You know that moment when you feel like everyone is noticing how beautiful you feel? It happened to me last night. I walked into that party with total confidence. I had on an unbelievably stunning Tahari dress with a date on my arm who looked like he was straight out of GQ.

Matt greeted me at the door with a sunflower. After putting it in some water and grabbing some flip-flops—we departed. Yes, flip-flops. Remember, no shoes allowed at the party! Alas, I needed something to protect my feet in case I needed to go inside a store or anything.

Matt showed me the bottle of fine (and by fine, I mean expensive) Italian wine he brought. My friend, who was throwing the engagement party, absolutely loves Marc Jacobs, so I bought her a cute dress with a great A-line cut to flatter her shape. She was also eying a Marc Jacobs sweater for her fiancé, so I’m gifting that as well.

The party was beautifully decorated with yellow tablecloths, white rose bouquets and floating candle arrangements at each table. The meal consisted of a Waldorf salad followed by steak and asparagus. For dessert they served an amazing Tiramisu and a small cup of vanilla and lemon sorbet (they matched the décor)!

I watched Unfaithful this morning. If you have not seen it, put it on your Netflix list or go out and rent it RIGHT NOW. It’s one of the sexiest movies I’ve ever seen. Two words: Olivier Martinez. There, that should be enough to inspire you. I remember when I saw it on sale at Target and, like a pair of Jimmy Choos on sale; I snatched it up and refused to let go. I could watch it over and over. It’s just so juicy!

Today I’m going to hang out with my friend Helena. We’ve been friends since high school and she’s finally home for the summer. She goes to school up in northern California and I rarely get to see her. She’s got great style. She used to be my doppelganger in high school. We don’t look alike, but we look enough alike for people to confuse us from really far away. We both have fair skin and curly hair, but both of us have changed our general styles since then.

I think I’m going to wear this great cotton dress by Sweetees. It’s mint with a ruffled skirt and looks great with a brown belt around the waist. The belt kind of scrunches the body of the dress and it makes it look like it’s an outfit modeled after an editorial spread. With the brown belt, I will wear my brown gladiator sandals. They are ridiculously comfortable.

I’m planning on packing pretty light for Italy so I will probably wear the gladiators daily. It’s important I break them in so that I don’t get any blisters! Plus, they look pretty hot with any outfit. It’s nice to have a pair of shoes that works with almost anything!