Joy to the world!

mr. florian kaps, you are my hero.

polaroid has been brought back from the dead and i can once again instantly document travels.
(jen gotch has spread the good news)

home:






oakland:

newport beach:


hollywood:

(all polaroids by me)

Oh! Darling

so one place on my list of things I didn't get to see is Liverpool. Basically to see home of the Beatles.

the Magical Mystery Tour is definitely one of those cheesy tourist bus trips that i would not mind taking in the least bit. even the bus itself is cool!

aqui

Here's the tour website.
to be able to have seen real places of song inspiration like penny lane and strawberry field...how magical it would truly be.

here

and now for a moment of failure as both a small and (sadly recent) Beatles fan and as a human being in general. I for some reason was under the impression that Abbey Road was in Liverpool not London...
It was much later that I discovered that dear Abbey Road was a mere 1.7 miles from the hostel i stayed at for 3 nights upon first arriving in London.
fail.

via

repetition

next time i visit paris, i'm hoping to be in a positive income range...
therefore this is a must-visit:
31 rue cambon
orginal home of chanel

and because Karl Lagerfeld is a genius
and i absolutely adored the pre-fall 09 collection
(not that i'm not in love with every other collection, ever)
for your viewing enjoyment:




(via style.com)

(first discovered here)

i've been experiencing a desire to visit Russia lately that I can't quite explain. it seems like everywhere i look are references to st. petersburg and moscow. (plus one of my all-time favorite animated films is Anastasia...)

(from imdb)

lovely

i must admit, the amount of traveling i did in europe in such a short amount of time really left me burnt out as far as museums go. sadly everything became "just another painting/sculpture/etc." now i'm really feeling excited about some exhibits here in CA that i'm discovering.

I just read on blog Trust Your Style that LACMA has just acquired a huge collection of 18th and 19th century european fashion. it sounds like it will be just extraordinary!





sadly this exhibit will not be open until sometime in 2010, so i will have to be keeping tabs on updates!

to read an interview with the curator for more info about the collection, click here.

once again

Paris will not leave me alone.
I see images like this and feel like i've never even been.
it's not that i'm ungrateful for the experience i had.
i just have a sense that there's many secrets that i did not discover there.
that paris has 2 doors and i missed the whimsical, sophisticated, romantic one.

(hermes ad found here)

(Dior ad found here)

(Dior ad found here)

I want to blend in with those classy, sophisticated French women.
With ubiquitous style and an air of confidence.
whether stopping at a cafe on the champs elysees,

(found here)

or strolling through the jardin de tuileries,

(found here)

or just running errands in the city a la geraldine saglio,

(found here)

and for more Paris lust, enjoy:

Dior ad campaign directed by Sofia Coppola

a place i dearly miss

just around the corner from pembroke college was a darling little boutique called ARK.

right next door to auntie tea's restaurant, it is so quintessentially english. i'm usually not one for pink and girliness galore, but this place had a wonderful subdued vintage vibe and made me feel like a little kid in a toy store. i visited a couple times a week. i spent hours wandering that tiny 2 story shop with the spiral staircase.


one of the things my writing professor at cambridge said to us was to keep a small notebook on you at all times to record various sources of inspiration. whether it was a snippet of overheard conversation or a really delicious meal, anything that peaked your interest could be used later on as part of a story. additionally, if we saw something inspiring, she urged us to photograph it or purchase it (within reason).

i wanted to buy all of ARK. so many little trinkets and treasures that one doesn't quite need, but would definitely make life a bit more enjoyable.




one lovely find was the work of designer Cath Kidston. She designs vintage inspired fabric/textile patterns and uses it for various clothing and household items. i had to savor the adorable-ness with a vinyl coated passport cover. there were tote bags, umbrellas, backpacks, rainboots and loads more all decked out in her precious little patterns.




there was this postcard. such a lovely artistic montage in both color and style that i am not normally attracted to. i snapped a photo and visited it many times and now i kick myself for not buying it.

another culturally enriched travel desire

i NEED to go to san francisco's de young museum before april 5 to experience the YSL (Yves San Laurent) exhibit.

Marina Schiano in Evening Gown. Fall-Winter 1970. © The Estate of Jeanloup Sieff

the description on the website:
"In the 1960s Yves Saint Laurent made an indelible mark on fashion with clothing emblematic of the new modernity. Yves Saint Laurent, organized by FAMSF and The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, explores the designs that made Saint Laurent famous, and his inspirations drawn from art, theatre, history, literature, and nature. This exhibition contains nearly 130 accessorized garments and sketches illustrating the lines, colors, and fundamentals of Saint Laurent’s work. This is the only U.S. venue. A catalogue accompanies this exhibition."

please please please please
i've heard it's magical

p.s. mcclone construction in shingle springs, whom i used to work for, built the de young! shout out!

p.p.s. i <3 fashion

p.p.p.s. i NEED to visit san fran in general. it has been FARRR too long. plus i need to acquaint myself since i might be living there this summer... ;D

christmas party

my dear friend Lana is the classiest young lady I know. She was the first to inspire me to dress in a fancy, sophisticated way. She also throws fabulous parties. She is Ukrainian and her family and friends from the Ukraine are a very tight knit community. There always seems to be something to celebrate. and Lana is Miss Detail-oriented! Because she lives in the sacramento area I have never been to one of her parties. so, when I heard she was having one for christmas, I scheduled my flight just so i could go. and it was well worth it. It felt a bit like a lesson in culture in itself, considering I was the only non-Ukrainian there! But everyone was wonderfully welcoming, boisterous, fun and chatty. It was an appetizer potluck, which I loved because there was tons of food, but it was all light and not too filling. (i brought caprese salad, on skewers. yum!) there was much mingling. the most enjoyable christmas songs karaoke I've ever seen (and mind you there was no alcohol present). and then a fun white elephant exchange. it consisted of actually useful items ($10 limit). I got a giftcard to starbucks! although the hot ticket ended up being two soft fleece throw blankets (something to remember for next year!)






(all photos via Lana's myspace)