Girls Gone Mild 2014

After 12 years of friendship and 8 years of taking girl's trips, it's already that time for our Friendship Fiesta 2014!  We've had several returns to Las Vegas, 4 bachelorette parties between us, and an adult long weekend to Orlando, FL visiting Disney & the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  So we decided that we'd go big this year because this year was particularly special.  2014 was the year that we all celebrated turning 30, and what better way than to celebrate together in the picturesque backdrop provided by this year's destination selection - The Ritz Carlton, St. Thomas, USVI!?!?

I've had a countdown on my phone every day since we booked this trip exactly 6 months ago (oh we had such a miserable winter!).  Every day that the calendar ticked closer to our July 9th departure was one day closer to my yearly reunion with my favorite girls.  And when it was finally upon us, I think I slept for like 3 hours before having to wake up early and catch my flight to the US Virgin Islands.  My flight got me in a good 4 hours before all 3 of the other girlies landed.  So naturally, I spent my time at the bar, sipping on rum drinks (I became particularly fond of a treat called the Lime in the Coconut...because why not?!), reading my book and enjoying the view from the pool bar before the 3 crazy girls from Texas arrived at the hotel.

Before I could even finish the 3rd installment of the Divergent series (OMG, so good), my friends arrived and they were a tropical, festive sight to see!  I think we checked in to our hotel room, enthusiastically exchanged a few surprise gifts, slapped on our swimsuits, grabbed our  floating devices, and headed out to the ocean within minutes!  We were fully submerged in the Caribbean waters with painkillers (St. Thomas's specialty cocktail, not the pills you crazies!) in hand just moments after being reunited.

I'd say that there was a bit of a fundamental shift in this particular trip vs some of the girl's trips we've taken in the past.  First, we had a whopping ONE night where we dressed to the nines. A big part of our girls trips is usually around our lady routine of primping - coordinating outfits, helping each other curl our hair, swapping jewelry, giving each other advice on shoe selections, and maybe even sharing a lipstick or two.  But on this trip, we had ONE night where we actually got dressed in something other than our swimsuits and cover ups.  ONE night where SOME of us actually did our hair (contrary to what some of you may think, my Caribbean inspired dread-like curls are actually natural! :P).  ONE night where we actually wore shoes to dinner.  And it was magical.  I think all of us needed a trip without wardrobe woes - and where our biggest problem was making sure we kept all of our belongings inside our kayak as we paddled through the crystal blue water (we did have some small casualties lost to the sea...but it made for a few hours of laughter).

Second - we had no agenda.  On past trips, we had jam-packed days that extended well into the evening.  This time, we actually "played it by ear".  No pre-meditated dinner reservations, no daily itinerary, just going with the flow - the island way!  There was an excursion day that we planned ahead of time - and that was our private boat charter - the Lion in da Sun.  We had an unbelievable trip island-hopping with our very own friend, Captain Rick.  We cruised around St. John, Tortola, Jost Van Dike, and a tiny little spot called Sandy Spit - a real life Corona commercial.

Captain Rick let us bring our own refreshments on the boat, and we stopped at Foxy's and Pusser's for well-deserved painkillers, provisions, and shopping!  We were invited to hop off the boat for a little swimming with our sting ray friend, snorkeling around some of the Caribbean's most colorful reefs off St. John, and drinking at the world Famous Soggy Dollar.  Our fantastic captain was extremely accommodating and I'm fairly certain our entire experience would not have been the same without the fabulous navigational skills and island narrating from Captain Rick and his trusty apprentice.  If you're booking a trip to St. Thomas or St. John - he's a MUST.

Third, our nights on this trip did not extend into the wee hours of the morning.  I'm not embarrassed to say, that we were nestled in our cushy down pillows and matching pajamas by 10p every night - with the exception of our last night...probably my favorite night.  Instead of the fancy black & white coordinated outfits we had scheduled for our last night together - we slipped into matching American Flag printed leggings (because everyone needs those) and big cozy matching long-sleeved t-shirts.  We had a bottle of rum and several flavored mixers to polish off before we all headed our separate ways the next morning - so we mixed our own cocktails & took them down to the beach to watch moon rise over the Caribbean.  Little did we know, that we were actually seeing a very special moon rise - it was the SUPER moon.  We chatted on the lawn chairs and hammocks while watching the sun move from between the palm trees to the wide open sky above the ocean.  We walked along the beach with our drinks in hand, taking pictures and hunting for tiny little sharks swimming parallel to the shore line.  There were a lot of giggles, a lot of hugs, and a lot of memories made and recapped under the Super Moon light.

Maybe it's because we turned 30, maybe it's because we were joined by our calming presence Lauren, or maybe it's because our selected destination was the low-key island of St. Thomas, but there was a much needed soothing aura around this trip that we all appreciated.  Every trip I get with these special women is amazing and full of precious memories, but this was definitely my favorite so far. I know that we will have many more chances to take more adventures together as we continue our traditions, but this one is really going to be hard to top.  Girls - I hope you all know how much these getaways mean to me, and I hope that in 10 years we're doing something fabulous for our 40th, and then 20 years after that, jetting off somewhere exotic for our 50th!  There are few things as special to me as the memories I make with you all, and how happy it makes my soul.  Here's to a successful and particularly exceptional Friendship Fiesta 2014!  Now...when can we start planning for next year! :)

4th of July 2014!

4th of July on a Friday means a 3 day weekend!  And just like we have done 4 out of the 5 years we've lived in New York - we headed out to Princeton to salute good ol' red, white and blue!  We had the usual list of items to pack, a bulldog, several costume items, some tennis attire, and festive hats...of course!  And we had the usual itinerary once we arrived in Princeton - BBQ, delicious cocktails, some kick-ass games of doubles in tennis, Chardonnay, tuning in to Wimbledon, backyard games, and late night movies.  Just your standard Patriotic celebration of America's birthday!  Here are a few pictures of how we celebrated one of our favorite holidays with some of our favorite people:

Winston waiting for his lobster & filet mignon

Kan Jam - the greatest invention ever to backyard BBQs everywhere

I love all of them...like SO MUCH!

Mobleys & Bucks in their tennis whites!

We hope you all had a happy 4th of July and are enjoying the season as we get into the peak of summer fun!  Happy Birthday to the U.S of A!

Showering our Blushing Bride!

 I can't believe we are less than 3 months away from my first little cousin getting married!  This past weekend, I traveled out to Connecticut to prepare and help organize my cousin Sarah's beautiful bridal shower.  I'm not sure how I would have made it through my wedding planning without Sarah, and it's been really hard to find a way to reciprocate that kind of love and attention until now.  I'm also not even sure I can come close to being as helpful as Sarah was to me, but I'm going to do my damnedest to try!

Because of that self-induced pressure, the road to Sarah's shower had a few bumps the week leading up to the event.  Let's just say I had a bit of a minor panic with the favors when my Etsy order completely fell through.  Just three days before the shower, we were scrambling quite a bit for plan B shower favors that were pulled together from scratch by none other than my beautiful grandmother, my aunt Sus, and another clutch new friend I made on Etsy (yes, I chose to trust the site again in a desperate effort to come up with our alternative favor....and they completely restored my faith in Etsy!  Yay Etsy!).  With 50+ adorable little hydrangea themed flower pots, my grandmother's gorgeous hot pink hydrangea center pieces, over 100 delicious pink & blue sugar cookies, and a two-tired custom made "lovebirds" cake, we were primed and prepared for a beautiful day celebrating our sweet, glowing bride.

Sarah's mother hosted the party at her home & the backyard was the ideal setting for a day of showering our very special girl.  Despite MONTHS of emails with the bridal party, this was THE FIRST time that I met the rest of the gorgeous bridesmaids - and Sarah was lucky enough to have ALL of her bridesmaids there for the shower!  Outside of the bridal party, she also had family from all sides making the trip to mingle with other family members and to give their best wishes to our very own future Mrs.

There really is no other word to describe the day except that it was absolutely "lovely".  Sarah looked perfect and flawless in her white sundress. We snacked on light lunch sandwiches and sipped on refreshing sangria from mason jars, and polished everything off with a deliciously fluffy cake provided by none other that Susanne Russo!  Sarah spared everyone from an hour of watching her open gifts and instead opted to spend that time visiting with all the people who came to spend time with her.  Her soon-to-be husband surprised her with a special video that entertained all the ladies of the shower, especially our sweet Sarah.

It was crystal clear that Sarah enjoyed her bridal shower and was every bit the blushing bride with a sparkling smile plastered on her face that lasted the entire duration of the shower.  And all the petty stress with the silly favors was worth it, to make sure that everything was perfect for my cousin's day.  I had a lovely, yes lovely, time meeting all of the bridesmaids & some of Sarah's future family members  She had over 50 ladies lunching and celebrating how much they love her - and they love her A LOT, how could you not? I cannot wait until we are all reunited again for the big day in September. No doubt I'll be an emotional mess as my first cousin walks down the aisle in her beautiful dress, but I know it will be one hell of a party!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

I mentioned in my last blog post that Mike was unable to join us in Texas for Father's Day, because he had a little surprise of his OWN up his sleeve.  My fabulous sister-in-law was having a BIG birthday this year (Jenn, I'm going to save you from the actual number in case you have any sensitivity with people knowing your age in such a public forum!).  But I will say it was one of those milestone birthdays - one that warrants a party - one that is EXTRA special - and one that you would hope to celebrate with all of your greatest friends and family.   So there was a party.  A little shindig at the Mobley Bloomfield residences in San Francisco to celebrate Jennifer!

Mike conspired with his mother to surprise his sister (and pretty much everyone else!) at her birthday celebration.  He flew in on the first flight from JFK to SFO to have pretty much the whole afternoon and evening for the main event.  Yes, it was only one night, but in that short amount of time he was able to accomplish his only two goals for such a short trip, to spend time with family, and pull off an epic surprise at the party.   And he did just that.

I was unable to see the look on everyone's faces when Mike arrived at the party, but all I need to know was that he made his sister and his family very very happy, and pulled one over on the birthday girl!  My father-in-law was the family historian and captured some priceless pictures of the siblings and I've heard from our family and Facebook friends how lovely and amazing the night was.  Jennifer, I SO wish I could have some with Mike to bring you one more surprise and another hug for your birthday.  You are a beautiful woman and the most creative mind I've ever known.  I know that this new age in your life will bring you as much grace and contentment as all the previous years!  Happy Happy birthday to you and I hope that all your wishes for this upcoming year come true.

A Father's Day Surprise!

The OTHER boys I came to see!

Mike and I were not able to travel to Texas during the Byron Nelson this year because it was so soon after Garrett & Jenny's wedding AND they weren't even going to be in town over the weekend of the golf tournament.  So that meant we still owed our Texas family a little visit at some point over the summer.  And what better weekend to spend with the family than FATHER'S DAY!  After booking my flight back in May and discussing with my mother - we decided to pull one over on Pops and make it a surprise...because it's just more fun that way.  Unfortunately, my husband had to hang back to keep Winston company because we were alternating weekends going out of town (I'll tell you more about HIS trip next week!).

Via Real - where else?  Mom with her 'extra shot" on the
side!

Since New York decided to have a little apocalypse while I was trying to fly out, my flight was cancelled and I missed out on one of my nights with the family so we had to be a little bit nimble with our surprise for Pops. After $150 in cabs to and from LGA, I was back at the airport at 5am for round 2 of my attempt to get to DFW.  I slept the entire flight and when I woke up, I was home waiting for my mom to pick me up.  Of course, since this was a "surprise", my dad was golfing the entire morning of the day I flew in.  So mom & I got a little workout in and posted up at the Four Season's Pool with some refreshments and waiting to greet dad after his 18 holes.  And when he cruised over to our lounge chairs, and my head popped up to say "hello", dad was STOKED!

Hi BURTY!!!!

We played "only child" all day because Garrett and Jenny both had work obligations.  I don't get a lot of time with my parents just the three of us - so it was nice to watch a little bit of World Cup together and have a festive Tex-Mex dinner (because that's my only request when I'm in Texas for such a short amount of time, New York has like no good Tex-Mex or Mexican food for that matter).  But we were a family of five again on Father's Day when the newlyweds, Jenny and Garrett, joined us for another beautiful day at the pool.  We were lucky enough to get a weekend in the 80s, which is a rarity for June in Texas.  Year's past have promised triple digit, sweltering temperatures!  And if you feel like you're getting a little sweaty, the kind Four Season's pool is known to offer a chilled towel or a nice cup of frozen fruit!

Dad with the kids!

I took the following Monday off as a travel day, which meant that I got to spend Sunday Dinner with my family - one of my favorite gifts to my Pops.  We spent the night with some juicy summer BBQ, some crunchy corn on the cob, refreshing cocktails, and a few hours worth of home movies.  The perfect ending to a low key family weekend.  Even though this weekend really was all about celebrating the greatest dad ever, I can't help but feel like those few days of downtime and relaxation at what I like to think of as the "Casa DuPont Resort and Golf Club" did my body good!  Even though we were missing Mike, and even though Garrett and I presented my dad with loads of Father's Day goodies, it really was a treat to have (ALMOST) our entire little family together.  My dad was my first knight in shining armor, the man who taught me everything I know about how to be successful in life, and he's the guy everyone just loves to be around - I'll always be daddy's little girl, even when I have my own little Mob-lets some day.  Happy Father's Day to you Daddy & to all those fantastic dad's out there!

Jo Jo in the City

The beautiful birthday girl!

Sometimes you just need your mom.  Mike and I were lucky to be spared slightly from business travel during the month of May.  But that just means June was going to be a doozie.  Mike started off the month with a 3 day business trip that took him to the other side of the country.   I knew Winston and I would be missing him terribly, so I made limoncello out of lemons (because that's MUCH more fun than lemonade) and planned a few nights of mommy/daughter time in New York City.

My beautiful mother was not only keeping me company out here, but we were celebrating a very special day - MOM'S BIRTHDAY!  I made sure I had plenty of little treats to surprise her upon her arrival.  So when she walked into the apartment, she was greeted by a jumpy Winston, peonies GALORE, as much Italian wine as she could ever want, some juicy magazines, and presents, of course!  I couldn't wait to get home to give her a big hug & take my mom out to a quaint little girls dinner to celebrate her birthday.  And because it's my mom, I could only think that the perfect setting for our ladies night was Wined Up!  And because we're girls, I could only think that the perfect refreshment for our dinner was a pretty bottle of rose!  The weather was another perfect gift for my mom on her birthday.  It was so gorgeous, that we felt compelled to take a nice evening stroll to Eataly for some gelato after dinner.

A tender little reunion!

But our girly fun didn't end there.  Mom stayed one more night - just enough time for me to treat her to a facial at Mario Badescu after work.  I've been wanting to share that experience with her since I started my monthly visits with Leah over there in 2010!  It's not a glamorous or spa-like treatment by any means, but it's the best facial in all of New York, and we both walked out of there with bags full of goodies and a pretty fantastic glow!  After a quiet night of cooking at home together (ok....maybe I did most of the cooking, we know that's not Jo Jo's strong suit) my mom was winding down her quick visit.  But we spent every last minute together as we possible could, and fell asleep chatting - like teenagers at a slumber party.

This was the first time in a while that I've hosted Jo Jo in New York - and it was an absolute pleasure having my mom in town.  Who is better to keep you company while you are a single fur-mommy for a few days while your husband travels?  And, what could be better than coming home from an absolutely grueling day at work to your mom who greets you with a glass of wine and some little surprises she picked up for you during her shopping excursion?  Happy HAPPY birthday to my amazing mother.  It meant so much to me to be able to celebrate with you on your special day and to share a few little surprises with you.  You are the best visitor I could ever ask for.  I can't wait to have more New York adventures in August with you and Pops.  We love you & miss you every day!

A Grown Up Time Out....In Turks & Caicos

 

Off to our snorkeling adventure

Mike and I are very grateful and very appreciative for everything we have.  We absolutely adore our lives and everyone in it - but sometimes you just need to take an adult time out...from LIFE.  Sometimes you just need to go off the grid and go somewhere with no cell phone service. Sometimes you just need to put your hypothetical "life pencils" down, and walk away.  And sometimes, you just need to throw some flip flops and swimsuits in a suitcase and get the hell out of town.

The Mobleys generally plan our vacations months in advance.  We are going to Greece in September, and I'm embarrassed to say that we've bought our tickets and booked flights for this trip back in February, SEVEN months ahead of time.  Our vacations usually involve a multi-page itinerary with days full of agenda items, and I spend months preparing the perfect set of outfits to fit in the smallest suitcase possible.  But we threw all caution (with reason, let's be real people...we ARE the Mobleys) to the wind when we decided to go to Turks & Caicos for a quick tropical getaway.  We bought flights & booked our room (thanks Mike Kahn!) at the Gansevoort a mere 2 weeks before our departure - definitely a record for us.

Upon our arrival at the gorgeous resort, we immediately threw on our bathing suits, grabbed our shades, lathered up on sunscreen (because we looked like ghosts after enduring what felt like 11 months of winter), and grabbed two cushy chairs by the luscious, sparkling swimming pool.  It was clear that we were still in a New York state of mind for the first few hours in Turks & Caicos because I was ridiculously impatient and my husband could not, for the life of him, sit still!  We were a tense, fidgety, anxious mess.  But the good news is - we were easily cured.  All it took was a rum cocktail & a Caribbean sunset and we were in full on Island Mode.

The only item we had on our agenda the full 4 days in Turks & Caicos was to RELAX.  Take it easy, don't follow an itinerary, don't worry about needing to be somewhere, read some books, take some naps under the shade of a big ass beach umbrella, sleep in late, work on our tans, have some romantic dinners, eat a boat load of conch, drink some delicious rum cocktails, take some walks along the beach, and just enjoy each other.  And we did exactly that.

But it wouldn't be a Mobley trip without some type of excursion, right?  So we booked a half day snorkeling trip on the Island Vibes to explore one of the world's most famous reefs.  Our hotel concierge told us that the Island Vibes was the boat that you go on "if you like a party", so naturally we felt like that was the right fit for us.  And it was the party boat because the reggae was blasting, the rum punch was flowing and the boat had a diving board on the top of the boat for you to jump off into the aquamarine ocean.  In just 4 hours we saw a myriad of festive marine life including a lemon shark, a sea turtle, a manta ray, parrot fish, iguanas, and probably the world's biggest grouper.  We also managed to make friends with 3 other couples who were from the tri-state area and we continued our little party with these new found cronies back at the Gansevoort where Friday night was "HOT!" (aka, they have a little DJ come play and you can get a few hours of dancing in!).

Enjoying the view from the top of
the boat!

Unlike most of our vacations, where I come home to New York City and experience a severe case of self-diagnosed PVD (post-vacation depression) for a few days, we came home feeling refreshed and recharged.  Our trip to Turks & Caicos was exactly what the doctor ordered.  We needed "US" time, and we needed to disappear from the city for a few days.  We needed to disconnect from work and from our electronic devices.  We needed to put our blackberries and cell phones in a locked safe where we don't need to access them.  We needed to actually print a boarding pass that wasn't for a business trip for once.

I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the travel adventures we take together.  Turks & Caicos was a destination that neither of us had visited before and some of my greatest joys in life come from seeing the world with my husband.  Whether we it's a quick 4 days in paradise to escape the madness of our high stress jobs in Manhattan, or an intricately planned trip to Europe, I live for these memories.  I embrace all the cultural surprises we collect from each one of our travels - like the local fish fry we stumbled upon during our second night in Turks & Caicos!  With just 3 months left until our 2014 Greek retreat, I'm looking forward to another 9 day date with Mr. Mobley!  We can't wait to share more of our stories and memories with you all!