Mexican Fiesta! Ola Amigos!

I turned 24 today, not an age usually celebrated, not a milestone but just another birthday. However, with a love of event styling and a having a good time, i'll take any excuse for a party! I gathered thirty of my closest friends and threw a Mexican Fiesta!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some of my happy snaps.....

To see more, including all my gorgeous friends, more cocktails, a sombrero and some sexy moustaches visit Ella Courtney Style on Facebook.

Hell Yeah MinkPink Silver Jeans!

I have long been lusting after the Sass and Bide silver jeans, until the other day when I was power walking through David Jones Claremont and spotted the MinkPink 'Hell Yeah Skinny Jean'. Apart from the label I couldn't tell the difference. I quickly added them to my (ever growing/ I don't know how I can possibly afford) list of must-haves for an upcoming trip down south. At $74.95 I thought they were a steal and vowed to pop back next time I was in claremont.

After forgetting about them for a week or so I decided to check David Jones Hay Street today. As you can imagine I was aptly saying 'hell yeah' when I discovered that they are now $49.95. I just had to share my excitement, got to love a bargain!

www.davidjones.com.au

markethq.blogspot.com

xxElla

Party Nails

Nail art has become so popular over the last couple of months. I have already trialed the nail foils (see post http://ellacourtneystyle.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/nail-files.html ), have some nail stickers waiting to be used and possess every colour of nail polish under the sun. The latest trend (after some hesitation, I am now obsessed) is glitter!

Keep it short and sweet. Go metallic. Apply lots of coats. Team them with a collar necklace and/ or statement lips.

To re-create this look, head to Sportsgirl and purchase the nailpolish for $7.95. Make sure you have some time up your sleeve because it requires about five coats to get the full effect.

Happy glitter nails!
xElla.

From the Prison to the Garden Party.

While I am always obsessed with fashion and shopping, I have recently been sharing my time with my latest love, party or event styling. I swapped my usual online faves; Shopbop, ASOS and Topshop for Pinterest, Perth Party Hire and Ebay and I have had an amazing response to the result!

Thanks to a great friend of mine I was hired by the Collegians Football Club to style an event they were hosting at the Fremantle Prison. Being a 'Sportsman's Night' I went all masculine and encompassed the theme of the prison. The result: A mix of the Football Club's colours, some prison-themed props and toys (boys will always be boys, none of the toy guns were left behind!) an assortment of old jugs, jars and wood and lots of chocolate coins. Here is a snap shot of one of the table displays. Each one was different, which made it fun. There are lots more photos under the 'event styling' tab. I'd love you to check them out!

Most recently, however, I decided to throw my mum the best 50th birthday party ever! With family members flying in from South Africa and Sydney and around 50 of mum's closest friends and family it had to be good! Mum didn't want a big 'proper party' so we thought a high tea would be perfect, and it was. I thought of everything (I think), from pink parasols to shade the sun, flowing Chandon, gorgeous waiters, antique tea sets, delicious sweets, floral table runners, pink lemonade with candy striped straws, mums favourite tunes, roses and dahlias in abundance and a stunning guestlist.

Mum and I did most of the cooking and our mini lemon meringue tarts, cupcakes, rosewater meringues, strawberry tarts, mini trifle and all the rest, looked stunning on tiered cake stands with pastel doilies, and in glass lolly jars. 

I was totes excited to put the floral arrangements together. Being a high tea, roses, lillies, tuber rose and dahlias were in excess. My favourite decoration was the collection of jars I hung with pink ribbon from the gorgeous cherry blossom tree. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here they are....(again, there are lots more under the 'event styling' tab.)

I can't complete this post without mentioning our outfits! It was a great excuse for me to purchase the Sass and Bide 'Great Escape' top that I have been lusting after. I teamed it with a gorgeous sequin skirt from Sportsgirl, Colette necklace and Country Road wedges. My sister Adelaide looked hot in a dress that I brought from R'nays in Hillarys, with a Sportsgirl necklace and Mum looked beautiful in a dress by Zimmermann and spearmint slip from Metalicus.

 

Don't forget to look at more of my happy snaps under the 'event styling' tab.

x Ella.

Cuban Club- A Stylish Start to 2012.

Pulling up to the Nedlands Yacht Club on new years day my friends and I were excited to see a long line of incredibly good looking and well dressed people. We were greeted with pink flamingos, parasols and ice cold water.

For the girls the day was all about bright colours, wedges, statement accessories, chic sunglasses, and the perfect pedicure. The boys were looking mighty fine in pastels, linen shirts, chinos and panama hats. I was in fashion heaven!

It started off as a day of leisure; chatting with friends, admiring the view, checking out the talent and the outfit competition, drinking pimms and eating satay sticks and ended with a southbound festival vibe (minus the thongs and denim shorts) with the crowd dancing up a storm to the awesome Yacht Club DJs, (apparently it was the first time they have actually played at a yacht club) Lyrics Born and Sampology. 

Cuban Club was the perfect mix of people, fashion, music, drinks, location and style. I think it is safe to say I know how I will be spending new years day 2013!

Here are a couple of my happy snaps of the day.

Happy.....Statement Necklace! The Perfect New Years Party Accessory.

As we all gear up to celebrate the start of the new year, we are consumed with planning every aspect of our night, from where to go, how to get there, who to go with, who will be there and ultimately, what to wear in order to make sure we have the perfect night and see the new year in in style.

By now I am sure you have all purchased your killer party dress. Good job! However, I hope you have time to shop tomorrow because this year no outfit is complete without a statement necklace. Whether your dress is bright, strapless, patterned, maxi, lace, white, fitted, high neck, black, backless or has a plunging neck line, you will be certain to turn heads when teamed with a statement necklace.

As statement necklaces are totes amazing at the moment, there are lots to chose from and I guarantee you will find one to suit your budget. I have my necklaces sorted for my new years eve and new years day events. I wont reveal my whole outfits just yet, but I will share the necklaces I will be wearing.

Mimco $299

Sportsgirl $29.95

Happy new year! I hope you and your stylish accessories have a fantastic weekend! 

Eat, Drink and be Merry.

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I start getting into the spirit in mid November, planning present ideas, choosing a colour scheme for the decorations and wrap and purchasing a couple of new christmas CDs. (Michael Buble and I am embarrassed to admit, Justin Beiber, were amongst my faves this year.)

Being the day after boxing day I have had time to recover from the present high, the turkey bloat and the trifle hangover. While I am lying low before I start gearing up for new years celebrations, I thought I would share some pics of my Christmas Day decorations along with some tips for styling the perfect party.

Always have fresh flowers. They are the perfect centre piece for any table. I put these together in five minutes, with minimum arranging to create an effortless look. 

Use the whole space. Because we have quite high ceilings and our christmas tree is very tall I decided to have hanging decorations in clusters above the table centrepieces. I made the decorations out of white card, feathers and tissue paper.

Take time to create finishing touches. I put these decorations together at the last minute to carry the theme throughout the room. I used recycled jars and leaves from our garden. The feathers and letters continue the theme I created with the table decorations.

The small details add to the overall look. I found these cute retro straws at Store in Mt Lawley. Again I have used the dove shape as the wineglass name tags. 

I went a bit over the top and even made my adorable dog Daisy fit in with the decorations with a tule bow and feather collar.

Here is my cute little cousin Ed with his present. I used the same colours and materials to wrap all the presents this year. The tags are also the same as the name tags for the place settings on the table. 

My gorgeous and talented cousin and best friend Annie-Rose made all the christmas crackers this year. She did such a good job, even tracking down the same paper and tule that I used for my wrapping and place cards, I was so excited!

It was such a great day. Everyone loved the decorations and admired all the small details. I had a ball putting it all together and the overall look was definitely worth it!