Le Fabuleux Monde de la Maison Cointreau

Take one part delicious orange liqueur, one part glamourous style icon, and a hearty dash of marvelous personalities. Stir (or shake, if you prefer!) and voilà! You’ve got yourself a taste of La Maison Cointreau.

Last week, Cointreau debuted La Maison Cointreau at Big Daddy’s Antiques in San Francisco: a fabulous world filled with decadence, glamour, music, and cocktails. As the evening opened, Dita von Teese made an appearance, posing for photographs and chatting with reporters. (Oh, for the record: she’s even more gorgeous in person!)

Dita von Teese poses for photos against a backdrop of Cointreau bottles.

Dita von Teese chats with a reporter.

Throughout the evening, bartenders kept guests’ glasses full with Cointreau-based cocktails. My favorite of the evening was the classic Sidecar:
1 1/2 oz Remy VSOP
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass rimmed with sugar.

Preparing Cointreau cocktails.

One of the things I enjoyed about the event was eyeing the fabulous style of the guests.

Guests posing for the camera.

I was lucky to run into Meghan of Voilà!, who has a chic, ladylike style that I admire…

With Meghan of Voilà! (Photo courtesy of Meghan.)

And I met Danielle the Dressmaker, who rocked a vibrant, flirty dress of her own creation:

Danielle the Dressmaker, wearing one of her own creations.

But the highlight of the evening was the mini cabaret, which started off with a glass performance by Johnny Rodgers and kicked into high gear with a dynamic, retro vocal set by chanteuse Lady Rizo. Nicole Renaud added a fun French flair with her accordion.

A glimpse of Lady Rizo’s energizing performance.

Enfin, Dita von Teese took over the stage with a playful and seductive burlesque performance set in a tropical Hawaiian scene. Alas, the audience was asked not to take photos, but Haute Living has a few shots online if you’re truly curious. :)

To be honest, I didn’t need much convincing to like Cointreau – it was already in my liquor cabinet since it’s a necessary component in Singapore Slings, and I use it in my version of the Boston Bog (recipes below). But I enjoyed the opportunity to try out new cocktails and soak in the divine atmosphere!

Cheers! (Photo courtesy of Meghan.)

What I wore:
Dress: vintage 1950s LBD via Eons Fashion Antique in Pittsburgh, PA
Earrings: Magicicada Earrings, Erica Weiner via ModCloth
Bracelet: Victorian mourning bracelet
Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti via The Outnet
Purse: Cole Haan Valise Archer leather satchel via Rue La La

Also check out Meghan’s post!

Singapore Sling:
1 oz gin
1/2 oz cherry brandy
4 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/3 oz grenadine (I make mine from scratch – details in this post)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a Collins Glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a pineapple wedge.

Boston Bog (my variation on the original recipe by Misty Kalkofen; click here for the full recipe):
6 fresh cranberries (+ 1 for garnish)
1 1/2 oz aged or reserve rum
1/2 oz ginger syrup (a dash of Benedictine & simple syrup make for a good substitute)
2 tsp lemon juice (or 1/2 oz if using fresh lemons)
2 tsp Cointreau
Muddle cranberries, add remaining ingredients, shake with ice, and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cranberry.

[Photos by me except where otherwise noted.]

Happy Halloween!

Things have been pretty crazy in San Francisco. I mean, things are always kinda crazy in San Francisco, but they’ve been more so with the Giants winning the World Series and all that jazz. (My husband, a lifelong Giants fan, has been walking on air these past few days.)

And, you know, there’s that whole Halloween thing.

On Saturday, friends hosted a Hallowine party… you know, where you dress up your wine bottle? Isn’t that what everyone does for Halloween? Anyway, it’s fun times. My entry was Audrey II.

(By the way, nail polish makes for an excellent hobby paint in a pinch. My collection of Julep nail colors sure came in handy for this project!)

But you know, you can’t have an Audrey II without an Audrey I:

Okay, so that was Saturday. And today, on Halloween? Rocky and I did a little couples custom: he was Cry Baby and I was Wanda from that classic John Waters flick.

(Oh, and if you haven’t seen Cry Baby, go fix that right now! Besides being a fine example of John Waters kitsch, Johnny Depp is the star. A young Johnny Depp. Yum!)

We joined other peeps at work who got dressed up, including Danielly, who came as one of the Wild Things…

… and Anna and Ashley, who turned ModCloth and vintage dresses into Minnie Mouse costumes.

So how did you celebrate Halloween? Did you dress up? (Are there pics?) Do tell!

What I wore as Audrey:
Dress: Most Memorable Dress by Stop Staring!, via ModCloth
Cardigan: Grace via Ideeli

What I wore as Wanda:
Scarf: vintage
Top: Banana Republic
Belt: Calderon, vintage
Skirt: BCBGMAXAZRIA Scarlett Power Skirt in Black Combo

[All photos by me except where otherwise indicated.]

A Gatsby Summer Afternoon

On a warm, sunny day in September, Pat and I headed out to a picnic. But this picnic wasn’t just any old picnic; it was a step into the Gatsby-era world.

Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

The Art Deco Society of California (which I previously mentioned in a post about their Deco Ball) hosts a “Gatsby Summer Afternoon” every year at the end of the summer season, at the historic Dunsmuir Hellmann estate in Oakland. The dress code calls for 1920s and 1930s day attire for men and women, and period-appropriate accoutrements… right down to real glasses and porcelain, wicker baskets – and even a gramophone or two!

Pat decked out in menswear to evoke the deco era.

A working gramophone at the Gatsby Summer Afternoon.

And in keeping with my usual style, I decided against the straight silhouettes of the 1920s in favor of the somewhat more body conscious style of the 1930s. But finding a proper ’30s day dress isn’t easy, so I bought a vintage pattern and sewed one up myself!

My 1930s dress pattern (photo taken when I was working on the muslin mock-up).

The end result: decked out in a 1930s day dress.

Prepping for this event was almost as fun as the event itself… but nothing quite beats dancing outside on a beautiful day!

Dancing at the Gatsby Summer Afternoon.

For those of you in the Bay Area, I heartily recommend checking out the Art Deco Society! In addition to this event and their annual ball, they host walking tours of art deco buildings and publish information about related events put on by other organizations.

What I wore:
Dress: made by me from a vintage 1930s Simplicity pattern
Hat: ModCloth
Bracelet: vintage deco-era silver bracelet
Clutch: a gift from my husband

[Photos by me except where otherwise noted.]

Additional photos available on Flickr, here.

From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

Last week I went on a ModCloth team outing to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the De Young Museum. It was the exhibit’s final week in San Francisco (and its last stop in the United States), but if you should happen to find yourself in Madrid or the Netherlands when the international tour makes its appearance in those cities, check it out!

I must admit that I didn’t know all that much about Gaultier (besides glimpses of his fashion line over the years), and I was pleasantly surprised by his sense of humor – though I should have known, because his sense of humor comes through in his designs!

The exhibit started with an introduction from Gaultier himself – well, a talking mannequin version, anyway. His face and the faces of other mannequins throughout the exhibit were animated by 3D projected images. Eerie but fabulous.

Jean Paul Gaultier, the talking mannequin.

What follows are photos I took of a few of my favorite parts of the show (click the photos to view a larger version). This is only a tiny portion of the show – I really should have had at least 2 days to soak everything in.

WARNING: image heavy, but full of AWESOME.

Happy Fifth of July!

For those of you who call the United States your home, I hope you had a lovely Independence Day! And for everyone else, I hope you had a lovely fourth of July. :)

Last night I watched the fireworks from my rooftop, and caught a few smiles:

Shiny happy fireworks!

It was a good show, although SF’s perpetual summer evening fog hung over the city. Definitely had some interesting effects, like in the photo below!

Fireworks capped by fog.

Earlier in the day I went to my friends’ house for a super yummy barbecue. They’ve got a smoker, so among other things they served up homemade smoked knockwurst and chicken. Noms! (Note to self: get apartment with yard & buy smoker.)

Homemade smoked knockwurst, chicken, and homebrew in a stein.

And I got a little festive with my nails, with Julep “Taylor” and “America”. Yep, “America” has silver star glitter in it!

Manicure with Julep Taylor and America.

Speaking of Julep, congratulations to Carley L. for winning my Julep Maven intro box raffle! And if you’d like to give the Julep Maven subscription a try, head over to the Julep website, take the Julep Maven style quiz, and sign up using the promo code MAVENINTRO to get your intro box for a penny!

How did you spend your fourth of July?

[All photos by me and available on my Instagram: katealamode!]

Gone Fishin’

I went camping with a few friends at Plumas National Forest. We found a spot by one of the creeks to set up our site, then enjoyed a low-key weekend of fishing and hanging out.

North fork of the Feather River at Plumas National Forest.

We saw all sorts of fun nature-y things . . .

Look at that nature stuff over there! (Photo by Odelle.)

. . . like tiny flowering succulents in the moss:

Tiny flowering succulent in a bed of moss. If you look closely you can see a couple of spiders!

. . . and a giant banana slug!

Ahhh!! A banana slug monster!

And then – well, I’m not sure I should tell you this, but . . .

Uh oh! (Photo by Odelle.)

. . . it turns out when you go camping with a couple of environmental engineers they teach you how to do crazy things, like melt glass bottle in campfires. Okay, not that crazy, really – and actually very cool looking!

A blue bottle in a campfire. What will happen next?

It’s melllllltiinggg!!

What’s your favorite way to spend a summer weekend?

What I wore:
Kitschy Kitchen Dress by Heartbreaker, via ModCloth. Nothing like a cotton halter dress to keep you cool on warm, sunny days. And since I don’t really get to wear sundresses in San Francisco, I take full advantage of wearing them when I head off to warmer destinations outside the city!

[Photos by me except where otherwise noted.]

Swanky and Swingin’ at the Art Deco Preservation Ball

Once a year, the Art Deco Society of California puts on a fabulous deco-era ball. Pat and I went last year and had a fantastic time, so we just had to go again!

Everyone dresses up in deco-era-style formal attire from the 1920s through early 1940s. Getting dressed for it last year was super easy because I already had a vintage gown from the late 1930s/early 1940s (pictured here), but this year I had to figure out what to wear. I started thinking about it early and created a Pinterest board for deco-era formal wear several months ago. Then I stayed on the look-out for a formal gown that would fit the theme – and finally found a gorgeous Mikael Aghal chartreuse silk gown at The Outnet. The bias cut and waterfall pleats at the waist were reminiscent of 1930s gowns, while the beading and embellishments evoked the 1920s.

Arriving at the Art Deco Preservation Ball in a Mikael Aghal gown and vintage stole. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

But before we headed to the ball, Pat and I had dinner at Albona Ristorante Istriano, an absolutely delicious Istrian restaurant in North Beach.

Pat looking dapper in a tux at Albona Ristorante Istriano.

In pin curls at Albona Ristorante Istriano. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

And then we headed to the ball, held at Bimbo’s 365 Club – a North Beach nightclub founded in the 1930s. In addition to having a marvelous time dancing, enjoying the live entertainment, and sipping classic cocktails, we ran into Susan & Eric Koger from ModCloth. Events are always more fun when you get to share them with awesome people!

Clockwise from top left: with Susan (photo by Pat Zimmerman); Eric and Pat share a laugh; the Deco Belles; the crowd at Bimbo’s 365 Club.

With Pat in the lobby of Bimbo’s 365 Club. Photo by one of the lovely ball attendees.

Clockwise from top left: Susan with other glamorous ladies in orange gowns – a photo-op to commemorate the Golden Gate Bridge; Pat looking… debonair? mischievous?; Vienna La Rouge performing burlesque; a bouquet of orchids.

If you’re in the Bay Area and love the deco era, definitely check out the Art Deco Society! They put on a few events throughout the year, including a Gatsby-themed picnic in September (I went last year and plan to go again this year). And they also host walking tours of art deco buildings and publish information about related events put on by other organizations.

What I wore:
Dress: Mikael Aghal Embellished silk-satin gown via The Outnet
Stole: vintage 1950s silver mink stole via Eons Fashion Antique in Pittsburgh, PA
Bracelet: Victorian mourning bracelet
Ring: family heirloom
Wristlet: brass mesh bag from the late 1910s/early 1920s (my great grandmother’s; when she gave it to me she said it was just the perfect size for lipstick and telephone money – all one needed for going out!)

[Photos by me except where otherwise noted.]

Additional photos – and full-sized versions of the collage photos – available on Flickr, here. More will be uploaded in the next few days!

OBX Awesomeness 2012

Once a year, a bunch of my friends from college get together just to catch up and have fun. This year, we converged in the Outer Banks, NC for fun times at the beach.

Waves crashing along the shore at the Outer Banks.

It was the end of April, so the water wasn’t very warm – but that didn’t prevent me from going in!

Wading in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

Having fun in the waves. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

Not pictured: the 45 minute swim I took the following afternoon. I LOVE swimming in the ocean, even if it’s a bit chilly! But the waters along San Francisco are too cold – and the undertow too strong – for me to just wade in. So I was happy to take the plunge in North Carolina!

We all had a good time, which included some wrestling on the beach:

Just goofing around at the beach.

One morning, Pat and I woke up super early to watch the sunrise on the beach. It was cloudy out – we never really caught the sun coming up over the water – but the light was still beautiful.

Sunrise on a cloudy day.

One of the best parts of the early morning at the beach is watching all the wildlife. We saw pelicans diving for fish and dolphins leaping out of the waves. And then we came across a skate, stranded upside-down on the sand. Pat managed to flip it right-side up, and it eventually caught a wave back into the ocean.

A beached skate returns to sea.

We were out enjoying the beach for quite awhile, but eventually got chased back inside by a brewing storm. Somehow we made it back to the beach house we were sharing with our friends before the rain got really bad!

Gathering storm at the beach.

Most of the rest of our long weekend was spent hanging out, playing games, chatting, and taking strolls on the beach.

What’s your favorite way to reunite with good friends?

What I wore:
Guest of Honor Dress by Effie’s Heart, via ModCloth. An easy, super comfortable jersey knit dress – perfect for a casual weekend at the beach!

[Photos by me except where otherwise noted.]

Spring-Summer 2012 Dinner Party with Diesel and SOMA Magazine

What’s more fun than getting together with a bunch of awesome women, enjoying cocktails and a delicious dinner, and celebrating the launch of a new clothing line?

At the Diesel & SOMA Magazine S/S12 Housewarming & Dinner Party

A couple of weeks ago I attended a dinner party hosted by Diesel and SOMA Magazine. The main event was an informal fashion show highlighting jeans from Diesel’s Spring/Summer 2012 line, I Am Who I Am.

But before the main event, we socialized over cocktails . . .

Cosmopolitan cocktail and beautiful table setting at the Diesel & SOMA Magazine S/S12 Housewarming & Dinner Party

. . . and browsed the existing collection – I particularly loved the colored jeans!

Diesel colored jeans

In the new collection, my fave was the high-waisted jeans (shown in the bottom left image, below). It’s a welcome change from the low-waisted jeans that dominate the market!

At the Diesel & SOMA Magazine S/S12 Housewarming & Dinner Party

I had a fabulous time – the people at Diesel and SOMA Magazine who organized this event did an amazing job! And receiving a Diesel watch (one was wrapped around each napkin at the dinner table) was an incredible surprise.

With Kivalani, who shows off the Diesel watch wrapped around her napkin.

I left the party feeling not only inspired by the fashion, but also by the dinner party! I totally need to throw one of my own soon – though I’m afraid I won’t be able to give everyone watches!

Bloggers’ Day Out at Drybar!

Everyone needs a little girl time and pampering now and then, right?*

Recently I hooked up with a few other Bay Area bloggers for a girls’ day out. Somehow it all started on Twitter – we got to chatting, and soon enough we had planned a date at Drybar to get blowouts. The last time I had my hair done was for my wedding, and before that… high school prom. So not my normal routine, but something I’d love to do again. At $35 + tip, it wasn’t terribly expensive, either (for SF, anyway)!

Jen of Live Très Chic organized our blowout party, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon we all met up at Drybar in Lower Pac Heights.

Awesome blowdryer lamp at Drybar

Greg, Drybar’s event coordinator, greeted us as we came in and got us settled with beverages. (I have to say he was super-amazing, and made sure everything ran smoothly even though there was terrible traffic – due to a festival in nearby Japantown – that ended up delaying a bunch of us!) Then we were each greeted by our stylist, who talked with us about how we wanted our hair. After the initial consultation, each of us was whisked away to have our hair washed – which was made especially lovely with scalp massages.

And then the hairstyle magic happened!

Lauren of L.A. in the Bay getting her hair done

Kelly of Off Kelly’s Hanger getting her hair done – and live-tweeting :)

Eli of Thrift Eye getting her hair done

Self-portrait as the finishing touches are added

Afterwards we all looked fabulous (if I do say so myself!).

Lauren, Jen, and Kelly looking lovely

Jen plays at paparazzi, with Parris & Kiri in the foreground

Jes, Parris, Kiri, Kelly, and Lauren

All done up & gorgeous at Drybar: Lynn, Kate, Jes, Eli, Lauren, Parris, Kelly, Jen, and Kiri

And because getting one’s hair done is such hard work ;-) . . . we treated ourselves to macarons at Fillmore Bakeshop! I don’t always love macarons (sometimes they’re too sweet), but these were absolutely delicious: the right touch of sweetness, with flaky puffs and luxurious buttercream filling. I particularly adored the honey lavandar macarons!

Macarons at Fillmore Bakeshop

What’s your favorite way to get some girl time?

Drybar, 1908 Fillmore St, San Francisco
Fillmore Bakeshop, 1890 Fillmore St, San Francisco

Blogroll:
Eli: Thrift Eye
Jes: Ryzenberg On
Jen: Live Très Chic
Kelly: Off Kelly’s Hanger
Lauren: L.A. in the Bay
Lynn: All Gussied Up
Parris and Kiri: Pams and Kin

* For the record, the answer is YES! And boys, you should try it too! ;-)