Celebrating the Launch of Bottle + Heels by Tammin Sursok in true L.A. fashion

It’s not every day I get to truly live the “L.A” lifestyle.

Most days consist of rolling in the dirt, chasing soccer balls, running errands and keeping a toddler alive. It’s super glamorous. (HA!)

But…every once in a while I get to attend super cool events like the launch party for Bottle + Heels by Tammin Sursok. Yes, the same Tammin Sursok from the cult classic Pretty Little Liars (which I’m ashamed to admit as a 30 something mother I am secretly a huge fan of.) So obviously I jumped at the chance to go to this event put on by Loft Entertainment, Pop your Shop and charity partner, The Grammy Museum (who is currently running a Bruce Springsteen exhibit that is apparently awesome!)

The weather was gorgeous: 70s, sunny, nice breeze. The location was perfection: beautiful mansion up in Bel Air..and yes, I may have sung the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song on my drive up the hill. And more importantly, the website the party was for www.bottleandheels.com is actually awesome! I just spent an hour reading through blogs on the site and had to force myself to stop so that I could get this blog post written before I fall asleep on my laptop. Tammin is refreshingly honest and personal.  She writes about everything from braving France with a 1-year-old to her less than perfect birth story. There are conversations on what it means to be a mother in today’s society, great DIY projects, and all the other fun stuff you find with any good lifestyle blog. But really what stands out is the focus on bringing to the forefront all the conversations that get brushed under the rug. The uncomfortable stuff like the elusive myth of “having it all”, things no one seems to tell you about motherhood, post-partum depression, and anything else you could imagine. It’s no surprise that the launch party for a site that obviously was put together with time, love and authenticity was equally well planned and executed.

I usually tote A along to events when I go, but I opted to leave him at home for a daddy son afternoon and I am really glad I did. Not because there weren’t amazing things for the kiddos…there were…but because, for once I actually got to take advantage of all the fun “mom” stuff to do!

Had I brought Avery he would have had a blast bouncing on the trampoline, making a cookie wand, reading with Books & Cookies and jamming out with our favorite kids band in L.A., The Beat Buds. (Who apparently have an upcoming concert at The Roxy…I mean how bad ass of a kids band do you have to be to headline at The freaking Roxy on The Sunset Strip!) Oh and I would have definitely forced him to do some coloring on The Beach People blankets because well, the set up was freaking ADORABLE! And BTW, I am officially putting this towel  on my summer wish list.

    
Since I didn’t have Avery…here’s what I did get to do!

First I stuffed my face with Paleta. Because, well, it’s healthy but also DEEElicious! I personally loved the gluten-free pizza. Against my better judgement, I continued to stuff my face some more with candy from A Real Treat Candy Boutique in Santa Monica. Normally I conveniently have to avoid all dessert like items like the silly spread of Sprinkles cupcakes, California Donuts and Maski Pops because I have a deadly nut allergy…but A Real Treat Candy Boutique actually has 100% nut free candy options (in addition to vegan, gluten-free, no artificial flavors or colors, no corn syrup and options free of other common allergens)…which was great for my taste buds, crappy for my rear-end. Obviously I ate more than I should have.  It’s a good thing I went running this morning and had a super nutritious breakfast and lunch.

Next I headed over to Blushington to get a mini eye-makeup makeover. It’s always shocking to me how great my makeup can look when time is actually spent applying it. I spend on average 5 minutes total on my face…15 if I’m going somewhere fancy. I think she spent 15 on touching up my eyes alone. And the end product definitely reflected her greatness. Also conveniently they are located in Weho right next to DryBar…so if you are super fancy, loaded or just lazy and have somewhere special to be you can have your hair styled and face put on all in one conveniently inconvenient place to park. Seriously though, my eyes looked amazeballs.

After getting my peepers pimped out, I got my hair bedazzled. Yes, that’s a thing. I got a nice, subtle cascade of sequins put in my hair by Sparkle Nation. I felt equal parts like a tween and a B movie pop star. It was glorious and Micah was a huge fan of them when I got home. Not sure I would do it on a daily basis, but they are super fun, especially for a bachelorette party, special girls night out, or if you have a daughter. If these were around when I was younger, I would have totally bedazzled my hair Every. Single. Day. I mean for real

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One of my favorite things was customizing my own makeup bag from Bow and Drape, who is actually opening their first brick and mortar store in the Soho area of NYC soon (because they are just that cool!) I got to pick out iron on patches (that they custom make in-house) to be ironed onto my choice of bag, tee-shirt or handkerchief by the most bad-ass hot plate looking machine. I chose a gold polka-dotted bag (obviously) and put a tasteful little gold starry-eyed kissy face on mine. They had everything from avocados and pizzas to hearts and emoji looking faces. It was super fun to see all the different designs people were putting together. My favorite by far was the dinosaur bag they had on display!

I headed up the hill to the “Secret Garden” where I had my tarot card reading done by the fantastically magical (yet surprisingly normal, sweet and unassuming) Angie Banicki, tarot reader to the stars.  Guys, she charges 300+ for an initial reading to her clients…apparently I’m in the wrong line of work.  Now, I’m not gonna lie…normally I avoid these types of things like the plague. I love me some yoga, and on occasion I will force myself to meditate. But ever since I played my first and last game of Ouji Board as a pre-teen, I’ve always been super freaked out by the metaphysical…palm readings, fortune tellers, tarot cards…nope, not for this kid. But, I figured, what the hell, I’m here, when in Rome… right?

I waited in line and sat down to have my cards read.  Angie asked what I wanted her to focus on, to which I replied, um…what are my options…i’m not sure how this all works. She asked if I had any questions I wanted answered…so I said, sure, I’ll bite…and I told her that we (Micah and I) have been seriously debating moving back home to upstate New York now that we are pregnant with number two, but we aren’t sure if the timing is right. So she shuffled the cards up, asked me to pick one with my left hand. I awkwardly did so, and she shoved it under her leg for later apparently. Then she started dealing out a bunch of cards that all looked horrifying to be honest. After a lot of cards being thrown around, she informed me that I was having a baby girl (we aren’t finding out the gender…so I guess she’s got a 50/50 shot on that one), and that the universe says it is not the right time to move. That there is something here in LA that we are meant to be here for and that we will find out whatever this elusive reason for staying is in June/July. So…not sure how much I buy into any of it…but it definitely was a fun experience, and I look forward to circling back in June/July to see if some amazing life altering thing has happened that makes me realize we are (as the cards sayeth) meant to be in LA. And I am definitely curious to see what happens in November when the baby pops out – in the meantime I guess we should make sure we have a solid girl name picked out.  Suggestions?

After popping my metaphysical cherry, I got my very first flower crown made by Cult Gaia.  I know, such a monumental day of firsts for me! I felt like a 7-year-old flower girl, or a hippie at Coachella. It was great. Actually, I would wear a flower crown every day if I could. They are gorgeous, and something about wearing a floral headpiece just makes you feel more free-spirited and fun. I felt like I should have been dancing around barefoot in a flowy white dress with a tambourine.

Oh, and did I mention the Man Servants. Yeah. That’s what they are actually called. There is in fact a company called Man Servants that hires out young men to well…serve you.  Standard service entails the men waiting on you hand and foot, serving drinks, acting as a bodyguard, taking photos, giving round the clock compliments and cleaning up your “hot mess”.  You can even select the characteristics you want in your “servant” as well as choosing their names for them.  And for an up-charge you can request things like guitar serenades, specific accents, paparazzi like treatment and living out your rom-com fantasies (think dirty dancing lifts).  Yes, this is A REAL THING.  And no, I don’t know why there isn’t a SNL skit about it!  The Man Servants wandered around the party in little shorts with gold fans to cool down hot ladies, helped people up and down the rocky staircase, and brought us drinks as we waited in line. It was equal parts hysterical and awesome. This one is definitely filed in the folder #onlyinLA

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I sadly didn’t have time to get my nails done by Chrome Girl, but I did get to hear the great panel of killer mamas talk about business, life, motherhood and finding sanity somewhere amongst the three. Kathryn Eisman, Emmy nominated, best-selling author, moderated the panel consisting of Jillian Rose Darlington (creator of MomCo App), Rachel Pitzel (founder of Club Momme), Lara Gillman (co-founder of Cycle House), and Maria Pelletier (Director of Development for Awestruck).  These women all had incredible things to say about their own journeys and things they have learned along the way.  I think my favorite part of the Q&A was Rachel talking about “pivoting” being the new “leaning in” and Jillian talking about how we need to just CHILL OUT and not try to do so much…pick 1 or 2 things that really matter and do them well.

All in all, it was a beautiful afternoon with beautiful people in a beautiful setting honoring the birth of a beautiful new lifestyle blog, Bottle + Heels.

And just for fun…here’s my hot point photo booth dance for your viewing pleasure.