Hand's On...

Amanda treated us to a day at the spa the day before the wedding...Hand's On is in Beverly Hills and let me just say that I was a bit intimidated at the thought of spending the day at a salon in Beverly Hills!

But - I was oh so wrong...the ladies there were sweet, hospitable, gracious and just kind!

Left to right below we have Mary, Amanda's stepmom; Wanda, Amanda's new mother-in-law; and Chantel, one of Amanda's bridesmaids...
...and the designated driver - yours truly!
There she is! and she's lovin' it!
Remember I was the designated driver? Well, we got there late and missed lunch so...Amy and Amanda (who were already in LA) picked up sandwiches from Starbucks...yummmm!
Chantel is so goofy (in a good way!)
Mary showing off her new nails...
I just like this one...so included it...that's Brynne sleeping in the background.
Toes to toes and the nose goes...nose to nose and the toes goes...

Katie, Amanda's sister, shows off the skirt she made...
Oh, I love a pedicure!
Okay, Chantel was hungry...Amanda is kind and her nails were pretty much dry...
There we all are...having fun and being quite happy with our manicures.
Left to right on top: Brynne, Chantel, Amanda, Amy, Rachel

Left to right on bottom: Wanda, Rebecca, Joanna, Mary, Katie

And a good time was had by all!

Thanks Amanda!

The Final Farewell...?

Well for this time out...yes. My church family hosted a 'farewell' open house yesterday. Many people came by the express their support and encouragement and for that I am most grateful!

In addition to many friends and 'church' family members...relatives also turned out for the event. Below are Joel, Amanda, Katie, Nick and Steve.
Amanda is my daughter, Joel is her fiance, Katie is her sister, Nick is her brother and Steve is her father...it was great to see them all!

Don't you just hate candid shots? Especially those surrounding food...sorry Joe!
This was a potluck and many people brought delicious food...my only regret is that I spent so much time talking that I did not eat more! Many more people were there than what I got pictures of - like my niece Ashley, but I was just too busy enjoying my friends and family...and I am beginning to feel the twinge of sadness that these are all the wonderful people I will be missing when I leave in just a little over a week...sigh!

The fourth and final shower!

This one a lingerie shower...hmmm...is the mom really supposed to attend this one? Left to right in the picture below are Katie, Amanda, Krista and Rachel. Rachel is Amanda's oldest friend (since 3rd grade), Krista is Rachel's sister and Katie is Amanda's sister (who flew out here from Iowa to be her maid of honor)...
This was fun game - we were to have our feet flat on the floor and put our hand on the paper and trace our hand...I chose to do it sitting down...but Amanda and Chantel made for much more interesting photos!

Left to right is Chantel and Melissa

Yes, Chantel is a goofy girl...and oh, so much fun! She is thinking this pair of underwear could be warn as a bathing suit at the beach...hmmm....
In this game Amanda was to match the underwear with the person who bought it...

We each drew a picture of Joel on their wedding night...she was to pick the winner -
oh, the catch? - the paper was on our heads! Much fun...

Musical box - whoever had the box when the music ended had to open the package and model whatever was inside...this is Krista...
...modeling the Teddy that was in the box! What a ham!

Krista and Kate

Here is the 'other' Rachel (roomed with Amanda in London) modeling her TP lingerie...
Katie being decked out in her TP lingerie - yep...another game!
Here is Katie showing off what her team mates did with her!
Chantel and I were on Amanda's team...Chantel is trying to create stockings for the garter belt we made...well, I guess you had to be there!

Aside from a few embarassing moments, I have to admit this was a very fun shower. I love Amanda's friends and Rachel & Krista did a fabulous job putting this all together...

Spanakopita

What is Spanakopita, you say? Well, come to the wedding and find out! Actually it is a Greek delicacy made with spinach and filo dough. My mom (who is Greek) makes the best and it is one of Amanda's favorites, so my mom has spent most of the past week preparing and freezing.Today Amanda and her sister Katie (who flew in yesterday from Iowa) paid a visit to Yaya (my mom) to help her make a batch...here is Katie tying Amanda's apron...I love these girls!

Here they all are in the kitchen...Katie, Yaya and Amanda...
the girls are learning, Yaya is teaching.

Amanda is cutting up feta cheese (yum!), there is Katie's arm...and mom is concentrating hard!
Amanda likes to crumble the cheese (you go girl!) while my mom prefers to cut it into small pieces...Amanda is convinced that her way is more authentic...she is just sure of it.
Amanda posing with the filo dough...while Katie is brushing butter over the filo that has been layered over the spinach...doesn't all this just make you want to come to the wedding, even just to taste this deeelicious Spanakopita? I thought so...

A day in the life...

...of a bride and her mother...after a hectic morning running my personal errands, the kid and I set out to do wedding stuff! And where is the best place to start - South Coast Plaza, of course! Where we shopped is a secret, but we did have fun! Oh - we did go to Nordstrom to get Spanx for both of us...my first pair and I have not tried them on yet, but am confident they will make my dress look even better than it does already...sigh...

After lunch at El Pollo Loco...yummy! We met Aunt Kathryn aka pseudo 'mother of the bride' at the wedding venue. Oh how Amanda and I just love her enthusiasm! She has only boys and sees Amanda almost like a daughter - which is wonderful for me since I am not really into all this girly stuff!Here they are on the porch of the Kellogg house - in front of which the bride and groom will 'tie the knot'...the idea is that perhaps we will have the attendants on the porch during the ceremony - definitely different, but then she is! I like the idea cuz it is a bit out of the box and allows them the option to sit if they want/need to which I think is very thoughtful of the bride!

The Jasmine is in bloom...ahhh the frangrance was heavenly!

Here they are standing in the entrance to the path that leads to the food...!

The meet and greet area - where family will visit with the guests until the reception area is ready for us...I am so looking forward to this!

Believe it or not this farmer in the rusted out wagon is a highlight for Amanda - somehow she sees Joel, her and/or attendants and/or family all posed here...hmmm...should be interesting - hey, but I'm game!
More rustic farm vehicles - see the hill waaayyy in the background?...that caught her eye - all I can say is Jasmine and hubby (the photographers) are going to have much fun next Friday!

I can only wonder what Amanda saw in her mind's eye when she strolled by this!

Then it was on to the party rental place so we could touch and feel all the fun stuff...here is the director's chair we will get for the minister (aka Grandpa) to 'perch' on...here she is demonstrating!

Front view of the 'perch'...looks okay I think!

Here we are enacting the 'pastor exchange'...her pastor Eric will also be performing the wedding - in the background are two chairs for Eric and Grandpa...we had to show Kathryn how the 'exchange' would take place with regards to the director's chair...she, of course, had some awesome ideas about how to make it special.

Then on to Kathryn's place where she has several wedding books that she checked out of the library - I told you she was serious about this wedding stuff! Oh how grateful I am for family and good friends!

Then to end the evening we all went out for sushi! No pictures of that, but trust me it was d-e-e-e-e-licious!

Mother's Day part deux

And the star of the show? Felix! Home of the best Cuban/Spanish food in Orange County! And they have outdoor seating which always makes me feel like I am in Europe...this restaurant is located in downtown Orange where we have a 'circle'...I love that we have a place in this urban environment that is actually conducive to strolling...(not that I take advantage of it, but it is a nice thought!)Introducing left to right - Joel, Amanda, precious Jim, Taylor (his son), Kathy (Taylor's mom who you can barely see), my mom Alex (who you can't see at all), and Rachel (Amanda's oldest friend)
Okay - now you can see 1/2 of Kathy, my mom, Rachel and Jim in the foreground. Amanda ordered for us - we had a white fish, salmon, beef, barbecue pork and two combination platters that included chicken, beef, shrimp, scallops, and white fish. We also had black beans, two types of rice and plantains (fried bananas)...it was all deeeeelicious!

Then we went our separate ways - me, I came home. Joel came with me to pick up his car. Amanda and Rachel stayed downtown to 'stroll' along the walkway antique shopping. Jim and mom went to Newport Beach to look at condos. Kathy took Taylor home...whew!