Last of Halloween . . . Promise!

Just a few things I wanted to share:

1) My impromptu costume as a pirate (gap shirt and pants suddenly become a costume when I fold my Pour la Victoire boots over and pin up that big floppy hat I bought in Santa Monica).

2) Someone made awesome ghost and werewolf cupcakes for the school bake sale!

3) My daytime Halloween outfit - orange flats, a black sweater, owl necklaces, and a black cat across my path! (Thanks, Tiny! Now I'm stuck with bad luck.)

Calling all Shoe Lovers with Small Feet

Since I have added quiet a few shoes to my closet this fall (hello new friends!), I decided that I need to let go of some of the pairs that I never wear. Saying goodbye to shoes is tough for me, though. So far I've only been able to select 2 pairs, but there may be more to come. If you have any friends with small feet, pass these links along!

Auction for the green pumps.

Auction for the brown and gold pumps.

Photography Inspiration from Making Magique

Images from Pere Lachaise, I Couldn't Lie to You in Paris, Living in America, Matera, and Polilno.

Not too long ago, I discovered Haleigh Walsworth's blog Making Magique, and I have been inspired by her photography ever since. (Check out her entire post on the Pere Lachaise cemetary, which is not only beautiful but also a perfect mood setter for Halloween!) I was so inspired that I decided to take photography from USC's undergraduate catalog. But unfortunately those classes filled up long before the school let the graduate student's register for classes. So instead, I am searching for some local classes, but I haven't really found anything for true beginners. (Although the Annenberg Center looks like it has some interesting lectures and workshops.) Do you have any suggestions of things in the LA area, books, or online courses?

Happy Halloween!

I will be posting about all these things shortly, but here's a little preview of my week leading up to Halloween (except without pictures of me watching Hocus Pocus on repeat) . . .

Happy (New Shoe) Friday!

 

Another Friday, another pair of shoes. Ok no, not really. I wish every Friday brought a new pair of shoes! (Although the downside to that would be that my living room would look like this, and my kitty would have nowhere to sit.) This week did see the unplanned addition of these beautiful Theyskens' Theory blue velvet wedges. Rumi sported them a year ago, and I fell in love with them. But I never thought I'd actually buy them. Then I saw them on Gilt, and I made them mine! Maybe this is a sign that a serendipitous weekend is ahead.

Tonight, the boyfriend and I are having a kind of creepy date night. We're going to the spider pavilion I mentioned and then trying the new-ish Pattern Bar. Then on Saturday, we'll hopefully stop by some place with Halloween festivities. (I'm pushing for this, but we'll see. Seven Grand's party last year was also super fun so maybe that again.) Sunday through Monday will probably be completely devoted to goofy Halloween movies and trying to squish my cat into the pumpkin costume that she is too chubby for! I hope you have fantastic Halloween plans for this weekend!

Scary Movie Fashion: Spider

Image sources: 1 & 2, 3, 4 & 5, 6, 7 & 8, 9.

Today's scary movie fashion inspiration is Spider--a psychological exploration into an unhinged mind. (Think of something like Shutter Island.) Lacy, gauzy layers are reminiscent of the clouded memories and perceptions. And spider web details evoke a feeling of long unused spaces (rooms in haunted houses or corners of our mind). Creepily beautiful dresses like this would be perfect for Halloween!

PS: This post is also well-timed because tomorrow I will be going to see the Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum for their night time tour. Scouring the internets for this scary movie fashion post has me completely in the mood to see the spiders after the sun goes down. The Spider Pavilion will be there until Nov. 6th, but tomorrow is the last day to see the spiders at night!

Scary Movie Fashion: Empire of the Ants

Image sources: 1, 2, 3 & 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

The Birds scary movie fashion was inspired by the eerie, off-putting feeling of the movie. An animal that is usually well-liked turns into a terror in a story filled with washed out colors and barren landscapes. Empire of the Ants scary movie fashion is quite different: cheesy, bold, colorful, generally less creepy and more silly. Although still a little creepy, right? It wouldn't be scary movie fashion if it wasn't a little creepy.

PS: Yes, that is Joan Collins in the movie poster. The woman can rock a turban/head wear even when threatened by nuclear waste and giant insects!

South Pasadena

So remember when I said South Pasadena looked adorable and I wanted to go up there to check it out? You don't? Well I don't blame you because I then forgot to blog about my little trip for about a month. Ooops! I decided to bike up along the Arroyo Seco instead of take the train because I found a little bike path. Once there, I browsed quite an interesting antique shop (the owner must have had every Life magazine from the last 75 years), got an Oreo cupcake from My Sweet Cupcake, picked up Halloween cards and ghost lights at Marz, thought about the all the cool jewelry I could make with the bits and pieces that Zinnia sells, drooled over the Ugly Doll pillows at the Dinosaur Farm, and then finished the afternoon with a coffee and ice cream at Buster's Coffee. Although the town is small and pretty do-able in a day, it was a nice break from downtown. Everything out there is adorably suburban. I'd definitely go back to a few of their restaurants and stop by Marz and Zannia again!

All shops located on Mission St. between Prospect and Fair Oaks.

South Pasadena, CA 91030

Fall Party

Here are some shots of the set up for my fall/pre-Halloween party. I made mini apple pies, pumpkin pie balls, chocolate covered cookie skulls, an orange and black cheese platter, pumpkin-cream cheese dip with gingersnaps, and chocolate caramel spider sandwiches. I tried to carve a pumpkin using that shading technique too. It was my first attempt at shading. The pumpkin doesn't exactly look like the picture, but I'm still happy with the results!

PS: Thanks again to Christine for snapping some shots of the actual party (whereas I got distracted by the food and decorations)!!