Girls’ Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona

The night before I left for Scottsdale to meet up with some of my very best friends, I told Chase the women I was going to visit are women who have been my friends since I was his age. This blew his mind and, honestly, it blows my mind a bit, too.

(Top: For Love and Lemons / Skirt: Target / Lace-Up Sandals: Amazon / Purse: Marc Jacobs but old — found it here on Poshmark) 

Carrie, Michaela, Leah and I have been best friends since elementary school and with more than 30 years of friendship under our belts, we share a relationship filled with so much history, support, loyalty, laughter and love. They’re truly like sister-friends to me and I feel like my truest self when we are all together. We grew up surrounded by each other’s families and have seen each other through some really hard times but also through some of our very best times. Their friendship feels like comfort and home and it’s a constant in my life I value so, so much. We now have 11 kids between us and this was one of our first trips in nearly a decade where we got together and not one of us was pregnant, nursing or navigating life with a newborn.

Though we all grew up together in Palatine, Illinois, we are now very spread out. We arrived in Scottsdale from Chicago, Denver, Boise and Charlotte and were thrilled to be greeted with warm and sunny weather on Friday afternoon.

We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch before making our way to the rental house we called home for the weekend located just outside Old Town Scottsdale. We very quickly learned from our Uber drivers that Scottsdale is apparently a bachelorette party mecca these days. (One driver described Scottsdale as the west coast version of Nashville. Michaela and I have actually been to Scottsdale together years ago when we visited two more high school friends who lived in Scottsdale at the time but that trip was pre-kids and definitely a bit of a blur. Ha!) Since we’ve all done the whole bachelorette party scene many times over, we were more in the mood for the drinks-by-the-pool scene than the drinks-at-a-club scene. Thankfully we designed our trip to fit this preference and had a blast!

Saturday

We spent Friday night out and about and had dinner at Sumomaya in Scottsdale which was great! On Saturday morning, we eased into the day and sipped coffee outside by the pool before making breakfast at our house. As the only person on east coast time, I was up before everyone and also sneaked in an episode of Suits on the couch which was a treat. I am seriously ALL IN on that show and had to see what Harvey was up to, ya know?

Once we were full after digging into a spinach and sausage frittata, fresh fruit and toasted English muffins, we took a 30-minute Uber ride to the Pinnacle Peak trail head for a hike in the late morning.

(Leggings: Athleta / Top: Beyond Yoga but old — found it here on Poshmark / Sneakers: New Balance / Hat: Nike / Sunglasses: QUAY) 

Our hike was a highlight for me because it let us enjoy some fresh air and take in scenic views we would’ve missed if we stayed closer to our house.

The hike was just over 3 miles and perfect for our group. It was also quite a popular hike with a lot of people on the trails but it wasn’t too crazy crowded and everyone we chatted with along the way seemed to be in a great mood. I suppose a day that’s 75-degrees and sunny will do that for ya!

By the time we made it back to the house, we were hungry and popped open some High Noons by the pool to enjoy with a spread of food we ordered to the house. Time absolutely flies when we all get together and conversation never lulls so before we knew it, we figured we should shower and get dressed if we wanted to have time to do some shopping before our dinner reservation.

We took an Uber to Scottsdale Quarter was such a cute area filled with lots of shops and restaurants.

I had shopping success at Free People with a new pair of comfy tie-waist jeans.

I loved them instantly and got the thumbs up from my girlfriends, too. (I sized down so they fit a little less baggy than they appear online and tied them higher on my waist.) My hips and booty are still over here feeling psyched I can buy something other than skinny jeans.

We meandered in and out of a few more shops and then made our way to Etta for dinner and drinks. We took our time and enjoyed plenty of wine and Prosecco and delicious shared plates before making our way back to our house, changing into our pajamas and chatting away until we could no longer keep our eyes open.

Sunday

One of Leah’s good friends recently visited Scottsdale and raved about the spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel. She said it was wonderful and you can gain access to all of the spa facilities all day as long as you book one 60+ minute service which sounded amazing to all of us! Michaela and I opted for pedicures while Leah got a gel manicure and Carrie booked a massage.

All of our services were fantastic but the real highlight of our day took place on the hotel rooftop pool where we spent almost the entire day enjoying plenty of drinks, Scottsdale sunshine and each other!

We ended up canceling our dinner reservation at North Italia in favor of spending more time at the spa and took our time enjoying the saunas, hot tubs, a cold plunge (that was all kinds of hilarious) and other amenities.

The spa at the Fairmont Princess is truly gorgeous and we took full advantage of our time there and showered at the spa and got ready in the locker room before making our way to the hotel bar for drinks before dinner. We had a late dinner at La Hacienda on the hotel property and let me just say the guacamole at this spot stole the show. We all ate so much chips, guac and queso that by the time our dinners came out we were hardly hungry.

Eventually we grabbed another Uber back to our house and changed into our pajamas again before chatting into the night and going to sleep. My flight was the early one of the bunch and left at 7 a.m. on Monday morning (I traveled the farthest and wanted to be home before after school activities) and thankfully travel back to Charlotte was seamless.

It’s always really hard to say goodbye to such wonderful friends after a weekend away together. It’s crazy how a little reunion trip somehow makes me miss Leah, Carrie and Michaela even more when I leave them but I suppose that’s only because getting together simply serves to remind me how lucky we are to have each other and how seamlessly we fall back into our friendship groove no matter how long we’ve been apart. We’re eyeing the summer of 2025 for our next trip and I’m triple crossing my fingers it happens!