Usually, we tell you what to do on your girls night, but we thought it was time to turn the tables! A few months ago, we ran a contest in which we asked you to enter by telling us your favorite thing to do with girlfriends. We really loved hearing about all the fun ways you enjoy your female friendships! So, just for fun, we compiled this list of responses. We’d love to hear more of your answers in the comments! Some of your fave things to do with girlfriends are (and we quote):

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Well, girlfriends, about a month ago we introduced Girltalk…Taking it Deeper™ to you, and launched the first monthly topic in October. We promised that we would experience Girltalk right along with you, so this week we had our very own Girltalk gathering. Here’s how our girls night went: Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re anything like us, you have an unfinished craft project lying around your house. Perhaps an abandoned needlepoint? A half-knitted scarf?

A boxful of scrapbooking supplies purchased with good intentions, but never used? Candle-making materials you bought on clearance and never found the time to open? Dawn has enough pretty paper, rubber stamps, and ink to make holiday cards for an entire village. What was she thinking when she purchased it all? Well, she was following the time-honored desire of many women to “craft”—to make something with their hands—a desire that leads us to spend money on craft supplies, and is often followed by guilt! Here’s the good news about misguided craft purchases: They make a great excuse for a girls night! Let’s put our “unfinished craft guilt” by having the girls over for a therapeutic craft session.

November is the perfect month for a craft night with the girls. It’s cold and dark, and all you need to feel cozy are some glowing candles or a lit fireplace. You will need a place for your friends to work. Clear the kitchen or dining room table, and set up a folding table or two, to provide extra work surfaces. Serve a simple spread of soup and bread, a chili bar with toppings, or try a finger-food buffet. Just keep the food away from the crafts to prevent staining anyone’s handiwork. Here are a few ways to approach this easy-peasy girls night celebration:

Scrapbooking

We know many of you scrapbookers get together for “crop night” on a regular basis, so we won’t go into much detail here. Invite over your scrappin’ friends to pool supplies, steal ideas, hear feedback on your pages, and get some tedious cropping done while you chat. We’re not scrapbookers, so if this is something you do, we’d love to hear some tips on what makes a scrapbooking girls night a success.

Holiday cards and gifts

Always meant to make your own holiday cards? Here’s the perfect opportunity to get them done on time. If you have girlfriends who like rubberstamping and paper crafts, you can pool your resources for a greater variety of materials. Or, pick a design to make together, and have each girlfriend bring one of the materials. If you’re not into cards, maybe some crafty holiday gifts will float your boat. Make some bath salts, ornaments, or wreaths together.

Stitch and bitch

Knit-wits and crochet hounds will love to get together and work their needles while they work their jaws! Some yarn shops even host girls nights so you can peruse the newest fibers (and they ARE so pretty), garner new ideas and make progress on your project. Stitch away, girlfriends!

Each one, teach one

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Hey, girlfriends! Drizzly fall nights go better with a fireplace and a nice glass of wine. Why not host a wine-tasting party for your girlfriends? It’s easier than you think. We recently had the opportunity to tour the beautiful Lynfred Winery in Roselle, Illinois. Check out our short video:

We really had a great time tasting the world-class wine at Lynfred and touring their lovely facility. We even got to see the bottling line in operation. Wine shops near you are certain to host fun events where girlfriends can learn about wine and have a great time, but it’s just as fun—and not at all intimidating—to have a wine tasting party at home.  Click the link to get our complete how-to details:  Wine Among Friends Party. Cheers!

Click here to read our review of Lynfred Winery on Chicagonista.com Read the rest of this entry »

Woohoo! It’s a rejuvenating girlfriend getaway to the land of big sky, rodeos, rafting, and…pilates? This is a girlfriend getaway for ladies who want to be challenged and pampered.

by Casey Wohl

Our destination this month is Livingston, Montana for a Girls Getaway (and Boot Camp).  This quaint town is located in Park County where the Rocky Mountains give way to the plains that stretch to the horizon, blue-ribbon fishing streams turn to the Missouri River, and the “Big Sky” opens up.

Livingston came into being in 1882 in consequence of planning by the Northern Pacific Railway, which deemed it a good location for railroad shops to service its steam trains before their ascent over the Bozeman Pass.  Though Livingston is a small town, it is popular with tourists and is a small art haven, filming location (A River Runs Through It, The Horse Whisperer), fishing destination, railroad town, and writers’ and actors’ colony.  Actors Peter Fonda and Margot Kidder call Livingston home, and Jimmy Buffett fans will recognize the town named in several of his songs.

Rise and shine, Mountain Mamas!

We wake up thrilled to see the incredible view outside the Flatpenny Inn (our home for the next few days) of the Abrasoka Mountains. It is absolutely beautiful here.  Despite our long day yesterday, we are ready for our early, four-mile mountain hike.  Our host, Lisa Celentano, oozes high energy that is contagious and almost infuses you (I will stress “almost”).  I feel really out of shape when I get winded after the first mile, but Lisa assures us it is mostly the mountain altitude.  Regardless, I love incorporating exercise into my getaway experience!

After showers and a delicious pasta lunch of Sun Dried & Artichoke Hearts over Angel Hair (thanks Lisa), we drive to downtown Livingston for some shopping, sightseeing and bar investigation…with one brief stop at the famous Paradise Valley Pop Stand for the renowned huckleberry ice cream…YUM!  Livingston is a very cute town, and when roaming the streets, you feel as if you have gone back in time about 50 years.  We make purchases at Wild West Clothing and the Livingston Merchantile (www.LivingstonMerchantile.com), and then stop at The Office Lounge & Liquor Store for a drink.  After their power goes out, we re-locate to The Sport, where owner Chuck Tanner has just re-modeled this great local hangout.  We once again re-locate to the Hiatt House for a sneek peek at the band playing there all weekend, The Max.  After the band takes a few of our requests so we can sport our moves, we order a pizza at the bar, eat it in five minutes and head home completely exhausted after a grand Girls Night Out. Read the rest of this entry »

Being a “best friend forever” can be hard work. Then add in variables of time and distance, and you have an equation for an even more difficult relationship. So how do you keep a friendship going across the miles and over the years?

The No nonsense brand recently got some insight into that question as they collected essays from thousands of girlfriends in their No nonsense® Between Friends Contest. With over 16,000 essays submitted on the subject of girlfriendship, No nonsense discovered a treasure trove of girlfriend wisdom! Happily, they’re sharing what they’ve learned with us all. Here are their five tried and true tips to help BFFs stand the test of time:

1. Be invested. It’s going to be a bit harder to connect through different time zones and different phases of life, but if you’re serious, you’ll be invested for the long haul.  Being invested can be as simple as remembering to call weekly or monthly or as complicated as making the effort to plan vacations together.  And the investment can vary over time and space, as long as the relationship remains positive and fulfilling for both friends.

2. Be authentic. The internet offers new and wonderful ways friends can share and get really personal through online support groups and chat rooms.  It’s paramount that you represent yourself authentically because trust and honesty are the foundation of any relationship whether it’s in person or on line.  When you’re sharing about a personal issue, make sure you’re telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth…if you don’t, your friend will know. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, Girlfriends! Your Girltalk…Taking it Deeper topic for October is FUN and PLAY! You can read through Christine Arylo’s discussion guide below. If you are hosting a Girltalk group, you may want to download this month’s printable guide here. Want to know what Girltalk is all about? Read this. If you have any questions about Girltalk…Taking it Deeper™ or suggestions about how we can improve your experience, please leave a comment or email us. We can’t wait to hear how your Girltalk group goes!

When is the last time you heard a 7-year-old say…

* “I can’t play right now, I have too much work to do.”

* “You can play, but only after you get all your work done!”

* “You know, I’ve too much to worry about to stop and take time to have fun.”

Not lately, right? So at what age do we, did you, stop making play a priority? When did fun stop being what you spontaneously do everyday and become what you ‘deserve’ or schedule. At what point in our lives do we women start thinking crazy thoughts like, “I’ve worked so hard that I now deserve to play” (as if we need justification for fun??). Or do insane things like find free time and instead of playing or relaxing, fill the time with tasks and busy-ness. Even when we do let ourselves off duty, how many of us fully let loose and play with the abandon of a 7-year-old? If we are honest, most of us feel guilty if we ‘goof-off’ or never really get 100% present in the fun activity because the “to-do list” or the “I’m-worried-about-everyone-else-list” is running in the background of our minds.

This month at Girltalk… Taking it Deeper™ we say “FOOEY!” to this not-having-fun busy-ness and we say “YAHOO!” to reclaiming fun and play as an everyday part of our lives. We all used to be able to have fun without guilt or worry… what if you could have that again? In a way that fits you today, as the woman and girl you are right now? And don’t tell me you don’t have time. You don’t not have time to enjoy your life!

I invite you and your Girltalkers to take October as a month to revisit and reclaim fun for yourself. I’ll give you the tools… all you have to do is use them. How about it? I promise you it’ll be fun!

GIRLTALK… taking it deeper: FUN & PLAY

Step One: Your Personal Experiment – FUN-TIME TRAVEL

This adventure is for you to take on your own, before getting together with your girlfriends.

Your Mission: Learn more about you by traveling back through your life and remembering what FUN was for you at different ages.

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