Making the Moose

Go to the beach. 

Don't mind being alone. 

Cook for others. 

Buy that thing you've been wanting. 

Enjoy your independence. 

Give yourself a makeover. 

Clean your home. 

Take a nap. 

Send those 'Thank You' cards.

Get happy.

do you like you?

well, do you?

 

 

 

 

1000 Lost Children, 1000 Lost Children, Vanessa Beecroft, 1000 Lost Children, Madame Grès--The Couture à l'Oeuvre, Vanessa Beecroft, Vanessa Beecroft, tumblr

Note from an Apologetic Blogger

My dear, dear readers, I am terribly sorry for the vacancy as of late. I meant to write and explain things, but I've been so busy with this move to LA that I haven't even had the time for that. The trouble is, for the month of December, I HAD NO INTERNET. Imagine such a thing if you can. It was dire times, I can assure you. The few times I blogged was when I sneaked it at work--probably don't tell my boss. My living situation is still a little sketchy, but I promise when I'm settled in a few days, I will try to be back on my game with this whole blogging business.

We have so much more to discuss!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I don't know about you, but this is one of my favorite holidays. I hope you're lucky enough to be with whoever you call family, eating delicious homemade (or home-delivered, if cooking's not in your bag of tricks) food, and laughing louder than the rest of them. Happy Holidays!

Here's to A Better Life

I had the good fortune of attending a screening of A Better Life tonight with a Q & A afterwards with the movie's director: Chris Weitz (director of American Pie and About a Boy, and producer of A Single Man). 

Here is the trailer:

And while the movie was good and really socially relevant--especially in California and other border states--I found the discussion afterwards to be most interesting. I love hearing from directors about their process and their interaction with actors. Mostly I just love hearing from successful people how they got to be so successful. And from careful listening, I've discovered the secret: BLIND OPTIMISM. These people may not have known entirely what they were doing or how they were doing it, but they prepared themselves for the task at hand and worked hard to convince other people that they could be counted on.

So, it's time to no-holds-barred convince yourself and those around you that you are the most fantastic version of whatever it is you'd like to be. Let's inject a little naivete, optimism, and stubbornness into our everyday lives and see where it takes us. Hopefully, just as far as we expected.

Words of Wisdom from the Dalai Lama

Some helpful reminders:

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. 

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. 

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I can not judge the universe. 

If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. 

Sleep is the best meditation. 

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.

I know that's a brain-full, but pick one or two that speaks to you and hold it close to you this week. Or month...or year...

Image from Fashion Gone Rogue

Halloween Wrap-Up...a week later.

I told you that I would show you my Halloween costumes. So this is them. Day 1: I was full of energy and hardcore into my Gaga costume. That took a lot of time to bedazzle. Day 2: I was OVER IT. Hence, the awesome costume and accompanying pose. It's terribly flattering.

Off I Go!

IT'S MOVING DAY, PEOPLE! I'm off to California! Los Angeles to be specific. I'm so excited. And scared. And anxious. And happy. And relieved. And I have no idea what's going to happen. It was all so fast, this move, and I don't know about any of it. Frankly, I'm as curious as the next guy as to how it will turn out. We'll see. I might miss my family too much and want to come back. Or they'll visit, and I'll go home for the holidays, and it'll be enough. I hope I'll see that I can live my life how and where I want to live it and be really happy. I'm like Liz Lemon, I just want to have it all.

So wish me luck! It's anyone's guess how it'll turn out.


Painting by Ann Sullivan

Navy Men

I'm not sure I mentioned this last week, but I spent the weekend in San Antonio. It was the Navy Ball--haha, blue balls--ahem (composure), there on Friday. I gotta say, I had a great time! I felt like Cinderella emerging from her normal everyday boring clothes into pretty diamonds and expensive shoes. That was, by far, the most dressed up I've been since my high school prom, and it was nice to spend the afternoon getting pretty.

I think every girl needs to go to a ball in her lifetime. Frankly it's kinda sexy. All those men in uniform. Hoo! Plus, there are times during the dinner when all the men stand up and recite their various pledges to the Navy. It may not sound like a big deal, but when 200 men stand with big muscles and booming voices (and they're all very passionate about what they're saying)...oh man, it looks good on them.

Here's some pictures of my night. My biggest regret of the night is that I didn't get a picture of the back of my dress. It was the best part of the dress! It had a open, swoop back (technical term) with a string of diamonds (real, of course) that lined the seam of it. I feel like a fool for not doing an over-the-shoulder picture. What can I say, you don't win 'em all.

I wore Celine shoes with a White House Black Market dress and vintage earrings. 

Family Picnic

I don't know about you, but to me, family times are some of my favorite times during the year. I have a moderately big family, so getting everyone together at once is a minor feat. But when it happens, it's usually a grand old time! This past week, the baby (my squishy nephew) was baptized, so everyone cleared their schedules. The sister came up from Tucson and the brothers all gathered together to have a great park day. It was so nice having the whole gang together when the weather turned nice. Here's some pictures:

You all should have picnic days with whoever is family to you!

Los Angeles Adventure Day

People, people.  It is time to explore the diverse land that is Los Angeles, California. I'm a California girl for life, and I'm still finding out new things about this wonderful and terrifying city. These pictures were taken on one day of my trip, so you can imagine how busy I was on the rest of the days. 

We will begin this tour at The Americana in the Glendale portion of Los Angeles--a lovely shopping area with grass where kids can play and there's more rich people than you can shake a stick at. Sounds like a great time to me! 

 Next we had a lunch appointment at Cafe Gratitude. And so we (me and my mother) left the beautiful Americana. We thought it would take a while to get to our lunch restaurant--more on that later--, so we left early and then had a half hour to kill. Alas, we took the time to shop! It was a really rough day. 

Near Cafe Gratitude on Melrose Ave. was a little antique gallery called Melrose Gallery and Antiques--emphasis on antiques. It was not terribly impressive from the outside. Just glass windows and some chairs out front. But then we walked in, and it was one of the most beautiful stores I've ever been in. And I've been to the Galeries LaFayette in Paris. If you don't know what that is, then you'll just have to take my word for it. There was gold falling from the sky. Literally. (Sometimes I like to use "literally" incorrectly.) Fairies were dancing on my feet. Literally. It was so pretty we decided to have an impromptu photo shoot. Take a look.

Doesn't that make you happy? I couldn't afford/ didn't have a pressing need for a chandelier at the moment, but I came across the only home decor accessories in the entire store. Some deer. Is "deer" the plural form of "deer"? "Deers"? Wikipedia says it's "deer". I believe it. 

Cue deer photo shoot:

Oh man. Normally Marilyn looks serene on this cover, but with the deer on her, she looks scared it's going to eat her hair. Ahh...comedy.

After this, we went to lunch at Cafe Gratitude. Maybe if you're a vegan, you'll like this place. Jason Mraz is a partial investor, and it was run amok with hipsters. But--and this is a big BUT-- I was unimpressed. I liked the menu; the names of the food were cute and clever. But the food was too much for me to handle. For example, I'm a meat girl. I've always liked it. I like steak. It tastes good. A burger? Delicious. Some chicken? Get in me. Salmon? Swim into my mouth. But I'm also a vegetable girl. I like a good salad with my meals. We go to the farmer's market every week. I choose organic, if you will. So while I eat beef, it's from grass-fed, kindly-treated cows. A happy cow makes for better meat. Word. 

But I was willing to expand my eating horizons and check out this vegan thing. Until I saw the menu. They had a BLT on their menu. "Why?", I wondered, considering they don't eat meat. And what I saw shook me to my very core. Instead of bacon, they used maple-flavored toasted coconut. I cannot abide by that. Coconut is no replacement for bacon. It just isn't. Try as you might, it will not compare. But I wasn't hungry enough for a BLT so I continued on down the menu to the hummus. That's vegan-y, right? Wrong. Apparently hummus--made of garbanzo beans--is not vegan enough. It was almond hummus which contains no garbanzo beans but is instead almonds crushed up. I tell you now, ALMOND PASTE IS NOT HUMMUS. You cannot take out the main--and practically only-- ingredient of a dish and still claim it's that dish. Almonds crushed up is NOT garbanzo beans crushed up. It isn't! It isn't!!

Phew. That was exhausting. Anyways, I will step off of my soap box for the moment, and say that the atmosphere of Cafe Gratitude was lovely, the drinks were good, and if you're a vegan, I'm sure you will enjoy their coconut bacon substitute.

Walking. Walking. On up the mountain. Next we decided to go on up to the Griffith Observatory which has a beautiful view of the city and a cool little movie to watch once you get there. On the way up the mountain, we saw this adorable little side street cafe on Fern Dell Dr., The Trails, and we had to make an impromptu stop. It was just too cute. I'm glad we did! I got a hot chocolate and some strawberry-rhubarb pie; both of which were delicious. I highly recommend it. Plus the atmosphere is incredible. You feel like you're in the middle of the forest in a quaint town, when in reality, you're in the center of a metropolis and the 101 is just a few miles away. It was a nice reprieve from the bustling city. There's lots of mountain trails and things up there, so you can go get some exercise and then come back to the cafe for a post-hike cup of coffee. Perfect!

After our little stop, we continued on our way up the mountain to Griffith Observatory. My mom wanted to take me there because they show movies there. These movies are in a room with leaned-back chairs, and they show movie about the sky IN THE SKY. It's really relaxing. I think the lady next to me fell asleep. I don't blame her one bit. Those chairs were comfortable. 

This is the view from the observatory:

So not too shabby. We ended our very long day by going to Casa Bianca. Now, I almost don't even want to mention this restaurant because it's so good that people happily wait an hour outside in the cold to get a table. So I'm afraid if I tell you, the line will just get longer and longer. Lucky for you, I have journalistic integrity up the hoo-ha. So I will tell you about my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. I've been going here since I was a kid. It's my Cali equivalent to a big plate of comfort food. Don't take my word for it, this once was Obama's favorite italian restaurant. NAME DROPPING.

All in all, a fine day spent in the city of Los Angeles with my ma. Had I known I'd be taking a lot of pictures, I would've spruced up a bit, but you don't always get to look good on your days of adventures.  Words of wisdom. Quote it. 

Steve Jobs + Oprah Winfrey

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but the match-up of these two (Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey) is a big ol' bundle of inspiration. They are two visionaries in their fields, and the world has forever changed because of them.

Quotes from Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace:

When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

Inspiration from Oprah--I'd start around 14:15:

Women to Women

I had a really great week last week. I was going through really big life changes (trying to find a new job and a new house in a new state--not to mention trying to find the courage to do the things I wanted to do). And all along the way I met these women who seemed to be my guardian angels.

First, I was shopping for an interview outfit. This is not an easy task. If any of you have done this, you know that work clothes are UGLY. The man jackets and ill-fitting slacks...I got overwhelmed very quickly. And then I started talking to a lady who worked at the shop I was at. She used to work in HR and gave interviews for a living! She was so helpful. She gave me so much advice on what looked professional and gave a good immediate impression. (I know this is a fashion blog and you want to hear that you can wear stilettos, jeans, and a designer bag on an interview and you'll be fine, but unfortunately this is not the case. You just have to ignore the ugly--work blazers really do give a good first impression--I've gotten so much positive feedback this week from jobs and I swear it's because of the knee-length skirt and blazer.) She was so great! I'm so grateful to her. She really eased my mind of interview outfit stress.

Secondly, I have a ball coming up--YES, A BALL!!! I am a modern-day Cinderella, people. This ball is a black tie event. I don't know about you, but I've never worn a floor-length gown for anything (prom included) much less attended a black tie event. So I had no idea how to style my black floor length vintage dress. I was stressing about what accessories to wear, how to do my hair, what shoes to get, all of it. But I was moving forward and taking my dress to get fitted. And who should be at my appointment, but a lady who practically goes to black tie events for a living. She gave me advice on all my questions (Answers: Small clutch, big earrings, no necklace; hair curly half up-half down; strappy black shoes). I was so relieved to get to talk to another woman who had expert experience in the problem I was having.

Finally, I had my first interview of the week with a fantastic woman. She was so kind and supportive. If you all have been on interviews, you know they can be stressful. All the questions, and the testing, and them seeing if you're crazy or not. It's like a blind date, but worse, because there's no chance of kissing at the end. Anyways, this lady was like a mom and grandma and guidance counselor rolled into one. She made me feel valuable and competent. She made me feel really confident going into the rest of my interviews.

I guess the reason I bring this up--after all this backstory--is to say the effect women can have on each other is astounding. The way we can help each other and guide each other and build each other up should not be taken lightly. I'll probably never see these women again, but the effect they had on my day--and week--was profound. They were each the guardian angels I needed at that moment.

I want to be able to be that angel to someone else. I want to make someone's day better by being in it. Don't you?

Pic from i-D Spring 2011 of Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss by Kayt Jones

Sorry Sorry

Sorry sorry I've been gone so long!! I've been busy in Los Angeles job and apartment hunting. Oh have I mentioned--I'm relocating to Los Angeles! I should've  mentioned that last week, but I was so busy packing to go to Los Angeles that I didn't have time to say anything. This is the first moment I've had free with a computer since Thursday, so I'm ready to get back into action!

Rooney--sorry sorry

I went all the way to san antonio and all I got was this lousy picture of the alamo

For reals. I being the highly advanced creature that I am I FORGOT TO BRING MY CAMERA. And I don't have a fancy iPhone like you people, so this is LITERALLY the only picture from the entire weekend. I went to visit a friend, he took this lone picture, so there are no pictures of the two of us from the entire trip. I feel like a failure. So, I suppose all you can do is bask in the simplicity. I was unencumbered with technology. Womp womp. It was such a waste. 


But I'll try to give a quick overview of the trip anyways. It was great! There was BBQ, and a drive-through alcohol stand where they sell the drink in bags (apparently that's less illegal?),  and bowling, and a pizzeria movie theatre where you eat while watching the movie, the River Walk (which wasn't really worth all the hype), and the Alamo (which is where the only picture was taken).


Two things I will recommend, though, because they were probably the coolest things we did: 


Numero Uno: Rudy's BBQ--dubbed "The Worst Bar-B-Q in Texas" and is ironically plastered all over the restaurant-- is the BEST barbecue. So yummy! We ate there twice in the span of four days. I couldn't get enough.

Plus it's cheap. And if you know me at all, those are the magic words. You buy your meat by the pound which hopefully gives you an indication of how much Texans love this place.


Numero Dos: Howl at the Moon is an awesome piano bar near the River Walk in San Antonio. 

I guess they have locations all around the U.S. and if you're lucky enough that there's one in your area, GO. I've been to other dueling piano bars before, but this one easily took the cake. It opened at 5 pm on Saturday; we happened to be in the area, so we just waited til they opened, and slowly but surely a HUGE line formed behind us. At FIVE. I'm not sure if I've ever waited in line at five in the afternoon to go to a bar, but clearly I'm the only one. These people believed this bar was worth it. They were right. When we got in, they gave us 4 tickets for 1$ drinks (again, "cheap" is my favorite word ever) and we got wristbands for half off drinks til 8. So this whole alcoholism during the day thing really paid off. Might do that more often. 


All in all, it was a great trip! I'm happy I went. It was nice to catch up with an old friend. Next time I must remember to bring a camera. Rookie mistake.

Irene

Love and SAFETY to all the friends I do and don't know on the East Coast! I love you and am praying for you! Be safe!

Grandma

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This is a picture of my grandma. I'm not sure what era...maybe late 40's/ early 50's? Classic.

Big Bears

Hey guys!

It seems I've been doing a lot of vacationing lately... my life is so very difficult. I have a trip to San Antonio, Texas planned in a few weeks, and a trip to Tucson, Arizona in the works. And this past weekend, I spent my time in Big Bear Lake, California. Not IN the lake, in case you were curious. I'm not an animal. But we did some hiking, listened to some great music provided by my hippie uncle, and drank. A lot. Like I said, I live a troubled existence. NAHT.

Here's some pictures of the family time!

Modeling some hats we bought in Big Bear by Hatley. Mine says "Make the Moose Out of Life" with a canoeing moose and Macy says "Tree Hugger" with a pic of a bear hugging a tree. Cheeky.

Alpine Slides. Not just for kids.

Look who we met! Scott Disick--aka "guy who lives off the Kardashians".

Just some of the lovely ladies in my family.