I don't usually watch the Super Bowl - for the game or the commercials (unless the Cowboys are playing but that was almost 18 years ago). However, this year a friend was hosting a Super Bowl watching party I had to attend. He's been wanting to host a big party and his wife finally agreed to let him throw it. He got Uchiko and P.Terry's to cater the event, had a big outdoor screen brought in by Alamo Drafthouse's Rolling Roadshow, and had a snow hill for the kids to sled down. Who's going to say no?
Caters waiting to take out trays of sushi from Uchiko
There was also face painting for the kids and a snack bar of popcorn, goldfish, and pretzels And for dessert there were fresh doughnuts with a choice of toppings: powdered sugar, chocolate, and sugar cinnamon.
And it's not a football game without cheerleaders.
Of course, the commercials are now a big part of the show. My favorite was Budweiser's Clydesdales: Brotherhood. Totally made me tear up.
Here's a link from Huffingtonpost of all the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl. I did not enjoy the GoDaddy commercial (eww...the sounds; also awkward with kids around), but I did laugh out loud at the end of the Jack in the Box one. And if you're interested in seeing the movie trailers that aired during the Super Bowl check out Screenrant.
The party also allowed my friend to help out one of his and his wife's favorite charities. Everyone brought a children's book that would be donated to The Dell Children's Trust and A Community for Education. I donated one of my favorites, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.
I have to say it's going to be hard for any other Super Bowl party after this to top this party.
I didn't get a chance to attend last year's Fashion's Night Out, but this year I was free and able to attend events held at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus on Thursday night. According to Fashion's Night Out's website:
Fashion’s Night Out is an unprecedented global initiative created in 2009 to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, boost the industry’s economy during the recession, and put the fun back in shopping! In the United States, the program is a collaboration between American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, and the City of New York.
Both Saks and Neiman's requested RSVP's but these events were actually open to the public. At Saks, the first 100 attendees received swag bags.
There were several perfume samples, a mascara sample, and a clutch in my swag bag. My sister's had a travel-sized toiletry bag in it.
They had drawings for a raffle throughout the night with some fancy prizes (e.g. $1,000 gift card to Sono Bello). There were various stations around the store offering small bites from Iron Cactus and the Cupcake Bar and libations from Starbucks, Republic Tequila, and Deep Eddy Vodka.
We also went to Neiman Marcus' Fashion's Night Out event. We sampled more sweets and drinks before checking out the new fashion trends/lines. They also had On the Spot Body Art offering hair chalking (a fun way to get some temporary color in your hair) and Blo offered dry styling. My sister got her hair braided into a fishtail, my friend had her hair curled and styled, and I had them do a boho braid.
I had a lot of fun, and I'm definitely making time to attend next year's Fashion's Night Out events.
Twitter has introduced me to a lot of new things. The latest is Birchbox and their monthly subscription program. For $10 a month, Birchbox will send you a box of various sample-sized beauty items. The May box had a Gossip Girl inspired theme - Hamptons Beach Party. There were sample sizes of BVLGARI's Omnia Crystalline Eau de Toilette Spray, fresh's Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 (it comes in a handy screw top container), a Twistband hair tie (they're not suppose to leave crimps in the hair), Dr. Jart+ Waterfuse Beauty Balm SPF+25 (a moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum all in one), and beautyblender's blendercleanser (makeup sponge and brush cleanser). I don't generally wear makeup so the blendercleanser will not get much use, but I will be using the other items. I like the sample sizes; they're very purse friendly. I can't wait to see what June's Birchbox will bring me.
I visited a luminarium this past weekend. What's a luminarium you ask? It's basically an air-filled sculpture made of colored plastic that lights up inside via the sunlight shining through it. It's actually quite relaxing and beautiful. This one, Mirazozo, had a couple small domes with winding passages, was made by hand in Nottinghamm, England, and (according to the little handout they gave us) was "inspired by repetitious forms found in the bazaars of Iran". Below is a shot of the exterior and one of the passageways.
You couldn't jump off the walls in it since the material was thin like a t-shirt and therefore delicate, but you could lean against it or gently push against it to watch the movement ripple through the structure up to the roof tops. There were little nooks scattered around that you could sit in while enjoying the relaxing music created by David Bickley.
Here's a video by the Sydney Opera House of Architects of Air's Mirazozo:
The exhibit will be in Austin until Friday, January 20. It's $8 to enter (I think children under 2 years of age can enter for free). I suggest going early because the lines were long (we arrived at 10AM on Sunday and waited about 45-60 minutes). Visit http://www.thelongcenter.org/architects_of_air.aspx for more information.
I think I'm going to enjoy SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN more though (even with Kristin Stewart, the actress of one look, playing Snow White). I like the darker look of the movie and Charlize Theron looks to be a much more eviler queen then Julia Roberts.
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