Any Second Now

The Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale in LA This Weekend!

Alright kids, the Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale has hit the West Coast! If you missed entering the contest for the Mini MAC that I posted about at the beginning of November or didn’t get a chance to grab a deal at the Black Friday sale on the official site, you should head over to Confederacy in LA to take advantage of this great opportunity to get RM items at fantastic prices (if you’ve never been, it’s an adorable store with the nicest staff). I went to the last one (post here), and wish I could have taken home more! If time permits, I’m going to try to head up on Saturday. For those of you further north, they also have a one day sale in San Francisco. Click on the picture to take you to the Minkette blog for more details. Have a great weekend and happy shopping!

(Photo courtesy of Minkette)

Our Thanksgiving Holiday

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The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. We arrived in Vegas last Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. It started with Dominic’s first karate lesson from Grandpa and ended with my hubby and I splitting billiard wins at a British pub. The time in-between was spent laughing and eating with friends and family. Thanksgiving Day itself always consists of football and food, which is lucky for my husband and I because we love both equally. My favorite foods that I look forward to each year are the German dumplings, yams with tons of marshmallows, and most recently: my husband’s deep-fried turkey injected with Creole butter.

My mother-in-law and I decided to brave the midnight sales on Black Friday, rather than waiting until the morning. It was quite crazy at Target and Walmart, so we decided to head out to The Fashion Show Mall, where I discovered Topshop will be opening the first West Coast location in the spring of 2012 (so excited). I somehow managed to purchase some boots in the midst of the mall madness, and then later scored some awesome sunnies from Mango (the style chosen by my husband). After the craziness of Friday morning and afternoon, we settled in for my mother-in-law’s birthday. It’s always the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, so she likes to celebrate it during the holiday because everyone is in town.

On Saturday, I was able to meet up with my best friend, Janice, who was in town for the Janet Jackson concert. After we grabbed a few drinks at the Paris hotel, my hubby and I were able to spend some couple time by heading to one of his favorite pubs called Crown & Anchor. He knew I would enjoy it because it’s a British pub where they serve the national fare like fish & chips and bangers & mash, plus they know how to make a good Shandy (recipe to come). We played a few games of pool, which we surprisingly split (he usually annihilates me). All in all, it was another chaotic, relaxing, and family-fun-filled Thanksgiving. Here’s to next year!

FTC Disclosure: Although this is a sponsored post, the opinions, pictures & content of this post are strictly my own.

Mod Hatter

This is the latest addition to my hat collection. It’s from the Albertus Swanepoel for Target line. There were so many wonderful hats from this new line, but this one spoke to me as I walked by, beckoning me to purchase it. I love the dual colors and the bow detail. I bought this right before Thanksgiving in hopes of taking some outfit pictures while I was in Las Vegas. But alas, with so much food, family and fun, I never got around to taking any outfit pictures (well, just the ones below while getting ready for dinner; I’ll have more pictures from our family celebration later this week). I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and holiday!

Depeche Mode/Recoil Updates

New Life: VCMG – Remember when I reported that Vince Clarke and Martin Gore were going to collaborate (post here)? They’ve gone and done it! Depeche Mode’s official site has announced that EPs will be released first by the end of November 2011, followed by a full album (full article here).

Cover Me – Depeche Mode have covered “So Cruel” for the AHK-Toong BAY-Bi Covered album, which consists of covers of songs from U2’s Achtung Baby. It also features artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Garbage and The Killers. It’s available for download exclusively on iTunes with proceeds benefitting Concern Worldwide. If you were one of the lucky ones, you would have received a copy with your Q Magazine back in October (full articles here).

Added to my Collection – I received my “Collected” DVD last week (my actual copy is pictured above). I’m always reminding those of you who are also fans, like myself, to get these rare items when they become available because of the limited stock, and this is a must have. The entire “Collected” series is on one DVD, along with extended footage and photos. Click here for the Recoil store to get your copy, while it lasts!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a great weekend!

(Photos 1 & 2 courtesy of depechemode.com)

Faith in This Colour

I’ve always loved rich jewel colors like royal blue, my birthstone emerald green, deep purple and ruby red. Imagine my excitement when I received my new Mini MAC in fuchsia (check out the contrasting leopard print on the inside in olive-green & black)! Be on the lookout for outfits featuring this little gem (preview below), and remember to enter the contest to win your own Mini MAC from Rebecca Minkoff by clicking here. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and an even happier shopping day on Black Friday!

Elegant Impact: Meet Carrie Parry

What do you get when you mix sassiness with sustainability: a clothing line that features a wonderful twist on the classics by designer Carrie Parry. Not only are her pieces chic and elegant with a retro feel, they are designed with thoughtful consideration to social and economic impact. I had the pleasure to ask Carrie a few questions about her design concept and how she made the decision to be socially responsible with her clothing line.

When you first decided to start your own business, did you your concept always include sustainability and social responsibility, or was this an evolution?

Carrie Parry – My work in fashion opened my eyes to the environmental and social impact that the industry can have and I decided that if I wanted to continue working in fashion, I needed to learn more about what I could do to help bring about change. I started taking a graduate course at the University of Delaware in Socially Responsible Apparel Business. I’m still completing it now and it has really been such a great guiding point to social responsibility for me. When I launched, I was motivated to create a line founded on my passion to create pieces that never go out of style and a commitment to responsible sources and practices so it is really at the core of my business. Sustainability is really about improving and building upon social responsibility so it is all of course a process and I hope to keep learning and improving everyday!

Has it been challenging to be a company who sources sustainability? What is your biggest challenge?

CP – Being a small business and not having the leverage with suppliers and factories can be frustrating at times as it can be harder to implement change and improvement. Not having the access to as many fabrics can be limiting as well but it is definitely much more rewarding to source environmentally responsible fabrics and fabrics woven by women-owned cooperatives and artisans.

I love the retro feel of your clothing! What is the main concept design of your apparel? Where do you draw your inspiration?

CP – I love the idea of customization and the transformation of clothing. It allows people to grow from being users of clothing to becoming engagers of clothing and gives the clothing the ability to effortlessly transition from day to night and work to play. Quality and timelessness are really important to me and I try and design pieces that I hope will be treasured in a women’s wardrobe for a lifetime. So when I design, I always try and keep this in mind!

For the SS12 season, I was obsessed with watching 1960s New Wave films. I fell in love with the whimsy and sophistication of films like Une Femme and Mascualn Feminin by Godard and Alain Resnais. I find daily inspiration in lots of things like film, exhibitions, theatre and people-watching and NYC is the perfect place for it!

What do you enjoy best about what you do?

CP – I love my team-my suppliers-my factory. Learning something new everyday. The daily inspiration and creating something new and special every season.

Thank you so much Carrie for taking the time out to answer my questions! You can check out her official site at carrieparry.com for more information and where to purchase her line.

(Photos courtesy of Carrie Parry)

Totally Random iPhone Pictures

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These are some completely random iPhone pictures from the last couple of weeks, no true rhyme or reason. If you follow me on Twitter (@any2ndnow) or Instagram (any2ndnow), you will recognize some of these images. In the end, does it really matter why, when you start the randomness with stunning photos of Alan Wilder and Gerard Butler? No, it doesn’t.

Happy Friday!

Oh. My. Goodness. (Courtesy of The Red Radio)

Originally posted for comparison with the photo above. But do I really need a reason? (Courtesy of Comic Vine Forum)

I have been reminiscing about when I met Alan Wider last year (hence the first photo). This was one of at least ten items he autographed for me. He said “Wow, this takes me way back…” Was it the fact that it was his first EP as Recoil or that it was actually on vinyl? Methinks both.

Aren’t these just pretty?

My companion while at jury duty (thanks Janice for loaning it to me). Read all 358 pages!

If only I had planned it right, I would have dressed like her for Halloween…

Dominic says, “Let it be…”

I love my little family *sigh*

Wore this in honor of my father on Veteran’s Day: it was one of his first uniform shirts.

FTC Disclosure: Although this is a sponsored post, the opinions, pictures & content of this post are strictly my own.

Judgement Call

I wore this while performing my annual civic service: jury duty. The summons said “business casual”, so I wore what I would wear to work. But since I rarely do things “casually” unless I’m attending a concert or sporting event, I don’t see how I would attend jury duty any differently. I quickly realized that I was quite “over-dressed”, seeing that nearly everyone there was in some kind of ensemble that included a pair of jeans, t-shirt, sneakers or combination of all three. I guess “business casual” is truly up for interpretation.

As I walked back from lunch, a very well dressed woman who stood next to me while waiting at a cross walk said, “I just had to tell you, your shoes are fabulous!” Later, a nice gentleman at the jury house waiting next to me for the vending machine said, “Love your skirt, it’s so wild!” I guess over-dressed wasn’t such a bad call after all.

Outfit – ASOS sweater cape; Old Navy blouse; Calvin Klein skirt; Bamboo shoes; Louis Vuitton purse; Juicy Couture ring; Michael Kors watch; Lucky Brand glasses

Weekend in Pictures: Hey DJ!

I may have mentioned this before, but my husband is a deejay. Deon mostly spins house, but occasionally he’ll break out some hip-hop. He did a lot of gigs in Las Vegas before we got married. When he moved to here to San Diego, he played clubs in the beginning, then was hired to do in store appearances and private parties like weddings and reunions.

When he takes out his equipment, he usually does his full set, which includes his MacBook to mix his digital music with his vinyl. But one weekend, he decided to hit just the ones and twos in our garage. My son decided that he wanted to follow suit. Do we have a future deejay in our presence? Hope you had a great weekend!

First Time Golfer

One sunny afternoon, my husband decided to take us golfing with him at a local golf course in National City. Dominic has been to a driving range, but never out on an actual course. This was the perfect day and the perfect course to take him to because it’s only 9 holes and my husband wasn’t paired up with another golfer or group. I was not only impressed with how much my husband’s golf game has improved, but with how well-behaved my son could be. It was quite the relaxing day. Have a great weekend!