Alexa and I have officially been friends for 10 years and we wanted to celebrate this moment by sharing 10 of our favorite memories together. (I can't wait to see if we have any overlaps!)
I honestly can't believe it's been 10 years already. But at the same time, it just feels like we've been friends forever and this last decade has certainly flown by. It was actually really fun to go back through photos and just remember how much we've done together and how much of my life she's seen. I mean, when we first met I was still living at home, still at my first job, and on the cusp of some major life changes. How far we've both come since then! I'm so grateful for this friendship and for Alexa's steady presence through all the ups and downs. I'm very lucky that I can call her one of my best friends.
So, without further ado, here are my 10 favorite memories of us, at this current moment*, in chronological order. (*Disclaimer: We've shared so much and continue to make new memories all the time so coming up with a definitive list is basically impossible but I tried!)
We had started talking on Twitter a few weeks before we met in person for the first time at Books of Wonder for an event with Melina Marchetta, Gayle Forman, and Kristin Cashore. Afterwards the two of us plus Estelle and Sasha got dinner at Cafeteria, where we happened to sit next to one another and the rest is history!
This being one of my favorite memories of us will never, ever change. It was such an impromptu, random thing to decide to do together but in typical us fashion, we threw out the idea after reading Racing Savannah and 20 minutes later, we had a plan set. It was our first sleepover at my apartment (I totally remember us watching Fushigi Yuugi together), going horseback riding (which was so much fun), and walking around Montclair.
Neither of us had gone apple picking in years and we were once again inspired by a book to make the drive up to Warwick, NY to do so. I remember us coordinating outfits, singing in the car, taking really good pictures and just having the best time together. (We have a video!)
This is just one of my favorite memories ever. During the final "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" scene, everyone in the park (us included!) got up to sing and dance along. It was just a magical moment to be a part of.
I will never forget watching the sun rise on the incredible Blue Lagoon as we walked towards the main building, fresh off the plane, jet-lagged, and just in complete of awe of the view in front of us. (Getting into the actual pool was super fun too!)
Our first (and certainly not the last) James Bay concert we went to! How could seeing one of our favorite musicians together live not be on this list? I can clearly remember us standing towards the back (since neither of us are a fan of crowds), singing and dancing along to our favorite songs.
This was tough because in general seeing ballets with Alexa is a tradition that's very near and dear to our hearts but I knew I had to pick one and even I'm shocked that my choice is Romeo & Juliet. I'm not a fan of this particular story but what I do remember is Stella Abrera, how she inhabited the role of Juliet, and how we much we loved this performance of hers. We could not stop raving about her!
Going to Paris with your best friend is a must and I'm so glad we got to make this trip happen. Seeing the Eiffel Tower was such an adventure. First we saw it up close and then we made our way to the Trocadero to take better pictures and of course, it started raining. But we continued to take pictures anyway and then we decided to eat at Carette while we waited for the tower to light up. It was pretty late by then but so worth it to see the Eiffel Tower at night.
This was a significant day to me. It was 4 months into the pandemic and my first time going to NY since everything had started that March. Alexa and I had decided to find ways to safely hang out each month -- first for my birthday and this time for hers. I had never been to Gantry Park before and instead of walking around, we grabbed food to go, shared a blanket unmasked, and sat there for 5+ hours just talking. And for a moment, we got a teeny bit of normalcy back by hanging out together and that meant so much to me.
This was our first vacation together since the pandemic started and while I loved the entire trip, what stands out to me now is the drive up. We've taken road trips together before but never as long as 5.5 hours. And guess what? The time just flew by so quickly that we were both shocked when we realized we were in Vermont. We had our Rachel & Alexa's Roadtrip playlist on in the background and talked nonstop the entire way up. There's very few people I can do that with and Alexa is one of them.
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And there you have it, my 10 favorite memories of us.
Here's many, many decades more :)
Don't forget to check out Alexa's post and see what her top 10 are!
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