The August Break!

Hi All,

So I've decided to partake in the August Break suggested by Susannah Conway.  You can get the deets here, but basically it's a break from writing on this here blog for the whole month of august.  Instead I'll be posting one picture a day to document my daily adventures this month.  I think it's a good way to slow down and really take in this last month of summer...The boy has declared August our "Month of Wonderments!"  I'm not totally sure what that means, but I sure am looking forward to it!  We will also be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary and with no upcoming weddings or big events we can really take our time and enjoy August together. 

Are you going to take the August Break? 

Do you Spotify?

Have you tried Spotify yet?  If you haven't, I must insist you do!!!  Spotify is like itunes to the next degree.  Not only does it allow you to create playlists from all the music already stored on your computer, you can stream almost any song you like instantly, add it to playlists and play it anytime.  It's pretty awesome!  And it's amazing to think of how music sharing has changed so much just in the last 10 years.  I mean, I remember making mixed tapes...that wasn't really that long ago.  Now almost any recorded song is accessible for free with a few clicks of a button.  Pretty cool, right?

Check out Spotify, it will rock your world and I gaurentee you're bound to have a fun music-filled weekend!

Cheers,
Gidget

two weddings and a funeral

This month has been nuts...I know I've said it a few times, but I guess I'm still reeling from all the goings on.  On a somber note, my grandmother passed and we had an official ceremony for both her and my grandfather out at sea.  It was beautiful and peaceful and sad.  I really miss my grandparents.  I miss their stories and their laughter.  And I'm just sad knowing that a piece of my childhood and a part of my family is gone.  This year there has been a lot of loss, and well, it's draining.

But even amongst sorrow there is still joy.  July also featured two very important weddings:  My cousin Kaitlyn's and my dear friend Kristen's.  They were both beautiful!  Here's a peak at McNally's wedding...

All the wedding photos were taken by Lisa Anderson

Sponsor Love!

The month is nearly over, but meet another one of my July Sponsors...the lovely Putdar!

Hi! I'm Putdar from The Nerdy Elephant (previously known as Sincerely, Putdar.) I'm a 19 years old college student from Bandung, Indonesia. I blog about all the random things that come accross my mind. Mostly about my daily life as a college student: how I procrastinate, how I deal with relationship problems between me and my friends, traffic jam, etc. I hope you stop by my blog and enjoy your visit there. Have a nice day! :D

Thanks for sponsoring Lilac and Lace Putdar!  Be sure to check out her blog! 

Hey Jealousy

Lately, I have been feeling kinda jealous. And it's an emotion that I never want to feel.  Well, I suppose no one does.  But in this blog world, it's easy to be overwhelmed with things that other people have and I sometimes feel those negative thoughts seeping into my brain.  

Seeing bloggers who seem to have a lot more time for crafting and blogging makes me jealous.  I envy them their time and their discipline to be productive in their free time when they just as easily could have vegged out and watched The Colbert Report (something I usually do.)  I was recently told that I take this blog more seriously than I should, and I suppose I do.  But I love blogging and I want to give Lilac and Lace more attention.  Is that a bad thing?  Well, I'm jealous of these ladies who can give their blogs lots of love and attention.  And I am jealous of their conviction in knowing it's a worthy use of their time.   I wonder if I'm a worthy blogger or just a wannabe.

I mean, there are other things to be jealous about that are more transparent, like cute clothes, adorable homes and successful indie businesses.  But I am usually more bothered by the fact that I want to live the indie-blogger lifestyle and I just don't have enough time.  

I'm sure I am going to read this post back and feel totally silly for writing it.  I mean, I'm jealous of strangers' free time?  What?  But I'd just like to clarify that in the moment, this all made sense.  I know jealousy is dangerous and it can destroy a persons well-being (just look at poor Othello!)  So I'm not holding on to these feelings, but I want to know how you feel.  I think it's important not to completely deny feelings of jealousy, but acknowledge them and then move on.  So if you want to share what makes you jealous, comment below or post about it and send me the link.  Let's all get over our jealous ways together, deal?

Thursday

Right now I am going through some big changes at work and among them I'm moving from the front desk to my very own glamorous cubicle!  Hooray!  I feel a bit nerdy, but I kinda want to decorate it like Elle Woods does in Legally Blonde 2.  Have you seen that scene?  

This is what it looks like now...

Not all that fancy.  But seriously, I'd love to get your input.  Do any of you decorate your workspace in any way?  Link me pictures if you do!  

Have a wonderful Thursday!

The 4th and family time!

Yep, it's the 25th and I am just now getting around to posting pictures from the 4th of July, pathetic, I know!  But better late than never I always say!  Go America!

the Parentals

Me and my Mom

we quiz each other...like the Kennedy's, yeah!

Big brother and me

Max

 Hope you had a great weekend!

Dressing like a Grown-up

Yes, I tend to gravitate towards frilly dresses and peter-pan collars.  I want to own a pair of saddle shoes and cultivate a kind of "alice in wonderland" look most of the time (more about that later.)  But I've recently been promoted at my job, which also accounts for why I've been so busy and generally pooped when I get home with no energy to even open my laptop, let alone blog.  And with this promotion I feel a new twinge of maturity and a dab of pressure to actually dress a bit more like a grown up. 

You know what I mean, that sophisticated, stylish, working-girl look?  Well I've never been able to pull that off.  Perhaps I'm just self conscious, but I always feel like I'm playing dress up and trying just a bit too hard to look grown-up. But here are my most recent best attempts....

I bought both these "looks" on sale at an adorable boutique in Santa Monica called Clever.  You must go check it out if you're in the area.  They have amazing dresses at killer prices...especially for that area.  And the charm bracelet is a very special gift from my Nana.  She had it next to her bed and had written my name on one of the charms; it means so much that she gave it to me and it is really quite stylish don't you think?  

Fact: Ballet Dancers tend to be cool...

Hello Cherubs.  'Bout done sprucing up the blog and now I got to get back into actually writing.  I'm not sure why my life got so hectic and crazy this summer; I wasn't expecting it.  But I think that it may be finally starting to slow back down.  (Fingers crossed!)  

I am totally jazzed about the wedding coming up this weekend...it's going to be a blast.  And I actually managed to tailor this vintage dress all by myself so that it's fitted and ready to wear this weekend!  (I had to take in the bust as clearly the darn thing was designed for Marilyn Monroe!) 

On a completely different topic, and the inspiration behind my post title, I recently stumbled upon the music of Oh Land and I just simply had to share some it with you.  After doing a bit of research, I realized that Oh Land is even cooler than I originally thought.  You see, the electro-pop, ethereal singer, named Nanna Øland Fabricius, is actually a former ballerina!  She trained with the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet and I think you can just tell from her moves in her videos.  I feel like I can always tell when people have had good classical ballet training, even just in the way they walk.  

And so I give you Oh Land.  Super cool Danish former dancer.  Check out her self-named album-- It's the perfect summer spin!

Please Pardon my Pixie Dust

As you can see I am giving the blog a little makeover, but it wasn't really something I planned out (like a good blogger should) so it's being done in bits and pieces as the inspiration strikes me.  So I apologize for any weirdness you may be experiencing, or any signs of a half finished design.  But I should have this blog sparkling with a completed new look in another day. 

But I'd love to know what you think of the new look...Have a good night! 

xoxo,
Gidget

Renegade Roundup

Can I just say how much I loved going to the Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend?  It was such a blast and totally the perfect end to a crazy weekend.  After strolling the booths and sipping a few brewskies, I came away with two adorable prints from Nan Lawson Illustration.  A super cute fox print from Sass & Peril (which I've had my eye on for ages) and two fun tops from Stella Neptune.  Even the boy came away with some corn socks...I sadly can't remember that vendors' name!  If you know it, please comment and let me know.  

I also had the esteemed pleasure of actually meeting Jenny from Sublime Stitching, Christine Haynes, Author of Chic and Simple Sewing and Dani from Oh, Hello Friend.  It was like meeting celebrities, I feel so honored to have gotten to chat, even for a moment, with these amazing women who inspire me everyday with their crafts and blogs!  

Naturally, there were a bunch of vendors who I couldn't buy from this past Sunday, because, well...I have to spread some of the spending out, but I still came away with all of my favorite vendors business cards.  And man, do I have a lot of cards!  I am so excited to go through them all and visit each one's online store and maybe get to know them a bit better through their blogs.  I just love the handmade community, don't you?  If you were at Renegade this weekend and want to do a Roundup, please leave your link in the comments section, I'd love to see how you made out!   

Have you seen my Sponsors?

Hello Everyone!  Hope your weekend was fantastic.  Mine was quite interesting.  There has been so much going on in my life lately and I am really looking forward to settling down a bit and getting back into a normal routine.  In the last week I had a funeral, a wedding and a two day work convention which left me feeling really down and out about my professional career path.  It's been one of those months when I can't help but feel completely overwhelmed by the pressure and all the emotion.  We have one more wedding next week for my cousin Kaitlyn, but that one is going to be so much fun, I'm really looking forward to it!  After that, the boy and I are planning on going back to being homebodies and just taking it easy for a while. 

So July has been a bit rocky so far, but one thing that is fabulous about July are my fabulous sponsors!  Take a minute to meet them all and be sure to visit all of their awesome blogs!  Here are two I'd like to introduce to you today~

Lovely Miss Megs

Hello, hello! I'm Megan! A 24 year old Canadian who loves baking, travel, cute dresses, and anything nerdy! On my blog, Lovely Miss Megs, I like to write about my daily adventures, inspirations and something I like to call The Wardrobe Project. I hope you'll stop by to say hello! I love making new friends!

Just Because by Lee Lee

Hello!! 

I'm Lee Lee a crafty fashion designer from Colombia living in Miami, FL. I love everything cute, photography and vintage items. I love spending my days sewing reading blogs and taking pictures. I blog about my adventures in Miami, my trips, my inspirations, the things I love and the things I love making!

Come to my world, everybody is welcome!

Links:

{BLOG} {SHOP} {TWITTER} {FB}

Renegade!!!!!

This is where I'll be today....

Join me if you like!  Hope you have a magnificent Sunday!  

Frank Capra's my Life Coach

When this old world starts getting me down, I don't have a roof to climb up to, but I do have the Frank Capra box set and that always seems to do me a world of good!  In case you don't know, Frank Capra was a very prominent movie director in the 30's and 40's and directed such classic films as "It's a Wonderful Life,"  "It Happened One Night," and "Mr. Smith goes to Washington."  Most of his films feature wide-eyed, friendly characters with big ideals getting put into situations that test their conviction and their optimistic beliefs, but usually they come out on top and the moral of the story comes through in beautiful, tear-jerking clarity:  No man is a failure who has friends, The only thing you can take with you is the love of your family and friends, The lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for, Each man's life touches so many other lives....and so on and so forth.  

He got the reputation of being "Capra-Corny" because of his film's feel-good nature and idealistic viewpoints.  They may be a bit corny, especially in today's filmscape, but I simply love each and every one of his movies and I think they are completely brilliant.  I really feel like they are lasting and timeless works of art that tap into the most basic and universal of human emotions.  

Obviously, I'm a fan but actually my appreciation of Capra is more than that.  I love his films not only because they feature Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable playing some of the most charming male roles of all time.  And not only because they are chalk full with amazing and quirky classic characters actors.  Not just because they all have female characters that are smart, sassy, capable and compelling, usually played fabulously by the likes of Jean Arthur and Barbara Stanwyck. And not simply because they are all composed of witty dialogue and interesting story lines.  

The thing I love most about Frank Capra's films, is the feeling they leave me with-- they inspire me!  They make me aspire to be like the characters in the stories.  I watch them and I want to stand up for the right things, I want to be the best version of myself and I feel a renewed sense of determination---An urgency to not give up on all my lost causes.  It's a great feeling to have, corny or not.  And because of that, I find myself gravitating to the Capra box set anytime I'm feeling particularly discouraged or disillusioned with the world around me.  So in a way, Frank Capra's kinda my life coach.... And I think that's swell! 

Olvera Street

Another gem in Los Angeles: the historic and quaint Olvera Street in Downtown LA.  I had never been to the tourist hot-spot till recently with the boy and my mother-in-law on our grand tour of downtown.  It's one of those places that they tend to take 3rd year Spanish students in high school, but somehow I missed out on that field trip.  And while it's completely cheesy and a tad stereotypical, I totally loved the whole atmosphere of Olvera Street!  The bright colors, the music, all the strange little shops.   I can't wait to go back and eat at some of the Mexican restaurants and snag myself a lovely embroidered dress.  Mucho gusto!     

Walking in LA

I've done so much walking around Los Angeles lately and I gotta say, the boy and I do have a pretty fabulous city!  Can you tell where all the above photos were taken?