Hawaii Five-O!!!

I want to warn you before you start that this is an extremely long post!  I highly recommend taking a notepad with you on your next trip.  That way you can write down all of the funny things that happen along the way!  Here we go.......

Before We Even Left:

So as most of you know, Holly and I just went on a little excursion to Hawaii.  We had an absolute blast, and we did lots of documenting along the way.  Right before the trip was Katie’s wedding.  I literally flew home from Tulsa on Sunday only to repack and leave for Hawaii from DFW at 6am. 

Originally, I was going to fly straight from Tulsa.  At my success rate, let’s be glad that I didn’t do that.  On the flight to Tulsa I left my Hawaii book on the plane.  I then left my camera battery plugged into the wall, so for half of the wedding weekend I had a camera with no battery.  Finally, I left my house party dress for the wedding at a friend’s house and had to go back and get it.  Let’s just say I am glad I had time to regroup as karma was not on my side.

Day 1:

So the day started out innocent enough.  My dear cousin/best friend/roomie Casey took Holly and I to the airport at 5am.  We checked in, paid the stupid $25 fee for our baggage, and made it through security (where I forgot to take my shoes off and got yelled at by the security man).  Strike 1

So we get on the plane and Holly and I both pull out our respective Hawaii books.  We like to do lots of good research when we travel so we always buy travel books to read before we get there so we don’t look too touristy (I guess the big camera always gives us away though).  Since I had lost my Hawaii book I took the liberty of rebuying the same book.  I was real excited because for the second purchase of the same book I had a 40% coupon.  Therefore, the $20 book only cost me $30,  and low and behold Holly pulled out her book and we had bought the exact same one!  A tip for future travelers:  there is both a Fodor’s and a Fomar’s brand of travel books.  I told Holly I had bought Fodor’s and she said thought that I said Fomar’s.  So between the two of us we had spent $50 on a $20 book.  Strike 2.

We stop at LAX for an hour and a half lay-over.  I drop my phone on the floor.  Now I have done this a million times.  As much as people say the iPhone is sensitive mine seems to be indestructible.  Until today.  I pick it up and the screen looks like some kind of Matrix code.  Strike 3.

So there I am with no phone (which we were planning on using as our navigation system in the rental car) and no new music (I quit uploading music to my ipod a while ago since the iPhone has so much space).  I am completely bummed.  Luckily, we actually have really good pancakes and French toast at Chili’s Too.  Holly and I had a discussion and we decided that we don’t think regular Chili’s has breakfast, so we were a little leary.  But as of 8:30 AM, the French toast and pancakes were the best thing that had happened to us.  Not a good sign.

At 9:30 AM we board the plane in LAX for Hawaii.  The flight was only five hours; just enough time to do some good reading and some good people watching.  Now, if you know Holly and I you know that we love to do good people watching.  There are very good and specific places to do people watching and they include airplanes/airports, shopping malls, and sporting/musical events.  Now on a plane to Hawaii the good people watching also includes a Hawaiian shirt count.  As of takoff time we had counted 10 Hawaiian shirts.  We are now two for two for good things happening.  The karma is coming back in our direction.  The rest of the flight was uneventful.  Luckily, we didn’t have a third seat passenger so we got to spread out.  There was also couples sitting to the front, side, and behind us.  We were in the middle of honeymooners and anniversary couples.  Not too surprising.  What was so weird was that the honeymooners to the left of us were not as into each other as the anniversary couple in the front of us.  Must be that whole retirement thing.

We land in Hawaii at around noon, 5 pm Dallas time.  I don’t know if it was magic on the plane or what, but I somehow got my phone to work.  Holly suggested that I hit it really hard against something before I turn it on.  She should work for Apple because slamming the phone against my leg and then seeing the little Apple icon made me feel like I hit a home run.  I was so excited that my phone wasn’t ruined so I could spend that couple of hundred dollars on bad touristy items or really good Mai Tai’s.  Moving on….Now the Maui airport was Hawaiian shirt overload.  So much that I lost count.  We were at 20 or 25 when I got distracted by this…..

Yes, this is a fish purse.  I am not sure if it is meant for children or adults, but this man was extremely proud to be wearing it.  And I was extremely proud that he was standing in front of me at baggage claim.

We then go to get our rent-a-car.  Now, I do apologize, but the rent-a-car will be a big player in the rest of the Hawaiian adventure story.  Since we were in Hawaii, we thought it would be smart to get a Jeep Wrangler so we could take the top off.  Seeing as how neither of us has ever driven a Jeep before, we thought that a soft top would be an easier, more accessible choice than a hard top…..note to self….I now know that this is completely untrue.  So, low and behold we drive off in a silver soft top that has low tire pressure (not to my knowledge of course).  Later on in the trip we named her Big Bertha, so I will go ahead and start calling her that.

Now I have to give Holly kudos for the hotel situation.  Since it is off-season in Hawaii, none of the hotels were completely booked and most were running price specials, which was great.  We got a special for an “ocean-view” room.  We show up to our room and it is more of a pond view with the ocean in the background.  Not what you want to see when you get to Hawaii.  So Miss Holly called the front desk, complained, and voila! we were assigned another room with an absolutely breathtaking view!  Apparently the original room was considered an “ocean-view” even though you could only see a very small bit of ocean and a whole lot of pond.  Tip to travelers:  don’t be afraid to complain!  The people that work at the hotel do not care; you have to look out for yourself!  Don’t be afraid to be assertive.  Thank you Holly!

We then went to the beach and watched the most amazing sunset.  The sand was great, the water was clear, and the sky had just the right amount of clouds in it.  It was perfect.  See below:

After sunset (which was only 6:30PM, but Holly and I were still on Dallas time), we had a great dinner at our hotel restaurant, Capishe.  We then went to bed at 9PM.  I am going to blame it on the time change, however, we were in bed by 10 o r 10:30 every night the whole trip.  It was glorious.

Day 2:

Day 2 was fully devoted to a snorkeling trip aboard the Trilogy to Molokini crater.  I had several people recommend this snorkeling and diving company and they definitely held up to their name.  We had to be at the harbor at 7:45AM for our 8AM departure.  We get on board the Trilogy II and again notice a bunch of couples.  Some anniversary, some honeymooners, there is also a family, a father/son, and a group of five older women who were on a girls trip.  PS – I think that girls trips are as great of an idea at 60 as they are at 25.  These ladies looked like they were having fun.

Now aboard the Trilogy our crew consisted of Brett, who was our captain (O Captain, My Captain).  Then there was Shane, who was maybe 17 years old and in charge of all the food.  And then there was Dan.  Oh Dan.  Dan was one of those guys that you just can’t stop staring at.  He introduced himself to me and shook my hand.  He then came back a minute later and held out his hand again.  Now Holly heard him ask me if I had trash and hold out his hand, but I somehow missed that part.  I simply turned around and saw his hand and tried to shake it again.  He looked at me like we had just done the handshake song and dance and said, “Do you want to keep your trash?”  Holly said it was the most awkward she has ever seen me be.  Which is pretty sad because I consider myself awkward a lot of the time.  Anyway, I did give Dan my trash, which consisted of gum that might have gotten stuck on his hand.  The next trash round consisted of Dan holding a bucket.  Strike 4.

The crew was great.  They learned everyone’s names (although I would like to think that Holly and I got extra special treatment from Dan), served us breakfast, and lunch, and were really informative about how to dive and snorkel and what kind of things to look for in the water.

The trip started out with the travel to the crater, the first snorkel spot.  Now there is really only one other passenger aboard the boat to talk about.  She was a 40 year old Colorado woman who was really earthy and had no shame at all.  Before we even left the harbor she had her swim cover off and was catching some rays.  And when I say catching some rays I mean laying out on the middle of the boat in her bikini while everyone else still had their cover-ups on.  I suppose there is nothing wrong with her behavior; I just can’t believe she made herself at home so quickly.  Anyway, after about an hour of sailing we made it to Molokini.  We then got a lesson on snorkeling.  Now both Holly and I had been snorkeling before, but when you get to listen to Dan explain to you how to snorkel you are going to listen again.  I also had Dan assist me with my goggles to “make sure they were on good and tight”.

I hadn’t been snorkeling in a while and forgot how great it is.  The water was so clear.  We saw angel fish, eels, and various forms of other fish that I didn’t care to look up.  Below is a pic of Holly and I right before we started.

I just couldn't bring myself to post pics of us with the goggles on!  But I will show you our flippers!

The second snorkeling spot was in a harbor on the south side of the island.  Here we saw the same kind of fish, but we also got to see sea turtles!  There was quite a skill to see the sea turtle.  Apparently they are kind of sneaky and hide out in the underwater caves.  Holly and I knew that our best shot at seeing a turtle would be one place…wherever the Colorado woman was.  Sure enough, while following her around we both got to see a turtle.  Mission accomplished!

On the sail back to the harbor we got to see two things.  Dan’s backside as he put up the sail (which thankfully lasted several minutes) and get ready for it…..Dolphins!  And I don’t just mean one or two dolphins….I mean like 20 dolphins.  They followed our boat for several minutes and played around jumping and doing tricks in the water.  There were two baby dolphins as well.  It was really fun to watch them.  We even got a video on Holly’s camera.  It was pretty priceless.

After we got done with snorkeling we decided that it would be fun to take the top off of Big Bertha on the way home.  Big Mistake!!!!  We got the top halfway off and it got stuck!  We couldn’t for the life of us get it all the way off, and what was worse….we couldn’t get it back on.  We had Colorado woman's husband offer to help us, and he couldn’t get it either!  So we decided to try the drive back with the top half on and half off….again, big mistake!  We had to pull over and called Alamo Rent-a-Car.  While on the phone with them, Holly somehow all of a sudden got the top completely off.  We were so excited just to have the top of the jeep in a full position, regardless of it was off or on.  Luckily, it was beautiful outside, so enjoyed the ride home.  We decided to take our changes on if it was going to rain later in the week or not….see Day 4 for further details on that decision!

After that fiasco, we made it back to the Hotel Wailea for some R&R.  We finished out Day 2 with free Mai Tais at our hotel pool and cheap Mexican food.  It was a great way to end the day.

Day 3:

Day 3 began with complimentary Yoga at our hotel.  I have to applaud Holly for this one.  She was a trooper.  I wanted to check it out because I thought it would be fun.  It was outside by the pool while the sun was rising.  It was fun, but it was a little crowded and we were with some really good Yoga people; I think there was a convention in town or something.  However, we made it through and felt a little bit better about ourselves when it was over.

We then began our eventful beach day.  Now we were both really excited about this day.  Our hotel advertised “free shuttle, chairs, and towels” at the nearby Wailea beach (our hotel is a small boutique hotel located across the street from the beach).  So we were so excited to get to the beach.  The free shuttle was great, but we show up at the beach and our “area” is definitely the reject chairs and umbrellas.  We have kind of crappy chairs and short plain white towels.  We definitely had the B team set-up.  We also were informed when we got there at 10am that they would be picking the chairs up at 3pm, regardless of if we were in them or not.  After this statement, we knew it was going to be a good day.

The beach day consisted of some really good people watching which helped distract from our slightly uncomfortable chairs.  We spotted some people from our hotel, including a cute Canadian couple we made friends with and a foreign Nanny with a child she was baby-sitting.  And we counted several men in European bathing suits.  It was a little to much to bare. 

The good thing with people watching on the beach is that you normally have sunglasses on and you have an easy prop (such as a book) to make it look like you aren’t watching other people.  The key to this:  make sure to turn the pages of your book.  Holly informed me that she thought she had gotten busted checking someone out because she forgot to turn her pages.  I told her that she was not an amateur and shouldn’t be making obvious mistakes like that.

We had lunch at a café at Grand Wailea, which was a hotel a step above ours.  Now don’t get me wrong, there was nothing bad about our hotel.   However it was next to some REALLY nice hotels.  And they are all open air lobbies…meaning there are no doors, you can just walk in and out of all of them.  We spent the afternoon walking from hotel to hotel, simply acting like we belonged there.  If a hotel worker asked if we were doing ok or needed anything we simply said “We are doing great!” and “No, we don’t need anything.”  Let’s just say that if I had the opportunity to stay at the Four Seasons or Grand Wailea I would probably never leave the hotel.  I would just lay by the pool and get massages all day while sipping drinks and looking at the ocean.        

After our hotel hopping, we caught the shuttle back to our normal hotel room and got ready for dinner.  Before we had left for Maui I had asked several people where to go eat dinner.  They all had several options, but the only one that all of the people said that was the same was a little place called Mama’s Fish House.  I went into dinner a little leery simply because I don’t like fish.  But, how can you go to a place in Hawaii with "Fish House" in the name and not try it?  So I took our waitress’s advice and ordered the Uno Swordfish.  I am so glad I did.  It was to die for.  I mean I had a religious experience with my food.  Had we not been at such a nice place I would have probably picked the plate up and licked it.  But sadly, we were at a very nice establishment so I refrained.  Instead Holly and I ordered a very decadent dessert.  It was some kind of chocolate pie thing that I also could have also licked the remains off of the plate.  Again though, I refrained.  Kudos to me. 

We got home and went to bed at our normal time during the vacay….approximately 10:30 pm.  I mean I never go to bed that early at home, but it was glorious!

Day 4:

Now day four was several things:  amazing, fun, carefree, frustrating, and tiring all rolled into one.  I can tell you the one thing that caused the frustration….her name is Big Bertha.

The day started out innocent enough.  Holly and I got up and had the free continental breakfast at our hotel (which was fabulous by the way) and then we headed out to the Airport for our helicopter ride.  On the way to the airport we had a little setback, it started to rain and was getting cloudier by the second.  Now when you are wanting to ride in a helicopter to see Maui from the skies, the last thing you want to do is have to worry about cloud coverage. 

As we pull into the heliport we get stopped by a lady we will call Thelma.  We weren’t really sure what her real name was, but she was the parking attendant working at the heliport, and she looked like a Thelma.  She informed us that it “might rain”.  Oh really?  Thanks, we hadn’t noticed.  It is also important to note that we still had the top down on Big Bertha because we hadn’t figured out how to get it back on.  We devised a plan though where we had it halfway on and covered the dashboard with towels.  That should work, right?

We got all checked into the Blue Hawaiian, and then they inform us that they were postponing our ride until the afternoon because of the rain.  We look outside to see that not only is it raining, it is a torrential downpour.  We inform a rather heavy set Hawaiian man that we might need assistance with our car.  He goes out in the rain and gets the top on Bertha in less than five seconds right as Holly sees a rooster walk by her foot.  Yes I said rooster...I can’t make this up.    Now that we had the top back on we were determined not to take it off again.

While we were waiting for our raincheck helicopter ride we drove over to Lahaina, which is a little town on the west side of the mountain.  Of course we got over there and didn’t want to leave.  There was a great little boutique called Karina’s that had the most amazing jewelry.  Holly and I both bought presents for ourselves there; we always tend to do that when we need to be buying for others. 

We made it back to Blue Hawaiian just as the sun was kind of coming out.  We get inside and are a little sad to learn that we don’t get to pick our seats on the ride.  So of course I thought that meant that they would give the good seats to one of the honeymooners.  Oh but wait, luck was on our side here!  We got the only two front seats in the helicopter, right by the Pilot, David.  The story gets better from there.  We get in and are told that our trip will be filmed on a DVD for purchase for later if we wanted a copy of our flight.  Of course I am excited about that.  Little did Holly and I know that the camera filmed both the inside and the outside.  We later bought the DVD where you can see me nudge Holly’s arm and say “We got the good seats!”  Let’s just say I hope that none of the other people on our flight bought the DVD.  Here is a picture of us right before take-off.  I mean we actually kind of look like the pilots or something.  Scary thought!

 The helicopter ride was one of the coolest things ever.  We had to wear the dorky headsets, but the Pilot was playing Dave Matthews and Coldplay which fit the mood perfectly.  We flew all over the west side of the island, in and out of the mountains.  Our pilot informed us that this is where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park, which I thought was so cool!  However, he could totally be lying and I wouldn’t know, after all in the end we were just tourists with cameras on this ride.  Here are a few pics:

 I mean how awesome is that view!  The water is so incredibly clear.  And these are the mountains we flew into (aka Jurassic Park).

After the quickest 30 minutes of my life, we landed the helicopter and got back to reality.  As we paid Thelma (for the second time that day) we drove out of the heliport and saw a sign that said Haleakala - 30 miles.  From our vast Fodor’s research we both knew that Haleakala was the only volcano on the island.  Since it was only 30 miles we decided to go for it.  The 30 miles turned into a two and a half hour jaunt.  We went from zero to 10,000 feet over these 30 miles and the temperature went from about 85 to 45 degrees.  By the time we got to the top after a stop at the “gift shop” (which consisted of two coffee mugs and a couple of key chains and was also closed for inventory) we were completely surrounded by clouds and couldn’t see more than ½ a mile in front of us.  Now on a clear day you are supposed to be able to see all the way onto the other Hawaiian islands.  Not so much on this day.  But, we can say that we have been on the top of a Hawaiian volcano.  One of my bucket list items – check.

The drive down the volcano was actually really enjoyable.  The sun was setting on the ocean and the clouds began to lift.  We stopped and did a little self-portrait on the way down.  Lucky for us the self-timer worked and the camera fit on the hood of the car perfectly.   See below.

 The sunset on the way down from the volcano.  It made the whole drive worth it.

We make it back into civilization right around sunset and stop to watch it.  This is when Big Bertha bit the dust.  We get out of the car and the tire is almost completely flat.  I of course begin to freak out.  With the sun setting it will be dark soon and we will be two girls stranded on the side of the highway.  Holly though (as usual) never lost her cool.  We called Alamo rent-a-car and somehow made it back to the airport without the tire blowing.  Thank the Lord!  At this point in time we got to lay Big Bertha to rest and trade her in for a four door hard top Jeep that we nicknamed Great White.  Great White was much better to us than Big Bertha.  The top was easy to get on and off and there was now low tire pressure issues.  Crisis avoided.

We finished the night off with a simple dinner and early bedtime.  Big Bertha and Haleakala sure took it out of us!

Day 5:

Our adventures on Day 5 totally redeemed any issues Big Bertha had given us on Day 4.  Day 5 was our last full day on the island.  We were taking the red-eye that night but had the whole day with Great White to explore any unchartered territory.  So exciting!

So we packed all of our bags and headed to the Northeast part of the island.  There were two things on the agenda for the day:  shopping and the Road to Hana.  Hana is a town on the island that is only accessible by driving along a highway that loops in and out along the coastline for approximately 35 miles.  There are apparently over 600 twists and turns and the 35 mile drive can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how many times you stop to take scenic pictures.  Apparently it is “the thing to do” before you leave the island to say that you have seen everything.

Before you get to where the highway begins you drive through a little village called Paia.  Paia is the most amazing place.  We had driven through it on our way to dinner one night and knew we had to come back.  It is a small little village with tons of little shops, and had a very eclectic Austin or Denver kind of feel.   So we thought we would stop for just a bit before we moved on our drive.

 Just a bit turned into over four hours of shopping.  If you know me and Holly, you know that we love to SHOP!  Everytime she comes to see me in Dallas we spend all day going to our hot spots and somehow still feel like we don’t have time to finish all of the shopping that we wanted to!  I feel sorry for our future husbands.

Each shop we went into was so great and unique, you didn’t feel like you were seeing the same thing twice anywhere.  The cutest shop name was “Alice in Hululand”, just had to share that one.  The most impressive thing was the jewelry.  All of the jewelry we saw in Paia was mostly made from local artists with jewels and stones found on the island.  Holly and I both found some good stuff for ourselves, and we even managed to buy a few gifts for our family members  (can’t forget them!).

While we were shopping we got a call from the hotel.  Apparently there was a reason why we were able to both zip our suitcases so easily on the way out.  We had forgotten all of our clothes that were hanging in the closet!  So, we were going to have to make the drive back to Wailea to pick them up before our 9pm flight.  We both felt pretty stupid. 

After a great lunch of pizza (where we kind of got eyed by our lesbian waitress), we decided to start the road to Hana.  Holly took the first leg while I took control of the travel book.  There are over 15 scheduled stops along the drive that the travel book recommends, we were going to try out two of them. 

The first stop was at mile 2 and was supposed to be a great waterfall spot.  Unfortunately the travel book didn’t explain that the great waterfalls were over 2 miles from the highway.  Holly and I were both wearing some pretty flashy gold flip flops and hiked over rocks and ledges to make it to this waterfall.  Luckily, once we got there we got a good tourist picture in front of the waterfall, and it really was beautiful.  See below.

After we walked back to the car (another 20 minutes) we knew that if we were going to continue at this pace that we would never make it to Hana and back.  So we decided we would just pull over when we saw a good scenic spot along the way.  Then the real drive began.  The road to Hana is a little stressful.  It is a two lane highway that twists and turns to the point where going 20 miles per hour seems fast.  Most of the tourists go slow, but the occasional local comes barreling around the corner at 40 mph.  Kind of scary; at some parts the highway goes to just one lane.  That’s right, one lane for both directions.  In this situation you are supposed to “stay alert” and “watch for other cars”.  Yeah okay.  See below for all of the turns of the road.

 The drive ended up being pretty enjoyable.  Once we got to where the road was right along the coast the views were incredicble.  We lost all radio stations except for a Mexican station and a late eighties-early nineties station.  I heard Boys II Men more than once during our little jaunt.  It made the drive that much more enjoyable.

When we reached the halfway mark we decided we had seen enough.  The rest of the drive was in the woods so we weren’t really all that interested.  I drove the second leg of the trip on the way back.  On our way back we found a great little secret spot:  a black sand beach where we both took stones as a keepsake.

We ended the drive feeling very empowered and special that we had made the decision to tackle the drive to Hana (well technically half the drive to Hana).  Only when  I got back to Dallas did Casey tell me that she had read about the road to Hana in her book “1,000 Places to Not See Before You Die”.  Apparently her book thinks the scenery isn’t worth the craziness of the drive.  Oh well; I can still check it off of my bucket list.

After we got back to civilization (with the help of Great White) we made it back to the hotel and to the airport in time to grab some dinner before our flight left.  I must commend the Maui airport.  The lady let my bag go free of the extra charge because it weighed 51.5 pounds instead of 50 pounds or under.  A disclaimer here:  I offered to put some of Holly’s things in my bag because she always breaks the 50 pound rule.  Little did I know that that would push me over the edge.  Not only did the lady not charge me, she lifted my back and did everything herself. 

I then spent the best $8.00 of my life.  Since we were taking the red-eye we knew we would need to sleep on the plane.  But, neither of us brought pillows and were just going to lean on each other.  Instead, we bought the cutest little pillows.  Holly’s had flowers on it and mine had hula girls.  And they were so much better than the bad ones you pay $10 for from the stewardess. 

The flight wasn’t too bad.  Got a little bit of sleep on my $8 pillow.  We landed in Los Angeles and had to switch planes to fly the rest of the way to Dallas.  We then landed in Dallas around 11am and Casey picked us up.  We then went home and Holly got ready to go to the OU/Texas game.  Yes my friends, after a week away and an overnight flight Holly was going to go and sit through a 4 hour football game.  This action didn’t surprise me at all.  The girl loves OU football.  We won too, which was awesome.  But, I think Holly was a little tired that night.

All in all it was a fantastic trip.  I love Holly as a traveling buddy.  She is so extremely calm and never loses her cool (unlike me).  However, she tells me that we complement each other well because I am always ready for disaster. 

For those of you that are still reading, sorry this post was so long!  I highly recommend taking a notebook with you and documenting the things that happen.  It will help you remember all of the funny things that occur along the way!

Have a great one you guys!  And go Rangers!!!!

Until next time, Ciao for Now!

Finale of Wedding Season 2010

Hello all!  Wow it has been a busy two weeks.  After Lacie's wedding in OKC I flew to Tulsa for my friend Katie's wedding, then flew back to Dallas to pack and leave for Hawaii the next day!  Whew!  Luckily, I made my flight, Hawaii was a blast (love you Hollus) and now I am back home just catching up on things before I have to go back to work (which thankfully isn't until Tuesday!  That was one of the smartest decisions ever!)  Don't worry, I took lots of good notes about our Hawaii trip and I will be posting them soon (you will need a chair and something to snack on....a LOT went down and most of the details will be very necessary!)


But this blog post will be devoted to the last two weddings I attended during the 2010 wedding season!  They were both a blast and I had so much fun catching up with both high school and college friends.


Wedding #1 - Lacie and Jordan


My friend Lacie and Jordan got married two weeks ago after several years of dating.  I've known Lacie forever, but mainly I worked with her at Cloverleaf for a few years back in college.  Holly and I made the drive up to OKC for her wedding, which was held at the Farmer's Market.  I loved how Lacie did her wedding.  Both the wedding and reception were held at the Farmer's Market.  You walked in and got to get a drink pre-ceremony (brilliant idea!).  You were seated at your table that would be your same table for the reception.  Right after the ceremony the party began!  Loved this idea as it didn't require any transportation from ceremony to reception.  Very unique and different.  Here are a few pics from the night:

 The lovely bride.  After the wedding we all went to the Skirvin for drinks.  Lacie - Holly and I thought it was so awesome that you hung out with everyone after the reception!  So fun!

 It's Official!

 Me, Lacie, Holly, and Taylor after the wedding.  Look at the gorgeous bow on Lacie's dress.  Fabulous!

 Lacie with lifelong buds (and avid blog readers) Austin and Derek.

 The happy couple.

All of the Cloverleaf girls that went to the wedding.  Five cameras trying to take pictures all at once = no one knows where in the world to look!!

Wedding #2 - Katie and Kyle

The last wedding of the season was for my dear friend Katie and her sweet fiance Kyle.  Katie is one of those people that you are just happy you met in life.  No matter what happens, she always has a smile on her face, she is sooooo much fun to be around, and always has a good time.  And Kyle is such a sweetheart.  The wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to!  And we all danced until the very end.  I also ended up in the photo booth with a bunch of Kappas and Katie's granddad, which was hilarious.  And there was only two party fouls....which both included glasses of champagne dropping out of my hands....whoops!  It was such a blast to get to hang out with all of my Kappa friends for the weekend!  Weddings seem to be the only time we can all get together.  So, someone needs to get engaged soon....we only have a few left, and I am definitely not in the lead to win this bet....so let's get going girls with boyfriends.  Here are a few pics from the night (which ended with Aaron taking Nem and I to Taco Bell at 2 in the morning....when that happens you know it was a good night!):

 The beautiful bride.  Kate is getting a hands-on lesson about how to do the bustle!

 Kristen, Sarah, and Laurie.  Such good friends!

 Me and one of my favorite people and Kappa big sis, Annie.  Love the bridesmaid's tank top!

 Andrew came down from Colorado to be Ann Marie's date.  Luckily, he let me tag along as well! 

 You know Kyle loves being surrounded by a bunch of KKG's.  Doing the Kappa circle is always one of the favorite parts of weddings.

 The beautiful reception.  I mean it should be in a magazine.

 Sarah and I.  We were in the house party and although our dresses are very pretty, the zipper was broken on almost all of the dresses.  They each took about 15-30 minutes to zip.  I almost broke a finger getting Sarah's zipped.  But, as you can see, success! 

 Sarah, Carolyn, and I at the ceremony.

 Poor Ryan.  He always gets stuck holding bouquets and purses.  You are such a good sport!

 Me and Annie after the ceremony.

And my date, Emily.  Em lives in Fort Worth and her husband couldn't come, so we flew up together and were each other's dates to the wedding.  It was a blast.  Along the way the guy at Jersey Mike's and the guy at the airport thought we were sisters.  The second time we went along with it and said that our mom liked the name so much she used it twice.  Sadly, I think he believed us.

Okay, that is it for now.  Look for a day-by-day discussion from Hawaii sometime this week.  Until then, Ciao for now!

Arts and Crafts and Premiere Week!!

Ok, so this past weekend was awesome.  Lacie's wedding was a blast, my arts and crafts project turned out great, the Sooners won (barely....whew!) and Blue Man Group was sooooo much fun.  


I only have time for a quick recap here, but no worries, a full one will come later.


Since I am really proud of my fall craft project I wanted to share it.  All I have to say is "Welcome Fall!!!!"  The first day of Fall is officially tomorrow, and I am super excited.  Cooler weather, football games (high school, college, and pro), pumpkins, and fall TV, what more could you ask for??  My wonderful sister helped me craft my new fall wreath below.  It was so easy to make; if you don't think you are crafty enough...think again... you are!  All you need is a bare wreath and about 10 different swags of fall leaves, pumpkins, beads, whatever you want to fill the circle of the wreath.  Just stick the stems of the swags directly into the wreath.  Finish it off with ribbon to hold everything in place, a bow up top, and you have a great fall decoration!  Love it!

  
I thought Casey wouldn't even notice the new addition to our apartment, but she really liked it!  I love it when she notices the little things....she isn't as into details as I am so I get real excited when she appreciates the same things I do.  She is just the best roommate ever.


On to my next favorite thing about fall.....Fall TV.  As I am writing this I am watching Gossip Girl that was taped from Monday.  Since it is premiere week I thought I would let you know what fall shows I intend on watching.  The following isn't mutually exclusive, but they are shows that I am pretty dang excited about.  I will go in order for each day of the week....thankfully I have DVR and can watch any of these items at my leisure....


Monday - How I Met Your Mother and Gossip Girl (I also will randomly watch Dancing With the Stars....now this is not something I am proud of....my mom LOVES the show as does my grandmother....Me....I personally watch it to see Maks without a shirt on at least one occasion every two weeks....other than that I am not that into it unless one of the celebrities sparks my eyes....seeing as how the man I was most excited about was Michael Bolton I figured this season was one I could sit out on).  But I am extremely excited for the return of Ted's adventure to finding his wife and if Chuck Bass will regain his memory and if Dan Humphries really is the father of the baby he is helping raise....love Gossip Girl...it keeps me young...haha...xoxo...


Tuesday - GLEE!!!!!  There is really nothing else to say....this cult phenomenon is a hilarious riot and I freaking love it.....love love love it!!!  I love Sue, Mr. Shuester, Puck, Quinn, Finn, and even Rachel Berry gets to me.  The music, the drama, the comedy, it is all good!  Can't wait for the Britney episode next week.  I also watch Biggest Loser....another reality TV program.  But, I am going to defend this one because it has great workout and eating tips and you get to see the struggles and achievements of the contestants.  Truly inspiring.  I also watched Parenthood for the first time ever and was pretty impressed.  If you like Lauren Graham you will love the show....and it also stars Dax Shephard and it is good to see him in a role where he isn't a complete idiot.


Wednesday - Modern Family!  The Emmy winning comedy is back and I cannot wait!  I love everything about this show there isn't even words to express (see previous posts about my favorites and the Emmys....I am obsessed with this show....)


Thursday - Sadly, I hate to admit that I am going to check out Greys Anatomy.  I had given up on the show, but the season finale last year was so good that I have to see if Derek lives or dies....I mean we know he will live, without McDreamy what do you have??  Part of the only thing that has kept the show going the past two years has been Patrick Dempsey's hair....it has been the best quality of the show since dead Denny started inhabiting the hospital.  Anyway, the finale from last season reminded me of something we would have seen in season 1 or season 2 when the writing was spectacular as were the ratings.  I will give it a two episode window to catch my fancy.  And then I am planning on checking out My Generation.  It is a show about people who graduated in 2000 and where and what they have been doing the past decade.  It has gotten awful reviews, but I am still going to check it out.  Again,  I think I will just give it a two episode window.  Finally, I will finish out the last season of the Office with Michael Scott.  Sadly the Office hasn't been as good the last year....but it is still the Office and it is still Michael Scott.  I will be faithful no matter what.


Friday and Saturday - this is the weekend, not going to be addicted to TV on these nights.


Sunday - Sunday is devoted to Brothers and Sisters.  Love this show and I am really not sure where they will take it this year.  But, I am a loyal fan and the writing is pretty dang good, so again I will still watch it for the upcoming season.  Oh and Mad Men can go here too, even though it has been on since the end of summer.  Love this show!  The costumes, the drama, the smoking in buildings in the middle of the day, it is depicts the 1960s so well. I say that as though I lived it or something....haha...sadly I didn't, but if I had....listen, the show is just that good....ok?!


And sadly the Bachelor will not return until January.  So no Chris Harrison until then (sigh)!  Oh well, looks like I have enough to keep me occupied.


Ok that's all I got for now....I promise to give a better recap of Lacie's wedding later.  Oh, and my dear friend Katie Travis is getting married this weekend.  I am flying out Thursday for that.  And then, I am off to Hawaii with my dear friend Holly....lots going on the next few days...but I will try to keep in touch.


Until then...Ciao for now!

Big Weekend

Big weekend on my end here guys.

Today my friend Lacie is getting married!  So excited, it will be a great time!

And tomorrow Caesy and I and a few friends are going to Blue Man Group.


And I have also been working on a little arts and crafts project for fall, thank you Amy!


This also marks the first weekend I have been near a TV on Saturday to watch College GameDay....is it just me or does Kirk Herbstreit get cuter every single year??

Oh and I recently saw The Book of Eli.....amazing movie!  I realize that I am about six months behind on this one, but I will review it for you guys next week.


I'll show you how my project turns out when I get back home on Monday!


Hope everyone has a great weekend!

An Ode to Will Ferrell

As promised, this blog post will be a tribute to one of my favorite comedians, a Mr. Will Ferrell.  Now, I know you may think this is stupid, but for some reason I am always feeling like I am defending Will, especially to my mother who thinks he is stupid.  I also have an ex boyfriend who told me the same thing, so I have always been a little extra defensive!  But, after much thought I decided the following:  If you can't watch something with Will Ferrell in it and not laugh, then I don't even want to talk to you.  We will obviously not have anything in common.  So, I have compiled a list of my favorite things that have come from Will Ferrell.

Favorite SNL skits:  There are a couple here, I love the Spartan Cheerleaders and the Night at the Roxbury skits forever and always.  But, I think one of my favorite skits is one in which he plays some kind of guy showing love for his country in an American flag speedo....enough said.  All I know is that this skit involves him in an office setting bending over alot.....and moving on...

Favorite Line from an SNL skit:  "More cowbell..."  If you can't appreciate that one without further details you are not a true fan.  


PS - I saw a random person wearing this shirt at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans on vacation once.  It literally made my day!"

Favorite Overall Will Ferrell Movie: Old School.  


I LOVE this movie.  I know it is more of a guy's movie, but I can watch it over and over.  I think it is a combination of the fact that it has Luke Wilson (yeah Dallas), Vince Vaughn, and Jeremy Piven in addition to Will Ferrell.  And who can forget Will Ferrell as "Frank the Tank" running down the street naked.  A few memorable quotes:


"Let's keep that on the downlow, she's not exactly street legal." 


"Hey honey, you think KFC is still open?"


"We're going streaking!"


"Bring your green hat!"


"I thought we were in the trust tree in the nest, are we not?" 

Most Quotable Will Ferrell Movie:  Elf.  


How can you not love this one?  I can watch this movie in the middle of the day on the 4th of July and still enjoy it as much as I do at Christmas time.  Recently, Casey and I had some friends over and we took a poll on everyone's favorite Elf Quotes.  They included the following:


"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"


"The yellow ones don't stop!"


"Bye Buddy, I hope you find your dad!"


"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups:  candy, candy corn, candy canes, and syrup!"


"Is there sugar in syrup.  Then YES!"                                       "Francisco, that's fun to say!"


"You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa!"


"I waited 5 hours for you. Why is your coat so big? So, good news - I saw a dog today. Have you seen a dog? You probably have. How was school? Was it fun? Did you get a lot of homework? Huh? Do you have any friends? Do you have a best friend? Does he have a big coat, too?... "


"I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite!"

Favorite Will Ferrell Online Video: 
The Landlord.


Now we all know that really Pearl made this video memorable, but we will still give Will Ferrell credit here.  Sometimes when I need something from Casey I will just squeal "I want my money!!!!!!!!!!"  It's hilarious every time.






Favorite Will Ferrell Cameo:  Wedding Crashers.  


The first time I saw this movie, it was such a great surprise to see Will as a guy who crashes funerals.  Let's not even go there.  However the term "Mom, the meatloaf!" is now a pretty commonly used term between me and my friend Holly.


Ok, I think that is enough Will Ferrell experience for today.  I hope you enjoyed yourself a little bit.  And if I still can't convince you to like Will Ferrell, please just keep that from me the next time I see you.  I will like you a lot better if you do.


Until next time, Ciao for now!  


And always remember, If you ain't first, you're last! (a final tribute from one Ricky Bobby).

Emmys Recap 2010

So I know this is a few days late, but I had to give my opinion on the 62nd Emmys that were held on Thursday night.  First of all, I loved our host, Jimmy Fallon.  I have loved him since his days where he was featured on SNL playing his guitar during Weekend Update.  Kudos to you Jimmy for constantly making me laugh over the years!

The show started out with the always fabulous red carpet.  Now if you know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE the red carpet of all awards shows.  I love the good, the bad, and the ugly!  It is all good (or should I say entertaining)?  The good outfits are gorgeous and the bad ones are like train wrecks....you just can't look away.  So I will start off with my picks for best dressed.  For the women, we have a tie.  The shared golden award goes to both Lea Michele from Glee and Claire Danes, who won an Emmy for best actresss in a mini-series.  (I probably would have just given it to Claire, except I still can't forget that it is highly likely that she had something to do with demise of Billy Crudup and Mary-Louise Parker's marriage a few years back...I simply like to remember her as Angela Chase on My So Called Life...don't you remember how much you LOVED Jordan Catalano?)  Anyways, I think Claire absolutely shined in her gold dress while Lea Michele was mesmerizing in a pretty navy (the color of the night)!

Claire Danes, looking flawless.

And Lea Michele, PS - if you don't watch Glee you should start, it is pretty awesome.

Now on to the men.  There is really only one choice here, and that is Jon Hamm.  Now I know he has been around for a while, but ever since Mad Men began I have been somewhat obsessed with him.  I am not sure if it is the nod to the 1960s, Don Draper, or Jon himself that I am drawn to, but I am absolutely mesmerized by him and I think he is dreamy.

I think he agrees with me.

Now for the worst dressed.  This is most people's favorite part (however for me the best part is the best dressed, although the worst dressed can be entertaining).  For the women, this has to go to Anna Paquin.  Before I say anything, I will say that I have definitely seen worse outfits.  Overall, the Emmys were pretty successful this year.  But, I do think her outfit is a little out there.  It's like she is auditioning for Gladiator or something.  

And for the men, for me it goes to Kevin Bacon.  And honestly his outfit was fine, but something about the bad goatee, sunglasses and hair just made it all-over bad.  Kyra looks amazing though for sure.  

Now on to the awards.  I will recap my favorites:

Outstanding Comedy Series:  Yeah to Modern Family!!!!!  This was so exciting as the show took out Glee.  Now I am a big Glee fan as well, but Modern Family makes me laugh so hard that my sides hurt!  Congrats to the cast, cannot WAIT for the season premiere come September!

Outstanding Drama Series:  Mad Men.  Now this show is another one I love.  I don't watch it religiously, but I absolutely adore it when I do watch it.  I think it is a combination of the time period and the costumes and the story-lines that just draw you in.  Jon Hamm is perfection as Don Draper and January Jones plays Betty to a tee.  The subject matter can be very taboo for the 1960s, but it makes you think what all went on during that time period that people just don't ever talk about.  It makes you realize that people aren't always as clean and innocent as they look on the outside.  And the historical references are dead-on.

Outstanding Reality Series:  Top Chef.  I don't think there is any arguments here.  As much as I love to watch the trash that is the Bachelor, everyone knows that Top Chef is addicting and you don't have to be ashamed to say that you watch it, which is always good.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:  Eric Stonestreet (aka Cameron from Modern Family).  LOVE him.  He plays Cameron wonderfully, and is a large reason why the show is sooooo good.  Casey and I particularly like the episode where he discusses being a crossing guard, and a scene where he squeals as loud as a 5 year old little girl.  Pretty priceless.

Outstanding Supporting Actresss in a Comedy Series:  Jane Lynch (aka Sue Sylvester on Glee).  Never before have Adidas track suits been more popular.  She was meant to play this character.  From her sarcastic remarks to her remarkable monologues, Glee wouldn't be half the fun it is without her.

Outstanding Commercial:  this onehands down went to the Old Spice commercial, which was pretty phenomenal if you haven't seen it yet.

All in all it was a great show.  George Clooney was also awarded the Bob Hope Humanitarian award, which was great to see considering all he has done for natural disasters, especially Haiti.  Man does he just get better with age or what?

Finally, it wouldn't have been a 2010 awards show without Betty White!  She was there in full force and looks remarkable for being 88 years old.  And I think she has made me laugh more this year than she ever did on all of the seasons on Golden Girls.

If you happen to have any thoughts, I would love to hear them!  I love to hear other people's opinions, especially on Best and Worst dressed (I know most people hated January Jones' outfit, but I personally kind of liked it, so I am not going to even discuss that one with you!)

Have a good week!  I am already looking forward to the weekend.  Getting ready for a little bachelorette party for Katie, a dear friend of mine from OU.  Gotta pick up some ones....just kidding!

Until next time, Ciao for now!