Florida Vacay

Please excuse my inexperience with Shutterfly as these are borrowed pictures.  My BFF and neighbor Emily had a SURPRISE bachelorette party in Florida. 

She is marrying into a pretty sweet lake house in Boca Raton.  Her sisters-in-law to be were whisking her there for the weekend, that much she knew.  What she did not know is that the rest of her bridesmaids would be waiting for her at the baggage claim bar, ready to scare the beJesus out of her as she is officially welcomed to her bachelorette weekend.  She was screaming her head off, we were laughing hysterically, it was wonderful.

The rest of the weekend consisted of beach time, pool time, boat time, gratuitous boozing time (hey, it's a party), applying aloe to my sunburned leg time and most of all good times.  Our last night in town we went to a low key bar and managed to have a hilarious dance party when we returned to the house.  The dance party devolved into a 'do your old cheer/dance routine' party.  This was where I showed them the glory that is the MHS fight song.  Except that I was wearing a maxi dress, the limited circumference of which turned my high kick into an epic fall. 

The best part was that Emily was beyond happy! The other 'maids are a total blast and I can't wait to relive some of the fun next month at the wedding!  This past weekend was just perfect!

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*There is this ridiculous fad on the internet called planking that made the news because kids were getting hurt, ironically, by laying face down on random objects (they were doing it on dangerous things like bridges and tops of buildings.. not chairs and bars).  Obviously we wouldn't pass up the opportunity to participate in such a pointless game just for the jokes. 

Perfect Wine Country Wedding

So My college roomie got married this past weekend.  She did not get married to Justin Timberlake as was the plan circa 2003.  Good thing he's still out there for me.  Are you reading this Justin? Call me.

Anyway she lives in San Francisco where nature, wine, and good food are a-plenty.  Needless to say, it was the most ridiculously beautiful and fun wedding I've ever been to.  Seriously, there were three days worth of events and I felt like people laughed at my jokes all wekend long (a rare occurence, let me tell you).  I was actually out west for a week helping get ready... .as my friend is an uber creative, crafy, and detail person, there was much to do for her big day.  Obviously having much to do requires many breaks at wine bars.  Did you know you can milk the engaged/bride/just married thing for free drinks? You do now.  Thank you bottle of champagne.

The wedding was an hour or so north of SF in Guerneville (for you blog readers, that's about 10 miles from Jenna's Healdsburg) and required a little road trip.  That's me riding with a very pretty white dress.

The bride, below, and a sideways Golden Gate bridge (I tried to punch my computer screen to get it upright, and then I was out of ideas... why does blogging make me feel so not tech savvy.. what is the deal with this internet machine? why can't Al Gore invent something that works more gooder for me)

Road tripping is also hard, and required breaks at more wineries.  Also you're supposed to spit out your drinks so you don't get drunk.  Also you're supposed to use inside voices. 

In a particularly adorable move, my friend hosted a ladies tea party for the bridal party and families.  Some of the groom's family is British, but any chance you get to wear a tea dress and eat cucumber sandwiches should be taken.  (note to self: new idea for a bumper sticker)

Tree hanging decor courtesy of Martha Stewart.  Tablecloth was a roll of fabric she got on clearance, cake stands she made with plates and candlesticks found and flea markets.  Get that girl a show on HGTV, asap.  Hey Hey, she's crafty!

She found different English china teacups and saucers on EBAY for everyone to take as a party gift.There might have been vodka in the lemonade.She also gave everyone a tea bag with an inspiration 'women's quote and a note thanking us for being an important woman in her life.  Perhaps the best part? Her new Betsy Johnson tea party shoes.  ME-OW.

The rehearsal dinner was in a redwood forest (Armstrong National Forest) and had trees larger than I'd ever seen in my life.  They were amazing!  They made me think of Ewoks a little bit from Star Wars... but you have to be careful to mention such nerd speak when you are meeting new people.  Ditto for the 'forbidden forest' Harry Potter references. 

So the bride and groom met when she and I went to Jamaica our junior year of college for spring break.  Can you believe they've been together ever since? Crazy!  Obviously a Jamaican themed rehearsal was perfect.  It was even catered by a friend of theres who they met in Jamaica, lost touch with, and then he found them on FB and told them he was opening a restaurant.  How serendipitious can you get?

Tree Hugger.

Note to self: that Jamaican bread (made with cononut milk) is SO DENSE and amazing! It's like pound cake!  I normally am not a fan of spicy food but this was SO SO good.  Extra TLC for the pinapple that rocked my socks off.

The small resort (can you call it that? it makes it sound like there's a lido deck to me) had 50-some-odd cabins which were booked the entire weekend by guests of the wedding -- we had the whole place to ourselves! 

Everyone got a note on the door with their name and an AMAZING goodie bag filled with candy, snacks, personalized maps, flyers with local attractions, a 'pocket' schedule for the weekend and so much more.  

The bride was of course beautiful and glamorous while getting ready!  Mimosa time :)

The reception was in the meadow.  Seriously these pictures don't do it justice, it was ridiculously pretty and has ruined me from liking any other normal church/reception hall wedding.

There was an acoustic guitar playing here comes the sun and other lovely beatles tunes

Her uncles walked her half way, and then she walked the rest on her own.

She had ribbons, fans, and yay signs for people to use!

The cocktail reception was in the meadow and it was even prettier in real life.  The parasols helped provide shade and looked pretty great too.  There was bocce ball and croquet there too.

check the shoes, check the shoes..

She had their vows printed on canvas so guests could ink their fingerprints on them. 

The reception was in the orchard and was SO pretty!

Table assignments hanging from the trees. 

Different cakes for each table.. all of the food was AMAZING!

A shoe cake server, obviously

A pretty hilarious speech, if I do say so myself.

Busting a move.

People like myself were such dance floor hogs they had to clear everyone out half way through the reception so the bride and groom could do the official first dance that they practiced. 

The bride had stashed a basket of Pashminas (in wedding colors of course) at the end of the dance floor for people to use if/when it got chillier outside. 

The next day, some seared polenta fries with chunky red sauce were JUST what the doctor ordered.

A pork salad with fancy things in it.  Sidebar, is pork really trendy right now? It's never something I get at home and rarely order it out, but when in a trendy California restaurant, you order the special.  Am I right or am I right?

Back in SF before we left, we hit up a coffee shop downtown to get some veggie breakfast burritos with extra avocado.  Behold the delicousness:

Raaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr delicious

I'm still on a high from this beautiful perfect vacation wedding.  It was my everything, note to self, travel westward more often.  Justin, are you still reading? call me.

45 hours in the car

(only the greatest awning ever... located on some awesome street in DC)

10 states, 2500 miles and 45 hours in the car over Christmas. Holy Moley. We drove north to Iowa to see the fam (Hi Anne! Hi Aunts!) We then drove eastward until basically the end of the continent. 19 straight hours on the way there encountering (luckily) very little snow. We did however miss a few turns in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the middle of the night during the thickest scary movie fog you've ever seen (whispers: lady in the water).... but eventually we made it. How cute is Bret's place?

It's right next to where Obama lived as a Senator.. and just a few blocks from the Capital!

Speaking of the Capital, we got a personalized tour. Although I was slightly dissatisfied the guide wasn't wearing more flair. Next time Bret, I think a bullhorn would be a nice touch.

..... and see how in painting Thomas Jefferson's foot is stepping on John Adams.

We're walking, we're walking...

The room where Kennedy announced his bid for the presidency. The podium's Seal of the United States was held on with scotch tape. My tax dollars at work.

...... If I win student council president, every day will be pizza day!

Learning of the wonders of the Rotunda in the Russell Senate Office Building

Oh yeah, and mom was gratuitously gushing over Bret. Barf.

It's a good thing we have each other during trying times like these.

Gate crashers.

Just kidding, they just stood outside the gate. Meanwhile Alisa and I were joining a protest.

And blending in with the scenery.

Mom had the gumption (gumption?) to get up WAY early in the cold and get tickets to go up in the Washington Monument... I didn't even know you could do that!

Ohhhhhhh............ Ahhhhhhhh. Look, I can see my house from here!

I spy.... the White House.Food-wise we tried to be smart with our meals. As in, one whopping trip to Trader Joes (oh how I love thee, please come to Kansas City) for breakfast and dinner meals, and then greasy iconic lunch places for midday mid-sightseeing meals. Copious amounts of fruit and greek yogurt for breakfast basically cancel out chili dogs... right?

Bret's house was amazing! He and his coworkers rent it from a guy sailing with his family and MIA. It's fully equipped and in a beautiful location. House swapping (or squatting) is totally the way to go on vacation.... I don't care how homey hotels claim to be, nothing beats being in an actual house.NYE was definitely a highlight of the trip. What could we possibly do in an urban area that would work for both an 18 year old and 60 year old? The theater! Yes! It just so happens that at the Kennedy Center there was a broadway reprisal of Mel Brooks classic, Young Frankenstein (which we watched ALL of the time growing up, hilarious). Sweet seats too.

I'm not going to lie... I thought we looked like a million bucks.

My mom in her sassy new cocktail dress (first in forever, definitely since before she was sick) from Anne Taylor, my sister in her freshman homecoming attendant dress from three years ago (that girl is tiny, she never grew.... like circus people) that we got at Nordstroms, and me in a limited dress that I got 7349875% off on black friday from the Limited for.... wait for it... $25. Oh yeah, I'm high-fiving myself just thinking about it.

Photo courtesy of an 8 foot tall usher named Bob. Nice work Bob.

After the show everyone at the Kennedy center convened in the lobby for the symphony and some NYE excitement. Obviously, we picked up the available flair.

See... I told you he was an alien.

Alisa did my hair... I was loving it. What a guy

Don't mind if I do.

They were cute, despite their gag-inducing lovey doveyness

(does that make me immature? I'm kind of okay with that)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It was fun, one of my favorite NYEs for sure :)

So where was I? Oh yes, the food. Well... all of those places Obama (and many presidents) have gone to, the hole in the walls? Not so healthy. Nary a vegetable to be found. For evidence of this I present our feast from Ben's Chili Bowl. Truthfully I tried to split meals and eat smaller portions of the delicous/disgusting stuff when possible.... but sometimes.. those chili fries kept refilling themselves and well.... that was all she wrote. That's what new years resolutions are for, right?

Another holiday miracle was an imprint of the Virgin mary in some bread (I'm thinking it would work better in toast). Holy Sandwich.

The trip was great and we made it without major delays due to impending snow, a small miracle considering Kansas City is getting hammered right now (a thin wall from where I sit here at my desk are several inches of snow accumulating on my car... exciting, no?). When we did make it back to the parents' house however, we got stuck in the snow on the lane up to the house (thanks for nothing 4-wheel drive) and discovered a pipe had burst in the basesment. Those disasters aside, it was a great trip. Thanks to my Dad for taking so many fun pictures with his amazing camera, and thanks to my brother for hosting us!

On the way back to KC I listened to an Alice Waters Yale University Podcast on the ethics of eating and am ENTHUSED for cleaner eating for 2010 (no more chili dogs, seriously). And Emily and I have already made plans to lose our holiday badonkadonks and meet each other in the morning for exercise. Sounds like a good plan, right? Happy New Year!