The best day ever!

I had a visitor last weekend.  It was by far the most relaxing at home weekend that I can remember in a long, long time. 

My dear friend, SM, came to visit me from the land of sun and surf-Southern California.  I had the pleasure of showing off my beautiful city.  We started off our Saturday with a run-see she's a triathlete and she knows I'm dipping my toe into the running waters and contemplating a 5K-and then a 10K in May-so we headed off bright and early Saturday morning and ran a little over 2.5 miles.  2.5 miles of hills mind you, not flat, not easy, a lot of hills where I live.  After a quick breakfast-omelets with farm fresh eggs that a customer had delivered to us at work the previous day-and quick showers we were off on our day long adventure.

Starting off our day was a trip to Powell's.  Oh Powell's you beautiful, beautiful place.  There is just nothing like that moment when you first open the door to Powell's, the scent of books waft over you and the buzz of activity that greets you.  I just love Powell's.  Powell's represents all that was important to me in high school.  I spent hours there-some of those hours when I should have been in school-wandering the aisles, fondling books.  I love Powell's and I was so happy to share the experience with my friend, who is also an avid reader, I knew she would get it.

After Powell's we headed off to Hawthorne for lunch and some window shopping.  Another favorite part of town for me but not one I get to indulge often.  See for one parking is a nightmare, seriously we scored a spot but I was nervous for a bit.  But the bigger problem is my busy britches boy, he would want to touch everything and I would end up freaking out that he was going to break something or annoy someone.  But we were KIDLESS!!  We lingered over lunch talking about anything and everything.  We wandered up and down the street ducking into shops here and there at will.  We explored some cute vintage shops, some eco friendly decor stores and some really sweet clothing shops.  What I loved though was the ease, it was so easy.  We could wander into a store and I never felt like we had to keep in constant contact.  We could peruse things at our own leisure then meet back in the middle.  The conversation flowed naturally, nothing forced, no awkward pauses.  It's like we've been hanging out together all our lives but in reality this is a relationship nurtured mostly via email, text and the occasional quick phone call. 

We capped off our day with a visit to Ashiyu Foot Spas in Sellwood for a foot soak and reflexology treatments before heading off for some vege Thai food down the street. 

Oooooooh, I feel relaxed right now just thinking about our day.  I wish every weekend, or at least every other weekend, could be so relaxing and recharging.  That's how I felt when I drove home Saturday, recharged.  Refreshed.  Renewed.  It was the....best.....day......ever. 

Thank you my dear friend for coming to visit me, I cannot wait for our next adventure!