Within the Nature of Santa Barbara

Freedom and Fashion I was given the incredible opportunity to work with Freedom and Fashion this past weekend in Santa Barbara. They are a non-profit organization that fights against human trafficking and the exploitive sex industry through utilizing fashion and art. They work with other partners such as LiNK and the Princess Project. Read more about them here. It was sooo much fun working with their staff and the photographer, Christianne Taylor (and her doggie). These photos were taken by someone on the Freedom and Fashion staff throughout the shoot. As you can see, there was lots of teasing of the hair, which took forever to undo in the shower. (third photo, before make-up) Check out their website! I can't wait to see how the actual photos came out... Thank you FnF~ I still have photos back from when I traversed around Huntington Library that I still have to look through... School is taking up most of my time. Will update again soon!

Boiling Crab

You may have already heard, but Boiling Crab is coming to Los Angeles. Read about it here. Right in Koreatown to be exact. Kuru Kuru is out, and Boiling Crab is moving on in. (Right where Blink, Champion, and Wako Sushi is... in that plaza on Alexandria and Wilshire). I can already expect the long lines and the smell of the whole sha-bang on my fingers. YUM~

Go to Korea

I came across this ad through nylonmag. Of course, my curiosity induced uncovering more information. Initially, I assumed a play on words of "Seoul" with "soul," which is utilized pretty often, but soon became convinced that there is no play on words at all. It is literally asking you to sell your reason of why you deserve to receive a free trip to Seoul. As I looked through the application and the blog that they have, the competition is pretty steep if you are actually Korean, in my opinion. In a totally different light, I didn't realize how many non-Koreans have such a love for Korea and desire to visit. The opinionated bf will probably find this whole thing slightly ridiculous in the same way he views pretentious mainstream attempts to appeal to non-Koreans with things like "kalbi burgers" and "gogi tacos," and claiming a love for Korean food. In any case, if you have time in September, apply for a free trip to Korea... See the site here, and their blog here.

Summer

diy cut-offs; tank, American Apparel; cropped striped blazer, bcbg generation Some neglected summertime photos... Oh New Zealand Natural Ice Cream, how I miss your tasty banana splits during happy hour. Little Tokyo, I hope to revisit your mochi and squid balls soon. School has officially started. I hope my hair and skin stay intact.

Workin' the Elevator

diy cut-offs; top, Free People; shoes, ebay Unfortunately, elevator lighting creates slightly fuzzy photos. This delicate crochet top from Free People is versatile... yet it drive me nuts trying to avoid getting it caught on anything remotely pointy, sharp, or protruding. I don't even wear jewelry because it causes snags like no other. The shorts were created from cutting some skinny jeans which I got randomly bought back in Korea that I happened to stop wearing a long time ago. Reincarnated into the perfect black cut-off shorts.

Eureka Breakfast Joint

tank, UO; cropped jeans, A&F; shoes, clarks You gotta love Yelp. On a whim a couple of weeks ago, we decided to trust yelp and find a breakfast joint that we haven't tried. So, the chosen site was Eureka. Very random and unsuspecting location, but don't let that hinder you. Eureka creates homemade style breakfast food. Healthy and tasty. You can tell it wasn't massively created from pre-made anything. I got the spinach sundried tomato omelet and the bf got the eggs benedict. I wish I had room in my stomach to try the red velvet pancakes which someone ordered at the table next to us. Looked delectably scrumptious. Afterwards, I headed toward Westwood to check out an ice cream shop (name of the place will not be revealed until I get a taste) that my sister raved about. So, we picked her up along the way. She was exited that I was wearing this random tank that she bought for me years ago reappear. It went great with my diy cropped boyfriend jeans (used to be long bootcut jeans from abercrombie from yearssss ago). Unfortunately, that particular day the ice cream place happened to be cleaning/reorganizing the place... and wouldn't be open until several hours later. Thus, we walked around the cute little area (diesel bookstore? haha), dropped off the sis, and sadly headed home. Maybe we'll make it next time.

top and belt, F21; shorts, Nordstrom; shoes, gifted from Korea; feather earrings, flea market These feather earrings stood out from all the rest at the flea market. The cost, compared to some other stands, was great too (look for the booth with leopard print envelopes). I love when I find that magical classic Forever 21 piece, which of course comes at an unbeatable price. And it's always pleasing to wear perfectly fitted shoes given by a friend that are comfy and versatile. Also, I'm beginning to love these random walls that make perfect backdrops when strolling around just about anywhere.

Fairfax and Melrose

top, UO; skirt, bracelets, F21; sandals, LF Stores; bag, Valentina; sunglasses, D&G I've been wanting to check-out the flea market on Fairfax and Melrose for a while now. Although I debated the Rose Bowl Flea Market (2nd Sunday of every month), the one on Fairfax seemed more plausible since it was already 1pm. After eating at Mao's Kitchen (yummy chinese fusion- excellent lunch specials) on Melrose, we headed a few streets down to Fairfax. There was a souped up sports car photo shoot going on nearby... So after watching them for a while, we paid the $2 and went inside. The prices were slightly pretentious, as warned on yelp, but I still came out happy with two new pieces of fab jewelry (photos to come!). There were amazing beaded chairs, fake Louis Vuitton bags, fur jackets, furniture, and all sorts of jewelry. There was lots of walking involved which made me realize that my sandals still need to get broken in. The rest of my outfit was comfy and perfect for the heat and slight breeze, which made for great flea market weather. Apparently, the Rose Bowl Flea Market is super huge and costs $8 to get in... debating for next month~

Kimberly Ovitz Fall 2010

http://www.style.com/

So they say that Kimberly Ovitz is the new Alexander Wang. I'm not sure if she completely lives up to those claims, but her styles definitely have the romantic draped feeling that Mr. Wang is so famous for. On that note, she's also a native Los Angeles born and only 27 yrs. old. She's worked as a designer for Twelfth St. Cynthia Vincent as well. The colors and fit have that strong yet feminine edge... which is also reminscent of her horse-riding past. Find her on revolveclothing.com, shopbop.com, and the like. I can't get over the striped jacket.

Encountering Little Ethiopia

tank, LF Stores; jeans, Furst Premium- LF Stores; shoes, H&M Being a connoiseur of trying new things, the bf finally got his long awaited taste of Ethiopian food. After frantically attempting to load yelp on his blackberry, we decided on Little Ethiopia on Fairfax in the midst of a bunch of other intriguing Ethiopian eateries. I know we ordered chicken and vegetables... the only name I remember is "injera" which refers to the thin pancake-like bread (shown in pic). We chose injera over rice (in attempts to have an actual cultural experience). The injera was actually helpful in getting the food in my mount and not all over my hands, considering there were no utensils... The food was interesting, to say the least. There's no chance I'll become a regular, but it was fun and tasty as a first try kind of thing. Both the tank and jeans were luckily acquired at a LF sample sale and ceases to bring comfort and quick decision making skills in the morning while getting dressed. On a side note, I made it to Huntington Library this past weekend and cannot wait to look through the pictures~ It's so utterly gorgeous there.

Testing

top and sweater, UO; shorts, zara; shoes, clarks Just when summer school is over, and I feel like I can finally relax and accomplish some non-productive things for the summer, I realize there's only a few days left before school inevitable picks up again. The bf bought a new flash, and thus, decided to sporadically test it that night. Hope to post more regularly from now. I will be going to Huntington Library with another couple so she can practice some photo taking skills... I'm hoping I won't be a disappointing muse. Roses, lotus flowers, and grass... here I come.