Last weekend I flew to Michigan to reunite with my close group of girlfriends from college. Graduation was years ago but I’m lucky that we all stay in touch, and as difficult as it is to find a weekend where we can all meet up, we make it happen. This weekend was planned about 10 months in advance. Lauren moved to Michigan so we used that as our meeting place since we’d get to see her new house and could hit up our favorite spots in Ann Arbor, about 40 minutes away.

Man, times have changed. In the past when I packed for Michigan I’d have to think about all my going-out outfits, this time it was all about hanging around with the girls and catching up.

So while we didn’t make it to a night out at Ricks, we went to Pizza House, walked across the diag, went to the Cider Mill for hot apple cider and donuts (I’d been hearing about this place since college and never had been), bought some new Michigan swag and went for walks in Lauren’s adorable new neighborhood with her pup Wrigley (I’m in love).

Even though we’re older and scattered across the country, I’m so happy to have these girls in my life. All of us had shared a house senior year and while it’s much harder to stay in touch when you don’t live down the hall, it’s so important to put in the effort and keep these amazing relationships strong.