Masquerade Wedding

This is how a great weekend went:

My parents picked up the girls for a WashMO weekend. I scheduled a massage for 6:30 on Friday night (was great but not exactly comfortable 'cause I got KNOTS) and afterward picked up Indian food for Luke and me. Naan, Netflix, and chill?

In the morning I went to work for a bit and went to Studio Branca for my updo (request: faux hawk). For weeks I looked for a makeup artist to paint a mask on my face for Gracie's masquerade wedding but my leads kept falling through and I resigned myself to some Walgreens face tattoo transfers. As one does. But lo, a makeup artist at the salon had a perfectly-timed no-show and she did my makeup (request: spooky).

I met up with Jenny at the Galleria for her makeup and did a little wig recon for her at The Icing and Claire's (as one does) and she settled on this:

But settled isn't the right phrase because WOWZA!

Downtown for hotel check-in and getting dressed for the wedding. Here's a creepy tableau from the Marriott:

Gracie and Nick's masquerade wedding at the City Museum.

(this isn't Nick)

Gracie drilled these pumpkin holes herself. The atmosphere, tablescapes, the food -- everything was fabulous. Brava, Gracie! Congratulations Nick & Gracie!!!

My lipstick was an indigo eyeliner with turquoise shadow pressed in the middle for an ombre effect -- super cool and so easy even I the makeup maladroit could recreate it. Luke's mask was from Target.

SQUAD.

O CAFTAN MY CAFTAN.

Jenny is throwing the Breast Dance Party Ever to benefit Gateway to Hope February 17th -- party with us! Buy your tickets here. $50 is nuthin for 4 hours of this:

On Sunday we had a get-together with friends and kids and pizza and beer. Baby C, the cutest baby who ever babied, examines Luke's beard. Worry - anxious looks - back to mom.

Fifth Anniversary

All The Whiskey in Heaven

Not for all the whiskey in heaven
Not for all the flies in Vermont
Not for all the tears in the basement
Not for a million trips to Mars

Not if you paid me in diamonds
Not if you paid me in pearls
Not if you gave me your pinky ring
Not if you gave me your curls

Not for all the fire in hell
Not for all the blue in the sky
Not for an empire of my own
Not even for peace of mind

No, never, I’ll never stop loving you
Not till my heart beats its last
And even then in my words and my songs
I will love you all over again

Charles Bernstein

Anniversaries 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015

Michigan Wedding

Fun fact: I went to two weddings in May and both brides are named Amy Marie.

Amy 2 is Luke's youngest sibling, she married Joel, and we were there for it!

On the drive from Detroit to Kalamazoo, Luke remarked on how green the landscape is compared to Texas, on all of the trees... minutes later from the backseat a little voice:

YAY TREES!

Beeline to tree swing in Grandma and Pop Pop's front yard upon arrival:

 I don't have any photos of the rehearsal because my hands were full (I resorted to pushing the girls around in a cart in the church lobby that's for food donations...) but here's the big day:

C and cousin A peering out of window -- UDDERFY!

What? UDDERFY!

Oh, a butterfly.

Perfecting their camera smiles.

MY CAMERA! C loves to scroll through the photos on my phone (I MAKIN' THE PITCHERS) and makes off with my point and shoot camera -- I think she will enjoy a kid camera when she understands it a little more.

Trying to hang out with the boys...

Determined to be part of the crowd.

The bride! Doesn't she look divine?

During the family photos, C employed her new thumbs-up - I can't wait to see them! This photo isn't wide enough to capture all of Luke's siblings and our nieces and nephews (current count: 21 plus our girls) (.... you know the line, if you wanna play in Texas, you've got to have a fiddle in the band? Well if you visit Michigan you've got to have an airtight birth control plan* because, seriously. The water is laced with cervical mucus-dissolving chemicals or gonadotropins or something. Even I got pregnant when I was around them (Josie, much like I know I was conceived at Tan-Tar-A** in the Missouri Ozarks, you are a Hilton Head conceptus).

* Mirena.#

** "But you never really can be sure." -- my mom

                  # "TMI. And three is nice!" -- my mom

 

The ceremony:

Imagine this in focus, with better lighting, and it's perfect.

Reception. Speaking of perfect: Graham's hair.

Cute, huh?!

Miss E.

Bro table

Soon-to-be big bro.

C was sick for the second time in her life (the only other time she's thrown up: on vacation in the aforementioned Hilton Head) so we missed out on a family picnic the next day. She wanted to cuddle and watch DIDDY TIGUH (Daniel Tiger) and while I was sad to miss out on the festivities, I loved the snuggles. 

She perked up because: I WANT TO PAY IN THE DIM. [play in the gym]

Later she opened the gym door over her shoeless foot, lifting her toenail a bit (ouch). NO WANT OW-EE, she said after the tears stopped, which was both the saddest and the cutest thing anyone has ever said.

 We watched the tablet in bed and then she announced 'I want to seep in the kib [crib], mommy seep in the bed'. The nursery has a bed in it and so I fell asleep listening to her breaths going in and out, in and out. It was so sweet.

Susie sent me some photos of the picnic: (thanks S!)

We took family photos with Neri (forthcoming) because it's been hard to organize a session at home and she was available and fabulous and so are these pics.

Saying goodbye to grandma.We drove back to the Detroit airport and were home for dinner.

And so ended our two months of travel (Seattle, Charleston, LA, Las Vegas) - we are settled in for a hot San Antonio summer (that lasts until Thanksgiving). See you next time, Michigan! Congratulations and bon voyage, Amy and Joel!

I Love LA

We had a whole lotta fun this weekend.

We left the girls in the care of two overlapping sitters and flew to LA for 30 hours for my dear friend Amy's wedding to Jerome. (We met Jerome in Palm Springs and approved heartily and blessed their union).

The face of a man who didn't travel with small children. Ahhhh.

We arrived at the hotel and made our way to the bridal suite where hair and makeup were in action. I don't usually threaten violence but upon meeting Amy's makeup artist Lori I told her I was going to bonk her over the head and steal her hair. Was that weird? I think she took it the right way.

Gettin' ready mirror selfie. We wore the same clothes to our wedding and after party. Luke found his a little too big and mine was a little snug. C'est la vie, c'est la Oreos.

View of the ocean from fabulous Le Meridien Delfina. You can't see it in this photo but a man in full Batman regalia was walking purposefully but unhurriedly down Pico Boulevard.

Wedding ceremony at Bel Air Bay Club. Fabulous doesn't even do it justice. I felt like I was in a SoCal soap opera.

Talking to my parents before the ceremony, I told my dad -- your shoes are great. He replied, 'Everyone says that when I wear these.' Five minutes later Jenny walked over and said, 'Bob! I love your shoes!'

Sunset ceremony with Amy & Jerome emblazoned sunglasses.

Hi Mom and Dad! I'll see them next in Las Vegas because this party train is.not.stopping.

Amy and her mother.

So beautiful!!! The officiant was droll and wry and the personally penned vows each included references to puns and eating (Amy to Jerome: 'I love that you are a good eater, both in quantity and adventurousness' and Jerome to Amy: 'Sometime you get hungry and angry, and I will throw you a snack pack out of self-preservation'). He also wrote 'you've moved me to joyful tears without your knowing it'. You want your friends to be loved well and I'm so happy for the both of them <-- huge understatement. This was one of the happiest days of my life!

Little buttons down the back, divine.

Cocktail hour with bacon wrapped dates that Luke and I have talked about at least five times since.

With the inimitable Jenny. I love you too, Jenny!

Catherine and Jessica pretty in pink.

SLUMS reunion!

First dance, 'God Only Knows'.

Now for my specialty - blurry dance floor pics.

I'm not actually hitting Jenny in the face but I do deserve Jessica's look of '???'

Doesn't Amy look so happy?

'Single Ladies' but you already knew that.

When you are married to a professional party animal...

Perfect day, perfect weekend, favorite people. Yay for love!