Meeting You with a View to a Kill

What I'm Wearing
* Bright blue maxi dress from Supertrash {funny} seen once here and the back of it is backless actually and ruched just below.
* Army green cropped trench jacket by Poleci... seen once here
* Vintage Matisse turquoise necklace, which I wear backwards for a rose-gold affect.
* Made her Think hanging stud earrings in rose gold also.
* Kenneth Cole rose gold & tortoise watch, courtesy of KC mixed with vintage bangles and SEAH leather wrap bracelet w/ gemini + pisces signs for my husband and I {also seen here}
* Vintage studded belt {sometimes worn as a bracelet}
* Ray Ban aviator sunglasses
* leopard wedges by Joie.

* Hair: high ponytail... which I LOVE but don't wear very often for two reasons.
1. My hair is really heavy and unless my ponytail is SO TIGHT it's pulling my eyes back and giving me an faux face lift, it feels like it's falling down and leaves me with major hair pain at the end of the day when I remove it.
2. Because no matter which rubber bands I use, and I feel like I've found the best possible ones, they break my hair and damage it more than a curling iron ever does. {see it swishing here}

* Sporty striped nails.

* Title: Duran Duran - A View To A Kill


As I was editing these photos yesterday, I realized the size of my butt may be bigger than I actually think it is... but I'm just going to blame the dress and maybe from now on, wear it with a longer jacket like I did the first time to disguise it a little. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of big butts but I'm not trying to look like Coco, if you know what I mean? {for the record, don't click that link if you're at work}. I don't mind my curves but I'm 35 and I don't want to look vulgar or like I'm asking people to LOOK AT MY BUTT {even though most of the photos here are of the back of me - note: I was trying to get great ponytail shots, unaware of my massive lady lumps following me} but whatever, I have a big butt, what can I do? {apparently, apologize for it, lol}

Happy Tuesday!

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* Sporty Striped Nails *

It's been so warm in LA lately that it has really felt like Summer and has translated into tank tops and open toes and brightly colored nails. Incorporating fun Spring trends: sporty and neon, as I did with my DIY chain necklace last week and adding a silver stripe down the middle, I created a fun and easy manicure in three steps.

*note: if you make the yellow side larger, and add the silver stripe to the side rather than the center, you'll get a more arty, Mondrian feel than sporty... I like them both, respectively.





* Sephora by OPI White Nail polish
* Very old Wet n Wild yellow polish
* L.A.Colors Nail Art Polish - Silver - such a fun set of polish with very long and very thin brushes, meant for nail art and details.
* Chanel Extreme Brilliance top coat



* Apply two coats of white polish on all nails.
* Allow to dry.
* Apply one coat of polish on half of your nail.
* Allow to dry.
* Carefully take your fine brush and paint your center stripe.
* Allow to dry then apply your topcoat

Have Fun!

Find all of my Nail Art Tutorials Here

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Making Martha's Oatmeal Smoothies

Of all the creative outlets I prefer, cooking, baking, really anything involved in making things with food, are not high on my list. My thoughts originally on the subject were as follows: Once I have kids, I'll start cooking. And now, still childless, my thoughts on the subject are as follows: The only way I'll cook is if I start a food blog.

Though I am cooking all of LeRoy's meals now out of necessity, I am not interested in actually cooking anything else in my kitchen. Occasionally, maybe once every 2 weeks or so, I do, but mostly, we eat out or order in. If you'll notice, the few recipes I have blogged about do not involve actual "cooking". {See my Easy & Healthy Summer Snacks, my Yogurt Pie, and my Peanut Butter Squares and now I can add this one to the list}

When I saw this photo on Pinterest, 10 weeks ago now, with the description "OATMEAL SMOOTHIE", I was intrigued.

Oatmeal in a smoothie? I had to try it. But I had to get a blender first.




Ingredients: {as per Martha's Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe}

* 1 cup ice
* 1/2 cup frozen raspberries I actually bought fresh raspberries, then put them in the freezer, not realizing I could just buy a bag of frozen raspberries. Yeah.
* 1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt blech
* 1 banana
* 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 cup coconut water (or other liquid, such as juice) I used cran-raspberry juice because that's all I had. Though I know the point of this smoothie was no added sugar, it wasn't my goal. Also note: I used the entire cup as stated in the ingredients, then watched the little video which used much less.



I was color coordinating food. Should I have put the bananas at the bottom instead or does it matter?

Directions: Place ice and raspberries in the bottom of blender, and all other ingredients on top. Whir until completely smooth. Serve.



Other than the fact that I can't stand seeds from fruit in my mouth and the fact that the oats sort of added to the seed factor, making it feel like I had sand stuck in my teeth, the smoothie was good. The husband said it tasted like a Jamba Juice, which sounds like a win to me and my mom loved it.

So aside from having to clean the blender out and feeling like I'm swallowing a mouthful of sand, I'd probably make this again using about a half a cup of juice and maybe adding a little more honey {or even sugar ;} to the mix. It would actually be a great breakfast alternative to my Coffee Bean Ice Blended Mochas.

I mentioned it being fun to serve at Easter and my mom quickly added... With a little bit of alcohol in it. Which yeah, would really make the seeds more bearable.

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Purple on Purple : Caped Crusader

What I'm wearing
* Gray wool cape by Trovata... seen once here with my cat stockings, so fun!
* Vintage sheer striped blouse was my grandma's... also seen here.
* Purple skinny jeans... courtesy of Hudson. Seen once here w/ my snaky french braid.
* Vintage earrings, were also my Grandma's. Wrist cuffs are Tuleste and were a gift from Julie and I just wore them both here
* DIY safety pin belt. So easy. Surprisingly versatile... with a touch of rockstar. I push all the pins to the front and they happen to fit just within the parameters of the two front belt loops.
* Cynthia Rowley burgundy bag.
* Vintage sunglasses.
* Miu Miu wool ankle boots... seemingly sold out everywhere but Bluefly where the sale price is way higher than all the other sites that had them on sale. I wore them all day and only had a little blister where the peep hit my toe. Otherwise, surprisingly comfortable. I love the sturdy heel.

Where I would have normally worn this outfit to work, when I got dressed to spend the day with the husband, running errands, lunching, etc., it seemed like too much. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I would have worn it to work and then anywhere I may have gone after work but now, it all seems so fussy...

* note: the jeans photograph much brighter than they are in reality {see every other photo} so I've adjusted many of the photos so the purples show correctly. Also noting that I obviously feel the need to disclaim everything.






















So before we left, I changed into this...



Casual... a little disheveled... comfy... me... same jeans and shoes but with an easy American Apparel racerback tank and a loose Brandy Melville sweater. Jigsaw-London bag

Happy Thursday!

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Sporty Neon Chain Necklace DIY

Since "sporty" and "neon" are buzzing Spring trends, I thought I'd combine the two and whip up something bright, sporty, and cool rather than spend a pretty penny on something that may be just a passing fad. The idea popped in my head whilst searching through my craft closet the other day. I found these old neon shoe laces I had originally bought for my roller skates in or around 2003... which was the first time neons made their way back into fashion since the 80's and they've been coming and going every few years since.

* On a scale of 1-10, 1 being easy and 10 being difficult, this DIY ranks at around a 2 and is similar to THIS and this -see refashioned necklaces in both vintage outfit posts.





* Chunky chain link OR use a chain necklace you already have, like I did.
* Sporty neon shoe laces. {I used one 81" shoe lace but you can use two shorter laces and skip the last few steps if you choose}
* Scissors & lighter




* Cut two sections of chunky chain, one about 11" and one about 10" OR if you're using a necklace, double it, making sure all links are facing the same direction and that the inner section is shorter than the outer.



* If you have two separate chains, weave your shoelace through the links. If you've doubled a necklace, begin at the bend and weave your shoe lace through to the other end.



* Allow about 10" of lace and trim it into a V. {if you have 2 laces, skip the rest}



* Heat the end of your lace with your lighter, then pinch it together and blast it again. This will give it a nice finished look & keep it from fraying and unraveling.



* For the necklace version, take your cut lace and weave it through the inner chain. If you have two chains, weave one lace into the other chain at one end to keep them together. I suppose you can also just choose to weave your lace through the chain and wear it long but my goal was to create a collar bone necklace.



* It should look something like this.

Have Fun!

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Twofer Tuesday : Lips & Toes

I couldn't resist a certain end of season sale and found a pair of Miu Miu peep toe knotted ankle boots in my size for an extra $125 off the sale price. They're surprisingly comfortable and with a hint of 40's flair, I'll wear them now and into the next chilly seasons.




I have this thing about dry lips and have to have something on them at all times or else I lick them until they're cherry red, which is not a cute look. While at Sephora a few weeks ago, I picked up this Sugar lip treatment by Fresh and went wild for the tropical lemony scent. Still contemplating spending $25 on a lip balm, the salesgirl told me that not only does it hydrate and nourish, it SMOOTHS WRINKLES AROUND THE DELICATE LIP AREA. And anything that may help repair the possible damage I've done to my lips and/or the area around my lips from stupidly sucking on cigarettes for over 10 years, I will most definitely try.

Two weeks later and I'm completely addicted to it. I must apply it 10-20 times a day, which is a nice little departure from the blistex lip medex I've been using since I was 17. Do you ever wonder if using the same product for too long is carcinogenic? Or am I the only hypochondriac here?

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Feel the beat from the Tambourine

What I'm Wearing
* Alice and Olivia black satin high waist pants
* DIY lace halter bustier top. love. and super easy.
* Vintage gold bag, belt, & earrings.
* Vintage sunglasses.
* Rosena Sammi bracelet
* Casadei leopard print stilettos

* Red Lips... Mac "Such Flare!" | Vintage Decal Nails

* Title: lyrics from ABBA : Dancing Queen ~ connection: their head to toe blue satin suits in the video I linked to & my satin pants and pseudo 70's glam look.

I was dying to wear this outfit during the holiday season... actually, I've been dying to wear it since I made the lace halter bustier, but haven't had a chance to. So I threw it on the other day for a fun photo shoot and realized the pants were much longer than I remembered them. I think I was a few lbs heavier when I first got them and tried them on so they stayed up around my actual waist better and weren't as long. I obviously need to alter them before I wear them for real... or just find higher shoes.


* note: My husband hates these pants. hates them. hates all high waisted pants. thinks they're the worst thing a woman can wear. On top of it, I actually thought my husband would think this outfit was sexy. I was so wrong. ;)

Happy Monday!

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