Retro Post: Birthday Week!!

Because it is snowing, and a terrible winter, I decided to remind you of August.  This is a post that never got published.  Shame on me!  But in the spirit of catching up, I wanted to share all of the fun I had during my birthday week.

Oh yes, I said BIRTHDAY WEEK!

If you don't know any Leos, this is how we do things!  We have a whole week of adoring attention from friends, family, and anyone else who will listen.  Lunches, dinners, parties, balloons - we love it all!  And if nobody offers, I will just ask if they want to join me for a birthday week lunch!

So this is how my week went:

Dinner at Northern Lakes Seafood with the best Granny ever

Sushi lunch ... mmmmm

Amy took me to see KID ROCK - Amazing seats, and amazing show!  Thanks Amy!

Mani/Pedi, of course

Farmer's Market (love!)

Cheers with corn!

Hanging by the pool with Katy

Fancy Schmancy Birthday Dinner w/ Granny, Fred, Sea, Eric, and Hannah

Horseback riding with my bro and all of my friends

Kenny Chesney Concert!! AWESOME!

Birthday shopping for adorable new outfit.  Yeah those are little motorcycles on my shirt.  And ORANGE pants!

More sushi ... and sake ... and friends ... and my brother ... and karaoke superstar ... and super fun!!

Cheers with sushi!

Cheers with cocktails! (This was our "band" picture)

Great Friends!

Karaoke!

I DARE you to come up with a better birthday week than that!  And trust me, I'll try to outdo it this year!  Who wants to help?

PEACE.  LOVE.  SERENE.

Seabrook's Surprise 40th Birthday: 1940s Hollywood Glam

I love planning parties, and I love themes.  I love dressing up, and costumes, and makeup.  I will use any excuse I can to do something different.  I even drew a cute little heart on my cheek for Valentines Day, with bright red lipstick.

My brother, Seabrook, turned 40 in January.  His friends, girlfriend, and I, decided on a 1940's Hollywood Glam theme.  We found the perfect speakeasy venue - It's called the Oxford Inn in Royal Oak, MI, and they have a party room they call the Lock & Key Room.  It was perfect with red drapes and boozy feel.  We even had a red carpet and stantions, with paparazzi snapping away and waiting for his arrival.

Oxford Inn did a GREAT job with the catering.  Chicken rockefeller, calamari, bruschetta, cheese, fruit, and crackers, and few other tasty treats.  I found great bite sized petit fours, cream puffs, and made about 200 chocolate covered strawberries!  (which, of course, I don't have a picture of)

His friends took him out to dinner so he would have some food in his stomach, then dressed him in a specially selected outfit.  He pulled up to the red carpet, and was absolutely shocked:

And of course we had to have Marilyn jumping out of a cake and singing Happy Birthday!  Our bartender, Tricia, did an AWESOME job playing the part, and being a great communicator for the venue.  He was REALLY surprised for this part!

I was so impressed at how many people really played up the costumes, and everyone seemed to LOVE the idea.  It is still being talked about a month later.  Now you get to see a bunch of pics of all of the great outfits!

And of course, my sister, and my brother, and I, on an awesome night!

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

KlutchClub - Month 2

I promise to not post every time I get a box from KlutchClub, but it's exciting to see the box on my front steps!  Here is the latest grouping of fun samples:

Im particularly excited to try the Numi tea flavors:  Tomato mint & Basil cilantro!

Peace.  Love.  Serene

National Geographic

I am super excited that for Christmas I received a subscription to National Geographic (thanks, Mom!).  I recently received the Jan & Feb issues at the same time.  I am absolutely floored by this article (posted below).  Is this possible?  Has anything in the world of research suggested anything like this?

SOLID GRASP:
Linger in the bathtub long enough, and fingers and toes will prune.  Those wrinkles may seem insignificant, but they could be rooted in evolution.
Puckered digits were once thought to be just the bloated result of water absorption.  Then Newcastle University evolutionary biologist Tom Smulders heard about another theory - that the lines promote water runoff and aid adhesion, like treads on a tire. (Picture shows a man holding a marble - caption: Fingertips grip wet objects, like this marble, better when they're "pruney.")  Smulders confirmed that pruney fingers have the advantage in wet conditions.
He's only just scratched the surface of how the wrinkles work.  For now, though, his findings could boost the theory that a million years ago the ancestors of modern humans went through a semiaquatic state, when skin folds might have helped toes cling to slick rocks and fingers catch wriggling fish.  ~Catherine Zuckerman


Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Klutch Club - Subscription boxes

I don't know if anyone has seen these, but it's kind of a craze going around.  These monthly subscriptions for boxes with samples or full-sized items.  You can get boxes of stuff picked out by your favorite celebrities, such as Ashton Kutcher, Tyler Florence, or Jennifer Love Hewitt (www.fancy.com).  You can get boxes full of beauty products (www.birchbox.com), and more with health foods, weight loss products, spa items, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I have purchased a few with Groupons.  These monthly subscriptions can be a little bit pricey after shipping, but the deal sites are a perfect way to try them out.

My personal favorite is Klutch Club (www.klutchclub.com), which specializes in healthy foods.  I feel like I got those most products that I would actually use, and I really got my money's worth.  I'm actually considering signing up for a bonafide monthly membership!  If you want to try out this company (I swear I am not being paid!), buy the "Best-of box" with non auto-renewing, and use code FREECLUTCH - you'll have to pay shipping, but you'll get one box for free!!

Let me know how you like it!  OH!  Here is a picture of all of the stuff I got in my Klutch box:

Peace.  Love.  Serene.

Winter sucks

Ok, you're like "What?  Winter sucks?  What happened to savor the season?"  I know, I know.  I spoke too soon.  This January we have a reached RECORD snow fall.  That's right, we had the most snow fall this January than any other January in history.  Some sites claim 32 inches, others up to 39 inches.  All in January!

Here's the thing - I don't mind the snow so much (as long as it's fluffy) - it's the bitter bitter arctic temperatures that are really getting to me.  There's just no way of being outside.  Yesterday we hit a balmy 32, and it actually felt like spring.  No joke, I saw people without coats on outside.

So as the temperatures get back to a more normal manageable winter,

who wants to go skiing? sledding? Hiking?

 I need to get some new snow pants but let's GO!  Let's slap this winter in the face! 

(side note on the ill-fitting snow pants.  First off, they are from at least 10 years ago, so bonus for me that they even fit on one leg.  And technically I DID get them zipped up on both sides, they were just really really fighting against the zipper, and came unzipped halfway down my leg on one of my sledding expeditions - so I think I deserve a new pair of pants ... to match my jacket.)

So Im not complaining so much as calling this winter a bitch.  Let's make friends again.

Peace.  Love.  Serene.