Botany 101

This is a dress I wore out last week, but just never got around to posting. It is the Anthropologie Tuileries dress. I bought this dress last summer from Anthropologie and have gotten so much use out of it since. It has been to Las Vegas, an anniversary dinner and out and about numerous times. The floral print reminds me of sketches and illustrations from a scientific book on botany. I adore the bright colors and artistic element to the sketches on this dress, which is why it has become a perennial favorite in my wardrobe.

When I visited Kentucky this spring I saw a woman in a really cool restaurant (Proof on Main, the restaurant located in the 21c hotel/museum) wearing the same dress. Since it was a cold and rainy day in Kentucky,  she wore it with a colorful sweater and black tights, which looked great. I think this demonstrates just how versatile this particular dress can be!

The dress reminded me of some delightful flowers located in a garden outside of the restaurant we ate at. Below is a picture of the flower bed outside of the restaurant and a close up of the sketches on my dress. I just placed an order for a cedar plant/herb planter to start an herb garden in. I hope this dress gives me luck with gardening, as I typically kill every plant that I touch!

Since this dress contains a myriad of colors, it was hard to decide which bag and shoes to wear, as almost any would work. I decided to pair this dress with my Figue Epi Alma and my yellow Delico Louboutins.

Flappers and Philosophers

Last night we went to a literary salon celebrating F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker's Hollywood years. The event was appropriately held at the famous Musso and Frank, a restaurant which has a literary past like no other. Opened in 1919, Musso and Frank served as a refuge for literary greats such as Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner, Nathaniel West and of course F. Scott Fitzgerald. In addition to writers, Musso and Frank was also (and actually still is) a hangout spot for directors, producers, actors and other movie industry types. It is the kind of place where you wish the walls could talk and tell you about the drunken conversations and shenanigans of its legendary patrons. Actually, if you get to know some of the bartenders/waiters who have worked at this establishment for decades, they may pass along a story or two about the past.

Here is a view of the sign (in the parking lot) proclaiming that Musso and Frank is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood.

Below is a view of Musso and Frank's bar. In addition to claiming that they are the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, Musso and Frank also claim to have the best martini. I had one of their martinis last night (along with a few other libations) and I must admit they are pretty good. Although my favorite spot to get a martini in L.A. is at Cicada Restaurant in the Oviatt building in downtown L.A. (Sorry Musso and Frank, you're still the runner up!)

Since F. Scott Fitzgerald's work reflected and also defined "flapper culture" it was only fitting to dress the part. I chose to wear the following dress from Zara. I actually purchased the dress this winter in anticipation of attending a 20's themed event. When this literary salon came up, I knew I had found the perfect occasion to debut such a dress! 

 I decided to buy this dress in an xs. I remember the day I bought it. There was a line going through the entire Zara store for the fitting room. Given that situation, I was in no mood to try it on, but luckily it fit. My favorite part about the dress is the dramatic open back. I could definitely see the likes of Zelda Fitzgerald or Dorothy Parker wearing such a dress!

F. Scott Fitzgerald said a good flapper should be, "Lovely, expensive, and about 19." Well, I hope I looked lovely, my husband thinks I am expensive, but I am certainly not 19. Two out of three isn't bad. To add to the "expensive" look of the flapper aesthetic, I chose to accessorize with satin. My Breguet Reine de Naples watch has a satin strap, my satin clutch is from Dolce and Gabbana, and my shoes are Valentino in satin. As Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation would say, "I'm a sequin and satin-covered candy cane! Treat yourself!" The Valentino Versaille Bow pumps are one of my favorite styles of shoes. I actually have three pairs in different colors and leathers. The heel is prefect and the bows are adorable.

The Ebay Artist

Ebay can be a wonderful resource for so many things. For example, there is always that one article of clothing that "got away" which you are just dying to track down. Ebay allows you to search for such items and if you are lucky, it might just turn up in your size!

This is exactly what happened with me and the Kate Spade Easton Stripe Jillian dress in Sunflower. I always wanted the Jillian dress, but I could never decide on which of the many patterns and colors to choose from. I came across some photos of the dress on the internet in yellow and white stripes and I was smitten! Sadly, this particular style of the Jillian dress was put out by Kate Spade a while ago and therefore not available in her stores anymore. Thus I started an epic quest for the dress which included searching high and low on Ebay. Luckily in a couple of months one came up, new with tags and in a size 2. Perfect! Well, almost perfect. I would have preferred a size 4, as this dress runs a little tight in the chest, but it actually still fits okay. I figured I might never see this dress again, so I would make the size 2 work!

I won the dress after some very fierce bidding for about $139 which wasn't too bad considering that it still had the tags attached for $345. Here is me wearing my incredible Ebay score!

 
There are so many ways to style this dress! I love the look of the yellow against a light blue color, so I selected the J. Crew Valentina Sling backs in heritage green (which is more of a turquoise color in my opinion).  I also brought a similar color cardigan from H&M with me to wear over the dress just in case the weather got cooler at night (which it did, a little bit).

Another thing Ebay is great for is random stuff that you have never seen before but just have to have! I honestly have no idea how I came across this bag on Ebay. All I know is that when I found it I had to have it because I had never seen anything like it before. 

The bag features an artist's palette and is from Moschino. One of my favorite things about this bag is that it comes with a real paintbrush which says "Moschino" on it. My husband suggested inserting a generic paintbrush in the bag when I go out, just in case the original one gets lost, which is probably a good idea. 

I really don't know too much about the bag, except it was probably made in the late 80's or early 90's. It was also made by an Italian company called Redwall for Moschino. If you know anything else about the bag please let me know!

Here is a close up of my bag which I think is truly a work of art!

Twinkle Toes

Last night, as a part of our two week dining extravaganza, we decided to go to a restaurant in Long Beach called The Sky Room. The Sky Room is another restaurant with an interesting past, steeped in the glamour of this region's bygone days. The elevator operator gave us a taste of its star studded history as we rode up to the top floor, which offers a 360 degree view of Long Beach.

The Sky Room sits atop the Breakers Hotel which was originally built in 1926. In 1938 Conrad Hilton acquired the hotel making it the eighth hotel in his chain. Celebrities such as Cary Grant, Babe Ruth, John Wayne, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn, among a list of other celebrities and politicians, graced the restaurant and hotel with their presence. Apparently Elizabeth Taylor also spent her first honeymoon (the first of many!) at the hotel.

Here is what The Sky Room looks like at night from down below:

I thought since this is such a glamorous place, it was only fitting to wear my most glamorous pair of shoes. So I broke out my Christian Louboutin Fifi 85mm in Multi Mini Glitter. My husband thinks these shoes look like they were decorated by kindergarteners in art class, but I don't care. I think they are fabulous! All of my shoes are relatively conservative, so I wanted one really fun pair to wear out and these are it! I don't know if you watch the show Master Chef (it features Gordon Ramsey), but Paula Dean was on it last week and wore a similar pair. (I think they were Miu Miu.) I figured if the Queen of Butter can rock sparkly shoes, so can I!

To compliment my twinkle toes, I wore the J. Crew Lucille Dress. This is such a perfect dress for all occasions. I plan to also wear it to work with a white cotton blouse underneath or a cardigan on top.  The cotton/silk blend used for this dress helps it transition from day to night. I also have the Lucille dress in  purple lace eyelet which I am dying to wear too! I got the belt from Target on clearance.

Neon Floral Served with a Side of History

Last night we went to my all time favorite restaurant: The Raymond. The building in which the restaurant is situated in has a rich and colorful past. The Raymond was originally a hotel built in 1886 by Walter Raymond. In 1895 the hotel burned down and was rebuilt in a fashion that exceeded the excess and lavishness of the original. Sadly, in the midst of the Great Depression, the hotel was unable to stay afloat financially. As a result the grand hotel was leveled and  a residential community took its place. All that remained was the workman's cottage which Walter Raymond and his wife inhabited until 1934. The workman's cottage is now the Raymond restaurant and offers not only exceptional food but a charming piece of Pasadena history.

If you are from the L.A. area you should not only check out the restaurant but also an event going on right now called Dine L.A. Basically Dine L.A. is a celebration of "food culture" in the area in which participating restaurants offer prix fixe menus at discounted prices. My husband and I go a little nuts during this event and eat out almost every day for two weeks straight.

Here is what the hotel looked like in during its state of grandeur after being rebuilt:

 Here is what the restaurant looks like today:

This is what I wore out to our dinner last night:

My outfit represents some of the trends I have been seeing a lot lately such as bright neon colors and florals. The top is from H&M and the skirt is the No. 2 pencil skirt from J. Crew (I have no idea what the color is as it is from last season).

 I love H&M for buying trendy pieces of clothing just to get a taste of a particular "fad" so to speak.  At H&M prices you don't feel guilty when the clothing no longer looks as chic as it use to and the fashion world has moved on to something new!

Meanwhile, I think it is important to invest in classic pieces of clothing, shoes and bags which you'll wear and love for ages. My shoes are Christian Louboutin Simple Pumps 70mm in black and my bag is the Chanel Jumbo Flap in black Caviar leather. These are pieces that I hope to be using when I am 100 years old! The H&M top probably won't be in style and possibly won't fit (especially if I keep eating out so much!) but at $24.95 that's fine with me!

Pool Party Puppy

Being an English Springer Spaniel puppy can be tough, so sometimes you just need to relax in your own private pool. This is exactly what William did today to beat the heat.

You would not believe how hard it is to find plastic kiddie pools. My husband and I searched for this last week and ended up going to several places, including two Toys R' Us stores before locating this incredible pool for the amazing price of $7.99. Last week we had extreme heat and humidity, so perhaps that explains the shortage of kiddie pools in our area.

These picture demonstrate some of William's calmer moments in the pool. English Springer Spaniels are water dogs and naturally take to being in the water. William needed a little coaxing to get his feet wet so to speak, but once in the pool he really enjoyed splashing around and trying to paw at the plastic fish at the bottom. Below is an action shot taken earlier of William running through the sprinkler like a madman.

Anchors Aweigh!

Today I am wearing the Dizzy Anchors dress from J. Crew. The anchor pattern on this dress will truly make you dizzy with delight! This dress is currently on sale at J. Crew, plus the extra 40% off promotion running at the moment. In my opinion this is the perfect light, fun dress for summer.

I have bought several anchor related items from J. Crew in the last month or so including the anchors aweigh blouse and sequin anchor tank. I also tried to buy William an anchor doggy bed, but my husband said since we don't live by the beach it would look odd in our house. He also said William would just rip it up, which is probably true! I guess I just can't resist anchors. Anchors and nautical themed things are definitely a trend which I have latched onto for summer!

My bag is the Louis Vuitton Epi Brea in Rubis. The Rubis color was retired last year. It has since been replaced with the slightly brighter Carmine color, which is also gorgeous. Nothing beats a classic red bag!

Gallop Apace You Firey-Footed Steeds!

If you are an ardent Shakespeare fan, you may have noticed that the last three titles of my blogs are all taken from either his plays or sonnets. "Salad Days" is an expression made famous in Anthony and Cleopatra, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" is from Sonnet 18, and the title of my latest post is from Juliet's soliloquy in Act III of Romeo and Juliet.

The title of this blog was also inspired by the little, itty, bitty horses galloping across my skirt which is from H&M. The blouse I paired the skirt with is also from H&M. I am standing in the doorway of a restaurant called the Derby (hence the jockey statue), all of which pairs great with the horse motif!

Speaking of horses, I am thinking this summer of taking up horse back riding again! I started riding horses when I was eight, but stopped once I went off to college. I use to do show jumping and I would love to try it again. I found a great place nearby to take dressage lessons from, which I have never tried. What do you think?

Here are the details of the horses on my skirt:

I would also like to give a thank you to phiphi from phiphi's blog for nominating me for the Lieber Award recently and I need to start working on the challenge which comes with the award. I also would like to send out a warm thank you Laura F from MakeupandPearls for nominating me for the One Lovely Blogger Award! I am so honored by both of these and I sincerely appreciate those of you who take the time to look at my blog.

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

This is probably one of my favorite blouses and it is the perfect bright sunny color for a hot summer day! It is over 100 degrees here in Southern California!  I bought the blouse last year during Zara's summer sale and I have worn in numerous times since. Sometimes the things you love the most in your closet are the things you got the best bargain on! The pencil skirt is Old Navy and the shoes are the very comfy J. Crew Cece ballet flat.

This is a close up of my beloved Prada Saffino Tote in Papaya. I had it custom ordered with silver hardware which is perfect for people like me who like to have all her metals matching!

My Salad Days

Here are two very simple, yet tasty salads to try for summer. I made both of these salads for the Fourth of July along with marinated buttermilk rosemary chicken and all American burgers. The first salad is a pretty traditional potato salad. I don't eat potato salad due to my phobia of anything with mayonnaise in it, but it received rave reviews. By the way, I have a lot of weird rules about food in case you didn't already know. The potato salad recipe I used is from Ina Garten and is featured below:

Ingredients

• 3 pounds small white potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion

Directions

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Here is how mine came out:

The second salad I made is a green salad with lettuce, spinach, strawberries, red onion, and almond slivers. I also added Gorgonzola (which is not featured in the picture) because everything is better with cheese! The dressing for this salad is a wonderful, light vinaigrette. The recipe for the vinaigrette featured below makes enough dressing for two. You can double it or triple it depending on how much you need.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon thawed orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

 

An Octopus Garden

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner to morn the end of Foie Gras. I don't eat Foie Gras, but my husband sure does. If you are from California you probably know that as of today it is illegal to sell Foie Gras or produce it in our state. Many of the restaurants in the area offered tasting menus centered around this now illegal food. We decided to take advantage of this and go out to bid au revoir to my husband's favorite dish. This is what I wore for our night out:

The dress is from Anthropologie. I bought it a couple years ago so I don't remember the exact name of the style. It features a festive fuschia octopus on the front! It's as if the octopus is waving farewell to Foie Gras with his tentacles!

The sweater is the Jackie cardigan in Jade from J. Crew. I was so excited to get this on sale for about $20, actually it was probably cheaper. It is actually size xxs. I almost didn't try it on, but for the price I am glad I did. I find that there isn't that big of a difference between the xs and xxs in J. Crew's sweaters. Go figure!

My bag is an Epi Speedy 25 in the very rare Grenade color (one of my all time favorites in the vast rainbow of past and present Epi colors).  My shoes are Louboutin Simple 85mm in Framboise (Another all time favorite color which was offered as a seasonal color last year from Louboutin's spring/summer line).