Wednesday, August 28, 2013

DIY Wall Art?

Sure, why not!  You made it, you may like it...or not.


My brother, R.J., gifted me Breakfast at Tiffany's wall art while he was in Chicago, at art school.  Little did he know it would cost him 3x as much to ship it to L.A. than it was to buy Ms. Golightly!  He scrapped the idea and started to fill the negative space with quips from his college days.  Who knows what the exact story behind each one?  Someday, I will find out.  Until then, like a true artpiece, I will gather my own story of his perspective.  So, he liked what it turned into and tore it down and brought it home to L.A. with him.  Although my eyebrows burrowed when I first saw it, i realized I was looking into my brother's random college days.  I loved it! 

My idea was to pull Audrey Hepburn's character together, the manic, imaginative beauty she was.  I wanted to use natural fibers in contrast to the flashy color, the randomness of each word and phrase, and the grandiosity of this fabulous screen siren.




  • I chose a wrapped canvas big enough to have a border around the piece.




  • Using Rust-Oleum Satin Spray Paint, I wanted to match the color of the canvas to the twine. 



Before:


After:


  • When positioning the pieces on the canvas, I measured the borders and space between each part.




  • I penciled in markings around each piece to maintain the correct measurements throughout the project.




  • I picked natural colored twine to wrap, knot, and contain Ms. Golightly. 






  • Lining up each piece is the hard part, especially as you are lifting each one to tie and wrap it with twine.  I would tie it around the canvas and some times I would tie it to the back beams. 







  
My new art piece!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Sorbet Bouquet

Printed Shorts 

Ah, the refreshing taste of sorbet sounds just perfect for end of the summer heatwave!  I dressed to feel just as refreshed in these short printed shorts with a soft colored blouse, draped ever so lightly, paired with my favorite structured handbag. 




I love these printed shorts I found at Forever 21 at the South Coast Plaza, while on a day trip to Balboa Island with the whole family-parents, grandparents, brother, and boyfriend.  (The men in the family surrender to the shopaholics.)  They are high waisted and have an exposed zipper in the back with no pockets.  I have seen many a floral pair at the high price of designer names.  These caught my eye with the faint floral sorbet colors.  




I picked out watermelon sorbet color and topped it off with a blouse, by Ellison, to match.  Even though I have had this blouse for a while, I made it work by tucking in the front.  It is that 'mullet' style blouse, where it is shorter in the front and longer in the back.  So, I let the length drape down the back to compensate for the short length of the shorts.  
I bought this blouse on Haight Street, during a yearly girlfriend gathering in San Francisco.  I meet my two childhood gal pals, whom I grew up figure skating with.  They have grown into an amazing professional fabulous women, who work as a fashionable, tough-as-nails lawyer and stylish, holds-no-punches gynecologist.  Oh, how I strive to be as fabulous as they are.





The shoes are a buy from Loehmann's, BCBGeneration.  These cognac colored, caged wedges paired nicely with my beloved huge bowling handbag.  About 5 years ago, I scored this Coach beauty on the way to a sinful trip to Vegas at the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas.  The leather has looked better every year that passes, but can feel like I am carrying a small child in there!







My jewels are ever so sparkly!  Gold and rhinestones are playing their part in the necklace from Banana Republic and the exotic elephant earrings from Forever 21.  The lip color is by MAC, "Girl About Town" found here.





Even though I was not doing this at the time, this last picture reminded me to take a second...and take it all in.
Exhale and Enjoy!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Boho-ing Around Town

Easy breezy while window shopping in warm and sunny Los Angeles...


I am sure you have spotted those cute rompers at American Apparel.  I have had this grey one forever and was self conscious of wearing it anywhere other than by the pool or at the beach over a bathing suit.  Pairing it with Cotton On's kimono, I am able to feel more secure about these short shorts and not-so ho-ish.  Ha!        

With the grey color scheme, I chose silver jewelry.  My white embellished sandals made me feel more dressy than regular ol' flip flops, especially with the slight wedge.  Wearing my bag low slung, I am ready to peruse away.  Happy Shopping!



 Kimono: Cotton On


Romper: American Apparel here 
 Get it in a size bigger for a more relaxed look.  Wear it with a bathing suit top in a like color.


Bracelet and Ring: Forever 21 similar here
Necklace: Kenneth Cole 
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs here



PS... I found a simple way to give my hair beachy waves!  A how-to coming soon!!!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Romancing the Stud

Vintage Silk X Studded Flat Boots


What to wear on a date on a Monday night? ...or any night for that matter. Sometimes, a date during the week feels like it should be toned down a bit, not necessarily. For a romantic Monday evening celebrating an anniversary, I focused on color and texture.



Killer Dress: I found a treasure of a dress in this vintage dress in an eye-catching fuchsia. The vintage store keeper mentioned that she wanted to shorten it before she placed it on the floor. I was so excited she left it in its original state-I'll shorten it later for a "Mad Men" feel. And for $35, it was mine.







Studded Flat Boots: Instead of my usual stilts I opted to pair my studded flat boots. These are my, like my friend Danielle likes to say, "scheap" version of the very "chic" version of Chloe's Susan Studded boots. I found mine at Zara on sale for $39.99 compared to the designer version at $1,345. Believe me if I could, I would!


Leather Jacket: This moto jacket is from H&M "Girl with The Dragon Tattoo" by costume designer, Trish Somerville. A effin' cool Christmas gift from my brother.




Earrings: The ornate stained-glass earrings are bold enough to wear alone without the distraction of a necklace. I love to highlight my big beautiful earrings with a deep side part...and not to mention attracting my stud's focus towards my décolletage;)



Studded Belt: My mother's studded yellow belt from "Right Bank Clothing Company", a trend setting shop on Rodeo Drive in the 80s. She gave me two of these belts. She would wear them together, intertwined.



Bracelet: Wrap studded bracelet found at Forever 21, similar here. I turned it into a hand piece! I added the gold chained bracelet for...more sparkle, which is from Banana Republic.



Have a great time, cheers!