My Darling Niece

Shannon sent some new pics over the weekend that I just couldn't resist posting!!!

the little side smile just kills me!

what a sweet pic! Shannon must have snapped this late at night.
what a smile! she's sporting a little Ralph Lauren number I got her in DC.
what a California-babe! designer clothes and some sweet shades. ya, girl!

Jennifer's Bday

Helped my dear friend Jennifer celebrate her 30th birthday on Saturday night in Newport. Her boyfriend rented a duffy boat and we had cocktails and hors d'ouvres on board before grabbing dinner at a yummy restaurant. It's so nice to have friends that you can celebrate special milestones with, even when you don't get to see them very often.

Jennifer and I have been friends since high school and she's always been there to take part in fun memories. We laughed our butts off about a time in college, when I went down to visit her at SDSU and she took me to a "rave," even though I was all "Ann Taylor'd-out." We lost each other at one point and when she looked over a balcony, she found me on the middle of the dance floor, shakin my booty...in my Ann Taylor ensemble. Too funny!

Happy Birthday, Jennifer! I'm so glad to count you as a friend!

me and Jennifer

me, Cody, Jennifer, and Yaz (Yasmine, Jennifer, and I planned our HS reunion. memories!)

me and Cody, Jennifer's BFF. I sat with her and her fiance at dinner. they're FAB.

SECRETS!

I was just tipped off to a new fantastic website!!! PostSecret is a place where people mail in crazy/sad/hilarious postcards to a guy who posts them annonymously every Sunday. Check it out, you'll either giggle or gasp, but I'm gathering that you'll become quickly addicted regardless!!!

Vegas, baby!

Went to Vegas this weekend with some of my favorite girls in the whole world. Simmons, Clarke, and I all flew in on Friday night to stay the weekend with Stephanie at her house in Henderson. Because she's a VIP, she was able to hook us up with some FAB perks, such as tickets to a Boyz II Men concert (yes, I'm serious) and then comps into the Ghostbar and Rain at The Palms.

We spent Saturday mostly just taking it easy. We drove down the Strip with the top down on the convertible, went and visited Sigfried and Roy's fabulous white tigers (and lions and alpacas - very odd), and then hit an outlet mall where we all made FAB purchases! Then we cruised back and Steph made us a fiesta in honor of Cinco de Mayo -- deLISH! After dinner, we got all gussied up and went to the Boyz II Men concert, which was seriously one of the most hilarious things ever!!! Clearly, we needed some adult beverages in order to enjoy the concert, but once the girls started rushing the stage, we quickly got the giggles! At one point, I even ran down to the stage and caught a rose that one of the "Boyz" threw to me. After the concert, we headed over to The Palms where we ran into a pack of professional British rugby players. We did what any normal group of red-blooded American girls would do and made them hang out with us the rest of the night! : ) The Ghostbar was awesome and we also boogied down at Rain a little bit, but by the end of the night, our feet were killing us and all we wanted to do was go home and eat more enchiladas...so we did. : )

On Sunday, Steph woke me and Clarke up by siccing the dogs on us. We drove down to Boulder City (near the dam) and had some greasy breakfast, then headed back for a day by the pool. I have a sunburn, but it was so nice to just lounge around with my girls! We had dinner in celebration of Sarah's birthday (next weekend) and then all left for the airport. : ( It was so sad to say goodbye, but on the other hand it was nice knowing that we're all going to make it a priority to still get together.

Me and Clarke

Steph and Simmons

Simmons and I playing with a tiger.

It's Cinco de Mayo, therefore MARGARITA TIME!

All dolled up and ready for a night on the town.

There they are ladies, BOYZ II MEN are at it again. Jealous?!

A candid snapped of me with one of the beautiful British boys!

The end of the night and the glasses and jammies are out. So are all the left-overs that we quickly demolished! : )

Krissy-pooh is married -- and lounging on a beach somewhere (jerk!)!!!

Nah, don't take the title for anything more than a little joke. This weekend was AWESOME -- I really mean it. I had such a fun time at Kristen's wedding (even though I went stag). As always, her friends were awesome (shout out to all the bloggers!) and welcoming, even though I'm on the periphery. I also spent some time with my cousins. Chad, Brittney, and Michelle are SO grown up at 16 and 12! It's so hard to believe that they've lived in Seattle for 8 years now!!! Both Julie and Jeff seem to be doing really well, with Julie just finishing massage therapy school and Jeff having the time of his life at Microsoft.

Now, back to the wedding. Kristen was RADIANT and I don't think I've ever seen her smile so much. It was so obvious how this was the day that she'd been waiting for her whole life...and it seemed so natural, too. She wasn't a ball of PSYCHO like some brides tend to be and all the details were just awesome. But the thing that I loved the most and was touched by the most was the ceremony and their vows. Kristen's uncle performed the marriage and I really thought he did a lovely job of teaching the meaning of marriage and how it is a mirror of Christ's love for the church. He tied in to Kristen and Ryan's love story so beautifully and I know that there were many tears throughout the whole place... which by the way, was a super cool venue. The place was down by the locks in Seattle and is all window with really neat views. There was a train in the background which gave the whole place this earthy, yet mechanical vibe - a really cool blend! The DJ wasn't crazy and I danced with Gavin, a RAD three-year old who I'm pretty sure was jealous, because HE wanted to marry Kristen. : )

At the end of the night, I was again touched by a bittersweet moment. When Kristen and Ryan got ready to leave, it was really a goodbye to her best girlfriends, too. Seeing them hug and fight to keep it together was so poinant... it's so wonderful to know that friendships can exist thousands of miles away!!!