My Gluten Free Bachelorette Party!

My bachelorette party was on March 28th -- the weekend before my wedding! I have NO pictures pretty much...I was too intoxicated to photograph! LOL!

It started with Misty (Brandon's brother's girlfriend...got that? Lol) making me gluten free cheese danishes, a fruit salad, and a mimosa for breakfast! It turned out great! Then it was off to a full body massage, which I was a little nervous about at first! I've had massage therapy in the past that left me feeling sore and like my muscles were bruised. I enjoyed the massage though and it was definitely what I needed after all the stress that I was under! Turns out my shoulders were incredibly tense and so was my right arm, which explained the numbness that I'd occassionally have in my right hand! The nerves in my fingers felt like they were dancing in jubilee after the arm/hand massage.

After the full body massage, Misty took me for a facial. I have never had a facial before. It was very relaxing, and included a hand/foot massage. I do have to say that it is very weird to have some stranger squeezing gunk out of your pores, lol. She did tell me that I had very nice skin though, so I got over it quickly. I've discovered that I don't really like my feet being massaged...she would rub my feet then rub my legs and I just felt like I was covered in foot-ness. Yes, I am aware that I am weird. The facial was very nice and relaxing, but the moisturizer she put on me last left me feeling greasy and oily. Yuck. It soaked in though, and was eventually fine. It was a day of pampering!

After the facial, Misty and I went to Dos Gringos for lunch and this is where the boozing officially began. We had 2 tequila shots, and on top of that I probably had 4 margaritas (and I think my straw may have found its way into Misty's margarita at some point too). I was HAMMERED. Lol. Chris came over to hang out for a bit after he got done playing softball, so I convinced Brandon to come by too. He was cracking up at my drunk antics. Then, the boys drove Misty and I to the mall to do some shopping! Brandon gave Misty $100 to give me for shopping money! Isn't he the best?!? We were not at the mall long, though, because we had to get home to get ready for our evening! All I ended up buying at the mall was candy, everything else was blurry! HA!

So I went home and threw myself together and Misty picked me up. She had a very STRONG peach belini waiting for me! Oh man.

We met up with everyone at Picazzo's, my favorite gluten free friendly restaurant! My maid of honor Michelle (whom I have sung many praises about before) put together a great bachelorette party/dinner!

She had fun pink Girls Night Out leis for everyone and shot glass favors on the tables! She gave me a Bachelorette sash and a Bride To Be hat, complete with a veil attached to it! I arrived to dinner still drunk, so I was game for anything!

I even started wearing the bows from the presents on my head!


I had a delicious lemon drop martini, which is MY FAVE (and according to other pictures I've seen, I drank Misty's too...what is up with that! HA) We ordered gluten free pizza for everyone, which everyone LOVED. We ordered Ulimate Pepperoni and the Chicken and Applewood Smoked Bacon (my personal favorite). Picazzo's NEVER disappoints!

We opened presents, which I will not be posting pictures of, because, well, it was a bachelorette party and the pictures aren't for kids. :)

The bartender mixed us up some sort of shot, for all of us, on the house! They were TERRIBLE, but that didn't stop me from drinking two!

Michelle did a great job putting everything together, and I had a blast!! After Picazzo's, we had a bit of a house party, where I never saw my mimosa glass empty, so I couldn't even tell you how much I drank. I think there were some shots in there too, that were awful. Bleh. I had so much fun. Michelle, though sober, danced crazy with me to Lady GaGa!

Looking back, the party should have ended there because I was going downhill fast, but the night was still young. We went to a club in Scottsdale named Jackrabbit. It wasn't long before I was puking in the bathroom! Yuck. We did hang out there for a bit, but I got overheated and had to leave. The night was pretty much unsalvagable at that point; I threw up in the bathroom at the club, in a gift bag in the car, and in a trash can at a gas station. All of which got some small amount of puke on my person. If it wasn't my Bachelorette party, I would be horribly embarrassed about getting that drunk. But I hardly ever drink, and that's just what you do, right? Lol.

At least we didn't get arrested or anything, I mean, THAT, would be CRAZY!! :)

For more stories and pictures from the evening, check out the post Michelle wrote here. She remembers a lot more than I do :)

Stephanie's 5 Things

I was tagged by Kortnei!

5 Things I was doing 5 years ago:

1. I was working as a cashier at Ashley furniture and barely making it through school
2. I was going to punk rock shows and Warped Tour
3. Got waay too many body piercings and a few tattoos too (wreckless youth, sheesh)
4. I moved out for the first time and ate too much fast food
5. Just found out I had celiac and was trying to figure out what that meant and how to cope

5 Things on my list to do today:

Super exciting stuff..
1. Write thank you notes
2. Do laundry
3. Go to bed early (I still haven't recovered from traveling!)
4. Blog
5. Clean up

5 Things I would do with a million dollars:

1. I'd like to say that I'd pay off this house (because I LOVE it), but I know Brandon would want to buy a bigger one.
2. Invest so we could both quit our jobs and live off the money for the rest of our lives
3. Start a chihuahua rescue (not many know that this is such a dream of mine!) and have like 6 chihuahuas of my own
4. Put myself through school and go more than part time! (Maybe actually chase that dream that I've been too scared/held back by real life to do...med school anyone?)
5. Have a Duggar sized family (HAHAHA! jk...or am I? Brandon's probably sweating right now reading that)

5 Places I've lived:

1. Tucson, AZ
2. Schaumburg, IL
3. Gilbert, AZ
4. Mesa, AZ
5. Maricopa, AZ

5 Jobs I've held:

1. Cashier/Office manager at Ashley Furniture.
2. Office Assistant at Center for Athletic Performance and Physical Therapy. And yes, I had to say that whole title when I answered the phone
3. Customer Service Rep at Global Trans
4. Auditor at company that will remain unnamed (current)
5. That's it!

5 Things I want to be doing in 5 years:

1. Making babies (eyebrow wriggle)
2. Have a career in something that I am passionate about
3. Traveling (actually take the time to have REAL vacations)
4. Try to be more crafty/domestic
5. Create my own recipes

5 People I tag:

Everyone I would tag has already done this. Lol.

A Gluten Free Bridal Shower

Now that the wedding is over and I FINALLY have full use of my brain back, I am going to post on everything that I didn't have time to blog about before. I'm going to go through them in different posts, otherwise you'd be sitting there reading the one entry for HOURS. So, here we go, my gluten free bridal shower..

My bridal shower was actually on March 7th. I was adament that my bridal shower be 100% gluten free. My reasoning was that I couldn't have an entirely gluten free wedding, so I really wanted my bridal shower to be reflective of what is such a huge part of my life. Plus, there are less people to please. :)

So, me, Michelle, and my mom got together and planned a gluten free menu. Here is what we had:

Gluten free pizza from Uno Chicago Grill
Salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Ranch dressing and Italian dressing on the side
Several different chip/dip selections
Gluten free chocolate cupcakes
Fruit arrangement

My absolute favorite part, were the chocolate gluten free cupcakes from Sugarlips Cakery. My mom surprised me with the design:


They were beautiful! And DELICIOUS! I was craving cupcakes for WEEKS after this because they were so amazing. We did not tell everyone that the food was gluten free until after they had eaten to see if anyone would notice the difference. I also didn't want people to judge the food and then not eat it (it's happened to me before). And, I am happy to report that NO ONE could tell the difference. In fact, everyone went on and on about how good the food was and they couldn't believe it was all gluten free! Most had 2 cupcakes :)

Here is the fruit arrangement from Edible Arrangements. Oh my, these are fantastic and always very popular!


This is my best friend and maid of honor Michelle, and me standing by the game table. She worked so hard on the bridal shower and made it a fantastic event!

She put together all the games that were played and I wish I had pictures of it all! She called Brandon on the sly and asked him questions about himself, that I then had to answer! For every question I got wrong, I had to add another piece of bubbalicious! In my defense, I did get a lot of the questions right, but there were a few that Brandon gave the WRONG answer to! LOL! By the end I had a mouth full of sugary and slimey bubble gum! I was nearly choking on it! BLAH, that was gross, but a really fun game!

Everyone told me afterward what a great job Michelle did at the bridal shower and what a great friend she is! She's been my best friend for like 12 years or so now and I am so grateful for all she did during this whole process! Please go over to Gluten Free Gluttony and tell her how amazing she is!

Hello from Jamaica!

We're on on honeymoon in Jamaica! We got married last Saturday, April 4th! I'll update on EVERYTHING once we're back!

It's been how long?!

Holy cow, where did a month go?

I figure I need to at least write one entry for February. Lol.

I've been spending a lot of time on Twitter these days, so a lot of the little things I like to say often end up on there. Not following me yet? What are you waiting for?? Click here.

So what have I been up to? Oh man. Let's just say, I have come to the shocking realization that my wedding is 40 days away. Commence panic attack. I admit, I have been slacking lately. I tend to focus on each task at a time and then all of the sudden, WEEKS have passed and my to-do list is still so long! How does anyone survive planning a wedding?!?

As far as the gluten free aspect of the wedding goes..it's going really well. We just had an appointment with the caterers over the weekend and they are more than willing to accomodate me! That is such a relief. I feel like he is really, really taking this seriously. Honestly, I don't really trust most restaurants nowadays, after suffering glutening after glutening when eating out--off of gluten free menus. But he did say that he is taking this very seriously because he does not want to be responsible for sending me to the hospital on my wedding day. I didn't bother telling him that I wouldn't end up in the hospital (just the restroom, lol) because I'd rather he think that's what would happen. :) Maybe he'll think a little harder about double dipping spoons, you know? I'm not sure yet what the final menu will be; I'm still waiting for him to email me a rough price per head. He came up with something special for me that wasn't on the menu, so we're waiting to hear the pricing. As soon as I know for sure, I'll let you know what kind of yummy goodness I'll be enjoying on the big day!

So, against my better judgement, I am on a "diet" right now. Temporary insanity, maybe? We have booked our honeymoon, and we will be spending 6 fabulous days in Jamaica at a Sandals resort. I am beyond THRILLED about this. I cannot wait to be standing with my husband, with our feet in the sand at the edge of crystal blue water sipping on our tropical beverages. It's a dream come true for me! However, beach = bikini, and me + waaaaay too many sweets = one fat ass. LOL! I'm being dramatic, but for real, I am TOTALLY not wanting to be worrying about my cellulite while I'm on my once-in-a-lifetime vacation. To accomplish this, I am making small dietary changes and overall, trying to rid my diet of unneccessary calories. I am eating lean meats, more fruits and veggies, and low-fat dairy. I eat a banana or Dannon Light and Fit yogurt for breakfast. Then, I pack a salad for lunch--topped with hard-boiled egg, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and fat-free feta cheese. I stopped eating Ranch dressing and am now eating Italian dressing, although I will be making the switch to balsamic vinegrette. And, I've switched from Dr. Pepper to Diet Dr. Pepper. And, I've really, really tried cutting back on the sweets. Brandon would argue that I am still eating a LOT, but he didn't see all that I would eat at work. Lol. :) I have cut back. But hey, during "that time of month," I need a freaking caramello (or 12) and no questions need be asked. I am trying though! We even got a gym membership. Look at us, all motivated. :)

Well, I'll leave you with one of our favorite recipes, which is also probably the easiest one I make.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Vegetables

1 pork tenderloin
10 to 12 creamer potatoes (I use half red, and half white), halved
4 to 5 boiling onions, halved
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (lately I've just been buying baby carrots and halving them)
Olive oil
Dried rosemary
Dried sage
Cracked black pepper
Kosher salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Generously spray roasting pan or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place pork tenderloin in pan.

Place potatoes, carrots, and onions around tenderloin. Drizzle oil evenly over tenderloin and vegetables. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. I just eyeball it.

Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes or until tenderloin is done and veggies are tender. Stir the veggies occassionally.

Uno Chicago Grill Gluten Free Pizza (and a big SCREW YOU to Uncle Bear's)

Yesterday we decided to try some of the gluten free options we had heard of at restaurants around town. Our two options were Uncle Bear's Bar & Grill or Uno Chicago Grill. I had heard from Michelle (over at Gluten Free Gluttony)that Uncle Bear's had gluten free hamburger buns so that was my first choice, since I had not heard of ANYWHERE else offering such a thing. So we hopped in the car and drove 30 minutes away to Uncle Bear's.

I have got to say, I have NEVER been more disappointed in a restaurant. I will probably never go back here. We asked them if they had a gluten free menu, and our server said no. She then told us that they were completely out of gluten free buns and crust (for pizza) that day. I was thinking, ok no biggie, I guess we should have called. She took our drink order and walked away. I browsed the menu looking for something that maybe I could eat. She came back, set down the drinks and we asked her what on the menu was gluten free. She said, "Nothing." We're like, "Nothing??" I asked her if any of their salad dressings were gluten free, she said no, not that she's aware of. So I asked if they had any corn tortillas for the fajitas, and she said no, only flour. She maintained that NOTHING was gluten free. Not a single thing. We told her that we'd have to go somewhere else. There's no way in hell I was going to risk eating something there if the server is straight up telling me that there is nothing they can offer me. Oh, but it doesn't end there.

SHE CHARGED US FOR THE DRINKS. 5 flipping dollars we had to pay for the drinks that had been set on our table, untouched by us. Not to mention, I asked for a Dr. Pepper, Brandon asked for an Ice Tea, and she brought out two Dr. Peppers. It was unbelievable. I felt the staff there was completely clueless as to what gluten actually is; they were unaccomodating, and very difficult to work with. You'd think when they started offering gluten free buns and pizza, they'd at least educate their staff to help customers who come in requesting it or AT LEAST put together a freaking gluten free menu! Sheesh.

So we moved on to our second option: Uno Chicago Grill. I have heard such great things from the blogging world about the new gluten free pizza offered at this restaurant. Just to be certain that we didn't run into the same problem, we called ahead and checked to be sure they had the pizza, which they did. The experience that we had at Uno was night and day to Uncle Bear's. They had a gluten free menu with lots of choices (NOTE: Their ranch dressing is NOT gluten free so don't get that as a dipper). The thin crust gluten free pizza is even on the "regular" menu! Nobody puts gluten free babies in the corner!

When the pizza arrived at our table, my mouth was watering. It looks and smelled SO good. It is a thin crust pizza, which we always loved to order pre-gluten free and I haven't had one since going gluten free. (My beloved Picazzo's doesn't have gluten free thin crust.) I think I devoured two slices before Brandon even tried his first slice. It was delightful. It tasted like pizza that you would have delivered to your house. Brandon said he liked it a little better than Picazzo's and I'd have to agree...slightly. Picazzo's is more of a fancy-schmancy gourmet pizza, this is just down and dirty, lounging around and watching movies pizza that I used to love so much.

I was two and a half slices in when Brandon starting pondering out loud about their kitchen practices. When our waiter came over he asked them how they handle cooking gluten free food in the kitchen -- separate cooking spaces, utensils, etc. The waiter told us that the cooks went through a several day training period teaching them about the importance of cross-contamination and how to avoid it. They have separate everything dedicated specifically to gluten free. The waiters also went through training, but obviously not as much as the cooks since they don't handle the making of the food directly. I can't tell you how good it was to hear all this, especially after the ordeal we just had at Uncle Bear's. So I continued to gorge myself on pizza, confident in this establishment.

And, I admit, I ate an astounding FOUR slices. That's practically unheard of for me.

I'd say, all in all, it went over pretty well. :)

Do You...Twitter?

I signed up for Twitter today because I though it'd be a fun little doo-dad to add to my blog. Looky to the right column...there it is! Now you can know what I am doing all the time! How cool!

I'd love to get more people involved, mainly so I have some fun stuff to read during the day! So what are you waiting for?? Sign up for Twitter right now and start following me, just for good measure. ;-)