Five Friday Faves - 4.11

take the dang trip!

Sharing something a bit different this week. I've just returned from a girls’ trip and immediately hopped onto another adventure with friends in Florida. One topic I often discuss with women on A Day In Her Life is how they make time for friendships, and a common response is trips with friends. However, it's commonly acknowledged that it's not as easy as it sounds.

Fresh from organizing this trip for 10 women, I thought I'd share a few lessons learned from the planning process so that you can (hopefully) plan one of your own.

1. Find a Date - Planning a time that works for everyone is challenging. I've found tools like Doodle or a Google Form can be an easy way to gather feedback and set deadlines for responses. If someone doesn’t reply within the designated time, their preferences aren’t considered. Depending on everyone’s phase of life, planning 4-6 months out is best. Any closer and it can be too difficult to find a weekend.

2. Keep Budget in Mind - Within a group of friends, there can be various financial considerations, so gathering feedback on the budget can be an important step to ensure everyone is aligned on the expected cost of the trip. This can also be tough to chat about, but adding options or ranges in the Google Survey can be a good/low pressure way to do this.

3. Just Plan the Trip - This might be controversial, but I've found that simply selecting a location and planning the trip is the way to go. Seeking feedback for every little detail can cause more stress and lead to frustrating input. I would suggest deciding on a general area (e.g., is this a flying trip or a driving trip? Are some folks coming from farther away than others?) and then planning it. Take the reins, decide on a few main things, and book it. I mention this below, but I used the Batch app for planning and expenses, and found it really helpful.

4. …But Don’t Over Plan - All friend groups are different, but what has worked well for us is to plan a few solid activities - spa time, dinner out, brunch - and then leave time for relaxation and unstructured activities. No one wants to play cruise director, constantly wrangling people from one thing to another, and leaving time to relax allows for chatting, catching up, and laughing until you cry.

5. Have So Much Fun - Girls’ trips are an excellent opportunity to reconnect with friends. Life can get in the way of just hanging out with your friends like you did in college or right after. Even if the Airbnb is a dud or the spa isn’t great, you’ll be making new memories and having fun through it.

Our trip was so much fun, and even through the stress of planning at times, I knew it would be (and completely was) worth it. If anyone is looking for a good girls’ trip itinerary in Providence with a great AirBnB, send me a message!

Five Friday Favorites:

This week I shared some links I’ve shared with friends on

Platonic Love

! So instead of new links this week, check out the links I’ve shared with friends below. If you’re not subscribed to

Platonic Love

,

Aja Frost

and

Aliza Sir

share links each Monday and great essays every Thursday! Do yourself a favor an subscribe.

Links we sent our friends #44

What’s for Dinner

We’ve been out of town this week, so no great meals to share.

More A Day In Her Life:

• ICYMI this week’s episode with

  Aliza Sir
  and
  Aja Frost
  of
  Platonic Love
  was so much fun! We chatted about Fair Play applications in all range of relationships, how they started Platonic Love and collaborate together on it! This conversation is a blast! Check it out here.

• Catherine
  Brown (Episode 39) shared some great Gen AI Prompts that she uses to make her life easier

• If you’re in Minneapolis, run don’t walk to this reception with the inimitable and stylish Eleanor Leftwich (Episode 32)

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