Julianne's Wedding!!!

On April 17th, my little sis married the love of her life. I could not have imagined a more perfect wedding. It was beautiful and so much fun.

Their wedding was at Walnut Grove, a really unique outdoor spot that suited them perfectly.

Below are some photos taken by the wonderful Kimberlee Miller.


My gorgeous sis.






The ceremony ... about to begin.


Married!


Bug, Anthony, and their devilish dog, Pazzi, who came by for pictures.








Anthony cracks me up.


Dad + daughter. So sweet.


Bug and Anthony met in medical school at USC. Anthony also attended undergrad at USC, where he was in the marching band. Also, both of my parents are Trojans, so the crowd was dominated by Trojans (sorry, Bruin friends) and Huskies.

As a surprise, Bug and Anthony's brother arranged to have the USC marching band show up and play a few songs at the reception.


Someone brought a trombone for Anthony, and he jumped right in.




Then we danced the tarantella and threw Bug and Anthony up on some chairs.


Their exit. Love this photo.


It was truly a magical day. I adore my new brother-in-law; he is a great addition to our crazy family. And, I am so happy to see my baby sister so happy. I can't wait for the many adventures the four of us we will have in the years to come.

Bug's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Weekend

My sis got married in April, so March was full of wedding celebrations. I am so tardy blogging these parties, but better late than never.

First, the bridal shower. Bug really wanted to do a tea, and I hunted around for the perfect spot. I decided on the Langham Huntington Hotel (formerly the Ritz Carlton) in Pasadena.


Here is a shot of the table. We had about 25 guests.


One of the three centerpieces.


The food was absolutely delicious. Here is one of the scones with cream and jam.


Strawberries and cream


Sandwiches:
Prosciutto di Parma Ham on Squaw Bread with Buratta Mousse and Cantaloupe Caviar, Micro Basil;
Smoked Salmon Profiterole with Caramelized Shallot Caper Cream, Dill Sprig, and Lemon Zest;
Egg Wheel on Potato Peppercorn Bread with Garlic Herb Mouse, Chive and American Caviar; and
Watercress Pesto Marinated Caribbean Shrimp on Herb Garlic Bread with Tomato Cilantro Relish.


Desserts:
Passion Fruit Gateau;
Milk Chocolate Citrus Torte;
Lemon Raspberry Tart;
Almond Financier; and
Creme Brulee Tart.


We also had champagne, and, of course, tea!

After a few (hopefully painless) games, it was time for presents.

Bug opening the quilt I made her.


Then, we took a group shot outside in the garden.


Bug and her med school girls.


Family shot.


I went back to pick up the remaining favors (macarons from Paulette's -- I was not about to leave those delicious morsels behind), and I caught my family red-handed packing up the extra scones. (You may recall this it their M.O.)


Then, the next weekend, it was time for the bachelorette party! Bug wanted to go wine tasting in Santa Barbara, so it was more of a bachelorette weekend.

We stayed at the Canary Hotel, which was a gorgeous little boutique right off State Street.

A pic of our room.


Sadly, I didn't take photos of the best part of the hotel -- the rooftop pool. There are some pics on the website, if you're interested.

After checking in Friday night, it was time for happy hour.




Friday night, we went to the rooftop pool, ate pizza, and drank wine before heading out for a wild night on the town. There are lots of pictures, but none that are blog appropriate!

Saturday morning, we woke up early to meet the stretch Escalade limo to take us to the wineries!

Inside the limo.




First stop: Firestone Vineyards.


Second stop: Fess Parker.


My sis found a hat commemorating a new Fess Parker wine that she had to have.


Third stop: Foley Estates.


Yes, we were wearing matching Bachelorette shirts for wine tasting. Here is a sort of blurry shot of the back.


After wine tasting and a nap, we had a nice dinner at Coast Restaurant Saturday night.




Each girl brought Bug a pair of underwear, and she had to guess who gave her what. It was pretty entertaining.


Dental floss?


Granny panties!


From me




After dinner, it was more fun on the town. Again, nothing blog appropriate, but it was a lot of fun. Maybe too much fun. Let's just say we had a minor run in with the law and a jerky bartender, but it all worked out.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast and headed home to L.A., a little worse for the wear but with some great stories.

Phew. March was a busy month getting Bug ready for her big day. Now that this post is done, maybe I can finally post some wedding pictures!

Monterey, Day Two.

Our hotel is right on the beach, and I fell asleep last night to the sound of the ocean. It was so rhythmic and relaxing, it made me (almost) understand why people buy those cheesy noise machines from Brookstone. But, there's no substitution for the real thing, and I slept like a baby.

(Actually, truth be told, when we first got into bed, we heard drunken college kids laughing, screaming, and daring each other to get into the ocean. Bug and I, the two grumpy old ladies that we are, reported their drunk asses to the front desk, and the cops came and broke up their party while we giggled in bed. Haha, yes, we're total tattletale kill joys.)

I woke up this morning to this gorgeous view from our window.


God, I love the ocean. Driving along PCH yesterday and waking up to this today, I cannot imagine living anywhere else.

We were up at the crack of dawn to get Bug to her 8:30 a.m. presentation on time. She was presenting her research to the board of a medical journal, and they totally ate it up. She did a really, really good job.

I totally snapped a picture. I am turning into my mother, God help me.


I was so proud. She is such a genius. We sat through other presentations (none as good as Bug's, of course) and then skipped out during the break after running into a sorority sister of ours who was also at the conference.

We strolled around the shops in Carmel and then headed back to Monterey where we changed and then took a cab to Cannery Row to do a little wine tasting.

We found a few tasting rooms, but this one on the water was my favorite. It may have been the views, or maybe the young kid behind the counter with a heavy hand and a willingness to forget how many tastes we had drunk.


Two tasting rooms in, and we were starving for lunch (yes, we were drinking before lunch). We went to a restaurant called Fish Hopper.


We had each probably had about three glasses of wine each, and so our judgment must have been somewhat impaired because we decided a huge, flaming volcano bowl for two was a good idea.


Hmm. It was not. I'm pretty sure we ruined the ladies' lunch next to us with our cracking up.


Also, I didn't take pictures of the food, just of Bug cracking up.






I was also feeling pretty good. I decided to "draw a doggie" for our server on the receipt. I don't know.


As if that stupid volcano drink weren't enough, Bug decided our next stop was another winery. Man, oh man. Our poor wine pourer guy (what would you call them? Wine barista? Wine tour guide? Hmm.), "Rafael." We called him by name, and Bug hustled him for some free glasses, which we got. Hilarious.

After all that, we decided to take a nap. We came back to the hotel and, as you might imagine, crashed. We are going to try and rally to go do something tonight, but these old bones aren't used to this much fun (and alcohol)!