New bag!

On Wednesday my friend generously gave me the bag that she was using because I mentioned how cute it was and she said that it no longer fit her needs. I instantly remembered this Ralph Lauren dress that I picked up at the garage sale that I realized would be perfect for her! I brought her the dress and she loved it and even got it altered the next day to fit her perfectly. I am very happy that the dress could go to a good owner that will love it and looks so good in it!  My Coach bag also needed some rest because I have been using it nonstop since I got it back from the purse Dr. I can't wait to take my bag on tons of adventures. yay!

(green bag on the bottom- Via Vegan)

(generous friend!) 

Stained glasses shine on my red wine

Dress: Theory (100%silk), thrifted!!!

Jacket: Emma Black, (100%silk) from the magic garage sale!

Shoes: Aldo

Lipstick: Make Up For Ever #205

Necklace: gift

This is another wonderful piece that I got from the magical garage sale of the century! I had no idea what this jacket would actually look like on because it was way to hot to try on any of the clothing but I had to get it anyway because a. it's silk b. I LOVE the beading on the sleeves! I'm glad that I bought it because I really like how it looks even if it doesn't photograph well. The dress was an amazing thrift store find because I always love Theory pieces but just can't afford them at retail price. I think that I am going to have to sell/get rid of some stuff because now my closet is bursting at the seams. 

(This set of pictures is good incentive to take my pictures early in the day when I'm not so tired and wrinkled!)

She bargains like a lawyer...

Shirt: Collette Dinnigan

Skirt: Moschino

Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana 

This weekend was an amazing shopping weekend for me. I scored some amazing deals and significantly increased the size of my wardrobe for a really small amount of money. The whole outfit is comprised of pieces that I got on my shopping adventures this weekend. The blouse is by an Australian designer, Collettee Dinnigan, who is the first Australian designer to launch a ready-to-wear collection in Paris in 1995. The skirt is one of two Moschino skirts that I picked up from the sale and I absolutely love the pleating on the front and the two little slits on either side of the pleating. Designer clothing and shoes have that extra amount of detail in the design that really sets them apart.

In addition to going back to the garage sale, my friend and I went to the bi-annual DecadesTwo shoe blowout sale. We got to the store around 6am and waited in line for 3 hours! Thankfully we borrowed an iPad and we were able to keep ourselves entertained. We even recognized some of the people in line from January! The only downside to the sale was 25+ 1 friend each were allowed to go to the front of the line! They won a contest held by Racked LA the day before that let them in earlier than everyone else who had been waiting in line as early as 4am! That seemed to be a bit unfair because it is a pretty high amount of people considering they only let about 20 people at most into the store at one time and they only have about 300 pairs of shoes (the limit this time was 3 pairs of shoes per person)! In the end most of the women that went to the head of line walked out empty handed and disappointed. We were kinda happy, because if they hadn't have let all of those people in first we would have been in the first group to go in (which is really important when you wear a size 7/8)!

My friend and I both ended up getting two pairs of shoes each! I promise that all of the shoes will get photographed for the blog so everyone can see the loot that we got at the sale. One thing about the sale is that you can't go in with any kind of requirements for what kind of shoe you want unless it is really broad. My requirements are that the shoe isn't black, super delicate, or too pointy! I can't wait to shoe you the other pair of shoes that I got!!!!

p.s. I just realize that my outfit below is almost a copy of my co-workers outfit! how awkward! I must have had that outfit on the brain when I got dressed last Friday!

Did anyone else go to the DecadesTwo shoe sale?

The golden silk road

Shirt: Banana Republic

Skirt: Fantasia, garage sale find

Purse: from Korea, gift

Necklace: Laundry by Shelly Segal

Shoes: Nine West

Earrings: Macys

The pictures of this outfit didn't come out as well as I had hoped (too much direct sun) but I just had to show off another amazing find from the garage sale that I went to last week.  This skirt was in the dollar section and a 100% real silk. The color isn't my favorite and I can't remember the last time that I wore a skirt this long but I absolutely love the little gold threads woven in it. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to go back to the garage sale and pick up a few more things that I wasn't able to get last time! 

Then tomorrow I am going to the DecadesTwo shoe sale! There better be a killer pair of size 7's with my name on it! I found out that they did this contest to let 25 people + a friend in at the front of the line. My friend and I are pissed that we didn't win/ even if we get there super early we still won't be in the first group to go in! That BLOWS. Oh well, as long as I get a pair of shoes it will be fine. 

Co-Worker Outfit

Shirt: Forever21

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Bebe

Bracelet: H&M

Watch: Guess

I have some really stylish friends and co-workers and I have been waiting for a chance to put up some pictures of their outfits. Finally yesterday I asked one of my coworkers if she wanted to be on my blog because she just got the cutest hair cut. A perfect outfit for the office but still cool enough to walk outside in the heat. :)

(if anyone of my other friends/co-workers are reading this and want to be on my blog just let me know!) 

Electric Feel

Today my outfit is comprised of two pieces that I found at this AMAZING garage sale by my house that I mentioned in my last post. Both the skirt and the shirt are 100% silk so they feel absolutely luxurious and cool even in this insane heat. The print on the skirt reminds me of something that Betsy Johnson would design!

Shirt: Mel and Lisa

Skirt: Walter

Shoes: Aldo

Bag: Coach

Sunnies: D&G

*fyi the skirt and shirt are WAY brighter in person but it was so sunny outside, they don't come out as bright as they actually are! 

Baby's In Black

Dress: Forever21

Shoes: Wet Seal

Belt: Charlotte Russe, my sister's

Glasses: D&G

Necklace: DIY shrinkydink

Bracelet: DIY studded

Headband: Forever21

I had an amazing weekend filled with the best ever garage sale, tons of pool time, lots of sugar, and even some fun time with my friends! I can't wait to show you all of the items that I got from the sale!!! Hopefully, I will have a sneak peak of all of the items later this week. After all of that I am so tired but I am going to try and post my outfit today after lunch to makeup for not posting last friday. I hope that everyone had an amazing weekend! 

Shoe Sale!!!!

Last January, my friend Laura and I woke up at extremely early on a Saturday morning to go shopping in West Hollywood, but this wasn't any normal shopping trip. This was for the slightly infamous DecadesTwo semiannual shoe sale. All of their designer shoes are on sale for $150 and less. A large portion of the shoes are new, never been worn or gently used including Marcs, Pradas, Louboutins and all of the other big names in designer footwear. My friend ended up getting two pairs of never been worn shoes including a pair of black patent "too small" Marc Jacob from 2007. I got my pink satin Pradas!

The July sale is next Saturday morning!!! I am very excited! There are a few older shoes that I have major crushes on that I hope will some how show up at the sale in the 7/8 section. The only downside is that the 7/8 section of the sale is the most popular section by far so there is a lot of people fighting over the shoes. My friend wears a bigger size and almost no one was looking in that section (or the really small section)! Last year we were in the first 25 people in line and we got to look at all of the shoes first!

via

(here is a picture from January, I'm standing unwinding yarn, my friend is sitting from RackedLA)

If anyone is interested in going or meeting up afterwards, let me know, email me! We will definitely be going again this year! I can't wait! I need someone else who wears a 7/8 to come with me and help me look through that section. See everyone next Saturday!

Elephants on Parade

Blouse: Forever21

Skirt: Zara

Shoes: Target

Watch: Guess

Bracelet: "borrowed" from my mom

Earrings: DIY Shrinky Dinks

I really like combination of this shirt and skirt because the skirt is kind of rough but school girlish while the shirt is very feminine. The ruffles, lavender color and the shoe bows soften up the whole look. This skirt is one of my favorite pieces of clothing and I wear at least once every week! It is so versatile, somehow I have managed to convince myself that it matches everything else in my closet. In the winter or at the office it goes perfectly with tights and boots. 

The earrings were made at a craft party that I hosted when I lived in Spokane. They are made from Shrinky Dink plastic and colored with Sharpies and colored pencils. I have been aching to make some more so look for a tutorial on how to use recycled plastic to make them! I can get a few of my friends together I might have another Shrinky Dink party sometime soon. They are super easy and fun to make so they are the perfect party craft. 

It is starting to get hot in LA, like summer is suppose to be, which means we will finally get to really enjoy the pool. I can't wait! It is as close as I am going to get to a vacation this summer so I am going to have to make due. Oh well, is anyone else going on a really great vacation that I can vicariously go on? Please let me know, that would be fantastic! 

Hair Down

Shirt: Urban Outfitters, actually a dress

Jeans: Miss Sixty from Danish friend

Shoes: Kaya, DSW

Necklace: gift from friend

Ring: from a friend

Photos of my beautiful sister Jessica modeling some of her newest clothing items. I love this outfit that she put together. The shirt is very dramatic and has great detail on the shoulders. She is such a good model and a natural in front of the camera. As documented in home videos from the early 90's she has always loved to be in front of the camera. 

Stripes + Florals

This is my (work friendly) take on the blogger trend of stripes and florals together. It is a completely different approach to the look than I have seen before on blogs and places like Chictopia. The color palette is very soft and you can barely tell that there are stripes on the jacket. It is hard to tell but the shirt is sheer and has an all over flower pattern. Three different floral prints in one outfit! This skirt is from a phase where the majority of my closet was florals but now I only have a few pieces.

I do realize that this outfit really washes out my skin tone but it perfectly matches my "Mae" necklace so I had to wear it! :)

Shirt: random store in Berkeley years ago

Tank top: Zara

Skirt: Macy's, Necessary Objects

Jacket: Michael Kors, thrifted

Shoes: Aldo

Earrings: Buckle

Necklace: made by my coworker 

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

Happy (belated) birthday to my littlest sister! She turned 13 yesterday. Oh my, she is a teenager now! I think that it might be time for me to move out again...

Still Spring in LA

Blouse: Zara

Tank top: Zara

Skirt: H&M

Tights: Target?

Shoes: Wet Seal

Purse: Coach

Necklace: borrowed from my mom

Earrings: from Macy's, unknown brand

Bracelet: borrowed from my sister

I am so thankful that LA is not experiencing a heatwave like the rest of the country, because normally it's insanely hot here. I wasn't meant for hot weather, it makes me so cranky. I am most certainly an indoor child. You might have already guessed that though from my very pale skin. 

This outfit unfortunately did not photograph as well as I had hoped, but I did get compliments on it from my co-workers. Oh well, some pieces of clothing just photograph better than others. The colors of the flowers in the shirt match the color of the skirt. These shoes have been loved to death by me and are starting to fall apart. I will be really sad when that finally happens! In the mean time I am going to try and keep that from happening. 

I'm sorry for everyone else who is experiencing the heat wave right now!

4th of July

I know that it's a couple of days past the 4th of July, but later is better than never, right?

Shirt: Threadless "Doodlebug"

Skirt: Old Navy

Jellies: Aldo

Earrings: Blue and white beaded by me

I'm SO happy that my parents put up our swing up again! I love to swing and this one is fun because you can go in every direction. 

The detail on this shirt is really cute. Every Threadless shirt is so clever and unique, that's why I love them! This ended up being a great outfit for the 4th since it wasn't extremely hot or cold during the day. We had a BBQ and pool party at our house and one of my friends from college who lives about an hour away even came for the day. It was great to see her since I've been so busy lately! At night our neighbors shot off professional grade fireworks which was quite a treat since we weren't able to go see a fireworks display because of our dog who is easily frightened by any loud noise. 

Mae Necklace

My co-worker Debby that made the crochet flower necklace for me posted the pattern on her blog for anyone that is interested in making one! She even named it after me! I might have to learn how to crochet...

Hair Straightener Review

All through out high school and college I've wanted a straightener to control my super thick wavy mane. I never bought one a. because they are expensive and I never had that kind of money to spend on one item b. I never have cared too much about my hair c. I'd rather have clothes or shoes instead. FINALLY a couple of months ago I just got so fed up that I went out and bought one. I did do a lot of research before hand. I scoured the internet for reviews of straighteners and asked all of my friends for their opinions. I decided to splurge and buy a GHD for myself. 

So far I have straightened my hair dozens of times and I LOVE it. I have also straightened a few of my friends hair and both of my sisters (all of these ladies have long thick hair). It has worked perfectly every single time. It heats up in less than 30 seconds, stays extremely hot the whole time and leaves hair silky, smooth and straight! The whole process takes significantly less time than any other straightener I have used before, which is my favorite part! Now I can have straight hair in under 30 minutes. If you have the money and thick wavy or curly hair then I would definitely say to buy a GHD (especially since they just came out with a new 7 deadly sins line) but if you hair is thin, fine or you don't have a ton of extra money around then go with a cheaper model. 

Oh! Darling

I felt like dressing up for work today so I threw on my favorite party dress! To make it more work appropriate I added black tights, a black scoop neck shirt underneath and a black blazer. I'm always a little hesitant to wear "party" dresses to work because I think that they make me look young and I already have a very young face. At work especially since I greet clients and such I feel like I need to look at least my age! This outfit seemed to go over well though and no one mentioned that I looked too young in it. Definitely a good sign.

Dress: Forever21

Belt: from a formal jacket

Shirt: gift, Rampage

Tights: probably Target

Necklace: Enbedia, from a giveaway seen here

Shoes: Seychelles, seen here
Brooch: gift from friend

This brooch was given to me by one of my friends for my last birthday. I LOVE it! Sparkly and a bow - two of my favorite things together! She got this piece at a vintage show! I was suppose to go with her but wasn't able to make it and I'm really upset that I didn't because she said that there were so many amazing pieces there and racks of awesome clothing. Hopefully, they have one again next year! 

The pictures were taken in the lobby of the building that I work in. The lobby is so modern, clean and bright! I love how it looks. It is an awesome place for people watching because there are several talent agents, modeling agents and a trendy restaurant in our building. You never know who you might see hanging around or walking through the lobby!