Thirty and Fabulous

“If anyone were to be called fabulous, it would be Louise.”

This was uttered during my dear friend Louise’s 30^th birthday extravaganza by a gal who by any definition is fabulous herself (Cassidy- and your fancy pants!). But Cassidy was right. One of my resolutions relates to mindful socializing, and Louise is a master of the craft. Louise’s birthday party was a social tour-de-force, which she pulled together in the midst of 60+ hour work-weeks of doing brain scans and other things I don’t understand, not to mention her heavy load of social commitments and normal-person obligations like baby showers. Having a social calendar that rivals Paris Hilton’s, which seems an overwhelming burden to most, is something that Louise not only manages, but manages with grace. In celebration of 30 years going strong, she hosted a fantastic gathering of friends for an international wine tasting festival at Hollywood & Highland, a *fancy* theme party on a double-decker bus (yes, not just a party, but a THEME party on a double-decker bus), an hour of dancing in a club in LA, and a massive photo-shoot at the permanent street lamp installation at LACMA. All in one night.

And managed to look like this:

Now that’s what I call Fabulous.

Although most of the places/events we visited were not brand new to me (I had the fortune of going to the Eat Drink Play wine event last year with Louise and we made a cameo on this year’s flyer)…

…I had never been to the lamp posts outside LACMA, and I took some joyous and whimsical pictures of the revelers. I put my new camera to good use that night, and even though I haven’t read the manual yet, the device is so sophisticated that I could point and shoot and get cool photos. 

Dave's fancy.

LA Story.

We're nothing if not discerning.

"I can't believe the bus is at capacity!" "Duh, darling."

Busby's was never so fancy.

Fancy, squared.

 













I also took a bunch of pics inside the wine tasting event, and discovered that the hired professional photographers were using the same exact same camera I have! (Canon Rebel T2i- score, Dave!!)

I want to be fancy too.

Although it was difficult to juggle my purse, camera and wine glass at once, I discovered a brilliant alternative for next year:

Wine Holsters

Now that is fabulous. I’m a big fan of pragmatic booze totes (remember my Cinco-de-Mayo suspenders with the built-in shot glasses? Awesome, because I don’t!). However, this type of holster poses less of a risk to my health and social well-being, and I plan to invest in one for my next wine tasting. Apparently they are available at Bev-Mo.

Competing interests. Dave watches in horror.

Last Friday, in preparation for her party, Lou and I met in downtown LA’s fashion district, a *new place* for both of us, and located some props for the “Oh, Lou Fancy, huh?” theme. 

Uno, dos, muchos!!

Deep discounts on rainbow-bright afro wigs.

There were goodies galore (obvi), but the real find was the do-it-yourself quinceañera outlet and its bountiful supply of long satin gloves and $5 boas. Fabulous!

The day of the party, we ventured to another *new location* for us in LA, The Dry Bar on the Sunset Strip in WeHo, and got our hair done in ridiculously fancy styles. What they lacked in punctuality, they made up for in hospitality, and we sipped on peach sparkling wine the entire time.

Oh, Lou's Fancy!!!

So while Louise’s whole 30^th birthday event correlated loosely to a couple of my resolutions and goals for the new year, it’s impact was certainly broader and more meaningful. It felt fabulous to celebrate my dear friend, and fabulous to be surrounded by so many people (50+) that cared so much about her too. She knocked the whole “twenty-nine, 30” milestone out of the park, and set a great example for the rest of us on how to turn 30 with fire, guts, grit, and more than enough flair to spare.

At the stroke of midnight on January 16, the bus started clamoring for a speech from the birthday girl. Above the music, the shouting, the top-hats, the Miller High Life’s and the swaying of the bus as it sauntered down the city streets, Louise said, “I used to think I’d feel different when I turned thirty, but now, I think I just feel different about thirty.”

Bravo to my fabulous friend.