Any Second Now

A Love Story in Rose Gold Featuring Brilliant Earth

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, I was approached by fine jewelers, BrilliantEarth.com, to participate in their Personality Style Challenge. I chose to style the rose gold and diamond pieces as they have always been a favorite of mine (see a previous post here). I found an adorable dress on ModCloth with “fluttering hearts” in an organza overlay, but kept the shoes and purse fairly simple so that the jewelry could shine (although, that Aldo purse is pretty fantastic).

Brilliant Earth is a wonderful socially conscious company, who also supports sustainability. Founded in 2005 by Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg, Brilliant Earth is “devoted to cultivating a more ethical, transparent, and sustainable jewelry industry.” What this means is that they are dedicated to go above and beyond the current industry standards to ensure their diamonds originate from pure and ethical sources. They apply the same high standards to their colored gemstones, carefully tracking them to ensure they meet their standards of social and environmental responsibility.

Additionally, Brilliant Earth handcrafts all of their fine jewelry from recycled precious metals. On their site, they explain “dirty gold mining” which has a grim history. Their objective is to “diminish the negative impacts of dirty gold” by affecting the demand of newly mined precious metals.

Lastly, Brilliant Earth gives back by donating 5% of their profits to help communities who are affected by the jewelry industry. They promote growth and support initiatives designed to improve livelihoods and protect the environment.

Thank you Brilliant Earth for this lovely opportunity!

Fit and flare cocktail dress
modcloth.com

Seychelles rose shoes
heels.com

ALDO quilted chain handbag
aldoshoes.com

Pendant
brilliantearth.com

Earrings
brilliantearth.com

Weekend in Pictures: Bellus Academy Presents Come2gether

Last Saturday, I was invited to attend an exciting and inspirational charity event presented by Bellus Academy (where I met up with quite a few San Diego Style Bloggers). Come2gether was held at the Moniker Warehouse in Downtown San Diego and benefitted Beauty Changes Lives, “a non-profit initiative designed to raise awareness of how careers in the hair, beauty and wellness industry transform lives both personally and professionally.” It started off with the media portion, where bloggers, photographers and journalists could interview, photograph and visit with the artists who would be presenting that evening. Bellus Academy president, Lynelle Lynch, and Cosmetology Educator, Manny SanMartin, chatted with us briefly about their career paths and the importance of the Beauty Changes Lives Foundation. The keynote speaker was Stacey Broughton, a former Senior Art Director for the Vidal Sassoon Academy. Special guests that night included Mike Varela, Nina Kovner, D.J. Muldoon, Douglas McCoy, Nicole Brown, Omar Antonio, Carrera Bailey and Diego Raviglione. The main portion of this fun event included dynamic visual styling presentations set to music. Thank you Christina of Alternative Strategies for inviting me to this fantastic event!

Early in the evening for the media portion, just before the main event.

Lynelle Lynch and Manny SanMartin took time to chat with us about the importance of the Beauty Changes Lives Foundation.

The Moniker Warehouse beginning to fill up for the main event.

Lynelle Lynch sharing the message of Beauty Changes Lives to a captive audience.

Artistry in action!

Artistic Director and Wella Top Stylist, Diego Raviglione, working his magic (in a Joy Division shirt!)

SD Style Bloggers: Bianca V. of The In-Between Girls; Ashley of Array of Style; Heidi of A Fashion Statement; Lindsay of Elle Web Style

Lindsay, Ashley, Heidi and I, with Bellus Academy’s Terrell Mitchell, who won Project Runway’s Photo Challenge (he gave tips for winter hair care here). And YES, I finally got my Bodhi Safety Pin clutch in Electric Purple (original “Wanted” post here).

With Heidi, Bianca of Just Ask B, Amber of King & Kind, Ashley and Bianca V. (photo courtesy of Bianca V.).

January Record a Day Wrap Up: Days 22 Through 31

It’s time to wrap up the “January Record A Day” Instagram photo project with records 22 through 31. I’m already into week one of the “February Record A Day”, and I’m finding it a little bit tougher than last month’s because I’m having to really dig for items like a re-press or marble colored vinyl, but I’m definitely up for the challenge. Cheers and have a great weekend!

(Top Photo) Day 22: Double LP – “20/20” by Dilated Peoples. Another from the hubby’s collection.

Day 23: Red colored record – German import of “Never Let Me Down” by Depeche Mode.

Day 24: Favorite Record Friday – “All I Need is Everything” by Aztec Camera. Such a wonderful & happy song!

Day 25: Rainy day record – “Rio” by Duran Duran. I can listen to this album during any kind of weather!

Day 26: I don’t own any vinyl that’s split color. So here is my sister’s OMD dual color picture disc in pink & blue for the song “Locomotion”.

Day 27: Album on classic black vinyl – “Mistrial” by Lou Reed. My husband bought a bunch on boxes filled with records, not knowing what was inside. There were a few gems & this was one of them.

Day 28: More than 2 colors – “New Sensation” picture disc by INXS.

Day 29: 1st record I bought – “That’s Rock n Roll” by Shaun Cassidy. I was 7 & my sister was 4 when she drew all over it in red crayon!

Day 30: Any album before the 80s – Mott The Hoople “Greatest Hits”, from my hubby’s collection. I think this is from 1977.

Day 31: Any record you want – “Cookin’ on the Roof” by Roman Holiday. Finally found this at Amoeba Hollywood a couple of years ago. “Don’t Try to Stop it” & “Stand By” are my favorites!

So I Creep

I’ve always wanted to own a proper pair of creepers. For me, they’re just so reminiscent of Duckie Dale from Pretty in Pink (“I remain now, and will always be, a Duckman”). When I was a teen in the 80’s, creepers were a bit out of reach on a minimum wage budget. Then I sort of forgot about them in the 90’s and early 2000’s. With my 80’s nostalgia in very high gear lately, imagine my luck when I found a pair of classic black suede ones by T.U.K. on sale at Hot Topic. I knew the perfect outfit to wear with them, blending a couple of 80’s trends, wearing a bright neon shirt with a checked headband and badges. I wore this outfit to the office for a little bit of a dress down Friday, and also for my mom’s surprise birthday party. It’s quite the casual, yet put together outfit.

Outfit: T.U.K. Black Suede Original Creepers and Union Jack pin from Hot Topic; Topshop black denim pinafore dress (old, but here’s one similar from ASOS); Unknown brand neon shirt, checked headband and tights; The English Beat pin from their 2013 concert at the Belly Up (post here); Vintage tie; Rebecca Minkoff Jody “C” leather pouch; Eva glasses in sepia c/o Bonlook

Our families during my mom’s surprise birthday on January 25, 2014. My mom is holding a picture of my father.

Wanted: The Crosley Radio Executive USB Portable Turntable

With all of the vinyl I’ve been posting from my personal collection lately on Instagram for the “January Record a Day” photo project (and now the “February Record a Day” one), I’ve been trolling the internet for a stand-alone turntable with built-in speakers that doesn’t require a hook up to a receiver, but that can be hooked up to better speakers as necessary. I remembered my mother-in-law’s vintage inspired radio from Crosley Radio, and my husband reminded me that they make turntables as well. After checking out their official site, I found the perfect little record player: meet the Executive USB Portable Turntable (but I’ll most likely get it from Nordstrom here). It comes in three color combinations, but I adore this brown & black one because it looks like a vintage piece of luggage. In addition to the turntable, I’ll be purchasing this cabinet stand, and these shelves to start moving some of our vinyl to our room (our records currently reside on the empty book shelves in our son’s room). My next purchase from Crosley will be the Audiophile Shelf System (most likely from Target here). I know Crosley has full consoles with turntable, radio, CD and USB capability combined, but I just can’t get over how adorable that portable one is. I’ll be sure to post pictures of our mini music area set up once it’s complete!

(Photo courtesy of Vale Vinyl)

Food For “The Big Game” From Allrecipes.com

If you’ve been following my blog, you know just how big of a football fan I am. Although my San Diego Chargers didn’t make it all they way through the playoffs this year, I’ll still be watching the Superbowl because it’s the final football game until the new season in August. My husband is big on preparing great food for any sporting event, so I’m glad to share with Any Second Now readers some awesome recipes for your Game Day get together through this fantastic graphic from Allrecipes.com, in partnership with Tabuleau Software. After you click on the picture above, it will take you to the graphic where you can use the circular icons to filter recipes by type, which will update the map to show you the top recipes for that type by state. If you would like to see all of the recipes available regardless of state, the list on the lower right hand side will also update by type as well.

I’m going to spend some time clicking through all of the great recipes in the graphic to help my hubby create our final menu to enjoy while we watch the Seattle Seahawks play the Denver Broncos. Cheers and enjoy “The Big Game” on Sunday!

Allrecipes.com, the world’s largest digital food site with more than 1 billion visits each year, partnered with Tableau Software to share a state-by-state look at America’s Super Bowl game day favorites, including chili, dips, drinks, sandwiches, snacks and wings. Using a massive amount of data from nearly 95 million visits, Tableau has created an interactive graphic that can be viewed here (or by clicking on the graphic above). Some interesting findings include:

– When it comes to snack recipes, we are a nation divided. Depending on where you are, Americans appear to have a strong preference for Little Smokies recipes, nachos or meatballs as their gameday snack of champions. Note that in both Washington and Colorado, the top snacks recipe is Mexican Potato Nachos. However, in New York/New Jersey, the top snacks recipes is The Best Meatballs.

– New York stands alone as the only state whose favorite chili recipe is turkey over beef.

– Two dip recipes stand out as head and shoulders above the rest – the recipe for Seven Layer Taco Dip dominates much of the Western part of the country (including California) and the Northeast and Southeastern states have a preference for Buffalo Chicken Dip.

– The one thing all Americans agree on is wings. The recipes for Baked Buffalo Wings is tops in all 50 states.

Row one: 1. Baked Buffalo Wings; 2. Buffalo Chicken Dip; 3. Mexican Potato Nachos

Row two: 4. Seven Layer Taco Dip; 5. Simple Turkey Chili; 6. Slow Cooker Chili II

Row three: 7. Slow Cooker Pulled Pork; 8. The Best Meatballs; 9. The Real Mojito

The picture above is of the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork my husband made last year, using the exact recipe from Allrecipes.com (we had the barbecue sauce on the side). SO. GOOD!

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.

January Record a Day: Days 13 Through 21

What I love about this “record a day” photo project on Instagram is that it really allows me to become reacquainted with my collection and to really explore my husband’s collection. Here is a recap of days 13 through 21, enjoy!

(Top photo) Day 13: Splattered – “Stripped” by Depeche Mode. My first colored vinyl (when I was just 16)!

Day 14: Record from the used bin – “Live and Let Dance” by The Untouchables. Got it for a dollar!

Day 15: An album from high school – “The Circus” by Erasure (1987, I was 17). Also saw them in concert in high school, too!

Day 16: Live album – Depeche Mode, Live at Crocs Night Club, recorded 1981.

Day 17: Most recent purchase – Sub Pop 1000. Isn’t it cool?!

Day 18: Record that was a gift – The Police 4 track 12 inch single for “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. It was a Christmas present from my friend back in the 80s.

Day 19: Album from the 90s – “Family Values Fall Tour ’98”. From my husband’s record collection. He’s a deejay, so you can imagine our combined vinyl collection is quite large!

Day 20: Any black artist. Another from my husband’s collection. “1999” by Prince.

Day 21: Artist’s debut album – “Speak & Spell” by Depeche Mode. This is the UK version. I have the US one as well, without “I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead”. Any Second Now trivia: This is the album with the song that became the title of my blog.

Weekend in Pictures: Discover the Dinosaurs

A couple of weekends ago, my mother-in-law was in town for a Saturday conference. So on that Sunday, we decided to take Dominic to the “Discover the Dinosaurs” interactive exhibit at the San Diego Convention Center after he saw the commercial on TV. The dinosaurs were quite large and vivid, and the kids could animate them by pushing buttons. Between the dinosaur exhibits were fun interactive parts, like The Really Big Dinosaur Dig, a scavenger hunt for prizes, and the inflatable park. While we were in line for the second inflatable park, he screamed as loud as he could, “Mama, this place is AWESOME and I’m having the best time EVER!” I guess that says it all, doesn’t it? If you want to take your kids to this awesome exhibit, they are still touring the US, and maybe you can catch it at a venue near you (calendar can be found here)!

Taken right at the front of the exhibit.

Deon and Dominic nearly escaping an attack (sort of)!

Grandma getting ready to take some pictures (like the one below).

Dominic really enjoyed the Dino Dig (there were at least three sandboxes).

There were plenty of interesting things to read posted all over the exhibit. These tidbits and facts were also used in the scavenger hunt, where Dominic spun a wheel to win cute little prizes.

Dominic pushing buttons to make the Hypacrocsaurus (high-pack-crow-sore-us) move about. Some even made sounds!

Dominic’s favorite part: The Inflatable Parks. That blur was the best picture I could capture of our little dynamo!

Our souvenir picture. Pretty much sums up our fun and adventurous day!

Dominic Dives Into DIIV

My son Dominic has very eclectic taste in music for a four year-old. His playlist is pictured below, and consists of songs he has either heard and liked from the music my husband and I listen to, from movies or TV shows, and from his cousin, Mei-Lin. Blue and Iron Man are obvious favorites (both from Iron Man movies). He has loved (Keep Feeling) Fascination by The Human League since he was two, and the Royksopp version of Depeche Mode’s Puppets was on repeat during many a car ride, much to my delight!

Deon’s mom was in town last weekend for a conference, and to see Dominic. After a crazy Sunday of fun, we ended up at Bloomingdale’s for some late afternoon shopping. While we were all browsing upstairs, Dominic asked if he could play with my iPhone, which isn’t unusual when he’s bored. After I handed him the phone, I noticed he didn’t play with it right away because he was really grooving to the music piping in through the store speakers. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, “Mama, I really like this song…who is it? Can we download it?” We “Shazamed” the song and discovered it was called Doused by DIIV and added it to his playlist. Later I listened to Doused in its entirety, and I must say, I quite like DIIV (pronounced “dive”). The music is very reminiscent of Joy Division (especially the baseline), and I still can’t believe that it was my son who picked up on this fantastic musical find (yes, he’s too cool). Below is the video for Doused, to take us into the weekend. Cheers and enjoy!

Simply Red

These pictures were taken last November in Las Vegas outside of the famous Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, at the Fremont Street Experience. Believe it or not, although my husband was born and raised in Las Vegas, this was the first time he had ever been to the Fremont Street Experience (more pictures to come). We were able to snap some pictures of my comfy yet pulled together outfit, amidst all of the craziness of the evening. I’ve always wanted a simple red coat, and I was so excited to have the opportunity to own this one, courtesy of J.Jill from their grand opening at Fashion Valley (post here).

I think seeing Spider-Man (in the mirror above) inspired my boys to strike some hero poses.

Photo bombing is always going to be a hazard when taking pictures in a busy area.

Outfit: Cross-Town coat in Perfect Red (c/o), Double-Faced plaid shirt & necklace from J.Jill; H&M mini-skirt; Target tights; Hue knee-high socks; Unknown brand ring from Nordstrom; Rampage boots (old); Wilson’s Leather Flap-over Backpack; BonLook Cavalier glasses in burgundy

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