Pink Birthday 2008

There are 7 of us in a little circle of friends and we have been having 7 birthday parties for several years now. This year we decided to have one big party to celebrate our friendship and each other... so we lived 36 hours of glitz in the Galleria!

After much traffic, getting stopped by a cop, touching a cop, driving through the parking garage for what seemed like hours, we finally made it into the Galleria!With 7 girls, one of which is pregnant, Mango Tea at LaMadeleine and many Starbucks, there were lots of potty breaks! We could not resist this photo op in the Saks lounge (notice it is not called restroom). There was this leopard BED-looking couch that we all piled on amidst looks from other patrons... but aren't we cute?!?!?
We said no gifts, but Holly is turning the big 4-0 this year, so the rest of us pulled off a HUGE surprise for her! She is, after all, the original Marathon Bird, so her gift from us was running-centered. We got a runner's medal, otherwise known as "running bling," engraved with HBD. We also gave her a coupon for ALL of us to do a race, of her choice, this next year. ALL of us is a big deal because this bird can't run to the mailbox and back!!! hahaha We also got shirts made for us to wear in the race. And the last part was a scrapbook of how much we love Holly! We took the letters H-O-L-L-Y and came up with attributes, her favorite things, etc that started with each letter. Then we each made a personal page with pics and a letter from us to her.

Pulling this off was a MAJOR task! The shirts were late getting printed...like late enough that when we picked them up they were still hot! And the girl had not made the medal yet. Then sneaking the shirts into the hotel with Holly in the same car as us was also a sight! Robyn and I took an extra long potty break at dinner to wrap all the gifts and give them to the manager to deliver to our table. But it was SOOOOO worth it! Holly was so surprised and excited! Happy 40th Dear Friend!!!
Said dinner was not a WW friendly event... but it's only your BD once, right?!?!?! We ate at a certain Factory that is famous for Cheesecake. We ate a delicious main course, but dessert was what we came for. We got Godiva, Carrot Cake, Kahula Coffee and Key Lime cheesecakes to try. We would take a bite and pass it until all the plates were clean! It was worth every point and more!!!!!
The Girls! Holly, Lacie, Robyn (and Baby K), Heather, Me, Maria and Deanna
Saturday was full of shopping. I discovered Ann Taylor Loft and let me say...I love it! One of my favorite shopping memories was getting properly fitted at Nordstrom's. It started with just me and Lacie in the dressing room and before long, 5 of us were all crammed in! It was a LOUD, funny, full of laughter hour. And I must say that I am very pleased with the purchase. Oh, notice our pretty toes? We also all got pedicures!
A few of us with our bags!
Friday night we stayed up WAY past our bedtimes.. giggling, planning, praying, doing facial masks, snacking, telling stories... you know, typical girl stuff. Oh, and I got my picture made with Lisa Leslie of the LA Sparks! Thank you sweet husbands for letting us get away for 36 hours to get rejuvenated! It was such a treat and a great time to celebrate each other! Happy Birthday 2008!