A Divine Nomination

Win or lose, it’s true that when it comes to awards, it really is an honor just to be nominated. Which is why I’m especially excited that Single Gal In The City has been nominated for a Love! This Site Award on Divine Caroline.

Thanks to my best friend and greatest champion Lisa, SGITC is now one of more than 40 blogs nominated in the relationships category. This is SGITC’s first ever web award nomination, so I’m hoping you’ll cast a vote and tell your friends to as well.

And while you’re over there, be sure to check out some of the fabulous other nominees in categories ranging from travel and style to home & food and body & soul.

Votes will be accepted through December 4th, 2009. To vote for SGITC, click here.

Kansas City Getaway: Part Two

My weekend in Kansas City with best galpal Lisa continued on Saturday, with a visit to Briarcliff Village.

An upscale shopping and restaurant complex set on a hill, Briarcliff is home to The Spa Tuscano, where Lisa treated me to a heavenly facial.

Spa Tuscano: First class pampering in the City of Fountains

I felt relaxed right away, thanks to a warm welcome from Tuscano’s friendly staff.

We were given a quick tour of the spa, which boasts signature rooms such as the Amazon RiverWalk (pictured above and featuring a fireplace, whirlpool and massage table) and the Tuscano Float, offering flotation therapy. Complimentary with all services – the European Bath Ritual, a haven of jetted pools with faux cliffs and waterfalls.

After unwinding robe-clad for a few minutes in the Ana Capri Lounge, I was whisked into a treatment room by the lovely Diane.

Sixty minutes later, my skin was exfoliated, toned and moisturized – and, if I do say so myself, positively glowing. I briefly contemplated leaving my pores in peace and never wearing makeup again.

Diane spoke with great affection for my hometown, quipping at the end of my facial—

“We’re not New York, we’re just Kansas City!”

When it comes to first class pampering, KC more than holds its own with the Big Apple. Lisa and I are already planning a return visit to Spa Tuscano next time I’m in town.

Best Friends Forever

One of my favorite sayings is friends are the family we choose for ourselves. That’s never been more true for me than with my best friend of 20+ years, Lisa.

Lisa and I first connected as pen pals back in 1987, bonding over our shared affection for the witty NBC soap opera “Santa Barbara.”

We clicked even more when we met in person several months later. And so began a friendship that has defied geographical odds (Lisa lives in Kansas City) to become the sisterhood closest to my heart.

Lisa and I during a girls getaway to L.A., Summer 1997

Lisa and I speak 3-4 times a week, and email and text each other daily. Over the years, we’ve shared everything -- celebrity gossip, love life highs and lows, job-related trials and triumphs and the seminal loss in each of our lives, that of our respective parents.

Though I wish with all of my heart we didn’t have this in common, there’s no denying that having each lost both of our parents has deepened the bond between us -- because we’re the only ones we know who’ve lived through this double tragedy as young, single women.

Though no two experiences of grief are the same, ours have both been filtered through the prism of having had parents we genuinely adored and respected. I cherish that I was able to know Lisa’s Mom and Dad and I know she feels the same way about mine.

Lisa is everything a best friend should be and more -- a trusted advisor, sympathetic ear and the person I think of first whenever something really great (or really terrible) happens.

I’m looking forward to many, many more decades of friendship with Lisa. And many more conversations about how much we still love watching our old VHS tapes of “Santa Barbara.”

1,001 Ways To Meet Mr. Right

Last year, my best friend Lisa bought me a book called “1,001 Ways To Meet Mr. Right.”

After thumbing through it briefly, I ended up putting the book aside for awhile -- first because of a whirlwind, ill-fated romance with a New Yorker I met on a cruise, then because of a much-needed break from looking for Mr. Right.

Looking For Mr. Right: This book approaches it as what it should be -- an adventure

Now that I’ve crossed the threshold of 35, though, I’m ready to resume the search, and to do it in a savvier way with the help of this handy book.

One of many great things about “1,001 Ways To Meet Mr. Right” is the similarity between author Elizabeth Shimer Bowers’ approach to the titular task and my own -- that it’s about being engaged in the world around you, about getting outside your comfort zone and shaking up your routine by trying new things. And, of course, making sure you have plenty of fun along the way.

Bowers is a true pragmatist. In addition to chapters that categorize each “way” (social, travel, outdoor, etc.), she provides a rating scale indicating how much time and money each activity takes and whether to bring a friend with you.

You can’t argue with success -- Bowers met her husband through Way #104, in her circle of friends.

I think that’s probably the best way to meet someone special, but I’m looking forward to trying out many of the others that Bowers suggests. And I’m profoundly thankful to Lisa for giving this book to me -- and for more than twenty years of being there through all of my adventures, romantic and otherwise.