Weekend Get-Away Part I

This weekend was my much-anticipated trip to Indy to see two dear, fun pals.

Today, we'll focus on fun pal number one, since I saw her first.

Her name is Jen. Maybe you've heard of her?

We had our first date a few months back and now so much time had lapsed, I was sure that she had moved on to greener pastures. I feared that the spark may have faded, on her end.

I was terrified that she just wasn't that into me. I mean, would you go on a second date with someone who dripped orange popsicle on her shirt and wore it around for the rest of the day on your first date? I also burned the bread. And I think I may have almost killed her while pulling out of our lane to go pick blueberries.

(We're even on that one - and that's all I'll say about that.)

Here's one thing I learned about her this weekend:

She appreciates a blue, foam aardvark super-glued to a pretty package.

That's rare today, folks. And it pretty much told me all I needed to know.

It is with a huge sigh of relief that I report to you that the love was not lost. Aren't we a cute couple? Too bad we posed for this in hour 9, rather than hour one, although I think we wear our weariness rather well.

First stop: Anthro. We browsed and yakked and didn't spend a dime.

Second stop: Chick-Fil-A drive thru. She inspired me to have the char-grilled chicken rather than the breaded. I shared my fries. I spilled two different things on my weirdo cargos. I think she now sees this as an unfortunate and inescapable fact of my life.

Third stop: A fantastic flea market. Jen batted her eyelashes at all the bearded men and had them eating out of her hand. I found some lovely gems and we didn't fight over a single thing, although truth be told, she had home-court advantage and beat me to a few items...

Fourth stop: The Flying Cupcake.

Consider me inspired by this wallpaper. If you don't believe me, just ask Ebay.

Every inch of this salivicious place was decked out in vintage swoonery.

Don't forget to choose a topper! (And apparently it's ok if you change your mind mid-line.)

Jen's chair.

My chair.

Jen's Pucker Up topped with quirky mushroom.

My coconut (almost went lemon, but this one was bigger) topped with ballerina.

Fifth stop: Girly Chic Boutique. Same owners as Flying Cupcake. Same drop-dead delicious decor. And I dropped the ball. I didn't take a single photo, other than this lovely outdoor cabbage.

I don't know what happened. I froze up! I'm gun-shy when it comes to asking if I can photograph privately owned boutiques. I've been denied and I didn't want Jen to think me uncouth.

The highlight of this stop was the amazing chunky resin bracelet I found for $15. Today was its inaugural wearing and we are now fast friends.

Sixth stop: Uber. Again - no photos, other than this strange outside shot.

Behold - Chippy chairs, screwed right to the brick facade! Genius.

The shop was amazing. A tad pricey. I felt so fancy! So "Laura Ingalls travels to Mankato"!

Final stop: Jen's home, where I had the pleasure of meeting her unruly gang. They are fantastic. I felt right at home, which I believe to be a special thing, seeing as how this was only our 2nd date and all.

That Jen, she sure knows how to show a girl a good time. Oh, and she's a killer cook.

ps - I was in her studio. Trust me, that's totally worth a little jealousy.