Breaking Bad Party.

Since Eric loves the AMC series Breaking Bad, we decided to have a party and serve a themed menu in honor of the finale episode.

Note: Any time we have anyone over who doesn't actually live in this house, we consider it a party.

Now, I'm not really into this show because I've never actually seen more than five minutes of an episode because the one part that I saw involved Tuco beating the living shit out of that one other dude in the desert and I instantly burst into tears because I felt sorry for the poor dead guy and ran out of the room, screaming "I HATE THIS SHOW!!!!!!" So, as you can tell, I was really into the final outcome.

Staying true to BB, we served the following foods:

• Table-side guacamole
• Fried chicken
• Green beans
• Mac N Cheese

Now, you die-hard fans may be seeing "Wtf, there was no mac n cheese in BB," to which I say so what, it's good.

This was the first time Eric and I had ever made fried chicken and while we were nervous, we decided to play it cool by only spending the past 48 straight hours preparing for it.

We followed this recipe from bon appetit magazine and were VERY happy with the results: flavorful, moist chicken with a mildly seasoned, deep-fried coating straight from the crunch gods. For reals, that ish was good.

Here's how it went down:

Mise en place

Step one

Step two

Step three

Step four

Appetizer 

Green beans (coincidentally from Albertson's, but not really)

Walter White Mac N Cheese

The blue rock candy I mean CrYsTaL MeTh

Acting professional

Biscuit before she tried drugs

Biscuit after dog meth

BB Party

If you like fried chicken, I strongly suggest you try the recipe above. Although it took some time, it was pretty straight forward and definitely worth it. Regardless of which recipe you use, just make sure to cover all of your cooking surfaces with paper towels, otherwise they'll end up greasy like my chin after a long day at work.

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I Fell Off the Planet for a Bit, But I'm Back.

This post will be short and sweet (unlike my next post, which will be rife with photos and details of wedded bliss), but I wanted to share with you some exciting news...

This happened!

I KNOW! I STILL CAN'T CONTAIN MYSELF!!!

I will be sure to blog endlessly about it once I get around to narrowing down my photo selections. For now, just know that married life is good.  :)

(For those of you who already knew about this via my Facebook page, apologies: it's not exactly news anymore. But as you can tell, I'M STILL EXCITED!!!)

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Googly Eyes From High School Kids.

Last Friday, as traffic was crawling along, I kept ending up next to a car full of high school dudes (shout-out to King's County Unified). They tried their best to get my attention EVERY time we passed each other. Finally, I decided to pull out my video camera to shame them.

And also because they remind me of myself when I was the star of both the yearbook class AND the French club. :::humblebrag:::

I think the balloon-out-the-window-while-giving-an-air-kiss combo means we're now going steady.

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Wedding Planning: It Drains the Brain

Do you remember when you were in school and it came down to the night before a big paper was due and were you just barely cracking a book, trying to squeeze a little bit of brain juice out, but all you were getting was some dust and a few tumbleweeds?

Me too.

There have been a million things going on every day and trying to recount the tales is proving to be too much for this tumbleweed.

To give you an idea, I'm getting married soon. Very soon. There have been lots of appointments, and errands, and phone calls, and emails, and lists, and photo shoots (my life is so hard). Some of them more notable than others.

• I bought a cute fabric accessory to go with my wedding dress (which I can't describe because Eric sometimes reads my blog) and tried to give it a slightly aged effect by tinting it with tea. It turned out brown.

• I had some alterations done to my dress and they turned out crazy. So one night, when I was home alone, I started "fixing" things myself. 

Fixed it.

• I bought my wedding shoes because they were A) designer, and B) super cheap. They may, or may not, have been such a steal because they're two slightly different shades of the same color. Whatever. I CAN'T PASS UP A GOOD DEAL, OKAY.

• I had a hair trial that ended up looking like My Little Pony took a cotton candy turd on my head.

• I had a makeup trial that looked like Jocelyn Wildenstein, Angelyne, and Hellen Keller got together and had a fight on my face.

And despite all of these trials (and errors) I'm totally not even losing my mind. Instead, I'm just super fucking stoked to be marrying my best friend. I don't care how the day's events pan out, even if I look like a tornado of over-priced insanity, I can't wait to walk down that aisle.

MRS BLOGGER-MARRIED-LADY, HERE I COME!!!

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Been Practicing My Dance Moves for the Wedding.

This star was born to shine.

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Palm Springs: The Bachelorette Party

This past weekend was my bachelorette party!

We laid low in the desert and mostly vegged out by the pool.

And I'm sure you'll all be surprised to hear me say, I LOVED IT AND WANT TO DO IT EVERY WEEKEND.

Five of us girls piled into a minivan (hells yeah.) and road tripped it to Palm Springs.

Obviously we packed light.

Little known fact: Palm Springs is in the desert.

We stayed at The Palm Springs Riviera and I can honestly say that it was the perfect hotel for our trip. The decor was a little bit of 1960's modern, with a touch of modern day glamour, and a ton of Liberace gaudiness. Our hotel seemed like the happening spot to be, as we saw lots of guests who looked like they were there to party.

Hotel lobby

Our rooms

Paaaaarty time. Exxxxcellent.

4:00 pm on a Friday, hanging out at the "family" pool

The pool bars at the hotel had an impressive selection of cocktails. Seriously, they were GREAT. I probably tasted about 5-6 different drinks and they were all light and fruity and tasted nothing like alcohol. Just the way I like to get tanked.

This was the Linda Lee

I miss this already...

Friday night, we had dinner at Trio- "...where Palm Springs eats and drinks." 

I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. From the decor (1960's pop culture with some Andy Warhol-esque flair), to the service (our server was Daniel and he did a fabulous job at accommodating our large group, taking photos for us, and interacting with us like we were long lost friends), to the food (not one complaint in the bunch). If you're in Palm Springs, don't even bother with any of those other flash-in-the-pan restaurants. TRUST ME.

This was either the Palm Springs Punch or the Wil Stiles

We've watched enough of RuPaul's Drag Race to know how to work a room

Good

Better

After dinner, we ended up at some low-budge bar/club/alternate universe called Zelda's. It was located in a strip mall and I remember someone in the van saying "Just drive over his barf and park the car" while we were pulling into the parking lot. 

Our arrival couldn't have been planned any more perfectly because as we walked in, they were starting "The Men of the Hollywood Strip" show. It was a super cheezy show and involved songs like Will Smith's Men in Black. The dancers weren't really my cup of creatine, but I gotta hand it to them, they have a full-on workout with those routines. Also, the women in that place were getting all kinds of X-rated, you'd think they just got released from a life sentence in solitary confinement. Filthy animals.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel... (I love these chairs)

Saturday morning, we all met up at the hotel restaurant. Breakfast buffet - French toast, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, a yogurt parfait station, and coffee/ OJ - for only $15.

Bacon

Watching footage of the "stripper"

Just about all of Saturday's day time hours were spent poolside with cocktails

MmMmMmMmmm...

For dinner, we went to Kaiser Grille. They have good outdoor seating, with overhead misters, that can accommodate larger groups. The drink menu was solid with a wide variety of cocktails to choose from. The downside: my food was cold and pretty lackluster, and there's an awful sulfur smell that hovers over the entire patio area.

 Good

Better

After dinner, we walked around the downtown area. There was a hat shop that we spent way too much time in and bought absolutely nothing. 

"What did you do for your bachelorette party???"

"We tried on hats."

Sunday morning was check-out (sad...) and we all went out for one last group meal: Breakfast at Lulu's. 

The decor inside of Lulu's was very cool and relaxing- lots of white and plexiglass. The place was fairly packed with patrons, so we saw that as a good sign of things to come. Unfortunately, my food was less than impressive and I don't think I would recommend this place. I got the 3-course Sunday brunch: mixed greens salad, cobb scramble, and strawberry crepe. Everything in my meal was bland and it seemed like they focused more on the presentation, than the flavor or quality. Maybe we just went on a bad day...

And that's pretty much where our vacation ended. 

I had a great time with my friends and I'm glad that each one of them was able to make it. 

Also...

Palm Springs, I'll miss you.

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Wedding Venue: Poinsettia Pavilion

Poinsettia Pavilion is located in beautiful Ventura, California. Despite having lived so close to it, I never had much of an interest in checking this place out. Mostly because I thought it was a "typical" wedding hall venue that probably looked like every other banquet room.

It wasn't until I saw it person that I really began to appreciate all that this venue had to offer. Which came in the form of a lobby right out of Mad Men.

And by that, I mean I'm pretty sure all of the decor is original to this 1954 building.

So if you love kitschy, vintage styles from that era, like I do, this place will be right up your alley.


Disclaimer: I didn't take the best photos. In fact, looking back, I'm wondering why the hell didn't I get a shot of the exterior of the building. Your guess is as good as mine.

Brady-Bunch-esque mod poles flank both of the front doors

Lobby

The Pavilion offers two reception halls to choose from (actually, there are three, but the third one seems more like a meeting room). The Santa Paula Room accommodates up to 70 people, and the Ventura Room accommodates up to 250.

Entrance to the Ventura Room (kitchen is on the far side)

-Parquet flooring throughout

-PA system

-Wireless internet

-Piano available

-Plenty of private parking

-Event must end at midnight

All dining arrangements must be made through Scofield Catering.

Worth Noting: When I visited the pavilion earlier this year, I was told that they were in the process of updating all of the drapery. The curtains shown in these photos were going to be replaced with a more neutral colored set.

The Poinsettia Pavilion is situated on a hilltop and offers a pretty great view that even rivals the one at The Cross (minus the treacherous drive).

The Channel Islands

Rental fee includes the following:

-6 hours, including set up and clean up
-Setup of all tables and chairs
-Use of microphone

Additional fees include:
-Decorations offered by venue
-Linens
-Security (required if alcohol is served)
-Security deposit

Santa Paula Room (not shown): $900
Ventura Room: $1,800

For more information, contact Carol at (805) 648-1143

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