Our 2nd Annual Girls Getaway Weekend Recap

I mentioned last week that my pal and I were going on our Second Annual Girl’s  Getaway Weekend and I thought I’d do a little recap of our adventures as I lay here daydreaming of the past.

I warn you. There are a lot of pictures and a lot of tidbits.

Both of our husbands are very busy right now, so we both lined up our (incredible) in-laws to watch our kiddos. So, once Thursday morning hit it was go-time.

I threw on my travel attire and set out to do a couple of last-minute errands while I waited for my friend to arrive including getting a special car-wash. I don’t normally get my car washed inside and out, so this was a special treat. Oh.. the little things….

 

I filled the tank up, picked up some snacks for the road and not long after I returned home my friend arrived and I greeted her at the door screaming in delight. We threw her stuff in the back of the car, grabbed a coffee for the road and were off!

And a little surprisingly, the next six hours might have been my favorite part of the trip. As we drove to Portland we had that wonderful best pal talk that just went on and on and on. Our lips couldn’t stop jabbing. And it was wonderful. Wonderful adult, non-interrupted conversation. We stopped to grab lunch and some treats at the local Mercantile and were quickly back on the road with the sun a-shining and right before we arrived I realized I had never turned the radio on. I just plain forgot. And well, I guess we didn’t need it!The whole drive flew by and before we knew it we were at my brother-in-laws’ house.

We quickly settled in (and by that I mean threw our stuff in the room) and then my brother-in-law and his partner took my pal and I to a restaurant called Produce Row where we had a wonderful dinner eating food we would normally NEVER  have the opportunity to eat. Like, fancy salads with ingredients I couldn’t pronounce and bacon-wrapped dates.

And then they took us to Salt and Straw, one of Portland’s best ice cream shops known for their crazy, yet indulgent flavors. I mean, they have  flavors like  Olive Oil, Blue Cheese and Pear, Lavender and Honey and they are surprisingly VERY good. A perk is that they let you try as many flavors as you’d like, so yeah. I tried them all. Heh….

I did end up choosing the Salted Caramel and the Peanut Brittle and Salted Ganache for my cone. And boy was I happy…

 

We called it a night and the next morning I woke up to this…. just a little sun peaking through the window… and silence. It feels so good to wake up on one’s own!

 

We hit up Starbucks for breakfast and then went to some antique stores before meeting my sister-in-law and nephew downtown for lunch at a place called “Mothers,” which quickly turned into one of my new favorite spots. I mean, just look at the decor! Our server was fantastic, my meal incredible and the ambiance was perfection. And one of the best parts was holding my nephew the entire time soaking in that sweet baby smell that may or may not have made my ovaries twinge a little…

 

We then hit up 23rd street, which is known for its incredible shopping. We also squeezed in a little treat from Papa Haydens which was recommended by a few of you, so thank you! It was very tasty!

My brother-in-law’s partner met up with us and the three of us just shopped and shopped and shopped. And shopped. Just having NO agenda, no time limits, no schedules,  no anything was fantastic. We took our time and had nowhere to be. That night we met up again with my brother-in-law and had dinner at Tasty and Sons and once again, so good. We all left there about ten pounds heavier. My pal and I shared the steak and potatoes, some random breakfast appetizer and a salad.

We called it a night and once settled into bed, we just browsed various blogs, got some new make-up tips and just laid around laughing and talking as if we were two eight-year-old little girls at a sleepover.  You know the idea of a sister-wife isn’t so bad?

We started the next morning once again at Starbucks and were blown away to discover that Starbucks now serves wine?! Did you know this? Well, we didn’t. Thus, the picture.

 

We started the shopping at our favorite store, Anthropologie. There were a few things I came to Portland in search of. The first being a matching set of glassware, my favorite being the one pictured below.

I have been eyeing these glasses for about six months now online. But at $10 a glass I just couldn’t pull the plug. And there they were, in my hands, and even with no tax (yay Oregon!) and no shipping costs, and I still couldn’t do it. And boy did I contemplate! Have you seen anything similar out there? Help a girl out!

Anthropologie is also where my friend introduced me to the best smelling perfume EVER. Go out right this minute and buy some and I promise you everyone will compliment you on it. Just do it. You can find it here. 

It’s called “Noble Carnation” and it’s in the Royal Apothic Conservatory Collection. I am not a perfume girl. I just don’t wear it often but I bought this at only $18 and love it.

The next thing on my to-do list before leaving Portland was to try out a hippie headband. I’ve seen them around for a while now, and a few weeks ago the bartender at the restaurant my husband and I were eating at was wearing one and I asked her if I could take her picture. Don’t worry, it wasn’t stalker-ish, it was a flattering compliment and she gladly agreed.

Here she is…isn’t she darling?

 

So, I found one and after we polled the store (yes, we asked randoms what their honest opinions were) I decided to buy it and I wore it the rest of the day! I felt super awkward but it was fun to try something new. Plus, once you put it on, you’re kind-of committed for the rest of the day with the nice line it leaves across the forehead.

 

The next thing I wanted to try before leaving Portland was the “Boyfriend Jeans” look. At first I was unsure that ladies were wearing such baggy jeans, but soon saw that with the right cut and shoes I was liking what I was seeing. Since Gap was having a 40% off jeans sale, that is where I tried them on.

My friend said no, the sales girl said yes, and my indecisive self said I don’t know. So, I left the store without them. 🙂

The last thing on my to-do list was to scope out a fringe purse. And I found “the one” at Free People, a clothing store I had previously never been into.

It was almost love at first sight.

I put it on, I contemplated, I walked with it around the store. I contemplated some more. And ultimately I left it behind. At $68 I just couldn’t do it. I am at a time in my life where a purse this small just isn’t practical. Though I did loooooove it.

One thing I love to do is to go into stores like Pottery Barn and West Elm and find expensive things that I can make myself. Last year I made these topiaries after seeing something similar in Pottery Barn and this year I spotted these spring sticks with what look like tissue paper circles glued to them. At $15/three sticks I said HECK NO and deemed this something I could totally do myself.

 

It was starting to get late and there were still three stores we wanted to hit up before they all closed, so we called each store to find out their closing time and mapped out our route. Ikea closed first at 9:00, so we headed there. I found some fabric for Cal”s birthday party and we were out of there in under an hour, which if you’ve ever been to Ikea you know is impressive.

Homegoods closed at 9:30, so we raced over there and were out with fifteen minutes to spare before we hit our last spot of the night, Target. Even with aching feet and hungry tummies we took our time knowing it was our last stop. I did find something that was a pleasant surprise; my fringe purse.  It wasn’t the color I had in mind, but ultimately way more practical for my lifestyle and I left a happy camper. I don’t buy purses often. In fact, before this one I had two. One big one I use as a purse/diaper bag, and a small burnt orange one I use for traveling that I brought on this trip. So, this was a treat, and at Target prices, I couldn’t pass it up. You can find it here.

We ate dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ,  which wasn’t very good, but at 10:30 pm it was the only restaurant around us still open and we didn’t care. While we sat waiting for our food we counted ALL of the stores and restaurants we had visited in the last two days….

Do you have a guess….

It’s insane.

THIRTY-NINE!!!

We went to thirty-nine stores and restaurants in just over two days! That is CRAZY!!! We concluded we each had no other friend or relative who would willingly do such a thing and even said if there were more stores, we could have kept going.

And this is one of the many reasons why we were meant to be friends.

Now, you would think we left the trip with gobs and gobs of bags. The truth, though, is that we actually didn’t buy very much! In most of the stores we went to we just got ideas and loved just browsing without anything we HAD to be doing.  I did get Gwyn a Hello Kitty Purse and Cal a growling monster toy, both of which they have yet to put down, and The Hubby some sweets and a candied caramel apple to share. By share I mean I sadly ate most of the sweets before he got the chance to even try one… it was the thought… right? He had a few bites of apple, don’t feel too bad for him. 😉

That night we packed up and in the morning we had one last breakfast with our fabulous hosts. They took us to the Kennedy School, which is such an amazing place. It’s an old elementary school that has been turned into many things. The cafeteria is now the restaurant, the classrooms are now hotel rooms, the gymnasium is now a movie theater, and there was bar downstairs, a pool, and so much more. Only in Portland!

 

The drive home was supposed to take about six hours, but it ended up taking eight-and-a-half due to the craziest weather we had ever seen. It was pouring down rain, but because it was so cold outside it was freezing, thus creating the snowy ice on the ground, making for very scary roads. At one point we were going 5 mph in a 65 mph zone.

 

Thankfully, we made it home safely. We both returned completely refreshed, re-energized and missing our families. This was exactly the trip we two stay-at-home mamas needed and coming home to these and a super sweet card, along with a very loving husband and little girl (Cal was asleep) just topped off the night.

We packed SO much into our Second Annual Girl’s Getaway Weekend and it was just perfect. I can’t recommend enough doing something similar if you have the opportunity.

Thanks for stopping by!