weekending with @acukiki

It used to be that I could hop in the car and 30 minutes later, I was at her house. My transplanted Jersey friend who I met through blogging seven years ago. Our daughters were born 2 weeks apart so that was sort of the ice breaker for our first meet up: have a play date with the kids. 

I won't take you down memory lane, there are too many to count.

Then girlfriend decides to move house across the whole damn country to sunny California. OK, I thought ... this is a good move for her and her fam.

I'd never been to California and now I had a reason to go.

I finally got there in 2011, all four of us girls (and her hubby M) reunited for 4 days of fun, fun, fun.  She is a gracious and most generous host. She had my brand of coffee waiting for me and we laughed so hard we almost pee'd our pants. She needed it at the time. She was mourning the loss of her sister and transitioning in her career.

Instead of cars, we now have to hop on planes to see each other. She does it more than I do, and that's funny because she's more afraid of flying than I am.

This visit was super special because it was just her & I - no kids, no worries, and no schedule - with a lot of time to roam the city streets and do whatever we wanted.

I wanted to get a proper buzz on so we went and got classy drunk on expensive drinks in Soho.

We people watched.

We shopped.

We nourished our bellies with Japanese/Spanish fused rice bowls & sushi.

We laughed.

She shot polaroids.

I shot iphone.

She laughed as I drooled over a youngish mc-hottie like a cougar on the loose and totally forgot to introduce me. A-hem!

Shenanigans aside, I was there to support my friend - who is an amazing fine art photographer - because her work was part of a gallery show at the Impossible Project space.

Because I don't shoot polaroids, I've never been there. It was a great event, with a nice turn out and so many gorgeous photos on display.

Two days later, more shenanigans because I couldn't let her leave without seeing her one more time.

I remember exactly when our friendship blossomed over to the next level: it was my birthday and so much shit was going on that I didn't feel like celebrating. She (still in NJ) called to wish me a happy b-day and refused to let the day slip by without trying to make me feel better.

She drove up to my neck of the woods and took me to lunch. I had no appetite, no desire to see anyone, I was stressed out and sad and ... just a hot mess in general.

I'll never forget that day and just how much it meant to have her lift me up when I was completely down.

We've laughed and cried together. We've mourned our losses together. We've shared our deepest secrets & insecurities & most embarrassing moments. It's beyond friendship, we're now like family. She's one of my bonus sisters, and I am honored to be a sister to her.

Kiki. I love you girl. Thank you for a beautiful weekend. See you again in June. xo

I'm sharing my weekend with Amanda.

*Thank you for your lovely & supportive comments on my last couple of posts.

Comments

[vivienne]

So loving hearing how your friendship with K evolved Bella.
Big hugs to you both.
xo
viv

[gotham girl]

Beautiful!

[Tina]

Love this! Beautiful pictures!

[amanda {the habit of being}]

knowing both of you through blogland i simply love reading the back story and finding out how connected you two are. you are both incredibly creative and i can only imagine how much fun you have together.

[kristen]

I love you and always have SO much fun. You totally made my trip. xoxo

[Gillian]

Worth it's weight in gold.
Love connections like this.
xoG

[michelle gd]

love hearing the story of how your friendship has grown. honestly, it made me smile, reading this post. so glad you two had this weekend together, so glad you have each other!

[kelly barton]

oh this is so good. seeing your two together is super sweet!