The Strength of the Young

Be safe tonight. I'll be partying at home with the mister in my new red dress, Moët in one hand, Hickory Farms gift basket in the other.

Christmas Was Yesterday!?

vintage sweater // AA skirt // velvet heels from a random boutique in Pasadena

Let's see: tamales, spaghetti, pork carnitas tacos, potato tacos, vanilla pudding cake, whiskey and egg nog, pasta salad, pozole and tortillas, chocolate-dipped pretzels, mashed potatoes, and beer... this all happened on Christmas EVE, mind you, when my extended family packed into my parents' tiny house in Whittier, after which Christmas day itself was spent half-dead on the couch watching 90s teen comedies and intermittently nibbling on cold leftovers.

It's sort of a Christmas tradition in my hometown for everyone to meet at this crappy bar called the Frog Pond after we're done with familial holiday duties. It's a nice way to get reacquainted with people I haven't seen in years, some of whom are now coming in from all over the globe to play pool and enjoy cheap, watery drinks on cracked vinyl barstools behind the Wienerschnitzel on Leffingwell Ave.

I hope you had a super merry Christmas! The winner of the kissy-blouse giveaway is BIANCA of AVANT BLARGH! Email me with your address so I can send it to you...!

Kisses From Me to You

skirt and shoes - vintage // purse - janky mall-punk store // jacket - Marc Jacobs // shirt - AliExpress

I know these are rather somber-looking photos to be posting on my birthday, but I wanted to show off this fun blouse, because I'm giving one away! Ah, you may ask, what kind of selfless, kind-hearted, mother-of-pearl blogger gives other people stuff on their own birthday?

ME.

I had been on the hunt for a kiss-print blouse for months. There was perfect one on ASOS, but it was sold out, so I went deep, deep, deeper into the darkest realms of internet commerce to purchase this one from a wholesaler in China. It took TWO months to get here, and I had nearly given up when my package finally arrived. Lucky for you, I bought two of them because they were wholesale price and just too damn cute and cheap to keep all to myself. The blouse I'm giving away is the same as this one, and is about a size Medium (ish). Measurements laying flat are 20" pit-to-pit, and 15" shoulder to shoulder. If it doesn't fit you, who cares, hang it on the wall or something.

To enter, just leave a comment here and I will pick a winner at random next Tuesday (bonus Christmas present!). Tell me... uh... tell me how long you've been reading this blog. We'll call it market research.

Good luck!

Angry Birds

blouse, bag, cardigan, and fuzzy Betsey Johnson jumper - thrifted // boots - vintage via Etsy

lt's not easy, going out it public to take photographs of yourself for the enjoyment of innerwebs. People stare, giggle, run into your shot, or badger you about what you're doing. But Lake Merritt is so picturesque that on any given day there will be enough clusters of people dotted around the perimeter, taking photographs of one another to commemorate events of actual significance—engagements, graduations, quinceañeras, paroles, etc.—that I can sort of blend into the ebb and flow of human activity there. 

In fact, on this day Rachel and I did such a good job of blending in, that while we were taking photos, a resolute-looking little man carrying rather large bag of bread crumbs started walking straight toward us. He had seemed to take great care in dressing his head by encasing it in a baseball cap, wraparound sunglasses, and a bluetooth headset, but then gave up and just covered the rest of his body in a t-shirt and sweatpants. A Brookstone head on a Kmart body. Before I had the chance to say anything, he walked right up onto the dock, emptied the entire bag of breadcrumbs in an unsightly pile near my feet, shook it a few times, then walked away without so much as looking at us. The ensuing rainstorm of disease-ridden avian hellhounds forced us to take a break, but I still spent the rest of the time shooing away pigeon stragglers trying to steal my spotlight.

By the Book

Vogue UK, January 2012 // via

Dig this sharp, modern take on the ubiquitous literary-themed fashion spread. Now that I'm fully doomed to wear glasses for the rest of my life (I'm terrified of contacts, but my latest prescription shows my vision has actually gotten worse!) I'm thinking of building a little collection of different-colored spectacles... also amused by the Scooby Doo reference. At least once a week I get stopped on the street and told I look like Velma, and not necessarily in a nice way. But Karen Elson looks amazing here, so... fuck those people. I'll definitely be on the lookout for candy-colored separates for fall.