Weekend in Pictures: A Fond Farewell to the Fair

Dominic had his face painted during our third visit to the fair a couple of weekends ago.  He got Spiderman painted on his cheek and did so well and sat still like a very big boy.  He also did very well during his first big fireworks display last week.  Typically we set off for Las Vegas during the Fourth of July because we can set off our own fireworks in the cul-de-sac of my in-law’s house. But because the holiday fell in the middle of the week, we decided to celebrate the Fourth at the last day of the fair last week.  I know it’s technically not a weekend, but it certainly felt like one!  As my last hurrah to the San Diego County Fair, I had a chocolate dipped cheesecake slice.  It was better than I could ever describe here (and as my husband stated, I should have had them roll it in Oreo cookies).  Hope you had a great weekend!

How Do You Feel About the Flatform?

My first pair of flatforms were slides from a few years ago by Steve Madden.  They were Asian inspired and were probably meant to be modeled after the Japanese geta shoes.  The wedge heel was basically an inverted trapezoid: wider at the top and angled smaller towards the bottom (I wish I had a picture).  While the concept worked visually and when I first walked in them at the store, walking in them for any prolonged period of time proved very awkward due to being off-balance.  Since them, I basically stayed away from the flatform, even as they gained popularity over the past year.

I recently bought a pair because my friend, Tanya, bought a pair from Urban Outfitters and they looked adorable on her (unfortunately, I no longer see the pair she bought online).  This is what prompted me to finally purchase the pair pictured above from Must Have Shoes.  My reasons for buying them were for functionality as well as style for my European vacation (I’m hesitant to go sight-seeing in anything taller than a moderate heel). 

I chose the pair by Nicole called “Gutsy” because of the snake pattern and espadrille wedge.  They looked a bit quirky and funky, but still felt light and perfect for summer.  After receiving them, I was a bit apprehensive about the shape, thickness of the heel and wondered what I would wear them with, how I would style them, but I was mostly concerned about how comfortable they would be.

Surprisingly enough, they became quite comfortable after I broke them in and they look cute with any style of jean, skirt/dress or short.  They don’t look chunky at all, and just feel like very tall flats.  You can’t see them, but this pair has a removable ankle strap, which I am actually keeping on to prevent them from flopping off.  All in all, I’m happy with this particular pair and if so inclined, I may buy a pair while out in Europe (I’ll be sure to put up any outfit posts as I wear them).  What do you think of the flatform?

Happy 4th of July!

Typically we spend this time of year in Las Vegas with my in-laws.  But because the holiday fell in the middle of the work week, we decided to stay home and enjoy fireworks locally.  Hope you have a wonderful & safe holiday!

(Thanks to Lindsay for directing me to this photo, courtesy of Party City. You know I’m gonna make that cake pop flag sometime soon!)

Weekend in Pictures: Zip It Up!

Zip liners: Cy, Deon and Rholnna

The zip line tower

We have gone to the San Diego County Fair every week since it opened this year, which we’ve never done before (the first time was Father’s Day, post here and this post marks the second time).  Now that they have offered this unlimited pass, any trip to the fair going forward is basically free.  Additionally, a promotional booklet called the “Passport to Savings” was being sold outside the fairgrounds of coupons that could be used both inside the fair, and then at vendors outside once the fair is done for the summer.  I wasn’t going to buy it, but the salesman said “Don’t let love tear us apart, get your Passport to Savings right here!” in honor of my Joy Division shirt, which meant that I just had to buy a booklet because he was so clever.  But I’m glad I did because some of the coupons were good for free drinks with purchase, buy one get one free items, or discounts.  The best discount was the $5 off of High Fly’N Zip Line, which my sister, my husband and I all took a ride on.  Deon went twice (that daredevil).

These are pictures from last weekend, and this time we brought along my sister and my niece.  Of course we indulged in more fabulous fair food, including fried cheese curds (yet another first).  We also have video evidence of our thrill ride (if the video is not currently below when this posts, it will be added at a later date).  Hope you had a great weekend!

Mei-Lin and Dominic being cute (sneaky alien!)

Ah, glorious deep-fried cheese curds!

Wanted: Safety Pin Clutch

I want this safety pin clutch by Bodhi.  That is all.

(Image courtesy of Bodhi)

(Note: I finally got one, just like the black one pictured above, except in Electric Purple. It’s even more amazing up close and personal!)

Heavy Metal

Rebecca Minkoff Flowerstud and Double Wrap Zip bracelets

Looks like my love for metal and spikes are definitely on trend this year, which means there is no shortage of my favorite kinds of studded bracelets, shoes, purses and belts available everywhere.  I’ve included items that I already own, mixed in with some that I recently purchased.  I’ll definitely be on the look out for more when I travel to London and Paris in August to add to my heavy metal accessory collection.

Bullet cuff from Macy’s (brand unknown)

Leather cuff pyramid stud bracelet by H&M; Flowerstud & 3 Row Pyramid Stud bracelets by Rebecca Minkoff; 3 row pyramid stud silver chain bracelet (brand unknown)

3 row pyramid stud elastic bracelet from Bloomingdale’s (brand unknown); Pyramid stud ring from Therapie Boutique (brand unknown)

“Lorissa” studded pumps by Sam Edelman

Weekend In Pictures: It's All Good When it's Fair Food

For Father’s Day, we went to The San Diego County Fair, where the theme was “Out of This World” and centered around all things science and science fiction.  My husband tried zip lining for the first time, which I got a chance to do just this past weekend (video to come).  Then we all tried our hands at archery, including Dominic!  And of course, the food we indulged in was clearly an experience that could only be described as other worldly.    Hope you had a great weekend!

My hubby, about to zip line (I’ll have a video of the two of us going in an upcoming post)

Dominic learned a little archery.

A triumphant picture of Dominic with one of his many winning prizes.

First stop: Chicken Charlie’s for anything and everything deep-fried.

My boys enjoying a little deep-fried goodness (deep-fried ribs & chicken strips).

My East/West tote was the perfect carry-all for the fair (as seen on Instagram, and thank you to Rebecca Minkoff for the re-Tweet!)

Enjoying a deep-fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich with Wendy Brandes, sort of! (I just love wearing my swear rings everywhere)

Yes, that would be deep-fried Trix cereal!

What was once The Heart Attack Cafe is now Bacon A-Fair, where their relationship with bacon runs deep…and fried!

Beer battered Polish dog & stuffed jalapeno peppers, both wrapped in bacon of course.

Coffee Snob

My husband calls me a coffee snob.  I don’t think that I’m a snob per se, but rather I have certain expectations when it comes to my coffee, which became very apparent when we returned from our honeymoon.  We stumbled upon a coffee shop called Castroni Caffe while in Rome, and I swear I had died and gone to coffee heaven.  I am a dark roast fan, and I want my coffee to taste like coffee, and I often drink it in espresso form because I need the boldness, adding just enough cream to take any bitterness away.  The Castroni coffee was bold, strong, but smooth.  I needed little cream and no sugar.  I had found my coffee.

I bought two tins straight away.  I gave one of the tins of coffee to my mother-in-law and kept one for myself.  When we came back to the US and I had run out, I vowed that I would find a coffee here that was the equivalent of the coffee I had in Italy (I kept the tin, in case I was able to search and find this brand out here).

After our honeymoon, my husband and I missed the food that we had in Italy, so we ventured out to Little Italy here in San Diego.  Mona Lisa Italian Foods not only has a great restaurant, but they also have a wonderful little deli.  I asked the workers there if they have a recommendation for a coffee that equalled the coffee we had in Italy, as they did not carry the Castroni brand.  They recommended Illy, and I have been buying this brand since then (see my post on Espressamente, their cafe in Las Vegas here).  I had found the bold yet smooth taste I originally discovered in Rome.  It does however come at a price:  any regular supermarket that carries Illy prices their tins at $14 to 16, and Mona Lisa has theirs at $10.99 (the last time I checked).

For everyday use, I find it difficult to justify paying that much for coffee, which I go through very quickly.  So I set out to find a more inexpensive alternative for my daily use, and then I can have my Illy on the weekends.  After trying about a dozen or so brands, I had just about given up on finding a good, cheap roast and resigned to the fact that I just have to put up the cash for the coffee that I want.  After standing for over 20 minutes in front of the coffee aisle, I saw a tin with a price of $4.99 called Cafe Bustelo, a Cuban-style coffee.  I decided to try it, and if it wasn’t great, then I would have only spent about $5 and that would be the end of it.  I ended up enjoying this coffee for the bold taste.  Although it wasn’t as smooth as my first two choices, it tasted much better than the others I’ve tried and I could add just a bit more cream to take the edge off.

Recently, I found this article on Shine from Yahoo and promptly showed my husband.  The article was called “Brew a Cheaper Buzz with the Best Budget Coffee“.  Lo and behold, my cheap choice of Cafe Bustelo was one of their favorites as well, which I felt proved my uncanny ability to distinguish good coffee, therefore solidifying my refined coffee tastes.  My husband just looked at me and said, “Snob…” then walked away. 

Whatever. I won.

(Middle image courtesy of World Harvest Foods)

Wedged In

Wendy Brandes recently did a “casting call” for bloggers who own wedged sneakers (post here).  I sent her a couple of shots of just my Marc Jacobs wedged espadrille heeled sneakers, but I know she wanted a head-to-toe shot (hopefully she was able to use them).  I love these shoes so much because the heels are just high enough to be comfortable.  Believe it or not, they are show stoppers and I get asked about them every time I wear them.  They are a couple of years old, so I’m not sure if you can get these anywhere (I bought them off of eBay).

Below are a couple of detail shots of my awesome black leather MAC with gunmetal hardware (and a bright blue zipper) and a close up of my shoes from a previous post.

Outfit – Cotton On blazer; Alexander McQueen for Target t-shirt; Guess jeans; Marc Jacobs shoes; Rebecca Minkoff MAC & wrap bracelet; Wendy Brandes swear rings (seen here); Michael Kors watch; Coach sunnies; St. Christopher necklace from The Vatican

Note:  I recently found a pair of wedged sneaks on sale at Urban Outfitters by Ash (AND they are studded).  These are what I’m going to wear for most of my trip to Europe, and if they are comfy enough, I’m wearing them to the Rewind Festival.  Check them out below!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to all the fantastic fathers out there, specifically my husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law.  I’m also sending a flying kiss to my own father, who I’m sure is smiling down at my boys.

 A great film to watch on this “Day of the Dad” is a movie called The Other F Word, directed by Angela Blaugrund Nevins from Rare Bird Films.  The tagline reads “Punk rock was never meant to grow up…but it did” and follows several veteran musicians, punk or otherwise, who all face the challenges of fatherhood.  Of the groups listed, I’ve seen three in concert:  Blink 182, Bad Religion and NOFX, so it was fun to see them interact with their children and hear their thoughts on raising them.  The movie is funny and touching, and I think all fathers of all walks of life can relate.

Happy Father’s Day!

(Image courtesy of Living Cinema)