A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

I have to admit that I am typically not a fan of bridal showers. I find them too cutesy and nauseating. I can only stand but so many silly games like "Make a Wedding Dress Out of Toilet Paper" or "How Many Words Can We Make Out of the Bride's and Groom's Names". Less I forget, there is the gift-opening. It's like a kid's birthday party only the presents are boring and the bride is feigning excitement over a garlic press or citrus peeler. I have such an aversion to bridal showers that I carefully instructed my maid-of-honor Cicely to NOT throw me a shower. Additionally, I have not attended a bridal shower in 8 years. When I am invited, I courteously send a gift off the registry and make an excuse that I am busy.

Today I decided to foray back into the world of bridal showers. I have somewhat ulterior motives for attending this shower. First, I have become good friends with the Bride, Wendy and her Maid-of-Honor, Janice. Secondly, I designed the invites. Lastly, when Janice told me her plans for the event, I was impressed and intrigued. Janice styled a beautiful event in the backyard of her new home. The overall look of the event was based on yellow, white, and black color scheme with the use of a damask pattern. It was beautifully executed. Rather than describe it, here are some photos.

The beautiful tablescape
Linens (with exception of the damask tablecloth), tableware, glassware, tables, and chivari chairs were rented from Town & Country Rentals.
Paper floral napkin rings were made by Janice ala Martha Stewart.
Flowers by me (Recognize them from my previous post?)

The favors - Lemon-flavored Mexican Wedding Cookies
Janice custom dyed the fabric. Debra special order the cookies. I designed the tags.

One of my other attempts at Floral Arranging.

The food was amazing. I am, of course, a teeny bit biased. I volunteered Rob to cook for this party. He's a catering chef and I told him he needed "practice". Janice wanted an upscale picnic. Rob created a delicious, light Mediterranean spread.

Here are some photos of Rob and the food:

Rob in action


Grilled Halomi cheese with Rustic Bread


Fresh Taboleh, Hummus, Pita Chips, and Lavash bread


Dolmas, Olives, Marinated Mushrooms, and Marinated Artichoke Hearts


Roasted Eggplant with Feta over a bed of couscous

Luleh (marinated ground beef) and Salmon Kabob


Roasted Vegetables


Janice's Israeli Couscous Salad


Dessert - Cake by Jordana

I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised. Janice requested we wear black, yellow, or white in any combination. This made for great photo ops. We only played 1 game "How well do you know the bride", which was was the source of much hilarity. Apparently, Wendy had quite a good time in her single days. The gifts were interesting and not your typical bridal party fare. The alcohol was plentiful. The majority of the party was spent gabbing and hanging out. As you can tell from these photos, a good time was had by all.

Janice & Wendy

My photo op with the the bride-to-be

In case there is any doubt as to how good of a time I had, this is how late I stayed.

Dinner with the Girls

"Dinner with the Girls" is a phrase that is new to my phraseology. As I previously stated, I haven't had many girl friends. Now, I am happy to say I have quite a few interesting, intelligent and supportive friends. We've decided to meet once a month for dinner to discuss our husbands/fiances, wedding planning, gossip, and life in general. Every month the group seems to get bigger and I am not complaining. Each person has something to contribute. We haven't exactly decided what to call our monthly dinner. I had started to call them "Non-Knot GTG" because we all met through the knot and are now meeting outside of the knot. Substitute names are being kicked around. I am waiting to see what sticks.

I planned this one. I invited everyone to meet me at Lala's Argentian Grill in Studio City. I was in the mood for skirt steak with chimichurri and some red wine. We got there at 7 and much to the chagrin of our waitress we stayed until closing at 11. A few of us stood in the parking lot and talked until almost midnight.

The funniest part about this is that I was in the doghouse for not calling Rob to let him know I was going to be out that late. He stayed up waiting for me because he was "worried". Sometimes, my husband cracks me up.

The 10 of us.
(From Left to Right) Marisa, Janice, Jordana, Ali, Joe,
Jenny, Keren, me, Wendy & Paola

Joe

Marisa & Janice

Jordana waiting for the right shot.

Wendy & Paola

Keren snapping a photo

Me & Wendy


Ali is hosting the next dinner. I can't wait to see where she picks.

A Guy's Girl Converted

You are a guy's girl

Turn on the game and lift a beer You're a true guy's girl - the easy-going, jeans-and-t-shirt sort. Burgers and fries are an essential part of your diet. Definitely low-maintenance and very natural, there's still gobs of femininity under your sporty exterior. Pulling out the little black dress and strappy sandals every so often knocks your man's socks off. Besides knowing the latest sports scores by heart, you actually enjoy hanging out with your significant other's friends. In a romance, you're your man's friend as much as his lover, and he never has to worry about playing mind games with you. The perfect mix of the girl next door and the sporty chick, you're spontaneous & fun.

I took an online quiz and got the above results. I didn't really need to take a quiz to know that I'm a "guy's girl". I've spent the majority of my life having mostly male friends. When I was 4, my best friend was a boy named Robbie. In high school, I had a slew of guy friends that were like my big brothers. This tendency carried on through college and well into adulthood.

This is not to say that I have never had or have women friends. I have just found that I have had differing priorities. When I was kid, I had no interest in Barbies, but I loved to play house and dress-up. In high school, I would giggle like the best of them about crushes on boys, but I didn't share their fascination with make-up and boy bands. I could go on and on. However, I think you can see the pattern.

Flash-forward to the recent past. In June 2006, I got engaged. Suddenly, I became a girly girl. I became obsessed with dresses, shoes, flowers, etc. Looking back on it, the change was remarkable. For while, I think even Rob was a little surprised.

Up until this point, I've had one female friend that I trusted unfailingly - Cicely. A byproduct of this change is now I have a network of women friends. I've bonded with several women over the obsession that is wedding planning. While others, I have met through blogs. The one thing that has been a welcome surprise is that it's been a gift to belong to a circle of women. The support and camaraderie has been a blessing. I never realized what I was missing and I really am grateful. To my friend who has always been there and my new friends thank you, for broadening my horizons.