anthropologie mood

One of my favorite stores to peruse when I'm out and about shopping.  Anthropologie is top notch when it comes to store displays and the holiday season is a fave of mine because the trimmings are unique with a vintage flare.  The store's theme this year is cabin chic' and they manage to fit a tree, log cabin and this adorable owl.  I enjoy perusing their website as well and must share with you the outfits: holiday do's.  Here are my favorite looks from the holiday do's:

tree farm outing and bakery stop

hosting at home and cocktail party

black friday

Instead of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, my family ended up having lunch. I ended up doing multiple things since I woke up early and wrote my paper. Conveniently, coffee bean was open and had my holiday drink of the moment, peppermint vanilla latte. I also saw Harry Potter after our Thanksgiving lunch and of course went shopping on Black Friday.  It's starting to be a tradition for my sis and I because we have been going for 2 years straight at the Camarillo Outlet for some shopping.  They had some good deals all across the shopping spectrum.  If I had a living room to furnish, it's a good deal to buy a Sony flat screen 48 inch t.v. for 900 bucks!  Anywhoo, here are a few buys from 1 to 8:

1) Merino wool from J. Crew, 40 bucks

2) Marc Jacobs clutch, 72 dollars. It was mispriced and so I scored it for the low price. This clutch has been at Neimens forever, but in good condition. Who can complain when the original was around 500 dollars.

3) Canvas bag from J. Crew, 5 bucks.

4) Floral button down from J. Crew, 20 bucks.

5) & 7) Colorful thermals from Esprit, 6 bucks

6) Eternity scarf, mixed blend from J. Crew around 20 bucks

8) Striped long sleeve with a gold zipper at the back, J. Crew, 24 bucks.

an owl, clogs, paul & joe sister

Eeek, I'm Gilty! Yes, Gilt has been my vice for some time now and I have been buying up a storm whenever my pocket book allows. When I saw the Paul & Joe sister bag, I couldn't pass it up because it's reminiscent of the Alexa bag for Mulberry, minus the hefty price tag. Also, investing in such a bag is a bad idea since everyone from their mama has the Alexa bag and it will be as tired as a Balenciega bag. Well, I don't think so because I'm still drooling for the Balenciega in black with gold hardware, I just can't muster myself to buy it. Anywhoo, I am enjoying the Alexa inspired bag as a staple in my fall wardrobe. I'm also steppin' around L.A. in my clogs from Madewell my sis found for me. What a good deal I might add and the fringes on top are icing on a cake. Even though I'm not an owl fiend like my sis, I had to buy this cute coin purse too. This madness has to stop! There are too many cute stuff out there and in these ridiculously low prices that no one can pass up like moi. Oh boy, am I in trouble.

summer skin 10'

The summer months do bring us outdoor concerts, Vegas trips and a day out on the beach. The summer season in L.A. wasn't as hot as expected. It never felt like summer because there were nights around the 60 degree Fahrenheit. Anywhoo, It doesn't stop me from enjoying summer. Here are my top summer moments in 2010 and in no particular order.

I spent 4Th of July in Paradise Cove, Malibu with my family. My parents enjoyed the seafood extravaganza and my sisters enjoyed taking in the sun and the sea breeze. I managed to enjoy another day in Paradise Cove and walked along the beach admiring the ocean front view homes.

My annual trip to Las Vegas for my Anni. Surprisingly, Vegas was not too crowded and steaming hot. We stopped by at Peggy Sue diner because I have always wanted to go. Every time I pass around Barstow I see large statues of dinosaurs and was always curious to see the park. The food was typical burgers and shakes, but it's a unique little place. I gambled in Vegas but didn't win as always. Will you ever win in any slot machine? But I did find the most fun slot machine ever, the Sex and the City slot machine. Only a penny and you get to enjoy excerpts of some episodes and match shoes to which Sex and the City gal. So fun! It's always popular since every gal is playing it. Also with 20 bucks, you can play a good amount of time until you loose it all.

I got to participate the 2ND annual Fashion Night Out. I knew about this since last year. I went to Fred Segal to celebrate Fashion Nigh Out last year and who knew the event would blossomed to an all night extravaganza. My sister and I headed out to Rodeo Drive since we were attracted to the free Chanel manicures, a ginormous Ferris wheel and Sprinkles cupcakes. To our surprise, we stumbled to a good friend of mine Trung and his BF Luke. Ooh how fun it was as we chin chin to free champagne in all the lux stores and scored on some free nail polish.

My favorite summer moment to date was when my sis Darah and I received our certification as bonified Open Water Divers on 08/08/10. As always, we didn't know what we were getting into. It's a lot of dedication, time and perseverance. There are lots of times where we were thinking, can we possibly do this? We stuck to it, especially my sis since her nickname is "Girlie" and she is never the sporty type of gal and found enjoyment in breathing underwater. People who never dive do not know the process in diving underwater. There are lots of equipment, troubleshooting, and safety checks before jumping into the water because if these safety checks are not done, you will compromise your life. Even though it's such a high risk sport, it is an amazing adventure breathing underwater among sea life.

Summer always bring out great music and we managed to enjoy La Roux at the Nokia Club, which is a great venue I might add. The place is intimate and the sound is impressive. We also saw Kings of Leon at the Hollywood Bowl and were they badass! We saw our favorite songbird, Mieko in Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. I luv this venue because it reminds me of the coffee houses you see in the movies. The seats are couches, and there are tables all around where you can enjoy a drink while they perform. Great acoustics too.

We spent the last day of summer in Vegas to see Phoenix at Pearl in the Palms Casino. My sis Darah and I will make an excuse to make a road trip to see a DJ, band or art exhibition. For example, we made a weekend to see Paul Oakenfold in SF and to catch the Frida Kahlo exhibit in SFMOMA a couple years back. The last day of summer, we made a trip to Las Vegas to see Phoenix. Las Vegas in the weekdays is amazing! No long lines for anything, we got upgraded to a better room with no extra cost and after the concert, out of no where we see Thomas Mars in Ghostbar. What a crazy night. The venue is pretty intimate too and our seats were not bad at all.

facehunter @ lead apron

I heart fashion blogs, and so does my sister. She found out Facehunter (Yvan Rodic) is doing a book tour in North America and is making a stop in Los Angeles. Of course we jumped up to the opportunity to meet Facehunter and maybe purchase his book. His book signing was at Melrose Place. It was in this cute bookstore, Lead Apron. They mostly sell expensive hard to find art/coffee books. The price tags on these books were cha ching expensive! I went off on a tangent once again, so yes we met the Facehunter. One thing that surprises me about Facehunter is he dresses classic chic', in contrast to the people he photographs. Also, he was intrigued about people who follow his blog. He didn't even want to talk about the blog or book. He was asking us what we do for a living, what nationality we are and even asked how are day was. Swiss people are so nice. Anywhoo, my sister was the one who purchased the book because I'm not into buying books about fashion, though I luv perusing his blog. I must say, it's made with LOVE. The hard cover and inside binding impressed me, in contrast to the Sartorialist book. The Sarts' book is pathetic looking. Anywhoo, the quote he wrote on the book is referring to the size of his camera. His minolta was just innocently right next to him and I asked him if that is the camera he uses to capture street style and he said "Yes". We were aghast how small it was since the majority of these fashion bloggers photograph with Nikons or Canons. It's not even an SLR! Truth be told, it's not the equipment, it's the eye; and so, He wrote "Size doesn't matter!". What a funny Swiss.

gucci artisan corner tour

My sister Darah is in the know with all things shopping. Gucci launched a tour in March called Artisan Corner. These artisans are from Florence, Italy and they were in the Beverly Hills location, assembling and crafting Gucci leather bags in front of our eyes. There was also a video from the factory of Gucci, displaying the craftmenship of bag making. The bag I purchased was actually made at the time, location and with an actual artisan from Italy. It was a nice experience to see how much precision and attention to detail the artisans possessed and to deliver a perfectly hand crafted bag in such a short amount of time. It truly was a unique experience since the tour will only be making a few stops in North America. After Los Angeles, the Artisan Corner will be heading to Chicago and their last stop will be New York. It made our shopping day special since the bag I purchased had my initials branded inside and my sister's wallet was branded with her name as well. I am such a materialist. Click here for some more details of the Artisan Corner Tour.