Goin' to the Chapel and They're Gonna Get Mair-air-aired!

In March, we flew back to Baltimore so Nikki could be in her friends' wedding. Jon and Tia were the "couple friends" for Steve and Nikki; they could do double dates, and they always watched football together on Sundays. (Fun fact: when Tia gets really nervous, she obsessively cleans. She once got mad at Nikki for doing the dishes before the game and leaving her nothing to wash!) Jon helped Steve propose to Nikki, and Tia took Nikki to her first bridal show. Besties all the way!

I was so excited to go back to Baltimore, not just because it meant I got to see the family and my friends again, but also because I was going to be flying in an airplane for the first time! Oh man! Nikki put me in a nice purse that Steve's aunt Pam bought for her in Guatemala, and we flew through security. We got an aisle seat in a relatively empty plane (REALLY early in the morning!) and had some room to stretch out and sleep. I was so excited that Nikki had a hard time keeping me from climbing over the guy in the window seat and peering out the ultra-strength plexiglass to see everything that was going on!

...then we took off.

Oh God, you guys, ARMADILLOS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE IN THE SKY!!!!!!!! There was turbulence, which was TERRIFYING, and the landing was bumpy (I thought), and Nikki just passed out through the whole thing because she had to take air-sickness medication. She ended up using me as a pillow, which I thought was rather demeaning, but it at least meant that I had something to grip onto as the plane bumped around in the air.

When we landed, I kissed the ground then gargled with strong soap, because....ew. We were staying at Nikki's parents' place, and it was nice to see them again.

There was so much to do to prepare for the wedding that Nikki ended up having to leave me at home for a couple of days. BUT! I got to hang out with her and Tia the day before the big day and do all the girlie things that girls do to get ready for weddings. First stop: the nail salon to get mani-pedis:

Nikki getting her toenails done. Never realized how gross feet could be! ;D

Tia and I snuggling while she gets her pedicure. Isn't she adorable?!

The end result! What a great pedicure! So classy!

After grabbing a quick lunch at a local deli (UTZ CHIPS!!!!), we went to a wig shop so Tia could buy some hair for her wedding day hairdo. As Nikki doesn't ever want long hair, I've never been to a wig shop before, so Tia showed us around and told me all about how you want REAL hair because synthetic hair just melts or something awful when you try to style it.

While I may be fuzzy, I've (obviously) never had hair before, so I thought I'd try out a few styles and see which one I like best. Feel free to comment with your opinion too!

First look: Dark black curls. Very exotic-looking I think. Mediterranean maybe.

Next up, a curly do with medium-brown hair. A little more "armadillo next door."

I know Nikki HATES it when people say that straight hair is more glamorous than curly hair, but I think in this instance, it's true!

OF COURSE I had to try some blonde locks! What a great "California girl" look!

We went to a hair salon in East Baltimore, where Nikki fell asleep on the couch in the back room, and people were loud and laughing, and the radio was blaring, and I kinda loved it, even though I was TOTALLY out of my element. We ended the day back at Jon and Tia's house, where we got things ready for the big day and ate some pretty delicious pizza.

Finally, the big day arrived! Steve had gotten into town Saturday night, so he carpooled with Nikki and got to the church early to help set up decorations and keep everyone amused. Jon and Tia got married in Chase Court, which is a beautiful, historic building behind a church in Mount Vernon, Baltimore. There was a courtyard and stained glass windows and a giant fireplace. The bridesmaids, mother of the bride, Tia, and I all went to the upstairs loft area to get ready.

Human girls use so much make-up and hair products!

Because Nikki was in the wedding, she didn't get to take too many photos before or any during the ceremony. But that's okay, because once the reception started, I got to see all my old friends again!

Evan, who we call "Giant," because he's big and red-headed, and it seemed like an appropriate name.

Melissa, an excellent artist who has birds who can speak English and like to say really weird things at weird times.

Got a picture with the beautiful bride and Audra

I'm really glad that I got to hang out with Audra at the wedding. I wish we had had more time together, but armadillos LOVE to dance, and Audra kept declining my invitations. ;)

The day finally wound down to an end. Jon and Tia drove off into the sunset in a car that Nikki and Tia's sister Nita decorated with "JUST MARRIED!" and little stick figure drawings of the happy couple. Everyone helped to clean up, and the next day, we got on another plane and flew home. It was a wonderful time, a beautiful ceremony, and a fun experience, as it was also my first wedding.

Best part of a wedding? THE OPEN BAR! :)

Nikki Post: Paper Moon Diner

I flew home to Baltimore last weekend to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. Claire will be telling you ALL about our trip in the coming days, but while she's distracted by watching Being Elmo on Netflix, I thought I'd sneak on and update about a trip I went on without her. (Don't tell!)

That Friday I spent the day with my dear friend Agnes, who recently hit her third decade of life on this planet. (Happy birthday!) To celebrate, I took her to lunch at Paper Moon Diner in Baltimore, one of my favorite, hip, overpriced restaurants in the city. (Warning, the website has loud music when you first enter, so turn down your speakers!) I first went to P-Moon when I was 17 or so and my friend Chuck suggested we go there late one night during the summer. The thrill of going someplace in the wee hours of the morning and goofing around in such a wacky environment was wonderful for my almost-an-adult self. For years, it seemed that every time I went to the diner, no matter how late or early in the day or night, I'd run into someone I know or who knew me through a series of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" kind of steps. (Also know as the "Smalltimore" effect.) I once went there my sophomore year of college and sat next to an African-American man in his 50s who knew of me through a high school ex-boyfriend he was in a bicycling collective with! The effect has worn off in recent years (and thank God, because most often, the people I saw at Paper Moon were people I didn't want to see!), but the diner remained one of my top spots to take people from out of town. Steve and I actually had our first date of sorts there the night we met. <3

Paper Moon is mostly a diner but also mostly an ever-evolving work of art. While many of the collages and pieces you can see in these pictures have been around for the decade or so I've been a patron, many new pieces are added all the time at the expense of others. My favorite (not pictured) is a mannequin located in the gender-neutral restroom on the first floor. Nothing quite like trying to pee while a bald, mostly-naked mannequin stares at you!

View from our table, looking up and towards the back of the diner

View from our table, looking up and facing the main entrance of the diner

Near the bar area, upon first entering the restaurant. The table right in front there is where Steve and I sat on that fateful night we met one another. <3 <3

This lovely lady is at the cashier's station, next to a disembodied hand covered in pennies.

I had meant to bring Claire along on this particular excursion, but Thursday night was the first night in TWO WEEKS that I had slept through the night, and I ended up running late for what was supposed to be a *brunch* with Aggiebell. In my rush to get out the door, I left Claire tangled in my bedsheets. No matter, because Agnes and I found a way to represent Claire in spirit:

So if you've found this blog via the little note we left at the Paper Moon Diner on March 9, 2012, please leave a comment and let me know! It'd be nice to know that someone read our little love letter.

All of the tables and chairs at Paper Moon are repurposed furniture, and our table happened to have a "secret" drawer in it on Agnes's side. Over the years, I've sat at such tables, and patrons had always left little notes inside for others to find. Finally, Paper Moon compiled these notes into a binder so everyone could share their adventures.

Agnes and I left our own note to mark such a momentous occasion:

Once done with our meal (I had the bananas foster French toast; Agnes had a black bean and avocado quesadilla), Agnes and I took silly pictures outside of the restaurant.

Agnes is a total groupie for mostly-naked dudes riding bareback on cows.

I'm trying to do my best impression of the mannequin behind me and failing spectacularly.

Every restaurant should be required to have an adorable elephant statue on its roof. Think of how much easier it would be to give directions! "Oh, it's the one with the purple elephant on the roof. No, you're thinking of Taco Bell; their elephant is red and white."

Signs you're an art school kid: you're walking the streets with a shopping cart full of mannequin legs. Sign you're from a big city: you're walking around with said shopping cart, and no one is looking at you like you're a freak.