Where Have I Been?!

Wow. Guys. Sorry. Where have I been?! I certainly never intended to take, like, a ten day hiatus from the blog. But sometimes life gets in the way. Hope you've all been super and sassy since we last chatted :)

Last week I was in New York for a long weekend! We went to celebrate my aunt and uncle's joint 50th birthday party, which in Long Island on Saturday night. But we came in early so we could spend a day in the city, where we celebrated R's ACTUAL 30th with a little museum visit, a few stops at our favorite nosheries (did I just make that word up? Cuz I love it), and a Broadway show!

How could we go to NYC without stopping at Eataly?! We shared a little meat & cheese plate and some wine... one of our favorite things to do in the city.

Can you believe I had never been to the MOMA? We spent the afternoon walking around some of the upper floors looking at art. The Scream was on display and Ram was really into it, but I prefer things with more color... like these Kandinskys! I also loved the Warhols that were on display. 

Before seeing Newsies on Broadway! Totally loved it and I wasn't even a die-hard fan of the movie. The dancing was incredible. Side note: no idea why my hair looks so red in this picture - it's totally not this color in real life.

And here are some fun party pics! We had a great time. I love my crazy family. Look at these little cuties.

The Silverwomen before heading out! Yes, everyone paid a little visit to the Drybar before the party :)

I LOVE this pic of me and my sister. Total framer. Wish I could de-redeye it. 

Speaking of sisters, here are the dynamic duo! Do you think they look alike? I don't think so, but we've been stopped by people who think they're TWINS.

Don't ask me why - but there was a ginormous statue of Batman at the event space where the party was held. I got there early to help set up and as soon as I laid eyes on the statue I knew R was gonna flip. #HimynameisJordanandIloveacomicnerd

My aunt and uncle hired a Beatles cover band to provide music & entertainment so we danced all night. My uncle loves the Beatles and came up on stage to sing along with the band... my aunt ran up there to be his backup dancer. 

"I'm not a singer but I love to dance!"she informed me. Clearly! Look at these two go. I freaking love them.

One of my new favorite pictures of us! Another framer. Plus, leopard print is involved so obviously I'm obsessed.

As always, it was way too short of a visit. I think the next time we'll be in NY will probably be for the high holidays in September... I can't wait! 

30!

The boy who looked like this when he was tiny...

Who loves to cuddle dogs...

And babies...

Who can't help but get slightly embarrassed by my shenanigans (but loves me anyway)...

Who is always happy to read a story to a small child...

Who builds furniture with his own two hands...

Who loves my stew...

Who can't help but stare at the TV with the world's most intense gaze...



Who enjoys a nice glass of wine from time to time...

Who likes to help me cook dinner in the kitchen...

Who shows up with flowers when I least expect it...

Who looks damn fine in a white t-shirt...

Who tries to do a dance to make me laugh and ends up twisting his ankle...

Who is happy to help move heavy appliances...

Who has the best smile and dimples I've ever seen...

Today, that boy is 30 years old!

Happy birthday, R. The next 30 are going to be even better. I love you so much! 

SURPRISE!!!

Here's a thing you may not know about me: I hate surprises. Not a fan. Cannot handle not knowing things. Therefore it stands to reason that surprise parties are NOT a thing I consider to be particularly fun - I don't even like attending them for other people because I get so terrified that I'm going to ruin the surprise.

So it's a little ironic that this past weekend… I THREW RAMI A SURPRISE PARTY FOR HIS 30th BIRTHDAY!!!

You guys. He was TOTALLY SURPRISED. And it was AMAZING!!!!

If you can believe it, I started planning this way back in October (I got the idea on the way to Hawaii and couldn't get it out of my mind the whole trip)! I don't know what possessed me to do a surprise party instead of a party that we planned together - maybe just so I could show him how much I love him? (I know, so cheesy.) And in the end it all went off without a hitch!

Here's how it went down: On Saturday I lied and told R I was going to a sample sale and spent the day of the party decorating the backyard and prepping the food. Then I raced back home, got a blowdry, got dressed, and we set off for "my mom's birthday party." PERFECT DIVERSION. My mom's birthday in real life was the day after his party so it was completely normal that we would be going to her house for a shindig. 

On the way over, I furtively texted my mom when we got off the freeway so she knew to gather the crowd in the kitchen. We walked in through the garage, and I had closed the door that led from the garage hallway to the kitchen. I was shaking like a leaf when R opened the door... as soon as everyone screamed "SURPRISE!" I almost passed out from relief!

I'm a nut, what can I say?

Behind us are 40 of our friends!

He looks surprised, doesn't he!? People were taking bets - everyone thought he'd cry, me included - but he didn't! He just started cracking jokes immediately :)

Here are some fun party details!

I was a nervous wreck from the moment I sent out the invitations. I chose to do a Paperless Post and turned off the email notifications when someone replies so there was no chance of him accidentally reading my email. How cute was R as a baby?!

As for food... Ram's favorite food is Mexican so how could I not?! For appetizers, I set out huge bowls of tortilla chips with guacamole and different kinds of salsa, pita chips with hummus, spinach artichoke dip and a massive veggie tray, a huge kale caesar salad, and chicken & beef taquitos. (You KNOW I'm furious with myself for not taking pictures. SO UNLIKE ME.) All of that stuff was picked up from Costco and Trader Joe's - no need to reinvent the wheel. I also convinced my beloved housekeep Marcely to make her famous red beans and rice - major crowd pleasers!

But for the MAIN EVENT... well, I couldn't help myself. I hired Ricky's Fish Tacos to set up a grill in the backyard, and he made THE MOST delicious tacos I've ever tasted in my life!!! 

The man was frying fresh fish and shrimp in front of us while simultaneously grilling fresh tortillas - not to mention the VATS of cabbage, pico de gallo, and different sauces he brought so we could set up a build-your-own-taco station. Every single person could not stop talking about how good they were - we ate until we were STUFFED. 

As for dessert... we had a freaking BUFFET of cakes. R's mom made two ice cream pies, plus we had a cheesecake AND the main event, a chocolate peanut butter cake from my favorite bakery Susiecakes. Good thing there was also fruit salad... you know, for balance :)

Let's talk about decor for a sec. Ya'll know I cannot throw a party without DOING IT UP. I hung "30!" streamers all over the place and sprinkled "30!" confetti on all the tables. I used plain white tablecloths and burlap runners, with tiny vases full of orange peonies and turquoise lanterns with little votive candles on each table. Simple and pretty! 

I found this amazing banner printable and made a whole bunch of phrases, including "Cheers!" for the bar, "Sweets" for the dessert table, "Tacos" for the, uh, taco bar, obviously :) and of course, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAMI!" Here are a few pictures of the banners... 

I cannot tell a lie, my favorite one was "Cheers!" for the bar!

Speaking of the bar, I always get asked about how much alcohol to buy for things like this, but I'm the worst at predicting how much people are going to drink :( For this party, for about 40 people, we bought three cases of beer, 6 sodas and two huge bottles of tequila and Grey Goose. I also set out club soda and a pitcher of cranberry juice to use as a mixer, and filled my two fancy drink dispensers with iced tea and margaritas. In the end, we were left with 1.5 cases of beer, 2/3 of the tequila, and about 50% of the vodka... but we ran out of margaritas in the middle of the party and my mom raced out to get more! #embarrassing 

Some fun party pics...

By the way - I could NOT have done pulled it off without the dream team over here - my mom and Ram's mom. They handled things like BOSSES :) My advice to you if you're throwing a party for this many people... bribe a friend to help you! I couldn't have done it alone... this party was a lot of fun, but a lot of work!

I wish I had more pictures/better pictures, but honestly, I was having too much fun to play photographer all night. All I can say is, the surprise was perfect and we had an amazing night with all of our wonderful friends. 

Not to mention, even more celebrations are still to come - R's REAL 30th birthday is tomorrow, and we are heading to New York for the weekend!!!

Had To Have It: A Sassy Polka Dot Number

Time for another Had To Have It! 

I am a total sucker for dresses. I wear them everywhere - with cardigans and ballet flats to work, with cute wedges and big earrings on date nights, with tights and boots to run errands... the list goes on and on. So it shouldn't be that surprising that the most recent item I "had to have" was another dress!

This one is actually a fancy evening dress - as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've got six weddings and a slew of other events to attend this summer, so I'm stocking up on pretty things to wear! Last night Ram and I stopped at Nordstrom to return a few things (ironically this included two OTHER dresses I had ordered and was returning) when I spied this little number hanging on a rack:

The picture is not doing this dress justice. It's stunning and SEXY in real life - the sleeves fall in a way so it looks slightly off the shoulder - and SO freaking flattering. I made R come into the dressing room to help zip me up and when I turned around to model it he literally said "I will be pissed at you if you don't get this dress." With a statement like that how could I leave it behind?!

If polka dots are not your thing (meaning if you are a crazy person), the dress also comes in solid red and is on sale! Only a few sizes left though, so jump on it. It's also available in navy, pink, and black in plus sizes and is super flattering and equally beautiful in those colors too.

I can't wait to wear my new dress at some weddings this summer! Look for me - I will be the one dancing my ass off while drinking a Shirley Temple, in a sassy polka dot dress! 

Go get yours now!

"Reasons Why My Girlfriend Is Crying"

People who love the internet! I have a treat for you. 

Some of you may have seen it - it went viral pretty quickly - but after seeing someone link to this amazing Tumblr - "Reasons My Son Is Crying" - I read the entire thing and couldn't stop laughing. 

It's a blog written by a guy who takes a picture and writes a one sentence explanation of why his adorable toddler happens to be crying at that exact moment. Genius! You have to read it if you haven't -  my favorites are "I wouldn't let him drown in a pond" and "Grandma wouldn't let him spill ice cold water on her." 

That night I went home and showed Ram the website. He also thought it was hilarious and we laughed about it and what a good idea it was... and also how R had enough material of his own to write a very similar type of blog - "Reasons Why My Girlfriend is Crying."

The following showed up in my email inbox last night:

"Reasons Why My Girlfriend Is Crying"

By RDR

I told her we couldn't buy a French Bulldog right now.

I told her she could not steal a random passer-by's French Bulldog.

Her sister made a passive-aggressive comment about what she's wearing.

After she told me not to buy her chocolate's on Valentine's Day, I didn't buy her chocolate's on Valentine's Day.

I wouldn't let her empty my closet and use it for storage space for her wedges.

I let another driver pass in front of us while driving and now she thinks its symbolic of how I let people take advantage of me.

I was driving too slow and now I'm driving too fast to compensate.

The non-fat, iced chai is from Coffee Bean, not Starbucks.

She asked me to bring home a Fudgey the Chocolate Whale from Carvel and I thought she was kidding.  She wasn't kidding.

I misspelled her middle name.

I told her gossiping about people she didn't like from her sorority was rude.

I have no idea why my girlfriend is crying.

I gave her a cup of water with no ice cubes.

I turned the volume of the Train song she likes (and I hate) from ear-splittingly loud to mind-numbingly loud.

New Girl was a repeat.

Her straightener fell on the floor of the bathroom because it was left on the edge of the bathroom sink.

I have turned down her idea that we dress as Fran and Mr. Sheffield from "The Nanny" for Halloween.

She is out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

This list fills me with utter joy. He knows me so well. And while some of these may be SLIGHT exaggerations, some of them are... not.

Sweet Sweet Seattle

So it looks like I may be changing the title of this blog from "Queen of LA" to "Queen of Seattle." You'll all still stick around, right?

Just kidding! (That may have been my lame attempt at a belated April Fool's Day joke.) But seriously - I LOVED Seattle. Who knew such an awesome city was just a short two hour flight away from LA?! 

The first thing everyone asks when they hear we went to Seattle is "How was the weather?" Guys, I am not kidding, we could not have been luckier. It was 65 degrees and sunny the entire time we were there. It was crazy beautiful. I cannot even imagine the city when it's raining, I felt like every day there must be just gorgeous. I took a million pictures so I'm just warning you - get ready for a major photo explosion!

Ram and I arrived in Seattle on Saturday morning and checked into our hotel, The Alexis, which was highly recommended by several pals on Facebook - we loved it. It is a small but upscale boutique hotel on 1st Avenue just five blocks away from Pike Place Market - we walked there in less than 10 minutes. Perfect location! After checking in we headed to Serious Pie, a Tom Douglas restaurant, for a late lunch and then R indulged me by taking me to the VERY FIRST Nordstrom ever created! I bought a bracelet and he sat comfortably in a chair and played on his phone so a good time was had by all. On our walk back to the hotel we passed by a little square where they had BRIGHT BLUE tree trunks - isn't that cool? 

That night we headed out for a romantic late dinner at a place called Tavolata, which was EXCELLENT. We loved the vibe - it felt very San Fran/New York-esque and modern to us, and the food was just delicious. We ordered a bunch of things to share but the highlight had to be their famous ricotta gnocchi - look how huge they are! 

I love a gentleman in pink :)

Our first stop Sunday morning was to Pike Place Market. I was SO excited! The market was probably the number one reason I chose to go to Seattle - I love Farmer's Markets and artisanal food and little stands so this was right up my alley. Sadly, it was Easter Sunday so the famous fish-throwers were not there, but everything else was open and amazing! We took a picture with the famous Pike Place Market mascot, the brass pig named Rachel:

The flowers were STUNNING and so reasonably priced. I wish I could have gotten a few bunches:

We stopped at Beecher's for some of their famous mac & cheese. I gotta be honest with you - I liked it, but it wasn't my FAVORITE mac & cheese I've ever had...

We ate some delicious piroshky's from Piroshky Piroshky, and stopped by the VERY FIRST Starbucks, established in 1971! God bless you, Starbucks. Thank you for my daily chai tea latte. Check out their original logo!

That afternoon my mother and grandmother arrived! After a delicious oyster lunch the four of us headed over to another special Seattle attraction - Riding the Ducks! We boarded what looked like a normal open-air bus for a driving tour around Seattle to see different famous sites and landmarks... and then the bus turned into a BOAT and we splashed into the water and cruised around Lake Union for a look at the beautiful skyline. So freaking cool. 

Look at those two crazy kids :)

When the bus turned into a boat and we hit the water, Ram was SO EXCITED :)

The tour concluded with a little dancing between the captain and my grandmother. Oh, the hilarity.

That night my grandmother requested a seafood dinner, so we dined at a fish restaurant called Seastar. Look at the four of us - so cozy :)

On Monday, our last day in Seattle, we woke up early and hustled over to another famous Pike Place Market institution for some deliciousness - Pike Place Chowder came highly recommended and did not disappoint. I am a lover of chowder and this one was PHENOM. (Yes, we broke Passover early. No, I am not sorry about it.) I'm already dreaming of the next bowl I can get my hands on...

That afternoon we visited the EMP Museum and I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I saw Ram so happy. We saw an awesome exhibit on the history of Nirvana which I loved, an exhibit about the making of horror films (I took one look at a clip of something horrific and promptly exited the room to sit on a bench and play on my phone), and a very cool exhibit on the history of sci-fi, which made Ram the happiest boy on earth, particularly after he got to pose with some Dr. Who memorabilia...

By the time we left, my feet were KILLING ME from all the walking, so I self-medicated by a little jaunt to the mall, while my mom and Ram went on another famous Seattle tourist activity, the Underground Tour. They said it was very cool - I'm happy they had fun, because so did I... I came home with new earrings and a sassy pair of silk pants! 

And then it was time to go! We look happy here but inside we were filled with sorrow :(

Seattle, I LOVE you. Thanks to everyone for their fantastic recommendations - I can't wait to go back. And yay for crossing another item ("travel someplace new")off my "27 For 27" list!