the besties + the babes.

another perfect girl’s weekend for the books. this time with a dose of extra love & excitement since we brought the husbands & babies along.

tiff, troy and blair bear graciously hosted the crew at their beautiful (newish to them) home in huntington beach, california. the original guest list included 14 adults and 5 children, but pesky life snuck up on a few folks and at the very last minute we ended up with a total of 9 adults and 2 little ones in sunny ca. it was tiff + troy & blair, carlye + jerm & olivia, colby + jake, jenny, me + ting.

our 72 hours together were filled with toddler entertainment, teething toys, a big day at the beach, bath time, “say hi auntie <insert name>,” an adults-only night out, french braiding tutorials, asia adventure stories, trader joe’s recipe exchanges, w discussions, and a homemade backyard sunday brunch. overall, it was the ideal combination of relaxed and rowdy. and if your girlfriends are anything like us, the perfect itinerary is a balanced mix of sweatpants, sunshine and wine – and with littles in tow, that works out great.

in anticipation of a much larger group, tiff & troy borrowed a pop-up trailer to accommodate more. but after the guest list dwindled at the last minute, “the palomino” sadly went vacant.

carlye’s little olivia (liv) was obsessed with my camera. “lemme cwick it, tewi”
(said in the cutest high pitched scratchy voice ever in the history of babies)
and the result were 100’s of toddler snapshots & selfies on my memory card.
one hope sauvignon blanc & succulents were the consistent backdrop

the weekend scene.

little miss liv and her insane blue eyes

dining room dialogue, bath time, multiple monitors & paige’s special appearance followed by
early morning disney cartoons, donuts & iPhone advanced babies face-timing each other.

a handful of homemade lunches & brunches.

adult night out – the gang’s all here…. well, minus a few :(

california beach waves & candid happiness.

—

someone just asked me, “so are you girls still really that close?”
and while things have obviously changed & we don’t share life’s daily ups & downs,
the answer is without a doubt yes.
and in fact, i’d argue the bonds are stronger.
classic quality over quantity.
the conversations are substantial, the support is sincere and the love is genuine.
we’ve each chosen different zip codes and distinct paths for life,
but when we intersect, it all seamlessly works and there’s nothing better.
there’s a come-as-you-are relaxed tone and authentic vibe to it all.
we’ve found a way to take the best of the past and blend it with the reality of our present.

i thank my lucky stars for these friendships ♥