Eat. Play. Love.

A couple months ago, while in the midst of self-doubt and my (previously mentioned) creative drought, I booked my ticket out of town. I needed to get out of the routine of work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. Erik was starting his first project as lead designer and as excited as I am for him, this usually means I'm left with waaaay to much 'me' time on my hands. I needed a break from work, the rain, and, honestly, a break from myself. I was in desperate need of some girl time and sunshine. I was in luck...it just so happens that one of my oldest BFFs lives in sunny Southern California.

My friend Tina and I met a long time ago through community theater in our hometown and have been friends ever since. High school was definitely our golden years. Instead of partying, we were hanging out with the other neighborhood kids, playing games like Capture the Flag, frisbee, and basketball. I can still feel the hot, humid summer night air on my skin while I ran from one backyard to the next trying to hide from whoever was 'it'. We stayed out until 2 am, not because we were passed out somewhere, but because we were waiting for Daylight Donuts to open so we could be the first to stuff our faces with freshly made, warm donuts.  Man, we had fun...

Tina and I have gone through periods when we don't talk for a while, but as soon as we do, we pick up right where we left off. The last time I saw Tina was when Erik and I got married....in August of 2008! We did chat from time to time, including the exciting call about Tina's engagement to her beau, Dan. But over three and a half years without seeing each other?!? Way too long.

I flew in late Thursday night and met Tina's fiance, Dan, for the first time and stayed up late just catching up. We spent the next morning catching up even more and drinking lots of coffee....and I took about a million photos of the orange tree and lemon tree in Tina's backyard.

We met up with Tina's friend, Anastasia, who works at the Fox Studios Lot. We ate lunch and she gave us a  nice tour...I was a little star struck, to say the least, and I didn't even see anyone famous. I did, however, see my fashion idol, Zooey Deschanel's parking spot and Mini Cooper...

 
A few more fun photos from our lunchtime fun at Fox...

A view down one of the streets. I loved the painted buildings.

This is 'New York'...also where a scene from Hello Dolly was filmed.

A bronze cast of Homer in honor of the 500th episode.

Does this one really need a caption?! 

Friday night was our night out. Tina's fiance surprised her by setting up (and paying for!) dinner and drinks for her and two friends (Me and Anastasia) at a very nice place called The Penthouse. It is on the top floor of The Huntley hotel in Santa Monica and all I can say is 'WOW'...This was really 'L.A.' in my mind. The people were beautiful, the view of the city was amazing, and the atmosphere was very posh. I don't know if I've ever used the word 'posh' before but there is no better word to describe this place. All I have to say about where the night went from there is: Old School Hip Hop night, 3:30 am Taco Bell run, 4 am bedtime...a successful bachelorette night out.

The view from The Penthouse

An action shot of our table. Our group grew as the night went on!

Tina and I trying out the sardines on crackers...compliments of the chef so we HAD to at least try it!

After we closed down the club...Tina's model shot.

Tina and Anastasia...I think our walk to the car was just as fun as the club!

Acting goofy on our walk/dance back to the car.

Saturday was spent shopping for craft supplies for the upcoming wedding. Saturday night, although it was more low key than Friday night, it was still a late one (another 4:00 am bedtime) and was filled with homemade pizza, homemade cocktails, and a lot of girl talk.

Our homemade pizza assembly line.

Our cocktail for the evening included homemade simple syrup and fresh lemon juice from  the lemon tree.

Friday night was so much fun but I have to say, Saturday night left a lasting impression on me. I had forgotten how good it feels to really just sit down, talk, vent, laugh, and get advice from female friends. Since we've moved to Seattle, I've only had a handful of opportunities to have some good quality girl time but I've held back. Maybe I was just shy or feeling insecure or maybe I was just out of practice. Who knows...I do know that I couldn't have asked for two better people to spend a weekend with than Tina and Anastasia. We had good food, a lot of fun, and a lot of good ol' fashioned bonding time...Eat. Play. Love.

As I get older, I'm feeling the time moving by faster and faster...and I feel that the phone calls with friends (good friends!!) grow fewer and far between. I've always believed this theory about time going faster as you get older- As you age, each year becomes a smaller percentage of your lifetime. When your two years old, a year must feel like forever because you only have two under your belt...One year is 50% of your lifetime. When you are 50 years old, one year is only 2% of your life. Each year that passes becomes a smaller percentage, making it feel shorter and shorter. My point is, take the time to connect with the friends and family you love RIGHT NOW...not tomorrow, not next week. Next week will turn into next month, and next month turns into next year....in my case, three and a half years. Time goes by so fast (and if you believe my theory, even faster the older we get!) so we all need to enjoy life and time with friends and family as much as you can.

A lot of cliches in this post, I know...

I'm trying to take each day at a time and live life to the fullest. ;)