Fashion Forward: Runaway Runway

Over the weekend our store held an event out in our parking lot that was every working girls dream: A high-end fashion closet on wheels.

Runaway Runway is a mobile truck that tries to hit all over the city, bringing cute clothes, shoes, jewelry and purses to your door. This little truck was started by Gayle Shea, a clothing designer and buyer for Bar Mache in Paris. After selling her clothes at various wine and cheese events that her friends would hold, the parties started to get a little bit bigger! Henry, her husband, started getting tired of hauling the clothes around for her, so they bought an old laundry truck and created Runaway Runway. They do all kinds of private events..so if you need a fun way to spice up a social gathering, try giving Gayle a ring!

The outside of the truck makes me want to play croquet and drink lemonade in my argyle skirt

Lots of gorgeous colors for summer!

Stackable bracelets, rings, and jeans in ever color

A Trip to Hearst Castle

Over my weekend we finally celebrated my love's birthday by going up the coastline and making a trip to Mr. William Randolph Hearst former residence. He liked to call this little place "the ranch". It is now known as one of America's grandest country estate. Its been a working family cattle ranch since 1865 and to fulfill his dream home, Hearst hired California architect Julia Morgan. She helped to design the Mediterranean revival style estate and it took over 28 years from 1919 to 1947. Now known as La Cuesta Encantada or the Enchanted Hill. Hearst Castle can be found in San Simeon, California

DIY Nautical Bracelet

Keeping up with the whole nautical theme, I found these bracelets online and fell in love with them...not wanting to shelling out that kind of money for some rope, I decided to try my hand at "jewelry" making.

So here is my attempt at creating a nautical inpsired sailor bracelet!

Supplies:

about 24" of rope in any color that you like,

I stuck with the navy and cream

Jewelry pliers

End clamps

Clasps of your choice

Jump rings

Scissors

Fabric glue

Step 1:

create a loop with the rope and with the longer end cross it up and through the loop that was just made

Step 2:

form a figure 8 with the rope

Step 3:

With the longer end of the rope, thread that through to the right of the figure 8

at the first/bottom loop

Step 4:

Repeat that through the top loop of the figure 8 and gently pull through

Step 5:

Pull the rope at both ends and position the braid how you see fit

Step 6:

some distractions may occur, so take pictures if you feel it's appropriate..or even if they're not

Step 7:

Glue one end of the bracelet with the two ropes into one of the clasps, and let it dry

Do so with the other side

Step 8:

close the clasps tightly with the pliers

Step9:

Put on a jump ring on each end at the clasp and then at the closure you selected

Since Step 6 distracted me SO much I don't have pictures of steps 7, 8, and 9....

Now, VOILA!! A fun little bracelet to prepare for your days of living on a yacht or a lighthouse

Spark Notes: Best Friend Manifesto

This morning, at the butt crack of dawn,(I'm three hours behind you Suzy) I was sent one of the best little articles about friendship and what it really means to be in a loving and sometimes obsessively insane relationship with your friends.

" I believe it was the 1936 White House Correspondents Dinner where Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Good friends will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be sitting beside you in the cell saying, 'That. Was. Awesome.'"

If only Eleanor knew how many friends we'd all grow up to have. Real friends, fake friends, frenemies, plus we have 1,000 Internet acquaintances who maybe were friends at one point but who are now only in our lives to FB invite us to stuff we'll never actually go to and for occasional stalking of their weird life choices.

In this crazy world, true best friends are essential and rare and made of human flesh and are not Internet robots. What else sets a best friend apart, besides breathing? The unspoken laws that I will now speak of, that's what.

1) Any time someone compliments me behind my back, you have to tell me immediately. If said compliment is from a guy I like, you have to tell me the whole story over and over again, on demand forever. And ever. And ever. You will come tell me the story on my death bed. It's science.

2) You have to secret eat (going out to dinner without inviting any other friends) with me and never judge my restaurant pick. Even if it's a food court. Even if it's all the food courts.

3) Always act breezy when there's something horrible going on in my life (I got some weird test results from the doc, bangs were the wrong choice, I talked to someone important and accidentally spit on their face, etc.) even though you're doing Pilates breathing to keep from freaking out, too.

4) Acknowledge that when/if you ever get married or a long-term serious relationship, you'll pretend your husband is your best friend but we'll both know he's not.

5) I can wear anything in your closet, unless you've never worn it before (some things are sacred). If you don't ask for it back, I can keep it. If it looks better on me than it does on you, I can keep it. You can borrow it back at any time.

6) You will never do the following:
BEST FRIEND TEXT!: I have the FUNNIEST story to tell you omg hahahaha
ME: Spill.
BF: I'll tell you later, it's too long to text.

That's not the appropriate response, but any best friend knows that. If you bring it up, you have to say it. I think that's an actual law in Singapore, but I might be wrong.

7) If someone wrongs me in a serious way, you will hate them with the fire of ten thousands suns until you die. And when you die, you'll haunt the crap out of them. In doing this, you'll allow me to be the better person, take the high road and "forgive" but you will still be trying to figure out ways to bring in 'da noise, bring in 'da funk and ruin lives and set things on fire and stuff.

8) You answer when someone calls my name. Is this just what my best friend does? Mmmmaybe. Moving on …

9) If I don't want to Google-stalk my ex-boyfriend, you will do it for me and tell me gently how successful his band has gotten since we broke up. If the Internet says my life is better than my ex's, eat a celebratory pizza with me.

10) If I call you at 1 AM, you will always pick up. I, in turn, will not abuse this courtesy.

There are probably other rules, but you already know them because you're the best best friend, obviously. This was just a quick refresher.

What sacred rules do you and your best friend abide by?"

From:
http://community.sparknotes.com/2012/06/19/best-friend-manifesto

Living inside Kate Spade's head

I am slowly, or actually, quickly falling more and more in love with all things Kate Spade. Anyone who uses polka dots as purse liners and black and white stripes as the exterior has my buying power.

Oh Hey...

There you are land of the history.

Sea Love

Lately I’ve been missing the whole east coast love and sea and the dearest of friends that inhabit the great land that is Providence. So I enjoy looking up all things that are nautical and make me want to change my name to Ishmael and wear a life preserver just in case.

As a result here are the things that are making my days just a little brighter:

18k Gold Studded Anchor Earrings by Gorjana



Metallic Sperry



 

Bhati Beads shown at Tuckernuck

VS.

DIY for $5



Hex Nut Wrap



Favorite Outfit at Tuckernuck (then found at Goodwill for $10)

Mint Green Pants and Striped Shirts...perfect for the yacht

Dog Beaches in Southern California

 For a city that seems to be so in love with their pets, especially their four-legged canine friends, I was surprised to see how many beaches did not allow dogs to come and rest their little paws on the sandy shores.


Since Ch’en isn’t that big of a dog, he does have his own little stroller so that I can take him places and not have to worry about him getting too hot or winded from “strenuous” walks. For instance, last week we decided to head over to Santa Monica and go for a run on the board walk, knowing he would get tired after two minutes; it was nice to be able to bring him and just push him in his magical chariot. It did kinda suck though; that we were not able to take him into the water…he wasn’t going to complain about that one.



My Precious



Marcel Enjoying Himself

Luckily for me, I am not alone in the crazy stroller pushing dog insanity. My buddy Andrea let me in on the loveliness that is Huntington Beach and their amazing little dog beach they have going on there. It was a gloomy Wednesday afternoon, so I figured no one would be there, however, once we walked up to Pier 22, there were all kinds of babies out and about! Bulldogs! Labs! Pitties! Oh My! It was amazing. Marcel and Ch’en had their short lived glamour moments on top of a lifeguard stand until we were asked not to do that anymore…then to the ocean.

Marcel and Ch'en Ch'en Keeping Watch

Ch’en is not a fan of the beach and so every time I would try to get him to go into the ocean, he would just run away from me and try to make other friends with strangers. Total traitor. It was quite an amusing day... for me at least.

So, if you’re looking for a fun place to go and that is pet friendly, hit up Huntington, it’s only an hour from LA and there are lots of fun shops and eateries around to fill your belly when the photo shoot is over….and then head to Sprinkles new ice cream store! It’s right next to Sprinkles cupcakes and it will blow all other ice cream joints out of the water!

Me and Candice, founder of Sprinkles and judge of Cupcake Wars!



Birthday Fun

Another year down!  Yep, that is right, I was lucky enough to have another birthday under my belt. Oh man, I felt like a little kid in a candy store. There are so many things to do in LA, just an endless option of funness. I thought that San Diego would be a fun trip, or maybe Disneyland or maybe the Hearst Castle, who knows! However, with the release of Titanic in 3D, I thought that going to see a ship similar to it in real life would be the best bet.

We started the day with a big run in the sun then headed over to Porto’s. As you have probably read from other posts, this place is absolutely amazing. It’s like a well oiled machine, super efficient, super cheap, and super delicious.

With chocolate croissants and coffee in our bellies, we headed down to Long Beach to check out the Queen Mary. I have always heard about it from shows like America’s Most Haunted, and Top Places to See Before You Die and I really wanted to check it out.

It was sunny and gorgeous and all I could think about was how I just wanted to get out a deck chair with Catching Fire and sun bathe

Infirmary, deck, death aboard, captain's quarters

The ship itself was so much fun! Seeing all of the original decks and art deco salons sends you back into time where you just want to listen to some Dave Brubeck and watch a Judy Garland film.

One of the tours that you are able to do is the Ghosts and Legends tour. It is a little bit cheesy, but it is more affordable than doing the one at midnight with a psychic. Since the Queen Mary is now a floating hotel that has been through 1,000 voyages and has seen war, it is no surprise that there are reportedly over 150 spirits lurking about the ship.  

First class hallway

One of the spots that we stopped at was the first and second class swimming pool. This area is now closed off to guests except on tours; however, it is never truly empty. In the first class swimming pool, which has been closed for several decades, there have been several sightings of women in 1930’s swimming suits wandering the decks near the pool. Wet foot prints have been seen going around the pool and into the changing room, along with the sounds of laughter and splashing.  

One of the ginarmous propellers under water

After several hours walking around the ship, we decided to move on. We headed into the downtown part of Long Beach to go see the house used in the show Dexter. It is a private residence, but I couldn’t be this close to it and not check it out for myself and all the creepiness that I know went on in it…even if it was just for TV

Dexter's House

Following the sight of Rita’s death, we ventured up to Sprinkle’s Cupcake in Beverly Hills for my birthday “cake”. Again, there was a crazy long line. The ATM was temporarily shut down so that they could restock it with the delicacies.

Brown Sugar Pralines, Banana, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Blake Lively’s S’mores. Since we had not eaten anything else but the croissant earlier that morning, we had to hold off on these babies for a bit.

From top left to right: Banana, Brown Sugar Pralines, Peanut Butter Chocolate, S'mores



Now for some real food. Swingers. Swingers is this amazing little diner over on Beverly. It’s an all day diner with lots of vegan options. I needed something green in me ASAP. The vegan cobb salad did just the trick.  A perfect portion of greens, grilled tofu, vegan cheese, crispy onions, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, corn and tahini dressing. Of course onion rings were order for a starter. We didn’t want to be too healthy now did we?