Wedding Dress Party - Check!

If you watched many Friends episodes, there is a good chance you saw the one with all the wedding dresses. In it, Monica dons her soon-to-be-sister-in-law's wedding dress for a majority of the episode, followed by a very pregnant Phoebe who finds a random wedding gown, and eventually Rachel, who wears her dress from her almost-first wedding.

Being avid Friends watchers, my friends and I have seen this episode on more than one occasion in reruns on TBS and the CW, and we have often remarked that it would be fun to do that, once we all were married, just so we could get to wear our dresses one more time.*

And so we did.**

For the guys who might be judging us for this (who am I kidding? The guys have probably already stopped reading and moved on to YouTube), just a little something you need to understand:

When girls pick out a prom dress (and I know you ladies understand this), we love the dress so much that we look for any excuse to wear it for the next few years. College formal? We'll be there! Formal dinner night? Yes, please! Zombie-prom Halloween party? Looking forward to the invite!

When we pick out a wedding dress, we love it so much more...and rarely ever get the chance to wear it again (though I could think of some zombie wedding party opportunities, but I don't want to spoil the dress with fake blood). Not only is the dress typically more expensive than an everyday dress, even when it is simple, it also brings back such fond memories of one of a woman's favorite days.

I think we all still looked awesome in them, even though it lasted for maybe half an hour before we decided they weren't really the most comfortable clothes to sit around in. It was nice to relive our memories together and now I feel like I have the closure I need to get it boxed up and preserved.***


*I actually got to wear mine a second time for a short film done by my husband and one of his friends. I still fit in it then; not really so much this time. Depressing.

**I'm the one on the right; my friends have asked me to withhold their names to protect the awesome.

***For my future daughter? For someone else? For a 20-year anniversary cruise, where I would get it shortened and died black? Who knows!

Still more Zelda!*

Fair warning: I am a geek, and the below blog is evidence of that. If you know nothing about Zelda or video games, you might still find this enjoyable. However, you may find yourself utterly lost. Continue at your own risk.

Can I just tell you how much I love all of the Zelda video games? So much. They are quirky, full of puzzles, and each new realm is full of fun new characters and goodies. But the board we** beat last night in Zelda: Twilight Princess - the Temple of Time - skeeved me out a little bit, for a few reasons.

Don't get me wrong, it was still amazing. And we got the Rod of Dominion, which allows us to control statues. But for the first time, Ooccoo, our little "guide" who shows up at each main castle, had a little floating head with him (her?). What? We don't even know what Ooccoo is (a chicken-like sphinx?), let alone why a head with wings would be following him (her?). But it wouldn't be Zelda without riddles like this.

Secondly, and the main thing that got to me, was that it was full of spiders. Big ones, little ones, and at the end, a massive one with a laser beam eye. I hate spiders; loathe, despise, detest with the intensity of a thousand suns. They give me the heebie jeebies and confirm that I am more 'flight' than 'fight.' It was nice at the end, though - we got to smash the final one with big hammers. I made it through, but there was no way I was taking pictures of them. So here is a happy picture of my cat, who is staring at us not so happily because we kept yelling at him for trying to get the spiders on the TV.

Finally, "Princess" Agitha, whom we collected bugs for so she would give us the big wallet. Why is this little girl collecting bugs? And where are her parents? And why does she have soooo much money? And why couldn't she give it to us AFTER she gave us said wallet? And what is up with her bangs? We gave her probably 24 bugs, and for each one she had a little poem-of-sorts. She needs some friends that don't have 6 legs. But, still, endearing.

If Zelda didn't have things like this, I would be disappointed. We have only a little longer until we beat it entirely, and I am enjoying every moment.


*Yes, I am aware that Zelda: Twilight Princess came out over two years ago. Yes, we are still slowly playing it. Yes, we will have it finished in time to completely check it off of my 30 list.

**Me, Matt, and our friend Grant. We take turns playing, as it is technically one player.

Make Ravioli from Scratch - Check!

I have many friends who more than know their way around the kitchen, a few of whom are truly culinary artists. So don't take what I'm about to tell you lightly: my friend Kirsty is the best cook I know. Not only does she use fresh herbs and is amazingly quick, she makes the most amazing things by sheer will without a cookbook. She understands the relationship between different flavors and spices, as well as the rules of how to cook myriad items, and plays with them to create the most delectable dishes.

So when she mentions she would be in to cook ravioli from scratch, my response was a resounding, "YES, please!"

This item on my list stemmed from some old ravioli plates I picked up at a garage sale many moons ago that have just been wasting away in my cupboard, begging to be used. Kirsty did some prep work before I got there to save time, and we settled in to make four different kinds of ravioli - Italian sausage and cheese ravioli, pumpkin ravioli, 5 cheese ravioli, and artichoke/sun dried tomato ravioli. Topped with red sauce or brown butter and sage sauce. All from scratch.

Ravioli has always been an enigma to me. Well, really all pasta. I had no idea how it was made. The pasta fairy, maybe? Apparently it all starts with flour and eggs, and perhaps some spices and oil. Something like this:

And then it becomes a ball of possibilities - will it be spaghetti? Tortellini? Ravioli?

Fate decided, it gets pressed thinner and thinner, until it reaches optimum thinness for filling.

We used the plates only on the first pass, as doing it by hand seemed easier (the ravioli plates didn't seal and cut very well).

Then, after being boiled for just a few minutes, it reaches its highest and best purpose: dinner.

Yum.

Great food, great friends, great times! Thanks, Kirsty (and Juan) for a truly unforgettable experience!

Go to the Florida Keys in a Convertible - Check!

To me, a car is never just a car. It's an accent piece. It adds flavor to events, stages of life, or special trips. It makes for memorable stories. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes awesome. This is a story about one of the awesome times.

When I added going to the Florida Keys in a convertible to my list of 30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30*, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would get to go in a Corvette. But thanks to General Motors Cars to People program, not only did I get to go in a Corvette, but I got to go in a 2011 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible. A car with a 6.2 liter, 436hp engine that goes from 0 to 60 in 3.95 seconds...and yet still gets better highway gas mileage than my current vehicle. A car that handles like a dream, so hot that it gets looks, comments, and pictures everywhere it goes (more on that later).


My weekend with the car ended up being Mother's Day weekend, which worked out perfectly, as my mom and grandma are on the way to the Keys, and my mom and one of my sister's birthdays were the week before. So not only could we stop in and catch up a little bit/ celebrate, but I could also give them a ride in one of the hottest vehicles in town.


My husband and I showed off the car on Thursday and Friday with friends (it's nice when valet leaves your car up front in the expensive areas of town!), then woke up early Saturday morning to begin our trek down to Key West. First stop - breakfast with my parents, my sister, and my nephew, before cruising down Indian River Drive with my mom and sister (don't worry, my dad and nephew got rides too, just elsewhere). Since I can remember I have wanted to drive down that road in a convertible, and the weather could not have been more perfect.


Then we continued on to my Grandmother's place, and I got to take her down A1A (beachfront avenue!) in Ft. Lauderdale before meeting back up with my husband, aunt and uncle for ice cream. We had fun cruising and talking, and I learned that my Grandma once rented a motorcycle in Colorado and took it out on the mountains there...without ever having been on one before. Another pretty awesome road trip!


Then down through Miami and on to the Keys. Is it odd that I saw no fewer than 3 small trucks carrying refrigerators that day? We had reservations in Key Largo, and made it to a beachside tiki bar just in time for sunset.


Next morning we finished our mission and made it to the end of US 1, driving around the historic district before stopping in at the Southernmost Beach Cafe for lunch and some quintessential key lime pie (yum!). I'm told there were some museums that would have been great to visit, among other places, but we were a little short on time so took a driving tour. Driving around, it was fun to watch people try to inconspicuously look; some downright stared. A few people in the Keys took pictures (one did say thank you), and from Orlando to the Hemingway House, people called out "Nice car!" It is genuinely fun to drive, and I really enjoyed being in a convertible - I took a gaggle of pictures from all angles of the car while my husband was driving.

On the way back we stopped a few times just to wade out into the water and soak it all in. The water was so clear that even while we were driving I could make things out in the water - typically rocks, but I did see a stingray and some dolphins. Small islands were everywhere, and I wish we had had enough time to rent a kayak and paddle out to a few of them. Next time.

When I told people we were driving down and back in two days, their response was typically something along the lines of "That's a long time to be in a car!". But that was really the whole point (and I used up my PTO in South Africa), and in truth the car never did get uncomfortable. I have been in really nice cars, but never have I been in one that hugged me like this. Not only did the seat adjust a multitude of front ways and back ways and slant ways (ok, maybe that was an elevator), the sides also moved in and out to make you feel one with the car. So any time I got a little antsy I just adjusted the seat until I was back in heaven.

While I know this is a top of the line car, I got to participate in another event the GM team had maybe 6 months back and drive a bunch of different Chevys, and I can tell you the same amount of thought and detail go into each one of their vehicles. Naturally, this car was amazing; the only changes I would make overall would be to have bigger cupholders (not really big enough to have two cups in there at the same time) and maybe some kind of collapsible visor. But truly, a delight to drive.


I have enjoyed doing all the things on my 30 list, but I think this will be one of my favorite memories. If you have been considering going to the Keys, do it. I'm not sure why we waited so long to go, but I know we will definitely go again...and stay longer.


*Thanks Lauren for the idea! And thanks to GM for letting me experience the new Corvette. Http://drivingthesoutheast.com


Some of my other favorite pictures from the trip:

Have a Tea Party - Check!

I'm borderline obsessed with the British monarchy. There. I said it. (Well, typed it.) Not the screaming-oh-my-gosh-they're-royal type, but every time I happen across a show on the Royal Family I can't help but watch it, and every time I see a magazine about them it is all I can do not to buy it. It helps that my friend Carmen will typically buy it for me anyway...like she has since high school...especially if it was on Prince William. It's nice to have friends that know you so well.

I don't think I had much of a chance of not being interested in the family. My birthday is the same as Princess Diana's, though a different year. I was born the year she got married, and I grew up watching Princes William and Harry in the news, who are just slightly younger than I am. What girl doesn't dream of marrying a prince for love? (Kate - you go girl! And Wills, you couldn't have gotten luckier!)

As I have gotten older, my fascination has matured with me. I wonder why anyone would idealize being a princess in the Middle Ages...their lives were awful. Traded as property, forgotten, bartered, unappreciated. Yes, it was a life of ease in one way, but it was also hard. Of course, all life was really hard then. The princesses of the past few hundred years have had somewhat better lives, but I can only imagine what they must go through socially and professionally, always having to be "on", always being judged, watched, and debated. They have my utmost respect, especially after I have grown more aware of the political and news worlds in the past few years. They must have super thick skin. And Kate knew full well what she was getting into. You know that must be love.

"Aaaaaaand....." I'm sure you are thinking. "What does this have to do with a tea party?"

Besides royalty, what is more British than tea? In college, my friend Jenn introduced me to high tea at Disney's Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian, and I have been hooked ever since. It is one of my favorite things to do, and I try to go a few times a year. I've wanted to have a tea party for some time, and when Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding came, it seemed like the most natural fit.

I couldn't help myself - I got up early and watched the ceremony with friends at 5:30am before work, and that evening got together with other friends to have a tea party and watch the whole thing.

Carmen made sandwiches, I brought tea, Christy had the great idea for cupcakes and set up the table. Fresh gardenias added the final touch. A great time.


In case you missed the wedding, the hats were audacious, the dress stunning, the bride beautiful, the ceremony surprisingly enjoyable and sweet, and the mood, while reserved, was typical of the happiest of weddings you've ever been to. It was a perfect day, and I wish the Duke and Duchess the happiest of ever afters. God save the Queen.