it is so hard for me to keep up with blogging, though i have nothing but time on my hands (it seems)! that might actually be the root of the problem, as with so much free time, you tend to let it slip away bc you don't have a real sense of time...

in martha stewart's words, february was a good thing. esp. valentine's day, which is a first bc i have never celebrated the holiday in the traditionally materialistic (but symbolic, right?) fashion. flowers were delivered to my door early one morning (around 9am) and intercepted by my mother, who grilled the delivery man as to who they were sent by when she saw there was no name, later telling me "you never know what kind of scam they're running these days... you don't want to fall into a trap." then she asked me who they were from and I could only react by rolling my eyes and asking, "how many boyfriends do you think i have?"; i made a few heartfelt crafts G said he cherished bc no one had ever made him any art; i took him out to ruth's chris for a man's meal (which is my favorite kind); and he surprised me with... a future stay at la costa spa resort in carlsbad! it was all very shocking, as i'm not sure if the man has a romantic bone in his body, but the thought he put into this fabricated holiday was incredibly sweet.

now, if only i could sleep, it would prevent me from blogging further about nothing...

love desserts.

via weheartithappy valentine's day! to the singles: be your own valentine and you will never be disappointed. to those with lovers: expect only love, today and everyday. also, maybe some sweet heart-shaped sweets.

how to spend your (my) savings

quick and easy.

just like how valentine's day should go. a lot of pressure can turn a silly hallmark holiday into a big disappointment. so, make this! simple.


via designsponge

find the how-to here.

if only...

BREAKING NEWS. for fear of falling in love with unattainable items (which is something i do quite often as it turns out), i have never immersed myself in the depths that is david yurman jewelry. tonight, i broke my fast and found out that there is something for every budget.

i say, forget tiffany's (forgive me... i know not what i'm saying right now). forget van cleef & arpels (i'm really digging myself a hole here). forget cartier (and now i'm underground). sidebar: you could never forget harry winston - can't even utter the words - so i won't go there. but it has been done; david yurman has won me over. in fact, i'm mentally saving for a few rings as we speak.



from left to right, up and down: $75, $325, $595, $790, $975, $1400, $2200, $5900

and funny enough, the first 2 are my favorites, with the onyx to die for. however, the wheaton ($2200) is my dream right hand ring, and also one of my favorite dog breeds.

i'm all over the place. i know.

Super Bowl Sunday

While getting ready before heading out to our friends R+A's house to spend SBS, I had what I thought was a really amusing idea. Definitely something different, and maybe something the man would be interested in. It would be a wager on who would win the big game, and the stakes? Valentine's Day. Yep, you read right. Instead of going right for his wallet, I was willing to bet on the Steelers getting the ring (like I really cared) and that would determine whether we celebrate the trite holiday. I win, we do. He wins, we don't. Now, I'm glad this was never officiated because I would have been out a holiday, many of which I get pretty animated about and hate to miss. Feb. 14 included, despite how little I really care for it. But in the end, it turns out that G wouldn't have agreed to the terms anyway. Good sign of a good man. So all in all, I suppose V-Day lives on this year. Can't tell if I'm happy or disappointed... I'm a very backwards woman sometimes.

who's MIA? not me.

back but doubt it is for long. not much has changed except: 1, i no longer work for the people i couldn't stand (long story i'd rather not go into), 2, which means yes, i am newly unemployed, and 3, i hold a greatly renewed interest in fashion. i'm talking eat-sleep-breathe kind of energy (because i have that much free time). will i ever direct my focus and blog on it? honestly? probably not, because it takes a considerable amount of time and i can't seem to focus on this thing for too long anyway.

with that, here is a quick synopsis of my current obsessions:

1
real simple magazine

2
via SOLESTRUCK
foxy wood by jeffrey campbell (as with most JC, it's just a restocking waiting game...)

3 allsaints leathers. their 70% off sale killed me to know that sizes sold out months before, and i will never be able to get my hands on the STANTON...

4 valentine's day crafts. love it/hate it, depends on the day. post more on this later.

5 chinese new year. again, more on this later. happy year of the rabbit! and good riddance to that awful tiger.

6 and last but not least, RUMI NEELY. i'm obviously terribly behind on all things music and fashion via blogs, as my previous job kept me from having time for my old life (spending hours "educating" myself on the topics of my choice...) but as it turns out, this gorgeous fashion icon of her own making is the much more focused, expanded and dreamy version of my own blurred vision. my style has always been all over the place, while slightly refined over the years, but in the back of my mind, i've always had this idea, this image of something more free than the confines of structured and overproduced clothing. literally and figuratively! for the past few years, i've begun to lean more towards loose and flowy silhouettes, even when G vocalizes his neutrality (psych) on it all. she makes me think, WWRD? what would rumi do? lame, maybe. but she is my current inspiration. and where i am at currently in my life, confused and stagnant, i think that's a pretty big deal.

until next time, whenever that time may be,
L

real talk

- HARD summer was great fun, until we were faced with the daunting possibility of walking an hour and a half back to a friend's apt bc no cab driver in the entire city of Los Angeles wanted to drive a bunch of people 5 miles.
- Gary and I celebrated our two-year anniversary! Time flies. Cliche, but true.
- my one-year anniversary with the company I work for was a few days ago... Yikes. But with that also comes a possible glimmer of hope for a change of scenery (and staff).
- of the many goals I have, the only ones I can plausibly accomplish are saving $ and paying down my credit card (singular! How wonderful) while aiming for near-perfect credit... I'm so close!
- we have tried one of the many places we want to go to that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (North End Caffe in Manhattan Beach. Pretty good.)
- I am currently trying to narrow down what I want to dip my feet into in terms of an actual career, and I am slowly turning towards the police department. But not as an actual officer.
- my dear friend Heather leaves for London later today for months and months and months and months. Guh.

For the month of August, this looks about right.

tough guys sing savage garden

darling.

a darling friend of mine named heather is leaving for london soon as she is studying abroad for months and months, so we came up with a french-themed surprise party! clever, i know. the employees at party city must have been really confused, as i asked them for berets, dirty bachelorette games (we are naughty people), bon voyage-themed goodies (of which they have none fyi) and happy birthday sparkler candles.

also on the agenda was a laura marling (who is a darling with an incredible voice) show at the el rey (one of my favorite venues with darling chandeliers) after which we spent quality time on the downtown standard rooftop. ahhh, LA. how i strongly dislike your stereotypically douchey male residents.

tomorrow, gary and i finally have time to go to the oc fair and next week is hard summer @ exposition park (my first music festival in two years) + our two-year anniversary! time flies. on the same note, i've started to realize that as i get older, the more i love j.crew... nothing wrong with that!