I love beets!: Maryn Mania

Is there any better way to spend a weekend?

Maryn Mania + Lakers win

I think not. You just try to think of something better.

I won't hold my breath.

For those of you that don't know Maryn, she is the other non-dude member in the Fab 5. She's sheer hilarity and effervescence, and school would just not be the same without her. And she bakes! Yay!

And this weekend we celebrated her upcoming wedding in August. Master-planned by Maryn's sister Ashlyn, the weekend went something like this:

Saturday, 12pm. Lunch at The Raymond, which is an absolutely adorable place in Pasadena. Half-restaurant, half-English cottage, this place also featured some pretty tasty eats.

So tasty in fact, that I forgot to take pictures until dessert. Oops! I had a yummy salad, vegetable ravioli in this awesome tomato-y cream sauce and these precious bruschetta rounds. But what we have here is a super yummy apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Yummy!

Saturday, 3pm. Mani/Pedi at The Dashing Diva. I almost never get manicures, due to the copious amount of baking/dish washing I encounter. Sorry no pic. Hands were pre-occupied.

Saturday, 4:30ish. Lingerie Party at Maryn's. Ok. Now, for those of you that know Maryn, she's a pretty classy sort of girl. Going forward, we shall cover the umm...not-so-classy-but-very-funny portion of the party.

Oh! Candy! Heyyy...is that a....ohhh... Yeah, that was kinda my thought process when I saw this little candy display. Everyone had to have some sort of this paraphanalia. I had a necklace. At least it was edible, too.

And now...what's a party without balloons?

And presents...

And! An amazingly delicious cheese platter!

Brie and Humboldt Fog goat cheese??? Words cannot describe. What's that? You've never heard/sampled Humboldt Fog goat cheese? Enjoy.

Saturday, around dinner time. Saladang Song. Famed Thai restaurant in Pasadena. Even though I was a few drinks (ok..more than a few drinks) deep, I managed to reprise my role as food paparazzi.

Veggie rolls.

Grilled pork with rice noodles.

And much more.

Saturday, after dinner-ish time. Off to Magnolia, a cute little lounge with really amazing and creamy mac and cheese. Topped with toasted breadcrumbs. As with most bachelorette parties, Maryn was given a series of tasks to complete. But perhaps almost as fun as actual task completion, was finding guys to do these crazy things. I tried my best to help, but seeing as how it is the NBA Finals, and I am a Lakers fan, I inevitably got caught up in some trash talk. Sigh. In my defense, these guys were sort of d-bags, and not sports fans at all. Didn't even have a team. The worst kind.

I gotta say, I did sort of school them in some basketball trivia...if you even want to call it that. I mean, they were from Portland...and they didn't know what idiot...I mean player calls himself the "yellow mamba". Please. Pathetic. They even had the nerve to say that the Lakers ruined the Blazers chances at the WCF. They didn't even play the Blazers! That was the Rockets! Sigh.

Saturday/Sunday. Time unknown. Back to Maryn's. Sleep in preparation for Sunday brunch.

Sunday, 10am. Brunch at La Grande Orange. Just steps outside of Maryn's apartment. I have major LGO envy. Lemon ricotta pancakes are the thing to have, but I was in need of something savory.