Boulevardier & The Pin Show

We have a friend who is a budding fashion designer. We support our own. When he announced that he would be one of the 22 featured designers at this years The Pin Show, well, it was a no brainer. We would be there. We secured our tickets and arranged for a sitter.

Now here is where I have a freak-out moment. You see, we are knee deep in doing our taxes. Friday night, I’m stressing over what to wear to the show and my Beloved is sitting behind the computer stressed out. I look over to him from the random war movie I had on and my shift changed. I realized that he was processing something not at all related to fashion or what have you. I asked him about it and he said he needed to enter the receipts so we could file our taxes. (Yes, folks, we save our sales tax receipts and enter them by hand because the suggested tax amounts are COMPLETELY different than what we actually pay. Like 2-3 times of a difference, even more during years where we make larger purchases!) Seeing as how it was 10:30 in the evening, I shrugged my shoulders, gave him a hug, and asked him what I needed to do. I told him that I’d get up with him at 5:15 to do the data entry (because dontyaknow that I was an expert data entry person??). If he was gonna go to work, I’d do the work at home. And so, my mind shifted and by 10AM, I was finished. This was after a half hour delay from the Sugarbaby who awoke and absolutely refused to let me leave her alone sleeping in the bed. EXHALE

Next up, what am I gonna wear?? All fashion types are welcome. I had in my mind an outfit, but since the event was in a warehouse, I needed to be warmer. I had to return some thing to Nordstrom Rack and so I figured, I’ll browse around. I secured a peplum shirt (with a nifty zipper accent in the back that the Sugarbean loved assisting me when getting dressed) and the girls’ Easter dresses! It was quite a score. I treated them to Chick-fil-a for being so darling and helping me out with the decision. I meant to get a sweet tea, thinking the caffeine would give me a much needed zing, but when I drove home, I realized I’d gotten diet lemonade. Clearly I was an auto-pilot at that point because apparently, the last time I’d eaten there was shortly after Tesla’s birth. The meal was good and I made it a note to check them out some more because I liked their grilled “nugget” options with applesauce for the girls! <---talk about a tangent

Anyway, I shot a  text to my fashion forward thinking buddy (another one, not the one I mentioned earlier…you know, I have quite a few sartorialist friends). He suggested a fitted mini skirt to show off legs or skinny jeans. Um…all of my skirts are corporate type skirts and not so mini, but some are fitted. I don’t own “real” skinny jeans.  I decided upon wearing my recently purchased slim David Kahn jeans. This would allow me to “match” Don better. I secured my hair on top of my head using a hot bun and slapped some purple hair chalk for added effect. I also used a light purple Mac paint to highlight my eyes and put a bit of it on my lips to bring it all together. I’m wearing vintage earrings that belonged to my Beloved’s grandmother. Charming Charlie necklace and my Antonio Melani clutch was gifted to me from my mom. I wore candy apple red BCBG Girl pumps that I’d found at a resale shop in San Fran this past Autumn. I love them! Aside from the $20 I spent on the top, I had everything on hand. This was a big win for me to be able to put something together.


Onto my Beloved. Hello handsome! Wowsa…I love a man in a great jacket and a newsboy. *hotstuff* He’s wearing a newsboy cap and jacket we’d scored last year at Nordstrom Rack. The jacket is an olive green color and made Ben Sherman. You can’t see his shoes, but they were quite fun!


The new sitter was able to swing by our home half an hour before we originally planned. (by the way, we LOOOOOVE HER!!!) This was great so we could check out Boulevardier out in Bishop Arts! My next project, Worst Vegetarian Ever (blog site coming soon) wanted to check out their charcuterie plate. Ok, here’s the deal. They are a happenin’ joint. Busy doesn’t even begin to describe this place. I’m an idiot and didn’t make any kind of a reservation. I was a tiny bit crestfallen to see so many people in front of us in line and they were walking out. Heck, we were pressed for time to make it to the show, so we would wedge ourselves in any place near the bar if there was room. I found us a spot to chill, awaiting a server, who, as luck would have it, pointed us to a spot opening near their large window. As we waited, we chatted a bit with a fellow who was going on and on about the French Onion soup. I asked our server to surprise me with a drink. He brought me a Belle Femme and whaddyaknow, St. Germain is fast becoming a favorite of mine.

Then, we ordered the big board with the foie gras supplement. (see, I told you, worst vegetarian ever)and the French Onion soup. And then we were offered a table near the bar. I leaned over to the couple next to us who had occupied those seats when we did. I invited them to share a table, especially because we wouldn’t be staying long. They were open to it. And for the next hour, we had wonderful conversation with Regina (teacher) and Mike (technical writer). Strangers that we just happened to meet and it was so refreshing to just share time with them. And the big board…



Yes, some were better than others, but overall, it was a well put together and savory charcuterie. My favorites were the beef tongue (first time for me and I actually liked it), salmon, and foie (sooo good) We will definitely be back, this time with reservations and will enjoy more goodies.

We wrapped up, said our goodbyes and wished our new friends well. We headed back towards the bridge to the warehouse for the show. We secured free parking and walked over. The warehouse wasn’t too chilly, probably because it was so full of people. We had to stand in line to gain entry, then we had to stand in line to buy tickets, to stand in line to buy drinks. It wasn’t too bad, but because we didn’t secure seats in the General Seating section prior to that, the only ones available were too far to the back. We took our chances and found a spot closer to the runway on the opposite end. This was our view:


The show itself, went buy quickly! A couple of the designers really stood out for me. I was surprised and inspired. Standouts, for me:

• D.P.C. by Dora Yim (loved the open back dress from her Fall 2013 collection)
• Ann Hoang dresses…such fabulous fabrics and they were quite feminine
• Milli Starr millinery…their hats are just darling!
• Nine Muses (they had one long gown that screamed SEXY)
• Ladaska Mechelle (this white bathing suit, the 2nd to last image on the left side from the 2013 collection, is an inspiration for me to work harder in the gym)
• Tracy Popken I loved the lines on her clothes. I want to wear her clothes! The dress she was wearing was to die for!!!!! I want Tracy to be my BFF
• Hueso Outlaw (not just because he’s a friend, but his designs are fresh and unlike anything out there)

The show was quite fun, the band playing had a wonderful sound, and the entire event made for wonderful people watching. If you can get a chance to check local fashion talent, I highly recommend this show. It is well organized and fun for a date! Hopefully, you don’t stress out about what to wear like I did. They said they welcomed all and sure enough, they did welcome all!  At the end of the night, we were both spent. It had been a long day for us, so instead of hitting the town, we just went home, relieved the sitter early, rented Skyfall, and opened a bottle of vino. Cuddled together on the couch, it was so very nice after a wonderful night. I ended up skipping out on my glass of wine and missed the end of the movie. ha! But that night, with a fully belly, I had lovely dreams of fabulous clothes and large closets!! Ahhh…fashion (and delicious food)!