A horse of many colors...

From the heights of the Sawtooths, I headed down to the shores of the Pacific with my family.

We visited The Birch Aquarium, at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography where I positively fell in love with their seahorses, and seahorse relations. What mesmerising creatures.

Seahorses propel themselves with a small fin located on their back, but they are not powerful swimmers. They use their tails, tenderly twining it around items to anchor themselves so they don't get swept away in currents. I can't recall ever seeing a live seahorse before, they are so unusual in their appearance, and so gentle, I could have watched them for hours.

Seahorse, The Birch Aquarium

I am certain I have never seen this creature before, the Leafy Dragon, isn't he amazing?

Leafy Dragon, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Nor have I ever seen a splendid vine dragon, his fins really look like little vines with beautiful blue leaves.

Vine dragon

In addition to their appearance, seahorses are unusual in that they are monogamous and mate for life. Also, it is the males who bear the offspring in these herds.

Sadly, this magical creature is at risk of becoming extinct in many waters due to excessive harvesting of them for souvenirs and for folk medicine purposes, primarily in China. 

If you find yourself in the La Jolla area, I highly recommend a visit to this aquarium, it is full of interesting exhibits and offers incredible view of the Pacific from it's hillside perch. I applaud them for raising awareness of this wonderful creature and it's precarious situation in our seas.

high~low..

...how have you been, Splendid Readers?  I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately, but I am looking forward to getting back in the game and I have lots of great posts coming your way, including some high~low highlights from my travels over the past couple of weeks. 

I love blending the best of both worlds. In fact, I've coined my favorite dining situation "elegant food in a rustic setting"...somehow that combo always seems to work...the reverse works quite nicely as well.

For example, wouldn't you love to take a seat at this elegantly set table {with a white mink tablecloth, no less}? This is where we held the "formal dinner" for my dear friend's birthday celebration in Sun Valley. Thing is, the birthday girl's favorite restaurant is a tasty dive of a taqueria called La Cabanita {love that about her!!}, located on 5th street in Ketchum. This little side room was primped and prettied to party perfection for the big night. Guests were told formal dress was recommended....but all outfits had to be purchased at local thrift shops {another high~low twist}.

As the regular customers entered the restaurant for carnitas and Coronas, 

they couldn't resist peaking behind this curtain to see what was going on and to share a friendly greeting "feliz cumpleaños" .

Aside from a splendid group of girls, in pure thrift shop chic, we only needed a few other props to get the fiesta started. 

Tasty wines and champagnes were at the ready ...

as was the tequila.

After a scrumptious dinner with shrimp cocktails and tacos, things really got going. The birthday girl let loose on the pinata, spilling a bevy of beauty items from Sephora, mini bottles {plastic} of tequila, 

and these go~lightly little ear plugs {they come in a handy travel case with a satin bag for storage},

 click on tassels for more information.

Then we all took turns playing dj and danced into the night {perched high on those chiavari chairs, por supuesto!}

I just love a blend of high and low, whether it's breakfast from a bag at Tiffany's, or a flush of formality at La Cabanita, it brings an element of surprise to the party, which makes everyone a little more relaxed and a lot more fun.

Happy Valentine's Day to you...

How was your Valentine's day? This can be a tricky holiday, but I hope it was nice for you. I spent the day with girlfriends in Sun Valley, what an amazing day of skiing we had, and then we had a cozy dinner "in".

 Ms. K is made us her fabulous roasted lemon chicken, and

Ms. R made marvelous sweet potatoes. Meanwhile, Ms. B set a succulent table. 

As much as I miss Mr. Splendid, and my little splendids, I LOVE having this time with my girlfriends. 

I was a little worn out after all of the prep for La Fête, though I am happy to report that the party turned out to be quite a success. Here are some shots from the party.

The gilded props fit in perfectly at Escala.



The good people at  Glassy babys were kind enough to for let us borrow some of their fabulous vessels for the  party, see how they rested so nicely in the gilded candelabra on the bar?

Little felt hearts were used as a barrier between the serving surfaces and the legs and shoes....

yes, shoes {these were so cute in their original shade of brown, I must say I was a little tempted to wear them instead of painting them.}

At the back of the room, this desk and bench served as a pretty partition in front of the kitchen pass through window.

I dressed up the base of the legs with golden paper frills.

These tables usually live in my bedroom, but they became the perfect stage for the golden, and jelly hearts on the buffet table in the center of the room.

 Love potion number 9 {aka a kir royale} was the drink of the eve... always a beautiful and tasty drink to sip.

Cheers!