Slice of Pink

Recipe for a Fabulous Saturday

The Spot, good friends, and good beer.

Some sunshine.

Some {antique} shopping.

Some happy hour sangria.

Not pictured: some cheese, a tub of cookie dough, Bananagrams.

Beachy Waves

My girls' getaway in Carpinteria was all about beautification: facials and manicures and pedicures and Bumble & Bumble hair products and 40 minutes spent on the makeup aisle in Rite-Aid.

In fact, I spent a full hour attempting to put beachy waves in my hair, following the instructions of a 12-year-old girl on YouTube. This is approximately 50 minutes more than I typically spend on my hair. I dutifully twisted and blow dryed, twisted and blow dryed, twisted and blow dryed.

And I ended up with this:

One side wavy, the other straight.

Of course, the waves on the right side of my head completely fell out after we had already left the condo and were well on our way to the brewery. And, friends, with a choice between going back home for another 30 minutes of twisting and blow drying or going to the brewery with half-done hair, I elected the brewery. I'm sure you're not surprised.

Me and Martha and My Friends

A couple of my favorite-ever blog friends have joined me in the Me and Martha Project, so we are all trying out recipes, crafts, and other goodies from the pages of Martha Stewart Living.

Rachael prepared Chicken Pot Pies and Chocolate Creme Brulee {February Issue}.

Jennie tried Martha-recommended Essie Topless & Barefoot Nail Polish, made Cork Stamped Greeting Cards, and whipped up a batch of Lemon Salt Scrub {March Issue}.

And, just in case you missed my projects, I made Chewy Chocolate Chunk-Cherry Cookies, hosted a Valentine Crafternoon, drank some Fantastic Fizz, and made Clementines in Cinnamon Syrup {February Issue}.

Care to join us in feeling fabulously and stylishly domestic?

Abide: How to Host a Big Lebowski Birthday Extravaganza

1. Book some lanes at a bowling alley. And a hotel within walking distance.

2. Order White Russians.

3. Encourage costumes. {Don't be lame: pack your bathrobe or Jesus Purple Deluxe Jumpsuit, whichever is fresh from the cleaners.}

4. ABIDE.

Seas Opportunities

This past weekend was our dear friend Gavin's birthday and Jenny planned a fantastic birthday sailing extravaganza, complete with 36 foot sailboat and a captain. Our friends, Kris and Jeff, brought a delicious lunch, complete with olives, crackers, homemade hummus, veggies, cheese, and wine. Will and I brought, well, we brought ourselves.

Originally, I was going to bring the snacks, but when Kris offered, I happily passed the task on to her. She's way better at that sort of thing. My "fancy" basically consists of whatever cheese costs more at Trader Joe's (Oh! A fancy party, you say? Why, I think I'll get this $9 fancy cheese instead of my usual $4 cheddar!)

I did go out and get a nautical ensemble for the event. Have y'all been to Forever 21 lately? It's a nautical explosion in the place with all sorts of stripes in navy and red, rope belts, and assorted items printed with anchors.

I also intended to get a pair of new white Keds. Word on the street was that we needed to wear light colored soles on our shoes, which means that we all went out and bought brand new shoes. Of course, I waited until the eleventh hour, so I was unable to find Keds before the stores closed on Friday night and ended up at a Payless where I picked up some pretty cool Tom's look-alikes.

{Lesli and Stephanie both guessed that I needed new pair of Keds in my little multiple choice guessing game, which means that I owe them each a postcard!}

{Also? The captain? Not wearing light colored soles.}

And, so, there was good friends and good food and new shoes and we were all happy.

Have you been sailing? I had never been and I expected it to be a ton of work. Remember that episode of Friends when Rachael takes Joey sailing and a bunch of drama ensues? Yeah, I kind of expected it to be like that.

Totally not like that.

It was much more relaxing! With wine! And some dolphins in the distance!

I even was permitted to drive the boat and I was, without a doubt, the worst driver of the group. All I had to do was drive toward a mountain in the distance. I tried to drive straight toward the peak, but ended up zigzagging the whole way. We eventually straightened out, but only because Gavin took the wheel from the side and I only pretended to steer.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gallery Going

On Friday night, we attended an art show where our friend Ken had six amazing photographs on display. I'm lucky enough to have four pieces by Ken in my office, all of beautiful central coast scenery. I got mine for free, but now they are going for $200 a pop. I'm Ken's agent (self-appointed) so if you want a Ken Brandstetter original, shoot me an email.

While we are here, let me introduce you to my SLO girls, Jenna and Stacey:

Our husbands play volleyball together once a week, so we get to use the time to have crafternoons or see chick flicks.

The guys all called each other ahead of time and decided to go with their plaid shirts for the evening. Isn't that so cute?

{Wait? So no new Keds or llamas or wigs or purple or a rental van? Hold tight, the answer is coming soon.}

Visiting the Getty Villa

I am so excited to cross #2 off my 31 Before 31 list: Visit the Getty Villa. Mrs. Curieuse, Jenny, and I spent a lovely afternoon touring the grounds and galleries of the Villa and enjoying the amazing weather in Pacific Palisades.

It had been over 10 years since I had studied Greek and Roman Art--which is what the Villa is nearly exclusively comprised of--and, although I was an Art History major, my focus was Impressionism through Post-Modernism. I could remember very little about the things I learned in the single Greek Art and Architecture course I took in 2000 except a) the styles of Greek columns and b) the vessel they made the wine in (what? at least I remember the important details). Here it is: the krater, a vessel for mixing wine:

There, now you know the important stuff, too.

Perhaps I should take an Art History course this year! Wouldn't it be fun to brush up on a long-since forgotten period or two?

Girl vs. Food

Have you ever seen the show Man vs. Food? I just saw it for the first time over Christmas break, which is when I generally learn about new (and old) television shows. Adam is the host of the show and, if I have the basic premise correct, he travels from city to city taking on food challenges. He'll attempt to conquer a seven pound grilled cheese sandwich or consume 25 hot dogs within a given time limit.

It's gross. But, also kind of awesome. I find the show 49% repulsive and 51% fascinating (the extra percentage points on the fascinating is what kept me watching).

The day after Christmas, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law visited a hot wings and beer type joint in our hometown and, although I wasn't there, I feel compelled to tell you what happened because it is very inspiring. My brother-in-law, James, wanted to enter the Hot Wing eating contest. Apparently, if you eat a dozen of the hottest-of-the-hot hot wings in under 5 minutes, you win a t-shirt, a photo on the wall, and bragging rights. This is such a typical guy thing to want to do.

He didn't want to enter the contest alone, though, and somehow convinced my sister-in-law, Nicole, to enter the contest with him. Nicole didn't go to the bar to enter a hot wing eating contest, but after much cajoling, she caved and ordered up a plate of the hottest-of-the-hot hot wings.

Now, the guys at the bar explained that the only thing in the restaurant that could counteract the heat of the wings was ranch dressing. And, so, Nicole took a swig of ranch dressing and, when the clock started ticking, she started eating. Wing. Ranch. Wing. Ranch. Wing. Ranch. Twelve wings and a whole lotta ranch dressing, the girl was declared a winner. James almost finished--got very close, in fact--but it was Nicole who beat the clock and won herself the t-shirt.

She tells the story all nonchalant; just like, yeah, I ate all the hot wings and it was pretty gross. But I think it's pretty awesome. Girl power, y'all!

See You in Sunny San Diego

Exciting news! I'm going to BlogHer!

I know, I know, I said that last year and then totally flaked. But this year will be different because:

a) it's in San Diego (on my side of the country)
b) I'm bringing a friend (get excited, she's awesome)
c) I booked a hotel room (at the official Blogher hotel)
d) I am tired of missing out on all the fun (and all the champagne)
e) I hate declining party invitations (I'm a YES person)
f) it's important that I meet some of you in person since, when I talk to other people about you, I refer to you as my "friend" even though we have never met
g) did I mention the champagne?
h) I need an excuse to buy a new pair of shoes

In other words, I will be there fo' sho'.

So, are you planning to attend?

P.S. A small correction: I had a broken link on the last post. For some reason, when I copy and paste links, an extra html is sometimes added at the end. I have no idea why it does this! Anyway, please enter to win a $50 Macy's gift card and/or a copy of Elizabeth Buchan's brand-new-not-even-released-yet book Separate Beds.

Pony Style

On the second day of our stay at the Blue Iguana Inn, Gavin and Will picked up two of my favorite girls in the world from grandma's house so that we could take them out for ice cream and to the adorable little toy store where Jenny said "one small toy each" but then had to buy $50 worth of crap because I discovered the cutest-ever stack of red cowboy hats and, as you know, hats are accessories not toys, so the rule became "one toy each, plus the hat" and then there were these adorable beaded necklaces (also accessories, not toys) and, well, you get the idea. Bam! $50 later we had a bead kit, a cowboy hat, two necklaces, a jump rope, and a doll, most of it my doing (I am very sorry for this. $50! Who knew?).

The girls arrived with a boatload of toys of their own in tow, including a My Little Pony. Now, let me tell you, I was a big fan of My Little Pony as a child and, if I do say so, a bona fide pro at styling Ms. Pony's hair.

The question was: did I still have the stellar styling skills? Lemme tell you, I did and I do and I have the photographic evidence to prove it.

I started with a soft-curl side pony-tail. The look is bouncy and fun, perfect for brunch with the girls at the barn or an afternoon birthday party.

I moved on to a more conventional look--a sleek 'do with plenty of body and a slight flip at the ends. A great option for when Ms. Pony heads downtown to discuss business.

Finally, everypony's head will turn when Ms. Pony walks by with this gorgeous updo. Full of oomph and volume, this look is for a night out on the town.

If lawyering doesn't work out, I'm going into Pony Styling. I've clearly still got it.

Ringing in a New Year

I rung in 2011 in Ojai, a lovely and quaint little town in Southern California. We stayed at The Blue Iguana Inn in a two bedroom Southwestern-styled suite with Jenny and Gavin where we drank wine and champagne--plus a spectacular Ojai Orange Martini at Azu (I don't know the exact measurements, but it's made with Belvedere Orange, Orangecello, lime juice, and a dash of orange juice, so it can't be that hard to figure out)--and ate delicious things, including honey baked brie and an embarrassing amount of Italian take-out.

Good friends plus tons of cheese plus red wine plus a blue iguana in a santa hat equals a great way to ring in a new decade.

The Legend of the Bar Pie

Jenny and Gavin came for a visit, along with their two darling daughters, and we had a fun-filled weekend in SLO. When we talked about them visiting this weekend--the weekend I got my Bar results--I was worried about what might happen if I failed. Jenny just said that, if I didn't pass, she would pack her dancing shoes and a case of wine and we would drown the failure in pinot noir and club music. That's friendship. Thankfully, I passed so there were no tears over bottles of wine (although there were bottles of wine, just no tears over them).

On Sunday, the guys went to look at televisions, and the girls took a trip to Avila Valley Barn to feed the goats, explore the gift shop, and pick up a pie. One thing you should know about our friendship, is that we all bicker over who is going to pay the check when we are out. The person with the best excuse always seems to win, and that person, somehow, is always Jenny. She'll say, "but there's four of us and only two of you!" or "but you bought the groceries for dinner!" or "but we wanted to take you out to say thanks for [insert something that we totally do not need to be thanked for]." She quick-thinking and persistent and incredibly generous and somehow she always gets away with paying for things, whether it be shots at a bar (she'll also treat the nice girls from Australia that we met in the line for the bathroom) or candy canes at the candy shoppe.

So, anyway, we are buying a pie and I say that I'm going to buy the pie.

And, of course, Jenny says that she is going to buy the pie.

And, I say, "no way, you bought lunch."

And she says, "yeah, but you just passed the Bar."

To which I say, skeptically, "...which means I need a pie?"

To which she says, "um, yes, a BAR PIE!"

We both laugh at how silly the exchange is getting, how silly the concept is of buying a pie to celebrate passing the Bar.

"Now," she points out, "I HAVE to buy the pie so we can always remember the celebratory Bar Pie."

I can't think of a better way to celebrate: good friends and big cherry pie.

Hey! If you passed the Bar, go have yourself a piece of pie, it's a must! For those of you taking the Bar Exam in the future, you'll know what to expect from me when you pass.

Dressed in Scarves

Y'all have to go check out the brand new Etsy shop that my fabulous friend Mary just opened. She makes beautiful earrings and is extremely talented (you may remember that Mary brought me to a jewelry making course a few months ago).

Just look at these pretty pieces:

Click over quick because these are one-of-a-kind pieces and they are going to sell out fast. Seriously, people, I'm about to buy the pink and pewter pair any minute.

Also: you should know, Mary is a lawyer and you usually have to pay lawyers like $300 per hour for their time. At $20 a pair, you are getting an AMAZING bargain.

Ten Ways to Know You are Probably Too Old to Be Back in Your College Town

1. You attend a house party as the sober, designated driver.

2. The girls are wearing clothes that you wore the FIRST time they were in style.

3. You pace yourself on The Loop (the 13 bars that, well, form a loop), rather than going balls to the wall.

4. When asked to sign the wall with a Sharpie, you proudly sign "Class of '03, Baby!"

5. Most of the people around were in junior high in '03.

6. You organize in advance so that the whole crew has matching t-shirts.

7. A falling-all-over-the-place drunk girl apologizes to you for her behavior.

8. You get three rooms at the Best Western and take cabs to the bars, rather than sleeping on some random couch.

9. Instead of fearing the cops, you strike up a friendly conversation with them.

10. Almost everybody makes it to the end.

Cheering for Posey

I'm a big Buster Posey fan. BIG.

Sure, in July I based my decision to be a big Buster Posey fan on the awesomeness of his name. I was home alone listening to a Giants game on the radio and Buster hit two home runs. As soon as Will got home, I informed him that he absolutely HAD to add Buster Posey to his fantasy baseball team. How do you not have a guy named BUSTER POSEY on your team? What an awesome name! Oh, and he had just hit two home runs.

Will followed my stellar advice. And, would you look at that? Hands down Rookie of the Year. So, as fans do, I've been following Buster all season by listening to Giants radio or having Will report on Buster.

Not only have I been following Buster Posey, though, I've been swooning over Buster Posey. I moved him right onto my heartthrob list, where he joined Adrian Grenier and George Clooney. But the things is, I had never actually seen Buster Posey. We don't have TV, we didn't attend any games in person this year, and I don't subscribe to Sports Illustrated. I asked Will once if Buster was cute and Will informed me that he was.

And he is.

But, OMG, he's like TWELVE. Seriously. MAYBE thirteen, people. Geez.

I was gonna invite him out for a beer, much like I invited my bicycling crush for a beer (I'm still waiting), but I think it might be more appropriate to invite Posey out for an ice cream.

What do you say Posey? Grab a frozen yogurt?

Hey Giants fans! Continue on for a great Giants video after the jump. You won't be disappointed.

Let's Kickstart This

Have you guys heard of Kickstarter?

It's a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors. The website allows creative people to communicate ideas and seek funding and support. You can donate to a project using their all-or-nothing funding method: projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands. This is cool because you are basically assured that the whole project is a go before your credit card gets charged.

I found out about the Kickstarter because a friend of ours has a project on the site. Do you guys remember Ben?

Well, his band, THE 21ST CENTURY, is on Kickstarter and they are trying to raise $10,000. Some fancy director guy named Stephen Short is willing to produce their first album and they've got to get to El Paso, Texas for ten days of recording.

I don't know anything about music, but I dig their sound. More importantly, I dig that they are nine people following their dreams. It may sound cheesy, but when people design their lives in creative ways and then take big risks, it makes me happy. We've only got one go at this life, might as well be bold about it.

Anyway, check them out:

This project will only be funded if at least $10,000 is pledged by Monday Oct 18.

Here's what Ben says:

I may never make a career out of playing rock and roll, but this is probably the best chance I'll ever have. We're going to be spending a lot of time, money and energy on something that may or may not lead to future success, but I think it's worth the risk. Any little bit of support you can give would be a huge help.

So if you can give a little bit of support--a couple bucks or a Twitter shout out or by sending some sunshine into the universe for the band--you should! And, hey! If you pledge $10 or more, you get goodies. Yes.

Cheer to taking a risk! Cheers to living!

{These Popstaches are also a product of Kickstarter. Awesome, no?}

Fab Five at Fifty

One of my favorite friends, Cathy, recently turned seventy.

(Sidenote: I have friends in a surprisingly wide range ages. If all of your friends are your age, you are missing out!)

One of my very favorite things about Cathy is that, at seventy, she still gets to together regularly with her college roommates. They take an annual vacation someplace--sometimes domestic, sometimes international--and spend a few days exploring a new city or hanging out in a rented vacation house. Although I have never met any of the college roommates, I have heard all about the ladies and their fun adventures.

At their most recent get-together, the seven gals celebrated their seventieth birthdays together in Oregon at the Shakespeare Festival. They called the weekend getaway "Seven at Seventy." How fabulous is that?

Inspired by the Seven at Seventy, I have decided that the end of law school and the subsequent dispersal of my classmates to various places around the state, does not mean that our friendships need fall promptly apart or be supported solely by status updates on Facebook. On a phone call with Cathy, she encouraged me to make it a point to plan annual girls-only getaways with the law girls.

♥ ♥ ♥

This evening I took a much needed break from the hell that is Bar study and met up with four of my favorite law gals for dinner. We ate at a bio-regional, all-natural, lactose- and gluten-free establishment, which was totally healthy and nutritious if you don't count the 8,000 calories of lemon curd that I ate for dessert. Yum. More importantly, we gossiped and laughed and complained and caught up.

We're all moving to awesome destination cities following graduation and I'm super intent on getting us all together on at least an annual basis for more gossiping and laughing and complaining and catching up.

I'm hoping we'll be Five at Fifty, still with rosy cheeks and sunny dispositions.

The slight wrinkle in the plan is that, unlike Cathy's crowd, we will all turn fifty during different years. But that just means five times the celebrating, five times the balloons, five times the champagne. Sounds pretty fabulous if you ask me!

{P.S. These wonderful gals have promised guest posts for Pink University, so be on the lookout for what the Fabulous Five can teach you.}

Auntie Janet

Meet my brand-new niece, Amelia. Isn't she the sweetest?

We went to visit her yesterday, when she wasn't even a full 24 hours old yet. I'm totally in love with her and I think she pretty well likes me, too (I think she can tell that I would totally buy her a pony if she asked).

I'm an aunt! Hooray!

Turning Twenty

Today is my sister April's twentieth birthday, which basically starts the official countdown to a rollicking good Vegas trip. Just 365 days to go.

I found this photo on April's Facebook page. She's undoubtedly going to some 80s-themed party, wearing those purple shades and teal hoop earrings and a neon green tube top, which you can't really see but which I guarantee is there. This makes me feel incredibly old because I actually wore that stuff the first time around, over twenty years ago, when neon was more fashionable than ironic.

These days, I borrow her clothes when I want to look fashionable, she borrows my stuff for costume parties.

Happy, happy birthday, little sister! Cheers to being 365 days more fabulous!

The Yellow Dress and The Up Do

Late last week, my friend Jenny sent me a panicked email: "What happened with the yellow dress? If the wedding is this weekend..."

How completely impolite of me not to follow up on the yellow dress, especially after all the dramatics and all the good advice and helpful comments you sent! I updated my So Pink Facebook Page after I won the dress on Ebay, but never mentioned it again. Where are my manners?

Y'all, I won the dress!

And here I am wearing it:

I decided the dress would go best with a pouffy up-do and asked my sister to show me how to style my hair in a simultaneously classic and retro pouf. She agreed to teach me when I arrived in Southern California, but after she picked me up from the airport, we got to chatting and eating gourmet pizza and drinking lattes at the Grove and completely forgot about the poufing lesson.

The night before the wedding, after I had left for Santa Barbara, Will received a series of texts from my sister. Here they are in their entirety.

Text One: Please relay this message to Janet. I think her phone is dead. K, here's how to make a bump in your hair. Step one: Flip head over so you can reach the underneath layers.

Text Two: Start in the middle of the back of your your head. Grab a layer and spray the underneath of the layer with hair spray at the root and brush backwards.

Text Three: Step two: Continue grabbing layers of the hair doing the same as step one. Let it be really big. It's going to look crazy, don't worry.

Text Four: Once you get to the crown of your head, pull a top layer over and brush the hair over the teased hair.

Text Five: You can brush it out as much as you want. The more you brush, the smaller it will get.

It really is more than a simple two steps, at least if you are not used to pouffing your hair. Nevertheless, I did just as my sister said, brushing backwards (i.e. teasing, as we called it in the early '90s) until it looked really big and crazy. I ended up brushing it down considerably so that it was slightly more classy than retro, securing it in place, and adding a yellow flower.

Voila!

Next I want to know how to do my hair like Jen, my cousin's dear friend and the wedding planner for the evening (Need a planner? She's available for hire!).

So gorgeous! Somebody send instructions.

The One with The Skit

When we were kids, my cousins and I used to make up skits, which we would present to our parents, grandparents, and anybody else who was willing to endure 15 minutes of our bad acting and dancing. One year, at a family reunion, we put on an elaborate presentation for 50 extended family members and, although I can't remember the exact details of the show, our parents still talk about that skit.

Fast forward twenty years to Saturday night. We're sitting in a bar, the night before my cousin Katie's wedding, and my cousin Mike half-jokingly proposes that we do a skit at the wedding. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but somebody proposes we do a dance to Apache--that we, you know, jump on it. Everybody has a good laugh at the bar and promptly forgets about the awesomeness of the idea.

Everyone except me.

Here's something you probably already know about me, but let me just put it out there again: I LOVE A ROUTINE. Seriously.

And, so, on Sunday night, I gather all ten cousins for a meeting (the original nine cousins plus Will who, in moments like this, surely regrets having ever married into our crazy clan). We are mostly in agreement that a skit is in order. Those of us not in agreement have consumed enough alcohol to go along with the plan anyway. Cousin Alyson talks to the DJ. We quickly work out the important details (i.e. which direction to face, which way to turn, which hip to swing out first).

When the dance floor is clear, we make our move. We grab the bride and quickly explain the details. We spread out over the floor and we perform our first skit in over twenty years, a decently choreographed routine.

I don't have a video of the event, but I can tell you with certainty that it looked something like this:

Anyway. We are awesome, of course. The dance floor soon fills up with guests who join us in jumping on it, including dozens of people who have flown in from all over the world for the wedding (the groom, you might remember is from the UK).

When the dance is over, we high five each other and Alyson points out that we really brought it to the dance floor. We are impressed with ourselves. We showed everyone HOW IT IS DONE.

Well. Until.

An hour later the groom's extended family takes the dance floor and, for the next twenty minutes, they superbly execute two fabulous traditional, elaborate dances. Lovely dances from Ireland or maybe Scotland (again, I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Blame the champagne). There is twirling and patterns and people weaving in and out. Clearly this dance, unlike ours, was not organized in a five minute meeting after too many free drinks from the bar.

And, so, the Kelly family brought a lovely and intricate time-honored jig. The Johnson family? We brought some corny hip-hop. Welcome to America.

The Clothesline Effect

I'm about to share with you the best-ever humorous-yet-cute bridal shower gift. I'm hesitant to share it because a) it relates to my cousin's panties and 2) I am giving this gift at every bridal shower I attend from now on. So, in other words, if I am invited to your bridal shower, you pretty much know what you'll be getting. I guess most brides know what they will be getting anyway, mostly, since a good majority of the stuff comes straight off a registry (hopefully, right?).

And, look. If we are both invited to the same shower, this is what I'm bringing. It will totally not be cool if you steal this idea and bring it, too (even though, obviously, I am stealing this idea from the person who brought it to Katie's shower. If you really want to bring this to the shower we are hypothetically jointly attending, call me. We'll make it a joint effort. Word?).

So, anyway, my cousin Katie opens this leopard box and starts to pull out a pair of cute ruffled panties.

But lo! They are attached to another pair of panties. And that pair of panties is attached to yet another pair of cute ruffled panties.

And so on. And so on.

You can't tell, but the panties are tied on the line from most to least coverage.

Such a clever, fun gift! We clothes-pinned them up across the tulle-covered archway. Nothing like some ruffle butt panties to class up the decor.

Roll Out the Red Carpet

I've been ultra busy lately, doing VERY IMPORTANT law school things such as, you know, filming the annual law school movie. This will be the second film I have appeared in and, although my acting has not improved at all, my role is substantially more prominent. I can't tell you any details about the film yet because it's in the top-secret post production stage and it won't debut until next Wednesday night.

I'm not sure if it will ever be available online, but I will definitely let you know if it shows up on YouTube or something. Maybe if we all ask Lowell, my amazing director, very, very nicely, he'll post a clip.

And, also! You can visit the blog of the talented and fabulous Victoria who wrote the script for the movie and convinced me to play the female protagonist. She also spent loads of time operating the boom (the fancy term for holding the microphone in my face), read lines with me, and doled out plenty of encouragement. She did NOT hire me an assistant to pick up my lattes and carry my wardrobe changes, but I am going to let that one slide. This time.

Meet Greg

Over the years, you've met some of my fabulous cousins, including the beautiful Katie. In a week and a half, Katie is getting married to Greg, a wickedly smart and charming Brit. They met in Turkey, where they were both teaching English, so we just met Greg last month upon his arrival in the States. They stopped in for a visit on what happened to be Greg's birthday, so I ran out to Let Them Eat Cake and picked up a half dozen cupcakes (hello multi-tasking! this also helped me work on No. 8 on my 31 Before 31 list).

During their visit, we went downtown to Cafe Bernardo and Greg promptly ordered the house specialty, a Wiki Wacky Woo, and then another (putting him at the alleged Wiki limit), and I knew right away that he WOULD FIT RIGHT IN.

Anyway, I thought I ought properly introduce you since I'll have some upcoming posts on Katie's shower (I'm in charge of the games!) and the Santa Barbara wedding and reception (sure to be a rollicking good time! I've just booked a hotel within stumbling distance from the reception site!).

Internet, meet Greg.

Happy 29, Again

Growing up, there was a magnet on my grandparents' fridge that read something like this: "in a world full of fad food diets, you're my jelly doughnut!"

My Grampa loved raspberry-filled jelly doughnuts. Loved them so much, in fact, that when the Los Angeles Times did a write-up about his 1991 memorial service, the reporter focused on two things: 1) the fact that on every birthday he turned 29 and 2) how much he loved those jelly doughnuts (one student recounted how "he would giggle as he licked raspberry filling from the corners of his lips.")

My family has designated March 9, Grampa's birthday, as Jelly Doughnut Day. You don't have to have known Grampa to celebrate being young at heart and to honor a love-of-life legacy. Go have a jelly doughnut.

So Pink Vegas Birthday Extravaganza: The Suspects

I know I've been talking about my very Vegas birthday for over a week now. Believe me, it's even worse if you have been hanging out with me in person. I'm just nonstop: The dueling pianos! The Diamond Fizz cocktails! The hot pink hotel room! The cupcakes! The day at the Bellagio spa (a birthday gift from my friends Gavin and Jenny. OMG, I know! How lucky am I?)!

Very lucky, as it turns out.

Very lucky to have these wonderful, wonderful friends.

Very lucky to be celebrating two birthdays in addition to mine (I know, big surprise considering how it's all me! me! me! on this Slice of Pink site).

Jenny, Jeff, and I were born within a week of one another, so this was actually a grand birthday merrymaking bash TIMES THREE. Which is so the way to go, especially with such fabulous friends (and fellow Aquarians).

Happy Birthday Jenny! Happy Birthday Jeff!

(And, by the way, how awesome is Jeff to have totally gone along with the very pink birthday party? Or, maybe it actually went down a little more like this: Jenny's vote for a pink party + my vote for a pink party = Jeff is outvoted. PINK IT IS!)

Great times, marvelous friends. Very lucky, indeed.

So Pink Vegas Birthday Extravaganza: Sneak Preview

I have lots to share about my very grand birthday celebration in Vegas, but you KNOW you've had a good time when half your {uncropped} photos look like these.

The Eyeliner Chronicles

A few months ago, I tried to cross number 13 off my 30 Before 30 list: Buy an Amazing Eyeliner. I visited the Lancôme counter, all prepared to buy a Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Liner. But, when I told the Lancôme lady that I was looking for an eyeliner that "would stay on forever," I was once again derailed by sales staff when she directed me to the MAC counter. Don't they work on commission, these Lancôme ladies?

***

A few days after Christmas, Will and I went on a quick getaway with our good friends Jen and Gavin to Santa Barbara. We drank some afternoon Margaritas and then walked up State Street to Nordstrom where Jen whisked me off to the Lancôme counter and promptly ordered me a Le Stylo Waterproof in Cafe, thankyouverymuch. Sometimes you need a friend to do your bidding and, er, makeup buying.

***

I'm crossing number 13 off the list. The eyeliner is good. It's not magic good, but it's very good and I'm happy (particularly when I wear it with my new Lorac Publicity Stunt 3-Day Long-Wearing Mascara, a gift from my friends at Nintendo, which is magic in that it basically refuses to come off, even with soap and water).

***

This concludes the great eyeliner search. Unless somebody comes out with a 3-Day Long-Wearing Eyeliner. I'd definitely give that a go.

Hello Chicago

I'm back from a fabulous weekend to the Windy City (not so windy, by the way, at least not on my crisp but lovely weekend trip).

I met up with some of my favorite gals for a girls-only weekend of conferencing, site-seeing, wine-drinking, and pizza-eating.

We brunched at Bloomingdales and walked the Magnificent Mile to Millennium Park in order to look at a giant, reflective bean.

Lovely friends, lovely Chicago.

(No) Pumpkin Soup For You

Will and I are standing in Costco yesterday, when I discover something that looks mighty delicious: spiced pumpkin bisque. Two big containers of the stuff for $8.99. I hold up the package and exclaim to Will across the refrigerated section, "OMG! Pumpkin Soup! Yum! Let's get it!"

Will is not impressed by the pumpkin soup, not even when I clarify that it is pumpkin bisque, actually, which is a fancy sort of pumpkin soup. Will does not think we should buy the pumpkin bisque. Will vetoes the pumpkin bisque.

Why? Oh, well, Will thinks we should make pumpkin soup from scratch, using a real pumpkin. He thinks it will be much tastier, this hypothetical real-pumpkin pumpkin soup.

There is only one person to blame for this:

Gavin.

Our friend Gavin, who is a superb chef, is always wowing us with fancy sorts of dishes, using all variety of fresh ingredients and I just know that he is somehow behind this pumpkin soup situation. When Will saw that packaged pumpkin soup, I am about 99 percent positive that Will thought, "hmmm, what would Gavin do?" And What Would Gavin Do (WWGD)? Gavin would make the soup from a real pumpkin. I verified this in an email to my friend Jenny, Gavin's wife, who responded that yes, that is definitely what Gavin would do and, in fact, she remembers a similar sort of conversation in her house last fall regarding soup.

She reports that Gavin made the soup. Will Will?

Exceptions

For 20 days, minus a few days in Vegas and one unfortunate event with a box of San Diego strawberries, I have eaten only local foods. Will and I were shopping at the farmers' market and from local bakeries, carefully reading labels, paying close attention to where our foods were grown and produced. Everything was going great.

Well, everything was going great until about 5:45 on Friday evening when everything fell apart.

It started at the independent movie theater where I decided to order a popcorn. And then, against my better judgement, I went ahead and ordered a Coke. You know. What's a movie without popcorn? And what's popcorn without an ice-cold Coca-Cola?

Michelle offered to buy the Coke for me so that I wouldn't technically be purchasing a non-local beverage, but since the rule is not to ingest anything non-local, I just went ahead and bought the stupid soda so I wouldn't have to choke down the salty, buttery popcorn without a refreshing beverage.

(But at least I was supporting an independent theater, right?)

(We saw The September Issue, by the way, which was throughly entertaining.)

After the movie, we met up with friends for a girls-only wine night at a local wine bar, where happy hour consisted of jalapeño mac & cheese, tiny bowls of olives, cream puffs covered in chocolate and caramel, gossip, a bit of dancing, and, of course, flights of wine. I did my very best and selected the flight that had the most local tastings--but none of the flights contained solely local options. I am pretty sure I drank some wine from Argentina and some champagne from Germany.

(But at least I was supporting my local wine bar, right?)

I say: sometimes good times require making exceptions to rules.

Stacey + Todd

Here are a few fun snaps from a wedding I attended last month. My lovely, lovely college roommate, Stacey, is the bride and the wedding took place in stunning Santa Barbara, California, which I think is one of the absolute best places in the whole wide world to have a wedding.

Twenty One

My sister-in-law, Nicole, is the master of scheming up grand festivities, which is how 18 of us from all over the state of California converged in Las Vegas, Nevada at 12:01 on Saturday to celebrate Nicole's 21st birthday in style (wearing "black with sparkles" at her request).

I'd say we definitely glittered it up.

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Lauren + Monty

I am so excited to share these photos of my dear friends, Lauren and Monty, who tied the knot last month. I snagged a seat on the aisle so that I could snap a few shots during the ceremony.

You can check out their proposal here. Monty is a musical director at a church and he told Lauren that they had to go to a studio to film something for the church. It was really a big set up to get the proposal on film! How sneaky!

Rogue Nation

Remember when I wrote this post about the day we ate appetizers and garden burgers and lots of Rogue ale and nachos and artichoke dip and Irish fries and bowls of Beer Cheese soup?

And, then, do you remember that we got bailed out of the bill?

A few days ago, we received a Rogue Newspaper in the mail and there we were on page 11.

We're famous among Rogue readers!

How We Got So Lucky

Our friends Jenny and Gavin came to Davis for a weekend visit.

Here's what Jenny and I did:

We lounged in the hotel bar. We went shopping. We took ourselves out for ice cream. Twice. We danced in the living room to songs from the 90s. We bought big bottles of beer from the liquor store and drank them wrapped in paper bags. We baked pocket pies while wearing cute Anthropologie aprons.

And what did our husbands do?

Oh, well, they shopped for fresh vegetables at the farmers' market. We ate some kettle corn while they filled a whole stroller with about twenty pounds of produce.

They cooked a fancy dinner with their farmers' market selections. They made homemade beets and cajun pasta and salad and crusty bread. You will not believe me, but I swear it took them three full hours to make the meal. Even the carrots in the salad were fancy.

They mixed basil vodka gimlets for us.

They held babies and watched cartoons and changed diapers.

Best. Husbands. Ever.

I don't know how we got so lucky. Must be all our charm. Plus the aprons.

Sister Act

Happy 19th Birthday, April!

In honor of my sister's birthday, visit Spoon Sisters for fun shopping!

Hot in Here

We're going to a wedding this summer--one of many weddings this summer, actually--and the groom just sent out an email to the guest list. Apparently, the DJ they have hired is allowing guests to log onto his website, look up the wedding, and request reception songs.

So, Will and I have started a list:

Hot in Here, Nelly
The Thong Song, Sisqo
Kung-Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas
Damn, It Feels Good to be a Gangsta, Geto Boys
Another One Bites the Dust, Queen
Ice, Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice (of which I know all the words to; evidenced about 3:30 in)

HOW AWESOME IS IT THAT WE, THE GUESTS, GET TO SELECT THE TUNES?

Will and I ended up having a live band at our wedding but, before we found the band, we were looking at DJs. My only requirement was that the DJ would not, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, play Hot in Here. If a DJ even listed Hot in Here as a possibility on their website, they were immediately disqualified. I don't know what it was about Hot in Here, specifically, but I knew that it was going to RUIN MY WEDDING. Luckily the band we hired, an oldies-latin-jazz group, had probably never heard of Nelly so they made the cut.

In all seriousness, I need your help! What should I request? Any not-to-be-missed wedding songs? Or any definitely-to-be-missed wedding songs?

30 Going on 13

About a month ago, my friend Jenny emailed me, saying that if I booked a flight to Southern California, she'd get us a hotel room in San Diego and we could have a fabulously girly weekend visiting two of our former students, Amber and Sarah.

I immediately booked a cheap flight for this past weekend.

Jenny reserved a room for us at the Westgate, a hotel so ornate that we immediately agreed the gloriousness would have been completely lost on our husbands who, incidentally, we left at home with an almost-two-year-old and a new puppy. We felt about two seconds of guilt--that we were enjoying sunny San Diego while they were potty training a puppy--until we realized that the grandness of the place could never be fully appreciated by two men who spent their day at Rubio's and then at a hardware store "for fun."

The hotel was full of sparkling chandeliers, antique furnishings, and tasseled drapes. Mostly everything was gold! gold! gold! in the most fabulous possible way.

This is how we turned on the faucets in our room:

We ate breakfast in the lavishly appointed hotel restaurant where the waitstaff inquired whether we were planning to attend the opera that evening. Some of the ladies at breakfast were actually wearing gloves--fancy dress gloves--and many were drinking white wine at 10:30 in the morning.

In two days we visited two candy shops so our purses were full of gummi raspberries, sour fizzy candies, and Bubbalicious Ink'd gum.

Classy!

We drank Cokes and ate huge sundaes at the Ghirardelli shop and ordered Milky Way Mochas at The Living Room Cafe in La Jolla. We had room service bring up coffee and stayed in our pajamas as long as possible.

Basically, we were 12-year-olds.

But, you know, totally classy 12-year-olds with credit cards.

La Vie en Rose

I'm continuing to celebrate my 29th birthday a whole week later. Last night my girlfriends took me to dinner at Cafe Bernardo for black bean soup, butternut squash pizza, wine, and chocolate cake.

It was drizzling when we left the restaurant, but I made us stand out in the rain and take a group photo. It was too cold and wet to stand around, waiting to get the perfect shot, so I just balanced the camera on a railing, set the timer, and promised to Photoshop in rosy cheeks later.

Honestly, my friends are all so gorgeous that they don't need any Photoshopping. Still, rosy cheeks are fun, don't you think?

Sparkly in Sacramento

Laura and I met at Tower Cafe for coffee and tarts this afternoon. I would have liked to order four  or five of the incredibly mouthwatering desserts in the display case, but that's probably not the most classy thing to do upon meeting somebody for the first time, so I picked just one--the raspberry pistachio tart. Laura chose the lime cashew tart. We had a lovely time on the patio, enjoying cafe au lait, tarts, and conversation. I just love it when bloggers come to visit.

Calendar Girls

In two weeks, my sister is moving into her college dorm where she'll be sharing a room with an assigned roommate.  Somebody in housing has a sense of humor because April's roommate is named May. 

Who's Number One?

Last night at dinner, my grandma was discussing taking all of her children--my dad and my three aunts--on a cruise next year. She kept referring to the trip as the "adult trip," meaning that all the grandkids--myself and my eight cousins--would be left at home. 

"I am an adult, you know," I pointed out to her, waving my cocktail in the air. 

"I know you are," she laughed. "But if I take you, I'd have to take the eight others, too."

"But, gramma, I'm not just your grandchild--I'm also gonna be your lawyer."

"That is true," she agreed.

Overhearing the conversation, my cousin Mike joined in. Mike--by far the tallest and sturdiest of my cousins--had me beat.

"If you take me, gramma," he promised, "I'll make sure none of the others get on the boat."

The Proof!

Despite failing to take any photos at BlogHer (and, yet, my camera currently has photos of the produce at Safeway on it--don't I know what is just fascinating?), I have managed to scrounge up a few photos so you can see that, yes, I did wear some pink. Isn't that what you are always wondering? Does Slice of Pink wear pink? The answer is no, not usually. But I packed every last pink thing I owned for this trip.

Here I am at Rye with Zandria and Everyday Goddess (behind the camera), drinking basil gimlets and eating free Luna Bars.

I located this photo over at ji design. That very lovely purple and pink purse peeking out from behind me? Later that very day I would dump a macaroni salad into it. And what didn't go into my purse, went right onto Zandria's foot.

Jen sent me this photo from the night that involved tuna tartare, caviar, foie gras, champagne, and one very expensive mojito that I promptly spilled all over the carpet of Michael Mina. By the way, Michael Mina is way classy, in case the man in the background (white hat, red jersey) led you to think otherwise. I, personally, was wearing a silky pink and black skirt with abstract tulip print so I totally was pretending that $1000 champagne was, like, so not a big deal. Gulp.

So, there you have it. I drank some drinks, spilled some things, made some friends, wore some pink, and stole some photos to prove it.

Lushcious

Drinks I drank at BlogHer '08:

1. White Wine (2)
2. Basil Vodka Gimlet (3)
3. Lemon Drop (4)
4. Raspberry Martini (1)
5. Red Wine (2)
6. Expensive Champagne (2)
7. Cheap Champagne (1)
8. Mojito (1, sort of)
9. Hot Chocolate Shot (1)

In other words, if I met you at BlogHer, I was probably tanked and talking about the Westin's peach wallpaper or how ghetto my business cards were (made those super sophisticated suckers myself for under $10). I was just CLASS ALL THE WAY.

I have stories to tell, but sadly no photos. I was too busy managing my cocktails and piles of macaroon cookies to get a camera out.

My Summer Uniform Has Arrived

The most adorable apron arrived in the mail--a gift from my very talented friend Sara, who sewed it herself. The timing was absolutely perfect because next week I start the blogging challenge Whip It Up. I must have signed up for Whip It Up after too many margaritas because they are totally going to expect me to cook things and then tell you about it here. Sounds to me like a whole lot of pressure. 

At least I'll look cute Whipping It Up in my stylish new apron. How much do you love the pink rickrack detail and the pink crystals on the bib? It's just so fabulous! 

Thanks Sara!

Class of Oh-Eight!

My little sister graduated from high school this afternoon. She attended the same high school that I worked at prior to attending law school, so I packed my old cap and gown on the rare chance that they would let me out on the football field.  I showed up at the school first thing this morning to visit with old friends and see if I couldn't convince someone to let me participate in the ceremony.

And, oh my god, law school must have WORKED, people, because my ability to persuade was PHENOMENAL. (That, or I have really sweet friends in the office--Hi Mary and Carol!--who got me in. Okay, maybe that was it.)

So! I was on the field! In my pink hood, of course! And I got to hand my sister her diploma! It was all very spectacular and memorable.

Congrats baby sister and all my '08 pals. Y'all are the real deal.

High on Life

I'm the only sober person in this photo.

I signed up to be the designated driver for Mary's birthday party in Downtown Sacramento on Friday night (Mary being second from the right). I took my job extremely seriously and did not have a single alcoholic beverage in the three hours we were at the bar.

I've never really had to be a designated driver. When I lived in Santa Barbara, there were plenty of bars within walking distance, not to mention a bus that would deliver people straight from Isla Vista to the downtown bars. In Washington DC, I didn't have a car anyway, so all travel, drunk or not, was via metro, cab, or foot. And, now in Davis, there are plenty of bars a short bike ride away.

But, on Friday night I was the DD. And, you know? It's not so bad.

First, the bartender made me free fancy fruit juice cocktails.

Second, Katie shared a heaping plate of nachos with me.

Third, the restaurant gave me free coffee.

Finally, Michelle ordered me blueberry french toast sticks.

I spent the whole night out at a fantastic bar for zero dollars. ZERO!*

*Well, maybe the price of a little bit of gasoline, but Will takes care of that so it's almost like that money doesn't actually exist and, anyway, it has certainly got to be way less than the cocktails, the nachos, the coffee, and the french toast I would have had to buy for myself. Plus, alcohol.

I'm now totally down to be the designated driver. It's quite an incredible bargain and completely hangover-free.

Funny thing is: when I called Shannon and told her that I would drive, she responded most enthusiastically by offering to buy me my first glass of wine.

Focal Points

Kathryn and Drew drove to Davis this week to celebrate Spring Break 2008 Davis style. This morning, we rode our bikes over to the university to check out the Eggheads, several public art sculptures scattered around campus. We even took some photos with the Eggheads.

Kathryn snapped a shot of me and Drew with Yin and Yang.

Then I took a photo of Kathryn and Drew with the heads.

Finally, Drew composed this shot of me and Kathryn.

Clearly, the egg is the focal point of this photograph, in case that wasn't clear.

Trivial Pursuit

My law schooling skillz came in handy this week when my mom sent me an email, asking me to do some research on a New Jersey law. I did the work and put together a responding email discussing the law briefly and then the specific effects of that law in New Jersey. At the end of the email, I asked my mom why she needed all that information on the law.

I got her response this morning: the New Jersey law had been the basis of a question on the television game show, Cash Cab, and she hadn't known the answer.

Should you ever be on that Millionaire game show and need to know about the New Jersey Blue Law, you can phone me with one of your lifelines.

Answering game show trivia questions: three years of law school--and $120,000--well spent.