Kate Middleton Costume Tutorial

I went to a costume party this weekend, no real theme except for a "Halloween in July" kind of thing.  It was actually neat to have something to dress up for at an odd time of the year.  I was so pleased with how my costume turned out, so I thought I'd share it with y'all!

I tried to channel what Kate wore in her engagement announcement press conference with some of the outfits she's been wearing as she toured North America.  First I paired a Banana Republic grey wrap dress with some Ralph Lauren black round toe pumps (not pictured).  I have a silver Tiffany & Co. "k" initial charm that I wore around my neck.  I totally lucked out by going into Sam Moon and finding an EXCELLENT replica of her sapphire ring for $12.  It's so pretty, going to be hard to not wear it to work or something as an accessory, ha.  I work with a lot of dudes so I doubt anyone will notice.  I had been watching YouTube tutorials and was planning on making my own red fascinator out of cloth and feathers but I found these big great hair "flowers" at Sam Moon.  I went for the biggest, gaudiest option.

Finally, I finished off the outfit by picking up a bottle of cava and brought my own champagne flute which I sipped throughout the party (I love the taste of champagne but I suppose you could pour any cocktail in there).  I topped it off with a black faux snake skin clutch from Old Navy that I already had.  I did my hair in big loose curls, lots of dramatic eye liner on the eyes, contoured my cheek bones with bronzer, and applied a nude lipstick and gloss.

I'm Leaving Las Vegas, Lights So Bright, Palm Sweat, Blackjack on a Saturday Night

Day 4, most of our traveling companions departed on a noon flight back to Austin. Me, being of the die hard Vegas persuasion was trying to suck the last bit of Vegas that could be had out of the weekend so Sunday we went downtown and did some gambling on Freemont Street at some of our favorite gambling haunts, Binions, The Golden Nugget, and the Golden Gate. I had my 99 cent margarita and we even got comped free shrimp cocktails ($1.99 value, woooooo, firt time to get comped!) based on our game play at the Golden Gate. We played craps for a few hours there, Wizard of Oz at the Golden Nugget, and finally blackjack at Binions. By the time 3 PM rolled around, I was broke, exhausted, and finally tapped out on Vegas, so we gathered our belongings and got out of town.

Vegas continues to be my favorite vacation spot and going with the other couples allowed me to experience it in a whole different way. When I first started planning this trip, it was just for the two of us but Darryl convinced me to get others to go. I think he was absolutely right, had a great time and I hope our next trip isn't too far in the future!

You Gotta Know When to Hold Em, No When to Fold Em...

After a night on the town we rallied to watch the Longhorns take on their arch rivals, the OU Sooners. It was a rough day all around. The hangovers were harsh and widespread and the game was brutal. We ended up watching the game in our suite, it was nice and big so there was plenty of seating and booze for those who were more stable than others. I went down to the Pizza Hut in the first half of the game, having finally loaded up on Tylenol and a nice long shower. I wished the girl ringing me up a good morning and she responded with, "It's 1:30 ma'am, it's not morning." Ef you Pizza Hut girl, we're in Vegas, I was up until 5 AM the night before drinking and eating a $43 pizza (yes, there was a shenanigan where in our drunken state we felt like it was appropriate to order a pizza from room service. Not the most sound financial decision, but it was a tasty one). So as I mentioned, some of us were in better shape than others, so after the game we split up while one couple rested and spent time at the gaming tables we went over to the Strip to check out the new City Center hotel and casino.

Here are some photos from City Center, it was very impressive. After some site seeing we went back to the hotel to dress for dinner. All of the couples had separate dinners planned Saturday night. Darryl and I chose Emeril's New Orleans Fish House. It was exciting for me because the appetizer we ordered were Emeril's New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp. I made his recipe the first time I cooked for Darryl's parents. Apparently I still have some practicing to do, my version is good but wasn't quite the same. We walked around the MGM Grand for a while and then met up with the rest of the gang to watch the fountains at the Bellagio. We spent the night walking the strip, checking out the casinos, and watching the free attractions like the fountains and the volcano at the Mirage. After a robust trek, we called it a night and went back to the Hilton. Everyone else stayed up and gambled but I turned in before 2 AM, guess Vegas was finally starting to wear me out.

Get Up and Shake the Glitter Off Your Clothes Now, That's What You Get For Waking Up in Vegas...

Day Two we headed over to the Stratosphere to ride some rides.  Well the rest of the crew rode rides.  I was up until 5 AM and may have had a couple drinks along the way.  Mild hangover + Spinny Ride @ Strat = Recipe for Kelly Vomming, therefore I stayed on solid ground and took pics/held everyone's gear.  Note, this is mostly other people's pics.  D  and I are lame about taking photos.  Or downloading them.

The gang at the top

Ben and Janet enjoying their post-ride Jet Fuel drinks.  It was a Bloody Mary Morning for me.

After an afternoon of gambling at the Stat we headed back down the strip where the boys discovered the famous Crazy Girls sculpture at the Riviera.

By that point we were good and hungry so we swung into the Peppermill for some grub/an acid trip back to the 1970's.  Next we strolled back to the hotel for a little disco nap.

Us ladies prepped together while the boys enjoyed some cocktails.  Next we rode the shuttle to the Rio where we went to the Voodoo Lounge.

Voodoo has a breathtaking view of the strip.

Upon our arrival we we got to cut to the front of the line and head to our corded off VIP table.  The ladies shared bottle service while the gents got an open bar package, which was not a bad deal for any of us since the cover was $30 and the drinks were $12 a pop.  The music at the Voodoo was hoppin' and it was nice to be able to migrate from taking in the breathtaking view outside to the comfort and privacy of our own table.  There was literally NO where to sit if you didn't get a table.  Vegas is expensive but thanks to some packages we got online we did well that night.

Really well...

Really really well...  Took a black Suburban home playing Jay Z, per Janet's request and our driver was from Texas!  And that was Day Two.

Bright Light City Gonna Set My Soul, Gonna Set My Soul On Fire

Spent the weekend in Vegas with friends, couldn't have been better timing.  We had an amazingly stressful couple of weeks, I worked all last weekend and was ready to lose it by the time Thursday rolled around.  I ended up randomly sitting next to our company's CEO at lunch and totally scored some Southwest drink tickets off him.  Those with ones combined with the ones Molly and Buckley brought got the party rolling on the flight out.

We landed around 9 PM, we are expert packers and everyone carried on (I still cannot believe us ladies pulled this off, what with all the liquid restrictions) and were met by our limo driver who greeted us with long stem red roses and a chilled bottle of champagne.  Here's Molly filling my glass.

Here's me saying, "Ef you work, I'm about to party my face off."  First stop was to the liquor store where the boys came up with copious quantities of liquor and mixers.

Cheers to our Couple's Retreat Weekend!

Second stop was to the Vegas sign.  You can barely see Janet and I frolicking under it.  Also, stepped out of our limo to a drunk girl vomiting next to our limo.  Oh Vegas, you never disappoint.  Pictures didn't come out but at least I FINALLY got to see the sign in person, it was so neat!

We checked into our room and Darryl and I were upgraded to an East Tower suite at the Las Vegas Hilton,  which had plenty of seating for our whole crew to pregame and a wet bar and refrigerator to store our liquor store booty.  We also had two showers.  I wanted to ask Darryl to use the one shower at the same time as I used the other shower, but then I decided that was lame.  We even had a mirrored foyer and a little doorbell thingy, though I'm not sure what purpose that served.  I shut it the first night, figured it would make our room quieter?  The beds were SO comfy.  I asked for the upgrade when I checked in, I'm entitled to one because of my Hilton Honors status, but I decided to slip the desk clerk $20 just to see how far I could push that perk.  He was young, early twenties, so I thought he'd totally bite.  His response was kinda hilarious, he got all flustered and started talking alot and then upgraded us, slipped the $20 back and told me not to worry about it.  So A) yay not having to spend $20 to get a totally decent upgrade and B) I thought all Vegas desk clerks were seasoned veterans with this kind of thing, there are whole websites dedicated to this practice, I thought it was cute he was all flustered.

Next we mixed up a few roadies and hit the monorail to go hang out on the Strip.

The guys went to the craps and blackjack tables while us ladies hit the slots at Bill's Gambling Hall.  The boys leaving us unattended was apparently a critical error.  We were getting hit on constantly by what looked to be rejects from a Jersey Shore casting call.  We all were wearing rings, really?  Total creepsters. 

Here's Janet and I at the slot machines.  We discovered this trip that we love slots that spin.  Wheel of Fortune was a big hit.  Wizard of Oz was also a hit, hello flying monkey bonus and chair that vibrates and plays music?  We all agreed that we didn't know what the frack was happening in that game, but it sure made a lot of pretty noises and sounds.

This machine was my favorite, what else screams retired cat lady other than a Kitty Glitter slot machine!  Molly with Kitty Glitter.  After a long night of drinking and gambling, we called it a night around 4 or 5 AM.  And that was just day one...

Pub Crawler

This weekend we partook in a friend's surprise birthday celebration including a ride on Austin's very own Pub Crawler. What is the Pub Crawler you ask? It's only been in business for a couple of months and it's a bicycle built for 15-ish with a keg on the front. The owner said they had it built in the Netherlands and then shipped over to the US. Here we are decorating while we wait for the guest of honor.

Pub Crawling is very serious business. We got lots of cheers, honks, people taking photos and videotaping us as we cruised around town. The hills were tough but we made it up and across First Street, though there were a couple seconds where I was certain we'd start to roll backwards.  We remembered a delicious keg from Uncle Billy's, a bottle of Patron, and Jello shots.  Know what we did not remember to bring?  Water.  Or some Gatorade would have been nice.  Hydration fail.

I keep trying to load video but it's crashing blogger, maybe tomorrow it'll be in a less fussy mood and I can post some pics of us in action.  Lance Armstrong, eat your heart out.

I've Discovered I Love Spaaaaaahs!

Now, this may seem like a ridiculous title, spas?  What's not to like?  When I came home from the girls' spa weekend (of which my husband spent resurfacing the kitchen ceiling, WHAT A GOOD DEAL FOR ME!) and announced to Darryl that I loved spas he laughed at me and said "That's like saying, 'Hey, I just realized I love diamonds, wheeee".

So to give you some background, I'm a thrifty spa-goer.  I get facials, waxing, and massaging but I space it out and always go to more economically minded facilities.  Even the fancier spas I've been to I just showed up, got my service and scooted afterwards.  I could never understand why it was so great to have "spa admission included" when I was getting a massage or pedicure.  On our honeymoon at Sandals they had lovely spa facilities, seems like we should have lounged in a Jamaican whirlpool prior to our couples massage or something.  But I never saw the point (also, I do NOT do hot tubs in foreign countries, you could totally get scarlet fever, it happened to someone I knew).

We had our visit at the spa at the Houstonian (in Houstion, obvs) and I slipped into my bathing suit, robe, and slippers.  We had a yummy lunch with lots of fun conversation and wine and then I had my first massage augmented by aromatherapy, which was delightful but I'm certainly of the opinion that ALL massages should have that service and not be an "added amenity", however, the massage world would seem to disagree.

Then the other gals were tied up in more services for the next couple hours (the last thing Darryl yelled at me as I headed out the door was to "not go nuts at the spa" so I cozied up with my latest book.  First I rinsed myself in the rain shower, then I got into the hot tub.  I was perplexed at the tub of water by the hot tub and almost plucked a cucumber out of the ice bath and ate it (what is WRONG with me, how is that my first impulse?) but settled on ice cold cucumbers on my eyes and a cool ice cloth on my neck were a lovely contrast in the hot tub.  Next I attempted the sauna.  I tried to read a full chapter of my book while I was in there, but the ceiling kept dripping on my pages.  Plus my robe was getting soaked because I didn't want to leave it outside where some drifter could just make off with it (note that random drifters and hobos are not common occurrences at high end Houston spas).  So I came back out and laid by the pool, enjoyed fruit and fruit juices, teas, etc as I read my delightful book.  The time FLEW, I was so disappointed to leave.  I could have sat there for 3 more hours.  Who knew?

So now I'm looking for some good digs in the Austin area because I think everyone needs a trip to the spa once a year.  I'm thinking the Lake Austin spa is too rich for my blood, but I've heard good things about Lost Pines? 

Night At Gold Class Cinema

Darryl and I had the pleasure of joining another couple who we are friends with for a night at Austin's new Gold Class Cinema last night to see Inception.  First you check in at the hostess stand and pick up your tickets (I preordered online).  Then she will take your credit card and open up a tab for the entire time you're there.  Then she seats you in the bar area where your server greets you, gets you started on a cocktail and takes your order for the entire movie.

Here we are waiting for the movie to begin right after we were seated.  The chairs are big and comfy and they'll bring you a pillow or blanket if you want.  Your table has a button on it that you can push while the movie is running if you need anything.  I had the hubs use it to order me a fresh glass of chardonnay.

For dinner, we weren't super hungry because I'd made some minestrone soup before we went, but we still had an appetizer and a dessert which we split.  The appetizer was the crispy spinach, artichoke and Gruyere petite croquettes with a marinara dipping sauce.  The appetizer was good, but I thought the filling could have been more flavorful.  The dessert was the house made beignets with a raspberry and dark chocolate dipping sauce.  I LOVE to get these at Taverna so I had great expectations.  These were not great, they tasted burnt, so I didn't even fight Darryl for the last one.  I'd say the food was unimpressive and in no way compares to the Alamo Drafthouse, but it wasn't terrible either and I thought it was forgivable given the luxurious ambiance.  I mean, if the food was stellar, I'd be going nuts trying to go back.  But given the total price tag of the night, I think this will be for special occasions and out of town guests only. 

However, if you want to make the most of the experience, here are some tips:

• Join the members club, it's free and your tickets are $7 cheaper, plus you get a free ticket on your birthday.
• Mondays your first drink is free.
• Tuesdays there are special members only pricing on food and drinks.
• Arrive 30 minutes early to get your first cocktail and place your dinner order, though I thought ordering just the first course and the last and having a light supper at home was a genius way to save a couple bucks. 
• Reserve your seats in advance, this theater sells out on the popular movies.  I thought this place would tank since it's so expensive but we had a hard time getting tickets, especially on the discount nights!  Plan ahead!

Bachelorette Party Recap

A couple weekends ago we celebrated the bachelorette party of a certain Ex-Yankee and as documented by the lovely Mrs. Collins.  Janet and I planned the brunt of the affair, but Christine's other bridesmaids, who live far far away and were not able to attend contributed generously in both finances and spirit.  We started out the morning with all sorts of yummy breakfast treats and a Bellini bar inspired by the shower I attended thrown by the Waspy Redhead (fyi, if you don't have a blog I can link to, our friendship does not exist, kidding). 

We visited 3 wineries, Becker, Grape Creek, and Torre di Pietra.  These photos are from our last stop, because I was very busy with the important business of pounding as many glasses of wine as possible and couldn't be bothered to take photos.  Classy, I know.




Amelia's torso...seriously, I can't be friends with anyone without their own blog...





I made Janet hide behind the arbor and make tiger noises.  We.  were.  drunk.





I'm just goign to stroll through this vinyard with my glass of Dirty Girl.  Note that Janet and I felt the need to break into the "Dirty Girl" song a la Rob & Big.  Who else knows that song?  Favorite thing about that show and also favorite thing about Janet.





Frolicking in sundresses in a vineyard. We should be some sort of ad campaign for sundresses.  Or wine.  Or something completely not related to either.




The other Kelly and the bride to be deep in conversation, taking in a rockabilly/country band.





We played a naughty scratch off game on the car ride home.




And here were the favors I made with the hub's graphic design help.  Took a bottle of Becker Chardonnay and made custom wine labels.  Note that this was all the hubs.  I ride the short bus on all things computer graphic-ey.

Easter Weekend in Pictures

Backyard Crawfish Boil Hosted by the In-Laws

Darryl and his sisters

Us digging in

Christine enjoying the day

Roman style chicken for Easter dinner, served over tri-color risotto

Gorgonzola and herb stuffed artichokes and roasted asparagus for Easter dinner

Weekend Recap, Winter Alelympics Edition

Friday

Had a lovely date night downtown at El Mercado followed by Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D.  I actually enjoyed it in that is was not the story of Alice in Wonderland, but more of a work inspired as a sequel with elements of Through The Looking Glass incorporated.  It was a pleasant surprise because I hate the story of Alice in Wonderland and I really enjoyed the story line in this movie.

Saturday

Got up early, ran the 3 mile loop at Town Lake, then took the dogs to obedience training.  Then we came home and got suited up for the 2010 Winter Alelympics!  Notice our awesome ski gear.  We were Team America.

We bobbed for habaneros in a pool of ice water....

We risked the dangers of brain freeze in the popsicle binge eating competition...

We ran a triathalon...in pink flippers.....

We jousted on snowboards...I tried to get inside Christine's opponent's head by telling him she was pregnant (she's not, obvs) right before they started and then kept yelling to "not hit her in the baby".  She was the only girl in this competition, we had to use every advantage we could get.

We got WAY too enthusiastic about the games, I tore off my clothes into this outfit and declared to the crowd that I was going to "Michel Phelps this shit".  Note that A) I forgot to take off my bikini bottoms so I'm essentially wearing 1.5 swimsuits in this photo, B) I was wearing my running tights under my Speedo that is 2 sizes too large, C) I managed to put my Speedo on inside out, D) I had been drinking while I was trying to get dressed in this outfit, thus the debacle.  E) My "speed suit" did not perform well in the trial runs, so we eventually had to lose the tights...and turn it right side out while we were at it.....

We operated a bouncy house slip n slide without a trained operator on duty....

Here I am, clawing my way to victory, this thing takes a lot out of your abs, mine were KILLING me on Sunday.

If I do not chug this beer, then the terrorists win.  It was not light beer either making this extra challenging.

We brought it all home with a beer pong tournament, a cookout, and a concert from Do It Live.  I could not have thought of a better way to spend a Saturday.  Good friends, lots of beer, and lots of running around doing crazy things.  Darryl mentioned a friend's name who we should have invited but then said, "she's probably too healthy to do this," I looked at him and said, "I never want to be that healthy."  Life is too short to take yourself seriously, sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to enjoy your youth, put on some crazy outfits, do silly things while drinking a couple beers, and live life to the fullest with both old friends and new ones.  That is what really matters in life. 

Sunday

Took a very hung over husband out to brunch.  Darryl doesn't get to go wild too often, so it was really fun to see him go all out, but he was in rough shape in the morning.  After brunch I convinced him to help me in my garden.  I'll post more about that later, with a full garden update.  Enjoy your week darlings!