The LA Lifestyle

It's expensive to live in this city.  And I love living here, but there are days when I long to live in a city where the rent isn't so high and you get more bang for your buck.  

The boy and I decided to put off our move for a little while longer.  It's the responsible thing to do, but I must admit, I feel a bit disappointed.  

I often get ahead of myself and start planning sooner than I should.  We love our current place and are in no hurry to move, but I've been itching for a fresh start, a new change of pace, and a change of scenery.  

It's amazing how impatient I can be.  

For now though, we're staying in Beverly Hills.  A very nice place to live, I know.  And I'm taking the opportunity to do some Spring Sprucing.  It's actually the perfect time to streamline, get rid of things we don't need, do a bit of rearranging and getting ready for the day we do move.  

Measuring out Lots of Love

This week has been a bit manic for me, with work and just life stuff, but I still want to take the time to celebrate Valentine's Day with the boy.  So I am making an effort to slow down and pay attention to all the love I have around me (which, for the record, is a LOT.)

When the boy and I were first dating, and we came upon our first Valentine's together, he was reluctant to acknowledge the holiday.  He rightfully noted that it's a fake holiday, created by marketers with the goal of selling chocolates and flowers.  He explained to me that he shouldn't have an obligated day on which to tell me that he loves me, because that cheapens the sentiment.  It feels forced, pretentious and silly. 

He explained all this to me with such eloquence in his swoon-worthy British accent, and yet, I didn't budge.  I simply explained to him that, as pretentious as it may be, I like Valentine's Day and I want some damn flowers!  ;) 

We definitely don't need an excuse to tell one another how we feel...But it's still nice to do it!  

Hearts on my Sleeve...Or Sweater Vest, Whatever

I'm a total sucker for Valentine's Day and all things hearts and flowers.  And if I have an excuse to wear a heart-printed sweater vest....Well, I take it.  

 

Vest: Forever 21 | Jeans: Anthropologie | Shoes: Chuck Taylors | Jacket: Old Navy | Bag: Jigsaw London |  Shades: Urban Outfitters

The boy and I are planning on staying in on Valentine's Day and avoiding the crowds, though we may go out and see the new Die Hard movie...Very romantic, huh?  Do you have any plans for V-day? 

I Get a Kick out of Shoes!

Forgive the incredibly corny title.  Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Over the weekend I made a bunch of bow shoe clips, perfect for giving my plain shoes a little kick.  I had such a good time making these I just may put a few in my Etsy shop.  What do you think?

The cool thing about them is that they can double for hair clips too!  Have a great Monday! 

Weekend Laundry List

Why is it called a "Laundry List?"  Does anyone know?  Like do people list all the laundry they have to do?  Anyway, irrelevant.  

I do actually have a lot of laundry that needs to get done, but it's not likely to get done this weekend.  Instead I have a whole bunch of fun things going on that I figured I would share with you - Some you can even take advantage of yourself....

** Shop the special early access sale at Jigsaw London

 - Use the code BlogLove0506 to get an additional 20% off all Sale Items.  I can tell you that this brings some of the prices down to the lowest they'll ever go and it's only good through Wednesday night, so hop to it and shop! 

** Apply for a new Apartment 

- It's becoming increasingly more apparent to me that the boy and I need a change of scenery.  I still have warm feelings for our place in Beverly Hills, but it's time to change things up.  We found a place on the other side of LA that we love.  It's definitely a step up from our current place and it would put us in a whole new area with a really artistic community, which I think we need.  I just hope we can get it - fingers crossed!

** Have a crafting night with my friend Caitlyn

- There will be yarn and scrapbooks.  Wine.  Maybe a Hayley Mills movie.  Need I say more? 

** Catch up with my Personal Blogging 

- It's been on the back burner for a while and it's time to show a little bit of love to this blog again

**Go on a Burger Quest

- Simply because that is what we do! 

What are your plans for this weekend?

Wisdom for the Week

Follow me on Vine!

I must admit, I am totally addicted to Vine.  Have you downloaded that app yet? I can tell there is so much potential to it and so many cool things that could be done with it, I just want to keep experimenting with it!



My fox collection seems to like it too! Follow me,  Heather Toner, and I'll be sure to follow you back! 

Jigsaw London's Valentine's Day Shoot

HI All!  I just had to share this video I put together for work.  A weekend ago, I orchestrated a little photo shoot for Jigsaw London showing off our newest, most romantic outfits modeled by some of my favorite bloggers and friends!  Here's the behind the scenes video I threw together to show just how much fun we had together.  Enjoy!

Also, be sure to enter the giveaway on Jigsaw's blog for one of their most adorable pink bags! 

Joffrey's Engagement at the LA Music Center

Last weekend, I had the extreme pleasure of attending the Joffrey Ballet's opening night of their 3 performance engagement at the LA Music Center as a member of the press.  I covered the performance for DIY dancer - a blog written by dancers, for dancers and the dance community.  The production was one of the best I've seen (and I see a lot of shows these days) and I can only hope that if you were in the LA area you too got a chance to appreciate this beautiful program. 

The highlight of the production was the Joffrey's authentic reproduction of Nijinsky's Rite of Spring from 1913.  This original ballet, set to Stravinsky's groundbreaking music, was actually so upsetting to the Victorian audience that an actual riot broke out and the ballet was virtually forgotten.  Choreographer and Dance Historian Millicent Hodson and her husband Kenneth Archer painstakingly researched the ballet and reconstructed the production piece by piece over the course of 15 years.  It first premiered in LA back in the 80's on the Joffrey ballet, and in honor of the centennial of the Rite of Spring, this weekend's performance served as the kick-off for a year long series at the Music Center celebrating Stravinsky's work.  

Read my full review of the performance on DIY Dancer now and here's a peek at some of my snapshots from the symposium on the ballet and the Stravinsky exhibit also at the Music Center.  

Time to make Lemonade

Last week was just one of those weeks.  I was incredibly busy and felt rather scattered and stressed out.  This week may be just as busy too, but I am hoping to recharge and go into it with the best attitude possible.  

One thing that was particularly upsetting last week was that I lost a whole bunch of my photos....Pretty much every photo from Labor Day to now.  We had a lot backed up, and the boy had quite a few stored on his computer, but there was a good amount that have been lost forever.  

It brought up a particular flaw of mine that I really need to work on - I am digitally messy.  I don't properly label my photos, I am bad about organizing them and I take so many.  This little mishap of accidentally deleting my entire photo library, only emphasized that I need to be more  organized with my photos and I need to be better about limiting the ones I keep.  

It's so easy to take photos of everything, and believe me, I do.  I'm constantly taking photos for my blog, many of which I forget about and get lost in the shuffle.  I've been thinking more and more about the days when I would only use disposable cameras - before digital took off and back when I actually didn't own a camera.  24 exposures and that was it.  It a way, I miss having that preset limit on my photography.  

I am setting myself a new goal this month of reorganizing all the photos I currently have, getting more printed and limiting the new photos I keep.  I still plan on taking plenty of pictures, but I am going to try to be better about deleting the bad, or unimportant shots, especially if they've already been blogged.  

If anyone out there has any tips or tricks to organizing your digital photos please share!  I could definitely use some insight into the best ways to stay on top of this goal!  

Burger Quest: Rustic Canyon

When the boy and I attended the "Taste of LA," a long time back, Rustic Canyon won the competition for best burger.  It became a sort of beacon to us - A place we simply had to conquer on the quest.  But it's rather fussy.  We tried to stop in for a dinner once and were turned away for lack of a reservation.  But finally we were able to plan ahead, booked in advance and attended the laid back, yet pricey venue on a cool Saturday evening.  

We ordered a bottle of wine and took in the atmosphere.  The place was full of young, professional types - A mix of yuppies and hipsters - I shall call them yippsters.  The wine was nice and the joint has a low-key vibe about it.  Though in a way, that vibe comes across as slightly pretentious as you start to notice just how contrived it actually is in it's easy-going feeling.  This place is not actually that easy going.  When you ask for water you are asked if you want still or sparkling, and then if you select still, they ask if you want bottled or tap.  If it was actually easy going you wouldn't get a choice.

But of course the focus is the burger...Let me get back to the burger.  

how it should look...source

how mine did look...source

The Rustic Canyon Burger is made with premium beef and comes on a lush brioche bun.  It's the very essence of a high-class burger and yet, it left something to be desired.  Specifically, in the presentation.  I asked for the signature burger sans the cheese (as per the burger quest agreement) and was given a burger with no sauce, no lettuce, no vegetables - just the meat and the bun.  Most of the fixings were given to me on the side, but not all that were listed on the menu, and for $18 I wasn't really that keen on building my own burger.  I don't know what to think of this burger, because essentially I didn't taste it. 

The icing on the cake was the stomach ache I had by the time we got home.  Maybe we hit the Rustic Canyon on an off night, but all in all, our experience was not pleasant.  And we can be yippsters with the best of them!  I really wanted to love Rustic Canyon, but the burger was an overall disappointment.  All I can say is, order it with the cheese....I'm sure that will make all the difference. 

The Scores:

Meatiness - 3

Succulentiousness - 2
Bun -3

Flavor - 2
Stay Togetherness - 4

Joint - 3

Sweet Valentines

I am definitely in the Valentine's Day mood.  Something about hearts, flowers, red and pink just delights me year after year.  The boy is not a huge Valentine's Day fan, and I understand his point of view.  I mean why do we need a designated day to tell the ones we love how we feel about them?  I know it's a bit of a racket and an excuse to sell cards and flowers, but I still love the idea of Valentine's Day.  

I've been curating my favorite V-day images over on Lockerz.com.  It's a wonderful way to save and share images, inspirations and things that just straight up make me happy.  Plus, everything I share has the potential to earn me points which equate to amazing savings on some of my favorite brands!  

If you haven't checked out Lockerz yet, I highly recommend it...It's totally addictive and fun!  Plus you can view more of my Valentine's Kisses Collection and help me spread the love!

**All sources linked within here **

Valentine's Day Candle

Over the weekend, I worked on a quick little Valentine's Day craft with my mom.  She had bought a pair of tall, red, cylinder candles - The kind that are like the religious candles you can find at the super market - And we decided to cover them with some Valentine's embellishments.  

These candles are totally inexpensive and easy to personalize.  All we needed was some scrapbook paper, Valentine's stickers and vintage-style valentines, along with double sided tape and scissors.  Simply cut your paper and embellishments to size and tape to the candle.  The scrapbook border stickers worked especially well, and the whole project took about 10 minutes to complete!  It's a craft that's easy to love!  

Spring Sweetness

The weather has been warming up here on the west coast and even though it's supposed to cool down again over the next few days, I am already all set for Spring.  I'm ready for sandals, spring cleaning and fresh starts!  Transitioning from one season to the next always holds such positivity and excitement for me.  I can't wait to start wearing my sundresses again...Sans tights.  

Serenade

Ballet's like Serenade by George Balanchine make me miss being a dancer more than anything.  It was one of the first ballets I ever saw in person and was one of the first Balanchine ballet's I learned.  There is something about it that speaks to me as I know it does so many others.  It somehow encapsulates the essence of being a ballet dancer.  And the music.  Oh, the music.  Serenade is one of those ballets where everything comes together perfectly and it may be one of the most pleasant ballets to watch and dance...Maybe that's why I miss it so much.  

Here is NYCB principle Ashley Bouder giving a bit more insight into this magnificent ballet...

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This weekend, the boy and I embarked on an apartment hunt.  And it was...Challenging.  I guess in a lot of ways we were confronted with many of LA's issues.  You see, there are so many different areas in this city and while, they all have lots of perks, they also have many set backs.  

We looked at a couple places in Venice, literally right near the beach.  But they were all overpriced, sort of scary and there was no parking to be found anywhere.  Plus then our car overheated and we had to get towed back to Beverly Hills.  

Then we looked at a few places near Franklin Village and, while there were some cool spots, I didn't feel particularly at home in any of them.  I am still looking at a couple of places in Beverly Hills over the next couple days, so hopefully that will lend a bit of perspective to the mix, but the whole adventure brought a few things into perspective.

Firstly, it made me realize just how nuanced this city is.  Also how spread out it is and how lovely it is.  It also reminded me just how lucky the boy and I have been with our apartments.  The places we've found and the deals we've snagged...It's all pretty amazing.  I realized how comfortable I am in Beverly Hills and I also realized how spoiled I've become.  I realized that I have been really fortunate to feel safe in my neighborhood, like super safe, but I also came to realize that I have gotten perhaps a bit too safe and unwilling to try new things.  

The boy and I have some thinking and decision making to do this week and I don't think it's going to be easy.  But at the same time, I'm excited about the possibility of a fresh start....We'll just have to wait and see.... 

Our car getting towed from Venice

New Decade, New Blog

So, I actually kinda started a new blog.  And yes, I feel a little bit guilty about that.  But in the interest of honesty, I felt like I better come clean about it.

The thing is, upon turning 30, I felt like I started a new chapter in my life.  I feel like things are changing and I wanted to make something of a fresh start to document it.  But that's not to say I am abandoning Lilac & Lace.  Heaven's no!  I will keep this blog strong with burger quests, ballet and crafting galore, but my new blog, Heather Hearts, will be my new outlet for fashion and my personal style as I redefine it in my 30's.  I plan on keeping it more personal and more photography heavy.   

Currently I only have one follower, but I'd like to change that.  That's where you come in.  Check out Heather Hearts and follow along if you feel so compelled.  I think you may enjoy it and I'm looking forward to carving out this new little online space.  Come by and say hi if you can! 

Burger Quest: The Honor Bar

Just the fact that a bar opened up in Beverly Hills was exciting for me and the boy.  Now sure, it's not really all that exciting.  Lots of dark oak wood, decent wine list, live jazz on certain nights, you know, the usual.  But still, the Honor Bar is an exciting addition to the Beverly Hills affordable culinary landscape.  And they also have a burger...

I had the pleasure of sampling this burger during a typical lunch break from work.  I only had 20 minutes, so this burger quest had to be fast.  Luckily, the Honor Bar was quick and efficient with my order.  They even managed to refill my Diet Coke twice, despite being very busy with the business lunch rush.  

The burger itself was good.  Extremely juicy and succulent.  It had all the earmarks of a tasty, bistro burger and the skinny fries were a delicious complement.  The bun, another delectable edition of sesame, was actually exceptional.  All in all, a very good burger.   But not quite one that you'd crave.  Still, it's tasty and filling, a better lunch burger than most.  And if you're ever in BH, let me know and I'll meet you at the Honor Bar for a beer and a burger. 

The Scores:

Meatiness - 3

Succulentiousness - 4
Bun - 5

Flavor - 4
Stay Togetherness - 3

Joint - 3

Have fun storming the Castle!

While in England over the holidays, we took a trip one day out to Pevensy - A tiny country town in Sussex that boasts it's own castle ruins...Complete with a Roman wall.   That's one thing for which I will always envy Europe - Castles.  Don't care how dilapidated they are, castles are just cool.