bells will be ringing

I'm baaack!

Firstly, I must apologize for being such a bad blogger, but you know... life & everything. Secondly, I must apologize that my outfit is pretty uninspired today, but I'm pretty impressed that I got dressed at all! Daylight Savings really screwed with my sleep schedule (I've turned into an insomniac the past couple of days) but it's so worth it! I love Mr. Sun so much and can't wait to spend some quality time with him this summer.

This weekend I went to Boston to spend some quality time with some of my other favorite people--if you read this, you know who you are! One of my dearest friends (S) is getting hitched this afternoon (!!!!) at City Hall and we had to throw together a last-minute surprise bachelorette weekend for her (of course!).

On Friday my gal pals & I spent the entire day shopping & decorating the bride-to-be's apartment (after fetching the keys from her fiance, our co-conspirator) before she got home from work. We got all gussied up and started waiting (and drinking champagne) around 3:30, but she decided to go shopping after work and didn't get home until around 7! We were a little tipsy by the time she arrived, but she was certainly surprised!!

That night we took her out for fondue (her fiance is allergic to... well, everything, but especially cheese!) at the Melting Pot in the Park Plaza Hotel (delicious!) and then for scotch and cigars at Stanza dei Sigari in the North End (super-cool, an old 1920s speakeasy). Admittedly, this was not your average bachelorette blowout, but our girl is not your average bachelorette!

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key, in the best way. Mostly we just ate (A LOT--cheese (brie and goat gouda [!], grapes, car-bomb cupcakes [guiness cake, whipped bailey's filling, jameson frosting--soo good!], pasta from Sal's, beer bread & eggs... mmm) watched movies, played Scattergories, and attempted to stay out of the torrential rain that decided to hit Boston this weekend (too bad for the St. Patty's Day parade).

All-in-all, it was a fantastic weekend with four fantastic ladies--every time I see them it makes me miss my college days with a vengeance, but I'm so so glad we've all kept in touch!

(shirt: Marshall's; skirt: vintage; belt: thrifted; scarf/tights: TJMaxx; boots: ALDO)

At first when S told me that she was thinking of getting married at City Hall in advance of the "real" wedding (scheduled for Fall 2011, when her fiance is finished with law school), I'll admit--I balked. I couldn't imagine why she would want to do such a thing. The more I thought about it, though, the more I started wondering if she didn't have exactly the right idea. If it were me, I would probably run off to a small country chapel somewhere in France (or something equally dramatic), but the idea is there.

(St Michel D’Aiguilhe Chapel, France - source)

Weddings have basically just become big parties--which is great, don't get me wrong--and it seems like the spirit of the wedding has lost its romantic lustre a little bit. I like the idea of a quiet, private "wedding" to jump-start the marriage, because that's what it is--a marriage. First and foremost, it should be a personal celebration between two people who have decided to dedicate their lives to each other... there will be plenty of time for the party (and S still fully intends to have a big white wedding).

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is: I approve. And I'm so so happy that such a wonderful girl has found such a wonderful love--nobody deserves it more than she does.