Edward Scissorhands and Cameos

Blouse and purse: Forever 21, faux leather shorts: H&M, Sunset sandal: Madewell, belt: Madewell, earrings: Urban Outfitters, bracelet: Urban Outfitters, necklace: Urban Outfitters. 

Leather shorts are one of those pieces I was on the hunt for for a mighty long time. When I tracked these babies down at H&M, I was stoked, but weirdly a little sad that the hunt was over. Next hunt: a new leather jacket! Mine is pretty beat up, and not in a cool way -- it has a hole and a blue paint stain. Anyway, these leather shorts go with a surprisingly wide variety of tops: rocker tees, chunky sweaters, or in this case, a feminine blouse.

I wore this outfit to Shady Lady, where I got hit on by a guy who gave me the unusual but sweet compliment that I reminded him of Winona Ryder in Edward Scissorhands. (See the bar napkin below!)

Nail polish: Sephora by OPI, gold eyeliner: Urban Decay, lipstick: MAC Rebel

Cameo pose.

 

Eclectic Overload

What's better than scoring two pairs of shoes and a cute micro sweater for $4 total? Hm, maybe an apricot-lavender popsicle. It just so happens that I found both of these pleasures at Bows & Arrows's Dollar Sale today. Whoo, one dollar holler! 

I'm a big fan of the vintage haven that is Bows & Arrows, from its eclectic interior design to its misted patio garden. Since the sale was hosted in their parking lot sans mirror, however, it was a bit hard to decide whether I should get the black flatforms and gold leather braided sandals. But at one dollar a pair, the decision became a no-brainer. Got 'em both!

Dress: Urban Outfitters, boots: Forever 21, bracelet: from Israel.

Clutch: Scout Living, bag: Reform School.

Michelle wearing Essie's Tart Deco.

The Dollar Sale in action.

I want the blanket underneath this pile of shoes!

A nook with equal parts granny and hipster.

Mad Men by way of Tahoe.

Land Ahoy!

I love these little knit shorts - the pumpkin color and sweater-like material make them perfect for fall; they're like a beanie for your butt. But they're way too short to wear on their own, so once again my lace bike shorts save me from Hoochieville. They're so clutch!

I'm also happy to report that after many an internet shopping spiral, I finally found the perfect basic black boots! What do you guys think?

Tee: Kane, bralette: Free People, knit shorts: LF, lace shorts: H&M, boots: Urban Outfitters, purse: Scout Living, leather bracelet: handmade by an artist in Israel.

Who's That Lady

Molly Young: A Young Achiever

Most of us have claimed to be just like Carrie Bradshaw at one point or another, but are any of us successfully sustaining ourselves with a writing career in New York City? Few can claim such a way of life (much to the dismay of English majors everywhere) and that's why Molly Young, who has already achieved this at age 25, is so inspirational to me.

Think of her as a younger, more intellectual Carrie Bradshaw. She's a copywriter and freelance writer living in New York who's written for GQ, New York Magazine, The Believer, and Vice to name a few. I've followed her writing for the last few years as she's established a solid writing career, which is no easy feat with the state of journalism and the economy. To get a sense of her style and personality, check out her blog, where she illuminates the idiosyncrasies of the human experience with excerpts of overheard conversations.

A true academic, she provides book reviews with a tone beyond her years for brainy publications like Stop Smiling. But I especially enjoy her lighter commentaries, specifically her pieces on fashion and Hollywood. She observes the absurdity of these entities with humor, wit, and a keen eye for B.S. Read her hilarious take on the styling game as she follows a Hollywood stylist in this article she wrote for GQ.

The literary world has many witty non-fiction writers and pop culture commentators, but many of them are male. Molly Young has provided for me far more than literary entertainment, she's given me hope that it's possible, as Carrie Bradshaw ponders, to have it all!

Tangerine Dream and a Peanut Butter Cookie

Tangerine Dream by vanessy137 on Polyvore

Recently I've been into playing with colors in different ways. I think part of it is that the color wheel has been trending lately as a means to plot out the color scheme for one's outfit. My current favorite color combination is one that uses two or three colors directly next to each other on the color wheel, i.e. the same shade of color in various gradients (like the water melon and light creamy coral pictured above).

The outfit below is a sorry example of the aforementioned color combining technique since I thought of collaging my love for the combo after the fact, but there's a tiny element of it in this outfit that I threw on for lunch today. Humor me!

Top: Emma and Sam, shorts: Car Mar, sandals: Sam Edelman, bracelets: Urban Outfitters, clutch: Scout Living, nails: OPI Mod-ern Girl.

I went to Magpie for lunch and sealed it all off with a vegan peanut butter whoopie pie. Super noms.

P.S. I scored Tina Fey's Bossy Pants for half price today at Beer's Books! I've been meaning to buy it ever since I found myself laughing out loud as I browsed through it in bookstore earlier this year. Isn't the cover genius?

Gwyneth's Ivy Chopped Salad

With summer coming to a close (dramatically clenches air while exclaiming 'noooo!'), I figured I might as well make one of my favorite summer salad recipes. You might see a lot of those on here. Like I mentioned in this  Five Things post, I can't get enough freaking salad.

This recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow is so tasty and flavorful it tastes like a restaurant dish. Maybe that's because it sort of is. Gwyneth derived her own version from the famous grilled vegetable salad at The Ivy restaurant in Los Angeles. Grilling the vegetables and salmon fillets take a little more time than usual for a salad, but it creates the incredible taste that sets it apart from the rest. I made mine with wasabi arugula instead of butter lettuce, which gives it a little extra kick.

It's made with all summer vegetables so make this salad while they're still in season!

Napa Lady Day

Yesterday was one of those perfect days that left us without a "low" to speak of when at the end of the day we went around sharing our highs and lows of the trip. Our itinerary, organized by my Napa pro sister, Michelle, was a non-stop relax-athon full of pinot, greasy-good diner food, perfect weather, and general girly debauchery. Classy debauchery. 'Cause it's Napa, y'all. We's ever so classy.

I was tempted to wear white as an homage to the saying, "no white after Labor Day," but instead I opted for a springy pink ensemble so bright and sunny that it aggressively resisted any sort of transition into a fall wardrobe. I liked to think I was scaring fall away with my blindingly pink shorts. Viva summer!

Sheer blouse: LF, shorts: Anthropologie, Sunset sandal: Madewell.

If you take a trip to the Napa/Sonoma Valley, feel free to steal our schedule:

1. Oxbow Market: This indoor mecca of artisinal goods and counter-service restaurants is a great place to start your day to stock up on cheese and grapes and grab a coffee at Ritual. It also serves as a great meeting place if you're meeting other bay area buddies for the day.
2. Scribe Winery: Book a reservation at the hilltop picnic tables or bring your own blanket to sit on while overlooking the linear stretch of grapevines and palm trees. Pet the dog, marvel at the rustic decor upstairs, and swing on the adorable tree swing for a shameless photo-opp.
3. Fremont Diner: Lounge on the turquoise tables, attempt to pet the stray wiener dog (he'll accept food but not pats on the head), and get the burger with a side of baked beans.
4. Bocce ball at The Carneros Inn: We were pretty sure we were the rowdiest bocce ball players ever to grace the courts of this peaceful hotel, but no one shushed us, so go ahead, have a ball. Oh yeah, and you should still have a glass of wine in your hand at this point. Bocce ball's totally a one-handed sport. We chose rosé for this activity.
5. Dinner at Redd Wood: Order the summer vegetable salad and the ricotta-corn-bacon pizza. Or the margherita pizza. You can never go wrong with that.

Sometimes the populations of certain neighborhoods are so stylish or distinctive that the whole scene looks like it was ripped from the pages of a catalog. So Gina and I were brainstorming which catalog the people of Napa belonged, and we settled on a fictitious collaboration between J. Crew and North Face. Except for the occasional pair of stuffy chino shorts, people were pretty on top of their fashion game.

The hilltop landscape at Scribe.

 

Bright denim and taupe wedges: we're sisters through and through.

"So spicy it'll set a cheatin' man straight."



Team photo.