Champagne and Sneakers

On Saturday at two o'clock in the morning my BFF came for a visit.  One of her friends was making the drive up from LA for the weekend to visit some friends, so fortunately Julie tagged along and we got to spend all of Saturday together.  Sadly, I couldn't get Sunday off, so we had to make the most of our one day, which we did a fine job of as we talked nonstop for about twelve hours straight!  I visited Julie in LA during the fall and we spent two days catching up on each other's lives while eating, drinking, and getting pedicures.  It was wonderful time spent!  Our friendship goes way back to high school, and we have managed to stay close through all the years, though since college we have been many states apart.  We never fought or competed during our younger years, and we just enjoyed each others company so much, and luckily that has continued through our adult lives.  So, a little bit about our big day together this past weekend!

After getting some much needed rest Saturday morning we managed to get out of bed around nine and head to brunch just down the street.  We decided to go trendy with Julie wearing her ultra sexy flats and I was sporting my extra chill Converse sneakers.  I think we both agree that it is all about the shoes (and maybe the purse as well).  Breakfast was lovely and we started in on some very important conversation pieces over our omelettes and mimosas.  Jobs, boys, our families, our thirties, politics, the Church...yep, we try to cover it all!  I even allowed for Aaron to join us, and he managed to get a few words in as well. He was pleasantly surprised to hear his voice!

After brunch we meandered on back to the apartment to change into less stylish, but much more comfortable sneakers.  Julie wore some fine bright white Asics, and I was wearing my very shiny Mizuno's.  Now comfortable and much less stylish in our sneakers and bluejeans, we made our way downtown.  We spent the late morning and remainder of the afternoon walking, chatting and drinking.  We strolled along the wharf with coffee and then found a lovely little bar along the waterfront.  Cheers over champagne and wine and our quality conversation continued.  Of course this was a formal little place and our sneakers were most certainly in the minority.  At least we were comfortable!  Our next stop was to visit Lohman's, which is a designer discount store.  Now this is a place where you can get into lots of trouble.  This is where the conversation died down a bit because we both had to focus all attention on our surroundings!  Fancy purses, funky jewelry, skinny jeans galore, sweaters, and a fantastic scarf selection... After an hour or so and three times through the checkout line we left with purses, wallets, shirts and a scarf.  In my opinion this was a very successful shopping trip, but I am not sure if Aaron would agree with me after seeing the bill!

After shopping we made our way to the Gold Dust Lounge (a famous little joint right near Union Square) to celebrate our purchases and our time together with a bit more champagne.  And once again our conversation went out of control.  While we chilled over our drinks this random man sitting beside us looked over and asked, "Are you lesbians?"  Fortunately Julie said yes, he lost interest, and the chatter continued.  Aaron even came and joined us for a round before we found dinner.  Luckily Lohman's was right near the restaurant we would be dining at, so we headed back for another visit so Julie could buy one more purse (for her Mom) before the store closed.  Jolene is going to love this purse!  Dinner consisted of teriyaki, sushi and saki, which was a fine way to wind down the day.  We then made our way back to the apartment and settled in for the night.  We had so much fun wandering the city in our sneakers and drinking champagne.

The next day I left bright and early for work and Aaron took Julie out for breakfast before she left.  We are very hopeful to take a quick trip to LA next month!!

 A picture from our wedding day.  Sadly I haven't taken any of us since then.  Maybe next visit!