Bella Vista

Z's parents gave us a groupon for nice French restaurant in Woodside called Bella Vista that we decided to use for our 5 year anniversary dinner. The drive there from the city was a bit scary since we had to drive up a tiny two lane road through forested area. I couldn't help but have flashbacks of all the scary movies I used to watch as a child about the crazy serial killer coming through the woods out to get me while menacingly waving a machete or chainsaw. After driving  the small winding road for what seemed like an eternity, we finally came upon the little cabin-like restaurant. The entrance area had a lovely fireplace going while we waiting for our table to be ready. The tables of the restaurant are facing wall to wall windows where diners can view the city lights amidst the redwood trees. The view was as the restaurant's namesake mentioned--beautiful.

The sitting area in the ladies restroom had the most lovely wood paneling and floral paintings hanging up. I felt completely ridiculous snapping all these photos, but it is not everyday that Z and I go to a nice classy restaurant. For appetizer, Z and I shared a bell pepper soup and some mussels. Immediately following this, the waiter served us a lime champagne sorbet. At this point, I thought it was so cool. (I had already drank 2 glasses of wine since we brought our own bottle to share.) After the sorbet, we had our entrees. I had the special of the night--lamb in wine reduction sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Z had  Veau au Poivre--Sauted Veal with Green Peppercorns in a light Dijon Mustard Sauce with the same sides. We both tried a bit of each other's dishes and everything was delicious. For dessert, we shared a Grand Mariner souffle which was definitely more grand mariner than actual souffle...which was fine for 4 wine glass me.

I decided to wear my velvet dress from Vanessa of The Velvet Bird's holiday collection. All her dresses fit me like a dream and this velvet number is my new favorite dress. I added a cardigan clip of gold roses that I found on Etsy to add a little extra special something to my fancy collar.  If I could, I would probably wear this dress every single day! When we arrived back to the apartment, there was an anxious little pug waiting for us. His eyes were so sad and pleading that I just had to take a photo. Don't worry Finnegan...I only have pug eyes for you.

Outfit Details:
Velvet Collar Dress // The Velvet Bird
Gold Rose Cardigan Clip // Etsy
Black Mary Janes // Ebay
Brown Coat // H&M

Black & White

For my birthday, I purchased Vanessa of The Velvet Bird's Bookworm dress. It arrived just in time for me to try it out for a night at the War Memorial Opera house. Z had purchased tickets to see Moby Dick for one of his assignments for his grad school class, so I was interested in how this literary masterpiece would be translated to a live-action opera.  Even though you cannot tell from my grainy film photos, the dress has little black dots all over that perfectly complement the black bow on the collar. The dress has brown corduroy elbow patches, which just makes the dress absolutely perfect in my eyes. I tried to get Finnegan to pose with me in my photos, but he just wasn't having it that night. He even refused to look at the camera when he usually flaunts around when I take it out. I guess he was a little moody since Z and I were leaving him alone for the evening. 

Outfit Details:
Bookworm Dress // The Velvet Bird
Black Tights // CVS Pharmacy
Mars Boots // Rachel Comey
Camel Peacoat // H&M

I absolutely love this coat from H&M and have been wearing it nonstop. I think it is just because I am partial to pairing brown with black. I never truly followed that cardinal fashion rule of not pairing black with brown or navy with black. People should just wear what they feel like wearing...the rules should be that there are no rules! Also...apologies for the chronic bitch face (CBF). I can't seem to stop making it in photos because I feel so awkward and don't know what to do with myself.   -____-

Fune La

On Saturday Z and I attended an opera based on Herman Melville's classic, "Moby-Dick". The art and staging were beautifully done using lights/images projected onto the background to stimulate rocking waves and even the tiny fishing boats crew members used to harpoon and attack whales. After watching tons of Gossip Girl episodes on Netflix (Shhhh! Don't tell anyone that I secretly love that show for Chuck Bass and can't stop watching), I wanted to take this opportunity to dress up and pretend that Z and I would be attending some gala  in NYC or a party held by Blair Waldorf. (I know...I am so sad and loserly.) I curled by hair and put on my brand new "Book Worm" dress made by Vanessa of The Velvet Bird. I love the pin dot pattern, swing shape, peter pan collar with a bow...and my favorite part: brown elbow patches! The dress is beautifully constructed and  what is even more amazing is that 20% of Vanessa's profits all go to Love146.org to fight and prevent human trafficking in the United States! This dress will definitely be one of my go-to-favorites for this fall/winter. Here are my crappy photos from my laptop that do not do the dress any justice:

Outfit Details:
The Book Worm Dress // The Velvet Bird
Black Tights // Walgreens
Rachel Comey MARS boots