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Red

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Christmas #outfit idea: red printed blouse + black denim #style
how to half-tuck a blouse #style #outfit #fashion
holiday #outfit idea: vintage blouse + black denim + black mules
holiday red #style #fashion #ootd


Problem: Drive back home for the holidays with only dirty laundry and nothing to wear on Christmas.

Solution: Raid Mom's closet and restyle her favorite printed blouse from the 80s. (It's amazing how far a little half-tuck can go...)

Next Steps: Silently slip it into your backpack before you drive back to LA and never mention it again. If anyone asks, it's your favorite vintage blouse that you've had for ages.

P.S. Thanks Mom ♥

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Outfit Details:
Vintage Bally Quilted Tote

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Stop Light

Monday, December 22, 2014

DTLA city outfit
Downtown LA city look #style #outfits
dressed up denim: velvet jacket + nude heels
city outfit idea: velvet blazer + chunky scarf + destroyed denim
LA winter outfit: chunky infinity scarf + velvet embellished jacket


This is one of my favorite intersections in DTLA. It's right in front of the Ace Hotel and the other side of Broadway has a row of colorful old theaters all down the road. Kind of weird that the last time I took blog photos here was back in April, because it honestly feels like yesterday.

Now, I'm really really tempted to use this street corner setting to go off on a wonderfully metaphoric tangent about stop lights and life and transitions, and that feeling where change is happening all around you whether you like it (or not, definitely not) but you're kind of stuck in autopilot and don't know which way is up let alone which direction is right, correct or a direction that will push your twenty-two-year-old self out of your comfort zone just enough to give you that rush of change—good change—but not enough to leave you paralyzed...standing on a street corner.

So...where was I? Important thoughts on velvet? Apparently it's back in style and I can conveniently recycle this funky piece another year.

Happy Monday :)

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Outfit Details:
Gypsy Junkies Velvet Jacket
Seychelles Nude Mules

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The Theory Of Somethings

Sunday, December 21, 2014

40 days of dating blog artwork
{image via 40 Days Of Dating—grab a bottle of wine and read the entire blog in one sitting, you won't regret it}

I just saw The Theory of Everything (alone I might add—it's a new thing for me and I really like it) and it got me thinking about well, everything. But namely...love. A taboo word I've somehow avoided on this blog, except while in a happy relationship. Yet, funnily enough, I think my reflection on love now—as an outsider looking in—might be all the more interesting than a post singing its praises by someone wrapped up in the midst of it.

What first sparked my reflection was a discussion I had with my best friend after she saw the film a week prior. Her critique was that the love story was uninspiring and painted a negative picture of marriage. While I agree that it isn't successful marriage propaganda, its realistic portrayal of the struggles of life and marriage is what I found most, well...inspiring.

This was a love story whose happy ending lay on the other side of that love. A story that feels (and is) real, because so much happiness can be found on the other side of a romance. Sometimes that happiness may come with new love, or other times, it can come with an acceptance that the person was right for you at one point, but that phase of your life has come and gone. And so rarely do films showcase this very real truth. I think that's what's so captivating about it.

I often feel that finding love is looked at as a linear process. You search (and by search...I mean linger in bars, make questionable decisions and....swipe right) and search, you date, until finally one day you get it right. We've learned to expect a fairly simple process, haven't we?

But what about every love story in between? Like the love you truly thought would never end, but did. Or the one you knew would never last, but made you ignore all logic for an embarrassing amount of time. I'm beginning to think that there may not be one right person for you, but instead a right person for you during certain periods (however short or long) in your life.

I suppose the key, the ideal, is to find someone to span all those phases of life with you. Or at least every phase of life from the moment you meet them onwards. But that isn't always the case. And don't get me wrong—I'm not about to let go of the ideal just yet—but I am looking at it through a much different lens than before.

Anyway, the real point is: if you haven't already done so, see the film. It's two hours well spent.

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Winter Break

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

LA winter outfit idea
casual winter outfit: oversized turtleneck + black denim + black ankle boots
winter accessory details: gold watch + brown leather bag
how to style a turtleneck
how to style black ankle boots


These photos pretty much sum up winter in LA. In what other city would I be wearing a light sweater and drinking a smoothie in the middle of December? But, despite it not being much of a season, I'm still trying to wear more cold-weather pieces like this oversized turtleneck that I picked up on sale over Black Friday. (It fits my pajama-in-public criteria, which is v.v. important to me right now). Also, I've also been liking this black denim + black boot combo lately. I've found you can throw any chunky sweater on top and run out the door looking fairly put together.

Anyway, I can't believe it's almost Christmas! I didn't expect it, but "winter break" is definitely still a thing in the working world. There's this unspoken countdown to the holidays around the office. Five more days, five more days...

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Outfit Details:

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Mood Lighting

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

light painting via The Caffeinated Closet
orange light painting via The Caffeinated Closet
blue light painting via The Caffeinated Closet
In my last photography class, we practiced light painting—a technique I had heard of but never tried myself. Surprisingly, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be! I love the different moods that the colors in each of these photos evoke. Who knew that all it takes to create images like these is a colorful light and basic knowledge of shutter speed? 

Every photo felt like an intentional, happy accident.

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Postgrad Holiday

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Anthropologie retro fall floral dress
Old Town Orange Circle
vintage-inspired floral dress
IMG_9044
feminine fall outfit: floral dress + nude heels


These photos were taken at the Old Town Orange Circle while I was back home for Thanksgiving. My mom and I spent the day there for Small Business Saturday and had fun browsing all the thrift stores and little specialty shops. Since it was sunny all weekend, I decided to wear one of my favorite floral dresses. I found this dress at Crossroads Trading Co. this past spring and even though it's originally from Anthropologie, the retro silhouette gives it a vintage feel.

In other news, I'm finally starting to get really excited about the holidays. It's my first Christmas living on my own (aka not in college, which doesn't really count) and since I don't get a wonderful monthlong winter break, I'll be at my apartment up until right before Christmas. So, I'm planning on getting some festive decorations to make my place feel more like home home. (But, also keep in mind I'm semi-broke...so my place might look more Dollar General than Anthro-esque.) Is it weird that decorating my own apartment for the holidays somehow makes me feel way more adult than paying bills, working full-time, etc?

Go figure.

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Outfit Details:

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Morning Quiet

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

morning light #photography via The Caffeinated Closet
I took this shot in the early morning before work for one of my photography class assignments on still life. At first it wasn't one of my favorite selects, but the more I've reviewed it, the more I think the flowers and lighting manage to capture a special morning quality that is hard to put into words.

Every AM while I'm making my coffee, I usually keep all the lights off and allow for the cool natural light to fill my apartment. Even though I am not a morning person and struggle on a daily basis to wake up at 6am...there's a certain relaxing nature to this early routine that I appreciate. 

A little morning quiet is often exactly what I need to start the day. (That, and caffeine.)

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Off-Season

Monday, December 1, 2014

how to wear a summer dress for the holidays
Joie plaid slip dress and gold accessories
how to style a summer dress in winter
fall outfit idea: plaid summer dress and faux leather jacket

It was no surprise that I was able to wear this off-season dress for Thanksgiving. It's been an endless summer and the winter "chill" (aka below 70 degrees) is just setting in this week. In an effort to make this summery slip look a little more seasonal, I decided to pair it with my black faux leather jacket and other dark accessories. I often like to offset one style with another—feminine with tomboy, vintage with modern, summer with winter(ish). I think it makes pulling together outfits a bit more fun. Plus, it allows me to get away with wearing a summer dress in the middle of November. I can honestly say I don't think I'd ever survive a real winter.

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Outfit Details:
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