IMMA BE... 37

My 35th Birthday

Two years ago from this exact weekend, I decided the best way to celebrate a milestone birthday (my 35th) was to do it with a group of my nearest and dearest girlfriends. Using every last bit of my savings -- or checking-- depending on how you look at it, (I admit, not one of my wisest moves), we spent the weekend at a nearby resort in an oceanside villa, drinking, laughing, eating, sunning, toasting, cheers-ing, walking, talking, drinking and taaaaawlking some more. It was my treat. My joy. My pleasure. My honor to spend a weekend with a group of women (including my mom and aunt) who were privy to all my secrets, all my stories, all my dating ups and my dating downs. To make a birthday wish surrounded by my biggest cheering squad was the best feeling in the world. 

That weekend, a bottle of champagne was sent to our room with a note: 

"Is this what old people drink? Happy Birthday. xo, P"

Drinking said Champagne. #Classy 

My girlfriends and I died. P and I had literally just started dating. Not only was this the sweetest and most thoughtful gesture, but the "old people" part was a very clever reminder about our first exchange and that I am, in fact, older than P. (It's okay, we can laugh about it). 

Two years later, P (who we can now call Peter) will become my husband in March.

It's crazy how life works. It's crazy and lucky. And fast. And not always what we think it's going to be.

In just a few days, I will turn 37. This birthday I've decided the best thing I can give to myself is confidence. Stop the bullshit. Stop the unnecessary brain chatter. And just grow up. Be an adult once and for all. As one of my best friend declared, this birthday beckons an important mission: "Operation Grow a Pair." aka OGAP.

Anyone else familiar with this OGAP? Something tells me that if you are in your 30's, it rings a bell. You want to grow up, feel good, and be better. You want to possess the confidence you hear that you finally get to have when you turn 30. Like this automatic switch that is supposed to go on.... Like the one that went on automatically when I turned 14 and I became a raging boy freak and biaaatch. Or the one that went on when I got to college and became entirely invincible (Example: deciding that smoking Parliaments when I had bronchitis was better than smoking Marlboro Mediums. I have a plethora of examples like these but for sake of time, (Remember? I'm on a mission!) I'll leave it to you to let your imagination picture a young Jenny Brandt careless and free, living in New York, backpacking through Europe, etc, etc.

Yep. I remember her.

And guess what... As you might have experienced yourself, the so-called switch - the OGAP switch- doesn't activate automatically.

Apparently, you can't get samples of confidence like you can with Kiehl's eye cream.

It turns out, not only do you have to earn it, but you have to work at it. You have to dig deep. And you have to get out of your own way. And unfortunately, like any good skin regimen, you're supposed to get started earlier than later.

This past weekend, approximately two years after my "old ass" friends and I drank his champagne, Peter and I spent a night down at that same resort. As we walked along the ocean, I couldn't help but acknowledge how far I've come in just 2 years...  how much light has come into my life in just a short amount of time and how lucky I am to start this next chapter with such a great partner. And it's not just me. There's Jonah too.

2 years later and older... same resort. 

While meeting Peter (who we should note is still younger than me), has been the best thing that has happened for me... for us, I realized this weekend that not everything is random. That good things come to those that wait... and work hard. I had a hand in my luck and my fortune. I made choices, decisions and moves. With full consciousness, I opened myself up to a possibility and worked hard to make it a reality - in love, in life, in work, in everything. It's not all just random. I did this.... I got me/us here. 

Holy crap, I'm feeling confident!

Moments later, that Beyonce "We run the world" and Fergie "Imma be the flyest chick- so fly!" feeling faded. But now I know it's there somewhere, and now I know how to find it. Like skin treatment, I shouldn't have waited this long to figure it out or feel good. They call it preventative treatment for a reason; Wrinkles are not easy to get rid of after you've sat in the sun without sunscreen for years. You gotta take care. Nightly. Daily. All the time.

On that note, if anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday, kindly direct them to the Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Nieman's etc etc cosmetic department. Or shoe department. Nothing preventative there, just height and hotness... for all ages. 

Spice Things Up with a Game Night & California Pizza Kitchen Thai-Style Chicken Pizza!

This post is sponsored by Nestlé, which compensated me to partner with California Pizza Kitchen^® frozen pizza and share news about the “Adventures in Entertaining” campaign this summer.

As a person who likes to party and entertain, you can imagine how over the moon I am about the fact that I’m engaged (to the man of my dreams, no less), and get to plan THE party of a lifetime. Weddings are no easy feat. I realize this. However, thanks to Pinterest and all things bridal, I’ve gathered dozens of ideas, inspirations, and, of course, DIY projects that I’m bursting at the seams to do.

The summer is slowly winding down and Jonah is even back to school.  As things start to cool down and I start to dive into my world of all things wedding bells, my fiancé and I thought it would be fun to invite our closest group of friends over for a game night. With my birthday just around the corner, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate (moi) and just have fun with some old school board games and delicious food. Can you say Park Avenue and pizza anyone???

To compliment a night of games and light-hearted competition (read: fire and spice. Hey, when I play, I play hard), I’m going to serve California Pizza Kitchen^® (CPK) Thai-Style Chicken pizza. I also plan to serve Asian Mojitos and keep dessert light with Coconut Ice Cream and fortune cookies.

Want to host a game night of your own? Check out my tips below:

1. Encourage guests to bring their favorite board games. Once guests arrive, you can even make a game out of choosing which one you'll play! 

2. On game night, there's always a winner! Award the winner(s) with take-home prizes…a gift card to purchase apps, or games for their phone, or even your favorite board game makes a great prize!

3. For fun tablescape decor, place your platters on old board games and stack boxes for food risers. You can glue Scrabble pieces on to note cards or write on playing cards to label food items.

4. "Infusing" your game night with Asian or spicy food? Serve small bites on wonton soup spoons, out of small Chinese food takeout boxes, or lettuce wraps! 

5. Serve spiced or Asian infused cocktails to keep game night spicy and serve with your CPK Thai-Style Chicken pizza!

6. Have an outdoor area? Keep it fun and colorful by filling a galvanized bucket with ice and loading it with your favorite beverages, wrapped with logos of iconic and lovable board games. You can really spice it up by having an area set up to play corn-hole. (Will be a nice break from buying property and "Going to Jail!")

Want more fabulous ideas for entertaining? Head to Pinterest and check out my CPK “Adventures inEntertaining” board! 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: DIY DRINKING

Some projects require a little extra help....

Wine-Tasting and Pizza-Pairing Party with CPK

This post is sponsored by Nestlé, which compensated me to partner with California Pizza Kitchen^® frozen pizza and share news about the “Adventures in Entertaining” campaign this summer.

If you asked most of my girlfriends what would be their idea of the “perfect night,” I think most of them would say, (in this order): “Babysitter or Husband puts kids to sleep, get together with best girlfriends, drink wine and eat delicious food… and someone else does the cleaning.”

Well lucky for them, I got to facilitate that night… And pretty much in that order.  I decided that hosting a girls’ night of wine tasting and pairings with gourmet pizzas and other delectable dishes at my place would be a perfect way to kick off the Adventures in Entertaining campaign with California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). As you probably already know, I’ve teamed up with CPK ready-to-bake pizzas to celebrate and explore the many ways CPK can make your entertaining more delicious.

All guests had to do was come hungry and thirsty… I would do the cookin’ and a sommelier would do the pouring. Yes, a real sommelier who had more than my “yep, that tastes good” knowledge about wines and could actually walk us through an evening of tasting and pairings. My plan was to make the party as comfortable, smooth, and fun as possible. To me, what makes a great party is, of course, the company, food, and drink, but also the décor. Décor sets the tone – and you can set that tone from the very beginning with a great invitation. (Like the one I custom built on Paperless Post, inviting everyone to “my vineyard.”).

Once party day came, it was time to execute all the DIY, “let’s throw a party!” ideas I’ve been storing for months and months. I started the morning by laying out all of the trays and dishes I’d be using to serve food. By placing them on the table and identifying which platter would be used for which food, I knew exactly where each item would go when it was time to serve.

Since this was a wine/food-pairing event, I wanted my guests to know what we were eating and what they should drink with it. (“Would you like wine or… more wine?”) Using chalkboard contact paper, and a chalk marker, I created a wall menu.

Underneath the wall menu, I set the party favors in a vintage wooden box next to succulents. For the thank you gifts, I bought inexpensive wine screws and tied them with twine, a little tag and stamped “thank you” on it.

At the wine counter, our sweet sommelier Joey lined up the wines in order of our tasting next to the sea of sparkly glasses. 

So that my guests could keep track of their wine glasses throughout the evening, I made wine glass charms out of cork. Simply cut them in into ¼ inch pieces, screwed in small eye hooks, stamped guests’ initials on each size, and attached with twine.

With the other recycled wine corks that I purchased online, I placed them around a thick white candle in hurricane vases. 

Most of my serving pieces were white, with a few green pieces and green flowers for my arrangements. As one not to shy away from detail, wherever there was food or beverage set up, I made sure that the colors were carried out onto beverage napkins that I stamped with cute “Eat and drink” type designs. (Btw, stamping your own napkins is not only extremely easy, but it’s very budget friendly and again, just adds another layer of detail and décor).

But the piece (or shall I say, pieces) de resistance for the entire evening were the pizzas. For my main course, I served the CPK limited edition varieties  of Roasted Vegetables Pizza with Chardonnay Sauce and Grilled Chicken Pizza with Cabernet Sauce, which celebrate the delicious flavors of California vineyards.

As soon as I placed these freshly baked pizzas out on to my chalkboard painted platters, they were gone! I loved the lightness of chardonnay crème sauce topped with roasted red and yellow peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, garlic, basil, and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. After a few bites, Joey handed me a tasting of the most delicious Chardonnay from Santa Barbara that really complimented the freshness of the vegetables.  

I loved learning about the different grapes and regions and why wines like the ones we were drinking were so perfect for the food we were eating (and eating, and eating, and eating…) We drank a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon (I definitely had a favorite!) but the ones that Joey chose to pair with the Grilled Chicken Pizza were off-the-charts amazing. This crispy thin pizza topped with a cabernet marina sauce, grilled white-meat chicken, spinach, roma tomatoes, rosemary, black pepper, and mozzarella, parmesan and gouda cheeses was served hot and bubbly and was delicious. 

To make it extra special (and girly), I had my dear friend and jewelry designer Christine McCrudden (pictured above) bring samples of her line Q Handmade for us all to shop. (I’m sorry, nothing really goes better with food than shopping. Actually, everything is better with shopping. And jewels). 

Of course, no meal is complete without something sweet. To make dessert easy (can’t interrupt the flow of shopping and gossiping), I served balsamic drizzled berries with a champagne wafer in individual bowls with mini spoons. 

The best part of the party was not only getting to host my friends to an evening of food and drink, BUT getting to enjoy said food and drink for the days that follow. If you think pizza makes a great leftover, you haven’t tasted some of this wine.

Cheers!

For more entertaining ideas and inspirations, check out my tips on CPK's Facebook and Pinterest pages!