Birthday Girls

I kicked off my birthday festivities with dinner at my parent's house. My mom made her fabulous spaghetti and basil meatballs. Instead of birthday cake we had decadent desserts of dark and white chocolate macaroon bars and cannoli. We toasted to 31 with orange infused champagne (divine!). After such an amazing meal I was tempted to take a nap but we pressed on to our next destination, meeting friends for drinks.

My friend Britni and I have birthdays 2 days apart so we did a joint affair this year. At the suggestion of another friend we met up at The Spirit Room in downtown Fullerton. This place is amazing! It's a cozy little speakeasy tucked away below street level. Dim lighting, big booths and an amazing attention to detail with turn of the century and prohibition-style libations. 

source

I love how their menu listed the origin of each recipe, for instance The Aviation, from Hugo Ensslin, Hotel Wallick. (New York 1910) A chilled mix of gin, fresh lemon juice, maraschino, and Violet liqueur.

 

Everyone was sharing sips of heavy hitting drinks. The "one and done" rule pretty much applied here, particularly with the absinthe infused cocktails. I kept things mild most the evening with the French 75 comprised of gin, lemon syrup and champagne.

We pretty much had the run of the joint. It was nice, like having a private party without the hefty price tag. It was such a treat to actually be able to have conversations with friends without shouting and always have somewhere comfortable to sit.

Here's one of me & the mister and another great group shot:

Checking in

I've been crazy busy lately. Barely had time to read blogs let alone blog myself. I did however manage a redesign over the weekend. So what have I been up to? Well...

 Pattern mixing with some fun plates from Home Goods.

 Filing quarterly self-employment taxes. Cute pink & red paper clips make the task of organization less daunting.

Taking my Dad out for a Friday night on the town. Gotta love the retro vibe over at the Keno's lounge.

Wearing gold hairpins make putting off a haircut slightly more glamorous.

Celebrating my niece's sweet 16 with a little bowling. Haven't been since 2004. wow.

Playing the bass. Eh...not really. I just thought it made a cool picture.

I turn 31 on Saturday.

The mister & I will be having a celebratory birthday dinner with my family before we head out for drinks with friends at a new speakeasy style bar in downtown. So excited to let my hair down after an already exhausting week. And of course I already have a fabulous outfit picked out. Ta Ta till then.

Personal Shopper

Striped or color blocked, it doesn't matter- I'm loving these bright shades! Clearly it's a popular trend this spring. Luxe and Less. Enjoy the round-up.

1. Sonia by Sonia Rykiel striped dress; $295
2, 3. Old Navy Jersey Maxi dress; $30 and Color Block keyhole dress; $39

Style Parade 4.08.12

I've been busy at work lately so I treated myself to a new frock. I'm seriously in love with this dress from Lauren Conrad. The fit is amazing and has great details. I paired with my newly appliqued cardigan that was inspired by this post. It only took me two years to get around to it. That's some serious procrastination, yo.

The mister & I met his family for Easter brunch at The Silver Trumpet. It was a perfect day, sitting lakeside sipping blackberry & St. Germain champagne cocktails while munching on a veggie omelet from the egg bar. Yums.

Dress: Lauren Conrad
Cardigan: Old Navy with DIY vintage embellishment
Bow necklace, clutch: Forever 21
Ruffle heels: Kohl's

Get the look //

manicure: OPI for Sephora in Leotard Optional + Polka dot and stripes with Sally Hansen nail art pen in white.
butterfly dress: Lauren Conrad for Kohl's; sale $44
spiked heels: Vera Wang for Kohl's; sale $55

Mad Men Party recap

The mister & I hosted the Mad Men party last Saturday and despite rainy weather we had a good turnout. I have to say, this party was all about fashion & cocktails. Two of my favorite things so of course it was a fabulous time. The mister isn't much into theme dressing, but that didn't stop me from looking the part.

Onto the decor...I decided to go the office party route after finding these freestanding letter in the dollar bin at Michael's. Sterling Cooper Draper Poli. Under the suggestion of an entertaining blog, I created a "Guess the Advertiser" game.

I also created these little quote cards from the show and scattered them around the food table. Others read:

"They say as soon as you have to cut down on your drinking you have a drinking problem"

 - Don Draper (placed on the bar)

"Why is it that every time a man takes you out to lunch around here, you're the dessert"

-Peggy Olson (placed next to the cupcakes)

I created this company bulletin board with references to previous episodes...like Joan's take on Peggy's roommate posting...

“Fun-loving girl, responsible sometimes. Likes to laugh, lives to love seeks size six for city living and general gallivanting. No dull moments or dull men tolerated.” 

...and the more recent joke ad: Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce: An Equal Opportunity Employer. And yes, that's a pair of lacy knickers found in the copy room. Someone thought it would be funny to tack them here...perhaps Harry Crane. He's kind of a perve.

Next off...the food & drink. We served era appropriate nosh like cheese fondue, deviled eggs, Lipton onion dip, pigs-in-a-blanket and stuffed celery. The signature cocktail for the evening were sidecars - brandy, triple sec, lemon & blood orange juice. Divine...but strong! To keep things light we eventually switched to pink bubbly.

I've been making good use of my jello shot cookbook. These French 75 shots with maraschino cherries were delicious - Prosecco & brandy with freshly prepared lemon syrup. 

I didn't want to endorse real smoking but these candy cigarettes were fun. They were a bit of an afterthought, but luckily there was a Powells Sweet Shoppe (very cool place by the way) nearby that sold them. They puff real sugar smoke too! They sold another brand called "Just Like Dad's". It's funny how things have changed over the years.

And of course no party is complete without amazing friends. You guys rock.

Style Parade 3.31.12

This is what I wore to our Mad Men party on Saturday. I'll be posting a party recap this week, but I wanted to give you a little tease, starting with my outfit. For the record, I haven't taken up smoking. It's just a prop. You can relax now, Mom.

It was a challenge to narrow down a selection because I have a lot of vintage-inspired dresses that fit the part. But ultimately you can never go wrong with a black dress and red lips. I added just a hint of leopard print with my belt and beaded necklace. That's my friend Alicia on the right. I love the contrast between us of city girl and demure housewife. Dressing up is so fun!

Dress & Belt: Target; $40.
Heeled mary janes: Delia's.
Hat: Vintage
Necklace: I'm Your Present (etsy); $6