We started off girls’ day off by creating a quick Breast Cancer Awareness PSA. It’s October, after all and we wanted to remind everyone to schedule their mammograms. We also wanted to remind ME to schedule my mammogram – I’m the WORST when it comes to taking care of myself. It’s a good thing I have my friends to hound my ass!

Note to viewer – I’m NOT a video girl Hopefully I get better at this, because as of now – I have no skill whatsoever on camera. I much prefer to be behind the camera!

It’s a Bears’ Life for Us

After making the PSA, we headed over to Easton, where we hearkened back to childhood just a bit. Where’d we go, you might be wondering. None other than Build-A-Bear. I mean, are you really ever too old to make a bear?

Our beloved Jules has been collecting teddy bears since she was young, so it was no surprise at all that she chose bear making for our October activity. She needed another teddy to add to her amazing collection!

And, if we’re being honest, this activity wasn’t even around when we were growing up…yep, I’m showing our age again. I mean, hell, it wasn’t even around when our kids were little…damn, further evidence of our advancing age comes to light!

So, why not build a bear for the first time? Truth is, we were all like kids in a…well…a stuffed animal store

After selecting our bears (we each chose a different one), we wandered around like stylists, picking just the right apparel for our new family additions. Dressing them up is simply part of the fun, right? And yes, I loved dressing up my Barbie dolls when I was little too. Don’t judge

Then, our bears were stuffed, given a heart and stitched. We finished up by creating birth certificates for our new bear babies.

Julie dubbed her bear Dallas Teddie – paying homage to her Dad, Dallas and her sister, Teddie. She picked a cute ‘Love’ themed shirt (in pink, of course) and a glittery white tutu. She didn’t go with shoes because her bear already had cute little colors and sentiments on her paws!

Heidi named her sweet little bear Lovebug. She kept it pretty simple with the same pink ‘Love’ themed shirt as Julie. I desperately tried to talk Heidi into getting her bear a cell phone (so they could be twinsies), but Heidi was having none of it!

Christine christened her funky little blue bear Sadie. She opted for an outfit in her signature color of purple, with lots of silver accents. Sparkly purple boots were the perfect addition and tied Sadie’s look together completely. Yes, yes, I’m talking about a teddy bear here

Last but not least, I dubbed my bear Vixen! I dolled up my little showstopper in a sparkly white tutu, black and red ‘Love’ shirt, red glitter bows, silver heels and of course, sunglasses. I mean, what bear doesn’t need sunglasses? One look at me in the pic below and you’ll see why – I have two sets of glasses perched precariously atop my head – as I so often do What? I like options!

Although it may seem like an unusual choice for girls’ day, we were overjoyed with our bears. And, in all reality, it was kind of relaxing to feel like a kid again, all big-eyed and free from the worries of the world. We had nothing more on the brain than picking our bears and their outfits. We all need that type of decompression every now and again, no?

I definitely think Build-A-Bear should be on everyone’s bucket list at least once – whether you’re making a bear for yourself or you’re taking one of the littles in your life to make their own bear.

After our bear making endeavor, the gals and I roamed around Easton for a bit, doing a little shopping and a little browsing. I mean, what group of four women can hit Easton and not want to shop? Hmmm??

Well, let me tell you! While Jules and Teeny are the ultimate shoppers in our group, Heidi and I don’t seem to derive the same pleasure from shopping that we used to. We’re more of the ‘go in, get what’s needed and leave’ kind of gals No matter, if the gals want to shop – we’ll shop! After all, what are friends for?

After our shopping session, Christine honed in on the big swings at Easton and we spent some time evoking those nostalgic childhood feelings. Is swinging really considered a childhood thing, though? I LOVE to swing! And rock. Nope – childhood can’t have the swings – they’re for everyone – regardless of age.

It’s a Boozy Life for Us

After spending the morning in our childlike fugue, we headed off to Cooper’s Hawk Winery (first time for all of us) to get our grown-up on! And probably end up in a very different type of fugue

As lovely and memorable as the walk down childhood lane was, there ARE certain benefits to adulthood. Namely, wine!

We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our 2:30 reservation and had to wait until our scheduled time to be seated. Which was perfectly fine. The wine tasting area was quite busy, but we found a comfortable bench where we enjoyed the modern and inviting atmosphere.

After we were seated, we all immediately noticed how chilly it was in the restaurant. Truth is, I’m usually the only one of of us who ever gets cold. So, when Jules, Heidi and Teeny complain about being cold, you know there’s an issue.

We started off with drinks – Heidi opted for her usual Bloody Mary, Julie went with beer, Christine chose the white wine sampler and I downed a few glasses of Pinot Noir! Yum. As an added benefit, the booze started to help us warm up a bit, too!

For the appetizers, I picked the October special of Arancini, Julie went with Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Teeny chose a wedge salad. All of the appetizers were extremely tasty and presented in a lovely manner! We were all pretty pleased with our choices!

As we waited for our entrees to arrive, we celebrated our favorite birthday girl – Christine. She opened her gifts and received some interesting goodies, including a lavender towel set with lotions and such, a fingernail/manicure doodad, an adorable plaid, fuzzy bucket hat, jewelry and a leopard print backpack that paired perfectly with her attire.

Our food arrived just as Teeny finished opening her gifts. Julie chose to go simple with a burger and fries, Heidi paired a wedge salad with a bowl of tortilla soup, I picked Soy Glazed Salmon and Christine chose the Trio of Medallions.

Let me start with the good! Christine LOVED her medallions and was a clean-plater! She also loved the wine – see empty glasses in the pic above

As much as it pains me to say, however, the rest of the entrees didn’t quite live up to the amazing appetizers we’d already had.

The flavor of my salmon was fantastic, but it was slightly overcooked, which I absolutely have to attribute to how thin the salmon actually was. It wasn’t any more than 1/2″ thick, which I found extremely unusual. I make salmon at home on a weekly basis and I’ve NEVER seen a fillet of salmon that thin. It was almost as if the fillet had been sliced in half before cooking.

Heidi’s salad was fine (lacking blue cheese), but she wasn’t a fan of her tortilla soup. I gave it a taste, too, and it seemed to have a very dark roux with an overpowering flour taste.

Julie found her burger and fries to be edible, albeit a little crispy around the edges for her liking.

Adding to the mediocrity of the meal was the fact that Julie and I ate our entire meal with nothing to drink except the complimentary water. We had both ordered a second drink when they cleared our appetizer plates, but those drinks didn’t actually arrive until after we’d finished with our entrees. I went ahead and drank my wine (cause I needed more wine), but Jules was a bit miffed (rightly so) and sent hers back.

The Quite Simply Us gals were a bit split on Cooper’s Hawk Winery. Christine would 100% go back for a 2nd visit, while I’m about 50/50, to be honest. I did love the atmosphere, the wine and the appetizer, just not the entree. As for Heidi and Jules, I don’t think either of them would go out of their way to return.

After our meal, we made our way back to the car and Jules took the wheel and got us home. NOTE – she was sober

Of course, being the behind-the-camera girl, I had to shoot a few videos on the drive home. Gotta get those tipsy bits when I can. I was a bit looped too, soo….the videos are certainly not of the highest quality!

Christine and Heidi decided to do some crazy tongue maneuvers? This is what happens when you’ve had four glasses of wine, Christine

An ode to the 70’s, Julie’s wackadoo facial expressions and Christine’s boobs?

I don’t even know what to say, because I have no idea what’s happening in the clip below? Christine, again! She’s quite amusing when she’s tipsy

There was a definite dichotomy between childhood and adulthood during our October girls’ day! We started the day with the youthful activity of making our own teddy bears and ended up with tipsy talk, music and craziness during the drive home. I guess that’s what ya’ get when you combine besties, bears and booze, folks.

But, as always, we made another month of memories, experienced something new and enjoyed being together. That’s what it’s all about!

Until next time, make memories with your friends, take lots of pictures and enjoy your time together – whether you’re making a bear or making yourself a drink Hell, maybe make your bear a drink, too?

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