Weddings, Big 10 Country Style

I did a terrible thing to my mom the first weekend in August - but it turned out alright in the end. Two of my good college girlfriends were getting married on the same weekend. One was a brunch wedding on Notre Dame's campus; the other an evening wedding in Madison, WI. Being that South Bend and Madison are much closer together than, say, DC and either of those cities, I though - why not go to both weddings? Then I get to be part of both these friends' special days.

So off I went to the morning wedding by myself at Notre Dame. It was a lovely wedding though I did not know anyone except the bride and groom. Personally I thought it was genius of the bride to have a brunch wedding as that's about my favorite meal. The significance of not knowing anyone at the wedding is that I was going to be drinking mimosas by myself. When I called my mom between the wedding and reception I told her just that and I don't think she believed me. Ha! Proved her wrong. I downed a few mimosas while making friends with the bride's grad school friends. After brunch and congratulating the bride & groom, I was on my way with my mom (and sister in tow) to Madison.

Five fairly contentious car ride hours and a couple of outbursts later we arrived in Madison, threw on our outfits for wedding #2 (my mom was my date) and made our way there. We had missed the wedding itself but arrived at the beginning of the reception, in time for the toasts & all. My college girlfriends & I got our groove on, catching up & dancing. Being that we are all Minnesota alums, bride included, we went up to the DJ to make sure he played the Minnesota Rouser. His response? "I am a Wisconsin alum." Negotiation ensued for the next five minutes, with him making excuses - "I don't have the Minnesota Rouser" and "I don't know where to find it" - until he finally came around, provided he could also play the Wisconsin fight song, which we deemed appropriate given the bride is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. It was a fabulous moment, one in which I knew I was back in Big 10 country.

And the plus side of dragging my mom on this marathon wedding weekend is it finally ended a debate we'd been having for years about my own fictitious wedding. While I recognize weddings are celebrating marriage, a commitment to one another, love, et cetera at the end of the day I want my own wedding to be a fabulous dance party. I happen to believe good food and an open bar help dance parties be their most fabulous. My mom differed, believing open bars and really drinking in general at weddings was an unnecessary expense.

Well, after three signature cocktails (yes - the bride had a signature cocktail for her wedding) at wedding #2 my mom changed her mind.

Moving Day!

It's moving day! Today I made one of the best decisions of my life: hiring movers. While I sit in my empty bedroom and blog one last time from my single girl apartment two attractive, buff men are loading my belongings into a truck. I am actually getting some me time to enjoy on this day off work for... work.

I am looking forward to living in the new place. It's a beautiful old row house, DC style. Hard wood floors, high ceilings, an elegant staircase, and more. I am living with roommates again, four nice twenty-something girls. It will be a nice change of pace. I am one of those rare people who kind of likes moving. I like cathartic act of packing and cleaning things out, followed by the opportunity to create a new space.

Life Lessons: Beer & Business Lunches

Life lesson learned today: Even if you attend a business lunch at a brewery, even if you order a beer with lunch in part because everyone else is, it's still not a good idea to choose the fancy Belgian style beer with over 10% alcohol content.

I'm Moving! Apartment Nostalgia

I'm moving next week! My alter ego girlfriend lives in an awesome group house that I got a spot in. The impetus for the move is twofold: living with cool people and saving money. My hope is the money I save goes to the "dreams" account - funds to pursue some of the aspirations I still have for my twenties.

My apartment rented out really quick, which makes my heart happy. A couple viewed it & fell in love with it. They loved how I had it set up, from my orange wall to the furniture and more. Can't exactly explain why that makes me happy, but it does.

Though I am excited to move, there are some things about living alone I will miss. For example, if/when I eat ice cream for dinner, no one judges me. If I forget to bring my towel into the bathroom, it's no big deal. I can sit in the bath for a while and just relax. And I like lazy weekend mornings (well, and afternoons) where I stay in my pajamas all day. But alas, those times will come again.

P.S. As I write this blog post, one of the Presidential helicopter is flying over my apartment. Just in case you forgot I live in DC.