Have an extra $750?

The most amazing pair of Miu Miu shoes just popped up on Ebay. I'm totally lusting after them. If you've got more of a spending budget than me and 6.5 size feet, treat yourself. You'll be saving me from maxing out my credit card!

Update: These babies didn't even last 24 hours! Congrats to whoever took them home!

True Grit Fashion?

According to Business Insider, everyone is going to be dressing like the characters from True Grit come fall of 2011. I read this article and thought: Business Insider should get out of the business of predicting fashion trends. But then I saw this lovely lady on the Sartorlist and thought: clearly Business Insider knows something I don't. Touche.

Photo from the Sartorialist. Fashion tip via Harper Bazaar's Blog.

Theater and Justice in One

Tomorrow I am attending "The Trial of Hamlet" at USC. I'm super excited for it! The USC blurb describes it like so:

The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA) will hold “The Trial of Hamlet” to determine the competency of the defendant to stand trial for the murder of Polonius, based on the events of the Shakespeare play.

The best part is Justice Kennedy of the Supreme Court is overseeing the trial! And Helen Hunt and Tom Irwin will be acting!

Then on Tuesday, Justice Kennedy is coming back to the law school to speak. I'll be lining up at 10 am for that. This will actually be the 3rd Supreme Court justice I've seen speak. When I was an intern on Capitol Hill, I got see Justice Scalia speak. Even though I disagree with his politics on many fundamental levels, he is brilliant and entertaining. A few years later when I was working as a paralegal in DC, I went to see Justice Breyer who was very quick and eloquent. I'm sure Justice Kennedy will be equally impressive.

Soi 7 for Dine LA

Dine LA is in its winter 2011 installment. (For my east coast readers - hi Mom! - Dine LA is the same thing as "Restaurant Week" in every other city.) It runs Sunday night through Thursday night for two weeks. This past week my boyfriend and I tried out Soi 7. We'd been overlooking this restaurant for a year now since it is right next to Bottega Louie, which I had been obsessed with. But after a dozen times at the Lou, we were ready for something new. Thank goodness we broke out of the routine! Soi 7 was surprisingly amazing considering its reviews online are nothing special. Good service, great food, beautiful decor, and attentive water refillers all made me want to come back sooner rather than later.

These panels were set into a dark wood wall behind me. They were absolutely beautiful. I'm curious if they are original to the building.

As always: my handsome date.

The best part of a three course meal? Dessert! Banana samosas with green tea ice cream for me. Chocolate mochi for Jeremy. Sooo great! If you didn't get around to trying out something this week, don't miss your chance to take advantage of Dine LA starting again on Sunday night.

To dinner I wore a dress that I got at a local downtown boutique (Bliss, on 6th right by Spring). It is completely worth checking out. I think nearly everything in the store in something I would wear and the prices are very affordable. Pretty much everything is in the $30-$70 range.

Worn with Nine West pumps. Before we moved downtown, I lived next to a Nine West. Unsurprisingly I ended up with 4 pairs of Nine West shoes in my closest that year. I have these in yellow too. I love them.

And this is our kitty, Tiny. I think she is trying to tell me she wants to be more involved with the blog!

Stay Warm!

I know it has been snowing an insane amount back east this year. Sorry east coasters! I called my mom the other day. She told me how her day started with shoveling the car out. I can't commiserate because its been very warm in LA, but I do hope you all stay warm! If you're starting to feel bitter (inside and out) about the snow, maybe this guy will cheer you up:

From Design Crush.

City Living

What do you day dream about? I split my day dreams between 2 things. Half the time I am inspired thinking about an elegant and exciting life in New York. A beautiful brownstone filled with collected treasures (and lots of shoes and a studio room for my boyfriend). I wish for a full life with memories made both out on the town and around the dining room table with friends and family.

What I dream about the other half of the time is equally inspiring but completely unrelated. It will have to wait for a different post.

Picture Credits: 1. Garance Dore 2. Fashion Toast 3. The Cherry Blossom Girl 4. Fashion Toast 5. Fashion Toast 6. Chic Muse 7. Fashion Toast 8. Saucy Glossie

Upgrading my Jewelry Collection

If you had asked me about my jewelry collection a few years ago, I wouldn't have had much to say about it. Mostly I had cheap dangly earrings that I bought for sorority socials and gaudy baubles that I bought for themed parties. But in the last few years, I've gotten some pieces that I really love and that have become instant classics in my wardrobe. (Like those silver and navy earrings!)

* The purple necklace on the left was a gift from my mom from a few years ago. It is a great statement piece. Recently I've gotten a shirt and sweater that it looks great with.
* The rings (clockwise from top left) are a clay flower ring from Etsy, an orange stone ring from a vintage shop in DC, a ring made of small green/purple stone from a holiday street market in Milan, and a green ring with gold trim from the same DC vintage store.
* The pirate ship necklace is from Sixhundred, this fantastic alternative boutique on Spring St. in downtown LA. Their jewelry selection is unparalleled!
* The steampunk bracelet in the back is also from Etsy. It was a gift from my amazing friends in DC.
* The big owl necklace is from Life Little on Etsy, and the little owl necklace is from a shop in DE. (I'm not sure where in DE because it was another gift, but if you need good tips on DE shopping, I will email my friend to find out where she got it.)
* Finally, the pocket watch/locket is also a purchase from Sixhundred.

Christmas Sweaters Just Got Not-So-Ugly

I know I've been waxing on a little much about Christmas sweaters. I've got my vintage reindeer sweater and my new snowflake sweater dress. Plus, I've posted pictures of some other people in Christmas sweaters. But now I've realized holiday sweaters are about to become a full blown trend for next fall. Not only did hot designer Juyna Watanabe just show a men's collection full of them, but the Sartorialist approved it! Getting approval from the Sartorialist can be tantamount to gaining every fashionable (and affluent) male as your new client. I am totally with the Sartorialist on this one. I would not mind it one bit if more men started sporting snowflake patterned cardigans and blazers.

PS: The vintage dealer from whom I got my reindeer sweater has been slowly updating her website. She's got some amazing 1970s holiday sweaters up! I'm about 5 seconds from buying the light blue one.

Little Piggie with a Little Pink Nose

My love of adorable animals knows no bounds. Today my boyfriend sent me this image, and it made me so happy, I just had to share!

Photo from Whisker Snap's Flickr.

Charity Auction at USC

This past Friday the USC Public Interest Law Foundation had their annual charity auction to raise money for their summer grant program, which allows students to pursue public interest work over the summer. Since I got a grant last summer, I definitely wanted to give back a little bit this year. The theme this year was casino night. My boyfriend accompanied me, and we had a great time! We hit the black jack table and got five 21's in a row! (See that black jack in the middle below!)

I also finally got to wear my new dress from Anthropologie that I got while shopping with my friend in DC over the holidays.

My classy date! Isn't he good looking?

Green Green Griffith Park

There is only a short period in LA in which everything is (naturally) green. It comes right after the fall/winter rain storms. I made it a goal of mine to get out to Griffith Park as soon as I got back from my holiday break since it had been raining so much over the holidays. I'm so glad I made the time. Everything was so green (compared to LA normally)! And there was still snow on the mountains in the distance. AND I saw 2 coyotes! No kidding!

Can you see the snow in the distance in the picture above?

And the coyotes! (Sorry the pictures are not that great. I will work on my National Geographic skills.)

In the Mood for a Bilbo Baggins Birthday-Type Party

It's been a very very busy week, and I've spent most of it inside doing work. So when I recently saw pictures from a beautiful outdoor reception, it made me really want to go to an outdoor party full of white lights, good food, cold champagne, and warm breezes under old trees - exactly the kind of party Bilbo Baggins had! (See below if you are not a huge nerd and LOTR's lover like me.)

The following pictures (the original inspiration for this post) are from a Malibu wedding via Unruly Things.

And some random other shots from around the internets.

From Cherry Blossom Girl.

From Sean Lowcay's Flickr.

From Eudaemonius's Flickr.

From Mandalaybus's Flickr.

From Zonenfred's Flickr.