bride... with an exclamation point.

Bright and early Friday morning, Ting and I hit the road for Newport Beach, California. The car was loaded to the max and I barley needed coffee because I was so excited for all the festivities on the itinerary. 

As planned, the boys played golf while us girls enjoyed the California sun and got pampered before a wonderfully girly dinner out. Holy smokes did we laugh. Despite the fun, we forced ourselves to call it an early night since the main event of the weekend was the next morning - Colby's Bridal Shower. 

While Colby was Skyping into her midwest shower hosted by her stepmom Jodi (how cute is that?), Steph and I were off to the stunning St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point to get everything set-up with Colby's mom, grandma and sister. For months now, I've thought about this event every single day and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out for Colbs. It was a perfect summer day, the venue was gorgeous, the service was top-notch and everything went smoothly.

Colby and her 30 guests enjoyed an afternoon of High Tea & 'Tinis, delicious food & desserts, fun bridal shower games, tons of laughs and a few tears of joy. 

A huge thank you to Stephanie, Joan, Ashton, Susan, The St. Regis staff and everyone else who helped make this such a special and memorable event for Colbs. It wouldn't have been the same without each of you. 

{could our view be any more gorgeous?}

{stephanie put colby's bridal look perfectly... bride, with an exclamation point. those shoes?!}

{the inspiration board coming to life}

{our guestbook table}

{same wording as our invitations seen here}

{the dessert table}

{guests were asked to sign specific pages with advice for various areas of love & marriage}

{hand-stamped love bags}

{mini Sprinkles cupcakes compliments of Susan, mother of the bride}

{mother of the bride's toast}

{mother of the bride, maid of honor and grandmother of the bride}

{the bride's seat and her crystal bowl of bubble gum for the game}

{favors & thank you tags for guests... cocktail rings in honor of colby's love for fun jewelry}

{game #1: how well do you know the bride & groom?}

{game #2: how well does the bride know the groom. his answers on DVD for all to hear}

{the bride is shocked by his answers}

{each wrong answer is another piece of gum... look at that wad!}

{game time}

{yes, ashton and i are wearing a dress by the same designer. same fabric and color. we're that good - ha!}

{little tags for the maids}

{colby and her uofa sorority sisters. car, shmiz & lis - we really missed each of you}

{jenny's first bridal shower and she did a fantastic job with the bow bouquet}

{donna stepped right in to help keep the gifts moving}

{tiff, the worker bee. gift organizer.}

{pear, key lime & passion 'tini}

{hand-passed martinis by christine. she was so wonderful}

{colbs with her high school girls (and tone)}

{after surfing all day, the boys showed up to help load all the gifts}

{all her gifts... no big deal!}

And here's what Stephanie had to say about Colby's shower. 

What a magical day for Colbs. Love you, girlfriend! 

let the showering begin!

We're off to Newport Beach for Colby's Bridal Shower! Colby and Jake got engaged back in May 2010 so I'm thrilled that all the super fun & girly wedding festivities are finally here! Don't get me wrong, the actual wedding planning has been a blast and our DIY weekends have been the best, but this is the juicy stuff. The weekends that girls dream of! I sure have been. Today we're doing a girls-only spa day and dinner, the bridal shower is tomorrow and Sunday is brunch before a duffy boat ride around Newport Harbor with the boys. Perfection.

This weekend will really kick things into high gear. Bridal Shower this weekend, bachelorette party the first weekend in September and wedding the first weekend in October... we're so excited!

Colbs, I know I speak for a lot of people when I say we can't WAIT to spoil you rotten this weekend. You've gone above and beyond for every one of us and we're thrilled to return the favor. Sit back, relax and enjoy every minute of the weekend, bride to be!

{a few of colby & jake's engagement photos by george sillas}

ode to joy.

Beethoven's "ode to joy" has been the number one song in our household this week. We can even tell you all the notes... E-E-F-G-G-F-E-D-C-C-D-E-E...

Last Saturday we went to The Cross' House for dinner and as always it was an absolute blast. When together the four of us (+ Kelsey) laugh the entire time. After spicy shimp tacos, a few bottles of wine and the baby in bed, us adults went for a night swim until a monsoon storm rolled in. Not ready to end the night, we retreated to the den where Ryan showed Danny a few chords on the guitar. Ting did really well! We were all shocked how much he retained.

Ryan's mini-lesson inspired D to learn some more on his new guitar (seen here) this week. I'm really impressed. He watched a few YouTube tutorials and within a couple hours he was reading sheet music and playing "Ode to Joy" for me and Huntie. Impressed. Keep it up, Ting-a-ling. It's pretty hot.

wedding soaked brain.

I sometimes forget that not everyone is a 20-something girl who's really into weddings and blogs. I falsely assume that everyone knows what an "inspiration board" is and what the latest trends in party planning are.

I'm currently in the midst of planning my best friend's bridal shower and bachelorette party. The best part is that everyone loves Colby and wants to help. Together with her mom, sister and grandma, we've divided and conquered the list of shower to-do's in an effort to host the best event possible for our Colbs. The event is this weekend (eeek!) in Dana Point, California and I couldn't be more excited. We started our DIY projects months ago and are ready to go. I wish it was tomorrow!

Thinking back to the beginning of the planning, I realize how insane I probably looked. Unlike me and my girlfriends, these women (a mom, a college student and a grandma) haven't logged insane amounts of internet hours looking at StyleMePretty, GreenWeddingShoes, HostessWithTheMostess, Pinterest and other inspiring blogs. I immediately bombarded them with our "inspiration board," because everyone knows what an inspiration board is, right? Here's ours for the bridal shower...

I immediately started talking to the planning crew about certain types of chairs, linens, games and oh, we're not going to do x, y and z because they're totally overplayed but we're going to do a, b and c because these trends are fresh and new.

Whoops! Calm down, psycho. What do you call a brideszilla bridesmaid? Yikes.

It was a bit of a learning for us all, but we've honestly had an absolute blast planning and getting creative! Colby's mom's background in interior design has been really helpful. Since we're all in different states, there have been tons of excited emails, phone calls and text messages. A lot. I was away from my phone for a while and came back to this screen from Colby's mom, Susan. Totally awesome.

After we nailed down the final date and location, we immediately got started on the invitations. I collaborated with Lydia, the owner of Paper Joy a local paper boutique, who had helped me bring mine and Danny's wedding invitations and programs to life. During one of our meetings years ago, I saw a boxed bridal shower invitation and fell in love with it. I thought a little box verses and envelope was such a fun idea - it's like getting a little present in the mail!  For years, I've kept this idea in the back of my mind for one of Colby's wedding events and I'm so happy with how they turned out.

{all packaged up and ready for the post office}

Lately, many of my nights and weekends have been dedicated to bridal shower crafts - and I'm loving every minute of it. It's such a fun creative release for me. I can't wait to see everything come together this weekend! 

I'd love to share more, but one of the best parts is that Colby knows almost nothing about this event except for the location and color scheme - yellow, gray, white and black - so there are lots of surprises coming her way! 

crazy shot.

after a sushi dinner at roka akor, we were in the mood for a drink at one of our favorite places in scottsdale, citizen public house (seen here). the vibe at the bar is right up our alley and the bartenders are awesome. we witnessed the most ridiculous shot being made. the process took close to 10 minutes and included liquid fire, copper cups, shaved mexican chocolate, tequila, marshmallow cream and so much more. all of us at the bar sat in awe. here's me with the world's craziest shot mixture and process. after citizen public house we stopped by the grind, a bar in our neighborhood for a nightcap. great date night.

le specs.

I'm loving Danny's new "le specs" (glasses) and the company he bought them from, Warby Parker. 

The concept is simple. 

Online, pick out five frames you like.

They're mailed to you to try-on, no strings attached. 

You decide what you like, send them back within 5 days. 

Decide you love a pair?

Only $95 including your Rx, free shipping & returns.

Oh! And like Toms, it's buy one - give one. 

Love.

They're really nice and the styles are awesome. At this price, I think Ting should have a few pairs.

First up is a new pair of prescription le shades (sunglasses) for him. Finally.