Thanks to all of you who made it to my reading last night in Los Angeles, and to the folks at Tangier for hosting. And for Heidi for being a great sport. And to Andreas who stood up and read his sidebar, despite my heckling.

My book tour is over. And really, I couldn’t have hoped for a better “end of the road” event than LA. The reading was so much fun, the house perfectly packed, and I even managed to drag Andreas on stage to read his sidebar. Then I dragged Heidi on stage to embarrass her over her antics at our wedding reception. And then I cut up a penis cake that somehow managed to be even more obscene than the penis cake at the book release party, way back in February … which seems like a lifetime ago. So long ago that I can hardly remember why penis cake became an offbeat party staple. Who the fuck’s promotional idea is this? I bookended my book tour with penis cake and a Wai-Ching dress on both ends. I’m not sure what that means.

Lots of photos over here, including shots from most of the other places I toured.

UPDATE: Oh and yes, for those who noticed, this does mean that my Portland reading on June 11th has been canceled. Sorry I didn’t announce that — I didn’t think anyone would notice, and I guess I was wrong.

(Thanks to leahpeah for the photo!)

I’m in LA for a for a few days, on the final stop of my book tour. I’ll have a few more appearances here and there, but this weekend marks the swan song of the sock puppet. If you’re in Los Angles, I hope I’ll see you!

SATURDAY
7:30pm Offbeat Bride reading and drunken farewell to my book tour
@ Tangier Lounge, more info here

(Oh, and I’m also reading at LA Angst on Sunday)

I spent all afternoon yesterday at Vain, where I co-hosted an Offbeat Bridal Shower thang. Dozens of nontrad bridal types came, got their hair played with and make-up done, ate cupcakes and drank fizzy beverages. It was awesome, and thanks to the ladies at Vain for hosting the event.

… And thanks to each of you who came and provided so much gorgeousness! My voice is hoarse from doing so much talking with brides and other awesome women — I even got to meet the bride I’ve been web-stalking all week.

I took hundreds of pictures yesterday … sadly, many of them turned out fuzzy, but you can still get some great hair inspiration over here. If you were at the event and don’t see yourself in the pictures, email me and I’ll send you the shots I have of you. They may be out of focus (bah!), but if you wannem, I gottem!

Oh and PS: Totally unrelated to Vain, but I love this hairstyle.

This weekend I’m co-hosting an awesome event at Seattle’s VAIN, the salon that gave me my pink braids. If you’re in Seattle you must come. Seriously: there will be cupcakes and non-stupid hair styling. How could you not come? Here’s all the info:

VAIN’s Offbeat Bridal Wedding Shower
May 19th 2007, 2-6pm FREE
VAIN: 2018 1st Avenue, Seattle WA

As engaged couples across Seattle know, wedding season is almost upon us — and for the Northwest’s growing numbers of non-traditional brides, the looming season means something slightly different. With these nontraditional brides in mind, Seattle’s VAIN Salon has joined forces with local writer Ariel Meadow Stallings, author of OFFBEAT BRIDE: TAFFETA-FREE ALTERNATIVES FOR INDEPENDENT BRIDES, to host a free afternoon of nontraditional primping, wedding planning advice, sweets and prizes for local brides. The free event will take place between 2 and 6pm on Saturday, May 19th at VAIN’s Belltown salon at 2018 1st Avenue in Seattle.

UPDATE: Check out the Offbeat up-do gallery from the event!

I’ll be making a run for the border later this week to do a reading at Sophia Books Friday evening. It’s going to be more than just a reading though — there will be hula hoops, music, an offbeat bridal fashion show, veils, and god knows what else. More info over here.

Totally wedding unrelated, but if you’re in Vancouver I’ll be reading some horrific poetry from the late ’80s at Teen Angst Poetry night on Thursday. The comedy event starts 8pm at The Annex (307 W. Cordova). More info over here.

I’ve booked a bunch of offbeat events for the next couple months, including a fashion show/reading in Vancouver BC (May 4th), a reading in San Francisco (May 11th), a reading/reception with stand-up wedding advice in LA (June 2nd), a reading at Powell’s in Portland (June 11th) and even an Offbeat Bridal Shower with insane anti-bride up-dos at Vain here in Seattle (May 19th). Hopefully I’ll see some of you soon … check the calendar for more info!

Oh, and I’m at Village Books in Bellingham next Saturday!

Last weekend I have the honor of getting to attend the inaugural meeting of the Offbeat Bride DC Wedding Co-op. For those of you who have read the book, you probably remember the wedding co-op idea — Susan Beal’s brilliant concept for sharing information and resources with other brides. A reader in Washington DC named Jamie (a lovely type-A after my own heart) decided that she was taking the idea and running with it, so she recruited some brides and set up a live journal community to compare notes, share resources, and commiserate with other DC-area brides.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to this photo, my next book should clearly be called “Offbeat Handjob.”

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend, both in Brooklyn as well as DC! There are lots of Brooklyn pictures over here and here, and shots of the first meeting of the DC offbeat wedding co-op will be forthcoming. I’m fascinated by the idea of organized wedding co-ops, and it was awesome to get to witness the birth of one in an Arlington living room last night.

(Thanks to LW Lens for the photo!)