My pitas page

then on sunday....
it was time to have a more civilized, lady-like party, y'all. after much secrecey the shower location was revealed to be a-mac's gorgeous back garden in brooklyn. we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. everyone was in pretty dresses, and my parents made the big drive down from massachusetts for the occasion (dad and chris were left on their own). and, as always, the generosity of the ladies in attendance was overwhelming. did i mention that there was MORE sangria? and amazing food and sweets? just gorgeous.

bridal weekend madness!
words cannot even begin to describe how awesome and touching and amazing and lovely this weekend was. friday night began with the surprise arrival of agawamian t.k. at h.p.'s place, and the four of us (a.w., too) drank champagne before getting picked up by a-mac in a car and jetting over to a very very yummy tapas place in far west soho. the food was amazing, 11 ladies in all were there (iuncluding another surprise appearance by libgrrl), and the sangria and african-american penis cake were not to be forgotten. We then trekked over to culture club, the bastion of 80s dancing, where it was discovered that (1) i had forgotten my ID, and (2) bouncers will eventually let you in without an ID but they like to give you a hard time first. and there we danced for about FOUR HOURS. then we headed out, part of our party departed, and the rest of us were denied entry at webster hall before adjourning to a diner to eat some inappropriate food at 4 a.m. i crawled into bed beside non-moving fiance at about 5.....his bachelor party, while fun and stripper-ful, had ended a couple of hours earlier. ha! we won! more in next post...

this is it
today starts the big party weekend and i am so excited that it's really pointless for me to be at work today. but since i am outta here at 1 by the latest, i am ok with it. i can buckle down. dear aw made it in this morning from denver and i feel terrible about basically handing her the house keys and running...but she and i can catch up this afternoon. and then the dancing, drinking, and hopefully eating begins! i have such awesome friends, do i not? why yes, i do.

day in the sun
it was for work purposes, but yesterday was spent in newport. the train rides to and from made this a super long day, but it was so sunny and scenic upon arrival who can complain?

the peace president?
insert sound of sarcastic vomiting here. dude, where's my damn country?????

bachelorette party: 5 days to go!
4 days, really, if you count that fact that since i am already at work, and today is sure to be a sucky work day, today is pretty much shot. but i am SO excited for this weekend--friends will be in town, all in one room, a couple of times, to socialize and eat and drink and have fun. i mean, what could be better than that? and i have to say lead hostess h.p. and her lovely assistant a.w. have me very curious/excited about what is to come. i am confident that it does not include a "condom veil" like the one you can learn to make on this website. ah, the joys of handicrafts.

honeymoon flights: booked! yay!
mexico here we come...

laaaaast niiiiight
a-mac and i went here, a place she discovered and i now love. i learned that i really, really like white sangria. and live flamenco dancing is always a plus. and the snacks are yummy, too. thanks a-mac!

wedding dress fitting--begun!
it was very odd to find myself on the N train yesterday, wedding dress in garment bag in hand, getting off at the astoria blvd. station. walked right past that burger king, past hp's old street, and then met the nicest lady ever who is going to be taking in (not out! yay!) some parts of The Dress. she's super cool and as you can see from the custom dresses she makes herself, very into the whole modern-look-for-brides thing. and her husband is irish so we bonded about how great brown's department store in dublin is. so nice to get this process started as well.

bridal gown fitting
tonight is my first fitting for the big day's dress--and we're now 2 months out from the big day itself...so for those two reasons i am a bundle of nerves/excited energy. also near-puking energy but i guess one must take the good with the bad. kind of wish i hadn't had such a good-eating-time in chicago this weekend at book expo america (heh), but, you know, that's life.

i have finally succumbed
and subscribed. REALLY looking forward to it!

farenheit 9/11
i cannot wait to see this movie.

strawberry rhubarb pie
since i am not going to be here this weekend, and c loves this damn pie, i think i will make one for him tonight while he's out with his buddy listening to the rock and roll. that way he will be reminded all weekend how great i am : ) if the pie lasts that long, that is.

things learned this weekend
1. the diamond district in NYC sucks, 2. jewelers on long island are much nicer, and 3. it's harder to find a nice men's wedding ring than you would think. so c is still looking. but mine is in the works--his granny's engagement ring is on its way to a guy in california with a laser who will turn it into my wedding band. i cannot wait to see it. other activities this weekend: eating way too much, lounging on said granny's dock in the sun, gardening, and watching the harborfield's high school marching band march on by his mom's house monday a.m. bright and early. it was quite heartwarming actually.

you will be so proud
i RALLIED last night after getting up super duper really early to go with author to new jersey. left work about 4:30 as "payback," went home and to the gym, showered, dressed slightly hipper, and headed down to kgb bar in the east village to see some p.r. buddies at a book publicist/author happy hour they were hosting to promote their reading series. i didn't drink but we had much fun chit-chatting anyway. then rr and i went to dinner at the crooked tree creperie (discussed, among other things, on this site), including yummy hot cocoa. and then i got home around 11 and STILL managed to make out with the boyfriend. i mean, how amazing is that for me, the constantly sleepy one? i am in awe.

i'd rather have a car than a dog
i think c and i are going to spring for a certified pre-owned something, sometime between the wedding and the start of the new year. not really sure what or how or, you know, where we'll put it. but it's getting to be a necessity what with the whole us getting married thing and my family being far away and his brother and sis-in-law moving to be semi-far-away. and the whole "target's not in the city" fact of life.

uhhhhhhhhh
forgive me, but ever since my alarm went off at 4:35 this morning, i have hard a hard time putting thoughts into words. or even having thoughts, for that matter. and this huge cup o coffee is not helping--never a good sign. at any rate: the NJ campus of CNBC rocks the house, y'all. i was there with my young author and his dad this morning for an interview and afterwards the producer was so taken with said young author that he gave us the grand tour of the facility, including not just the control room and assignment desk, but also the cafeteria and outdoor terrace. they also have bowling night once in a while. were it not in NJ, i would think about a career switch. i have been told i have some skills...and perhaps they could use them.

wedding invitations: mailed
thanks mom for doing the honors. don't worry, i didn't make her trek to "romance, co," or "loveville, ar" to do it. hey--this party is officially starting, people!

wedding bells
or in this case, rings. c and i are going to hit the diamond district friday afternoon to try on wedding bands and see which we like. i am still hoping to convert his granny's e-ring into my wedding band, but if the jewelers we visit say that's not a good idea/wouldn't work, then i guess a decision on a new-fangled ring must be made. this is quite exciting--so few days to go!

the sopranos
this past sunday's episode was a doozy. here, some mob experts explain why there really was no other way out for adrianna, the one moral center of the show. except for the drugs, of course.

seriously
the bridal shower was not nearly as nerve-racking as i expected. granted, i could barely sleep the night before and felt sick to my stomach up until the moment it began, but in the end--easy-peasy. it was so great to have all these relatives there in one room, people got to meet chris's mom and sis-in-law and cousin, and my dear friends tk and hp were there. and my mom threw an awesome party--the details were so great and the food was amazing and really, it could not have gone better if we had tried. i am so damn grateful to everyone, and not just cause we got great gifts ranging from fancy polish pottery (see link) to a wall-mounted beer-bottle-opener. but really because i just feel so lucky to have all these people who care about me in my life. let the wedding fun begin!

extreme ironing
what more can one add? awesome.

my heritage
tonight me and c and hp and n-dogg drive up north to the ancestral homeland of hp and myself, western massachusetts. our purpose--my first bridal shower. and i have to tell you i am quite excited. which i can't believe i am, but there it is. my mom has put together what is guaranteed to be a food-filled affair at a restaurant in springfield's italian south end. have i mentioned how excited i am? bridal nerd, she is me. i want one of my friends to get engaged so i can plan all this fun stuff!

i need a vacation
and for some reason, a long weekend in the south sounds so good right now. i think it brings back memories of being young(er) and driving with hp from new orleans to d.c. one july week. not the coldest time of the year to experience this part of the country, but i like to think we had fun. and ate so well!

cisqo?
my friend aw loves thongs as much as i do (too much information? probably.) and we're always on the lookout for the perfect pair. no cutting-in by the strings on the side, a back that doesn't ride up too high...the possibilities are endless. and here it is, found by aw and passed on to me, and now i share this find with you.

Germany in '06, baby
Tickets for the 2006 World Cup go on sale February 1. I know that is, like, 9 months away. But I am still so excited, I just can't hide it.

the day after tomorrow
i am probably not the only new yorker who will stay away from this movie. i would probably start to cry or something. there's enough of a chance these days that the whole place could really be destroyed. and thus i have no need to see it pretend-destroyed, thanks.

ethiopian runners
a great story of how you really can achieve anything with determination and hard work. not to lecture you, or anything.

in other engagement news....
i mean, seriously, again? i feel like j-lo is just pulling our chain now. like the little boy who cried wolf.

the need for speed
for christmas, c and i got his brother a "rookie experience" package at this race car driving school. not because he likes nascar, but because he has, shall we said, gotten a few tickets in his day. so the whole gang of us drove out to scenic pennsylvania on saturday, watched him race around a track his allowed eight times, and got to hear for the rest of the weekend how "awesome" it was. which was exactly what we were hoping for. but how to top this next year?

three months from today
is The Big Day, as i like to call it, caps and all. and apparently i should start getting facials, says this bridal beauty preparedness website. but i think not. i'll just keep being me the same old way. have i mentioned lately that this is getting quite exciting, all the stuff coming up? because it is.