An IFB Project: A Walk to the Park

A recent project by the Independent Fashion Bloggers Network sparked an impromptu walk around my neighborhood.  The challenge was to take a walk around to see what inspires us about where we live.  Since my son loves to take part in my outfit pictures, I thought I would follow him around our neighborhood, which included a walk down to a beautiful local park.

This is the spot right outside my house where I take most of my outfit pictures (which is really outside the fence in front my neighbor’s garden).  I like to take photos there because of its easy access and the plants with the brightly colored flowers.

About a five-minute walk from my house is Parkside Park.  It used to be a very large empty lot owned by the city.  When we were younger, we called it “The Canyon”.  For years, many of us wondered why the city didn’t either build more houses on it or do something else with the lot.

My sister actually may have had a hand in getting the ball rolling on this project when she submitted a letter to the mayor of National City.  Through a school project in Junior High School, they were asked to write a letter to a city official asking them to make a change in their neighborhood.  She asked that a lot called “The Canyon” in our neighborhood be turned into something functional such as a public park.  Soon after, we all received the news that a park was going to be built.  I’m not entirely sure if my sister’s letter was the inspiration for the city to take action, but we would like to think so!  Whatever the case, my son loves it.

Thanks IFB for such a great project idea!  It was nice to stop a moment and remember what wonderful places there are right around the corner.

Lucy In Disguise

I recently watched an episode of “Later, with Jools Holland” that I recorded on my DVR because Depeche Mode performed.  If you are unfamiliar with the show set up, the host, Jools Holland (formerly of Squeeze fame) has several artists on the show, all on a circular stage.  All performers and bands are completely set up and ready to play their songs after another finishes.  Depeche Mode performed three songs (two from “Songs of the Universe” and one from “Songs of Faith and Devotion”), but I had to wait for the other performers to play before it came round to their set.  I know I have a DVR and could have fast-forwarded through the other performers, but this is part of how I discover new artists, or artists I have not had the pleasure of getting to know.

Lily Allen was a part of the performers list.  I have not really heard anything by her, but have known about her for quite sometime due to the British tabloids and fashion spots.  I’ve always liked her quirky fashion sense, but now I’m really enjoying her music.  I recently received an email from Shopbop that they were going to feature her new clothing line called “Lucy in Disguise“, which is her collaboration with her sister Sarah Owen.   The line was borne out of their vintage shop in London of the same name (official site here), and has the same retro vibe found in Lily’s own style.

I love this line.   I love that there is a mix of sexy with demure, where the hemlines go from short to midi-length.  I know it’s supposed to be a modern take on retro, but I like that it’s more retro than modern.  They all have a lot of swing to them, which is what I adore about dresses made back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.  When I go to London next year, I’m going to definitely visit her shop.

(Top image courtesy of Vip_Files.net through Google.  All other images courtesy of Shopbop.) 

Note:  I know the top image is a bit odd, but I kind of like that industry, video-edit look.  It’s directly from Lily Allen’s “Later, with Jools Holland” appearance.

Boys & Girls

We had a business casual day in the middle of the week, so I donned a menswear look in honor of a post from Ambu’s blog called “Non-Conforming Androgyny“.  In it, she wore a very sharp fitted suit and tie.  The post is a wonderful piece on her interpretation of non-conformity through androgyny, and how it forges individuality and forces people to think outside of the box.

As an 80’s enthusiast, Annie Lennox, Boy George, David Bowie, Grace Jones and The Human League all immediately come to mind when I think of androgyny.  From women in power suits to men in make-up, I was incredibly influenced by the androgynous look and loved to mix up menswear in my everyday look as evidenced by the picture below (circa 1989).

Outfit – Old Navy shirt; Harrods tie; Anthropologie pants; Gunmetal shoes; Rebecca Minkoff purse; Michael Kors watch; Coach sunglasses

(That’s me, at the tender age of 19. Have I changed much?)

Middle of the Week Randomness

Full Time Fabulous Beach Themed Blog Event  – I started to work on the event for Sunglass Hut’s Full Time Fabulous blog, which would have featured my lovely little boy in all his sun-sea-and-sand glory for a beach theme.  But alas, I just didn’t have the time to devote to the post the way I would have liked to.  However, you don’t need to miss out on all the beach fun!  The bloggers who participate on a regular basis are always incredibly creative, so I’m including the links to this latest event.  Click on them below to check out Kristy’s post and all of the fantastic reads on the FTF blog.  Surfs up!

(PS:  Happy belated birthday Kristy!)

Full Time Fabulous Blog Event for July 13, 2011 and all the participants via Mister Linky

My First Guest Post –  I’m excited to present my first guest post!  Joanna of “Mrs. Bossa Does the Do” is a lovely UK fashion blogger, who has a knack for vintage dressing.  I had not done a guest post before, so when she Tweeted requests for guest posts while she settled into her new digs, I jumped at the chance!  Click on the picture above to check out my post called “How I Rock Vintage”, which is all about my love for the rock t-shirt.

My Husband Places 2nd in his Promoted Flight!  Check out this write-up from The Golf Channel AM Tour website.  Because of his improved golf handicap, my husband was recently promoted to the next flight up and placed 2nd in an amateur tournament played at The Golf Club at Fallbrook this past Sunday.  Another proud moment in the Chen household!

Chris Nayve blew away the competition in the Sarazen Flight, posting his best and only round under 80 in three years on Tour.  Nayve fired a 78 on Sunday good for a six stroke victory and his first on Tour since the 2009 season.   Deon Chen, recently promoted from the Jones Flight, proved his improvement was no fluke.  Chen fired a score that typically is in the winning range for the flight, but his 84 had him settle for a very good 2nd place finish in the first start in the flight.  Andrew Bloom and Kenneth Shelton Jr tied for 3rd place at 85.

Lastly, I would like to take time to commemorate my father’s birthday.  He would have been 71 today.  I love and miss you daddy!

Weekend in Pictures: Family Gatherings Part 2

First, I would like to say happy anniversary to my husband.  Today is our 4th year of married bliss.  In honor of our 4th year, I will share some pictures of our 4th of July celebration. 

There are two weekends during the year that we are guaranteed to be in Las Vegas: 4th of July and Thanksgiving.  Each year it becomes more and more fun as Dominic gets older, and this 4th of July was no exception.  We continued Aarika’s graduation celebration with a pool get together at the M Hotel last Sunday.  It’s a beautiful, newer hotel that is off the strip.  It was a nice, overcast day that started at 10:30am.  We spent the late morning and early afternoon in and out of the pool, lounging and eating.  Dominic was having so much fun that he didn’t want to leave, even though he was practically dragging his feet at 2:30pm and fell asleep immediately after being put in his car seat.

The following day was spent getting ready for our 4th of July celebration.  There was a rush of activity to get all the food ready to be grilled indoors (there was no way anyone was cooking outside in the heat).  After a late lunch/early dinner, it was cool enough to go outside to begin the noise making merriment.  We started off nice and easy with a couple of boxes of “Pop-Its”.  They are basically noise makers and do not have any spark or light to them.  Deon just had fun tossing them because Dominic would squeal in delight hearing the loud “SNAP!” as they hit the sidewalk outside. 

As the sun went down, it was time to break out the big guns.  First, we take out the sparklers to ring in the evening.  Then we all settle in and sit back as my husband begins the show.  These types of legal fireworks in Nevada are not the ones that shoot up into the air.  These are the kinds that can be ignited in an open area.  They have the same flare and noise as the bigger fireworks, just on a smaller scale.  As a precaution, we just have to stay several feet back and have a bucket of water available to douse and immerse the fireworks as needed.  After awhile, Dominic was starting to become overwhelmed with the bright lights & loud cracks, so we headed inside to get some much-needed rest before our long drive home to San Diego.

Weekend in Pictures: Family Gatherings Part 1

Because of the amount of pictures, I will be breaking down this “Weekend in Pictures” post into two parts.  Part one will be pictures of my sister-in-law, Aarika’s graduation celebration (luncheon and going out afterwards).  Part two will be more of the actual 4th of July weekend. 

Aarika’s graduation luncheon was held at the Brio restaurant, which is located a the beautiful Town Centre Mall on Las Vegas Boulevard.  I have eaten there before, so I knew to expect great food.  My favorites were the Pasta Davila and the lasagna (which reminded me of Rome).  Desserts were provided by Deon’s mom and consisted of red velvet cakes, tiramisu and lots of cupcakes!

Many of the guests we haven’t seen since our wedding, so it was very nice to catch up with friends and family who were all there to congratulate Aarika (the pictures here are mostly of our immediate family).   I didn’t realize that so many people there had not met Dominic yet, so our little boy was just a bit overwhelmed by all of the hugs and kisses he received.  The speeches of congratulations were heart warming and touching, and everyone had a great time. 

In continuation of the celebration later that night, Aarika’s friends were able to get us into The Beatles inspired Revolution Road lounge at The Mirage hotel.  I really like these lounge type clubs because there is room to sit and chat, or dance if you so desire.  The coolest thing about this lounge was the interactive light table.  We first received a demonstration by one of the “lounge attendants”, then we were left to play with the table for the rest of our stay.  I had become an expert after a few drinks, performing light table magic for anyone who sat next to me.

We then met up with our friends Nathan and Rosalie, first heading over to The Cosmopolitan.   I was feeling a bit tipsy and became overly excited when I saw a bar called “Vesper”, which reminded me of Kristy Elena’s cat (Full Time Fabulous).  My friends are not privy to all of my blogging activities, so they did not quite understand why I was so excited.

After walking through The Cosmopolitan, we realized that we should have been at the Planet Hollywood hotel to meet up with Deon’s friend Mike.  Once there, we were escorted into the Gallery Night Club.  Where we entered, we were met with a stage full of beautiful girls, clad in only lingerie singing “Dontcha”.  I turned and saw that we entered The Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Saloon.  I really did try to take pictures because the show was pretty cool.  But as you can see by the third shot, things became a bit blurry (for me and the camera).

We ended the night at Pink’s, which is an off-shoot of the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs stand in Hollywood.  My husband was in rare form that night.  My friend Rosalie stated that she was going to order a certain celebrity hotdog, to which my husband made a very funny, not-for-primetime joke that had the entire restaurant roaring with laughter.  I would share it, but I think it’s better left to the imagination.

Tomorrow’s post will be part 2 of our 4th of July weekend, which included lounging at the pool, more good food and fireworks!

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup

Thank you to Vahni of Grit & Glamour and IFB for the inclusion in this past week’s Links a la Mode.  It is always an honor to be on this list of fantastic bloggers.

Ask and you shall receive

Edited by Vahni of Grit & Glamour

This blogging thing…it’s been around a while now, and many are realizing what a rewarding endeavor it is, on a sartorial and psychological level. One thing I love about blogging is the opportunity to ask a question, ponder a theory—and have others share their thoughts and opinions as well. In this week’s roundup, several bloggers reflect on the positive influence blogging has had on their lives and self-esteem. (Superb! Yay for blogging!) Others ruminated on everything from whether style is really subjective, to whether fashion as an exhibit is a trend. Or not.

Stumped for post ideas? Want more engagement with your readers? Been contemplating the style-related proclivities of society? Ask, lovelies. Everyone has an opinion, and most are chomping at the bit to share. But the most wonderful aspect of this kind of engagement is not more comments. Those are nice, yes. It’s through discussion that personalities are revealed and relationships are forged. Your readers aren’t just a little avatar and some words. They are vibrant individuals—and your biggest fans!

Links à la Mode: July 7th

  • Alex Drake Vintage: 10 Things I Like About the 1980s
  • Angela Osborn: 6 Lessons Learned from Coco Chanel
  • Any Second Now: Heartfelt lessons and thanks in this first year of blogging.
  • Beautifully Invisible: We Are Women. We Are Beautiful. We Are Real.
  • Beyond Fabric: On personal style and individuality—because redundant is the lastthing you want to be.
  • Blah Blah Becky: Proof that it’s always worth trying a trend: cropped tops without muffin top.
  • Boheme Noir: Fashion Show Coverage: Roberto Cavalli S/S 12 Menswear
  • Bubbling with Elegance and Grace: Fashion Designer Exhibitions: Is this the new trend?
  • By Anika: Closet check: Do your clothes make you feel good about your self?
  • College-Style: #Trending in Milan: Using Twitter to keep up with girls’ and guys’ fashion #trends
  • Divergent Musings: Five ways that blogging has improved my life (it can improve yours too)!
  • Grit & Glamour: Worker V:2.0 (Ode to the Pencil Skirt)
  • Hippie Lace: You Cast Your Spell On Me: Spell & The Gypsy Collective
  • Idee Fixe: Kindness: A Tale of Kindness, Generosity, and a Vintage Coat
  • KP Fusion: In the business of blogging, is style really subjective?
  • My Orange Stilettos: Just because you’re short doesn’t mean you can’t wear a midi.
  • Oranges and Apples: On “going out” clothes and sexual attractiveness.
  • Seamstress Stories: Boundaries on body confidence and a culture of bonding through body bashing.
  • Style Sizzle: 10 fashion lessons learned from living in the desert.
  • The Stylish Butterfly: The advantages of being the worst dressed—it works for Helena Bonham Carter!

SPONSOR:

Day Dress Sale at Shopbop: Nanette Lepore, 3.1 Phillip Lim, DKNY, Lela Rose, Daftbird, Tibi, Red Valentino, Rebecca Taylor, Lucy in Disguise, Shoshanna, & DVF Wrap Dresses

PLEASE READ IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE
If you would like to submit your link for next week’s Links à la Mode, please register first, then post your links HERE. The HTML code for this week will be found in the Links a la Mode group will be published later today. ~Jennine

Wherever I Lay My Hat…

Ever since John Taylor of Duran Duran sported one, I have always wanted to wear a fedora.  I have tried and tried to find one that fit.  No matter what size, shape, color or fabric, nothing looked good.  When we went to the San Diego County Fair last week, we sumbled upon a hat “booth”.  I tried on about 10 hats when I finally found the one I wanted.  I think it just may be a summer wardrobe staple!

Outfit – Forever 21 jacket, shirt & tank; Old Navy jeans; Aldo shoes; Vintage purse (reworked by De La Luna Designs, originally seen here); Hat from unknown vendor at the San Diego County fair; Juicy Couture ring & sunnies; Wendy Brandes ring; Michael Kors watch; Vintage cameo brooch

Sheer & Shorts

It’s unmistakably summer here in San Diego. I wore this running around with my son, going first to the mall then to a birthday party at the park.  It was perfect because it was light, cool and I didn’t have to fuss with it at all.  Dominic and I also jumped around in one of those “bounce houses”.  The elastic at the bottom of the shirt definitely kept my shirt from going places it shouldn’t!

Outfit – Forever 21 shirt; Wet Seal tank; Mossimo for Target shorts; Coconuts sandals; Rebecca Minkoff purse; Michael Kors watch; Tiffany & Co necklace; Juicy Couture & Wendy Brandes rings; Coach Sunnies

Weekend in Pictures: Deep Fried Paradise (aka The San Diego County Fair)

Happy 4th of July!  We are currently in Las Vegas, about to celebrate.  But since I won’t have actual pictures of the celebration until later, I thought I’d post what we did the last weekend.  Every year we try to make it out to The San Diego County Fair, which will forever be affectionately known to our family as The Del Mar Fair.  I’ve been going since I was a little girl with my sister, mom and dad.  Now that my sister and I have our own family, we’re continuing the tradition with our own families.

Each year, the food gets more and more outlandish.  I’m not sure what they’re going to deep fry next, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be eating it.  I think most of the pictures will speak for themselves.  Hope you have a great 4th!