Get into Motion

It's fun to notice patterns, ripple effects of conversation from one blogger to another. I love the discussion it creates- there are some posts that are really thought provoking. Just in the past week I've read several posts on environmental issues in fashion - posts about appropriation of cultural garb - and posts about saving money.

What I haven't really see much of out there (at least not in the blogs I regularly read) are fashion bloggers blogging about health/exercise it's a touchy subject. I think it is a particularly tough topic for women because of prevailing issues with body image, especially when it comes to the fashion industry and body image.

I am not going to get into all that. But I do want to share about my exercise habits,

or current lack there of.

Maya of Dutch Drift, has written about her workouts, and her love of Spin - Reading that really inspired me to take a look at my increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

I used to be a dancer- and I was always in shape. I wanted to go pro- but then after an illness and subsequent surgery I had to give it up. It's something I don't really like to talk about, because I was crushed. I've moved on and am past feeling sorry for my self- I went to college, I traveled a lot, and now I am working for an organization that helps people. These are good things. What is bad is that I spend 8 hours a day at a desk, and then more at home online reading, or writing on the couch. Sure, I walk a lot- I have a mile walk to the train to get to and from work- so I walk two miles a day, but this is a slow stroll as I am often carrying around a heavy tote bag of work materials. I noticed that I now get winded going up stairs, and that I can't open jars. When I danced I was stronger than most guys I knew- so I hate having to ask Mario to open a jar- I just plain refuse to ask.

So what do I do? I am trying to see how I can fit working out into my schedule. I would love to try Spin and Pilates - thanks to Maya- and I am thinking it might be fun to enroll in an adult ballet class.

My problem is time time time. I have to be at work at 8am, and I don't get home until 5.
Then by the time I get things out of the way (random tidying up, or errands, and making/eating dinner ) it's 8pm - I'm in bed by 10. Quelle horreur. No wonder I'm turning into jello. I really want to be strong and healthy.

I need to just have a few evenings a week where Mario takes care of himself for dinner and I don't have to worry about chores! I hope that there are some early evening classes out there. So far all I've seen are day time classes? What? Some of us work during the day, actually most of us do? I'll see what I can figure out. I may just get some dvds to try out at home, but I feel like that may be boring and I know Mario will have a chuckle or two about it.

Seriously though, how does one fit in a proper workout?

Bat your Lashes

Why is it that when I travel I lose all shopping restraint? I bought this little Rodebjer top while on vacation last year. It is pretty hard to wear for a t-shirt! I tend to just throw it on with jeans and a cardigan, but I feel like that's too boring.


So here is How I wore it yesterday:



And, how I wore it a couple of weeks ago?




I do realize these are pretty bad photos. Why am I making a lemon face? Oh well.

I really like how this blogger styled it.



sixsixsick blog

I'm thinking maybe high waisted black shorts are the way to go with this, but for now I'll stick to jeans.

The Rodebjer line is pretty cool, very modern/very futuristic - I'm just not so sure how well I pull that look off.

The Impressionists & Math and Physics

Rainy mornings at the office require lots of coffee, and some kind of treat (I made a vegan Banana Bread from a BabyCakes recipe this weekend).

So I am taking a break- snacking, caffeinating and listening to the Math and Physics Club- they are playing a show here in May.

May, I cannot believe that it is almost May. And I am so excited for two reasons: One, the She and Him show on the 29th and two, the Birth of Impressionism exhibit at the De Young. I am really glad that I'll be able to share some of the paintings I love from the Musée d'Orsay with Mario. I know, I am an art nerd. I love this stuff! Impressionism is probably the art that most non-art peeps are familiar with. I mean everybody knows Van Gogh, and whether or not they know who painted them, most everyone has seen a Renior, Monet or Manet.

Renoir- Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881


Monet- Water Lilies 1914


Manet- A Bar at the Folies-Bergere 1882

I love the use of flowers in impressionist art. They are are symbolic of the style of painting- it was fresh and new and representative of common beauty, not one of tapestries and gold.
Also, I just love them because I am in a spring mood.I think I may need some flowers for my desk.

Denim Blues, Locked Gates & Outfits

On Sunday we tried to go to the Dunsmuir Mansion in Oakland, but it was closed. We misread their information and apparently the grounds are only open on weekdays. So we will have to go back next week when we have Friday off. I was pretty disappointed because I had been looking forward to it all week. The mansion was built in 1878 and has spectacular grounds with a swimming pool and carriage house, gardens a pond, and gazebo. We did get a little peek through the locked gate of some of the grounds. Very Gatsby.

Mario snapped a few pics of my outfit in front of the flower borders.

It was beautiful out, and I finally got some sun on my ghostly legs. Hat is from Target, dress is from Anthropologie, Top is from H&M from 8 years ago! Shoes vintage, sunglasses Cheap Monday.

Here is what I wore for work today... Blazer Gap, dress as top- via Le Train Bleu, Jeans are Freedom of Choice, shoes JC's.

It was actually pretty funny, I was running late this morning as usual, and I threw on the dress and blazer thinking it would be okay to wear into an office, but realized it was too short for that! So I decided to tie it up and tuck it into a blousey top and pair it all with some comfy jeans. I think it worked. In any case it was a super comfortable and easy.

At my lunch hour I checked my email and saw that Mario had sent me a rather disturbing article.

I tend to buy higher end denim- but does this mean they are made sustainably? I immediately tried to look up information for Freedom of Choice jeans and could only find that they are made in Los Angeles, does that mean the denim fabric was made there as well? I put an email in to FOC and I will let you know what I find out.

Quickie Post: Three Girls - One Dress

Because Dear Creatures is EVERYWHERE, and because the Captain's dress from their Spring '10 collection seems to be so popular, I decided to post how others styled it.

Bonjour It's Jinah

I love those mustard colored wedges!

The Clothes Horse

This is so cute with the socks and booties!

Here is how I wore it:

I love this dress, but I still need to have it taken in, or up - I need the straps to be shortened at the top. I have to to this with anything that is a tank style or that has straps. Seriously I am not skin and bones and still the extra small sizes don't fit me. Does anyone else have that strap issue? Maybe the dresses are made for taller girls - I'm short, but not super duper short. I'm 5'4... Sorry for ranting it's just that almost everything I own has to go to the tailor. And that gets to annoying because who has the time to be running off to the tailor for everything?

I will be posing pictures of our trip to the Dunsmuir Mansion later, hopefully later today!

If it was the 90's

"I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday." That is a line from the movie Kicking and Screaming which came out in 1995, when I was too young to have even had a clue what nostalgia really meant.

I have been nostalgic lately for the 90's maybe it's because in some way I feel I missed out on all the great stuff about the decade since I had not really come of age. I mean I didn't even see Kicking and Screaming until the other night, and bands like Nirvana kind of scared me a bit as a kid. Why? I don't know. So I am having fun watching some of the more quintessentially 90's movies like Reality Bites, Singles, and others like Green Card. Really there is some great style in those movies- despite that fact that yes they are a bit cheesy.

I do remember loving the style in one of my fave 90's kids shows - Ghostwriter. I thought Lenni was "wicked cool". Yes. How could you not with her beat poetry readings and raps - hello her dad was a musician, and they lived in a cool Brooklyn pad... Okay, I don't think I thought about it that much as a kid, I think I just really liked her hats and I wondered why she never had a crush on Jamal like I did.

Lenni is the one in the floral dress in picture 1 and the high waisted jeans in picture 2. Seriously I could not find any good pictures of either Ghostwriter or Green card.

I really liked this hat, and the color palate chosen for her wardrobe. But, I do have to say Gerard Depardiue kinda gives me the willies.

Here is what I wore today to the Farmer's Market and to run random errands.

Sunglasses - Cheap Monday

Dress - Orla Kiley on super super sale about a year ago..

Blazer - thrifted F21 had the tags still on it.

Shoes - Charlotte Ronson

Belt- Rachel Comey via consignment shop

If you have any other 90's movie suggestions please let me know!

Working for the Weekend...

This week has been long and stressful. Very stressful. Believe me, this weekend will be very much appreciated. I know this is a very short post, but I am off to start my weekend, and for tonight that means baking cookies while Mario makes us some mixed drinks. What are your weekend plans?

For the fashion:








Sunglasses- Cheap Monday
Denim Jacket - Anthro
Top - Thrifted
Skirt - Zara
Shoes - From Action is the Fruit on Etsy
Bag - Vintage

Ellie Mae

Well this is a silly outfit post. I just wanted to show you what I wear when the forecast calls for casual. For instance, a week long training seminar coupled with a dip in temperature and scattered showers. Oh yeah, I wore pigtails - and later realized it's not a good idea when you are already the youngest one in a room. Really, it doesn't help your, how should I put it - street cred?



Sunny skies (please) skirt weather and vacation days- These are the top things on my wishlist.

What I'm layering.
Checkered top - F21
Cardigan - Anthro
Jeans - Found Denim
Hoodie coat - Mike & Chris
Booties - thrift

I hope that your April showers have already turned to May flowers.

Beauty Booty

This week (and it's only Tuesday) has been pretty stressful. I am feeling kinda burnt out and just plain icky. Maybe, it's because I worked over the weekend, and because I am attending a three day training seminar. Ugh. - but I just don't feel well. I don't feel rested, and it shows! I mean, I just look tired. Don't you hate when that happens? My eyes are puffy, my skin looks yellowy-pale and dry. How do you fix that? I'm largely ignorant about skincare and make-up. I maybe you've noticed in my pictures, but I do not really wear makeup. I LOVE my mascara, but that's about it. Sure I experiment with make-up, but when it comes to caring for my skin, I slap on some sunscreen- when I remember (I know, that's really bad). I rarely moisturize, and that this is most likely not a good thing. Can I tell you a secret? Shh... I am scared of stores like Sepohra - how can you not be overwhelmed going in there? How do you know what products to choose? How do you know you can trust the sales people- do they have skin care training? I worry - I get overwhelmed - and then I do nothing. Only now it's getting to the point where my skin is showing how tired I feel - so, other than getting a good night's sleep what can you do to counter act or camouflage tired skin? I feel that at 26 I should know how to best care for my skin. Can you believe I've only had a facial twice in my life? Seriously, if you have a skincare routine, or products, or skincare resources that you'd like to share- please do!



This table would scare me.

Garfunkle and Oates

I wish I could hang with these girls. Garfunkle and Oates. They are totally silly and cute and fun and oh yeah, we could play the ukelele and sing songs around a campfire, make s'mores, wear cute shoes, make friendship bracelets, have sleepover parties watch Teen Witch for the 100th time...

Just have a listen. If you ever turned on a radio in the 90's then you've heard these songs before.

Brrrrrunch

Making a meal for guests has become a bit of a test lately. I recently found out I have celiac and I cannot have any gluten products. This makes making food for others a bit difficult. I have learned to cook some dishes, but while I think they are tasty- I am not always so sure of what others will think.

Our friends are used to coming over for vegan foods, but this is the first time I hosted a gluten-free vegan meal.

I think it turned out really well! I did not take any pictures since I was too busy cooking to bother with that. But here is what I made Banana Rabanada with gluten-free french bread from the Mariposa bakery. The Vegan Brunch cookbook is amazing! We also made the rosemary potatoes from the book - and sliced up fresh berries from the farmer's market. For drinks we had mimosas and bellini's. Needless to say I am still stuffed and here it is already mid-afternoon! I really recommend the Rabanada dish it's easy to make and just about the best thing I've had in a long time!

After our guests left Mario and I decided to procrastinate on the clean up and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. I wish the weather was like this everyday!

Here is what I wore to be the perfectly casual, yet put together hostess.

The dress is from Anthro- and has a print of little foxes and rabbits. Belt also Anthro Shoes old from Charlotte Ronson.

Spring Sailing

Gorgeous day! After our weekly walk to the farmer's market, we stopped off to get some iced coffee. I also popped into the neighborhood thrift- they had some cute hats I may need to go back and try on. And, tah-dow! It was finally warm enough to wear my Dear Creatures Captain dress. Not without a cardigan of course, which I think covers up the cuteness of the dress, but as a good friend once told me I am like a "Miami Beach granny" and I need to wear a cardigan even in 80 degree weather.

When I got home and opened up my email I found out I won a Misikkko Hana Elite hair straightener from the Style Symmetry blog giveaway! I'm so excited! This is too perfect because my old flat iron is giving out, and actually the cat got at the cord and chewed it up bit, so it is probably not safe to use anymore.

I have some work to do for a Monday deadline, and a brunch to host for tomorrow that requires some cooking ahead of time- So today will be pretty busy. I'm just glad we got to go out and enjoy some sun! Next weekend we are heading out to the Dunsmuir Mansion!

Happy Saturday!

Snoozer Loser

Love at first sight. This is one of the most gorgeous collections I've ever seen. Sorry Wendy, sorry A.P.C guys, and Sessun you know I still love you, but this is my favorite collection of the season.











Snoozer Loser Spring/Summer 2010 Collection.

Sustainable Fashion: Part III Animal Rights

Yes, this is part three of my sustainable fashion (rant?) series. I am still working on putting together stats on three of my wardrobe staples (Anthropologie, Cheap Monday, and J Brand jeans ) to see how they stack up on the three issues I've discussed.

I am not going to get into too many of the details of this particular topic, as I think, I hope, everyone is familiar with Animal Rights. Also, there are so many articles and movies out there that you have many resources to go to. This is more of a personal story.

I have been a vegetarian since I was 8. It began slowly. When I was 7 my father decided that we would leave our Back Bay home in Boston and head out to the middle of nowhere New Hampshire, so that he could fulfill a dream of being a farmer. Yes, that's right folks a city guy becoming a farmer. One day this will all make for a good memoir I swear!

As a first order of 'farmer' business he ordered a bunch of baby chicks and ducks and geese and turkeys. I remember watching him set up these warming lights in the coop for them all to sleep. My sister and I were in little kid heaven- baby chicks! ducks! so so so cute. We fed them and played with them and named them. You can see where this is going.

Well, the time came when my dad decided we were going to eat the chickens and turkeys. He invited over the local (experienced ) farmers to show him how to do the dirty work of getting chicken from the coop to the plate. I remember crying and crying and just being so furious at him for killing them. I don't think I've ever experienced that kind of anger in my life ever again. In the weeks and months that followed I refused to eat chicken- at Thanksgiving I did not eat Turkey. I was still eating beef and what not, but then it clicked when I was in the lunch line at school and I overheard some other kids discussing what hot dogs were made of. Really? I was shocked- I decided I was never going to eat meat. My parents nearly flipped out- I think they thought it was a phase, they never catered to me, I guess they hoped I would just wake up one day and eat meat again. But I did not. Even after my dad gave up the farm experiment and we moved back to the city, I still did not eat meat. For most of my childhood I ate salads and bread at dinner, since they would not cook me something special.

What does any of this have to do with sustainable fashion and Animal rights? Well, now I am vegan. But this has only been since college, and I have a personal dilemma. I still wear leather.Vintage, used, and recycled leather, and gifts I have been given that are leather.

While I have never worn fur, never will wear fur, and I do not support wearing fur vintage or otherwise. I feel that some may feel I am being hypocritical by wearing leather. This is a topic that has come up several times on various online discussions I've read. Is it okay to wear fur and leather if it is vintage? or recycled?I think while most people do not wear fur, many wear leather without thinking of it as a problem. I guess if you are not a vegetarian or vegan, then it's not.

I did some research and so many things I though were okay like wool and recycled leather - are not. Or at least, they are not okay with me.

Here I though most wool was safe- some is- like the wool from the small farm I visited in Vermont that had a few sheep they used to knit their own sweaters and such - they did not participate in the practice of Mulesing to sheer sheep, which apparently due to a boycott on Australian wool the Australian government is promising to phase out.

As for the recycled leather- well the chemicals used to treat leather are quite toxic. Though there are some companies out there that bill their recycled leather as eco-leather, they do not use toxic substances to treat leather. But, you have to do your research- that is the key to everything as I am quickly finding out.

I do not want to contribute to any harm being done to animals. So how does it look that I wear leather? Am I going forth and purporting buying leather goods by wearing it and admiring leather pieces? Will other vegans think I'm just plain evil?

How the internet works...

I am really excited to share a bit of luck I've had in finding an item, I long gave up hope on.

When Mociun debuted it's little tie front dress, I knew I had to have one. The problem was, I had to save up for one first and by the time I had done that, my size had sold out. Then, Mociun made the dress again in different patterns but, I had the same issue, my clothes money was spent on other things and I had to save again- and yet again, my size sold out. Honestly I have this problem with everything the size xs's sell out lightning fast! You'd think they would make more small sizes. Anyway, I gave up on owning the dress- But then last week, I logged into flickr and saw this.

Anabela of the lovely blog fieldguided had posted a picture of this little Mociun dress because one of her readers was selling it.

You can also see the dress here as worn by KristeinKahn

This was my lucky day! With Anabela's help I contacted the owner of the dress Eve, who happens to be extremely sweet, and before I knew it a package (containing the dress) arrived in the mail. I can't wait to wear it!

Also, last night, Mario and I were lucky enough to score tickets to go see She & Him play at the Fox theater in May. There is a little story that goes along with this as well, but I don't want to say anything lest I jinx it! I am beyond excited. And now I even have the perfect dress to wear to the show!

I've been a fan of M. Ward for some time, and of course of Zooey's, so when I heard about She and Him - way back before Volume One was even released, I got really excited. Have any of you seen them play for this tour? I'd love to hear what you thought of the show, or what you think of Volume Two.