There are a list of things I’ve developed over the years as sure-fire “pick-me-ups” – a pampering massage, a bout of retail therapy at the mall, a long chat with a girlfriend…  And then there are perfect weekends like this past one, when all of these little pleasures were wrapped up into a couple of epic days of relaxation and fun:
Nancy, La Verne, and I had such a good time on our trip to Woodinville last year that we declared the getaway an annual tradition and named it L-Dub (short for Ladies Weekend).  After much anticipation, L-Dub 2 kicked off on Saturday at Truce Spa in Bellevue.  Massages, facials, manicures, oh my – we walked in there with our crazy internet deal vouchers and walked out three hours later with perfect nails and glowing skin.  My joy overflowed when Nancy suggested that we do some shopping before heading up to Kirkland to check into our hotel.  Nance is not a shopper – I don’t know if I’ve set foot inside a store with her, ever, but she must have taken a drink of La Verne’s and my Kool-Aid, because she was wanting to hit the mall hard.  We wandered from store to store, offering each other advice on the perfect wallet or the best deal off the sale rack.  I didn’t buy much, but there’s something about shopping with girlfriends that seriously tugs at my female bonding heartstrings.  As we sat on that mall bench together and ate our frozen yogurt, shopping bags tucked between us, I felt so content, so close with those two.
We checked into our lake-view room at the Woodward around 7:00 and settled in for a wild night of room service and chick flicks. Â The food was so-so, the movie was kind of terrible (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones in a romantic comedy? Â What were we thinking?), but the late-night conversation was the perfect way to round out a perfect day. Â It’s nice to know that I’m not too old to enjoy a good slumber party.
Breakfast was delivered right to our door on Sunday morning (room service – so brilliant!) and we ate our pancakes in bed. Â Coffee, toenail painting, a bit more lounging, and then that dreaded check-out time rolled around and it was time for us to hit the road. Â I was ready to get home to Shane and show off my fancy French manicure, but still, it was hard to see this little escapade come to a close. Â We had taken “pick-me-up” to a whole new level.
