A surprise 80th!

This weekend was a friend's mom's surprise 80th birthday party. I had been helping her plan it for months in advance...and it turned out beautifully! I willingly volunteered to take creative control to turn the atmosphere into something magical! So Friday after work I popped into Conroy's in Costa Mesa which offers 50% off all flowers (Friday's only). I literally cleaned out the shop! Gladiola's, Lillies, and Iris for around $1 per stem are you kidding me?? I made out like a bandit...and when I returned home my little place began to look like a flower shop itself!

I was slightly overwhelmed at first as I had never really created floral arrangements before! And there were so many flowers! They were going to be used as centerpieces... which is the main focal point of each table! So I couldn't have them looking unprofessional! After a couple of tries of undoing/rearranging I was pleased with how they turned out!

The BEST part was that her mom was shocked and it was a total surprise! Friends and family flew in from all over to be a part of this celebration...everyone was just delightful! Such a magical party :)

A very surprised birthday girl!

The clubhouse was spanish style with dark wood floors and golden toned walls. I wanted to lighten the space up a bit and complement the existing decor, so I chose celadon table cloths with creme colored linens along with the silver-leafed Chivari chairs...my favorite!

The centerpeices I wanted to be representative of The birthday girl; fun and free spirited! Her birthday gift to herself is sky diving!...At 80?!? Isn't that illegal! Anyways, I combined oranges/yellows with purple and creme to really button things up.

The Projects

Okay, so aside from all of the vacation time, my mind has been at work! Who am I kidding...it never really stops. So I painted the rest of my apartment...finally! I swear I am so non-committal when it comes to choosing decor and style for my own place! It's difficult because there are so many things I would like to do, but lacking in the funds and space to actually see it through. So I just pulled the trigger! Although I feel personally life is mostly black and white...my apartment reflects shades of gray.

Night stand purchased at a garage sale for $5 along with the lamp $1

Drawer pull from Anthropologie

Bookends from Urbanism

Floppy hat - Target

I love my metalic silver drum from TJMaxx Homegoods $50

Deco Pillow - Target $20

This is just a sneak peek of what my pad looks like...finishing touches to come.

Is it really late September?

Well I have been M.I.A over this last month...I can't ever come to terms with how quickly time passes! My younger sister visited for 11 days and following her was my dad who spent another week with me :) It was really nice being able to spend time with them individually and doing different things around So Cal! I took Hailey (my sister) to explore beautiful Santa Barbara and it really turned out to be an amazing trip! We totally lucked out and were able to bunk at The Bacara Resort which is absolutely breathtaking!

This resort is magical! There is something about it that just restores the "butterfly" feeling when in love! I know...that sounds cheesy, but it seriously rocked my world! Aside from being luxurious...I mean who wouldn't want to snuggle in Frette sheets? I didn't want to get out of bed!

Showering with FRESH was an experience all in its own. The weather wasn't ideal for sunbathing...but there is nothing more relaxing than a brisk, gloomy morning in California and a room with a fireplace, no home should be without one of these.