Hollywood Adventures

top, F21; sandals, UO As mentioned, some photos at night in Hollywood. Who knew how many people actually walk around after 10pm...I took advantage of not standing out taking pictures among the tourists and scantily clad club goers.

It All Began With My Sister's Suggestion

top, F21 After a simple suggestion of trying some awesome burgers at The Counter, I randomly ended up there one night. The menu is extensive to say the least. You get to pick the type of burger and size(chicken, meat, veggie, fish), the bun, up to 4 toppings, cheese, and sauce... with your choice of adding any other wild ingredient for just about fifty cents. We started with some tasty sweet potato fries (single order is $1.75) Then the real fun began. I went with the 1/4 meat patty, with grilled pineapples, green chiles, grilled onions, and organic mixed greens... horseradish cheddar cheese, honey mustard sauce, and extra wasabi aioli sauce. The bf dangerously ordered the 1lb.burger which I swear could have filled us both if we split it in half. Of course, his choice of toppings had to be unordinary as well... Cranberries, cole slaw, jalapenos, and tomatoes, with mozarella cheese and wasabi aioli sauce. Both burgers were extremely tasty and had us wobbling out of there, exceeding the boundaries of gluttony. Thus, we decided to walk around Hollywood like tourists to aid our poor stomachs with the digestion process. Photos of our touristy photos coming soon~ Tonight, I will be heading for korean bbq for a friend's birthday... I hope my stomach is ready. ~happy birthday gise~

LaLive for Inception

skirt, F21; tank, H&M; caged sandals, UO; denim jacket, abercrombie Watched the infamously talked about Inception last weekend at LALive... but didn't get a chance to post. The bf is pretty obsessed with analyzing movies and directors. So when word came out that Christopher Nolan created this movie he had in mind since he was a kid... and went lengths and bounds to actually create gravity-less scenes and actual folding cities without using computer graphics, it was already predetermined that we would see it almost as soon as it came out. In order to ensure some good seats, we bought our tickets about 4 hours before showtime. Killed time by eating at Lawry's carvery (which we've been wanting to try- $12 for an entree and two sides or one side and one dessert), finishing it off with a banana split from New Zealand like always, and taking pictures with the movie cut-out for EasyA...I just can't seem to resist the teeny-bopper entertainment. I was glad I brought my jacket because the weather had been cooling down a bit after the heat wave, unfortunately. The pinstriped tank from H&M and the f21 skirt just happened to go really well together and provided endless comfort for sitting through the very long, but captivating, movie.

The Things You Randomly Notice

shorts, Zara; tank and leopard wedges, H&M Went on a journey to Ikea to purchase a table and some benches for the bf. Of course, before looking at anything, we had to hit up the swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. Grabbed some random items that always ends up happening at Ikea and took photos in different room set ups like I owned the place. Luckily, the shoes and harem pants were made for walking and comfort. After the tiresome furniture shopping, we headed to Scoops to see what flavors they happened to have in store. I guess by that late in the afternoon, the flavor options shrink significantly. Still, the pomegranate and banana nutella were still a hit in my book. As soon as I had my ice cream in hand, I had to get out of there due to the lack of airconditioning and over-quota amount of people exerting their body heat. Turns out, right before I got in the car, I noticed the mural across the street... featuring none other than yours truly, michael jackson.

Ralphs in Downtown LA

shorts, F21; tank and leopard wedges, H&M Downtown LA is still steps behind in creating a city-life equivalent to NYC or San Francisco...with their easily accessible corner stores that allow for picking up essentials for an unexpected meal at home after work or emergency toilet paper. However, I never really noticed the rather large Ralphs that exists on 9th and Flower. It turns out that it opened back in 2007 after the last Ralphs in downtown closed in 1950. It may be the recent surge of residents moving into the brand new high-rise condos/apts and the remodeling of older ones that are still sporting the outdoor metal fire escapes. Some say it's going to be the new WeHo (West Hollywood). In any case, the Ralphs was packed; which goes to show that I probably didn't notice it was there because I don't live downtown. The elevator area had tiles decorated with emoticons which gave way to a photo opportunity to feature my leopard print wedges from hm. So super comfortable (and mind-blowingly affordable) that I can probably walk the entire city in them without any swollen toes. That's what I call real wedges.

Hello Santa Barbara 2

dress, f21; sweater, urbanoutfitters; sunglasses, juicy More snapshots of sb. As I mentioned, the blue Nation dress was causing some stress with constantly having to hold it down due to the wind on Stearn's Wharf. I changed into a dress that I had packed just in case of a situation like this or the high possibility of spilling wine on myself. Grabbed some crab on the wharf(too small and too windy), and then walked around State street while the bf got an entire 20 min massage at brookstone (there is a lazy boy that actually takes all your measurements prior to massaging you...) Didn't end up buying anything, but had fun strolling around until my beach hair started to really bug me and the bf's restlessness from following me around really began to take its toll.

Hello Santa Barbara

dress, Nation Ltd; neon bralette, LF Stores; belt, H&M I made it to Santa Barbara for a day trip this past saturday... the drive wasn't so bad at all... definitely shorter than the infinite commute I had to san diego on the weekends when I was in college. We went up the courthouse tower (was on the list of "things to do"- and c'mon, i go to law school) for a great view. It's apparently the tallest building in sb? (4th floor) Inside was an old mosaic style motif which was so pretty. This nation ltd dress was featured in a previous post... amazing what adding a belt can do...However, I did have a bit of trouble keeping the wind from blowing the skirt up and giving a free show. Next, we went wine tasting at Santa Barbara Winery (5 wines for $5 and you get to keep the glass). Then headed to Giessinger Winery just a little down the street (17 wines for $8, but no glass). The ice cream on the wharf looked so tempting... until I walked inside and realized it was rite-aid ice cream selling for $3.75. Shocked, I decided I'd rather have my rite-aid ice cream for a dollar at an actual rite-aid. Oh yea, welcome to my new blog design.

Proscuitto and Cheese

top, zara; wide leg jeans, santuary; necklaces, gifted

After going to sf, the bf always wanted to find an equivalent to the proscuitto he would find in little italy. Fortunate for us, we found Larchmont Wine and Cheese which has yummy sandwiches, proscuitto, cheese, wine, you name it. Thus, another trip to get our fill of proscuitto ensued. I got the wide leg jeans from a santuary sample sale... note: the fabric is so soft and comfortable which is perfect for summer. Both the necklaces were gifts from my good friends as a bday present a few years back. Hopefully, I will be able to make it to santa barbara to get tipsy off some wine tasting this weekend. Keep posted~

walkin' on wilshire blvd

tank, UO; animal print convertible top; free people; distressed skinny jeans, AmericanEagle

It's not often that people in la really get a chance to walk the streets that you drive on all the time. After grabbing some jamba juice on wilshire and ice cream cone from mcdonalds, we decided to do just that. The bf got his first experience in actually entering the metro station on wilshire and western. I still need to test out the different ways that you can wear the animal print convertible top from free people... For now, I've become accustomed to only wearing it the way it's in the pictures. The distressed skinny jeans were a steal at american eagle (i love massive summer sales). The urban outfitter tank was stashed away in the back of my closet and finally found its way out when my mom organized my closet while I was out. She knows the strategic way I arrange my closet and knows just how to organize without making me feel like I can't find anything. Lovely surprise. I <3 mommy.

Rodeo and SLS Hotel

tank, LF Stores; jeans, LF Stores; jacket, H&M; scarf, Fluxus; bracelet, gift from sis So the bf's bro came to visit los angeles for a day after a business trip to Seattle. However, apparently one can accomplish numerous things in la in a single day. We walked around Rodeo Drive, ate dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse, stopped by the Beverly Center, and then went to SLS Hotel to check out a lounge. The food was fab, rodeo was a blast, and the hotel is worth going. We ordered some Corzo tequila... and then took a bunch of pictures with the random yet intriguing pieces of furniture. Hence, the pictures with the red lit up chair, mirrored bathroom stall, funky wall piece, etc. This ripped tank is from LF as well as the furst premium denim jeans... The fluxus scarf is so versatile that I've been over-wearing it.

where were the 3D effects exactly...?

ruffle dress, uniqlo; jacket, h&m

 After disappointingly missing the breakfast menu at mcdonalds, we wandered over to a random breakfast joint, hoping for something remotely equivalent and satisfying as hotcakes and sausage. It was pretty good, but compared to 2.89 at mcd's... I don't really know how to compare the two. I received this cute ruffle accent uniqlo dress from my sister a few weeks back... Perfect for dressing up or down.. right in that middle area. I also watched the last airbender... Not realizing it was geared towards elementary school kids. (C'mon.. batman, harry potter, etc., are all adult-watchable). Anyway, with dev patel (slumdog millionaire) playing one of the main villains, the random accusations of racism surrounding the movie, and a free 3d movie ticket, I thought it was worth a sit-thru. Well, there were no 3d effects... and concerning the nature of the movie, I swear there could have been a bajillion opportunities to make the audience gasp with amazement... Unfortunately, the subtitles were about it. If it wasn't for the slightly blurry-ness that comes with watching a 3D movie, I would have just watched it sans the heavy glasses. But in the end, it was entertaining.. though the bf seemed embarassed to have watched it at all.