My Big Thirty in the Big Easy

Even though my birthday isn't until late November, I planned a getaway weekend with girlfriends to my favorite laissez-faire city in the US, New Orleans. We visited the Big Easy over Halloween weekend, and everyone was in town!

The first evening, we enjoyed dinner at Irene's, and a few hurricanes at Pat O'Brian's while we waited for Kendra and Brittany to arrive from up east (please note: Jeremy was in town with guy friends and had dinner with us, he is not a "girl friend"!).


The next day, we drove out to Oak Alley Plantation, we had a private tour!



As we dressed for Halloween, we were treated to Champagne and strawberries form Allyson, a birthday cake from Kendra and Brittney, and more champagne from the Ritz!

I made my peacock costume, and Kendra went as a dirty martini!
Brooke was a vampire...


All of our costumes were a hit!

Halloween was a blast, the costumes were amazing. Here is Suzy and I (I think Adam is in the background!)

Freddy Kruger and I




We recovered from Halloween at the amazing breakfast at Court of the Two Sisters.

Thank you to all of girlfriends who joined me in new Orleans - it was a trip I will never forget!

Fall

Fall has to be my favorite season. I just love...



1. Endless amount of leaves changing and falling.
2. Cuddling on the couch with Scott and hot chocolate.
3. Hats.
4. Pumpkin candles, cookies, and patches.
5. The air is crisp and cold.
6. I think my birthday is in the fall? ;)
7. Breaking out the winter wardrobe - corduroy skirts, Uggs, and tights.
8. Football (OK, I really just love Scott's joy about this game!)
9. No more 100 degree days.
10. Christmas is just around the corner!

Minty Fresh

I have fallen in love with a new website - www.mint.com - it's a financial management site that pulls all of your financial info - banking accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgages, investments, etc. to one space. It also tracks your spending by category, vendors, and compares it against a budget you provide!

In this time of financial insecurity, a little control is all you need to feel in charge of your money! Give it a try!

We came, we saw, we raced.

The Urban Baby team thinks pink!





Race for the Cure was on Sunday, October 5th, and we bundled up and did the family fun walk - what a blast!





Raines does pink in camo...



Martha, who is a 24-year breast cancer survivor, and Gerry, who were visiting us , got into the spirit!





Thank you to everyone who supported us this year!

Cocktails for a Cure - Part Two

The pink martinis were strong and the everyone was generous at the Cocktails for a Cure event on Thursday.




The silent auction items went quickly - the bidders were battling over the facial package and the condo in Park City!

Thank you again to Katie Cole who raised at least 10 silent auction items herself - what a champ!

We raised almost $2000 for our Urban Baby's Race for the Cure team, and for the Komen Foundation.




Scott's parents, Martha and Gerry were in town visiting us, and they were trying to outbid the locals!







Even Benjamin got into the spirit - he helped me make the runner!



Thank you to everyone who came out to support Cocktails for a Cure!

Cocktails for a Cure

In an effort to boost fund raising for our team for Race for the Cure, I decided last week to plan a benefit happy hour, Cocktails for a Cure, to take place next week. This is my shameless plug for donations for the silent auction! If you have ANYTHING to donate, I would greatly appreciate it - and the Susan G. Komen Foundation will thank you too!

Also if you are in the Denver area, please CLICK HERE to see details about the event - I would love if you would attend!!!

Megan is Married!

It was crisp and lovely in Lake Tahoe this weekend, where my girlfriend Megan married her love, Chris Gaines. Their wedding and reception were held at the West Shore Cafe, right on the lake - what a location!


I was hard at work, making sure Megan's day was perfect...



...but I did have time to pose for a pic with Scott!



...and the bride!



The tables sparkled with calla lilies and rhinestone accents.



Guests took home monogrammed vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.



Even the wedding cake was a giant cupcake!



The candlelight was perfect...





What a romantic scene for a beautiful wedding. I wish them all the happiness in the world!

Hostess With the Mostess

My party planning hit a new high note today, when Hostess With the Mostess Blog featured the bridal shower I threw for Megan in Dallas this summer! You can see the full article here:

Full Article

Yipee!

Down Home in Our Home

When we moved back to Denver, I found an amazing group of moms online called "Urban Baby" with the mission of "downtown moms who are passionate about living in Denver and raising their kids in an urban environment".

Recently, we hosted Supper Club for the group which is essentially a book club, but with food, instead of a novel! We chose the theme of "Down Home Cookin'" and guests brought everything from cobbler to cornbread. We had 20 adults and 10 babies, what a rambunctious party it was!

I've been lucky to make some great friends already from the group - For example, Julie and Jack love to hang out with Benjamin and I every once in awhile! She and her husband, John, have moved as much as Scott and I have - they've also braved Salt Lake City living!

Benjamin was so nice to share all of his toys with the other little ones, Katie loved the excersaucer!

The guys were on baby duty...

while moms enjoyed a few cocktails!

We were so happy to have everyone over to warm our home, and Benjamin enjoyed sock for dessert!

Bolster Girls in Denver

My half-sister, Danielle, recently came to visit us in Denver -- it was so amazing to see how she's grown up and become an independent woman. She graduated from Sonoma State in June and she's headed to Sydney at the end of this month to work abroad for a year.

She spent most of the week giggling and cuddling with Benjamin and getting to know her new nephew, they had a ton of fun together!

We took her out on the town one night in Denver, and snapped up a couple of cocktails at the Champagne Bar downtown!

I wish her the best of luck and all the adventure she can enjoy in the land down under! Cheers Danielle!

Save the Tatas!!!

It's that time of year again! This will be my fifth year in the Komen Race for the Cure - and this year, I'm racing with Benjamin and my Urban Moms group. I really appreciate your continued support - every $ counts and helps to save a life! If you would like to sponsor me, please click here or on the sidebar. Thank you!!

Stupidity in Icing

Talk about not putting any thought into your work! What do you think the client wanted on this cake? ;)

More giggles here - Cakewrecks

Our new home

On Thursday we closed on our new home in Denver. I say "new" very carefully- the home was built in 1890, but remodeled last year. There are pictures here that we took during the home search process and we will be adding our personal touch very soon! As always, our guest bedroom will be finished soon, please visit us in Denver if you get the chance!

The Day After

In true French fashion, no wedding is complete until the day after brunch. Kendra and Florent treated all of the wedding guests (most who hadn't gone to sleep yet) to galette and crepes.

We snapped a few pictures and everyone enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful landscape.




My big boy


The favors - hard cider LaCroix-style


It was such a wonderful week full of smiles and wonderful memories - truely one of the most amazing weddings I've ever been too! Thank you to Kendra and Florent!!

The Big Day

The day before the wedding, we all pitched in to decorate the reception location for the wedding. It was a fairytale setting with a castle for a backdrop, everything was so beautiful!

Before the party


The finished product


Finally, the big day had arrived. We watched and listened mostly en francais to Kendra and Florent exchange their vows in a 12th century stone church. We showered them with confetti as they exited the church!




The getaway car


Next,it was off to the reception and time for pictures!

The bride and groom




Kendra was striking in her gown, she had such a glow!








The girls


The boys


The details were perfect!






The menu was exquisite - chesses, fois gras, four desserts! We were even serenaded by the maid of honor, Aubrey, who treated us to her rendition of "Sweet Caroline".


What a day! What a couple! Everyone had a wonderful time, and the party wound down around 5 am I think?