California

We finally set a date! August 8, 2009 is only 389 days away and I will be Collette Griffin. My mom, her best friend, Mary, and I took a 2 day getaway to Monterey and Carmel Valley. Just a little girls weekend away that was so much fun! Although the trip started off on a sour note, with two and a half hour delayed flights, it was very worth every minute I waited in the airport. We did some wine tasting, lunched at a quaint cafe, spent five and a half hours at the wedding venue, had an excellent dinner on the Pacific Ocean and most importantly enjoyed each other's company. I vote for a girls weekend every year!

Here is a picture of the smoke from one of the Californian wildfires rising above the clouds as visible from the airplane!


The venue! The gazebo in the right corner will be where the ceremony takes place with a dinner and reception poolside.


Just us girls!


Mom and Mary with Monterey's Cannery Row in the background. This picture was actually taken in the dark, so my apologies for the clarity.


I love wildlife in the wild. Notice there are two starfish the orange one and a purple one.


I wanted to take that sea lion home because he was so darling.



One last item that is not related to the trip to California, I had ordered two of the dresses that were pictured below and they were horrible. Neither had cap sleeves or any other sleeves of any kind. One did not have the pleats on the upper half of the dress as clearly pictured below. So I am back to searching. If anyone happens to come across a dress similar to the one's posted below, please let me know. Here is the only thing I have found recently and would love some opinions!