Happy New Year! Over the years I have celebrated New Year’s in a variety of ways, but this year, for the first time ever, we hosted a New Year’s party. We decided to combine our housewarming party with New Year’s Eve, and it ended up being utterly amazing. With good food, good company, and Disneyland midnight fireworks right outside our front door. Yes, that is true. In case you don’t follow me on Instagram, we have an insanely good view of Disneyland’s fireworks from the front yard of our new house, which inspired me to host a NYE party.

I originally planned to snap photos before everyone arrived, but due to the large amount of food prep we had to do, we tragically and horrifically clogging up our kitchen sink! We had to call a plumber just two hours before guests we slated to arrive, and were unable to get any pictures before the party started! These photos were honestly snapped at 2:30 this morning after everyone had left, so my hair and my make-up are a little worse for wear, but I just had to share my ensemble!

I’ve had this dress in my closet for going on three years now, and have never worn it, despite it being one of my all time favorite dresses! Like many amazing garments, I often want to wait for just the right occasion to wear something for the first time. I also baby this dress, as it is a Luis Estevez! You can read more about the spectacular designer here. This dress fully represents what I absolutely love about 1950s clothing; it utterly epitomizes the space age influence, and I wish I had more garments that were this dramatic and atomic-esque. Plus it reminds me of Jane Russell’s gown in the infamous dinner club entrance scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

We are a shoe-free household, which meant it was the perfect opportunity to wear another items that rarely gets wore – a pair of vintage Daniel Green slippers! If I had it my way I would own every pair I come across in my size and live in of them, but I know that is rather unpractical, so I just have three pairs that come out every once in awhile for house parties.

A few thoughts on New Year’s…My feelings and attitudes toward New Year’s have fluctuated over the years. When I was younger it never meant that much to me, especially when I was in school. It wasn’t a “new year” to me. That didn’t really happen until September, with a new school year, when the summer gave you a chance to explore and develop. Now that I am older, I find New Year’s a rather refreshing time period. January, for me, represents cold blues, crisp air, and trees that are gorgeously skeletal against a bright blue winter sky, all of this represents clean starts to me. A bare tree is one of the more beautiful things in the world to me, and it helps me remember we can shed things from the past and grow something new. I don’t often like to look back at the past year (which is why I rarely do yearly recap posts), instead I like to look ahead. While many of my fears from the last year continue to be very real for me and others with this current political climate, I recognize there is a lot of good and happiness still in the world, and I want to focus on that, being thankful, and trying to do good for myself, family, friends, and where I live. I don’t believe in accepting what you can’t change, because I believe (nearly) everything can change (there are a few rules of physics and science we are bound to y’all). You can be speak up, march, protest, and be a part of a larger movement that can change the world for better.

Outfit
Star Crown: Elsewhere Vintage, Orange, California
Dress: Simply Vintage Boutique, Portland, Oregon
Slippers: Buffalo Exchange
Jewelry: I can’t remember where any of this stuff came from!