...and we're back

I apologize for the hiatus -- my writers were on strike.

The last few weeks have just been insane. Work has alternated between overwhelming (when I'm too busy to blog) and coma-inducingly boring (when I'm too uninspired to blog). But, someone brought chocolate cake to work today, and I had a modest piece, and I'm feeling good.

Where to begin ... last weekend!

My good friend from high school (and bridesmaid) flew in on Friday the 28th, and came straight to my office. I skipped out of work early, we grabbed a coffee, and headed back to Bay Ridge. I was really excited to show her my apartment, especially because my last apartment was so small that I couldn't even invite her and her husband up for a cup of coffee the last time they were in town, let alone have them over night. So, I gave her the grand tour, and we headed off to do serious business -- shoe shopping at Century 21 on 86th in Bay Ridge. I love this place. While we were on our way out the door, my best buddy from college called to say he was out of court and ready to meet up. He lives in Philly, and despite the fact that he'll be a groomsman in my wedding in less than two months, he hadn't yet met Fiance. So, I was very excited that he was in town, and I insisted that he stay over as well. We met up with him right by Century 21, and he was a good sport about shoe shopping. Thanks to my girlfriend's expert eye, we were in and out of there rather quickly, with a pair of four-inch gold stilletos for me to wear to my shower. It was sort of difficult to match this dress:

And this is why I love Jessica Simpson:

See? They were perfect. Hooray!

After the successful C21 trip, Fiance met up with me and my friends, and we went to my favorite Bay Ridge restaurant for dinner: Circles Grille on 3rd Ave and 91st Street. Excellent food. I had shimp kebabs, and I can't remember what anyone else had.

Then, we went back to the house, girlfriend and I changed and got fixed up, and the boys played Wii (they were instant best friends). We headed out to Tarboosh on 5th Ave and I think 75th (in Bay Ridge), for an Arabic music festival. Three of our good friends were there with a table, and we had a blast. The place was loud and crowded, and lots of fun. We drank a little, smoked a little hookah, danced a lot (even Fiance!) and stayed out until 2am (well ... it would have been a little bit earlier, but due to the close proximity of Bay Ridge Ave and Bay Ridge Parkway, there was a little bit of confusion as to where the boys had parked the car. I'm over it ... ). We went home and collapsed.

Of course, I never should have stayed out that late, given that I had to wake up at 8 am on Saturday, to get ready for my shower. Ooops! Thank God for coffee. I got up, said goodbye to college buddy, and started getting ready. We were all in the car, looking fabulous, by 10:30ish. We showed up about 10 minutes late (as planned) to my 11:30 shower. Fiance dropped me off and high-tailed it to my parents' house to chill with my dad, my brothers, and the babies. I understand there was some basketball involved, and they had a good time.

My shower was AMAZING. I think that if it had been a suprise, I absolutely would have passed out. I knew all about it, I knew that 50 people would be there (I even saw the RSVP list), and I was still completely overwhelmed. And I don't overwhelm ... ever. I seriously had trouble making out people's faces, couldn't remember how I knew people and who knew whom. I walked up to two of my best friends from college and almost introduced them ... to each other. Oops. It was insane.

Everything was so beautiful. It was held at Broccolini Restaurant in Madison, NJ, and the food was delicious. I understand the beautiful cake was also delicious, but I somehow never got a piece! It was wonderful to see everyone. Some of my mom's neighborhood friends were there, and I don't think I'd seen a few of them in years. All of my aunts and cousins and my mom's cousins were there too, and it was just fantastic. My grandmother seemed to be feeling really good, and it was great to have her there. My bridesmaids were amazing -- everything was perfect.

I spent about 14 hours unwrapping gifts, and the little girls helped me with the wrapping paper, and my sisters-in-law wrote down all of the gifts. There are about a thousand pictures, which I might post at some point, but I like the (relative) anonymity of this blog so far, so we'll see. I got a ton of great stuff -- all of my everyday flatware (all 24 place settings!), two settings of my china, a ton of serving pieces, beautiful tablecloths, placemats, and some other really creative and wonderful gifts. My bridesmaids got me a huge basket filled with all of my baking pans and my hand mixer, and my sister-in-law designed the most adorable recipe box, which all of the girls filled with recipes. My cousin put in the cookie recipe that her late father -- the best uncle ever -- used to make the most amazing chocolate chip cookies ever. I teared up a little at that point but was mostly able to control myself. I can't wait to make the cookies, though.

After the shower, fiance picked me up, and we, along with two of my bridesmaids, went back to Bay Ridge to change and get ready for the bachelorette party! Fiance got out of the house as quickly as possible, and went to stay with our priest (a very good decision).

Stay tuned for details about the bachelorette party ... (time to get some actual work done).