November Boozing Brunch Bunch

A group of my girls from college decided that we need to get together outside of the nighttime or happy hour route and be able to chit chat and catch up on a more regular basis. With that, we decided that a once a month brunch would be just for us. We do have strict qualifications for the get together though:

1. Bottomless Mimosas, (Bloody Marys and Bellinis are a bonus), 
2. Girls only,
3. Laughter,
4. Mandatory topics: Work, trips, any party planning, weddings, babies, dating & relationships, and of course sex,
5. Laughter,
6. Gossip (it's only gossip because it's not out of the mouth of the person or that person could not attend - I would call this "Catching Up on People", but I have been told it's gossip...but not the negative kind...it's matter of fact, like, "She's an idiot." See? Not gossip. Just stating that said girl is an idiot.), and
7. Laughter.

The group changes from month to month based on peoples' schedules, but we just know that the first Sunday of the month is for Boozing Brunch Bunch. (BTW, Follower Darlings that know me personally can hit me up for deets of our next round up...everyone is invited...) We change the location each month so that no one has to schlep every time. Last month we were in my 'hood of Arvada at Udi's (Amazing menu and accommodates gluten allergies with fantastic GF bread) in Olde Town, this month, we were at The Lobby in Denver.

Side note:
The Lobby has an amazing menu, patio, great specials, and if you check in on foursquare, you get their happy hour specials no matter the time of day! You should go there. Seriously.

Anyway, we had some great conversations that I thought that I would share with you. Well, really, my take on the conversations...

Weddings - Planning
Andi is getting married next summer and is in the midst of planning and coordinating her Estes Park wedding. She and Chris just moved back from Boston, so in the mean time of settling in, getting used to Colorado again, she's also planning a wedding and getting her booty in gear. It's fun to talk about the details of the wedding, brainstorm ideas, and talk with us singleton, professional guests and bridesmaids and the other MRS's in the group to get some thoughts on the matter...whether she wanted them or not. But, let's be honest, if you don't want to hear what we have to say, don't bring something up. We're opinionated and you know it.

Etiquette for Weddings - Guest and Bridesmaid
Being that I've attended 26 weddings since I was 22 (Thank you, my DDD sisters), you can imagine that the last 5 years has handed me a lot of experience in the this whole wedding racket. I can tell you what's been done before, how it went and if it's worth it. I can also tell you the color combination used and if it worked with the venue and time of day. Basically, I should be a wedding planner. However, since that is a ways off for now, I should probably just write a book on etiquette for bridesmaids and guests. There are showers, tea parties, rehearsals, dinners, planning sessions, the actual wedding, and reception that all have their own attire, gift giving, protocol, invitations, and all sorts of fun that requires a certain level of decorum depending on your role, i.e. The Maid/Matron of Honor has a whole lot more responsibilities over the bridesmaids and the guests. Basically, I need to write a handbook for people other than the bride to know what they are getting themselves into when the bride says, "I do".

Credit Hours for MRS Degree
On the same topic of weddings, we got into discussing how I have managed to earn all the credit hours required of the MRS degree, but still haven't gotten a diploma. I guess I tried to transfer too late in the game and now I have to make up for the credits that didn't transfer. For example, yesterday, I tasked myself with making dinner for my Grandma's 90th birthday dinner.

(OK, we'll be honest, my Grandma is clearly too old to be slaving away in the kitchen to cook for 12 people AND it's her birthday...she shouldn't be cooking on two counts. Now, the next logical step for some of you would be my mom. Well, that's where you would be wrong. My mom has a couple of recipes on lock, but is by no means someone that is good at experimenting for making something new en masse for a group of jackels, errrr, my family. So, with my own sanity in mind, I decided to take the helm and prepare dinner.)

Lasagna and pecan pies were requested. That's great! They can be prepared ahead of time, are easy to make, and even easier if you take a couple of short cuts. I used "Oven Ready" lasagna noodles that didn't have to be cooked beforehand and ready to bake pie crusts from the freezer section.

While the lasagna was apparently amazing, I didn't like that if you didn't cover a part of the noodle, it didn't cook. At. All. Also, you have to place the noodles cross-wise which means when you would cut the 9x13 pan, you could cut along with the noodles and make 9 GINORMOUS pieces, or try to make smaller pieces that would easily fall apart because it would be between two noodles. As for the pies, the bottom of those "ready to bake" pie crusts didn't really cook all the way through, so the pie was a little mushy. The contents tasted great and people still ate the sugar soaked crust, I learned my lesson that I shouldn't cut the corners on the real thing.

The final product. You can see the three sections of the pans.

My gluten free ramakin...I just mixed all of the ingredients up and made it more of a bake.

My only casualy was a burn on my wrist from the oven while I was removing the foil for the last 15 minutes.

South Africa
Another great part about these little brunches is that I got to see a sister that spent the last two years in the Peace Corps in a little village in South Africa. Hearing how she coped with the very different lifestyle and how it's made her an even more patient person (I thought that would have been impossible considering the shizz storm she inherited while she was El Presidente for after I graduated.) I really want to visit South Africa, and Africa in general, so I will probably be probing her for ideas and help in planning a trip.

Timing Pregnancies
One of the other great parts was the two newlyweds talking about when they want to get their families started. Neither are in a rush, but have made somewhat of a pregnancy pact so that they would have to be sober together while their husbands still get drunk so they're not the only ones drinking O'Douls in the corner and going to bed at 8:00pm.

Sorostitute Stories and Total Frat Move
If you haven't already, make sure to head over to Sorostitute Stories and Total Frat Move. If you're greek, these are must reads. It'll make you reminisce, make a list, contribute, but will always make you laugh. Those kids in the South and New England frat harder than we did/do in Colorado, but I have to say, I could pin their acts and style on someone from my college daze....not to mention that I'm a little jealous that blogging and twitter didn't exist while I was in college.

Speaking of, I also need to write a Overnight Handbook...what really needs to be in your LV Speedy or Longchamp when you leave your house.

Next month, we will be gathering south of the city, so I will have to have my list ready for what I need in my bag should I get marooned on the far side of the world.

Ladies, make it a point to get together with your girls every month...and don't get all judgey when they can't make one. Just make sure that you get back with your girls because they will always make you laugh, calm your crazy girl brain, give you ideas for your next party, and be the first to help out.