Moulin Rouge

Posted on February 14th, 2010 in Les Bons Plans, Travel

Last weekend my sweetheart and I had the pleasure of being invited to a grande soirée in Brussels. It was one fabulous night at the Moulin Rouge to celebrate the hostess’ birthday. I had some trouble tracking down a french cancan to go with the requested dress code so I got a bit creative and came up with something I ended up loving much more. My hairdresser friend in the 7th did my hair Friday just before I got on the train, and thanks to quite a bit of hairspray the look lasted through the night.

I wore none other than a Manoush dress I purchased for the occasion. Worn With: Hussein Chalayan blazer, Tabio tights, my aunt’s 1970’s vintage gloves, miniature top hat purchased at a costume shop in California, grandmother’s vintage costume jewelry, and Samantha’s mary-janes.

The event was held at a small palace outside of Brussels.

Throughout the night there were dance spectacles accompanied by some jaw dropping from the guys.

The birthday girl wore an authentic vintage french cancan given to her by her grandmother for the event.

The party was a black tie event and everyone put on the ritz. It was the men I thought looked best of all though. It’s a rare occasion to see them all o sharply dressed in this day and age in tuxedos, top hat, and all.

The ladies didn’t look bad either though.

I loved her head-dress. It matched the feather trim on her deep blue satin dress.

After dinner and a second spectacle, dessert was served up. Ice cream cones were just a small part of it though as we were offered chocolat soufflé, crème brûlée, and more.

After dinner the great room was converted to a bar and dance floor.

Worn with: Betsey Johnson coat, Miu Miu bag, and a feather boa I adopted somewhere along the way during the night.

The night was like a dream; everything I expected and more and definitely worth the trip to Belgium. I have so many amazing pictures from the night it was hard to choose which ones to post. I hope I am lucky enough to be invited back next year! You can also check out the professional photographer’s pictures here.

Something Sweet

Posted on February 12th, 2010 in Gourmandise, Travel

I have to admit I have had more than a little something sweet in the past week. Last weekend I went to Belgium and from what I saw, Belgians know how to eat. Between sugary waffles, rich chocolates, and ice creams galore I was feeling a bit sugar drunk by the time I got home Sunday. But let’s be honest, can you ever visit enough chocolate shops? Here are some I checked out…

This shop so kindly offered us a delicious chocolate tasting including chocolat chaud and nine different types of chocolate.

Couldn’t resist taking pictures of this chocolate shop’s vitrine as it was decorated in my favorite color.

Maitre du Chocolat on the Grand Place drew me in with the flying satin window hearts.

It was there that I found these dazzling and delicious diamonds in chocolate.

The inside was white chocolate and dark mouse layers…yummm!

As if all that (among others!) was’t enough I returned home to a lovely little treat my boyfriend got me from Fauchon…(painting in background by the wonderful FifiFlowers)

This beautiful Bardot eclair had a delicious rose cream filling.

Okay so I might have gone a little overboard in the last week with the sweets. This weekend is Valentine’s Day though and I dare not pass up the opportunity to throw my girlfriends a tea party with more sugary indulgences. I’ll be sure to share with you what I am whipping up for that soon.