Thinker

Our next day in Paris was a mish mosh of adventures. It started off with my brother and I taking baby E to get our morning coffee and croissant. A tradition I'm trying to keep alive while back in the states and desperately wishing I was still in Paris. Note to Central Market: please never be out of croissants again...I'm developing a habit. Thank you. Next the whole family went to Napoleon's tomb. I'm telling you, this was one elaborate grave site. Do you think he was compensating for anything? Next we took a short walk to the Rodin museum, the only museum we went to on this trip. I wasn't about to wait in that crazy long line at the Louvre. This was definitely worth the trip. Walking around the garden was really peaceful and it wasn't very crowded. My kind of way to experience and enjoy the art. The day finished off with us wandering aimlessly around Paris stopping at Cafes and Patisseries along the way. One can't just go into one Patisserie there are too many goodies to choose from!

Outfit

Top: Juicy Couture black long sleeve (not pictured), Banana Republic sweater (similar here)

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Boots: Steve Madden

Jewelry: Betsey Johnson heart earrings, Rose ring from Cuffs, vintage class ring

Glasses: Penguin

Harry Potter

One of our last days in London we went on the Harry Potter studio tour, pause for moment of jealousy...Okay, now I can say how absolutely incredible this experience was. Let me be start off by stating that I like Harry Potter, but I wouldn't consider myself a die hard fan. Honestly, I stopped reading the books about 4 books in, but I've seen/own all of the movies.

This experience was not only amazing because it was Harry Potter, but because I'm a huge movie buff and it was incredible seeing the entire film process. You got to see so many amazing sets, costumes, props, hair and make up, special effects...my list could go on. The time, the effort, the details, the hard work that goes into creating a film series over 10 years...it's just amazing.

I wish I could recount everything that our tour guide told us and all of the amazing facts written about each piece. Here are some notable highlights, however...

1. The Great Hall was created to stand the test of time. The floor was made from real stone so it could withstand the wear and tear of shooting for 10 years! Also, the ceiling full of candles? Not real. The ceiling consisted of metal pipes and film equipment. There was never a true ceiling the entire 10 years.

2. The door to the Chamber of Secrets (the door with all of the snakes) was thought to be created through CGI, but in reality it was created to actually work. It was made through mechanical parts that have the snakes move in their pattern to open the door.

3. The moving paintings were played by crew members and their families created through a green screen. Also, the paintings seen around the school were crew members as well. Some of them posed for these pictures, some were unaware!

4. The potion bottles in Snape's classroom, along with every wand in Ollivanders, was hand written and created by set designers.

5.  A miniaturized exact replica of Hogwarts was created for pan shots of the outside of the school. This model is amazing for its detail alone.

We spent a good few hours at the studio but even as I left I wish that I had stayed longer, read things in better detail, and took more pictures. Guess this means another trip to London is in order!

Too Creepy!

Butter Beer anyone?

This is from a different day, but I had to include it! Hogwarts, here I come!

Outfit:

Top: J.Crew (similar here)

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Boots: Steve Madden (similar here)

Jewelry: Tiffany bead earrings, Tiffany heart ring, Flower ring from Cuffs

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Glasses: Penguin

Houston Blogger Symposium

This past weekend I attended the Houston Blogger Symposium put on by the amazing Megan from Greetings from Texas. The first night was spent at Langford Market getting to know all my fellow bloggers.




The amazing Haley from Style Sound




Here I am with Trang from Benjamin and Trang, Christina of Sunchild clothing, and her friend modeling one of their amazing dresses.





I am deep in thought while listening to the many speakers on the panels. I learned so much about blogging, sponsorship, and PR. I was so inspired after the symposium, it was awesome!!



Here are all of our speakers and sponsors...let me see if I can get them all in. There was Kelly and Brandi from Mucho Mucho Bueno Bueno, Julianne Agno from Francesca's, Meg Jones from Reward Style, Megan from Greetings from Texas, Kirsten from Triple Max Tons, Katy Atlas from Sugarlaws, Lisa O'Neill PR extraordinaire, Alicia DiRago from Dismount Creative, Davina Hirsch from Langford Market, and Kristina Braly from Pretty Shiny Sparkly. Phew that was a mouthful!



The sponsor panel



The blogger panel





The two lovely ladies that put on the whole event...Thank you so much girls! I can't wait to see what you put together for next year!!


All photos are courtesy of the lovely Paige from Paige Budde Photography. Thanks so much for taking amazing photos of the event!

Outfit

(night one)

Dress: Bebe (old)

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell (not pictured)

Jewelry: vintage name necklace, vintage clown necklace, vintage Greek princess necklace, wrap bracelet from Greece, rope bracelet from Target, vintage class ring

Clutch: Louis Vuitton

(day two)

Top: Joie, spaghetti from Wet Seal

Pants: BCBG similar here and here

Shoes: BCBG

Belt: Target

Jewelry: Stella & Dot, gifted bangles, DIY bracelet

Glasses: Penguin

Home sweet home

Sorry for my lack of posts lately, I've been traveling for the past 2 weeks and it's been hectic to say the least. I was finally able to go back home to Cali for a bit and I fell in love all over again. I hadn't been back home in a year (woo hoo to living in Texas for a year already!) and it was so good to see friends and family. The trip was jam packed with going to familiar places and going to places I don't normally travel, like LA. This outfit was what I wore to LA for the day to go shopping with my parents. We hit up this amazing sample sale where I got some amazing purchases, but more on that later. The first day was spent driving up to LA then walking to Little Tokyo for dinner. Take that hotel concierge that said it was too far a walk! My parents and I wandered for what seemed like ages trying to all agree on a restaurant but we finally ended up at the most amazing sushi place. The fist was so fresh, it was incredible! My favorite part was the bell at each table to ring for service...needless to say I got a little "ringer" happy. That night we decided to stay at our hotel and have a few drinks, which led to a few more, which led to dancing. Those pictures I'm keeping under wraps or possibly for potential blackmail purposes for my dad later! Overall the trip to LA was so fun and I can't wait to go back for another sample sale!

Side note: I know I just wore this dress recently, but I seriously love it! It's super soft and flowy which is perfect for the weather in the OC. It's also perfect for snapping a few pics in my backyard before heading up to LA!

 

Thanks to my mom for taking these great pictures

Outfit

Dress: c/o Sugarlips  

Shoes: Sam Edelman

Glasses: Penguin The Gondorff

Jewelry: BCBG "My Bad" Bracelet, Vintage rings borrowed from my mom

Sporty Chic

I love when I meet amazing people through this blog! I have "met" the amazing blogger of Savvy Spice, Dale, when she became a reader of my blog. She's a rockin stylist which is proof from her working on Bravo's new show Silicone Valley. Awesome job girl! Definitely check out her blog for all of her amazing styling tips. My favorite is her post on Chubbies shorts here. First off how awesomely frat-tastic (ya, I just made up a word) are these shorts and I love how she effortlessly pulls of this menswear item. Okay I got a little off topic here...through Dale her neighbor, Wallee, found my blog. He has a company The City Supply Co which has greats tees that make me miss the city so much! And by the city I mean San Francisco. I used to live in Davis, CA for college and did not frequent the city as much as I should only being an hour away. But now that I'm in Texas I think about it way too much, the parks, the shopping, the food...ahh I'm starting to daydream....

Wallee (cutest CEO, check out his post here) sent me over this tee. I wanted to play around with the sportswear trend so I decided to jazz it up a bit. I wore this to see the movie To Rome with Love. Cute movie, typical Woody Allen humor...but I probably could have waited for it to come out on DVD. Next movie on my list is The Bourne Legacy. Mostly because it looks like an awesome action movie and I really want to know how good this can be without Matt Damon. I mean can you really have a Bourne movie without him?

 

Outfit

Top: Tee c/o The City Supply Co

Skirt: Juicy Couture 

Shoes: Missoni for Target

Jewelry: DIY star button earrings, Forever 21 flower ring, Cuffs bracelet

Glasses: Penguin The Gandorff

Happy 40th MBP

My uncle MBP recently celebrated his 40th birthday (although you'd never be able to tell). He is such an amazing loving hilarious human being. I feel so lucky to not only be apart of his modern family but also to be so close to him. We are able to share everything, which I love! We spent the day shopping as a family, because would you expect us to do anything else? We hit up a few vintage shops and a few modern shops. My favorite was our new discovery, Native Citizen. This store sells mid century modern furniture and art pieces that are used to decorate the owner's retail stores Langford Market and Duo. We happened to get our new dining room chairs from the same owner at a modern market art show a while back and this time we acquired a new computer desk. 

After a bit of shopping and a mid day Starbucks pick me up we drove around neighborhoods looking at homes, which is one of my favorite things to do around Houston. I love discovering new neighborhoods and looking at all the different homes. I'm glad my uncles love to do that as much as I do. We made our way back home where his husband surprised us both with a catered dinner in the comfort of our own home. Bravo Matt, bravo...This dinner was delicious! And what was even better was to have it in the comfort of our own home surrounded by family. Overall Michael had an amazing birthday and I'm so glad to be able to spend another year with him. Cheers Michael!

Matt and I

 Outfit

Dress: Off Fifth

Shoes (not shown): Bakers (old)

Jewelry: Christine Bowden necklace, Betsey Johnson ring (old), Marc Jacobs watch

Glasses: Penguin The Gondorff