Bachelorette Party!

I have a problem:

I'm afraid my wedding isn't going to be as much fun as my bachelorette party. 

I guess that's a good problem to have...right?

I had the BEST weekend in Atlantic City with a fantastic group of friends! My weekend began on Friday after work when Kate treated me to martinis and a manicure/pedicure at Dashing Diva! It was great to catch up with her here because we knew we wouldn't get a whole lot of personal catch up time in Atlantic City.

I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning because I was so excited to get going to Atlantic City. Maria, Kerry, and Corinne met up at my place at 10:30. We had planned on eating bagels and hitting the road, but while I was getting ready downstairs....Chris had run out to the store to get some food and had decided to make us breakfast! James (who was there to drop Maria off) and him ended up making us eggs and bacon, it was such a nice treat!

 Then we packed Corinne's car to the brim. Luckily, the guys helped again!

I said goodbye to my man for the weekend...

and we were off!!

We arrived at the Borgata Hotel a little before 3:00pm. We couldn't check in until 4:00 so we left all our stuff (and there was a LOT of stuff) with the bellhop while we went to go eat some lunch.

The whole gang with Mr. Bellhop Man!

After lunch we were able to check into our room so we headed upstairs to the glorious-ness that is the Fiore Suite at the Borgata! This was the view:

We (read: my friends) all got right to work unpacking, organizing, and situating our room so that it was the ultimate bachelorette pad! We had a quick toast to our evening and then I was placed in a chair while I opened some lovely giffties:

Sexy Little Bride

After that, we had a few more hours before we had to get ready for dinner so we played some games, and really just talked, laughed, and took lots of pictures!

Sisters!

I was having so much fun just hanging out in the room, I honestly didn't even want to leave to go to dinner...but you know...eating, blah blah blah.... I think we waited until the last possible minute to start getting ready because we lost track of time! Luckily, I had my own personal makeup artist...Bridesmaid Mandy!

And then Smith curled my hair for me, (after I burned myself on Maria's crazy, awesome curling iron!) We were a little rushed, but we still left the hotel room on time, and all looking fabulous! We ate at Seablue restaurant.

After dinner we headed to the nightclub MIXX where we had VIP bottle service set up for us. This was soooooooo worth it. We had our own sectioned off area, with a guard to make sure that no one entered our area, we overlooked the dance floor, and we never had to leave to go over to the bar.

Our section-guard Erik!

Bottle service!

 The club had an aerialist performing over the dance floor!

 

I really don't have much else to say about the night except that it was a fantastic, amazingly fun night...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

With Bridesmaid Smith!

Mandy and Kate!

Maria and Kerry

Maria, Ben and Mandy

Sisters!

We got back into the room around 4:30am. Some went to bed, some stayed up, I smashed a pinata Mandy had given me earlier (and a tootsie roll hit my sister in the head while she was sleeping), and our only true casualty was Christina, who stubbed her toe so hard it may be broken!! Never a dull moment with us...

The next morning we had about an hour and half to clean up, change, and pack up our stuff before we had to check-out. There are zero pictures of the next day due to the fact we all pretty much were exhausted annnd I was given strict orders NOT to take any pictures. Yea..being friends with me, you know that sometimes I need to be told not to take pictures. I left very sad that the weekend was over, but I am so so so happy and it will be a night that I'll always remember!

Thank you so much to my friends who made me feel so special this weekend!
I still can't believe I've had my bachelorette party!! Next up: WEDDING!

Ashley and Jeff's wedding has arrived!

As our month of weddings draws to an end, tomorrow we are off to Ashley and Jeff's wedding at Glen Foerd Mansion in Philadelphia, PA. After nearly 2 years of planning, Ashley has done a lot of great thing that I can't wait to see. You may remember the D-I-Y wedding crafts and wine night that we held a few weeks ago. Or perhaps her Bridal Shower, and let's not forget her wedding invitations. We are so excited and happy to celebrate with Ashley and Jeff and I can't wait to update you on the wedding next week!!

I'd also like to wish Miss Christina T. a happy Bridal Shower/Bachelorette extravaganza weekend in Atlantic City! I'm sooooo sad I can't be there to celebrate in style with you and the ladies but I will be thinking about you and can't wait to hear all about it next week! One month to go until your wedding!

Atlantic City Bachelorette Weekend Recap!

As you know, this past weekend was my dear friend Christina's bachelorette party in Atlantic City!

I picked up my friend, Abby, in Astoria on Saturday morning literally allotting myself just enough time to get to the pole dancing class in Philly. I tried so hard to leave early so I wouldn't have to rush, but I inevitably always cut things down to the wire, allowing no room for error and honestly, 9 times out of 10...it works out for me. However, this was not one of those times. We hit a TON of traffic in New Jersey and it added about 40 minutes onto our trip, and were late to the pole dancing class! I didn't think it would be a huge deal...I figured we'd go in, learn the steps we missed..badda bing badda boom we're pole dancers! Unfortunately, this was not the case. We get there, learn one move and then the teacher says "Ok..let's do the whole routine". The entire class then proceeds to launch into an entire routine with forward spins, back spins, climbing...you name it, they did it. Abby and I looked at each other like "OMG!! How did we miss all of this in just half an hour??" After that, it was free time to practice the moves.

The Bride shows us her moves!

Christina showed us some moves, and I tried to watch the other girls and pick up on things, but I have to say....POLE DANCING IS HARD!!! I like to think of myself as up for anything, and I usually go into things with a great attitude, but I was sort of discouraged. Also, I couldn't stop watching the teacher do her moves....DAMN could she move! The other girls were pretty good, too..and BRIDE Christina did the whole routine for us and was fantastic! Finally, the teacher said she could also teach us a chair dance, which we were all game for and it was MUCH simpler and fun for weak little me!

Abby, Bride Christina, and me!

The Girls

After the class, we got back in our cars and took the hour drive to Atlantic City. Christina had booked us two really great rooms at Bally's which was right on the boardwalk! We also had a great view from our windows!

Our View

Then we had 2 hours to get ourselves glammed up for our dinner at Carmine's followed by a night of dancing. We had a fun time catching up, getting to know each other, talking, drinking champagne, and getting ready.

Emily and Elizabeth getting all pretty!

Abby and Me..together, we'd make purple!

Then, it was time for Christina to open her gifts! She got some great lingerie and undergarments. 

Kenny calls her Gorgeous!

Then we headed out to dinner at Carmine's where we ordered salads, penne alla vodka, spaghetti bolognese and shrimp fra diavolo. Everything was DE-lish! We really wanted to try that ice bar, called Red Square, that sounded so neat. It was right outside the restaurant, so we walked over there after dinner...let me tell you, Biggest. Rip-off. Ever!!

We went into the place expecting this:

Instead, we got literally a small ice "locker" that probably fit about 2 people at a time. You can wear coats in it, take as many pictures as you want, but it's bottle service only, and the bottles start at $250.00 each!! That 600 foot bar made of ice? It was just a bar, with wood panels that apparently had ice on the top. I was wondering why I couldn't find a SINGLE picture online of this ice-bar! So we promptly left, and took some pictures around the Tropicana before we headed upstairs to a club called Providence.

Emily, Elizabeth, Stephanie and Christina

It was early when we arrived at Providence, so it was pretty empty and we were the only large crowd there. However, it very quickly became way more packed and crowded. Of course, Christina drew attention everywhere she went because a) she's gorgeous, and wearing a pretty yellow dress and b) She was wearing her bachelorette sash!

Too much fun!

I ADORE this picture

Me and the BRIDE!

Providence had these cool screens where you could text a message to them and they'll show up throughout the night. So Abby and I sent a message for Christina:

We then had to go back to our rooms because most of us couldn't walk anymore in our shoes, and desperately wanted to put on flip flops and flats. So, we took cabs back to Bally's and freshened up for a few in our rooms. 

Back at Bally's

All the girls in the elevator. How cool is this??

We then made our way out to the beach bar right outside our hotel. It was a GORGEOUS night out and it was really nice to be outside and along the water.

A lot of us were starting to get tired by this point, and our biggest mistake was actually sitting down, because sleep hit us like a ton of bricks. Some of the girls went to bed and some of us stayed out longer. We hung out for a little bit more, then rounded the night out at good old Johnny Rockets.

Allison, BRIDE Christina, and Amy

Me and my carpool buddy Abby

All she wanted was a hot-dog...she finally got it!

We were finally ready to call it a night, (and a successful one at that), and headed up to our rooms to go to bed. I remember looking at my phone at 4:03am before passing out. We got up at 11:00 the next morning, and the first thing all 4 of us in our room did was wince and howl in pain. We were SO SORE from our class the day before. Actually, Abby and I were probably the least sore out of the whole bunch because we missed so much of the class. We were quite the site for sore eyes...walking around wincing in pain like we were 100 years old. I think a few "I'm getting too old for this" phrases were muttered here and there. Christina had her hair and makeup trial back at home that afternoon, so we got dressed and all went our separate ways. Of course, we hit a ton of traffic heading home again. It was to be expected, and it was totally worth it to be able to celebrate Christina's Bachelorette Weekend with her. 3 weeks and counting!!!

Christina's Bachelorette Party

After a very intense week of splitting my time between my old job and my new job, plus a one-day stint at Jury Duty, I have to say I am MORE than ready to throw back my hair, have a few drinks and celebrate Christina's last "harrah" before her wedding! (You like how I did that there? "harrah"?) Yep, I'm off to A.C. (again!) for Christina's Bachelorette Party! Christina knows all the details of this weekend, so I can write about our plans without ruining any surprises this time around!

Saturday afternoon, her bridesmaids, plus other girlfriends (me!), will be meeting up in Philly for a good old fashioned pole-dancing lesson!  This will probably be mortifying and embarassing and I can't wait! I gotta work on my upper body strength! I'm hoping to perfect this move before the day is through:

Just kidding....sort of....I mean, I wouldn't want to show everyone else up or anything. Anyway....moving on...

After the 2 hour class, we are loading into cars and driving over to A.C. where we will be spending the night at Bally's. Christina got us an awesome deal on the hotel rates because she worked in A.C. for the past 2 years.

Once we settle into our rooms, we'll hang out, give Christina her gifts, get ourselves glammed up for the night out on the town, and probably do a little pre-gaming and toasting. We have an 8:30 dinner reservations at Carmines and after that, your guess is as good as mine! I know there was talk of possibly going over to the vodka ice bar at the Tropicana Hotel. It's 30 degrees below zero and they have a 60 foot bar made out of ice. I've always wanted to go to one of these bars, so I think it would be very cool to try and go to that! Whatever we do, it will be a good time and I'm so excited to get away and celebrate with some really fun girls, and most importantly, to make sure Christina has an awesome time.

I should also mention that Ashley's bachelorette party happens to be this weekend, too. :( Unfortunately, I will not be there to celebrate with her as well. I know the plans, (though she doesn't) and she's going to have a pretty fantastic weekend. Have a great time Ashley, and I can't wait to hear all about it on Monday!!

I was really, really, REALLY hoping that I would have our engagement pictures back by today to show you, but I'm still waiting, ever so patiently, to get the files. I HOPE I have them to show you guys by early next week. Fingers crossed!