Well, since the move to St. Paul, I've been a bit busy. And so, have not had a moment free to update the blog! But now, I come back to the blogging world with a post of a wonderful, albeit busy, weekend.
Last Friday (yes, the crabby day from hell), I drove home to WI for a weekend that was sure to pop me right out of my bad mood and into a fantastic one. I was able to leave work early so that I drove the whole way home in the light. I hate driving home to WI in the dark. Nothing is worse. So, I got home on Friday night at around 8:30 or so, chatted with my parents for a bit, and headed on to bed for some much needed rest.
Saturday morning, I awoke bright and early (6:15 on a Saturday is EARLY!) and got myself ready for a day of wedding fun. First stop: the
Azana spa in Brookfield, WI. Heather picked me up, along with Greta and Lisa, and we all headed to the spa for a morning of pampering and girl bonding.
I personally started off my morning with a great 25-minute massage, followed by a bikini wax, a facial and a manicure. The other girls had similar services, but in a different order. We didn't really see too much of each other during our services, which was a bit of a bummer, but it was definitely a most relaxing morning.
After our services, we headed down the road to Tumbleweed, one of Heather's favorite restaurants, for a light lunch. None of us wanted to eat anything too heavy; we were heading to Houlihan's for dinner that night as party of the bachelor/bachelorette party (more on that later...).
After lunch, the girls dropped me off at my second stop for the day: my mom's house. My mom, along with aunt Bonnie and cousin Tina, hosted a bridal shower for Dana, my soon-to-be cousin. On June 3rd, Dana will marry my cousin Tony. We're all looking forward to the wedding - my family loves to dance and I'm sure we'll be hitting the floor all night! The bridal shower was planned from 2:00 until 4:00, but of course people started coming at 1:00 and some didn't leave until 5:00. It was such a fun shower! It was great to see the women in my family and really talk to my cousins. We're all finally old enough to be one relatively the same page, so we have a lot more to talk about these days.
After the shower, I quickly got ready for the third stop on my trip around town: the bachelor/bachelorette party. Heather and her groom-to-be Eric had requested that we all get together and send them off into married life together, in a joint party. It was such a great idea! They requested that couples come together, but Mark had school so he couldn't come. And, Erin's boyfriend Dave had already had a prior engagement, so Erin and I became dates. Erin stopped by my house before the party to chat with my parents a bit, and then we were off.
The plan for the night was to gather at
Houlihan's for dinner and drinks, and then head out into the town of Lake Geneva for some bar hopping and dancing. Dinner at Houlihan's was great, as usual. Erin and I had both had a full day of eating, so we decided to split a small appetizer and an entree. Good idea! We had more than enough food! Along with our shrimp entree, I had a Flirtini, one of my favorite drinks of all time. I love champagne, what can I say?!
After dinner, we headed over to Champs for a few drinks before going to the dancing bars. Most people needed a few more drinks to loosen up a bit before hitting the dance floor. We left only after Greta found a guy to buy everyone a round, and I felt the need to go off on a guy who was harassing Christi. Yeah, it was time to go...
After Champs we went to Hogs and Kisses, a Lake Geneva favorite I'm told. This was a much better place to dance and get a little crazier. The DJ played a lot of songs from our youth, and we had fun shaking it on the dance floor like the good ol' days. Hogs has a special deal if you come in with a bachelorette group - you get a bucket full of champagne, glasses, leis, and a t-shirt for the bride-to-be. It was fun getting the whole group together for a little champagne toast in the middle of the bar!
Our last stop for the night was Carvetti's. I'd never heard of it, and we were a bit disappointed to find out that it was at capacity when we got there. But thanks to Christi, who sweet-talked the bouncer a bit, we were let into the bar only if we promised to head straight out to the side patio. No problem! At that point in the night, we were all a bit more concerned with having a seat to cool our aching feet and just winding the night down. Not long after we arrived, people started to call it a night and head out, Erin and I included!
Overall, it was a great night out to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of our dear friends Heather and Eric. The wedding is now only 9 days away, hard to imagine. I'm so looking forward to it!
But the weekend fun didn't stop with Saturday night! On Sunday morning, my sister and her family brought my grandma over so that we could all celebrate Easter together. I know, Easter was last week. But, my parents were in town to help Mark and I move, so no one really got to celebrate Easter together. So, we postponed it. Before breakfast, the kids, along with Nikki and Pete and I, all searched around the house to find our Easter baskets. Yes, at 24 years old, I still get an Easter basket from the Easter Bunny. And I love it.
After a great breakfast of baked French toast, sausage, ham, and fruit, Nikki and Pete and I went outside to hide Easter eggs for the kids. This is really the part that I love. I love hiding eggs in almost-impossible-to-find locations, and then running around the yard, helping the kids find them. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining and the sky blue, and it was the perfect way to end this trip back home.
