A Valentino New Year

I celebrated New Year’s Eve 2015 in style: by painting! Valentino shoes, no less! And with a glass of bubbly in hand, too!! What a great way to set the tone for 2016! I can’t exactly complain about painting while sipping on a glass of champagne, but I’m not sure it’s a sustainable practice, as I ended up asleep by 11pm, before the New Year ball even dropped. Ha!

Valentino and Korbel, a winning combination

This stunning pair of Valentinos is just what dreams are made of.  I can only imagine what it would be like to wear these shoes, I would probably feel like Cinderella.  And seeing that I’m fast asleep by 11pm, maybe my shoes would never get a chance to catch midnight and turn into a pumpkin.

Details of Valentinos and Martha Stewart gold paint

I used Martha Stewart liquid gold paint from Michael’s as an accent to the watercolors, and my beloved Swarovski crystals for the bow sparkles. Gold is a very new like for me, because before fall of 2015 I much preferred silver and didn’t buy anything gold. This paint is changing all that quickly, and I love the sparkle it adds to my paintings. It is the perfect backdrop for the Swarovski crystals! Just don’t ask me how I managed to place the crystals after an entire glass of champagne …

Details of Valentinos, Martha Stewart gold paint and Swarovski crystals

The champagne IS Korbel! Happy New Year!

​Thankfully I was back to my normal self in time to make it to the 2016 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.  My architecture office in Pasadena hosts a parade party every January 1st, and all the employees and their families get to attend and watch the parade from our office windows.  Check out my Instagram feed @ct_sketches to see more photos and videos from the parade.

View of the Rose Parade 2016 from my office window. Left: the Queen's Court float. Center: the Los Angeles marching band. Right: the Hollywood float.

This was my first live Rose Parade, and I loved the experience. The previous year I had spent most of the night walking along Orange Grove, the street in Pasadena where all the floats get cued up the night before and get fully lit up all night long, open to the public for viewing before the parade. I got to see all the floats up close and personal while the parade staff added the finishing touches. And of course, this little adventure made it impossible to get up early enough to watch the parade live last year. But this year I relied on a glass (or two) of Korbel to get me to bed early. I got up in time to make it to the office and see the real thing. And the live parade did not disappoint!

​Here’s to a New Year filled with sparkle, champagne and Valentino! Let's do this, 2016!