sunny california

s and i spent a week in northern california for my best friend's wedding (see post below) and managed a bit of tourism in san francisco and napa wine country as well.


the japanese tea garden in golden gate park







golden gate bridge







ocean beach





cable car ride from powell & market to fisherman's wharf





our 24-hour honeymoon at the posh villagio inn & spa in yountville, where they gave us free champagne and a complimentary room upgrade. (it always pays to play the newlywed card!)









exploring napa and sonoma valleys















just another gorgeous day in the bay area!

my best friend's wedding*

*isn't that the title of a julia roberts film? oh well...

continuing on the wedding theme, this time it was my best friend's turn.

final dress fitting at amy kuschel in san francisco





the bachelorette party



rehearsal at the dunsmuir estate in oakland








the moms practicing for the candle ceremony
(rabbit ears courtesy of the bride & groom)





the rehearsal dinner was held at scharffen berger chocolate in berkeley and included a tour of the factory. notice the attractive hair nets and protective ear gear.


cacao beans go in...




...and chocolate comes out!



the wedding day began at the the bride's parents' house where the bride, mother of the bride, bridesbabes and babes of honor got ready. much hairspray and lipstick was involved.





despite deliberate planning for the bride and groom to arrive separately and not see each other before the ceremony, the groom was two cars in front of us as we pulled into the estate. thankfully, he didn't even notice. we stealthily watched him enter, then snuck the bride in behind him.






the cake was a masterpiece of buttercream goodness decorated with flowers and tiny birds.


but what's that hiding in the flora? it's a custom-made MARZIPAN EWOK. yes, the bride indulged the groom's passion (obsession) for star wars. it's *definitely* true love.



the happy couple



the groom's getaway car, which we considerately decorated with frosting from the groom's cake, toilet paper, and empty beer cans. too bad he had just had the car detailed earlier in the week!





happy hawaiian honeymoon, s & h!

hens and chicks

ok, indulge me on another wedding-related post.

the british version of a bachelorette party is called a hen night, and (given that nothing else about our wedding has been traditional so far) i had mine last weekend. in other words, *after* the wedding. (click here to read about s's co-ed stag do.)

my chiquitas and i gathered at guanabara, a brazilian club in central london. i'm not one for clubbing often, but i really like guanabara. the music is lively, the caipirinhas are wicked, and the crowd is fun - not the usual sweaty, smoky, meat market.



c made sure that i had appropriate "i'm gonna get lei-d tonight" neckwear. she also provided a shot-glass-on-a-rope that says,

"I'm tying the knot...
So, buy me a shot!"

and a few plastic champagne flutes. she was quite dismayed when i filled my glass with water after doing the obligatory vodka shots.



a brief aside: you may have noticed that i prefer not to use names on my blog. i just think it's a bit creepy to have recognizable photos of people posted on the internet with their names attached (especially since many people i know, like me, have unusual first names.) fortunately, we had such an international bunch at the hen night that i can use nationalities - and dual and triple citizenships - instead.


holland, japan/uk, usa



croatia, ireland, uk



uk, usa/uk



ireland, uk, uk



usa, france, new zealand/canada/uk


we had a great night, and i was pleased that so many people from different stages of my life came along:

* one i have known since high school
* one i met in japan when we were teaching english there
* one from my course at SOAS
* one from student halls
* one from the crazy website (which will remain unlinked to this blog)
* two good friends of s's who have become good friends of mine
* my sister-in-law
* c's aunt, new to the crowd

(plus two unseen future brits who will be joining this world at the end of october!)





check out more pix on m's blog here

the goodness of my heart

i did a 10km walk today for the british heart foundation. we walked around the grassy moat of the tower of london, 1 km x 10 laps.





most of the participants, including my friend e, were being sponsored by their companies. e told me earlier this week that she didn't feel prepared enough to jog it, so i volunteered to walk with her. ha ha... she jogged past me in the first lap!





for your amusement, i offer the following:

laps completed: 10

time to complete: just over 1.5 hours

music on ipod: madonna

bottles of water: 2

weather: gorgeous, sunny day (23ºC / 73ºF)

best costume (but certainly hot!): tweety bird

least obvious thing to bring to a jog/walk: not just 1 but 2 cockatoos (sitting on the shoulders of one of the participants)

outfit attracting the most looks and double-looks:



(no, that's not his bare arse. it's a pair of shorts with a rubber bum sewn on.)

all in all, it was a nice afternoon and i felt good - doing something right for my heart and hearts everywhere.

more spam mail poetry

it has been a while since i last displayed some choice spam message subject lines and spam names, so here are some more direct from my inbox.

Marco Hall writes: "squalid brute. He is not reticent out of imbecility or mental weakness."

ShannaHurst leads with: "You think that you own the world, and you must admit you are wrong."

Darla Coffman reports: "from such a source, Okoya considered himself utterly defenceless."



(is anyone else reminded of w?)

best wedding card. ever.

check out this masterpiece from my friend, e. she pieced it together with origami paper, tissue paper, and other bits. doesn't s look dapper in his top hat? i love my lacy dress, too...

fun for mighty boosh fans

click here to create your own ninja-animated message.

blushing brides and best friends

my best friend has always been like a second sister to me. how amazing, then, that the three of us get married within one year?

my sister was first, last september.



she had a gorgeous wedding at a french-style hotel in lafayette, california. she ordered her dress from san francisco designer, amy kuschel in ivory-colored italian silk organza. my best friend officiated the ceremony, which my sister and her husband wrote together. the food was delicious and the cake was divine. everyone danced and laughed and cried...

***

my wedding, as you have seen, was quite different.



s and i decided pretty much at the last minute to get married, spurred into it sooner than we might have chosen otherwise by my visa problems (but happy about our decision). we couldn't get married in the UK since i had less than six months remaining on my visa; and i needed to apply for a spouse visa in either los angeles, chicago or new york. new york was the best choice - a bit of romance, a bit of a getaway, and (as it happened) more or less in the middle for our families. we did very little planning. i wore a dress that had been hanging in my closet since last summer. mamasita and my brother-in-law handled dinner reservations. s bought a new tie and some shoes.

the ceremony at the city clerk's office was practically over before it started. we were brought into a small chamber with a podium. our families surrounded us and took pictures. after asking if anyone had any objections (thankfully, no one did...!) we said our "i do's", exchanged rings, and were pronounced husband and wife. we were in shock that it happened so fast!

all things considered, though, i don't think we would have changed a thing. we're not big ceremony people; i have never wanted a long white dress; and the people we care about the most were all there with us. plus, we still get to have parties in california and england this summer! woo hoo!

we truly lucked out with the weather, too. we couldn't have ordered a more perfect spring day, and the cherry blossoms were beautiful.

***

next, it's my best friend's turn. she is having a BIG wedding at the end of this month! her fiance's family is from long island, so they have been celebrating bi-coastally for the past year or so: two engagement parties, two bridal showers. in fact, her long island bridal shower was the day after my wedding.



for those of you who are not familiar with the bridal shower tradition, it is a chance for the women to "shower" the bride with love (and gifts!) there are all sorts of bridal shower games, but one tradition is to make a bouquet using the ribbons on the gifts. the bride then uses the bouquet at her rehearsal. since she had already had one made at her california shower, i was tasked with making a matching hat.





isn't she lovely?!

i can't wait to be one of her "babes of honor" in a few weeks!

***

three weddings, each with a very different style but the same end result: smug happiness :)

one year ago, i barely knew s. i was the self-appointed president of the bitter singletons club, cursing all those "happy loving couples" and secretly wanting to throw them under buses. now i find it hard to walk down the street without holding s's hand (and not just because i'm clumsy.) see how far we have come?