(500) days of summer

I'm a little late to the game on this one, but I just watched (500) Days of Summer, which was inspiring for two reasons. First off, could Zooey Deschanel's clothes be any cuter? Did you notice that she was always in blue? I died over the vintage dress she wears to her co-workers wedding (below).


Also, almost the entire movie takes place in downtown Los Angeles, which just looks stunning. I'm totally into revisiting some spots I haven't been to in years, like the Bradbury Building, Angel's Knoll, Fine Arts building, and Angel's Flight.

what i wore

Out to get pizza with my mom and sister.
Skirt: Anthropologie
Shirt: Ann Taylor sample from A Miner Miracle
Sweater: From a now closed boutique in Hayes Valley
Belt: H&M
Boots: Enzo Angiolini
Button: made by me

lamp update

If you're just joining us, I recently moved from a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco to a three bedroom flat in Los Angeles. A former strict purger of stuff, I have now become an acquirer. I also try (as much as possible) to only buy used or vintage. I've recently have some success in the lighting department, finding the above lamp for a mere $40 on Craigslist.
Vintage lamp from ACME modern via Craigslist, sugar dish from the Alameda flea market, tray from Heath Ceramics, wedding photo by Marla Aufmuth, globe from Council Thrift, wood block print by my mom.

I also found this one for $22 on Etsy.

Aforementioned lamp from Etsy seller de Epoca, photo by me, floral print from Old School Stationers, bowling pin found by the dumpster at UC Davis, circa 1996.

what i wore (last night)

Wore this getup out to dinner for a friends birthday. You can wear heels in LA because there's no chance of having to run like a crazy person to catch the N-Judah (otherwise running the risk of waiting 83 minutes for the next one).
Dress: True Value Vintage (in Vancouver)
Sweater: J. Crew from Jeremy's
Belt: F21
Tights: Hot Sox from Loehmanns
Shoes: Cole Haan from Loehmanns
Necklace: from Dish


Sorry for the crappy photos - it was the best I could do with a flash and a couple cocktails.

fireplace...?

What should I put in my fireplace? Currently, there is a photo, but it's rather underwhelming. No cheesy candles! Are books cute?

Wine? Jeff might freak.

Or keep it simple?

Or an array of objects (less scary though)?

carrot cake

My husband requested carrot cake for his 33rd birthday, for which I happily obliged for several reasons:

1. It gave us a reason to visit the Hollywood Farmers Market. On a side note, I should mention that this is the only farmers market I have ever been to with paparazzi present.

2. I love any excuse to use my Kitchen-Aid mixer, my most favorite wedding gift.

3. Carrot cake is best with cream cheese frosting. Obviously.

4. I just plain love carrot cake. I even made the recipe slightly healthier by using less oil (as suggested by other bakers).

5. It made him so happy! That's reason enough.
Recipe from Epicurious.

more baby gifts

Yet another baby hat and double set of booties I made for baby shower gifts.

enamored with: vintage snack dish

I'm thinking that I might need this snack dish. You know, to hold jewelry, hair things and other sparkly bits.

highlights from palm springs

It rained practically the ENTIRE time we were in Palm Springs, which was sort of a bummer, but I still enjoyed seeing the mid-century modern gems of the area, like the Kaufmann house (above) and the House of Tomorrow (below).

Other highlights of the weekend included a lot of Mexican food:

Bingo at the Amigo Room in the Ace Hotel with our fantastic caller/Broadway diva, Linda.


Winning at bingo! My prize included a bag of potato chips and a box of sparkling wine.

The view from the aerial tram:

And seeing my husband so excited to see snow!

If you're not yet sick of my photos, you can see more here.

suntan intermission

Jeff and I are headed to Palm Springs for a couple days to celebrate his birthday; themed cocktails and mid-century modern ogling to commence at once!

tights

I love fun tights, but now that I live in Southern California they are fairly unnecessary....but how cute are the above pairs (although they aren't sold in the US - damn you France for your adorable yet unattainable items!)?! Closer to home, there are plenty of cute ones too, like these:

and these:

or these:

or these:

or these:

or these:

or these:

bucatini and brass

While enjoying a delicious dinner at the Osteria Mozza mozzarella bar last night, I enjoyed both being able to watch the chefs work, as well as all the adorable brass animals that decorated the bar. Maybe I need to start a brass animal collection? This bear is pretty cute.

There is also this tiny bird:

Or this camel family:

Or a pair of swans:

Or this elephant:

Or this set of quails:

Top photo from here.

wall sculpture

I'm sorta into the idea of a metal wall sculpture to fill up my many blank walls after I saw the above photo of the newly opened Babycakes bakery downtown (another place on my list to check out). This pink one could be interesting:

I also like this red piece:

This metal one screams awesome 70's-ness:

Another bird number, a Curtis Jere original: