Girl Time

Sometimes all I need is a little shopping, champagne, and Disney. Yesterday involved all three with Lindsay and her maid of honor, Briana. The three of us visited David's Bridal to get ideas for bridesmaid dresses and to try on possibilities. Lindsay is super classy and knows what she likes, so shopping was a breeze and there's no doubt that everyone will end up looking beautiful. Even the woman helping us said that rarely girls are as happy and relaxed when discussing different dresses. Of course it's helpful that Linds is very cognizant of our funds and has no "my bridesmaids can't look pretty" complex. I never understood that.

Me, Briana, and Lindsay at Mesa Grill

After making headway in the dress department, we went to Mesa Grill (owned by famous chef Bobby Flay) for celebratory champagne. Engagements= lots of freebies from bartenders. We spent well over an hour there, keeping the wedding momentum going with detailed questions regarding the engagement story and discussing the audacity of Kim Kardashian's engagement boulder compared to the timeless one karat diamond Jim got for Lindsay. Briana and I also took turns calling dibs on each of Jim's good-looking friends that will be at the wedding. All but one of Lindsay's bridesmaids are single, while all but one of Jim's groomsmen are taken (Jim's best man, Jacob, is the single one). Obviously Jake is off limits to me, being my brother's best friend and all, so I'll let the other ladies fight over him ;) Then I'll sneak in from out of nowhere and captivate an unassuming random friend from college or something. Can't wait.

After one...two...okay, three glasses of champagne, we happily made our way back to Brooklyn to catch our 7:30pm viewing of The Lion King 3D. Despite the fact that the theatre was a meat cooler and none of us could feel our fingers after five minutes, watching that movie put me in SUCH a good mood. Not that I wasn't already in a great mood considering the fabulous afternoon. Still, The Lion King has every story line and component that makes a perfect heart-warming film. I beamed when Simba sang "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," bawled when Mufasa died (duh), laughed at every hilarious quip by Timon and Pumbaa (Timon: [of the decimated Pride Rock] We're gonna fight your uncle... for this? Simba: Yes, Timon. This is my home. Timon: Whoa. Talk about your fixer-upper.), and became strangely pensive while watching Simba and Nala fall in love during "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" Who knew a romance between lions could have such an affect on me? Besides all of the specifically poignant moments, the overall theme of the movie to be who you were born to be, even if it means taking the hard road, hit close to home. Knowing Simba was doing the right thing when he was running through the fields back to the pridelands, accompanied by the screaming cackles of joyful wisdom..and insanity...from Rafiki, made me want to do something extraordinary with my own life. Maybe it'd be helpful to have epic ballads playing behind my every decision.

Following The Lion King 3D, Lindsay, Briana, and I sat around the dining room table and proceeded to have 4 1/2 hours of girl talk. With the aid of some red wine, we laughed, we cried (a lot), told embarrassing stories, expressed our love for each other, and shared our true feelings about 100 different topics. I can't even tell you how fun it was. Most guys reading this are probably thinking "Wow, that sounds absolutely painful." But sitting around for four hours during three different fantasy football drafts sounds painful to me, so there. Besides, sometimes complete vulnerability with marvelous women makes us girls way easier to deal with since everything's off our chests from the emotional fix. Whatever the case, I haven't had such superb girl time in months. Yes, there have been glimpses here and there, like when Claire and Lindsay visited, but no recent full day devoted to girlishness. I want more.