last hurrah

Celebrating the last day of our office’s relaxed dress code before business as usual resumes:

Dress – Collective Concepts

Tights/iPhone Cover – J.Crew

Boots – Aldo

Monogram Pendant – Baublebar

Hammered Bangle and Small Gold Bangle with Etchings – T+J Designs (check out their awesome sale here!)

Watch – Nixon

Ring – Mimi&Red

Black Leather Studded Bracelet – Cookie Lee (from like, 5 years ago)

Wishing you all a safe and sparkly New Year’s Eve!

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insta-christmas

I spent a relaxing, low-key Christmas in LA with some good friends. Here are some photos!

[mexican wedding cookies]

I made these before I left from this recipe of Martha Stewart’s. I love sweet things, crunchy things, things that go well with coffee, and most of all, almonds with cinnamon. These cookies are virtually foolproof, and that’s coming from a self-professed disaster in the kitchen. I made a double batch, omitting the decorative almonds on top, and made smaller, more bite-sized cookies out of the second batch, seen in the background. They were a huge hit!

[baxter!]

I also got to meet my adorably furry nephew, Baxter. He’s a terrier mix, approximately 1.5 years old, and a total love bug. My friends A + M adopted him from an animal rescue in LA, and he, like his namesake from “Anchorman,” loves cheese and only speaks Spanish He’s still working on learning some doggie things, like playing fetch and going in and out his dog door, but I’m already a proud auntie!

[bloody mary]

We celebrated Christmas Day with a spread of heavy appetizers and wine, where I discovered my love for Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly. I think it’s a seasonal item, but if you get a chance, go out and get some, and you can thank me later.

We went to an early happy hour the day after at Fishbar in Redondo Beach, whose claim to fame is a bloody Mary garnished with a pickled spear of asparagus, a slice of smoked bacon, and a prawn. Yes, you read that correctly. Our server informed us that their bartender had just won “Best Bloody Mary” at some competition, but I’ll tell you that A and I weren’t blown away by the actual drink. It was peppery, but not really spicy, and would have been helped immensely by some citrus. Also, who doesn’t salt the rim of a Bloody Mary? These people, apparently. All that aside, the garnishes were fantastic, and their actual happy hour menu was delicious, so give it a shot!

[classiest gifts under the tree]

So I don’t love wrapping gifts. My friends also really like their booze, so here are some of our contributions under the tree. Perfect Christmas!

I’ll leave you with this hilarious sign. As the daughter of parents who own a Chinese restaurant, I found it perfect (even though my parents’ place is closed on Christmas).

Feliz Navidad!

 

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tribute

I love reading fashion blogs, and Atlantic-Pacific is one of my absolute favorites! I fell in love with this sweater/blouse combination (in case the link won’t work directly, go 19 rows down and look at the center photo) and decided to put my own spin on it. (Thankfully, my office relaxed its dress code for the last week of 2011)

Sweater – Old Navy (available in other colors, and this adorable dalmatian print!)

Button-Down – Nordstrom (old; cheap alternative here and more expensive alternative here)

Jeans – Paige Premium Denim

Fleece-Lined Flats – DSW

Watch – Nixon

Bracelets – Hammered Bangle and Small Gold Bangle with Etchings at T+J Designs

Oy – my face looks fat in this photo (and my midsection is *always* a liddlebit puffy). I can’t help but be envious of all the women who complain that all of their weight gain goes straight to their chest, because mine likes to take up residence in my face and stomach. Thankfully, now that the holiday concert season is over, I can get back to the gym (and cut back on going out for post-rehearsal late-night drinks/fast food runs). I also ordered this cute bag from Lululemon to tote my sweaty gym stuff around! (True/sad story: one of my cats, in an act of defiance, PEED on my overnight bag this weekend when I took it out to pack for LA, and my gym bag happened to be sitting next to it. Monsters.)

Fatman wanted to be a model this morning! Good thing he’s cute, because I can’t stay mad at him

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fa la la la la

Merry post-Christmas (and Happy pre-New Year) everyone! I just got back from spending the holiday in LA, and I have a ton of laundry to do/hearings to prepare for/trust of the cats to regain, so here’s a quick look at my Christmas Eve (or, as my friend M calls it, “forechristmas”)  outfit:

Skirt/Boatneck Top – Gap

Jacket – Ann Taylor

Shoes – BCBG

Horseshoe Earrings – Anthropologie (can’t find them on the website, but check out these cute gold stars and these zodiac studs. According to the website, the zodiac signs are sold individually…weird, but I guess that means you can represent for your sign AND whatever other sign you’d rather be!)

iPhone Cover – J.Crew

Nails – OPI Too Hot to Hold ‘Em and Let Me Entertain You (accent nail)

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monogram

I’ve had such a busy few weeks, I’ve hardly had time to post (or do laundry, for that matter). I did want to take a second to show you my new favorite necklace, though!

….which you can’t see in this first picture. Oops.

Cardigan – Express

Top – Anthropologie

Jeans – Seven for All Mankind

Shoes – Steve Madden

Monogram Pendant – Baublebar

I am in love with this necklace – it’s so perfect, and timeless (at least, unless I get married someday, but I’m not holding my breath ) At $115, and a 4-6 week wait for them to make it, it’s a bit of an investment, although it’s much cheaper than this similar one from Max & Chloe. Highly recommend it – I think it’s a perfect gift for someone!

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busy weekend

This weekend has been a nonstop concert-fest. I still managed to sneak in a teensy bit of shopping (under the guise of returning something to Nordstrom) and found these amazing leggings, thanks to a heads-up from the fabulous blogger at Red Soles and Red Wine. They’re not available online, but check your local Nordstrom store’s sale rack – at only $18.90, they’re worth it! Here’s how I styled the this morning:

Blazer – Cartonnier Flipside Boyfriend Blazer (similar here)

Sweater – Gap (similar here and I love this one from Madewell)

Leggings – Trouve

Heels – BCBG

Goofy expression – solamente yours truly

Watch – Nixon (Kensington)

Nail Polish – Nails Inc (Trafalgar Square)

I gave this polish a try this weekend – I’m intrigued by the ombre nail trend, but I must admit I’m a tad short on patience, so when I saw this magnetic polish at Sephora, I had to pick up a bottle.  Apparently the polish contains teeny tiny metallic particles that react with a magnet (hidden in the bottle cap) and results in these wavy designs! The instructions are on the bottle (and online), but I would reiterate that you need to put the magnet as close to the nail as possible in order to get the magnet to do its job. I got a little lax towards the end, and some of my nails only have a splash of the magnet effect on them. I’m still not sure if I really love it, but it was a huge hit with my choir peeps this afternoon

Last but not least: it’s starting to feel like (southern Californian) winter here, and the cats are huddling for warmth. Love them!

Two more weeks until Christmas!

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los dos

That’s right, two looks today! Well…two-ish…

Tunic – Fei

Leggings – H&M

Socks – Hue

Boots – Zara

Rings/Watch/Bracelets – Swarovski/Madewell, Nixon, T+J Designs

Our office had an Ugly Holiday Sweater Potluck (we didn’t bring ugly sweaters; we brought food). I made this amazing potato and fennel gratin, and wore this masterpiece:

Sweater – Midwest Vintage

For anyone who’s looking for an ugly holiday sweater and finding that all of the local stores are picked over, this shop is perfect, and the shipping is lightning-fast! Sadly, I didn’t have the ugliest sweater, but I *did* have the one with the most jingle bells (one, in case anyone’s wondering).

Happy Holidays!

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white

One of the concerts I’m singing in this holiday season imposed an all-white dress code. (Cue freakout.)

Dress/iPhone Cover – J.Crew

Shoes – Michael Antonio (via Endless; on sale for $26.99!)

It turned out that I owned zero pairs of white shoes, and all of my shopping trips were unsuccessful, until I found this pair online! They’re a bit too big, but they were cheap, the shipping was free/fast, and they are sparkly! Perfection.

I had to crouch down to photograph the shoes – my feet aren’t normally exploding out of these

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tulle

I had a concert last night at my church. The soprano soloist and I had to beg and plead with our director to wear something other than the maroon and gold (which the Minnesotan in me loves) choir robes, and after some finagling and three different options, here’s what I wore:

Tickled Plum Dress – Moulinette Soeurs (old from Anthropologie)

Shoes – Steve Madden (also old)

This dress, while a liddlebit lower-cut than I normally wear, is just so pretty! I love the deep purple and the tulle drapes perfectly and isn’t crunchy at all! But my favorite feature is definitely the V-back:

Score one for awful self-photography!

Against my better judgment, I put up my Christmas tree last night, and promptly spent the rest of the evening shooing the cats away from it. Oh well – it really doesn’t feel like the holidays without it, so the kitties will just have to learn to keep their paws to themselves!

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everly

Here’s a quick look, featuring one of my favorite newly-discovered designers, Everly:

Dress – Everly

Jacket/Necklace/iPhone Cover – J.Crew

Tights – Gap, from a million years ago

Boots – Aldo

Sunnies – Chanel

Everly currently only sells wholesale on their website, but if you live in San Diego, you can buy their pretty things at Mimi & Red! If you don’t live here, try LA Showroom’s website, although do so with the caveat that I’ve never shopped from there. Attention my well-endowed readers: their clothes fit me really tightly around the chest/shoulders, so I always have to size up. I’d also invest in some good base garments if you’re planning on wearing this dress to work, as it’s a liddlebit sheer – nothing that someone braver than I am couldn’t get away with for casual time, but my office (as well as me personally) trends conservative.

Happy December!

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