guess that's why they call it the blues

ethiopian food.

trinkets.

oodles of vintage goodies ...

"Hey Macklemore!  Can we go thrift shopping?!?"

outfit

treasure trunks.

Recently I met up with a couple of friends for a little LA adventure.  This brief daytrip took us to Little Ethiopia, on Fairfax, close to LACMA and Miracle Mile.  We dined on Ethiopian food from Buna Marketplace, a quaint little food place and shop.  This was my first time to eat Ethiopian food, and I must say, it was rather interesting -- quite the experience.  After, we strolled through the area to check out a few of the vintage shops.  Though none of us scored any purchases, it was definitely fun.

Outfit: I decided to go with this navy blue floral dress for a day out in the city.  I purchased the dress at a little boutique in Westwood and have been in love with it ever since.  I love the simple and clean lines of this short and flirty A-line dress.  It has a high-cut crew neck, which I feel is very flattering, yet hard to come by these days.  This higher cut neckline paired with the slim, elbow length sleeves (forgot to take a photo with the jacket off!) lend to a more conservative and modest dress, however the higher hem line make it still young and fun.  I also love how versatile this dress is: it can easily be taken from day to night by changing the outerwear, shoes, and accessories.  Scrap the denim jacket, swap the loafers for some heels, add a shiny necklace and some dangling earrings, and voila!  You've got yourself a night-time ready look in no time.

detalles:

navy and tan floral dress -- sweet rain

denim jacket -- american eagle

loafers -- SAS shoes

purple crossbody bag -- kipling

brown sunnies -- ANDM showroom

school girl.

lunch.

happy face!

The District at Tustin.

movie theater.

interior.

Today (erm, yesterday ... ? It's past midnight!) my very good friend and I decided to go to good old Orange County.  Our main destination was Irvine, but we made some stops at Santa Ana and Tustin.  Being back in Irvine is always a trip for me, nonetheless, it was a very pleasant day.  We lunched at Cha For Tea -- I rarely ever ate food here (aside from the tasty crispy chicken).  I opted for the orange chicken, and it was quite tasty.  It is not any Panda Express orange chicken, but it was good.  The day ended with Joss Whedon's latest film, Much Ado About Nothing at the Edwards Cinema in Irvine.  I hadn't read this play (!), but I had seen a movie version before.  Still, the story was rather new to me -- I didn't know it would be in Shakespearean language ... luckily, I was still able to follow!

Sadly, in all the events of the day, I got caught up and didn't take a proper picture of my outfit!  The second picture captures a bit of the top, though the necklace pendant dropped -- will have to feature a detail of that later!

detalles:

brown polo shirt -- ralph lauren

brown plaid jumper with buttons -- speechless (only $5 at a yard sale type thing at school! A size too big, but for that price, I took it! Layering with a shirt helps it fit better)

necklace -- Long Beach arts and craft fair; pendant from vintage pieces

do you remember all the city lights by the water?

matching drink: trader joe's french berry sparkling lemonade

lily pads.

"do you remember we were sitting there by the water? you saw me start to believe for the first time."

posin'

ducks.

landscape.

tree tops.

shades.

summer sun.

descending order.

In celebration of Bastille Day, I met with friends and headed to Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles for a nice picnic.  Though I've passed by the lake various times, I've never actually been to the park grounds.  I've always thought it looked rather nice with the large fountain things in the middle spewing out water, though my mom has always said it's dirty.  Much of the eastside has gone through some changes, and this Los Angeles neighborhood (along with the neighboring Silver Lake) is now considered "hip" and cool ... whatever it is, I did notice that the park really wasn't dirty, but rather, quite nice.  I was a bit upset that the pedal boats were not running, but I'll take a clean park and lake with no pedal boats than a dirty one with pedal boats.  My mom later informed me that Garcetti has been working on this area, on cleaning it up and making it nicer -- the park and lake has undergone rehabilitation.  Job well done Mr. Mayor, I'm liking it.  Last summer however, I visited MacArthur Park, also in LA with a similar fountain thing in the middle of their lake.  Unfortunately, MacArthur Park is still is quite dirty, I would *not* suggest having a picnic here.  Echo Park Lake however was quite pleasant and even had a small playground.  If you're looking for a nice place to picnic and people watch, Echo Park Lake is definitely an option to keep in mind (especially when the pedal boats are back up!).

detalles:
coral striped top -- express
coral skirt with pockets -- urban outfitters
round sunnies -- urban outfitters
rope cuff bracelet -- tory burch
loafers -- SAS shoes
purple crossbody bag -- kipling