Boo!

We had a company wide work party yesterday. Each department had a theme. Ours was Zombie Diner. I was a zombie attack victim. The gash looked way more realistic in person. I was so excited to go home and show Sergio but when he opened the door, the first thing he said was, "Ew! Gross!" LOL. He wouldn't give me a baci until I took the makeup off.



I don't know. I think it looked kinda rad.

Anyway. I'm looking forward to a Halloween party tomorrow. Everyone's going to be in costume including us! I get to wear fangs!

Have a fun and safe Halloween my little ghoulies!!

Towel Critters

These guys were part of the nightly turn down service on the cruise. I had never heard of this before. It was such a treat to see what Rudy would leave for us each night.

towelanimals

Groovy Wooden Necklace

New vintage necklace from my favorite vintage store that's across from my favorite thrift store. :)



I'm thinking of lengthening it with a bit of dark grey ribbon.

Cabo Cruise Photos

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to cruise again!









Click here for album:

Cabo Cruise

Marc Royce Portraits

Remember Amy & Omar's wedding? Their good friend, fellow guest and photographer Marc Royce was on hand to take guest portraits. It's not every day you get your portrait done by someone as amazingly talented as him. Check out his work: http://marcroyce.com






P.S. Blogger downgrades the size of the photos which causes the images to blur a little when enlarged. But they are actually more perfect than real life. I promise.

Cruisin' to Cabo!

This is the actual present I gave to Sergio. He received it on the morning of his 40th birthday, October 6.



That's right. It's a diorama. I was Crafty McCrafterson this year. It illustrates what we are off doing now! So...see you in una semana!

P.S. Here are a couple of in-progress photos from the evening before his birthday. Sorry they're so dark. It was late.

That OK Sweet Spot

OK. Cards on the table. I wrote this post and kept it in draft mode for more than 24 hours. I even wrote and posted that cute kid thing before this already written post. It's a bit self indulgent and maybe kind of boring. My feelings wouldn't be hurt if you skipped. In fact, I wouldn't even know. Really.
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Anna at D16's recent blog post hit a chord with me. In it, she writes about body image and about aiming for a "middle-ground of OK-ness," which I interpret to being healthy.

It aligns with a conversation I had with my beautiful and talented friend, Rebecca, last weekend. We were lounging by the Ace pool, both wearing bikinis and both looking cute IMHO. Normally, I don't like talking about my body. It makes me uncomfortable and self-conscious. But talk about our bodies we did because really, we were so completely surrounded by model-like women and men, it was hard to ignore. We each recounted the very conscious moments in our lives when we finally "allowed" ourselves to buy bikinis. Mine was when I looked in the mirror in a Marshall's fitting room in Boston, wearing my first bikini and was OK with -- and kinda liked -- what I saw. I had hit that "OK" sweet spot about my body. It was a place that had eluded me since well before puberty. (I was a chubby kid and told so. Often.) And, speaking for myself, life has been grander ever since. And no, I do not equate wearing a bikini with grandness. I am describing a staggering moment of self-acceptance for me.

Wait! Sheath your dagger eyes people. I do not walk in a perpetual glow of self realized happiness. I don't. (What sober person does?) I have mornings where I'm horrified to find my jeans are harder to zip. Moments of self-loathing right after I've finished a giant cupcake - mostly because my stomach is probably aching. I'm constantly driven to bird like distraction by an incessant need to pore over fashion anything, during which I am confronted time and again with looks I honestly cannot pull off due to body type. I do wish I could be naturally thinner, if simply because it would mean more wardrobe options! I do wish my thighs were more svelte because then I could wear short shorts and skinny jeans with aplomb. (Because fashion is not equal. Sometimes it will look better on you, sometimes it will look better on me. The difference is in how the clothes are cut to fit the body, and that model girl's body is different than mine. Frankly, more styles are cut to look good on her than on me.)

But, like I said during that poolside conversation, "She's not having any more fun than I am because she's skinny." You see, I don't envy her that much. Not really. I eat healthily most of the time and enjoy indulging the rest. My doctor gave me a squeaky clean bill of health a month ago. My legs carry me where I want to go (stilettos and gimpy feet notwithstanding) and my closet is filled with clothes that fit (mostly).

Also, since reading Anna's blog post (coupled with related thoughts that have been floating around my head recently), I've decided to stop thinking that the skinny girl needs a sandwich. Because unless she's hungry, she doesn't. (Subversive, right?)

Having said all that, there is one thing that would make that OK spot even sweeter.

Exercise.

I miss the strong, flexible body I had when I was a gym rat. I don't know what happened. I am firmly in the throes of sloth mimicry. It's like my brain shuts down when presented with the prospect of a workout. I won't even engage in casual conversation with Sergio about it. Sigh. He really does try too. Well. One day I will be inspired to exercise again.

Until then, I aim to maintain the OK-ness I've achieved so far. It's a pretty awesome place to be. Thank you Anna for your post. It made me feel good.

Kids Are Smarter

Hey you baby parents out there! Check out today's Simply Lovely post for the absolute sweetness that you all have to look forward. As I suspected, people are smarter when they are seven. From then on, it's just a long, messy struggle to regain that level of clarity.

Colton Bernard Dreyfus

Another thing that happened while I was planning Sergio's birthday festivities? An actual birth day!

Meet cutie Colton Bernard Dreyfus, born 9.21.2010. I know his gorgeous mommy from college. We were dorm mates at BU (199 Bay State Road!) and we traveled to Barcelona together for Spring Break one year. And now she's gone and had a baby. How quickly time flies!



Congratulations Meghan and Scott!

P.S. How cute is that bedding?!? I want it on my bed.

Amy & Omar tie the knot

So there's been other stuff going on besides Sergio's birthday. Like Amy & Omar's wedding. The wedding took place at the Marrakesh House in Culver City. It was a wonderful evening.



Congratulations Amy & Omar!

Amy_Omar_Wedding

Badges and Staches

I purposely chose to not have a camera in my hand all day/night so I could enjoy Sergio's party last Saturday. Of course I did take a few, but I know others had way better shots than I. So, while I wait for peeps to upload their photos, take a look at me making the party favors, late at night, the week before the party. I had quarantined Sergio to the living room so I could spread out on the dining table. The lighting is obviously more conducive to dinner conversation than crafting. My finger had a close call with the shears. Thank goodness for fingernails.

• Sergio and Coyote pins
• Mustaches on a stick

Birthday Video

UPDATE: I had originally uploaded this video to Youtube but they muted the sound because they hate me. Well, maybe hate is a strong word. They hated that I chose the music I did. Whatever. I have now uploaded directly to blogger. So there YouTube. I hate you back.

Hey, that's ME!

LOL.

Look at me on Clare Vivier's blog. It's from her trunk show.



P.S. I am currently tapping away in our swanky fireplace patio room at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, listening to Ray Charles on the in-room record player. We are celebrating Sergio's birthday today with a pool party. When I logged in to feed my daily blog browsing habit, Sergio heard me squeal, "Hey, that's ME!" The "me" sounded like the little piggy who went "whee" all the way home. He laughed and said, you need to put that on your blog.

Sergio's Birthday Celebration

It's here. We're here. We LOVE the Ace Hotel!!! Currently, we are using the free wifi and listening to our record player. Awesome.

Check out the invitation I made.



Sergio is so happy which makes me happy.

Sergio's birthday celebration - Hint #3

I've told Sergio he can't google all the hints. But you can! Email me if you think you've got it - I might send you a party favor! (people who I've told are not eligible.)

Hint #3







Hint #2
Hint #1

Harvest Moon Wontons

In lieu of traditional Harvest Moon Festival Dinner last weekend a couple weekends ago, my family made wontons for lunch!




yum!

La Tropezienne

Last Thursday, at Clare Viver's trunk show, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Jeana, Ramis, and Heather -- 3 blog mavens I've been admiring for quite some time. We, and a veritable crowd of other CViv fans gathered around the delicious treats laid out for us.

No camera allowed in the club, otherwise there would be a photo here.

As soon as I got to the top of the staircase, Heather greeted me warmly and pointed out a sparkly black that was in very limited supply. Clare did not have any more of that leather. Tempting. I scanned the rainbow array and spotted La Tropezienne. I have been admiring it since I saw it on Jeana's blog over a year ago. That Trop, I decided, was my Trop.



And then, I saw both Deborah and Heather (two of the hostesses) carrying the blue clutch at different times during the event, looking fabulous. And then Jeana picked up the laptop version of it, also looking fabulous. The blue was just electric. Well, their advertising paid off.



Sigh. I'm a little shopped out. Never thought it would happen, but I am. These two lovelies are perfect pause points, don't you think?

Sergio’s Birthday celebration - Hint #2

Hint #2



This is fun. I think I'll drop another hint next week. :)

P.S. Here's Hint #1 again,

Bathroom Photo: SoHo House WeHo

Jeana beat me to the punch! I'll be uploading photos of my Clare Vivier trunk show spoils tomorrow. Today, I give you, the bathroom at SoHo House in West Hollywood.




This place had the most amaaaazing view. I don't think I've ever seen my city like that. However, cameras are not allowed anywhere in the club. No one was around to scold me in the bathroom so out the little Nex-5 came.