Oh, what a night!

On Saturday, Don and I traveled to Asheville to witness the marriage ceremony of my friends Tamara and Rick. It was a perfect day for an outdoor wedding at the Biltmore!

We arrived early and wandered around the gardens for a bit, snapping a few pics here and there and anticipating the exciting evening ahead.

Tamara and Rick chose to have their ceremony in the Butterfly Garden outside of the Conservatory. I cannot imagine a more elegant setting! Wow! Secluded, so beautiful, like being in a dream...

A string quartet provided the music as Tamara and her father made their way down the steps. Her dress looked like a Maggie for those who are familiar with such things. It was beautiful. Tamara made it stunning.

The ceremony itself was simple, intimate, and heartfelt. We could see Rick crying happy tears as he said his vows, so of course the rest of us got choked up in response! And I felt like my own heart was overflowing with happiness for my friend. Tamara and I shared so much together as single women... vacations, problematic co-workers, silly nights out, awkward singles group activities, hours-long deep conversations... and how beautiful to see her now as a glowing bride.

After the ceremony we traveled across the estate to the winery. The reception was held in the Champagne Cellar to which we were escorted behind the velvet ropes. No kidding, I felt like Cinderella the whole night, and I wasn't even the one getting married! The Cellar was, again, like a dream. Small secret room built from old stone, perfect lighting for perfect ambiance, live jazz musicians, 3 tables of 10 for our small group of celebrants.

We helped ourselves to the open bar and tray-passed appetizers, then found our seating. Don and I were assigned to what we all dubbed the "kids table". No children were present, but it was obvious that we were the table of young friends while the other two tables were middle-aged and elderly family members of Tamara and Rick. We had an absolute blast with our tablemates! I was expecting that, though. If Tamara and Rick are smart enough to choose us as friends then their other buddies had to be equally terrific, LOL. And they were!

Conversation and laughter flowed easily, and the night flew by. We even scored an invitation to continue the festivities with some others at this one guy's nearby cabin to spend the night, but declined since we'd already checked into our room in Asheville. We definitely had a blast mingling with the other guests.

Oh, and the FOOD!!!

And here's to the happy couple:

Congratulations, Rick and Tamara! Thank you for inviting us to celebrate with you and to be a part of your day. It was fun, warm, hopeful, and full of love... just like you.

Happy birthday to me!

Celebrated my 29th today. I've always dreaded this one. I remember when my mother turned 29. Our neighbor came over to give her a gift that day. I was five. For some reason, that memory makes me feel really old and... behind. I can't imagine having 2 kids in grade school, like Mom did when she celebrated this day for herself.

In spite of that, it's been a great day! I am blessed with amazing friends and family who never fail to come through and spoil me rotten on May 18. ;) This year I feel like I've had a whole week of festivities, culminating in a party with some friends this afternoon:

Chris

My husband teases me because I google people. A lot. Anyone I'm curious about... friends, coworkers, fellow alumni, whoever, they're all game. I find real life to be so much more interesting than fiction, and the people I know tend to provide much entertainment in that aspect.

Ex-boyfriends? Yeah, I google them too (if I can remember their names, lol). I have no interest in contacting any of them, but I can't help being curious about what they're doing with their lives now. I cared about each of them for a time, and obviously part of me still does.

Probably the most disappointing result was finding one ex's profile on a sex personals ad. NO, I wasn't trolling the sex ads for my own use, but I know the screenname he uses for all of his online dealings, therefore his ad popped up in a google search. What a letdown; I'm actually embarassed for him. He's an extremely good-looking guy who surely wouldn't have that much of a problem finding women.

So the other day, I heard a song on the radio that reminded me of Chris. We met the weekend after September 11, 2001 and hit it off immediately. What I remember most about Chris is that he was just FUN. The two of us together were like a comedy duo, no joke! We were even offered jobs by a total stranger while we were shopping at Wal-Mart... this other customer had seen us several times around the store and we constantly had him cracking up. Chris had a bit of a rebel past including a minor criminal record, and looked the part with myriad tattoos and body piercings (including some in places that made me a bit squeamish). However, when we met he was back in school at UT, kicking butt on their forensics team, and was going to church. There's so much more I could say about him, but rather go overboard with details, I'll just say he's a great guy and leave it at that.

We dated for a few months before I performed my classic Amber move and dumped him, which was the most painful breakup I ever had but something just didn't feel right and it wasn't fair to him to keep it going. The next girl he dated after me turned out to be his future wife.

So, yesterday after hearing that song, I googled him. He is actually a PASTOR now! I practically hit the floor. Found out that he went to seminary in Kentucky starting in 2005, and is currently serving somewhere in our area. I never would've predicted that he would go that path, but after I got over the initial shock I realized that he would be so effective in the ministry.

I feel like I finally have real closure with him. After learning about what he's doing now, I finally feel like everything's okay. He's doing amazing work with his life. His heart's pure and right, and surely in far better condition than my own. I wish I could tell him how proud I am of what he has become.

But I won't. Sometimes things are simply better left unsaid.

Oooohhhh, if I got my hands on that...

I headed up to DC this weekend to spend some time with my dear friend Christine. She has just endured a very bitter breakup, so I threw my bags in the car and hightailed it up there to provide moral support. I didn't know what else to do but go.

That's pretty much all I can say about that. Suffice it to say that it's best there were no men around for the weekend.

Really random notes from the trip:

Christine lives in a very old, quaint rowhouse in Old Town Alexandria. The second-floor bathroom has no ventilation, requiring the window to be cracked whenever anyone uses the shower. As I was pulling the curtain back after my shower, I accidentally knocked over a tower of someone's bath products near the window and things went tumbling everywhere. I was concerned that something went flying out the window. Sure enough, here we were outside at about 1 am, and here's the escapee:

Christine and Rebecca (one of her roommates) both have a wacky sense of humor. I love visiting them because I always fit right in; their place is like a second home for me. This evidence of their quirkiness makes me laugh every time:

Here's the view of their lovely neighborhood taken from their front steps. It's not a great picture and obviously I didn't put much thought into it. It's literally only steps away from all of the lively shopping and cafes on King St.