A few things brightening up my life lately:

This dress I ordered from tobi.com a few days ago that I got in the mail today. Lovvvves it. I found out about the website after gushing to an almost stranger about how much I loved her dress and she told me about the website. Some of it is kind of iffy, but I love this dress! I got two more as well. Because I can’t help myself. Current dress count: 80+

These two, for whom I've been babysitting lately. They’re the artists behind the fine art I featured in my last post.




Finally getting the right materials to make this necklace (tutorial here):

Finishing this heart painting that pinterest inspired. I used sparkles for the last heart:

Receiving this in the mail today!!!! I LOVE SPARKLEZ.

Using it to make homemade cards:

Get excited, Everyone I Know Who Has A Birthday. I’ve got an arsenal of sparkles, blank notecards, and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Um, I even made that gold liner for the envelope. I find myself impressive.

Sometimes the simplest things…

…touch your heart the most.

The best gifts are those that are a labor of love. Do you like my red dress? :)

10 Things That Make Me Happy (Part 2)

6. This picture of my little brother and I, taken in the late ‘90s. The height difference is still there, it’s just opposite now.

7. My collection of books from my childhood. Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, The Secret Garden,  and Every. Roald. Dahl. Book. Published. They’re all worn and dogeared and some of them literally have been chewed by a dog. I used to reread books if I didn’t go to the library often enough and I swear I read all of them 10 times each. Really. I’m not exaggerating. And I went to the library once a week. I have this super power where I can ignore ANYTHING if I’m reading (including time) so I would read whenever I was sent to my room for punishment. Joke’s on you, Parents. The jig is up.

8. Straws. Preferably stuck in bubble water. I have one cup I love a lot that has a reusable straw (that is BPA free TOO!) so this love is not as bad for the environment as it may seem. Aren’t these vintage-inspired straws fun?

9. My grandmother’s engagement ring. She was married to my grandfather when she was 17, and starting having kids right after (8 in total). The ring is delicate and tiny and the one below from an etsy store with vintage engagement rings reminds me of it. She got a different one later on, and my mother gave me my grandmother’s first ring a few years ago after she passed away. It’s interesting to think about how different our lives are. Sometimes when I’m feeling particularly anti-social when I’m out I put it on my left hand. It’s kind of like wearing a post-it that says “don’t talk to me” on your forehead.

10. A vase full of fresh flowers, which I’ve been trying to keep on hand all summer. My favorite flower is the gardenia, but you can’t really buy those by the stem, so I found a plant down the street (bordering a local dive bar, no less) but I hate that I’m taking them away from everyone else (and their own little flower lives) so I haven’t picked one yet. Instead I’ve been relying on weekly 4-5 dollar bouquets from Trader Joe’s in pinks, purples, and yellows.

Those are my things! What things make you happiest?

P.S. Find the first half of my favorite material things here.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

The title of this post suggests it will be one of those popular posts in which the blogger glorifies or laments in list form. Well, it is. Not only that, it’s going to be drawn out across 2 posts.

Last Sunday I watched the new Bravo TV show, “Ten Things That Make Me Happy”. They featured celebutante Kyle Richards of "Housewives of Beverly Hills" Fame, and the self-described “Maker” Jonathan Adler. Richards came off as superficial, naming her Chanel Bags, hair, and a 10 carat diamond ring, but she also included her sweat pants and her homemade lasagna. Adler included a local pizza, a ping pong table, his husband’s shirts, and a hilarious picture of a 3-year-old pageant toddler he has framed at his apartment entrance.

It got me thinking what I would choose if I were to pick 10 things that make me happy – not experiences, or people, or activities, or places – but 10 actual things that I can touch. Here’s my list:

1. White Noise Machines, which for me is a fan I got for $15 on Amazon. I love that it drowns out the noises of the neighbors. It’s something I either adopted from or inherited from my mother, who packs her fan in her suitcase whenever she goes on a trip. I also sometimes use www.rainymood.com when I'm especially missing the Florida daily summer storms.

2. Candles. My favorite candle I’ve ever burned is made for Anthropologie by Illume. It’s called Sweet William’s Way, which is very fitting. The first house I lived on was called Sweet Leaf Lane and the second was called William James Way. I can’t find it for purchase anywhere so I no longer burn it, I just take the lid off and allow the mix of chamomile, lemon and amber to permeate the air.

3. This skirt by J. Crew. I seriously lived in it when I first got it. I even once got an offer from someone to literally buy it off of me. I mainly wear it around the holiday season, but really it can be paired with anything. Except maybe not more sequins. Though I must say, I’ve never met a sequin I didn’t like. And I adore each and every one that adorns this skirt.

It's good for Taylor Swift concerts as well.

4. Bubby Water. I love it. I drink so much more water now that I use the Sodastream machine at home. I like bubbles in the air, bubbles in my bath, and bubbles in my drinking water. Bubbles. They’re the best. 

5. Recipes handwritten by my mother and grandmother. They taste familiar and like home and I love the fact that they took the time to write them down so carefully. I would just send myself a link or pin it or bring Better Homes and Gardens to the store with me, but there’s something that so vividly recreates my ancestry and the bond created between female family members when I think of how recipes were passed down from mother to daughter for centuries. If you don't have the handwritten version, you can give your favorite recipe to Articipe, and then you can have art + your recipe combine.

Those are my first five. The second five will come in my next post. I'm afraid to post it all at once because because what if I think of something BETTER that I didn't think to include when I first wrote this? This does not seem to be a list you can edit.

What are your favorite material things?

Beach Day

This weekend I went to the beach for my first true beach day of the summer. Due to “May Gray” and “June Gloom” it wasn’t really warm enough by my Floridian standards for the beach.

While it was supposed to be about 72 degrees, the day remained cloudy for the most part – “July Cry,” anyone?

Regardless, add in beach volleyball and some ice cold BL nums and you’ve still got yourself a pretty good beach day.

Eventually the sun did come out – check out the difference between the above pic and the one below!

I don’t actually participate in the ball playing because I can’t bring myself to stand directly under it. I just close my eyes at the last second and run away. Instead, I provided carrots and pretzels to hungry players. And next time I WILL STICK MY HEAD IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. Along with the rest of my body. Full submersion.

After, we went to Wurstkuche in Venice and I had the Vegetarian Smoked Apple Hotdog. Delish. I didn’t get the fries, but I had a lot of other people’s fries so now I know to get them next time.

My friend Nealie was in from San Diego (where she was on a work trip, she lives in FL).

We went to Other Room in Venice from there.

Nealie & I

Me and ValPal:

Normal:

We’re actually imitating an adorable dog named Carl (he has a twitter, find him @carlthedog) who my roommate has been petsitting for a friend. He’s got soulful eyes and I let him sleep on my bed. BIG STEP, PEOPLE.

This weekend I’m hoping to try out a new (vegetarian friendly) breakfast place and maybe head out to the beach again.

Tata!

Emily

Twilight Concert Series

Last night I experienced what is to be the first of many concerts at the Santa Monica Pier. The Twilight Concert Series is now in its 28th year. Every Thursday, from July 5 to September 6, a new band will be showcased at the pier, ranging from Reggae to Indie Pop to Brass Band, among many other styles.
We ate at Pier Burger beforehand, a new restaurant that was pretty tasty. I think I’ll try their frozen custard next time. We also bought some of the kettle corn they were selling on the pier, which was deeeeelicious but perhaps maybe a mistake as it’s a huge bag and for whatever reason I was literally shoving it in my mouth nonstop. We also visited the Sonoma wine garden tent they had set up and enjoyed a Pacifico.
It started raining right as the opening act performed, but I actually didn’t mind. One of my favorite things is rain at the beach.

Next time, I'll definitely head down to the beach area to stake out a spot where you can also view the stage. I'll be bringing a blanket and maybe some food and drink to enjoy. Cheers to summer nights.

P.S. Just purchased Emily's new book! Excited for a fun read.

All That Glitters

In my dream world, I would buy a new dress for every occasion. Also in my dream world, I would consider things like “checking the mail” an occasion, so this is actually not a feasible thing. Instead, I often buy dresses with no particular occasion in mind. When I see something that sparkles, I need no justification for purchase.
The dress I wore on my birthday I saw and immediately knew it must be mine. It’s pink, sparkly, and by Kitson, which I formerly thought just made kitschy novelty items and t-shirts making references to pop culture.
Here are some other dresses that inspired me. Most of them are in the gold color family, as I thought that would be appropriate for a golden birthday.
This one by Alice + Olivia. It’s even called a princess dress.
Love the bow detail on the back of this skirt.
Soooo sparkly and fluffy.
Sometimes it’s good to have a simple design if you choose to cover yourself in shiny things.
If I had prom to do over…
Not sure why this French Connection dress is called Rainbow as it appears to be yellow and silver, but I’m still down.

And of course, my style icon knocks all of those out of the park. Let me get at that dress, Tay!

It’s not even my birthday

This weekend I kicked off my birthday celebrations a good ten days early in Newport Beach. I’ll be going out of town for the next three weekends (to three different locations, no less), so it was the only time to celebrate Cali style (and Rihanna style)!

Let the presents begin!

Note the sparkly personalized koozies. I have a talented friend, no? I think she should quit her job and open an Etsy store, perhaps named kustom koozies. I’m hoping this blog post will give her the publicity she needs and allow my readers to realize their deep desire for a kustom kooz. I had a strong dislike for all phonetic alliteration until I joined a sorority in college and attended kappa krush parties.

Proof that you’re never too old for a wand. And a photo shopped tiara.

Thanks so much to everyone who celebrated with me. I feel truly blessed.

Malibu Wines

Last weekend I had the pleasure of celebrating a few birthdays at Malibu Wines in…Malibu. It’s a really beautiful venue with lots of tables, umbrellas to block the sun, Adirondack chairs to relax in, live music, and of course, wine. My chair even had a little cut-out on one of the arms to slip a wine glass stem through for safekeeping – um, genius.

The place encourages that you bring your own picnic, and our group brought lots of dishes to share. I made red velvet cake balls based on this recipe over at Bakerella. They are soooo delicious! I covered them with rainbow sprinkles which automatically makes them doubly as tasty.

My bestie and me a few glasses in (and sharing a chair)

These folks know how to jazz up a lawn.

This weekend I’m going to begin celebrating my birthday (a full ten days in advance!) with a few girlfriends in Newport Beach. It’s my golden birthday so I feel like it’s okay. I will be in full Tiara mode. This is how I feel about wearing a tiara. And I’m not afraid to show it.

Hair, Hair

Tonight I decided I should dye my own hair. I'm not sure from whence this desire came, as I've never done it before and hadn't given it much thought. I think I was just in this place where I had been starting to do something all day, or planning on doing something and then never got a result. I wanted change. Drastic change. Obviously I chose a dye two shades lighter than my own.

I knew (after limited internet googling) I wanted to use a semi permanent dye so that when I effed it up I didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars fixing it. Or, alternatively, walk around with bad hair, as likely would have been the case. I chose "white chocolate" from the Loreal "healthy look" line from my local CVS.

I came home and rubbed vaseline around my hair line as I had been instructed by the internets so I didn't dye my face. Though white chocolate all over my face could have been a nice effect.

Here is a before drizzling white chocolate all over my head.

Here is the during:

I think that is my I'm dyeing my hair and may blog about it! face.

Another during. I'm waaaaiting.

ANNNNNND here is the after

Me likey. It ended up being a little redder, but not red really. It looks a little green in the picture. I hope that is not the case in real life. A nice little change that I think only I will notice. It's supposed to last for 28 washes. We shall see, Loreal.