Leah Michelle and Nina Dobrev at the Met Gala 2012

Looking for a wow dress?  Leah Michelle and Nina Dobrev wowed me with their all over sequin gowns at the 2012 Met Gala.  While it will be a while before more varieties of the all over sequin gown comes within the budgets of the masses, myself included, I found a couple of fun dresses that fit within the spirit of the looks that Leah and Nina totally rocked!

First we have Nina in her sequin, one shoulder, gown (albeit, with a tiny spaghetti strap holding up the other side) looking gorgeous and dazzling!  This girl looks good in pretty much anything but I love that she always makes an effort.  I found a couple of gorgeous sequin one-shoudler gowns from a range of price points.  Of course you won't find a look exactly like Nina's yet, but give the stores a while to catch up.  I can see these gowns becoming more and more popular for formal affairs.  Sequins have transcended from performance and sometimes tacky outfits into everyday casual glam looks and cocktail dresses.  Its just a matter of time before more people start rocking these all over sequin gowns to formal holiday parties, weddings, formals, fundraisers, etc.

Below Nina we have Leah looking fantastic in a figure flattering, sequin, halter gown.  Classic elegance.  Check out how close that Donna Karan dress I found matches Leah's silhouette.

Personally, I don't have anywhere to wear either of these dresses but I could find something just so I could wear one of these out somewhere!  Heck, I'd host a formal barbecue if I could get an excuse to wear a dress like one of these!

Leah Michelle and Nina Dobrev at the Met Gala 2012 by sspicknall featuring sleeved dresses

Donna Karan sleeved dress
$3,495 - neimanmarcus.com

Angel Sanchez sequin dress
$139 - lordandtaylor.com

Aidan Mattox Niteline sequin dress
$200 - lordandtaylor.com

Donna Karan one shoulder dress
$3,605 - stylebop.com

Sequin evening gown
$370 - neimanmarcus.com

Wedding Dress Inspiration: Ashley Greene at the 2012 Met Gala

Wedding season is upon us and the recent award shows and galas have given brides to be even more silhouettes to choose from!

Recently at the Met Gala, Ashley Greene (of Twilight fame) showed up in this number below and I absolutely love how this unembellished but wonderfully draped gown emphasized her shape beautifully.   I just love that off-the-one-shoulder detail!  It just adds a bit of design interest to an otherwise very simple silhouette and adds a bit of sexy in a subtle way.  This little detail is what I think made this dress so much more interesting to me.  So, while there are not any gowns out there yet that are exactly like Ashley's (not yet) I can definitely see many wedding gown lines adding this off-the-one-shoulder design into their collections.

Check out the two dresses I found below that could work for a casual and simple affair and see what you think!

Ashley Greene at the 2012 Met Gala by sspicknall featuring evening dresses ball gowns

Donna Karan evening dresses ball gown
$3,295 - net-a-porter.com

Rachel Gilbert evening dresses gown
$950 - frockaholics.com

The Jewelry Party

OK... You've seen me mention hosting a jewelry party in the previous post and now it's time to discuss the actual party!

I have a friend in my office who sells jewelry through this company in her spare time (which, with a full time job and family at home I find completely amazing!).  She asked me about buying jewelry through her company, Premier Designs, back in February.  She also mentioned that she hosted jewelry parties and that  it was a great way to get friends together.  This totally sparked my interest!  I had been to a jewelry party at a friend's house through a different company and loved the stuff I had bought.  So the minute I heard about hosting a party myself, I began to think very seriously about hosting one.

Premier Designs is a jewelry company that sells through its catalog only.  The jewelry they sold was not fine or costume jewelry but in-between those two.  It's high fashion jewelry that is great for work, going out and formal occasions.  It's great to travel with because a person wants to dress up and look nice but does not want to lose their fine jewelry on vacation.  I have even heard of ladies who bought high fashion rings to wear on vacation instead of their expensive engagement/wedding rings.  Hosting or going to a party is a great way to actually see pieces from the catalog in person and try them on!

Enough talking, here are some pictures of things from the catalog that sparked my fancy.

As you can see, I've already put post-its on my favorites! 

Love how these strands are intertwined!

LOVE this necklace!

Love this set too! 

And these are some of the actual pieces that my friend "the jewelry lady" brought with her to the party (let's just say it probably took about an hour for her to set up all the pieces she owned!).

There were so many necklaces that several had to be layered on each of these displays.  

There are at least three separate (and fabulous!) necklaces on this one display!

I fell in love with this necklace and matching bracelet! 

After all the orders were taken and the guests left, a mere two weeks later I got everyone's orders delivered to my home and was able to distribute them all to their owners.  I couldn't help but look through my own jewelry selections and do a photo shoot with them of course!

Love this look for work or a night out! 

My precious wares!

Gorgeous necklace. 

Beautiful!  Turquoise and gold is so "in" for the summer! 

Love this even more in person! 

I absolutely love everything I got!  The jewelry is even more beautiful in person.  I can see that last set being worn to the two weddings I have to go to this summer.  They just really upgrade the outfits I put together.  Although I've always been more of a clothes and shoes person, I really see myself getting good use out of these pieces.  I've even worn a few items to work over the past week.  If you were ever thinking of hosting or going to a jewelry party, I highly recommend it.  It's a great way to get together with friends and get some shopping done without the pressure of wondering how things look on you because your friends are already there to give you feedback!

First Time Hostess

So we moved into our condo in March 2011 and have had a few gatherings with friends over barbecue since then.  They were simple affairs, burgers and turkey sausage on the grill with some basic sides.  Just a few weeks ago however, I was going to host my first real party alone and have some girlfriends over for  a "jewelry party."  In case you haven't been to one, jewelry parties are on the rage these days.  I've been to three since last fall already, including my own, and have invites for two more this year.  They are a great way to get together with your girlfriends, have some food and drinks and look at beautiful fun high fashion jewelry!  While the jewelry is not "fine" it is great for wearing to work, parties, weddings, out on a date and even on vacation.

To me, the concept of a jewelry party was a great idea!  Mainly because it gives me an opportunity to upgrade my regular every day accessories that I had bought at Claire's Accessories oh so many years ago!  Aside from the fine jewelry stores, I couldn't really find that many stores which sold a good variety of adult jewelry which was not fine jewelry but still nice enough to wear to fancier occasions.  You can find them in department stores,  Anthropologie, Banana Republic and some specialty stores, but I was unaware of many store options.  So this was an amazing concept to me!  Also it gave me an excuse to get together with friends I would only see a couple of times a week at work or those good friends from high school and college whom I have to make plans way in advance with to see them.

So of course I spent a couple weeks figuring out a delicious menu that would also be easy and less time consuming for me to make and which would be enough to feed the 8 people attending.  I started out by making a list of food and drinks I wanted to provide and then make a grocery list based on the ingredients I needed.  Duh! that sounds so common sense it was almost not worth typing...  But since I think linearly I'd rather put in more information rather than less to document the process!

This is what my shopping cart was looking like after I had tore up the grocery store:

Ohhhh yeaaaaah!  There's a party going on right here!

Here's what was on my menu:

1. Cheese, crackers and grapes
2. Baked brie wrapped in puff pastry
3. Roasted chickpeas with rosemary and parmesan
4. Watermelon, feta, cucumber and mint salad
5. Quinoa, cucumber and feta salad
6. Mushroom and sun-dried tomato flatbread
7. Turkey meatballs in a crushed tomato sauce
8. Chocolate fondue with strawberries
9. Mimosas
10. Strawberry lemonade with mint

I got many of these recipes from on of my favorite cookbooks:  Cook Yourself Thin Faster.  Seriously, this book is amazing!  They have simple, quick and healthy recipes which are a wonder for anyone looking to cook something quick on a weeknight after work.  It's totally worth buying.  

Here is how everything looked after it was made: 

Water and strawberry lemonade. Adding lemon slices into the water give it a subtle citrus flavor and makes it look so presentable in the pitcher! 

Mimosas made of the finest ingredients :)  The guests just loved this! 

Making small labels for the cheese helped the guests out tremendously!

Baked brie!  It was  a hit! 

Roasted chickpeas with rosemary and parmesan.  

Quinoa feta and cucumber salad. Don't forget to add a bit of salt to the quinoa when its boiling to season it! 

Watermelon, cucumber, feta and mint salad.

Turkey meatballs prepared in the slow cooker.  Just 3 hours on "high" does the trick!

Chocolate fondue with strawberries. Mmm! Soooo good! 

Its safe to say my first time host(ess)ing was a success!  My friends and I had a great time catching up over a lazy Saturday afternoon, had some great food and drink and did some damage while shopping for great jewelry!  Although it took a lot of planning and work, I really loved hosting friends at our home.  I will definitely do it again!  Although, perhaps I will take a little break for now...

Cute Idea for a Summer Work Look

Summer is almost here and the DC weather is already giving us a taste of the heat and humidity to come!  I got inspired to put together some summer work outfits.  Usually I like wearing dresses in the summer because they're easy outfits and allow the barely there gentle summer breezes to cool you off on your steamy walk to the office.  But I do also like the look of a fitted pant in a lighter grey for the summer.  Pair these high waisted cigarette pants with a flirty tee and add in some colorful turquoise and coral accessories and you're ready for work with a great summer look!  I included a neutral bag and bangles and some gold drop earrings to polish it off.  Add in a fitted cardigan and you're ready for the over air-conditioned office temperatures.    And of course, I had to include a flat shoe for those doing the power walk to and from the Metro and the office.  Switch it out for a turquoise heel when you get to your desk and you're ready to work!

Cute Idea for a Summer Work Look by sspicknall featuring ballerina flat shoes
 

Vero Moda button shirt
€35 - welikefashion.com

Cap sleeve top
£45 - coast-stores.com

Reiss high rise pants
$90 - reissonline.com

ALDO checkered slip on shoes
$90 - zappos.com

Zara ballerina flat shoes
$70 - zara.com

Dorothy Perkins flap handbag
$59 - dorothyperkins.com

See by Chloé stackable jewelry
$55 - couture.zappos.com

Alexis Bittar lucite jewelry
$90 - alexisbittar.com

Root, Root, Root for the Home Team!

A few weeks ago, on April 20, 2012 to kick off the start to a great weekend, my husband and I attended a Friday evening baseball game at Nationals Stadium.  I love this stadium!  While I am not a huge sports fan, I do love checking out sporting events and always root for our DC teams.  This stadium is new and provides a neat variety of food stands from Ben's Chili Bowl to Hard Times Cafe to Shake Shack.  There is even a restaurant with seating overlooking the game so you won't miss a minute of it!  Before the game starts there was a part of the stadium set up as an outdoor lounge with seating and a live band.  It was a great way to kick off the weekend!

I feel so bad that peoples' heads were in the way!  That's the curse of my own shortness.  Nice sunglasses fellow sporting event enthusiast!

We also had special plans that Sunday to attend Game 6 of the NHL semifinals featuring our beloved Washington Captials versus the Boston Bruins.  Let's go Caps!  This was actually around the time of the anniversary of when my husband and I started dating seven years ago (wow! What itch?) so he planned for us to have a nice brunch before the game at Co-co Sala.  Since we got married this hasn't been the big anniversary, but we always still remember it with something small.  This brunch was a perfectly delicious way to celebrate. I highly recommend brunch at Co-Co Sala.  They have a price fixed and a la carte menu with a bottomless drink option including a variety of champagnes and bloody marys.  Of course, it wouldn't be Co-Co Sala without chocolate somewhere right?  They do include chocolate in many dishes and drinks.  I even topped off the brunch with a salted caramel hot chocolate. Delicious!

On to the food.  While there were many delicious options, I ultimately settled for the truffle scented grilled cheese with tomato soup.  It was simple and hearty with just enough food to keep you full.   I was amazed how delicious grilled cheese could taste!  This dish hit the spot since the weather outside was super windy, cold and rainy!

Delicious truffle scented grilled cheese with piping hot tomato soup.  Add in a cheese dumpling, a roasted tomato and crispy flash fried basil and I am in heaven! A line of chocolate along the bottom perfects the dish.  

The breakfast flatbread with side salad also got rave reviews.  

As well as the chocolate covered bacon.  Wow!  That's something new to do with chocolate!

Then it was off to the game.  I was just having a blast getting to go.

Practicing before the game.

Although our Caps lost and we had to walk in the cold rain looking for a cab to take us home, it was still a pretty good time.  It was even nicer that they won Game 7 against the Bruins to move on to the next round in the semifinals.  Of course we were heart broken when they lost last week!   But here's to a great next season. 

Let's Go Caps! 

C-A-P-S! Caps! Caps! Caps!

Even if one is not a sports fan, there is a lot of fun to be had at the local games so get some tickets and check a few of them out!  If you're home team is from out of town, there are always those games when they come to town to look forward to!

And going back to that cold and rainy day.  I was well prepared in this baby! A North Face Triclimate rain jacket.  This has two jackets in one, a rain shell and an insulated jacket that can be used separately or combined for really chilly weather.  I love it!  This was a great investment from two years ago that has really paid off!

The center zipper on the rain shell also closes with velcro to keep wind out!

The inner jacket zips out so easily!

And here's the inner jacket, complete with its own hood.  A great piece by itself or to layer with!

So although sporting events may not be your thing, I highly recommend them as great outings.  There is always a lot to going on at the stadiums and they really can be fun for everyone!  Even a rainy day cannot dampen the fun time (especially when one is so well prepared for the weather)... Although a home team loss might! Chin up! There's always something else to look forward to.  Golf is already here, tennis and the Olympics will be dominating the summer and football is just around the corner!