Holiday Party

Happy Friday! It's the Friday before Christmas... and it's dooms day. Oh boy, the Mayans are coming! Not really, I think it's safe to say we are in the clear but if not here is my final post, cherish it! 

During the holidays we all have work functions that we have to attend sometimes they are fun and sometimes they are a bit awkward. This year our office planed to have the Holiday Party at BOA Steakhouse. It's a swanky restaurant in West Hollywood. Brian was my date of course and we had a great time eating all of the delicious food and taking in the oh so cool ambiance. We were all dressed up for somewhere super chic to be! The table we were sitting at got to share some funny moments. When the "bread guy" came around to pass out one biscuit per person at the beginning of dinner Brian and I were the only ones who didn't receive any. I thought he probably just ran out and he will bring some more right out asap. Well... some time had gone by and still no bread for the two of us. Brian tracked down the "wine guy" and told him that we never received any bread. The wine guy was like "Oh well, I don't handle the bread I serve the wine but let me try and track someone down for you." Now I know I'm not the most fancy gal in the world but I have been a server at many restaurants and I never once told a customer "Well that's really not in my job description, I don't handle that product but I will find someone who does." Once the bread guy had finally came back with more bread he went around to the table where everyone had already received biscuits and is now handing them their second helping. When he got to our table everyone at our table was trying to explain to the guy that Brian and I never received any bread. The "bread guy" was like "Oh, do you want seconds?" Everyone spoke for us and told him "No they never received any." He just placed the bread on our plates and acted like no big deal. So from than on we all refereed to the servers by the item they were associated with. There was the bread guy, wine guy, menu guy, water guy, coffee guy, appetizer guy, entree guy, dessert guy. Which is kind of strange... I never worked at a restaurant where each worker handled one particular item. I didn't even know that existed. Even though the servers were a bit rude and snobbish we still had a really good time. The food was outstanding and it gave us all an excuse to dress up and enjoy a night out on the town outside of the office. Below are some pictures of the esthetics at BOA and pics of the outfit I wore. 

The interior at BOA Steakhouse. They also have a nice outdoor dinning patio as well.

Dress: Anthropologie, Shoes: Wild Pair

Necklace: F21

Clutch: Urban Outfitters (gift), Flower Ring: Aldo, Ring on the Right: Charlotte Russe, Bracelet: Homemade

Another shot of my dress.

The view of the back of my dress. Coat: Ebay 

Brian and I at dinner. ♥

Hope you enjoyed my post. More to come very soon, Happy Holidays.

Western Gal

Hi All, Happy Friday! TGIF baby woohoo! Tonight I decided to stay in and work on some homemade Christmas presents. Right now I am waiting on some modge podge to dry. I am making a pretty sweet Christmas present for one of my brothers. I can't really disclose what it is I am working on because it's a surprise! If it turns out pretty snazzy I might just post the finished product. Anywho, today's post is about an outfit I wore this week that is a bit country it makes me think that I would fit right in on a dude ranch. Check out the pics below and let me know what you think.

Sweater: ebay, Necklace: Brandy Melville, Top: Target, Jeans: Target, Ring: Unique LA event, Boots: GoJane.com

Anniversary

Happy Monday. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend I know I sure did. Brian and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Sunday. We had dinner at Wokcano the restaurant where we had our first date. We both enjoyed some delicious asian cuisine and shared a delicious chocolate and pistachio sponge cake. We had fun reminiscing about our first date and the silly things that we both did on date numero uno. Not to get to sappy but I can't imagine my life without Brian and I am so grateful to have  him in my life. He is an amazing friend, trustworthy and honest and can always make me laugh. He is such a considerate, attentive and caring boyfriend I really couldn't ask for much more. Aw, I just had me a moment! Anywho, below are some pics of our anniversary date. Enjoy ☺

Flower Ring: Aldo, Clutch: F21

Jacket: Urban Outfitters, Dress: Nordstorm Rack, Mary Janes: Steve Madden

Last but not least, Brian and I on our anniversary ❤

Hello Stranger

Hi Everyone, happy thirsty Thursday. Hope you guys are indulging in some yummy cold weather favorites like hot chocolate or apple cider. They both sound good to me. ☺Today's post is titled  Hello Stranger because for one it has been over a week since I have written a new post... hope no one forgot about me. Second because all of the pictures I posted in this blog do not show my face in any of them. The reason for that is because I don't  do my hair or make up during the week and well I sometimes look like a hot mess and no one wants to see that. The one thing that I don't skip out on is picking my outfit out the night before. I don't dress like a bum at work so I figured I could still enjoy posting some outfits during the week just as long as my baggy eyes and frizzy hair isn't in the mix. Below are some pics of the outfit I wore to work today. Hope you enjoy my pics. 

Chambray shirt: Zara. Tank top: Urban Outfitters, Skirt: Nordstrorm Rack, Flats: LuLus, Necklace: Charlotte Russe, Yellow Bracelet: H&M, Multi- Color bracelet: American Eagle, Turquoise Bracelet + Green & Pink Bracelet: Homemade

Road Trip

Hello! Happy hump day folks. ☺Today I had a pretty relaxing day. I took the day off work so I could prepare for our trip to San Diego to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I spent the day packing and listening to girly songs on the radio as I was getting ready. I was able to tolerate most of the songs but once Taylor Swift came on I had to quickly change the station. Sorry folks I'm not into Miss Taylor Swift. I wont be caught blasting her in my Ford Focus ( her name is Jenna bead) anytime soon. Anywho, I went to Jackson's Market in Culver City to pick up a couple of sandwiches and some sweets to share with my boyfriend for lunch. Jackson's Market has great sandwiches with high quality ingredients if you live near LA or are ever in the area you have to try this place you wont regret it. I also ran some last minute errands for Thanksgiving and snuggled with Brian for a good portion of the day. Today was very chill and enjoyable. In just two hours we will be heading to San Diego and hoping for a pleasant and traffic free ride. Wish us luck we will need it. Below are some pictures of what I wore today. Hope you like my errand running outfit it is so comfy. 

Geisha girl necklace: F21, Bracelets: homemade, Rings: on left - LuLus, on right - was a gift

Sweater: H&M, Skirt: Nordstorm Rack, Boots: Go Jane.com, Purse: Unique LA Event

I hope everyone was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day and remember that we all have something to be thankful for. 

 

Be thankful that you are not a turkey.

Laid back Sunday

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This weekend was a lot of fun. I kicked back with the boyfriend on Friday, we stayed in and had a movie night... I fell asleep an hour into the movie but that's just kind of my thing. Saturday we spent the day at the LACMA and went to the Biergarten (an Asian/German fusion bar) in Korea Town to watch the UFC fights. My boyfriend is a big UFC fan. I like it but tend to get squeamish when I watch the fights because it's so violent and real. Makes me want to hug my stuff animal pug name Pooches. Yes I still sleep with a stuff animal... deal with it. ☺Anywho, on Sunday we went to see Skyfall the new James Bond movie at the Archlight. It was so good! It was 2 hours and twenty minutes long and I didn't fall asleep once. Now that's a good movie. I tend to fall asleep when movies hit the two hour mark it doesn't matter if it's an action movie/thriller or playing in IMAX or 3D this girl will most likely be falling asleep. After watching such an awesome movie we went to grab a bite to eat at the Cheese Cake Factory. I had cheesecake for the first time in over a year. White chocolate and rasberry cheescake, so delicious. Below are some picures of my laid back Sunday outfit. Enjoy. 

Close up of outfit. Rings: Flower ring - Aldo, Gold ring - LuLus

Jacket: Urban Outfitters, Scarf: Urban Outfitters, Necklace: Brandy Melville, Top: H&M, Purse: Alloy, Jeans: Urban Outfitters - Levi's, Shoes: LuLus

These our my new shoes from LuLus. If you look closely one shoe has larger spots and the other one has large and small spots. These shoes give me the giggles. It's great when your purchase is affordable, stylish, comfy and makes you laugh.

Weekend Fun

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a funtastic weekend, I know I sure did. Saturday Brian and I went to the LACMA to check out some of the newer exhibits and some of our old favorites. We walked around the museum for several hours which was a perfect day to be indoors since it was raining in Los Angeles. It hardly ever rains out here. I don't mind it when it does it kind of reminds me of good old Illinois. Below are some pics of some of the art displayed at the LACMA and also some pics of Brian and I enjoying our day together.

Asian Art section mainly of Japanese and Chinese pieces.

I like to run around in this thing and play.

I'm so tiny!

Brian attempting to smile take 1, 2, 3 ... he will get it one day.

A close up of my outfit.

Scarf: Made by a Q (Etsy), Necklace: Anchor Pendent - F21, Chain - homemade, Dress: Guess Outlet, Jacket: Urban Outfitters, Purse: Alloy, Tights: Urban Outfitters, Ring: LuLus, Boots: Go Jane.com

DIY Wood Transfers

With the holiday's coming up I figured that I would share with all of you one of my favorite DIY projects which is transferring images onto wood. I think they make great gifts and I am planning on giving more transfers out as presents this Christmas. I like giving homemade gifts because it's more personnel and it means more when you take the time and effort to create something yourself rather than buying someone a reindeer sweater... Unless you knitted that sweater yourself now that's impressive. I have added some instructions below just in case anyone wants to give this a try. 

Material:

• Wood (Michael's has a decent selection of wood used for crafting).
• Gel Medium (I use liquedex heavy gel medium).
• Sponge Brush
• Modge Podge
• Clear coat sealer
• spray bottle with water
• laser jet printer
• Photoshop - if your image contains words.
• Newspapers
• Arcylic paint and paint brush - if wanting to paint the outer edges of the wood.
• sandpaper - if wanting to give your design an aged look

Instructions:

First find an image that you would like to transfer onto wood. If your image contains letters make sure to alter the image in Photoshop so that when the image prints out the letters appear backwards. This is important because when you lay the image on top of the wood if you do not flip the lettering it will not appear the way that it should. When using Photoshop if you select Image, Rotate, flip horizontal the lettering will appear backwards. Save the image and print it using a laser jet printer. Study the size and shape of the printed image and select the type of wood you would like to use. Make sure that the wood you select is large enough for the image. Lay some newspapers out on a table and then grab the gel medium and brush it all over the laser jet image using a sponge brush. I like to apply three coats all over the image before placing the image onto wood. When you place the image onto wood be sure to hover it above the wood first and study exactly where you would like the image to lay. Once your ready gently place the image onto the wood and begin smoothing it out with your hands for several minutes. 

Now it's time to wait. Let the image dry overnight and the next morning grab your spray bottle and focus on one area of the image at a time. After you spray down the area begin rubbing off the paper with your fingers. Repeat these steps until the image has been transferred onto the wood in its entirety. Once the image is completely transferred grab your sponge brush and begin layering on the Modge Podge onto the wood transfer. Let it dry, once the Modge Podge is dry spray down the image with a clear coat sealer.

A little extra...

If you would like your design to have a little extra pop you can paint the outer edges of the wood to give it a boarder. I like to sometimes sand down the image or sand down the edges to make the image appear vintage. If you would want to include these steps my advice is to paint the edges of the wood before applying the laser jet image. If you would like the image to appear vintage sand down the image or edges of the wood before applying Modge Podge and the clear coat sealer. 

Here are a few examples of some of the transfers I have recently made.

Movie Night

Hi All! Happy thirsty Thursday... I feel like I'm always creating new posts on a Thursday. Anywho, today's post is all about an outfit I recently wore on movie night/date night with my babe. It is finally starting to feel like fall in SO CAL and this former mid western girl is loving it. One thing that I love is wearing tights with shorts and pairing them off with some booties. It's kind of my thing... it's what I do.☺I love that where I live it's chilly enough to start wearing tights but it's not freezing so I am still able to wear cute little jackets with my outfits instead of big heavy winter coats. Below are some pics of my outfit. Please enjoy. 

Brown Leather Jacket: Gift, Yellow Cardigan: New York & Company, Floral Scarf: Aldo, Chain Necklace: Express, Shorts: H&M, Tights: Target, Booties: Gift

Here is a close up of the accessories. It's a bit blurry but it works. 

That's all folks! Hope you liked my movie night outfit. Stay tuned for more fall fashion fun.

Bye for now.

An Eventful Halloween

Hi everyone, how is everybody's Thirsty Thursday going? Mine is just dandy I am drinking chamomile tea all day since I have a bit of a cold.  I hope you all had a spook-tacular Halloween, I know I sure did. It was pretty eventful to say the least. I wore my Hawk Girl costume to work yesterday and I won our Halloween costume contest! It was actually a tie for first place so The Incredible Hulk and I were the winners. DC comics and Marvel comics had to come together so we can both enjoy the glorious title of best costume! Below is a picture of everyone who dressed up for Halloween at work. 

Pretty sweet, huh?

I also had my first ever experience at the West Hollywood parade/carnival. If you are not familiar with what the West Hollywood parade is it's when Santa Monica boulevard is closed down all day and night for Halloween. Thousands of people come out to the event to show off their costumes and some go just to see all the different costumes but don't actually dress up... which is a pet peeve of mine. It's Halloween people at least put some bunny ears on your head! It's the only time of the year when you get to dress up like your coo coo for coco puffs and no one is going to lock you up for the night.  Anywho the carnival was insane! I am glad I went but I will never wear wings ever again! At least if I am attending the WEHO parade I will be free of wings. Wings = Mae is a running back who keeps trying to cut down the middle but the defense makes me do the running man as they push me towards the ground... Sorry about that I had a moment there. Below are some pictures I took from the carnival... they aren't great quality because there were literally thousands of people in attendance and it was hard to capture a decent image with so many people around. All and all it was a fun experience.

 

My favorite costumes of the night.

Second favorite of the night.

So folks that was my Halloween in a nut shell. I had so much fun putting together my costumes and showing them off at parties and events but to be honest I am looking forward to the relaxation and togetherness that our next holiday will bring. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday I like to gobble gobble and by gobble gobble I mean gobble up some food! Have a wonderful day folks! ☺

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Why hello there! So we meet again? That's right people two posts in one day. I'm making some moves! This post is still following the spirit of Halloween but in a really SUPER big way... because it's all about super heroes! Over the weekend I joined my boyfriend and some friends in dressing up like comic book characters from The Justice League. We walked around the streets of Hollywood making sure the streets were safe and crime free... not really but I can play pretend. We did however walk around Hollywood and visited several different bars in our super hero best. At some points I wished that the wings on my costume were real so I could fly away from all the drunkies looking a hot mess and acting like even bigger fools. Oh well it was Halloween and I guess I was a bitter Betty since I was completely sober. Yay sober living! Anywho, I hope you all enjoy the colleague I made of us looking like super studs. 

Bottom left: My babe as Clark Kent/Superman. Bottom middle: That's me! A close up of my Hawk Girl Mask. Bottom right: Zatana and Wonder Woman.

My Hulk Girl costume. That mask took me forever to make. At first I looked like a furby but it all came together in the end.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone! Today's post is focused on a Halloween party I went to this past weekend. I was Red Riding hood once again but with a few changes. Below are some pictures of my costume. Enjoy :) 

I decided to bruise myself up a bit more and to use make-up to create my cuts instead of a fake prosthetic. 

Here are some more pictures from the party. Check out all the creative costumes down below.

Large image top left: Cher Horowitz from Clueless, Red Riding Hood with a vendetta, A highlighter (couple costume). Image on the bottom left: Annie Hall and Woody Allen. Image bottom right: Road Warrior and Joffrey from Game of Thrones.

There you have it! A few of the creative costumes of the night. Hope you enjoyed this post and maybe it inspired you to create some nifty costumes of your own? I hope so. ☺

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I ♥ Jewelry

This post is all about how much I love jewelry! I am not really a girl who loves diamonds or extremely expensive pieces I am more so a girl who loves to accessorize and one of my favorite ways of playing with different looks is by adding jewelry. I feel like you can take a plain t-shirt and revamp it just by adding a statement necklace or a chunky bracelet or some bold earrings. Below are a few pieces I own that I just adore. Please enjoy. ☺

From the large image on the left: bangle bracelet's - LuLu's, Middle image top row: geisha girl necklace - F21, Middle image bottom row: pebble ring - Unique LA Event, Far right image on top row: silver and black chain necklace - Tilly's, silver bangles - F21, flower ring - Tilly's, silver chain bracelet - Gift, Far right image on the bottom row: black and white flower ring - Aldo

These are just a few of my favorite pieces. Since I love jewelry as much as a girl loves chocolate I am sure I will be posting more jewelry posts in the near future. Until next time have a FUNtastic day!

Jewerly DIY

Hello, happy Friday! The weekend is finally here. I will be spending me weekend dressing up for all the halloween parties I will be attending this weekend. Pretty exciting! Today's blog is about a new hobby of mine that I would like to become more of a mini business venture I would like to attempt in the very near future. I have been getting really into making my own jewelry and I have a pretty fun time creating new pieces. So here are several examples of some pieces I have made. Please let me know what you think.

As you can see I really like making bracelets. I will try and focus more on necklaces and rings so that I have more variety.

Please let me know what you think of these pieces. Any type of feed back is welcomed... as long as it's constructive. :)

My Sisters Wedding

My big sister just recently got married last summer but I still have yet to mention it on my blog. I have posted about her bachelorette party and the Made of Honor goodie bags I made for the bridal party before the wedding but I still have not raved about how beautiful and special her fairy tale wedding was. So here are a couple collages from my sisters amazing day.

My sister's magical day took place at the Disneyland Hotel. It truly was a day fit for a princess.

Check out the sweet pics of my brother and his crazy dance moves. Electric!

A wAcKy goodtime!

Happy Thirsty Thursday Everyone! What's your beverage of choice this afternoon? Mine is HINT Watermelon flavored water. Go me! Any who, today's topic is all about a quirky little store that I like to visit every now and than in LA called WACKO. The name is a perfect description of the store it is very silly and unique and a little out there. I love it! Some of my favorite items they sell would be their pop memorable and a lot of their books on artist of the Pop Surrealist movement. My favorite part of this goofy great store is the art gallery they have in the back of the store. They will usually have art hanging in the gallery of local artists which I think is such a great way for artists trying to make a name for themselves to be able to get their work out there. Below you will find some great pieces that were once displayed in the gallery at Wacko at one point or another. Enjoy :)

Top left: This is a picture of the outside of the store. So bright and purty. I'm sure you can guess who the Disney stars are.

       

Cakeland by Scott Hove (Hove is from Oakland, CA)

More of Cakeland.

Scury wittle purties. Don't smother the panda no!

Hope if you are in the LA area you take a trip to visit this crazy fantastic store. Sorry that I didn't provide the other artists names but I could only remember Scott Hove... my bad. :/ Have a FUNtastic day!

The Spirit of Halloween take 1

Hello! Happy Monday! It has been so long since my last post. I have been a busy lady lately. Today's post is all about Halloween! This past weekend I went to a Halloween party and dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood but with a twist...

 My version of Little Red Riding Hood. I am carrying around the wolf's head in my adorable basket to prove that I decapitated the Big Bad Wolf. I have my knife just in case any other wolves are lurking around the corner.

The Big Bad Wolf took a slice out of my face! Ouch!

Close up of the wolf's head. The head is actually a mask and I stuffed the inside with Styrofoam, notebook paper and tissue paper. I glued felt around any open areas and I hot glued the bottom of the mask to felt. I also sewed the bottom of the mask as well for extra protection. I poured fake blood all over the wolf head for a little extra gore. My sweet knife has fake blood with a clear sheath over it.

The boyfriend and I in our Halloween best. Brian is The Comedian from the Watchmen.

MORE HALLOWEEN FUN TO COME! STAY TUNED!

BIRTHDAY WISH LIST

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a FUNtastic weekend and are alert and ready for the work week. I for one am still a bit sleepy and needing to recover from the insane heat that we had over the weekend.

 This little dude knows how I feel.

On a completely new topic I wanted to share with all of you my top five items on my birthday list. Woot, Woot! Although my birthday isn't until September 23rd but if you read one of my earlier posts called Money Saving Challenge you might remember that I am not allowed to shop for myself until November. I figured why not pick out some gifts that my family might want to buy me since I am not allowed to spend a dime on myself.


Item #1

Monsters of the Midway T-shirt

http://www.ladyfanatics.com/NFL_Chicago_Bears_Ladies/Chicago_Bears_Ladies_Premium_Hi-Lo_Hem_Game_Day_Tri-Blend_T-Shirt_-_Ash

 I absolutely adore this shirt. I am a huge Chicago Bears fan and this shirt is both adorable and totally bad ass! I would love to rock out in this t-shirt every Sunday. I love the vintage feel and it looks super soft & cozy.

Item # 2

Vintage Zip-up hoodie

http://www.ladyfanatics.com/NFL_Chicago_Bears_Ladies/Mitchell_And_Ness_Chicago_Bears_Ladies_Navy_Blue_Arch_Rivals_Full_Zip_Hoodie_Sweatshirt

I love, love this hoodie! It looks warm & comfy. I love the blue and white stripes on the sleeves, I also love the Vintage lettering. I am a big fan of zip up hoodies I find them to be perfect for SO CAL weather. 

Item #3

Steve Madden handbag

http://www.stevemadden.com/Item.aspx?id=63160&np=424_556

 

This bag is perfect for me. It's large enough for me to use for work and the color will go great for the fall... Even though our fall isn't until November and it's still more like upper 70's and 80's as far as the weather is concern but still it's great for fall! It's simple but chic. It has some cute little extras but for the most part it is practical which is what I go for during the work week. 

Item #4

Brother Sewing Machine

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-2600I-Free-Sewing-Machine/4764723

 This sewing machine is great for beginners. It allows you to do all of the normal sewing projects such as making pillows, pillow cases, curtains and much more. It has also been given pretty decent reviews and is very affordable. 

Item #5 

Cowboy Booties - LuLus

 http://www.lulus.com/products/soda-west-light-brown-harness-mid-calf-cowgirl-boots/53111.html

I stinking love these! Oh man, I wish I found these before I bought my cowboy boots last year. These are way cuter than mine. I would wear these with so many different outfits. I would probably even wear them in my sleep.

So there ya go! That's my top 5 items on birthday list. Even if I receive just one of the items off my list I would be pretty ecstatic. Have a wonderful day everyone! Until next time.