that time I woke up at 2am, in Palm Springs, with bugs…

Every year my sisters + cousins get together for a girl’s weekend trip.
No kids.  Just ladies.  And a whole lot of jibber jabber.  And food.  And cute decor.


The trip is sort of an annual thing, though it’s only happened twice so far.   But we’re keeping the dream alive!  And as many of you know, girl’s trips are a well-needed, well-appreciated aspect of being a mom.  Every time I get away from the daily grind I think, “oh yea.  I used to be fun once!”

And I enjoy the silence, void of the word “mom” 20 times in 5 minutes.

I’m not saying I don’t love being a mom—you all know that.
It’s just good to get a break.  And mostly, it’s good to build those adult relationships with your family and friends.  I love these ladies!  Many of us were roommates in college and went to high school together.  But I love that we also have these new shared experiences together, so we’re not just rehashing the old life through facebook tags.

Heh. This post was supposed to start something like “Wanna visit Palm Springs in August?  It’s only 110 degrees”.
And now I’m getting sentimental.


But really.

If you can plan a trip with your girlfriends, old roomies, whoever….do it!
My mother-in-law has been taking annual trips with her college roommates for about 20 years and I totally admire that.

And if you can find a house with a yellow door, do that too.
Ahhh.  Lots of yellow love here.

Okay.  Here’s where I stop giving unsolicited relationship advice and show you a slew of pretty home pics.

For two years now we’ve rented fun homes in the Palm Desert of California.  Two years ago we stayed HERE.  This past year we stayed here (sorry about the naked ladies.  The wallpaper was too good):

And in two weeks I’m headed out there for THIS year’s trip!…which is I why I need to get this blog post up—so that I’m only 11 1/2 months behind.

There are many great things about Palm Springs in the summer—you know, like crazy dry heat, outlet stores, and the huge T-Rex from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.   Actually, I like all those things.  You thought I was being sarcastic.  Summer is definitely the “off” season for rental properties since it’s so hot, but that means houses are cheaper to rent and there’s plenty of time for the pool.


But what people love most about Palm Springs, any time of year, is probably the architecture.  The town is FULL of Mid-century Modern, Hollywood Regency, and Art Deco homes.   I love waking up early (when it’s only 90 degrees) and walking through the neighborhoods.   Just me and my camera.  And my sweat.

But if I had to choose one home decor….I was really sucked into the Hollywood glamour of the house we stayed in, with all that yellow.  I mean who puts a bed in the living room?  A bed for just lounging and partying.
Brilliant.

And the house had plenty of room for the group of us who stayed and slept there.
BUT.
Everyone I know has a big but. Let’s talk about your big but Simone.
Sorry. I’ve got Pee Wee on my brain.
Well.  Behind all the Hollywood galmour came an unfortunate discovery in this pretty house, that woke us at 2am:…Cockroaches!
Scurrying about the house!  YES.
Ugh.
Lots of them!  In our closets, and in the kitchen.  Bugs we hadn’t seen earlier in the day.  But now they kept us up all night, and totally tainted the decor of the house.
Gross.
I guess that’s part of the adventure we you do VRBO.   And you know, it’s one of those things that in the moment is disgusting.  But in retrospect is almost comical and becomes one more shared experience with the crazy people you love.
I’m laughing about it now.
But, let’s not talk about bugs.
Instead I’ll share a few more good parts.  And in my next post I’ll show you the house we moved to the next night.

Cause come on.  These white chairs?  My sister and I couldn’t believe their proximity to each other.


It’s like we had superhuman hearing.
We could not stop laughing.   And could barely keep our feet from touching each other.

But once we calmed down, we did what we do best….chatted for 3 more hours in the swimming pool.



And then we ate.

And ate some more.

And tried to dance the chips away.
Is there anything more middle-aged-mom than this cover band, and these moves?
It’s okay.  I am 38.

And we finished the pre-bug-discovery night by ODing at Great Shakes.
Holy.  Crap.
These were so good.  I swam in banana and caramel.


But next time I’ve got to try S’mores…and maybe not eat anything else all day so I can come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.   Mmmmm.


Maybe it’s good that I’m 11 months behind in my blog post.  That means I only have a few weeks till I get to party with these ladies again!

Have a great weekend!