As today was my 31st birthday, I had to figure out a fun party dress to celebrate in! Pretty in pink?

Well not right this second, because of these pipe cleaners that are sewed to the dress.

...but it'll get there!

So the person who thought that stitching pipe cleaners to a dress was a good idea, will you please stand up? This was like art class from 3rd grade attacking an awesomly hot pink colored dress. Pipe cleaners are not meant to be sewn to clothing, so clearly I had to begin to remove.

I have to say, I did get pricked a few times on the pipe cleaners...but they all got taken off!

I can garnish a Christmas tree with this stuff!!

With my freshly cleaned top...

...I moved onto the length and cut it short.

I pressed down the edges to prep for a new hem.

Before I start sewing, I ended up cutting little strips of fabric off of the excess leftover.

I got inspiration here to add a little more flair to the dress - little rosette accents, here we come!! I began by twisting the fabric...

...and then rolling them into little rosettes. I didn't hot glue them but used some thread and hand stitched them together.

I got on a good routine and cranked out a few of these dainty rosettes to add to my party dress. (I ended up just safety pinning them down which you'll see shortly...)

But, the final adjustment was the neck. I wanted it to be a little more open, so a slit down the front was the next step.

I pinned the neck down and stitched it up along with hemming the bottom of the dress. I took it in a few inches on each side just to give it a little more shape too.

Party dress complete! Paired with black tights and boots, I was off to my fave dive bar around the corner from me...

Got a pic to commemorate the first drink of the night as well!!

My lovely fam brought the goods...

...as they know my love of icing!! Clearly and I went to town on this!

My Jets fave Mark Sanchez was right behind me on the football banner that ran across the banquettes...

...and then he was in my hands! Love my friends who gave him to me as a card :)

It's also not a party unless you get a little lift from TJ...

As we were all leaving, JMT and I did an impromptu dance on the street as Hall & Oates was blaring from the jukebox ("Kiss On My Lips"), walking to the car. Somehow we began dancing like Kristin Wiig does in her "Gilly" sketch on Saturday Night Live.