What I’ve Learned

When I was 16 months old, my sister was born, and I learned that with her around, I always had a built-in partner in crime. I learned how to share and how to play nicely. I learned that sometimes, a tantrum will get you a hug and a lollipop, but sometimes, it will just get you a timeout in your room.

When I was two years old, I learned to read, and haven’t stopped since. I learned that a book can take you places that in your wildest dreams, you could not imagine, and I learned that I was lucky for finding something I loved as much as I loved books. I learned that a lively, wild, active imagination was going to take me far in life, and it has.

When I was nine years old, I slept through an earthquake, and learned that both the ground beneath me and the life before me was not always going to be firm and steady. I learned that just because you have an argument with a friend, doesn’t mean the friendship is over, and I learned how to fight fair and make-up sweet. I learned that people you love die, and it’s okay to miss them, and I learned that life goes on.

When I was twelve years old, I kissed a boy for the first time, and I learned what puppy-love was. I learned that special feeling that runs deep down into your tummy like butterflies when you see the one you love. And a few months later, I learned what heartbreak felt like. I learned that even when you feel like your world is over, it’s not, and I learned that there would be other crushes and boyfriends and falling-in-loves.

When I was sixteen years old, I learned how to drive, and learned to keep my eyes on the road and my seatbelt fastened at all times. I learned that sometimes people say no when they mean yes, and I learned that it really is okay not to do something just because everyone else is doing it.

When I was eighteen years old, I went off to college, and I learned more about myself and what I was capable of than I ever knew before. I learned about homesickness, then about independence, and being on my own, and taking care of myself in a state hundreds of miles away from home. I learned how to make a decision that changed my life, that introduced me to a group of girls I loved like they were sisters. I learned how to do laundry and fix my wireless internet and how to play beer pong. I learned when to work hard and when to relax and when to blow everything off for a drink with a friend at the bar.

When I was 21 years old, I graduated college, and learned that the real world wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I missed my friends, scattered across the country, and so I learned how to be the best possible long-distance friend. I learned the satisfaction that comes from earning your first paycheck, and then I learned how fast that paycheck goes when it covers things like bills and groceries, instead of shoes and lipstick. I learned that relationships take work, and that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, there comes a point when you have to say goodbye. I learned that sometimes things end, so that wonderful new things can begin.

Today I am 25 years old. Happy birthday to me :)

Here’s to the next 25. I can't wait to see what I will learn next!

Emmy Fashion!

Did yall watch the Emmys? I loved them! I thought Jimmy Fallon was hilarious and I literally was laughing out loud at the opener.

Some of my friends came over and we cooked dinner while watching. I didn’t take any pictures of the food (too busy watching the show), but we made grilled almond chicken with broccoli, brown rice, roasted cauliflower, and salad, PLUS a few days ago, I baked my own cheese-bread (with assistance, don’t worry, but that's a story for another time), so we had quite the feast!

But really, why are we talking about food, when we could be talking about Emmy FASHION!? So let’s do that -- here are my choices for 2010 Emmy Best Dressed!

Now, I don’t know what was in the water over there at the Glee set, but almost every single one of my choices for Best Dressed happen to be from my favorite show :) But before we get to them, let’s talk about Julie Bowen, from Modern Family, who wore a J. Mendel dress (I can’t tell if it’s blue or black - I think it’s navy). Honestly, her dress is beautiful, but what really got me was her hair -- I love the style... makes me want to put my own hair half up!

Okay, onto to the Glee girls! First and foremost, another lady in navy - Jayma Mays in Burberry Prorsum. You guys, she usually drives me nuts on the show, but I thought she looked super cute. Love the big hair and the funky jewelry.

3rd choice goes to Heather Morris in Ina Soltani. You know I die over anything with glitter all over it, and the fact that it’s her wearing it...! I fucking love her. She looks absolutely gorgeous and I LOVE the simple black belt - I think it breaks up all the sparkles and adds such a classy touch to the look.

I seriously applaud Dianna Agron for this choice - I love anyone who takes a fashion risk, and this Carolina Herrera dress makes me so happy. I love pale pink/blush and black, and even though usually I’m not such a fan of lace, I think this dress is gorgeous and actually very fun and youthful. She looks like a china doll. I love it!

So who’s my #1 pick for best dressed? Well, my friends, that award goes to Miss Lea Michelle.

I have SUCH a love/hate relationship with her. Obviously, I am OBSESSED with Glee, and by default, with her, cuz she basically IS the show. I think she has the most fantastic voice, I own half her wardrobe, AND she’s a Jew. However, I am NOT down with the anorexia thing she’s got going on lately, and I’ve heard she is a crazy bitch, which makes me notttt a fan - I hate new stars who let the fame go to their head so quickly.

Anyways, that all aside, she looked beautiful at the Emmys in her Oscar de la Renta dress (Wow, I am NOT such a fan of navy, but 3 out of my 5 favorite dresses were navy - weird!) and her huge fancy necklace. Diamonds and ruffles... no wonder she was my favorite!

All this fashion is making me SO excited for the Oscars! Sunday, February 27th, you guys.... I already can’t wait!

Speaking of things I can’t wait for... TOMORROW IS MY 25TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Tales From the Mall

So! Yesterday I went shopping with my mom, and across the United States, Bailey went shopping in New York City. Ordinarily, this would not be noteworthy (as we probably do this 300 out of 365 days in a year), except today, ALL THREE OF US had Amazing Shopping Experiences (all caps).

All afternoon long, we have been squabbling via the phone and the internet about who had the BEST shopping coup. So this is how we’re going to solve it - I am going to share what happened to each of us, and then YOU are going to vote.

I know you are all the kind of people who HATE LEAVING COMMENTS (much to my disappointment) but in this case, YOU’RE GONNA DO IT. It’s quite easy - simply read the entire post, think long and hard (or short and soft) about who should be the winner of this Silverwoman Shopping Contest, and write your pick in the comments.

Here we go...

BAILEY J: Yesterday Bailey went to Apple in NYC, armed with her laptop, which had been working insanely slowly. She arrived two hours early for her appointment (which she had waited two weeks for), and was told that she would have to wait/no one could see her until the exact time of her appointment. Upon hearing that, she said “UGHHHHHH” extremely loudly, which attracted the attention of the Apple cashier. “Whats wrong with your computer?” asked the Apple girl. Bailey explained the problem. “Sounds like you need a new battery. Are you under warranty?” Bailey was not, and told the girl so. “That might cost you a lot of money,” said Apple Girl sympathetically. “UGH UGH UGH” said Bailey. Apple Girl looked around furtively. “Hold on one sec,” she said, and disappeared into the back. Five minutes later, she emerged with a BRAND-NEW battery, popped the old one out, and stuck the new one into Bailey’s computer. “There you go,” she said. BJ was stunned. “What? Huh? Do I owe you anything?” “No,” said Apple Girl. “You can go! I took care of it for you!” Speechless, Bailey left the store with her now-fixed computer, having spent zero dollars.

MAMA: About a month and a half ago, my mom and I were shopping in the Bloomingdales shoe department (aka, I was petting the Fendi leopard heels, and she was going through the sale racks) when she stumbled upon a single pair of majorly discounted, freaking adorable Kate Spade sandals. They were originally $198, and were marked down to $85. Amazing! I tried to find them in my size, but they were the only ones left. She proceeded to buy them and leave them in the trunk of her car until today, when she decided she wasn’t going to wear them and took them into Bloomies to return. Upon arriving at the shoe department and telling the guy behind the counter that she wanted to return them, he looked at her like she was crazy. “They’re so cute, and you got such a good price!” he said. “I know, but they’re still $85, and I haven’t worn them yet, so I should just return them,” she said. “Well...” he said. “What if I do this?” He proceeded to type some shit into the computer, printed out a new return label, and scanned the shoes again. VOILA - $60! “We are having a sale today, so I just gave you a price adjustment.” “Now you have to keep them!” I screamed, while writhing around the counter in jealousy. Needless to say, she did.

ME: So I got some AMAZING birthday presents from my friends and family - truly some fantastic stuff that I am obsessed with. Yall have amazing taste! I know this for a fact, actually, because someone bought me a bag that I already happen to own :) I decided to return the bag and buy something else I loved with the Bloomingdales credit. I arrived at the Bloomies counter and told the lady behind the counter that I needed to exchange it. “Are you sure?” she said. “That’s such a cute clutch!” “I know,” I said. “It’s so cute, and I already have it, so that’s why I’m exchanging it. But it’s not a clutch, it’s a makeup bag!” “It is?” she said. “How do you know?” “It’s lined inside,” I said, and unzipped the bag to show her. Lo and behold, something fell out into my hands - a $50 GIFT CARD! I was literally seconds away from returning the bag (having never opened it), and would have never even known that a Bloomingdales gift card was tucked inside. Thank god for shopping karma!

So, there you have it. Who had the best shopping experience? It’s up to you. You have to vote.

Leave it in the comments. I will tally them up and determine the winner (begrudgingly, if it isn’t me), but I promise to be fair :)

Happy weekend! XOXO

Pink Party Overload!

So! It’s Wednesday, and by now I trust that you all know what we do around here on Wednesdays. Yep, we talk about pink shit. And since my party was only a few days ago, and my brain is still wired to ONLY talk about the party, we’re going to talk about the pink shit that was AT the party!

First and foremost: THE CANDY TABLE.

So every single person who attended my party went batshit insane over the candy table. Seriously, I wish people liked ME half as much as they liked my candy table. Martha Jewart and I are very pleased about this: we worked long and hard on that candy table and it turned out FABULOUS!

We picked a theme (pink and white candy) and bought lots of different sized/shaped glass containers (you can find these anywhere - we had a lot cuz my mom is nuts, but you can find cheap ones at Michaels, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc). Then we headed downtown to Jack’s Wholesale Candy, which I HIGHLY recommend - they help people with candy tables all the time and were very knowledgeable about which different kinds of pink/white candy would be most popular and most delicious, plus they sell in bulk so we had plenty (and TONS of leftovers! Anyone want to come over?)


We ended up buying pink/white marshmallows, pink mints, Good & Plenty, strawberry saltwater taffys, sour watermelon chews, pink foil-covered chocolate hearts, pink chocolate balls, white Jordan almonds, and white rock candy sticks that my mom personalized with tiny pink bows. She also bought small marshmallows, stuck them on sticks, and rolled them in pink sprinkles, and covered long pretzel logs with pink chocolate as well. We also laid out clear plastic bags and tiny Chinese takeaway containers for people to fill up with treats to take home. (Remember how I said she was taking the theme too far? Well, she did, but she did it well. I love you Mama!)

(Let me be dead serious here for a second: if you would like to have a candy table at a party or dinner or event you are throwing, you can absolutely hire my mom to do it. It was so easy for her and she is so talented and creative at those sorts of things that I seriously think she should go into business doing it professionally. HIRE HER.)

Moving on! What other kinds of pink stuff did we have? Well, we hung these pink paper lanterns from wires through the trees:

And we rented pink linens, which looked gorgeous with our centerpieces: tiny white votive candles surrounding these white table lanterns (filled with fat pink candles):

We ordered three different kinds of cupcakes from Yummy Cupcakes, which I also highly recommend. Very reasonably priced, delicious, and adorable! We went for Happy Day (vanilla cake with pink buttercream frosting and rainbow sprinkles), traditional Red Velvet, and my personal favorite that I’m still dreaming about, Chocolate Salty Caramel. YUM.

I’m making it sound like we only served dessert - NO SIR. The wonderful people at Starlite Caterers did an amazing job with our food -- we served baby sliders, hot dogs and corndogs (because of my love of any and all tubular meats), french fries in cones with different dipping sauces, spicy tuna cones, Chinese chicken salad, and buffalo chicken wings. As for drinks, I’m a vodka girl through and through, so we mixed up a bunch of batches of frozen pink lemonade/vodka slushies, sangria, and fresh margaritas, in addition to a lot of beer :) YUM!

Also, here is a copy of the stickers we put on the candy table bags - my good friend Merav designed them (and my matching invitations), and she did an amazing job! She has a side business doing invitations and graphic design and can make anything you need for your party, so if you’re interested in hiring her, please contact me and I’ll pass on her info!


And finally, HERE is the link to my gorgeous pink DKNY dress, which is now on sale for insanely cheap, and I won’t be offended if you run out and get it! (I actually just ordered the grey one too!)

And now, just for shits and giggles, a few fun party pics :)

Whew! I love it. Now if you want to throw a pink party, no need to do any work - just copy what my mom did and your party will be as gorgeous as mine was!

Happy Wednesday yall! XOXOXO

Happy, Lucky, Loved, SURPRISED - My 25th Birthday Celebration!

Sometimes in life, you are lucky enough to have a moment where everywhere you look and everything you do, you feel it - that fantastic feeling of being completely surrounded by the people you love, everyone is smiling and happy and having a great time, and you stop for a second and think to yourself, “Life literally cannot not get any better than this.”

Me? I had a whole weekend of that feeling. Three straight days of fun, with truly the most fantastic friends any girl could ask for!

So I was all excited on Friday because Bailey had arrived, my grandmother had arrived, and I was about to pick Gerrick up from the airport, right? All wiggly, insane, couldn’t-sit-still excited? So imagine what happened when I arrived at LAX to get her, with Bailey and Greene in tow. I hopped out of the car, we hugged and screamed, I loaded her suitcase into my trunk, and headed back around to the driver’s seat... only to find A MAN sitting in my car.

I screamed at the top of my lungs until through the window, I saw the man turn around -- and he was holding a camera. And then I realized it was Daniel - Gerrick’s boyfriend who happens to be an amazing friend of mine -- and that he was in town to surprise me! I screamed and screamed and started laughing and jumped on him and hugged him and the best part is, he got it all on camera. (Don’t worry - video coming soon!)

When I finally recovered from what I thought was a carjacking in the middle of LAX, we all piled into the car and drove out of the airport. “I can’t believe it!” I kept saying. Daniel interrupted me. “I’m glad you can’t believe it, but can you believe I’m starving?” he said. “Take me to In-N-Out NOW.”

So we headed to In-N-Out. Shockingly, I actually wasn’t in the mood, but everyone else in the car was and far be it from me to deny my Southern friends a double-double. So we parked and headed in. I was walking behind Gerrick and Greene and Daniel, a few steps behind everyone else, and I just followed them, thinking everyone was acting weird, as they bypassed the side door and walked to the front of the restaurant.

And then I think my heart gave out. Because JACOB WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF ME.

Oh my god, I can’t even type it without crying. JACOB! IN TOWN! SURPRISING ME! FOR MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!

I seriously just collapsed into him in the middle of the parking lot and started crying. He kept telling me to basically stop crying and get a grip but I COULD NOT for seriously almost 10 minutes. When we finally made it into the restaurant, I couldn’t even eat lunch - I just kept saying “WHAT IS GOING ON?” and “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY HERE?” and “I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE IT!” over and over and over while everyone else laughed. (PS. I HATE surprises. Did you know that? HATE! I can’t believe my sneaky friends! PPS. There’s video of the Jacob surprise as well. Coming soon, I swear!)

my favorite men/best surprises ever! and their burgers. typical.

So Friday passed in a blur of fun - after the boys ate In-N-Out we headed for a SECOND MEAL (so us girls could have sushi), then met up with Anna in Santa Monica for some shopping, and then later on, out for a night on the town at Rush Street, where we ate tons of food and made friends with the Midori people who handed out free shots and lots of swag, including a pair of snazzy lime-green Ray Bans that did not leave Daniel’s face for the remainder of the weekend.

after dinner at Rush Street Friday night

Saturday dawned and I was in FULL ON PARTY FREAK OUT MODE. Gerr and Daniel had lunch with family while Jacob kindly chauffeured my ass around town in his RENTAL (yes, he rented a car - a bright red Dodge that he referred to as “THE RENTAL” the whole weekend. I’m not sure why he needed to rent a car, but it did aid in the surprise, so I’m happy he did. And happy that doing so made him so happy) as we picked up booze, cupcakes, ate lunch, and packed up the car so we could all head to the valley. My mother, the insane party planner, then put ALL of us to work hanging lanterns, smoothing tablecloths, unfolding chairs, setting out candles, mixing drinks.... my poor friends! Not exactly a relaxing vacation, but no one complained ONCE. I love them :)

And then it was time to party! And the party itself? Was amazing. I am devoting an ENTIRE post tomorrow to pictures from it (after all, the whole thing was PINK!) but for now, let me just say that I was shocked and touched beyond description at how many people came to celebrate with me. I know I know a lot of people in this town, but to see everyone gathered in one place was truly unbelievable. We ate, we drank, we ate, we drank, we sang karaoke and danced and then ate and drank some more.... I had the time of my life and can’t believe how fast it flew!

Just a few.... more to come tomorrow, I promise!

I woke up Sunday with a smile on my face. Sad it was over, but MAN did I have fun. After breakfast with the fam and the besties, a little cleaning up, and some present opening (HOLY F AM I A LUCKY BITCH - MORE ON THAT LATER), we packed up my car and THE RENTAL and headed on down to Newport! Jacob had never been to my family’s house, and Daniel and Gerr love the beach, so Anna, Greene, and I knew we had to take them. We laid out all afternoon and Gerrick and I challenged the boys to a bodysurfing/boogie-boarding contest in the waves - we lost, but it was fun anyways until I totally wiped out in the ocean :)

After dinner in Newport, we headed home and quite literally, all passed out with our clothes on - we were EXHAUSTED! And this morning, with a lot of sadness, I said goodbye to my friends. Words cannot describe how much I miss them already and how glad I am that they were here to share my weekend with me. I am a damn lucky girl with people like Gerrick, Greene, Anna, Daniel, and Jacob in my life -- not to mention all my other best friends all over this country who couldn’t be here but called and texted and emailed to hear about it!

So I can’t believe it, but the celebration is over :( The good news is, my actual 25th birthday is a week from today... I don’t know how it could possibly be topped, but I can’t even begin to think about it :) I am still wiped out.... so off to bed I go!

Thank you to everyone who made my weekend so incredible. It was one of the most special times of my life, and I will truly never forget it :)

I'M SO EXCITED!

In just a few hours, my 25th birthday celebrations will officially begin!

I have been staying relatively quiet on the blog about it, but now that it’s here, I am so excited I can barely type. I have been acting like an eight year-old child all week - going to bed late/waking up early because I’m so excited I can’t sleep, running around town like a crazy girl running errands, and LITERALLY wiggling in my chair whenever I think about the weekend.

Saturday night is the big party. In typical “Martha Jew-art” fashion, my mother has gone above and beyond in her planning - I seriously can’t wait to see what she’s cooked up. I gave her a vague theme -- “Make stuff pink” -- and the woman has basically cleared out every store in Southern California of all their pink goods. For the past week, every time she calls me to tell me of something new she’s found or bought or rented, I tell her that her picture is in the dictionary next to “Taking the theme too far.” Bailey has been referring to it as “Jordan’s bat mitzvah - oops, I mean her 25th birthday party.” My dad just sits and shakes his head.

Speaking of Bay, she arrived last night, and in just a few hours bestie of life Rebecca Gerrick is arriving :) so I am off to the airport to collect her so the fun can FINALLY begin!

Everyone, have a GREAT weekend - I know I will!

XOXOXO!

Be More, Be Bold, Be Greek: Sorority Recruitment

At this very moment, at colleges all over the country, but most importantly at MY beloved University of Arizona, a very important event is taking place.

SORORITY RECRUITMENT.

Now, I may have already lost some of you whose eyes glaze over at the mere mention of Greek Life, but if you’ve stuck around, I think you may find something interesting. Because in my opinion, Sorority Recruitment is FASCINATING. It is something out of a bestselling novel or top-grossing movie. It has something for everyone: drama, comedy, adventure, action... even horror :)

How do I even go about describing it? Unless you’ve been through it, it sounds totally foreign and let’s face it, completely insane. Recruitment is the process that helps new students at colleges figure out which sorority they’d like to be a part of. This is done over a period of a few days where the students have the opportunity to visit each sorority and try to get to know what that particular sorority is about and why it stands out from the rest. At the same time, the sororities and sorority members are trying to whittle down the entire pool (at Arizona, the number of new students is in the thousands) to figure out which girls they’d like to have as members of their sorority.

And the whole process happens in a very bizarre, cheerleader-like way -- as each new student enters each sorority house, she is greeted with the entire group of women at the door, wearing matching outfits and cheering, jumping, clapping, and singing sorority songs at the top of their lungs. The new students then have the opportunity to talk with the sorority members one-on-one to get to know each other. As they leave, they are literally cheered out the door by more singing, screaming, and jumping.

I’m not doing the process justice. It sounds nuts, but in reality, it’s one of the most exciting, overwhelming, amazing things, and a true bonding experience if you go into it with a positive mind. You are constantly thinking on your toes, trying to view yourself, your friends, your house, and your sisters all through the eyes of a group of confused, probably scared to death freshmen -- but it matters. The whole thing matters. You need to sing louder, cheer harder, clap faster, jump higher, than every other sorority. You need to be the best.

The reason why recruitment is on my mind is, of course, because it’s happening as I write this, and I’ve already gotten several phone calls from girls I’m close with who are still at UofA doing their thing all week long. I’m EXTREMELY jealous. There are girls in sororities who dread recruitment and can’t stand any part of it - the days of practice, the cheering, the chit chat, the endless hours spend discussing and voting, all that time together with your sisters... me, I LIVED FOR IT.

Recruitment is all about doing things you usually don’t do, all with a smile on your face. After I joined AEPhi, I took over the skit -- on one of the days of recruitment, we perform an original skit for the new students -- and spent hours and hours every year writing, directing, performing, and perfecting it. I helped think of new dance moves and new songs. I bounced and clapped til my legs were sore and screamed and cheered until I literally lost my voice. I wrote nametags and glued safety pins to hair-bows and fought with the T-shirt designer who screwed up our shirts until he agreed to reprint all 200 of them at no charge. I handed out glasses of water and cups of pretzels and picked up the trash when everyone left. I straightened people’s hair, fixed others’ eyeliner, told jokes and “would you rather?”s at the door, and handed out mints - all while maintaining perfect hair! Ah, the things we do for sorority love :)

Last year, a good friend of mine was AEPhi’s Recruitment Chair, and they were having a rough go of it - 30 girls got sick with the swine flu! The moment she called and said she could use my help, I booked a ticket and into Tucson I flew. NOTHING makes me happier than a few days spent in the company of my sisters, bouncing, cheering, screaming, and recruiting people into AEPhi :)

I’m very open about the fact that joining AEPhi changed my life and made me into the person who I am today, which is why I encourage everyone to give sorority recruitment a shot, no matter if they think they’re right for it at first or not. I personally didn’t know a single thing about Greek life or recruitment - no one in my family had ever been in a fraternity or sorority - and look at how my life turned out because of it!

So, to my sisters in AEPhi at Arizona, and to everyone else who is going through recruitment - on either side! - GOOD LUCK!

Keep a smile on your face and your hair perfectly straight, and you’ll be just fine :)

Urban Pink

What happened when my parents dropped me off at college is the stuff of legend. I don’t think in the history of parents-taking-kids-to-college was there ever quite a meltdown like the one yours truly had.

There were tantrums. Screaming phone conversations. Threats to drop out of school before it had even begun. At one point, I spent an afternoon laying facedown on the floor of the local Tucson Albertsons in the dog food aisle, crying hysterically on the phone to my mother while Benjamin lurked nearby, alternating between staring at me in horror and laughing in disbelief.

Anyways. I recovered. I will tell the story of how I managed to do so another time, but for the purposes of this story, I managed to pull myself together with the help of my old standby, retail therapy. Yes, in times of homesickness, I turned to Urban Outfitters, conveniently located about thirty yards away from my dorm.

I wasted many an hour on University Boulevard in the dressing room at Urban. At one point, my shopping habit was so bad that literally almost everything I owned came from there -- it was at that point when I began holding my now-famous “cleaning out my closet” parties, to the delight of my roommate and friends.

I don’t really shop there anymore, but Urban will always have a special place in my heart. Every now and then when I’m bored online, I pop over to their website and see what they’ve got -- today when I did so, I stumbled upon this gem:

Pink? Leopard? Made of sweatpant material? Uh, yes please. This looks insanely comfortable and I love the oversized look -- it would be perfect when the weather gets cold in a few months (who am I kidding, it is not exactly hot these days) with leggings and some cute moccasins. Love it!

Speaking of Urban Outfitters, while perusing the website earlier today, I also found this:

Not pink, but a necessity for my life nonetheless. “Queen of Fucking Everything” -- I mean, how do I not own this already?

More importantly, who is going to buy it for me? :)