bachelorette paarrtttyyy

this past weekend was my dear friend, cate’s, bachelorette party.  as one of her bridesmaids, i plotted with my fellow bridal party ladies and some close friends to craft a celebration to remember : )

me - ready for some fun!

megan, erin, cate (the bachelorette), megan, me

we convened at 13:00 hours on saturday to take care of some last minute details (like decorating the car with stickers, magnets and a flag) before abducting the bachelorette at 14:00 hours.  i was the driver (of the 8 person toyota landcruiser we borrowed from my parents).  the guest of honor knew very little of our plans and was a bit confused by some of the items we requested that she bring (i.e. a bathing suit, name tags, etc. etc.)

for any of you in the philly area, you know that saturday was freezing cold with torrential rain showers.  thus, the drive was fun : )  we finally arrived at our destination – the doubletree hotel in center city philadelphia – at 15:30 hours.

view from our hotel room.  looks like paris, non?

champagne toasts ensued as we set up camp (and a bar) in our room and readied ourselves for a night o’ fun.  we all brought several outfits (a) because we’re girls and (b) because the rain promised to get us soaked even with umbrellas, so much time was spent discussing attire for both dinner…and post-dinner fun.  wardrobe change #1.  cute dinner dresses.

pink bubbly : )

hannah, me, cate, erin (my bridesmaids)

we, luckily, we’re able to get cabs easily (despite the weather) and headed to supper restaurant on south street for our 18:00 reservations.  supper was awesome.  very cool yet simple décor and all their food is local and organic…and delicious.  we enjoyed a cheese board (that was to-die-for), 4 different kinds of deviled eggs (truffle, crab, feta & olive and bacon) and also sweet and spicy chicken wings.  for dinner, i enjoyed their roast chicken with a savory bread pudding and gravy (of course).  but the winner of the coolest entrée went to hannah, my sis, who ordered their vegetable quartet – bulgar wheat salad with pea pesto, asparagus spring roll, fennel & grapefruit salad and (omg) sweet potato cakes with flambéed marshmallow fluff and candied apples.  heaven.

after dinner, we asked the hostess to call us some cabs.  45 minute wait.  what?!  so we ventured out the door (with umbrellas) and luckily were able to hail two cabs in a matter of minutes.  the only causality, a pair of black ballet flats.

back at the hotel, we played some games, enjoyed some dark & stormies (recipe {here}) and ate some yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies made by the bachelorette, herself.  totally unnecessary but totally appreciated.  (side note: honestly, i wasn’t trying to be ironic by bringing the makings for dark & stormies (i decided to bring them a week or so back), but it was rather poignant with regard to the state of the weather.  hehe)

cate

on to wardrobe change #2.  club clothes and heels.  the bachelorette had some additional accessories – a tiara with a veil and a lovely sash indicating that she was the girl of the hour.  the rest of us sported mardi gras beads.  out the door at 22:30 hours, and again, we were lucky to get two cabs.  it might have rained, but the stars aligned with regard to getting transportation.  our 5 minute drive took us to the walnut room (on walnut street above alfa bar/restaurant).  upon entering, we were escorted upstairs to our private booth (very cool) and proceeded to enjoy (one) bottle service.  vanilla stoli, anyone?

the music was loud, but the dance beat was good.  and one by one the music “got us”, and we had a blast dancing.  after we had our fill of dancing and the vanilla stoli was no more, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel (for pjs and chips & salsa).

we went out preparing to have to hail a few cabs, again, but low and behold, the skies had cleared and the rain was no more!  finally.  we decided to walk the few short blocks back for some fresh air.  back at the room, pjs and snacks hit the spot as we wound down from our fun night.

sunday morning.

we were all up pretty early (around 8am believe it or not) and enjoyed some panera bagels & muffins and bananas in the room before readying ourselves for the day.  once dressed and packed, we decided to wander the city a bit before check-out because the sun had finally graced us with its presence.  we walked down walnut street to rittenhouse square, then back up locust street.  while out, we spotted a lovely little french style café – le pain quotidien (i.e. daily bread) – and decided that coffee…and perhaps another breakfast was in order…

the coffee was strong.  my croissant was buttery/flaky perfection.  and the apricot jam was spectacular.  everyone raved about the food, and the atmosphere transported you to a parisian boulangerie.  we reminisced about the night before and discussed cate’s fast-approaching wedding – which is exactly 2 months from today!  the perfect end to a fabulous girls’ weekend!

han's breakfast

bachelorette party words of advice:
-print out hotel/restaurant/club/bar info for everyone so they know what to tell the cabbies
-plan who is bringing what (water, food, drinks, games, etc.) and who is paying for what (dinner, hotel, cabs, etc.) – it just simplifies things
-pack snacks & water (in addition to whatever festive libations you might have in store)
-don’t let anything cramp your style…not even torrential rain