Hummingbird House

At long last: the wedding.

Hummingbird House couldn't have looked better, the wedding colors gave just enough pop to the garden, and it was a long hot evening well spent.

Post-rehearsal dinner honky tonk

all ready!

good boyfriends bring their ladies bellinis

Jack and Jill went up the hill.

Since forever, the bride and groom remained steadfast that they did not want to have separate bachelor/bachelorette parties...

Thus the best man and I planned a casual bar hop along Austin's Rainey Street, which has become quite the hip little spot of bungalows-turned-bars, with open rooms, backyard games and food trucks.

My favorite spots of the night included El Naranjo and Lustre Pearl.

El Naranjo

Tortilla Soup and El Naranjo

Getting ready with pompoms

Lustre Pearl

Believe it or not, I was sober.

And my favorite shot of the night:

Back Porch at Lustre Pearl

God Bless Texas!

Fit for a Bride...

My friend didn't pick out a maid of honor, so around January I realized no one was planning to give her a Bridal Shower. 

After some nice chats with my bff Christine and the brides mother (also a Christine) they agreed to help me out with a Tea Party themed shower on the Thursday before the wedding. By Thursday enough people will have gotten into town for the weekend nuptials, while it was a safe distance from the Saturday event.

I picked a tea party theme because our college has a longstanding tradition of Friday Afternoon Teas. At 4 o'clock every Friday, we would gather in our house living room to gossip and wrap up the week over cheese & crackers, fruit, cookies, brownies, and on the lucky days, cream puffs. Of course there would also be a big pot of tea, but while in college I rarely drank the stuff.

At some point I started drinking black tea right after school and now I am a self-proclaimed tea snob.

Originally I was really stuck on what type of party I wanted to throw. I thought about renting out a lounge or deck of a downtown hotel... but Austin is hot, and I wanted the event to be grandma friendly. I also realized the bride would probably be really worked up, so maybe a more intimate event would be better.

I was stuck, so I asked G's mom.   She had given us a really awesome tea starter kit for Christmas from Tea Embassy based in Austin (and I fell in love with their Buckingham Palace tea). So she suggested checking out them as a venue.

Turns out Tea Embassy had just gotten into the event business, were in my budget, and would let us do whatever we wanted. Tea Embassy has limited parking available on site, but a bunch of pay-meters along the street. They let us decorate and self-cater which made it really easy on us (lots of allergies).

Invite from Tag & Co. via Essentials.

My friend Anna took these photos and all credit goes to her:

 I took one of the invites, framed it with a white mat, and made people write little messages to the bride. Also you can see the glitter banner I made, and the thank you gifts.

Since college, Sarah has wanted this "Mrs" necklace from Kate Spade. Also present: her new Lilly dress :)

From front to back: Blackberry Buttermilk Cake, gluten-free chocolate tortes, deviled eggs

We put these pompoms everywhere!

Tea! We had mint, Ambrosia (fruity), and Buckingham Palace

 This is the flower girl, who is also the most well behaved little lady. Since no kid wants to sit through a long tea party and watch another person (bride) open gifts the whole time, we had a series of gifts for her too. We started with a no-mess coloring book and progressed to a tiara and pearls (above).

Cucumber finger sandwiches, PB&Js (for the flower girl), chocolate dipped shortbread cookies

Best friends: Me, Sarah (bride), Christine

Bride + flower girl

Showing off her new tea set! (ignore my tired look)

Thank You gifts: tea candle (get it?!) with handstamped tag

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

BFF, Christine, finally enjoying some tea at the end

The day was a whirlwind, because later that night was also the Jack/Jill party. I highly recommend using Tea Embassy as a venue for your smaller gatherings (under 30 people). They were so friendly and helpful. If your ever on Rio Grande street in Austin you should swing by their shop for a cup of tea!

All About Austin

I love Austin, Texas.

The friendly people, the clear skies, the sun-baked warmth that radiates off of everything.

So you can imagine I was really excited to go to my friend's wedding in her hometown of ATX.

We stayed in a cute condo off of South Congress, about 10 minutes away (walking) from the famous food truck park and Magnolia Cafe.

First day in town: Lunch at South Congress Cafe

Waiting for the bats to fly under the South Congress bridge

I'm really excited for $3 margaritas and free queso

Bulbasaur.

Protip: want the best BBQ in ATX? Get in line here by 10am.

We were third in line at Franklin's (after getting there at 9am)

Not sure what these trees are, but I want them.

Sneak preview of tomorrow!

Memorial Day 2012

G and I spent Memorial Day Weekend in Boston this year! It was the weekend right before heading down to Austin for the wedding, and it was a nice way to step back and take a deep breath.

peonies were blooming everywhere

Oldest bar in Boston

So much brick and ivy!

Possibly the best cafe in Boston.

Dream Home

Of course I went shopping...

Want this dress from Lilly Pulitzer

New bag from BAGGU

View from MIT bridge

Last night in town

Big thanks to our wonderful host, Steph, for putting us up and hanging out with us. Since G and I have been to Boston so much we mostly just walked around and ate (perfect weekend, right?). We took Stephanie to our favorite place to eat in Boston... well Jamaica Plain... Alex's Chimi's which is a sandwich shop.

Alex's chimis

brick row houses

juice fizz

Prudential Center fountain

Chandeliers at the Bee Hive

Vintage Lilly at The Garment District

fun clothes on Newbury

Lobster roll from Union Oyster House

I'll be back in Boston this weekend!