Warner Women Weekend

This last weekend, the women in my family (my mom, my sister Ashley, my sis-in-law Katie, my sis-in-law Sarah and I) went to Scottsdale, AZ for a girls' weekend.  If anyone is wondering why I am traveling like I have money to burn, it is because I had a bunch of credit at Delta airlines I had to blow before May 29th, and these ladies were happy to come along to keep me company.  I chose Scottsdale because I wanted to go somewhere roasting hot where I could lay by a pool and relax.  There were some naysayers who thought Scottsdale would be like roasting in Hell this time of year but it turned out to be perfect.

I give you the Top 10 moments of the trip in the same format as my annual Christmas card (Best of Times, Worst of times...)

1.  We got hours and hours of pool time to lay on a lounge chair without having to watch children. (Thank you Hapari for the swimsuits!)

Instead, we got to watch these two guys in front of us..both in speedo like "hot shorts."  They were playing Lady Gaga on an ipod with speakers..I give them props for their music choice.

2.  We found some wonderful restaurants thanks to my friend Andrea who knows all the good places to eat (and has the best blog).  The Green House for lunch was a favorite.

In an attempt to offset some of the binge eating, we got up "early" (about 10:00am) one morning to work and found the worst fitness room ever with broken equipment, and no air conditioning (in AZ!!)  Ashley remained in her bed that morning and proved to be the wisest among us.

3.  We went to Bandera one night for dinner...great rotisserie chicken, cornbread, banana cream pie. (another recommendation of Andrea's.)

We ate at the bar because there were no tables and I quickly discovered how cute the bartender was.  After a few exchanges (one where he put his hand on my back) I turned into a giggly school girl and couldn't recover for the life of me.  Every time he spoke to us, Ashley and I would start giggling uncontrollably.  I have no hope in the dating scene.

4.  In the room at night, Ashley and Sarah bonded over a gigantic puzzle and lots of Triple Play chocolate trail mix.

Ashley would then retire to the bed we were sharing and selfishly refused to let me put my cold feet on her legs.  As retribution, I am posting this photo of Ashley's disgusting hairbrush.  She doesn't see anything wrong with this:

5.  Back at the pool, I was able to score free diet coke from the pool boy and got about half way through my book "Unbroken."

My mom found a pool noodle that she floated around on for much for much of the day.  Ashley speculated about how many crotches that noodle had been shoved between.  Later in the day, we saw that same noodle in some pretty nasty places...I will spare you the photos.

6.  We were able to meet up with my aunt Ruth, and my cousins Heidi and Amy for dinner one night at a Mexican Restaurant.  Amy and Heidi are absolutely hilarious and I am still laughing about some of the conversation.

It happened to be Cinco de Mayo and the place was a zoo.  I had to go back into the kitchen to get my own refills of diet coke.

7.  We didn't do a lot of shopping but we were very excited to hit Last Chance (where all the clothes that get returned to Nordstrom go when they can't be resold at Nordstrom or the Rack.)

We were very disappointed to learn the place should be called Nordstrom D.I.  It was pretty gross.  Ashley found this lovely fur coat and was seriously considering it...she is always freezing..but she lives in the Bay Area and knew she would be attacked for wearing it.

8.  One night, we went to see the movie "The Lucky One" with Zac Efron.  It was every bit as cheesy and awful as it looks.

There was a preview for a movie where Channing Tatum and Mathew Mcconaughey are male strippers.  It was marketed to all of us ladies going to see cheesy chic flicks like "the Lucky One."   Are you kidding me?  Have we really come to this?  It is a sure sign of the Apocalypse.

9.  The funnest part of the trip was enjoying each other and all the good girl talk.

We all seemed to be wearing the same thing everywhere we went.  On the last day, Sarah didn't get the memo about the white shorts so she didn't get to be in this photo:

10.  On Sunday, we enjoyed our last meal at CPK (Hi Kaari!)  It was delicious.

Sadly, we now have to return to real life.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

Ashley did a post on this same material.  So if you are hankerin' for more...go here.

American Girl Doll Store aka the Time Grandma Linda Completely Blew the Wad

The whole purpose of the girls' trip was to take the little girls to the American Girl Doll Store in LA and it did not disappoint. Friday morning, we got up and drove first to South Coast Plaza, a true shopping destination. If you know anything about the Warner women, you know that for us, a beautiful shopping mall is better than any natural landmark or stuffy museum.

South Coast plaza was huge and we didn't have anywhere near enough time to do it justice. I spent a good portion of my time in Nordstrom dealing with an exchange of the awesome Hobo wallet I gave myself for Christmas. Mine was defective and I am getting a new one in the mail any day...because I know you care.



Anyhoo, after trying on swimsuits at Nordy's and spending our gymbucks at Gymboree, we met up with my sis-in-law Sarah and headed north to LA.

The American Girl store was so cute. It is in an outdoor shopping center with a trolley driving people around and palm trees...Heaven. We had the most fabulous lunch...seriously! Best food of the trip. We started with little sweet rolls, then they brought out more appetizers, our entrees and then these cute dessert plates. That little flower pot is mouse...it was all divine.



Don't think I didn't eat every thing that wasn't glued to the table. See post where I completely blew my fitness plan.



The cafe had little chairs and plates for the dolls and everything was hot pink and black! We ate out on the balcony and the weather was perfect. I never wanted to leave.



Then we shopped in the store. Just like Sammie, I found a doll that is my mini-me!



Grandma completely spoiled the little girls and they each left with a big bag of goodies:



Then we got back on the freeway and I drove two hours in the LA traffic back south (THANK GOODNESS for the Garmin!) What on earth did we do before navigation?!

My mom and I met my friends Greg and Julie for dinner at the Yard House. We had a blast and then drove back to my brother's house for the night (totally flashed out photo):



When we got there, Sammie and her cousin Kate had put out a display of their dolls and outfits...so funny!

Girls' Trip 2012 aka The Time I Totally Blew My Fitness Plan

Last week, Sammie, my mom and I went on a short girls' trip to Southern California. We met up with my sis-in-law Sarah and her daughter Kate. Both Sammie and Kate got American Girl dolls for Christmas so the point of the trip was to visit the American Girl doll store in LA. Wow. It was fantastic!



We flew in Wednesday night and ate at California Pizza kitchen. This was no small victory for me because my mom has never been a fan of CPK. But I think the chopped BBQ chicken salad and tortilla soup won her over.



I am going to divide the trip into two parts--Disneyland and LA (lucky you!)



Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to Disneyland. (First time ever without a stroller!) I was able to talk a worker into letting us into the park an hour early even though we didn't have the early entry passes. There may or may not have been some deceit involved.



I have always wanted to eat lunch at the Blue Bayou...something about being on Pirates and looking up at all those lucky people eating in there and the sound of the silverware tinkling. Since we didn't have my other kids, we ate there. It was good but very expensive.



Our favorite thing was the salad...delicious. I didn't realize the Monte Cristo sandwich was deep fried and I had to kind of pick my way through it.



The rest of the day was really fun. My brother Rex and his family joined us.



Sammie loves the big rides like California Screamin' and Space Mountain. The park was really empty and we walked on most of the rides.



The weather was perfect. I am sold on Disneyland in January. The best part was that "It's a Small World" still had the lights up and the "Christmas overlay" which was adorable.



And we happened to catch a parade right at the end of the night. Disneyland doesn't do anything half-way:



On the way out of the park I got the most delicious almond hot chocolate...probably the best treat at Disneyland next to the peanut butter cookies at Pooh Corner! Tomorrow I will post about LA!