What Happens in Vegas....

The adorable bride-to-be

 Wedding season is always a fun time of year...but it's even more fun when it's your closest friends tying the knot.  I wrote a few weeks ago about my friend Randi who had an epic wedding in New Orleans, but NOW, it's time to celebrate another one of my dearest friends, Ashley...I call her Boost...she is my BOOST.  I had the EXTREME pleasure of coordinating my sweet friend's bachelorette party in none other than Sin City.  Ashley had never been to Las Vegas before, and from growing up on the West Coast, I had become quite a Vegas expert (which I'm starting to think isn't such a good thing!).  When she asked me to plan the weekend, I was thrilled to be able to contribute to her wedding festivities.  It can be hard to celebrate with your friends when you are so far away and unable to participate in showers & engagement parties.  So being the HMFIC (head mother f*cker in charge...don't even ask...I was bestowed this nickname by some friends we made on the trip) for the weekend was such an honor, so that I could help organize the most special weekend ever for the beautiful bride-to-be.

We made her wear costumes every day

With a  motley crew of 9 ladies, we chose the beautiful Venetian hotel to stay for the weekend.  For anyone heading there for a bachelorette party, I would highly recommend staying here because the hotel is entirely comprised of suites...which makes for more convenient sleeping arrangements.  We couldn't have asked for better weather for the whole weekend.  The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was negative humidity...a welcome relief for all the ladies from Texas, and the milky New Yorker who was leaving behind a May full of rain.  It was obvious that the most urgent order of business was to immediately get into the pool, and immediately get some cocktails.

After a few hours in the sun, and a couple sunburns later, we treated Ashley to a spicy little shower.


I'm somewhat surprised that everyone was relatively tame, knowing this crew...AND knowing Ashley! The wonderful Man of Honor, Ashley's younger brother Boomer, had two bottles of champagne delivered to our rooms for everyone to enjoy in their hand-painted, Vegas-themed champagne glasses.

We continued the festivities off the strip at Pink Taco where we consumed the only real meal with all 9 girls of the weekend!  The margaritas were delicious, we all had a full meal in our bellies and we all celebrated together as one big group.  Cab lines were horrendous trying to get home that evening, but once we were all back to the Venetian, it was time to take on the casinos!  I'm not sure how or what I did right, but I somehow came away with $30 that evening on slot machines, which was a nice surprise the next morning when I had a little more cash for breakfast. 

The weird thing about Vegas, is you can stay completely inside the casinos and have NO idea what the weather is like outside.  We decided to take a gamble on it being a nice day, and take the bride out on the Vegas strip the next morning to see the sights of Sin City.  The Bellagio conservatory is always a must see for me as the floral installments change quite frequently.  The tourist in me headed there first thing in the morning (after coffee...of course), to share the sights and have a delicious brunch.  After several visits to Vegas, the Conservatory and Cafe Bellagio never gets old.  I'm always happy to share it with people who are experiencing Vegas for the first time.  And it was a good thing we went to the Bellagio because it was here that I met good ol' Phil from my P90X DVDs.  Yes, I was star struck by a man who tortures me on a weekly basis. 

But after a tame brunch of bellinis and omelets, it was time to resume partying.  We made stops at Margaritaville and attempted to visit Rockhouse (which I'm sorry to say has since closed!) before making our way back to our trusty pool for more buckets of Miller Lite.  We made several friends on the trip which included:

My P90X buddy Phil!

• a scary and frightfully intimidating female Sergeant in the US Army who insisted on tasting all our beers before we drank them to make sure they did not contain roofies
• a group of 15 or so married firefighters from San Diego who were taking their buddy out for his bachelor party & who supplied us not only with entertainment, but ensured that Ashley was congratulated by every individual at the Venetian pool
• an Australian "promoter" that we were told to refer to as a "tourist" so that he didn't get in trouble for recruiting smokin hot ladies 



Making sure Ash stays hydrated

• A group of blond youngsters who were equally as enthusiastic about Celine Dion and who wanted to take a picture with us just because we "were fun"

But the final evening was really special for Ashley.  Her lifelong dream was to see Celine Dion in concert, and in the weeks leading up to the bachelorette party, she had been extremely vocal about her hope that we would be seeing the Celine show at Ceasar's...and that's exactly what we did.  All the girls dressed in lovely sequins for a themed night to see the show and Celine did not disappoint.

Celine's emotional finale!

Within the first 15 minutes she sang every one of the most amazing songs ever, and of course ended with the most emotional song ever known to man (i.e. My Heart Will Go On).  If it wasn't for an extremely rude individual in front of us who did not enjoy our singing (don't worry, made him apologize), it would have been the perfect show.  Most importantly, was watching Ashley's beautiful face light up at each song or wardrobe change.  I'm so glad we could all contribute to something that made her so happy on her special bachelorette weekend.  

We all united once again for the final night of celebration which brought us to the Bank at the Bellagio to complete the trip with some cocktails and dancing.  It meant so much to me to coordinate such a special weekend for the bride-to-be.  She was an absolute vision in silver (silver is the Vegas version of white!) and is going to make the most beautiful bride on July 7th. As her first trip to Sin City, I'm glad that I could experience with Ashley all the magic and sparkle that makes Vegas well...VEGAS!  The Smith/Chain wedding is in a little less than 2 weeks and I can't wait to share that special day in Dallas with one of my oldest friends.  So until then...VIVA LAS VEGAS!

An on-time Departure

For those of you that have known me for years, you know that I've proudly identified myself as an "airline brat".  Since 1983, before my birth, my dad has devoted his life to working for American Airlines.  Over the past 28 years, he has endured multiple yearly nor'easters, countless upgrade requests, an insurmountable number of calls from friends to see if he could do anything about his delay, an overwhelming amount of "busiest days of the year", and of course the occasional "AA lost my bag" email or voicemail, as if he can solve all the problems of the airline.  He has gone from finance, to cargo, to opening terminals, to running airports and all airport services. And his job has brought him and my family from Chicago, to Orange County, to LA, to Dallas, to New York, and then back to Dallas again. My dad has worked through devastating events such as  the LA riots, 9/11, and tornadoes ripping through his terminals.


So now, after over 28 years, it has come time for my dad to retire from American Airlines.  Last week, Mike and I were lucky enough to be able to fly in for his big send off in Dallas.  We flew in just minutes before a major storm in time to make it to the celebration of his career with AA.  The party was at the C.R Smith Museum in Dallas, a great venue with tons of vintage artifacts collected from American Airlines over the years.  My grandmother also flew in from Connecticut to make it to the party as well, which was a treat for us.

It was great to see all the people who had worked with my dad over the years and hear them say such wonderful words about my pops.  We heard he was a man of integrity, that he was respected, that he had the most appropriate and timely sense of humor, that he made major and lasting contributions to the airline, and that his impact was timeless.  But the greatest part was the speeches.  As a kid, you're whole life, you want to try to make your parents proud, but as I

sat in that room with hundreds of people who love and support my dad....it was my turn to be proud.  I was a very proud daughter.  Of course my brother and I said a few words about my dad and had brief speeches for the room as well.  My dad has taught me a lot about loyalty and work ethic through his career at AA, and I owe my successes in my career to him.

His retirement from AA doesn't bring a retirement in his life, but for now he's enjoying life in a way that I've never seen before.  For the first time in 28 years, I've seen my dad RELAXED!  My parents just got back from a beautiful trip to Punta Cana, and I've never seen them both so happy and stress free.  

No conference calls while on vacation, no interruptions from naps by minor crises, no checking email or computers (except to skype with us!).  Just peace.  If anything, my mother would say he's getting a little TOO relaxed.  This is the most he's been home in years!!!  I'm excited to see where his next adventure will take him, and I'm proud of everything he has accomplished in his career at AA.  But most importantly, I'm glad that with his retirement, he still has the flight benefits to come see us whenever he wants!

A Wedding in New Orleans

I've been talking a lot this year about 2012 being a year of "firsts", and this blog post brings yet another new place that I have had the privilege to explore.  A few months ago, I wrote about my beautiful friend Randi's festive bachelorette party in St. Michael's Maryland, and I can't believe it, but her wedding day was finally upon us!  After an 18 month engagement, it was finally time to take a little adventure to the Big Easy to see Randi and her wonderful husband (WOO!) tie the knot.

Pimm's cups in New Orleans!

The great thing about having friends all over the country is being able to travel to new places for their weddings.  But sometimes the wedding festivities are so abundant that we don't always have time to spend some real time in the cities we are visiting.  This was NOT one of those weddings.  Randi and Pablo planned the perfect wedding weekend that made sure to bring the authentic taste of New Orleans to everyone so that we could all get a unique Big Easy experience in the short time we spent there.

My gorgeous friend on her way to get married

Starting with the rehearsal dinner, we all walked through the French Quarter to have an authentic New Orleans meal at the Bourbon House.  It was such a special evening full of love and wonderful speeches.  Some speeches were happy, some were emotional, some were funny, but all of them were heart felt and meaningful to Randi and Pablo.  I felt so blessed to be a part of it.  There is nothing you could want more in the world than to know that one of your greatest friends is loved and is surrounded by people who think the world of her and now her husband.

Post rehearsal dinner, the whole crew, plus some people made our way out to Bourbon Street.  If there was any doubt that I would miss out on the NOLA experience over the weekend...it was erased by our evening and 744 Funky.  When we got to the bar, the entire venue was FULL of people who were a part of the Revisore/Hernandez wedding weekend.  We owned the place and dominated the dance floor.  Pablo and some of his friends are such amazing dancers, it makes me embarrassed to show some of my moves.  The music was great, there was a booty dancing competition, with some of Louisiana's finest ladies, and we were surrounded by wonderful people we love.

Randi's getting married!!!!

But Randi's wedding day was one of the most beautiful days that I have experienced in my life.  We spent all morning & day with her in her Roosevelt suite getting our hair and makeup done and showering Randi with love on her special day.  Her family coordinated a wonderful lunchtime, complete with some good ol' fashioned Mississippi treats.  For the ceremony, you couldn't ask for a more beautiful day in New Orleans. Randi & Pablo were married at beautiful St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square.  It's a historical landmark that is reminiscent of some theme park castles.  It literally took by breath away when we drove up in our bridal party shuttle.  The blue skies and sun shining down on the cathedral surrounded by immaculate landscaping was absolutely a sight to see.  The church, which is typically frequented by tourists on a consistent basis, was closed off and guarded by rental cops (that Randi of course hired for the weekend) as to not interrupt Randi & Pablo's nuptials ceremony. 

I have to take a second to talk about how gorgeous my sweet friend Randi looked on her special day.  She was absolutely perfect in every way, and I teared up watching her and her awesome dad walk down the aisle together.  I'm pretty sure I cry at every wedding (which makes for gross pictures, BTW), but this one made me emotional...very emotional.  I might be a little over sentimental, but there is something to be said about watching someone you have known for over 10 years walking towards her future.  All of the memories of being Zeta sisters together, all the girls trips we've spent together, all of the college experiences we had together...all flashed through my mind as I saw one of my favorite people in the world on the happiest day of her life.

Mom's first time to NOLA too!

After the ceremony, Randi and the entire wedding was led by an authentic New Orleans band through the streets of NOLA to the reception venue at Antoine's.  Of course, there were police barricades here as well...Randi didn't forget ANYTHING. She requested that all the bridesmaids have identical makeup, hair, and nail polish, but her vision was beautiful.  She's going to have some wonderful pictures.  The ladies all looked amazing, Randi had such a stunning group of bridesmaids (and groomsmen too!). 

We had a blast at the reception!!!  I have to give a shout out to Nyght Ryder, the best wedding band ever created.  They sang at our wedding and Randi had so much fun at our reception, that she flew them out to NOLA for hers!  They are such a fun band, and we all had such a great time dancing together.  Man, am I glad I brought a change of shoes! My parents were included in the wedding events as well, which was also very special because my mom had never been to the Big Easy either.  I was so glad I was able to spend my first trip in NOLA with not only my wonderful husband, but my parents as well!  

I love my ladies!

The most handsome man ever!

As always, I'm completely devastated when I have to leave my Zeta girls.  There is a little pain in my heart when I don't know the next time I'll see them.  I've been looking forward to Randi's wedding for 18 months, because I knew that on that date, we'd all be together.  And I'm glad that my husband was able to spend time with some of the husbands and boyfriends of my dear ladies.  Now, with no engagements and no bachelorette festivities coming up, I find myself worrying once again when will be the next time I get to see my girlies.  I guess if we don't have a wedding, then I'll need to force an engagement or perhaps just plan another girls getaway to celebrate not just one of us, but all of us.

So once again, I'd like to congratulate Randi & Pablo on their marriage.  I know we have tons of couples vacations and dinners together in our future, and hopefully one day we can convince you to move to New York.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for you!  We love you tons!

A Memorable Memorial Weekend

 I'm about a week behind in all of my posts, but that's just because we've been up to a lot these past few months, and we've been traveling a lot, often on separate trips.  Mike has been all over the country for work, and he's got a lot more coming up.  I've been a busy little bridesmaid for two of my best friends in the world, and playing house out in Connecticut with my cousins. It seems like every night of the week even after our weekend excursions, Mike or I have some post-work evening event.  We're never home at the same time.  I think I went over a week without actually spending time with my husband and that makes me a bit upset.

So this post is about how we spent our Memorial Day weekend.  There are a few small things that I haven't been able to do much these past few weeks. SERIOUSLY small things like sleeping in, snuggling with Winston, having my breakfast at home with the boys, taking family walks around Gramercy Park together, doing a legitimate grocery run, having brunch with my husband in the city, sitting outside on our patio, and cleaning the apartment as a team.


It's also really important for us to do a lot of the things that are really unique to New York (reminds me of Anchorman...."UNIQUE NEW YORK"); things that make this city really special. So this weekend, Mike and I made a conscious effort to do creative things with each other over the whole weekend. I've mentioned it before, but when it's a holiday weekend in NYC, the streets are a ghost town.  You can show up at any restaurant you want with out reservations, you can walk through the streets and pay little attention to the traffic lights, you can get cabs just about anywhere, and there is a significant decrease in the noise pollution.  So before the craziness of the summer catches up with us, we took the weekend to spend time as a couple, or in some cases the three of us!

We kicked off the weekend with a spontaneous dinner at Caso Mono, right around the corner from our apartment on one of our favorite streets in the city, Irving Place.  No reservations....and we were seated immediately...that almost NEVER happens at places like this.  Our dinner consisted of delicious Spanish wine, seasonal soft-shell crab, and what seemed like a never-ending flow of tapas. 

It was also a good time to do and visit some of our favorite places in the neighborhood (which involved quite a bit of alcohol consumption).  There are these little gems within walking distance from the apartment, and we spend hours at these places with just the two of us.  We had a self-organized summer beer tasting at the Taproom, where we each tried 6 different seasonal artisan beers from breweries near and far.  Another Mobley favorite that never disappoints is the always festive Churchill.  It's amazing how you can duck into these unassuming places and be mentally transported across the Atlantic to a cozy little English pub.

First Lobster Roll of the season

And with Memorial Day being the official summer kick-off weekend, we felt obliged to have our first lobster roll of the season at Bluewater Grill in Union Square.  We enjoyed outdoor seating (a nice refuge from the torrential rain that had been soaking us for the better part of the weekend), and watched all around us as the city transformed seasons. 

That's a BIG piece of cheese!

 But my favorite part of the weekend was how we concluded 3 days of being home and being with just each other.  I had seen an article on Conde Nast Traveler that had voted the Murray's Cheese Caves one of the top 50 "must see" destinations in the US.  The Mobleys are avid cheese lovers, so we were waiting all weekend to make the trip out to the West Village to learn about cheese. 

And the cheese cave tour did NOT disappoint.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by a VERY knowledgeable staff (I mean these people are like scientists), and a beautiful spread of 6 different cheeses.  We sat there salivating over the creamy goodness as we were told not to touch anything until after we had been educated by the cheese masters.



For two hours we learned all about the aging process and became, and we even became experts in different kinds of mold...yes, you should be jealous. The caves were extremely chilly (you'd think they would be warm to grow mold, but not so my friend...not so), and as you can imagine, stinky.  We saw hard cheese, soft cheese, stinky cheese, moldy cheese, big cheese, little cheese, baby cheese, and old cheese.  It would have been a lactose intolerant nightmare....but delicious to us.  But at the conclusion of the course, we got to eat all the delicious cheese that we learned so much about.  We had wine and champagne pairings as well as little sweet and savory treats to go along with our cheese.  And at the end, I was a little cheesed out, but that's probably a good thing, because I could have easily have spent a fortune on treats to bring home.

We have a crazy few weeks coming up, which I'll share with you on here of course, but I'm glad I got 3 full days to get tons of sleep, tons of exercise, tons of food, and enjoy being home before we kick off a very busy and fun-filled summer season. It really is good for your body and soul to just take a step back sometimes and press the restart button on your life.  Mike and I had such a great weekend with just the two of us, that it felt like we were on our own little getaway.  But there was no unpacking, laundry, and marathon days of travel at the end of this "getaway".  Those are the best kinds!

Our sweet outfits for the cheese caves!