One Year Ago

Exactly one year ago, Russ proposed to me at the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy, while we were surrounded by our super friends!

It was a day we'll always remember!  Check out our engagement story here and the mini-recap of it here.

The past year has been filled with TONS AND TONS of memories:

- Haeli & Malcolm got engaged and married in a matter of 6 months!  Talk about awesome planning!
- Kelvin & Suecane got engaged and will be married in a few months!
- Kelly & Tina got engaged!
- Fred & Jean got engaged and will be married in a few months!
- Sonya & Chris got engaged and will be married in a few months!
- Roger & Lisa got married!
- Alex & Adrienne had little Aaden!
- We met the most awesomest wedding ppl ever!  Kelley, Steven, Carmen, Euri, Kendra, Tianyi, Theresa  and probably more ppl that I can't remember right now!

There's probably a bajillion more things that we've done and that I haven't blogged about, but what a year!  And, now, in 6 days, we'll be married! =)

Wedding Festivities

The other day, Anita & Jason asked me how many parties I was throwing for our wedding and whether or not I was stressed at how many parties I was planning!

I guess I never thought of it that way.  :)  I just thought we were supposed to plan all these different events since we have so many family/friends coming from far away.  =)

Oh well!  Too late now.  I've already planned them and booked them and can't back out now!  I even took the easy way out and sent out evites rather than real invitations.  (saves $$ and the environment!)

In case our friends/family haven't received my evites, check it!  Check your spam mail too since you might not have my email saved in your contacts!

Our wedding weekend will include the following wedding festivities (to help clarify from the deluge of evites we've been sending out):

Thurs - Rehearsal Dinner
Thurs at 9:30 pm - "Big Kids Only - Rehearsal After Party" (sorry, no parents or "adults" allowed; just us "kids")
Fri at 8:30 pm - Pre-Wedding Cocktails
Sat - Wedding
Sun at 11:45 am - Brunch

If you received an evite and haven't responded, please do so ASAP so that we can give each place an accurate headcount.  =)

Our E-Session

We just finished our e-session (engagement session) and WOW!!!  It was AWESOME!!  =D

Our e-session encountered a few scheduling probs b/c we're all such busy ppl!  But we overcame the minor hurdles and scheduled it for May Day!  =)  About 2 weeks before the e-session, we were worried that it might rain again...but the LA weather kicked in and May Day was beautiful.  The only complaint (for me) was dealing w/ the wind.  Otherwise, the weather cooperated wonderfully!

So, I woke up at what felt like the butt-crack-of-dawn (esp b/c I haven't been sleeping much at all) and I drove to Pasadena for my makeup and hair trial w/ Theresa Huang, the most awesomest makeup/hair person out there!  I think Theresa and I must have been chatting up a storm b/c we had to move quickly at the end!  Luckily, Theresa shares a meeting place w/ our florist - Fleuretica - and since Kelley and Fleuretica IM everyday, Kelley had Fleuretica make sure that Theresa and I stopped talking and focused.  ;)  hahaha.  After that, I kept my mouth shut.

While I was beautifying myself, Russ was on a Vespa mission!  He traded cars w/ Jason and went to South Bay Vespa to pick up our Vespa.  And when he tried to get the Vespa into Jason's 4Runner, it wouldn't fit!  OH NO!  So, Russ called to tell me the news.  uh-oh.  Russ was going to have to ride the Vespa, on the street at the top speed of 40 mph, from Torrance, all the way to Downtown!

I gave Russ some directions that would have to take him through the hood (like seriously, Inglewood and other not so beautiful parts of LA).  Russ had a few interesting adventures.  He said he almost ran into a car; had some probs going and stopping; and ran into a parked car when he was trying to park.  BUT he made it!

After Russ, Kelley, Steven, Carmen and I met at Bottega Louie, we did a quick change and then Russ took me around Downtown on the Vespa!  Steven, who has a motorcycle license, let us ride around the block to make sure we would survive and then we hit the town!  =)

Our first stop was up to the Bonaventure and for us to ride down Flower.  We had soooo much fun!  We went around the block like 5 times and ppl started watching us!  I think they probably thought we were celebrities or something.  Little did they know, we're just famous w/ our family and friends!  =)

Then we headed over to the park by the Chinatown Metro Stop.  Steven had some really great ideas and we just walked around and acted as natural as possible.  Since I'm not sure how to act natural w/ a camera pointing at me, I made Russ tell me some funny stories!  That got us laughing so hard that my tummy actually started to hurt!  hahaha.

After that, we went to Elysium Park and did some pretty awesome shots!  Basically, we went up and down the hill while Steven stood up through the sunroof of his car!  It really felt like we were in a movie shoot!  We did that a few times and then did some picnicking shots.

Kelley even decorated our Vespa w/ some cans to make it look like we were running away on the Vespa! Super funny!

We were going to do one more shot, but due to the May Day parade and random construction in Downtown, we scratched other ideas and went back to home base and ate some pizza and salad at Bottega Louie.  What a yummy end to such a fun and exciting day!

It was super awesome to have Kelley there b/c she made sure my hair looked normal (which was really hard b/c it was super windy)!!  And she made sure Russ and I had matching outfits!  =)  And Kelley bought us some macaroons for the picnic scene.  Russ almost ate them before Steven could take the pics!

After our fun adventuring in Downtown, Russ says he had to "defy death" and drive the Vespa back through Inglewood to return it.  What he isn't mentioning, though, is that Steven drove it from location to location so that Russ could take a break from defying death!  ;)

Thank you Steven, Carmen, Kelley and Chris (the behind-the-scenes videographer) for coming up w/ all the creative ideas; trekking around town with us; making us laugh; driving us through May Day traffic; risking your lives by sticking your bodies out through the car windows; and just hanging out w/ us all day!  And thank you Theresa for making me look gorgeous today!

Today only reaffirmed what an awesome team of ppl working w/ us for our super awesome wedding!  We had soooo much fun and we can't wait for our wedding day!

My Bridal Shower

Wow!  My Bridal Shower was just awesome!  I'm sort of at a loss of words to describe how great my shower was...but let's just say it was just fantabulous!!  =)

I kept the invite list smaller (including only family & closer friends).  And it turned out great!  It was originally supposed to be at Jen's house, but due to a minor issue, it was moved to the SLS Hotel!!  It was kept as a total surprise from me!  Who knew that a whole slew of women could keep a secret from me (esp moms and aunts!!)!   But they managed to do it!

Let me start at the beginning....

After Christina and my mom and Godmother arrive at my place, we head over to the SLS.  Christina is navigating me b/c I insist upon driving!  (I need to control some factor!)  Anyway, we're driving and chatting away and then we arrive at the SLS!  Since I haven't been to the SLS since it became the SLS, it was soooo much fun!  We walked in and were quickly greeted by Anita & Audrey!  And we walk through the Bazaar (which is their lounge area) and into the back meeting room!  WOW!!!!  I felt like I was being transported into another world completely!

When we walked in, we were greeted with Audrey and Anita's set-up:

These are the thank you gifts:

The Kids' Table:

I totally love the decor of the SLS Hotel!  It's a modern, but old and just so cool!  Here's some ppl pics:

Mom:

Godmother:

Russ' mom:

Auntie H (I like how I look like I'm wearing a crown!):

Auntie L:

Childhood friends/neighbors M&M:

cousins:

BMs Audrey & Anita:

Christina & one game of guessing how old I was in each picture!!  Christina said she picked the pics that looked the worst of me!  :(

The cute little snacks at the SLS.  They even had chocolate Pop Rocks!  I haven't had Pop Rocks since like middle school!!!  Check it out:

Me & Christina & our matching shoes (after I told everyone that my mom always taught me that to avoid the fights b/t me and my sister, she would buy us 2 of everything!!):

Thanks to all of my wonderful BMs for setting up the best shower ever!!!  I had soooo much fun and so did the rest of my family!!  They can't stop talking about how fun it was and how cool my BMs are.  They totally are the coolest chicks I know!  =)

And finally, to end this post on a beautiful happy note...my Rehearsal Day bouquet:

I look terrible, of course, but who cares!

Thank you Anita, Audrey, Christina & Jen for the bestest awesomest shower ever!  I had a blast!!!  =)

My Bridal Shower Invites

The other day, after having a near-breakdown at work, planning, and dealing w/ the zillions of details I keep thinking about, I came home to this beautiful envelope!!

I told Russ, "I think this is my bridal shower invite!"  (esp since I recognized Anita's handwriting).  ;)  So, we opened it together!  And this was what I found on the outside!

Super cute!!!  =)  And then when I took off the pretty ribbon, this was the inside:

So...pretty!  Can't wait!!

It's funny b/c I hear random details from everyone about the shower...like, "is it OK if we have it here?"  "Is it OK if it's like this?"  And it makes me more and more curious!  =)  But I'm exercising my patience and haven't forced anyone to tell me what's in store for me!  ;)  Russ finds this rather curious b/c usu when he has a surprise for me, it's a surprise for about 10 seconds after he says, "I have a surprise for you."  If it's a surprise, then don't tell me about it!  Just surprise me!  ;)

Anyway, my patience has been working well.  I must be maturing!  ;)  hahaha.  Yeah right.

Thanks to all of my wonderful BMs for keeping me sane and helping me learn some patience!  I can't wait to see what's in store for me!  =)

Details, Details, Details

Since having our day-long cake and food tastings + wedding planning meeting with Kelley, I have been thinking about all these different details for the wedding.  Well, details + work.  Sometimes, like today, the wedding details win and I do almost no work.  =)  As much as I love to think about the various details of the wedding, I usu pay for it by staying really late at work.  =(

Oh well...it's nearly 6pm now and there's nothing I can do now...Except to BLOG about the random things I've been thinking about....

First, what kind of bouquet do I want?  I see tons of pics w/ just white flowers and I see others w/ color flowers!  AAHHH!  What should I do?

Second, accessories.  Should I wear a necklace; should I wear dangly earrings/studs; shoes; bracelets; watch???  AAHH!!!  I usu get to shoes and I stop for about an hour and look at all the ridiculously beautiful shoes and the matching ridiculous prices.  In fact, before I got to the "shoe" phase of the wedding, I told Anita that I wouldn't buy Christian Louboutins b/c of their extremely high price.  Little did I know that I would get to the shoe phase and would want them.  You're totally right, Anita!

Third, reception decor.  Fleuretica came up with all sorts of ideas, but now we just need to make the decision on what we want.  It's kind of hard b/c all the ideas are super cute and we have to sit there, visualize and decide.  Luckily, I have become an avid blog reader and see tons of photos!  So, I can easily point them out to Russ.  hehehe.  I think we've made our decisions, but we'll see....

Fourth, money box.  Apparently, ppl now hit weddings and STEAL the money box!  How unbelievably rude is that!!!  If I happen to come across the person(s) who steal the money boxes, I might just have to kick their butts (in my wedding dress)!  ;)  But here's a cute money box I found on Etsy.

Fifth, the veil.  Uuummmmm...do I want a veil?  Do I want a long cathedral one like this or this or this?  Do I want a medium one like this or this?  Or how about a birdcage type veil like this or this?  [BTW, Kelley planned that last wedding w/ Krista & Mike.  hehehe.]  Or maybe I should forego the veil and just use a flower!  Like this or this!  Or I could change from a veil at the ceremony to something different for the reception, like this!!

Not to mention, we have to decide what kind of dinner menu we want; cakes we want; ties; socks; invitations; favors; hotel accommodations...  and the list goes on and on!

Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Or rather, should I say...details, details, details.  I'm not worried though.  That's why we picked the best wedding team ever and we let them make the creative decisions.  =)

This Weekend!

We had a busy first weekend of February!  On Friday evening, we went to Alibi Room to eat some Kogi BBQ.  Delish!  And we ran into our friend Vanda.  Totally random, but awesome to see Vanda!

Then on Saturday, Audrey and I went to the UCLA-Cal game!!  Initially, UCLA was kicking Cal's butt.  And then it just went downhill after that!!

After UCLA was introduced:

The cheer team doing a cheer:

And Joe and Josephine Bruin getting hoisted up into the air:

And me and Audrey at the game:

Go Bruins and booooo to Cal.

Later in the evening, Russ and I went to the Standard to see Henry, Steve Ngo, Tina and some of Steve's friends:

Steve wanted to celebrate our engagement, even though we got engaged like 8 months ago!  Steve is a San Francisco Community College Board Trustee and he lives up north and visits rarely, but when he does, we try to see him!!  Anyway, cheers to Steve, Tina, Russ and me!!  =)

Calleigh Turned One!!!

This weekend, Russ and I went to Calleigh's one-year bday party.  She's really cute; she's totally independent; she loves sweets; and her bday party was Hello Kitty themed!  That's my kind of girl!  ;)
Calleigh was roaming around with her wagon and crawling everywhere!  Super independent!  Of course, in true Jeanne form, I forgot my camera!!  Even after I told myself to remember it!  I blame it all on Russ!  He kept trying to update his FB profile pic and I kept trying to comment on his status updates!  ;)

So, my pics are taken from my iPhone.  Thank goodness for the iPhone from Russ!!  =)  Here's Calleigh getting ready for her big moment:

 

As you can see, she's thrilled at seeing a giant cake w/ tons of frosting on top!  And do you see the Hello Kitty table cloths?  Super cute!!

Now, here's Calleigh, attacking her little cupcake and Chase playing with his alligator balloon!  Oh!  This really cool balloon guy showed up and he was totally awesome!  I mean, he made a T-Rex, a dino, a teddy bear, a turtle, elmo...  And he was just really great at interacting with the kids!

Here's more of Calleigh and her cupcake attacking skills!  I wish I was little again!  I would eat all of my cakes like that!!!  ;)

 

 

Calleigh even had Hello Kitty plates!!  Lucky girl!!  Happy Birthday Calleigh!!!

I'm so exhausted And I think I found my BM dress!!!

This week has been quite hell-ish for me (and Russ).  I've got a trial starting on 12/7 and I've been working like 12+ hrs everyday this week!  I come home when the ppl who shut down bars/clubs come home!  ridiculous!

More BM Dresses

Since I've been having such major issues deciding on a BM dress, I thought about custom-making a dress too!  Kelley, our super duper awesome planner, has a friend who makes BM dresses.  She'll even custom-make them too!

Sneak Peak - Save the Date

I can't remember if I already mentioned this in the blog (I tend to forget things when I work a lot and sleep a little)...but anyway, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but Kelley came up with this awesome idea for our Save-The-Date Cards.  =)

Save The Date Pictures

Russ and I had an exciting weekend!  After his surprise to me at Susan Feniger's Street, we stayed up really really late to clean the house and get ready for the pumpkin carving (esp since I had volunteered to make pumpkin curry)!  I have a special blog just for pumkin carving!

But even before all the pumpkin carving party excitement, Russ and I asked Anita to take our save-the-date pictures.  Anita (BM) just got a SLR and she's been wanting to practice.  During her sabbatical, she practiced on her cute little nephew and niece.  And we asked her to practice on us too!  =)

Dave McCall - Our Officiant!!

From the very beginning, Russ and I knew right away that we wanted a friend to marry us.  It wasn't a difficult decision b/c we love going to Bel Air Presbyterian Church, but we're not members.  We thought it might be a bit strange for a random person to marry us and paying him/her.  Besides, we wanted someone who could be humorous and make the ceremony feel really special.  ;)  We had a few friends in mind immediately.  Dave McCall was one of them!

Chris Carter - Groomsman

Chris Carter I've known for all but 10 months of my life, and 11 months of his (which will be enough to tell you who's older).  We learned to crawl, read, ride bikes, drive cars all around the same schedule in growing up, and even though our families moved from being across the street from one another to separate counties, we managed to stay in touch and reunite at the University of Virginia.  Chris has come to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China with me, and I've gone to Tanzania, Africa with him, and together many places in between.

Rob Knape - Groomsman

Rob is my younger cousin by four years, and I thoroughly enjoyed beating up both him and his older brother Peter on my rare visits to Taiwan when we were all little.  Things changed around the time they hit middle school and high school... and Rob grew to be about 6'3"... and we were all too "mature" for that sort of childish behavior, hahahahaha!

The Dress

So, this afternoon, I went wedding dress shopping again (#4).  ;)  Audrey, Christina and my mom came.  Totally nice, clean pretty place.  :)  I told the girl what styles I generally liked (more form-fitting, but not too form-fitting).  And she went to work!  She pulled out like 10 dresses for me to try on.  I even found the one I tried on from the first store from yesterday!  =)

Wedding Dress Shopping Adventure 2

On Saturday, I went on the 2nd wedding dress shopping excursion.  This time, Christina and my mom came to view/critique the wedding dresses.  :)  So, we go in and we talk to the girls there for a bit.  The girls were really nice!

I thought I should show them some pics (since that's what I did during the 1st wedding dress shopping adventure), and they seemed to only be mildly interested in the pics that I brought.  So, I quickly put my big giant wedding binder away and looked to them for guidance for whatever was next.  They had us look around and pick out a few dresses we liked.  They went around and pulled some dresses for me to try on too.

And then I started trying on the dresses...as I'm trying on the first dress, the salesperson realizes that we're Taiwanese!  Initially, I thought it would be beneficial, but it was actually somewhat detrimental.  My mom, sister and I couldn't converse in Taiwanese to talk about the wedding dresses in private!  Bummer.  So, we nicely (and without too much chit chat) tried on all the dresses (like 10 of them).

The 2nd dress I tried on was pretty, but there was something about it that wasn't right.  I also really liked the 5th or 6th dress (I can't remember which one anymore).  But there was also something not right about that dress.  And then I tried on the last dress, which Christina and I thought was really pretty from the front, but *blah* in the back.  I haven't quite learned my wedding dress vocab yet, so I'll use "Jeanne terms" to describe.  ;)  It had ruching (like gathering of the materials) in the front.  It had a very architectural/modern look.  The train and back, though, kind of sucked b/c it was just plain.  My mom's first comment was, "It looks wrinkly."  *sigh*

So, we put all the dresses back, told the nice girls that we would think about it and skedaddled out of there.  I was a bit disappointed and we found a local ice cream shop to make me feel better (besides, Christina was hungry and we can't deny the Kuo family food when it's needed)!  That's when we went into a full-on discussion (in Taiwanese) about all the dresses.  In the end, we agreed that none of them were spectacular or had that "this is the dress" feeling.  Oh well.  Back to the drawing board!  Hopefully, I'll find a dress soon.  Apparently, it takes like 6 months to make and like 2-3 months for alterations!  EEKS!!!

Picture for thought...from Monique Lhuillier

Wedding Dress Shopping - The First Time

Christina, Audrey and Christina's friend Annie took me wedding dress shopping on 8/22 to a giant wedding dress shop in OC.  It was an interesting, really fun and eye-opening experience.  When we first got there, we kind of wandered around the store and looked at various dresses.  There was a Ramona something trunk show at the location and one of the designers kissed me on the cheek.  EW!

Right at our appt time, our consultant met with us.  She took us to the dressing room where she asked me all sorts of questions - what's your dress size, what's your bra size, what's your height, and what kind of dress are you looking for?  I showed her all the different dresses that I tore out of magazines and she knew right away what my style was!  Amazing!  Anyway, she asked me to describe what I envisioned my dress to look like and most importantly, she asked what our budget was.  That's when she turned mean!  I don't know how anyone is supposed to know what their budget is when they haven't done the research, this is their first time wedding dress shopping, and they just don't know what the heck is going on!  *sigh*

I told her what the budget was and said something like, "I don't really know what my budget is yet b/c I haven't done the research.  This is a # that I picked out of thin air without knowing what an average wedding dress costs."  She then said, "But you have 200 guests.  You should spend the most $$ on your dress and photographer."  That's funny, b/c everyone else tells me that the most $$ I'll spend is on the location.  *sigh*  She then tells us that each of us are going to pick out a dress and she'll go to the back and pick out a few more.

So, she shows us to the dresses that's within our budget and leaves us alone.  We all pick out 1 or 2 dresses and hand them to her.  :)  She asks me which dress I would like to try on first.  I decided to go in order b/c it'll help me remember the dresses better.  Organization is key (in my mind).  haha.  I start trying on the dresses and I realize how difficult it is to get into a wedding dress!

I soon realized that maybe I'm not as chubby as I thought I was b/c I fit into most of the dresses, except for this one.  OMG!  I had to hold my breath while Christina and the consultant helped zipped it up.  During that time, I was making faces at Audrey and Annie b/c I honestly couldn't breathe.  haha.  Needless to say, that dress came off soon afterwards!  I tried on one dress that Audrey picked out and it happened to be way above the budget I said and the consultant said, "Who picked out this dress!  What are you trying to do to your friend!  Ugh!  Take it off now!"  I'm like, "huh???"  So, we take off that dress and she sort of yells at us for not staying in the budget!  See, I'm telling you, she was mean!

After trying on about 8 or 10 dresses, we narrowed it down to 3 that I really liked and everyone approved.  :)  Then she made me decide which was my favorite.  I don't know!  I just saw the damn dresses and tried them on for like 5 min each!  I was getting kind of cranky by this point b/c she was kind of blunt and mean all the time.  So, I picked out one dress to walk around the store in and we put it back on.  Then I pretended to walk down the aisle and stood in front of the mirror under "evening lighting" and checked out whether I liked the dress or not.  She was waiting for me to say the magical words.  I'm like, "what is that?"  She said, "I LOVE this dress."  Um, if she knew me, she would know that I'm not gushy like that at all!  I just don't think I'll have a moment where I'm like "I LOVE THIS DRESS!!!  THIS IS IT!!"  So, I said, "I really like this dress, but I can't decide b/t this one and the other 3."  hehe.

Anyway, we go back to the dressing room and take off the dress.  She writes down the style numbers and then she leaves.  Finally, some privacy!!!  :)

I think I'll go dress shopping some more.  It's hard to make a decision when I've only tried on 8 dresses.  Not sure if I'll have that magical moment, but I probably will get closer and closer to it after I try on more dresses and establish what I really like.  I'm hoping that's really soon though!  Apparently, it takes about 6 months for a dress to be made!  EEKS!!!!  Gotta step up the shopping expeditions!  Thank goodness I have a mom and BMs that are good shoppers!!  =)

Jen - A Bridesmaid

Jen and I met on a plane ride to DC after our 2nd yr at UCLA.  We were both part of the UCLA summer program externing for various gov't agencies there.  Jen was at the Dept of Education and I was with Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey of Marin and Sonoma Counties.

We were on a 7am flight to Dulles and I was butt-tired (mainly b/c I almost missed our flight b/c of the traffic)!  But Jen, trying to be friendly and out-going, introduced herself and started talking to me.  Even though I was butt-tired, we talked for most of the ride there!  She even offered to take a taxi with me and her roommate, Diane, to our apt in Arlington.  Thank goodness Jen arrived in my life that day!  I seriously was worried about how I was going to get from Dulles to Arlington!  :)  YAY for Jen and her out-going nature!!!

Anyway, we soon became really good friends and hung out practically the whole summer there.  I have to say that DC has THE BEST 4th of July fireworks EVER!!!!  If you're there during that time, go to The Mall.  AWESOME!!

But I totally digress.  After our summer in DC, we stayed friends through 3rd and 4th yr and then we were roommates for 2 yrs before Jen married Brian and started her own family!  That picture of Jen below is exactly how she looks now (after having 2 kids).  I don't know how she does it!

Jen came up with the idea of a bookclub / supper club.  So, every 6 weeks or so, a bunch of us girls go all over LA and have dinner at a new restaurant and discuss a book.  A lot of times, the book sucks and we discuss it for about 5 min before we turn our attn to the food!  :)  We limit ourselves to chick-lit though.  So, if you have any chick-lit suggestions, pass them along!

I wanted to ask Jen over for dinner, but it was difficult to coordinate our schedules, esp b/c she has two cute little ones.  I ended up calling Jen on the phone and asking her.  I still have her BM book and need to give it to her.  I just haven't had the opportunity to do it yet.  At least now she won't be tortured with the ridiculous crossword puzzle I made up!  HAHA

Thanks Jen for being a part of my life for like 12 years now!!!  EEEKS!!!!!  That sounds old!  ;)

Audrey - A Bridesmaid

My friend, Audrey, is originally a friend from UCLA!  We would have dinner occassionally with our other mutual friends - Henry, Malcolm and Keith.  But we never really talked b/c we were both kind of shy.  Then, after law school, we started hanging out more and now we're great friends and we'll go on vacations together.  Both Audrey and Anita (along with Henry, Malcolm, Haeli) were in Italy when Russ proposed!  They were the ones who got me to go to the middle of the Spanish Steps.  :)

Anyway, I asked Audrey if she wanted to get dinner and we set up a dinner for Sunday evening.  By this time, I didn't think the 2 of them would figure out what I was up to, but they did!  When I had dinner with Anita on Friday, I told her who else I was planning on asking and she said she wouldn't say anything until I had the chance to ask everyone.

On Saturday, I saw Audrey and Henry at the Gardena Obon Festival and Audrey didn't say anything to me or acted like she suspected anything.  So, I thought, "Oh!  She doesn't suspect a thing!"  We happily ate all sorts of Japanese festival foods and we watched everyone dance.  And then Russ, Christina and I went home b/c we had to head to the Valley for Russ' friend's bday party.

On Sunday, Audrey came over and we drove to Riva for dinner.  When we arrived, we sort of came across an unexpected obstacle!  We see someone there and don't want to interfere with her dinner with someone!  We made an impromptu decision to go to Houston's instead, but we were kind of bummed b/c we both were looking forward to trying Riva!  :(  So, we go to Houston's and talk and again, the thing going through my head is, "when should I give her this cheesy book?"  Thankfully, Audrey needed to use the restroom.  YAY!

Like with Anita, I bust out the book and leave it there for her to see when she gets back.  Audrey comes back, sees the book, flips through it and said, "um, do I have to do the puzzle now?"  I said, "um, no.  Do you want to be my BM?"  haha.  Audrey said yes!  yay!  haha.  Yes, I know, I'm retarded.

Then Audrey confessed how she figured it out and talked to Anita about it before I even had dinner with Anita!  Anita didn't think so, but when I asked her, Anita knew Audrey was right!  AND on Saturday, when we were driving to the Obon Festival, Audrey and Henry called Anita to ask her what happened at our dinner!  Apparently Anita said that she's not at liberty to say.  hahaha.  And all through dinner, Audrey was kind of waiting for me to say something...  Luckily, I wasn't planning on giving a speech, but just handing out a book.  :)  What a hilarous group of friends I have.  :)

After Houston's we go back to Riva for some dessert and head home, but at least Audrey is part of the wedding party now!  :)