Poshdeluxe

hallo oh hallo! did you guys have a lovely weekend? I DID! and i’ll tell you all about it on wednesday after i finish up these mexico blog entries.

the more time that passes, the harder it is to write these trip posts. not cos i don’t remember things (that’s why i take so many pictures, folks. they do the remembering for me) but because I WANT TO GO BACK SO BADLY. MEXICO TAKE ME BACK TAKE ME BAAAAACK.

sigh. anyway.

so, the day before the wedding, a group of us decided to go snorkeling at this place about 20 minutes away from grand coco bay. we got on a shuttle, which took us to this big touristy marina, where they loaded us onto a boat and gave us life jackets, flippers and a snorkel mask. the boat was actually pretty cool, cos there was a huge flat surface where everyone could sit, and the boat guys gave us orange fanta and played spanish hip hop. i highly recommend this mode of ocean travel.

i hadn’t been snorkeling since my parents and i went to hawaii when i was nine (?), and i’d forgotten that snorkel masks HURT MY FACE. ok, i know the suction has to be tight so the water doesn’t get in yr eyes, but YIKES. is this how it feels when you get a face lift or botox? nicole kidman HOW DO YOU DO IT? and just so you know that i’m not being a *total* baby, i had an indentation in my forehead for like six hours after the trip. gross.

with that said, snorkeling mask pictures are pretty dang cute.

special thanks to erica for these pics, cos i left flossie at the resort (i feared her death via drowning).

speaking of erica, check this gal busting a snorkeling move!

even in a bright orange life jacket and face-smooshing mask, girlfriend has got style.

unfortunately, i don’t have any fish pictures to show you. first, cos we didn’t have an underwater camera (duh). second because… well, we didn’t see any fish. and by that i mean, we spent the majority of our time AVOIDING the fish.

see, the thing is… henri has kind of a phobia of fish. as in, he really, really hates their faces. even the dead fish at central market give him the heebie jeebies.

so of course, snorkeling was a great idea! obviously!

actually, henri was hoping to conquer his fear, and since he likes to be EXTREME, this seemed like a good way to do it.

that is, until he put his head under the water and saw a zillion fish swimming towards him.

one of the fish accidentally ran into me, which unfortunately caused me to shriek, which was all henri needed to launch into a full on panic attack.

so… we hung out. in the water. away from the fish. several times, the boat guys asked us, “are you ok?” each time, we said, “yeah!” with thumbs up signs. eventually, one of the guys swam over to us, as i’m sure they were all dying of curiosity, since we had paid money to basically drift futiley in the ocean.

boat dude: “hey, are you guys ok?”

me: “oh yeah, we’re fine.”

boat dude: “why don’t you want to go over where the group is?”

me: “uh, because there are fish over there. and henri just found out he doesn’t like fish.” (ok, small lie).

boat dude: (laughing) “come ON. you’re kidding me. i would think YOU (points to me) might have a problem, but YOU (jabbing at henri)?! oh man. no way.”

me (wanting to say, “thanks for the sexism, jerkface!” but remaining silent)

henri: “ha ha… eh… yeah.”

boat dude: “don’t worry, man! they don’t bite white people!”

me & henri: “eh… ha?”

in the end, henri’s frustration overpowered his phobia (or maybe it was simply the knowledge that fish don’t like white people), and he managed to conquer his fear. we spent the last ten minutes actually SWIMMING with FISH, and it was really, really cool. i kept saying, “hi nemo!!” but it came out like, “mmmi bemmo!” cos, you know, i had a snorkle in my mouth.

the next day, henri and i spent a little more time on fifth avenue, where we discovered a DAIRY QUEEN.

uh, como se dice DIP CONE?!!!

i also really liked this decoupaged angel, who is apparently really into catholicism.

also? windows with pink trim on an ivy colored building? straight out of the children’s book of my mind.

henri found some super sweet nikes at a store called “shelter,” and i hope he wears them every day, like a little boy who refuses to take off his red rainboots.

swish!

we made it all the way to the end of the street, where we found this pristine little church front.

if you want to take a ferry to cozumel, you can do it here.

also, if you want to bake in the hot sun until yr corpse resembles a california raisin, you can do that here, too. seriously, it was SO HOT.

so, naturally, we had to stop for a margarita. because that is why they were invented, as life saving devices.

we headed back to the hotel and cleaned ourselves up for meredith and kiley’s wedding. have you guys ever walked on a beach to get a wedding? this was my second time to do it (the first was for julie’s wedding), and i have to say, it’s the most delightful, beautiful journey you can make.

of course, henri and i had to take a cheesy picture, cos we were dressed up and on the beach! come on, gimme a little squee here.

and if that doesn’t make you squee, what about THIS picture?

awww, alex and henri are so in luuuurve!!! how romantical!

the ceremony took place on the beach, with the reception following at a place called the kool beach club. lame name, AWESOME venue.

the wedding was simple and beautiful, and the excitement in the audience was palatable. having spent the past few days with each other, our group’s collective spirit was positively soaring.

meredith’s parents walked her down the sandy aisle…

and alex officiated an extremely heartfelt and lovely ceremony. when the bride and groom exchanged their vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

the marriage was pronounced, and we walked off into the sunset…

(i love erica’s face in that picture as she looks back at leo)

there was a dinner, followed by some v. entertaining and earnest toasts, followed by my favorite parts: cake and dancing!

on the dance floor, i found out where erica’s grooving genes come from.

even kiley’s texas mama was cutting up the rug!

the only minor problem was… the dj. you guys, i HATE IT when wedding djs are bad. i mean, how hard is it to just load up yr laptop with some JT and 80s tunes and press shuffle?!!!! come ON. and yeah, i guess this guy sort of has an excuse, since he’s from mexico, and some of the music there is different but… when “ring of fire” is the biggest hit of the night, you’ve got problems.

at one point, while dancing to a song, we got down really low in preparation for the climax, and… BOOM. SONG CHANGE. we were left squatting on the floor in disgust.

so i took this picture, for the dance climax that could’ve been.

in spite of the musical lameness, we showed playa del carmen a thing or two about dance parties as the reception raged into the night.

just like his daughter, papa g. was on FIRE. long after i sat down on one of the faux beds by the pool to rest, he was hopping around the floor like the ultimate dance panster.

and of course, the pool did not go unused.

i preferred to stay dry and watch from the sidelines (lame, i know), but in doing so, i was able to observe papa g., holding hands with his best friend, bob, and jumping into the pool while singing the beginning of the laverne & shirley song. “schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated!”

i don’t think i will ever see anything at a wedding that will top that.

eventually, even erica was convinced to join the pool group… by her own mother! sheesh.

as you can see, it was an utterly festive night, just the right kind of party for two feisty, fearless people so deeply in love.

i mean, how often does a wedding reception end like this?

exactly.

congratulations, meredith & kiley! the happiest of happiness to you.

LINKS

tasha tudor died! she illustrated my mom’s copy of “the secret garden,” and for that alone i will forever love her. but i had no idea she lived such a rustic… reincarnated?! life.

i love this NPR ode to nancy drew.

speaking of childhood heroines, my beloved strawberry shortcake got a make-over… well, at least she doesn’t look like a bratz doll (yet).

jason segel is writing the next muppet movie!!!! OH KERMEY, I CAN’T WAIT!

this british guy pulled a “high fidelity” and interviewed all of his ex-girlfriends for a documentary. which i am totally going to see.

via trish’s blog, i just found out that, when it comes to furry toys, beauty truly is really only skin-deep.

squee of the day: a floating hedgehog! in a bathtub! p.s. turn the sound off. just… do it.