The One Where Amanda Got Jacked Up

In case you're confused by the title of this post, it's obvious you do not watch nearly enough Say Yes to the Dress. Because that is where you learn that when you go look at wedding dresses, the moment when the put the "bling" (... that word...) sash and the big veil and the, like, tiara in your hair is called getting jacked up. 

This past weekend, Amanda and I decided to take the bull by the horns and get out there and start looking at wedding dresses for her. Ya know, since she's engaged and all. We had appointments at 3 different bridal salons in San Diego. 

And lemme tell you... If you've never tried on wedding dresses before... IT IS SO FUN. I'm pretty sure Amanda ended up trying on about 50 dresses at the 3 places we went to. Totally got her cardio in for the day! We woke up to thunder (which I honest to god thought was an airplane since I haven't heard thunder in so long!) and a little rain, which cleared up by the time we left. Also, it's a good sign if you have rain on your wedding day (no matter what Alanis says) so it has to be good luck to be raining on your dress shopping day, right?

The first stop, The Bustle, had a very cute personalized sign welcoming us. We were the only people in the store during our appointment. Plus we got complimentary champagne and mini cupcakes. Luxe! 

                                   

                                   

We weren't allowed to take pics of the actual dresses in the boutique (so, yes, that last picture is technically not kosher), and the woman helping us was slightly robotic, but overall we enjoyed the experience. 

From there we headed to Here Comes the Bride. Much larger than The Bustle, with multiple girls there for appointments. It did kind of have a Say Yes to the Dress vibe going on. And there were some insanely expensive gowns (mostly hideous... Why is that?) including a Badgley Mischka with a literal disco ball hanging down the back. 

                                                

Sorry for the poor quality. That dangly thing in the middle? Disco ball. 

                                    

Amanda tried on some great dresses here. She asked me not to include pictures in this post so whatever dress she ends up choosing is a total surprise for everyone, but trust me - she looked amazing!! She tried on a couple dresses just for the heck of it, which is a great way to learn some styles can get immediately crossed off your list while others you never may have given a thought to could actually be very flattering on you. You never know! Plus, our consultant was obsessed with us and said she wished she could be invited to the wedding because we were so fun. #donthateuscuzyouaintus 

            

By the time we left, we were tired. But we pressed on to the last place, Isis Bridal Boutique. Which I picked solely because one of Amanda and Ross's dogs is named Isis. 

Also known as "Crazy Beast", "Icicle", and "GET OVER HERE"

 This was my favorite place of the day. Again, Amanda tried on a bunch of different gowns and literally looked like a bridal magazine model at one point. 

                                    

I am pretty proud of how this shot turned out!

                                  

                               

Though Amanda didn't buy a dress on Sunday, she definitely has a better idea of what she wants so when she goes shopping with her mom and sister, I bet she'll find The Dress now that she knows what she likes. I totally got teary eyed at a couple points seeing her as a BRIDE!                             

So... Then... I kept looking at this one dress. So I tried it on. Because #yolo. 

                                        

That expression on my face is a combination of "oh my god this is so weird seeing myself in a wedding dress" and "girl, you better take this dress off of me if you don't want me running out the door with it on my body." So now, when the time comes, I know I will probably want a dress like that one. I loved it! It had pockets!

After Isis, we were REALLY exhausted but a couple of giant burritos and some Starbucks later, we were ready to rally. And we went to the Dierks Bentley concert! We were 100% sober. Everyone else was not. This was amusing on multiple levels. Though we didn't stay the entire time, considering it was Sunday night. But, if Dierks mentioned ONE MORE TIME about how we were "the rowdiest crowd I've ever heard on a Sunday!" he was going to receive a strongly worded letter from me. But we managed to get a decent picture. And avoid getting rolled on by 2 people literally dry humping on the lawn. So... Success!

                   

Finally, in other news, I went to the Honda dealership yesterday afternoon to start negotiations with them about getting a new (at least new to me) car. I felt like Meg Ryan in that scene in You've Got Mail... "It's not personal, it's business. Go to the mattresses." 

However, the manager I met with was totally cool and assumed 100% responsibility for the incident and didn't tell me to "pound sand" (his words, not mine) so that was a relief. I am still weighing my options because, as my dad says, don't be surprised when you end up regretting your snap decisions, but hopefully I'll have an update and a new car to debut here soon! 

The One Where We Get Inspired

First of all, before I get to the real meat of this post...

MY BFF IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that's right. Ross popped the question and asked Amanda to marry him while they were out horseback riding in the Temecula wine country last weekend. How perfect is that! 

 I am SUPER excited for them (in case you couldn't tell by the massive font) and may or may not have already started crafting my wedding speech. Ross proposed to Amanda with her nana's ring, which is one of a kind, and absolutely gorgeous. 

 Congrats you crazy kids!!! (Who are both older than I am!)

Amanda is my best friend for many reasons, but one of them is that she continuously inspires me to be a better version of me and not settle for things just because they are easy. Though sometimes she can be a royal pain in the ass with this, I always come through the other side grateful that she pushes me and doesn't accept wishy-washy crap from me. I was thinking about this the other day and it got me started thinking about other inspirational women in my life. The list is loooooong because I know a lot of incredible women, but I wanted to highlight a few of them. If you do not find yourself below, fear not - every person I consider a friend inspires me in some way or another. Obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn't be friends with you. 

My first friend is also my hair stylist,  Mary Beth. 

I met Mary Beth at a friend's party and as soon as I spotted her across the room, I knew she did hair and I had to get her info. I haven't regretted this decision for a single second in the several years I've now known her. She knows her stuff. She definitely knows how to keep me from looking like I have a mullet (most of the time). But aside from that, I find Mary Beth inspiring because she's a single mom to 3 kids, plus she now has two grandkids (I mean COME ON... I can only PRAY I look as good as she does when I grow up!) and on top of all that, she just bought her own salon! She loves her kids and her family more than anyone I know and I always leave my hair appointments feeling happy. If you need your hair done and you live anywhere in Southern California, she is seriously worth the drive. Check out her stuff here! Oh, and if you get on her good side, she'll definitely bust out her scooter and go kick some butt for you if you need her to. ;-) Mary Beth inspires me to 1) keep my hair looking good, and 2) believe that with the bad comes even more good

My second friend, Caroline, is also a Kappa sister of mine. Though I didn't know Caroline very well when we were in college (she was a couple years behind me), I have since grown to know her more through reading her nutrition blog, Colorful Eats.

Now, let me tell you something - it takes a LOT for me to even read a person's food blog if they are touting grain-free, sugar-free recipes. I mean, seriously, barf. But I've actually attempted some of her recipes and they're all VERY good. And almost every single recipe she posts is something I WOULD ACTUALLY EAT. You can read about how she got into the whole nutrition thing on her blog, and I have to say in case I ever decide I need to eat grain- and sugar-free in the future (sorry, girl, but I'm not there yet), her website and ebooks would be the first resources I would turn to. And it doesn't hurt that she has the sunniest personality. And a cute puppy!! Caroline inspires me to make better food choices and step outside of my food comfort zone. Because a little almond flour never killed anyone. 

Speaking of cute puppies, my friend (and also a Kappa sister), Christina, has two of the cutest non-fluffy dogs I have ever seen. Case in point...

Christina graduated from our alma mater, Hillsdale, in just 3 years (no easy feat!). During the short time we had together at Hillsdale, she became one of my closest friends and I'm pretty sure I laughed more with her than almost anyone else I've ever known. While at Hillsdale, she studied abroad in England and then after Hillsdale proceeded to get her nursing degree. Since then she's been an amazing nurse in Colorado and back in Michigan and now she's back in Colorado and not only nursing, but also climbing ridiculously high mountains, taking care of those dogs, and planning a wedding to her fiance Kyle. She also pet a reindeer in Finland for god's sake, and does a spot-on impression of Olympia Dukakis as Clairee Belcher in Steel Magnolias. Oh yeah... and she can also parallel park a stick shift on the left side of the street in one try. (That might be the most impressive fact I know about ANYONE.)

Christina inspires me to try more outdoorsy things and simultaneously to be more of a lady. I swear, her style is better than Princess Kate's and she always looks so put together. I'm planning to see her when I'm in Denver this October for a conference, and it's about time because it's been almost 2 and a half years since we saw each other last! 

The fourth woman on my list, Zhenya, was ALSO a Kappa sister of mine at Hillsdale (what can I say... Kappas are pretty amazing) and though we didn't know each other super well at school, she makes this short list because she owns the cutest baby boutique EVER in Charleston, SC, which is one of my favorite cities in the US.

It's called Sugar Snap Pea (check out their insanely adorable website here) and, like I said, she owns it. As in, she just decided "hey, I like baby stuff. I wanna sell it." So SHE DID. And, yeah, I'm sure the story has a little more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. If you're ever in South Carolina and need a baby gift (or just like shopping... or aren't a robot) drop in. You won't regret it. I also remember being very intimidated by Zhenya when we were in college because she's very cosmopolitan and fabulous and while I still think those are 2 extremely accurate attributes of hers, I also came to learn she is hilarious and very kind. Zhenya inspires me to follow my dreams. Seriously, when I was very first debating applying for the EdD program at UCLA, one of the reasons I went through with it was because of the example Zhenya set for me (and all women, really). She knew what she wanted to do and she did it. Why let anything hold me back? 

The last woman on my list is my friend and "sole" sister, Shelly. 

I've mentioned Shelly numerous times on this blog, especially in my running posts, but she is so much more than someone I've run races with. (Although she always serves as an inspiration when I am running, whether it be for a mile or 13.1 miles, or more (Ragnar, I'm looking at you).) I am inspired by Shelly's love for the environment (she is the reason we recycle at our office!), her love for her family (she rivals Mary Beth with how much she loves her family), and her love for being adventurous. I'm sure living many years of her life in Alaska has something to do with the adventurous part of her, but I just like how she rarely says no to a suggested activity and is usually the one suggesting cool things herself. I mean, just today she went canyoneering in Zion National Park. AKA she rappelled down a FREAKING CLIFF into a CANYON. Because why not? Shelly inspires me to say yes more. And also to watch shows about Amish youths haha. 

Who inspires you?