Confession: By the time last weekend rolled around, I was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for about 24 hours straight. I've been battling a sinus infection, some sort of mystery virus, and a hypersensitive reaction to the allergy drops I just started for the last few weeks. In a turn of unfortunate timing, I had about seven things I needed (and really wanted) to do instead, so the theme of the weekend became "power through."
Please forgive this epic of a blog post, as things are about to get crazy with the wedding countdown at three days and counting (!!!). I wanted to document the amazing memories and hilarious details of this weekend, and I'll be back with reports from the #turtlepondwedding soon!
Chapter I: #ashleyadventures
These are always good for lifting the spirits. We went to Halcyon and ordered s'mores. If you're stressed or sick or anxious, I recommend an evening roasting marshmallows over a flame with a friend.
After we were happily full of s'mores and I had somehow taken a huge gulp of simple syrup thinking it was water, we ventured to the Trail of Lights. The weather was great, the lights and displays were fun, and it wasn't quite as crowded as I expected for a Friday night. This might have something to do with the fact that we had to pay for the first time ever, but I guess the $3 admission was worth it to keep the crowds down and support the trail. Pro tip: even though the gates stayed open until 10 pm, the box office closed at 9:30, so get there early if you don't buy tickets online ahead of time!
Chapter II: The Making of a Wedding Cake, Part 3
Saturday morning started bright and early when Nola the lifesaver showed up on my doorstep with bagels (and energy, of which I had 0%).
We basically baked the day away, creating a full-size test cake (to help us figure out portions and timing for the real thing) and all the cake to freeze for the real deal on Friday.
Amulya, Carolyn, and Hana all came by for moral support and a pre-wedding catch-up while Nola and I obsessed over every imperfection and shortcoming of our trial cake, as bakers do. The final product, however, could be deemed a success and I think we feel pretty good about getting everything together on Friday.
Chapter III: The Birthday Celebration
Running on a sugar high from too much taste-testing, I changed out of my apron, wiped the frosting off my face, and headed downtown to celebrate Ashley's birthday. We had dinner at Swift's Attic, which was super trendy and cute. Overall, I actually felt pretty meh about the restaurant itself but it's a fun place to go with a group and share plates and try everything. Meeting and catching up with people from UT reminds me what a small, small world we live in as we found random connections and mutual friends through everything from high school student ministries to taekwondo. I will commemorate the evening with another photo of the birthday girl and me at Trail of LIghts because the lightiing outside the restaurant was weird.
Chapter IV: The Engagement
Guys, I can't even tell you how excited I am about this. One of my favorite couples is getting married! Helen said "yes" when Peter asked on Saturday, and we all got to celebrate with them later that night. Even though I've known it was coming eventually (based on Helen's updates and the fact that last time I saw Peter he said he was looking at rings), I was still surprised and SO excited to get the invitation to the surprise engagement party earlier this week. They've both been an important part of both mine and Andy's lives since high school, encouraging us that successful long distance was possible and providing some great triple dates with Kae and James in tow. The proposal looked perfect, the party was a success, the ring was beautiful and the bride-to-be even more so. Congratulations you two!
Chapter V: The Pre-Wedding Brunch
I kind of feel like I need to apologize to everyone I saw on Saturday since I was such a tired, grumpy mess. After back to back to back activities, sleeping in and a brunch with best friends was exactly what I needed the next morning. What started as a bridesmaid brunch turned into a #jcrew brunch and just kept getting more hilarious throughout the day. We went to Jack Allen's Kitchen for their Southern-comfort-food brunch buffet. The food was pretty awesome and the entertainment was A+. Highlights include:
A last minute switch to Andy's parents' mini-van so we could all ride together. This created an Ashley-and-Andy dragging their four kids along on a road trip vibe that was pretty priceless.
A very concerned looking cook coming to tell us one of the dishes hadn't been cooked properly and ordering Nola not to eat it. This probably shouldn't have been as funny as it was, but the disconnect between the concern on his face and how inconsequential the news was for us made it really entertaining.
A waitress bringing celebratory dessert and then asking if Andy (who was sitting between Amulya and me) was her fiancee. I think our uncontrollable laughter made her uncomfortable. It was actually a really valid assumption... it just hadn't crossed our minds.
An attempt at the classic/stereotypical "bridesmaid photo shoot" pose that turned out to be the cutest, unintentionally color-coordinated photo ever.
The rest of the afternoon entailed a trip to the most crowded Sephora I've ever seen in my life, an internal debate about buying new foundation, and a semi-disastrous-but-really-we-did-okay dance practice for our group performance on Thursday. The wedding countdown is definitely on, and I don't think I could be much more excited. Here we go!
