Talking to Liann on the phone one night, I got some awesome news…she and our mutual friend, Lacey, were flying down to spend the weekend with us! David said he wanted to take the boys camping for the weekend, leaving the apartment for us!! A girls weekend was born!
My friends flew in early Friday morning. I picked them up at the airport and beelined for Napa valley. Our first stop was Rubicon Estates. This winery, owned by Francis Ford Coppola, is a joy to walk through and see the collection of "magic lanterns", the predecessor of the movie camera. This is the fountain out front…
After walking the grounds of the Rubicon Estates, we went to the Oakville Grocery and picked up the perfect Napa picnic. The grocery has a lovely, quaint garden with picnic tables and we sat under a tree, enjoying the view of the neighboring vineyard.
After lunch, we drove to Sterling Vineyards…
Sterling Vineyards has a tram that takes you to the top of a hill. The views are incredible!
The tour of the winery and tasting is on the top of the hill…
The view from the tram heading back down…
Our final stop was the marvelous Domaine Carneros. We enjoyed their tour and spending the rest of the late afternoon on their beautiful terrace with stunning views…
After a good night sleep, (Lacey is the stepmom of two teens and mom of 21 month quadruplets…sleep is good!!!), we walked to Peet’s for coffee, then our awesome grocery store, Nugget Market, for breakfast.
The Bed-Heads!
After breakfast, we hit poolside with magazines and books. Uninterrupted reading = heaven!
While poolside, a conversation began. It went a little something like this…
Lacey: (observing a man with a tattoo or two…) "It seems like there are more people here with tattoos than in Washington."
Leigh: "You are right. I think there are, too."
Liann: "Ya know…I’ve kinda been thinking about maybe getting a tattoo."
(Leigh and Lacey’s eyes bug wide open, and grins hit our faces…)
Leigh and Lacey (together): "Let’s do it!!"
So, after calling a few places, and calling our hubbies to make sure they were OK with it, we went to get "inked"! We walked in telling them we hoped to be out of there by six, so we could go to church.
Our artist, Brian, gave himself his first tattoo at the age of 10!
VIDEO OF LIANN!!
VIDEO OF LACEY!!
People have asked if it hurt. ABSOLUTELY!! We found out after the fact that the ankle/foot area is one of the most painful places to tattoo. (I still would have chosen the same location and would not have deviated from the plan, but it really did hurt.)
Because I was the last to go, I had watched my friends, and while trying not to be anxious, I was getting light-headed and started praying that I would not pass out, or have a heart attack, or anything. 🙂
When that tattoo started, I started singing the chorus to David Crowder’s "O Praise Him", eyes shut ,and loud! (You never know what you are going to do when faced with intense pain. God is good!)
O pra-ise Him!
O pra-ise Him!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!
Oh, La la la la la la…
"Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
He is Ho-ly!
He is Ho-ly!"
(Repeat multiple times…) It really helped!
The design was both a spontanous and pre-meditated plan. We all decided we wanted something the same or similar. I said that if I were to get anything, it would be the plumeria flower. So, we initially decided that I would get the plumeria, Lacey would get the hibiscus, and Liann would get the orchid. We went online and started looking at examples of flower tattoos. We ran across a design that had five plumerias with a delicate vine throughout. We all knew this was the design we all wanted, with three flowers, one for each of us.
Each flower is the same flower, yet is a different version of the flower to represent our individuality, with Christ as the vine, supporting and anchoring our friendship. Liann’s is the black and whiter version, mine has my sorority letters tattoed below, (something I did in college…)
We made it to an incredible, INCREDIBLE, church service. We had a guest speaker visiting. I had heard him once before and knew we were in for a special night. Our church has the video of the service if you want to see it. TOTALLY WORTH IT, whether you are are believer or not!
Watch the Bayside Service here!
After service, we went out to dinner. Lacey knew that I had never had a lobster dinner, so we tracked down my first lobster! Yep, I’m hooked!!
No Roseville visit is complete witout a stop at Nuyo, the fabulous frozen yogurt bar…
We ended the amazing day by watching a not-so-entertaining movie (Smother).
Sunday morning, we hit the mall and shopped. We learned that Liann had never had an artichoke before, so we created a delicious lunch, including artichoke. Open wide!!
On the way to the airport, we stopped at Mia Bella Gelato. Dare I say that gelato is now my favorite frozen dessert?
We certainly set the bar high for our girl’s weekend. I wonder what we will come up with next time?
