A German in SoCal: Ten years later - or - Celebrating a great friendship

Six months ago I swore to have my man's back, in good times and in bad. Weirdly enough the past 12 and something years seem like they have just flown by and so do the past six months.

Last Sunday on November 2nd I was bridal gown shopping with my sister and one of the best girlfriends a girl could wish for, exactly six months after the man and I quietly sealed our lives into one life together. We decided a couple of months ago that we wanted to celebrate our wedding in Germany as well, as a gift to my side of the family. So, I went overseas at the end of August to sort some things out for that springy event next year. My parents had already scouted the location and we interviewed disc jockeys, photographers and decided on some bigger tasks. I had great time.

Two weeks ago my sister and Mara came to visit us. We had a blast! It was Mara's first time in the U.S. so it was quiet refreshing to experience everything here again through the eyes of someone who has not experienced the craziness in this country. We went to the "Walk Of Fame", the Hollywood sign. We ate burgers, cupcakes, frosting, candy cane M&M's and ranch dip. We went to San Francisco, to Alcatraz, we biked across the Golden Gate Bridge, we took 22,000 steps one day. We rented a car and drove down the coast from SanFran to L.A.. We took a Beyonce dance class in Hollywood, including costumes, for my bachelorette shenanigans and we found the dress in which my dad is going to walk me down the aisle next year. My parents will be here in about six weeks as well and I am pretty sure it will be a different kind of Christmas than what they are used to, with all the palm trees and the sun....