independence

getting more than a little excited about one of my most favorite holidays. can you tell?

brought to you by the loverly andria lindquist

all other images via weheartit

monday funday

what a weekend folks. what a weekend. it all kicked off friday night with a phenomenal allen stone show @ neumos in capitol hill. gah. there was scintillating company (with him, her and her), a grumpy sushi waitress, cupcakes, hipsters, PBR in a can, a potential unibomber and lotsa hot, sweaty bodies in motion. all that to say - it was perfect because of the following:

1. running into old and dear friends

2. avoiding the unibomber - this 50+ year old fellow came to a show in a full on trench coat, felt hat and HUGE backpack. unfortunately, he looked eerily similar to my future father-in-law (unfortunate because i really like my FIL). i might have started a rumor that there was a bomb in there (A JOKE RUMOR, OKAY?) and finally had to ask him by the end of the night what the EFF was in the bag. books. books? yep, books. he loves them and carries them everywhere. not weird at all...

3. watching allen freaking stone. he's amazing. take stevie wonder's mannerisms + a dash of john mayer's facial expressions + the voice of robin thicke + justin timberlake's falsetto and you've got allen stone. since my work finally got smart and blocked youtube, the company's greatest time suck, go search "allen stone neumos is this love" and listen to allen's smooth cover of bob marley's "is this love?"

4. your friends and mine, the gentlemen of hot bodies in motion, made a guest appearance during a delicious stevie wonder cover. it made my arm hairs stand up it was that good. in other news...today was most definitely MONDAY FUNDAY. my mailbox overfloweth with good things. check it out.

have i mentioned that i one day will own a paper company called the nitty gritty card committee? don't even think about stealing my name, copyright pending. anywho, i have a penchant for paper products espcially ones like these here from kate's paper goods.

i went to SPU with kate hart. she was a wicked runner and super cute (still is, to be clear) and now based out of sunny pasadena. when i saw her pacific NW suite, i had to have it. lucky for us, her blog is just as cunning as her cards are.

i love love. i also love my friends. so when my friends fall in love and get married, it the BEST thing everrrrrrr. received deb & colin's wedding invite today and can't wait to rally with my family and party in the mile high state for memorial day weekend.

and finally, i got this little gem in the mail. thanks to my newest girl crushes, brandi lisenbe & kelly garcia, of bueno bueno. i was lusting after it, dreamt of it and had to have it especially when i saw lonnie webb had TWO! it came and i'm wearing it all over the place already. and i thought i didn't believe in love at first sight...

finally a weekend

Something about this week has me ready for a break. I can’t put my finger on it though – I got an unprecedented 8 hours of sleep TWICE this week, watched next-to-no TV and got lotsa exercise. I’ve had freaky recurring dreams about my high school sweetheart, mentally ingested copious amounts of new Chris Brown music and found myself missing Texas and my grandpa more than usual. Point being: I’m tired and more than ready for a well-deserved weekend. It all kicks off tonight at the Allen Stone concert @ Neumos in Cap Hill. I can’t wait to see some of my favorite ladies and have an excuse to wear my new $11 Target clearance find (that is a little too short for the office). Then there will be time well-spent with my Texas roomie who’s BACK from freedom fighting in the Middle East! We’re thinking Mariner’s, hiking, shopping and more. Hope you find yourself sucking the marrow out of your weekend. Until Monday, enjoy some of this week’s internet eye candy.

washington wunderkind allen stone. tonight @ neumos. via

accurate, no? via

have i mentioned i'm dying for summer? via

and my florence welch crush continues via

home of the free. i LOVE the stars & stripes in any form via

are you living by the holstee manifesto?

we should all drive with these in our windshields via

in love with david white art

i'm now oracle fox's newest blog stalker. join me?

can't fool me

Not sure if anyone’s noticed but somehow (somehow!) the fanny pack is making a comeback. Unfortunately it’s not returning in its original form (see below). If it were, I’d be pleased as punch. In its heyday, this practical, edgy extra could be worn on any of the waist's 360 degrees and hold a plethora of handy items like your Walkman, stick-on earrings, pogs/slammers, Baby Popple, bubble gum cigarettes, Lisa Frank pencils and much, much more.

Clearly those in the upper echelons of fashion have sanctioned the reintroduction of the fanny pack, instructing their trendsetting factotums to sell it to the masses masquerading as something chic and voguish. When I first encountered a modern day FP in the new Anthropologie catalog, I chalked it up as a fashion fluke. Yet in a span of 9 days, I have logged far too many of these horrendous sightings and want to make it clear to the fashion world: You can’t fool me. I know these alleged “utility pouches”, “Lilliputian pouch belts” and “pocket belts” are really fanny packs in disguise. Please stop desecrating the greatest utilitarian accessory of the 80’s and remarketing it as a hip, must-have trapping.

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summer come quickly

spring is fine. it's cool. whatever.

while spring may remind others of daffodils and the easter bunny, it quickens my heart at the thought that summer is just around the corner. because summer just makes everything better. it means more: sun, vacations, happiness and adventures while wearing less: clothes, worries and cares. it's pretty much everything i love the most all wrapped into four delicious months (since i let september weasel its way into the summer category). although it's three months early, i'm prepping for summer '11 like it's the second coming of Y2K. today i made some anticipatory purchases to get me all sorts of summa-fied and even got inspired to throw together some sunny weather digs on polyvore. here's to the next 3 months flying by!

i've been growing out my locks for the past 5+ years and they're finally the optimum everything to pull off a mean head of beach hair. with that in mind i bought some osis "dust it" to help perfect my mop. this mattifying powder creates texture, volume and separation to give your hair that effortless, faux dirty look (or real dirty in my case).

i also stuck some aquage sea salt texturizing spray in my shopping cart. i've swiped some of my brother's bumble & bumble sea salt spray but aquage came highly recommended and is less money for more product. as michael scott would say, it's a win-win-win.

thanks to both of these products i will be whipping my hair like willow all.summa.longgggg

i also treated myself (finally!) to a coveted bueno bueno texas key necklace from the loverly brandi & kelly at mucho bueno. the best year of my life was spent in the lone star state and now i can flash my allegiance loud and proud.

and finally, a little polyvore set i put together of an outfit that screams summer

thrifting

i am just on a roll lately. after spending far too long scouring shelves at goodwill, valu village, the Fremont vintage mall and deluxe junk, i’ve come up with some killer thrifts of late. sometimes i forget to pace myself and have to slow down and remind myself there’s really no need to:

A) be spending over $20 at goodwill in one run and

B) cram every single thrifting delight into a single post.

now, let me set the record straight, i once went head-to-head with my old man over wearing a used outfit from the consignment shop. the thought of wearing someone else’s clothes made my flesh crawl. now that i think of it, i’m a little appalled my mom was on board with that given her germophobic nature. now that i’m all growed up, that old sentiment is long gone and i get a tingly little thrill every time i score a find while thrifting. over time i’ve developed a keen eye when it comes to primo junk. don’t believe me? feast your eyes on these latest finds and remember, there’s always more where that came from.

a budding vintage scarf & bandana collection

tell me this isn't insanely cool...buffalo hunting on a textile?!

no secret i <3 anything tribal

have to admit the stars & strips silk is my favorite

tribal oversized belted cardigan? yes please.

antique credenza for $19. so what if we left one of the sliding doors @ the store?

spruced up my dresser top with an adorable tray and

teensy mint colored ring dish for $0.99 each

people's republic of tuesday

i don't know what it is about tuesday but today i came across a disproportionate amount of gorgeous people and they're just too pretty to keep to myself. it was like a helmet fire of the most glorious kind! my inspiration folder for the week is FULL, which is good news for the both of us. enjoy the eye candy.

disclaimer: i have included a picture of myself at the end of this post, chiefly for the purpose of conveying my excitement that i got the new CB album "F.A.M.E." a whole day before its release. my aim is not just to affiliate myself with the aforementioned "gorgeous people" but, in my own small way, celebrate this day you could probably care less about momentous occasion.

via the ones 2 watch

stumbling across spell designs was like finding my long lost cosmic twin. their designs (and hair) are the stuff boho dreams are made of. i'm now their #1 stalker.

Elle France, October 2010

via samantha's avenue

this makes me anxious for summer and sun

going wild for wilde

heyoka leather's spring '09 and fall '10 lookbooks are to die for

Elle France, October 2010

the ever timeless, grace kelly

Liu Wen, the face of Elle China, September 2008

taylor swift + the big top = circus gypsy

not sure who the babe on the back is but when i happened across this pic on where is the cool i recognized my old SPU-mate chris cushingham, an industrial interior designer who always seemed to know what was hip before the rest of the world. he does it all too - models, designs, randomly appears on HGTV shows, you name it. keep an eye on him, the only place he's going is up, up and away.

another timeless babe - ali macgraw, star of my favorite movie "love story"

this little guy was solely responsible for turning monday into FUNDAY. and consequently made me happy as a clam.