friday

TGIF, my friends, tgif... this weekend i will ideally finish my wedding gown, make a ring-bearer pillow, hem a bridesmaid dress, and practice guitar. here are some enchanting photos of karen elson from vogue nippon to start things off right...

currently listening to bonnie prince billy...

1, 2, 3

reasons to wear a motorcycle jacket...they will always exude cool.
top image from sartorialist, middle from jak and jil, bottom from flickr...

etsy

i've never really delved into the throes of etsy vintage shops until recently. though i have an empty shop account (re-listing items that dont sell bums me out), i went to ebay for vintage. ironically, i always shopped in the 'buy now' section. no longer!

items that chided my ebay loyalty:
long wool cape poncho from dirtiebirdiesvintagevintage leather ankle boots from purevintageclothingstriped batwing blouse form philistinevintagepink evening bag with gold chain from erstwhilevintagestrapless black and white frilly dress from misskittypurrpurrvintage ferragamo sude and leather heels with gold nail head decoration from littleoceanannie

the spinecrackers

the phililettes, the philipines top all girl band in the 60s...

the loves of my life, pending husband aside, are my girl friends in my book club, the spinecrackers. we are all creatives who get together to share a word or two about the current book we've read, but mostly to spew all sorts of ideas onto one another. our last book club meeting we shared art projects, i performed a song (apple blossom by the white stripes), high school journals were read, there were costumes donned and photos taken to document.

with my musically inclined friend and fellow spinecracker tate at the helm, we've decided to start a girl group. our inspiration will be 60s girl groups and daniel johnston, our objective, simplicity and fun. aside from the wedding, its one of the projects i'm most excited about...

the line-up: ashley, tianna, tate, megan, myself.

currently listening to the trogg's a girl like you...

alison mosshart

while on my afternoon stroll along the tourist-riddled embarcadero, i caught a glimpse of the most fantastic black-suede-with-gold-stud jacket i've ever seen. it was walking towards fisherman's wharf. as i increased my speed to examine it closer, i realized who it belonged to: alison mosshart! being an avid kills and dead weather fan, i was delighted at the chance to talk (mostly about fashion) with such a polite, beautiful, mysterious and insanely talented woman. i'm happy to say i maintained my cool long enough to stroll with her about 10 minutes. her friend designed the suede jacket, and i've already forgotten the name of it dammit... anyway, she shook my hand! gush gush gush yada yada yada...tomorrow is the dead weather show at the fillmore, i'll be lining up with the rest of the teenagers at 6pm. weeee!!!!

biding my time

mondays i'm always fried, being that sewing, visiting, eating and sleeping don't fit into a two day window, though lord knows i try. this past attempt had me cramming a styling job (officially my first), a birthday, sewing, and a hike, into one stormy weekend. no rest in sight, lo and behold, as this week i have a few shows, a few more birthdays, a spinal adjustment and a meeting with the spine crackers (my bookclub). i'll sleep when i'm dead. i'll post more in the afterlife.

*photo by paul at morrow rock
listening to the song 'spirit in the sky' by norman greenbaum (on repeat) and kelley stoltz

english gems

bitty gems from my two favorite clothing sites, topshop and all saints, and one from delia's for good measure (the dominant label in my teen wardrobe)... all saints is the most affordable substitute for vivienne westwood for a modestly-financed kid like me. their draping and tailoring in not-so-conventional fabrics and prints are perfect for my feminine tomboy preferences. topshop will always seem cooler than H&M because san francisco doesn't have one. and shopping on delias.com is like rifling through the sale rack, finding something you wouldn't normally wear but its so damn cheap you do buy it anyway.

dress and suede shoes from all saints, purse from topshop, t-shirt from delia'scurrently listening to sallie ford & the sound outside.

hello again

my name is bridezilla and i eat, drink, breathe anything wedding. not really, that's just how i feel lately. this monster that is my looming nuptials has created a thick fog where i can't really focus on anything but making chiffon flowers for my dress and worrying whether 2 cones or 3 cones of rolled sheet music decorations are needed per pew in the chapel. i feel pretty isolated. at least i got all the invitations out on schedule. i'm quite pleased with how they turned out:aside from all that, which will be over soon anyway, i thought i'd share my longings and desires for spring, in clothing form. i am going to banff, canada for my honeymoon, and i'm crossing my fingers that i get to wear warm, dainty clothes. my plan is to lounge around scenic areas like lake louise. no activities just yet, i'll probably be a hot mess of raw nerves and hangover. in conjunction with the clothes, i'm using cecily brown paintings as backdrops. i hope this doesn't come off as disrespectful, i love her paintings, i want to crawl inside the buzzing swirling floating petals of color. so mixing the clothes and art together is like a milkshake of visuals...

the girl who had everything; jacket by vivienne westwood red label, silk shorts by D&Gdemaris satin & lace bra, albertus swanepoel fedora;
heart necklace by mawi, kova & T striped dress, vionnet satin sandals

yellow umbrella from topshop, swimsuit by rosa chàhigh society; grevy's wedges from anthropologie, manoline watlin cape dresscurrently listening to black mountain...

i am ALIVE!

i finally understand the burst of joie de vivre people get from alcohol. liquid courage! that cliff right there? jump it you say? hold please, after i take a swig of courage juice, yes it has now become a ditch. after a few glasses of wine, i got an adventurous spark in my bones, and i decided, no, my hands decided as they took on a life of their own, to make this fur COLLAR!! laugh now, but you'll see you cant escape its force. i don't know why i haven't thought of it before, but this little beaut is magic! take an ordinary coat, any coat really, tack this thing on, and it breathes a whole new spirit into the thing.

trenches look beguiling, sweaters more admirable,denim more approachable.

so easy to make, and i have five giant safety pins holding it in place. this collar goes with everything!! not to mention LEATHER. i let my hair down for this one. this was a minor project, craft more than sewing really, a rebellious break from that all-consuming prima donna, THE GOWN. 'til next time, Kemosabe...
p.s. meet my new best friend, Nars' Schiap.

spring

i went down to paso robles this weekend, and decided to post my findings. spring is alive and well, eat your heart out punxsutawney phil...

louie, my favorite animal.

deers were cuddling...dears were cuddling...
and then BAM!! some creep photos i took at night...i swear i've got some sewing projects on my horizon, soon to photograph and post inspiration. in the meantime, another creative endeavor: practicing guitar...

furry friends friday

this weekend i'm venturing into a more rural part of california to enjoy nature, rile up a border collie named louie, practice guitar, sketch some new sewing projects, go bowling, and any other cool envious thing you can think of ;)

have a wonderful weekend!!

photograph by the whimsical jessica tremp; currently can't get enough of queens of the stone age's self titled album

VD, girls, and flappers

the long weekend was generous, with a helping of family and friends on top of my valentines day treat: seeing Girls perform at the great american. they were wonderful. paul describes them as love music, and i definitely feel like i'm in a kaleidoscope when listening to their echoing happy beats. the great american was the perfect venue too, as it's old timey and romantic, and small enough to create that intimate vibe between audience and artist. just SO good.

unfortunately i took zero pictures, so i'm going to throw something at ya to distract ya: my val threw a 1920s themed birthday party, where i danced a fiendish FOUR HOURS! she played miley cyrus' party in the usa... everyone looked dazzling, i wish i could dress like this everyday.

the birthday girl and i. her dress was amazing, covered in silver sequins, and her HAIR had this beaded feathery thing, she was ravishing. you wont get the full effect, as i nabbed these off facebook... damn.get a LOAD of megan's satin trousers. she was summoning the spirit of madonna's en vogue look. she was smokin, and was my die hard dance partner.group shot after a round of group shotsi'm obviously only friends with very attractive people. side note to all you nail polish lovers: that greeny teal color i got at forever 21 for $2.80!!!! do yourself a favor and go there, its a cheap pick-me-up. like your mom. i kid, i kid.
photos by val & dave :)