the great escape...

Last weekend I escaped reality - I hopped on a plane and literally ran away - and it was perfection. I landed in San Francisco on Friday night just before 10:00pm and was greeted warmly by my dear sweet friend Joy! She gave me the biggest hug and off we went to spend a treasured weekend together.

I woke up Saturday morning around 9:30am to the smell of breakfast baking and fresh coffee (with Samoa Girl Scout Cookie creamer - OMG) just waiting for me. Joy SPOILED ME ROTTEN with a delicious homemade meal to kick-start our day and topped it off with mimosas (I am a super fan of the bubbly!). Then we went shopping - we hit Nordstrom Rack to pickup a Kate Spade vacation treasure and Target for matching lace tops (inspired by Kendi Everday) and an afternoon Starbucks beverage. Then we headed into ULTA to pick out the perfect new lipstick for our evening on the town. Joy definitely knows me and speaks straight to my heart.

Saturday night we got gussied up and headed out - Joy got us tickets to see Dreamgirls and it did not disappoint. I am OBSESSED with all things Broadway - shows are my absolute favorite! When the show was over, we headed home to watch Pitch Perfect and eat ice-cream. It was the perfect day.

Sunday morning we went to brunch at Joy’s very favorite place - it was DELICIOUS. We had coffee and cocktails alongside “The Day After Burger” - it was the most delicious plate of disgusting food I’ve seen in a long time and my mouth watered IMMEDIATELY! It was an open-faced burger served on a bed of fried mashed potatoes with a sausage patty coated in pepper jack cheese and gravy topped with bacon. I die. With our stomachs stuffed to the max, we headed into the city. It was ridiculously fun driving on the San Francisco Bridge - it felt so very iconic. Because there is an INSANE amount of  traffic in the city, we grabbed a hand-made ice-cream cone at Bi-Rite (I went for toffee coffee and Joy picked créme brûlée) and called it a day.

I was back at the airport far too soon, but the weekend was a perfect blend of laziness and adventure. I got to catch up with my Joy and hear all about her heart and life and that was a true gift. We are both in this crazy season of life where we are celebrating other people but don’t have much to celebrate personally - so we found a way to cheer each other on - and I sincerely hope we do it again soon! Love me some Joy Gadd and a weekend in the windy city!