{party inspiration: VS fashion show viewing party}

For years now I have always loved watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion show on TV every holiday season- it's just the epitome of girly silliness plus the musical acts in the past shows have only gotten better and better! Back when we were living in LA, some of my girlfriends and I got together to have a little viewing party for the fashion show with a "sweatpants & jewelry" theme showing up in our comfiest yoga pants, but wearing layers of our most fun jewelry.

In honor of the VS Fashion show taking place this evening and airing in a few weeks, I thought I would put together a little party inspiration board for this exact theme as I am hoping to host this party again this year.  So grab your ladies together for a fun girly night in their chic-est sweats dripping in their most over-the-top baubles!

PS- this post is not sponsored by Victoria's Secret- I really am just that obsessed with watching their fashion show every year! :)

{champagne & desserts party inspiration}

Moving to Chicago was and still is a big transition for me, but one thing that makes the whole situation a million times easier is that we were lucky to move here along with two of our best friends, Josh & Heather,  who happened to get into the same MBA program as Chris!  Heather's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and being that she is one of the girliest girls that I know, I thought a champagne and desserts themed ladies night would be the perfect way to celebrate.  

Here's a little inspiration board I put together for the upcoming fete:

More details from the party to follow- including some yummy champagne cocktail recipes!

{sequins & bow ties party recap}

The weekend before last, we hosted our "sequins & bow ties" themed going away party.  I absolutely loved this theme from the very beginning and was so excited to see what our friends would wear.  Who doesnt want an excuse to break out some sequins?!?!  We started this party later in the evening and served all our favorite party snacks like our burnt habanero crema salsa and sausage bites (both of which are always picked clean by the night's end) along with some new additions like a gourmet popcorn spread.  For drinks, we kept it simple with everyone's favorite whiskey punch recipe and various champagne cocktail supplies along with the usual selections of wine and beer.

In lieu of a photobooth, we picked up 10 packs of Fuji Instax film and let all of guests capture the night as well as display the shots on our kitchen chalkboard.  Nothing can really replace a photobooth in my heart, but this set up came really close especially since guests could check out all the snapshots up on the board as the night progressed.

Although I did not take as many photos as I normally do since I was trying to spend time saying our goodbyes, I was able to capture some of the little details from the party including all the party food and decor to share with you along with some instagram shots near the bottom...

{champagne cocktail supplies}

{glitzy bar set up}

{simple snacks sprinkled around the loft}

{all the savory party staples: burnt habanero crema, bacon wrapped dates & sausage bites}

{gourment popcorn bar including parmesan seaweed popcorn, funfetti popcorn & sriracha

 lime popcorn (the hands down favorite of the evening)}

{red velvet whoopie pies- same ones we served at our housewarming party for the loft so it seemed fitting to pick them up for our going away bash}

{so much sparkle!}

{some of the guests' instagram shots}

{all the instax shots from the evening}

{easy and inexpensive decor for the deck: alternating metallic gold and white fringe drape}

This party was an amazing send off and a great way to get in some quality time with our closest friends while forcing them to dress up!  We are truly lucky to have had the new and old friends we were surrounded with in our 4 years in LA and I can't wait to see what Chicago holds for us!

{sequins & bow ties themed going away party}

Our Chicago move is fast approaching at the end of this month and of course I am going to use it as an opportunity to throw one last party in our loft.   I didn't want to get too cheesy with the theme since this is the last time we will see many of our friends for a while and I would prefer my most recent memory of them not be in some sort of bad 80s workout outfit (although that specific theme does have an appropriate place and I fully support it).  I also like to pick a theme that gives people no excuse not to participate (like this previous party) and ultimately, I decided why not form a theme specifically around what I would prefer to wear and see people wear....

Be sure to check back in the next couple weeks for posts about the 

paper goods and  photos from the event!