Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' - Wedding Part II

So our bride & groom are happily married. The cheese has been unveiled & the guests enjoy mulled wine while the bridal party takes pictures.

sigh.

Wedding pictures can be painful. They can be uncomfortable and awkward with people yelling at you and you try to look happy and ignore the fact that your face hurts from smiling so much. It was cold out and I was enjoying my mulled wine. I didn't want to leave the reception to go smile for an indefinite period of time.

And then I stepped outside and saw the chaos.

These pictures? So. Much. Fun. If this photographer didn't live in another country, I would so hire him. We could not stop laughing. But, when we could stop laughing, we'd get some fetching photos.

Me & Elizabeth & Todd
The second of my 3 favorite pictures as two of my favorite people who happen to not live in the same state as me, are all in the same place, same picture.

Here we have the "American Group" along with the groom:

Todd, me, groom, bride, father-of-the-bride, mother-of-the-bride, boyfriend-of-the-mother-of-the-bride & sister-of-the-bride.

Here's the last of my favorite three:

Aren't we all cute? I just love this picture. Love, love, love. I think more American weddings should do this. Apparently, I was told, this shot is standard at British weddings.

Well, I was going to actually talk about the wedding, but I can do that tomorrow. Lets see some more of what we in America call wacky and what those in the UK call normal

FYI, it is normal to attend a wedding in your country's traditional garb. This tradition is rad beyond words.

Here we have Scotland and Austria represented. And, in case you like to play where's Waldo when looking in pictures, yes, in the Scotland picture, that is the bride & groom dealing with one of the bride's straps popping off thanks to a delightful bear hug delivered to the bride.

And here, if you're asking yourself, why isn't that nice picture of the traditional garb of Norway in better focus? I'd really like to get a better look at those fabulous socks. Yeah, here's what the photographer looked like:

Now, a sane person would have handed the camera to her boyfriend who was holding nothing at the time. Or, she might have even handed over the flowers, the wedding program and/or the purse. But, we're talking about a member of the bridal party so really, sanity doesn't enter the picture until after the wedding festivities are over. Yeah, that's in the bridal party handbook.

But, here is a tradition I will happily bring to American weddings. Those of you who know me well are scared right now. And you know what? You should be.

Behold!

Funny hats & fascinators!

Part III, coming soon....

Back in the saddle again

The wedding saddle that is.

And no, I'm not getting married. I'm the girl who's been in eight weddings and also assisted in countless others. So, in honor of weddings and people I love, I present you with the last wedding I was in. Unfortunately work and holidays hit so I wasn't able to bore, er, tell you about it before.

This one wins for furthest travelled. That title was previously held by a wedding in Maine but that wedding has now been dethroned.

If you're new to my blog, I'll give you a hint to where I was:

Yup, you guessed it, Tahiti. Oops, sorry, that's where I want to go, not where I was. Yes, we traveled across the pond.

Now, you might think to yourself, well, a British wedding would be easy. I mean, its a country where English is spoken and we've all seen "Four Weddings and a Funeral." That looks like great fun. And it was, but everything was different.

Actually, could you go watch that movie before you read any more? It sure would help the story. I'm sure you have the DVD. I can wait.

....

The language is different, the dress code is different, the bridal responsibilities are different...everything is well, different.

Lets start at the reheral, shall we? See that nice father daughter couple walking towards the house where both the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception were held? That's the bride and the father of the bride. Can you see that she's wearing a suit? (Click on the picture if you need more detail.)

At the rehearsal, Elizabeth was wearing pants (those pants you see right there) and when the vicar asked how long her dress was (to know if kneeling would be an issue) I said it was the same length as her PANTS. Yeah, everyone had a good laugh at that one, except for the 5 Americans who didn't know why they were laughing.

Britain 1, Maid of Honor 0

And, by the way, I was a Chief (and only) Bridesmaid, not the Maid of Honor.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 0

The day of the wedding, there were a few traditional issues that we won't go into on the interwebs. But I will tell you this.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 14,986

We all made it to the church on time, though a few of us might have been walking quickly due issues alluded to above. But, it gives me a good excuse to show you one of my three favorite pictures from the wedding (note Elizabeth is holding her wedding shoes so they don't get dirty on the walk to the church.

Don't we just love her dress? Off the rack ladies. Yes, you can find a dress for a reasonable amount of money. I bet someone really cool bought that. And yes we're going to ignore that the bride is gorgeous and completely in shape and could have worn a paper sack and looked fabulous and instead we'll focus on the fabulous dress, off the rack.

Britain 2, Maid of Honor 14,987

As luck would have it, the church they were married in is right next door to her now father-in-law's house. Again, you see this in "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Everyone walking from a fantastic old church to an equally fantastic old house for the reception. Fabulous, right?

Britain 3, Maid of Honor 14,987

Although this wedding has many British traits to it, the bride and groom did put their own spin on the most important element of the entire day.

Cheese.

Oh, you don't believe me?

That's cheese. That's cheese from France. That's cheese from France picked up by two friends of the bride & groom. (Only one person was sent but he invited a friend for the adventure.)

Seriously.

Of all the preparations for the wedding, this was the one single element that was key to the success of the event.

Now I think you fully understand the crazy of my friends and why I adore them so very, very much.

Part II coming tomorrow.

Hands on 3rd

Friday night I was able to con, er, make plans with Jenny and Mieke to crash the opening of Hands on 3rd. I really wasn't sure what to expect other than free food. And really, give me a few free cookies and I'm yours.

And free cookies they had.

(They had cheese & crackers and wine and soda. It was a lovely spread, but really, I was about the cookies.)

This event definitely had an art show kind of vibe in both the people attending and the overall mood of the room. Everyone was creative and curious, trying to take it all in without breaking anything.

From what I understand, Hands on 3rd is going for a community feel. There's very little retail (though, I think that'll change since people will need supplies) as their current focus is on classes. And those classes are incredibly varied, and all look to be quite interesting. Oh sure, they have sewing and quilting and crochet but they also have make your own kitchen garden, millinery, frame building, and the list goes on.

One of my favorite things about this space is the energy. The owners & teachers are just so enthusiastic to share their talents with you. I spoke at length with Corina Haywood, their millinery teacher. She was just lovely and I couldn't be more excited for her fascinator class on 5/17.

Of course since they didn't know me and were happy to see people walking through their door they asked how we had heard about their space. Well, of course, I told them, Ellen originally found them. It was her keen eye that discovered this little gem before they even opened.

All in all it was a lovely evening filled with cookies and good company.

HANDS-ON 3RD
8377 W. 3RD STREET
LOS ANGELES, CA 90048
(323) 655-0515

HOURS:
TUESDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY: 10am - 6pm
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: 10am - 9pm
SUNDAY: 12noon - 6pm

I think I found the best burger place in L.A.

So, I have three three books on how to make cool stuff from felted sweaters. (Wow, more on those adventures later.) So, one day I hit a few thrift stores in search of cheap sweaters to felt. During my adventure, I pasted Danties. But it wasn't Danties anymore, it was a Hole in the Wall. Literally, they transformed their space into Hole in the Wall Burger Joint. Same owners as Danties, same amazing ingredients, but they turned their attention to burgers.

Thank you nice former Danties people. Thank you very much.

As you'll see on the website, you pick the meat, the bun, and the toppings. And, since the nice owners take food very seriously, all of the above is fresh and made to order. So. Good. I'd even say its better than In'n'Out. Mom & I agreed its better than The Stand (don't get me wrong, The Stand still has best burger in Century City). But Hole in the Wall fries kick all kinds of fry booty. So good. And, apparently, they're doing well...which is awesome.

Seriously, its 9am and I'm getting hungry writing this.

So yeah, do me a favor and run over there. Its at Santa Monica & Bentley, just one block east of Sepulveda on the south side of the street, behind Winchell's. Pick me up a burger on a wheat bun with onion mayo, provolone, lettuce, onion, tomato, and a side of fries. You can order online, call or just show up. But, there's my order. Bring it over anytime.

Thanks.

Hole in the Wall Burger Joint
11058 Santa Monica Blvd.at South Bentley Avenue
310-312-7013

Hours:
11am to 8pm Mon.-Fri.
11am to 6pm Sat.

A New Love

So, you might remember last year when I asked the interwebs if they wanted to go with me to this. Well, in my attempt not to eat every cupcake within reach, I resisted both years. Instead, I read the flier intently, looking for new local cupcakes to sample, in the name of research of course.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that one of the competitors sold cupcakes just steps from my office. Blue Cupcake sells her wares every week at the Century City Farmer's market. (My directions last night: Go to Sees, walk past See's, walk over the bridge, yeah, there's the Century City Farmer's Market.) And, I just learned that she also sells at the Downtown Farmer's Market at Pershing Square on Wednesdays.

Ok, her cupcakes aren't just good, they're gramma-approved. Seriously. And not just the chocolate, and that's really saying something. So, on Thursday, pop over to the Century City Farmer's Market. She's over with all the food people, just a few steps from the chicken guy (look for the HUGE line).

Biggs & Featherbelle

I should have posted this last week but we'll just chalk it up to my being a bad person....

See that banner?

<---That one? Yeah. You know you've been all good in this recession, saving your pennies, not going out and buying new sewing machines or designer shoes (ahem, well, moving on...), so do something nice for yourself, at a discounted price of course. I was introduced to the fabulousness of Biggs & Featherbelle at Felt Club, and even discussed them before in this odd little soapbox of mine. But now you can try them without the hesitation of, well, full price. Just use their BIGGSALE discount code until Wednesday (4/1) at 1pm and you get 50% off EVERYTHING.

The real steal is getting their fabulous soap for $2.50 per bar. That's outstanding. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I did most of my damage in the bath soak section. Their bath salts & soaks are just fabulous. And then I decided to try a few of their scrubs...and well, a large box will be arriving at my house hopefully in the very near future.

Enjoy!

Huckleberry Cafe

For the record, I'm a devoted Daily Candy follower. I can't remember how I first heard of them. But they've served me well for years, haircuts, food, sample sales and such what not. So, when they talked about Huckleberry Cafe, I tossed it on my to do list.

We went on a Saturday, about 11ish. I thought we'd be safe, before the lunch rush. We even scored a spot in the parking lot in back. This is already going really well!

Then we walked in.

Total. Chaos.

This contrast off good news/bad news becomes a theme.

Its not super clear how to order but we figured out that there's sort of a line that you stand in until someone talks to you to take your order. But, the HUGE menu board above the counter...yeah, that doesn't apply on the weekends. You can order only from the wee weekend menus on the counter.

The girl taking our order was sweet and answered our questions as far as how to order, what they specialize in and all the things you ask the first time to a place. As luck would have it, what we wanted to eat were on both boards. She hands our order down the line. After we shuffle down to pay. I'm asking the cashier questions....silly things like, can we sit outside, how do we get our drinks. She's ignoring me. Awesome. Whatever, we pay. I'm committed and hungry at this point.

No tables.

Seriously, if I'm paying $35 for lunch for two people (and by I, I mean Todd) and I'm ordering at a deli counter, I don't think a table is too much to ask for.

A few minutes pass and we were able to scout a table. Score! But one of the many, many employees there didn't really appreciate my asking for it to be cleared. As I watch the many, many employees mingle I see they're divided into two camps - 1) those who are serious about the food service industry and are obviously there to learn. They hustle and get stuff done and have a great attitude; and 2) those who are just there for a job and would rather serve food than clean up after the patrons.

I have to say our food was fantastic. For what it is, its expensive, but really good. (In case you're curious, I had the meatball sandwich while Todd tried the Fried Egg Sandwich.) The bread? Outstanding, baked fresh there. The pastries? Yup, made fresh there too. If I could convince someone to bring me lunch RIGHT NOW (whatever I'm hungry), I'd ask for them to go there. Yeah, it was that good. But, would I go there to sit and to eat again? No. For the cost, its far too much work. Should you try the food? Absolutely. And, you should bring me some bread, or at least a pastry.

Huckleberry Cafe - Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica at 10th - check their hours, they're still in their soft opening phase.