Monday, August 15, 2011

The weekend, briefly

It was a serious weekend of ups and downs. There was a crazy warehouse sale that resulted in us buying all our wedding vases at a serious discount (yay, Craiglist!). There was epic good beer. There were sweet new family babies. There was lots of driving and a minor injury and some unexpected sources of (non wedding related) stress and Sunday evening found me clutching two fistfuls of frosting and sobbing uncontrollably in the kitchen. But that's giving it all away!

decor madness
{decor madness}

planning
{planning - LA craft brew crawl 2011}

DSC_6198
{casey's}

seven grand
{seven grand}

d, brew crawl
{d, brew crawl}

rachel
{rachel, brew crawl}

cole's
{cole's}

fleur de sel birthday cake
{fleur de sel birthday cake}

cake disaster 2011
{cake disaster 2011}

Weekend notes:

:: Every single minute of this weekend ended up being scheduled, and I suddenly realized that we only have three more weekends until the wedding and they are probably all going to be like this and we still have important life things to take care of, not just wedding stuff. Cue a rising tide of low level anxiety.

:: The LA craft brew crawl was this weekend, and even though we knew the timing was terrible, we couldn't bring ourselves to skip it. It was as good as last year. So good. Totally worth the very precious hours we spent there. Don't worry - we bused it there and back.

:: For the first time in 15 years, I didn't have time to make THE CAKE for my mom's birthday. I thought I was okay with this, because I'd purchased the fleur de sel chocolate cake from Vanilla Bakeshop. On Sunday evening, after a whole day of driving all over two counties and hauling 150 vases around and breaking one and cutting myself, I went to slide this perfect cake out of the carry box and started to drop it. I managed to catch it by grabbing it on both sides, leaving me with two hands full of (delicious) frosting. I think I had about a two second delay in reaction time and then I just lost it. I stood there in front of that cake and cried, loudly, for 15 minutes. I'd like to say that it was cathartic and now I'm ready to tackle the next month like a pro, but I'm still tired and stressed. Such is life.

Luckily, the cake was awesome. I included both photos so you can see the miracle that is cropping. People, you know you should always be taking blogs with a grain of salt, right?

31 comments:

  1. Oh I LOVE that Vanilla Bakeshop!!!! I would have cried too so you are not alone. At least all this stress will be over in the next few weeks and you'll be married and on your honeymoon =)

    - Sarah
    http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/

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  2. Rache, you are doing SO. WELL. The cake tears were much needed, and I'm so glad you guys still made it to beer-thyme. Deep breathing. Lots of I Love Yous. You look gorgeous and calm and glowing and Ready to Wed.

    Watch out, world!

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  3. I got married last month and hated that "every second was scheduled" feeling. Now, I'm glad to have my life back :)

    That cake looks delicious and I'm sure your mom enjoyed it!

    --Courtney

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  4. Oh, no worries about the cake. I totally cry at moments like that, too; when everything just becomes too much. It happens. I'm sure the cake was a hit despite it all.

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  5. You look so calm and relaxed in that photo! (Maybe the beers were just what you needed.) I did have to laugh a little at the "two fistfuls of frosting" line.

    Good luck with the next 3 weekends. Hopefully they're not too stressful for you guys.

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  6. but that's the great thing about food - even if it doesn't look perfect it can still taste divine.

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  7. hang in there! i had a similar baked goods related cry right before my wedding. it will all shake out in the end.

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  8. you mean, take blogs with a (delicious) grain of fleur de sel??

    Hang in there, Rachel!

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  9. bite your lip and give 'em hell, rachel.

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  10. ha...you crack me up. yes, cropping does work miracles. :)

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  11. I would have cried, too. Especially if I was handling everything that you are these days. Here's hoping that the stress tide doesn't rise too high over the next three weeks and you find moments of relief in between.

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  12. And this is why I read your blog. The tears were well needed and probably well deserved, from the sounds of it. (Better to get it all out than let it fester and cause mental/emotional paralysis.)

    You're doing better than fine, but I suspect you know that.

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  13. I love that in the mess of stress there was a brew crawl. You look beautiful in that photo, I think a stop for beer was just what you guys needed. And tears were probably needed too. They don't always make everything better, but so good to get them out. Here's to wishing the tide of stress would ebb a bit for you. Just know that you have all of these people out here in internet land (in addition to all those real life people you have close by) that are sending goodness your way.

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  14. But you caught the cake and your hair looks FANtastic. Seriously. Gorg.

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  15. ahh, it was a full weekend, indeed. bummer on the injury--here's to a quick recovery. and that cake...looks awesome.

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  16. holy wow, that cake. I never knew I needed to eat a fleur de sel chocolate cake until right now. glad you saved it, even with the tears and all.

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  17. you are allowed as many melt-downs as you need, especially when loved ones birthdays are three weeks within your wedding date! and the cake looks amazing.

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  18. I bet the cake was delicious even with handprints. Have your honey give you a nice foot rub to ease some of the stress! ;o)

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  19. such a little treasure of a cake.

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  20. That cake looks DELICIOUS even with the big gaping hole in the side haha.

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  21. Haha, not to worry. We ALL have those moments :)

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  22. Darn. I was hoping you'd have a recipe to go with that delicious-looking cake. (Which is silly on my part, I realise, given how close the wedding is.)

    I'm glad you caught the cake, even if it ended up slightly less pretty. And I hope the crying helped alleviate *some* of the stress. It looks like the brew crawl did - you really do look fantastic and calm.

    *sigh* Now all I can think about is fleur de sel chocolate cake. Thanks. ;)

    (Have you decided on the hair going up/half up/down? Hope this week is starting well.)

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  23. I love your posts. Thanks for being real! I would give you a good hug if I could (hope that doesn't sound creepy... since you don't actually know me... um yeah.)

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  24. Two days before our wedding, I had a complete breakdown thanks to my already insane cat going completely bonkers ( in a really scary way ) upon the arrival of our best man/house guest. Cried through the entire night, barely sleeping with a TON of DIY stuff to do the next day. But it all got done, the cat calmed down by the time we were back from the honeymoon.

    In the end, you will be married to the love of your life and that will be all that matters.

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  25. Rachel, you are so pretty.

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  26. I have the same timing issues as I am getting married in two weeks and 4 days!! The nerves and stress are beginning to creep in a bit with all I have left to do. I have baked thousands of cookies for a cookie table and favors and am pretty proud of my accomplishments.... just have so much more to accomplish! Yeah... 2 weeks and 4 days. *Sigh* It's all about perspective, right?
    --Julie

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  27. ah! that cake sounds and looks amazing!!
    xo ~ kristina

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  28. I love this story! Sounds like the cake provided a much-needed release! Found you via your BFF Emily! Congrats and best of luck!

    http://www.inherentstylela.com/

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  29. omgosh that cake is the most adorably delish looking cake! No worries about the mess up, it just goes straight to the tummy! :-)

    www.citygirlknows.blogspot.com

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  30. I did the same thing with a box of cupcakes for my friends bday last weekend ... I wanted to cry. But, they still tasted great! :)

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