Dear Santa

Here's a list of just a few things I'd love to find under the tree this year....

In order of upper left to lower right...

1) Lululemon's 'Don't Hurry Be Happy' Pullover - Long ago were the days of me saying "Who the hell wears $90 workout pants? - only to try on my first pair of Lululemon running pants and realize that the answer is "I do."  Although I've never purchased a non-technical item at Lulu, I knew when I saw this top that it too was a must.  It's so soft and comfy.  The cowl neck is huge, but you can let it drape, or fold it down and let it do its own thing.

2) Laura Mercier Makeup Brush Set - I purchased a set of MAC makeup brushes almost a decade ago and still use them to this day.  Although they've served me well, it's time for some fresh brushes.  These brushes look very high quality and the set basically contains every kind of brush I need.

3) Alexis Bittar Delano Rose Gold Earrings - Alexis Bittar is probably my favorite fashion jewelery designer.  I just love the look of the rose gold next to the smoky quartz on this one.

4) ASICS Running Shoes - I'm desperate for a new pair of tennis shoes.  I also signed up for the New Year's Resolution 5K in DTLA on January 5, 2013 and am hoping I can use that opportunity to break these in!

5) A trip to Rivendell - I suppose this will be the most difficult to find gift on my wish list as Rivendell only exists in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.  Fresh from seeing the Hobbit this weekend, I thought it would be so nice to visit our beautiful and wise elf friends Elrond and Arwen.  Rivendell was always my favorite place because it was so beautiful and really the only place anyone could ever feel safe.  Did anyone hear that? I think that was the sound of a Nerd Alert. 

6) Viktor Rolf's Flower Bomb - I wore this fragrance on our wedding day, but all I have his this teeny tiny miniature bottle.  Unfortunately for all my friends, office mates, and family, I could bathe in this stuff.  In case I do get this for Christmas, I apologize in advance.

Hope you all get everything on your wish lists this year!

Our Holiday Cards: 2012 Edition

As this was our first official holiday card as a married couple, I took the time to make them extra special by letterpressing each and every one of them myself (again).  We were married on that same bridge and this photo was one of the first photos taken taken after our ceremony. Thanks so much to Brandon Humes of Couture Foto for beautifully capturing such a happy moment!  Hope you all love the card as much as I do!

Electric Run

Last Friday night I celebrated the end of the billing year by participating in the Orange County Electric Run 5k.  I have no idea how I even came across this race, but after watching the promo video, I knew I had to sign up.  It was like a dance party in Tron universe.

It rained most of the day on Friday, but cleared up just in time for the race to start.  I had low expectations as to how many people would be there and how it would actually look in real life, and it pretty much knocked my socks off! There were over 10,000 people! This basically made it impossible to find friends, but in a sea of neon lights and tutus, I did manage to find my sexiest friend Sanaz and we ran most of the race together.

As for what it looked like?  Hot damn.  The people who put together the race really did a phenomenal job of making it visually stimulating.  If I couldn't see where I was going because it was so dark, at least I could be mesmerized by the sea of lights.

Finish Line

The race itself was not very difficult and honestly, I don't think it was a legit 3.1 miles.  That being said, I had a blast fist pumping my way past the finish line! 

Starbucks + Rodarte: Taking Your Coffee from Hot to Haute

Sunday morning, Marc and I took the dog for a quick stroll to the local Starbucks. While Marc hung out with the pooch outside, I went in to order my first coffee of the week. The entire store had been redone in holiday red, but there was a display of lime green, silver, and shades of grey that I simply could not ignore.  What was it? It was the Rodarte + Starbucks limited holiday collection! 

Available at Starbucks

The "holiday" collection includes a travel mug, a reusable cloth cup sleeve, a gift card, and a tote — all splashed with a Starbucks-gone-pixelated to the point of non-recognition print (No, it's not your computer not loading pictures properly). And of course not a snowflake or reindeer in sight.

With prices ranging in the $6-$15 range, it was finally some Rodarte that I could afford! (Rodarte is probably otherwise most famous for creating Natalie Portman's striking ballerina costumes in Black Swan and their dresses cost in the thousands of dollars!)

In my opinion, there's no better way to start the day other than a great outfit and an even greater cup of coffee. I just loved the modern, crisp, and minimal look of the entire collection. So the coffee-lover and fashionista in me simply had to have it. 

So on this Manic Monday, I brought in my fancy new designer mug to the office. And even though it was just for one brief moment, I got to imagine that I was an exciting executive working at a haute couture fashion house in Paris, instead of a lowly associate attorney at a small-midsize law firm in Irvine, it made my $12 investment all worth it.

Halloween Confession: I'm a Secret Sociopath.

Halloween is right around the corner, and to get everyone in the spooky spirit, I thought I would share with all of you the scariest do-it-yourself project of them all.  

When Marc and I first got engaged, I spent hours and hours plowing through various wedding blogs for inspiration (life before Pinterest).  Some of my favorite ideas were all the cute and unique ways floating around on the web on how brides have asked their best girls to be bridesmaids at their weddings. I knew one thing for certain that I too wanted to find a special way to ask my wedding party.

My initial inspiration was the Once Wed paper doll project which I am sure by this point every recent bride and bride to be has seen.  It's pretty much adorable.  And looked so easy to do.  Don't you just love how they all have cute little haircuts?

 

But of course, I thought I'd kick it up a notch.  I knew from the beginning that I didn't want matching bridesmaid dresses and wanted all my girls to be able to pick their own gowns in a metallic neutral. Although non-matching bridesmaid ensembles are pretty common now, I felt like everyone looked at me like a crazy person when I told them I didn't want them to match and that I'd like for them to choose their own dresses in the same metallic palette.  So I thought I'd cut out little gold, bronze, glittery gowns for each of my paper dolls to wear to illustrate my idea (which cost hours of my life and all feeling in my thumb for about a week).  At this point, I was thinking that I'm pretty much a creative genius.

Inspiration:  Martha Stewart of course.

But then I thought about how some of my bridesmaids didn't know each other. Some haven't my sister, law school friends haven't met non-law school friends, etc.  And I thought, why don't I also include their pictures and names on each little paper doll so they'll know what everyone looks like?  And that's where it all went wrong:

Eek!

So Scary!

My dear bridesmaids - I'm sorry I'm a secret sociopath.  Even I had no idea.  I had the best intentions to make you something crafty and sentimental.  But you don't have to guess why you never received a "Will You Be My Bridesmaid" card from me.  I didn't want you to call the police to report that you thought I was going to murder you.  And by the looks of these little dolls, it would've been completely understandable.

So you all had to make do with a phone call, but I think it was safer this way.  I, on the other hand, will never pick up an x-acto knife or glue stick again.  

Happy Halloween!