New Orleans Wedding

Wow.  What a fun weekend!  We went to NOLA (my first visit) for JJ's cousin's wedding over St. Patrick's Day weekend.  It just happens to be one of the busiest weekends in NOLA (I guess it makes sense that any major holiday associated with drinking would be big there...).

I had no idea what to expect from this city...all I knew about was Bourbon Street.  My mind was blown by how amazing it is!  I loved the history of the French Quarter, the architecture of the Garden District, the uniqueness of the old above ground cemeteries...the FOOD!  I would go back in a heartbeat.

One of my favorite experiences was dinner at Felix's Oyster Bar. We had dinner standing at the bar where they were shucking the oysters right in front of you and you just ate until you were full then they counted the shells at the end! So fun and so yummy.  We also had to sample their house specialty chargrilled oysters (amAHzing), oysters rockafeller, and fried oysters...do you see a theme?  But that is half the fun of traveling to a new city...experiencing the food they are known for!

We also ate at Mother's Restaurant and enjoyed a true Southern breakfast, Cafe DuMonde (the original French market coffee stand) for beignets, and Cafe Beignet (yes I had to sample multiple beignets).  On the afternoon of St. Patrick's Day we headed over to the Garden District and had some fairly authentic Irish food at Parasol's Block Party before the parade started.

The wedding itself was a totally unique experience!  The bride and groom just moved to New Orleans this past year but really wanted to embrace all of the wedding traditions of the city.  So fun!!  The coolest part was the "second line" which is basically a parade from the ceremony to the reception site that took us all through the streets of the French Quarter (including Bourbon Street).  Just keep in mind, it was about 8:00pm on St. Patrick's Day on the streets of New Orleans.  There were people lined up on the streets taking pictures and videos of us parading by, some even joined in for a few blocks!  We had a police escort and 5 piece marching band so we were totally legit and attracted quite a bit of attention.  Pretty. Darn. Cool.

Can't wait to go back again soon...quite possibly when we play (beat) the Saints this fall...

View of the French Quarter

Napoleon House Restaurant

St. Louis Cathedral 

St. Patrick's Day celebrations

At the wedding

Family picture

Just Wharried

Katie and Brian's wedding weekend was the most fun I have had in a long time. Seriously epic. I wish it could have lasted all week.

Because I wanted to maximize our time, JJ and I got into town on Thursday afternoon to explore Austin a bit. Neither of us had ever been and I hear only good (and weird) things about it. After checking in to our hotel we wandered around the area and stumbled upon Threadgill's Home Cookin' for lunch, where we both enjoyed Texas, on a plate. And then I found $10. No seriously, I'm not just making the story sound better. I found cash in the parking lot.

For dinner we went to Piranha Killer Sushi, a favorite of mine when I lived in Fort Worth. We walked around downtown for a bit and then discovered Emily's fiance Jacob was also in town and tracked him down at dinner with his family. Continuing our self tour of downtown, we wandered along 6th Street to observe the festivities. After getting plenty of tattoo and piercing ideas, we decided to pick a place for a drink. Of all the eccentric, weird, funky places on 6th Street, we ended up at The Driskill, a historic hotel with a beautiful, classic bar inside. I guess we should have tried to get a more authentic Austin experience, but I couldn't pass up drinking champagne in a beautiful old hotel bar.

The Driskill, downtown Austin

The next morning, JJ and I did something we have never done before...we went running together! JJ isn't a big distance runner (go figure), so this was a huge deal to me. I have been trying to get him to join me for a long time. Luckily Austin is a very runner friendly city, full of trails systems and parks. We stayed right on the lake downtown and we able to take advantage of the Lady Bird Lake Trails. We ran and walked about 5.5 miles total. It was a gorgeous day and the trail was full of runners, dogs, bikers and kids. For lunch we went to one of my favorite places in the world, Central Market...a must visit anytime I am in Texas.

Friday night was the wedding, at The Mansion at Judges' Hill. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and the weather was perfect. We had a sunset cocktail hour on the balcony overlooking where the ceremony had been, and then dinner and dancing in a gorgeous ballroom. It makes me so happy to see my friends marrying someone they were clearly meant to be with forever.

Katie and Brian's first married kiss

Theta Kite

As wonderful as the wedding was (and it was), the real madness began after the reception. It started innocently enough with a conversation with one of Katie's cousins from Chicago, who had never been to Texas. He was asking about where everyone was heading for the after parties and I mentioned the name of the bar where everyone was gathering. The exchange went like this...

Me: I think everyone is headed to a place called Union Park.

Awkward Cousin: Oh great...is that in a safe area?

Me: Um...I would assume so, but you should be fine. You'll be with a big group.

Awkward Cousin: Oh that's good. Its no big deal anyway...I'm packin'.

Me: That's cool, it is Texas after all. I guess everyone has a gun.

Awkward Cousin: awkward blank stare

Me: Oh...um...did you mean pepper spray? That would work too.

Awkward Cousin: No. I meant my penis.

Me: ...

That pretty much ended the conversation and I didn't see him at the bar later.

There were several other highlights of the evening. One (female) friend, accidentally tried to pick up a (female) hooker and then wandered off with another group of girls she thought was with us. Another friend spent a fair amount of time resting in the bar bathroom, then fell asleep on the couch in the lounge. JJ and I took her her back to the hotel and had a lengthy conversation about how she shouldn't take allergy medicine before a night of drinking, she did not remember that the next morning.

I love my friends.

Saturday everyone met for lunch at Cedar Door, where they had the best fish tacos and chips and salsa. Next we all headed to Lake Travis where we rented boats and spent the evening on the water. The water was chilly but I think I was the only one who didn't get in. The homes around the lake were gorgeous and I had so much fun taking in the scenery.

Katie and Brian (and their parents) did a fantastic job of hosting everyone for the weekend. JJ and I were so lucky to be part of the celebration and I loved seeing JJ get to interact with my college friends. I think he is finally accepted as an honorary TCU Theta. (Brian earned that distinction a long time ago after he took on all those sister wives).

Georgia on My Mind

Last weekend JJ and I went to Georgia to go to the wedding of two of our friends from Charlotte and spend time with his cousin Courtney. We flew into Atlanta on Friday and went out to dinner with Courtney in Buckhead. I had been hearing about Seasons 52 for a long time, so we decided to try it. YUM! Their menu changes with the seasons in addition to the weekly specials and everything on the menu is under like 475 calories. Talk about guilt free dining. We had such a great meal and so much fun catching up. Because we weren't done catching up, after diner we went to Pub 71 in the Brookhaven area for beers. There is nothing like spending time with family you don't get to see very often. So fun!

The next morning we drove east to Woodville for the wedding. I had checked MapQuest the night before and saw that it was about 90 miles away, mostly on I-20, so I figured it would take about an hour and a half. That morning we got a bit of a late start and when I plugged it in to the GPS, it gave us an estimated drive time of 2 hours and 10 minutes...getting us into town about 10 minutes after the ceremony was to start. OOPS! Luckily, my original estimation was correct. I guess the GPS didn't take into account our slightly above the speed limit driving skills.

The wedding was in the bride's hometown at the church her grandfather helped build. It was a sweet little small town Baptist church about 3 doors down from the bride's parents house. The ceremony was beautiful, so relaxed and classic. To give you an idea of how relaxed the groom was, he was hanging out in the church snacking and making jokes with the guests moments before the ceremony started. No cold feet for this man. One of the highlights was when one of the groom's friends sang a song he wrote for the couple (he wrote it earlier in the week). The song was beautiful and funny at the same time. What a great idea :)

The brunch reception was held and her parent's house, a beautiful Southern home that belongs in a magazine. We had mimosas out on the front lawn and spent time catching up with all of our friends from Charlotte. The whole weekend made me miss our Charlotte friends and living in the South. Don't get me wrong we love Phoenix, but I just miss Charlotte so much!

After the wedding we drove back to Atlanta. We headed over to Hudson Grill, right around the corner from Courtney's house, to watch the NCAA tournament. All of our brackets were pretty much shot by then, but it was still fun to watch. We had a great dinner and fun drinks. They had a combo beer selection so I chose a Purple Helmet, a mixture of Blue Moon and Purple Haze. Beer perfection.

The next morning we slept in and went to brunch at The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Even though it is an Atlanta original, it is one of my favorite breakfast places in Charlotte. If you come visit us, you can count on going. We also took Courtney's dogs for a walk in the neighborhood, walking by some beautiful homes and a cute shopping/restaurant area. The pups loved it!

Got to love the South and seeing family and friends all in one trip. Someday soon we will be making our way back for an extended period of time...just as soon as this silly NFL lockout gets itself worked out.

California Loooove

This October I will get my first shot at bridesmaid duties at Emily and Jacob's wedding in Fort Worth (Another excuse to go back to Texas? Yes please!). The festivities kicked off over St. Patrick's Day weekend in San Jose, CA with the first bridal shower. The MOH, Robin, and I flew out for a much needed girl's weekend. JJ and a few of his buddies took the opportunity to have a boy's weekend in Vegas...yea. Needless to say our weekends were COMPLETELY different, but that's a whole different story.

We left straight from the airport and headed to the Santa Cruz mountains for wine tasting! We stopped off at a little grocery store/deli in Fulton, CA to pick up a picnic lunch to enjoy at the first winery. Hallcrest Vineyards was a beautiful place to start the weekend. We sat at a picnic table on the patio, taking in the breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and vines, sipping wine. Their Sauvignon Blanc was fabulous, if you are looking to try something new. Next we headed to the Burrell School Winery for another tasting and dessert. Again, another fabulous view of the mountains and vines from the patio. They had great blends with fun school-themed names. My favorites were the Dean's List Cab, Spring Break blend, and Sweethearts blend.

That night was the St. Patrick's celebration at a bar near Santa Clara with Emily's law school friends. I loved all of the law school kids that we met...with the exception of one. I won't go there but the night ended with me covered in green beer, having to drag a drunken fool of a boy out to the bouncer after he groped just about every female in the bar. #can'ttouchthis

Not only does he dump beer on people and grope innocent females,

he ruins pictures too. EPIC FAIL

The next day I went for a run around the campus and took advantage of the nice weather, before the rain came. We drove to San Francisco for an overnight trip and luckily the rain stopped mid-afternoon so we could enjoy the rest of our time there. We had a yummy Italian lunch, then went to a wine bar to share a bottle of champagne. I think we were in an area called Soma? Next, we went to Ghiradelli Square to Crown and Crumpet (where JJ and I visited last year on our Valentine's Day trip) for tea and scones. This place is much more fitting for a girl's weekend, poor JJ had to tolerate the pink and lace. We headed over to Chinatown/North Beach to check into out hotel (S&W Hotel was a great deal for what we got). We did a tea tasting at Vital Tea Leaf, then went to happy hour until it was time for our dinner reservations in Little Italy. After dinner we wet out to a few of the bars, where we happened to see the guy who played McLovin in Superbad. He was playing drums for the live band. Sometime during the night while Robin and I were busy dancing, Emily snuck out for some fresh air and was joined by members of what I can only assume was the Latin Kings (gang), complete with tear drop tattoos near the eyes. They were surprisingly pleasant. Also, at some point a black man asked me to teach him how to Dougie. I did. Jokes on him though...I had no idea what I was doing, but he believed it.

Tea tasting man

After all of our activities, it was finally time for the bridal shower on Saturday. Each guest was assigned a room of the house to buy a gift for. Robin and I were assigned the BEDROOM. Woo hoo hooooo, scandalous! Just kidding, we will save those kinds of gift for the bachelorette party. We collaborated and came up with a "Breakfast in Bed" theme for our gift. Tea pot, matching mugs, breakfast tray with legs, and a bud vase. We also made a recipe book with fun breakfast foods and drinks that were super easy so Jacob has no excuses not to use our wonderful gift...no pressure Jacob!

My favorite picture of the weekend!

Next wedding festivity on the agenda is the Bachelorette party in New Orleans. Watch out Louisiana. You won't know what hit you :)