Fashion. Music. Family. Life.
I miss my father with all of my heart. I look at my husband and my son, and it’s times like this where I realize that he never got to see my own little family. I look into the eyes of my son and I know just how much my daddy would have adored him.
So happy birthday daddy…it would have been 70 years today.
Hello friends. My internet at home has decided to take a bit of a vacation as the DLS in my area is not working. Today is my wedding anniversary anyway, so I’ll take a day away from the blog to celebrate 3 years (and counting!) of wedded bliss with my wonderful husband. Mom will be watching my little one while we have dinner.
I shall return!
Never Mind The Bollocks skirt from Idil Vice
Ever since my teens throughout the eighties, I have made sure that I could never be considered a poseur. Even now, I would hate for someone to think that I was trying to be something that I’m not, just to fit in. I’ve always prided myself on the fact that I am unique and that my tastes are that of my own and the influence was directly from the source and not because I was needing acceptance into a group or by an individual.
I had a discussion with my husband about concerts and bands that we’ve seen throughout the years. I really like tour shirts, and my inner punk rocker enjoys mixing in these shirts with my regular wardrobe. There is a designer named Idil Vice who does a great job of giving an alternative to the musical t-shirt by making dresses, skirts and jackets of bands and artists that I love. I have my eye on a Depeche Mode dress, Joy Division and Sex Pistols skirt.
In my discussion with my husband, I mentioned that I just can’t wear a shirt of a band or artist I haven’t actually seen in concert. He says that it shouldn’t matter, that if you like a band then you should be able to wear their shirt. But when someone says “Cool shirt, have you seen them in concert?” I would feel like a complete poseur if I said “No, but the shirt is cool…”
As justification, I’ve come up with “work-arounds” for the shirts I have of artists and bands that I’ve seen in some incarnation (solo or group). Here is a list so far:
1. Joy Division – I have 3 shirts that I wear proudly. Although I was too young, not living in England during their initial rise, and had no way to see them because of Ian Curtis’ suicide, I wear them because I have seen New Order in concert. New Order is essentially Joy Division with Bernard Sumner as the singer, right? Yes.
2. Sex Pistols – I have seen PiL in concert, for which Johnny Rotten is the singer. He was in Sex Pistols, so I can wear their shirt should I choose to do so. I don’t have one yet, but now that I have made that justification, I will now wear one.
3. Bjork – I saw The Sugarcubes in concert, for which she was the singer for before venturing into her solo career. Enough said.
I make these mental justifications so that I can escape being a poseur. Now if I can just come up with a work-around for The Beatles shirt I have…
Isn’t Babelfish great? I love that it’s a reference to “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” AND it’s useful! I’ll let you translate the title of this post yourself (it’s always funny to re-translate what you just translated because it’s never the same).
Yes, my husband’s Deutscher Fussball-Bund did not make it past Spain in the semi-finals (final score 1-0). We will be cheering on Netherlands in the finals of the World Cup.
Ga Nederland!
On the way home from Las Vegas, my husband and I always stop at the Primm Valley Casino to shop at the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas. It allows us to gas up the car, get Dominic changed and do a little shopping. I always make sure to check out Coach, Juicy Couture, kate spade and Old Navy. My all time favorites are the Burberry Factory Outlet and Neiman Marcus Last Call.
Seychelles "Turnaround" Platform Sandals
I found these very cute shoes for a steal at Last Call. They are the Seychelles “Turnaround” platform sandals, which retail for $99, but I got them for $32. They are last season’s shoe, but they still are very current for the summer.
I always wonder if people really know if something is last season. If you wear it at the right time with the right outfit and the right accessories, anything can be current, right?
The Burberry "Rosie" Shoulder Bag in Nova Check
At the Burberry Factory Outlet store, I spotted a cute little shoulder bag (the Rosie in nova check) for a mere $79! They were what’s called a “Factory Second”. I do claim to be fashion conscious, so I knew that the purse had some kind of “defect”, but really all I saw were that they were a little blemished. When I got home, I got one of my son’s wipies and cleaned the marks off, and the little handbag was as good as new! I did decide to research “factory second” and saw that it really meant that these items didn’t quite pass inspection to get into the main store due to a minor, usually cosmetic problem. In this case, they were marks on the front and back of the bag, which were easily cleaned off. When I found out that the retail price was $395, I made sure to share that information with my husband so he can see that I really am trying to be somewhat frugal.
I really do like nice things, but it’s not always within my budget to get everything I want all at once. I like to say I’m a “Fashionista on a Budget” rather than a “Budget Fashionista”. I don’t like to sacrifice quality, so when I can get a great deal, I make sure to take advantage of it.
If I can get more deals like that, I’m sure my husband won’t mind if I say “Seconds, please!”
My "Big" win!
Netherlands won big today (well, yesterday in my blogsphere) in the World Cup semi finals: 3-2 against Uruguay. That strike from #5 (I only know most names of the US, England and Germany teams) was why soccer is called “The Beautiful Game”. The family is all ready to support Germany against Spain tomorrow.
I also won “Big” on our trip to Las Vegas this weekend. As you’ve read, we went to Mesquite, Nevada, a tiny little town about 1 hour north of Vegas. My son stayed with the grandparents back in Vegas. After arriving at the “resort”, my husband played golf, which prompted him to treat me to a massage and pedicure. We have our preferred ways of relaxing.
Afterwards, we headed to our room at the Casablanca Resort and Casino. I had not heard of it before, but I had to stop and marvel at it as we almost passed it by. I stood there, thinking, “This is definitely the only way to get me to gamble…”
SATC Video Slot Machine
May I introduce you to the Sex and The City video slot machine. Apparently it came out December 2009, and my mom said that she’s already played it, but doesn’t like the bonus rounds.
I live for the bonus rounds on this machine. First of all, when you get the bonus round, Mr. Big says “Go ahead, touch the heart to make a spin”…who can resist Big telling you to touch anything? I can’t. Also, they have big comfy chairs, not those little good for nothing stools at the other slot machines. This set of machines lure you in, get you comfortable, then seduces you with Chris Noth’s voice. The sensory overload was just too much. I had to play.
We went to sign up for their rewards cards and received $20 worth of free play. My husband went to the Black Jack table and said that I should use our $20 to play the SATC slot machine.
I did, and I won! I won a total of a little over $200. Not a lot, but enough. Basically, my bonus round included picking one of the 4 girls to dress. They range from “Valuable” to “Most Valuable”, which means the point value increases. I picked Carrie and Big says “Oooh, my favorite”, which just made me all the more giddy. Then you touch the mirrors to try to get a match. The longer you take to make your match, the higher the multiplier. Because I only bet 200 points per screen (4 screens) and not the “progressive”, my point value was a little lower. However, because I had picked the “Most Valuable” choice at the time, my highest points were 1500 and I received a multiplier of 10. That netted me 15000 points, or about $150 (in the picture at the start of this post). Later, I won 2 more times, getting an additional $80.
The hubby won, too. While he won back the hotel stay, golf and spa, I was left with my winnings to shop with! No, no shopping in Mesquite where the only store “in town” is a Wal Mart. We went to the Fashion Outlets at Primm on the way home on Monday and I got a couple of things, which I will explain in another post.
After we returned from Mesquite, we celebrated the 4th at a family friend’s house back in Las Vegas. She has a pool and my son took to it like a fish to water. After the little party, we went home to the grandparent’s house to light fireworks in the street (certain kinds of fireworks are legal in Nevada). My little boy sure did not like that at all.
These last 2 images are my son in his little swim outfit, then of him and how he felt about the fireworks. Overall, a fun, profitable and safe 4th. Hope you all had the same.
Photos by Cyrillynn Chen
Old Navy shorts, OP shirt and pool shoes, hat from grandma (during her trip to St. Marten)
"Mommy, please tell Daddy no more fireworks!"
I’m typing from my kitchen eating chocolate covered bacon (my sister picked it up for me at the San Diego Fair…so healthy!), “Olivia” from Nick Jr. is playing in the background as my son and niece are arguing because he “spit on me”. My son loves to terrorize my girlie little niece.
Speaking of things girlie, here are a couple of things that I like right now: one is 2 years “vintage” and the other I bought about a month ago when I went to see SATC2.
So I went to SATC2 (Sex and the City 2 for the novices) with my cousin and my best friend. We made a day of it: Spa, lunch, shopping, the movie, dinner and drinks. We all got prettied up for the day, so I bought these shoes to complete my outfit. They are much more comfortable than they appear, and they do look great on. Such a great color for the summer.
Corlette wedges from Aldo
My other favorite thing right now is something I found in my purse. I’ve had it for about 2 years, and I bought it from her store in Las Vegas. It’s from Anya Hindmarch and it’s a perfect little wallet/mini clutch purse. It’s a very light metallic gold leather, and anytime I take it out, I get compliments galore.
Girlie Stuff purse by Anya Hindmarch
We are off to Las Vegas tomorrow for the 4th of July weekend. On Saturday, my husband and I are going to Mesquite for a “mini-break”. Dominic will stay with the grandparents. I’m getting a spa treatment and pedicure (thank you honey!) while he plays golf during the day. Then we’ll relax at night with drinks and dinner along with a stay at a hotel before heading back to his parents for 4th of July (we can buy fireworks in Nevada, so we plan to shoot off our own again).
I hope to do a little shopping at the Fashion Outlet at Primm Valley on the way back home on Monday (they have the only Burberry outlet in the West Coast). If I know my husband, we’ll also be making a stop at Jimmy Johns and Capriotti’s for sandwiches (we were SO sad when we discovered that Capriotti’s was no longer in San Diego).
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day weekend!
Photos by Cyrillynn Chen
I posted this on my Facebook “Notes” last year. I liked it so much, I thought I’d share it here. The first paragraph includes instructions, but I think it’s pretty obvious what you need to do. Feel free to grab it and share it, for a little silly fun.
My favorite band is Depeche Mode, as you can tell by my blog name, so I chose the same for this “exercise”. Enjoy!
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to people you like and include me. You can’t use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think! Repost as “my life according to (band name)”
Pick Your Artist:
Depeche Mode
Are you Male or Female?
Happiest Girl
Describe yourself:
Precious
How do you feel:
I Feel Loved
Describe where you currently live:
Home (that’s really a DM song!)
If you could go anywhere where would you go:
In Your Room
Your favorite form of transportation is:
Behind The Wheel
Your best friend is:
Personal Jesus (lol!)
You and your best friends are:
Dreaming of Me (haha)
What’s the Weather Like?
The Sun and The Rainfall
What is your favorite time?
It Doesn’t Matter
If your life was a TV show what would it be called?
Get The Balance Right
What is Life to you?
More Than a Party
Your last relationship:
Strangelove
Your fear:
Barrel of a Gun
What is the best advice you have to give?
People Are People
Thought for the day:
Enjoy The Silence
How would I like to die?
Suffer Well
My Soul’s present condition:
Now, This is Fun
My motto:
I Want It All
My son at his first haircut
It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. With some inspiration, I thought I’d start again. So “Hello World”, it’s me again.
My very first blog was about my father and his passing. That was about 6 years ago. I was having a difficult time dealing with his death, and it was a way to deal with my feelings and the anger, sadness and heartache that I felt. It turned into something else and was a bit scattered.
Now that I have a family of my own, I just want to write about some of the simple things that are going on in my day to day activites. I want to post about my favorite things, fun things, things I’ve discovered and my travels with my family. I’ve got some cute pictures of my son and husband to share, as well as my sister’s family, extended family and definitely friends. You may see some fashion, food, places, books, events and other things that I’m interested in.
If you like what you see, stay tuned. Either way, “Hello World!”
Photo by Deon Chen