How to Throw the Best Bachelorette Party Ever Part 1: Fun & Games

Since I can't take credit for most of the planning, I think you should believe me when I tell you that my bachelorette party weekend in Austin was the best ever. Really. And that's for two main reasons: 1) I have the absolute best friends. 2) Austin is an amazing city.

I'll cover all the fun games and special touches that Lauren and Kelly put together for the weekend in this post and then cover everything we did in Austin in the next. Sound good? Cool.

1) Welcome Gifts 

The theme of the weekend was "Western/Cowgirl/Texas" and Lauren put together cute little themed goodie bags for each of the girls.

The bags included a boot-shaped plastic mug, boot shot glass, western-themed photo holder, and a horseshoe necklace. It was so fun to see all the girls rocking their matching necklaces all weekend and the boot mugs were great too since our Air BnB rental didn't have a huge assortment of glassware.

2) Bachelorette Boots

On Friday, I got to open a present from all the girls- custom cowboy boots! Lauren commissioned these boots to be decorated with my first name and new last name and lots of rhinestone accents. I wore them for our first night out and broke them in with a little two-steppin'. Such a fun gift!

3) Coins!

These should really be listed as #1 because they truly made our weekend. Over the course of the trip, the goal was to collect as many coins as possible. Coins could be earned by performing certain dares or challenges. Some favorites:

1. Earn 1 coin for every drink that someone buys you
2. Earn 2 coins for finishing the mezcal drink that nobody else wants (see photo below)
3. Earn 3 coins for a successful completion of a "Kill Your Friends" dare (see the rules here)

Basically, the coins were the best game ever and way more fun for the group as a whole than that tired list of bride-only dares that sometimes accompanies bachelorette nights. Major props to Lauren for this idea!

4) Lingerie Game 

Kel asked each of my girls to bring me a set of lingerie as a gift (I know I'm lucky to have such generous friends!) and on our second night, we played a little game to see if I could guess who bought me what. Of course, we made it into a drinking game where I had to take a shot every time I guessed incorrectly (and that happened a lot...) and the lingerie-giver had to take a shot once I finally figured out who she was. Fun!

5) Groom Q&A

On our last night, we played a game where the girls and I had to try and guess the correct answers to questions Sarah had asked Doug ahead of time. The idea was that if you got an answer wrong, you had to drink... but Doug proved to be a bit of an enigma, so we all just drank and called it good. And just so you know, my favorite Harry Potter character is Lupin and I'd obviously choose invisibility over being able to fly (Come on, Doug!).

Wanna know what we did in Austin? Read Part 2 here.

Dallas/Fort Worth, Part II: Fuzzy's, Gloria's and Lone Star Bakery

Read Part I of my Dallas/Fort Worth Post here. 

Our Sunday in Fort Worth started with some final packing at Kerry's apartment followed by lunch at Fuzzy's.

What: Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
Where: 2917 West Berry Street, Fort Worth, TX
Honeys Heart: Queso and chips 

Fuzzy’s is my Uncle Steve’s favorite restaurant in Fort Worth. It’s a local chain with locations throughout Texas and in neighboring states. They serve great, quick tex-mex with a focus on tacos.

Now here’s a sad story, folks. I had a bit of the flu the night before, so in addition to not being able to go out to the bars with my cousins on Saturday night, I also had to take it easy with the food on Sunday. I know. It was the worst. I’m still mad about it. But anyway, I had to order with my stomach in mind, which is why I went with the ground beef tacos.

You know I would have rather had something else… but I had to go neutral. And the ground beef tacos were pretty good. Love that Fuzzy’s makes their tacos special by topping them with feta and garlic sauce in addition to the usual suspects. 

But what I liked best (despite the fact that I limited myself to four or five chips for my stomach’s sake) was Fuzzy’s queso with chips. This queso was unusual for me because it’s made with white cheddar. Yum! Sorry, didn't get a pic.

Other choices included Fuzzy’s grilled sandwich with fried potatoes (ordered by Justin) and the nachos (Kerry’s favorite).

After lunch, we spent the afternoon at Fort Worth Zoo.

Fort Worth Zoo has been frequently recognized as one of the nation's best small zoos. We all thought the exhibits were very well done and, at least when we visited, the place was immaculate. Definitely a must-see if you're in the area.

And for dinner that night: Gloria’s!

What: Gloria’s
Where: 2600 W Seventh St. # 175, Fort Worth, TX
Honeys Heart: Pupusas

Gloria’s is my aunt’s favorite restaurant. They serve Salvadorian food as well as Mexican and Tex-Mex food and, like Fuzzy's, are also a local chain. 

I first introduced my parents to pupusas, yucca and fried plantains in DC, and since my mom loved all three, I wasn’t surprised that she decided to go for Gloria’s  Sampler Platter which features all of the above plus beans, black rice, and a tamale. I chose the same.

My mom and I both loved the pupusas. They were filled with cheese and pork and were just crispy on the outside (the ideal since so one likes a soggy pupusa). The yucca and plaintains were good as well. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in the tamale. These tamales were wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks so they didn’t have as much of that corn-y flavor (which I love) as other tamales. Oh well.

Kerry ordered Churrasco Tipico, a plate with grilled churrasco sirloin steak with chimichurri sauce, Argentinean sausage, plantains, black beans and rice.

My aunt ordered Pechuga de Pollo,  marinated, grilled chicken breast.

And Gilma, Kerry's future mother-in-law ordered Chicken Flautas. Yum!

On Monday, before Kerry and my aunt dropped us off at the airport, we stopped by Lone Star bakery for some desserts because really, you can’t travel with my mom and NOT get something sweet.

What: Texas Star Bakery
Where: 499 West Harwood Road, Hurst, TX
Honeys Heart: Pumpkin Spice Cupcake

Texas Star Bakery is your classic old school bakery. None of the walls are painted pink, no one’s wearing a cute little apron, and for sure, no one’s been on Cupcake Wars.

But in my mind, that’s fine as long as the pastries are good.

My mom, sister and aunt picked out a few cupcakes while I went with a gingerbread cookie (they're my favorite) and Kerry chose a frosting and chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

You know Mrs. Field’s? They serve these little chocolate cookie cups with frosting on the top. I was obsessed with them when I was younger. Like, I refused to leave the mall without a little bag of five of them (because you had to order in increments of five, duh.) Anyway, Kerry’s cookie sandwich brought back delicious memories of those little guys. My gingerbread cookie was good too.

But the clear favorite was the pumpkin-spice cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The cake was very moist and the frosting not-too-sweet. Good choice, Mom!

And then it was off to the airport! Thanks for a great weekend Kerry and Auntie Kathy!