Wedding weekend

Hey you guys,

I finally feel somewhat human again, so let me tell you about the wonderful weekend I've had.
On friday we all got up early to get ready for Asbury Park. We had to pack LOTS of stuff for  the wedding and I was actually surprised that it all fit in the car. Around noon it was time to go. Before we arrived at the Berkeley Hotel we had to stop at John's favorite sub shop called Bruno's .

view from the car

outside at Bruno's

more caesar salad

Bruno's might not look like much from the inside, but OH MY GOD is the food delicious. The caesar salad tasted just as great as the one from the Cheesecake Factory. And since it's a sub shop I had to get a sandwich as well. I got the Prosciutto Di Parma with Ham, Fresh Mozzarella, Romaine Lettuce, Roasted Peppers and Balsamic Vinegar. It was so freaking yummy. I'm drooling just looking at it.

After we filled our bellies it was time to drive to the hotel. We saw that John's mom had already arrived. She brought her dog and the poor thing really didn't like what was going on.
We checked in and went up to our rooms. I wanted to give the soon to be married couple a little privacy cause I can't even imagine how stressfull all of this must be. My room was right below them and looked pretty much the same. There wasn't really anything special about it except for maybe the view.


The windows had these net thingies so if the pictures look a little trippy you now know why.
I unpacked my things and watched a little TV. Unfortunately there was no free WIFI at that place (which really sucked balls) and my phoneplan ended. And you know what that meant, my phone was basically useless, no internet, no phonecalls, no texts.
I watched "friends" and took a unexpected nap. I mean there wasn't really anything else to do. When I woke up I decided to go up to Nicole's room and check the schedule for the night. It was the day of the rehearsal. Since I've never been in a wedding I was excited for that, cause I really didn't wanna fuck up anything.
I freshened up and met everyone in the lobby. The rehearsal was hilarious. The bridespeople (me included) did everything wrong. Honestly I was just doing what the people in front of me were doing. Monkey see, monkey do. But people then quickly explained to me what to do exactly. It's quite a lot to remember but once you did it, it's not that hard. After the rehearsal we all went to dinner at McLoone's.


It was a nice looking place. Pretty much everyone was starving and couldn't wait for the food. I ordered the pasta with spinach and muchrooms. The first course was a salad as you can see and for dessert there were mini pastries. To be completely honest: the food wasn't my favorite. I'm a big fan of sauce and gravy and none of the food had either one of them. The salad and the pasta had a little bit of oil but that was basically it. It just was too dry for me. I even tried the steak even though it was all pink inside. It wasn't my thing. BUT, the pastries were absolutely amazing. I don't think there is any country that has better desserts than the States. Of course only if you like a rich flavor and sugar, which I definitely do. I think we all had fun night even though the band was absolutley terrible. We made fun of them almost all night. We all talked for a bit after eating and then basically just went to our rooms. Everyone seemed really sleepy.
I shared my room with Nicole's sister April. She insisted of sleeping on the couch, so I took the bed. I was watching TV and passed out.
On saturday most people had to get up early cause getting hair and makeup done would take a while.
I went down to the Bridal suite around 10am. There was champagne, bagels and orange juice. Soon after "breakfast" the hair dresser and the makeup artist arrived. I decided to do my makeup myself since I know how to do it, but I definitely needed help with the hair. The girl who did mine was amazing. I don't know how she did it but she actually managed to create this (pictures provided by Sarah):


I told her that my hair doesn't curl easy so she used tons of hairspray. At that point I was already scared of the part where I have to brush and wash my hair. But it's totally worth the trouble cause it looked amazing. After we got all beautified it was time for photos. We got to see the entire process of pretty much everyone being photographed and I'm so excited to see the photos when they're done.
But let me show you some pictures I took.

Cathy & Tom

Dani, Cathy, Sarah and Meg

Me & Carol (Nicole's step mom)

Don't we all look pretty? I enjoyed seeing everyone all dressed up with their hair and makeup done. Also the guys looked amazing. Unfortunately I don't have a picture, but they looked very handsome in their suits.
Obviously the most gorgeous person was the bride. Oh my God did she look beautiful.

Her dress is by Vera Weng and looked so pretty. I couldn't even look at Nicoe for too long cause I always started to cry because she was so beautiful. Pretty much everything about that wedding was so overwhelmingy gorgeous. The couple, groom's men and bride's maids were asked to go outside to take pictures. We took them by the beach on some rocks we the ocean right behind us. Can't wait to see the pictures. I was freezing my ass off. It was fine in the sun. But the wind was pretty strong and the shade felt like winter all over. I was glad when everyone got to go back to the hotel except for the bride and groom. I felt bad for them cause they had to take more pictures in the shade. But I feel like they didn't even notice the cold, they looked so happy.
Back at the hotel the wedding people got to realx for a little bit until it was time for the big entrance.
I was so nervous and scared to fuck up and ruin the entire thing. But I made it without falling or any other major incidents. Then it was time for the bride and groom to enter. The music started playing and the door opened. When I saw Nicole with her dad walking down the aisle I couldn't help myself but cry. It was just so beautiful. I had trouble containing my emotions. It was so friggin hard not to burst into tears. The entire ceremony was kind of a blur just because I was just focussing on not to cry xD
Luckily for me the ceremony wasn't too long and we got to go back to the bridal suite. Food was served while all the other people were seated in the other room. We had some time to chill and drink lots of champaign. No cups or glasses, straight out of the bottle. After ca. 20 minutes we had to line up again for another more party like entrance at the other room. I didn't know that was happening, we didn't rehears and I got all nervous again. The DJ introduced every pair and then it was time to go out with as much energy as you can offer. My partner was Scott and we just improvised the whole thing, at the end he spinned me around and I really didn't expect that. I really hope someone recorded it cause our entrance was definitely the best (bride and groom excluded). When the married couple came in I started crying again and the two slowdancing really did it for me. Luckily all of my makeup was waterproof, otherwise it would have been a mess after that.
Shortly after that food was served. The first course was caesar salad, which was good but nothing special. The main course was various things from the buffet. By the time you got back to the table the food was cold, unfortunately. I really HATE eating cold food that's supposed to be served hot. In addition to that it wasn't really special either. There was some chicken filled with spinach which was pretty good but the rest was just mediocre. BUT there was a bar and there was danicing. and oh boy did we dance. I really enjoyed myself and so did everyone else (I think).
A while later it was time for the two to cut the cake. Both of them decided to feed each other the normal way, no cake in the face. More dancing and cake eating. More drinks and more dancing. What a magical night it was. For some reason the wedding party ended around 11pm, which I found to be way too early. Everyone was trying to find something fun to do but it felt like most of the people went to their rooms.
I was with Paul, Christa, Joe and his girlfriend. I wanted to spend the night at their room which was the original plan anyways. Aprils room just filled up a little bit with people that are a little to "young and rebellious" for me. And since Joe and his gf decided to not spend the night I even had a bed to myself. Christa had to go to bed at that point cause she had work in the morning and needed to get up at 4am. So Paul and me were looking for stuff to do. We found Nicole's dad in the hotel bar downstairs and decided to just stick around for a bit. Nicole and John joined us too and then it was a party. We stayed at the bar til it closed, which was around 2am. Paul also needed to get up at 4am to drive Christa. At that point it just didn't make sense for him to go to bed. Also we had just ordered burgers. They told us it would take an hour for the food to arrive. It actually took them 2 hours. The food arrived at exactly 4am. Paul took a nap while everyone was waiting anxiously for the burgers.
To make the wait a little more bearable Nicole and I decided to take our hair apart cause all these bobby pins started to hurt. It took way longer than expected to ruin our hairstyles and you won't believe the amount of bobby pins I had in my hair. I actually took a picture of it.

Isn't that just crazy? All that shit was in my hair and for most of the night I didn't even feel anything.
When we were done eating our delicious burgers and fries we went up to our rooms.
Since it was already after 4am Christa was getting up. I decided to just sit a little in the room til the spinning went down. After Paul, Christa and her friend left around 5am, I actually had the room to myself. YAY.
For some reason it took me a while to fall asleep cause my heart was beating like crazy. No idea why. I think I finally passed out around 6 am and got up at 9am.

Sunday: I actually felt fine considering I drank the night before and only had 3 hours of sleep. I took a shower and gathered my things. The only thing that really bothered me was the dehydration. My skin felt like it's gonna fall off and my eyes were burning. But other than that I was ok.
Nicole told me the night before that we would have brunch before leaving Asbury Park. As I mentioned before I didn't have a working phone and I was alone in that room. So I had to get information the old school way. To actually step out and talk to people. I still had the key to my old room so I went to April to see what the deal was. They were already getting ready to leave around 10, checkout wasn't til 11. But they were going to a different brunch, so I had nothing to worry about.
After packing all my shit  I went to Nicoles room and just stayed with them til it was time to go.
People were already waiting in the lobby eager to leave and eat. I put my things into Jerrys car, since he lives in Nicole's basement and was able to give me a ride.
We went to brunch at Porta. I couple blogposts ago I mentioned that place and how yummy the food was. We were all hanging at the outside section. What happened then could only be described as hilarious.


I don't know how the servers got their jobs but they were terrible. Our group occupied three tables and we only had one waitress for all of them. Obviously her job isn't the easiest but she was just unacceptable. Even getting our drinks took more than half an hour, the food took even longer. We were so desperate we kept ordering appetizers hoping they would arrive earlier. The food (when it arrived hours later) was delicious though. Our appetizers actually never came and while we were still waiting for the rest of the food, several people actually asked us to leave because other costumers wanted our seats. Most of our friends already left and the food we ordered was actually meant for sharing, but there was hardly anyone left to share it with. After waiting for another hour, we decided to just vanish. The waitress never came to give us the checks so we never got the chance to pay for our food. Most of the food we didn't even actually ever received. Bye bye Porta. Thank you for the yummy food and supper shitty service. Also thank you for not letting us pay a $120 check.
I guess it worked out for the best after all. Jerry had left hours before because Sarah was able to give me a ride. My stuff would arrive at the house no matter what cause he lives at the same place as Nicole.
Sarah and I didn't feel like going back right away. On our way to the hotel we found the most hilarious place ever imaginable. It was a bar but the special part about it was that people were encouraged to bring their dogs. It was a doggy bar. We were allowed in ,even though we didn't have a dog. The guy at the entrance explained the place to us: There is a doggy bouncer. That guy makes sure all dogs behave. If they don't, they will get a time out at a special area. There were pools for the dogs to cool off and play in. It was just such a fun place and you could REALLY see how much fun the dogs were having. It looked like they were smiling. Let me show you some pictures.


The four of us were just enjoying our drinks, watching the dogs play and trying to pet every single one of them. It was the cutest thing.
On the picture in the middle you can see Lola. When the doggy bouncer was coming he looked at her and said "Hey, you must be at least three years old to sit at the bar" then he checked out her tag and said "Is that a fake ID". It was just the funniest thing. This place really seemed to good to be true. UNTIL:
One doggy was chasing another one, he stopped right in front of me, puked and ran away. I flipped the fuck out and ran away. The guys couldn't help themselfes, they had to laugh so hard. All of them know about my phobia and it just seems so odd that I attrack vomit. The chances of stuff like that happening are so slim but still it always happens to me. I actually thought it was funny too. It just looked hilarious how the dog was running, then stopped to barf and then kept running again. All that happened in less than 3 seconds. But unfortunately I couldn't get that picture out of head. I kinda just wanted to leave right there.
We went back to the hotel. The guys were organizing their things, I was just sitting trying not to fall a sleep. Around 4pm Sarah and I decided to head back. The happy couple booked an extra day to chill at the hotel.
Sarah needed a couple things so we stopped by a beauty supply store. That store was just amazing. So many cool things. Everything was well organized and it was a little heaven.
The way back was quick although the highways were kinda packed. Back at the house we were cudlleing the kitties. Sarah left and i caught up on social media. Its been almost three days since I was able to use my phone and I was eager to see the pictures people took. So I did that for like an hour and then joined Jerry and his girlfriend in the living room playing Zelda.
We ordered sushi cause no one was in any condition of making food. Then I just chilled on the couch watching Lost. I took a nice bathbomb-bath and went to bed around midnight.
It was such a fun weekend and I consider myself so lucky to have been able to be there for Nicoles big day. It was magical. It was my first american wedding and I hope I will get to experience many more.
My last week in the States has begun and I can't believe that I am already leaving in three days.
I don't have any plans yet for my last couple days but I know I won't do anything major. I just kinda wanna rest since I gotta go back to school soon. I need all the energy I can get.
I'll keep ypu guys posted about everything and maybe I even keep this blog alive when I'm back in Germany. (if you guys want). It won't be as eventful and probably really boring but I am actually enjoying writing. I hope you enjoyed reading it too.
See you guys in a bit.

What the hell happened?

Hello children,

I gotta say I am having a really hard time to remember what I did this week, which either means I am getting old or that it wasn't all that interesting, or both.
So I just asked Nicole to help me out xD

Okay so Monday, I was just blogging about the weekend because the weather was shit.
Tuesday was a bit more fun. Nicole had told me the day before that we would have to do a couple things and that we would go grocerie shopping in the morning.



 So I got up around 8am to be ready whenever.  Unfortunately Nicole found a billion things to  do before we  could leave.
 Everytime she finished something I was hoping we would be ready to go. No such luck. It took forever and I  really don't understand why she couldn't have done it later. It really pissed me off cause I was literally just sitting  around waiting for her for 3 hours. I think it was after 2pm when we finally left the house.
 First we had to have her ring resized. While we were waiting we went into a beauty supply store to get some  Hairextensions for Nicoles wedding hairstyle. Fake hair on its own looks kinda sad.
 To kill the rest of the waiting time we got some frozen yogurt, which I really didn't like.
 Maybe my mood had something to do with that. After we got the ring back we had to stop by Fedex to get  some stuff copied for the wedding. I don't know what was going on that day but everything was just kinda  fucked. My eyes hurt like crazy, I hardly could keep them open. I think it was something in the car, cause it  got  better as soon as we left it. People with allergies: you know what I'm talking about. After all the chores it  was  finally time for some fun: Wegmans aka the grocerie store. I really love shopping for food in the states.  There's  just so much stuff to see and everything seems to be super delicious. And most of the time it really is.



We got tons of food and I got really excited to eat all of it. Some of it I haven't even opened yet. When we got back to the house I had a couple minutes to get ready. A couple friends and I wanted to do dinner at Magic Grill in Garwood. It's a mongolian bbq restaurant. You pick a bowl fill it up with your desired food items and the chef cooks it right in front of you. The best part: It's all you can eat.
But in all honesty, for me it is impossible to even start a second bowl.

Ben was nice enough to help me out with the sauces. He lives near the Magic Grill so obviously he mastered that shit. He really did a fantastic job. My bowl couldn't have been any more delicious.

As you can see here, we had a heated discussion. After all this food we decided to go to a bar (exept Lawrence who had to go). The place is called Garwood Rest and it's kind of a dump. BUT those kinds that you like, even though they're a bit dirty and the people there seem sketchy. We shared many laughs and more little arguments (no hate). Overall a really fun night. How I've missed those nights. I'm definitely a group person.



Wednesday started off great but changed quickly. Nicole got up shortly after I did (usually I'm up before her unless she goes to work) She wanted to make breakfast right away. It usually takes me two or three hours til I feel ready to eat. But since there was eggs and bacon I couldn't say no.

It was delicious but my belly was super confused. Guess it doesn't like eating this early.
Nicole had a bunch of stuff to do and didn't really needed my help with anything so I stayed at the house. I wanted to get some sun in the backyard, which seemed to much to ask for the wasps.
Those fuckers were everywhere and when you're terribly afraid of them, they seem to like you even more. I know you're not supposed to run but I just can't sit there with them flying around my head. Various times I tried a new approach on sitting outside. And various times I ran back inside.
Then I noticed they seem to only hang around near the house. So I took a chair and moved a little further away. I got rid of the wasps but then I had to deal with ants. Getting some sun turned into a mission impossible. I think I actually sat still for like 10 minutes. The rest of my outside time I spent running around a waving my arms. Probably looked really funny. I took a shower and got bored quickly. My idea of killing boredom is not looking for an activity, it is taking a nap. So I did.
When I woke up seasons had changed. There was a pretty bad storm going on. Rain, lightning and lots of wind. It was a bit scary.

I checked online and saw that there were a couple tornados on the eastcoast. Luckily nowhere near New Jersey. Texas got it real bad. Honestly, I NEVER want to experience a tornado. That storm was scary enough for me. As soon as the house is shaking, it's just not funny anymore.
It calmed down around dinner time and the men of the house really wanted to fire up the grill. We had burgers and grilled vegetables for dinner.

I really had trouble eating this burger. It might look small on the picture but believe me: It wasn't.
Pickles in the States are also not fun. Just like bread, it's better in Germany. :)
Everyone wanted to watch some Game of Thrones episodes. I only saw the first episode and quickly realized, it's not for me. I was never a fan of fantasy on screen especially in medieval times. Also that show has way too many characters. It's super hard to follow. Don't get me started on that accent. Most of the time I couldn't understand a word they were saying. I do however wanna read the books at some point. I bet the story behind it might be quite interesting. I just can't do the show just yet.


On thursday Nicole had more stuff to do and I wanted to tag along. She wanted to get some white sage for some spiritual room cleansing. If you don't believe in that kind of stuff: It's okay, I understand. I kinda do and I think I might wanna grow some sage in my garden back home.
The search for mentioned item turned out to be a little more tricky. The store google recommended  apparently doesn't exist anymore. Luckily for Nicole I've become some kind of expert in shopping around Edison. I knew the mall had a Native American store (went there with James before) and I was sure they had white sage. Nicole called and they confirmed it. Off to the mall (again).

As you can see here the weather was still a bit bitchy. For some reason it got super cold again and the stormy rainclouds seemed to follow us. But it's all no problem when you have a car.


When we got the mall Nicole received a wedding related phonecall and we were kinda stuck in one mall area where she had service. I used the time to look at a couple stands. The bonsai one was my favorite. I just love those tiny little trees. I would definitely get one if they weren't so hard to take care of. But look how pretty. I was also looking at a stone stand. The lady was selling a couple stones. You know those stones with healing powers and stuff. I saw that the rose quartz could be great for me but I asked if there were any stones that could help with fears and phobias. She showed me one and I got it for 2 bucks. Can't hurt right?


After we got the sage I suggested to go to Cinnabon, one of the most delicious things you will ever eat, also: They're so bad for you. But man are they good. Sandra, did I ever take you to try one of them?
You can see a picture of our tiny treat above. It was my first one this trip and I kinda have the feeling it won't be my last one. Wer einmal Blut leckt, will noch mehr.
After the mall we just stopped by the tobacco barn for my smoking needs and went back to the house.
I wasn't really feeling well, so I decided to take a nap. Didn't really help though. My head was close to exploding and I felt overall sickish. Even the room cleansing didn't help.


I stayed on the couch til it was time for dinner. We ordered from Chipotle. My first time actually. A lot of people were asking if I had Chipotle yet. So that time finally came.
I was starving and I was so happy when the food arrived. I ordered three soft tacos. When I opened my bag I was close to tears. There isn't a lot that I hate more than my food being destroyed. I cried many times just because my sandwich fell apart or on the floor. Seriously guys, it makes me really sad. All I wanted is to eat and then I was looking at this,

I couldn't tell where one taco ended and the other one began. It was just a big mess. It really pissed me off. I gotta admit, it was still pretty yummy, it was just almost impossible to eat, as you can see.
It surprised me that I was able to finish it all but afterwards I definitely needed my stomach tea I brought from Germany. Hell, am I glad I brought that stuff xD .
It was so good though. I definitely gonna try to make it back home. I really wish I could bring all of the delicious food with me and have a big food party at my apartment. Well maybe I will be able to figure out how to make certain things and we can actually do that. Summer is just around the corner. And you know what that means. BBQ in my garden. Can't wait.
Actually this might be the first time I'm actually happy about coming home. Only 7 days left in the States but I don't feel depressed about leaving soon. I wouldn't have a problem with staying here for a while longer but I also don't mind leaving next thursday. maybe it has something to do with my money being gone xD
Anyways, this was my little update. Tomorrow we're gonna drive to Asbury Park for the rehearsal dinner. the wedding is on saturday and I'm really excited. I'm gonna try to post something on sunday when I come back. Until then: Have a wonderful weekend!

Sunday walk

Hey guys. So as promised I will tell you about my sunday.
As always I had to take a walk through Millburn. When I lived there I used to walk around for three hours every other day. I just love that town so much. It is so pretty, but see for yourself.

So this is "my" street. I also took a picture of that hill. It doesn't look super high but if you have to walk up there it can be quite the bitch. But I would never dare to complain about Millburn. It's just too pretty. I mean look at "our" house:

I really loved living there. Lots of space and so beautiful on the inside, it also has a big backyard. When I lived there it was white, but I do like the yellow just as much. There are plenty of gorgeous houses on that hill, it's extremely hard to chose a favorite.

Everything looks pretty much like in the movies when they show the wealthy suburbs. I remember when I was a little girl watching "Back to the Future" I told my mom how much I would love to live in an area like this and she said to me that these places only exist in movies. When I first got to Millburn many years later I called her and screamed "IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE IN THE MOVIES". I was so excited. And I still am. Let's continue.

These things grow everywhere, I want them!

Every of these tiny islands have flowers

a flower island close up

I was really happy to see that one of my favorite houses still existed. I just love that red door with the light blue contrast. At the other picture you can see the mountain reservation we were hiking at the day before. Like I said it's no joke.

Millburn Ave

Magnolia trees are all around Millburn

I definitely want one for my garden

At the old neighborhood I saw a garage sale with a kid and his lemonade stand. It doesn't get any more american than this.

After my old street I went to the beautiful Taylor Park. I used to go there almost every day before we moved.

Right by the park is one of my favorite churches. I think its such a strange color for a church but still beautiful.

Apparently my timing was great cause there was a fair in town that day.

I got this adorable vintage ring at the fair for only 8 bucks. What a great find. You can't really see it in that picture but it looks like there's a tiny universe inside of the stone. Very pretty.

After the fair I started to feel a little exhausted so I decided to go back to the house. I still needed to go up that hill.

After my two hour walk I saw that grandma and grandpa just got to the house. I had the last bit of my orange chicken and rested for a bit. In the afternoon the family and I went back to the fair. We saw a stand that had beauty products for a bit less than at the store. Alysse got me an Essie nailpolish. If you watch beauty gurus on youtube you will know the shade: "mint candy apple".
We got some Häagen Dazs and it was ice cream heaven. I got my favorite "Dulce de leche" and something with cookie dough. And of course fudge on top. It was THE best.

Man, I'm making myself hungry. It's just so good. Back at the house it was almost dinner time. Mike fired up the grill and we had some kind of tacos with rice stuff and vegetables. I don't even really know what it's called but it was yummy.

That little cutie on the left is Dexter by the way. As you can see he was pretty hungry too xD

Just after Dinner there was a little show at the table. I could hardly hold the phone cause I had to laugh so hard.

When we finished Dinner we just sat in the living room and relaxed. My legs hurt quite a bit after that hike and the walk. Nicole came to pick me up around 9pm. I had a wonderful time in Millburn and already I can't wait to get back. This family is just the best. Such nice, kind hearted people. I will definitely miss them.
So yeah, that was my weekend. Hope you enjoyed reading about it. I don't know what I'm gonna do during the week but the wedding is this weekend. I'm very excited. See you guys soon.