ain't nothin' else like L.A.

Extremely belated, but this deserves a post! My old roommate from junior year, Gilda, got married in L.A. the last weekend in August and I was so excited to drive out for the long-awaited event! Gilda lived with us in Tuscany my junior year when we lived in the three bedroom apartment. Six girls. Well, we usually had many more people spending the night after hanging out or studying. Our apartment was often hectic, but always fun. After one of our apartment parties, Gilda left with a boy named Jacob and one of his friends. She had met them in New York on a Chabad trip, and we were all a little nervous about her leaving with the two of them because we didn't know them. Little did we know what was in store! We loved having Jacob around the rest of the year. He treats Gilda like royalty and was always so nice to us as well. On more than one occasion, Gilda and Jacob came home and dropped off sushi in the study room for the rest of us. My first experience with Jacob was when Gilda said in passing that she felt like ice cream, so Jacob went out and bought us some. We are easily won over. Basically, we love Jacob, and it was neat for us to be there from the beginning.

Anyway, this was my first time to drive myself from Utah to L.A. Jamie came with me, but I drove the whole way! It wasn't too bad of a drive, I was tired but the trip is definitely doable. The trick is getting a couple days off work in order to make the trip completely worth it. :)
After dropping Jamie off at USC, I drove to Jen's house where I was so happy to be greeted by Jen and Jasmine. Natalie came over to see me for a little while as well. I missed them so much, I felt so happy and at home. I drove down on Friday, so I made in time for Shabbat dinner at Jen's house and then we went over to Jasmine's for dessert. The next day I hung out with all the roommates from Tuscany except for Gilda, of course, who was prepping for her big day on Sunday. We all went out for lunch at Urth Cafe and then I went with Sanam and Natalie to get our nails done. That night I met up with a couple friends from the softball team on campus. It was great to see the new student center, even though I am jealous of all the freshmen who get to enjoy it all four years. I parked on the Tuscany side of campus so I could have my normal walk to campus, past Doheny Library and Tommy Trojan. It was bittersweet. It reminded me of President Sample's speech at graduation when he said, "This will always be your home."

The next day was THE WEDDING! We got a room at the hotel where the wedding took place, so we were all able to get ready there together, which was fun. This was my first Persian Jewish wedding, and it was such a neat experience! I loved seeing a lot of old friends during the appetizers, but we were so excited for the ceremony to see Gilda!! She looked absolutely stunning, and when she reached the middle of the aisle and embraced her mom I think everyone teared up.
Of course, the rest of the night included amazing food, and lots and lots of dancing. My favorite part was when everyone gathered around the bride and groom and threw rose petals on them multiple times during a song. I'm sure the tradition has a name, but I'm only a sefid. ;)