Bachelorette Party

First off, let me state that I am a BAD scrapbooker. My own bachelorette party and I took maybe, MAYBE, five pictures. The sad part is that they weren't even really that good. Sigh. Oh, well, on to the fun stuff!

My bachelorette party was AWESOME!!! The day started off by Karen picking me up and taking me to a surprise massage appointment. I'd only ever had one massage and it was for serious back pain so it wasn't the most relaxing of experiences. This massage was a thousand times better! I think I even drooled a little during the good parts. :-) After that hour long experience of glory Karen took me back to my parent's house where she and Jessica made me lunch. Jessica made her yummy brie, honey, and cranberry appetizer and Karen made oh-so-tasty crab cakes among other things. After lunch was finished (which included a few mimosas!) we started getting ready for the afternoon right about the time all the other girls showed up. About 30 minutes later we were all in our fancy outfits and ready to go wine tasting!

The wineries we hit were Airfield, Willow Crest, Kestrel, and Desert Wind. Each place served up a large number of tastings and conversation as all of the bar tenders were interested in why there were so many of us, why we were dressed up, and what other sorts of fun we had planned for the day. Being a wine tasting pro I knew that after so many glasses purchases shouldn't be made, so I grabbed wine at Airfield and Willow Crest and then just enjoyed the offerings at the other places while the other girls made their purchases. As multiple girls purchased at each business I think we left the owners happy.

After wine tasting a few of the girls had to leave to head for home (being new mom's and all) but five of us took off for dinner at Tagaris Winery. Tagaris has the most awesomest outdoor setting during the summer with live bands, fireplaces, yummy wine, and appetizers. Seeing as the weather is still crisp at night we decided to have an actual dinner inside. I'll admit that while everything was tasty it was a little more fancy than I'm used to. I almost felt like it was too fancy for me! I guess I'm more of a burger on the back patio kind of girl. :-) Still, the food was good, the chatting was fun, and it was so nice to continue the night with friends.

I went home that evening feeling once again very blessed for the great friends I have and the good times we have when we get-together. Now...on to the wedding!

The girls as we begin our wine tasting Bachelorette Party adventure.

From Left to Right there's Jessica, Laura, Sara, Me, and Katie (my sister).

From Right to Left there's Sara, Laura, Jessica, Emily, Karen, and Danica

At the end of the night...I'm taking a picture of Jessica, Karen, and myself in the reflection of the limo's ceiling. Yep, we're a little tipsy and a lot goofy. :-)

Bridal Shower from Karen

On February 13, 2010 I had my second wedding shower hosted by my very best friend, Karen. Karen and I have been best friends since first grade at Christ the King when we met on the monkey bars and she showed me how to play to oh so awesome, yet completely unremembered Monkey Bars Game. We've been through ups and downs but we've always managed to stay friends. She's my best friend and I love her.

So a few weekends ago she threw me a fantastic bridal shower for my in-town friends and family members. The afternoon was a great success! We had brunch, played a quick game, opened presents, and caught up with everyone. It was a gorgeous afternoon outside and it matched the feeling inside. Here are a few pictures from the party.

My 'cake'! I thought Mom did great on picking it out. So unique!

A view of the girls. We've recently found out that all the windows in my parent's new house make for a great view, but not for great pictures. Especially when you can't force the flash! Here there's Franny, Laura, Haylee, me, Elena, Sara, Jenny with Danica's baby Adria, Shawna in the back, Nate's Aunt Sharon, and Adria's mom Danica.

Haylee was SO great! She didn't throw one temper tantrum and was so helpful. Here's she's patiently waiting for me to take the ribbon off the present so she could give it to Laura who was putting the ribbon into a ribbon bouquet for me.

Here's another way Haylee helped! During Haylee's birthday party the weekend before she saw Grandpa picking up all the paper as Haylee opened presents. So Haylee turned around and picked up all the wrapping paper for me while I opened presents. That got more than a few "Aw" moments from the crowd.


Another view of the room full of girls. Starting again from the left we have Danica, Nate's Aunt Sharon, Shawna, Mom, Katie, Gayla, and Jessica.

Holding my very pretty ribbon bouquet. Oddly enough bright pink and bright purple were the ribbon colors of the day.

Playing a game - Who Knows the Most About the Bride. It even had a trick question. Where was Teresa proposed to? Most everyone remembered that Nate took me to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in New York (oh, that was so awesome!) and figured he proposed in New York. Nope, he proposed in Newark, NJ. The romance capital of the world. :-)