THIS CUTIE...

(Berkeley visit! )

One of my bests, Miss Susie, got married a couple of weeks ago. She is so darling. Her new husband is a charming dude, and their fluffy little dog-child is adorable. I am so happy for them! ...sigh... They were so smart to have their wedding in such a beautiful place: Estes Park, Colorado. Not only was I reunited with all of my best friends and made super cool new ones, but we got to vacation in the mountains too! We stayed at a sweet and quirky little lodge where we hot tubbed with our buddies the night before the big event, walked along the quaint river walk, got coffee and breakfast at a local shop, and played a heated game of ladder ball with pals Courtney and Scott before heading to the festivities.

(see, we don't mess around...)

The ceremony had the most incredible view of the Rockies. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome. The pup well behaved and fluffy as ever.

(Best of friends for 15 years! We all still talk about once a week--I am sooo lucky :)

(haha...this is after about 15 shots, we were tired of posing)

And seriously, the reception and party were more fun than I have had in a while. We ate a yummy vegetarian dinner, drank some white wine, and listened to the funniest, most heartfelt toast from our dear love Emily (props pulled out of her bra and all).

Then folks, we got some no-joke-party-fuel: five different kinds of AMAZING cake! And then the party began... I'm pretty sure Raf was right when he said that I am a machine that turns wedding cake into dance moves... Seriously, people. I like to cut a rug at a wedding. Sometimes I wish that I was so utterly unselfconscious in other aspects of my life. I get to a wedding, have some wine, eat some dinner, eat some cake, and then forget it! I even taught a couple of new friends how to do the Roger Rabbit. Hahaha...

One of the highlights of the night was when we saw Susie's dad (a totally unassuming, ridiculously huge Lady Gaga fan) go nuts when a Gaga song came on. Too funny. Anyway, it was just a really wonderful, really memorable weekend with my best pals....Way to go Sue and Eric!

(I love this girl...Emily and me! xoxo)

P.S. Did I mention that I got to make the jewelry for all of the bridesmaids AND the bride!! It was so much fun and they turned out lovely!

LUNCH!

Toasted bread from Tartine Bakery in SF (thanks, Maggie!), homemade pesto (which I thankfully had in the freezer), locally grown "Pineapple" heirloom tomatoes (sooo sweet), local fresh mozzarella (Belfiore Cheese Company), and local raspberries--perfect lunch--YUM!

FIGS!

Oh my goodness... Have you ever seen a more beautiful fruit? Sheesh. California, you continue to amaze me. On our way back from Yosemite (which I will blog about very soon) we saw a sign on the side of the road for fresh figs. We seriously hit the jackpot-- finding a sweet farm lined with acres and acres of fig trees-- and it was very worth the detour. This place is called Passion Fruit Farms/ "The Fig Lady" and it is located in Merced, CA. I would definitely, most certainly drive there again for more. They were hands down the sweetest I have ever tasted. I froze some, made Kadota and Black Mission Fig Jam, and ate the rest like a crazy fig addict, straight up. If you have never eaten a fresh fig, then you haven't lived! :)

So pleased.

I think I was smile/shouting..."Aaahhhh....Yes!"

Raf wanted me to make note of the fact that we got all of these for only $5.00. Yep!

So pretty.

Breakfast: 1/2 peanut butter + banana, 1/2 cream cheese + black mission fig... so many yums!