Finally! My masquerade party post it up! Sorry it’s taken me a couple days to get this to you. I considered throwing up a bunch of photos from the evening that night (since we got home pretty late), but it was too special an event to not give it more time. On Friday we celebrated…
Nicole’s birthday! Not just any birthday, but her 30th! 
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But first let’s back up a bit…
I wanted to cheat on Eat In Month so badly on Friday because I was busy at work all day, rushed to Zumba, and then rushed home to get ready for Nicole’s big b-day bash. I only had about 45 minutes to get ready and cook & eat dinner. Yikes!
It would have been so much easier to just pick up take-out, but I ended up trying to cook the fastest things I could think of – shrimp and spinach. Luckily, the brown rice was already cooked. Anywho, I did a quick saute with soy sauce.
Then, it was time to put on a one-shoulder little black dress (LBD) and some 4 (ok, maybe 5?) inch booties. It was party time!
We headed out to the very new, very swanky wine and chocolate tasting room – Petit Philippe.
I gotta do my obligatory chandelier photo for you all. 
Anywho, you may or may not know Nicole is a huge fan of Gossip Girl. SO…what better than a masquerade party for the perfect 30th celebration? Isaac (Nicole’s SO) and Caitlin did a fab job of planning Nicole’s masquerade-themed party.
We all got there early and surprised Nicole who had no idea we’d all be waiting to party with her. Once they got to the tasting room, the party got started.
Petit Philippe was featuring a special 4-tasting wine flight with paired chocolates. I decided this wouldn’t really be cheating on Eat In Month and went for the flight. You guys know I love a good sampling.
I wish I would have written down all the wine and chocolate flavors, because they were all wonderful. Not only that, but they were perfectly paired! The flavors of each really played off of each other nicely.
The first tasting was a sparkling wine called Emotion (this one didn’t have a chocolate pairing).
Swirl it!
The second wine was Roco.
The third tasting was Qupe Syrah…
…with some white chocolate with a gorgeous pattern on top.
And the fourth and final pairing was Valentino with blood orange chocolate.
YUM!
May I have that wine flight again soon? I loved it!
Also, I had the pleasure of talking to the very friendly owners of Petit Philippe – Mark and Casey – and found out we have similar eating styles. They are healthy and local eaters. Woohoo!
A huge Happy Birthday to Nicole! (aren’t Nicole & Isaac adorable guys??)
After being asked a couple times if I wanted to take a vegan cupcake home (they soooo had to twist my arm ), I caved. The cupcake made it (mostly) home with the exception of some icing I licked off on the way. hehe
And we even got a bottle of my fave wine Roco to take home and enjoy another day!
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I have to admit, I haven’t been watching Gossip Girl. I love the show when it’s on, but I’m terrible at watching TV series because I always forget when it’s on. I get the feeling I need to rent all the previous seasons on DVD and catch up!
Do you watch Gossip Girl? Who’s your favorite character?
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I saw Caitlin’s photos too but that party looks amazing! Love that wine bar (and all that chocolate!). So glad you all had fun and she had a great birthday!
That wine & chocolate pairing sounds awesome!
I love Gossip Girl but kind of forget about it. I am not up-to-date on the show by any means anymore.
Looks like a great evening!
Yum! Wine and Chocolate! I can’t wait to try this place!
that cupcake looks delish! what a great night
not saying this just to be cute-sey w/ your blog title…but seriously, what a CHIC NIGHT out!!
Everything just looks amazing from you to the chocolate
And ive never seen gossip girl in my life. I read blogs…as if i have time for tv. LOL
LOVE Petite Phillipe and it looks like you guys had an amazing time! Incidentally I just shared a post about our experience there: http://christytomes.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/wine-and-chocolate-and-friends-oh-my
Good for you for not cheating on your Eat In Month! And yes, I confess I XOXO Gossip Girl. I’ve tried to quit it, but it just keeps drawing me back in. Gotta have at least one guilty pleasure right?
Christy
Great post Christy! Looks like you guys had a wonderful time, too!
Diana – So good to talk to you Friday and many thanks for this fabulous post!
It was very nice chatting with you, too, Gwen!
Looks like a fun night!!!
Those chocolates look particularly droolworthy… what a fun night!
That is an amazing party and very unique.
I’ve never seen Gossip Girl, but I loved your dress and think that the bday party idea is such a good one!
What an awesome tasting room! And a great party idea! Looks like you all had a really great time.
Nope, never seen Gossip Girl, and I think I am one of the very few out there in America who hasn’t.
Whoa, a wine and chocolate pairing?? That’s SO cool. I officially want to do this for my birthday.
You look great BTW!
Favourite gossip girl character: I have a minor crush on Nate.
what a fun party! i’ve never watched gossip girl… don’t have time for tv really…
A masquerade party is such a good idea!
Those chocolates are beautiful! Looks like such a fun party!
Gossip Girl is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. It’s definitely better to watch it on DVD at your own pace. My favorite character is Chuck, although sometimes I want to punch him.
Do you have tan lines!? I’m jealous – That party looks so fun and swanky… I’m jealous
I didn’t think I had tan lines till I saw the photo! lol So weird!
I read this post last week on my iphone and have been meaning to comment (it’s much easier to type comments). Anyway, I’m so glad you were at my party and I love all your pictures. It is so nice having friends with photography skills!