Mother-Daughter Getaway

Mom and I had such a fun girls weekend. Early Friday morning we got on a plane and headed to Santa Monica, California. We landed and then had lunch at the City Market in Brentwood. After that we just played around and had dinner on the veranda at our hotel. From there we got to watch the sunset and enjoy the cool evening temperature. We rented a movie in our room but we were both so tired that we had to pause it and watch the rest in the morning. The 2 hour time change and waking up at 4:30 made us weak!

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn because our bodies were on Texas time. Mom got up way before me, went for a walk on the beach, and had her quiet time. We ordered French toast and the best huevos rancheros known to man. Then we went shopping at the promenade, which is an outdoor mall. We walked briefly through a farmers market while we waited for the shops to open and I had to laugh at the booth that advertised eggs from "sprout fed chickens." Let me just say that if someone who had only ever lived in LA moved to Texas, they would be in HUGE culture shock. And vice versa. It is very fun to visit California but I don't think I would fit in there at all!

When the shops opened, we darted into the Pottery Barn. I bought a little something for my sister that I'll give her next week. Then we spent a few minutes in J. Crew before moving on to Old Navy. Outside the Old Navy they had one of their employees dressed like a fairy and handing out Halloween gift bags. She handed us each a bag as we walked in and said there was a surprise inside. I was a little annoyed because what would I want with some stupid Halloween stickers, a pencil and a rubber ball? I'd rather not even have to carry it. I did not look inside to see what was there. We grabbed a few maternity things for me and headed into the dressing rooms. At that point Mom and I decided we should see what was in our gift bags. Mom's had a peel-away coupon that was $5 off any purchase. I thought that was great because I could get a cami for $7. Then she told me to open mine and see what it was. I did and, holy cow, my coupon was for my entire purchase up to $150! Isn't that crazy? Lori/Bargain Shopper Lady, I totally thought of you.

Then I completely switched gears and thought I need to get stuff for my kids! (It's so fun to say "kids" plural now.) Jackson got two pairs of pants and a fleece sweatsuit. Baby Girl got a few cute things too. Of course I got some maternity tees. Everything was on sale, so we even had a hard time making the $150 total once we were at the register. I had to send my mom over to the pajamas to pick out a couple things for herself. Come to find out, I was the grand prize winner for the day. There was only one such coupon and somehow I managed to get it. Thank You, Lord, for blessing me wildly!

After that we dropped off my huge bag of loot at the hotel and took a cab to a fun shopping street called Montana. We spent most of the day there and enjoyed a fun lunch together. I noticed that people in restaurants there really like to check each other out. I guess that's because everyone's looking for celebrities. We never saw any, although I kept my phone on me the entire time in case my BFF's Jennifer and Courtney called and wanted to meet up. Maybe the lines got crossed or something because I never did hear from them.

Then we got some Starbucks and took a cab back to the hotel. When we did this same shopping trip last fall, we walked back. But Pregnant Girl ruined all the fun with her braxton hicks contractions that make her walk at a snail's pace. Fun times.

After we rested a bit, we decided we'd try to find a place to get our hair washed and dried. So we did. We managed to find the most masculine hair salon I've ever been to in my life. There was a drum kit and a few guitars decorating the salon and my stylist told me they like to have impromptu jam sessions. Then we found out that the two guys who started it are from Dallas. My stylist was a native Californian. He told me he'd like to go to Texas so that he could visit Austin and Graceland. In Memphis. That would be Tennessee. I got so tickled. But if I had to take a test about the geography of the western United States I would fail miserably.

That night we got to have a super nice dinner at a restaurant in Malibu that was right over the ocean. We got to eat on the patio underneath heaters. It was too dark to see the water, but we could hear the waves crashing beneath us. It was so neat. I had to pinch myself.

Sunday morning we had life-changing blueberry pancakes (hi Travis) and then headed back to the airport. Girls weekend was coming to a close! Pregnant Girl thought she had an aisle seat on the plane, so she drank a huge cup of tea right before boarding. Then she was surprised to find herself not in an aisle seat. Oh my gosh, I was so stressed out about how many times I was going to have to ask the man next to me to let me out to go to the restroom. It ended up being twice. At one point I was about to die and he was just snoozing peacefully next to me, as though P.G.'s bladder might not burst in mid-flight. It did not burst, but I'm not exaggerating when I say it was a dern close call.

Soon mom and I hugged goodbye and agreed that we'd had a total blast. The only thing that could have made it better was if Melissa had been able to join us. Next time, hopefully! Thanks, Mom, for an amazing weekend!

That brings us to Sunday at 3 p.m. More to come in a bit.