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Girlfriends' Getaways

A Road Trip Might be Just What you Need



How long has it been since you hit the road with a girlfriend or two and took off for a couple of days? I can't even remember the last time I got to do that! Sometimes it's good to let off a little steam and just get a change of scenery and enjoy some girl talk.


My friend, Katie Van Luchene, who lives here in Kansas City and is a great J.Mullin Apparel customer, just texted me to let me get a sneak preview of a feature article she wrote for IN Kansas City Magazine's upcoming May issue. The article, "Girlfriends' Getaways - 7 of the best girlfriends' getaways within a 4-hour drive of Kansas City," reads like a travel guide and features several intriguing destinations that I have never visited - yet. Being somewhat new to Kansas City, I haven't ventured beyond the KC Metro much. But I plan to do some exploring in the coming months.


Check out the KC Magazine here: The article begins on Page 60.


My Big Surprise

As I was thumbing through the digital version of the magazine and found Katie's article, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sidebar on page 65 that highlights a few new items a girl might need on said getaway, including a one-of-a-kind J.Mullin Apparel kimono! She is absolutely right, in my opinion.


Just recently I attended Katie's birthday party, where I got to meet many of her girlfriends from Kansas City who I had not met until that night. I realized that I was surrounded by some pretty amazing women. Women who are accomplished and own businesses, an art gallery or two, a nationally known jewelry designer, a well known fine artist, a plastic surgeon, a musician, a luxury bedding store owner, a professional photographer, a winery owner...the list goes on and on. Katie insisted on us all wearing hats, which added a whole new layer of fun to the evening.


By the end of the party, we all knew each other a little better, and several of us exchanged contact information so we could stay in touch. I won one of the door prizes, which was a gift certificate to a new restaurant here in Kansas City. I will save it for my own birthday, which is coming up in a couple of weeks.


Before we all posed for one big crazy group photo, we were taken aside by a videographer who asked each one of the guests to tell a little story of how we know Katie. There was no question in my mind what I would say and I jumped right into the story of how we met when I first moved to KC and attended a Fashion Week runway show.


Not finding anything I wanted to wear to the show, I had quickly sewn a long jacket using a combination of pretty fabrics I had saved for "something." A well-dressed, obviously well-known woman came up to me and complimented me on my jacket and when I told her I had made it myself, she said, "Oh! I'd buy that in a heartbeat!" A light bulb went on over my head at that moment when none other than the lovely Katie Van Luchene inspired me to go home and make more kimonos.


Katie now owns five of my kimonos, and besides being a good friend, she is one my brand's most enthusiastic ambassadors. She was also the emcee for the J.Mullin Apparel official Launch Event last April. Thank you, Katie, for the nice surprise of being included in your side bar article! I hope we get to go on one of those roadtrips sometime.


In the meantime, I just want to say how grateful I am to be surrounded by such fabulous accomplished and generous women. Did I mention fun-loving? I hope all of you can experience the camaraderie and companionship of having wonderful friends, especially those friends you've had for years. Even if they're not long-time friends yet, you could meet one today. Sometimes they're friends at first sight.


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