So back to a few weeks ago and Christina's hen's day at the races. Great fun! (Thanks to Clare for the use of her photos from the day.)

When we received the invite, Clare mentioned that she'd never been to the races before. I gave her the run down of a typical day at the races - dress pretty, drink champagne and bitch about what other women are wearing. And that's pretty much what we did. I'm always surprised by how much fun it is!

Chris was assigned dares during the day which were designed to embarrass her as much as possible. For example, at one point she had to stand up and yell "I'm not wearing any knickers" to everyone in the stands. Hillarious! I'm so glad that I've had my Hen's party already because I wouldn't want anyone getting any ideas.


Most people go to the races to put a bet on but it has never been one of my chief pursuits at the races (see above - dress, drink, bitch). When we do bet, it's usually for silly reasons. Last time we went to the races we bet on a horse called Stella just so we could yell Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllaaaaaaaa (a la Streetcar Named Desire) as it ran the track.

This time, I bet on a horse called Jessicabeel (for what I hope are obvious reasons). It won! hurrah! It won at quite good odds too so I walked away with $40 after an initial outlay of $5. It was enough to pay for most of my champagne on the day and it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside (both the win and the champagne). To win on Saturday you had to bet on a horse named after you. In the next race, Natalie bet on a horse called Speedy Natalie and it also won!

So that's going to be my theory when I next head to the races. Only bet on horses named after me!

Addendum: Andrew mentioned that I'd won with a bet on Jessicabeel to his friend Steve. When Steve went to the races the next weekend he also bet on Jessicabeel and won. He won $70! So, obviously you should just bet on Jessicabeel. The horse is a winner.

More photos (slideshow) on Clare's Flickr.

Last weekend it was Christina's turn to celebrate her last days as a single woman. For her hen's celebration we headed to the David Jones Australian Derby Day at Randwick race courses. Unfortunately, our point and shoot gave up the ghost a few weeks ago so I wasn't able to take any photos during the day. So, the photos from the day will be forthcoming.

I can show you what I baked for the day though. I baked caramel mud(cup)cakes and topped them with dark chocolate icing. I decorated them in a Looooooooove theme. I took photos of my cupcake creations before leaving the house which was a good idea because once packed in my rolly esky, they got bounced around a bit on the journey. Oops! They didn't look quite this good when I brought them out at dessert time. They tasted just as good though!

I love weddings and all the hoopla that goes along with them. Any excuse for a good party, right? I even enjoy a good hen's party. Even though the concept is a little outdated. Celebrating your last night as a single woman when you've been together for years. Or a kitchen tea where you're given items for your new kitchen and you've been living in sin with your partner for ages. But for me, a hen's party represents a chance for a bit of girly fun. And who doesn't love that?

This time, it was Clare's turn to celebrate her last days as a single woman. Clare's hen's day was a very classy affair. The theme was 50s housewife so we were all dressed in pretty dresses, heels and pearls. We spent the day in the Hunter visiting wineries, tasting wine and even buying a few (too many) bottles. There was no tacky penis jewellery or suck a lifesaver t-shirts. We were very sophisticated.

We heard stories of the other kind of hen's party. At Petersons winery, our tasting host told us that the hen's party before us had had a belching competition. One of the other brides-to-be that we ran into on the day gave Clare a present of a jelly penis toy. We'd look at these other hen's parties and wonder who would want that kind of day out. But then again, I'm sure they were looking at us and thinking that we have no idea how to have fun. Each to their own.



These beautiful photos were taken by Mindy Wong. Thanks Mindy!

More photos on Facebook.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out on Caitlin's Hens Night. Caitlin's wedding is coming up soon, so of course we had to go out and celebrate her last days as a single woman. (Don't you love how the 9 years that she's been with her partner Jack apparently don't count?).

Hens Nights are usually very girly events and Caitlin's was no exception. In the afternoon we maxed out on sugar with afternoon tea at Yauatcha. It's a fancy Yum Cha restaurant so the afternoon tea had a bit of an Asian theme. I wasn't really a fan of the green tea scones. Give me plain fluffy white scones anyday.

Afterwards we headed to Bloomsbury Bowl for bowling and karaoke (bowlaoke). Of course we girled it up in the karaoke room: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend and Material Girl all made an appearance.

I get extra girly points as I managed to fit in a blow dry in the morning and a manicure in the afternoon before heading off to Yauatcha. Any excuse for a bit pampering.


Unfortunately, Andrew and I won't be able to go to Caitlin and Jack's wedding. It's in Australia, we'll be in Croatia. As a little gift to go with our negative RSVP, I put together a bridal emergency kit. It's a little pack designed to be carried by the chief bridesmaid on the big day. It contains wet wipes, bandaids, panadol, safety pins, deodorant, lip balm, moisturiser spray and some love hearts for a bit of a sugar boost. They are all little things that you might need and don't want to be worrying about on your big day.

All the best for your big day, Caitlin and Jack! Andrew and I will be thinking of you both.

More photos on Facebook

On Saturday night, we went out for Sue's hens night, her last fling before the ring. The night was jam-packed with fun-filled activities. First off we had an afternoon tea with cupcakes, little boys and a special Sue flavoured game of pass the parcel. Next was Cocktail School at the Vanilla Room in Leichhardt (cocktails and cute bartenders, what more could a hen want?). The night was topped off with a few hours of serious boogying at Retro nightclub. I hope you had a fun night Sue, because, apparently, it was your last night of freedom ever (in the whole of the world!) Happy Pre-wedding madness Sue. *Jess sings* It's the final countdown! dooododoodoo! (photos)