drove the 3 hours solo.  Let me tell you it was a sing-a-thon the whole way there.  I was listening to the 90s dance party play list on Google Play and it kept me singing very loudly the whole way there.  Who doesn't love a little Ice Ice Baby, Larger than Life or Livin' la Vida Loco??  If you graduated in the 90s this play list is for you!

{two}  We entered the mall about 3pm on Friday and departed at noon on Sunday. We had to walk outside the mall for about 1/2 a block to get to the restaurant on Saturday night but other than that we spent the whole weekend inside while the rest of the city was enjoying a heat wave. No one seemed to care about the hot weather outside except me.  I wanted a patio with a beer and clam.

{three}  There were 5 of us that met up this year and we all stayed in the same themed hotel room.  Ours was the roman room and came fully decorated with a roman statue.  We named her Amber, Athena, Venus.  I asked a random guy on the elevator if they named their statue as well.  They did not.  But he did offer us a piece of pizza which we all politely declined.

{four}  As usual, the focus of our trip is shopping.  If you don't like to shop, this trip is not for you.  Each year there is a store that we all find success, this year I would say it was a toss up between Express and Loft.  On Friday night each of us broke the shopping seal at Loft and exited with a bag.  Two out of three of us may have walked out with this maxi dress in our bag.  I may be one of them.

A dress with pockets is a win in my books!

{five}  This could also be declared the year of the converse sneaker.  I went wearing my white shoreline converse slip and 4 of us may have come with a new pair. I, again, may I have been one of them.

Let's not kid, I got the navy ones.

{six}  Let talk returns. Each year we have a fashion show in the room when we get back on Saturday night. This year was no different.  And every year, there are a bunch of purchases that go back to the store.  Either because you no longer like, you found something better, or you spent too much money.  Up until this year I have never done a return. I am very decisive and rarely go back on my decisions.  This year I returned 2 items and exchanged 2.  What's up with that?  For the record I was still the lowest spender though my hubby doesn't believe it!


{seven}  This may be my favorite purchase of the weekend. Totally out of my comfort zone but with the encouragement of my friends I went for it.  36 isn't too old for a tutu, is it?

{eight}We had a little weekend warrior fit bit competition going on and I am proud to say that I won by 17 steps.   Can you believe that we got over 17,000 steps on Saturday shopping.  See, shopping is a sport.

{nine} While Moms are away, the kids and husbands will play!  In all honesty, James is a rock star with the kids.  He got them to soccer, 3 birthday parties, art class, and set up the pool for a play date.  As Moms we are our own worst enemy.  I fret over being away and have guilt about taking the weekend off from parenting.  Bottom line, I shouldn't.  Things were more than under control while I was away.

{ten}  I feel so fortunate to be 'doing life' with these gals.  We've known each for 20 years or more, we share a history, we share secrets, we share successes, we share failures, we share almost everything.  The tradition of escaping your responsibilities for the weekend to be goofy, have dance parties, drink wine, and make memories is one I don't take for granted.  Thank you to my friends for making this the best weekend ever.

Happy Friday!

A Girls Trip... in Numbers

Today I am linking up with Dee to recap my month  girl's weekend in numbers.

The second leg of our girls weekend had us heading to the mountains - Watch out Banff... here comes trouble!

Us SIX girls, crammed into ONE big truck full of our FORTY SEVEN shopping bags.

ONE of us (me!) got nominated to sit b*tch in the truck for the weekend.   Per my mom, it also means sitting at the back of a motorbike.  I always thought it meant sitting in the middle between the driver and the passenger.

SEVENTY minutes later and we arrived at our hotel with THREE queen beds to fit all SIX of us.

With SIX girls, SIX suitcases, and FORTY SEVEN shopping bags, our room was ONE big mess.

Carmen took ONE selfie with this bear, but looked for bear paraphernalia for her THREE kids all weekend.

Deena confiscated my phone when I wasn't looking and took SIX selfies, these are the best FOUR.

At least THREE instances of photo bombing occurred.

Not hard when you take a THOUSAND AND ONE selfies over the course of FOUR days.

I think this ONE is my fave because the mountains are in the background.

But there are at least SEVEN selfie pics with Deena's head in the front.  She is the selfie queen. Here are TWO more.

This ONE was taken with our selfie stick.  A photo with SIX Banff Tshirts.  We all wanted to get the same ONE, but we agree on the same one.

Alynne and I got the same one.

Deena and Carmen got the same ONE.  Notice that it is of ONE bear taking a selfie. Totally appropriate for our trip.  Looking back, maybe all SIX of us should have gotten that shirt.

FOUR Beaver tails were consumed.  Or Queue de Castor if you are Deena or french.  I had never seen ONE before, maybe next time I'll get one because they were super yummy.  Alynne and I had TWO of my favorite homemade turtles.   Yummy. 

Approx. THIRTY coffees were consumed.  Often times multiples times a day.  

SIXTY SEVEN minutes waiting outside stores for everyone to gather out front.  We did not leave one tourist store unturned.

ONE trip to the spa that lasted over THREE hours included at least THREE couples making out in the hot tub, ONE celebrity spotting (Kim Coates from sons of anarchy per Carmen),  being caught in the rain THREE times, and ONE selfie to capture the moment.

All in all a great weekend.  Already looking forward to next years trip in NINE months.  I am lucky to have such great friends.  Every year I appreciate them and our weekend away more.