Monday, March 31, 2014

Urban Preppy

Perhaps I should be standing next to a backdrop a bit more evocative of the preppy set lifestyle, à la Sarah Vickers (the blogger behind "Classy Girls Wear Pearls") based on what I wore yesterday. You know the kind of backdrop. Maybe a sailboat, a clam chowder stand in New England or a wood-paneled Jeep Wagoner should be somewhere behind me?  However, yesterday we went to downtown L.A. where graffiti is abundant and sailboats, clam chowder stands and vintage Wagoners are nowhere in sight.

Well, I certainly am no Sarah Vickers (who is?) but I am happy with this mishmash of the preppy meets urban chic. Maybe it's sort of like my personality or my style which is also an amalgamation of disparate, seemingly contradictory things.





 For some reason my eyes were closed or at least partially closed in many of the pictures, which is something Sarah Vickers would never allow in her blog, but hey I'm not perfect! Good thing I cut off my head in the photos like Marie Antoinette!


Which brings me to the next part of my day: from preppy New England, to the graffiti laden streets of L.A. we move to Paris. My husband and I went to a Paris-themed bistro in L.A. for lunch. I would have taken home one of these delightful pastries featured above, but due to the fact that our lunch took over an hour to get (see I am not the only one who isn't perfect!) we decided to forgo the dessert. I guess I can just drool over the photo.

Below you will see a few more details of my shirt and a few more examples of the vast amount of graffiti which can be found around most every corner and back alley in downtown L.A.

As sort of a side note, I watched a segment about graffiti as art yesterday on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. I also went to a similar themed exhibit at the MOCA a few years back. Perhaps just something to contemplate!




Blouse: Anthropologie Seaside Blouse by Leidsdottir 
Skirt: H&M, similar here
Jacket: J. Crew 
Belt: Kate Spade 
Bag: J. Crew Little Edie 
Shoes: Pink Studio

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Oranges in the City of Orange

Well, my orange/citrus print shirt is back for spring and I was back in the city of Orange yesterday too. For those of you who live in the Los Angeles area you may know that the city of Orange is located in, where else but, Orange County. It is the home of Chapman University as well as a charming old downtown area.

My husband and I spent the afternoon strolling through its numerous antique stores looking at furniture, art, and nick-knacks as well as perusing some other interesting shops. One such shop was a Native American store featuring feathers, leather, pelts, beads and other Native American themed items. Downtown Orange is quite the eclectic place and I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Below you will see my orange shirt (and me) around town in the City of Orange. I couldn't think of a more perfect thing to wear to this once vital town in California's booming citrus industry. By the way, my shirt has now been reissued by the J. Crew Factory. So it's back in more than one way!



This is a random sculpture that was on the campus of Chapman University. It is from 1983 and I thought the colors matched my outfit perfectly!



Here is my orange shirt and me standing on the steps of one of the lecture halls on the Chapman University Campus.


This is a fountain in the heart of historic downtown Orange. I went to the town last year and photographed it as well as other sights here.


Above is just a random picture next to some orange flowers. Below you will see pictures of the AAA Huell Howser travel map that I picked up at Chapman University. Huell Howser donated his collection of books, artifacts and other possessions to the University after his death, as well as establishing a scholarship in his name.

Today the university opened up their permanent exhibit on Huell Howser and gave away these maps detailing places Huell visited on his travels. My hope is to go on as many of these adventures as possible. Since I think I'll be living in L.A. for quite a while I should have plenty of time to get this done!



 Shirt: J. Crew Perfect Shirt in Citrus Print, Factory Version here
Jacket: J. Crew Factory Keating Boy Blazer in Teal
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: J. Crew Ballet Flats in Burnt Sienna 
Bag: Dooney and Bourke 

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Pleats and Potstickers in a Pinch

I don't know about you, but I don't have much time in the morning which means I have little room for error when getting dressed. What I mean is, if I throw something on and it doesn't work, I don't have a lot of time to try something different and debate the pros and cons of my ensemble. Therefore, over the weekends I am known to put a few outfits together in advance so I am prepared and ready to go for the weekdays. My husband laughs at this behavior, but I find it to be quite practical and time-saving.

I also usually check the weather when I am putting stuff together ahead of time so I know what to dress for, but sometimes the weather takes a sudden turn. Either that or the weather people just don't know what they are doing. It's probably a little of both!

Well, today was one of those days.  I thought the weather would be balmy and sunny, but it was overcast and cool. In fact, it was even drizzling just a touch this morning. I had planned to wear this cute H&M pleated skirt and short sleeved sweater today and I already had it on when I realized the gloomy conditions outside. So, in a pinch, I found this Channel inspired boucle jacket from J. Crew in my closet and threw it on for a little warmth. It turned out to be just the perfect solution to the pinch I was in!







So now on to the potstickers or gyoza if you want to get a little fancy. (I opted for potstickers to make for the alliterative title of this post.) While I usually like to plan out a menu and make things from scratch, nothing beats the ease of pre-made appetizers when you're in a pinch. These are actually from the 99 Cent Only store and they are so yummy you won't realize you're eating on a budget. I am actually a pretty big fan of shopping at the 99 Cent Only store, especially for produce. A girl has to save for shoes you know!

I was first tipped off about these vegetable and chicken potstickers by the 99 Cent Only Chef Blog. He claimed that they were better than those put out by Trader Joe's and I think he just might be right. Actually, I would go so far to claim that they are better than the ones I get at the Japanese restaurant near me when I get a three item Bento box.


When I went to the store to get some grocery shopping done, I wanted to buy a dipping sauce to use to enjoy my potstickers with. However, the dipping sauce seemed quite expensive and quite frankly it didn't look very good. Since I didn't want to spend $6 on dipping sauce for 99 cents worth of potstickers I thought I could throw some together with ingredients already residing in my pantry to save some money. (Again, shoes are my priority, not food that is going to go bad soon in my fridge.)  Below you will find all of the ingredients for this easy dipping sauce recipe which consists of:

1 tbsp of rice vinegar (any vinegar will due in a pinch)
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of soy sauce 
1 pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat


After gathering your ingredients together, combine by whisking together with the pepper flakes. I got this recipe also from the 99 Cent Only Chef and it turned out to be a savory yet simple dipping sauce for gyzoa, dumplings or potstickers.


After preparing your dipping sauce you can start to pan fry the potstickers. I used a liberal amount of oil because otherwise they will truly stick to the pot, thus living up to their name and leaving you with a mess to clean. (Luckily my husband does the dishes, but I try to make things easy on him.) If you want to be healthy you could also steam the potstickers, but nothing compares to that crispy outside that develops while frying. 


When you are done with pan frying, be artistic and arrange the potstickers around the dipping sauce to make any design you please. I thought this would be a nice combination with the yellow dipping bowl and black and white serving plate.


Now dip and enjoy! Yummy and perfect, not to mention cheap in a pinch!


I also paired these as the appetizer to accompany some hot and sour soup, shown below. More yum! You could order takeout, but it's also fun to experiment at home.



 Outfit: Jacket: J. Crew, Sweater and Pleated Skirt: H&M, Shoes: Nine West, Belt: Kate Spade, Watch: Kate Spade Carlyle, Cupcake Charm Necklace: Forever 21

Potstickers: Check a 99 Cent Only Store near you!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Random Discoveries

Sometimes it's best not to have a plan or to have a plan that goes awry and then improvise your way through the day. You never know what you might discover when you leave things up to chance, even when wandering around familiar territory.

This was the case today. My husband and I planned to go try out a new "gourmet burger" joint and then catch the latest Wes Anderson creation, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The first part of our plan was accomplished, but the second plan fell through due to the movie selling out. Instead of going home, we wandered around a quaint little town and discovered all sorts of random things.

One such random discovery was this mosaic backdrop that is great for taking blog photos. I feel like I am standing in front of some sort of vast, dreamy impressionist masterpiece! I wish I had something a bit more fashion forward on than a flannel shirt and jeans, but I tried to rock the look as much as possible.






The burger place we went to is called Round's Burgers, a small chain in the L.A. area. It was okay considering the price. Regardless, the burgers sure look hot and juicy in the picture! The chilli cheese fries were very good though, but how can chilli cheese go wrong?

I am not looking forward to reading a book entitled, Fast Food Nation this summer. (I have to read it because my school is introducing non-fiction into the curriculum.) I love fast food, especially burgers, so as you can imagine knowing the grizzly details of the industry isn't very appealing to me!



After eating our burgers and feeling a bit full from them and the fries, we ventured to the movie theater. When we discovered it was a no go, we wandered around and visited a farmers market, a toy store and some other local shops. Below you will see some of my random discoveries which I happened to snap with my camera.



 The above store and its sign was my favorite random discovery of the day. Apparently this is a new art and framing store that opened up in the town. Its sign features a cute lop eared bunny using a machine gun that is banned here in California. This bunny means business! I think it is one of the best graphic designs ever!


I guess the owners of this local pizza store thought that this sign was a good marketing strategy, suggesting that if you go in where the pizza is you will feel happy, but if you steer away you will ultimately end up sad and depressed.




Below you will find my last random discovery which is the beautiful cherry blossoms that are starting to appear in full force. I just love cherry blossom trees with their pinkish leaves dropping everywhere. It certainly makes all of the streets and the sidewalks a little bit more festive and beautiful!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too! What random discoveries did you happen upon? 


Shirt: J. Crew Boy Shirt in Mint Strawberry 
T-Shirt: Madewell New York Tee
Pants: Old Navy Rockstar
Shoes: J. Crew Mirror Ballet Flats 
Bag: J.Crew Edie in Hyacinth 

Thursday, March 20, 2014

It's Official

It's officially spring today. To be honest it has felt like spring for the last month, dare I say last two months, here in Los Angeles. My wardrobe reflects this now "official" change in the seasons as I have sported a lot of flowers over the last few days.

Both floral pieces featured in this post are from last year's J. Crew spring collection. I have to say, I was way more excited about J. Crew's spring releases and prints (such as these Warhol-esque flowers) from last year than I am about the ones from this year. Yesterday J. Crew rolled out their new spring arrivals and with the exception of some accessories and collection pieces I was largely underwhelmed. 

Maybe my lack of enthusiasm is due to the fact that I have acquired too many pieces featuring similar signature J. Crew silhouettes (how many button downs or pencil skirts can one person own?) or maybe it's just the aesthetics of what they have been designing lately, but I am not really craving anything. Well, I guess that's good news for my wallet!






Even my accessories echo the floral theme. Note the J. Crew Wildflower bracelet adorning my wrist in both ensembles. The flowers are definitely in bloom!



Here are my complete floral looks. As you can see I am really liking the fuller, midi length skirt for spring. It's so retro that it's hard to resist its vintage charm. What trends are you looking forward to for spring?
























Outfit #1: Sweater: J. Crew Tippi Sweater in Graphic Floral, Skirt: J. Crew Pixelated Houndstooth, Shoes: J. Crew Ballet flats in Mirror, Bracelet: J. Crew Wildflower 

Outfit #2: Shirt: J. Crew Swoop top in Floral Punk, Skirt: H&M Midi, Shoes: Kate Spade, Belt: J. Crew, Bracelet: J. Crew Wildflower