Archive for the 'pantship' Category

jay got married!

Published by
Sarah
August 6, 2008 in extravaganza, pantship and voyages. 15 Comments

as previously mentioned, i spent last weekend in the DEADLY HEAT of arizona to attend my dear friend jay’s wedding.

even though i saw it with my own eyes, i *still* can’t believe jay is married.

not because he’s horrible person, obviously. in fact, jay’s just the opposite. he’s got a heart of gold, tricked out with a veneer of sarcasm and dripping with attitude. basically, he’s one of the world’s greatest charmers.

no, the reason i can’t believe he’s married is because, when i think about jay, i picture him like this:

jay’s the one on the left, attempting to french boba fett.

i took this picture in the middle of my junior year at rice, when jay, gilbert (on the right) and tim (you guys know tim!!) were zany, adorable, tooootally immature freshmen.

these boys were SO adorable, in fact, that my roommates and i (known as the powersuite) decided to adopt them for our v. own, kind of like puppies but with the ability to hold a conversation (well, sometimes). these three little freshmen, along with andrew (you’ll see him later), eventually earned the nickname “the powersuite boys” (clever!), and quickly became fixtures in our room, even when they moved into their own room down the hall for their sophomore year.

jay was the kind of student rice LOVES to cultivate– a chemistry whiz from small town, texas. he loved girls and punk rock music, and one of my favorite memories of him is the time we dyed our hair pink together. i wanted to keep the top layer of my hair au natural, and jay just wanted his tips done.

careful examination of this picture reveals who DOESN’T have a future in the hair care industry.

(”sarah, i said the TIPS!! NOT MY WHOLE HEAD. GAH. this looks so gay.”)

it’s hard to believe, but i haven’t seen jay in four years (really, that can’t be possible). so you can imagine i was DYING WITH EXCITEMENT over his nuptials and the opportunity to reunite with some of my favorite rice pantsers.

friday night, we all met up at the home of stephanie’s (jay’s now wife) parents’ house for some BBQ and much-needed catching up. jay just graduated from cornell with his PhD in chemistry (seriously) and so we gave his doctoral defense (ha ha i don’t even know if that’s what you call it) a careful review.

from left to right: gilbert, jay, ray, tim and andrew

it was SO GOOD to see jay’s face!!!! he looks a little older, but i was relieved to find the v. same jay that i adored back at rice.

and look who he thanked at the beginning of his book!!!!!

YES. i am totally academic now.

jay may be a little older, but he still makes the same dumb faces when he sees a camera. it’s all part of the charm, ladies.

yes, that IS a cupcake. and there’s more where that came from, cos jay loves me. you’ll see!

after the dinner, we headed back to the hotel to share embarrassing jay stories, mostly involving girls (poor gilbert, i.e. jay’s freshman year roommate) and, well, girls.

i swear, it felt like we were back on the “burger king” (or TPCCOTL) couch in the powersuite, laughing our pants off and being ridiculous. it’s like nothing had changed, not even tim’s bad smelling feet.

the next morning, we started our day in the most perfect way imaginable– breakfast at chic-fil-a!

those fine ladies on the left are danny and rachel, btw.

the cashier guy said, “you guys are eating *here*? before a wedding?”

uh, where else would we eat?!! IHOP? please. this is an IMPORTANT DAY.

isn’t danny the cutest? it was so good to see her. and tim knows how to satisfy flossie so well.

the ceremony was held at this gorgeous catholic church:

we got to sneak into the “groom’s area” before the wedding, which was exciting! jay was cool as cucumber, of course. and then i got to pin roses on the guys, which made me feel all kinds of special.

btw gilbert and i are totally going to prom together. esp. cos my dress already matches his vest and tie. i didn’t even PLAN THAT!!!

the ceremony began, and when stephanie walked down the aisle, jay teared up and all of us let out a collective (whispered) SQUEE.

also, the priest forgot stephanie’s name. AND he wrote a “special message” for them that was full of amazingly bad chemistry references. like, ” we already know that you two have CHEMISTRY together” and “however, PERIODICALLY, you may encounter challenges.” i grabbed tim’s leg so hard that i think i gave him bruises but WOW. AMAZING.

after the ceremony, the photographers TOOK OVER and forced the wedding party into a world of awkward poses. you guys think i’m bad? you have no idea.

in that picture, they’re signing the marriage certificate… with MY PEN! they didn’t have a pen, so i pulled out this plastic OBGYN pen i keep in my purse. but that sort fits with the theme, right? also note ray, who is already exhausted from endless posing.

in this incredibly artistic shot, stephanie holds the certificate over jay’s shoulder while making an “OK!” or “gotcha!” finger sign, as demonstrated by the photographer.

see? the girls are about to throw their bouquets! doesn’t that look natural? of course it does!

in spite of the photographer’s maniacal posing plans, i managed to get a few “realistic” shots. this one is my favorite:

yep, those are the boys i knew at rice. and still know, thank heavens.

in addition to my rice friends, it was wonderful to see jay’s parents again. they are incredibly sweet and super texas (yes, jay’s dad wore boots to the wedding AND he brought shiner to the bbq dinner).

we finally made it over to the reception, held at the neighborhood club of the sprawling sun city neighborhood where stephanie’s family lives.

and you know how i matched the vest and ties on the guys? well, guess what. this wedding was OBVIOUSLY designed for me, cos I EVEN MATCHED THE TABLECLOTHS. AND THE NAPKINS.

oh jay, you know how to make a girl feel at home.

not only was there lots of pink, but there was also lots of cuteness!!!

and also LOTS OF CUPCAKES!!!!

yeah, whoever said that cupcakes don’t grow on trees is a big, fat liar.

c’mere, cupcake. i manna eachoo!!!!

seriously, was this wedding made for me or what?

i asked (forced) jay’s grandmother take a picture with me, because i love her so much. the first thing she said to me on friday night was, “i’ve had a picture of you and jay on my fridge since he graduated from rice. but then people asked me if you were his fiancee, so i had to take it down.” ha ha. i love you, grandma!

as if the hour of awkward posing wasn’t enough to impress jay, the photographers whipped up a little surprise for him and stephanie, mere minutes after the photos were taken!

yes, that is a keychain. and yes, jay’s eyes are only halfway open.

BEST WEDDING MEMENTO, EVER.

we all wanted one, actually.

of course, we had to take “the rice picture” for the alumni magazine (the sallyport), even though, like 80% of the other rice weddings i’ve been to, it will never actually be submitted.

and, for all of you weissman out there, we did, in fact, ubangee jay. for the non-weissman, a ubangee is when you get in a big pile on top of someone and make grunting noises that slowly increase in volume and frequency then end with three cheers of “team weiss!”

yeah, it’s kind of hard to describe without making it sound ridiculous. which it is.

speaking of ridiculous, check out tim and ray, soaking up water from the misters like dogs in a sprinkler.

since i love weddings AND am really good at attending them, i’ve decided to make a brochure advertising myself as the perfect guest. i think i’ll put this picture on the front:

don’t you want us at yr wedding? YES YOU DO!

we took a short break to change after the reception, then drove BACK to stephanie’s family house for a light dinner. there’s a street in the neighborhood called “el mirage,” which, when we first passed it on friday, induced the following conversation:

tim: i think we took a wrong turn, cos now we’re on el mira-hey.

andrew: el mira-hey? uh, i think you mean MIRAGE.

so of course we had to stop on saturday and take a picture.

we ALSO had to stop at the neighborhood’s entrance, which was so pretentious that it was practically BEGGING for someone to climb up and pose on it.

ray, i totally think you have a future career in suburb modeling.

after dinner, there was plenty of shiner left, so we took it back to the hotel for our POOL PARTY!

POOL PARTY!

oh man, i love night pool parties. esp. due to my vampiric skin.

we splashed around for a while and eventually begged andrew and gilbert (who weren’t swimming) to get us some food from the in and out burger down the street. i asked for chili cheese fries.

BUT

what i GOT was the DISGUSTING concoction known as “animal fries”: fries with cheese and, wait for it, THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING GAAAHH GROSSSSSSS.

you guys, they were so nasty. i know because I ATE THEM! I CAN’T BELIEVE I ATE THEM!

tim couldn’t believe it either.

ray, per usual, was in fine form that evening. i can always rely on him to provide me with amusing photographs, no matter the time or place. he’s like my old faithful.

while ray excels at looking jackassic, danny is always 100% adorable. it’s like, her genetic structure.

also, i love this photo.

the next morning, ray, tim and i wrapped up the weekend with brunch, including THE LARGEST CINNAMON ROLL EVER NOM NOM NOM.

honestly, it was difficult to say good-bye to everyone as we once again scattered in the wind… who knows the next time i’ll see these faces i love so much?

although the temporary nature of our reunion was bittersweet, i am incredibly thankful that i could be there alongside my friends to celebrate jay– freshman jay, punk jay, pink-haired jay, married jay… all facets of an amazing person that i am proud to know.

happy wedding pants, my dear!

p.s. ray and tim, i hope to see the baby bird in action again soon.

LINKS

you guys, i can’t believe i’m writing this, but paris hilton is sort of… awesome.

vulture compiled a fantastic list of sports they wished were included in the olympics. one word: QUIDDITCH.

SOMETHING I NEED TO TRY IMMEDIATELY: frosting shots. thank you to jodi and cakespy for bringing this important sugar development to my attention.

have you guys heard of the beauty pageant for men? it’s called “manhunt” and no, i am not kidding.

my #1 least favorite pants of all pants of all time

Published by
Sarah
July 7, 2008 in pantship. 24 Comments

today, i have a really important question for you guys.

and i have the feeling that it’s going to generate a LOT of discussion. like, more than that entry about that twee article or whatever.

so i was browsing through jezebel when i came across this photo:

ok, nevermind who those people are (if you care, it’s a dude from the strokes and a model that, as mugatu would say, “is so hot right now”), cos my question has nothing to do with hipsters.

the first thing that came to mind when i saw this photo, the ABSOLUTE FIRST THING, was:

GARRRRWHITEPANTSWTFAAAAAUUGHH

basically, this picture led me to the stunning realization that, out of all the pants in the world, the one type, ABOVE ALL OTHERS, that i would never wear are white pants.

now, i might get some hate mail for saying that, but john told me that i should write more controversial things so HERE YOU GO, HATERS. comment bombs away!

seriously, though. i really hate white pants. here is why:

1) if you spill something on white pants, everyone will be able to see it (this is why my camo pants are my favorite, shh). and i’d rather spend my time fully enjoying my pizza/spaghetti/wine/chocolate pie than worrying about my stupid white pants.

2) white pants totally attract dirt, and so if you’re a germphobe like me, you will FREAK OUT when you realize all of the nastiness yr ankles and bum have been exposed to. I WOULD RATHER LIVE IN IGNORANCE VIA DARK DENIM THANK YOU.

3) since white is so, well, white, it makes everything stand out– so, if you don’t, say, like yr legs yr thighs or yr butt, the white pants will MOCK YOU WITH THEIR WHITE PANTNESS.

4) white pants take over every ensemble. it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing yr favorite shirt or hat, NO ONE WILL CARE cos white pants are an attention hog.

5) you guys, white pants are fugly.

i rest my case.

my second least favorite pants are animal print, unless i’m in vegas. then, i am all over that leopard action, unless gold lamé is an option.

and now i turn this hard hitting question to you: what are YR least favorite pants? THINK HARD. and PLEASE PROVIDE EVIDENCE to back up yr claim.

p.s. i honestly cannot believe i’ve never written a post about this before.

p.p.s. i’m doing a book club entry in the next few days, so get yr reviews ready!

LINKS

i have a new favorite internet child… she’s no pearl, granted, and she probably wouldn’t kick a monster’s ass, but she’s still amazing, nonetheless. prepared to be amazed by this three year old summarizing “star wars” (special thanks to meredith for the link!):

so apparently the new ghostbusters video game has voices from the entire cast.. except rick moranis. he apparently made enough money off of “honey i shrunk the kids” to retire. and no, i am not kididng.

ok, so i went to a few debate tournaments back in the day, but i have NEVER seen ANYTHING like this. apparently, it’s the new style of debating. personally, i think i would get the hiccups after about 30 seconds.

especially in these days of drought, it’s nice to see some green grass… esp. artsy grass!!

squee of the day: ducklings in a bathtub!

check out this interview with jennifer laughran, a.k.a. the woman who has my dream job.

embracing the present by way of the past

Published by
Sarah
June 30, 2008 in growing up and pantship. 9 Comments

over the weekend, my parents and i returned to lafayette, LA, the place where i was born.

our trip wasn’t really planned. but you see, about a week ago, a guy in a rental car decided to run a red light while traveling at 98 miles an hour. and he hit a car with a family in it– a mother, a father, a daughter, and two foster children.

and all of them died.

the mother in the car was named christy, and when i was growing up, she was my babysitter. more than that, her family and mine were interwined by the same neighborhood, the same church, the same love of camping trips and christmas caroling and potlucks. christy’s family, along with several others, formed a community for me, a warm and light-filled place that allowed me to grow up in safety, in peace, in love.

when i look back, i realize how idyllic it all was. and yet, it wasn’t a utopia or a black and white pleasantville. it was real, supported by people who *worked* at loving each other, forming steps with their bare hands to lift each other higher and higher.

and so mom, dad and i drove to this place, where i first learned what “community” really means.

the service for the family was beautiful, actually, and filled with hope. that might sound crazy, given the tragedy, but it was. and to be perfectly honest, that’s not really want i want to write about today. so you don’t need to say that you’re sorry in the comments, because it’s the world’s loss, not really “mine.” and, based on this weekend and my previous experience with the people of lafayette, i know that the remaining family members will be comforted in their grief by a vibrant and caring community. you can read more about the family here.

maybe it’s selfish, but this trip, for me, was about coming home, or to an idea of home, that suddenly felt threatened by the shadow of death, the inevitable passing of time. and that’s what i want to write about.

we spent the night with the butts family, or rather, mr. hal and miss chris.

i believe i’ve mentioned their daughter, katherine, on this blog before… we went to elementary together, and in kindergarten she won the coveted role of “mary” in the christmas show (obviously i’m totally over the snub. obviously).

as i walked into their living room, a hundred memories flooded my heart… painting katherine’s little brother, david’s, toenails while he was asleep, marching down the street in our own parade, and most distinctly, creating shows to perform for our parents after their bible study ended.

so this may look like a regular room to you, but trust me, it’s a magical place.

katherine’s house featured the added allure of a tiny cemetery tucked away in the trees behind her backyard, which seems to me, now, like something from a coming-of-age movie. i guess it was *my* coming of age movie. i remember biking down a little trail and cautiously wandering around the perimeter, whispering “what if” histories for the bodies silently rotting under the green grass. the petiteness of the graveyard made it seem less frightening and more of a curiosity, death as a romantic mystery, “the clearing at the end of the path” as stephen king would say. walking among the stones, i felt like anne shirley, reciting “the lady of shallot” in a rowboat on the river and goosebumping with the thrill of gorgeous tragedy.

many of the trees have been cleared, and the new chain link fence really cuts down on the romance, but the cemetery is still there, meaning, there is a least a little magic left.

it wouldn’t be a true journey home without seeing my first best friend, emily philips. to tell you the truth, i felt a little nervous as i stood on the front step of her house and raised my fist to the door. i was about to see my first friend, and perhaps, in the purest, most innocent sense, my truest friend. what if she was different? what if i no longer recognized her laughter or voice or, god forbid, her smile? what if the *nowness* of her wiped out all of our shared history, ripped out the roots of who i am?

she opened the door, and my heart flip flopped, because i knew that face. i knew that smile. i knew this girl.

of course she has changed, because that’s what happens when you deal with time. but the core of emily, just like the core of “us,” hasn’t yielded one single inch. when i look at that picture, i still see these girls, crammed into a photo booth at astroworld in 1992.

and i still see THESE girls, growing up together on sweetbay lane.

the girl in the middle is mandy, who lived across from me. i didn’t like her as much as i liked emily. i think cos she was bossy. but you know what i DO like? a red sweatshirt with my name on it.

emily lived right down the street from me, and, in true bff form, we never, EVER got tired of each other. i’m pretty sure that we hung out every single day, our imaginations running wild with possibility. we made drawings and then sold them on the street (ah, neighbors. thank you for being so kind to two little girls); we climbed trees and “spied” on people with emily’s toy polaroid camera; we wove wild onion flowers into headdresses and tirelessly cleaned my swing set, which was actually a castle ruled by an evil queen.

i’m not sure what we’re doing in that picture, but it involves house plants and an umbrella and i’m sure it was incredibly amazing.

together, we experienced those milestones of childhood that are, perhaps, less intense than the struggles of teenagerhood but no less important– the first time we realized that boys were, maybe, ok… the first time we were teased in school… the first time we discovered that music, especially tiffany, *spoke* to us… the first time we saw snow in lafayette, the miracle of all miracles.

when i saw emily the other night, we discussed how sweet and untouched our childhoods truly were. i remember playing hide and go seek with all of the neighborhood kids as the streetlights popped on, our ears perked for the first mom to yell, “it’s time to come inside for dinner!” as the shadows, friendly rather than threatening, deepened in our hiding places. how little i knew of the world to come! and yet, i’m glad for that warm, easy ignorance. there is a time for innocence, and when i see emily’s face, i am so thankful that we grew up slowly rather than suddenly.

nostalgia is often as sweet as it is painful, a bitter pill coated in layers of fragrant ambrosia. when my parents and i finally arrived back in austin last night, i sat on my bed for a while and let the nostalgia have its way with me. i even opened my two special boxes, where i keep old notes from high school and ticket stubs and printed out emails from college, and sorted through my twenty-nine (ok, more like twenty-four) years of memories.

sometimes henri calls me “the girl who hates time,” and i think it’s a pretty appropriate label. as i looked through my assorted mementos, i couldn’t help but wish that all of my friendships and relationships could stay the same… we could all be just as close as we were, when we went to camp together or lived in the dorm together or played hopscotch on sweetbay lane. each person, each experience, is a piece of who i am, and remembering makes those pieces more distinct until their edges begin to pierce me.

but i know things can’t stay the same, nor would i want them to, because if i had never left sweetbay lane, i would have never met the pigbutts in houston, and then i would have never found the powersuite in college, and then my heart would not be populated by all of the amazing people i’ve managed to collect.

during the service for the family who passed away, the pastor offered some ideas on how to live our lives to the fullest, so that, no matter when we die, we will have loved and served people and appreciated the magic that is living. we will have LIVED.

one of the tips was, “keep yr relationships current.”

and it made me think about the way i cling to friendships, new and old, because i’m terrified to lose all of these precious pieces of myself. i’m so afraid of change and time that i keep these bits of paper as tangible proof that my memories still exist; when i saw that cemetery behind katherine’s house, i breathed a sigh of relief, because it meant that my childhood was, somehow, still intact.

but maybe, my clinging to the past can become, is becoming, an embrace of the present and the future. maybe my obsession can be a gift, a way to reach out to *people* rather than ghosts. maybe, all along, i’ve been fueled by my reservoir of memories to maintain friendships that are still as true as they were five, ten, fifteen years ago.

maybe i need to see that the passage of time yields experiences i have *gained* rather than lost.

in one of the boxes, i found a picture of emily and me, another photo booth shot from astroworld. and i realized that as much as i miss those days of headbands and swatch watches, i love knowing emily NOW. i love seeing her face, bereft of baby fat, and the way she smiles when she talks about the love of her life, which, by the way, is no longer kirk cameron.

i’m grateful for my memories, but i want to be even more grateful for the present.

because the present gives me the opportunity to embrace living, breathing, beautiful friends, who, unlike ghosts, will hug me back.

best friends forever?

Published by
Sarah
June 4, 2008 in growing up and pantship. 17 Comments

being a super cheesy pants, i often reflect on my amazing friends and marvel at how we met. i’ll think to myself, “it was DESTINY that we ____ (insert: “took that class together!” or “were in the same orientation group!” or “worked in that office together!”).

for example, i justify the two miserable years at my last job because it gave me the chance to meet meredith. i think back to 1996 and wonder about the odds of amber being placed in my “get to know you” group. i give myself a hearty pat on the back for participating in the will rice one-act plays so that i could meet mark and kendall. i drink margaritas with my friend jordan p. and thank my lucky stars that i hired him at ktru.

and the list goes on and on.

well, apparently, i’m a romantic (surprise!), because scientists have just proven that it’s not, as i choose to believe, destiny. no, it’s something much more mundane: proximity. from the press release:

* * *

The actor Sir Peter Ustinov once famously said “Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the people who get their first.” Psychologists now believe there is some truth to this argument. Rather than picking our friends based on intentional choice and common values and interests, our friendships may be based on more superficial factors like proximity (think neighbors) or group assignments (your department at work).

Mitja Back, Stefan Schmukle, and Boris Egloff of the University of Leipzig sought to test the notion that random proximity and random group assignment at zero acquaintance would foster friendship in the long run. The researchers investigated 54 college freshmen upon encountering one another for the first time at the beginning of a one-off introductory session and randomly assigned them a seat number in a group of chairs organized in rows.

As reported in a recent issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, sitting in neighboring seats as a result of randomly assigned seat numbers when meeting for the first time led to higher ratings of friendship intensity one year later. The same was true even if participants were merely in the same row.

The counterintuitive finding suggests that friendships may not be as deliberate we think. “In a nutshell,” write the authors, “people may become friends simply because they drew the right random number.”

* * *

ok, so most of this is what i call “big duh science.” i mean, of COURSE you’re gonna make friends with people that you see every day, esp. during a time like college, when everyone is searching for a kindred spirit and it’s easier to talk to the person sitting next to you then it is to cross the cafeteria and randomly introduce yrself to a stranger.

also? this study doesn’t seem that scientific to me, but maybe it’s just cos this is a press release and not the actual report about the experiment.

anyway, i’m not really interested in a battle between destiny and proximity, but i am AM interested in what makes friendships last, esp. when people no longer attend the same classes or live in the same cities. this wondering coincides nicely with the fact that i saw the SATC movie last night (i enjoyed the pants out of it, btw), which of course made me think about female friendships.

as a side note, henri wants to know how the SATC ladies met, cos the show never addresses it, which is really a shame. this study makes me think that maybe at one point they used the same nail salon or were regulars at the same bar for cocktail hour.

so in the movie (no spoilers, i promise) the ladies have all moved on with their lives, husbands, kids, etc. but they remain good friends. samantha even lives on the west coast but flies to NYC constantly cos she is totally $$$$. and even though i love the idea that they are as close as ever, i’m not sure if it’s realistic?

i mean, it is totally possible to get married and have kids and still maintain close friendships. on the other hand, we all change as we get older, whether it’s because of married life or a shift in interests or a consuming career. and while i will always share a bond with my best friends from college, i no longer feel as connected to many of them, esp. when we no longer live in the same place. ah, proximity!

then again, there *are* friends that feel just as real, just as close as the days when we lived and played and worked together.

so what is the secret?

is it about being a good email pants? if i know what’s going on in someone’s life, i feel closer to them. if i have no idea what someone is up to, does that make our friendship less real? or just *feel* less real, until we see each other again?

is it about living near each other? i have friends who are far away, but when i see them, i know instantly that we are still kindred spirits. then again, do we really share life *together* when great distances lie between us?

is it about having the same kind of lifestyle? some of my friendships have weakened simply due to life circumstances. can i be on the same page with someone who just had a baby or who is married, if i haven’t experienced these things for myself?

is it about sharing mutual passions that never burn out, even with age?

in spite of the science, i can’t help but wonder, is it just destiny?

what do you guys think? how have you met yr closest friends, and how do you keep those two jagged heart pieces together?

regardless of this study, i believe friendship is too magical of a creature for hard science. perhaps we’re better off without the ability to predict who we will meet or how our relationships will evolve.

i prefer a life when i never know who will be around the corner, whether it’s a stranger who just happens to love “you’ve got mail” as much as i do, or an old friend with a smile my heart will always recognize, no matter the distance.

LINKS

oooh wanna read about what COULD have been in the SATC movie?!!! my first reaction is to never, ever forgive them for cutting aidan… and then i think about how painful it would’ve been to see him again, and i’ve decided that they made the right choice. cos i probably would have cried even more than i already did.

jezebel celebrates the positive things about hilary on the eve (i guess?) of her departure from the presidential race.

cakespy just introduced me to this generation’s thiebaud: nancy bea miller. cos my apartment needs more baked goods art, obviously.

another reality show that i think looks awesome but will never watch– check out these CRAYZEE older ladies trying to be models. my favorite is totally eleanor, “no cosmetic surgery!”

YES! another reason to drink read wine. ha, like i needed one.

in the SATC movie, jennifer hudson talks about renting designer purses… then today i read about zilok, which allows you to rent, well, anything. but can you rent puppies, i ask?!!!!!

a weekend of celebration pants

Published by
Sarah
June 2, 2008 in extravaganza, pantship and squee!. 5 Comments

you guys probably know by now that i am v. v. good at celebrating things. i consider it a skill, actually. and this weekend i had SO MANY THINGS TO CELEBRATE!!! it was awesome!!

first and foremost, my friend selina got married. so of course, on friday night, we had to indulge in a little bachelorette ridiculousness!

erica only made her wear that sash, which i considered pretty classy. it’s true that beauty queens aren’t always the classiest sort of people, but hey, when you compare a pink sash to a veil with condoms stapled on it… the lines of good taste sort of, uh, shift.

we had dinner at the roaring fork, which generously gave us our own room! complete with an antler chandelier!!

i want to take a minute and thank selina for choosing the roaring fork (and erica, for making the reservation), cos i was consequently given the opportunity to sample YET ANOTHER kind of mac ‘n’ cheese deliciousness. and DANG it was TASTY!!!!!!

it was green chile mac ‘n’ cheese, actually, so it was creamy with a nice kick at the end. mmm.

and THEN i got to try an AMAZING dessert known as huckleberry bread pudding. GAH I WANT TO TAKE YOU HOME WITH ME AND KEEP YOU FOR EVER AND EVER IN MY TUMMY.

sooo delicious…

oh right, right… the bachelorette party! where was i?

after dinner, we headed over to this club called the marq, which was new to me. selina claimed it featured some good music, in spite of the cheesy clientele, and she was right! the music was fun… and the clientele was… well, wow. you guys. i have not seen this much dry humping since the chaperones took a five minute break at the seventh grade dance. we seriously stopped dancing at one point and just stared at the trainwrecks happening all around us.

in spite of the “dirty dancing,” we had a total blast, esp. cos selina knows how to shake her groove thing.

we even attracted some requisite “hey! you’re a bachelorette! i must hit on you since it’s yr last night of ‘freedom’” boys. they were pretty cute, actually. the dude on the right just arrived from japan the day before!

i love selina’s face in that picture… a thousand words, you know?

this guy was… uh… yeah.

and then there was this hippie type dude, who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd at all. but hey, i’m down with recycling, so it’s cool.

the night was a total blast, and most importantly, i think selina really felt the love.

on saturday night, i had something ELSE awesome to celebrate: john’s birthday!!!!!!

john and i were discussing what to do for his birthday a little while ago. the conversation went like this:

john: what should i do for my birthday?

sarah: hmm… i dunno. we could go to AP&P or bowling or lazer tag…

john: i was thinking about just getting a group together at a bar.

sarah:… like you do every night?

john: well… yeah.

sarah: uh ok

john: alright alright let’s go bowling. THEN we’ll go to a bar.

so bowling it was! we headed to dartbowl and totally got our bowl on.

can you tell john’s excited? IT’S MY BIRTHDAY. AND I’M BOWLING.

our lane team decided that everyone should have bowl names. guess which one is mine?

here’s ambowl, strutting her stuff. note: she brought her own ball (”debra”) AND her own shoes AND her own striped socks. this girl is a total pro.

my favorite bowler was elliot, who weighed maybe ten pounds more than the bowling ball. pictured with his cuteness is sally, known as “candibowl.”

every time elliot bowled, we all stopped our conversations in order to witness his stunning technique. you can catch a glimpse of it here:


Elliot Bowls from poshdeluxe on Vimeo.

my first game was a total fluke, meaning i broke 100. which, you guys, NEVER happens. so i took a picture. cos i was v. v. proud of myself.

after bowling, we headed to lala’s, which is always a good time, given the 70s christmas decor and little old lady bartenders. i swear, john packed half of austin in that tiny bar. but i guess when you’re that charming and fun, you can’t HELP IT if you’re popular. happy birthday, john! i heart yr pants!

the third celebration of the weekend was selina and tommy’s actual wedding, which occurred at the lovely winfield inn in kyle, texas.

the wedding and reception were actually outside, which means i actually have to take my dress to the dry cleaner instead of wearing it five more times. sigh.

but look! isn’t it beautiful?

you guys. i love weddings. I JUST LOVE THEM. everyone is so happy and there’s free food and beverages and you get to celebrate two people and their awesome love AND, one of the best parts? dressed up kids!!! dressed up babies!!! check out selina’s precious little niece, laila, who is basically a human doll.

there was this super fun toddler sitting in front of me who tried to distract me from watching the vows. CEASE YR PRECIOUSNESS, I AM TRYING TO WATCH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT HAPPEN.

and just when i thought i would explode from squee, the flower girls walked down the aisle.

OMGGGGGGGZOIVNWOIBNDCOIMX89Jjbwevgoiklwedoixk!

selina, you are SO lucky i didn’t die right then and there. cos then yr wedding anniversary would also be the anniversary of my death, which would cast a dark cloud over any future cruises/romantic getaways.

grace is tommy’s niece, and i know it’s cliché to say this, but she’s totally a little angel.

about halfway through the ceremony, grace decided that she would be more comfortable laying on the front steps. so that’s what she did!

tommy was so sweetly nervous, and selina made a BEAUTIFUL bride. she was absolutely stunning. henri took this wonderful picture of her dad kissing her before “giving her away.”

after saying their vows, selina and tommy repeated them in arabic. which was just spectacularly cool.

and here is the wonderful couple right after getting their married pants on. check out that glow!!

the reception was held in an outdoor sort of structure, which was really graceful and lovely.

of course i took a picture of the cake, cos that’s what i do. selina chose half white cake, half red velvet, which i consider a brave (and tasty) choice, considering the “steel magnolias” effect. plus the henna decorations were so pretty.

i swear, the squee action did NOT let up. check out this little boy whose parents were sitting at our table. i would say he was sitting at our table, but he wasn’t. no, he chose the much cooler concrete to lounge upon, which made me really jealous. i mean, look how chillaxed he is!

a little girl decided to join him (again, jealous!), and they made friends! yay! DANGER SQUEE OVERLOAD IMMINENT.

the whole design concept of the wedding was really nice, including these little boxes that guests could take home with them. i want to put something tiny and special inside!

besides precious precious children, there WERE other people at this wedding. such as erica and henri!

doesn’t erica look beautiful? she was a bridesmaid.

i also caught alison IN THE ACT of trying to out-camera me. girlfriend takes a lot of pictures, but no one can handle the snap happiness of flossie! NO ONE! nice try, though.

while waiting for the happy couple to join us, henri and i wandered around the grounds and took pictures to amuse ourselves. as usual.

look! it’s a sarah tree! a PI-TREE! HAR HAR heh.

when we got back to the table, my invitation had been… embellished.

later someone asked me if i had done this. i decided to feel flattered instead of offended.

after a v. tasty dinner (i had two helpings of pasta), it was time for the toast and the cake cutting and all that jazz! i like this picture cos you can see the back of selina’s dress, which was v. pretty.

tommy surprised selina by serenading her with an arabic song. I KNOW. HOW INCREDIBLE IS THAT?!!!! the kids even sat on the floor with intense anticipation. (p.s. i love that redhead, and you will see him later).

tommy sang a song called, “the girl with the beautiful almond-shaped eyes,” and it was just about the sweetest, most heartfelt thing i have ever seen. there was not a dry eye in the house, let me tell you.

i can’t believe tommy played his accordion (right? or is that like a weird cousin of the accordion?) WHILE singing in arabic. check out his skills:


Tommy’s Arabic Song from poshdeluxe on Vimeo.

all of the squee aside, i love attending weddings not only because you get to celebrate the love between two people, but you get to witness it and experience it. i couldn’t be happier for tommy and selina.

after tommy’s song, it was time to cut a rug! fortunately, all of us are v. skilled in the technique of Embarrassing Wedding Dancing.

ok, one more note about the kids and then i’m done. i swear! so ok, i LOVE watching kids dancing at weddings. they seriously sport some of the best moves i’ve ever seen, things i wouldn’t even *dare* try to cos my body is not, like theirs, made entirely of cartilage.

check out my favorite redhead and his break dancing buddy:


Wedding Breakdancing from poshdeluxe on Vimeo.

we even got to participate in a traditional palestinian dance, which is the kind of stuff i LOVE. it’s like the hokey pokey but more culturally significant. basically, we walked around in a big circle and occassionaly kicked our legs and eventually selina and tommy were in the middle of two circles.

it’s hard to capture the awesomeness in a picture, so check out this video:


Palestinian Wedding Dance from poshdeluxe on Vimeo.

i know, right?!! if i ever get married, i’m gonna make people do all kinds of dances. starting with Crank Dat Lion King, obvs.

one of the best moments of the night happened at the v. end, right before the owners kicked us out and we bid farewell to the mr. and mrs. with rose petals and bubbles. i discovered who was responsible for selina’s amazing dancing pants: her dad!

you should’ve seen these two burning up the dance floor!

i guess i’m not the only one who’s good at celebrating.

happy birthday, john! happy wedding, selina and tommy! happy happiness to everyone!!

LINKS

hey twilight fans, check out the opening of “rising dawn”! exciting! (thanks becky for the link). p.s. i want my own “shiny black credit card”…

future road trip: the center of the united states.

so this guy found a woman living in his closet. apparently she’s been there for several months, which means this guy has WAY too much unused closet space. typical dude.

cupcakes vs. muffins: the ultimate battle!!!!

SATC fans: check out this AWESOME slideshow of the gals in their more youthful days (thanks meredith!).

sammy davis, jr. was a satanist?!! wow. this explains “poor devil,” which really can’t be explained, cos it’s that bad.

add “the edge of love” to my summer movie list, esp. since lindsay lohan isn’t in it.

my kind of cap & gown

Published by
Sarah
May 19, 2008 in alamoing, family, growing up, pantship and tasty business. 15 Comments

as you all know, i have now officially graduated.

there are a lot of benefits to finishing graduate school, like being able to put yr shiny new degree on yr resume and NEVER HAVING HOMEWORK AGAIN and people calling you “master.”

wait, people don’t call you “master” when you have a masters degree?! are you serious? WHY DID I WASTE ALL OF THIS TIME?

anyway, all of these benefits are great, but my favorite part is CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT I’M DONE.

cos i am reeeeally good at celebrating things. so good, in fact, that i managed to pack ALL of my favoritey favorites into one weekend. read this list and be amazed:

1) my parents

2) my friends

3) tasty business

4) alamo sing-alongs

5) radiohead

this was no cookies and punch reception, people.

friday night, my parents took henri and me to a posh dinner at mars on south congress. i’d never been there before, so it was even more exciting!

we started off with the tuna tataki, which was EXQUISITE.

for the entree, i ordered the butternut squash gyoza with sake cream sauce. IT WAS AMAZING. OMG. looking at this picture makes me want to lick my monitor. and that is gross.

of course i saved room for dessert, cos hello, it wouldn’t be a poshdeluxe celebration without baked goods!!!! although i will forever love the donut holes at parkside, these glazed donuts (with espresso gelatto) absolutely took my breath away. LOOK AT THEM.

ok great now i’m starving. thanks for nothing, lean pocket from lunch!

it’s been so wonderul to have my parents close by in round rock, and on friday, i was especially grateful for their presence (and not just cos they bought me food). they’ve always been so supportive of me– honestly, i’ve never met two people who are more encouraging, to *everyone*, than my parents. when i saw the pride and happiness in their eyes, i felt like a million buckaroos.

yay, now all three of the pitres have masters degrees! we are, as meredith likes to say, so freaking scholarly!

since i knew i’d be seeing many of my VIPantsers over the weekend, i decided to ask them for advice, cos their opinions and perspectives mean the world to me.

i started with mom and dad:

see? aren’t they the best?!!

then i asked henri, cos i think he is v. v. smart, and he’s also business-savvy, which i am not.

i’m starting to feel like a children’s book character, gathering advice from adult figures, but ha ha i’m an adult, too. i just forget sometimes.

josh met up with us at the stephen f. austin for a drink so my parents could ask him a billion questions about his new job and his engagement (another great thing about my parents– they are like second parents to all of my friends). josh has been there for several major milestones in my life– the first day at rice, the first day in austin (he helped me move, bless him) and now graduation– and i feel lucky to have a person like him as a constant in my life.

plus, he totally knows how to enjoy a sing-long, which is where we went next.

thank you, josh, for always letting me take ridiculous photos of you and then singing to weezer’s “buddy holly” at the top of yr lungs.

the alterna-90s was the perfect theme for the night, considering the nostalgia invoked by songs like “mr. jones” and “smells like teen spirit.” as i danced around and sang angst-filled lyrics, i thought about how far i’ve come since seventh grade slumber parties and late night journaling sessions at dietrich’s.

the show ended with “it’s the end of the world (as we know it)” which was, well, wildly appropriate.

afterwards, i asked josh for advice, which he gave while wearing his glasses.

the next day, henri and i drove to houston to see RADIOHEAD!!!!!!

not only is radiohead (still, after all these years) my favorite band, but they also happen to be intrinsically connected to graduation for me. back in may of 2001, i ran back to my dorm room after the rice ceremony to sit at my desk, still wearing my cap and gown, and buy a ticket online for the radiohead concert later that summer.

and so, of course i had to see radiohead after graduating from grad school. it’s just in the stars.

i don’t usually like “big” shows, but there’s something so fitting about seeing radiohead in a place where you can sit comfortably, surrounded by yr friends, and let the music wash over you.

note my awesome new bling, a graduation gift from my parents. cos P stands for pitre, poshdeluxe, pants, pretty much everything that is awesome in the universe!!!!

while we were waiting for the show to begin, it started to sprinkle, so henri, matt, meredith and i took shelter under a blanket. it totally felt like an elementary sleepover where everyone gets under the bed sheet and tells ghost stories with a flashlight.

i realized that all i need are these faces, cos even under a blanket in the cold rain, i had the time of my life. some people throw massive catered parties to celebrate their graduation, but i’ll take my best friends and a blanket any day.

josh, erica and teresa showed up to join our little party, which just made me happier. yay!! radiohead with people i love!

and THEN mark lewis came! i sweart, it felt like, “POSH DELUXE, this is yr LIFE!!!” the best part was that mark and meredith finally met in person… it’s the greatest feeling, when two of yr most cherished friends meet each other with wide smiles and outstretched hands and say, “i recognized you from the blog!” ha ha.

the radiohead show did not disappoint. LIKE I NEED TO TELL YOU THAT. it was AMAZING. first of all, the sound was incredible, and i give radiohead’s engineering skills full credit, cos the acoustics at the woodlands pavilion aren’t always that great. second, they had INCREDIBLE LIGHTS!! WOW!!!

look!!!!!

and they changed colors!! and displayed designs! look!!!

the colors would change in time with the music, so the show was a feast for both the ears and the eyes.

even though i love ALL of their albums, i was especially gratified when they played not one but TWO songs from “the bends.” here’s a video of “planet telex,” which was part of the encore. you can see the lights go CRAYZEEEEE.

when i listen to radiohead, my mind reels… sometimes just about life, sometimes about specific memories attached to songs. every track from “amnesiac” reminds me of falling asleep in european hostels, cos i bought it when kendall and i were in london after college graduation. “the bends” takes me back to freshmen year, when life was exciting and scary and frankly, overwhelming.

as i stood there and let the music seep into me, i thought so much about that summer, seven years ago, when i saw radiohead for the first time. i had just come back from europe, rented a house in montrose with mary, and had absolutely no job prospects. i didn’t have a clue about my next step, and somehow, i found that exhilarating. the music soared around me, and the world was open to receive it, open to receive *me*.

and even though so much has happened since that concert, i felt the same way as i stood there, a girl with a master’s degree but no master plan, a girl with a lot of possibilities and a lot of (sometimes conflicting) directions. but i’m not really the same… i’ve learned things and made mistakes and collected even more incredible, amazing people in my life. and that realization made me feel a little bit stronger.

i looked up at the moon as the music and sounds of the crowd rose up into the sky, and i felt precious in my insignificance.

as the crowds streamed out of the gate, i took advantage of mark’s concert attendance to ask him for advice.

the next day, a group of us accompanied matt to st. arnold’s brewery to support him in a beer brewing contest he entered. his final score was incredibly high, and all of us practically exploded with pride (meredith especially).

go matt! you are a master brewer, and i will enjoy the fruit of yr labor anytime you need me.

i love that my graduation celebration included celebrating someone else for their fantastic achievement, esp. because it makes me appreciate the support of my friends and family even more. in fact, the weekend went from a celebration of graduation to a celebration of ALL of the wonderful things in my life, and for me, that’s even better than a new diploma.

before we left, i asked one more friend for advice: meredith.

after gathering all of this advice, i feel like the richest girl on the planet.

because yes, meredith, the world IS my dance party. and i’m going to enjoy the pants out of it.

LINKS

have you guys seen the new trailer for joss whedon’s “dollhouse”?!!! ZOMGGGG. (thanks erin for the link!)

no matter who you’re voting for in the presidential election, i think we can all agree that misogyny in this country has yet to be conquered.

becky sent me this link about meatloaf cupcakes. i’m not sure how i feel about that.

she also sent me this kool-aid, like, database. remember saving kool-aid points?!! so you could get awesome kool-aid prizes?!! yeah!

dessiree’s dance debut

Published by
Sarah
April 17, 2008 in extravaganza and pantship. 14 Comments

on tuesday night, something totally major happened.

dessiree, my little sister, performed in her first ever DANCE SHOW!!!! and i, along with erica and henri, were lucky enough to be there to witness her big debut. it was truly a star-making night, one that people magazine will cutely reference after dessiree’s launched her own hip hop reality TV dance show along with a street clothing line and rap album.

although dessiree was *obviously* the highlight of the show, the whole event was preeeeetty awesome.

first, it all took place in a high school gym. you guys, i haven’t sat on the bleachers in a high school gym since i was forced to attend pep rallies at cy-creek, so you can imagine the waves of nostalgia (well, nostalgia may be too sweet of a term) that waved over me.

erica was pretty excited as well. GO COUGARS!

did you know that crockett hearts their seniors? cos they do.

by the way, that’s the “stage area,” complete with starred backdrops and a student teacher who would count off the beginning of each dance and then press play on the CD player, which was hooked up to a truly craptacular “sound system.”

all of this made henri v. v. happy.

i told him that this is the kind of thing that the alamo loves to replicate (i.e. prom, camp), except we were enjoying THE REAL THING.

i could tell from the program that we had a truly exciting, pop-studded evening in store.

actually, when i first looked at the schedule, i kind of panicked, like HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE? cos, you know, we were supposed to go to dinner afterwards, and i’m not the kind of gal that can stave off hunger in a calm or gentle fashion.

however, after the first performance, i realized that none of the dances lasted for the whole song. in fact, most of them were one minute, tops. so the song would begin, and the girls would dance, and then, abruptly, the music would stop, and sometimes there would be a final pose, and other times they would just sort of… walk off.

are you getting the impression of how great this was? seriously.

i mean, just look at these faces!!!

not to mention dance = chance to wear AWESOME SPARKLY COSTUMES. i’ll get to that more in a minute.

one of my personal favorites was the ballet performance to “hey there, delilah.” i truly regret not recording it (special thanks, btw, to erica, for actually remembering to bring her camera).

the show was peppered with performances by specialized dance groups, like the color guard!!!!!

ok, in all honesty, i totally made fun of the color guard in high school, but ONLY BECAUSE my band friends told me they were lame. and yes, band nerds calling the color guard lame is like, oh hai pot! this iz kettle!

but this group was AWESOME! seriously! i especially liked the guys in their zoot suits. check it out:

i also, god forgive me, loved the drill team. they were just so SHINY and GOLDEN and SMILEY. here they are, waiting for the music to start, clenching their pom poms and nailing on their smiles.

so, let me take a moment to discuss “jock jams,” since you really can’t experience an event in a high school gym without them. back in MY day, jock jams were like, techno or hip hoppy songs that kind of bled into each other. but NOW? maybe i’m just getting old, but these new-fangled jock jams are totally schizophrenic! hey, record company! don’t ya think you’re trying to squeeze a *few too many* extra songs or genres in there? it’s like a tiny volkswagon stuffed with members of van halen, cypress hill and sisqo. i.e. THIS IS NOT THE VH1 CIRCUS.

don’t let it distract you, though, from the excellent use of pompoms in this routine.

i mean, loverboy AND AC/DC? come ON.

also, the drill team, known as Lil’ Anns (isn’t it supposed to be Li’l? grammar queens, help me out), had QUITE the finish.

and finally, FINALLY, the moment we were all waiting for– dessiree’s first dance number!!!!!

watch this girl do her thang!!

i felt sooo proud of her, cos she was incredibly nervous, but she totally pulled off her moves with style and finesse!! go dessiree!!!

and then it was time for more sparkly costumes.

seriously, erica and i decided we’re gonna make our own costumes for our hip hop class performance. cos when else can you get away with blue glitter fringe or, even better, SEQUINED SUSPENDERS?!!

WANT.

we also really loved this “neon tribal” look… PERFECT for a street battle, am i right?

and i would be remiss if i didn’t show you the incredible routine choreographed to everyone’s favorite hit, “how to save a life.”

first, the outfits. which i loved.

second, the dance. ENJOY.

did i mention that we got to see this dance performed TWICE? because we did.

and then dessiree’s second dance arrived! woo-hoo! i was especially impressed by the fact that it was a jazz routine, cos dessiree only listens to hip hop, selena and reba mcentire (she loves her some reba).

is she on fire or what?!!!!

i can’t express enough how proud i felt of my little sister pants, especially cos she has *never* done anything in front of a large audience before. she’s spent a lot of time working on these pieces, and i heartily applaud her hard work and determination.

and i wasn’t the only one… her mom, sister and sister-in-law were there to cheer her on as well!

oh destiny, always the charmer.

after the show, erica and i treated dessiree to dinner at trudy’s, where we gave her major kudos and then listened to her talk about boys for an hour. you know, business as usual.

so, major props to my homegirl!!  thanks for inviting me to yr show, and just so you know, erica and i are totally copying some of yr moves for our hip hop class.

i just hope i never have to step up 2 u in the streets. cos you will totally dominate.

LINKS

OMG LOOK AT THIS FAT CAT.

hey nerds! check out this font game!! is it adobe caslon pro… OR DIAVLO MEDIUM REGULAR?!!!!!!

can a feminist love SATC?

military latrine graffiti… wow.

look ma! i got an A+ on my weekend!

Published by
Sarah
April 7, 2008 in family and pantship. 13 Comments

you know what, guys? i am REALLY good at weekends.

and this past one was no exception!

friday night, members of the matthew gierhart fan club gathered together to bid our dear friend farewell. just when you thought matt had moved back to austin, he packs up and flies back to london. gah. fortunately there is internet in england, so matt can continue to protect my blog from bots and hackers (did anyone see my site yesterday? uh, yeah. WHAT IS THE DEAL).

we met up at vinosity, this cozy wine bar near my apartment, but after that, the night sort of fell into a delightful kind of chaos. i felt like we were a band of roaming gypsies, but with better hygiene (and no child stealing, even though i was tempted a couple times).

after trudy’s proved to be too crowded for a late night meal (10:30) we drove to south congress to grab some pizza at home slice.

there’s a lot going on in that picture, and I LIKE IT.

here’s matt again, looking remarkably like paul mccartney, which i have never noticed until now.

matt was feeling overwhelmed because we had unwittingly walked into a major, MAJOR hot rod festival. or party. or show. i don’t really know what they’re called, but it involves lots of hot rods tooling down the street while rockabilly people hoot, holler and drink beer five feet away from the cops.

in short, it’s AWESOME!

seriously, where can i sign up to join the rat rodz? anyone? anyone?

hmm. maybe i’ll just start my own hot rod gang! i’ll totally trick out thomas and get “poshdeluxe” airbrushed on the back window and my group will be called Cruisin’ Pants or something.

a hot rod show is totally the type of thing i would never plan on attending but LOVE accidentally discovering. plus it was hilarious to watch regular drivers suddenly find themselves in the middle of a road rally.

i liked this car the best, mostly cos of the skull and crossbones (which i think is covering up a dent? nice work, hot rodder).

i think amber has a future as a car show model, yeah? SHOW ME THAT ENGINE, GIRLIE!

it was the kind of night that produces a LOT of goofy pictures. for example, here’s amber and matt, AT PROM HAVING THE BEST NIGHT OF THEIR LIFE ZOMGGG.

and here’s matt (we moved on to the san jose), displaying his Camera Ready Smile.

you may recognize that smile from his famous “blue dragon” picture as well as his “artist portrait” that i took on his birthday.

here’s matt’s friend dave, who just moved to austin and will serve as matt’s replacement, except with less of a fake british accent (ok, ok, matt can never really be replaced. but still). dave has already been inducted into pants world based on his incredible goofy picture skills as well as his commission of a napoleon-like portrait (ask him about this. seriously).

this is how amber feels about matt’s departure. so, you know, don’t bring it up if she’s around.

erin’s face is a pretty typical response to matt. obviously she is full of love and adoration for him (note: we are now at rio rita. like i said, gypsies!).

matt couldn’t leave us without a final act of crayness, so he decided to… put a rubber band in his hair.

matt, thanks for giving me a lasting image of yr face to cling to until the next time you come to austin.

i’ll miss you, my dear!

so that was friday night.

saturday, i went to selina’s bridal shower at her sister nasrine’s house. here’s selina, holding the bridal glass that nas insisted she use throughout the shower.

yep, her glass has boobs. AWESOME. oh what a world it would be, if every glass had boobs! it’s like, a truck stop dream.

here’s selina with the aformentioned nas (nasrine) and her other sister, tanya.

in addition to glasses with boobs, nas also has a thing for HILARIOUS centerpieces. i found this little treasure in the middle of the cookies (where i just *happened* to be hanging out).

GET IT? she’s dragging him down the aisle! HAR HAR HAR HAR

selina’s sisters hosted this lovely soiree along with the charming and fabulous erica.

i want to take this moment to publicly thank all three hostesses for providing me with this AMAZING SPREAD OF FOOD.

i wish i could reach into that picture right now and steal some cheese!! NOM NOM NOM.

oh and it gets better. check out the CAKE:

ok, not only is the cake pretty on its own, but it also features the SAME DESIGN FROM THE INVITATION.

but could you expect anything less from the woman who gave her daughters the pinkest, most princessy bedroom ever?

that’s alison, who will soon realize that even her cup matches the room. seriously, though, WHEN CAN I MOVE IN? this house even features THE KITCHEN OF MY DREAMS!!!!!!!

i know i love real food (obvs), but come on. cooking plastic food is SO MUCH FUNNER.

after exploring the house, we played some games which i’m relieved to report did NOT include making a dress out of toilet paper. thank you, erica. we did, however, get to look at old pictures of selina and try to guess her age.

my favorite was her senior portrait, which you can totally identify, even from far away, by the Signature Senior Pose.

presents at bridal showers sort of make me feel like i’m back in the 50s, cos the packages are always full of kitchen stuff. then again, I REALLY WANT A KITCHEN AIDE MIXER. betty friedan, is that wrong?

of course i had to throw a bit of sass into my bed, bath & beyond gift (where, by the way, “gift wrap” means massive deforestation), so i gave selina a little bubble bath cupcake!

happy bridal pants, selina!

after the shower, i picked up dessiree for her first ever meeting with my parents! even better, we were gonna have a slumber party at their house!!! did someone say FROZEN UNDERWEAR? i wasn’t sure if round rock could handle so much awesomeness…

my parents are the nicest, warmest people in the world, so dessiree felt at home in no time. after dinner, we played this domino game called mexican train… i don’t know about the mexico part, but it does involve a train. and you get to press the button on the train if you are about to win, which is REALLY FUN!

at least, for the first few times. and then the train kind of gets annoying and you don’t press it anymore, you just say “choo choo!” which is really more fun.

here’s dessiree, giving me a typical look while my mom helps her strategize. usually, when dessiree looks at me like this, she means, “please stop embarrassing me” and/or “why are you so white?” I LOVE TEENAGERS.

once she got the hang of it, dessiree was an UNSTOPPABLE DOMINO FORCE. here she is, rejoicing over the impending destruction of her opponents.

after dominoes, dessiree and i watched “clueless” on TV, which is definitely a top pick for slumber parties. i told her that the movie came out when i was in high school, and then she looked at me like i was OLD. which, you know, i am. but i swear, we didn’t all dress like alicia silverstone… although i really, really wanted to.

the next morning, mom made baked oatmeal (so freaking tasty) and dad made my favorite item from Dad’s Cooking Specialties, beer biscuits!

i have so, so many fond memories of watching my dad carefully roll and cut the dough (with that same yellow cookie cutter)… the smell of beer biscuits and newsprint (from parade and the comics, obvs) is definitely one of my favorite childhood scents.

after breakfast, mom and dad took dessiree and me on a tour of the Sights of Round Rock! which boils down “downtown” (one city block), parks (which are actually amazing) and the FAMOUS ROUND ROCK that gave the town its name!

BEHOLD THE ROUND ROCK

yeah, i know. dessiree wasn’t impressed either.

so, like i said. i am totally an honors student when it comes to weekends.

ACED!!

starting off my 29th year with a few (ok, a lot) of my favorite things

Published by
Sarah
April 1, 2008 in extravaganza, growing up and pantship. 11 Comments

it’s hard to know where to go after an enchanted evening at magic island.

fortunately, henri and i have awesome friends, and they make just as much magic as illusionists with metal hoops and a few foam eggs. and you know, friend magic is WAY better than a cheap levitation table. cos sometimes it even involves cake!

yeah, this is WAY better than a cheap levitation trick.

to continue the month-long celebration of our birthdays, meredith and matt rented out the rice club room for a little karaoke party! and all of the major houston players were there!

juliet and ray, looking superfine as always:

erin, ultra-glam and ready for her solo:

charming jerry and beautiful jill (unfortunately, jerry was not wearing his harry potter costume that night):

and of course, lovely kc and talena!

i even managed to snag a shot of frank, who usually hides his face behind a miller lite can. thanks to henri for providing the distraction (<– yet another magician’s trick! THANKS MAGIC ISLAND).

besides friends and cake, do you know what the best part about birthdays is? NOOO, not increased wisdom, silly. PREZZIES!!

and meredith and matt gave us a BIG ‘UN!!!! LOOK AT MY FACE! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

LOOK! I AM STILL SO EXCITED THAT I AM MAKING THE SAME FACE!!

hmm. i think henri is making fun of me.

and look what it is! a picnic backpack!! how cool is that?!!

now i can dine in style wherever i go, whether it’s a park or the beach or you know, on the couch cos my kitchen seems to far away!!! heh, someone (matt? henri?) joked that i should pack that thing and store it in the fridge at work. well OBVIOUSLY.

ray and juliet gave me my own CASE of sofia champ cans!! because they know THAT IS MY FAVORITE CANNED BEVERAGE!!!!! i am so not sharing these, so don’t even ask.

soon the karaoke began burning up the dance floor (and maybe a few ears).

i’m pretty sure karaoke is listed on “stuff white people like,” cos we LOVE IT. also? pants world pretty much OWNS it. check out the style and finesse emanating from these two divas.

besides being posh, the club room is also perfect for parties cos you can scream along to guns ‘n’ roses all you want and no one will complain. we even had the ENTIRE balcony to ourselves!

note: next time, we’re totally bringing roller skates.*

*yes, i know it’s a bad idea. thank you.

it’s pretty amazing that all we need is a microphone, canned music and some words on a screen to turn into the spice girls. then again, that’s kiiind of all they had going. oh plus cavalli outfits. and david beckham. SIGH.

the party was SO good that even frank was inspired to come up and sing “under the bridge” with kc. this is truly a milestone for frank, because, notice: there is NO MILLER LITE CAN IN SIGHT. truly, the spirit of karaoke is upon him.

as usual, ray provided many of the antics for the evening. first, there was a little bit of bump and grind…

and then he did some kind of caterpillar/invisible keyboard playing on the ground… eh, i’m not really sure. but note the microphone positioned to insure that we can all continue to hear his singing.

i think my favorite moment of the night occurred when henri and i sang the classic phil collins hit, “against all odds.” i mean, you could *feel* the love and happiness in the room. talk about a major birthday SQUEE.

and the hits kept coming, cos the next day, my friend amy got married!

you might remember amy as my constant sxsw companion… except she couldn’t make it this year, cos she was doing that whole “getting ready for a super stressful day involving tons of relatives and friends and a thousand minute details” wedding planning thing.

but she survived! and she looked beautiful!

jessica, amy and i belonged to the same community group back in houston, which feels like ages ago. and actually, it was. and when you have a history with someone, when you’ve seen her slog through the mess of life and endure heartache and continue to fight her way through it all, it’s the most wonderful gift to see her emerge, radiant and happy and victorious. amy, i couldn’t be more thrilled for you!

i was not, however, thrilled with the sermon. when the pastor went from talking about love to comparing god to a massive sky light in a room, i was, uh, wha? jessica had a similar reaction.

apparently he was trying to reference the fact that mark does construction but um, dude. let’s just stick to 1 corinthians.

amy had promised me that she would have cupcakes at her wedding, and SHE DELIVERED!!!!!!

you guys, i didn’t even bother with the wedding cake OR the groom’s cake. my heart was already taken.

i met some fellow cupcake-lovers while hanging out by the dessert table (THE place to be at a wedding, obviously). meet cheyenne and jasmine, who decided to take some for the road.

cheyenne asked me to take their picture two more times, the finale being a cupcake balanced on her head.

these girls would SO be my best friends if i was, say, twenty-two years younger. ok, who am i kidding, our age difference is no match for our mutual passion for le cupcake. LYLAS ladies!!!

the festivities continued the next day, with a lovely brunch provided by meredith and matt!

i love visiting these pantsers at their place, not just cos it’s cozy (while sleek and urban!) and not just cos i get to spend quality time with them (I LOVE YOU GUYS) but also cos i can say hi to the kitties.

this picture is just DYING for a spot on “i can has cheezburger,” no?

in fact, feel free to suggest what the cheat (the cat) is thinking in the comments section. because the cheat is *always* scheming.

and, just when i thought the weekend couldn’t get better, henri and i got to meet emma, the newest addition to the mark and stasha lewis family!!!!!!!!

OMGG!!!!! they have a BABY! a real baby!! and she is a darling!!!

mark and stasha even provided cookies, which meant i ended the weekend with not one of my favorite things, not just two of my favorite things, but THREE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS OF ALL TIME. FRIENDS, COOKIES AND A BABY!!!! WHAT MORE IS THERE TO LIFE?

gah, you guys. i can’t believe mark is a dad. i’m going to be interviewing him soon, but i just want to say: wow. this is one of those moments when you say to yrself, “you know what? life is pretty amazing,” and it doesn’t sound clichéd. cos it IS amazing. my dear friend has embarked on a HUGE new chapter of his life, and i can’t decide who’s going to dazzle me more– sweet emma or her incredible dad.

of course, this marks my official status as Crazy Aunt Sarah.

oh little emma, you just wait!! there are so many slumber parties and cupcakes and rhinestones and bottles of hot pink nail polish and lip-synching to madonna and viewings of “you’ve got mail” in our future!!!!!!!!

man, you guys.

being twenty-nine is already pretty dang awesome.

LINKS

have you guys heard of pearl cornioley, the british super spy? james bond can suck it!

OMGGG! NKOTB IS BACK!!!!!!! must… find… neon paint splattered… shirt…

all you fans of claudia kishi will appreciate this. btw, i *still* consider her to be a fashion inspiration.

check out this super cool trash/air art in NYC. yay!