Thursday, January 21, 2010

What I Learned From My Trip to Visit Ashley


1. A good book is always better than another Redbook magazine with all the same tired articles. Thanks to my blogging friend Jill's virtual bookshelf--I found this book, which I absolutely loved. I laughed so hard at times that the people on the plane around me kept staring.

2. Any meal without children is an absolute delight. There was so much good food, I can't possibly talk about all of it. For more in depth reporting on what we ate, see Ashley's blog. The only problem is that when I'm pregnant I'm always ravenous. But as soon as I start eating, I get full quickly. An hour later, I'm ravenous again. Small frequent meals are the answer but that doesn't gel with the way I roll on vacation. Ashley and I believe in huge binge fest meals (with bread baskets or chips and salsa!) between shopping and being pampered. This did not do good things for my stomach.




3. The Mostess knows food. I met the Mostess through blogging and she is a riot. I thoroughly enjoyed our meal together at Tamarine--a tasty upscale Vietnamese place. I felt a tiny bit of guilt that as I was enjoying the delicious shrimp puffs on Sam's birthday, he was at home on with the kids eating McDonald's. The guilt passed though.




4. I can no longer trust Pottery Barn Kids for name ideas. At first, I was thrilled to see this name on the wall since it is one we are considering for our new baby:


All three of my kids' names are in the current catalog so I assumed that PBK and I were on the same page when it came to taste in names. Then I stumbled onto this name (what the?) and I realized one of us is horribly out of touch. Please tell me it's them:


5. I love artsy movies. Ashley and I both really enjoyed An Education. We saw it at an old theatre by Stanford, where you have to valet park to see a movie. Crazy. Don't you think the main character, David, looks exactly like Sam?


6. I appreciate fine malls and outdoor shopping areas more than musuems or sightseeing. Just a sad fact about me folks. I ain't proud of it.


7. The TJ Maxx and More in the Bay Area has way more selection and better stuff than ours. I ended up having to borrow a suitcase from Ashley just to get all my wares home. Aren't those cake plates cute? And I love my new pillows!




8. The only time I missed my kids was when I went into a really cool Lego store that Luke would love. The minute we left, I was glad I didn't have my kids again.


9. The first rule for massage therapists should be to shut your yapper. Mine talked the ENTIRE hour. It was the worst. And I had to beg her to push harder. I like massages to almost hurt so I know they are doing something.


10. Pedicures are God's gift to women. I could get one every day. The bad news is I came home with an ingrown toenail as a result of the lady cutting my toenail too short.


11. Turns out I am too good for Chili's. Our food was cold, bland and disgusting. It was our only bad meal of the trip. There's a reason I hadn't been there in four years. For good chain food, I'm sticking to Chevy's and CPK.

That's it. I've already decided to come down next summer as well. It was just too fun, too relaxing and too hard to come back to real life. Thanks to the husbands for making it all possible!

23 comments:

alexandra said...

I love that you can admit that it was great to take a break from your kids and that you only missed them once, briefly.

PBK is out of touch with Lyle. I have changed my mind about many names during my life (I scoffed at the name Henry in 2000 but now I love it), but I still can't believe Lyle will ever catch on. Though I hope it does.

alexandra said...

ps i like you hair! i think it looks really cute. and that guy does look exactly like sam. brigham did one of those celebrity face match things once and learned that his number 1 match was andrew lloyd weber. (mine were asian males, so i guess i can't laugh too much.)

marta said...

lyle!? are you kidding me. are they trying to start some trend?! i don't know, but that's bad news. anyway, i loved your wrap-up. sisters are so dreamy. sad for those who don't have 'em.

must be off to read your bachelor saga. xo.

melissa walker said...

We would travel well together--I enjoy eating and shopping with an occasional museum, but only if there's no good mall close! Also, I do think Lyle is a little out there. If Nora had been a boy, I was actually thinking Lionell (which is close), after Paul's grandfather, but I wanted to call him Leo--so you can take my opinions with a grain of salt. Lyle reminds me of Lyle Lovett.

Toria said...

what a fun trip! Made me miss PA! Lyle is weird, but I would not be the least bit surprised if it becomes more mainstream. Those pottery barn names can surprise you.
Oh I miss TJ's in California. Good stuff- darling pillows and cake plates. Love it.
a Kaari/ Brooke combo with a sister that probably has some hilarious dating stories about SY would make for a great combo. I'm gonna try to tag along next time!

oh and I'll get out of my blogging rut and back on the blog one of these days- I'm just being lazy (and lame cuz I am camera-less and have a hard time posting without pics- yes lame, I know)

Laura B. said...

Sounds divine!!!

jacey said...

Looks like fun! I'm jealous of any type of outdoor greenery right now, and a vacation without kids and spouse (did I just write that?) I requested that book you recommended, sounds entertaining.

Kimmie said...

1st....the golden spoon picture made me VERY jealous! instead of dating boys, the V's dated swirl!

2nd...LOVE the name Chase!

3rd...how in the crap do you have such skinny bird legs while pregnant? i gain weight EVERYWHERE!!!

i love how you and ash are such close sisters.

Ashley said...

One thing I learned from this trip is that you are quick to post a good picture of you in spite of it being hideous of me.

I feel bad that I got the better masseuse and pedicurist. Sorry to hear about the ingrown. It was a glorious trip but it feels like an all-too distant memory now. The only things that live on are my pretty toes and frequent stops at Golden Spoon.

Kelly said...

I am so jealous of those pillows I am seething right now. Like, breaking commandments coveting. They are DARLING!

I shopped my way across Europe instead of seriously exploring every museum and church and I really think I got to know the cities better that way. I'm ashamed to admit it but that is just who I am.

Linde said...

Sounds so fun! Loved the picture of Half Moon Bay on Ashley's blog. That is such a beautiful place. I am jealous!! But glad you had a fun time!!

brooke said...

Ashley,

I was going to say the exact same thing to you. The Chili's picture of me should be burned.

Em said...

Re PBK, it's definitely definitely them.

Since I've met neither of the two men, judging solely by the pic of the dude in The Education and the pics you have of Sam on your blog, I'd have to say you got the better deal.

Liz said...

So fun...and yes, a masseuse should just be quiet. Small talk is NOT relaxing. It's weird having a conversation when your naked.
Yeah...Lyle sucks. Just met a mom who named their son Trigvie. Not lying. That is as bad as it gets.

Anonymous said...

The Bay Area has it all. OMG! Your life is a movie. Seriously! Pass the popcorn.

Jaime said...

Oh, I love the cake plates! SO thrilled you got to have a kids-free-sister weekend. Can I come next time? I know what you mean about an extra suitcase... I have to send a box home on ahead of our trip home... No regrets!

Can we play next week?

Jaime said...

Oh, I love the cake plates! SO thrilled you got to have a kids-free-sister weekend. Can I come next time? I know what you mean about an extra suitcase... I have to send a box home on ahead of our trip home... No regrets!

Can we play next week?

Elizabeth said...

Thanks for the book recommendation.
Lyle no Linus yes Lyle no Leo yes.
I wear your pillows to bed! (I have pjs made out of that material).
Pedi's are my love language and both your toes look fab.
Sam does look like that guy in pics.
Great Post.

HAPPYHANERHOME said...

LOVE it! Sorry about the yapper...and your toe. VERY jealous of everything else! Glad you had fun my fellow pregnant friend!

Amy M. said...

I love the name Chase too and almost used it for my boys. Lyle? Um, no.
Cute purchases.

Jill said...

I'm so happy that you found that book as a result of seeing it on my bookshelf! I loved it too and should probably reread it because it was so fun the first time around!

The food from your trip sounds so good. It's rather sad when I sit here at my computer literally salivating because all I've eaten today is an Instant Breakfast drink.

Lyle, what the?! That is so funny. It reminds me of SNL with Lyle, The Effeminate Heterosexual.

I want to see all your TJ Maxx purchases! I love that store!

I feel the same way about pedicures and find myself admiring my toes all month long after getting one, I've never had a bad experience getting one except for when the male owner of the place had to do mine because all the women were busy and he totally man-handled me. It was an aggressive pedicure!

I would have been so bugged about the talking masseuse! What in the world? That is no time for making small talk.

The Mostess said...

Further proof our friendship was meant to be: I was just at that very TJ Maxx, and I had to stop and look at their adorable cake stands. I have a collection, and don't need anymore..but still! So cute.

I did get 4 idential Kenneth Cole tops there for $20 each, though. When you find a shirt that fits, looks cute, and works...you buy 4.

I had such a great time with you as well.

When I read Toria's comment about Ashley dating "SY" I about died, thinking she dated my former boss and never mentioned it. Then I realized who she was referring to, and remembered that Ashley just told me that story like 6 months ago...tricky lady that she is.

Glad you enjoyed a weekend of food, gluttony, more food, and Ashley.

PS--please stop getting pedicures, and do your own toes. You're cursed.

samantha said...

how fun! i just came back from a weekend with my girlfriends and you're absolutely right; it's all about the shopping and the food! lol.