ch-ch-changes

Major announcement: as of tomorrow, I’m retitling this blog to High Hopes; High Heels, and the url will be highhopesandhighheels.wordpress.com. Please update your bookmarks accordingly!

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think pink

Ahhh it’s still hot! My apartment isn’t air conditioned, so the kitties and I have spent the entire day trying to stay cool, save for my early morning beach workout with Bootcamp Funatics. If you’re in the SD area and looking to get in (or stay in) shape, you should definitely give them a try! I used to be so self-conscious about my fat grandma arms, but I’m starting to see definition in them now and am not as scared to wear sleeveless tops/dresses anymore! (And not a moment too soon: have I mentioned that it’s hot?)

[dress: Mimi & Red; wedges: Mea Shadow via Gilt Groupe; sunnies: Kate Spade]

Hope you’re all having a great weekend!

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lashes

I’ve always had really short, sparse eyelashes that seem to grow downward, and no mascara has ever been able to make anything of them, so when I saw this deal for $50 for $100 worth of eyelash extensions at Wink Eyelashes, I figured I should seize the day, and I’m glad I did! After two hours of lying completely still with my eyes closed (i.e., intermittently falling asleep to a rare rainy afternoon in San Diego) here’s what they looked like!

Longer, thicker, and perfectly curled! According to my technician, a full set lasts 2-4 weeks before you need a fill (which thankfully only takes half the time and costs about a quarter of the price) and I’m not supposed to wear mascara (not that I would use it if I’m going to wake up with eyelashes like this!) The only makeup I have on in this photo is eyebrow powder. Yay, low-maintenance!

Lipstick – Makeup For Ever Rouge Intense #40

I’ll keep you updated about the staying power of these, but for today, I’m a convert!

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blogl<3in

That’s right, I’m now on Bloglovin’! Hope to see you there

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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lately

Lately I have…

1) Been really bad at blogging. Blame it on a busy work schedule, a sneak-attack sore throat that lasted almost an entire week, and general laziness. Sorry! I’m trying to do exactly what this little print says:

[my mantra, lately]

2) (re)Taken up ballet/modern dance! I haven’t taken a legit dance class since law school, and even then, we only made it halfway through Jazz Dance at community college due to other commitments (i.e., finals). I’ve also never really taken ballet. I obviously know the foot positions, how to port de bras, and some really really basic terms, but this class is teaching me tons of new vocabulary, and it’s totally fun!

[ballet slippers, floor]

3) Lost the fight to stop Fatman from sleeping in my dresser drawers. It’s so frustrating to see all of my clothing covered in cat hair, but he looks so happy sleeping that I can’t bring myself to lift him out of the drawers. He’s also packed in there quite tightly, so I literally cannot lift him out of the drawers!

[naptime]

4) Welcomed some new friends to my arm party! I think I need Bangles Anonymous.

[from left: Renegade Cluster Bracelet, Serpent Bangle - Stella & Dot; Thin Gold Bracelets - Gifts from Grandma; Gold Link Bracelet, Small Gold Bangle With Etchings - T+J Designs]

5) Started rotating flats into my shoe wardrobe. Don’t get me wrong, I love my super-high heels, but I’ve recently found some amazing flat shoes (like the over-the-knee boots here) that are slowly making me see the light.

[flats - Halogen]

Here they are in action with a cozy weekend outfit.

[Dolman Sweatshirt - Old Navy; Faux Leather Leggings - H&M; Flats - Halogen; Headband - Goody; Ring - Gilt Groupe (can't remember the designer!)]

Here’s to getting back to blogging!

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violet/Violet

This week has been absolutely exhausting, but on the bright side, it’s starting to feel like fall! This means I can wear jackets again:

jacket – moth

top – girls from savoy

jeans – hudson

shoes – mea shadow (last seen here)

watch – nixon

I love this purple top. It’s super-blousy and comfortable. The jacket is pretty fantastic too – I like how it’s a neutral color but with an interesting print/cut. I will say that the jeans sit a little lower on my waist than I like – I bought them a few years ago (which speaks volumes for their superior quality, since they still look new) at the height of the low-rise heyday, and now I feel like my torso is kind of naked in them

This past Wednesday was my darling kitten Violet’s birthday – she’s a year old, and still fully in her crazy kitten phase. She loves to run around and flop down on things, particularly paper of all kinds. She was born to one of my friend’s neighborhood feral cats (she found a pregnant cat, took her in, and got her spayed after she gave birth AND found homes for all of her kittens – isn’t that the nicest thing?) and the minute I saw her I knew I had to make her part of the family. Here’s Violet at six weeks old:

baby violet!

And here she is on her first birthday. Please note that I stuck a candle into a bowl of whipped cream, and she is cowering in terror. The giant silhouette on the left side is Fatman, who is clearly not afraid of el fuego:

feliz cumpleanos, chiquita!

Have a super weekend!

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colorblocked

Yesterday was a busy day! It started off with a mandatory work training at 10 am (which my office genius-ly tailgated with coffee and donuts), then a personal shopping mission for my friend C, and then our coworker’s bride/groom/wedding shower, because what people really want to do is hang out with a bunch of lawyers on a Saturday night. Fiancee R, who also happens to be a lawyer, was a really good sport about dealing with our court team’s insanity.

The party was at my friend C’s amazing beach house, which is perfectly decorated with blues, greens, and greys, and since I was in charge of decorations, I figured it was the perfect occasion to wear this dress:

Colorblocked with absoultely no effort on my part!

dress: anthropologie; shoes: steve madden; watch/rings: the usual

This dress is amazing, and I got it on sale for almost half the original price! It’s not listed on their website, but there were a few sizes left in my local store, so if you love it, you should definitely peruse their sale section! I absolutely adore buying things on sale, and thankfully living in San Diego gives me almost double the summer months (although my favorite clothing season is actually fall/winter.) The dress is made of silk, and has a full slip to avoid see-through mishaps, and I love the colors, but my favorite detail is the button work on the shoulder. Here’s a closeup:

Buttons, SmartWater in the background

Random life lesson #21: stay hydrated. Your skin, hair, and entire body will thank you for it. Especially if you’re planning on drinking a lot. Someone brought a bottle of Hpnotiq to the shower, so I managed to coordinate with my friend’s house and the drinks. Amazing. Hpnotiq is certainly not my drink of choice (I prefer wine) but how could I resist a drink that matched my dress? The liqueur is fruity and super-sweet, so if you like that, more power to you!

I also decided to break out the big-girl makeup for the occasion. Colored eyeshadow makes me nervous (because I’m hopeless when it comes to anything more complicated than liner + mascara + lips) but I couldn’t resist this NARS palette when I saw it at Sephora.

NARS duo eyeshadow in Rated R

I put a reeeeeaaaaalllly thin layer of the green over my lid, and then a slightly darker layer of the green closer to my lash line. I then lined my eyes with black liner, dipped a q-tip in the bright blue, and reinforced the line.

Super-bad lighting, sorry!

For someone who never wears much eye makeup, I was pretty proud. Until I saw what this girl did with it. Then I felt all inadequate again Seriously, that’s amazing to me, although I’m not sure I could actually pull off that much shadow.

As I mentioned, I was in charge of decorations and the playlist for last night’s shower. The groom loves showtunes (yesssss) and I once caught him humming Lady Gaga before court, so I threw those songs in there, along with “Single Ladies” and “The Final Countdown,” because I’m a classy friend like that. I bought a “make your own occasion-appropriate sign” kit at Party City, which was basically a bunch of silver letters, bells, and fasteners, and instead of the usual “Congratulations R + R,” I opted for something a little less subtle:

Yaaaay wedding!

I used all of the As in the box to do that! Below the sign is the pinata referenced in my last post, but C and I gave the bridge and groom brown magic marker highlights. R + R have survived their bachelor/bachelorette parties, as well as R’s legit bridal shower, but I hope their work wedding shower was special in its own way. At any rate, the temporary tattoo of sharks on R’s head should be a good keepsake

Hope you all had a good weekend!

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las flores

I love flowers. So do los gatos, which is why I usually don’t buy them, but it’s so nice to have fresh flowers, like these beautiful peonies.

I got these at Vons, and think they’re pretty good for being grocery store flowers! Fatman and Violet were immediately curious, but pretty much left them alone, save for the occasional snack of a leaf. And yes, my computer background is a picture of mi querido Fatman.

Speaking of my monsters, here they are in all their morning glory:

Violet has gotten so big, although she still looks ridiculously tiny next to El Gordo.

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true confessions

1.  The changing weather and the earthquakes have left me feeling…discombobulated, to say the least.  I’ve been sleeping inordinate amounts, including random naps (which is totally unlike me; well, totally unlike me post-college) and haven’t wanted to eat much of anything.  In fact, on Friday, I decided I wanted to eat the following:  an egg roll, a taco from Jack in the Box, a spoonful of macaroni and cheese, and copious amounts of coffee. Unfortunately, no one would sell that exact combination of food to me, so I settled for a giant salad instead, which leads me to confession #2.

romaine, chicken, dried cranberries/cherries, goat cheese and homemade ciabatta

2.  I hate premade salad dressing.  Save for the occasional ranch with fries (just one of the many reasons I will never be a runway model), I rarely have it.  I have a delightful little recipe for sesame dressing that, blessedly, does not call for ginger (see Confession #3 below).  It’s 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1/8 cup vegetable oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, and 1 tbsp packed brown sugar.  You can whisk all of the ingredients together and then pour it over the salad, or, if you’re like me and don’t use a lot of dressing and/or are super-lazy, you can do this:

Pour all ingredients into a travel shampoo bottle (preferably one that has never been used to house shampoo/conditioner/shower gel) and shake.  You can store the leftovers right in your cupboard or on the counter.  Bonus:  no leakage!

3.  I am quite possibly the world’s worst Asian.  I hate ginger, cilantro, and I’m not great at math.  However, I have crappy vision, am a mediocre driver, and am lactose-intolerant, so I guess you win some, lose some.

4.  I love crappy reality tv.  Over the course of the weekend, I watched:  The Real Housewives of New York City, What Not to Wear, and countless reruns of Law and Order:  SVU.  Judge away.

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“i think i have the black lung, pop”

Oy.  The week of rain and cold weather (including getting locked out of my apartment last Monday night in the freezing rain) caught up with me, and I found myself disgustingly sick this weekend.  I literally feel like I have the Black Lung, not unlike Derek Zoolander.

I don’t get sick often, but when I do, it’s as if the entire world is ending, and the only thing I want to do is crawl into bed and collapse in on myself like a dying star.  Unfortunately, my schedule had other plans.  I went for SD Restaurant Week (see previous post) on Friday to Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.  Saturday was spent slightly hungover at the SD Master Chorale’s winter retreat.  FYI, choirs use the term “retreat” as a term of art.  There were no trust falls, no ropes courses, or spa treatments.  Instead, a more accurate term would have been “super-long rehearsal.”  Sunday brought two church services, some lip synching, and a whole lot of coughing.  Thankfully, the Kleenex, anti-bac, and hot water were plentiful, or I don’t think I would have made it.

So what did I do when I finally got home?

My sick essentials =

1.  My laptop.  I made the switch from my HP to a Macbook last October, and couldn’t be happier.  Sure, some things took getting used to, like the lack of a right-click button, but it’s so light, the battery life is amazing, and it’s pretty and silver!

2.  Hot tea (in my “Small World” mug.)  Not only is that one of my favorite rides at Disneyland (I mean, who doesn’t love the subtle racism?), but it also makes for a really cute mug.  This weekend’s cold settled in my sinuses and my throat, so hot liquid sounds particularly awesome.  I think I’ve gone through half a box of Wild Berry tea this weekend.

3.  Lip balm.  I’m normally a Burt’s Bees girl, but I’m weird in that I don’t like to use the same stuff when I’m sick as when I am healthy; I guess I don’t like having any reminders of feeling crappy.  Also, sinus infection = stuffy nose = mouth-breathing = chapped lips.  My “sick” lip balm is this L’Occitane balm with shea butter.  I like it because it doesn’t have a gross flavor (full disclosure: the only flavor/scent of lip balm I enjoy is mint; fruity/sweet flavors make me feel barfy) and it coats without feeling oily.

4.  Tissues.  I found some Puffs with Vick’s Vapo Rub at the CVS in Horton Plaza.  They are amazing.

5.  My planner.  This is quite possibly my favorite planner I’ve ever had, thanks to my sister.  It’s by Smythson, and is bright pink and pretty, and, most importantly, helps keep my mind off of being sick by reminding me of all of the fun things I have coming up!

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