Girls' Weekend Nashville Style

Last weekend I took a much needed trip to Nashville. My friend Kathryn is 3 weeks away from having her first baby, so two friends and I threw her a baby shower. I left from BWI Friday afternoon and a short 2 hours later stepped off the plane and inhaled the sweet, hot, and muggy Nashville air. Before meeting up with my friends, I first needed to grab a few things for the shower and also to stock up on Merle Norman cosmetics because it is unavailable in the greater DC area. (I've been using it since I started wearing makeup, and I find it hard to change.) While at MN, the girl looked at me and asked if I needed my eyebrows waxed. Embarrassed that she had noticed the overgrown tufts of hair above my eyes, I answered affirmatively. She proceeded to lead me into the waxing room for a $5 eyebrow wax special! That never would have happened in DC; I love how Nashville welcomes me back!

I finally met up with Kathryn and Rebecca, and I cannot tell you how good it was to see them. We started girls' weekend with - what else - a Mexican fiesta at Cozymel's. Then Rebecca and I headed back to her house for some shower preparation.

Saturday morning I awoke in a panic. I had made oreo truffles to decorate the cake, but they just didn't look the way I wanted them to. I dashed off to the store to get some better dipping chocolate, but there was none to be found. Instead I grabbed a box of Starburst and headed to Rebecca's. My sister had once told me that you could melt Starburst and make them into letters or other shapes, and since my oreo idea had fallen through, I used this experiment as Plan B. Melting Starburst was a little more of an art than I had intended, but I got the hang of it, and the cake turned out better than it would have with the truffles. Of course, we still ate the truffles because it doesn't have to look good to taste good!

The shower turned out really well - good food and good friends. Kathryn got a lot of cute baby stuff, and we had fun creating a baby scrapbook for her (another idea compliments of my sister). I'm really excited to meet this new little guy!

Afterwards, we headed back to Kathryn's and the pool. It was the first time since April that I have been able to lay out in the sun next to water. And, if you know me, you know that that's my heaven. A few of my nursing girls Christine, Grace, and Neely even came and joined, which made it even better. I loved being able to catch up by the pool.

Kathryn, Becca, and I continued girls' weekend at the MAC store and left with smoky eyes. There's nothing like having someone else do your makeup - if only that could be an everyday pleasure! We then had an old school La Paz patio dinner with Rebekah, Katie G, Anna T, Emily, and Afton. I have certainly missed my La Paz white queso, and La Paz must be missing me - our server DeeDee questioned my recent absence.

A trip to Nashville wouldn't have been complete without a visit to the Vandy MICU. Oh, how I miss that place! I was certainly spoiled with the best coworkers/job ever, and leaving it only makes me appreciate it more.

To end the evening, Becca, Kathryn, and I went back to Kathryn's and attempted to watch a movie. However, the events of the day had been exhausting. I fell asleep less than 30 min in, and they gave up shortly after.

We began Sunday morning with leftovers from brunch (even oreo truffles). Then we headed back to the pool and were this time joined by Rebecca's husband and 2 adorable children. To finish up girls' weekend, K and I got massages. Being almost 9 months pregnant has to be stressful, and K needs some relaxation to prepare for the baby coming, and I, being the good friend that I am, went along - for moral support of course. Sadly, by the time it was over, it was about time for me to start heading for the airport. It was really difficult to say goodbye to Kathryn. I felt like such an awful friend to be leaving during such a new and exciting time in her life, and I miss her terribly. Good thing it's relatively easy to get to Nashville from DC.

On the way to the airport, I made one last stop at Rumba and met up with Katie C, Neely, Grace, and Rebekah. I'm glad I was able to fit in a little more time before heading out. We had a great time catching up and even a little entertainment when I knocked a glass off the table.

I have plenty of boy time in DC, so it was wonderful to enjoy some much needed girl time with my sweet friends. I was asked many times if I missed Nashville and if I wish I had never left. Well, the answer is yes, I miss Nashville a ton! How could I not? I had wonderful friends and a great job in an awesome city. However, I remember transitioning to Nashville, too; it wasn't that easy. As for wishing I had never left, no. Going to Georgetown is an amazing opportunity and had I stayed, I'd be stuck with "what if" and would probably regret not grabbing the chance. Now, ideally I would bring Georgetown Univ to Nashville, but unfortunately, that's not how it works. Until then, I'll just cherish weekends like this.