In The Middle of it All I Had "A Moment", Of Course :)

Friday evening TEN and I headed into Richmond, VA for the wedding weekend.  We ended up at a fun Irish Pub:

I didn't take any pictures here, and couldn't find any online!  Here is a painting of the pub though, and it's pretty accurate.

TEN's mom and sister met us here for a drink.  Then TEN's sister and her boyfriend took TEN and I to another Richmond, VA bar.  Definitely a good time :)

The next day was TEN's dad's birthday.  So, we were up early to spend some time with his dad and his wife before the 2pm wedding.  We met at The Jefferson Hotel, because we were staying right next to it.  I have been to The Jefferson before, but didn't know about the alligators!

From 1901 until 1948, live alligators lived in the hotel’s Palm Court fountains. It is rumored that the alligators were left in the hotel by travelers, who originally purchased the gators as pets while on vacation in Florida. However, before leaving, the vacationers decided to leave the alligators to the hotel.

The alligators did not always stay in the fountains. They often sought alternative lounging locations. In the early 1900s, bellmen would enter The Jefferson in the morning to find the alligators reclining on the hotel’s fine furniture. The bellmen’s daily morning routine sometime included chasing the alligators off the furniture and back into the water of the fountains. (from The Jefferson Hotel website)

Of course I had to have "a moment" on "the staircase":

The Jefferson Hotel’s grand staircase has been rumored to be the model for the famed staircase in Gone With the Wind. Richmonders still encourage the rumor since the likeness between the two staircases is, quite frankly, hauntingly similar.

After our history lesson, we headed to Chez Foushee for lunch, and it was DELISH!  If you are ever in Richmond, VA I strongly recommend you stop in :)  I had the Roast Turkey Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo, bacon and cheddar cheese on flatbread.  Mmmmm.....

Then it was time to get ready for the wedding.  I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have a single picture of TEN and I at the wedding :(  We did take ONE together, but I looked like I had a pooch so I deleted it.  I was sure we'd have another.  No such luck.

But we looked fabulous.  Really.  We did.  Just go with that.

I ended up wearing THE SPARKLY SHOES!!!  And guess what friends, I was almost under dressed.  Can you fathom?  There was a girl there in a strapless hot pink gown with a tulle skirt.  It was very much a "cocktail" feel, but didn't specify cocktail attire on the invite.  Which was odd.  For a 2pm wedding.

But anyway...it was great fun and I didn't feel over dressed and I met all of TEN's friends and we had a lovely time.    Here's a shot I took of his "group" from high school:

Lord only knows what they are up to here:

After the reception we went to another bar/restaurant to continue celebrating.  TEN hadn't eaten at the reception (I think he was having too much fun catching up with everyone), so he ordered THIS at the restaurant:

(these were Irish Nachos.  TEN said they were divine.  i wanted to eat them so badly, but had on a skin tight dress and couldn't eat anything.  waaahhhhh)

(soft pretzel with cheesy beer sauce)

 
Looks like all the guys were hungry!
 

 
We sat out on the patio for a while longer, and then TEN and I caught a cab back to our hotel.  We had a long day, and needed to get up early to head back to Smalltown, VA for PJ Brunch Club the next morning!
 
The Voice of Reason & Mr. Swiss were hosting PJ Brunch Club this time, and it was TEN's first experience with the Swiss Brunch that they treat us to.  There was NO WAY we were missing this :)
 

(homemade breads)

(fresh meats and cheeses and eggs and pickles, etc....)

(fancy potions to pour on our meats and cheeses and eggs and such)

 

(the girls)

(the guys)

 
Then then we were off to pick up this little guy!
 

 
We spent the rest of the evening on the couch :)
 
T