This past weekend my crew and I had our annual “Girls’ Weekend” and when I tell you it was a blast, I do mean a blast! #SpaceForce Ha!! These are the essential elements of a great girls’ weekend according to me.
Planning
We’ve been planning these weekends in this same style for at least five years, if not more. We used to just kind of plan randomly and whomever could make it would come. We had to put the kibosh on that. These weekends are for making sure our already tight bonds develop that much tighter, so we plan ahead as much as possible.
Usually 2 months out is the sweet spot for setting the date but sometimes we can only manage about a month’s notice. It’s really about communication with the host (usually we take turns but the last few years have been at the Kelster’s Casa).
What seems to work is having a party with lots of friends on Friday night and then having a more intimate, formal agenda on Saturday. Whomever can come out on Saturday is always welcome but we know it’s hard for most mamas (the season of life where most of our friends are) so it usually ends up being the fabulous four of us. Last year our Saturday activities included mini facials, eyebrow threading, henna tattoos, massages and dinner and a movie.
We have become very committed to really setting the time out to have a full weekend together and we mean business!
When I see this picture, I think, “wow, we all have really great natural looking eyebrows.” lol
*Disclaimer – these are just phone photos. I did not want to carry my camera around with me. Give me grace. But also note that the really blurry photos were taken with other people’s iPhones – not my phone (#teamandroid). It’s very important that you realize that. Haha!! Thanks in advance.
I thought I’d share more about our weekend in case you’re planning your own get-together with just the ladies. This should offer some good tips if your goal is ultimately fun. Here’s how it went down:
Friday Night House Party
Yes, I said house party. We roll old school around these parts. It makes it a lot easier to host by asking guests to bring a dish and a bottle of sumthin’. There was plenty of alcohol for all!
I created a fun ice-breaker with a Girls’ Night In Name Generator. Everyone had to wear a name tag and the names were a hoot. I abhor name tags at events and I never wear them. This was my way of sticking it to the man!
That weird colorful geometric thing is actually a giant sharpie made to look like a pinata. Yeah…
I think if I ever get a girl dog, her name will have to be Gypsy.
We also had a fun game of Truth, Dare or Shot. I assume the object is obvious. Everyone just pulled a card out of a bag so it was totally random and I liked it better than people getting to choose. It was fun. It’s tough with adult party games because attention spans are short but this one lasted a good amount of time and was really hilarious. Some cards included were Social Sabotage: Post a picture of your feet on Facebook with the caption, “I’ve been thinking about selling my toes. I think $15 per toe is very fair,” Truth: Have you ever farted loudly during sex? and Dirty Dare: Do your best fake “O” while looking at the person to the left of you in the eye. Everyone was a great sport and there was nothing too raunchy to navigate.
This lovely guest won the night. She had the best name, “Sweet Toots McBottoms,” and was awesome at her Funny Follow-Thru Dare to Speak in a British accent for the rest of the game. She was on point and so much fun!
Somehow, the weather under the back patio was so nice and breezy. We enjoyed being outside, dipping our feet in the pool and just relaxing.
This was a good 5 hour long evening. Most guests were on their way home after midnight and we were off to bed not shortly after. Sort of. I think I called it a night at 1:30 a.m. #wildchild
Gotta love a well executed Girls’ Night In! I just wish more ladies would have joined us. Next year guys! We really do have great girls’ weekends!!
Saturday Activities
Again, it’s been a while since anyone joined us for any Saturday activities. BTDubs, I’m purposely using the word activities a lot, a la Step Brothers. There are just so many activities!
This year we wanted to drink and lounge in the pool all day and we certainly accomplished that.
Did these gams need some sun or what?
Irresponsible sunburns were had as well as great ab workouts – I’m talking laughter! These girls are funny. But, we all really took time to share what’s happening in our lives and a few tears were shed. There was venting and laughing, drinking and laughing, sharing and laughing, oh and drinking. We went through I am not telling you how many bottles of champagne. These ladies made my day drinking champs. It’s just my fave!
After struggling, literally struggling, as in saying prayers and just putting one foot in front of the other, we did manage to finally get out and prepare for the evening festivities. We did not want to get out of that pool! However, a new amazing Guinness World Record was attained: 4 grown ass women showered, dressed and put on makeup in an hour. No joke people. I’m waiting for someone to contact us to discuss the prize money.
The original plan of our lovely host was to dine, drink and dance aka turn up at the club later. Not so much but here’s what we did do and where we went:
I’m heading back soon and will probably order the same dish – shrimp and grits. They had me at goat cheese. I ordered mine with chorizo and it was super spicy but hella delicious. As women tend to do, we all had bites of each other’s dishes and tasted drinks. Everything was great and our server was a sweetheart.
Success.
Since we were in the Star complex, we decided to get some drinks at City Works. They get a big meh from all of us. The drinks were really suspect, the service was weird. No one was personable at all and they acted like they were so busy. I’m like, dude go to Dallas and work at a real bar then come back acting like this is busy. Hmph! #TheSnarkIsStrongWithThisOne Lol, seriously though, it just wan’t our vibe. We came to the conclusion that the too cool for school staff was just anxiously waiting for the 11 o’clock crowd. So, yeah, byeeee.
After a quick Uber to Shops at Legacy, we thought Sambuca would be poppin enough to get our groove on. Yeah, another fail. They had a live band and while they were good, it’s not what we needed at that moment in the evening. We hopped on over to Pepper Smash and the night was redeemed.
It has a really creative drink menu and our server was A++. I especially liked her b/c we made fun of iPhones together. Ha!!
We made it to about mdnight y’all! We were so proud. By this time, however, Sambuca was turnt and we let it be known outside while waiting on the Uber that we were there for it. Too bad it was curfew. Bahaha!! I wanted to get back in the pool but it was late and I think going to bed at a reasonable hour was the responsible thing to do. We all chatted a bit and laid it down. No hangovers at all. Ultimate success!
Because we are all mama’s with lots to do, we said our goodbyes fairly early on Sunday. A few of us did grab breakfast at Starwood Cafe in McKinney around 9:00 a.m., which was filling and just what we needed to get our day back with the families going.
Sincere thanks
I would like to express a sincere thank you to Kelly for hosting us, for always showing us a good time and for being the realest gal this side of the Mississippi. Never forget we are always here for you since you are the girl who is always there for everyone else.
Thank you Mary for driving in to hang with your girls. We love you so mucho and miss you always!! Kimmie, thank you for taking time away from your sweet little man to be with us. I know it was hard.
And a big shout out to our dudes. The husbands who hold it down while we gallivant around and party it up for one small weekend a year. It means the world that you understand we need some girl time.
Now you!
On that note, as long as you’ve got a good support system and you’re super appreciative of them, start planning your Girl’s Weekend immediately. I’m refreshed and renewed just like our friendships and ready to plan the next one!
