We also enjoyed this lovely proseco cocktail from Martha Stewart Living. It tastes like a variation of White Sangria. Here’s how to make it.

1 peach, diced

1/2 lb. strawberries, diced

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup of vodka

bunch of basil, chopped up

1 bottle of Proseco, Italian sparkling wine

In the bottom of a pitcher add all the ingredients except the Proseco. With a wooden spoon, mash up the fruit well and leave it in the fridge to marinate. When you’re ready to serve it, add the bottle of Proseco and mix well.

Also on the menu…

Shrimp Cocktail

Salad with carrots, dried cherries, bleu cheese, balsamic vinagrette (Tara made it. I think it had nuts too.)

Filet Mignon with Bernaise sauce

Brussel Sprouts with Pine Nuts

Baked Potatoes

Cupcakes from Lulu in Scarsdale. (Very nice!)

Afterwards, some of the ladies from the class took me out to lunch. They also gave me Good Night, California (a new regional version of Good Night, Moon for future “Samplers.”) I totally lost it. I don’t even know why–the tears were flowing. The gesture was so sweet. I will truly miss Jill’s class and those ladies.

If you’re ever in LA and looking for a great jazz class, be sure to take Jill’s class. Her Luigi-style jazz class is a great workout, a great workout to say the least. She’s a phenomenal teacher. I credit her with teaching me that I can do this for the rest of my life as long as I take care of my body. Some teachers don’t push self-preservation and feeling how your body is different each day. A little twinge in your lower back should be attended to, not ignored. If you ignore it long enough, that little twinge becomes severe pain and all of sudden you can’t wear high heels anymore or sit in certain desk chairs for long periods of time. I think I’m over the whole self-inflicted punishment makes you better. I got a bad right ankle from that attitude.

Priscilla of Boston

I was asked to be in my friend Tara’s wedding yesterday. I’m honored to be a part of her and Jay’s big day next fall. Furthermore, when asked about plans for dresses, Tara replied that she thinks she wants everyone to wear black. Ahh, bridesmaids everywhere would be grateful. Black–simple, elegant, and reusable. I think her choice will look very nice–black gowns and tuxes offsetting what is sure to be a gorgeous white wedding gown. I can’t wait to see what she chooses.

Cute Cowgirl: This is not to say that in past weddings I’ve been forced to wear anything I didn’t like. As a kid, I was in two bridal parties: my Uncle D’s and my Aunt Lisa’s. For Uncle D’s wedding, I wore a lacey shirt with a prairie skirt and cowboy boots. Oh yeah, it was a cowboy-themed wedding. I know that sounds suspicious but the pictures are fantastic. Everyone in hats, boots, belt buckles. Very cool. As a little kid too, I was psyched to wear cowgirl boots. And I got to wear a pretty ring of baby roses in my hair.

Wonder Years: Then I was in my Aunt Lisa’s wedding. Ah, the awkward tween years. Sixth-grader angst. The need to be cool. I was promoted to “Junior Bridesmaid” for this one, a term created for all the tweens in bridal parties to sell more dresses. I wore a plum-colored dress for this one. Looking back, the dress was beautiful. But I’d be lying if I said I liked it at the time. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the dress. I just really wanted to wear what the bridesmaids were wearing. And I wanted to wear my hair like theirs–big curly updoos and French twists. And I wanted to wear make-up like them. Awesome early 90s eyeliner and dark lipstick. They had fake nails with French manicures too.

Big Wedding Party = Big Ball Gown: As an adult, I’ve been lucky to take part in two weddings. My friend Laura got married in August five years ago. She chose ball gowns with white corseted tops and canary-colored skirts. They were bright yet simple and combined nicely with her white gown. She has a large family and thus she had a large bridal party. I think if all the gowns were just yellow, they might have drowned out her dress. And who doesn’t like wearing a ball gown.

Great Minds Think Alike: Most recently, I was in my friend Kim’s wedding. She got married in October two years ago (I believe this Oct. will be her third anniversary). She picked celadon, a sage color, for her bridesmaids. The dresses were strapless with a gather at the side of the waist. Very flattering. Beautiful color. Even better were the mango-colored calla lillies in our bouquets. It was a nice contrast for the gowns. Incidentally, I picked the same color for my sister to wear as the maid of honor at my wedding. Great minds think alike.

Here’s what I had:

Ahi Tuna Tartare placed in a neat little ball over a piece of lox and garnished with cucumbers and diced tomatoes and lemon. It came with a few toasts to eat the tuna although I could eat tuna tartare straight.

Chicken Breast with sugar snap pea puree, white corn, and haricot verts. And it had these great mushrooms–they looked like oyster mushrooms but they were darker.

A peach doughnut (a piece of fried dough with a yummy peach inside) with a scoop of ice cream.

And later… A nap.

Welcome home Colleen!

I finished my last Kylie chapter last night. Incidentally, it’s also the last chapter of the book. It came out better than I expected for a first draft. My sister is reading it and so is Laura. They both give pretty objective feedback. If they don’t like it, I’ll know. But I think they will. There were a few parts last night that I was really happy with how things sounded. A few sentences that made me think, “Where did that come from?”I

Now I have to write an epilogue (so fancy right?). That will be from Ben’s perspective. Since he’s my strongest, most accessible narrator, I think it’s best to leave with him. Plus he’s funny. So readers will get the dramatic / romantic Kylie ending and the lighter Ben ending.

The pug is happy that it’s done!