A couple weekends ago, I hosted my sister’s bachelorette party in New York. I promised you all a blog post with scandalous pictures and have yet to show you anything because in all the hustle of the move, I lost my camera from the weekend. And when I finally found the camera, the battery was dead and I couldn’t find the charger. Finally this morning, I found the charger so we are all set.
WARNING : If you are a new reader, please go back and read my two previous posts on this weekend (HERE and HERE) and know that under normal circumstances I am all about sweat pants and Netflicks and that any departure from those two things requires either an act of God or my sister getting married. Thank you.
I was really dreading this weekend. Like. A lot. As the Matron of Honor (horrible, horrible term, by the way), the bachelorette party falls under my jurisdiction, but I was probably the LEAST qualified to be in charge of the festivities. Namely because I have only ever been to two other bachelorette parties. And one of those was my own. And I think the rest of the girls had, collectively, been to over 1,000 of them. So, I did what any homebody, blogger, social recluse would do. I Googled “How do I throw a bachelorette party?”
Everything I read online said the key to a good weekend was a good schedule. I didn’t think we necessarily had to stick with it all the time, but a schedule would at least ensure we had SOMETHING to do at all times. And from previous experience, I know that I always find group trips to be much less stressful in terms of money if I know what to budget for and what to expect. So, I put together a big schedule (one that would make my professionally organized mother and sister proud) and emailed it out to the ladies attending months in advance. We then spent the next couple months going back and forth through email, hammering out details and tweaking the schedule so everyone got what they wanted (hopefully). In the end, I think we all had a great time.
We went to some really great places over the weekend, so I’m including the links to all our adventures and I highly recommend them all if anyone is ever in the New York area. Bachelorette party or not, the restaurants were fantastic.
Friday, we all arrived at the hotel in small groups as planes arrived at the airport. We met in the hotel lobby (Marriott Marquis in Time Square) where everyone had luggage sent up to the rooms and then got ready to get our shopping on! Before we started shopping though, everyone was hungry so we headed uptown a bit to one of my favorite burger places in Manhattan, Jackson Hole. Their burgers and chicken sandwiches are delicious, their fries are perfect, but their homemade pickles are TO DIE FOR!
FYI: That’s my sister, The Bride, in the top row, center.
After lunch, a few more guests arrived in town and we decided to brave the pouring rain and do a little shopping. We went to a few small boutiques on Madison Avenue before landing in one of the happiest places on earth, Dylan’s Candy Bar. Owned by Ralph Lauren’s daughter, Dylan, this candy shop is a New York favorite. I think there are branches of it now all over the country, but the New York shop is the original and it is so much fun. Its like Willie Wonka. They even have Wonka chocolate bars! And giant Easter bunny PEZ dispensers!
We then headed out again in the rain on, but this time armed with our bags of candy. I even bought Bean a Dylan’s Candy Bar stuffed monkey. He loves him!
Our next shopping destination was Bloomingdale’s. Strangely enough, we met up with the last group of guests right there in the Bloomingdale’s purse department.
Let’s pause for a minute in the story to talk about my outerwear on this trip. You will note in this picture that most of the girls are wearing heavy winter coats. Because it was 30 degrees and raining outside. Fairly normal, right? Yes.
I, too, had weather-appropriate clothing planned for the weekend. I had a few beautiful sweaters, my Cuddle Duds, and my winter coat. When my sister got to my house on Thursday before we headed to New York the next day, she went through my wardrobe for the weekend and announced that I would look RIDICULOUS walking around in winter clothes.
It was a bachelorette party.
“Alcohol will keep you warm,” she insisted. I countered back that I wasn’t a big drinker and that I was quite fond of being warm and cozy in sweaters. She said that NO ONE would be wearing winter clothes and especially not winter coats.
It was a bachelorette party.
So, against my better judgment, I put away all my sweaters and Cuddle Duds and broke out my spring silk shirts and light cardigans (even the cardigans got thumbs down reviews from Gin…). At the last minute, I threw in this lovely mom-style khaki raincoat. I love it. But when put in the group of girls wearing beautiful wool winter coats, it looks a little…well…momish. Also, for the remainder of the weekend, I froze my old lady ass off while every other girl there, except my sister, wore weather appropriate turtlenecks, sweaters, and winter boots. Even my sister asked a friend of hers in NY if she could borrow a winter coat while she was in town, so in the end, I was the ONLY one dressed like it was spring break.
I’m holding a grudge and fully intend to bring up this incident during my Matron of Honor toast at the wedding reception.
Moving on…
After shopping, the group headed back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner and our first night out. When we got back to the hotel, we all squealed with delight to find that Ginny’s fiance, John Michael, had sent champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to Gin’s room. The card said, “From your future husband. I love you. Have a great weekend.” 10 points for JM.
Ginny had requested a low-key dinner and drinks this night so that we could all chat and reconnect, since a lot of the girls hadn’t seen each other in a while. It was a perfect excuse to go to my favorite New York pizzeria – John’s Pizza in Time Square. You can’t tell from the picture, but John’s Pizza is located in an old church just off of Time Square, so there is balcony seating and vaulted ceilings with stained glass. Also, the two places where the front pulpits once stood are now the two brick ovens where the pizzas are baked. The best part about this place is that you would never know from walking by on the street that this huge, beautiful restaurant is inside. I love that about New York.
At the restaurant, I made an opening night toast, thanking everyone for coming. I said that the rest of the weekend and the wedding festivities were all about Ginny and John Michael and so our first night out on the town should be a salute to those poor men who had loved Ginny and never been able to catch her. If we all had one drink per poor lovestruck boy, we could have stayed drunk all weekend.
After we stuffed our immaculately made-up faces with pizza and beer, we headed over to a cute little bar in Time Square that Chris and I had stumbled on with friends a couple of years ago. Its called Aspen Social Club and it is themed like a ski lodge in Aspen. There were antlers on the ceiling that made up chandeliers and the walls were lined with Aspen trees and mirrors, so it looked like you were looking out into the woods. They also had big fireplaces everywhere (which was nice for me because, you know, I wasn’t wearing a coat…).
We had a really great time at the bar. I got to catch up with a lot of the girls that I hadn’t seen since Ginny was in college with them. And I got to meet a few new people that I hadn’t met before. And Ginny got to dance. Which is always a good thing in her book. It took a few coconut mojitos, but by the end of the night, I was dancing, too.
And by dancing, I mean taping my foot to the music. Without a coat.
See that cute blonde girl with Ginny in the last picture? That’s Nicole. She’s a pediatrician. I cornered her in the bar and talked to her for an hour about Bean’s asthma and eczema. Half way through the conversation, I realized what I was doing and I had to force myself to stop talking about Bean while I was in a bar.
After Aspen, it was about 1:00 AM. When you wake up at 5:00 AM with a baby every morning, that’s like 3:00 AM. So, I called it a night (along with the pregnant chick of the group) and we headed back to the hotel with our friend, Alexis. The rest of the girls decided to continue bar hopping so that Ginny could dance a little more. That meant the next morning, the group was a little slow moving….
But that first night couldn’t have gone any smoother!
Check back throughout the day for more installments of Ginny’s bachelorette weekend. It was just too much fun for one post!
This weekend I remembered the things I love about Florida. The warm weather. The sunshine. The outdoors.
And my hair remembered the reason we left Florida. The humidity. I’ve taken, like, two showers a day since we got here and my hair seems to have inflated. A LOT. I have trouble fitting it through doorways. And I don’t know what to do with it now besides throwing it all up on top of my head. I’m working on other options. Perhaps a side ponytail. Or a bun the size of Texas. We’re still working through those important details.
But I’m willing to overlook that horrific hair catastrophe in exchange for the bright blue skies and sunny days like we had this past Saturday.
Chris, Bean, and I went to the Winter Park Arts Festival (Winter Park is an area of town, not a reference to the season, by the way…). It was all through the downtown area of Winter Park and in the city park there were art vendors. At least, I think there were art vendors. I never actually saw one because I forgot to leave the food court area.
Festival food is my weakness. My BFF, Emily, and I call it “food on a stick.” If you can put it on a stick, deep fry it, or dip it in cheese sauce, we’re in. Bonus points if you can do all three at one time.
The festival was really crowded and I worried as I rammed my way through the crowds with my oversized stroller that Bean might not like being in such close quarters with 50,000 people.
But if he was nervous, you couldn’t tell. He sat in his stroller, waving his arms around like Moses parting the Red Sea of people. He yelled and babbled and called out to anyone who happened to be within shouting distance. And, believe me, there were a lot of people within shouting distance. A local radio station gave him a big yellow balloon and that silenced him long enough for him to see if the balloon was edible. It was not. And so the yelling and catcalling at strangers continued. But he was one happy, loud little guy.
At lunch time, we took a little break and grabbed a seat for a while. Chris and I shared one of my favorite meals – cuban skirt steak with rice and black beans. Oh my word. My mouth is watering just remembering the meal. Bean passed on the skirt steak and had sweet potatoes, avocados, and black beans. Which means his diaper later in the day almost made me pass out.
(Was that too much sharing? Sorry.)
After lunch, we walked around for a little bit more and finally Chris convinced me there was more to life than food vendors, though I still think he failed to make that argument successfully. We walked through a few rows of artists and their paintings and photography and wood working and jewelry and glass pieces. I ran up an imaginary tab of about $65,000 and had our entire house redecorated in my head. Complete with an enormous wooden sculpture of a pelican with a half eaten fish hanging out of his mouth. I thought this would be perfect in the new Man Cave. Chris disagreed.
A few hours later, we took another little break so that Bean Man could get some cuddles in. Sitting in that stroller all day was hot and even with all the fun of bossing around 50,000 people, he still needed a little break. Management is tough work.
When we got back to the car that afternoon, Bean fell asleep before we had even packed the stroller in the trunk. Which was good. I was balancing a funnel cake, a corn dog, a large frosty lemonade, and a gyro on my lap. I couldn’t be bothered with Bean’s antics in the car.
All in all, it was a great day for our family. It was so nice to be out of the house and doing something that was just the three of us. The sunshine made me happy and, despite the rapidly increasing size of my hair, I enjoyed being outdoors for the afternoon.
Of course, we could have been at a street festival in Norway in -20 degree blowing snow and I would have been completely happy with my corn dog. And my funnel cake. And my normal-sized hair.
02Mar
Last night I talked to Chris like I said I would. And it was a great conversation. Short. Simple. Honest. All the necessities for a great conversation in my book. Chris said he had the same fears sometimes, but that when he got nervous and anxious about all the change, he just thought about Bean. And how wonderful this move would be for his life and, in turn, how wonderful that would make all of our lives.
Perspective is important in a marriage.
Today when I woke up I had a little more of a spring in my step. I felt a little lighter. So, on my way home from work, I impulsively pulled my car into the CVS parking lot and I had a moment.
A moment of weakness, some might say.
A moment of poor judgment, some might say.
But, I’d call it a moment of clarity.
Normally, when I buy candy or chocolate for myself, I find an excuse. I’m already in line at the grocery store with a buggy full of groceries, might as well throw in a little somethin’ extra. Or, I’m already in the coffee shop ordering a tea, might as well throw a little piece of chocolate from the counter display in with my order. I’m a sucker for impulse buys. Especially the edible kind.
But this stop at CVS was just outright. Loud and proud. It’s how I roll.
I walked right in there and didn’t even pretend I was there for anything else. I went straight to the Easter candy aisle and I started grabbing handfuls of candy. All too quickly, both my arms were full. But did I stop? Did I give up? Did I throw in the towel?
No, I did not.
I walked all the way to the front of the store, candy in arms, and threw everything into a basket and then took the basket back to the candy aisle and filled that basket to my little heart’s content.
I had no reason. No justification. No pretenses. It was just me and the chocolate bunnies. Raw, I tell you. It was raw and hardcore.
I bought all my favorites…Â Cadbury Eggs…
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs… (which we all know are just giant Reese Peanut Butter Cups and if there’s anything better than Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, its GIANT Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups SHAPED LIKE EGGS…)
And I had to buy Chris’ favorite, the Russell Stover marshmallow eggs, so that he didn’t judge me…
There may also have been malt balls involved, but those didn’t quite make it home. Or out of the CVS parking lot.
So, in conclusion, the moral of this story is the following:
1. I have a good husband.
2. A good husband doesn’t necessarily make the road any smoother, but he walks beside you the whole time reminding you of what you’re walking towards.
3. There is no situation that isn’t immediately made a little better by chocolate.
(To see Part I with the first round of questions, click HERE.)
I wanted to find out where you used those plane tickets! You had the chance to go anywhere that airline flies, and I don’t think we ever heard where you picked or if you ever made it. From Lisa
Lisa is talking about mine and Chris’ graduation presents from my aunt and uncle. Airline tickets to anywhere in the world we wanted to go. (Read about our top 5 list HERE) We actually found out we were pregnant not long after we finally got our finances in order to take a trip. I didn’t think it was a good time for us to go jetsetting off somewhere in my condition. In hindsight, that was ridiculously stupid of me and I would go in a heartbeat if I had it to do over again. But, it was my first pregnancy and I was worried that if I needed any kind of medical attention, it might be hard to find in the middle of the Italian countryside. We had narrowed it down though and we were going to go to Machu Picchu. Ahhh….
How do you keep your house clean with the working full time, blog, and baby? Do you and Chris split chores 50/50, do you have someone come clean your house? Any insight on how to handle baby/job/dirty house? From Betty
Oh, goodness. Are you barkin’ up the wrong tree, missy. I am terrrrrible with the house cleaning. I really like things to be neat and tidy, but I could really care less if they are clean. Chris, on the other hand, could live with piles of crap all around him, but if there was a spot of dirt, he would be totally beside himself. We actually make a good pair. Generally, the housework gets done on a daily basis. We try (try being the important word here…) to at least pick up and straighten up the house at the end of the day after Bean has gone to bed. And we actually do a pretty good job of that. We get the actual cleaning done on the weekends. Usually Sunday mornings/afternoons because Saturdays are spent running errands. Our typical list of chores on the weekends includes vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, changing everyone’s sheets, and laundry. Any other deep cleaning gets done on an as needed basis.
As for splitting our chores, I wouldn’t say we necessarily split them. But we definitely have our specific roles. Chris, for example, is the weekday cleaner for the most part. Generally, once I put Bean down and we’ve eaten dinner, I sit down to blog for a couple hours. And that’s when Chris picks up and does the dishes and things like that. On the weekends, it is usually me that does the cleaning. Though, Chris pitches in a fair amount by doing things like cleaning his bathroom (we have separate bathrooms…it has saved our marriage many times…). I’m the vacuum and duster. Bean mops.
I think the trick to managing a household when you have a young baby, a blog, and a full-time job, is routine. Having a pretty set routine (especially during the week) helps us get things done and it also helps because we know typically who is doing what chores. But the BEST way to balance everything is to cut yourself some slack. If the laundry doesn’t get done until you’re out of clean underwear, well, it just doesn’t get done. If the dogs need a bath but you just didn’t get to it (again…), just let that go. Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day and beating yourself up to keep a perfect house on top of everything else will just drive you crazy!
How do you handle meal planning? From Amy
Meal planning is new to me. I started doing it when Bean was born because we needed to save some money. I did a big post about it a while ago, but here’s a refresher course in a nutshell:
On Sundays I sit down with my cookbooks and I plan what we are going to eat that week. Usually I try to balance between simple meals (like a meat, a green veggie, and a starch) and meals that are a little more hearty (like a casserole or a stew). I generally keep enough things in the house for a simple meal at all times, so I add anything that I need to restock for a simple meal to my grocery list and then I add the ingredients for our heartier meals, which usually have ingredients that I might not keep on hand. Then, I take my grocery list and I go through my coupons and pull out any coupons I have for anything on my list. I don’t take my coupon book to the grocery store with me because I usually end up buying things I don’t really need just because I have a coupon for them. I cut our grocery bill in half shopping this way and it actually makes me happy to meal plan. It appeals to my list-making nature. Makes me feel organized and in control.
There are a few things that we keep in the house at all times and those products we buy in bulk at BJ’s Wholesale (like a Sam’s Club). The list of things we buy there is actually expanding because we tend to be creatures of habit for some things. My BJ’s list includes pasta and spaghetti sauce, canned diced tomatoes, canned veggies, soft drinks, bread (I freeze what I don’t use right away), steamer bags of veggies (these are just easy to use in a pinch), Chris’ chewing gum (because he’s addicted), hot dogs (because I’m addicted), meat (which Chris repackages and we freeze in individual servings), Bean’s formula and diapers, trash bags, dish detergent, laundry detergent, bottled water, and batteries (for Bean’s toys and swing). That trip usually costs us between $150 and $200 a month, depending on what products we need to replenish that month. I don’t know that we save any money when we shop at BJ’s, but the convenience of having those staples in our house is a good trade off for me.
Most parents picture their kids becoming doctors, lawyers, even astronauts. If you and Chris could pick an ideal career for the Bean, what would it be? From Rachel
Oh, man. I don’t know. (Chris is sitting next to me right now chanting, “as-tro-naut…as-tro-naut…”) I really don’t care what a person’s day job is, so long as they are loyal to it, happy with it, and better because of it. Otherwise, he can be anything he wants to be.
Except a pimp. I’d have issues with that.
I wondered how your socializing has changed now that you have the Bean? You seem so busy how do friends fit in to it all? Have you met many new parents like yourself since Bean was born? From Another Rachel
Our socializing has changed since we have had Bean, but I think it was in the process of changing when we found out we were pregnant anyways so its hard to say if we are just in a different place now or if it has been Bean. Whatever the reason, our social lives have become more family oriented. We have always been a little on the homebody side, but we now go out and do things with just our family that we might normally had included lots of people in before. I can’t speak for Chris, but I know that I just enjoy Chris and Bean more now. I think that is one of the unexpected parts of being a parent and becoming parents. Bean changes so fast and learns so much that every day is new at our house. Even things like going out to a restaurant are different every time we go, and that keeps it exciting for Chris and I. So, while we do still see our friends on a normal basis, we are definitely enjoying the time with our family.
Plus, with busy schedules like we have at our house, our down time is even more valuable now. Having a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon to do anything we want is priceless and we sometimes spend that downtime with friends, we would rather take the time to connect with each other. Working all week, we really only get a couple hours in the evening with Bean so weekends we get to soak him up.
Is the iphone easy to type on? Do you eventually get used to the touch screen? From HeJo
It is really different than a normal keypad. But I’ve had it for about a week now and I actually am getting used to it. It isn’t as much of a problem as I thought it would be.
I was just wondering how you made that decision to get engaged so young? Did you discuss this before he proposed? From Caitlin
I don’t think there was an actual decision to get married, really. I think we both just assumed that was where we were headed. But our sophomore year in college we started talking about it more practically. Not so much about when we’d get engaged, but when we’d get married, where we’d live, how many kids we wanted. Chris really surprised me when he proposed. I wanted to get engaged soon, but Chris seemed like he wanted to wait a while. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he proposed! It shocked me, but at the same time I had been waiting for it. The whole ordeal just felt very organic for us. Not forced or planned. It just seemed like that was where we wanted to go next.
When is your sister getting married? We haven’t heard about her in a while, and I don’t think she updates her blog(haven’t checked in a while)? Are you the MOH? From Jordan
My sister is getting married on April 24 and I am her matron of honor. MATRON. What an awful word!!! But, sooner than the wedding is the bachelorette party in New York in a few weeks that I am planning. For the record, I am the WORST person to plan this weekend! I am such a homebody and for all the jokes I make, I really am not a drinker at all. And I am responsible for entertaining a group of sorority girls who can party till the cows come home. I AM NOT QUALIFIED FOR THIS!! But I’ve got a pretty good schedule for the weekend:
Friday afternoon/evening – Broadway show, dinner at a pizza and beer place, then out on the town
Saturday – Breakfast, lingerie shower at an undisclosed location (it’ll be so great!), dinner at a tapas bar, then out to this crazy fun bar (I can’t tell you much about it because its a secret and Ginny reads this blog, but I’ll tell you about it afterward)
Sunday – Big send off brunch!
So, yeah. That’s all coming up soon and I am really excited about it. YAY GINNY AND JOHN MICHAEL!!!!!
We’re about halfway through all of your questions from the Q&A post last week. Check back over the next couple weeks for Parts III and IV (…and maybe V and VI..!!).
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