wow, talk about the best surprise

jenny and i just minutes before i had to take her to the airport

there was no time to prepare, no time to obsessively clean, no time to plan meals, which made the surprise visit from my best friend absolutely perfect! doug flew jenny out from new york to spend a week with me and i had no idea - friday night, jenny was there, standing at my front door in the most adorable wiksten skirt, ready to spend the next five days hanging out. i have so many fond memories of this trip, that it's hard to reminisce without choking up about how far apart we live from each other. but i will take what i can get, and this surprise was one of the most enjoyable of my life. doug was actually going to take a business trip out to the city, and it didn't work for me to go with. i tried my best to put on a happy face about not getting to go, but i'm pretty sure doug could tell i was crushed and decided on his own to instead see if jenny could fly out here the same week. jenny was totally up for it, even though she's crazy busy with her fall line and the classes she's teaching at lena's studio. she even trusted doug to go ahead and just schedule tickets and tell her when to be at the airport! she is such a cool friend.

now, let's see if i can talk about the week without tearing up. some of my favorite memories were sitting down to the table eating the meals jenny was kind enough to make for us. she's an incredible cook, and has a special knack for making meals that comfort - exactly what i needed. most nights we would sit together and knit, a first for us, and take advantage of the chance to talk without it being added to a cell phone bill. i loved watching jenny knit. she has a confidence and grace with all hand crafts that is mesmerizing to watch.

one chilly night, jenny and i walked around town and stopped in at the historic hotel so i could show her the lobby. the concierge was so warm and friendly though, and was nice enough to share stories of her celebrity encounters while taking us on a ride in the elevator built in 1905 to let us peek at one of the nicest rooms in the hotel. it was so much fun.

even though i could have showed jenny much more of our town, she knew that stopping at the magical thrift store to see if she could score some treasures to bring back to new york was a must. although she didn't score a set of herman miller chairs, she still had good luck, and now a priority flat rate box full of vintage mugs is waiting patiently to be dropped off at the post office.

i think my favorite day was the one spent learning to grade patterns. it was a really fun day - no rush, lots of good food (made by jenny) and fun discussion. she shared her valuable grading knowledge with me and was such a excellent teacher; patient and easy for me to understand. and like knitting, it was amazing to watch her gracefully and quickly work. when i watched her grade the first pattern piece, i thought it was a really quick process. but then i gave it a try and realized that jenny is just really skilled at what she does! i can't wait to try again - to use a skill that was passed down to me by my best friend.

the only regret i have is not getting more pictures. we were just having too much fun, and i do treasure the few photos i have.