Wedding Weekend

Atlanta was fabulous. It was a fun weekend away, with friends, at a gorgeous hotel. I had the best fried chicken ever at South City Kitchen, which was quite the indulgence. Maggiano's was a fabulous choice for a rehearsal dinner, complete with speeches from high school friends, college friends, siblings, work friends, and other family members. And the wedding--the beautiful church and the reception--were both perfect venues. I certainly could have done without such heavy dinner food, like pulled pork and brisket and creamy spinach.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, too. 60 degrees and sunshine. Perfect. I had two good runs through Piedmont Park. I really could get used to southern winters, since everyone assured us it was unusually gloomy for the rest of the wedding weekend.

We also had dinner with friends and lunch with family. A good weekend. A beautiful wedding.

Hay Adams Wedding

We attended what likely will be the only wedding of 2011 this past weekend, which as at Holy Trinity and Hay Adams. Lovely wedding, with way more alcohol and food than we needed--oysters, shrimp, crabs, salmon, duck, tempura shrimp, salad with crab, fillet mignon and delectable fried chicken, dessert. Lots of drinks with G&T's and wine and cosmo's. Lots of good stuff. Not so much dancing, but most guests lingered outside on the L shaped balcony overlooking the white house and the Jefferson Memorial. I had never been up there, and it really was an incredible view.  We could see Old Town Alexandria's 4th of July fireworks from a distance. Just a magical night.

The New Princess

While I didn't watch all of the coverage, I did get a little sucked into the Royal Wedding this morning. Princess Catherine and Prince William had a beautiful ceremony. I was a little girl of 5 years old when Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married, and I do remember that. But as a grown woman, a married woman, I appreciated this in a different sense.

Not so much the feeling of being a "princess" on your wedding day, because it all goes by so quickly, and what is really important is being a wife. But the fashion, the style, the music, the jewelry, the affection, the feeling of so many who come together...it all accumulates into something quite special. And most importantly, the love. They seem quite happy. The new Princess seems so much more self-assured and mature than Diana was when she was thrust into that position nearly thirty years ago, but of course she would be: there is a world of difference between 29 and 20.

Happy wedding day! (And PS: lots of truth here.)

Married!

The last two weeks have really been a blur, and I've meaning to come here and write about my thoughts and impressions from those days. Everything was so fantastic, and yes, parts of those days were a blur. I remember standing up at the altar and seeing the faces of friends, family, colleagues, and old neighbors and new....all of those who were there on August 2 to be with us and celebrate with us. Those who could not make it were missed, but I didn't think about that as much.

Lots of little things...
--listening to the Asian ladies and the British ladies getting my nails done.
--All of the food at Buca!
--Seeing my brothers in suits!
--Seeing mom's smile and her dancing moves!
--scrounging for food before getting our hair done.
--Taking a SMC chic picture.
--watching for the weather reports so anxiously, and having sunshine. Having it rain just as we were about to go for cocktails, and then brilliant sunshine coming out. Letting folks know the bride and groom wanted everyone out on the Patio!
--not getting much too eat. Two bites of cake, no coconut shrimp, and not much of an appetite for dinner.
--mom's gift of the frame and card.
--Never getting to make full rounds of all of the tables.
--T time with Margaritaville.
--Piano Man as the encore.
--So much photo coverage!
--My cowboy garter.
--The drunken toasts.
--Waiting to see Steve's face when he came up the Willard stairs.
--No longer caring about favors.
--Having the entree numbers work out perfectly.
--Father Fields talking about how hot I was!

So many details to remember...and then there was Antigua!
--our crappy room in the honeymoon garden of eden, whatever that is.
--Pulling bridezilla to upgrade.
--getting SO seasick.
--Jellyfish season.
--Breakfast buffets with fresh fruit, waffles, bacon and hashbrowns.
--Lunch at bayside.
--Kayaking amidst the crabs on the caribbean.
--Yummy dinners.
--the turquoise blue water.
--that nice bathtub.
--sea green bikini.
--Reading by the pool as steve played beach volleyball.
--Talking to Kay & Pete, Mary Lyn and Jeff (I think)...all of the 40 somethings.
--Losing luggage on the way back and silly duty free issues.

Busy Week

So wedding planning has officially taken over my life! Argh! But we survived bachelor weekend. Meg, Christina & Jenny took me to the Carlyle Club where we enjoyed comedian Mike Siscoe.
Then cocktails at PX. Steve and the guys enjoyed steak, George Clinton, and I-don't-want-to-know. But we all had wonderful evenings, and enjoyed being with friends. I cannot believe the wedding is next week!

We are busy with seating, final music requests, programs, transportation, getting our marriage license (pick it up on Friday!), BEOs at the Omni, and last-minute details. I need to do some shopping this week for wedding attire. We've been getting tons of gifts, too.

Work is crazy, but I keep telling myself that next week is the week, and just need to get to a few more things to survive til then....

Wedding Shower

I had a wonderful weekend. Starting Friday, we celebrated a soggy 4th of July with friends, fajitas, and fireworks. The last at 1768, that is for sure. Donna came in around 11pm, and we sat on the roof and chatted.

Saturday I tried on my dress...whoo hooo! Final fitting before I pick it up in a few weeks. It fits beautifully. Now on to hair and makeup.

The shower was wonderful. Liz had quiche, pasta salad, strawberries, and cake, along with wine. I got gifts and everyone told stories about what qualities I possess to have a strong marriage. I think mom was quite happy; I bet she told all of her work friends about it today. I received some wonderful gifts--C&B storage containers from Meg, wine & cheese book and cheese tray from Donna, towels from Mike & Shay and Jenny, amex gift card from Moira, baking pans from Ann, pilsner glasses and wine from Sally, Target gift card from Cindy, nightie from Liz, and of course that lovely Calphalon set from mom & dad. Good stuff! Afterwards we went to Pentagon City for some Lebanese Taverna.

On Sunday, after mass and brunch at Luna, we went to see Dahlgren. SO eerie that in less than a month we'll be married there. Wow. We went to Whole Foods for some cheese and fruit for dinner on Sunday. Then Donna, later mom, left on Monday.

But a great weekend, and it is wonderful to feel loved and cared for by so many.

SCOTUS, Obama, Work, Stuff

The DC gun ban came down, 5-4 in our favor. Yeah. Not that I am about to go out and buy a gun, mind you. But I think Scalia is brilliant, and it is ridiculous that the District has basically denied its citizens to own and register a gun, unless you lived in this city as a legal adult back in 1976.

As usual, Jan Crawford Greenburg nails it. Yes, Obama, you are a hypocrite and panderer.

Work is eh now. I am off to Chicago tomorrow. I am looking forward to the weekend and catching up with FS friends, but am tired. I feel like I am getting so far behind on wedding stuff again. So much to do, and only 37 days left! Less really when it comes to planning!

I caught up with Sal on Monday, did I mention that? Good to catch up.

I also did some shopping this week. Macy's, Ann Taylor for a cute black jacket and a dress. I need a shower outfit!!!

Employed!

SJE starts Monday at his new job! Very, very relieved. It's a good position, he is happy, and we can breathe easier and start planning other future things. We celebrated with T over wine and pasta.

Invites have mostly hit, though we have had a few quirks with the post office screwing up our postage. VERY annoying. It may be my least favorite government entity, at least this week.

Top Chef finale is tonight. Will be very happy if Stephanie wins. Or Richard. NOT Lisa!

Omni Tasting

We had our wedding tasting yesterday afternoon at the Omni with T and SJE. Yummy. We were really impressed with the Maine Diver Scallops on a bed of Shiitake Risotto with Saffron Sauce. Yummy. Love scallops and the risotto was melt in your mouth buttery delicious. The crabcake was fine but not phenomenal. We can have that at the cocktail reception. Salad wise, we probably will go with the California mesclun greens with feta, olives, radish, and balsamic vinaigrette. Love feta. It was creamy and goat-cheese like.

I was a big fan of the filet with pink peppercorn sauce and dauphinois potato. Oh, that was the best potato I had ever tasted. SJE was not such a big fan; he really liked the lamb, but filet it has to be. The sea bass was good too, but we're going to skip the sauce on it.

The wine was great, the champagne was tasty. I am excited for the menu!

very productive weekend!

We got a lot accomplished over the weekend for the wedding:

• We booked a honeymoon to Sandals Antigua!! Oh it just looks so beautiful!
• I went for alterations for the wedding gown. Very pretty, very pricey!
• We talked to Moira's dad about a DC tour.
• We addressed over 100 invitations, ready to mail out tomorrow or Wednesday.
• We selected some of the music we'd like at the wedding.

We also played several games of Scrabble, resulting in one last majestic win for me! And we ate well...homemade pizza on Saturday night, SJE's favorite chicken florentine pasta on Friday. We also cleaned, though some of that just involved moving stacks from the front room to the backroom. Also, I made a mega grocery store/Target run to stock up. We also drank a lot of wine, but that is not such a bad thing.

Back to the real world, with job searching and a trip to Napa. I need to figure out how to work the Cline thing. We also have our tasting on Wednesday, which should be fun.

Two months from today!!!

Waiting Games

The webpage tells me we have 65 days to go to the wedding. I feel like waiting has been a theme lately....waiting for the job offer to come, waiting for the nephew to be born, waiting for the shower and to see Donna, waiting to board flights or whatever. I am not very good with patience. Sometimes things are worth the wait--like I am sure the last episode of the season for Lost tonight. Some things are not...like another delay in SE's job news. I keep waiting for my phone to ring and for him to have good news.

So what else is new...not much. We have invites ready to be assembled this weekend, and I have a fitting for my dress on Saturday at 11am. I have to do some shopping for groceries. I'm traveling again next weekend, so I have to get ready for that and figure out my wine strategy. I have no nice Summer clothes; I hate my wardrobe and want to find some new summery things. We have to book a honeymoon. We have to sign off on some other wedding related contracts. I have to buy jewelry and gifts.

I am missing my ten year reunion this weekend. I am sorry to miss it; I haven't been back in South Bend since May 17, 1998. That seems so long ago now, and I remember at the time that I could not contemplate what my life would be like after college. The last decade of being in DC, almost exactly, is full of lots of great memories, and some not so great ones too. Hopefully I can make it back for a football game this fall, or at least my 15th reunion.

Boston to Detroit to Wedding Planning'd Out

Spent Wednesday in Boston seeing King Lear. A good play, but I admit it: I never can follow Shakespeare very well. I need a Shakespeare for Dummies version to figure it all out. But I enjoyed it, schmoozed, and then enjoyed a nice Italian dinner of pasta/shrimp/scallops in the North End.

Tonight is girl's night. A much needed night away from the boy! Then we leave for Detroit tomorrow morning for the weekend. We get to meet the nephew!!! Yeah!!!

Then I have about 150 invitations to make out starting Monday afternoon, after a mega grocery store/Target run. Being out of town makes all of that tough.

Texas Party

We were in Texas over the weekend. We spent Friday getting sun-burned on South Padre Island. But we had a super yummy shrimp boil afterwards, which almost made it all worth it. Saturday was the party...it was nice, and it flew by. I guess kind of like a wedding reception, right? Met lots of people from this little town, who were all quite friendly. Ate some Las Vegas enchiladas. Guacamole. Rice. A yummy cake. The dilemma with the best man, however, definitely is still a dilemma. I am so irked. SO irked.

Lots of drinking, too. Lots and lots of drinking. Between $300 liquor baskets, a dozen plus bottles of wine, and more beer than Virginia Market, I really am pretty damn tired of alcohol.

But the family time was great, and I really am in love with his little cousins. SO cute! Though not as cute as the nephew!!

Busy week ahead...Boston and Detroit. Not to mention 150 wedding invites at home!

Wedding stuff

We registered last weekend at Macy's and Crate. Exhausting! I think we picked out a lot of small electric staples, great cookware, and some bedding/towel options. We need to still pick out dinnerware, but there are a few options we can look at. Nothing we're crazy about yet, though. We also looked at tux options, though Stephen keeps changing his mind! Three and a half months to go..I have an invitation option I want to consider tomorrow night. Plans are also in the works for a wedding shower. Part of me feels so shy about all of this. I don't want to anyone to really go out of their way for me, right? But excited too, though it's hard to admit!

Tomorrow is a big day...we see Pope Benedict at the White House. It should be a mob scene, but it will be really exciting!!!!!!

100th Post

Whoo-hoo. When I used to do the daily diary thing, I was doing a lot more posts than this. I basically started this as a way to get back into journaling, chronicling what's been going on with life, at least what I want to write about.

I don't have anything I really want to write about now. I'm listening to music, kind of watching American Idol's give back special, though I've largely muted the thing. It's fairly dull, not live, and there are already questions about how truly charitable it is.

So here are ten things on my mind, in no particular order.

1) SE's job search. 'Nuff said.
2) Registering this weekend, not to mention the multitude of other wedding stuff I got to get to.
3) New music. Still loving Basia Bulat and that India Arie song.
4) Running. Though I am a little sore today, I am so glad it is finally Spring!
5) My nephew who will be here very soon!!!
6) Work travel resuming very soon.
7) Needing a new Spring wardrobe.
8) Ladies poker night on Saturday. I am hosting, and utterly unprepared. And what if no one shows up?
9) #1. Yeah, that is the big one.
10) Yeah, and the wedding too. It is getting way too close.

Babies and Shopping and Detroit

Cindy's baby shower was on Sunday in Detroit. They got a slew of gifts, including several frog pods (whatever those might be). If it was a family venture, we definitely would have chosen a nicer locale. And food. And I definitely would want drinks at my shower!! Only the best for my little nephew :) He is going to be one big baby. Leigh Ann got him this super cute CMU onesie.

Mom also bought a dress, a black & white suit, to wear to the wedding. Very exciting for her. Not terribly flashy, but she looks really nice in it, very MOTB. Four months this week!

Steve got one job offer and he's stalling to figure out what else might be out there. I am keeping my fingers crossed things work out OK for him. He's in CA all this week.

I've had this headache that won't go away, though it's better now then it was earlier. Perhaps it was the screaming kiddos at the shower yesterday?

Easter, Friends, Detroit, etc.

We had a very nice Easter at Nate & Meg's place, with Katie and Brandon, the newlyweds. I think it was my first ham dinner/real Easter dinner in about a decade. And definitely one of my favorites. Though we drank a little too much wine, and definitely ate a few too many snacks. But still good. I did have to go for an outdoor run afterwards.

I am feeling a bit burned out. Lots of wedding planning to do, and I need help! Stephen is worried about the job search, and that is his absolute priority. But arggh...Four months plus to go!

Kwame Kilpatrick got indicted for his sex text message scandal. What an idiot.

Week in Review

--Had a great weekend with mom, and bought this dress.
--My Fair Lady was wonderful.
--So was DC Coast.
--And 27 Dresses was the perfect chick flick.
--Went to Birmingham yesterday. Had some greasy french food and did the interview.
--Heath Ledger died this week. Very sad, probably an accidental OD. He has a two year old daughter.
--Booking a photographer, and I have visits with two florists coming up. Too much to keep track of.