Gaming for Girls - Nintendo DS Lite

For this post, we're going to get a little personal instead of the usual decor
photos. I don't know about you, but I've never been a huge "gamer." A
few weeks ago, a marketing company that works with Nintendo contacted
me. At first, I thought it was junk mail but upon opening the email, it
seemed like an interesting proposal.

Before I could blink, I was meeting up with a very nice woman named
Justine (at the Starbucks across from where I work - yes I snuck out
for "coffee.") She's like this jet-setter - she flew from L.A. to Sacramento,
drove to San Francisco to meet me for coffee, went on to San Jose for
another meeting before going back home to L.A. Talk about a packed
schedule!

The proposal sounded interesting - Nintendo would sponsor a party
just for the gals to get together. Food and drinks would be provided,
gaming stations with Nintendo girls who would show us how to play the
games - and all I had to do was get together the guest list. I submitted
a bio and a photo and hoped for the best.

A couple of weeks later, I received the above package in the mail.
When I saw the pink case and a Nintendo DS lite with pink rhinstone
hearts - I squealed with delight. Then I broke out into a cold sweat...
My task was to bring about 20-25 girlfriends to this party. Did I even
know 25 girls in San Francisco? My friends are pretty scattered and
I hadn't thought about this detail until I got the package...Not very smart.

After brainstorming hard, I sent out my initial guest list and spoke to
some friends and sold the idea (beg? cajole?) to them that the party was
a really cool event even though many of my friends are not really gamers
either. To my pleasant surprise, about 25 women confirmed that they
would come. I thought that the party would be a great place for a mixer so
I encouraged my girlfriends to bring some of their girlfriends. Although
some of my own friends couldn't make it, I ended up meeting some new
girlfriends in the process.

I had been expecting snacks but the food was
absolutely first rate. Some of us hadn't eaten
lunch before hand (the party started at 2PM
on a Sunday afternoon) and so it was perfect.
Did I mention there was wine and champaign?
Who could ask for more?

They rented out a really neat studio in San Francisco and
what's interesting is that they hold these parties around the
country in various large cities. They actually had the furniture
sets specially designed and they truck them to wherever they
have the parties. For or these were arrnaged in a square.
Love the rug and the seating was modular - it reminded me of
low Moroccan styled sofas.

What's funny is that although many of us girls
are not usually gamers, we really got into it.

In this corner, we linked up together to play Super Mario Cart.
With the wireless connections on the DS lites, it was really really
fun to play against each other.

I wonder what these two were up to?
Posing with the pretty lollilops :)

Can you believe there's a module that attaches
onto the DS lite so that you can play Guitar Hero?
Unbelievable - that's me trying really hard to
get the hang of it.

My friend Meredith really loves
word games and crossword puzzles.

Here's Jade on the left - wanted to eat, but wanted to
play too. She ended up with food in her mouth while
strumming away on Guitar Hero.

And this was officially the "shrieking/hysterical" brigade.
I think about 3/4 way through the party, we all of a suddern
heard ear piercing shrieks from this corner. And I mean a lot
of it. Notice them showing off bracelets. Nintendo has these
super cute charm bracelets that they gave out the beginning to
each girl. After completing games in each of the four corners, you
would get a charm.

And what happens when you complete the charm bracelet?
The coolest thing ever was at the end when they actually
handed out Nintendo DS lites with Brain Age to each girl
at the party!! Talk about a great party favor or Schwag.

Hanny and Erin with their new DS Lites.

All I can say is, thank goodness the party ended up being
a huge success because I was sweating bullets for a while.
I was afraid I was going to show up and no one was going
to be there :( It was an absolutely fantastic way to spend
a Sunday afternoon.

One girl had to be literally pried away from Guitar Hero
to take this group photo. Intervention?

What's really funny is that some of the girls went straight
from the party to Best Buy to buy more games. I was really
tickled to hear from many of the girls a week later that they
had done the same.

Since this one was just for us girls - I'm showcasing
girly Nintendo DS lite accessories. Of course you
have to get the DS lite first so I'm all for this pink
one! You can find a great deal for the DS Lite on
Amazon or Ebay.

I love plaid. This pink plaid protective Decal
for the DS Lite is so cool. $12.99 at Amazon.

I don't know about you but I love bundles.
Here's a great bundle that has everything
you need. 17 different items for $18.85. A
pink pointer, charger, a case, screen
protectors and more!
We're talking Girl Power here! Nothing screams
girly like pink and hearts. Why not?


$9.97 for this Pink DS lite case cover.

Anyhow, that's the story of how a decor blogger
came to host a Girl's gaming party. Something
different and it was definitely fun. I'm curious if
any of you also play games or have the Nintendo DS?

Happy Friday!

Anderson Cooper and My Sweetie...

Today, I am deviating a bit from decor. I received

my Elle fashion magazine in the mail on Monday

evening and on a brief perusal, totally stopped

in my tracks with this photo of Anderson Cooper.

At that moment, I was immediately hit with sensation that

my other half REALLY resembles Anderson Cooper. I

immediately thought back to two summers ago when

riding on the train into the city from the Chicago airport,

there was a lady who couldn't stop staring at my sweetie.

After about 10 minutes of staring she leaned over and

said to him, "Do you know that you Really look like

Anderson Cooper?" My sweetie replied, "Yes, I have been

told that before." Silly me had just returned from living

abroad for about 4 years and had no idea who Anderson

Cooper was at the time.

I'm in no way saying that my sweetie looks just like

Anderson Cooper. However, they have similar facial

features and the same coloring.

This is Paul. My sweetie :)

You can see how pale Anderson Cooper is

that he sort of blends with his surroundings.

Paul has the same problem in pictures. Any photo of

him with a white background results him blending into

the background.

To be clear, Paul has 100% silver hair. He is actually

a brunette believe it or not and started streaking

white at the age of 16. In his early 20s he had mostly

white hair already covering his head. Many people from

the back think he's an old man until they see his face.

I don't know if you can tell in this set of photos but their coloring is

uncannily similar. You can't tell very well here but Paul also has blue eyes.

Silver hair and blue eyes. Do you see some resemblence?

What really gets me is that Paul's sense of style

is exactly the same as this photo above. Jeans

and a sports coat with a button up shirt. Paul

never wears anything less casual than this on a

regular basis ~ which is an improvement.

When he used to work in the corporate world,

he would be the only one in the office to wear

a full suit and tie every day. He would call it

his Teflon suit. He was legendary in the office

for his suits because everyone else dresed

down.

He'll even do handy work in button up

shirt which I find very strange but have

gotten used to.

He even has coat like this. What amazed me even more

was that after reading the article, I even saw similarities

in their personalities. They're both unassuming, conservative,

not comfortable with personal attention, and hard working.

Many people stare at Paul and while he's had this most of

his life, he is still uncomfortable with it. They were born

in the same year (same age) and both from New York City.

I told him that I decided he definitely resembles Anderson

Cooper and he said he was "Mini Cooper" because he's not

as tall as Anderson Cooper.

He's been asked or told very interesting questions by

perfect strangers.

He's been told that he looks like Billy Idol, Spike from

Dark Angel and Anderson Cooper.

He's been asked if he dyes his hair or if it's natural. He

once thought about dying it but he'd have to dye it

constantly because of his roots.

One day, if I get up the courage - I will tell the story

of how we met. It's an unusual story and certainly

unexpected. This us in Bali, Indonesia.

All photos from The Minimalist, CNN,

and from my personal collection.

Alkemie will take a break this week ~ More Before & After photos of Chairs

I'll be taking a break from posting this week but wanted

to leave you with more before and after photos of items

that I am prepping for my webstore. I hope you enjoy

them and I will be back next week!

A closer look at the chair in its original state.

I really have something for caned chairs

and furniture. Just something about them

really appeal to me. Probably second only

to my obsession with tufted furniture...

I had them redone in faux leather-like

material with a black lacquer finish for a

very modern twist.

Sorry this photo is so bad, it's a scanned

photo of a copy of the original. I really

liked the "X" legs on these chairs.

Had them refinished in black lacquer and muted purple velvet.

The color is a shade or two deeper in actuality. What's neat about

the chairs is that the back pillow can be removed because the back

cushion is secured by two snap on buttons behind the chair.

Outside of Tufts, Faux bamboo furniture is another

obsession. Here's the original chair in Green.

The outcome in black velvet and

a shiny, metallic copper finish.

I love these small Victorian parlor chairs.

They are so cute and very versatile as they

are smaller and size and can be put just about

anywhere.

I got this armchair from a lady whose husband

used to work in the hotel business and had left

over pieces.

Redone in finely ribbed Raspberry corduroy.
I always think this chair would be great for a

nursery or a girl's room.

All photos from Alkemie's own collection.

Before & After ~ My sofa and a new Arm Chair

Today is going to be another mini-post. I wish the photo above

had better resolution. It's actually copied from the original from an
obviously bad copier. It's the before photo of my latest pride and joy.

I bought this Arm chair for $35 from a Salvation Army that had great
furniture.

And Voila!! The end result. This chair is SOooo
comfortable but I really love the fabric!

Another find from the same Salvation Army for $45.

It was marked down from $90 because no one wanted it.

Cream striped sofa that had huge unsightly stains on it.

And after the make-over, the

ugly duckling turned into a swan.

This is the best before photo of my sofa I could find.

Really kicking myself for not getting better photos.

And of course the after. For all those finding

old pieces to be reborn - Happy Hunting!!