lonely goatherd.

yodel-ay-hee-hoo!

cake, anyone?

mm ... yami in my tummy!

Hey all -- I had some friends come by the other day and we went on a mini South Bay adventure.  Though I hail from the South Bay (310 what what!), I always have trouble thinking of what to do around here.  Despite my fishing for ideas of what to do in the South Bay, we still managed to have a lovely time -- must have been the good company ;).  Lunch at Carson's Mami King was followed by checking out the quaint shops and market at Alpine Village.  Super-K was next as it was nearly a block away ... followed by Yami Tea House in Lomita.  This was my first time here, I ordered a Strawberry Milky Drink with boba ... it *only* came in 32oz size ... luckily, I was able to finish it -- it was tasty!  Our trip ended with browsing around Daiso.  If you ever find yourself in the South Bay, check out these establishments!  

Since I knew I'd be walking around and bumming around, I decided to keep things casual with my outfit.  More so, decided to stay warm ... sure, it's August, but the weather's been a bit whack!  I wore pants and long sleeves and let's just say, though it wasn't wintertime cold, I still didn't regret it.

o0o!  And another thing, I recently got Instagram and have been quite addicted to it!  I've been having fun snapping photos and swapping out filters -- the photos I used in this post are from my account!

Do you have an Instagram?  Follow me!  User name is gummiebear727 =)

detalles:

printed sweatshirt -- express

cropped jeans -- express

white tennis shoes -- vans

round sunnies -- urban outfitters

purple crossbody bag -- kipling

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

song sung BLUE

waiting for the bus.

cute furniture + carpeting!

detail of the "enchanted woods collection"

sepia. tourist photo!

pretty flowers.

I recently visited the Beverly Hills Public Library to check out their newly re-modeled children's library.  I haven't seen the old children's library (though I have seen the temporary one), but this new one was quite nice!  I was most impressed by the carpeting as well as the artwork and design of the "Enchanted Woods" collection.  Aside from the children's library, BHPL is a great library to check out if you are interested in the arts. There are pieces on the walls, and a great arts collection on the upper level that includes sheet music and artists books!

detalles:

loafers -- SAS shoes

blue & white floral print skirt -- gap kids (1990s)

blue polo -- izod

denim jacket -- american eagle

green beret -- gifted (no label)

kaleidoscope

waiting at the expo line.

USC campus for the LA Times Festival of books.

sunnies.

street art. "forgive someone" by morley.

mondrian-like wall.

weekend read.

Decided to check out the LA Times' Festival of Books on 4.20.  I still remember when it was at UCLA, it was a little disorienting at USC, I'm just not used to the campus, though it was quite lovely (I root for the blue & gold though!).  Also checked out Record Store Day, no pictures from that, and no purchases either, the store my friend and I went to was quite nice though.

detalles:

zig zag dress -- francesca's

denim jacket -- american eagle

geometric necklace -- forever 21

pink clog boots -- gap kids

pink sunnies -- anthropologie