Mocktail Party - Disco Fever

For me, the appeal of Halloween was lost after about 8th grade... I think that was the last possible year that my friends and I could wear tennis skirts and side ponytails and actually enjoy trick-or-treating.

Okay, so there were those awesome halloween pajamas that Niki's mom made and sent freshman year, and also that really super fun UVSC halloween dance one year, but overall I would say halloween doesn't do that much for me.

Last year we were invited to a costume party, (click here), and this year, we were invited to yet another. Fun! But this party was no last-minute deal, oh no. For the last several years, my ultra-creative co-worker Derek has hosted a mocktail party right around halloween. The themes are different every year... from 'retro' to 'arabian nights' to 'tiki lounge' and even 'James Bond'. This year's theme was Disco. Awesome! He sent invitations and even created a blog to aquaint invitees with dance moves and various wardrobe suggestions. Click here to see it. Needless to say, Ben and I were thrilled to make the list.

I tried the Farah Faucett look with feathered bangs and flippy hair... and I had the perfect shirt. Thanks Granny! Sequins, a chevron pattern, and even sleeves! Can you believe I even dusted off my showchoir earrings from high school? The pictures don't give the full effect of my make-up, but I had the false lashes, super blush, and of course, glitter eye shadow. Ben was my low-key boyfriend, ala Jason London in Dazed and Confused.

We had an absolute ball at the party! There was a themed drink menu and I had the Copa Cabana Colada - yum! Derek provided a tutorial on 'doing the Hustle' and followed that with a Soul Train. (like the end of Grease where they dance down the line two by two). Ben and I managed to have a routine - here's the play by play -

Derek, we had the best time! Thanks for the drinks, the dancing, & the mirror ball! You sure know how to throw a fantastic costume party. And thanks for making me excited for the halloween season again.

Star Sighting

Most of my readers (all four of them) know that after finishing school and working in PR for a few years, I decided to make a career change to interior design. For the last year+ I have been working almost full-time and taking classes at the LDS Business College to complete a design degree.

Having most of the generals out of the way from BYU, I consider myself a part-time, almost night-student... commuting and not spending much time on campus. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the bookstore for a pre-class snack of Cheezits and water, and the kid behind the counter points right at me and says, "Hey, aren't you that girl from the video??"

Oh boy, here we go. He told me where he saw it and I had to run to class to check out said video. Had I made a huge fool of myself? How many people have seen this? How long has it been running? Click HERE, then click on LDSBC and tell me for yourself.

Yes, it actually is pretty embarrasing. But it could have been worse. I've had worse on-camera moments...ala my ten-year-old fundraising fiasco"train for the training, trainer, to train, the training center"... for those of you who don't get it I hope you never will. Ben gave me some positive feedback though, he brought to my attention that I am on the same video with President Hinckley. I'll take that any day.

Someday

Every month I receive my magazine subscriptions... Trad. Home, Living, Southern Accents, etc. Thank heaven that's it for now. I travel around all month with my stack, sometimes two months worth, trying to find a few moments to get through them. My system is this - tearing out any pages that contain a)good pictures b)good advice c)something I can send to a friend/mom/sister... that way at the end of it all, I only have 'tearsheets' instead of boxes full of old issues (which = packrat).

The other night I was thumbing through a mag when I spotted this full page ad, and I had to doubletake! "Wait, was that Taryn?" It not only looks like her, but now that she lives on the opposite coast and we only talk on the phone, this is exactly what I envision when I am on the line with her. Rarely a week passes that she's not preparing dinner for a little group of friends, desserts for a shower, or tons of food for the weekend football party. Give a girl a break! She impresses me in many ways as it is - but most especially where I lack - in the kitchen! Maybe someday I can be more like Taryn: creating unbelievable gourmet food seemingly-effortlessly while being the perfect (and very funny) hostess & looking like a million bucks (without trying!).

Who gets it?

I was sent this video by someone close to me and I think it offers very interesting facts not understood by most people. I try to keep up on the candidates, the economy, the housing market, etc., but who has enough time in the day to keep up with it all!? This video was worth the watch. I hope anyone reading is registered to vote and make a change.