YUM-O!

Happy Spring! The first weekend of spring and the sun is out full force. High of 17 today and best part? No hockey, soccer or ballet to be running to. Woohoo! Today some serious yard work will be done and tomorrow the basement is getting a complete overhaul. Two big checks off the list.

Tonight I am getting together with some ladies for our monthly Dress Club. When I read the Happiness Project last October, I was inspired by one of Gretchen's resolutions. In her month to focus on Friendship, she started a book club. It's a great reason to get together with your friends once a month. But, I knew I probably wouldn't be able to entice my friends to start a book club so I put it out into the universe that I would love a great reason to bring some friends together on a monthly basis. A few days later, a client told me about the ladies group she used to belong to, and so the Dress Club was born. Once a month, the same ladies get together and each person takes a turn hosting. Each lady brings $25 for the hostess and the rule is the hostess has to spend that money on herself before the next get-together. The money is mostly spent on clothes (hence "Dress" club) and with 13 people in the group, that's $300 when it's your turn. Genius! Guilt free spending. My prerequisites were you must be committed for as many months as there were members (13 ladies=13 months), if you were unable to attend, your money still had to get to the hostess. I wanted the group to be fun and to bring friends together that may have not met otherwise. I've reconnected with some friends from my past that I had lost touch with, met some people I may have never had the chance to really get to know, and had some new experiences with my close pals. We first got together in November at my home for everyone to meet and since then have done a hip hop dance class, gone pole dancing, made vision boards and tonight a chef is teaching us to make delicious desserts. As Rachel Ray would say, YUM-O! Lol! I can't even explain how much joy it has brought me. I love how my friends have connected with each other as well. And when I bought my riding boots in November, I felt really blessed to have so many wonderful ladies in my life, and everyday when I put them on, I'm reminded how each person has added to my life. Since our Dress Club was born, I've had a few people tell me it has inspired them to do the same and its bringing them the same amount joy it has brought to me. My client that was in the original Dress Club said their group went strong for almost 10 years! She now has a wine club, so instead of money, the hostess gets a bottle of wine from each member. Life gets in the way of living sometimes and I couldn't think of a better way to make time for your friends.