Fashion Faultiness

Let me explain...for the past few months I have been going through a bit of a style rut. My sister says I look like a chola and 90's...really? I don't think so.Just because I like red lipstick and leopard print...haha anyway.  I think my schedule is making me not care how I look because I go to class in the morning and and work till 12:30 at night. I just get up and stare at the closet and wonder what the hell am I going to wear today? It's always the same thing: striped shirt, jeans flats. Or, workout pants, walking shoes and a tank. And then at night it's all black for work. The one day that I actually care about what I wear is when I go to work at Road Less Traveled because it's an inspiring environment and I can express myself.

So, I have come up with a plan to get motivated to show off my wardrobe: 

Don't wear workout clothes unless you're working out!

Dress up for date night or girls night out.

Make a point to take more photos of outfits I like and either post them on blog or in a notebook.

Donate clothes I no longer wear (less to go through when getting dressed.)

Coordinate my outfits with my presentations for school.

Organize my closet by type of clothing, not color. 

So since I have become more aware of my fashion faultiness I made a point to get extra dressed up for my latest presentation for Interior Design Studio. Yes I wore all black and I usually don't like to do that, but I did get complimented on my outfit and my presentation ;) That's always a great thing to hear and will keep me motivated to dress up a bit more or be more creative in my clothing choices. 

Where:

 Interior Design presentation.

Wearing: 

Hat: Target

Necklace: The Limited

Lace top: Kaitlyn in Brea

Lace Cami: Jcpenny

Skirt: Old Navy

Shoes: TJ Maxx

Book: No one belongs here more than you, by Miranda July

Makeup: melting away after a long day...

Come Fly with Me

Who's packing their bags and getting ready to fly away with the ladies of Pan Am! I'm excited that one of the new fall tv show's that I want to see is airing on a night when I have no school or work :) And even better the show is based on true events because one of  the producers herself was a Stuartist for Pan Am. 

Did you know that some of the women hired were spies? Neither did I. Looks like everyone including my fav fashion designer is on the Pan AM bandwagon. Designer Trina Turk, known for her iconic 60's inspired fashion named her Fall 2011 line "Come fly with me". Something makes me wonder if she knew about the Pan AM show well in advanced? Well Trina are you friends with the producers? Some of Trina's pieces are named directly after the new Pan Am show, for instance the "Pan Am Coat". 

To see some of Trina Turk's fall line and vintage Pan Am posters that make you want to fly for hrs keep reading. 

On her: Pan Am Coat

On her: Red Baron Cape

On her: Flight Crew Dress

Los Angeles International Airport

On her: Aviation Dress

Window shopping by the beach with mom

 Back in August I went on a little outing to the beach with my mom, Newport Beach/Corona Del Mar to be exact. I live relatively close to the beach in comparison to some of you that live in say, Iowa? So yeah I live like 25 mins away...but never seem to get down there because the traffic is always horri-bad and I have work or school everyday. But on one fateful afternoon my mom and I managed to make it down to the beach on my first day of vacation! We stopped by so many places including Anthropologie, Tommy Bahama, Bristol Farms and Bliss Home Design. I took alot of photos on the way, mostly for inspiration and to show you. So take a look at what I found. 

ANTHROPOLOGIE: FASHION ISLAND, NEWPORT BEACH CA

I came here in hopes of an out of this world window display but was a bit underwhelmed when I saw what they had in the window. Super simple and low key, not that it looked bad just not what I had expected. 

 Super simple window displays.

 Up close shot of the installation.

 Love the scarf and peach pants.

 Really digging the painted cinder block installation. Perfect for a garden. 

 Like the hanging ropes. 

 Saw this spoon napkin holder thought it could easily be recreated. 

 So so summer. Love the green blue and turquoise and fish netting.

 So many layers of merchandising.

 Thought this was a really intricate wicker bench. 

 All the glassware is nice but I'm drawn to the island more than anything. 

 Get it gurl! Visual design team working on installation art. 

 Now this is a whimsical door/cabinet. I would love to make on of these. 

 Love the bathtub. 

 The ruffle shower curtain is catching my attention. Liking the color scheme alot. 

 Flowy circle installation. 

 Everything has a mauve look to it. Makes me think of early morning when everything has that bluish purple glow. Cool Ikat chair and handwriting bedspread...Mhmmm. 

 Can you spot the chair on top of the canopy?

 Bold colors, Robes and light wood.

 Upon closer look there is a balcony. A kids dream come true. 

TOMMY BAHAMAS: CORONA DEL MAR, CA.

I always feel like Im on holiday time when i step into this store. Everything makes me want the weather to be hot and for my skin to be tight and tan. Their dresses are tdf but somehow never go on sale...? Do they and I just don't know it? Also love the sandals they sell here, very luxurious. 

 Sparkly sandals in silver and gold, perfectly paired with a french manicure. 

 This summer I was obsessed with the dip-dyed ombre look. This dress would have been my go to for summer date night. 

 I had to go around and touch everything, love the feel of soft sweaters while shopping in air conditioning. Love their visual merchandising. I feel like Im in a fancy walk in closet because of all the built in shelving that has decorative molding around it. 

 NEED those sandals, cute idea for displaying on faux grass. 

Relax is right.

BRISTOL FARMS: CORONA DEL MAR, CA

For those of you not in the know, Bristol farms is a fancy schmancy gourmet market. It's under nice in there and so are the prices :) But it's still fun to stop by when Im in the area and pretend that I'm a millionaire for the day. I walked by the soup bar and a most mouth watering scent passed my way. I had to find out the cause. Out came the camera and I snapped a photo of the savory artichoke soup, now I know whats in it and will be making it this fall, ahhh yes. 

BLISS LIVING HOME: CORONA DEL MAR, CA

I had heard of this store before and finally got a chance to see it in person for myself. I spent a while drooling over all of their very well curated designs. The girls working there were friendly, I did happen to see an interior designer and she was working away at her desk and said hi to me. I saw that she had some client boards near her desk and I looked at them because for some reason I wasn't sure if that's what I really saw. I love that their firm does boards because I heard it was a dying art form with everyone using programs on the computer for faster results. Even the drawings including the elevations and axio's were hand drawn, not by her but the girls working for her! Great job ladies @ Bliss Home Design! 

TIME TO GO HOME: 

While walking back to the car I spotted a vast collection of Adirondacks chairs! I'm obsessed with these damn chairs, one of my friends and I have an ongoing joke about these chairs. 

BUT NOT HOME FOR LONG

...the next day we left for Miami Florida! 

-Side note: To my mother if you're reading this...you're one of my favorite people to hang out with. You and I can have such fun pretending to be rich while window shopping at the beach. It never gets old. I love you :)

Kitchen Redesign: Coffee, Comfort, Cooking, Color and Canning!

     I recently worked on an A.D.A. kitchen design remodel and thought I would share with you my designs and materials boards. 

My clients are a couple in their 60's originally form Argentina but have lived in California since the late 1960's. They have two grown children and 4 grandchildren. 

Recently one of the clients (husband) hurt himself  doing one of his usual D.I.Y. stints. So he is recovering from injuries in a wheel chair for a few months. 

My clients Mr. & Mrs Losada, have decided that they would like to live in their current house for a while and would like to do some upgrades so that it is easier on them in the future. They live in Floral Park, an historical Santa Ana Neighborhood in California. Their home is a farm house style with a tri level layout. 

Below is a before and after of the floor plan of the kitchen. 

The 5 C's: things they love

Coffee, Comfort, Cooking, Color and Canning! 

Silvia & Mario's Kitchen Requirements List: 

double sink, six burner range w/ hood, 42" refrigerator, double oven, microwave, tv/dvd, menu planning station, dishwasher, pantry, wok burner, island, eating for 4, counter space, 25% display w/glass doors, wine fridge, wine rack. 

Since Silvia wasnt exactly sure what she wanted the kitchen to look like we went looking at fabrics together just to get her mind thinking. The print that stood out to her the most reminded her of the colors in her kitchen as a child in Argentina. This is where we started and this is what I came up with as a design concept. 

I drew the kitchens color palate straight from the fabric (bottom left) from the burnt orange, buttery yellow, clear blue and ruddy red. Their home has a rustic farm feel with modern amenities. There is a canning display shelf, pantry, menu planning desk, a wok. Pretty much everything on their list was included in this kitchen plus more. 

We took old orange package artwork and framed it and put on the walls thoughout the kitchen and dining room. They worked perfectly. And as for the lighting? We hired a local artisan to create a mason jar chandelier to go over the dining room table that seats 8 comfortably, as well as mason jar sconces for decorative wall lighting. 

The kitchen cabinets are an off white color with a slight distressed look to them because we wanted the kitchen to look lived in. The back splashes were a bronzed material but different styles for the sink and oven. For the sink we chose the penny circles and the oven we chose the square tiles and randomly placed floral tile that was pretty nearly the same motif as the fabric we used for the stools in the kitchen. 

Counter tops were made from recycled glass and concrete, dark antique stained engineered bamboo flooring, organic rattan chairs for dining room with burnt orange seat covers in hemp fabric as well as hemp curtains that resembled vintage coffee bags. Paints colors were drawn from the floral fabric and are all zero V.O.C.

This project was alot of fun but definitely challenging with all of the building codes to follow. 

Thanks for reading.