Road Trip to Vegas

Summertime is the perfect time for a good ole fashioned road trip! It gives you time to sing at the top of your lungs with the wind in your hair and your worries left somewhere in the dust! If you've ever traveled from Southern California to Las Vegas then you know the highway can be lonely and desolate but has random quirky treats along the way! We made a pit stop/bathroom break at this cool abandoned gas station and I had to snap a few pics of my comfy yet chic road trip look.

I'm not one of those people who could roll out of the house in my pajamas just because I want to be comfortable. I like to start my day put together, it makes me feel good. For a road trip however, comfort is key!

When traveling by car, airplane,etc. I prefer to travel in pants with stretch in them because I hate being cold in air conditioned environments and I hate feeling constricted by jeans when I'm trying to relax. I decided to wear these royal blue jeggings because they are so comfy. They have so much stretch in them that I could literally sleep in them! 

Also, since my shirt had sheer lace in the back I decided to go bra-less. It doesn't get much comfier than that folks! Target has a great selection of sticky bras and pasties for such times!

Now my shoes may not seem like practical road trip attire to some but keep in mind that our final destination was Vegas! Plus, if I'm not the driver you can bet money that my shoes are off on long car rides and plane rides for that matter. 

Finishing off my look is my beloved Celine Mini Luggage handbag in Indigo Blue. I can fit all my necessities and then some into this baby! It is the perfect go anywhere companion and even has a tab to hold the necessary over-sized sunglasses for that inevitable hangover in Sin City!

What I'm Wearing

Royal Blue Jeggins- I'm Haute- Available Here

Grey Lace Top- Wet Seal

Sungasses- Claire's Accessories

Mini Luggage Handbag- Celine

Blue Pointed Toe Pumps- Available Here

Thank you so much for joining me on my road trip to Las Vegas!

My 20's themed birthday party

As my 29th birthday was approaching I began to obsess over how I should celebrate the last birthday of my 20's... and that my dear is how I decided to throw myself a 20's themed birthday party! I love to dress up and I equally love themed parties so it was a match made in birthday party heaven! 

On my invitations I wrote: 

Kassandra's roaring 20's are almost over!

So let's celebrate with food and wine,

and party like it's 1929!

Girls come dressed as a flapper.

Men please look dapper.

And just encase anyone was confused on what to wear I hinted:

Please dress for the occasion. 

Think Boardwalk Empire, The Great Gatsby, Flappers and Gangsters.

Surprisingly everyone dressed up and more importantly everyone looked great and had an awesome time. There was a whole lot of sequins, fringe and headbands for the ladies and the guys pulled out all the stops with suspenders, bow ties, vests and fedoras.

My hubby had a difficult time trying to tie his bow tie. Of course we were running (fashionably) late for the party so he tried to tie his bow tie on our party bus which for obvious reasons didn't work out very well. I give him an A for effort though because he spent about half an hour practicing the bow tie method on his leg in hopes of figuring it out to then tie on his neck... let's just say that it worked well on his leg but that didn't transfer to his neck. Luckily I bought a last minute back up bow tie that just clipped on. It wasn't as cute but it was better than having him walk around the party with a bow tie on his thigh!

The venue I chose for my 1920's themed birthday party was a Speakeasy Lounge in Hollywood called the Next Door Lounge. I stumbled upon this awesome location cruising around on Yelp one day. Not only did they have great reviews but their decor, staff attire and secret password gave my party an authentic prohibition vibe. Guests were greeted by two dapper doormen in black suits and fedoras and upon saying the special password associated with my party my guests were given free access and escorted to our table. Several of my guests commented on this special and memorable touch.

The waitresses were very friendly, attentive and decked out in flapper dresses complete with a sequin headband and feather. Come to think of it, all the staff members were extremely nice and dressed to the nines! I was surprised at how easy it was to make the reservation for my party. I called and spoke with a gentleman named Sam who took down my name and credit card info to hold our table. There would be a $200 charge if I did not cancel our party and no one showed up but there was no minimum required or deposit which is very refreshing for Hollywood!

The decor inside the Next Door Lounge is totally what I imagined a 1920's speakeasy to look like. A large room features black and white photographs hanging against exposed brick walls and is filled with rich dark woods, high leather back chairs and sofas. However, the focal point of the room is a gorgeous chandelier that hangs high above the bar.

The Next Door Lounge even had some specialty cocktails that embodied my visions of 1920's glam. My favorite was the Debutante which is served in a vintage style coupe glass. It seriously has to be the best tasting cocktail I have ever enjoyed. It is the perfect blend of Vodka, Fresh Strawberry, Lime Juice, Rosemary Simple Syrup & Honey.

My Mother-in-Law and I definitely got the shimmery dress memo! She is wearing a black and nude Sue Wong dress that is loaded with art deco style beading and finished with feather trim at the bottom. I am wearing a nude mesh dress with intricate beading, sequins and beaded fringe by Jovani, style #1380. It was purchased from Neiman Marcus but can be found at various online boutiques as well. I bought these rhinestone shoes from the Aldo Outlet the day before my party for $12!!!! They were a full size too small but since they were the last size Aldo had and went perfectly with my dress I squished my fat foot into them! I was pretty shocked when I wore them pretty much all night without dying. (I did take them off on the way home.)

I made my flapper headband myself with a hot glue gun and materials that I bought from Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Store. The materials cost me about $30 but similar headbands were selling for $80 and up on etsy so I decided to try this myself. It took me all of 10 minutes to make and I was extremely happy with how it turned out!

I ordered my cake from Gelson's the day before my party. I don't really like cake so I put this off and almost ended up without a birthday cake. Most bakeries want you to order a few days in advance but I promised to keep my design simple and they promised to have it done in time. Basically my birthday cake was just a two tiered round cake with a black band around the top layer and a row of iridescent white gumballs around the bottom layer to create a pearl effect. Upon arriving at the Next Door Lounge they took and stored my birthday cake for me. I had placed the white feather and two fresh roses in the bag with my cake but forgot to instruct them what to do with them. I was beyond pleasantly surprised when my cake came out topped off with my roses, feather and lit candles. To top off my excitement there was no cake cutting fee which most venues stick you with.

Overall, I had a great time at my 29th birthday party and highly recommend this theme to anyone! It works especially well for someone in their 20's or 30's. It was a blast to see everyone in their Great Gatsby styled outfits and I love all the pictures we got of everyone dressed up. I feel like I could not have picked a better venue if I tried and I am actually totally OK with being 29. I was freaking out the few days leading up to my party but now I feel fine. Come and talk to me after my 30th birthday and I might be singing a different tune. Hahaha.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

Please leave any questions or comments you may have down below. 

Our New Orleans Getaway

My hubby took me to my first Clippers basketball game when we started dating about five years ago. I was instantly hooked and have been following and learning more about the sport ever since. We go to as many games as possible and we were both dying to go to the NBA All-Star 2014 weekend in New Orleans. Luckily a family member was able to pull a few strings with a friend of his and snag us some sold-out tickets. I literally was jumping for joy! We booked what seemed to be the last available ticket to New Orleans, packed our bags and had an amazing little getaway together. I hope you guys enjoy some of our personal photos around the city.

I am quite possibly the worst ever at packing for trips! I always have this romantic notion in my mind that I am going to dress up every single day of my vacation and then my feet are killing me half way through or I am freezing because I didn't anticipate how cold 63 degrees feels like with a wind chill factor. Luckily, New Orleans was very hospitable with the weather and located on almost every block you will find an Asian foot massage spa. We pampered our feet to the fairly priced massage twice during our short trip and I was able to wear heels everyday without crying. So even though my team lost in the All-Star Game I felt like a winner.

The above outfit is a casual chic baseball sleeve midi-dress that I found on sale at Forever 21. It is featured in my latest Mall Haul video here. I warmed it up with my favorite fuzzy infinity scarf that I've had for years. The scarf doubled as a wrap for when I was chilly from the blasting A/C in the New Orleans Arena. My shoes are from Go Jane and my bag is Christian Louboutin.

For the actual NBA All-Star game I wore this sexy two-piece set from I'm Haute. These bare midriff outfit sets are a celeb favorite lately and I must admit that I'm rather obsessed with them! They are a killer combo of sophistication meets sexy. Since we were planning on going out to dinner after the game I naturally wanted to be all dolled up and I couldn't wait to wear this sassy little number! I paired it with my nude ankle strap high heels from Go Jane and my black and nude jacket from She Inside.

Earlier that afternoon we did some walking around in the French Quarter. We came across the Adidas pop up social media spot aka #adidasintheQuarter. Sports retailers had pop up shops all over town to capitalize on all the fans in town for the NBA All-Star weekend but this was different. This location wasn't actually selling anything. Instead they were offering a free experience in hopes of generating a social media buzz. The setup was rather impressive. They had a DJ spinning the top hip-hop jams, Adidas All-Star Jerseys to borrow, a huge mesmerizing light wall which would display your team of choice and a photographer snapping away free pics to be emailed to you almost instantaneously. Overall the experience probably took five to ten minutes out of our day and we have some pretty cool pictures to show from it. Thanks Adidas!

After our impromptu Adidas photo shoot we decided to reward ourselves with a piece of heaven from the famous Cafe Du Monde. Listen to me when I say, Cafe Du Monde is a must for anyone visiting New Orleans. They opened in 1862 and have been going strong for 24 hours a day ever since. You'll only find them closed for the occasional hurricane or on Christmas Day. Cafe Du Monde has a very limited menu but don't be alarmed. They know what they are good at and they have perfected it.

The only food on the menu: Beignets. 

Beignets are described as French doughnuts but I would describe them as a doughnut and funnel cake falling madly in love and having a perfectly fluffy, yet ever so slightly crunchy, melt in your mouth love child. These pillowy pastries of perfection are fried and then covered (and I do mean covered) in powdered sugar. My mouth is seriously watering just thinking about these special treats.

My outfit for walking around during the day in New Orleans was pretty casual. I wore a loose fit plain white T-shirt with my shredded Machine Jeans. I rolled up the bottoms of my jeans to showcase my blue suede Dolce Vita booties that match my indigo blue Celine Mini Luggage Bag. I finished my look off with some circle sunnies and a long necklace from I'm Haute.

Unbeknownst to us, the first parade of Mardi Gras was the day we arrived in New Orleans. The town was covered in colorful decorations and beads were everywhere you looked. Seriously, beads were stuck in trees, hanging from balconies and all over the streets. I was super excited because going to Mardi Gras was on my bucket list. Even though this was New Orleans' smallest Mardi Gras parade I am happy to check that off my list. I'm not sure if I could handle a busier Mardi Gras celebration because this one seemed insane enough to me. We tried walking down Bourbon St which was a completely over crowded mess. Literally everyone was pushing into everyone and it took a good ten minutes just to walk a block. I'm glad I can say that I've been there, done that but I doubt I'll ever intentionally plan a trip to New Orleans just for Mardi Gras.

New Orleans has so much more to offer than just the craziness of Mardi Gras. Besides all of the stunning architecture and mind blowing history, the city is bursting with culinary adventures. Every single meal that we ate was mouth watering delicious and memorable. The above picture is from our belated Valentine's dinner at Restaurant R'evolution. When my hubby and I travel we like to enjoy at least one nice dinner together and Restaurant R'evelotion surely delivered. Our steaks were cooked perfectly and I found a new favorite wine: Domaine Bertagna, Pinot Noir, 2010. The coolest part of dinner here is the complimentary dessert that is served in an ornate jewelry box. Each drawer of the box contains a different chocolate or cookie. So cute!

For casual dinning I recommend The Ruby Slipper Cafe. We popped in here for brunch and my taste buds with never be the same. I can't stop thinking about their Eggs Blackstone dish which is like a southern take on Eggs Benedict. My favorite spot for lunch was Meals from the Heart Cafe which is located in the adorable French Market. Their menu features organic, gluten-free and vegan options. I ordered the okra gumbo and raw beets salad. With every bite I could taste the love.

 Travelling is my number one passion in life. I always come back from my trips feeling blessed and excited from the new things I just experienced. To me, life is all about the experience.