Girl's Night Out Wine Glass Painting...

Hello All!

Summer is here! Need a girls night out? Check out your local area for a cool painting class. Last week four girlfriends and I went to a wine glass painting class. We bought a Groupon for the class. The class was a lot of fun. If you live in the Greensboro area, check out Art by TJM. Check out our fun night below.

Tracey has an awesome art studio located on the side of her house.

Some samples of painted wine glasses.

Inside her art studio. For an indie artisan such as myself, this studio was totally cool!

You had a choice of painting stemless or stemmed wine glasses. I did 2 of each.

Of course our GNO's always include food and drinks.

Butterfly stencil I used for my stemless glasses.

Tracey giving instructions to my friend, Kim.

My sister-n-law is really into her painting.

Other ladies that were in attendance also having a GNO.

My glasses. Birds and butterflies. 

After baking in the oven so the painting doesn't come off, this is the finally product.
Wine anyone?

Backpacks And Stilettos...

Happy Friday!

Back in June I posted 10 Hip Girls Night Out Ideas, check them out here. One of the ideas was to Give Back. Earlier this month my friend, Lydia, hosted a Backpacks and Stilettos Girls Night Out. She asked all of her friends to get a backpack and fill it with school supplies. Wear your stilettos with a cute outfit, bring your filled backpack over to Lydia's house and Party With A Purpose! Lydia worked with a case manager who will distribute the backpacks to children in need in our community. Check out our fun Girls Night Out pictures below.

My school supplies 

Ready to stuff the backpack. 

Food and drinks are always involved when we party.

Lydia's living room was filled with backpacks!

The lady who knows how to throw a party and does it well while wearing her stilettos.

Ten Hip Ideas For Girls Night Out...

What are your plans for the weekend? Grab your girls and go out! I have a great group of friends here in Greensboro. We live for our monthly Girls Night Out (GNO). It's a great chance to catch up, vent, laugh until we pee, eat great food, and drink delicious cocktails or mocktails. I came up with 10 cool, hip, and fab ideas for your next GNO!





1. Host A Summer Soiree. Every summer my fab friend, Lydia, hosts a Summer Soiree at her house. As shown above. She goes all out! Sparklers, lais, drinks, food, dance offs, etc.

2. Wine and Design. This is a trendy outing that is in most cities. Some places call it Sip and Stroke, Wine and Canvas, or Paint and Sip. You go to a art studio to paint the picture of the day and drink wine. We always find a deal for this on Living Social or Groupon. Here is a picture of when we went.

3. Swap and Sip. Everyone brings at least 5 items that they no longer want. Put it in a pile, pick a number and select a item from your girlfriend that she no longer wants, but you love. Sip some wine.

4. Tour Open Houses. Need decorating ideas or you just want to be nosy about a new development, go tour open houses or Model homes. A cheap Sunday afternoon outing.

5.  Spa Day. When my friend Michelle, the baby of the bunch, turned 40, we went to a local spa for the day. They gave us the party room! We brought our own food and drinks, booked body treatments, and walked around in our robes.

6. Line Dancing. Seriously, there is a line dance for every song out there. If you don't know the Biker Shuffle or the Wobble, go on YouTube and learn it. Invite your girls over and show them the latest line dances.

7. Sleepover. Host a good old childhood favorite sleepover. Rent movies, buy belly aching candy, and popcorn. Vote on who has the cutest PJ's. Take selfies.

8. Vision Board. Buy poster board, glue sticks, and gather up magazines. Have your girls come over and put together their own vision board. Check out Pinterest for cool ideas.

9. Chili Cook-off. Have a friend that swears she makes the best chili. Tell her to bring it on! Create teams, dress in Western attire (a must), play country music, and invite your girls over for a friendly cook-off competition.

10. Give Back. My friend, Lydia, asked all her girlfriends to get a backpack over the summer and fill it with school supplies. Before school starts in August, we all will get together and turn in our backpacks to Lydia for distribution to a child in great need.

What do you and your girlfriends do for Girls Night Out?

To Girlfriends!

Spring Tea Party...

It's Spring!! I'm itching to invite my girlfriends over for a chat session. An afternoon or evening tea party would be nice. It's perfect for a book club meeting, bridal luncheon, baby shower, or Girls Day/Night Out. Finger sandwiches, desserts, champagne (optional), fruit, assorted teas and great conversation is all you need. Sweet cold tea is also a great idea to have on hand. Get out your china, or go to your local Thrift store or estate sale for a hodgepodge of dishes. Put your pinkie up while drinking your tea and have everyone call you "mum."



 

 





 

 



Wine and Design...

Been a minute since I posted an Outfit of the Day. Mainly due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of photos taken of myself until I lose some pounds. On top of that, I'm very critical of the photos my photographer (teenage daughter) takes. She gets frustrated and I get annoyed. So most of the photos get deleted.

Anyway... Last Friday, four girlfriends and I went to Wine and Design. It's awesome! A painting studio where you bring wine and paint the picture of the day. I posted my painting on my Instagram. Below is what I wore.



Prabal Gurung for Target shirt, Leather jacket (old), Necklace made by me.

Jeans were purchased at Goodwill for $3. I did the distressing myself. DIY.

Excuse the old hands. I am still in search of a fantastic hand cream! Yeah, some people change their phone cases every 5 minutes, I change my nail polish. Cocktail ring by me.

Seriously, I cannot breath in this photo!! lol. Teenager is telling me to "suck it in!" Love my white Converse! Deciding if I should stud them or leave them alone.

Photos by Blake Sydney Bourne.

SAD Gram...

Happy Wednesday All! Prayers and Blessings out to those who were affected by Sandy. Thanking God that my friends and family who were in Sandy's path are all safe!

Sharing a few recent Instagram photos. Follow me on Instagram @sydneyaustindesigns.

New rose gold chain bracelets now available here

Impromptu Girls Night at my friend Lydia's home. Peanuts, lime-a-Rita's, wine, laughter, and
Uncle Charlie Wilson.

Getting ready to see Jill Scott perform in Greensboro.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Back to eating clean and putting less carbs on my plate. Sockeye Salmon and collards.

Sip and Stroke...

This past weekend my girlfriends and I used our Living Social voucher for a Sip and Stroke paint class. Sip on some wine and Stroke on a piece of canvas. It was a lot of fun. Between sipping on Moscato and Lime-A-Ritas, snacking on chicken salad, seafood salad, and pepper jack cheese, we all painted a lovely floral piece. Our instructor, Dawn, was very patient will all the laughter, silliness, and questions. Below are some pictures from Sip and Stroke. I hope you all have a Happy Wednesday!

Before paint

After paint.

My girlfriends and I with our masterpieces.

Me with my artwork which now hangs on the wall in our home.

Autumn Date Night...

Our weather here in NC has been perfect! Crisp mornings and chilly evenings. I am looking forward to Autumn. It's my favorite season. Sweaters, booties, the smell of a fireplace burning, hot cocoa, and pumpkins! My wedding anniversary is quickly approaching and below is the perfect outfit for a date night. My ideal date night is simply dinner and a movie. Really. I'm not hard to please. Throw in some people watching and we have an awesome night.

On my Autumn date night wardrobe wish list is:
1. A peplum top, perferably leather. Peplum is very flattering.
2. Sleek black booties with a slight edge. The booties below by Jean-Michel Cazabat are all that and a bag of Jalapeno Cheetos!
3. Classic hoops. About 3 inches diameter. Gold or sterling. Made by me.
4. Chunky triangle cocktail ring. Roman Luxe has a great one.
5. Jeans by J. Brand. These cargos with more zippers than MJ's jacket are awesome.
6. A suede clutch.

What is on your Autumn wardrobe wish list?






 

Autumn Date Night by sydneyaustindesigns featuring a leather ring

J Brand vintage jeans, $285 / Club L peplum shirt, $29 / Jean-Michel Cazabat leather high heels / Suede handbag / Leather ring / Fantasy Jewelry Box yellow gold jewelry

Summer Soiree...

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. My girlfriend, Lydia, had a summer soiree (definition) women over 40 who get together and drink wine, laugh, dance in the middle of the living room, and answer personal Truth or Dare type questions. It was a blast! What happens at the Soiree, stays at the Soiree.  Below are pictures that I can share.

I love to take pictures of food. Especially a pretty presentation. Yummy berries and grapes.

An assortment of wine glasses on a leopard print tray (TJ Maxx). I love the hodgepodge of wine glasses. That way you can tell which one is your glass.

Cake cake cake cake... UV Vodka cake with pineapple juice in a gorgeous martini glass. Delish.

The hostess with the mostess, Lydia. She loves to entertain and throws the best parties!

Sparklers to end the night.

Girls Night Out...Wine and Designs

Since moving to Greensboro 7 yrs ago, I am so blessed to have a great group of girlfriends. Four of us try to get together once a month for a girl's night out. This month, 3 of us are celebrating birthdays. We decided to go to a local art studio called Wine and Design for some wine and painting. You bring your own bottle of wine and snacks, Wine and Design will supply the rest (paint, smocks, 16x20 canvas, and wine opener). Every night they feature a different picture for you to paint. Last night was Pumpkin Night. When we arrived, three pumpkins were drawn on our canvas. Our art teacher, Katherine, was great. She gave us step by step instructions, and no it was not paint by numbers. We had a fabulous time! We all left with a great piece of art to hang on our walls. Mine is already hanging in my kitchen. Check out the pics from last night.









Our beverages and snacks for the evening.





The beginning stages of my Picasso masterpiece.







Katherine, our instructor, giving very detailed instructions.







My masterpiece is now complete.







The Fab Four.









Group photo. Really digging the chick who thought outside the box with the green pumpkins.