florida bound!

It's been busy week around these parts trying to wrap up for a VERY special weekend away.  Tonight, I'm off to Florida for the bachelorette party of my very best friend: Miss. Charlotte VanWagenen.  

She's marrying this sweet gentleman this June and I could NOT be more excited to celebrate with her!

Normally I'm a pack-several-days-in-advance type of girl, but this week I ended up waiting until the last minute (now!) to toss my stuff together.  Luckily, warm weather and sunshine doesn't call for much:

Shades and a fresh pedicure*, 

heels, purse and jewels for a night out on the town,

and work-out gear for some serious exercise 

(because this bride is ripped!) 

*By fresh, I mean one month in which is one and the same for this gal.

I've also mastered the ideal red-eye attire to make going from airport to sleeping-on-the-plane to airport to enjoying your day as comfortable and effortless as possible:

Jeans and a black stretchy shirt 

is perfection even with a bump!

That's 22 weeks with a cantaloupe-sized baby.  

xoxo

KK

honesty

So this past Tuesday was my mom's birthday.

Since she has everything she could possibly want (and my dad always manages to take the cake in terms of presents - this year, he surprised her with a new BMW), us kids usually opt to send her a bottle of good champagne (her fav) to wherever she is dining that night or a nice bunch of flowers (who doesn't love fresh blooms?) to brighten up her desk.

from here

 

from here

This year, however, she happened to be down at their place in Florida, and unfortunately 
1. their go-to restaurant for dinner out (the Pink!) was closed (so they'd be dining at home), and
2. our go-to Gasparilla Island florist wasn't open until the end of the month.

Not wanting to stray from our original idea, we decided to just try out another florist.  The woman assured me they had a beautiful arrangement of Gerber Daisies (my mom's fav) in a lovely basket that would do the trick.  How bad could it be?

The answer to that question is:
very, very bad.

As soon as the flowers were delivered, she sent us kids a text:
"Thanks so much for the flowers! xxoo"

Curious as to whether our trial florist fit the bill, I responded:
"You're so welcome!  Are they cute?"

To which she replied:
"No not cute sorry!! I will send you a picture.  They are awful!!!!"

Gotta love her honesty.
Live and learn: don't use a florist you don't know.

Perhaps, we'll get our act together to pull this off for next year:

from here

Happy weekend!

xoxo

KK

while i was gone

A lot has happened since my blogging break began.
Besides having the fabulous Charlotte in town for a weekend in Dry Creek, I've been in Florida, South Africa, Palm Springs, and Switzerland, for a second time this year.  I know, I know: totally and completely spoiled.

But - in my defense - no trip was without purpose:

Florida for a much overdue family get-together (my brother's last spring break before entering the real world),

playing gin with pops

soaking up some sun

South Africa for an investment conference,

pre-conference cocktails on table top mountain

power breakfast on my patio before sessions

Palm Springs for a bachelorette,

before a night out dancing

and Switzerland for Stefan's sister's wedding (and some other European escapades).

More on these adventures to come.

xoxo
KK

a long weekend on gasparilla

So despite a mother on the mend (what is it with the flu this season?  terrible!) 
and weather like this:

 

Of Stefan's four trips to Florida, 

we've had bad luck every time!

Stefan and I had a wonderful time visiting my grandparents and parents on Gasparilla Island.

The weekend was extra special as two of my favorite high school teachers (who happen to be very good friends of my mom) were also down visiting.

 

Mrs. Lyons - English teacher extraordinaire (top) 

and Mrs. Morse - USM's Spanish guru (bottom)

on our make-your-own-pizza night

Despite the lousy weather, we did lots of island walking (bundled up of course!), 
lounged around hearing about Poppy's extraordinary cane collection (you haven't seen anything like it), 
indulged in decadent dinners in and out, 
caught up on Downton, and 
spent leisurely lunches sipping beers and coloring at Miller's Marina.

By far the pinnacle of the weekend, however, was the men's midnight fishing trip.  After dinner on Sunday, Stefan, Poppy and my dad headed out into the cold for a late night attempt at catching some marlin. 

(For those of you who know about as much about fish as I do, marlin fishing is considered the pinnacle of game fishing due to the size and power of this beastly fish and the extreme rareness of the species.)

Hemingway and his family with 4 marlin in 1935

(picture and info on marlin from wikipedia,

because I obviously don't know a thing)

Poppy told Stefan he'd buy us a house in San Francisco if Stefan pulled in one of the breed.

After awhile of no luck catching a thing, Stefan tossed in a live-shrimp-bated hook.

Pops muttered to Dad, "This one will be our last.  The chances of us catching a thing are next to none."

After a minute or two, however, Stefan felt a pull, "I've got something here!"

Knowing Stefan loves a good joke, they peered over at him skeptically.

"No really!  I do!  I can't pull it in!" he hollered as he struggled with his pole.

Pops quickly ran over to help him reel in his catch.

A big, meaty snook!

While not quite a marlin, the snook is also a renowned game fish, known for its superior fighting capabilities (which the men experienced first hand).  

While Stefan didn't end up with a house, he went home with a book all about his catch (with a hand-written note from his fishing mentor Pops) as well as a new nickname: "The Fischerman."

How was your long weekend?

xoxo

KK

gratitude in a gift

So I hate to be a downer, but I have to get something off my chest:
With all the excitement and anticipation of planning a wedding comes a fair amount of guilt. 

Not just guilt for the insane amount of money one's parents pour into a few-day event (and trust me, there is a whole lotta that), but also guilt for the sacrifice of every single person in attendance.  Attending a wedding is no small undertaking for guests, especially when it takes place in a pricey destination to which they must fly (guilty as charged).  There's days off and plane tickets and hotel rooms and rental cars and wedding attire, not to mention gifts. 

And then you can multiply that by three for your bridal party and closest family and friends because they do the whole thing all over again for your engagement party, bachelorette, and bridal shower.  A wedding is a serious investment, not just for the bride and groom's families, but for all those involved.

So this past weekend I wanted to do something a little special to show my three bridesmaids how much I appreciated all the things they're doing to honor me this summer.  I wanted them to know that I didn't take for granted the fact that they had to take a precious Friday off and buy a plane ticket and rent a car and treat me to a killer line-up of activities, cocktails, and meals.

So I put together a little treat for them:

A Weekend-at-the-Beach Goodie Bag

I picked up three different waterproof bags from my fav store on Chestnut Street: Toss Designs.

I then stocked up on my fav beach-weekend goodies (with a little menu of contents, of course).

I then couldn't resist giving each babe a little bridesmaids update on their duties the weekend-of.  One side of my update outlined the wedding weekend schedule while the other contained a personal love letter from yours truly.

All together it was one cute little package.

While the girls loved their goodies, it quickly became apparent that there had been no need.  They're the kind of friends who leap at the chance to indulge in such a celebration and don't need to be reminded that you're grateful.  As my wise, other bride-to-be friend said, "your closest friends enjoy doing these things for you, let them."

Despite the lack of need for gifts, however, I was glad I am gave them.  Especially when the first day in the sun left us (well, mainly me and my sister) red as lobsters and in desperate need of that little tube of Banana Boat.

xoxo
KK

back-to-basics bachelorette

I know things have been quiet around here of late but I have good reason: I've been off celebrating my bachelorette with my three favorite girlfriends - my sister and my two college roommates.  While you may be picturing crazy nights out, boatloads of babes in stretch limos, and strippers galore:

NOT us

The truth is, that just isn't me.  So in keeping with my just-a-bit-more-low-key style, the four of us went back-to-basics and headed down to sunny Gasparilla Island, Florida for a weekend of splendid surprises.

There were all my favorites:

Walks into town for brunch at Innlet,

yoga on the beach,

Our super sweet teacher headed back post class

drinks at the Gasparilla Inn,

and dinner at the Pink Elephant.

Not to mention:
my sister's killer fresh fish off the grill,
a bike ride followed by Dark & Stormies at Miller's Dockside Marina to watch the boats come in,
lunch at the Pass Club,
swimming in the pool,
and lots of right-up-my-alley games.

Like guess the wine varietal and price:

Where we failed miserably by guessing the cheapest was the most expensive,

and the Malbec was the Cab

And another where the gals tested how well I knew Stefan. 
While I knocked most questions out of the park, when it came to his fav and least fav dishes of mine, I struggled.  I categorized this polenta as a fav while he gave it a big thumbs down.  At least he likes my cheesecakes.  (But perhaps that's only because he's obsessed with anything cheese.  Good thing he isn't marrying me for my culinary talents.)

The best part of the whole weekend, however, was getting to spend three glorious days with these three fabulous babes.  Even with the coast to coast separation between us for close to two and half years now, it felt like no time had passed since we were silly, bubbly roommates back at school.  I am counting down the days until we do it all over again in the Hamptons for Jessie's bachelorette in just a few short, short weeks.

xoxo
KK

dear diary

I absolutely adore the idea of a daily journal, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  I've resolved, I've promised, and yet - I still don't write.  I guess in some ways these online daily musings serve a similar purpose, but fortunately for you and unfortunately for me, I'm not always documenting the ins and outs of each and every day.

Sometimes I wake up and wonder: what exactly was I doing a year ago?  Two years ago?  Five?  How have I changed - not just in actions but in attitude?

So this morning, I checked April 3, 2011 via my Outlook Calendar which tracks just about EVERYTHING about my daily happenings, even Stefan and my romantic dates.  (What can I say?  We were trained as general management consultants - life is so much easier when managed via Outlook, but more on that another time.)

I deduced from my appointments that I was in fact in Florida basking in the sun before celebrating my Kaka's 75th birthday.

But other than that, I can't remember. 
Did Gretch and I run the island that morning? 
Did we chat about her exciting life in New York?  My pending move-in?  Her fancy job? 
Did we have a family brunch at the Innlet? 
Did we walk the beach?  Swim in the ocean?  Play in the sand? 
Where was I thinking I'd be in a year from then?  Here?  Doing this?  Marrying him?

How I wished for a journal to let me dig into moments past.  To remember and savor and learn from those days gone by.

Enter: easiest (and prettiest) daily journal known to womankind. 

Idea from Sofia's Journal

With a note card for each day, all you need is a few moments each evening to jot down your daily happenings and anything else you may want to remember.  Think of how lovely it will be looking back a year from now when marking down that day's journey, reminiscencing about a memory 365 days prior. 

 

Find your note card basket

at anthropologie

Do you keep a journal?  How do you do it?

xoxo

KK

words + writers

My apologies for not writing of late - Stefan and I have been down on Gasparilla Island for the past four days swimming in the ocean, running along the beach, and soaking up the sun (which we're really missing with all this San Francisco rain).  I know I promised stories but the weekend was really just too special to share, so instead you'll have to settle for some specialness from our last Florida getaway.

So the last time we were down in Florida, my mom organized a celebratory engagement dinner for Stefan and I.  Nothing huge - just some family at the club - but super special none-the-less. 

During cocktail hour at our place (champagne + crudite), she sneakily asked each family member to write a word of advice for married life down on a note card.  Then at dinner, she passed the stack to Stefan who had to read each aloud and guess the giver. 

Can YOU match words to writer here?

Writers:

Al (A), Gretchen (B), Mom (C), Dad (D)

 

Nana (E), Pops (F), Kaka with Gretters and me (G), Aunt Judy (H) 

Words:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

We weren't quite sure to make of the combination

of this and the previous one.  Thoughts?

Eight

Nine

It was a hilarious game - especially since someone had put in TWO cards to really throw Stefan off the track to discovery.  Sneaky, sneaky.  Can you guess who?

Answers below!

Which was your fav bit of advice?  Anything you'd add?

xoxo
KK


ANSWERS:
1. A
2. B
3. E
4. F
5. F (Oh Pops - always the trickster!)
6. G
7. C
8. D
9. H