Le Dîner en Blanc Los Angeles 2013

 I woke up today thinking last night’s Le Dîner en Blanc was just a dream.
JYS-19
Photo taken by Jennifer Young

I found out about Le Dîner en Blanc while browsing Pinterest about 2 years ago. Then I read this post by Jordan at Oh Happy Day. I made it one of my Life List goals to attend le Dîner en Blanc in Paris. Well, since I’m not going to Paris this year, I was excited to discover Los Angeles would be having their first annual diner so I registered on their site. I ended up not getting an invitation but I was able to sign up as a volunteer. This gave me membership *for free* and the opportunity to invite a few friends. It was difficult to set everything up but everything fell into place *despite shoegate*

Antz and I worked hard getting all the dinner items we would need and making my amazing headpiece and cute birdie boutonniere.

This headpiece was huge and HEAVY. I had a battery pack on there for the lights. We had to secure it with hundreds of bobby pins
Look how adorable Antz birdie boutonniere turned out. He made that top hat!

Since I was a leader, I was privy to find out the city the venue would be located but not the address. Anthony told me his guess was Rodeo Drive since it’s so iconic. I thought it would be at a park to accommodate such a large crowd, so I guessed either Greystone Mansion or Beverly Hills park. As always, Antz was right, we arrived right on time at Rodeo Drive which was blocked off to cars for the event. We had one of the best spots for the dinner right near the DJ booth and close to the center of everything. The moment we got off the bus, I met the founder of the event François Pasquier, his wife and his son Aymeric who came in from Paris and Montreal. They were so gracious and kind. François attempted to talk to me in broken English and I made a terrible attempt at French but we communicated best in Spanish. This again confirms how much I suck at French and that I must learn the language I want our child to become fluent in.

I love them, they were so sweet!
Aymeric is a sweetheart, he’s so cute!

We set up quickly and the dinner began. Our table was amazing, everyone looked great and the table settings were lovely. I was so happy my friends Warren & Kim and Jihan & Jennifer were able to be there with me. The band performing during dinner was rad! The singer had a beautiful voice and she covered Amy Winehouse and Portishead. We had a delightful meal, I drank too much wine and we all danced. The white mustaches turned out perfect for photos and we took tons of pictures, posed for tourists, guests and the media. I posed for so many cameras my neck was hurting. You can even catch a second of us on the ABC and CBS news. I had the time of my life. I met such wonderful people and we rocked out to a guy playing electric saxophone! I can’t wait to go next year and hopefully attend Le Dîner en Blanc in Paris soon. My incredibly talented friend Jennifer took these lovely photos.

I love how rad our mustaches turned out

Jihan, Jennifer, Me, Antz, Kim & Warren
Me & my hot date!
Our table

Since there were so many great pictures, I put together this slideshow that covers the evening. Enjoy!

The first annual Diner en Blanc Los Angeles
August 21, 2013
Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

 

My photo made it in the LA Times!

 

Diner en Blanc LA
The evening was magical! Merci Le Dîner en Blanc.

Le Diner en Blanc Los Angeles: Part Two

Chapter One

SHOEGATE!

It’s harder than you think to find white shoes in August when you have giant feet, searching for cute but comfy and staying within a budget. Not that I didn’t find tons of great white shoes but they were either uncomfortable or over budget. I was getting desperate so I almost bought these.

hinge-fraser-oxford
Hinge Fraser Oxfords

The price was right and they seemed comfy but they are bone, not white. The nearest store that carried my size was the Westside Pavillion mall. Monday morning I went to order them online so I could go pick them up when I saw a pair of shoes under the we recommend section that looked perfect. They were white, cute, comfy and under budget! Yippee!!

BP. 'Sandi' Oxford | Nordstrom
B.P. Sandi Oxford

Then I saw they only had size 7 – 8 left in stock. No, no, no, this isn’t happening. I called Nordstrom and pleaded my case. The lady on the phone checked every Nordstrom in the US when she found them in my size in Washington DC! So, I totally said I’ll take them and pay extra for overnight shipping as long as I get them before Wednesday. She assured me I would but Tuesday came and went and still no shoes. I’ve been here before so I called Nordstrom to try to track the package. The sales lady said they were in route but could be delivered any time after 3pm. I wanted to barf. I had no back up shoes and I had my heart set on the ones I bought so I was majorly bummed. She was gracious enough to not only credit me for the shipping but she also comped me the shoes. Kudos to Nordstrom on their exceptional customer service.

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning but Antz was home waiting for UPS. I told him on the drive to my doc, I saw a UPS truck. He needed to go to the garage for something and happened to see the same UPS truck a few house away. He caught the UPS guy and explained our Shoegate problem. The guy said he’ll check and…

My shoes!!

This guy is AWESOME!! He told Antz, if he hadn’t of caught him, the package wouldn’t have been delivered until tonight. So once again Antz has saved the day!! He’s my hero. I’m super lucky to have this amazing guy. He’s my hot date too.

 I’m super duper excited for tonight. I have everything packed and all we have to do is drop Liv off, pick up our dinner and get ready. It will be a long night so I won’t be able to post until tomorrow. I’m so happy happy!!

Here’s another article about the diner.

30 Day Photo Challenge – 20/30

Today is bokeh

heart shaped bokeh

I want to cry from frustration! I spent hours taking hundreds of shots to get my bokeh hearts photo. FAIL! It doesn’t help that my camera is retarded so no wonder it didn’t work.
Thanks Antz for helping me get at least something that resembles a heart *if you squint your eyes* This is one I will continue working on.

Our nikon D3000 is horrible at night
Antz was much more successful at getting hearts than I was
These were most of my results *sad face*

I hope you all can play along 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Le Dîner en Blanc Los Angeles

So now I can finally let the cat out of the bag. Tomorrow night is gonna be EPIC, Antz and I will be attending the first ever Dîner en Blanc in Los Angeles! Attending Le Dîner en Blanc has been on my Life List for years. I was shocked to receive a call asking if I would be available to volunteer for the event. The secret diner is exclusive and invites are sent by members only. Since this is the first year for Los Angeles, they opened registration on a first-come first-served basis, by the time I registered, I was put on the waiting list. A few weeks ago, I saw on facebook they were looking for volunteers so I signed up. Then I got a voicemail on my cell saying I needed to call them back to confirm my availability. Unfortunately after a few days of phone tag, by the time I reached the woman who called, they were all full. I was super bummed, but a week later she called back saying someone had to drop out and I can take her place! I was so happy, and I found out I could invite a few folks too. So long story short *too late* I am a volunteer for the Dîner en Blanc! Now, most of you have no idea what the heck it is so here’s a video.

Here’s the rules.

Le Dîner en Blanc is quite different from other evenings. Seats are
allotted on site in a very specific manner.
– Once confirmed, the presence of each guest thus becomes essential and
mandatory, whatever happens and regardless of weather conditions;
– Colour: white only;
– Bring a picnic basket, white table cloth, table (between 28”x28” and
32”x32”) and foldable chairs (white);
– Arrive and depart by bus or organised public transit;
– Bring one’s refuse when departing and leave the place as clean as it
was upon arrival.

So in tradition with our anniversary pop-up dinner, tomorrow night we will be boarding a bus and arriving to a secret venue for a pop up dinner with 1,300 other folks all dressed in white.  I’ve been working hard getting everything we need. My love helped me make my FABulous headpiece.

IMG_4708

I will show you the details tomorrow!

I was lucky enough to borrow the fold up table and chairs from my Mommy-in-law, Maria and I used what we had around the house for the table settings. I bought new plates and battery operated candles from World Market. I set up a dress rehearsal of our table. I only had white carnations in the house so I used them for filler.

This tablecloth has special meaning to us. It’s a souvenir from our first trip together to Venice, Italy.
We are picking up Sprinkles cupcakes *for the cake stand* and Tenno sushi for dinner

 

Yep, we are bringing a photo of our lovely Liv with us!

Today I went shopping for flowers. Not to be predictable but I wanted white peonies so I walked all over the flowermart only to find one booth had them. Normally, they are $6 a bunch at Trader Joes when they are in season, but being off season, I knew they would be pricier. My jaw hit the ground when they guy told me they were $27.50 per bunch!! With three lousy stems in a bunch I would spend close to $75 for a bouquet. I went the cheaper route with a couple of $5 bunches of hydrangeas. They hold up better than peonies and they are fuller.

Am I nuts or don’t these look pretty crappy?
These would be a dream but $65 a bunch is pretty steep for some orchids.
They smell so nice, still my fave flower but so expensive!
$5 A Bunch. Winner winner, chicken dinner!!

The hardest thing to find was the white shoes. I had my heart set on these but they only came in bone (off-white) which wouldn’t fly. At the very last second, I found a pair I loved but they were sold out of my size *which is always the case* so I called Nordstrom and they found a pair for me in Washington DC. I had them over night the shoes and I had a heart attack waiting for them to arrive all day. I am gonna barf if they don’t arrive in time tomorrow.

I don’t know where the venue will be but I do know the city. I plan on taking thousands of photos. My guests are equally fabulous so we will be a rad bunch. I am so happy happy to be a part of history!!

Bon Soirée!

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Misha Lulu Fall/Winter 2013

Slowly but surely the lovely photos from the Misha Lulu Fall/Winter 2013 photo shoot have been appearing in online shops. The line isn’t officially released yet but you can pre-order pieces. My friend Gracie has an amazing shop, go take a peek. I’ll wait!

Ave Mae & Ruby Lu Vintage *named after her sweet girls*

Jessie Kenney is incredible!

 I love both these outfits, she really looks like a model!

I have my eye on a few things for Liv’s new year in pre-school.

Image of Misha Lulu Velvet Cape
Misha Lulu velvet cape
Image of Winter Forrest Dress Misha Lulu Fall 2013
Winter Forrest dress
Image of Misha Lulu Pre Sale Hello Kitty Ginger dress
Hello Kitty Ginger dress

 

Image of Black Swan Tee by Misha Lulu
Black Swan tee
 Here’s some more behind the scene photos from the shoot that I can now show you!!

Liv was chatting with Jessie the photographer about the peacocks on the grounds
Off to the set
She loved playing with the other girls
The cape and dress is so adorable!
Liv is such a character!
 Image of Misha Lulu Yummy HK Long Sleeve T-shirt

 

I can’t tell you how welcoming and sweet everyone in the Misha Lulu family has been to us. If you have little girls, check out Misha Lulu, I couldn’t recommend this rad line more!