InStyle Parties & New Barware

Hello Lovelies, I wanted to share with you my favorite books. As a lover of entertaining, this gem has become my go-to guide for all things hosting.

Chapters on parties are divided into dinner parties (spring dinner, early autumn supper, and Mediterranean dinner); holiday parties (Thanksgiving dinner, holiday cocktail party, New Year Eve's supper and Halloween cocktail buffet); occasions and theme parties (Super Bowl party, Oscar party, game night, afternoon spa party, baby shower and birthday dinner party); and summer parties (backyard luau, backyard barbecue and Tuscan dinner).

There is also an extensive resource list for invitations; barware; hors d'oeuvres; pantry items such as spices; cheese; fresh and prepared meats; seafood; specialty foods; desserts; tabletop; decor; theme elements; etc.). There is a menu, a suggestion for setting the scene (from the invitation to room decor to music), a countdown (what to do three weeks, two weeks, one week, two days, day before, morning of, etc.), wine pairing suggestions, recipes and a section on how to make it all "even easier" (such as buying rather than making dessert, paring down the centerpiece, etc.).

The chapter on how to properly stock a bar was extremely helpful. With a trusty resource like this I didn't have any trouble getting buy-in from my husband to purchase some much needed essentials. :) The beautiful photography is worth the purchase price alone. This book would make an excellent choice for a birthday or bridal shower gift. Hopefully you'll enjoy this book as much as I do!

Moving onto my new barware. Last week during a quick trip to Marshalls for some candles we came across the most exquisite Kate Spade crystal barware......wait for it.......wait for it......on clearance! Each piece still had the original tags and were $125 each and were reduced several times until I was lucky enough to scoop them up for $23 each. Cha-ching, helllllo savings! The design is called Banyan Stripe and it has been discontinued, but you can still find it online at full price.

I've been on the hunt for an ice bucket for some time now, but just wasn't finding anything that fit the bill. Needless to say I was thrilled when we came across these beauties and the pitcher is a lovely addition as well! So glad I held out until I found "the one". hahah

Last Friday my brother and sister in law met us at our place before heading out to dinner. I was thrilled to be using the new goods so soon. I jumped at the chance to whip us up some yummy concoctions from InStyle parties - the Touchdown (tequila, OJ, Lime juice and triple sec). So delicious! Both of our guests are tequila lovers so this was the perfect beginning to our night out at Tequila Jack's in Long Beach.

I'm very much looking forward to putting these bad boys to good use in the upcoming months. Who wants to come over for a cocktail party?

Till next time!
xoxo Shortious Maximus

****P.S. funny story about my nickname****
A couple weeks ago when I had the pleasure of meeting my brother's roommates girlfriend and we were all sitting down talking getting to know each other. A while later I got up for something and as I started to walk across the room in my heels (which make me just shy of 6' tall) and the hubby called out "Hey Shorty, can please grab me a beer while your up?" I didn't think anything of it until I heard the girlfriend ask all confused "Did he just call her Shorty?!?!" She is only about 5' tall, so it was pretty funny!!

A Little Bit of This....A Little Bit of That

Hello blogosphere! Lots going on around here lately and I wanted to give everyone a quick update and share some things that are making me happy lately.

My husband seriously rocks my world - handsome, funny, smart and a child of God – I am so blessed. Last weekend we went to a Roaring 20’s party and he was hamming it up all over the place. The photographers couldn’t get enough of him and rightfully so in my opinion.

Taking a day off during the week to go snowboarding. Last Wednesday we took a little impromptu trip to Big Bear for some fun in the snow. I’m so thankful that I have ample PTO at work and can take a mental health day with no qualms.

Making new friends. The hubs and I have always been social butterflies and we really enjoy meeting new people. Weekend before last we met up with a couple that we met in Mammoth. Tamir and Francesca are world travelers and we had some much fun hanging with them at their loft in downtown LA’s art district.

Getting out of our bubble. After hanging with Tamir and Francesca we headed over to West Hollywood to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We hadn’t seen this group of friends for some time and it was really refreshing to change up the scene. The late night dance party was the highlight of my night.

Spending time with family. We celebrated my brother Rory’s birthday last weekend and had so much fun hanging out with him and his fiancée. After church on Sunday we got to chill with our niece Mikayla for a few hours. We put her in the bumbo seat for the first time and it was a blast watching her take in the new experience.

Funny Friends. Our stylist/friend Renee is so stinkin’ funny! We recently paid her a visit and Mike was inquiring whether or not she offers barber services. She was adamantly opposed and later posted these pictures on FB.

Ladies Lunch. I have a very close relationship with two women whom I work with. I first met them about five years ago when we worked for a different company and they have been mentoring and supporting me ever since. I’d like to think that they see me as a younger version of themselves. We don’t all work in the same department but enjoy getting out of the office and treating ourselves to a fancy lunch. Sadly our last lunch was a farewell as Trang is moving on to greener pastures but I will be seeing her again, I’m sure.

The Real Estate game. Mike’s cards are finally finished! I love passing out these bad boys. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell in the SoCal area let me know and I'll hook you up with the best agent around! ;)

New hairstyles. Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not really into styling my hair. I found an online tutorial for this hairdo a couple weeks ago and have worn it twice since. These little mini buns are super easy (even for a hairstyling challenged person like me) and great for day old hair.
Yodlee hee hoo!

One more thing before I go. I've been stressing about our tax situation this year because we don't have school to write off. I thought we'd have to pay a ton because we don't own a home or have a kid. I'm so relived though now that the numbers have been crunched. We're actually getting a teeny tiny refund. Praise the Lord!!

A Mammoth of a Vacation

Our trip in one word - EPIC - and I'm being completely serious. This trip has become easier over the years and like a cozy old sweater it begs for us to come back and get wrapped up in the awesomeness of Mammoth.

There was a total of 8 of us on the trip - Hubs and I plus the inlaws, J-Bone + Tracy, and David and his buddy Dennis. We left Orange County on Sunday morning and made our way to the 15 and eventually the 395 straight up to Mammoth. The drive can be done straight through in about 4.5 hours but we like to take our time and not be rushed. We have two mandatory stops on the way up and back which are Bravo Burger in Adelanto and Erick Schat's Bakkery in Bishop. These are both a must!

We rolled into town at about 5pm on Sunday. After getting settled we headed out to the grocery store to get our food for the week. Later on that evening we went to a local ski shop to get me some new snowboard pants.

Hubs was in charge of booking our lodging this year and he did a great job! The condo association that we stay at (Horizons 4) ranks their condos from A-C. Normally we stay at the C rated places (think 70s cabin) to save some cashola but this year we sprung for an A rated townhouse and I'm so glad we did. Our place was 2 bedrooms + 2 bathrooms and a loft with a King bed and four singles. We scored the master and I was definitely a happy camper!

Monday morning we were up bright and early for our day on the mountain. After scarfing down some breakfast we headed to Eagle Lodge to get our first session in of the trip. We boarded all morning on the Eagle lodge side of the mountain and made our way to the main lodge to get some refreshments aka tall can of Coors Light.



We hung out for a bit then made our way back to Eagle lodge for lunch. Whenever we go snowboarding we bring along our travel BBQ, it's seriously the best. We all had turkey burgers for lunch - healthy, delicious and cheap! We swigged down some margs and then headed back up for a few more hours of shredding the mountain.

Find the Margarita bottle!

That evening we must have hit the sheets at about 8pm! Snowboarding is no joke and we were beat!

Tuesday morning before we left I set up the crock pot for Chicken Tortilla soup and it was a hit! David and Dennis met up with us on Tuesday morning and we started our morning just like Monday with a little shredding on the Eagle/Canyon lodge side of the mountain.

After our little break we decided it was time to hit the top of the mountain. I've been up to the top every time we've been to Mammoth but its always a little intimidating. More pictures to come on this little adventure.

View from inside of the gondola

Adorable kiddos from Mammoth Elementary!

Tuesday night when we got back to our place we hit up the jacuzzi to soothe our sore muscles. Later on that night we enjoyed some Apples to Apples action.

We bought the 3 of 4 day passes from Costco and ended up saving a ton of money. Can you believe that the daily rate is $92 for adults!?!? Expensive but totally worth it in my opinion. With our passes we paid about $60 per day.

Wednesday was our day off from snowboarding and when we woke up it was snowing! It snowed about 4-5 inches on Wednesday.

Hubs & Jeremy putting chains on our whip

We had a lazy morning and decided to go out for breakfast. After looking around on Yelp we headed to The Stove for breakfast and my oh my was it ever delicious!

Group shot (David & Dennis were busy shredding the gnar)

Very nice Mikey!!
After breakfast we drove over to main lodge to check out the gift shop at the main lodge. Sadly nothing was calling my name but I did get a cute hot pink Mammoth sticker for my board. Later that afternoon we hit up the jacuzzi and sauna for some more relaxation.

Thursday was our last day on the mountain and it was a little bittersweet. It snowed about 6 inches Thursday and it was so much fun snowboarding in almost a full foot of powder! I've boarded in the past in fresh pow but never this much, and let me tell you it was glorious. I was definitely testing my limits this day. I even got up the courage to do some tree runs!

Love my face in this picture....I'm so in my happy place :)

Thursday evening we enjoyed the jacuzzi once again and then headed out to dinner at Burgers. I normally don't order the goods like patty melts, etc but I felt like after three days of snowboarding I deserved it! Tracy kept joking the whole time about how she eats so much that she is "eating for two." Thanks for making me feel better about getting my grub on! haha

Very tired but happy! We rounded out our trip with some yummy margaritas Gomez's. We were all so exhausted we couldn't drink more than a couple of margs. Thanks David for the drinks and the good time!

We headed out of town on Friday morning at about 10am and eventually got home at about 4pm. Thanks to everyone for making this such a smooth and enjoyable trip! Can't wait to go back!

Oceanfront Dining - Claire's at the Museum

I'm just about ready to post my vacation recap but am waiting on a couple of pictures from friends.....hopefully this will keep you entertained in the meantime!

A few weeks ago the in-laws came over for a visit. There were no specific plans for the day other than having lunch somewhere fun and making a stop at one of our fav places to shop - Nordstrom Rack. We didn't really have any ideas for lunch but once Saturday rolled around and it was gorgeous, I knew just where to go!

Whenever friends and family visit from out of town my first choice for dining is Claire's at the Museum. This cute little cafe is part of the Long Beach Museum of Art and sits on a bluff overlooking the Long Beach harbor. I love nothing more than sitting at the cafe enjoying good company and spectacular views.

My seared ahi salad and the hubs California turkey sandwich

View to the West - Port of Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes

View to the South - Catalina

View to the East - sailboat race

We had a wonderful time at the cafe. I'm pretty sure we were there for a couple of hours enjoying the sights and the warm sunshine. There was a wedding taking place at the museum that day so that was fun to watch as well.

A couple of tips for dining at Claire's: reservations are recommended and plan to arrive early as there is isn't much parking available. Also, don't let a cool day stop you from heading to the cafe - they provide blankets to keep you nice and cozy.

Who wants to go to brunch?

Weekend Love

Last weekend was just what the doctor ordered - lots of relaxing and family time. Friday night we had plans to check out At Last Cafe (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) but had to skip out on our reservations due to the weather. It was pouring buckets! The cafe is located in a residential area which is notorious for it's lack of parking. We circled the restaurant for over 15 minutes and then decided it just wasn't worth hiking 6+ blocks in the downpour. We then headed to our fav local sushi spot. While we were enjoying our dinner we looked up to see a patio umbrella being blown down the strip mall parking lot like a tumble weed! Us Californian's are total wimps when it comes to weather!!

Saturday morning we were up nice and early and dropped off one of our cars at the body shop. I may or may not have caused an accident that caused said car to visit the shop. :(

Later in the afternoon we headed to Anaheim because husband, brother in law and cousin are in the market for gun permits. Kerilynn, my sister in law, and I were not feeling spending the afternoon in a gun shop so we opted for a ladies lunch instead. I love spending time with Kerilynn and my almost 4 month old niece Mikayla. We visited Mimi's for a late lunch and then hung out at Target for a bit. That evening we had everyone come back to our house for dinner/movie/margaritas and a good time was had by all. Night at the Roxbury is still great!!

Sunday morning we went to church and heard one of our pastors give a prophecy update on Egypt. Interesting stuff people. I'm not here to preach but I will say if you haven't yet given your life to God and invited Jesus into your heart, now is the time! If you are interested in learning more about Christianity, please don't hesitate to contact me. After church we did a little Mammoth vacation planning and hung out with the baby.

How cute is my mother in law? :)

Kerilynn + Mikayla

In the afternoon we visited with our friends Aaron and Lisa which was awesome as usual. When we were at their place we were all joking about how it feels weird if we don't see them at least once a week! Later that evening we enjoyed a show at the Irvine Improv.
Great comedy + good friends = can't ask for anything better!

Weekend Love + Hollywood Hike

Soooo, the weekend is officially over, but I don't want it to be!! After a long week at work I always struggle with going out on Friday nights. This past Friday was no exception. I rushed home from work though and we headed to Anaheim to celebrate my brother in law Matt's birthday. We went out to eat with his friends and a couple of our cousins at Oggi's Pizza. Hubs and I tried a couple of their "heart healthy" meals - the tilapia and wheat pasta. They were both delicious and I highly recommend them!

Saturday was a day reserved just for me and the hubby, well almost. We haven't spent much one on one time lately other than weeknights, so we wanted to do something fun alone. Mid morning we headed back up to the Hollywood sign for some more hiking action. It was much warmer than when we went last month so we explored some additional trails and got in a great workout!

After the hike we went to church with our cousin Jenn and her daughter Ashley. This church outing wasn't planned but it was most enjoyable. After church we grabbed some Yoshinoya before heading to Disneyland. We've never eaten there before and I don't think we'll be back. It wasn't horrible or anything, just not quite my cup of tea.

Our main reason for going to Disneyland was to see The World of Color. We've been pass holders for about 6 months but wanted to wait until the crowds subsided before attempting to see the show. We weren't able to get fastpass tickets but a cast member informed us we could seek out standby seating a few minutes before the show started. Awesome. We hit up Soarin' Over California before heading to the show area. As we were hanging out a gentlemen offered us his "dining tickets" because he wasn't going to use them. Apparently these tickets are given out at the nicer restaurants throughout the park for the shows later in the evening. These tickets gave us the best seats ever!! Front and center baby!

Let me tell you, this show did not disappoint. If you've seen the Bellagio fountain show but not this one it can be described as the Bellagio fountains on crack but with fire. Literally. Put daft punk, Disney, pixie dust, Pink Floyd and fire in a martini shaker and this is what you'll get. I wish I would have taken more pics but if you haven't seen this show yet go now!!!

Sunday we went to watch the Superbowl with our hommies. I had this grand plan of going for a bike ride around the back bay before the game so I wouldn't feel bad about pigging out. Too bad my feet were sore from the hike and walking around Disneyland on Saturday. Good times all around though. Thanks to Jbone for hosting once again!

We also watched The Kings Speech this weekend. Great movie...go see it now. You'll thank me later.

Shorty Out.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

1. Getting back in the water to swim laps. I haven't swam laps in over a year and it felt great. Still sore from Wednesday night's workout but that is a-OK with me! And the protein shake the hubs made for me after my swimming workout. I was about to pass out from exhaustion and it gave me a much needed pick me up!

2. My mom was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for her involvement with the Main Street Historical Society in her town of Cambridge, Ohio. According to the article explaining her accomplishments for every $1 invested into Main Street $38 of tourism monies are spent on Main Street. Amazing! Way to go mom!

3. Finding a local sprint triathlon in mid April. Thinking about entering as a way to keep my workouts on track.

4. Finishing up a pretty complicated and drawn out project at work. So glad to gave this project off of my plate!

5. Answered prayers!

6. Finding out that the rates we booked for our May Vegas trip at the Venetian have been reduced drastically. From $209 to $169....yeah baby!!

7. Venti unsweetened Iced Green Tea...'nuff said.

8. That my sweet niece Mikayla is being dedicated this weekend.

9. Receiving notice that I'll be traveling to my company's Silicon Valley office in a few weeks for additional training. I'm excited to meet up with some of my San Francisco colleagues that'll be there, in addition to meeting several others I've only met virtually.

10. Daydreaming about the what the future holds.

Wedding Dress: To Sell or Not to Sell?

That is the question!

Growing up I remember my mom only taking out her wedding dress on a few select occasions. During my Freshmen year of high school she let me try on her dress and parade around the house for my brothers. I was so honored to finally try on that dress, but it was way too small! I was very fit at the time, but my mother has a much smaller frame that I do, and she got quite the kick out of seeing me busting out of her wedding dress. The dress itself is beautiful, with lace long sleeves and intricate detailing. My parents were married in the late 70s and it was a dress the dress was very "in" at the time. Twenty years later when I tried it on it was still in great shape and had been well preserved. My parents live out of state and unfortunately my mom wasn't able to attend when I shopped for my wedding dress. I was fortunate enough to wear her veil in my wedding and it was stunning, if I do say so myself. I am very thankful that she was willing to let me borrow her veil on my special day.

Now that I've been married for almost two years I'm wondering if I should keep or sell my wedding dress. This topic that can be looked at from many perspectives and I'd like to hear them all. Will I regret not keeping my dress and missing out on moments like the one my mom and I shared when I played dress up in her gown? Or will I be happy to have more space in my closet, a few extra bucks in our savings account, and that I didn't have to delicately transport it every time we moved?

As I'm debating selling my own wedding dress I'd love to hear what others have done, and are planning to do. I know that selling wedding dresses is somewhat of a new phenomenon but do you think it is here to stay?

I finally made it to the blog party!

Ladies, the time has come for me to jump feet first into the world of blogging. That's right, with much prodding and encouragement, I've realized now is the time for me to officially become a blogger!

"What should I expect from this "Shorty" person" you ask?

I'll probably talk about the following things on this blog:

Marriage & Family

Career
Entertaining
(I consider myself THE Hostess with the Mostest) Strange things I see in downtown LA Healthy Eating/Lifestyle
Hobbies
Travel

I'll just leave it at that for now....gotta keep my multitudes of followers hungry for more, right?
Stay tuned for a Christmas party recap that the mister and I hosted recently.