n&c

Wedding season is over for me this year! I've had a lovely time celebrating with many lovely couples all year long, but now it's time for my bank account to recover a little bit after all the splurging on flights and hotels and gifts.

The final wedding in the 2012 season was held last weekend in Tarrytown, New York. It was almost like a high school reunion for me, seeing as the groom is a friend of mine from way-back-then! I had a great time seeing some of my friends from high school - and naturally, we were all seated at the same table during the reception. Heh.

Classic red rose centerpiece

My high school friends - including the happy groom!
(I'm in the striped dress, obviously...)

Celebratory cigars from the reception!

I did take many more pictures that day with my fancy camera, but I'd rather not upload all 70+ to the blog, y'know? 

Anyway, the season's over, and just in time for me to start buying Christmas gifts. Ha, funny. Also, it seems that the invitations for next year's wedding season are already starting to trickle in. Vermont wedding next May? Sure... yeah... I'll be there. 

And I suppose if you're curious about these things - my dress is from Old Navy. From like, two years ago. Best impulse shopping purchase I've made, probably ever. I've worn it to work, school, and now a wedding! Whoo! 

a cartoon life

Totoro plushies in Tokyo

My phone case - from LuxyLoli!

Uglydoll bag buddy

I suppose I should be much more practical about everything, now that I'm rapidly approaching my 30s. But I'm not a practical person, not really. I don't think age will change that in any way. Actually, I can't wait until I get to be the crazy aunt/grandmother/old lady neighbor who has a killer collection of shoes and colorful knick-knacks all over the place.

to t&c

My lovely friends got hitched last month! I was thrilled to be in attendance at the beautiful ceremony.    We had good ol' Southern food at the reception, and then danced the night away. It was a fantastic time, and I loved being able to see so many of my friends from college! 

The flower girl wore purple Chucks! 

The beautiful couple!

His and hers cocktails - forgot to take a photo of "his"!

The adorable couple in cake-topper form!

I went to undergrad in Greenville, so it was nice to be back in my old stomping grounds for a little while. I visited my brother (he's a senior at my ol' alma mater!), wandered around the campus bookstore, strolled through downtown Greenville. Then B & I flew to New York the next day, and the moment we landed at JFK, we drove straight to Boston to attend another wedding party! Another friend of mine recently eloped, and they had a wedding celebration that Sunday! The last weekend of September was definitely a love-packed weekend. And I'm going to another wedding next week. Whew! 

since august

Sometimes I forget to slow down and do stuff that I want to do. Inevitably, the first thing that falls to the wayside is this blog! So... yes, I'm still alive. And I've been doing stuff that isn't work-related stuff. Occasionally. I went to a few birthday parties, a few weddings, y'know. Regular mid-20s things. Oh, I ran a half-marathon, too. That was... interesting. 

Birthday cakes...

Boardwalks...

And some classic cars!

I will be back soon, hopefully with vaguely more interesting posts!

little + me

J eating an oyster for the first time!

And his reaction when we told him oysters are aphrodisiacs! 

Little bruzza came to visit me in Boston at the beginning of August! He brought his uber-kawaii girlfriend, too! It was a grand ol' time. We did lots of touristy things. And we shopped a lot, too. Which was fine by me. I finally had a chance to replace some of my ratty cotton t-shirts. It's been ridiculously hot in the New England area this summer. And while I would prefer to run around naked, social norms dictate that I wear clothing.

In front of the Boston Public Library

We are so obviously related!

Rawr. 

Yeah, I miss Boston a lot. I definitely feel like I'm home when I'm there.

And since I guess this is sort of a fashion-ish blog, I should tell you that I'm wearing American Eagle cutoffs, silver glitter Toms shoes and a silk blouse from NastyGal in that one photo. Oh, and Ray-Ban Clubmaster sunglasses. And I'm laughing at my brother.

the beach house

Hello there, sailor!

The happiest place in the world is the beach house! B and I went to Scituate (in Massachusetts) last weekend, and had a wonderfully relaxing time. We're going back this weekend, too! It's the best place to unwind after a long work week, and I'm so so so so grateful to B's family that they are letting us stay there a few times over the summer. My summer got infinitely better, wouldn't you say?

Best view in the world...!

Love these cups!

Goofing around on the rocks 

Of course, it wouldn't be summer without some good summer beer! B and I try not to be too snotty about booze, but it's a lot more fun to get tipsy/drunk when it tastes good. Who am I kidding... we're total snots.

amy's bridal shower!

One of my best friends from graduate school is getting married oh-so-soon (towards the end of August), and I was so so so happy to be invited to the festivities! Her bridal shower was on Saturday at Diamond Hill Vineyard in Rhode Island, so obviously I was there. Me + grape juice = awesomeness. Okay, not really. I got to try some of Diamond Hill's fantastic cranberry wine with brunch, and I even won a small prize during bridal shower bingo! Woot woot!

Diamond Hill is pretty well-known in the area for their fruit wines. So I brought home a bottle of peach wine and another one of berry wine. Hooray! And while I wasn't "tasting" copious amounts of cranberry wine, I took some pictures! 

Gorgeous flowers around the party area!

My lucky bingo board!

Adorable shower favors - wine, naturally!

twenty-one

J and Momma. You can see my reflection in the glass!

I had to make an impromptu trip to Charlotte last weekend for another reason, but my trip was perfectly timed, because my little brother turned 21 on the 7th! Yeesh, I'm getting old. I took my family out to Nikko in Charlotte for J's birthday dinner. He's not much of a partier (or a drinker), so there was no big 21st birthday booze fest. I bought him a few drinks at dinner, though. I'm such a nice sister... and such a good influence, too!

Happy birthday, bruzza!

J'S FIRST LEGAL DRINK... was a fruity martini. 

Delicious birthday dinner!

My silly family - J looks a lot like my dad, huh?

Side note: yes, there were photos of us all together, but I look absolutely atrocious in all of them - either tired, fat, or tired AND fat - it's been a rough week and a half. I'll be on back on track soon, though! Zumba + yoga + half-marathon training should do the trick!

fourth of july, 2012

B manning the grill! 

Steaks and corn!

Our fantastic apartment complex's pool!

My favorite beer!

This year's 4th of July celebration was decidedly low-key for us here in Connecticut. Me, B, and one of our friends grilled up some steak (and veggies!), drank some (Canadian) beers, and hung out by the pool for a while before going to see the movie Ted. Very American of us, don't you think? We live in a complex with an awesome outdoor pool and grills, and we've been taking full advantage of it since we moved in.

Anyway, that's all for now!

I'm not sure why, but these guys are in my friend's car. Buckled in and everything.

run free

B and I registered for the Boston Half-Marathon in October! We're running and raising funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. My major goal is to finish the 13.1 miles, so I started training last week.

During my first training run, my Asics running shoes started to feel really heavy, and I had shooting pains up my legs after just one mile. Not good. I did some research and then went and tried on a pair of Nike Free running shoes at the local Finish Line, and it is the best decision I've made in a while. They're super-light, and perfect for my feet.

And bonus points for the integrated tongue design - now I don't have to worry about the silly things shifting all the way to the side of my feet. Oh, and I didn't get paid by Nike to write any of this. Or by Finish Line, for that matter. Just so you know.

B and I each got a pair in different colors, so we can match. His are the comically large ones, naturally. Sometimes I think we're just too silly for words.

panda balls

During my recent trip to Japan, I brought home an onigiri (rice ball) mold. It's shaped like a panda - how could I possibly resist?! I plopped down the 1000yen for it without even thinking.

I finally put it to the test a few days ago when B and I decided to make our own onigiri. We used a mix of canned tuna, mayo and hot sauce for the filling to try and replicate the onigiri I had in Tokyo. They actually turned out pretty well! The only thing we were missing was nori (seaweed). My panda mold came with a little hole punch-like thing that you can use to cut the seaweed into panda faces. Still, the panda balls were so cute, and so much fun to eat.

B and a panda rice ball.

B made regular rice balls, because he didn't want to wait for the pandas. But then he ate the pandas I made anyway. Ha!

coventry

Today, B and I went to Coventry Farmers' Market! It was definitely worth the visit, and we came back loaded up with so many fresh goodies for our ongoing kitchen experiments. I would recommend checking it out if you live in the New England area.

Alpacas!

Our first experiment was a kale chip recipe! Perfect munchies for an episode of 'Game of Thrones' - I just got B into the series, and we're working through the first season.