A weekend in Phoenix with 20 some odd lady friends was exactly the get away I needed. When I found out I was pregnant with Garrison, I didn't think I would be able to go this year. Then I thought maybe I could handle it--after traveling with a toddler I thought an infant would be much easier (spoiler alert: I was right!). But then J got laid off & finances were dodgy, but he got a job, so I decided to register. Registration opened at the exact same time as my pre-registration appointment at the hospital, so as soon as it was over, I was frantically PayPal-ing Kelly. Thankfully Medical City was quick and I snagged a spot.
Kelly explains it much better than I will, but I love that this party is completely nonexclusive. EVERYONE is invited. You don't have to have a blog, or Twitter much, or know anyone in particular, or like certain things... well, I suppose you really should like hanging out in comfy clothes with snacks. But beyond that, it's an open invitation. But it's small. Which makes it so much less scary. You can wander around talking to everyone easily.
I'm sure I've said all this before.
So on Friday, Garrison & I headed to the airport. Other than a gate change that required taking a shuttle to a whole new terminal 10 min before we were supposed to board and then a 30 minute delay, we had an uneventful flight. I got my rental car without hassle & went to get a bite to eat & buy a car charger for my dying phone. And also some diaper cream. Switching G over to disposables for the weekend led to a horrible rashy booty.
But G was fussy so I stopped for a diaper change. Oh. Oh boy. Now, back seat diaper changes aren't new to me, but this baby had a blow out, and apparently I was changing things mid-blow. Yeah. It was messy. Thank goodness for leather seats, ok?
Then I shopped, picked up Kammah, we drove through rush hour traffic to the party house and... well, hung out & chatted. Low key. Good food. In bed by 11. Oh yeah, it was rad.
Saturday was more of the same. Donuts for breakfast, shopping, Red Robin for lunch, trip to Ulta, then prepping for the party.
Muumuu & make-up.
Kelly had a makeup artist come & teach us tricks. She helped make sense of highlighting & contouring. First, the bronzer she choose was way darker than I would have imagined would work on my pasty face. Then she said to imagine an E & a 3 on each side of my face, starting at my hairline, then under my cheeks, then under my jaw. Ok, it was so simple. I tried once I got home & boom! I have cheekbones!
So it was just a nice, quiet weekend with friends. Some people that I only get to see at this party. Some friends I see all the time. And people that it feels like I see all the time because we tweet all the time. I met some new people, and re-met folks that I haven't seen since the one time I met them in Austin at the only Blathering I've attended. And I wasn't pregnant! Everyone was so wonderful & welcoming to Garrison, which is one of the things that I've never really appreciated about PJs before, because I haven't needed to take advantage of the "bring a baby" (well, not on the OUTSIDE) clause. But everyone was willing to hold him so I could go stuff my face, or pee alone, or play with make up, or gaze longingly at the cake.
This weekend is still one of the highlights of my year. I hope Kelly continues to do it for a long, long, long time.
1 comment:
It was delightful to meet you and everyone else at PJs. I'm so glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and signed up. Yours was the first face I saw when I knocked on the door and it was a very friendly, welcoming face! I hope to see you next year.
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