Gray and....

Lately my favorite color has been gray. It's been the new "black" for me and I find that it pairs well with many hues, both as a main color, or to neutralize other colors. My favorite combination by far is gray and yellow, which I used for my wedding, but I've been wearing gray with apple green, pink (a lovely combo), and blue....so when I found this skirt, it inpsired me to wear gray with another color- red!

I bought this skirt at Urban Outfitters for only $19 bucks! It's listed online for $29.99 but the ones at the Pasadena store are tagged for $19. It's a gorgeous red and the cut-outs remind me of vintage lace. I paired it with a classic cardigan and simple black heels for a girly look, but I can also see it worn with little black booties for a more edgy look.

Cardigan-J.crew, Shoes- Plenty by Tracy Reese, Bag- Louis Vuitton, Necklace- Forever 21

 Here it is on me

And just for fun, here's my favorite combo of gray and yellow used in our wedding (with teal accents)

Do you like pairing gray with anything? If so, what's your favorite color combination?

Birdcage Necklaces

I love necklaces. LOVE. I'm constantly on the lookout for unique, one of a kind pieces and it's the only accessory I change on a daily basis. But lately I've been wearing the same necklace- this awesome birdcage beauty! This necklace is vintage, girly, and whimsical- and I can't enough of it. I think my other necklaces are jealous of her...I guess they'll have to "hang on" patiently until I tire of this one.

Want on like it? Check out these similar necklaces below and click here to see where you can buy one.

Or check out one of my favorite websites, Etsy.com.

Do you have a piece of jewelry you love so much that your other jewelry gets neglected?

Mother Love

Happy early Mother's Day to all you awesome mommies out there!

I'll be visiting my mom on Sunday and couldn't be more excited for her to open up her gift- perfume by Tocca! I've been sniffing this perfume every time I go into Anthropologie and sneaking a quick spray on my wrist as I head out of the store.

It comes in 5 different scents but I like Stella and Florence the best. I ended up getting my mom Stella, which is a little more fruity (Florence has more of a floral scent).

Looking to buy this as a last minute gift? You can get it at Anthropologie or Sephora, both in stores or online :) 

Foto Friday

Ever since I started taking photography classes, I've been paying attention to things that I don't normally notice- like shadows. I think shadows make such interesting photos and they are so fun to capture!

Lacy Park, Pasadena

The Getty Center, Los Angeles

American at Brand, Glendale

The Getty Center, Los Angeles

Old Town, Pasadena

Santorini, Greece

Do you have any interesting photographs of shadows to share?

The Elvis Cupcake

recipe here

So what do you do when you have a bunch of over-ripe bananas? Why, you make banana cupcakes of course! I usually bake banana bread from super ripe bananas but today I thought I'd try something a little different- Elvis Presley's favorite combo of peanut butter and banana.

I found an awesome recipe for banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting on one of my favorite recipe sites, Epicurious.com. I also love that Epicurious has a pretty good App for my iPhone. Love apps.

These cupcakes not only look good, they are also very tasty- to quote my favorite gal Rachel Ray- "Yum-O!" I ended up eating 4 of these in a row so it's a good thing I made them mini sized.....mini peanut butter and banana cupcake, you may look like an angel, but you're the devil in disguise!

rising to perfection!

peanut butter frosting- so delicious

topped with a banana chip- you can add nuts on top too 

why.... hello! so cute.

Do you love the combination of peanut butter and bananas? If so, what's your favorite PB + banana recipe?

I ride my bicycle...

I love bicycles. And the sunny, warm days we've been getting here in Cali makes me want to pick up a bike and start riding around. And everytime I think of bicycles, I think of the song Brand New Key by Melanie- this song totally puts a smile on my face- listen to it and you'll soon start smiling too!

I don't own a bicycle but if I were to get one, it would totally be this super awesome Paul Frank cruiser:

more super duper cute cruisers here

Not only do I love riding bicycles, I also love wearing them. Here are a two of my favorite "bicycle" clothing- maybe I should wear these while riding the Paul Frank Cruiser...

one of my favorite Anthro dresses



by J.Crew- similar one here

And I'm totally lusting over this bicycle necklace:

from here- also tons more on Etsy.com


Do you enjoy riding bicycles...or wearing them? Or maybe you like roller skates...

I HEART my Diani Mini!



As I mentioned in a previous post, the hubby and I started a film photography class and we're really enjoying ourselves. Before last week's class started, one of the girls pulled out something that caught my eye- it was a little black box- no wait, after a double take I realized it was a tiny camera! And not just any camera, but a mini lomo. I didn't know what it did or how awesome it was, but I felt like I just had to have one too.

The student told me how she just received it as a gift and hadn't developed any rolls of film yet. I did a little research right then and there, and from what information I could gather on my iphone, it seemed to take very fun and creative photos. I told her I was going to get one too, and we made plans to bring our first photos from the camera to class the following week. I was excited to have made a photo-sharing buddy.

The very next day I went over to my local Samy's Camera store in Pasadena and walked out with the little princess in my hands- I loaded a roll of film and got to shooting right away. I love how small she is and how easily she fits into my purse- this baby is going to go with me everywhere!

See how tiny she is?!



The simple structure

What's funny is that with the Diana Mini, I am doing the opposite of what I am taught in class, which is to think about every photo I shoot- composure, lighting, shutter speed, aperture, rule of thirds, etc. With lomo cameras, the motto is to follow no rules. It is encouraged to "just click and don't think," to shoot from the hip, and to take a photo without really knowing what you are capturing on film- basically to stop being so serious and to start having fun!

Here are some photos from my first roll...one thing I realized is that this camera needs a lot of light!

Taken by the dear husband

Pretty scenery of Longshadow Ranch

All smiles at Nancy and Jeff's wedding rehearsal

The lovely bride rode in this on her wedding day!

So happy the day before her big day!

Check out this awesome blog for more Diana Mini Love....you want one too, don't you? You can get your very own mini awesomeness here, here, or here.

Do you own a Diana Mini or any other Lomography camera? If so, let's see your photos!!