Paisley Contemplation

I purchased this dress forever ago. I have attempted to get rid of it a couple of times now, but it always makes it back into the closet. I dig the print, it's vaguely 70s. I wear it so rarely I need to make keeping it worth it. (Maybe next time, I'll do knee socks and clogs. That will be super 70s.) I tried to make it appropriate for going to work. I added the sweater to cover the spaghetti strap halter and I was on my way. I just had to cross my fingers that I didn't need to take the sweater off during the day. Showing my bra to my coworkers - that wouldn't do at all. The good news is, I made it through.

It all just felt a little blah so I added my favorite Report wedges. I think their so pretty with the contrasting browns and the little feather. I just wish they were more comfortable. They rub against my toes, but look at them, they're fabulous!

Sweep The Leg Johnny!

Well, I made it to the beach with our friends for a beach day this last weekend. I went with a bikini. I was feeling better after my little "I'm feeling fat" episode last post. It was a beautiful day and a little breeze was sweeping through the cove-like Leo Carillo beach. It's such a pretty beach. It reminds me of the beaches I used to frequent when I lived up North. 38th and the Cove (or Black's Beach) were like the best places to spend time with friends during the week and weekends when I was younger. I used to be a super sun worshiper. All we did throughout summer was go to the beach for workouts or just to hang out and lay around soaking up the sun. I used to get a color brown that is simply not healthy for my skin. *sigh* those were the days - young, healthy skin. Thanks to all that spare beach time, my freckles now border on sunspots LOL. It's a sad thing- no one could hammer into me the importance of staying out of the sun when I was a teenager. Laying out in the sun was just too tempting.

It's hard to kick old habits I guess, 'cause I'm a LOBSTER! My poor back is so burnt. I was laying on my tummy talking to some friends the whole time. The breeze made me forget or disregard (I can't really admit to forgetting, being lazy is more like it) the SPF85 I had in my bag. Dum-da-dum-dum DUMB!!!!!!

So I guess this will be the one time this year I will allow myself to burn. Even the backs of my legs were bright red. Thank goodness I don't have leather seats to stick to when I'm in my car. I opted to put up some pics I took a while back rather than scare anyone with ensembles that display my poor, super pink legs.

I simply must say, I LOVE THIS OUTFIT! Kulots are such a nostalgia inspiring piece of clothing. My mom used to dress me in them all the time. Those and little purple corduroy jodhpurs, that I could totally get away with rocking now a days. I found both while thrifting at different shops and couldn't believe my luck when I spied the kulots to match the $2.00 blazer. It reminds me of the jackets caterers wear, or like a Japanese school uniform :) (This ensemble makes me think of Karate Kid when he goes to the country club to pick up his date and she was dancing with Johnny. All the servers were wearing their uniforms. lol SWEEP THE LEG!)

What do you think of the floral headband? I have a DIY tutorial that I am going to write up soon for this exact hair do-dad. So stay tuned, I'm really gonna need some feedback.

 I've been avoiding the process since I've never done one. I can't let the process intimidate me. This is the exact kinda thing I would do in college to procrastinate doing a paper. I am a lifetime member of the Procrastination Club - New members always welcome!

Battling the Bulge...

I've been taking pics these past couple weeks at different angles and this is my first try at having the camera lower to the ground for a different perspective. I decided I needed a little bit more variety in my day to day "photo sessions". Whatcha think? Everything needs a little mixing up now and again.

The top and "necklace" are from a little trip to Kohl's recently. The necklace is an extra small belt that I wanted to rock as a necklace, crafty right? I don't know if I would have thought out of the box like that if I hadn't started this blog. It makes me think a bit differently. I like it.

Why I love Kohl's - If a customer hasn't been into the store for a bit, they send the $10 gift card in the mail. WHAT?! A free $10?! thanks - don't mind if I do...It's quite possibly the most effective marketing technique that Kohl's has. I never really plan to go in and browse, but with free money I can make the stop (which is also easy cause I pass it everyday on the way home- yikes). I always find something, and generally spend over $10. It must be expensive to alotte $10 per customer, but I wouldn't have even stopped in and spent over the $10 if I hadn't received it. So BRAVO Kohl's. And thanks for making those clearance racks so full!

I've been a bit sluggish this week. Not too inspired. It might have a little to with the upcoming beach trips we have planned...I really haven't been eating too healthily lately and my emotional opinion of my body is overly critical. Thus, I feel the need to lose a little weight, which is "impossible" for me. It's so hard to lose that last bit. Maybe another stationary bike trip will make me feel a bit better. Get those ol' exercising endorphins, that never seem to last long enough :), going. I always feel like I could lose another 10lbs. Rationally I know I'm fine the way I am, but it's those damn swim suits! I haven't decided if it's a bikini beach day on Saturday or a full piece one. We'll just see what mood I wake up in... Wish me luck! I do hate feeding into the skinny/fat debate, but I've been battling it since I was a girl. My struggles are much less as I get older, but it bugs that I still feel fat, just 'cause. However, there has to be an up side this little dip in the road. Hopefully this feeling motivates me to get my booty in gear and tone up and be healthier.

Something I've been pondering recently: I have a cousin whose a model and her agency requested she lose 25-30lbs. She is 5'10" and was about 135lbs. (Super skinny already.) She's now about 110lbs. Isn't that ridiculous? The answer - YES! Now her agency is happy she's so skinny and wants to send her to Europe to walk in shows, etc... I am so torn about how I feel about this. (Not to imply that my feelings really matter in this particular situation...) I want my cousin to be happy and successful in her professional endeavors - which are coming pretty fast ad furious at this point, but she was beautiful before she did her weight drop - and of course she still is. My question: Why does the modeling industry mess with what is already perfect? Why not play up what is already present and innately awesome without dropping large amounts of weight? The answer is a full thesis I know, but I wonder it every time I open a magazine and now that I'm only a couple of degrees from it, I wonder it even more.
On a brighter note, I can walk, write, talk and think so I shouldn't worry about my weight. There are far more important things to nag myself about.
Good day all!

Busy Bee...

My posting has been neglected and this time, it was for good reasons. Being happily busy celebrating friends and family. My hubby went back to school and got his business degree so celebrating and hanging out has been tantamount to anything else. It's been pretty nice. I haven't even had a chance to download most of my pictures. So this week I am going to play catch up with some backlog of cuteness :) - in my humble opinion.

This is my firecracker dress. Its my go to for comfort and it still feels put together. I love the yellow, white and grey on the navy background. I love wearing yellow with it too.

I haven't taken any pictures with my baby - my car. It gets me everywhere I need to go, and fast if I so choose. (Not really, more like if the LA traffic so chooses.) I thought it was fitting to show you all where every last bit of cash I have has gone recently... Both back and front brakes need to be done and wow - that really depleted my "fun funds". The past couple of months have been very thin in the "fun funds" area. At least I feel like I've fulfilled my mustang responsibilities until the next oil change. I gotta be able to count on my car. Public transport around here means a lot of walking from one pick up/drop off to where I need to go.

I love my car. I always wanted a '69 fastback mustang, but I can't really afford the upkeep on such a pristine vehicle. Not like I had the option. So when Ford redesigned in 2005, I was a happy camper. It was my first brand new car purchase, and probably my last, but I love it :) (I'll also love it even more when I pay it off this year - YAY! I really hate car payments. I would have an infinitely larger savings account if I didn't have 'em.)

I Feel Particularly Special... (A Day for Patterns)

*there must be something interesting to my right*

'Cause I made this skirt baby! I need another skirt like I need a hole in the head, but it was such a simple and cute pattern. I followed the full skirt DIY from the blog Out Of Order Design.

How I found myself  "Out of Order":  

I saw a picture of a girl Meghan from Out of Order Design on weardrobe.com on a trestle. (If you frequent that site, there are a lot of interesting backgrounds people chose to utilize. Train tracks are a common one because, well, it makes a great picture. But generally they are just visually appealing to me and not a place I recognize.) I thought "that trestle looks realllllly familiar"... I looked to the right in the pic and saw beautifully vibrant little houses. "hey, that's Capitola!" Home!

I've mentioned here before that I was from a small beach town on the California coast called Santa Cruz (about an hour below San Francisco) and Capitola is a little beach suburb (if that's what you can call it) in SC. I had to go visit her site immediately to become a follower, I felt a blogger solidarity. I was hoping to see some fun pics where I could identify her locations, a nice bonus was that I enjoy her content.  She has some fun DIYs and a great style. Check her out if you haven't already.

I have been lightly searching for blogs from areas that I am familiar with. There are a gazillion blogs with ladies from the bay area, which is really quite close to SC, but those are more cities than towns. Seeing someone fashion forward or just plain stylish can be found a dime a dozen in the city, but in a smaller town, that's where I see a lot of creativity, in my opinion. Necessity breeds creation.  My city girl blogs are great, but I appreciate the town chanteuse just as much.

I like to read about people enjoying where they are from or use where they take their photos to reflect more about them. Also, I like to read about how Meghan of "Out of Order" likes living in Santa Cruz and her happenings. (I ran from my home town faster than my legs could carry me when I was 18 and I haven't been back to live since. I'm envious of those who love to live there. It's a little bittersweet for me. I miss where I grew up, but that place really isn't there anymore. It's changed so much, just like I have in 11 years, but it no longer feels like home. It's such a gorgeous place to visit and enjoy in moderation. Some say I'm crazy to have moved from somewhere so stunningly beautiful to um, L.A. but I've never really looked back. I guess I was meant to leave. My family still remains so at least I can bunk down with them when I visit.)

Aren't these wedges fun? I really wanted a pair of navy sandals and this was the form I ended up with. I think the detail on the wedge is so cute. A few too many patterns for me on a normal day, but a little bit of clothing chaos never hurt anybody :)

And...We're Back

Wasn't the long weekend fabulous?! I just can't get enough 3day weekends. I wish I could work a 10 hour day m-th and then have f-sun all to myself :) That would just be the best.

Back to reality M-F...

It's strange when I take little breaks away from posting, it's so difficult for me to get back into things. Overall I wish I had a bit more to say about life, but really, we all live it, why not have a place to escape from it?

THE BLOGOSPHERE. Sometimes I just flip through blogs looking at the pictures, but not necessarily reading them. It's enjoyably mindless.

Recently however, some thoughtful and long commenting has been going on and there were some pretty interesting discussions. It's entertaining to see everyone interact via comments. There are some valid points for and against "c/o advertising". The surprising aspect, was that for a bunch 'o' girls, it wasn't as catty as I was anticipating. So yay! (If I wanted to see a bunch of high school style antics, I would read entertainment news blogs. Which I used to do often, but then lost entirely too many brain cells...so that had to stop. I can think of a couple better way to lose braincells, thank you very much Perez.)

This is an outfit I wore last week when I needed a pick me up, so I figured primary colors would do the trick. I quite like the way it came together. When I went outside to do these pics in this blazer, I remember breaking into a sweat, fast. I guess this weather was just a precursor to this last weekend's weather of high temperatures. It is more than possible my hair styling choice will be "up" pretty much everyday from now on. I'm really digging all of the braid styles that are appearing all over. I just need to get me some hair bands that blend with my 'do' rather than doctored rubber bands, which is the ridiculousness pictured. I didn't have any hairbands at work, so I made do. :)

 I love my hair, but it makes a little heat cave against my neck. When it's cold out - I have a portable scarf, when it's warm - I have an unwanted extra 10 degrees. Half the time, I just want to shave it. I have a couple of scars from childhood on my head though, that might not as awesome as I imagine it.