Weddings, and Introducing Vegetarians to German Potato Salad

BFF got married 2 weeks ago. (Hooray!!!) I love her and I love her new husband - can't wait to have them round for dinner where we can introduce him to my German Potato Salad. (They're both veggie, but he's decided to start eating meat in preparation for their European honeymoon.)

It was an absolutely beautiful day, despite the threat of rain. I threw my camera at James when he arrived and charged him with picture taking, while I held onto my phone (strategically held in place under the strap of my dress - note to self: if ever buying a bridesmaid dress again, look for one with pockets!). There were 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen, and close to 200 guests. It just goes to show how much everyone loves the happy couple!


There were picture frames hung by twine from the tree branches.



She chose succulents as her "flowers." This was her bouquet. She actually MADE the bridesmaids bouquets (I'll show you mine in a little bit...)




Her dad was there in spirit, although sorely missed by those who knew him




The guestbook was thumbprints of fireflies. Everyone was walking around with yellow thumbs.




The head table



The bride & groomsmen (I have absolutely no pictures of the groom facing forward!)




James and I wandered around the property and found a swing, which we swung upon. My dress was grey lace, and my shoes were mustard yellow ballet flats, which made me possibly the shortest bridesmaid.




Dance par-tay!! I'm not much of a dancer, but I had to join in for "Don't Stop Believin'", which is becoming a wedding must-have.




James and I taking some time out to explore the gardens.

What is it about weddings that make people cry? Is it that you're witnessing the next part of someone's life happening right in front of your eyes? Is it all the memories you've shared with that person up until then? (And I've shared about 17 years worth of memories with her!) I have no idea, but whatever it is, I was so thankful that no one was looking at the bridesmaids and everyone was watching the bride, because I totally cried. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the pretty kind of crying. Which is why I wore waterproof mascara.

After the ceremony, James and I caught up with friends, some older, some newer. It was an absolutely wonderful day, and we partook of the "photobooth" to commemorate it:

We are distinguished, don't you know?

And, didn't I promise to show my bouquet?

I took it apart, planted it, and now it's the C&J Love Garden!

O.M.G.

I found this living in my garden today:


Phidippus Jumping Spider

Obviously, I can never set foot outside again.

March Reading

I am up before 6am today. Poor James has a funky work scheduel this week and our landlord is installing a new heating unit in our home today, so I'll be spending part of this lovely 6am morning moving breakables away from the wall. But I'm not moving the bookcase. Forget it.

Speaking of bookcases, these have been on mine lately...



Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane



Cemetery Girl by David Bell



The Girl in the Glass by Susan Meissner - a Christmas gift from James



Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide - almost finished with this one

After Ashenden, I'll be starting a trillogy of Dowton Abbey-esque novels. What also looks good is Death Comes to Pemberley. Here's my trend of reading novels set in England, and also set during wartime England.

Tomorrow is WEDDING DAY for my BFF!! I'm so excited for her and her almost-husband - tomorrow is going to be fabulous, and I know I'll cry, but that's just the nature of weddings, isn't it? Congratulations, Carly and Joe!!

To comemmorate this, the day of your wedding, I give you...moustache girls!!

Not For His Own Aggrandizement

One of the things I miss the most London is the ART! I used to love heading down to the Tate Modern to wander around the galleries and see what was new in the Turbine Hall. The galleries in the East End were crazy, and the openings were just rediculous. The best kind of rediculous.

Here in Orange County, we don't have the same kind of art on offer. But we try to make do. James and I went to the Orange County Museum of Art the other week, and we saw this:

Whaaa...??

The exhibition was Richard Jackson, "Ain't Painting a Pain." It just reminded me of art I saw while at art school. Made up of site-specific wall paintings and "anthropomorphic painting machines," it was room after room of paint. Or stacked canvases with paint. (Which I liked the most.) Or a giant room-maze of painted canvases.

Sadly, this led to a "room" in the middle that felt like an afterthought. I supposed you could say the message is to just enjoy the journey, but I kind of doubt this was the artist's intention.

There was also a room made of entirely of identical clocks that all read the exact same time. They changed time exactly together, and even though you knew it was coming, the sound made you jump. It was kind of fun, made you laugh at yourself a little.


Room of Time

 But what I really hated was the room at the end that had a small airplane in it that the artist intends to fill with paint and then crash. 'Scuse me, Richard Jackson, but if you have all that money to waste like that, would you like to send some my way? Thanks.

So I kind of left the gallery in an art funk, and then I saw this again:


"Bad Dog"

 Plus, looking through the catelog now, it makes me laugh. Because where else will you see phrases like "anthropomorphic painting machine," "culterual orthodoxies," and "his own aggrandizement" if not in an art catelog?

It Just Ain't a Party Without a Pinata

Last weekend was pretty eventful, and I don't know if I've ever really caught up. Remember how I said it was my BFF's bachelorette par-tay and bridal shower and how there might be pictures? Well, this is it:

The bride hitting a pink crown pinata with her eyes closed on a basketball court at 10:30pm

Not pictured:
-Homemade pasta
-Nail painting
-Dance parties
-Cards Against Humanity
-Catchphrase
-The secret scrapbook tucked away in the bathroom that everyone took turns writing in
-Lots of air matresses

Also not pictured is the super-secret project I've been hiding from James for MONTHS. So super-secret that I haven't breathed a word about it on here...but I guess I can tell you guys in my next few posts. Here's a hint:

It's a hint, but you'll never guess, unless I've already told you.

Also, I will have a photograph in an upcoming exhibition at work. Hooray! More on that later...

Just Like "Saved By The Bell"

So...big month. Since we last spoke, I hit the big 3-0. To celebrate, James and I got sick, and last weekend when we were feeling a little better, we had a picnic with some friends in Fullerton. We brought a ton of food and some frisbees, and discovered just how unskilled we all are at both throwing and catching said frisbees.


Yummy mini cupcakes from Target



James and Chris picking dandelions with Charlie

 Then, for some good old-fashioned fun, some of us went on to play mini-golf. Here's a tip: bring a 6-year-old with you when you go, because he will hopefully stick his golf club up the nose of a giant statue and declare it to be the "most awesome booger touch ever."


This is Paul. If you look in the backround to the left, you can see the giant statue that provided the "most awesome booger touch ever."



Ryan



James on one of the meanest holes ever



Not the greatest pic of me and Ryan, but whatevs, at least you can't see my grey hair



Boys returning to the castle

 Ryan, James and I played in the arcade, because my main goal was to play skeeball, and lots of it.

We combined our winnings to cash in on some of most radical prizes ever. It was just like Saved By The Bell.

How badical are these babies??

And finally, what southern California 30th b-day bash would be complete without a trip to In'n'Out??

Sorry In'n'Out peeps who were just going about their business...

We rounded out the day with wine on the sofa and Little Britain on the television, but there are no photos of that.

I'm being a total social butterfly these days. This weekend I'm at a bachellorette party and bridal shower for my BFF who's getting married in mere weeks - OMG!! Expect pictures. Or maybe not.

February Reading (sooo late...)

Didn't do a whole lot of reading last month. I finished The Paris Wife and moved on to these two:

Neither book was really for me. I've looked at "The Distant Hours" over and over again, and while it has all the elements that should have made it a really enjoyable read (Set in England, taking place partially during WWII, creepy family dynamic), all I wanted to do was contact the editor and demand to know why they didn't take out at least 100 pages of the 500+ page book. They story was very complex, but the narrative kept jumping all over the place and the author was very vague about big reveals, and by the time it all got tied up in the end, I couldn't remember the beginning of it all. Plus I couldn't identify with any of the characters.

Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

The end of February was super-jam-packed, but sadly it was super-jam-packed with illness. James came home with a nasty cold, and a few days later I woke up with it. We did, however, have a chance to sit in one of our local parks and do some drawing:

Well, James did some drawing. I just ran around taking pictures.