Huntington Botanical Gardens

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Sorry for not posting for awhile. This week started off really promising but turned tragic real quick. But luckily al the drama has died down a bit...so back to blogging.

I was lucky to visit a semi-Los Angeles secret: Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens
Here are some pictures from my visit and an outfit of the day picture!

There are quite a few gardens at the Huntington (desert, jungle, Japanese, Chinese, Rose, Children) but I guess spring hasn't officially sprung as many of the trees & gardens were flowerless.

The Japanese and Chinese gardens were definitely the high point. The Japanese garden you may recognize from the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. It unfortunately is going to be closed for renovations until NEXT YEAR so I wanted to check it out before it closed.
The Chinese garden had a little restaurant where you can grab some not-so-authentic Chinese food and catch some gorgeous views of the giant pond with bridges & San Gabriel mountains.

As for what I'm wearing?
Polka dot top: Marshalls (its supposed to be a dress? but its kind of short and see through)
blazer: Forever 21 (lined REALLY weird. not sold anymore...)
boots: Marshalls (bought on sale for $15! Great buy although I did have to buy a size larger than I normally wear. Socks are my bffs with these boots!)

I want to try to incorporate more of LA and food into my blogs. I want this blog have more dimensions and aspects to it. I hope you guys don't mind :)

Cheers!

Outfit of the Day: Inspired by Audrey

Oh the great Audrey Hepburn. The fashion world owes her so much.
Not only did she make the little black dress a wardrobe staple, but she also made black pants forever fashionable.

Image from Seraphic Press

Its hard to find good black pants. I've been on the hunt for awhile now. The 3 things I was looking for was a lightweight fabric both for casual/work wear, crop, and slim.
I looked high and low until I remembered something:

Does anyone else remember this Gap commercial like I do?

So that's where I went.
The Gap slim crop pant in black is what I picked up (seen here)



This is how I paired it. I wore my favorite striped shirt I bought in Korea. I tied my hair in a bun (you can't see it cause it's not a high bun..my hair is not long enough for that).

As for the pants...I love them!
I was on the fence because at the fitting room they were a little bit snug. I read the label and saw that it was 5% spandex so I knew that it would stretch out with wear...but I was still scared.
My body type is awkward in that I have thunder thighs :( so slim pants make me feel very self conscious.

Anyway, I bought the pants for a little over $30 when Gap was having one of those 40% off flash sales.
Worth it? Totally! I've seen reviews for the Minnie pants from JCrew but they are WAY too expensive.
Its a great fit in every way.
For height reference..I am 5'7" and the pants hit literally right above my ankle. I can fold the pants for a more casual look...or pair them with heels to dress them up. Very versatile pants.


Cheers!

lust list1

lust list1 by phlee921 featuring a reversible dress

From the Shoe Vault

Just thought I'd do a quick small post for the weekend :)

I wanted to show you lovely readers some of the shoes in my collection that I absolutely love and adore.

First up...because I feel like its summer already here in Los Angeles is my highly coveted, highly sought after Cynthia Vincent wedges from Target.

These babies took forever for me to track down. They first sold out online before the shoes even hit the stores and then it was sheer chaos after that.

I literally called/visited 5 Targets a day trying to track down these shoes.

Fortunately, my good friend's cousin had an extra pair in my size and I quickly made an offer.

Best decision of my life ladies.

Not only are these wedges made amazingly well and are super comfy despite looking like they wouldn't....they were cheap. Only $35.

No wonder they went fast!

Had I found them in stores I would have bought a pair in each color...but sadly I could not.
It is true about what they say about the ankle strap though. It is not adjustable so if you have normal/skinny ankles it will hang off a bit.

Since these wedges were so darn difficult to find and I know I will never get another pair again...I wear them sooooo rarely. I think so far I've only worn them twice.
They are like unicorns to me.


I hope this post was semi-fun and I'll try to do more like these soon :)

Cheers!

Shopping

I went shopping today! I went to the outlets near Palm Springs which are AWESOME.
They have a great mix of luxury shops (Dior, Prada, Diane von Furstenberg, etc.) and popular shops (Charlotte Russe, Levis, Banana Republic, etc).

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This was one of the things I got. Its a purse from Coach.
Normally, I don't like Coach because I hate their pattern (those C's drive me crazy!). Thankfully this bag didn't have that pattern.
I bought it for about $120! Isn't that a great price? I also loveeee that it has the crossbody strap. Every bag should have that strap. Makes life so much easier!

This is the other item I got. Shoes!
Tod's is considered a high end brand. These shoes normally run over $300 but I got them for $140!
Tod's leather is seriously amazing. Also, ALL their shoes are amazingly comfortable.

I totally believe in comfortable shoes. No matter how pretty the shoe is...it is NOT worth your money unless you can walk comfortably in them for at least a 1-2 hours.

I am very weird about my purses. I do not believe in buying purses more than $500. That means no Chanel, no Louis Vuitton, no Gucci, no Prada. You may think that's really weird...but if you saw how I am with purses you would completely understand.
When I buy a purse..it will literally be the ONLY purse I use for the year. During that year, my purse will go through a lotttt of wear and tear. Most of my purses will get crazy ripped up, get scratches&cuts, fade in color, etc.
So a really expensive purse would just be a complete waste for me.
With shoes that I absolutely love..they either fall into 2 categories:
1) I will wear them literally whenever I can.
2) I will wear them as little as possible so that I can hold onto them for as long as I can.

So weird right? Are you guys the same way? Let me know!

**Reminder: Don't forget to follow me! If I hit 10 followers by Feb. 14th, I will have my first giveaway!**

Cheers!

Snail Mail Surprise!

Have I ever told you how much I love eBay?
Recently, I have been using eBay to find limited edition clothes that I missed out on.
I have been obsessing over a lot of the old Target collaborations. Rodarte, Richard Chai, Alexander McQueen, etc. I'm so sad I missed out on the collections during their original release.
Thankfully, eBay has come to save my day!

I spotted a dress from the Rodarte collection that I fell in love with. It was in my size, cheap, and available. So I forked over $15 and bought the dress. 3 days later, it arrived in my mail box in all its glory!


First thoughts on this dress:
1) Its really well crafted. I know a lot of the later Target collections aren't as well made...but this dress is pretty quality! Not only is there a side zipper (a huge plus in my book!), the dress is lined, but even the halter bow is even adjustable!
2) The fit is nice..but I did notice it was kind of small. I knew ahead of time to order 1 size up after reading other fashion blogs. It fit perfectly on my waist...but sadly the bust area was too big! :(
3) The dress is short. I am 5'6" or so...and bending over in this dress will forever be a no no.



I am in love with the floral/lace pattern!

I saw other listings for this dress around $14.99. I got my dress for $9.99 (minus shipping). I highly recommend this dress! In the winter you can pair it with tights and a blazer and in summer just run free!!
I'm saving a picture of me in the dress for a special occasion ;D

Cheers!