Tuesday, July 22

1st Annual Jones Girls' Weekend


In the Jones family there is this wonderful tradition (which will go on and on and on...) called an annual GIRLS ONLY WEEKEND where all the women ages 16 or older (or 18, depending on whether moms or grandmas have the ultimate authority??) gather together for a retreat with good times, good food, very little sleep, and great sisters. Okay, sure... so this was the first time we ever did a Jones Girls' weekend, but it is now officially a tradition because after all the fun we had, I just can't see us not doing it again and again. (It is a yearly tradition, Paul. It will happen each year. Mark your calendar for midsummer 2009 girls' weekend.)

This long post is probably going to be pretty boring for most of you, since it's just mostly my memories of the trip...

So MY girls' weekend (I know I missed out on some things since we were the last to arrive, first to leave) began on July 10th when I closed the front door to a screaming baby and reluctant husband - but I forged ahead, never looking back! Danelle and Carin and I enjoyed a child-free air travel experience. I'm sure we must have been glowing and exuding a sense of sheer happiness because nearly everyone we came into contact with on that trip was very friendly to us - even the security checkers. I say NEARLY everyone because Carin did have an incident with a peeved flight attendant, but fortunately we laughed that one off... and one chick-flick (definitely, maybe) and a few iced drinks later, we made it to the OC with ease.

There we met up with the rest of the group and headed off to BJ's to enjoy the famous Pizzookie. I, unfortunately, did not get a picture of this ginormous cookie the size of a large pizza with 1/2 gallon of ice cream all scooped up on top! But it was delicious! Definitely lived up to my high expectations. Luckily we had an even 8 girls, 4 to a pizzookie (although, Steven... we are MORE than willing to accommodate and make room for a 9th girl for next year with NO problem. Really, we will all benefit from this situation - 4 girls to 1 pizzookie? 3 girls to 1 pizzookie? Who wouldn't vote in favor of the latter???) Anyway... the pizzookies were delicious and evidently the sugar went straight to the blood stream - proven by the singing along of various 80s love songs before we left the restaurant.

We then headed off to Julie's new condo (which is amazing, by the way!) for more fun and chick flicks and just a little bit of sleep.

Friday morning Julie took Danelle and Linds for a little run around the park while the rest of us prepared for the long day ahead - full of shopping and eating. We headed off (ON TIME, by the way!) to the Pacific Whey Cafe for a delicious breakfast and baby shower for Laura and baby Autumn.




Let the shopping begin! We started out with the Paper Source, Crate & Barrell, Pottery Barn and H&M. Then we headed off to the beautiful Fashion Island mall for a little Barnes & Noble, Limited Too, and Anthropologie. And as if that is not enough to make your head spin, we also went to a 2 STORY Target. Two full floors of Target goodness, fully equipped with a cart escalator. It was pretty amazing.

After our shopping extravaganza we headed to the Spaghetti Bender for a delicious italian dinner, complete with cute guy waiter, pasta dishes as big as your face, garlic bread, and soup tureen.

From the various shopping destinations Julie found some amazing stuff for her new place and Carin spent the evening putting together the awesome designs with the paper from Paper Source while everyone else bossed (err, directed) each other around as to where to place the other items, baked Chocolate Bliss (I think that's what they were called - basically the best, most chocolatey, decadent cookies you ever tasted!) and debated over whether this or that frame was completely even. The final product is awesome, eh? Hope you're loving it Julie!





We then spent the rest of the evening hearing/sharing dating/proposal stories (it was girls' wekend, afterall!) and playing a little Hot Dice.

Saturday was our stroll down Main Street in Huntington Beach for a little breakfast/shopping (surprise!), walk on the beach, and pedicures.






















Danelle and I decided that we really wanted to get our hair cut, and somehow dragged Lindsey into the plan. We found a salon right there on Main Street and popped in to see how much it would cost. Undaunted by the report that a haircut would be anywhere from $65-95, I decided that girls' weekend would just not be complete without that haircut and tried to strike a bargain. I asked the people at the front desk if they had a stylist who would do three haircuts for $40 a piece and they worked it out for us!

So a great morning just started getting better. But we were all floored after seeing how great Lindsey and Danelle looked after Dani (the most amazing stylist ever!) was done with them! Pretty soon Carin, Kim, and Julie were signing up for the haircuts, too. I know that most men out there can't relate to this, but all you girls know that there is nothing better than a good hair cut and we went on and on for hours about the awesome haircuts. We will always remember Dani! :-) It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.


So after a quick walk in the sand and sun, a mani/pedi and/or hair cut, girls' weekend came to a close. Danelle, Carin and I enjoyed another carefree plane ride (although this time around I was heavy laden with the goodies I acquired, so my shoulder was dead by the time we reached the car!).

I had so much fun and can't wait to do it again next year. I am so blessed to have such amazing inlaws!! I remember that when David and I got engaged, Carin sent me a little card on my birthday. On the inside it said, "One thing we love in this family... SISTERS." Over the past nearly five years I have seen how true that is! Thanks Jones sisters, it was an amazing weekend! Love you all!

5 comments:

Justin and Kitara said...

Just thought I'd let you know that there's a BJ's in Houston. It's by Willowbrook mall. The pizookie is the best! I miss BJ's :(

David said...

cute waiter?????? You just cost yourself a tradition.

Andrea Cutler said...

Funny David, you got a laugh out loud from me! Mel, where is your new do??? I expect a pic asap.

Melissa said...

Thanks for the tip Kitara!

And as for you David... I'm not the one who said/thought he was cute. I barely even noticed we had a waiter, all I noticed was the fact that some how the most delicious chicken parmesan and creamy minestrone soup was delivered to my table. Someone else pointed out that they thought a cute guy was delivering it, so I merely repeated this in order to accurately depict our night out. :-)
But nice try.

Danelle said...

Melissa
That was so fun to read and relive a little. What a great tradition. You really should put a picture of yourself up because your hair looks so awesome!