Wedding Prep

Wedding prep involves a lot of pep. And the Bride-to-Beastie (just kidding!) had us working around the clock to get ready.

Sweat equity

Mr. Happy's answer to everything, "Just needs a lick of paint!"

The fellas hit the links for a leisurely round of golf.

Mr. Happy took these. No idea why they are the size of a postage stamp.

While my sis, mother, and I were in charge of cleaning, cooking, and decorating. Super fair trade off.

The summer cottage looking beau-tulle-full!

Our forelady. Wearing a top handcrafted by yours truly!

First event: The Welcome BBQ!

An Allison sandwich!

We had gale force winds right before the start of the BBQ. We tried to peg everything: shells for the tablecloths, fashioning spikes out of a wind chime for the tent!

One minor setback. Thank goodness we have a knack for marrying into handy families!

Slowly, but surely, the guests blew in!

The London crowd fromYe Olde Cherry Tree reunites!

We fired up the grill!

A little more grilling up a little less gobbling up, gentlemen.

Yum!

The flower girl and ring bearer clean their plates!

They would have traded him in years ago if they knew they'd get all you can eat Italian sausages!

Success! We're off to a windy wedding weekend!

"My wife's a hoot!"



To Another Year!

As we prepare for the Big Wedding, what could serve as a better inspiration than an...Anniversary Party!

Good family friends celebrated their, wait for it, Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary!

The Cape May elite turned out for the party!

We dined on a variety of down home delights.

And a beautiful cake baked by the couple's very own daughter.

It's hard to believe they've been married so long when they don't look a day over 21!

"That piece is too big!"

That's what she said ;)

Congrats to the happy couple. Thanks for being such good friends all these years!

Fish Feast

I've finally arrived in Cape May. Of course there's the business of the wedding in two weeks time, but for the time being all eyes are focused on - Frank's Annual Fish Fest!

I'm thrilled to finally be back in town during the summer so I can enjoy the variety of marine life we'll be tasting. What is Frank's Annual Fish Fest? In a nutshell, it's an absurd amount of food that could feed a village but will be feasted on only among our immediate family.

We shucked clams, peeled shrimp, popped potatoes, and devoured corn.

Huge fillets of salmon were served alongside monkfish - better known as poor man's lobster due to its velvety texture. Try it you may be fooled!

A break was needed to digest and a fierce bocce ball competition got underway.

Finally, hours later, as the moon crested the horizon and the stars twinkled down on us, our final course was served.

Um, who needs to fit into a wedding dress?

Wassup 2-1-2?!

I finally hit the Eastern shore of the U-S-A!

Being back in New York City makes me realize how much I miss New York City! To celebrate my return to the land of the free, my good friend Tiger threw a soiree on his gorgeous roof deck.

His dedicated Auntie, a stalwart shopper and bargainer extraordinaire, did most of the heavy lifting and picked up the party supplies for us!

Malaysian Wine Cocktail (MWC) anyone?

I saw friends I hadn't seen in a blue moon!

And made new friends I wanted to hide in my suitcase and raise as my own!

 Back with the Party People.

Back in New York...

London - Catching Up with Friends

Being in London feels like a return to real life. Suddenly we're surrounded by friends and family. I love living in KL, but it is a little like suspended animation. I'm sure I'll get more of this feeling when I fly on to the US in September.

This trip was busy: weddings, dinners, lunches, drinks - if it was social we did it! In order to actually be in the moment I didn't lug my camera everywhere, but here are some lovely highlights.

Operation Return to London kicked off with a swanky dinner at Soho hotspot Gaultier. Pre-dinner drinks included celebratory champers. Quite a bit, in fact. We polished off one bottle and, when Mr. Happy retired to the men's room, the rest of us decided that was quite enough and ordered a round of cocktails. When the cocktails arrived, so did Mr. Happy - with another bottle of champagne!

Glug, glug

The dinner was magnificent. However, this was the final photo I took as soon after an air conditioning vent in the ceiling opened and unceremoniously dumped water onto my camera!

Next up, it was time to do catch up with friends. It seems like everyone in London planted a seed and now babies are sprouting up everywhere.

Summer in London isn't complete without some drinks on the South Bank.

The Wild Bunch.

Our holiday fell during the Notting Hill Carnival! One of Mr. Happy's favorite London events. Unfortunately, we don't have access to our Notting Hill Flat, which would have been perfect for the inevitable, and frequent, Notting Hill Carnival Pit Stops. 

After a blink-of-an-eye quick relocation to L.A., RTW is BACK IN LONDON!!! She's looking totally glam while I'm...looking like her elementary school librarian.

A lack of forward thinking led us to show up at a restaurant for a group dinner that was closed for August (!?) We ended up at a Mexican joint near the Westway. They served everything on paper plates, and you got a 10% discount if you showed up with your skateboard!

Nice gams, JM!