Labour Day weekend is usually filled with a mixture of summer fun and fall melancholy.
When I was younger, I used to at least welcome the change of pace and going back to school, but since I've graduated, after labour day feels kinda....sad :(

This weekend, however was a lot of fun. We'd been planning a girls' trip since Mandy moved to Chicago, and we ended up choosing Niagara Falls and Buffalo.
Saturday, I drove up with Charlene, Agnes and Sony, and we picked up Mandy from the airport. It was like a big sigh of relief when I saw her, becuase I had been so excited to hang out.
After lunch at an overpriced restaurant in Niagara Falls, we caught a cab to Peller Estates. He drove like a maniac through the peaceful country side, but somehow managed to get us there in one piece.
It was a beautiful afternoon at the vineyard, and we sampled a lot of different wines. My favourite was the crisp 2005 Sauvignon Blanc and the Reserve ice wine.

Jen arrived shortly after we got back to the hotel, and Agnes made mojitos as we got dressed to go out.

The Dragonfly was a nice looking club, but after fighting with dirty dancers, getting drinks spilled on us and trying to yell a conversation over the loud music, and getting seperated and lost from our 3 other friends and wandering through the crowds to find them, Jen, Mandy and I decided we'd prefer to actually talk and catch up than party.
Aside from salsa clubs where I can stay out for hours, I don't really get that excited about going out to clubs or lounges. I don't know if that's becuase I'm married now or just getting old and boring. IT's alright for a birthday party, or special occasions, but generally I would much rather just be able to hear and talk with a person over some food and wine. Especially since Jen and I don't get to see Mandy that often. We decided to go back to the hotel and order pizza and change into pjs so we could talk.

The next day, we got up, went out for a FREE breakfast (won't even mention how we got it for free!).

Then we headed out to the OUTLETS!! We all managed to find some great deals.
I got a white wool coat and some track pants from Guess, A purse and a pair of pumps from Nine West, 2 blouses and some clothes for Sharl.

Then for dinner we went to the CHEESECAKE FACTORY!! We had an exhausting 60 minute wait, but it was worth it. The food was amazing. Mandy and I had the Cuban sandwiches, because we fell in love with them in Florida. They were sooooooooooo good. Slow roasted pork, ham, melted swiss, pickles, mayo and mustard on toasted chewy Cuban bread. Amazing.

For dessert, we all had cheesecake (of course!)

I had the white chocolate peanut butter truffle, and it was probably the best cheesecake I'd ever tasted.

Poor Agnes wasn't feeling well so we checked into the Hilton Suites in Buffalo, and relaxed for the rest of the evening after modelling all of the clothes we'd bought.

Monday afternoon after breakfast we said our (tearful) goodbyes to Mandy at the airport

I can't wait until the next girls' trip!