Saturday, August 31, 2013

Birthday Celebrations!

This week I had the best celebration of the year, my birthday! My girlfriends and I attended the Art Institute's event of Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity cocktail party.  We dressed in the attire of the night which was sheer and summery, then headed to Pops for Champagne for some bubbly and dinner.  We ended the night at The Underground Club.  It's not normally my style but drinking a bottle of Vueve Cliquot anywhere is pretty much my cup of tea! It was a wonderful night and it makes me so thankful for my fantastic friends.  

Here is a picture of the invitation I made using Paperless Post.  It is such a cute site and I love to use it for a variety of things!


Some pictures from the night. 








On my actual birthday my husband and I went to Bavette's for a beautiful dinner.  He always takes me somewhere special and gives the best gifts! This year was no exception.   I also got some spectacular presents from all the special people in my life.   I even got flowers delivered to my school from my wonderful sister and husband.  It was wonderful!! 


What do you do to celebrate your birthday??  What is your favorite gift?  
XO,
Gilded Girl



About Me

Hi Friends!
 I am the Gilded Girl. This is a collection of my thoughts and interests and all around lifestyle. It is food, crafts, fashion and fun. It is ever changing, just like me! I hope you enjoy! 
XO

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A visit to the iconic Macinack Island

Hi Everyone! I recently got back from Macinack island and wanted to share a few things that we did there.

For those of you who have never been, Mackianck is a cute island off the coast of Northern Michigan.  It is about 8 miles around and allows no vehicles on it.  Visiting the island is like taking a step back in time.  There are only horse and buggies, and bicycles allowed and you need to take a Ferry ride to get to the island.   This is the view that greats you when they ferry pulls into the harbor.


One of the true gems of the island is the iconic Grand Hotel.  Established in 1887 the hotel is almost on top of the hill in Macinack and has amazing views.  














We had some delicious dinners on this island.  One of my favorites was broiled white plank fish, as well as a few cocktails!



 The beautiful bridge in Macinack, it signals that you are getting close and especially awesome to see up close from a boat.
 This is the Macinack yacht club, very nautical and quaint.
I chose to stay in a quaint bed and breakfast right on the island.  They offered a continental breakfast in the morning that was absolutely perfect.  Each room was decorated differently although all had a similar motif of paisley and a victorian-esque theme.  I woke up pretty early each day I was there and had some time to reflect, read and enjoy the slow pace of the Island as everyone was waking up.






If you ever have the chance I highly suggest visiting Macinack.  It islike taking a step back in time and there are a ton of things to do there.    Have you ever visited Macinack or anywhere that you felt completely removed from modern ways? 


XO,
GildedGirl




Monday, August 19, 2013

Delving into some DIY

So the end of summer is fast approaching and I don't know about you but I had a to-do list a mile long at the beginning of summer and I realllly didn't get as much done as I wanted! This project had been on my list for awhile and I wanted to share it with you guys.  

So we inherited these rod iron outdoor seats which used to look wonderful.  However, after being outside for the last 3 years, they needed an overhaul.  

I was planning on removing the entire cushion, however the screws were rusted closed. Bummer! 


So, rather than giving up, I decided to work around them and rip off the old fabric and cover it with the new.  Easier said than done.  I ended up having to rip off the rusted staples holding the fabric down on the base of the chair.  This took awhile but it was the only way I could make it work.  

Once those were done, I cut the fabric to fit around the base of the chair.  I then proceeded to attempt to use the staple gun on the base of the chair.  Again, easier said than done. 








After several failed attempts with the staple gun, I got kind of frustrated and ended up having my husband do it! He's the muscles in the family! 


In the end I think they turned out really well.  I was thinking about changing the color of the chair by painting them as well but I decided I liked the way they looked without it!

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Tonight we will be enjoying a glass of wine in our newly updated chairs! Have you done any DIY projects that you needed someone to rescue? 



XO,
Gilded Girl

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Pretending I'm a California Girl: Part 2

Phase two of my California trip.  We had a lot of recommmendations of places to go and this second post is about the rest of the trip.  One of the areas we explored was called Abbot Kinney.  This is an area near Venice Beach filled with great art, stores and restaurants.  

One of the examples of art we saw there!
There was a really neat vintage and reclaimed artifacts store called Tumbleweed and Dandelion (how adorable is that name?!)  Everything in there is American made and really beautiful!   
We also ate at several restaurants including the famous Lemonade! I had a mint and cucumber lemonade, fantastic!  They also had a delicious sprinkle cake! 


To end the day we had a delicious meal at a restaurant called The Tasting Kitchen.  The food was delicious but I loved the decor more.  Amazing dishes and flatware as well a tree growing in the middle of the restaurant.  Yes, a tree!! It was as much of an experience as a meal. 

We did a lot of other things, and saw a lot of other places but these were some of my favorites so I wanted to share them.   I love unique restaurants and shops and this area had a ton of that! Has anyone else been to this area and really enjoyed it? I can't wait to go back to CA!

XO,
Gilded Girl


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