Of course I said, “like, totally” when girl-about-town CarolineOnCrack invited me to be part of the Cheesy 80’s Blogger Prom committee. Considering my own prom(s) actually were in the 80’s, and surely somewhat cheesy by today’s standards, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. (If I had a photo of my Junior Prom dress, you’d see what I mean – gold lamee covered by black lace, with matching black lace gloves, pumps and bow in my permed hair.)
Somehow, laughable “80’s chic” has wormed its way back into today’s fashion - so lace gloves, leg warmers and neon colors aren’t too hard to come by. While I’m the first to admit that I looked more like a streetwalker from Reno than someone attending high school prom, I had fun putting together my outfit... oh-so-flattering side ponytail, and all.
Twitter blew up as the entire blogger prom committee tweeted and tantalized attendees leading up to the event. In case you missed it, here’s the committee, complete with blog links and twitter handles:
Caroline: CarolineOnCrack, Twitter: @CarolineonCrack
Esther: Estar LA, Twitter: @estarla
H.C.: LA and OC Foodventures, Twitter: @LAOCFoodie
Lindsay: LAist, Twitter: @SquashBlossom
Marni: Happy Go Marni, Twitter: @happygomarni
Maya: Shop Eat Sleep, Twitter: @shopeatsleep
Tara: When Tara Met Blog, Twitter: @tarametblog
(me) Safe to say, you have my URL. My Twitter: @theliquidmuse
Each committee member brought their area of specialty to the table, so I offered up Signature Cocktails for the event. Pinky Vodka was the sponsor for the Blogger Prom Punch Jungle Juice, our official signature cocktail of the event. It’s pink, its sweet (in a good way) and the whimsical garnish of florescent pink rimming sugar and a blowpop pretty much said it all. Pretty in Pinky all the way.
Gran Centenario’s Roseangel hibiscus-infused tequila provided south-of-the-border flair. I had originally created the Flor de Maria cocktail for Roseangel’s launch party at Malo, a few months ago, featuring 5 female mixologists. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to roll it out again. Martin Millers shared their high-quality gin with us as well. Boasting strong cucumber notes, it’s a super “gateway” product for those people who think they only like vodka. Try MM with a squeeze of lime and a good quality tonic, and you’re in for one of the best of your life! Fresh & Easy supplied ever-flowing wine, canvas goodie bags and store discount coupons for all attendees. Even beer lovers were satisfied courtesy of Newcastle Brown Ale.
The party took place at the spectacular Andaz hotel, which also provided serious fare for the attendees such as Risotto, charcuterie platters, smoked salmon, sushi rolls, caprese-on-a-stick and more. Barry Lynn (aka: The Cheese Impresario) put up an incredible display of cheese. Not cheesy cheese. World class cheese, such as what she refers to as “cheese sex” spread thickly on a piece of crusted bread. Its pretty much just that. (Insert orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally” here.)
Like any Hollywood shindig, we even had celebrity appearances. Oh yes, indeed. Pauly Shore was nice enough to show up and hand out some raffle items. Some of the younger folks at blogger prom didn't seem to really remember him from the 80's, which was fine with me because I didn’t have to fight through crowds to get a photo with him.
By the way, if you have not visited the newly renovated “Riot Hyatt,” you are missing out! The sleek restaurant / bar is a classy joint for sometimes tacky Sunset Boulevard. Their tempting happy hour and newly launched summer cocktails are reason enough to stop by. You can also see more shots of Andaz on photographer Claire Barrett’s site, who we were lucky enough to get to shoot the event.
The only thing better than Blogger Prom itself was the bevy of amazing free loot by way of raffle items – boxes of artisan chocolates, baskets of booze, wii games, a Coffee Bean gift pack, tickets to the Hollywood Bowl, dinners – on and on, people! As if that weren’t enough, our goodie bags alone had people on a waiting list for weeks.
Anyway, it was an amazing adventure, and you can read more about everything listed above on the bloggerprom website. Make sure you get on the guest list for next year early. Something tells me its gonna be even bigger and better than our trial run…