showering o with love and luck

i kicked off my weekend with serious writer's cramp from writing a big ass stack of these for the mountain of presents the bean received for her birthday:

it felt good to get them done, though, and i was happy to be able to focus on a fun weekend ahead with that item crossed off of the to-do list. o's bridal shower was on saturday, and along with a fun little gift i'd put together off of their crate & barrel registry, i made a package of thank-you notes for her that coordinated with the invitations i'd done for the shindig.

earlier in the week, when i scooped up the supplies for all of the thank-you notes, i'd also picked up a roll of beautifully printed wrapping paper. i wanted to take a tip from my buddy amber and make the outside of my gift just as fun and pretty as the inside. so i also bought a roll of solid-colored wrapping paper that accented the bright and colorful design and added a bit of fuchsia ribbon. just to make it even more fun, i reversed the wrapping patterns for the thank-you notes. i threw together a quickie card and checked off another item on the ol' list.

the bridal shower was being thrown by the guest of honor's mother at the odyssey restaurant in granada hills. my brother and o had been there a handful of times over the years to celebrate various occasions, so the venue was quite fitting for the celebration.

the room was bright and decorated with lots of pink.

i eyed the giant cake box appreciatively, seeing that it was from an asian bakery. i knew this would mean whipped cream frosting and filling topping a lovely light and airy white cake. mmmm. since the hub prefers a denser cake (when he eats cake at all, that is), i rarely get to indulge in this treat, so i was excited. you know how food gets me all tingly inside.

the restaurant offered sweeping views of the valley.

after hugs and greetings all around to several moms (the bride's, the groom's, and my own), the bride's sister, and the other bridesmaids, i put my bag down and headed over to the apps table.

the box was removed to reveal the ginormous, full-sheet sized cake. yay!

i sat next to my sister, who snickered as i plowed through cheese & cracker plate #1. she's a recently converted vegan AND a fellow fruit hater, so she skipped the appetizers. and you all make so much fun of me for not eating fruit. psh. there are a lot of us out there, you just don't know it.

the bride, center, with her sister/MOH to her left and a high school friend on the right.

i was hungry. i hadn't had breakfast and my stomach was grumbling in protest, so i sashayed back up to the spread and helped myself to a second (even larger) helping of cheddar and butterfly crackers. everyone else was munching delicately and chitchatting, but i have no shame. hell, i'd have gone up for a third round had the salad not been served not long after i devoured the last morsel.

i felt quite special to be seated at one of the two "reserved" tables. heh. VIP, suckas!

we all pounced on the bread basket as soon as it was plunked down on the table.

not wanting to miss anything, i chose to dress half of my salad in the vinaigrette, half with ranch. both were scrumptious.

there were three vegans and one vegetarian at my table. a girl who was another high school friend of the bride asked innocently "what's so wrong with meat, anyway?" and as they all paused and then said "oh, let's not get into it - that's not a great topic for a bridal shower," i made a megaphone with my hands and said "absolutely nothing!" i'm such an asshole, but i couldn't help it.

when the entrees were served, the 10-year-old inside me reared its ugly head and i cackled at the phallic veggies the kitchen had chosen to stuff with mixed vegetables. it was almost a shame there was no stripper - that would have been perfect. the vegans balked at what looked like a parmesan cheese topping, but after a bit of back-and-forth, the servers confirmed that they were just breadcrumbs.

my chicken was served with a creamy artichoke sauce, broiled potatoes, and steamed veggies.

despite the gigantic sheet cake on the table nearby, we were served with slices of cheesecake after the luncheon plates were cleared away.

but this is me. not completely satisfied, i turned my attention to the little tulle-wrapped bundles of jordan almonds and hershey's kisses.

we played a few games. after the word scramble (my family OWNS this game. i correctly predicted that one of my people would win), it was time for bridal bingo.

as soon as the winner accepted her prize, i smirked as these were delivered to each table. being quite the bridal shower veteran, i knew this meant that someone was about to be draped in strips of tissue meant to wipe one's ass. hee! "NOT IT!" i shouted gleefully.

one of the other bridesmaids gamely volunteered to be our model, and we got to work.

we giggled as we worked, wrapping her in what we deemed the "slutty bride" gown. note the halter top and cutout below the boobage.

the models lined up to walk the runway and model our creations as the bride watched and judged.

when the fashion show was over, they all gathered for a group photo.

slightly disappointed at yet another loss, i cheered myself up with a self-portrait.

practicing for her next gig as cake-cutter, the bride posed happily with knife in hand.

with about half an hour left of the party, she sat in the middle of the dance floor to blaze through the pile of gifts as the rest of us nibbled on cake. surprisingly, the five-hour period that was set aside for the party that had seemed like such a long time had sped by, and she managed to open every gift, show them off one by one, and thank the giver at a great pace.

mmmm, cake. of course, i set the filling aside.

a special cake was also available. remember, the bride herself is vegan also.

oh, heeeeeyyyyy. that's quite a prettily wrapped present you got there.

my sister accepted a slice of the vegan cake quite happily, and it smelled awesome.

before we departed, i managed to gather the bride and the rest of the wedding party for a group pic.

o had brought the dresses for me, the teen, and the bean last week to the birthday bash, but i hadn't had a chance to even pull mine out of the plastic. the teen grudgingly tried hers on as i'd rushed around with hostessing duties and found that she would need alterations as it was too long on her. without even having to try it on, we knew the bean's was way too long as well. and i finally tried mine on later that evening, finding that it fit like a glove with no adjustments needed. yay!

five weeks and counting! so exciting.