Cute pants

I actually like this look. 

Found via Pinterest. 

 

I'm drawn to looks that appear comfortable and effortless. Effortless is my middle name. Haha 

Via Pinterest.

I might've already posted this but it went pretty well with the other looks. I like the floral pants. Crazy considering I usually don't go with super bold looks. 

Via Pinterest
 

 

Summer Musts

I actually have all of these! They're perfect and lovely! 
 

This weird animal...

This is my dog, Pim. She lives with my parents back home in Michigan and I am super excited to see her little face in 2 weeks! She's my buddy. It's funny how when I was moving away she was the one I cried over. My parents and siblings I still see; they come and visit me, but my little miss Pinsicle I don't see as much anymore! Anyway, I found this picture on my old laptop this morning and I thought I'd share.

:) She's an Imperial Shih tzu. She loves food and snuggling... she's weird as you can see from this picture. She was snuggling me that morning and it was too ridiculous not to capture. 

Happy Wednesday.

XO

Pretty Shoes

 

Anthropologie shoes.

Lovely, right? I scored these little pretties today on sale. 

I'm not really a typical girl when it comes to owning a plethora of shoes. My favorites are Anthropologie. Aside from them, I don't buy shoes very often. How could I possibly resist these "flatforms"? I'm a sucker for polka dots. Just the way it~

XO

Lovely Instagrams

I'm updating on a Saturday night to make up for my lack of updates during the week!

Sorry 'bout that. I've been pretty darn busy.

I took these photos today. I couldn't resist this bouquet of roses at the store. They were simply perfect!

Happy update! So I have been changing my diet around. For multiple reasons really. I had for one gained like 4 pounds. haha Knew exactly why, so I cut out the junk food and lost 4 pounds in a week, continued my diet and ended up losing like 8 pounds all together in a month? Something like that, anyway today I tried on a few pair of pants and was happy to learn that I have gone down a size. :)

Well, anyway, allergies are ridiculous right now, so I'm pumped up on good 'ol benadryl. I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend and if you're lucky enough to have Monday off, enjoy your 3 days weekend! My husband has memorial day off so woohoo for three day weekends! We went to the store and got Pirates of the Caribbean and FINDING NEMO: aka the best Pixar movie ever! haha I'm about to fall asleep sitting up, so I'm out! Again, happy weekend, lovelies.

XO

Jewelry Loves

ANTHROPOLOGIE

again.

Love these little sparkles. 
 I make jewelry so I don't buy it often if ever... These tempt me. Again, in person they're so eye catching and lovely. Also something I can't make, haha.
 

Bag love

I rarely, if ever, am tempted by a bag... But this one is awesome and is even more awesome in person! Quite out of my guilt free price range but mmmmmm if I had 300.00 to blow on a bag; this little lovely would be mine.

ANTHROPOLOGIE

of course. 
 

Friday!

Cat eye makeup.

I tried this and I likes it. It takes a couple tries to really start getting 'good' at it. The red lips are a little on the bold side for me. I don't really like bold makeup. I like things a little more on the natural side but once in a while it's fun to experiment. I have yet to actually leave my house with sultry red lips, though. I feel like it draws a lot of attention and I can't say I'm the kind of person who wants to stand out too much. ;) I have worn pretty, bright pink lipstick out, though. One of these days I'll actually wear the red. haha

Moving on: It's FRIDAY! Again.... already! Yikes! Is it just me or days flying by a little freaky?? I'm 26! I mean, it happened so fast and I'm quickly approaching 30, and I'm a woman, that is scary and I can't even tell you why! 30 isn't old! It's just not the 20's. haha I think that's the scary part. 30 means you are truly an adult. Then I start thinking of how I had planned on getting on board the baby train by the time I was 25... 25 rolled around and I was like, "No way, I am not ready for that..." and still to this day I still am not ready. Eeep! Oh well. It'll happen when it happens. I really and honestly need to be more financially secure. I live in a huge city and I already live tight thanks to high rent and our student loans. We literally can't afford a baby. haha I can't even afford a dog.

Speaking of which, we have been starting to think about buying a house. SCARY! I have a very odd commitment issue. Surprisingly enough it's not about relationships, it's about big purchases or other extremely life changing events.We've decided that we would be willing to own a house in Santa Monica. I'm trying to educate myself on buying. It seems difficult, but we'll figure it out. We have realistic aspirations. We want a small house 2-3 bedrooms, garage... haha Small yard. That sort of thing. Once I start thinking of property tax I clam up and want to go hide. I have a feeling it's INSANE. Yup, it's stressing me out just thinking about it, so on to a new subject!

I got excited for a split second the other night. I thought I saw Robert Downey Jr. but it wasn't him. I stopped and realized how many celebrities I have seen since living here for one year...

Johnny Knoxville, Mila Kunis, Mario Lopez, Jane Lynch, Conan O'brien, Kaley Cuoco, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Zoe, Ashley Olsen, Max Greenfield, Steven McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert, Vampire Diaries) Clint Eastwood, Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Macke, Chris Brown, Joe Jonas....

I'm pretty sure there have been a few more, but I can't think of them.

Kinda crazy, right? I forget I share a city with them until I see someone famous. It's weird.

Well, my friends, I hope you all have a lovely and safe Friday! I'm going to watch Vampire Diaries and work on a necklace. 

XO

Simple. To the point. Happy Thursday.

I'm in like with these

 Find this print {HERE}

{HERE}

Print lovelies that I truly want and well, NEED on my wall.... my poor husband is being sabataged by this girlie phase I'm in. haha He's patient. 

Truer words were never spoken...

Yes, quotes again. I feel like I turn to them so often that I have actually memorized them and really just play them on a loop in my brain every day simply to keep sane.

I live in a city that really tries my patience in a prettttttty huge way. 

Good 'ol Los Angeles. LA as the locals call it.

NIGHTMARE. haha

I am not a  city girl. I used to dream of city living as a teenager. Literally it was all I wanted. However, I feel I'm probably not the typical girl with those dreams because it wasn't New York City that I wanted to call home, it was Washington DC. I guess I have a thing for the palpable power eminating from the streets of our nations capital. 

However, I ended up in Los Angeles. A city of the most ridiculous, where the idiots of the world flock to. I swear, it is the Mecca for morons. No offense, to anyone who lives here (HA, right?) I apologize now because my feelings toward this messed up place won't change. 

If I want to be able to cope with what life has thrown me and where fate has placed me, this quote helps me deal. Am I being a bit dramatic? To some, probably. I accept the things I can't change, but I'm just trying to find something that will help me learn to love where I am. I have a feeling my life will always be around Los Angeles, and that's fine... I'm just hoping I can plant myself maybe in Santa Monica. I can handle Santa Monica. It gives you a vacation feel and something about it seems more realistic than Hollywood.

Well, seriously I didn't plan on even writing much today. I've had caffeine so I guess I'm a bit tweaked. ;)

Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday! It's kind of/sort of almost the weekend!

XO

Hello, lovelies.

Thanks to Artifact Uprising I have this beautiful, instagram friendly photobook! I could easily become obsessed with these little memory treasures. I'll most definitely be back! I'm thinking of getting a bigger one and print one every year to document that year! This book covers our move to California which we dubbed The Great California Adventure. 

Speaking of which, we have now lived in California for a year! It went by so fast. I can't say I love how quickly life speeds by but it's been a very crazy year. I think moving to LA is very overrated. Now that I'm here it's just not what people really think. I love the surrounding areas but honest to God its not glamorous! I have some stories that I wish I didn't have. Haha

Today for some messed up reason feels like Friday, which made me think of an e-card quote that was something along the lines of,

"Nothing ruins Friday like realizing it's Tuesday."

Amen to that. Haha

Well friends, I'll be back with some other goods later. For now I have some nightstands to assemble. (dislike) 
 

Monday and stuff

Happy Monday! Well, maybe not 'happy', that's pushing it... ;)

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! We were blessed with some scorching, summer-esque weather here on the pacific coast. It was beautiful! It should hit about 90 today. I don't mind the heat, it's not as sweltering as the deep southern heat in Charleston and the other southern states. I do however miss Charleston a lot. My all time favorite place in this country so far! 

Anyway, I'm renting a Fiat again. A convertible this time around. We should only have it for a couple days while the jeep is getting repaired at Chrysler. Yeah, that situation isn't done yet. But we have more hope now that it's in the hands of actual Jeep experts. *fingers crossed* They fix it. I dont feel like going into detail haha. It's not interesting.

Alright! The photo above is my current inspiration. I love things like this, so I wanted to make my own. I collect Japanese toys and these remind me of them. :)

I laughed when I saw this picture of these boxes. I totally do this! I have some fun storage boxes. I need to get some bigger ones. I may put mine on my etsy. I have started way too many projects! I need to chill!!! Haha I now have a big bookcase in my living room so I'm excited to put some of my own art projects in there. :) 

Last but not least.... Free People. Why in the heck do I like this outfit?! These pants on one hand are ugly but the comfortable side of my brain is very interested. Haha Maybe they're just cute on the model because she's probably 5'10" and skinny as a rail.... I keep trying to picture me and my 5'4" height in these babies... It's not a pretty picture but I won't knock it until I try it. ;)

 

 

 

Happy Friday!

Well, if you say so, Kate Spade... 

Why is it that cake tastes better for breakfast? I have considered having cake for breakfast on my birthdays. It's just better... This morning, however, I have no cake. :) I have jelly belly jelly beans? But I can't say I'm really in the mood to pound those down quite yet.

 
 

Love.

Anthropologie, you have done it again.

I am a total sucker for all things pink and gold. I think that is the most beautiful color combination in the world! For my wedding I did a lot of pink and gold and well, my bridesmaids wore black, but my cake was pink and gold. Loveliness.

Anyway, thought I'd share. Hope everyone's Wednesday is going well.

XO

Country music?

What is happening to me?! I've been listening to..... I assume they're kind of country/folk-ish songs. I feel like a hillbilly but they're so good. haha One is a song by Birdie and Mumford & Sons, it's from Brave called Learn Me Right, the other is called You & Me by Sara Watkins and then there is my little love with Civil Wars which is most definitely folk and Anabel by The Duhks... BUT I have countered this with new Ellie Goulding songs and a Nero/LaRoux song and there is always my absolute love of Imagine Dragons...... so that should make up for it. There is still NO lil Wayne garbage on my itunes and it will stay that way. The day that happens someone needs to beat some sense into me because if that happens I would be in a very, very dark place. Ugh, I hate him. I actually felt bad on some level because when he was dying there was a spark of happiness in me, but then I suppressed it and tried to summon up some compassion... That didn't work so I just stopped thinking about it. ;)

How to shop for Free People, haha.

I have a feeling, the celebrity with my favorite closet would be Nicole Richie.... Every time I see her lately she's wearing some perfectly Bohemian loveliness. Yup... I'm not a Chanel, Dior, Gucci sort of girl; those don't interest me at all... I LOVE Winter Kate, Free People, some Ralph Lauren.... Free People is the one that is my absolute, all time favorite. I have more or less turned my love of their merchandise into a collection. I have a rolling rack in my bedroom that I put primarily my Free People clothing on. (Also because the only place to store anything in my apartment is my bedroom closet, so the racks were a must to clear up some space in the closet for boxes, etc) I just love the Free People brand. I feel like I spent a good portion of my teen-young adult years kind of trying to find clothes that really showed my personality. I believe that clothes are a way to express your personality without having to speak. Free People I only knew a little about back in the day. I didn't have a Free People store where I grew up and the mall an hour away (Somerset Collection in Troy Michigan) only sold the brand at Macy's. I loved it. It was definitely out of my price range until I started to realize that Macy's has amazing deals. Now I feel like a pro at getting great deals on lovely Free People items.
So far, the best place to get a great deal on Free People is: MACY'S. I am very fortunate to have a fantastic Macy's not far from where I live (Thousand Oaks, California) that is apparently one of only three (I think) store's in the US with a large variety of Free People items. This is the place I save lots of money. For instance; after Thanksgiving I thought it would be worth braving the ridiculous crowds to see what kind of good deals Macy's had. I bought about 4 things, I spent 70.00, I saved over 250.00.... A couple weeks ago, I bought 3 dresses and a pair of pants, (again from Macy's) I spent exactly 100.00 and saved 300.00.... yeah.... So it is possible to find some great prices. Like I said, I bought THREE DRESSES. Free People dresses on average are 100.00 each at least.

Ebay.
I have a love/hate relationship with eBay. I've had some bad experiences, but it is a decent place to sometimes run across something you've been looking for for a while and get a better price.

Marshalls: Discount store! Though these markdowns aren't always awesome (once you've experienced the Macy's sales, every one else doesn't come close) But these stores generally have Free People. If you're in California they definitely do.

Tjmaxx: Also a pretty decent place to discover something fun, but usually don't have a large selection.

Nordstrom Rack: They WILL have a section dedicated to Free People. I have personally found that Nordstrom has some of the absolute worst prices for Free People. Most of the time the stuff they have can be found at Macy's for (most of the time) half the price. I have found that Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack have the worst sales ever. haha I usually don't even go. 

The OTHER option is to sign up at your local Free People store to be notified when they have additional percentages off their sale items. Usually it's around an additional 20-25% off) Mind you, this doesn't happen very often, but when it does you can generally get a very good price of things.

So there. That is how I have a pretty large collection of Free People lovelies. I've had people look at me like I'm some crazy person because I do own a lot of Free People clothes and yes, full price they're generally on the expensive side. No, I'm not made out of money. I have simply discovered a way to get what I like for less. :) Some things I have bought full price. Generally I will only buy full price items if they've been hard to find or they're one of their intimates, because those a lot of the time are considered a staple item and may not get a mark down for over a year or more. Shop smart, friends.

"Buy less, choose well."

-Vivienne Westwood.

"like"

Is there really such a thing as a 'good' Monday?

Good morning, friends.

 Well, for some of you on the other side of the country this is more like afternoon. It's raining here, today, which I am loving. I think It's rained maybe 10 times in a year and even less of those times were actually a lot of rain. Los Angeles has almost no weather. It's nice. It hardly rains, it doesn't snow, we don't get thunderstorms (not that I have experienced) It seems one of the only natural disasters we have to worry about are earthquakes and I've lived here a year and have only felt one and a small tremor. I'm sure I'll experience more as the years go by. I think the only weather I truly miss are thunderstorms. I love them. I miss them.

 Anyway, this weekend was nice and then it was terrible! Yesterday was just.... stupid. haha My husband and I did break down and buy a big 'ol shelving unit at Ikea along with figuring out our messed up bed situation. So despite humanity making yesterday a real living hell it ended well. I did however have a minor accident (again) and broke my stupid phone. Fell out of my pocket in a parking garage. Didn't even bounce, just fell straight down on the GLASS face and shattered. Lovely. Every time this happens I curse Steve Jobs. I just automatically blame him and his stupid glass phone. I'm not one of those weird Apple lovers. I own it because it looked nice and everyone convinced me I couldn't live without it, but seriously, this is the second time I've broken it and if I get it fixed again I think I'm up to about 450.00 into the dumb thing and that just isn't happening. SO I'll buy the new one and finish this stupid one off... with a hammer. It's kind of a dream, actually. I fantasize about smashing the dumb thing to smithereens. ;) I don't really know why I put a winking face, I'm quite serious... I'm not angry right now.... It fills me with utter glee to think of smashing this phone. :)

SO business news. Um. I'm sick of it? haha I think I am finally going to just call it. I am so tired of being let down on literally a daily basis and apparently I am just not lucky enough to be self employed and have it not be a waste of time. I am just going to go out and find some job that will pay me and appreciate my work. I find my business makes me sad and depressed more often then not. Actually, that's not even true, it only ever makes me sad and depressed and I'm tired of being envious of people who have accomplished instant success. I physically and emotionally can't handle it anymore. Being a failure for 4 years will really wear a person down. This descision doesn't mean I don't think I'm good; I think I am excellent at what I do. YES, I have failed, I have friends who want to try to sugar coat that, but seriously, I'm a realist, I have failed. haha I don't care about it anymore. That makes me sad, too. I feel like I started out so confident and life has beaten me down. I used to be really good at getting back up and continuing on, but I'm just over it. I'm not someone who likes to quit, which is why I've kept this going for years... but it's time.

Anyway, this definitely turned into a novel and my mood is slipping to the dark side. ;) Can I blame the gloomy weather? Please?

Happy Monday, (HA) if there is such a thing. ;)

xo

Happy Saturday, loves!

 100% what I have learned. I like this quote so I did this version using my own little calligraphy font. I love inspirational quotes. I tend to search for them when I need some encouragement through the days that are just running me into the ground with stress and frustration. They make me feel better.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Mine so far has been really nice and peaceful! Our weather is beautiful and I got some sun so all's well here on the golden coast.

I'll be back on Monday with more daily 'stuff'. 

Xo