The Kentucky Derby may have been a couple of weeks ago now, but pretty dresses and crazy hats are still relevant, right?
After all, if you lived in Europe, you’d most likely be wearing something like this getup above to every wedding you attended this summer.
I’m still a very strong advocate for fascinator hats to be a part of the American Wedding Guest Dress Code. One of the biggest regrets from my own wedding was not enforcing that little rule. Oh, wouldn’t that have been fun!?
Alas, we Americans will just have to live it up with our fancy hats when the Kentucky Derby comes around each year.
One of my favorite things about living in Houston, is that in a city this big there is always some sort of party going on to celebrate some sort of something.
This particular weekend the party was at Julep and the celebration was the Kentucky Derby. Julep is a fancy Southern inspired cocktail bar on Washington Avenue. Their drinks are absolutely delicious and the bar’s decor is something of what you’d imagine the Great Gatsby enjoying had he lived in The South.
As this fancy cocktail bar is on the smaller & intimate side, Julep (along with the team from Sugar & Cloth and Cake & Confetti) rolled out the “green” carpet and extended its Derby Day Party into the parking lot to accommodate the almost 1,000 party-goers that day.
Patrick and I arrived several hours before the race started, met up with some friends and sipped on the race day’s signature cocktail: the Mint Julep.
Several mint julep bars were scattered throughout the party. The sun was scorching and the lines were long, but that didn’t stop Julep’s baristas from taking their time to create the most delicious & delicate cocktails for us all.
After having two (or three) juleps myself, I felt I had watched the bartenders create enough mint juleps that I now feel overly confident that I can recreate this tasty drink at home.
Anyone want to come over for a mint julep happy hour sometime soon? 😉
Not only were the drinks divine, but the food was oh-so-delicious too. We snacked on roast beef & HORSEradish sliders, and hushpuppies while we awaited the big race.
Let me pause and talk about this fun fascinator hat for a minute. Would you believe me if I told you that I actually purchased it 20 minutes before this party? Tis true!
I was planning on wearing a floppy straw hat that I already had in my closet, but I tried it on and it just didn’t work with
the dress. Luckily, I live in the Houston Heights and there are a whole lot of fun and quirky stores in this neighborhood. I knew just where to go to get a fascinator hat at a moment’s notice: the 19th Street Shops.
PSA: Jubilee on 19th Street has a very large assortment of colorful & intricate fascinators. So if you’re feeling the need to dress like Kate Middleton for the day, you now know where to go!
This red concoction of a hat was staring at me right in the face when I quickly ran into Jubilee. I couldn’t have found a better hat for Derby Day and now I’m just itching for the opportunity to wear this pretty thing again! 🙂
In addition to mint juleps, delicious food, and pre-horse race coverage, there was also a Photo Booth that we naturally had to take advantage of.
Don’t you just love a good photo booth?
I still haven’t quite nailed down how to pose though …. picture three up above you guys? What was going on there!?
But those are the type of photos that make photo booths fun, you never know what you’re going to get when the card spits out.
Soon it was time for the big race, after all, as you know, it was the reason we had all gathered together that day.
I’m not going to lie here, the race watching scenario was kind of crazy. With so many people and one small screen, you really couldn’t see all the well.
Plus there was a delay of about 5 minutes. And when the Kentucky Derby only lasts two minutes, that’s one serious issue.
Thank goodness we all live in the 21st century and everyone carries miniature televisions in their pockets!
Not pictured here: we watched the entire race on our friend’s cell phone! It was HD too! I need to get my hands on one of those iPhone 6s stat!
I think I picked the horse “Ocho Ocho Ocho” to win, just because I liked the name, but the favorite, American Pharaoh took the lead and won the race.
Isn’t it fun how the Kentucky Derby horses all have such insane names?
Makes me wonder what I would name a race horse, if I had one.
Mint Julep sounds like a good name, perhaps?
Now that the Derby has come and gone, I’m already looking forward to next year’s race. Can ya’ll believe all the hoopla that surrounds a two-minute race? It’s wild to think about! But I certainly do enjoy it.
On another note, happy FRIDAY!!!! This has been such a long and busy week, getting accustomed to a new job, a new commute and basically a new overall “life schedule.” I can’t complain, I’m loving my new job and everything that comes with it! (It’s 5 minutes away from my husband’s office for starters, which makes my lunch breaks soooo much more fun. It’s like going on a date in the middle of the day!)
Hope you all have fun things planned for the weekend! I’m planning to sit back & relax and enjoy the nice weather that we are “supposed” to have. Houstonians, can you believe all of this nasty rain lately??! We are due for some sunshine & I’m looking forward to soaking it up!
PS: Don’t forget to enter my Kendra Scott earrings giveaway
here! 🙂
—
alice
