A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

My birthday plans are official! This weekend my parents and I went to the bar where I'm hosting my party to finalize reservations. It's a cool little speakeasy right down the street from where I live. I figured it'd be the best place to celebrate the last of my roaring 20s, plus I am a sucker for all things of the era. Secret gin joints, glitz and glam, the music - it's all kind of magical isn't it?

Here are a few shots of the bar. The first picture with the couches is the actual area we reserved.

pics via

On another party note, Meg of henning love and I are co-hosting a SoCal blogger meetup at J.Crew Factory Ontario Mills next month. Get the details and RSVP!

OK, now it's your turn to gossip. All topics are accepted for this weekly blog hop. Link up and meet new friends!

Here's how it works:

1. Blog about your gossip
2. Include the badge (below) in your post and/or link back to Join the Gossip
3. Add your link to the list below.

<a border="0"href="http://www.jointhegossip.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q767/jointhegossip/300x300-2_zps6ded2256.png"/></a>

Hotel Roosevelt

Happy Monday! Today I'm filled with mixed emotions - excited that in exactly one week I leave for Australia, but scared of the first flight that's 16 hours (and I fly alone). I want to go, just not make the journey.

This weekend was spent packing and getting ready for the trip. I also got to spend time with a great friend who was in town from Nashville (who I visited last fall). It was a great night catching up with dinner, drinks, and laughs.

I live in the heart of Hollywood but don't go out often in the city because it's so expensive. $20 for one drink at the famous Hote Roosevelt Tropicana Bar! And they added gratuity! Despite the hefty bill, it's nice to get out and have a drink in such a swanky location. It's literally set outside with pretty palm trees and a huge pool. The hotel was the original home of the Academy Awards and is rumored to be haunted by Marilyn Monroe. I eat that stuff up.

And on top of that awesomeness, The Saints won their game last night!! And Brees broke the consecutive touchdown passes record. So exciting. It was even more sweet since they were playing the Chargers, who let Brees go several years back. Plus my dad is a SD fan and the trash talking was pretty intense. Glad I get the bragging rights. Who dat!

What did you do this weekend? Link up with my co-hosts Sami of Sami's Shenanigans, Dana of five30three, and me and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:

1. Blog about your weekend.

2. Add the badge (below) to your post.

3. Add the blog post link to the linkup below.

<a href=" http://www.jointhegossip.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://sites.google.com/site/samishenanigans/files/weekendupdatebutton.png" /></a>

Ding, ding, ding went the trolly!

Yup, I know that title was a bit much! But I am a bit much at times ;) Also a bit much, posting four birthday blogs in the last two weeks. There was just so much that I had to split it up. Last post I swear, but it's picture heavy!

There are three things in life I can't quit: Dr. Pepper, Groupon/Living Social deals, and tours. On Saturday it was all about the latter. Since I spent the weekend with my oldest friends in San Diego, Kathrin of Shop.School.Sleep. and Tiffany of Polka Dotted Cats (who lives in SD and hosted us), they let me indulge in one of my favorite activities, a trolly tour!

But before we get to that action, check out my hair! Kathrin did a sock-less sock bun. She literally teased and put it up in like two minutes flat.  Super cute right?!

To kick off the day we headed to Old Town SD for a tour of the Whaley House. I'd been before and loved it so I was excited to go again. OK and I lied, I have four obsessions. The fourth is spooky things. The Whaley House is super creepy and totally haunted.

Tiffany, me, Kathrin

Gaslamps/lanterns are another obsession of mine

Next was the trolly tour provided by Old Town Trolly Tours. At $32 for 11 stops throughout San Diego it was a great deal. We spent the entire day on the go checking out the harbor, Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado Island and more. We chose to not do all of the stops, just the areas we really wanted to see. Here are some of the highlights:

San Diego Harbor

Gaslamp Quarter

Lunch at Bootlegger in the Gaslamp Quarter

Ahi goodness

The beautiful Hotel del Coronado (also haunted ;)

Tiffany, me, ad Kathrin in front of the hotel

Had an overpriced $14 drink at the hotel with a priceless ocean view

After having dinner back in Old Town we went home, relaxed a bit, and opened gifts. Then we decided to go to a few small, local bars. Again, Kathrin did my hair. Not only can the girl do a mean sock bun, but look at that fishtail!

J. Crew bracelet and necklace from Kathrin

Nail polish, Target stackable rings, and a BaubleBar bracelet from Tiffany

It really shows my dip-dye

First drink as a 29-year-old

Tiffany, me, and Kathin...I guess we always line up the same way!

Overall, my 29th birthday in San Diego was perfect! So many fun events with such great friends!!

Broadway Bar

I'm currently look for a place to celebrate my birthday (in August). As I get older I have mixed birthday emotions. It's not a milestone celebration so there's no need to make huge plans. But on the other hand, I don't go out nearly as often as I should so it's the perfect excuse to make big plans.

One of the places I'm thinking about going to is Broadway Bar, located in the heart of LA's Historic Theater District. I'm a sucker for history so the setting is perfect. Plus since I'm in Hollywood I don't make it downtown all that often.

According to Broadway Bar's site: The Broadway Bar’s Gothic Revival building adjoins the renowned Orpheum Theatre, once host to legendary entertainers, burlesque queens and jazz greats.

Sounds and look pretty awesome, right?



Photos courtesy of: 213 Nightlife

Downtown Drinkin'

Last night I headed downtown to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. Los Angeles is a little tricky. Everything in the vicinity is considered LA, even if you are in a surrounding neighborhood. For example, I technically have an LA address, even though I'm in Hollywood. Although I live in LA, I hang out in the Hollywood area so I never make my way to downtown. But when I do, I'm in love. Tall buildings, one-way streets, the hustle and bustle - I'm all about it. That's why I was thrilled to hang at Seven Grand.

It was my first time visiting and I was feeling the vibe for sure. The establishment is described on their site as...

A Swank Irish infused urban oasis, Seven Grand serves up 300+ premium whiskeys, rare ryes and small batch bourbons on a hand-carved black walnut bar under the stony gaze of freshly hunted Jackalopes.

OK, I liked everything but the deer heads hanging on the walls. I did my best to overlook that though. I did notice the feeling of stepping back into an era past. Perhaps the 1920s? With the dark lit room, antique wallpaper, live jazz, and grand pool tables, there was a rugged sophistication in the air.

Known for their whiskey selection, I (wo)manned up and sipped a few of my friends' drinks, although I couldn't stomach them :( I'm a clear hard alcohol kinda girl. I did enjoy my 1903 beer though!

I'm going to make it a point to go back in the near future to hang out again. I've actually heard about the company that owns this bar, 213. Named (I'm assuming) after the LA area code, this company has several Downtown LA bars that appear to be of the same variety as Seven Grand. The cool part is that the bars are found within historic buildings, which adds to the feeling that you're in a different age and time.

Photos courtesy of: 213

In My Absence I Have Been...

I know I have been majorly slacking in the posting department—my apologies! As I have mentioned a million times before, my daily commute to work is four hours…or should I say was?

Yup, I finally did it! I moved to Los Angeles. I am on the border of Los Angeles and West Hollywood to be exact. For those of you who are unfamiliar with LA, almost all of the cities here are considered LA, even if they aren’t. And cities are broken up by locations within the cities. There are literally different zip codes by street.

So Hollywood isn’t just Hollywood. There’s regular Hollywood ( Hollywood Blvd. complete with the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theatre), North Hollywood (Universal Studios), and then there’s West Hollywood (lots of hot, but unfortunately gay, guys walking precious dogs on Santa Monica Blvd., the Sunset Strip and Melrose). Oh yeah, and you can’t forget the Hollywood Hills where the celebs dwell in their mansions.

Anyways, I moved last Saturday and I am just about settled. I have some more unpacking to do but the big moving is over.

I can’t wait to settle in and have life. I have been so exhausted that I haven’t gone out or done much in months. I’m 25, it’s time to start living!

So now that my commute will be less than 20 minutes round trip, I should have much more time to get back to my regular blogging. I used to post everyday, so this sporadic business has sucked.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me. I appreciate it more than you can imagine.

You can expect an apartment post soon!

P.S. I few things I have gotten to do recently include seeing my favorite band, 311. They played a secret show and it was amazing. If you’re a fan, or if you have yet to hear of the band but love good music, check out their new album Uplifter. It’s perfect for summer!

I also stood in line early in the morning to meet Mark Hoppus and buy Blink 182 tickets. Pete Wentz (Mrs. Ashley Simpson was also there).

Photos courtesy of: my camera, about.com, and Sunset Strip Real Estate for Sale