...cause it's ladies night and I feel alright...

A little over a year ago I was pretty depressed in Germany and decided I needed to put myself out there if I was going to pull myself out of that funk. Therefore I joined a basketball team and attended my first Chickhaus (ladies expat group) event. I was a bit timid and considered cancelling since, as much as I try to be, I am not exactly a girl's girl. Thanks to champagne and a bartender that gave us free roam of the bar, most of the night is a bit hazy, however I do remember letting completely loose and having an absolute BALL with Ms. Kelley Geris.

While I had met Kelley 8 months earlier, we had not hung out much due to the interesting (to say the least) social dynamics of an expat community. I must say, Kelley has completely livened my German experience. She is never short on witty comments, inappropriate jokes (a compliment in my book), fabulous fashion, enviable decorating or entertaining ideas, drama, and craftiness. Unfortunately, she is returning with her husband, Jesse, to the US in December. Therefore, we decided to recreate our Prague experience (minus broken doors and crazy midget Asians) by traveling down to Munich with our other Real Hausfrauen of Erlangen castmates.

The first night I had organized "The Real Hausfrauen of Erlangen Present... Favorite German Things" party (similar to Oprah's favorite things party) for Kelley. We each bought items that were or represented our favorite things in Germany and gave them to her as gifts. I think it turned out quite well... I gave her a scarf I bought at a market in Budapest to represent the European markets that I love so much. I also gave her chocolate, schnapps, and a stein from the Altstadtbierbrau in Nürnberg (my favorite beer). I slid in some OB tampons as a joke since we cannot find any regular tampons here.

We stayed up past 4am talking and laughing (insert some drama in every now and then)... really a nice night.

Saturday we did some shopping and then went out to dinner and to a small bar for some drinks. Sunday was breakfast and a nice train ride home.