sundays at the dog park

One thing I love about the weekends, besides being able to sleep in and that whole 'you don't have to go to work thing,' is taking Ginger to the dog park. They say a child's excitement is contagious, and that's exactly how I feel about Ginger, my puppy child's, thrill once we round that corner and she knows dog heaven is minutes away. She starts this crazy whimpering that just makes you laugh and you tell her to settle down, thinking she knows what that even means, and she jumps out of the car ready to make some dog and human friends. Matthew and I throw the ball to her {my aim is the worst}, she runs to fetch it as fast as her four legs will carry her, she meets some pals {Jasper is her favorite}, and always comes back to check in with "Mom and "Dad." 

I love this little blueboo of mine!  

 there's also a whole lot of butt sniffing that goes on!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

xox

look book: columns

I'm loving this skirt! The accordion pleats give it a slightly fancy look but I love that I can dress it down with boots and a sweater. Also wearing my pretty new David Yurman bracelet. I've never had such a fancy piece of jewelry and instead of letting it rot away in a jewelry box I'm trying to wear it as an everyday piece. Good thing it gets with mostly everything!

my two favorite everyday bracelets!

sweater J.Crew {similar sweater}, skirt Forever 21 {similar skirt}, scarf gift from godmother, boots Old Navy, bracelets David Yurman c/o the Vogue Influencer Network, gift from Matthew, rings red- thrifted and rose gold-gift from Matthew

I had such a fun weekend that it's sad to see it go! I hung out with Matthew in Malibu on Saturday for a work event and then I drove to Riverside to spend the rest of the weekend with my best friend Lizzie. We watched/fell asleep during a movie, played with her dog Talula, went home shopping {fell back in love with the amazingness of Marshalls and Cost Plus!}, and had the best all you can eat sushi experience- good sushi, $20, and I didn't get stuffed! I'm also madly in love with Lizzie's apartment and now I'm inspired to get mine together before the end of the year. We can do it!

Have a great Monday friends!

xox

an update

Wow..how have I not posted since Wednesday?! Oh yeah the wedding is less than 5 days away! {Who's getting tired of the countdown?} I didn't think that I would get so busy with last minute wedding details that I wouldn't be able to blog. I feel so terrible especially since I actually do have stuff to write about and post! With my own royal wedding less than a week away I feel like I've been going nonstop. I can't tell you how nice it will be for Friday to be here and I can just relax and enjoy the day. Sure, things might go wrong/probably will but at that point it really won't matter. I'm hoping I can continue posting through this week like I planned but I was wondering what I should do with the blog while I'm gone for two weeks. I was thinking about setting up some guest bloggers but I was wondering what you guys might be interested in reading. I need a little inspiration right now! 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

Did you watch the Royal Wedding on Friday? What did you think?

xox

photo of my favorite Tory Burch booties

photos from the weekend

This weekend was very busy but super productive. Matthew and I crossed so many things off the big wedding list, one in particular that I am soo excited about. More on that Wednesday, though. Here are some photos from what kept us busy..

 a chocolate shake from In-n-Out

poor Ginger. She hates baths especially because of what they do to her hair + driving around town

the Borders near my house is closing (major sad face) It was super picked through but we found a couple things!

trying on pretty Manolos + seeing The Velvet Teen at the Echo

Matthew juggling his three pieces of pizza!

 Apparently Matthew likes being a daredevil, driving his car down to 5 miles!

This weekend was so great, especially since we saw The Velvet Teen. I yelled out the song I wanted them to play and they chose it as their last one. Not sure if it was because of me, but I'd like to think so! It's one of "our songs" so it was so great to hear live.

Happy Monday!

8/52: A Year of Little Resolutions

yay I'm back!! This week was really REALLY hard! My plan was to take the week off from blogging, twitter, and facebook. I didn’t update, although I wanted to many times. I tried to stay off the internet as much as I could but by the weekend it was a little tough. I really missed you guys!  I’ve decided life without blogging pretty much sucks! The one good thing was that I was super productive during the week. Here’s what I was up to..

Researched florists and I think I found our guy! Tulips have always been one of my faves. 

Scored an amazing tweed Ralph Lauren blazer for $12! And it was in my size! best.find.ever.

With Matthew out of town, and my parents out to a play, I decided to make myself a fancy little dinner. I thought I’d just order pizza but with all the Food Network I watched this week I decided to go all out with aglio e olio pasta, asparagus with lemon zest, grilled garlic bread, salad and lemon water. I even pulled the chair out for myself!

On Saturday it hailed in LA! There was ice all over my car and it was the strangest but coolest thing ever! I'll be honest, I was dreaming about sledding down my street and building snowmen. Unfortunately it didn't last long and the next day blue skies abound.

Ate a copious amount of Girl Scout Cookies. My weaknesses are Samoas and Tagalongs, what about you? I may or may not have scarfed down a whole box in the first day, plastic tray not included.

And of course, I redid my blog design with the help of the amazing and wonderful Kelly Ann! I've been planning on doing this for some time. Kelly  took my ideas and made them into something way more perfect than I could have ever come up with! She is a super talented designer who now works with Freckled Nest. She’s also just one of the loveliest people in the blog-o-sphere! Go check out her blog and get ready to be inspired! Thank you so so much Kelly!

This week my resolution is to be a little more fearless. Sometimes I get so concerned with what other people might think that I let that negatively affect me. Especially when it comes to my blog. When I first started blogging I didn't tell anyone about it, not even close friends and family, because I was worried about what they would think. Of course now they all know and they're super supportive, but there are some people out there, people who I have called friends in the past, who just happen to like putting people down. I see the good in them, but then I also know about their "mean girl" side.  I'm going to try this week to be more confident in myself and not let these worries affect who I am.

I'm so excited to be back and I want you all to know how grateful I am to have you here as readers! 

You've sent me the sweetest emails, and left the kindest comments, and I am more thankful than ever

to be a part of this great blogging community!

xox

 

photos from the weekend

My mom and I spent a very busy weekend in the Bay Area. My family in Northern California threw me the sweetest bridal shower in Oakland {more details Wednesday} and we also spent time with my godmother Susie in San Francisco and my brother Anthony in Santa Cruz.

Here are some photos from our fun and food-filled weekend:

had to make a stop at Cheeseboard for their amazing pizza

favorite cupcakes in the world!

 the view from my godmother's house in San Francisco..and her beautiful flowers

 at the shower. a gorgeous day in Oakland.

 delicious passion fruit smoothie and strong coffee from Cafe Brasil in Santa Cruz

a horse friend we met on the drive home.

Monday came too fast but I had such a great time with my mom. She's such a fun travel buddy!

Here's to a great week!

xox

weekend highlights

It was a nice change going into this weekend without any plans. Sure we could have been more productive with wedding stuff but it was nice to take a little break and relax! Here's a look at my weekend in pictures:

 

Saturday we went to the gym and I took my new "I Heart My Blog" tote from Blog Couture. So cute, right?! Then we went to Crate and Barrel with my mom to look around at some registry stuff. The second experience was a whole lot better! Of course, Matthew and I couldn't stop fantasizing about this beautiful house we'd decorate for, which isn't a reality right now. Matthew and I gave a reluctant Ginger a bath! We think she attached a bird because she smelled terrible {and there were feathers everywhere!}.  I love how great she smells and feels afterward. Such a soft and cuddly puppy!

Saturday night I made a little dinner for Matthew. My mom sat with us and kept Ginger company. I am definitely sharing this recipe later this week because it was the best tomato soup I've ever  had!

Things not pictured: an 11 pm bedtime Friday night {woohoo party animal over here!}, watching some C.S.I. {that show is my guilty pleasure}, a trip to the dog park on Sunday,  and catching up with friends. Pretty successful I'd say!

How was your weekend?

Make sure to enter the Perricone MD giveaway !!

xox

look book: sandra dee

I'm a huge fan of musicals so of course I loove Grease. I wanted to wear some white but make it tough and cool enough for a modern day Sandra Dee.

dress J.Crew, belt H&M, jacket Heidi Klum for Jordache, shoes Mary Kyri, ring Erica Anenberg via Gilt/Hautelook

This weekend passed by way too quickly! Friday night Matthew and I had a potluck dinner with Kim and her boyfriend Andre. It was so much fun and I'll have to post pictures once I steal them from her :) Saturday night my brother Anthony and I went to see a band called The Clientele at the echoplex. It was so fun to just hang out and talk with him. He's leaving for Santa Cruz on Wednesday and I'm a little sad about it. Sunday I volunteered with my family at an Ovarian Cancer Walk/Run. We've been involved since I was in high school and, while it was a very very early morning, it was so wonderful to support this amazing cause for awareness and prevention. My little PSA of the day is for all you wonderful ladies to be aware of the warning signs and schedule regular appointments with your doctor. The signs are relatively common and can be connected to many different things but it's always good to be aware. You can read more here, here and of course here.

I hope you all had a great weekend too! I'm excited this week is a short one for me. Matthew and I are going up to San Francisco on Thursday and I couldn't be more excited!

Happy Monday everyone!

xox

weekend highlights

Minus the sweltering heat this was one of the best weekends I've had all summer! Here's a little recap of what we did:

Fri night/Sat morning: homemade shoestring fries, tasty orange drinks, fresh chocolate croissants

Saturday: a beach day in Venice

Sunday: the drive home from the dog park {Ginger got so dirty Matthew and I had to hose her off before leaving!}

Things not documented: surprise cupcakes from Matthew on Friday from Vanilla, watching the first episode of Six Feet Under, tasty sandwiches from Bay Cities Deli, grilling and cooking shrimp quesadillas with Matthew, cleaned off my dresser and desk!!, swimsuit shopping {ick}, the "Matt's Choice" Jamba Juice {Peach Pleasure with strawberries}, and family time!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

I just noticed that this blog of mine has reached 500 followers! I'm seriously in shock. Your support and kind words have meant so much to me and I'm thrilled to have met you all through this wonderful and expansive blogging community! I've decided to put back the link on my sidebar for my formspring. So if any of you have any questions for me please ask away!

I also want to know all of you a little better so here are three fun questions:
1). Name and location
2). Why did you start blogging?
3). If you could have one food every day what would it be?
4). optional Random fact about yourself! {I always hate this one but I'm sure they'll be some interesting answers!}

Happy Monday!