A Night Fit for Fundraising

A and I rarely get the chance to get dressed up here in Prescott, so when the opportunity arises we jump at the chance! This time it was a fundraising event a friend of ours was hosting for her teen center. A fun filled evening with booze, food, and a fashion show...how could you not want to go!?

We walked in and greeted a few people we knew and went straight for the bar!

Luckily for our friend, there were so many people they ran out of seating! 

While we were waiting for the fashion show to begin I decided to get some henna done! I sat down and introduced myself to Amber, the henna artist (who also happens to be a local yogi).

First she needed to clean my finger to help the henna stay

I've always loved the look of henna on hands, so I chose a beautiful finger design and she went to work.

It was so interesting watching her freehand the design. Amber learned how to henna by spending time with her dad in Venice Beach! 

Here's the finished design. I was very happy with how it turned out. :)

Once my henna was complete I met back up with Andrew and grabbed some of the yummy food.

Luckily it was just in time to see the beginning of the fashion show. It was fun to see the local clothing stores getting involved in this fundraiser. 

I'm so glad that A and I were able to get out of the house and join in the fun! We even won one of the silent auctions - a yoga pass to the local hot yoga! I'm super excited about it because I was planning on getting back to yoga this summer, so win-win!

Haha! I had asked A to take a picture of me and my new henna and this is the best he shot! Yes, he does have a degree in photography, but people (and iPhones) aren't really his thing!

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

San Francisco and Auckland will always be my two homes. I am never more comfortable than I am in these cities. Unfortunately Auckland is a little far for a quick weekend trip (at least for now) so instead A and I made a quick dash over to San Francisco for the weekend. 

It was so nice seeing my family again! We hadn't seen them since New Years (when Stanford lost the Rose Bowl those twats) so it was a good time for all. 

In honor of my birthday (or our engagement depending on who you spoke to that evening) my mom threw a little cocktail shindig. Before everyone arrived we had an impromptu photo shoot! Here's my adorable parents.

My mom said she wanted a closer photo...so then this happened.

Like father, like daughter.

I'm pretty sure my dad takes the cake for worst photographer ever...so glad we have already hired our wedding photographer! 

The night was filled with loud chatter, vivacious guests, and wonderful libations! It was such a treat to see family friends. Typically our trips are so short our time is reserved for family and close friends only, so it was nice to finally catch up with old family friends.

We Are So LA - Apparently

A and I love supporting our school's art gallery. Seeing as we both went through art programs here, we try to make it a point to get to as many gallery openings as we can. Luckily we happened to be in town for this one. As we pulled into the parking lot my old roomie from LA called to see what I was up to. I told her we were heading into the gallery opening and she thought that was "very LA of us"! I couldn't help but laugh because I don't think I ever went to a gallery opening the entire time I lived in LA.

This is the first piece of the collection that caught my eye. This opening is actually for two separate artists - one who works with wood and metal (Carlton Bradford), the other with chalk (Brian Benfer). 

A repurposed violin case...

This artist had installation pieces. Apparently he came into the gallery a week prior and painted and chalked the walls. It's literally chalk paint with chalk etched over top. 

It's an interesting concept that grows on you the more you look at it.

Or maybe it's the punch/wine!

These pieces were pretty interesting. The one in the foreground is huge and the artist only completed it a couple months prior to the opening.

A and Helga being silly!

These two images show the installation pieces in all their glory. It was actually really cool that something so simple can have such a dramatic effect. 

I guess the next time we're living in LA we will make it a point to actually go to some gallery openings! But until then we will have to stick to our small town gatherings!

Friends Who Move Mountains

I was reminded last week how amazing my friends truly are. I know everyone thinks their friends will do anything for them, but one of mine literally moved mountains for me. You see I stumbled across the most amazing shoes that I just had to have for my wedding. I desperately wanted them, but alas was too slow on HauteLook and so someone else snatched them up!

Of course this would happen to the only shoes that I loved. Oh, did I mention that A liked them too!? So I did what any sane, 21st century girl would do, I scoured the internet to find said shoe. I could not find them anywhere! I searched high and low, on every single website that is even remotely linked to shoes, and yet nothing. I did happen to find them on eBay, but 2 sizes too small. I was doomed.

So last weekend at the cocktail party my parents threw (post to come) I mentioned this tragic story to anyone that would listen. The following Monday (my birthday, it just so happened) my mom, A, and I went shopping to look for wedding shoes. We went to 12 different stores and I hated everything I came across. I just couldn't get these shoes out of my mind, and every shoe paled in comparison. I even tried calling the designer store in San Francisco to ask about the shoe. Apparently it was last year's design and no store had it in stock. Ugh.

We got home around 1pm exhausted and disheartened, when I received a call from one of my besties. She asked if I was sitting near a computer with my credit card handy (of course I was...). "Go to the designer's website" she said, "the shoe, in your size is online, but only for the next hour!"

She managed to do the impossible. Somehow she was able to speak to someone at the designer's home office, convince them to bring the last shoe in my size out of the warehouse and put my shoe on the website so I could buy it! No freaking joke...

Happy birthday! Happy wedding!

P.S. I've asked this friend to do the honor of marrying A and I. Pretty confident she can pull that one off too!

Choice, Chance, Change

A and I are in San Francisco visiting with my family. There's nothing quite like dysfunction that makes you appreciate what you have. Sometimes I need reminders like the above to help me stand up for what I want and I'm always glad I did. 

Tomorrow is a new day, a new year, a new start...it's my birthday. 

Los Angeles

A and I drove to LA to surprise his mom for her birthday! The road was pretty quiet the whole way and we managed to make it there in good time. 

She was completely surprised and was quite happy to find out that none of us had forgotten her birthday. She has decided now that she has reached a happy age and will now count backwards! 

After a few hours of getting ourselves together we dressed ourselves up and went out to dinner. 

After dinner we went to a great show at Cal Tech called Capitol Steps. 

We had amazing seats, which was wonderful because the show was an absolute riot! A and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Very smart political humor. 

Cal Techs theatre was incredible to look at. This is an image of the ceiling! It was an intense gold that my camera wasn't quite able to capture. 

The following day the whole family went to the shooting range. This was the first time I had ever been to a range and it was quite exciting. Even though we went early morning it was still pretty busy...which means loud. So many guns going off you didn't need a reminder to wear your ear plugs! 

The boys checking on our targets. They were inspecting to see if my bullets actually hit the thing!

The coolest part about the range is that it's nestled into California national park! So even though you're shooting at targets you still have this beautiful view beyond. 

Here's an action shot of me shooting my little birthday present!

And A's mom shooting an awesome rifle called a Keltec Sub 2000 a friend brought along. 

Then on Sunday A and I were able to catch up with my old roomies and bestie! We all met at Gladstones in Malibu and proceeded to order bottomless mimosas. 

Our waiter kept us all very happy by refilling our mimosas before we were finished with them! He definitely knew the way into our hearts! All throughout our brunch this group of pelicans kept flying overhead. I was finally able to get them in a shot but wasn't nearly as cool as in person. 

My two former roomies. 

All the girls in their Sunday best! We make brunch look good! 

It's always a fun time when we get out to LA but this weekend was especially nice. We were both super bummed to have to drive home so soon, but luckily I'll be back out soon for my bridal shower! Can't wait!