Time To Break Out the Boas!

My father never understood the concept of saving the good china for a fancy holiday. He felt that one should enjoy china on a daily basis. So, he bought my mother a second set of china, and every day was china special.

My father's wisdom was not wasted on me, and, as such, I always celebrate each new day (and every moment) as if it was a special occasion. Between this adopted philosophy and my unending urge to party plan when ever possible, I will never hesitate to go all out when planning any event, small or large.

Tonight, was (in my book) a very special night indeed. Sex & the City, the Movie, was finally hitting the big screen, and therefore, it was time for a girls' night out! Time to break out the Cosmos and Manolos and have a good time with great friends!!

. . . And so the planning began. After a day full of errands, I set to decorate our apartment--to give it a "Sex & the City" feel. As my husband watched me slowly tackle the task at hand, he tried to restrain his confusion. Then, right as I was standing on a stepladder attempting to hang boas from the chandelier, he cracked: "What are you doing, you guys are just going out to a movie?"

Umm...this was not just any movie, and more importantly, it was a rare treat to hang out with some of the most fabulous friends a girl could ask for--and as such, no-brainer, a special occasion. And besides, I had an urge to decorate, and once that urge is born there is just no stopping me (and if you need further confirmation of this fact, check out what I did for a dinner for 6 on New Years):

Rather than use our full bar, I set up a martini making station. The girls had a choice of: apple, pomegranate, mango...and of course, cosmos.

I hung black and pink feathered boas (that I picked up at Joann Fabric at the last minute) from the chandelier.

Blessed with a loving husband whose only fault is that he can't help but break any glass he touches, I needed to restock our martini glasses for the event. Luckily, I found the Viv Martini Glass at Crate & Barrel. Hard to break (trust me, my husband tried), and only $4.95 per glass; it was a real steal!


The above arrangement was the result of a last minute decision to hide a flaw. Our side table had some pretty bad scratches on it, so I laid down some pink pre-cut sheets of felt that I picked up at Joann Fabric, and placed a vase on top of the spot where the four pieces met. I then filled the vase with a black and pink boa (also from Joann's).

The spread included an assortment of desserts (all courtesy of Trader Joes, of course). Our coffee table also had some scratches on it, so felt squares were strategically placed, and a boa added the final touch.

And while the cosmos were a huge hit, the apple martinis were a'flowin'. My secret tip: adding pineapple juice into the mix (takes away the sour aftertaste).

The best part of the night, however, was at the end of the night when my husband went out of his way to let me know he was proud of my creative use of boas. He really knows how to make a gal feel loved :)

And if you're wondering...yes, the movie was fabulous!!!

Do Rude People Grow On Trees?

I must say that it may just be a side effect of my chosen career path, or the city I call home, but I tend to meet a lot of rude people. What's worse, lately, I have been meeting a lot of passive aggressive rude people--which oddly, is worse.

I've decided that since life is all about perspective; when I have an encounter with a passive aggressive rudey, I will choose to be amused instead of being offended. In that spirit, I would like to share the following amusing back-handed compliment I received the other day (to understand the full context, please note that I was wearing adorable round-toed high heels):

Rude person: Wow, I really like your shoes!

Me: Tha--

Rude person: --I mean, I know that round-toed shoes have been out of style for a really long time, but I really wish they would come back in style.

(Hmmm....how does one respond to a passive aggressive rudey?)

In my defense, later in the conversation she revealed that she hates peep-toe shoes, so clearly, her opinion doesn't matter.

Buyer Beware: Lessons Learned From Browsing the Home Section

I'm pretty sure that writing housing descriptions for houses on the market requires an optimistic personality.


Looking for a home has been an exhausting and sometimes frustrating experience, but I have learned a few lessons along the way:

1. Cozy means small


2. Charming means small


3. Great Neighborhood means horrible house that doesn't compare at all to the others on the block.


4. Fixer upper means bottomless moneysucking pit


5. Move in ready means fixer upper


6. Reduced means either one of two things (1) this house can't sell; or (2) liars!


7. [name of city]-adjacent means horrible area


8. No pictures provided of kitchen or bathrooms, means that's the deal breaker


9. People who use the word "gorgeous" don't have good taste.


10. In the 600s, 700s, 800s, etc. means 699, 799, 899, respectively.


11. Everyone secretly thinks they are an entertainer when they are shopping for a house, and the sellers know this (hence the entertainer's backyards and the entertainer's kitchens - although I've never seen an entertainer's kitchen); however, the seller's version of entertaining is not often the same as mine.

Minty Fresh Calla Lilies?

It turns out that calla lilies don't enjoy mouthwash, or at least, they don't enjoy my husband's new mouthwash.



Before you jump to conclusions and think I must be conversing with flowers, let me elaborate:

Every time I buy flowers from this particular stand in the farmer's market by my office, I walk away, not only with flowers to arrange, but also with a free tip. It's true that most of the tips are not always practicable (e.g., sautéing the end of the hydrangea stem to seal in the juices; or if the hydrangeas start to go limp, drowning them in a bucket of water so they come back to life; etc.). Regardless, I always politely thank the flower guy for sharing his wisdom (though I never actually test the theories).

This week, however, was different, because this week, I was intrigued. After hesitating that they might be a bit too pricey for farmer's market standards, I decided to splurge and buy these gorgeous calla lilies:
As I handed over the cash, the flower guy leaned over to share his tip of the week with me, but this time, he started by saying that he doesn't share this particular tip with everyone (perhaps I was special...or perhaps only those that buy the overpriced flowers receive the tip).

Then, the tip followed, as he whispered to me that: the secret to keeping calla lilies fresh is mouthwash (something about killing bacteria on the flowers). He told me to just put these beauties in an inch and a half of water + mouth wash, change the water every 2 days and cut the stems every 5 days, the result: flowers that last for a whole 2 weeks.

I sat all day in my office staring at the callas in the corner, and counting down the hours until I could rush home and test his theory. Finally, the work day was done, and it was time. As soon as I walked in the door, I headed straight for my husband's new mouthwash, then grabbed a simple vase, and set out at arranging.

My husband stared as he saw me pour a splash of his mouthwash into the vase, and he even questioned whether I was feeling alright. I explained the top secret tip I had received, and reasoned "besides, what could mouthwash really do to flowers; I mean we put it in our mouths every day?"

Two days later, I stuck to the plan, and proudly switched the water and added another splash of mouthwash. So far, a complete success.

Then, sadly, I came home two days later to switch the water (yes, count that, four days after my purchase), and my callas were gone--they just disappeared. It turns out my husband found them sad and wilty, and decided to spare me from the pain. Unfortunately, I have no evidence to show you (or the flower guy) of the effects of mouthwash on calla lilies, but...alas...I will always have these pictures to remember how they once were minty fresh!





However, I must share this one caveat. Before jumping to conclusions that the flower guy makes up his tips figuring no one will ever bother to follow them, or that one should beware of unsolicited tips from the farmer's market flower guy, I feel I must disclose the following information that I just learned: Right before I sat down to write this post, someone informed me that their dentist told them that the brand of mouthwash my husband has been using has been known to turn teeth brown.

So, if I can brave it, I may have to try this again with a different brand, or at the very least, we will be switching mouthwash brands.

You May Be Seated

One of the most torturous events of planning a wedding, bar or bat mitzvah or any other large scale event is the dreaded seating chart. Keeping certain people a part, making sure others sit together can be a stressful undertaking. Not to mention, some guests may be "offended" by the location of their table (although this is up for debate, as my mom would argue the tables closest to the band and the tables closest to the back (by the bar) are the worst tables, but arguably these are the best!)

Luckily, this task can be simplified by letting software do all the work for you! Check out this amazing program that Mitzvah-licious found.

Tales from LA Grocery Stores

I've never been one for celebrity sightings. I wouldn't recognize Julia Roberts if she slapped me in the face. That said, my hubby is a master celebrity sighter. He can recognize anyone who's ever been in anything--even the biggest flop (yet another example of how we each make up for each other's weaknesses). Tonight, after he told me a story about his most recent celebrity sighting, I noticed an interesting dichotomy between Ralphs and Whole Foods:


A month ago, while my husband was shopping at Ralphs, in the corner of his eye he saw a hoard of people rushing down the aisle will flashing light bulbs. Chaos. It turned out Britney Spears was shopping inside, and she was being chased down by the paparazzi. Ergo, Ralphs does not equal safe haven for celebrities.


Contrast the foregoing experience with the following: my hubby saw Sheila from Big Brother fame at Whole Foods. Not one person bothered her as she loaded her cart and headed to pay for her groceries. Not one light bulb. Whole Foods is truly a sanctuary for the celebrity as not one annoying person swarmed her. Why is this so? Could it be that Whole Food shoppers don't care about celebrity? Is reality TV dying?

Or is the more important question, why was Britney Spears shopping at Ralphs and Sheila shopping at Whole Foods?

David Announced as Winner, but DVR Wouldn't Tell Me Which One

I take my duty as an American Idol voter very seriously. And so after voting several times (ok, a bit more than several) for David Cook, I eagerly was awaiting tonight's results episode. And then, this happened:





I didn't have a video camera on hand, but lucky for me (and you) a youtube user out there suffered from the same catastrophe (although his stemmed from a Tivo). The sad thing is that we normally record the show that follows American Idol for just this reason, but tonight...not so. Luckily enough yet another youtube user saved the day by posting a video containing the full results. What did we do before we had Internet?