Truly, madly, deeply

Kate's wedding was beautiful! It was so awesome to celebrate another one of my closest friends tying the knot....her and Chris were absolutely radiant the entire day, despite the rain. Of course, that would be the one day it would rain, but the photographer was great and got some really artsy shots of us with umbrellas! It was also really fun to get to know the rest of Kate's bridesmaids. The night before the wedding, Kate wanted to have 'girl time', so the six of us all cuddled up on a bed under a blanket and talked for hours, like we all grew up together (even though I had just met some people for the first time that weekend). It was something straight out of "Little Women". Overall, it was a fabulous weekend. David and I took a quick tour of downtown Santa Barbara and had one of the best meals we've had in a long time at Pascucci on Friday, we had a wonderful bridal luncheon and rehearsal dinner on Saturday, and of course, the wedding on Sunday. Pictures of the Kate and Chris Schwass weekend below:

Who would've though we'd all be married within one year of each other?

Some of the bridesmaids

Chillin with Mark and Ash at the rehearsal dinner
Awww, Kate is such a gorgeous bride!

Goin to the chapel

Kate's wedding is only a few days away! She got engaged right before my wedding, and it felt like her engagement was dragging on forever...and then the last two months flew by and she'll become Mrs. Schwass on Sunday--I'm so excited for her!!! David and I decided to make the occassion into a mini-vacation down to Santa Barbara, so we leave tomorrow and will be back on Monday. It'll be good to see Ashley and Mark, Amy, Susan, and of course, the newlyweds! Here's a pic of Kate and I from my bachelorette weekend in Laguna Beach last August (back before I was married and she was even engaged):

Slip slidin away

I went to ADX meeting yesterday, and it was a good time. But it does feel like the group has changed so much in a year, just with new faces and all. It's weird that in just a couple years, there won't be anyone in the group that was part of ADX the same time I was in the group....it will be a whole new era.

So after meeting, Laeya and Laura tried to convince me to participate in the "slip-n-slide" activities in their front yard. So after debating for a minute about whether I should go to the gym like I had planned or if I should ditch the gym for some slip-n-slide fun, I went with the most logical choice. The Walmart slip-n-slide of course!! I don't have the pictures yet, but until i get them, here's what we looked like (sort of, not really at all):

i heart harry

It's here! Two of my favorite things: Harry + broadway showtunes!

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

I first started playing piano when I entered 1st grade. I think that's where my love for music was born---playing "Hot Cross Buns" on a Casio keyboard. Several years later, my piano teachers would suggest that I train to play professionally, but I never wanted piano to become a job or an obligation. I just loved to play. So while several of my friends learned to play difficult classical pieces through the Suzuki method, which emphasizes repetition and memorization, I just played whatever I wanted: classical, new age, jazz, songs from Broadway and movies, etc.
I think just having the freedom to learn and play songs in my own way, instead of following a certain technique, really allowed me to connect with the music.
I stopped going to formal lessons in high school, and I definitely didn't play as much in college, since I was more into playing the guitar. But occasionally, I would get the urge to revisit certain songs, so I would get out the books of sheet music and start playing and realize that piano will always be my first love musically.
Now I'm waxing nostalgic here for a reason--I'm usually not this much of an emotional sap. My parents decided to sell their piano, and like Joni Mitchell sang "you don't know what you got till its gone". I mean, it makes sense, I didn't really come over to play that much and my mom wants their to be more space in the living room where the piano was. But now knowing that I won' t have anywhere to go play, when I do get the urge, is kind of sad. Fortunately, my parents were generous enough to give me the money they made from the piano...unfortunately, I think they under-sold it on Craigslist for $300. However, my parents said they would give me the money if I promised to put it towards a nice digital piano when David and I eventually move in to a house. So until then, maybe I'll just have to sneak into music stores with my sheet music and play a few tunes.

Here's a picture of the piano we had since I was 6: