Saturday, November 26, 2011

My Trip to Visit Ashley



I returned home from my trip to visit Ashley on Sunday evening. Here it is Thursday and I am finally blogging about it. Re-entry to the grind was hard. I am still doing laundry and battling a nasty head cold. But it was all worth it.

The trip was anything but relaxing. She lives in the Bay Area and there is a lot to do. Ashley had us booked every minute and I never knew from one minute to the next where we were headed. But she is a great hostess and I had a blast.

Here is what was waiting for me on her bed (we sleep together when I come!)



There are movie passes there, warm socks, trashy mag, and an assortment of other goodies. When she comes to my place, she is lucky to find a clean towel.

Here are the highlights of the trip:

The Eating:

The meals are a big deal for me and Ash. This time we shared almost every entree so we both felt better about eating out for every meal. This trip wasn't quite the binge fest that we've done in the past..but the food was still delightful. We ate at a place called Xanh with the Mostess (Kaari) and another friend from the blogging world, Kristine. The food was to die for. Here we are outside the restaurant:



We went straight from dinner to see Moneyball..fantastic.

We also got to go to lunch with one of Ashley's old bosses who we are friends with on Facebook. He is hilarious and he definitely entertained us. We ate at an Italian restaurant in a shi shi little area of town called Santana Row. Ashley and I outside the restaurant:



We also ate at our beloved CPK (where the waiter thought we were twins. We got that A LOT on this trip). We also ate at Chevy's. We split the fajitas and Ashley admitted to me she has never had fajitas before...what the?

We made a short trip into San Francisco and ate at Boudin Bakery in the basement of the big Macy's there. We were impressed with this new diet coke fountain machine that makes your diet coke to order with lime, orange, cherry, etc...snazzy.



The Shopping:

Ashley and I did a ton of shopping. That's what we do. I won't bore you with all the stores we went to but we did find 40% off at nearly every one of them. Ashley was completely bugged by this. "Oh look! Another 40% off sale..no way!"



Here we are in one of our favorite stores..can you tell where we are?:





I love the Container store's Christmas gift wrap section..so festive:



Ashley spent her time looking for a brown cardigan to go with some brown riding boots she is getting. I teased her the whole trip about how the brown boots are a mistake and she will call me in a month and tell me as much.

Here I am in my favorite store WHBM. I shopped so long they had to bring me water:



Ashley did find this awesome canvas in TJ Maxx for above her bed. I have to admit I was horribly jealous of it and was trying to think of any way I could to buy a matching one and take it home with me....but no dice.



Activities:

Hot stone pedicures: These are the bomb ladies. We went on a rainy day and I loved being in a cozy place getting a pedicure.





The Temple: Ash and i did a session at the Oakland temple. It was nice and I felt better about all of our shopping. I also went to church with her for all three hours on Sunday so that should count for something.



It was just really fun to have all that time to chat with Ashley. Everytime I am with her, I am reminded what a good person she is. Plus, we laugh a lot and she just gets me. I can't wait for our next trip.

A very hearty thank you to my mom and dad, Sam and Tyler, who made this trip possible!

19 comments:

Greg said...

Sounds like you guys had a great time during your "Sister's Weekend." About the only thing that it seems that you didn't get a chance to do was take it easy since you seemed to always be on the go!

Ashley's reaction to all those 40% sales was great! I mean the nerve of them to think that a measly 40% would affect your shopping decisions...you have way too much integrity to be swayed by such a shallow consideration like cost!

What was the store that you were in? Whatever it is, I'm willing to wager that I've never been shopping there!

Happy Black Friday!

Linda said...

I'm so glad you girls had a blast! You've always been as close as twins. I'm glad I could help make the trip happen. It's all worth it to see you two as adults - still enjoying time together.

E said...

Whenever my sister comes to visit she's lucky if she gets a clean towel too. I love that little welcome gift idea though. Your sister sounds like a fabulous hostess!

Unknown said...

I'm jealous! I grew up in the Bay Area and don't go back enough because I live so freaking far away now.

The shopping looked amazing. I have three sisters and we love to shop together. My husband thinks I have a shopping problem, but when I show him your blog he just thinks I'm normal:)

Linde said...

Ah, sounds so fun! Glad you had such a good time.

Elizabeth said...

Excellent news that you had a great time with Ashley. You both look gorgeous in every pic :-)

The Mostess said...

Crate and Barrel. I could figure that one out in my sleep. (I hope I'm right--or my braggery will seem stupid)

It was SO fun seeing you, and dining at the tasty and upscale Xahn.

You two were total twinners on this trip--you even looked more similar than you have in the past. Good thing Ashley is hot.

PS--thank you for not posting the picture of me with my headscarf. I appreciate that you honored the blowout.

Come back soon!!!!

Tyler said...

I was irritated by the 40% off everywhere, not because I don't love a deal, but because it felt like such a farce--40% off clothes that were marked up 40% to begin with. Those sorts of sales are insults to sales.

That picture of me in TJ with the canvas is so fugtastic.

You have converted me to the unbuttoned cardi. However I still think I will love my brown boots. I am sitting here in a new pair of jeggings right now, awaiting the boots' arrival.

It was soooo fun to have you here. I should have left us more downtime. I didn't want you to get antsy sitting around my house.

Good night.

Ashley said...

I can't believe Tyler copped to wearing jeggings.

Heather said...

Just so you know, you can find the AWESOME Coke-of-all-kind dispenser at Firehouse Subs over by the Southtowne Mall... looks like such a fun trip!

Andrea said...

Wow! Sisters trips are the best! I am green with envy over here!

Unknown said...

Random question. Where did Ashley get her birdcage t-shirt that she is wearing under her cardigan? I love it! i know random

Ashley said...

Laura--modcloth.com. It's a great t-shirt--long enough to not show crack all the time!

Chuche said...

What a fun trip!

I, for some reason, cannot wear a cardi open without it flopping around unattractively. But I love the look.

And I Amen to Ashley's 40% theory.

Unknown said...

Ashley, thanks so much! I just bought it!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Mostess said...

You don't teach seminary! What's your excuse?? Get penning!!

Jill said...

You two are such a great match! I love it that you both have such stamina for shopping (maybe if I was cute and had some money I would too?) because that is such a bonding activity.

nic said...

I am so jealous. Sounds like you had a great trip. Who doesn't love to eat and shop. How fun.