Deb's Bridal Weekend Extravaganza, or O, Canada!

Getting ready to hit the spa: bridesmaid Giselle who flew in from Canada (Deb's cousin); bridesmaid Rolyn also from Canada (childhood friend); Laurie from LA (dear friend and Rolyn's cousin); Deb (bride-to-be); Lara from Sacramento (friend and cousin of fiance George. Or was it George's cousin Darvin?), friend Grace from Detroit (fiance George's cousin), maid-of-honor Jeni from LA (not related to anyone else in this picture), matron-of-honor Moi (also not related to anyone else), bridesmaid Cat from Canada (fiance George's cousin Darvin's cousin - right?), and bridesmaid Lisa from San Francisco with baby Calina (George's cousin Darvin's wife). Whew!My best friend Deb is getting married. Her wedding is in mid-August, but we decided to have her bachelorette party and bridal shower in June. That may seem a bit premature, but let me explain: Deb's closest childhood friend Rolyn won't be able to make it to the wedding because she's pregnant and her due date is in mid-August, so since Deb desperately wanted Rolyn to be a part of some of her pre-wedding soirees, she planned to her bachelorette party and bridal shower during the last week when Rolyn - who lives in Calgary, BC - would be able to safely travel by air, and that turned out to be the first weekend in June. Comprende?

On Saturday morning, ten of us (six bridesmaids, three friends, and one bride-to-be) piled into our cars are drove to the Glen Ivy Spa and Resort in Corona. We had each signed up for different treatments throughout the day, but first we enjoyed one treatment together: "Club Mud."
.


The way Club Mud works is that you slather red clay all over every inch of exposed flesh, go into a steam room a bunch of other muddy peeps until the mud dries to a crust, and then scrub your muddy shell off under a warm shower - a warm public shower. I have to say that I did not enjoy Club Mud. Not to get too graphic, but it just felt like I was taking a bath in feces - feces that was working its way into parts of my anatomy that I wouldn't easily be able to scrub clean in a public place without risk of being arrested for indecency. The pedicure I got later was heavenly, though. It was so heavenly that I actually fell asleep! When I awoke, I felt conflicted: the Cheap Asian in me felt like I had just wasted X amount of dollars snoozing through an expensive pedicure, while the exhausted mommy in me was grateful for the twenty minutes of shut-eye!

After a languid day at the spa, we drove home to get gussied up for a girl's night out. We headed to the Standard Hotel in downtown LA where we had dinner and then went to the rooftop club. Check us out - we clean up nice, huh? Deb, especially, was ravishing. But then again, the girl is always ravishing. Even when she answers her door sporting sweats, unwashed hair, and no makeup, she looks like a hot reality show star, albeit one with brains.

Sunday was Deb's bridal shower, which co-MOH Jeni graciously hosted in her apartment complex's event room. We played several games and gave away prizes which followed one central theme: "WWDW?" ("What Would Debbie Wear?") Some of the WWDW?-themed prizes were a sexy cowboy hat, a headband with pigtails on it, and slingback socks. Bet you didn't even know those existed!



On Monday, I met up with Deb and the lovely ladies who were still in town. We enjoyed lunch in Playa Vista followed by shopping in Manhattan Beach. All in all, it was a great way to wrap up the busy weekend. And you know what? Even though Deb is my closest friend in the universe, I still managed to learn a few new things about her. For one thing, she doesn't like sweet potato fries. For another thing, she has some amazing, amazing girlfriends. And finally, I learned that Deb still manages to look awesome even when covered in feces - I mean, mud.