My 30th Birthday Soiree

I turned 30 this week, and in celebration, I threw a Downton Abbey/Gosford Park-themed birthday party last weekend.  Nothing beats a group of friends who are amazing sports (everyone showed up in costume!) and many, many bottles of champagne.

A few photos from the party:

 2014 and my 30th are going to be a good year. I can feel it.

Halloweenies.

It's that time of year again, when I scramble through my closets and seek vintage' archives to come up with an assemblage of items that hopefully resembles some sort of costume. I've been a cougar and a German girl (not much of a stretch), and this year, I just want an excuse to wear the Zara dress that still has the tags on it.

I think I'm going to be a mod ghost.

Think:

Eh. It's a stretch, but so it goes. If anyone else has any cool costume ideas or plans, feel free to share!

Cougar Town.

It's my blog, and I can post gratuitous pictures of myself if I want to.

Since Halloween was a week ago, I thought this was a good time to share. I was going for Mrs. Robinson meets Joan Collins.

Fake nails and lashes courtesy of Wal-Mart, earrings courtesy of the roommate, metallic leopard-print dress courtesy of the Cancer Kids thrift store in West Ashley, giant shoulder pads courtesy of the dress.

Not pictured: leopard-print heels.

I love playing dress up.

Leftovers.

I was going for a full sleeve, but I got distracted. Ah, the life of a sailor.

Ahoy.

More often than not, I feel like I was born in the wrong era. I mean, I get a huge kick out of technology, but I really, really love diving into the past whenever possible. When I got invited to an "I'm on a Boat" party, my first thought was to go as some sort of all-American 1940s pin-up girl. Then I decided that most people would be going the red, white, and blue route, so I decided to finger-wave my hair and go for some sort of 1920s Russian sailorette, complete with Clara Bow lips and blinged-out shoulders.

I love a good theme party.

The Halloween Dilemma.

Can I just wear a funny cat mask?

So, it's two days before Halloween and I still haven't solidified what I want to be. I'll be spending a large portion of the day rockin' my dirndl (which I haven't worn since I was 13 or so) at an Oktoberfest party but what do I wear for the nighttime?!?

I was going to be the Morton Salt Girl, but now I'm not so sure. I already look younger than my age, so dressing like a little girl is not as appealing an idea as it first was.

I need something that would be good for dancing and something that allows me to wear fun make-up. I think those are my only requirements. I don't like those overly saucy costumes, though. Ick.

Any recommendations would be great!