The gorgeous lady in the picture with me happens to be one of the best friends on the planet. She is brilliant, hilarious and kind with a side order of fabulous. She planned "The Month of Dianna" in May to help me celebrate the new adventure I'm about to embark upon (next week...eeek!!), moving to Chicago. Really, a whole month? I'm absolutely certain I'm not worth a month of celebration but soaked up every bit of it and the fun and memories that accompanied.
First stop of the month-long celebration was dinner at the Oyster Bar with some of my favorite women on Cinco De Mayo.
Left to Right: Nicole, Toya, Wendy, Kayleigh & Helen
This was my dinner at the Oyster Bar - a shrimp Po Boy. Do they have these in Chicago? If not, maybe I should reconsider. :)
After dinner photo shoot.
Margaritas were flowing freely at dinner (HELLO, it WAS Cinco De Mayo) and everyone was feeling pretty good, especially that adorable Kayleigh! Her reflection the next day was something like, "Yeah, I think I had a little too much Cinco in my De Mayo!" Ha! I love that girl!
The cherry on top of the night came in the form of a ride around town with Toya in her grandfather's car. Toya's car was in the shop so she was driving her grandfather's "work" car, which is the most fabulous old-school Cavalier complete with the following:
No lid on the gas tank.
A calendar stuck to the dash.
Toya lookin' pimpalicious.
A tape deck. Are you hearing me? A freaking tape player.
I promise I've never had more fun riding around town. Ever. I'm not sure if it was the car itself or Toya driving it or maybe the fact that her grandfather had the radio set on the AM Gospel station but it was down right delightful, people.
Second stop for the Month of Dianna was Painting With a Twist.
Can you tell what the twist is?? :)
PWAT night consisted of me, the fabulous Helen, my new friend who I feel like I've known forever (she is good people, y'all), the fantastic Nicole, and her adorable mother. It was so much fun even if my painting looked a little something like a 5th grade art project. Who cares!! It was fun. We laughed and made inappropriate, lewd comments all evening. It was sheer perfection.
The third stop was a very yummy brunch hosted by the one and only, Helen. She fulfilled one of my deepest desires before I hit the road.....a plate full (well, maybe 2 plates full!) of the delicious shrimp and grits that she makes. They tasted just as great as they do in my dreams. Ahhhhh......
Here's the shrimp in all of its glory, being cooked, waiting to be put with the grits and directly into my mouth.
The littlest brunchers, Lady Gaga Maggie & Charlie Bucket Joshua.
They're pretty stinkin' cute, right?
Lord have mercy!!! I love this kid!
The brunch was extra special because my best friend, Cassie, was in town and got to come!!
Who would've thought in college that the three of us would ever be eating brunch together?!? :)
The grand finale of the Month of Dianna was a surprise trip to see......wait for it......wait for it.....Wynonna Judd in concert. Now, anybody who knows me well knows that Wynonna and that loony Naomi happen to be some of my all time favs!
This amazing lady and friend knows me well. She surprised me with tickets to the concert. I mean, seriously, I was already reeling from gratitude for the month of fabulousness she planned in my honor but I'm telling you, the Wynonna tickets sent me over the edge....straight into the abyss of what-in-the-hell-did-i-do-to-deserve-this-kind-of-treatment.
The night was amazing. Starting with out delicious and nutritious dinner of fried pickles, mini corn dogs and cheese fries with, yes, bacon on top!
Then, on to the casino for a little slot action before the concert started. I left with a whopping $11 extra in my wallet and Helen left with a considerable amount more than I. See, how already at this point, this evening is shaping up to be extra fabulous?
We finally get to the concert and were in our seats, which were in the very back. (For the record, I was as happy as a clam with the seats and was not complaining in the least! I'll take a Wynonna concert anyway I can get it, umkay?)
However, here is Helen's lament and profession of love for Wynonna. Enjoy! :)
Literally, two seconds after we recorded this video, a very nice man came up to us and asked if there were just two of us together and if so, would we like better seats. We both screamed, HELLS TO THE YES! The lovely man escorted us to the front (maybe 4 or 5 rows from the stage) and introduced us to his wife and explained that their son and daughter-in-law couldn't make it and they didn't want the good seats to go to waste. As if that weren't great enough, then the dude asked us what we were drinking. HELLO! Great seats and free drinks!
At this point, Helen assured me that good things were happening to us because she lives her life right.
I concur. :)
Our new friends!
The truth is, LOVE CAN STILL BUILD THAT BRIDGE, and, in my case, it built it directly to Helen Wise who happens to be the most delightful, authentic, genuinely lovely person I know. I'm so blessed to have her in my life and so grateful for the love and support she gives to me through her friendship.
Hint: Listen closely for a familiar voice singing and I'm not talking Wynonna. :)
My sincere wish is that everyone have a Helen in their lives because without one life is just not as sweet.
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