Fly Away Fashion Friday!

Well my lovelies, it's been quite a week.  I've been so busy getting ready to go to New York and the Independent Fashion Blogger's Convention, as well as redesigning our apartment and doing about a million other things for work.  I'm actually exhausted, but also incredibly excited!  I haven't ever been to the Big Apple, and I am simply delighted to finally get to see it! 

One thing that always throws a bit of a hitch in my travel plans is my strong fear of flying.  I have really been working on overcoming this fear, this year, but to a certain degree, it's always in the back of my mind.  So that's why having a truly comfortable and casually cute flying outfit is of extra importance to me. 

I tend to lean rely on my Joe's Jeans and a fun tee shirt to keep me feeling relaxed and comfortable.  But then I also have a few key pieces of jewelry that I always wear.  Something from both my grandmothers, and my St. Christopher pendent.  I know it sounds rather silly and superstitious, but it really helps me feel better about traveling.  

I have to assume there are others out there who are a bit skiddish of the open air and maybe have some superstitious rituals?  If you do, leave a comment and let me know!

4 Years Today

Four years ago today, I made a promise to my best friend.  I told the boy that I would love, honor and cherish him till death do us part.  I can hardly believe it's already been four years; so much has changed, and yet so much is still the same.  

One thing that remains the same is the fact that I am still totally nuts about him.  Head over heels in love with him (and I am sure he's annoyed and blushing that I just shared that with the blogisphere, but I don't care!)  He continues to inspire me, to care for me and encourage me.  He continues to give me butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me.  I know that I am completely blessed to have him in my life.  And I wish him a very happy anniversary! 

Taken on our Honeymoon in Carmel by the Sea

Burger Quest: Malibu Inn

Malibu, Claremont, Palmdale, Valencia, Whittier, Compton - these are some of the outer reaches of our LA County restricted Burger Quest.

We certainly don't discriminate against the burgers for their distance from our home, but we do hope they make the drive worthwhile. The Malibu Inn does not warrant a drive.

The place is a complete metaphor for Malibu, with its reality shows, sceptic tank issues, crumbling bluffs and disreputable residents: Despite having some pretty cool vintage elements, interesting wallpaper and some of the best colored chairs I've ever seen, the place is about as soulful as a university cafeteria.  Everything is too spaced out, and no ocean view (despite being right by the ocean.)  Perhaps the atmosphere is better at dinner, but for lunch it just seemed strange and uncomfortable.

But here's the burger - beef, stunningly cold lettuce, tomato, red onion, decent bun. They say on their website that their beef is proprietary.  It did seem quite nice, but very, very salty and was served with a big hunk of nuthin'.  They did serve a pail of popcorn with the meal.  I'm still unsure if I find that quaint or just cheap, but then, I'm not much of a popcorn fan.  

Probably my favorite detail was in the women's restroom...Enter the stalls and you're greeted with collages such as this....

I can't help but find that funny!

Their burger is $13. It should be $7.  But what of the score you ask?  Let's crunch the numbers:

Meatiness - 2

Succulentiousness - 2

Bun - 3
Flavour - 3
Stay Togetherness - 3

Joint - 3

Ballet Gone Bad at The Gap

These ads.  Gap what were you thinking?  It's things like this that make me yearn for the days when ballet wasn't popular.  The boy was giving me a hard time the other day when I was criticizing a Gap window in Beverly Hills, "no one cares if that position is good or bad."  He said.

And it really got my goat, because it's more than that.  The model, San Francisco Ballet principle Yuan Yuan Tan, is in the weirdest and un-pretty position imaginable.  There must have been something better to choose from.  Why is she holding her leg like that?  I am sure she hit all kinds of beautiful poses that could have been used.  Why this one?  Not only is it not all that pretty, it really puts emphasis on the jeans.  Without reading the tagline on the windows, one would think this shot is supposed to emphasize the flexibility of the jeans, right?  Nope.  It's supposed to be about the shirt "raising the barre."  Again, weird.  

Naturally, I had to investigate the campaign to see if there were indeed other images and sure enough their were.  The Gap put together a little "how-to" on 4 different ballet moves/positions, one being the splits which again is so damn cheesy.  There were definitely other shots that look more compelling and more beautiful than Yuan Yuan Tan holding her leg up like it's a sack of potatoes, but again, all of them seemed to make the ad about the jeans being super stretchy and I don't think that was the intent...  

The Gap has always been great about implementing dancers in their ad campaigns; do you remember the swing dancing and the series of dance themed commercials they did in the 90's?  Those were great, and so fun to watch, but they also usually had some sort of purpose - showing the khakis were comfortable enough to swing dance in for example.  And yes, I know that in this current campaign they are highlighting all kinds of artists, singers, musicians and dancers for the purpose of, I guess, just bringing some artistic diversity to the brand, and I think that's swell, honest.  But I still can't help but cringe a bit at the sight of this window shot.  I'm a total ballet snob.  Yes, I know.  

Here's a lovely highlight video of Yuan Yuan Tan, just to give you an idea how superb this long-time principle really is...And further proof that she can hold her leg in alla seconde without the use of her arm....

Images from The Gap's Facebook Page

My New (old) Couch

Sometimes, all it takes is a new pop of color to make an old piece of furniture feel new again and that's what I did for our little love seat couch!

Originally, I got this couch from my old office when we moved locations.  It was headed for the trash so I whisked in and saved it.  It's not very big (which is perfect for our tiny apartment) but it has a wonderful retro-vibe and unusual shape.  The one thing it needed was a bit of reupholstering.  I purchased some red fabric from Pottery Barn and did the job myself.  You can see the before and after here.

I've loved our red couch so much these past 3 years, but it was time for a change.  So I stripped the red fabric and started all over again with a bright avocado green color...

I love it!  It adds brightness to the room and totally works for my vintage 60's vibe I'm imagining.  It took most of my Sunday morning, along with plenty of staple gun staples, but I'm pretty proud of the finished product!  What do you think?  Have you ever tried to reupholster a couch yourself before?  

Life Lately

I feel so guilty when I'm not posting regularly on this blog.  I've always managed to get posts up no matter how crazy my life is, but this summer I've been battling a major case of blog block.  I've just been so uninspired and frankly burnt out.  

But I'm hoping that my upcoming trip to New York and my attendance at the IFB convention will help to spark a bit more of my blogging enthusiasm again.   

Offline, I've been really working hard on redesigning our apartment and actually have made quite a lot of progress, but I am still searching for the perfect piece of furniture to put our TV and media stuff on.  I have a definite picture in my head of what I want and really don't want to settle for anything less, but it may be a while before it all comes together. 

Here's a few snapshots of life lately!  

An example of the weird things you can find at a car wash...miniature sleeping kittens?

First signs of Fall! 

My car needed a wash like something awful!

Lots of cups of tea

Now the rest of my weekend will be about continuing to clean, putting away laundry and hopefully getting a bit of time to journal and catch up on my favorite blogs!  Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Apartment Inspirations

I've been a bit quiet over here on this blog mainly due to the fact that I've been so busy cleaning, reorganizing and down-sizing all the "stuff" in our little apartment.  My goal is to have a newly designed living room before the end of the month....But obviously, time is running out.  

Actually I am pretty near done, but still need to re-cover the couch and find an entertainment table that I like.  I want something in a pale wood, long and narrow, with a 1960's flair.  Below are some of the pictures from my Pinterest inspiration board...I found a bunch of hilarious 1960's ads for "the home of the future" on Oh So Lovely Vintage and I must say, I think they are pretty damn cool.  When I showed my parents they just burst out laughing...I guess it hit a little too close to their childhood homes!  

The plan had been to find a piece either at an antique show or garage sale, but if anyone has any other suggestions please leave a comment and let me know!  

 

All images and more of my inspirations with original sources can be found here

An Apple a Day...

...does something, I'm sure.  This is one of those dresses that I had seen online for ages before finally purchasing.  It's pretty darn cute.  And it's one of those dresses that, if I were an elementary school teacher, I would totally sport on the first day back to school.  I love the colors, the print and the peter-pan collar.  It's definitely become a favorite in my regular dress rotation!  

This weekend my plan is to catch up on some work, do a bit of organizing and redecorating.  What are you up to this weekend?  Happy Friday!

Fabulous Finds

When the boy mentioned to me that there was an antique store in Whittier that he wanted to check out I was beyond excited...I mean, it's not often that the boy actually suggests we shop for antiques!  But he had heard wonderful things about King Richard's Antique shop down in Whittier, so we decided to brave the heat and ventured down to this outskirt of LA. 

And let me tell you, it was definitely worth the trip.  It was even worth the fact that our car overheated on the way home and we had to get towed all the way back to Beverly Hills (triple A is a life-saver!)  We found some great vintage pieces and if I had unlimited time, money and space, I could have bought hundreds of items.  Their furniture selection was amazing and all their prices were incredibly reasonable.  Here are a few of our fabulous finds....(I should mention that we didn't buy all of these, but I still wanted to share!)

Tumblr...I am on it people!

I have resurrected my Tumblr, which, prior to now had one post on it.  Now there are 3.  SNAP!

If you follow the Tumblr, or partake in some way, let me know...We can follow each other and become online BFF's until the day we finally meet up in person and discover we actually have nothing to talk about.

Until that inevitable day, here's the link: http://gidgetheartsmoondoggie.tumblr.com/

It's the Absolute Most at the Very Least! 

Fashion Friday | Shootin' Hoops

This outfit was all about the hair.  A pompadour styling I learned from this blog and a vintage Vera print scarf...It wasn't the ideal outfit for a game of "Horse," but I still won against the boy.  I am an awesome Horse player.  No kidding.  

Outfit Details

Sunglasses: Fred Flare | Headscarf: Vera (thrifted in Portland) | Sweater: Target

Designer Crush | Wild Fox

I know I am certainly not the first blogger to wax on about how magnificent and adorable the Wildfox clothing line is, but I couldn't resist the urge to gush.  I love Wildfox.  And recently spent an evening getting lost in co-founder Kimberley Gordon's beautiful blog.  If you haven't explored their site, I must insist that you do - Their line is inspired by  "sleepovers, beautiful books, fairies, dreams, vintage T-shirts, and the friendship" between designers Kimberley Gordon and Emily Faulstich.  They also site 90's movies like Clueless and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet as sources of inspiration.   It's like a clothing line designed with my 15 year old self in mind.  In other words - Awesome.  Here are a few items I am currently lusting after...

**All photos and information taken from Wildfox Couture's site**