mexican dress.

I have been looking for an embroidered mexican dress for myself since forever. maybe it's living in la or maybe it's the lovely embroidery, but I have been attracted to the dress since I can remember.

and I finally found one! but it's pink. it's a gorgeous summery pink and I would keep it for myself, but I know I won't wear it as often as I would a white one. my skin tone doesn't match the color. now if I was paler, it'd look great. the juxtaposition of the bright against the porcelain... a las I am not.

therefore it's on sale at the shop. 

and it's summer here in california. and I'm not bragging, trust me.

I am dangerous at night

I am dangerous at night. it's when I do most of my "shopping." most of the time I will peruse an online store (ex. madewell or la garconne) and add items to my cart that I have been eye-ing for the past month. then eventually without even thinking, close the window before I zombie-out and accidentally order hundreds of dollars of item that 1. don't need and 2. can't afford.

but with handmade items, I go for it. and all my purchases have come deep in the night when I should be sleeping. past month I have purchased the following,

fieldguided's thunder in our hearts tote

which is lovely in all ways and the 

little gems that come with the tote is as lovely

 morning calm's happy ending soap samples

patiently waiting and can't wait to try these out 

(as these are coming from across the pacific). 

I am a soap-nut. when I visit different cities 

I like to see the local, handmade soaps.

and finally, tonight's purchase....

natural mystic from a lovely, little shop

the shop has been in my favorites for awhile and 

if I favorite you, it probably means I want everything

from your shop and will eventually buy sometime when 

the time is right and today was the time to purchase 

from chelsea's lovely, little shop. 

I chose this necklace because the colors were so vibrant. 

I don't really wear bright colors or patterns. 

I'm from the family of subtleties.

but with jewelries I take it up a notch 

lol

can't wait. and all of her items are so lovely and I had to resist the

urge not to buy them all. but here's another piece that I really like/want

far from field

I am slowly backing away from the computer...

lovely

I love every bit of this outfit (the espadrille wedge, floral knee length dress, aline jacket with fur, top bun and strong eyebrows).

jane birkin

(originally seen on tomboy style)

funny how I wore the same outfit minus the basket, although that would have been a good touch, in middle school and I did not look half as stylish as jane birkin.

she's my style and beauty inspiration. simple, classic and lady like.

your secret.

"Your secret" is a movie about you.

the grey week

my plans to update the shop was halted by the grey skies. I need natural light to take my pictures and there was none to be had. today was another story..

"I see skies of blue, clouds of white"

although I initially planned on updating on friday, time got the best of me and I had to put it off (but I did add two new items then!). well tomorrow for sure will be an etsy update. so until then here's a sneak peek.

they will all be up tomorrow at my shop. thanks.

gangs of new york

hubba, hubba.
girls in stripes are great, boys in stripes are even better. here's the proof:

and here are boys in chambray (not bad either):

(from new york times)

my love for mermaids.

I can pinpoint exactly when my love for mermaids was born. the year was 1989 when the notable disney movie, the little mermaid, came out in theaters. I was 5 years old. my very first memory of going to the movies (maybe even my first) and loving the experience, but even more, loving the movie. and even now I tell everyone that the little mermaid is my favorite movie (and very close second, beauty and the beast) and embarrassingly I will also mention that prince eric is mighty handsome.

then there's mermaids. nothing really to do with mermaids, but still. and eventually I came to learn the folk stories of mermaids. these beautiful human-like creature who sing to the seamen with their beautiful voice enchanting and seducing them to come search out for her only to have them drown or crash their boats. a beautiful tragedy.

so where am I going with this? I want to share a song that I've been listening to constantly. I love the band, love the song and most of all I love the lyrics. it reads like a poem.





So I said, “Men, pull her out of the water.
And then lay on hands,
and bind back her flippers and tail
until international waters. And there we’ll feel
what’s human inside of her.”

So she’s chilly and slick
on her hips where the scales
meet with skin. With a sickening
flick of her tail, circling,
her gills fill with cold, salty water. She thrashes
and twirls, her freezing fins fluttering.

And she’s pretty, I think,
with her hair dark as ink, and her belly bone-white.
And her lips, of a slight, sea-shell pink, slightly part
as she’s tonguing the tub’s rusty rim,
as the saltwater flows out and in.

All farewells to the land we knew well
we’d never be touching again.
To the fields where we rambled and ran.
Farewell to our wives and children.
Let’s stand on the deck and let’s watch
them all disappearing.

And the days all float by
in a daze, over waves, under sky.
And the weeks slowly leak into years.
The last islands are all left behind as we silently sail.

Until late some dark night, a wild wind starts to wail.
And our map blows away.
And our compasses fail.
And it’s out on the lost boiling black water
where I see her float out.
And she’s so thin and so pale. I see her rise up.
And she’s so fast and so fair. My hands meet,
and they press to a point in the air,

but my mouth fills with more panic than prayer.
And my skull fills with more color than care.
And my heart fills with love, with too much love to bear.
And I know that I’ll stay, and that she’ll always be there,
my hands sunk in cold sand,
sea-weed strung through her hair.

the weekend and chambray

after watching the coverage of the earthquake in japan on friday, I was pretty upset. I just felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness. it just goes to show that anything can happen and cliches put it best, like everyday is your last.

I'm happy I was able to get out this weekend and not just sulk in the 24-hour coverage of the disaster. I did a little bit of shopping for necessities (like foundation and concealer). I was also on a nail polish kick. I want some new colors. I've been wearing the same color forever (btw, a great color!!). I'm coveting a pretty spring-y pink and the katy perry shatter to go over it. I think it'd look cute on my toes. will need to make that a mission this week.

I want this chambray top. I'll be patiently waiting until wednesday to go look for it since on wednesdays, I can use a 45% off coupon. yeahie.

blushing pink

I don't remember going through a pink stage when I was a little girl. what I do remember is emphatically liking pink during one of my middle school years, then it flickered out. and since then I don't remember having anything really pink in my closet. but lately, I've been attracted by the softer side of pink. and seemingly enough steven alan has a lot of soft spring colors in their collection this spring.

 

 oh please, I want all three (all available @ steven alan)

and some blushing pink pieces from the shop.

vintage diane von furstenberg cable knit oversize sweater

 vintage jantzen white & light pink striped shirt with a sailor collar

is it too late for sweaters?

can you believe that I have never really experienced all the four seasons? sweaters are my favorite, so I wish the sweater season was longer. even in the warmest of days, I carry a cardigan with me. it's my security blanket. I feel safe when my cardigan is near. and sweaters, I am sure I would feel the same, but there's not many days when you can wear sweaters here and especially ones that look very winter-y... makes me sad.

I've listed a couple winter-y/spring-y sweaters. my dream would be to wear all of them, but some are too small (coughdietcough) and too warm for where I live. oh and a cute skirt to end it all.

 

 

vintage gap scandinavian knitted wool sweater
vintage 60/70's fair isle scandinavian knitted sweater
vintage brass plum by nordstrom tribal knitted cardigan sweater
vintage southwestern print skirt

los angeles girl

what a great outfit! refinery la recommends wearing this to some new restaurant that opened up in la and let's forget about the restaurant and talk about the outfit. how great is it! that dress and those mocs. the necklace is ok, I think I'd prefer something less showy or simpler, but isn't this outfit great?

stripes in the home

 

a favorite blog I have been reading for a while, design sponge, has posted their best of stripes.  and these two were my favorites. I notice that I am I have a huge taste in home decor but my true decor would be somewhere in the middle of these two pictures: charming/liveable and minimalistic. and that rug, I would love that rug.

coco before chanel (2009)

today's post on tomboy style reminded me that I wanted to watch coco before chanel. I guess I mindlessly forgot. I've seen a lot of screen caps of the movie and every picture is dreamy and beautiful. and audrey tautou! although I've only seen her once, I've come to like her. I think it's her effortless beauty.

and I really need a st. james shirt really bad.
and I am attempting at making jam for the first time today. we'll see how that goes.

etsy update

I have added several more items.

go shop now.