and for the briefest of moments, I pondered never returning

Because my time away from kids, husband, house and laundry all responsibility whatsoever was utterly DELIGHTFUL.

But I do love my family...

So I came home...

and I ran of fun money... so I had to.

Nuance.

It was a mini trip of food, coffee, more food... talking about food, and shopping until you have that slightly glazed over look, your left foot goes numb and you dream of dressing rooms.

So in other words...

Practically perfect.

and to top that off... I Instagramed it all for you...you're welcome.

It was me and 3 of my dearest friends. Who all at one point in time, happened to live in room 359 of Earhart Hall at Purdue University...

The 359 girls... if we were a band.

Anyhoo... We all live in different states now, making it harder to see one another and catch up on the important things of life, like our kids, husbands, makeup and skinny jeans...

Because of the lack of face time... the mini vacay was born. Hotel, spa day food til you puke... just the girls. And now that we have had the experience, we are planning our next.

So this was, as my friend Suzanne V. puts it, our first pancake.  Where you test the heat of the griddle, the thickness of the batter... all the elements as to make changes for the next pancake... to make it better... and better, until you have the perfect balance.

Our first trip = our first pancake.

It was yummy, folks!

Not much tweeking to be had...

We, and by we I mean Julie, sought out some primo deals through Groupon and LiningSocial. All that deal scoring was very beneficial to our pocket books and allowed for much more shopping, or more coffee... or cheesecake... let's just say it got us more rest and relaxation.

Our final day, as sad as it was, included a facial and a massage at a local spa.

DEVINE.

Although, after filling out the pre-self-indulgence questionnaire, Julie thought my answer about experiencing stress should be changed... consider me outrageously optimistic...

 I cannot believe how fast it went... and how much I miss them already, unbelievably wonderful it was.

Also... how ready I am for my second pancake...