Whirlwind Weekend Re-cap

When we came home last Sunday after our fantastic trip to Stowe, we came home to no power.  Yup, like a lot of other folks in the area, we lost our electricity.  Although it seemed like an eternity, we finally got it back late Monday night.  Once we got our electricity restored, we hosted Bret's sister and brother-in-law for the next two days and nights until they got their electricity back.  By the time Bret and I finally felt like we got our lives in order on Thursday, we were back on the road for another whirlwind weekend.  

First stop, was homecoming weekend at UMass Amherst.  It was great catching up with some old friends and visiting my sorority house for an alumnae brunch!

After two nights in Amherst, we headed straight to Boston to celebrate my dear friend Emily's wedding.  The ceremony was just as beautiful as the bride.  The wedding band was so much fun and I've never danced so much at a wedding before!

Bret and I stayed in the city and took Monday morning off.  We refueled with a leisurely breakfast at Miel before spending the morning shopping, walking around the city and finally getting the hair cut I so badly needed!

I had the Open-Faced Tomato and Basil Omelet with Olive Oil Crostini

Bret had the Banana Bread French Toast

While the weekend wiped me out, I wouldn't trade anything for all of the laughter and love I experienced with old friends this past weekend.

Tell me, how did you enjoy your weekend?

Wedding Planning: Copley Chamber Players

Can you believe that today is exactly one year from our wedding day?  Bret and I got engaged in May of 2010 and we purposely chose a wedding date far in advance so that we would have plenty of time to plan our wedding without adding a lot of stress to our lives.  But time has flown by quickly and we have a lot of wedding planning to do!

We've knocked some major items off our "to do" list, including picking a venue (which includes the caterer), purchasing a wedding dress, and securing a photographer.  Just yesterday, we crossed another item off our list - our ceremony and cocktail hour music.  My future mother-in-law graciously had Copley Chamber Players send us over their demo CD for us to listen to.  Bret's sister used Copley Chamber Players at her wedding and her entire family loved them!  Bret and I listened to the CD on the way to Amherst a few weeks ago and we loved the violin, viola and cello arrangement.  Since I have been incredibly busy lately, I was very grateful when my future mother-in-law took care of all the details to book the Copley Chamber Players for our wedding!

Next, we're onto booking a DJ for the reception.  I'd love to hear your wedding DJ suggestions!

Maggie and Paul's Wedding Weekend

I am seriously recovering from an AMAZING weekend!  If you may remember, I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my friend Maggie's wedding.  As a bridesmaid, I helped throw her a bridal shower, along with a bachelorette party.  Well, the big day finally arrived and we had a whirlwind weekend starting on Friday evening with the wedding rehearsal at the Hotel Marlowe and rehearsal dinner at Midwest Grill...leading to Saturday morning appoints at Pinckney Nails and Jean-Pierre Salon....to the actual wedding at the Hotel Marlowe on Saturday evening!  I was so happy to celebrate the marriage of two of my friends and the wedding was a ton of fun with lots of dancing. 

Here are just a few photos from Saturday evening:

My friend Angie was in town for the wedding so it was nice to spend some time with her last night and this morning before she had to fly back to Indianapolis.  My friends Kara and Matt were also in town from Oak Bluffs for the wedding so we spent the day with them (including brunch at the Friendly Toast) before they had to head back to the island.

Tomorrow is a jam-packed day and I've got lots of fun food-related events this week so this blog will be a little light on home cooking.

How was everyone's weekend?  What are you most looking forward to this week?

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

Last month I wrote about how I asked my best friend to be my maid of honor.  It has taken me some time but I've finally asked all of my bridesmaids if they would be in my wedding!

Again, I wanted to ask each of my friends in a personal manner.  I ordered these adorable cards on Zazzle:

I think the bride looks like me!

And I also gave them a tongue-in-cheek bridesmaid gift.

Photo Credit

And now that we finally have our bridal party and groomsmen in order...our officiant...and our wedding coordinator, I'd like to unveil our wedding website!  Bret and I have been working hard on this website for awhile and we're proud to finally launch it to the public.  Plus, we'll keep updating it as we get more details in order.

As a sidenote, this also means that I can check one more thing off by 30 by 30 List!  I've been meaning to give an update on my 30 by 30 List and hopefully I can get to that soon!

Happy Friday!  What have you accomplished this week?

Will You Be My Maid of Honor?

By the time you are reading this, I'm probably finishing up the last of my trip to Hoboken, New Jersey, or on a Bolt Bus back to Boston from New York City.  I took a trip out here this past weekend to visit my best friend Samantha, who lives in Hoboken.  Sam and I met in college at the UMass Amherst our sophomore year through our sorority, Sigma Kappa.  We quickly became friends and even lived together in the sorority house our senior year.

It is hard to believe that Sam and I have been friends for ten years now!  We have gone through so much together from my transition from college to law school and then to being an attorney and from her following her fashion and beauty marketing dreams from New York to L.A. and then back to New York.  We've had lots of ups and some downs but our friendship has weathered every storm - from illness, to break-ups, to family drama, to bad grades and to lay-offs.  We have consistently been each other's biggest champions, therapists and supporters.

So, when it came time to choosing my maid of honor, I knew that I couldn't get married without Samantha standing by my side.  Even though we've talked about being each other's maid of honor so many times over the years, I still wanted to ask her formally.  I also wanted to ask her in person so I chose to ask her this weekend and gave her the following card that I ordered from Zazzle:

I also got her a DVD of the Wedding Planner and My Best Friend's Wedding as a cute way to thank her for being in my bridal party.

Photo Credit

I'm writing this blog post before I've even given her the gift but with her, I know the answer before it has even been asked.  We've set the date, picked a location and asked our friend Sara Jane to officiate.  Now that I have my Maid of Honor, wedding planning is slowly starting!

Tell me, have you ever been in a wedding before?