Shorts and Roses

With Memorial day here, it's officially the start of summer and that means shorts. I never used to wear shorts - just did not like the way they looked on me. Because of dance, my thigh muscles were always very defined and I always felt that it looked un-feminine. So, I wore longer skirts to cover up. What was I thinking? I would love to be in that great of shape again, but oh well. Now that I am let's just say, less in shape, I am finally getting over my dislike of shorts. I am really loving the more roomy shapes of shorts that designers are turning out as of late - I suppose this is a late 80's early 90's influence. The cut is really flattering, especially for those of us that may want a bit more 'roominess' around the legs.

The shorts I wore on Sunday are from Mociun. They are quite comfortable (I am beginning to think comfort is the common thread to many of my wardrobe choices) The top is from La Mixx, the jacket is from Levis, and the shoes are vintage.

Now for the roses... We ran a quick errand today which brought us over the Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland. On the way we stopped by the Rose Garden (since I promised to show you pictures of when the roses were in bloom) and then we took some pictures by some cute little murals spotted along the way.

All in all it was a great long weekend, full of long walks, warm weather, rock band, and vegan frozen hot chocolate. Yep, get ready for the recipe in a future post.

Two Outfits -She & Him

Sundays are for sleeping in, but this morning the birds outside in our backyard woke me up at the crack of dawn. *Sigh* I love you nature, but please keep it down. We had a busy night last night.

She & Him were amazing! Really, they are a great live show. The music is just a lot of fun - a lot of cute - and just a good time all around. If you've only ever heard them recorded- get yourself to one of their live gigs!

Mario and I had a proper date night last night as well. Unlike our usual date nights which involve take-out, a dvd, and me in my jammie pants. Ah, the comfortable married life... Don't get me wrong I love hanging out a home too, but sometimes it's nice to go all out!

And we did! We went to dinner at Burma Superstar, then pre-show we got a drink at the Fox theater bar ( the Den). Fancy pants!



No, I did not take this picture, it's from the Fox theater site. I was weary of bringing my camera along, since most venues do checks and won't let you take pictures anyway. Or so I thought- I saw plenty of people whipping out cameras/phones and filming the show. I got a few camera phone shots, but being a goody two shoes and not wanting to get in trouble, I put it away when the music began, so I am sorry, no illegal show footage to show you.



Yes, we were sitting far away- these were the best seats left, and we bought tickets a month in advance!

Here is what I wore yesterday to run errands, hang out, enjoy the warm weather etc....


(Little Dear Creatures Sailor Stripe Dress, vintage oxfords)


Here is what I wore to dinner and the show!



(AA dress, Levis jacket, Rachel Comey belt, Charlotte Ronson shoes)

When we got there I felt like the most dressed up one in the room.

Anyway, I've got to get out more on Saturday nights!


This morning I realized that I received a 'Questions Tag' - from Chic on the Cheap.
So here I am answering q's over a cup of coffee - and then off to start the day. Hope you all have fun stuff planned for the rest of your weekend!

1.What shoe size are you?
Teeny 5 to 5.5. I heard that your foot grows as you age, and I really hope that's true. I would love to be at least a size 6.

2.Where do you work?
In an office - I do have my own office - It has one window that overlooks an alley, and I get lots of pigeon noise during the day.

3.Favorite piece of clothing you own
Oh gosh, hmm I think it would be the dress my Dad bought me for senior prom, a from-the-runway Jill Stuart dress. It's a lovely shade of lavender, and I still wear it to fancy things like weddings.

4.Your favorite blog?
I cannot pick just one- seriously

5.Do you have any pets?
Yes, and I want more!

6.How many siblings do you have?
One awesome sister!

7.If you could live anywhere where would it be?
Paris, Stockholm, Tokyo - I can't pick one. Though at this point my Japanese is probably better than my Swedish language skills.

8.What were you doing before this?
Sleeping.

9.Your favorite food?
Strawberries

10.Do you have a middle name?
Emely

11.Your favorite websites?
Too many to list here, but I love Notcot.org for it's cool design pages.

12.Who do you tag?

WildBirdVintage
WhatIWore
FutureLint

And the Winner is....

Congratulations to LyddieGal! You won the Snoozer Loser Fringe Necklace!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, I loved reading your comments, and don't worry if you didn't win this time around. I have a few more goodies to put up soon, including: Aveda beauty products, vintage jewelery, and locally designed clothing items.

**This giveaway was done the old fashioned way- Entries were written on a slip of paper then all put in a bowl and swished around- the winner was picked by Mario, as he was the handiest person around to fill that role.

Simple as Toast

I am at times hesitant to post jean outfits and everyday wear. But, I think we all have those days where all you want is to be comfortable. Here is the simple outfit I wore to work.

It's pretty basic- I wore heels to dress it up a tad. They are sturdy shoes and relatively comfortable to walk in.

The jeans are also quite comfortable with a lot of built in stretch. They are the Juliette Jean in Resin - from Found Denim.

I cannot wait for the weekend to start- and I cannot wait to wear summery outfits, as our chilly weather will start to warm up and it will be in the 70's. Finally!

Our office closes today at noon and we have Monday off, so there will be a lot of time to relax, catch up on reading, and try some new recipes- and the big exciting thing we have planned is going to see She & Him play on Saturday night!

Also, there is still time to enter the Snoozer Loser necklace give away- get the details on how to enter here.

Buenos Aires

Summer is almost here and that means vacation days and trip planning- this is one of my favorite things to do. And, this time around I have some good news because, aside from planning a short trip to Portland, or to Austin this summer - we have set our sites on planning for a larger vacation for next year (late winter/early spring).

We were talking maybe Paris and London but, now I'm thinking of maybe heading south. Buenos Aires perhaps?

I don't know if Mario will be cool with that idea. He is however 'cool' with the fact that in order to save up for a big trip I won't be buying much clothing. I'm pretty 'cool' with that too.

In my search of things that we could do in Buenos Aires I also came across this street style site.

The street views are amazing, as are some of the outfits the people are wearing. I've posted some of my favorites outfits.

I love that they all manage to look super put together and yet very comfortable at the same time.






Don't forget, there is still time to enter the Snoozer Loser necklace giveaway. Get the details oh how to enter here.

Cafe Culture

I don't know about you, but I love my coffee. Coffee in the morning, coffee on rainy days, coffee with friends, coffee and lazy Sunday mornings, coffee and coffee. Yes, I love tea too, but there is something else about coffee - I remember watching my parents with their mugs full while reading the paper on weekends - I think I have always associated it with being a "grown-up" . Oh, how I've tried to give you up coffee, and switch to green tea, switch to just black tea and lemon, switch to nothing but guzzling tons of water. Yes, that is probably healthier - but as I learned, not going to happen. The other thing is well, that I just love cafes and, that cafe lifestyle. I would have loved to have been part of one of the cafe art, literary, or philosophical movements- of the past. You can read about the history of the Cafe/coffeehouse here.

I often wonder if that sort of sharing of ideas and creating of a movement will/could ever happen in the same way? (As the cafe culture becomes more Starbucks-like, and as more and more ideas are shared on the Internet, not in one centralized location) It's something to think about.

In any case, I still like going to the local cafes and spending time talking with friends- or with just Mario.

CAFÉ DE LA PRESSE - San Francisco


















CAFÉ in Paris


















Mario and I at CAFFE TRIESTE.
























Remember, there is still time to enter the giveaway - all you have to do is be a follower and leave a comment here.

Moustache Madness and a Giveaway!

They're here! Moustache cookies! These cookies are vegan and Gluten-free and the best part? They are 100% fun! Mario and I have been having a blast with them. Please email me know if you want the recipe for the dough and/or the icing. The dough is pretty fantastic and can even be used as a crust for vegan fruit tarts and berry pies. The 'icing' is my own recipe and it's super easy to whip up.


I did not have a moustache cookie cutter so I drew mustaches on paper, cut them out, and used them as stencils.
I then added the frosting and created texture with a fork. Nothing fancy- it was easy to go back and 'fix' the 'staches I didn't like by going over them with a small fork.

For the solid- non textured 'staches I just spread the icing on with a small rubber spatula. I also baked them with wood skewers so we could do this...



(What I'm wearing: Cardigan from Anthro, Top via Le Train Bleu, Jeans are J Brand, Shoes are old Frye heels.)

Also, I am doing my first giveaway! Yeay! A short while ago I did a post on Snoozer Loser - I love their designs and I was lucky enough to purchase a spring collection dress from them (before it sold out in my size!) and lucky for you, I also snagged this lovely necklace to give away! No, this is not being sponsored by Snoozer Loser- I just happened to receive the very same necklace as a gift (uh-huh, this is is common theme in my life) and decided to pass one on. It's a really great piece to wear with plain tees and with any dress you want to add a bit of flair to. It will come to you wrapped and packaged up in the original Snoozer Loser printed box.

All you have to do to enter, is be a follower, leave a comment here, about anything- about moustaches, your favorite movie, or your favorite Muppet- and please leave a way to contact you if you win. Open to international readers as well. (In a time of text messages and emails I love to ship little packages and letters overseas.) Winner will be chosen at random on Friday May 28th at 5pm. If you re-post you receive a second entry, just let me know if you have done so. Good Luck!

A Sunday afternoon at Golden Gate Park

Yesterday was one of the best Sundays I've had in awhile. Not even the 53 degree windy weather could ruin it! I have been waiting so patiently for months and months and months- for the Birth Of Impressionism exhibit to open at the De Young museum. The paintings are on loan from the Musée d' Orsay in Paris (while they are refurbishing for their anniversary celebration) These paintings rarely leave Paris, and I so wanted to share them with Mario, since when I was in Paris wandering around the d'Orsay was one of my favorite things to do.

The De Young Museum is that rather odd looking brown structure in the distance.

We got to see so many famous paintings, like Whistler's Mother, The Fifer, and my favorites...

Renoir's The Swing

and Degas' The Dance Class.

It was pretty endearing that Mario was in awe at seeing the artist's signatures on the paintings. It is pretty amazing to see Monet's signature and date on a painting made a hundred years ago. And to see the differences in brush stroke and technique from artist to artist - that kind of thing makes me giddy!

After, we had a late lunch at the museum restaurant where they had these funny little parasols suspended in the outdoor dining tent.

I suppose it was to go along with the theme of Paris during the Impressionist period. The lunch was French themed as well. They had Asparagus Salad and Brioche and various wines. A pretty nice spread for a museum cafe.

And, of course we wandered around the park and museum grounds. A lot of it really did remind me of Paris.




Now it's back to the grind. Monday, blah - but at least it's Moustache cookie Monday be ready for moustache cookie madness in upcoming photos!

A Saturday afternoon

Saturday, Mario's dad came up for a visit. We also had a small goodbye get together with some friends who are moving to Hawaii. I wish I was going with them because I could use some warm sunny weather on my ghostly self.

This is what I wore for the day, sure it looks sunny and nice, but boy was it cold! I threw on the pink top for a splash of color, also I kinda hoped the color would brighten up my skin tone. Perhaps it's time to invest in some make-up. I think the no make-up look only worked in my teens and early 20's.

Hat is vintage, top is old Anthro, as are the shoes.Jeans are 18th Amendment - the Bacall jeans. I love the little pocket and stitching details on them -These are my absolute favorite jeans and I try to avoid wearing them because, I want them to be in my closet for a long long time. Let me tell you, it's hard not to wear them with everything!

Thank you mario for taking these quick pictures in between getting things ready for the day.

Vegans, Doctors, Moustaches and the return of Winter

Hurrah for Fridays! I'm very excited for the weekend ahead- lots of good stuff coming up, that I can't wait to get to. Being patient is so difficult!

I am also feeling much much much better. Thank you all for the well wishes- I much appreciated them. This past month has been pretty bad as far as health goes. If you ever read The Secret Garden or Little Women, I am like the real life version of Colin or Amy. Well, I was as a child, anyway. I'm not going to get into a whole long story here, it's just that I've a health condition and I was always ill- then I had a surgery, and I have been in perfect health, until now, and I was so scared I was going to get seriously ill again. But I am better. The whole experience however has left me really soured on the medical profession and Doctors outlooks on being Vegan.

I mean I had them insisting that the reason I was feeling sick was due to being Vegan. This was insulting, because I am VERY careful about what I eat. I know how to eat well-thank you very much. I had one Doctor accuse me of maybe eating to many fried things - what? I rarely ever eat anything fried. I guess they assume when people say they are Vegan they skip the burger and just eat fries? It's ridiculous. So all I could do was say go ahead- test me for nutritional deficiencies- check it all, I don't care! (Though I kind of do care I hate needles) But, anyway my tests came back FINE - better than fine, above average even, for iron, and B12, and folate- And all else was normal as well. My diet is not making me ill -something else is, or was. I am lots better now.

My issue is that this isn't the first time Doctors have jumped to that conclusion, "Oh, you're a Vegan..." - and I wonder what they teach in medical school about nutrition. I'm very very curious!

I know, this topic isn't very fun- but here is something that is, MOUSTACHES!!! I am going to be making Moustache shaped cookies this weekend (yep, moustache party!) I'm going to draw up some Moustaches to create cardboard stencils - as I do not have a Moustache cookie cutter. There are some online, but don't have the time to wait for one to get here- plus I want to make different shapes of 'staches. I'll be certain to post lots of photos!

Here are some ideas....

I'm also hoping we get out of the wintery weather slump we've hit yet again. Apparently there have been record breaking lows for this time of year. I'm a baby when it come to the cold- I know, but seriously winter stop invading our spring!

Here is what I wore today- layers- and it was still not enough to keep warm!

Cape, from the Gap, Sweater? Scarf from UO, Long sleeve tee, thrift (unseen), jeans are J Brand, shoes Vintage. Messy hair and red nose (unseen) courtesy of Bay Area cold and wind.

Hope that you all have fantastic weekend plans!