[arms of undertow]

I've never been crazy about prints, cos frankly I don't feel I can pull them off.  But i'm becoming a bit more daring and lately i've been crazy about Ikat .  Here are a few lovely examples of this type of print, which seems insanely labor intensive..but the results are gorgeous: Dresses...I've never been much of a dress-wearer...but I live in Southern CA now and when it gets hot...it really gets HOT.  If i'm going to rock a frock, it will probably be something along these lines =) The colors and the cuts are right up my alley <3 Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, $334 @ Revolve Clothing Nanette Lepore, $126 @ Revolve Clothing I love the home accents...and will probably try a few out in my own lil corner of California.  With prints, I think the basic rule of thumb rings true and you should definitely keep it minimal.  No better way to accents the neutral tones of my home than with either a pop of turquoise in the pillow above or with han...

It's tax season, and as a 1st time freelancer (and newbie Californian), i'm dreading filing.  For those of you out there in the same boat as me, check out the Freelancer's Union.  Even though i've been living a "tax free" lifestyle for the past several months....it's time to figure out how much I may or may not owe Uncle Sam (who is this guy and why does he want my $?!) I kid. Luckily, there are a lot of business expenses that I can deduct...my mileage, misc supplies, etc.  It's good i've been diligent about holding onto all my random receipts...and I mean ALL OF THEM. Better believe i'm submitting my $3 Target dollar section splurge on paperclips and  pens -.- If I had health insurance, I could've deducted that as well....(note to self: get health insurance...lol....it can potentially pay for itself...oh and save your life, or something... =) Lots of helpful tips at their site as well as discounts on healthcare, tax services, etc.....

I've been pretty engrossed in a crocheting project the last week or so.  With my freelancer status, I've had a whole lotta time to watch documentaries...thank you netflix.  Having decided to be as green as I can be with my little to no knowledge of how to grow my own food or make my own clothes....etc...I've been trying to do my research and teach myself. My first attempt came in the form of an herb garden on my balcony.  For about a month my little garden was thriving, but alas it has succumb to my black thumb.  Bummer.  I'm going to try again, but this time i've enlisted the help of a friend from back east who knows her stuff.  More on that some other time. My second attempt at being a bit more eco-friendly comes in the form of reducing my dependency on plastic.  I've been refilling gallon size plastic jugs with water from the local $0.25/gallon water dispensers, but that's not enough.  I'm still using plastic and the side effects are all th...

My Valentine's Day post suggested making cupcakes for the sweet significant other in your life.  I thought long and hard about what kind of cupcakes i'd make.  While skipping joyfully through the aisles of the local Filipino food mart in Riverside, CA....and naturally, plucking from the shelves all the ube (purple yam) infused foods I could find, it hit me.  Ube cupcakes.  Duh. They're sweet and they're purple. Can't go wrong for Valentine's <3 I found this recipe online @ kirbiecravings.com : Ingredients 1 cup grated ube yam (can be found frozen in Asian markets) 2/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 12 Tablespoons butter (1.5 sticks), softened 2 1/4 cups sugar 4 large eggs 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil 3 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Thaw and drain ube yam. Place ube on a small sheet of foil, place foil in...

Saw these earlier today and am in love....espadrille elements on a wedge.....yummy.  I don't really wear anything other than flip flops, but am going to have to start....living in CA, I think I might become a sandal junkie. $73 from Revolve.com Also very giddy about warmer weather (which I know my NJ friends would kill me for saying considering i'm in SoCal and it doesn't get much colder than a brisk 50 degrees, lol).  I just scoped out this dress and I love EVERYTHING about it.  The 1 shoulder cut, the emerald color and the scallop detail hemline...Gorgeous and wallet friendly. $50 @ Ruche This one caught my attention as well. Too cute.  Love the delicate pink bodice, the white lacey/crochet shoulders and the dramatic black faux lace print.  $48 @ Ruche I just stumbled upon this store and think I need to explore it further ;p  So much for my evening! Cheers!

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching...and me being the epitome of procrastinators...I started perusing   the web in hopes of plundering some mighty fine VDay gifts for my beloved.  Arguably, Valentine's is a commercial nightmare preying on people to spend lots and lots of $ on gifts to "prove" their love...but no one said a sincere sentiment came with a pricetag.  I'm subscribing to this concept this year because a) a genuine and heartfelt notion lasts a whole lot longer than $60 long stem roses....and b) I'm pretty broke, lol I digress...here is a range of Valentine's gifts spanning the price spectrum: Vosges Haut Chocolat....For the chocolate lover in your life!  Lots to choose from...Fell in love with Vosges while on a business trip to Chicago - there's a pop up store in O'Hare =) You can find intoxicating gifts from anywhere between $10 and $100...This is definitely one of my guilty pleasures! vosgeschocolate.com Cupcakes...

If you're like me, then bargain shopping is like a mild aphrodisiac.  I like to shop, period.  I've been told this is somewhat of a problem (it's only a problem if i'm broke, if you ask me.)  Finding bargains, however, is the icing on any shopping addicts cake.  Being a freelancer (read: I don't have a "steady" gig, lol), saving money is crucial...I digress.  Since i'm attempting this whole independent contractor/be my own boss deal, i've been trying to "build" a comfortable home office (luckily all my purchases are tax deductible :) Here are a few lovely items I picked up at my local Target in the $1 (or so) section...which i'm pretty sure has it's own extremely strong gravitational pull as i'm ALWAYS inexplicably (i'm in denial) drawn to it: Super cute note cards from the $1 section of Michael's: $8 spent total....Not too shabby =) Cheers!

...it's super bowl sunday, and i honestly am pretty "eh" about it.  i'm definitely a football enthusiast, but after my beloved jets lost their division championship to the pittsburgh steelers 2 weeks ago, i'm pretty much just watching the game because i always do.  i will say that i'd rather green bay win....but that's neither here nor there. some early morning internet perusal insights...or...things that caught my eye... cut out shoes. my oh my. here are some i'm lusting after: juicy couture-bundy, $225 at piperlime...mesh, straps, buckles and a wedge....yum. miss sixty-bianca, $150 at piperlime...shoes antoni gaudi would have been proud of ;p i think these caught my fancy in light of today's balmy 80s here in SoCal...i'm trying to be more adventurous when it comes to shoes.  as in, i rock flip flops in the summer and uggs in the winter. these definitely look fun =) cheers!

so the deadline for submissions has come and gone.  i'm happy to report that thanks to my dear friend sarah at bennyville  i - along with a slew of my friends...including sarah - participated in this year's sketchbook project  by the arthouse coop/brooklyn art library .  the traveling exhibit boasts some 23,000+ artists from around the world. there were a ton of themes to choose from (all books are themed so that people viewing them have an idea of what they're getting into when they request a sketchbook) and my theme is "adhere to me." in short, my book is a collection of sketches, photographs and writing (my own as well as famous/meaningful quotes) that chronicle the last 2 years of my life. i opted to digitize my book so that i can share it with folks i know that are unable to make it to an exhibit. here are some of my contributions:   cover of my sketchbook. stitched theme (although you can't see the vibrant colors too well).  words by paulo ...

ah, so....i've been doing the livejournal thing since the inception of blogging.  but frankly, that's more a "diary" of sorts.  i've been meaning to write a blog that's intended to be shared.  things that are on my mind, things i like (like my wishlist.com account but w/more detail), things happening around me, blah blah, and a yadda yadda.  seems everyone and their mother blogs, so who am i not to? this is of course assuming anyone out there cares what i've got to share [insert ego]. and so with this post, consider this blog up and running...in light of this immense accomplishment, i think today calls for a champagne toast (i've been searching high and low for an excuse to crack a bottle ;) my first blogger insight/recommendation for a fabulous life: drink more champagne! =)