This is 30

Whew! It's been almost a 2 week celebration of my big 3 Oh.  Now I'm tired, slightly hungover and definitely feeling my age. But it was certainly fun having my friends and family in town to celebrate with me!

San Francisco

To celebrate our 30th birthdays, Dan and I went to San Francisco last week. Neither of us had ever been to San Fran before and we loved it! Besides doing all the touristy things, we ate and drank our way through the city at some of the best restaurants.  

We spent the first day and night in Napa. Wine country is beautiful and the weather was amazing! I would really like to go back and spend more time there.

Domaine Carneros

 

 

After Napa we hit the city. We rode a cable car, walked the steps up to the Coit Tower, walked along the wharf, saw Lombard street, did the Alcatraz tour, walked through Crissy Field under the Golden Gate bridge, saw the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square and sat in Dolores park. We balanced out all the miles we walked with the amount of amazing food and drinks we had. We hit up a few bars and breweries as well as shopped the stores in a few neighborhoods.  

Rode the cable car 

Ramen at Ken Ken

We tried IN-N-OUT Burger for the first time. 

 Lombard Street

 

 Alcatraz 

Getting serious about this pizza

Life changing meatballs at Pizzeria Delfina

Alamo Square in front of the Full House houses

Bi-Rite Creamery 

 

Hands down the best burrito I have ever had! La Taqueria

Alley art in Mission

 View from Dolores Park

We had such a great time visiting a new city and new coast! We took so many pictures it was hard to choose which ones to post, so many great views of the city and way too many pictures of the food we ate. While we love our own city of Indianapolis, we really enjoy traveling and all the culture that larger cities have. Looking forward to our next adventure!

Floral Favorites

I'm currently craving pink and orange florals! I'm this close to ordering this top from Subtle Luxury. You have probably seen these Steve Madden heels everywhere, but really, they are the cutest! This Nasty Gal skirt could go with some many things I probably already have in my closet. And these fun pants from Lulu's... love em!

I also came across this Mink Pink dress this week and I am in LOVE. I love the black overlay on top of the floral! I would love to try to make something like this!

 

Black and White Stripe

I have a thing for black and white stripes. I can't get enough of it. I want to wear it and decorate my home in all stripes. I recently bought the skirt in the middle. I got mine from Dottie Couture and it's the perfect party skirt, the bandage style fits amazing at the waist. I have been eyeing this Topshop dress for some time, and am saddened it's sold out. Probably because Beyoncé was recently spotted wearing it!

We already have the Crate and Barrel striped rug in our living room and the cushions on my enclosed porch furniture, but I have been wanting this Ikea blanket and Target storage basket for while too. If anyone makes an Ikea run soon, let me know!!

 

Cake Stands

Growing up my mom had a crystal cake stand with a dome lid. It set permanently on the counter and always had cookies, brownies or some type of treat in it. When I got married I couldn't wait to register for a cake stand with dome and follow in her footsteps. I think it's our mutual love of sweets and entertaining that has us both baking to keep our cake platters full.

I have just a glass cake stand and dome, but I absolutely love cake stands in pretty colors!

Silver Stand, White Scallop 

Blue Stand, Orange Stand, Blue and White

Green and White, Dots, Yellow Stand

All of these fun colors and other party decorations at Girlfriend Galas

Jumpsuits

I tried on this jumpsuit randomly at TJ Maxx and promptly decided I need to have a jumpsuit in my closet! I was pretty disappointed that this on didn't fit correctly because I really liked the print and you know how it is with TJ Maxx, you will never find it again. I am glad, however that I stepped outside my fashion comfort zone to try this style. I really like rompers, but never considered the pant form. I plan to continue to search for one with a great fit!

 

 

 

Some other styles I like.

Floral, Solid Blue and Black and White from ASOS

Leopard and Aztec Prints from Forever 21

Theme Weekend

I had a really fun themed weekend! A friend suggested we buy some crawfish from Goose the Market's weekly fish order and have a Mardi Gras party. I'm not one to turn down a party, I was happy to oblige.

 

So I started with my décor. I had a few things at home, but bought some extra masks and beads from the dollar store. Great place for cheap décor!

 

We placed our crawfish order on Thursday and picked them up with some Andouille sausage on Saturday morning.

Started drinking Hurricanes Saturday afternoon while prepping the crawfish. If you haven't had a hurricane, they are delicious and powerful. A staple cocktail in New Orleans, made with several shots of dark and light rum and lots of sugar. Sure to give you a buzz and a headache.

Admittedly, I did not do the dirty work. Joe (friend) and Dan (husband) worked hard to clean and crack the mudbugs to get the meat out of them.

Once we got the meat out we all worked together to make a replica of Yat's Chili Cheese Etouffee. We used this recipe and added Andouille sausage. The recipe has a huge list of ingredients, steps, and calories but it was worth it!

We kept the party going Sunday morning with a Cajun breakfast casserole using the rest of our Andouille sausage. I used THIS RECIPE.

Once our Mardi Gras party was over and the headache was gone, I moved on to my next theme for the weekend: Oscar Sunday!! I have always wanted to have a red carpet party for the Oscars and was thrilled to be invited to one this year. I started thinking of what I would want to bring and came up with these cupcakes. Red Carpet Cupcakes! I printed off pictures of the nominees and cut them into circles, taped them to toothpicks and inserted them into red velvet cupcakes. Easy project and a big hit at the party.