and Melody got married

For readers of Year of the Dog, you know that those books are based on my childhood. The main character makes a best friend named Melody. Well, I really did make a best friend but her name wasn't Melody (I changed it for the book). In real life it was Alvina. And now, the whole reason we came LA was happening. Alvina was getting married!!

The cake topper I made was on the cake:

looks cute, don't you think?

Alvina was dressed and beautiful:

last photo of Alvina as a single lady!

And the ceremony began:

I had a good view to watch...

I was a bridesmaid! Just like we agreed upon in  elementary school (see pg 50 in The Year of the Dog!)

the final kiss:

And Melody Alvina was married!

Right after the ceremony, I changed my dress (it was a bit tight, still have to lose those pregnancy pounds!) and got Rain Dragon (who was being a fussbudget):

Blue Rose Girls: Author/illustrator Anna Alter, Alvina & me (with Rain Dragon)

Since I was all gussied up (when would I ever get my make up done professionally again?), we took a family portrait:

We clean up pretty well, don't you think?

The newlywed couple danced so beautifully (on the tennis court!):

that Rain Dragon settled down and went to sleep:

I had to give my toast like this!

into the night,  until the cake was cut:

and the paper lanterns looked like moons in the sky:

It was a beautiful wedding!

finished!

The wedding cake topper I made for Alvina's wedding is finished:

And she is getting married today! Happy Wedding Day, Alvina!

on my desk monday

I hope you've noticed that I'm going to be doing a booksigning in LA this Sunday! Because of Rain Dragon, I don't get to the west coast often and I don't think I'll be getting out there again soon (so please come to the signing!). In fact, the only reason why I am going this time is because my oldest friend in the world (meaning the person I've been friends with for the longest time, not her age!) is getting married! Yes, Alvina,  aka Melody from Year of the Dog, is getting married!  So, of course, for such an event I had to go! And because it's such a special event, I'm also making a personalized wedding cake topper for her:

This is really the first creative work I've done since Rain Dragon has arrived. She wants to be held all the time, so it's been a little challenging. However,  I've been making it work:

Maybe it will make the artwork even better! We'll see!