Nothing Says "Fashion Victim"...

...like a pair of "sandal booties." I saw a woman wearing a pair similar to these in Bed, Bath and Beyond today and my first thought was, "What the @#$%?"

Apparently I am way behind the fashion curve as these were popular LAST Summer. Yeah, not upset at missing THAT trend.

It's a bootie. It's a sandal! It's a bootal!

What was the thought process with this? I want to wear boots but show off my pedicure at the same time? I like wearing sandals, but my ankles get cold?

I don't care if Kate or Giselle have a pair in every color. I have more respect for the dweeb that wears socks with sandals than anyone sporting a pair of these...

Six Shopping Days Left 'til Christmas!

Time is running out to get your Christmas shopping done! I know I'm still working on finding the perfect gifts for my loved ones. What makes it even harder is money being tight in these tough economic times...

If you're struggling for ideas, I've got two words for you:

1. Disney - This limited edition Disney Couture Harvey's Seatbelt bag features Mickey Mouse on comic webbing with splashes of color. It's both cute and functional. Made of 100% seat belt, it's capable of holding up to 2,000 pounds of necessities (I know sometimes my bag feels that heavy...). It's lined in genuine flight satin, used by the US Airforce to make flight jackets, and features strong magnetic snaps or YKK zippers, NASA certified thread and chrome plated feet imported from Italy.

2. Discount - Not only will HipUndies ship the bag to you for a mere $1.00, but--courtesy of Well Above Average--you can get $50 off when you use the promo code: WAASAVES. (It stands for Well Above Average Saves! How cool is that?)

HipUndies also carries Hanky Panky, Cosabella, Spanx and Betsey Johnson Lingerie so log on and start shopping!

My Shopping Spree

Did a bit of damage at Martin + Osa yesterday. I love their clothes--but although they're not too expensive, they're usually priced just a bit more than I'm willing to pay.

But today they were having an extra 25% off clearance items. Yay! I bought this Textured V-neck sweater in Raffia Cream. It was originally $69.50, then it got marked down to $49.95. Still too rich for my blood--but with an extra 25%, I finally gave myself permission to buy it.


This 2 x 2 rib Henley sweater was also a steal. Originally $59.50, it was marked down to $24.95 with an extra 25% off. The lightweight knit will make a great layering piece underneath a jacket or over a camisole.






With the weather cooling down finally in L.A., I guess I've got sweaters on the brain. I love the soft warm red color of this Ultra-Soft Soy V-neck sweater called "Juicy Red." It's not quite red, not quite coral. It's made of cotton, rayon, soybean and 2% cashmere.






The last piece I acquired was this Silk Charmeuse Skirt. This one I'm not so sure about...It's very pretty, but I'm not sure how much wear I'll get from it. I bought it to go with a pretty sweater that I got from the Gap earlier this fall, but it may be going back.

So while my closet is fuller with my new acquisitions, my wallet's a little bit lighter.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good sale!

Think Pink! October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

You can run or walk for the cause, wear a pink ribbon--or you can go shopping!

Working up a sweat is a great way to support raising money and awareness to fight and find a cure for breast cancer, but you can also contribute to the cause while kicking back and surfing the 'net. Here's a few ways to turn an online shopping spree into funds for cancer research and support:

Julia Bristow Jewelry has a page of her hand-crafted creations (like the rose quartz heart pendant shown to the left) dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness. 50% of each sale from that page is donated directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which funds awareness and educational initiatives such as the National Mammography Program (NMP), Beyond the Shock educational video, MyNBCF online community and the Early Detection Plan.


Ten percent of sales of the short sleeve lucy(R) "Kick It Tee" and the long sleeve "Pink Race Tee" will be donated to Network of Strength up to $15,000.

On October 4th, lucy stores nationwide and lucy.com will host a one-day shopping event that will raise additional funds for Network of Strength. lucy will donate 10% of sales on October 4, 2008, up to an additional $10,000 to Network of Strength.

Breast Cancer Network of Strength™, formerly known as Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization(R), is a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization with the mission to ensure, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone.

The Pink Power Eye & Lip Kit from Smashbox is a smashing way to support the fight against breast cancer.

This limited-edition set includes two portable mirrored palettes, each with three gorgeous eye shadow and lip color shades, plus a mini double-ended brush.

These are adorable (and portable) little palettes! They easily slip into your purse or make-up bag and the soft, neutral shades are universally flattering.

For every sale of the Pink Power Kit, Smashbox will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Young Survival Coalition--a premier international, nonprofit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women and breast cancer.

Through action, advocacy and awareness, the YSC seeks to educate the medical, research, breast cancer and legislative communities and to persuade them to address breast cancer in women 40 and under. The YSC also serves as a point of contact for young women living with breast cancer.

We all know by now that tanning can cause skin cancer. So what could be cooler than getting a bronze-y glow with a product that not only helps you avoid the cancer-inducing rays of the sun, but provides a contribution to the cause as well?

During the month of October, MODEL ^co will donate $1 of every purchase of the 220 gram size of Tan Airbrush in a Can to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

The mission of the American Breast Cancer Foundation is to provide individuals in financial need, their families and their loved ones with education, support, and access to early detection screenings.

(Speaking of which, October 17th is National Mammography Day--schedule your appointment today!)


Therapy Systems gets into the act by donating 10% of the gross profits during the month of October from their Amazingly Gentle Scrub to the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

In addition customers will receive a free 2 oz. size with their purchase. Formulated with aloe vera, peppermint and grapefruit oils, ginseng and green tea extracts and jojoba beads, this extremely mild exfoliant is ideal for all skin types and can be use to gently cleanse and moisturize the face, body, feet, elbows, knees and other rough areas.

Since 1991, the National Breast Cancer Coalition's trained advocates have lobbied at the national, state and local levels for public policies that impact breast cancer research, diagnosis and treatment.

In the spirit of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, TotalBeauty.com, in partnership with its network of beauty blogs, is hosting a month-long initiative that integrates breast cancer awareness, breast cancer research fund raising and beauty giveaways to engage women in the quest for a cure.


TINte Cosmetics is donating 40% of the proceeds of each sale of their new Matchbook in Blushed Beauty. The Match Book includes: Two eye shadow colors (a base and contour shade), a cream eyeliner, blush, two lip glosses and two brushes.

The money will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation which works to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

Last, but not certainly not least, are the products from Pristine Recovery. The line was created by breast cancer survivor Blaire Kessler, who developed all-natural, carcinogenic-free products while she was undergoing treatments.

Brallywood Butta is a luscious massage butter made with ingredients known to help scarring, stimulate the lymphatic glands, calm soothe and moisturize fragile skin.

Scary Hairy is a 100% natural serum to remedy dry fragile hair and revitalize the scalp. (I love this stuff! It makes my coarse, dry hair soft and manageable. And it smell soooo good! It's a multi-purpose product that can be massaged into your scalp or skin or nails--with no worries about nasty toxic ingredients.)

Take a Whiff! is an aluminum-free alternative to conventional deodorants. It contains organic sage which is a natural way to fight perspiration.

Kessler donates a total of 15% of her net proceeds of each sale (Year round, not just in October!) to the Young Survival Coalition (10%) and the Cancer Prevention Coalition (5%). Say Kessler of her venture:

"My goal with my company is to really make a difference in my charitable contribution, to create effective fun and inspiring solutions for anyone looking in a healthy direction and to add a little glamorous spin on what would be a depressing situation."

With products that are paraben-free, phthalates-free, cruelty-free and vegan plus contain no mineral oil or propylene glycol, Pristine Recovery fights for the cause on all fronts!

With so many options to choose from, we can help beat breast cancer--and indulge ourselves a bit at the same time.

Run for the cure, walk for the cure, shop for the cure!

America's Next Top Model - Cycle 11

My friend Hollie was astonished when I admitted to watching this. In my defense, I primarily watch for the photo shoots (Yeah, like all those guy who "read" Playboy just for the articles...). I'm not sure that I'll be investing much time in this cycle--I've decided to focus on the delicious Lee Pace and Pushing Daisies on Wednesdays instead.

But a few thoughts on this go-round so far:

• My faves, in order: Sheena, Isis, Elina and McKey (aka Brittany--one of THREE this cycle!). I love Sheena's open-minded and gracious attitude, Isis' (the first transgender contestant--how funny that Nigel was clueless until Tyra told him during judging!) strength and grace, Elina's intelligent and integrity and McKey's fighting (she's into martial arts big time!) spirit.

• Two of my least favorites didn't make it to the final fourteen (Kacey and Susan), but Clark not only made it, but has now gone on to the next round. She had one of the weakest photos, but the judges will keep her around because she's this cycle's resident bitch. Sharaun, who also annoyed me, was voted off the show last night.

• I also find Marjorie's incessant insecurities annoying. Hopefully having the number one photo of the week will allay her nerves.

• The constant shrieking is also irritating. It's like watching an episode of "Oprah's Favorite Things."
  

No plus-sized girls this cycle--the only contender was Lindsey, who looked too much like last year's winner, Whitney. In the last four cycles, we've had a classic blonde (CariDee), brunette/Latina (Jasleen), perky Black girl (Saleisha) and plus-sized blonde (Whitney). Therefore to continue the diversity, I'd predict that Sheena (Japanese/Korean) or Isis (transgender) have the best shot at winning.

That they are gorgeous, naturally talented and two of my favorites only makes it more appropriate.

Let the catfights begin!

Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis

Let's see the last couple of books were The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks which featured incest and a horrific bus accident, Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel The Road and the dense prose in the weighty volume of Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh. Can I be blamed for wanting to lighten things up a bit?

Unfortunately, Glamorama wasn't quite the ticket. Like Bret Easton Ellis' prior novels, it features beautiful but vacuous and vapid people who wear designer clothing, go to VIP parties and sleep with each other in a bed-hopping frenzy that makes Melrose Place look like a monastery along with an excessive amount of name-dropping of celebrities and status symbols in long lists of vogueing poses and extremely long and unpunctuated run-on sentences that are breathlessly repetitive and wearying to the reader.

Less than Zero, which is the only other Bret Easton Ellis (I keep calling him by his full name because I'm not sure whether it's appropriate to refer to him as "Easton Ellis" or just "Ellis" in the way of shortening things...) is about beautiful and emotionally empty young people in Los Angeles. I could appreciate the satirical portrayal of too much money, too much time and too little moral grounding. I saw the movie American Psycho based on his book and again it portrays young, attractive but morally empty people whose only concerns are with status symbols like getting a reservation to an exclusive restaurant, Armani suits and the perfect font and card stock for one's business cards. I can appreciate Bret Easton Ellis' (it just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?) call to awake from our morally shallow and materially obsessed lives and realize that our fascination for status and popularity is ugly and useless.

But how many books with the same characters (and in some case Bret Easton Ellis actually recycles character from one book into another), the same obsessions, the same nihilistic lifestyles do we need? Glamorama is merely a continuation of the satiric rant started with Less than Zero, this time revolving around the empty life of Victor Ward, a former male model with a predilection for calling everyone "Baby" and quoting song lyrics, with no real aspirations other than looking good, hanging with the beautiful people, @#$%ing models and living his boringly hedonistic lifestyle. When Victor comes into contact with a mysterious F. Fred Palakon, it changes the course of his life:

"I stare at him, lost. "You want me to go to London and find some girl I don't even remember dating?"

"So you've understood me," Palakon says, visibly relieved. "For a moment there I was worried that nothing was registering."

Suddenly contemplative, I stare into Palakon's face. "You look like the kind of guy who eats his own scabs.," I murmur. "Did you know that? That you look like that kind of guy?"

"I've been called many things, Mr. Ward, but a scab-eater has not been among them."

"Hell, there's a first time for everything, buddy," I sigh, pushing myself away from the table, standing up. Palakon keeps staring at me, which makes me nervous and all tingly, creeps me out in a way I've never been creeped out before."

Then the story gets REALLY weird with supermodel terrorists, doppelgangers, altered identities, bombings, torture, an omnipresent film crew, a film-within-a-film crew and, inexplicably, copious amounts of confetti. I guess it's supposed to represent the tenuousness of a life based on physical appearance, the disposability of celebrity, the media (and "our") obsession with violence and the absurdity of reality TV (Victor was rejected as a cast member of The Real World FOUR times...), but I can't see I really got it the way I got Less than Zero.

The novel is divided in six parts, all of which count down (Initially I thought it was telling the story backwards like Memento, but I think it was more like a timer countdown for a bomb--or maybe the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square, which could account for all the confetti...) except for the last chapter. Some of the many references that were hip and cutting edge then (Does anyone remember Martha Plimpton or Dan Cortese?) are dated and obsolete now--which may have been exactly what Bret Easton Ellis (What is it with the three names? Two were good enough for Hemingway and Steinbeck, man!) was aiming for. It's weird and trippy and reads like an oversized issue of the National Enquirer, but ultimately for me didn't amount to much at all.

Which may have been the whole point...

Simple Shoes: Eco-Friendly Footwear

When I attended the Natural Products ExpoWest with Stevie, one of the exhibitors was Simple Shoes - a footwear company whose goal is 100% sustainability. With products constructed using organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and even recycled car tires and inner tubes, Simple strives to create alternative for their customers allowing them to "tread lightly on the planet without compromising comfort and style."

Although Simple Shoes likes to refer to themselves as "the nice little shoe company getting in touch with its inner hippie," their ecoSneaks and GreenToe sandals are casually stylish and completely comfortable. While at the Expo, Stevie and I had a chance to check out some of the cute kicks, espadrilles and boots in their collection. A pair of GreenToe Toe Foo sandals is made with high-quality sustainable materials like crepe, water-based glue, bamboo, organic cotton and hemp and will set you back about $45. Unless of course you're a savvy shopper like me--I scored the Toe Foo sandals pictured above at Ross Dress for Less for $9.99. Sweet! Being green and saving green--I love it!

During the month of August, Simple Shoes is teaming up with The Walking Company for the exclusive launch of their PlanetWalker Shoes:

PlanetWalkers, the most comfortable and eco-friendly shoes on the planet, maximize the use of environmentally sensitive materials while providing premium comfort benefits. All PlanetWalkers are made with leather from ISO14001 and British Leather Consortium (BLC) certified tanneries that have made a commitment to sustainable improvements in their processes. Removable footbeds with molded arch support are made with Ortholite™ and recycled ground car tire. Innovative use of eco-friendly materials like recycled car tires, bamboo fabric, cork, recycled compression molded EVA, and recycled metal alloys make PlanetWalkers the leader in sustainability in comfort footwear.

In addition to helping you get around in green footwear, Simple Shoes and The Walking Company are also giving you a way to get around in an eco-friendly vehicle as well: they partnered with smart USA and the Sierra Club to give customers a chance to win one of four smart fortwo vehicles during the month of August. No purchase is necessary, limit one (1) entry per person, per email address and per household for the duration of the Entry Period regardless of method of entry. You can enter by filling out the entry form on-line or in person at any one of The Walking Company stores nationwide.

EcoStiletto: Green is not only Hip, it's Chic!

Green is a lot of things these days: it's driving a Prius instead of an Escalade, it's buying organic instead of pesticide-laden, it's recycling and reducing carbon footprints and Earth Day. And while it's very hip and trendy these days to be green or go green, it's not generally known for being stylish or chic.

Until now.

Last night at Murano in West Hollywood, EcoStiletto had its official launch party. Dedicated to taking green beyond hip and trendy to fashionably chic, EcoStiletto features green picks in Fashion, Beauty and the Good Life to help turn your carbon footprint from an oversized Ugg into an slender Manolo.

The party featured yummy treats from Sweet Debbie's Organic Cupcakes and organic cocktails provided by VeeV as well as make-up application courtesy of Josie Maran Cosmetics and manicures by Acquarella--which makes a water-based, non-toxic, non-flammable nail polish. Wow--if they can make non-toxic nail polish, can a solar-powered car be far behind?

There was quite a crowd at the party--over 300 people showed up! My friend Hollie and I saw Adrian Grenier (Entourage) Josie Maran and Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl) along with EcoStiletto founder and creator Rachel Sarnoff. Before you go and think my life is oh so impossibly glamorous, I should probably confess that it was fabulous fashionista Stevie who was actually invited to the swanky soirée. But alas, she had another engagement (the girl is always on the go!), and so she asked me to cover the event for her.

The evening was not without its pitfalls, however--despite Stevie coordinating my attendance, my name was not on the guest list when I arrived. Not a big problem--there was no big burly bodyguard blocking our entrance. The woman managing the guest list simply asked for my business card and let us in. The next issue was food--or lack thereof. There were some hand-passed trays of appetizers, but there was barely enough food for a gathering of 30 people--much less 300! I got one little smear of olive spread on a tiny piece of toast. Had I known this in advance, I would have eaten before I left home. But seriously--how does one schedule an event from 6 - 9 pm (Prime dinner hours!) and not have food on hand for their guests? It looked what little appetizers there were were being diverted to the celebrity coterie. Hollie and I had to make do with a cupcake; the tower was devoured in about two hours!

In addition to leaving with empty stomachs, Hollie and I left empty-handed as well. I saw some guests toting gift bags, but neither one of us managed to snag one. Too bad--I would have been able to regale y'all with tales of its contents in future posts, but unfortunately I haven't a clue what the lucky recipients found inside theirs. Actually, we didn't leave quite empty-handed: at the end of the evening prizes were raffled off and mine was the first name called! I was awarded a Rebecca Minkoff shopping tote which retails for $185! I ended up giving it to Hollie, in appreciation for her company and acting as my official photographer.


Overall, it was quite a classy (albeit mostly foodless) affair for the launch of EcoStiletto. If you want to do your part to save the planet--look great doing it--check out the website and sign up for the free newsletter to get a heads-up on what's coming up on the site, plus exclusive discounts, a chance to win stuff and information on go-to green events in cities around the country.

Because caring about our planet is something that will never go out of style...

Event Alert - Tattoo Art at NineThirty

If you're a tattoo aficionado, art deco devotee or Cubist enthusiast, you may want to check out the exhibition of distinguished painter and tattoo artist, Bugs at the NineThirty in the W Hotel in Westwood. The collection of oil paintings, photographs and sketches will be on display now through August.

The NineThirty is located at 930 (where else?) Hilgard Avenue in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. Maybe make reservations for dinner, peruse the eclectic artwork and cruise over to the Whiskey Blue Nightclub this holiday weekend.

Or check out Bugs in person at The Tattoo Lounge. Either way, July and August are good months to get your ink on!

Keep Yer Shirt On!

I was reading a very funny article in the Washington Post this morning about the new ban at Nationals Park against guys going shirtless:

The Skins cover up all winter long and then consider it nothing short of an inalienable American right to ditch the polo when they think it makes sense. They're not lawless creatures; all but the most fringe of their ilk will wear a shirt into a store or on the subway. But in a small way, they're getting in touch with the part of every guy that thought "Lord of the Flies" was kind of cool, until, you know, everyone on that island started stabbing one another. The Skins recognize boundaries, but they can't fathom why the off-limits mark should include a place as public and rowdy as a stadium.

It made me remember a demonstration numerous years back where a bunch of women were protesting the disparity between how males and females are treated by taking their shirts off. Their reasoning: If it's good enough for the gander, it's good for the goose. My philosophy: Let's EVERYONE just keep your shirts on!

I think this should have been Fashion Tip #6--I can't believe I left it off the list! There are some venues where shirtlessness is appropriate--the beach, the pool, the pages of Playgirl magazine. In fact I stumbled across a blog dedicated to Shirtless Hunks. Unfortunately no Mark Cuban or Tom Bergeron (sorry Elisabeth!). But the average dude needs to keep it covered up.

I remember being out one lovely warm summer day only to have it spoiled by an elderly male jogger. It wasn't his stick figure legs or his knobby knees that got my attention, but the fact he was letting it all hang out--with a little pot belly that was the color and texture of cottage cheese. Ew, ew, ew!



Let's put it this way--unless you look like this:

You should keep your torso covered as much as possible.


Conversely, if you DO look like this:

Feel free to go shirtless as much as you want!

If you look like this, you can wear a Speedo

With heartfelt apologies to Rae's eyes, I submit this picture of a hunk-a-rific Daniel Craig (the only Bond I care about!) as a peace offering.

Feel better now?

Summer Fashion Tips for Men

The summer solstice is almost upon us and that means shorts, t-shirts and sandals! Miss Manners might give you the 411 about wearing white after Memorial Day, but I'm here to tell you about some fashion DON'Ts that will REALLY make you look stupid if you're caught wearing them:

1. Crocs - OK, can anyone explain these shoes to me? Did some marketing genius say to himself, "Hmmm--Let's design footwear made from ugly synthetic materials using garish colors in a clunky style that will make the hideous Jelly shoes of the 80s look good in comparison!" They have a storefront on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, but trust me--this does not make them fashionable! Crocs should never be worn by people over the age of twelve. And, unless your goal is to never get laid AGAIN, never by adult males.

2. Socks with sandals - People, the purpose of sandals is to let your feet BREATHE! Those white tube socks from the 70s completely counteract that as well as make you look like a doofus. If you really want to up the ante, try pairing those brown huaraches with a pair of BLACK socks. So hot! NOT.

3. Short shorts - The Nair girls can rock short shorts. The Rockettes can wear short shorts. Any male over the age of twelve should never ever ever wear shorts shorter than knee length (and for those of you with knobby knees, make that BELOW knee length!). Even the Washington Post Wise Guys agree with me here. Think Napoleon Dynamite. Yeesh!

4. Speedos - Unless you're rocking an Olympic caliber diver or swimmer's bod (and trust me--you are so NOT!), you should not be wearing a Speedo. Even hottie John Mayer can't pull off the look (although to be fair, the ball sac thong is a look NO-ONE could pull off!). The Speedo requires a hard six-pack--and the Miller Lite you're carrying does not qualify!

5. T-shirts - T-shirts are a staple of summer, but there's a time and place for the slogan t-shirt. T-shirts emblazoned with "Save a tree, eat a beaver," "If you lick them, they will come" and "Polygamy loves company" (OK, that one is really funny!) are fine for the beach and the boardwalk--not so cool at work (even on Casual Friday) or a first date. Even better is to eschew the slogan for a plain solid color t-shirt which says, "I'm an eloquent human being capable of conveying my thoughts and philosophies on life with parading around like a human bumper sticker!"

And speaking of T-shirts: Never, ever, ever tuck a t-shirt into your jeans. I know your Mom always told you to tuck your shirt in, but this is a case where it looks stupid. If, however, looking stupid is what you are going for then by all means tuck in the t-shirt and while you're at it, add a belt!

NIKE Be True Family Reunion '08

Filter Magazine and NIKE invite you and a guest to the NIKE Be True Family Reunion:

Date: Sunday, June 1st
Time: 2 pm - 6 pm
RSVP: E-mail nikebetrue_la@nike.com - Put "Filter Guest" in the subject line.
Place: Location will be disclosed in confirmation e-mail. (I'm pretty sure it will be somewhere in the Los Angeles area...)

Celebrate 23 years of NIKE with BBQ, Games, Music by No Age and The Cool Kids. You must be 21 and over to attend.

The Blog Carnival Explores Worldstock Jewelry at Overstock.com

One of the coolest things about the internet is that you can shop the world without leaving your living room. Overstock.com always has a great selection of stuff at really excellent prices (and cheap shipping, too!), so it was a good place for the Blog Carnival to explore on our latest virtual shopping trip. Their selection of World jewelry includes handcrafted pieces from Indonesia, China, Peru, Mexico, Thailand--to name a few.

There were so many pretty things to choose from, I had quite a bit of trouble settling on just one piece--but the Freshwater Pearl Necklace from Israel is the one item I kept coming back to. First off, I really like its elegant simplicity. I have a small frame and need to wear smaller, more delicate pieces. I also like the versatility--you can wear it as a single strand, doubled up, as a lariat or a choker, or just as a simple necklace. It's the sort of thing that you can wear with jeans and a tank top or to finish off a more dressy look.

Tami from fête à fête chose a gorgeous Pearl and Sea Carnelian necklace--the colors remind me of an East coast autumn. L.A. Story's Stevie picked out a really pretty Roman Glass bracelet with Amethyst that showcases her hip and unique sense of style. Hopefully Nancy and Sandra will get around to posting their picks one of these days. They have such excellent taste, I'm sure they'll come up with some great options!

Blog Carnival Update

For anyone interested in what the rest of the Blog Carnival's picks were in the virtual shopping spree at Unique Vintage, Tami has the 411 over on her blog, fête à fête.

Her pick: This gorgeous flapper style dress. Tami loves to go out dancing and I can totally see her looking splendiforous as she spins around the dance floor!

Nancy and Sandra also chose some slinky, sultry dresses. Stevie, however, skipped past the vintage and vintage-inspired clothing and headed straight for the shoes!

We're thinking about nicknaming her "Imelda"...

The Blog Carnival explores Unique Vintage

The cool thing about online shopping is it makes window shopping so much easier! You have thousands and thousand of stores right at your fingertips. My friend Stevie came up with the idea gather up a bunch of blogging buddies and go on a little window shopping trip together. So, in addition to Stevie and me, there's fête à fête blogger Tami and Debutante Clothing's Sandra and last but not least, Nancy, blogger for Ten Pretty Girls--all of whom will be participating in a semi-regular blogging carnival of our virtual window shopping trips.

Today's outing is to Unique Vintage, an online retail website for vintage and vintage inspired dresses and accessories. I'm not big on vintage--I can't really pull off that look. But this retro satin print blouse is definitely my style! I'm really into the strappy camisole look and, in addition to the unique geometric print, the empire styling with the longer length handkerchief hemline covers up a multitude of flaws. I can see wearing this to a party over a pair of designer denims with some pretty sandals. For a more summer look, I can also see pairing it with some breezy white linen pants. It retails for $48 and comes in sizes small, medium and large.

Unique Vintage has a ton of cool stuff--from flapper dresses to rockabilly clothes. Can't wait to see what finds my blogging buddies come up with!

My Converse Kick Collection

Confession time: I am the Imelda Marcos of sneakers. It used to be plain white Keds or the Payless knock-offs, which I wore and wore out every day during the summer months. My sister used to take plain white sneaker and paint them with Maurice Sendak inspired illustrations. Me, I liked them unembellished. Even going so far as to throw them in the washer with bleach to keep them looking nice and clean...

But now I have a serious thing for Converse All-Stars. I currently own half a dozen pairs. I have every intention of buying more. The first ones I got are olive suede with the stars on the side (far left), the most recent acquisition are camouflage (far right)--for when I want to sneak up on people. (Sneak up, camo sneakers--get it?) My retro black kicks are my favorite pair as of now. The pair next to them is made of a tweed material--how cool is that? I actually bought a shirt to match the brown hightops. Most people buy shoes to match their outfits--I buy clothes to go with my shoes.

I missed out on an American flag pair--wrong size. And I have an eye out for a pair in my favorite color: red. At most places, a pair of Converse sneakers cost $40 or more but being the hardcore bargain shopper that I am, I get mine for under $20.

Carrie Bradshaw can have her Manolos--I'll stick with my Converse kicks!

My New Tattoo - part 2

Finally got a picture (courtesy of work buddy, Elizabeth!) of my latest tattoo. It's located on my right upper arm. It's still healing so it's still a little "peely."

I really like it!

My New Tattoo

I went back to House of Ink to get my tattoo this morning. But first I stopped to see a guest house in Santa Monica. The price is right, the location about perfect, but the actual place was sort of a dump. I'm sort of over living in dumps to tell the truth.

So on to Santa Monica, where I parked my car and headed down to the boardwalk. Hiked out past the Santa Monica pier, Shutters and Hotel Casa Del Mar. Past the volleyball players and the beach-goers. Past the artisans, psychics and musicians selling their wares and plying their trades on the boardwalk. Finally made it to House of Ink where I got a Celtic Tree of Life emblazoned on my right upper arm/shoulder.

I'll post pics later.

It was another gorgeous day in L.A. But wouldn't you know it, my brother James and his girlfriend Connie arrive tomorrow--and so does the rain. For the next three days. Ugh! I have no idea how I'm going to entertain them if it's raining...

The Great Closet Purge

Five hours and I'm still not done--but I've got 3 bags to go to Goodwill, one for a friend, one for my sister, a pile of "Will fit better when I lose a bit more weight" and a pile to take to the tailor.

And after all that, I still own more sweaters than any one human really requires...