thou shall not murder, unless you are dexter morgan

I cannot wait for Dexter to come back to Showtime.  My bestie had been pressuring me to start watching it so he would have someone to talk about it with.  I was reluctant at first but after watching the first episode, I am pretty sure I finished the entirety of Season One that night on Instant Netflix.  It is that damn good.
Furthermore: Not since the ending of The Usual Suspects has my mind been blown like it was in the Season Four Finale of Dexter.  Both times, I had to go back and rewatch the whole thing and see what I missed and where and with whom! But it doesn't end there, oh no, for weeks bordering on months afterwards, I would lie awake in bed considering how it all could of happened, and even more, how the writers could do me so dirty like that.  THAT my dear friends, is the mark of an EXCELLENT mind bending show.

{loving me some Michael C. Hall}

It also does not hurt at all that Dex reminds me in so many ways (minus the murder) of one of my favorite friends. HOWEVER, it does bother me that he is in real life married to his on-screen sister. yucky. 

{MCH winning the Golden Globe}

Yes, faithful do-gooder serial killer is in remission from a form of treatable Leukemia, and I wish him the absolute best of luck and health! He not only deserved every award he has won, and will inevitably win, but also so much more, since he has put on such a positive attitude with battling this illness that is truly admirable. 

may i have this dance?

since I am not fortunate enough to be blessed with a little sister of my own (or a sister at all for that matter), i have had to resort to stealing others.  One in particular has become my own personal super model (not that she needs me, she is already a knock-out, and funny!).  Whenever it comes to high school dances, banquets, or just a weekly planner I have taken Kelly under my styling wing; and I am absolutely in love with it.
What I love most about her is that she lets me say my peace, but knows her own style and won't stray just because I suggest something. Which brings me to my next point: I always admire people who know what works for them personality wise as well as fit, cut, etc and struts their stuff no matter if it is not what is necessarily "trendy." I love to live by the motto that Style is Essential, but Glamour is a Way of Life coined by one of my end-all-be-all idols,  Rachel Zoe. Know thyself; be proud and secure with it and you can pull anything off!

Here are some snapshots of Kelly from the last few months:

{Senior Banquet:2009}

{Sweethearts formal dance:2010}

She is just a natural! Not only is Kelly soon to be a professional model, but this was taken by a local professional also. David S. Martin Photography took this lovely photo at the San Diego Bay before the dance.  Check out his website for some awesome enhanced pick of the San Diego skyline!

arm candy

I will be the first to admit I am a "clacker." First coined in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, this is one who wears stilettos that click-clack on the marble lobby. While I worked in a Downtown law firm, yes I was said girl.  However, it goes beyond that, even my flats clack---and even further right now I am clacking on the keyboard at a higher volume than is normally socially acceptable.  BUT: the most infamous clacking I partake in is the jingle jangle clacking of my Arm Candy I sport every single day without fail....

{Today I added this Jaguar piece to the essentials (two gold bangles, one plain, one with pave diamonds, a woven looking gold bracelet I picked up in a little boutique in Ocean Beach with Rosie, and my Michael Kors watch) --- I did not wear a ring (or two, and another vintage link bracelet I found in my great-grandmother's jewelry box, per usual, or accompanying single gold bangle on opposite arm, therefore, feeling naked beyond belief}

{I felt like I needed to spice it up further with this woven headband to correlate to the bracelet and woven bracelet}

casual wednesday

Wednesday was one of the longest days of  my life; however, an exhausting day is no reason to dress anything less than your best and continue to make a statement. That is exactly why I wore charcoal gray leggings with a long sweater jacket (complete with a collar, and buttoned half way up) over a white tank with black lace peeping out.  While this sounds mildly casual and drap, I decided to make it pop with these two statement pieces revolving around a darker version of lime green:

{Vintage Grape Brooches converted to BobbyPins via ginger&tonc}

{Vera Wang flats}

{and I concluded my long day with three marvelous friends and four bottles of this:}

hour five

I am rapidally approaching my fifth hour in the library this morning and I am still not even done with half of my work load for the week, but I did in fact make an impressive dent in it.

Two Three very nice things happened to me while couped up in this dreary building full of sniffles and keyboard tap taps:

1. Eric Clapton's Layla (unplugged  version) came on up in my Pandora station. I immediately kicked my feet under the desk and swayed my body, all while smiling. There is nothing like this guitar intro ini the world. (The new HTC google phone ad with EC makes me melt). This song always reminds me of my dad rocking out at night on his guitar, amped turned up, as I did my homework upstairs.  When I went away to college I used to play this song when I got homesick.

Enjoy the version below from Madison Square Garden in 1996, along with a little instrumental interlude.

2. I look time to peruse the new goodies on one of my all time favorite photo blogs, your heart is my pinata,  and found these two treasures:

{i die for new york, and i already live this way anyways, therefore the verdict is: perfect.}

{I would just about anything to own a hedgehog.  I used to be really good at SEGA Sonic}

----> "Beast of Burden" by the Rolling Stones just came on and I am singing audibly right now in the computer lab. how embarassing. Happy Wednesday. xo.xo.

all grown up

I am currently obsessed with Olivia Palermo and her style that is completely vibe-ing Blair Waldorf all grown up {or in laymen's terms, me.} I've always had a sort of sophisticated taste, note my polo shirt only wardrobe grades seven to eleven when t-shirts with bizarre rhyming quotes about beach volleyball and bonfires were all the rage.  So when Blair hit the scene I jumped for joy that there was someone else, even fictional, who shared my affliction towards pearls and ornate headbands.  Flashforward to some beezy hitting up all my fashion sites posing in outfits that are mirror images of my closet current and even more outfits that completed my DREAM closet.  Olivia Palermo answered my calls.

    

{Olivia rocking what I think I should wear tomorrow to a healthcare forum // Blair totally working Jackie O. while Serena channels a more Sienna Miller look that my bff A sports, coninsedence?)

#36 : Spend time with people under 7 and over 70.

I received an e-mail from a dear friend over a year ago with a subject line that read "The Handbook to Happiness." It had 4 sections with rules in each one on how to live the best most well rounded life. I printed it out and stuck it on the inside of my medicine cabinet, as to be sure to see it numerous times a day. While I agreed with each one, and read almost all of them every day, there is one that always catches my eye 

{#36 : Spend time with people under 7 and over 70.} 

Over these past eight weeks I have had to end my nannying duty I had for the two most adorable boys in the entire world.  Not only are they smart and precocious, but lovable and funny too.  I had really started to feel the full effects of the void in my life.  However, today I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with them.  Full of poopy diapers and hectic demands and questions I left on Cloud Nine.  I then spent some time with my grandma.  Her commentary and lack of tech savvy speak could be (and is) annoying at times, but hilarious and goodhearted as well.  In the end it is just something you have to embrace, because in the end those are the things you will remember.  

{Josiah insisting that he is reading and interrupting my Wisdom of the Tao book. Age Three.} 

{embrace your grandma yelling for you to pick up into your cellular voicemail, like you can hear her, and watch the same Little Einstein episode for the third time with a grain of salt.}

---quote courtesy of Molly Ford and SPA---

cat couture

the following post is dedicated to mellz:

In my home, we have two cats, Cleo and Ramses {there was Julius, may he RIP -- his death was more traumatizing to my mother than when her first born (me) went away to college over 500 miles away, but that is neither here nor there}. The thing is, I never call Cleo and Ramses by their given names. They are only called, and respond to, "George Clooney and Owen Wilson", respectively.  I find them to be more suiting of their personality, and better names anyways.

With that being said, on nights when I hear them pitter pattering down the halls, I have often thought of dressing them up like this (i would obviously add a headband) instead of studying for Conceptual Physics or doing the several hundreds pages of reading I have:

{cats with more style than half my classmates}

following the theme...

following the theme of making this a good week {even though i am on my 3rd cup of joe this AM and still feeling sluggish...} i have been rather productive....
i am in the library and jamming to an amazing song by an amazing artist.

Kid Cudi, "Pursuit of Happiness"

I first saw Cudi when he opened for Kanye West years ago. His album Man on the Moon is a personal favorite of both my brother and I. I love albums where you can listen to the whole thing over and over again and not have to worry about skipping tracks. Every single one is fantastic.  Full of great beats and solid lyrics, you can't go wrong with the rapper with class.

It doesn't hurt that Drake makes a few cameos in the video either, wearing my fool proof boy outfit of a crisp suit.

happy monday

while no one likes monday, resolve to be positive and turn what is already predisposed to be a hum-hah sort of day into a good and productive day, setting the tone for your whole week. 

superb sunday

This morning I woke up to a gloomy sky that provided a brisk temperature perfect for opening some windows and snuggling under a blanket with candles lit. After having an impeccable brunch of pouched egg and grilled turkey bagel sandwich and a fruit and yogurt bowl, I tidyed up, took a long shower bundled up in my bathrobe and decided to watch Valentino: The Last Emperor with a hot cup of coffee in the aforementioned environment provided by the weather.

With opening credits set to "Bette Davis Eyes," one is overwhelmed by the utmost of couture.  Every single thing Mr. Valentino produces is made by hand and envisioned, sketched, and edited by him personally. Mixed with clips spanning his nearly half century career, we see visions of Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Sofia Loren, and almost everyone else who truly embodied Couture and Glamour. {namely Jackie Kennedy, the ultimate, whose entire wardrobe was designed by Valentino himself}

{Kennedy and Loren in Valentino circa 1960's}

It worries me that Valentino truly is the "last emperor" and most of his true muses are gone and away replaced with tabloid celebrities and reality show worship.  What happened to the homage paid to those who worked hard for what they wanted and built themselves up, honored for their success, those who are one of a kind.

With the help, guidance, and love of Giancarlo Giammetti, who is his business partner, lover, friend, {and not to forget his five pug puppies}  Valentino Red is absolutely the epitome of couture.  What I loved most about the movie, yes, even more than the clothes, was the behind the scenes look at what really goes into making everything impeccable.  Tempers flair and frustration runs high.  We see many sleepless days and nights, full of non-stop, high-pressure work.  Valentino speaks his mind and fights for what he believes in. The scenes with Valentino and Uncle Karl are unreal. I simply died at the overflowing amount of talent. ("Compared to us, the rest are making rags!" K.Lag.)  For the brand's  45th Anniversary, Giammetti created more of a museum than a fashion show. It left me reeling with excitement, delight, and emotion at such a stunning career.

Both Valentino and Giancarlo are masters of their craft and have fought tooth and nail to make Valentino Red the premier label of fashion. Rome, the eternal city and Valentino's starting point,  was not built in a day, and so... is nothing else.

Valentino: The Last Emperor, your ingenious will be missed on the runway, but as you said, the occasion was "unrepeatable." The party truly is still full.

{Valentino and Giammetti via Wmagazine}

After the hectic day I had yesterday this film really does light my fire to embody that strength, courage, and gumption to do better and accomplish whatever it is I desire. For, anything is possible: you just have to be willing to fight and claw your way through all the nonsense to get to it.

I really think former American Vogue editor Andre summed it up the best at the sentimental ending of the show, "It is the triumph of will! The triumph of the will to be!"

The world truly is your oyster.  As one of my favorite movies proclaims: carpe.diem

this is your brain ...

remember those commercials and ads that say

"this is your brain on drugs"

and a lady smashes an egg on a frying pan and swishes it around?

well.. i feel like years of drug abuse would feel better than how i feel after taking the LSAT and getting my car towed and doing a styling job all on an empty stomach.
with that being said, this poster seems more than appropriate.

i should be studying

the following posts will be a copious amount of thoughts, quotes, ideas, and photos regarding fashion and life in general from the point of a view of a high class city living- suburban college student obsessed with all things fine.




i figured this was an appropriate first picture, since when all is said and done, all you can do is be thankful to be alive and realize the world is a wonderful place.