Summer Magic

Has anyone seen that movie? Summer Magic? A Disney and Kalleberg classic. Come to think of it, I might watch it after I finish this post. Call me if you want to come over. I have popcorn.

To all my foodie friends, forgive this post for being not entirely (or really at all) about food. This is more of a post about "why I was lame and didn't blog all summer" as well as a "look at these silly photos of my friends" type of thing.

The summer started the last weekend of May with Blake and Jenna's wedding. Lovely day, fun taco bar, lego cake toppers, and my super stud of a man wearing a kilt. Here are Kim, Sheri and I at the reception.


The day ended in an even more amusing way: me drinking a cosmo alone at the bar of California Pizza Kitchen while one friend with the initials AC raced down the freeway to meet me. 18 olives, a couple martinis, and a huge bucket of buttered popcorn later - we were enjoying all the raunch that was Sex and The City - The Movie. (Don't worry, Mom, I closed my eyes and/or squealed "gross!" at the nasty parts.) All in all, a good start to the warmest season.



Next came a hoard of visitors - the first of which was my middlest sister Kimberly. She went to China so I drove her to LAX and, clearly, we had to stop by Sprinkles.



In the middle of all of the summer madness, Glenn and I became aunt and uncle for the 2nd time! This time to twins! This is Maddie the day she was born. She is still in the hospital but we know she will get to go home soon.



During Kimberly's visit I managed to win tickets to Sea World! Our former stomping ground, it was fun to visit and test out the new night-time shows.



Our 2nd set of visitors came in for the 1st week of July and spent the 4th with us. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at C Level, waved hello to friends on their way to Island Prime (lucky ducks!) and then watched what is now my favorite 4th of July fireworks show in a city other than DC.



A couple of days after this came my first panic attack. Soooooo fun. You should all have one. Nope, not really. Awful. The wost experience in life ever. Couldn't stand up straight without feeling like I was going to puke/fall over for 4 days. Genuinely thought I was going to die. Not ok. Has made for some funny jokes, but that's about the extent of its blessing. Unfortunately there are no panic pictures. Ask Glenn if you want him to describe the events of the evening to you.

Next came Sheri's shower which I was honored to throw! I am co-matron of honor for my best friend since childhood Sheri's wedding and was really so excited to throw her a party and try to demonstrate all she means to me. Here are a couple detail shots.




In the middle of all of this, or maybe before, my favorite friend in high school, Adam Day Desjardins, and his lovely wife Danielle moved to Michigan. We sent them off in style by eating at Fuddruckers. Mmm.



With everyone out of the house and Glenn slaving away as the new General Manager (woo-hoo!) it was time for me to go on vacation! My 2nd year crashing the Dentt family party at Lake Powell and this time was even more fun than last year. The only thing missing was Glenn, but his absence made for some great times with Julie - we even jumped off a cliff! This is the landscape shot I am most proud of from my time there. I'm no photographer, but I like the way this one turned out.



Next item on the agenda: another vacation without Glenn. I'm spoiled, I know. I took Amtrak up to Santa Barbara to visit these kooks! We swam, ate, walked around the block, hit the town, gabbed until the wee hours, and discussed the benefits of buying cereal at Vons when it's on sale. Who knew it got so low? Roger isn't in the picture because he was busy tearing a tree down with his bare hands or something equally intimidating. Thank you, Sandra, for always being a good friend.



Now that this post has turned into a senior year yearbook shout out page...

Another wedding! This was a stellar party thrown by Matt and Jenny where we ate and drank the MOST terrific food and mixed drinks - honestly phenomenal. The craziest part about this day: I got off the train in Irvine from Santa Barbara, where Glenn and Jason were supposed to be waiting for me. 2 hours later we finally found each other, all of us famished. We scarfed some burgers at Red Robin, then ran into Barnes and Noble where they changed into suits and I did my hair, make up, brushed my teeth, put my contacts in, and squeezed myself into a strapless dress and heels. Cute. No really, I was. It's amazing what a little mascara can do to a girl that never wears make up.



The night of Matt and Jenny's wedding I started feeling a little tickle in my throat. Thinking it had to be the night air/cigar smoke/4th cocktail, I ignored it. And then I got a 102 fever two days later (wouldn't have known I had a fever if my parents weren't visiting at the time which gave my Mom the opportunity to buy me an Elmo thermometer while Dad picked up a burger for me from In N Out) and the WORST cold/flu I have ever had.

Did I mention I had a non-refundable flight to Georgia the next day? I brought the black plague to the South and really liked it (Atlanta, not the plague). We surprised Jess, even though Twitter and Glenn almost ruined it (grrr), got to meet some lovely new people, and ate wonderful food all over town. I can't wait to go back when I'm not sick. Here is a favorite picture of mine from the trip - Glenn and Jessica at the World of Coke sampling the nastiest soda ever. I think it was like sparkling asparagus or something horrid like that.



Well, I think this post was long enough to make up for my 2 month absence. Hope your summer was as splenderrific as mine!