a long-awaited day.

A little less than two months ago I mentioned wanting to go see Wicked again to some friends.  To my delight, they were ecstatic about the idea and quickly jumped on board.  I bought the tickets the next day.  And then the wait began.  Thankfully the Christmas holiday season allowed for some distractions because I didn't want to be too excited to go.  But yesterday was finally the day!

We left town midmorning and headed straight to our lunch desination: Porto's Bakery and Cafe in Burbank.  Lindsay had introduced us to it a couple of years ago and, while we haven't been there a lot, it's definitely a favorite!  It's Cuban food and each sandwich comes with plantain chips.  They also have delightful potato balls that have meat inside.  They sound disgusting to me, but taste delicious!  After a fairly quick stop, having just beat the lunch rush, we hit the road again and headed to The Grove in Beverly Hills.

We had all afternoon to spend shopping at our own pace, which is exactly what we did.  We went past J. Crew first, which is always a must.  My mission was to find a shirt for my mom (per her request), but they didn't have her size in what I was looking for.  It took much self-restraint to not buy the beautiful(!), but expensive scarf I found in there.  Onward we marched to Anthropologie.  That place is wonderful.  Seriously.  I love it every time.  When I have my own home...watch out.  The rest of the girls all made a purchase, which I so willingly helped talk them into.  "You definitely need those dishes.  They look just like you and match your home perfectly."  (If you want someone to talk you into buying something, take me with you.  I can be quite persuasive...although I'm not sure they needed a ton of convincing...)  After spending a good hour or maybe more, I really wasn't keeping track, in the store, we moved on. Our next  stop was Sur La Table.  My big purchase was magnetic measuring spoons for my mom.  She already had an identical set from there, but we had a casualty over the holidays when one of the spoons stuck to the side of a cookie sheet and baked/melted in the oven.  Very tragic.  We were ready for a small break.  In need of a boost, we hit up Pinkberry and sat down for a bit.  We walked back through Bath & Body Works, Crate & Barrel, Gap, and then Athleta. 

After all of those stores, we were all getting tired, but had to keep moving. By then it was around 5:00 and we headed back to the car.  We manuevered our way through Beverly Hills (Literally. The street I turned onto was so narrow I couldn't pass oncoming traffic.  I had to do some fancy manuevers.  The other girls didn't say anything, but I could feel the nervousness.) and into Hollywood.  We parked right next to the Pantages but our first destination was Dillon's Irish Pub.  We had a leisurely dinner and dessert there, all of which was delicious, until it was time to go to the show.  Wicked was just as awesome the fourth time around.  I still love it and want to go again! 

The worst part of the day was the hour in which we got home...actually worse was the hour I finally fell asleep.  Thank the Lord I didn't have to wake up early (sorry Maggie!).  Thanks again, girls, for a really fun day!