''How are u? When are u coming home?'' ``I'm OK! Soon! Miss u! Love u!''

Sad to say, lame text messages have replaced heart-to-heart chats for my college-age daughter and me. Besides the fact that she's away at school, Charlotte has a boyfriend in New York City. Who can compete with that? Home-made cookies and pot roast will only get a mom so far.

With three boys at home, I miss my daughter's female energy. Happily, I've discovered a sure way to lure the Phantom Daughter away from her books and boyfriend: a quick girlie getaway to someplace fun.

Our quick getaways aren't expensive or exotic. The key element is simply leaving the house. Our recent trip to Sarasota was a textbook (or should I say, textbook-free) example. It was easy, fun, and relaxed. We worked in some beach time, shopping, a spa visit and some fun, casual dining. We also lucked into a fabulous hotel at a great rate, thanks to the sluggish economy.

Here's how we did it -- plus some advice for planning a mother-daughter getaway that offers lots of bonding for the buck.

LONGBOAT KEY CLUB

Upon arrival in Sarasota, we made a bee-line for the Longboat Key Club and Resort on Longboat Key, just north of the city. Longboat Key makes the perfect base for a getaway -- choose the Gulf side, not the bay side if you can swing it -- thanks to one of the most amazing stretches of beach we've seen anywhere, a vanilla scoop of silken sand.

''Oh. My. God. This is so great!'' Charlotte said, as she flung open the curtains of our room and took in the view. We couldn't be bothered to unpack. We just left our stuff and scooted down to the beach.

Taking in the aqua waters-meet-blonde sand tableau, I felt the stress of traveling melt away -- especially when Charlotte ran barefoot into the surf. Ponytail flying, she could've been 5 again.

Later, we bubbled away in the waterfront hot tub, feeling the vacay vibe indeed. As sunset approached, we donned towel togas and headed to the beach -- just in time to see the sky go streaky in sherbet shades of peach and raspberry. It was one of those perfect, unscripted moments, and the harbinger of a great weekend to come.

The next morning, while Charlotte slept in, I made a list of things we could do: Visit the Ringling Museum, see Mote Marine Aquarium, and maybe go kayaking along the coast.

Naturally, Charlotte had her own ideas. ''Can we go shopping, if I don't nag you to buy me a bunch of stuff?'' she asked. I hesitated. Like many families, we only shop for necessities these days. But window-shopping someplace unfamiliar sounded fun, especially with the no-nag promise.

ST. ARMAND'S CIRCLE

A mile from the Longboat Key Club is St. Armand's Circle, a chic little shopping and dining zone. ''It's sort of Palm Beach-meets-Nantucket,'' Charlotte said, as we popped into a gallery filled with bronze dolphins.

In another shop, we found a killer lamp, made of scarlet blown glass and shaped like a jellyfish, with curlicue tentacles. ''Wowza. That would really spruce up the dorm room!'' Char said, until she saw the price-tag: $1,080. Even marked down 25 percent, that's like a year's worth of Domino's Pizza. We passed.

A walk around the circle led to a bit of everything: Tory Burch ballet slippers here, Salvadore Dali sculptures there. We didn't part with cash until we hit the bookstore, where Charlotte sprung for J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beadle the Bard. ''Beats my physics textbook,'' she said.

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