Last weekend was truly wonderful! I flew home to California on Friday for my bridal shower, bachelorette party, and to finalize some wedding plans. After my flight landed, my dad and I went straight to The Cannery to taste the menu and settle the reception details. The crab cakes, vanilla creme brulee, and mascarpone cheesecake made our mouths water! I can't wait to eat them again! Dad was there with me to make sure the food selected was manly enough for Ryan and I'm pretty certain it will be. When we tried the desserts, dad tried the creme brulees while I tried the cheesecake. I took two bites from this eight inch cheesecake and dad tried a bite of each of the three flavors of creme brulee, then we switched. I then started chatting with Stevie, the event coordinator, about little details and when I looked over at dad, there were only two bites of the cheesecake left! It was quite tasty and clearly dad's favorite! I can't wait for our reception, especially the food!
After wrapping things up at The Cannery, we drove around to the other side of the harbor to SOL Cocina, where we will be having the rehearsal dinner. We were really impressed with the room where the dinner will be and the event coordinator there was very friendly. The menu sounds amazing!!
After spending two hours in California traffic, we finally arrived at my mom's house and Mindy, Roy and Carter came over. I hadn't seen Carter since he was 5 months old and he just turned 2! He's such a cutie! I gave him a Curious George book that Ryan picked out and he just loved it. Mom was impressed with his technology skills, I loved it when he showed us how he could swim (in the living room), and Dani thought it was hilarious when they were heading out and Carter turned around and said "my bag!", clear as day, concerned about the location of his baggie of goldfish.
My mom and I spent Saturday morning shopping for the rest of the things we needed for centerpieces, decorations, and favors. Then we got to meet Ali and Stephen's baby boy, Seth! He is so cute and so full of drama, just like Ali. He has the biggest array of facial expressions and the most awesome baby laugh! He will definitely be a snorter!
Then, it was time for my tea party bridal shower! It was lovely! Amber and Dani did such a great job with the food, games, and decorations. I think everyone had a good time. I know I sure did! I have a few pictures from my camera and will post more when Karen and Amber's mom email me theirs.
Chocolate chai tea cupcake favors in reusable cups!
I am such a lucky girl! Not only do I have a wonderful husband-to-be, I have the sweetest bridal party spoiling me and helping me prepare for our big day and our future together. In two weeks, I will be in California for a tea party bridal party and a luxurious day at Glen Ivy hosted by my other half, Amber, and the best little sister ever, Dani.
I'm extra lucky because all of my celebrating began two weeks ago here in DC!! With half of my bridal party on the west coast and the other half on the east coast, what was I to do but have two weekends of bi-coastal fun?!
Jenn and Jacque have been my besties since we were about 11 or 12 years old. We bonded at sixth grade science camp in Oak Glen and never looked back. Right now, Jacque's husband, Jeff, and Jenn's boyfriend, Ryan (yes, we have two Ryan's and, yes, we are all R's and J's), are both in medical school. Their school has them doing classes and rotations pretty much anywhere in the country, so at the moment, Jeff and Jacque are in Connecticut, and Jenn and Ryan are in Florida. From the north and the south, they planned an awesome weekend for us in DC... kind of in the middle!
Jenn flew in first and was early enough for us to spend some time catching up, doing a bit of shopping in my cute little neighborhood, and get some froyo before meeting Jacque at the train station. It was so great for the three of us to be united after not seeing each other in almost a year when I joined them for a weekend of r&r in Miami while Jacque still lived there. On this first night, we hung out in our pj's and ordered pizza and it felt like we traveled back in time to our first sleepovers over a decade and a half ago.
They surprised me with some sweet presents: cute bride-themed undies (and I correctly guessed who purchased which pair... Jac=nice, Jen=naughty... duh!) and an amazing charm bracelet!! Every charm on the bracelet was significant:
Palm tree- Palm Middle School, where we became friends
Book- for my love of learning, reading, and my English degree
Canadian maple leaf- for our trip to Niagara Falls when Jacque graduated from law school
Rose- for my family tattoo because they were there when I started the trend
Plane- because now we always have to travel to see each other
"R"- for Renee and Ryan (and Ryan)
Ring- for our marriage!
"J"- for Joyce (my new last name!) (and Jenn, Jacque, and Jeff)
Sand bucket and shovel- for our wedding at the beach
Germany- because I'm German and have always shared my traditions with them (Nikolaus Day, awesome German goodies after every trip, etc)
Cougar paw- because we're Canyon Springs High School cougars
Whale tale- for my job and because I'm a crunchy hippie
Penguin- because they have always been my favorite animal
Saturday morning, we were up nice and early for some sight-seeing. This was Jac's first time in DC and you know how much I love being a tour guide! We saw everything! We started at the National Archives to see the Magna Carta, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights; crossed the street to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to see the Hope Diamond (every bride should be treated to some awesome bling, right?!); and continued walking around the National Mall to see the Red Cross, DAR, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial, and the Smithsonian Castle. We stopped for a snack at the best food place on the Mall: the American Indian Museum- yum! After cooling off in the air conditioning and realizing Jenn had multiple blisters and Jacque was sunburned, we persevered and continued to the Capitol building and the Supreme Court... phew!! We saw the whole Mall!!
Here are a few pics from our sight-seeing adventure:
"R" for Renee and "Education" because I love it!
Three California girls, far, far from home!
The WWII Memorial provided a delightful opportunity to cool off in the crazy, humid, DC heat!
Yup, this is where I live now... my sixth state!
We're just holding up the Washington Monument... no biggie.
Even though we walked a good six miles, at least, we still went out for a night on the town! We met my friends Danielle, Jocelyn, and Ashley for a delicious Italian dinner at Potenza; followed that with drinks at 14th & K, where my friend, Whitney, caught up to us; and then, headed over to Tattoo for more drinks and dancing!! It was quite a night!
After a superb night out on the town, we managed to get up for a delightful brunch at the Carlyle Hotel (super cute, art deco hotel) and some shopping in Georgetown before our weekend came to an end. I was so sad to see them both go, but I can't wait to see them again in only 7 weeks!! I'm so grateful to have the best besties!!
Jenn and Jac, thank you so much for my wonderful weekend!! To see more pics and get another take on our weekend, visit Jenn's blog!By the way, do you like our new blog design? Thanks Jenn for our surprise design!
