When the Fiance's Away...

The Fiancee plays.

What do I play? I play "productivity."

B is in Vegas partying it up his not-for-much-longer bachelorhood. He's never been a huge partier to begin with, so I can't wait to hear stories of survival. That is,  if he'll tell me! When THE Best Man told me all about it, it sounded like it would be an awesome weekend full of everything B loves. And that's why he's THE BEST Man. An old Seinfeld joke would question why the bride doesn't just marry the best man. After all, he is the BEST man. But ours really is. He's just so cool and he "gets it." He's a wonderful friend to B and through their friendship, I feel close to him, too.  He's been a fabulous support system to BOTH of us during the wedding process and has bent over backwards not only fulfilling his "duties," but making us feel at ease and pumped about the big day. So, I have no doubt that he threw together a kick ass bachelor weekend. I'm so jealous! Not in a crazed-jealous-overprotective-untrusting way; in a I-wanna-hang-with-the-guys-and-go-drinking-and-do-Vegas-things jealous.

Meanwhile, I've been at home, basically mute, for the past day and a half. Aside from spending a few hours with My Favorite Pregnant Lady and her husband on Friday night (where we had our usual deep 5 hour talks that speed up time like crazy ; it was nice: we talked about their wedding and relived some of their favorite memories. They're both so talented with media -film and photography- that they are the best at documenting amazing moments in their relationship. Makes me wish I had paparazzi following me around all the time to capture important times in my life!), I've been all by my lonesome at home trying to organize, do wedding things and catch up on some worky-work. I really only heard my voice when I was dealing with the Kinko's people.

And why was I at Kinko's? Well! This is where the productivity comes in. I'd been dreading printing and cutting some of the necessary paper items for the upcoming nuptials, so I finally bit the bullet today and Kinko's was actually wonderful for producing my materials for me and not even charging me full price! B and I designed the directions cards that go inside the wedding invitations and the rehearsal dinner invitations that will be mailed separately, but I thought it would be a super-duper headache to actually make them come alive on paper. 'Twas a cinch! So, 2 big PITA things checked off the list.

Tonight, I designed our menus. Still not sure if I'm totally done, but I got it on the right path. I'm no BFF Nivek or Anne, but I get the job done. Maybe I'll have a designer friend tweak it, but it's basically laid out, so yay!

B comes home Sunday night and I can't wait to see him. I miss him so much and have been thinking about him non stop since he left. I'm just so excited for him and happy that he has such awesome friends. During a big time in our lives (like, oh, ya know, a wedding), we learn who our real friends are, and I'm pretty sure he has a nice, fun batch!

NoCal? YESCal!

Don't worry, I'm not packing my bags and introducing "hella" into my vocabulary but I'd just like to state right here, right now, that I'm having a mini love affair with Northern California. B, BFF Nivek and I spend 36 hours in the woodsy part of our state and we had a fantastic time!!

We woke up bright and early on a Saturday morning and drove straight to San Luis Obispo to grub in B's college town. Firestone Grill is known for their yummy burgers, tri-tip sandwiches, and basket of fries. I'm sure if it wasn't 11 a.m. and we didn't have wine in our future, we would have enjoyed some beer (who am I kidding? like I drink beer? ew!)

We drove around campus and BFF Nivek and I made parallel comparisons about our alma mater. It pretty much entailed how college girls are all the same; the only thing that changes from one school to another is the name of the college embroidered onto their butt shorts. 

We stopped for a little bit about 45 minutes north of SLO in Templeton. There's nothing in Templeton but this  brand new little wine bar that is delicious and owned by the daughter of one of my professors I do business with. Thankfully we were craving wine (and I'm craving some new business), so we stopped in and introduced ourselves. We were treated to a lovely cheese plate and tasting flight. We even bought the pinot grigio from Argentina that was included in our flight -- it was delish! I totally recommend this place if  you're, uh, ya know, ever in TEMPLETON! It's called 15Degrees.

A couple hours later, we finally made it up to Los Altos, changed real quick in a restaurant bathroom, and breezed into Tim and Rachel's party. It was great to see them and even though they were so busy and couldn't give us all of their attention, we could see how happy they are as an official married couple (they'd been ACTING married for years! This was a long time coming!). A few other college friends were there so B got to meet a few new people, too. B fitting right in with the UofA AEPi guys, Jody, Tim, BFF Nivek and Dave.

Kevin with his 2 AEPi sweethearts

Two of my favorite fraternity guys, Timmy and BFF Nivek!

After the party, we crashed at our hotel room and relaxed for a little bit after a long day of driving. We hadn't really planned what to do in the evening and decided to play everything by ear. This is a first for an OCD girl like me who usually has everything set to a schedule. For once, I went with the flow and it was actually fun (and B appreciated my low-key/whatever attitude!). So, around 7pm, B realized we could meet up with his now-married friends from college who live in The City (NorCal people call San Francisco  The City a la New Yorkers calling Manhattan The City. Oh so very cosmopolitan). So, before we knew it, we were in the car en route to SF to meet up with Brian and Anna for some yummy margaritas and Mexan food. BFF Nivek and I don't even like margaritas but these were some of the best I've ever had. And our tacos were gigantic. If you're ever up north and want some comida deliciosa, I recommend Tres Agaves with much enthusiasm! Ole! Brian and Anna are so much fun! Brian and B were in the computer science program together at Cal Poly and became friends through the honors program. Early on in college, Brian fell in love with Anna and after a lot of chasing and waiting, she finally realized how great he is and they got married shortly after college. They are adorable together and have a lovely condo right next to AT&T Park where the Giants play (booo Giants but it IS a nice park...).  They'll be at our wedding and we can't wait to party with them! After dinner, they hopped in our car and narrated a tour of the city for BFF Nivek (who'd never been to San Francisco before) while I drove around. The city is beautiful at night and it was fun, but nerve wracking to drive down squiggly, windy Lombard Street.

We said our goodbyes and got back to the hotel safe and sound around midnight where we realized we were a little delirious from our extremely LONG day. The evidence:

    Crazy boys.

 

Anyway, the next morning we lazily got up and drove to San Jose to see the Winchester Mystery House. I'd been there as a kid and wanted B and BFF Nivek to see this crazy place so we took the tour and confirmed that Sara Winchester was indeed insane. I mean, she built a door to NOWHERE:

What? Yeah, this woman built because there was crazy talk in her head that if she kept building and building, it would confuse the ghosts of dead people killed by Winchester rifles.   Bryan had a good time feeling up statues in the garden. A good time had by all at the Mystery House!   "OOooooohhh!!!!!!!!"

After we left San Jose, we went to Santa Cruz. I'd always heard that it was a cute, fun town with good wine tasting so for some more vino, we headed to hippie town and met some cool winemakers and enjoyed free tastings!! Unlike Napa, you don't pay a gazillion dollars to taste and you also get more than 3 or 4 wines to taste. After our first winery, we were already wasted.  Very yummy stuff. We ended up going to 2 more wineries before sobering up and heading home. It was late afternoon already (times flies when you're drinking wine) and one of the winemakers told us about this yummy seafood place in Moss Landing about 20 minutes south of Santa Cruz so we stopped there and it was yummy indeed. I did my best to forget all about that little wedding dress I have to fit into in 2 months and devoured some delicious fish 'n' chips! Next time you're in Moss Landing (?!?!?) and you have a hankering for seafood, give Phil's Fish Market a try. We bought a round of sourdough bread to eat in the car. It was also delicious! Wish we had something closer to us just like it!

And then, off into the sunset, we drove south and only stopping for a quick pee break in SLO, we arrived home a little after 10 and we said goodbye to our fun weekend of adventures! I love road trips and hope to do more of them up and down the coast of our great state. We have lots of friends and food along the way to make it special!

Just peeking into my own Blog

I have some updates stored up that I'll post soon, but for now, I just want to say hello.

 

Hello!

Scootin' Up North

Just thought I'd write a lil diddy here before getting some shut eye. Early morning Saturday wake-ups are usually unacceptable to me, but we're early risers for a good reason! B, BFF Nivek and I are driving up to the Bay Area to celebrate Tim and Rachel's recent nuptials. They got engaged about a year after B and me, and were planning for a September '08 wedding day, but decided they'd waited long enough (six years!) so they thought a wedding with Aloha Spirit would do the trick. Instead, in December '07, they tied the knot! So, an at-home reception is being thrown for them and since we couldn't skidaddle to Hawaii a few months ago, we're excited to go toast them in Los Altos for a night!

During our quick jaunt through NorCal, we'll chug a little vino, visit the Sarah Winchester Mystery House (I went as a kid and it was super cool!)  and eat some grub in B's college town of San Luis Obispo. It's exciting to take a little road trip -- especially when it's in your free company car!

So, a hearty mazel tov to Tim and Rachel, with whom BFF Nivek and I have shared many fun times at UofA. I'm glad Tim and B will finally meet! And I always adore hanging out with Rachel.

With Rachel at Graduation May 2005

Tim and Rachel graduate together as college sweethearts!

Rachel and I when I visited her in San Diego last winter

Keep a Kippah

I just made yet another wedding purchase. I never in my life thought that I would ever own 75 kippot! I was wrong. I am now the proud owner of a whole slew of black suede Jewish head coverings that say "Wedding of Bryan and Alison May 25, 2008" centered inside the dome. Just ANOTHER batch of items to bring to Spanish Hills on the wedding day that will be contained in basket with a pretty pink and orange ribbon tied on.

I had a nice chat with one of my New Testament friends yesterday (she calls me her Old Testament friend. Who said that Jews and Gentiles can't be friends? Ya hear that Middle East?!?! It WORKS if you quit bombin' each other!) and she was wondering if her boyfriend should wear a yarmulke at the wedding. Neither have been to a Jewish wedding before and I've ONLY been to Jewish weddings so it was kind of a question for both of us. After a little time with my favorite friend, Google, I had some ideas. I imagine there are different hardcore rules for the Orthodox Jews, but I learned that, in general, wearing a kippah has become more of a cultural custom than a religious custom and that anyone is allowed to wear one. Also, at Jewish events like weddings and Bar Mitzvot -especially when inside a synagogue- it is a sign of respect to sport one while there is a service. Now, our wedding will be outside at a country club and, while it's officiated by a Rabbi, it's not a religious setting. However, it's still a sign of respect to wear one.

It's funny because my NT Friend also asked if the Jewish men who already own their own kippot will bring them to the wedding. I thought about it for a second and that brings an interesting point. No, I don't believe Jewish men bring their own kippot to a wedding. The only time I see that is when they are going to temple for a religious service or day. However, if kippot are provided FOR them at a wedding, then they will pick them up and wear them, because, well, that's just what ya do. So, the wedding ceremony is Jewishly important enough to wear a kippah if it's provided, but not Jewishly important enough to bring one from home. Interesting.

I figure all the Jewish men in attendance will pick one up, but I think that the non-Jewish guests will wear one, too either because they think they absolutely have to and don't want to be the odd man out, or they will understand that it's a sign of respect and that it's part of the custom. Either way, I think it's nice that a group of different people can come together and still participate and enjoy a tradition and a beautiful Jewish wedding ceremony.

At any rate, I have 75 kippot just aching to rest on a man's head, and I have a feeling I'll have quite a few leftovers since not everyone keeps them. Looks like I'll be hosting a lot of Shabbat and Passover dinners in order to get some wear out of 'em!

Sushi Fest and Wedding Talk!

Last night, I tried some veddddy interesting pieces of sushi. I knew I could trust my Sushi Mentors with different rolls and species of fish. After all, we speak the same language: Wedding Talk.

Even though I try my best to be a very levelheaded bride, I'm still paranoid that my fiance and friends see me as a Bridezilla because, well, they just don't understand this experience firsthand.

There's a lot that goes into planning the perfect wedding day and even some of the closest people to me just can't comprehend. Hanging out with a special group of fellow Knotties at Katsu-Ya in Studio City and talking about our recent/upcoming weddings could not have been more perfect! It'd been a while since I'd had a girls night and it was so refreshing to all be on the same wedding wavelength! These girls just GET IT. My fabulous Date Twin patiently explained the ways of sushi to me (I am a mere beginner) while we all discussed rude wedding guests who don't bring presents, ceremony music, bachelorette parties and the, um, colorful personalities we encounter online. Yes, I said online. It's true -- these faces used to be just black-and-white text but after meeting in real life a couple times now, I can honestly say that they are super fun, smart, witty and, well, BRIDEY! While we all come from different backgrounds and interests, we have a common bond that not even our fiances/husbands understand, and that's what makes hanging out so fun!

This is where I'd post a picture... but we didn't take one. Ironic, since we're all photo-obsessed!

Thanks for a great night!! Can't wait to do it again.

TOLD ya I'd Blog! :)

WITCH Show is My Favorite Show???

 

On Tuesday night, I saw WICKED with Mom and it was, well, amazing of course! It was my 8th time seeing this show (5th time seeing the L.A. installment) and my first time seeing some new cast members in L.A. I hadn't seen the show since Eden Espinosa (original L.A. Elphaba and original Elphaba standby for Idina Menzel on Broadway. She pretty much owns the part!) left and I figured it would start to get messy upon her departure.  Eden is the best Elphaba I've ever seen (yes, better than original Idina) because her voice is so mind-blowingly powerful and her character arc is just perfect. Plus, we had a special moment when we met last summer at the Stephen Schwartz Cabaret. She was so, so nice and I was so speechless around her. But we did get to snap a photo together and that made me giggly! So when I heard she left the show and Caissie Levy would be replacing her, I thought it would be tough to accept a new Elphaba. BUT, I didn't even get to see Caissie on Tuesday night so I saw the standby, Teal Wicks, and she was great. Lacked a little bit of power and soul, but she had wonderful presence. Fresh out of Broadway's THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, Joanne Worley as Morrible (instead of the awful Carol Kane) worked for me. She kind of played Madame Morrible like she'd had way too many martinis, so a drunk villainess was kind of entertaining! Kristoffer Kusick was out as Fiyero so we saw Ensemble member and Fiyero understudy, Adam Lambert. I was actually glad to see him since I know him from a completely different show (a bad one). He was Joshua in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS which had a very short stint at the Kodak a couple years ago. I never got to see it, but I did help him get to press junkets and other market-y things. He was very nice and talented and totally best-friend-material (i.e., I would have had a naive crush on him if I knew him  in high school, given my track record with boys I liked that liked other boys instead). Anyway, Adam was good and stands out as being more of a dancer than lead-role material, but with enough opportunities, maybe he'll get more polished and will own the role himself someday. Megan Hilty still remains my favorite G(a)linda ever. She is just so flippin' funny and cute that I think I have a theatre crush on her!

Funny thing is, I didn't even really PLAN on seeing WICKED again for a while (I saw it in January with BFF Kevin), but when Mom called me a few weeks ago and said "hey, do you want to see Wicked with me?" (stupid question) I had the tickets checked out on Ticketmaster before I even answered with a hearty "YES!" I guess she'd been on a WICKED kick with the cast recording in her  car and the power of the whole enterprise caught her at a weak moment. We are alike in many ways, but she is not the type to see a show she likes over and over and over again like moi. However, I should note, to her credit, our little evening together was her 4th time seeing this masterpiece so she's on her way to my status. :)

It's a special show to see with a best friend or a mom. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the trend and I whole heartily support it anyway. Neither of us are very mushy gushy, but it's nice to share it together. We had a nice evening out talking and talking  (mostly about things that I don't think a lot of mothers and daughters talk about, so it's special) and taking in a great show in good seats. It was a really nice night and I'm so glad we went! Thanks, Mom!!!

                                                                                       

Work tears us apart!

I'm no good on my own. The following 6 days will be horrible!

I imagine there might be a reenactment of Bridget Jones singing "All By Myself"

B is leaving for a work trip in Seattle and will be gone for 5 days. The day he's due to come home, I have to drive down to Costa Mesa for 2 nights for a regional sales meeting. I won't be home to see my man until Saturday NIGHT! I'm a little irate that the company would schedule a meeting for us through a whole day of my weekend!

LAME!