action
yesterday, i bluffed shot my commercial.
location: malibu. lighting: otherworldly.
makeup: concealing.
freckles, eyebrow burns & melasma begone.*
my co-stars, the koi.
sundown, hair-down. an entire can of hairspray for the "yoga instructor".
me!
it's a wrap! my end of the day bubbly.
*not my photo.
fall fashion
taking cues from proenza schouler and isabel marant, my beast is dominating the fashion category in this household.
she's been rockin' the south by southwest look like nobody's business; putting her owner's paltry attempts at A/W 2011 trends to shame.
once again: match to priscilla.
how are you embracing fashionable fall m'loves?
she's got bette davis ????
how should i preface this?
i'm a lazy girl. i'm a vain girl. i'm a lazy, vain girl. but i'm also, dare i say..... cheap?
let me explain.
it's not my nature to fork over my hard-earned cash for someone to wash my feet and hands every week, when i can paint my toes for free.i do see a professional every month or so for cuticle overhaul and {let's be honest} THE foot rub, but my nail haunts are of the drop-in type; never the same place twice, the kind where the technician always asks my ethnicity, and then debates my answer, convinced my japanese father is really a vietnamese liar.
tissue-paper thin nail beds {a result of the gel craze}, and a nasty nick to my thumb, has only compounded my at-home polishing skills and conviction to save money .
another area where i find it difficult to spend whence i can do it at home for free is my eyebrows:
pluck, pluck, trim, trim, pluck, trim, pluck.
easy.
it's tedious, a little time-consuming, but come on? if i can brew my own coffee, i can groom my own, silly eyebrows.
yet, of late, i'll admit, the brows haven't been getting the attention they've needed.
unruly is an understatement. try disorderly and drunken. my eyebrows have been violating city ordinances left and right.
the thing is, tweezers involve dexterity, and like i stated earlier: i'm a lazy girl!
at the end of the day flossing feels like brain surgery. add tweezers? aaaaaaaah!!
early saturday evening i was driving home to my darling, most handsome husband. my hands at ten and two, i glanced down at what looked like an episode of intervention: my nails were riddled with chips and cracks, as if i, myself, had been smoking the crack. not wanting to look ugly betty for hunkiest, i u-turned polly into the first nail salon i saw: "Top of Nails Salon."
i swear to god that's what the sign says. the grammar alone should have been my first clue warning.
all i wanted was a polish change. my intentions were good. no wash, no massage, no flower. i even had my own polish. but, no i couldn't leave well enough alone. inspired by the sharpie drawn eyebrows of my nail tech, i casually asked if "top of nails" also offered eyebrow waxing. her hesitation should have been my second clue warning.
palms in the air as my top coat dried, i shuffled into a back room where another sharpie-browed lass slathered molten lava wax on my baby brows, after which she left the room to watch her version of a telanovela. at least that's how long it felt. i was tempted to pull the lava strips off myself, but seeing as she was the "professional" i kept them there and waited.
and waited, and waited.
when she finally returned the heat had subsided as did any feeling in my face. but upon ripping the wax off, along with three layers of skin, the feeling came back, as did my fluency in profanity.
thinking/hoping the scalding was more just a feeling rather than an actual look, although i WAS suspicious when medusa didn't offer me a mirror to show me her finished product, i paid the lousy $6 bucks, and hightailed it out of the fancy "sah-lohn".
much to my sadness, although 100% deserving, it looked just as bad as it felt. actually worse. where there was one set of brows, there are now two: one black, one cherry red. kind of like licorice.
i officially hate licorice.
i look RIDICULOUS!!! and it's all my fault. i am lazy, i am vain, i am cheap.
i am also in a ton of pain. these are deep burns. i am in a constant state of aloe vera application. i've researched, and aloe vera seems to be the call for the quickest, safest, no-scar healing antidote.
how excited will the director of this week's commercial be when he sees this hot mess walk on to set? not exactly the zen vision he hired. thank god for concealer.
any other beauty horror stories out there you care to share?
i think we can all agree this one's pretty awesome!!!
monday happy to you m'loves!
dearest valley
deer valley you had me before words were exchanged.
blues and greens seen only in pastel kits. air, baby powder fresh.
post card pretty park city: shopping, food, and strolling galore.
a hotel after my heart: antica farmicista amenities. the baths drawn were numerous.
35, o00 square feet devoted to bringing my body and mind back into the same room. giant geodes stand at every corner, a reminder of the earth's beauty and healing ability.
sweetness.
fireside s'more bar.
homemade hot chocolate, a harvest moon and campfire cozy.
note: when making s'mores, best to have flavored marshmallows. we liked the cinnamon and vanilla.
i did puddle jump! the thunderstorms were fantastic: loud, windy, a dose of hail, lots of lightening.
and just like that, the storm ended.
as did my lovely getaway.
monday happy to you m'loves.
morning has broken
it's hard to believe that not two hours before this photo was snapped, we were having a brilliant, summer storm.
a storm with all the proper, dramatic fixings: sit-you-straight-up-out-of-a-dead-sleep, loud, cracking thunder! light-up-the-whole-blacked-out-bedroom, blinding lightning! and then the ensuing, much more mannerly, blanket of rain: she kindly attempted to lull us back to sleep with her melodious patter onto our roof and into our yard, but unfortunately for me, once i'm awake, I'M AWAKE!
holiday be damned. the family had to be up before dawn. hunkiest had a tee time, i have a spin class to teach {75 minutes--GULP!}, and the beast has different napping positions she'd like to explore.
waiting on our front step for the paper: coffee in cup, beast by my side, sleep on the brain, grump in my mood, in less than 10 minutes, i watched the deep, navy blue sky slowly dilute into a lighter, more lucent marine. it looked like thousands of angel artists were furiously, madly painting and pasteling {a word in katie-land} up and down the sky, all competing for the prettiest shade of day.
and then the sun. that sun. a bring you to tears, beautiful ball of sublime, lifted from behind our trees, our house, and slowly made her way up into the sky.
and just like that, my breakfast of grumpy was over. yes, i'm still a bit tuckered from lack of sleep, but i'm great at catching up with an afternoon nap....or two.
i hope you have a wonderful holiday.
labor day happy to you m'loves.
weekend happy
farewell my endless, carefree as a whisper, summer. i will miss you much.
i will miss the smell of your backyard barbecue. the silent, but potent neighborhood bell which beckoned the sunburnt, beach-cruiser riding puppies home each day from the sand.
how sad i'll be to bid adieu to my summer scents. one for day, a breezy, light, swing in a seaside hammock kind of fragrance; sweet and soft, not too strong, yuzu mixed with the pacific ocean. the other for night, a strong, night-blooming jasmine blended with a stronger honeysuckle, make this a true southern california scent; melissa flagg's oils conjure memories of late night, top-down drives, through the hot santa ana's.... trisha yearwood on the radio, young boys on the brain.
goodbye mr. panama hat. it's back to wooly bowler standby's for fall.
come tuesday that orange blossom love which has floated throughout the house for the last 3 months will morph into a spicier, less petal-like waft. i know i'll long for my dark, warm mornings where the gentle aroma of white flowers waltzing against a cobalt, blue sea guide me into my day.
so long to summer's fresh, off the vine tomatoes and california avocados. i'm wet duck lucky to have such delicious local candy at my fingertips.
an afternoon nap, just my beast and i, under the serenading whirl of ceiling fan. we keep cool, talk girl, and steal away from the silly outside summer antics. this ritual i may have to keep year-long.
so m'loves, did you have a nice summer too? what will you miss?
a weekend happy to you.
see you on the other side of sunday!
scenes from a sunday
in the words of martha & the vandella's, it was a heat wave!
hh, the beast and i took to the streets to keep cool and soak in the seaside life.
i love many things about my street: the big trees, the wide blocks, the whites pickets, but even after 12 years of residency, i still gallop giddy over the front door, ocean view.
we took our favorite loop with the beast: a jaunt down to pacific coast highway to see what newport's fanciest were up to.
we never quite make it passed our A market without a stop for "provisions".
nourishment.
hydration.
bottom-feeder.
we capped off a sunday dinner down at the sand.
louie the crab.
a hot august night indeed.
and just like that it was gone: today we woke to a thick, fog bank so heavy our neighbor's front door has disappeared.
share with me the snapshots of your weekend m'loves? you know how much i adore hearing from you.
my favorite summer meal
we've had some delicious food this summer, eaten at some spiffy restaurants, but so far nothing beats this 5-ingredient masterpiece.
tomatoes, candy sweet, fresh from my dad's garden.
aromatic basil snipped directly from my patio pot.
the creamiest burrata in town.
and a 25-year-old aged balsamic, so honey-thick, its olive oil sibling is left unused.
put them on plate, add a couple of toast points, and voilà! you have the best tasting meal, in my opinion, of the summer.
bon appétit m'loves.
scenes from a weekend
how do you do m'loves?
it was a weekend happy indeed. oh my goodness, i hope yours was too.
here's a glimpse of how mine went down:
i added a new rung to my wrist affair.
saturday night i had the honor of attending my lovely friend, jill grogg's, lululemon, ambassorship party. yoga, pilates, spin, boccaccini appetizers-you name it. the girl does it all! with incredible kindness, grace and beauty....it's amazing we're friends. in fact, i may have to drop her. there's just too much wonder woman going on in that tall-drink-a-water for me. and she really is that nice. i'm hoping, behind closed doors, she's a weirdo hoarder or wears the same socks for weeks.....but she always looks and smells fresh as april to me.
pfft.
on sunday morning david hockney returned to southern california. palm trees in jewel-toned green against a sky of bahamian blue, hunkiest and i brunched outdoors to soak it all in.
tea for him, coffee for me, and omelets of asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms & gruyère {mmm hmmm}.
post brunch binge, we walked off our glut with some shopping at one of our favorite stores.
new shoes for katie and hunkiest bought a shirt which brings out the golden in his eyes.
i must say, out of all the sunsets, shorelines and mountaintops in the world, this view beats them all for me.
okay, enough about me. tell me about YOU! how was your weekend? don't you KNOW how much i love hearing from you?
monday happy m'loves.
une nuit a paris.
sunday night, hunkiest and i stole away to paris for woody allen's latest.
luckily our favorite theatre happened to be showing said flick. a newport beach institution since 1938 when it premiered neighbor bette davis' 'jezebel', the lido regency is a walk back in time "when women smoked and chatted in the ladies room, while arranging their makeup." every single inch of the building, down to each tile, has been restored to its original 1930's look. typically the lido tries to show more independent, less blockbuster type films. a win, win.
seaside duds.
those before.
sugar sugar. red vines pour moi, peanut m & m's pour lui.
making out is better on the balcony.
and lemonade always tastes better pink.
movie was sweet. without mademoiselle paris as a co-star it would have fallen trés short.
monday happy to you m'loves.
buenos dias mi amigos
i'm back.
boo.
from the lack of posting and tweeting it should have been apparent i was removed and relaxing.
just what the 4 different doctors ordered.
here's what bliss looks like to me:
a patio with an ocean {hidden in photo} and palm trees wishing you good morning and goodnight.
sand, sea and salty friends making breakfast's finest companions.
in the distance our cabana beds await for afternoon napping and silly.
mexican coffee and huevos rancheros compete with the pacific's baby's blues.
no need to leave the resort for tours in punta mita's exotic wilderness or journey out ziplining adventure. the walk to our room alone was a trek through iguana-ville and a jungle in stereo sound.
happy girl.
happy girl. hunky boy.
not retouched. {kills me, cause i look like shit}
lobby love.
just plain, old fashion love.
sad girl leaving the hotel.
so my twitch actually went away. we arrived home saturday night, and then next morning when i awoke twitchy was gone.
sunday consisted of an all day celebratory family dance party {beast included}
unfortunately waking up today, twitchy has returned.
oh well, at least i had a beautiful week.
monday happy to you m'loves.
weekend happy
see ya on the other side of sunday m'loves.
until then, the beast and i will be soaking in miss july's sunny delights.
scenes from a weekend
this weekend, summer officially started her sun-sprouting engine in california.
shoes came off, knees were bared, frolic ensued.
here's a glimpse of how it went down here.
friday date nights call for silk scarves and red lips.
hunkiest and i tried out the newest, local oyster bar.
red for him, sparkly with a fancy garnish for me.
unfortunately neither of us losers eat oysters, luckily we had other options.
fish and chips for him {he at his fish...i ate his "chips"} and copper river salmon for me!! the last of the season!
if you've never had copper river salmon, please try it next year. it's only available {fresh} four weeks a year. and YES, it is that good.
post seafood sweet.
i limit myself to toppings. and only the crap kind.
saturday we strolled the coast-lined streets of our azure-skied town.
sunday morning coffees and pastries with the beast.
sunday, bloody mary, sunday night.
we beckoned the naughty vamps to come out and play.
a fine finale to a grand weekend.
so far, summer's holding the promise of sun, sultry and romp.
ching ching!
monday happy to you m'loves.
*all photos: goodniteirene.wordpress.com
scenes from a weekend
determined to fashion my black thumb a new green dress, i stuck close to home this weekend, and spent most of my free time in the backyard garden. we're in the process of renovating our yard, but in the meantime..
the lavender is bouncy and spa-smelly.
my succulents look large, colorful, almost pre-historic.
a fancy accessory here and there {thank you lovely lex}.
and e'er a beast to always keep watch.
it was such a nice weekend until hunkiest and i decided to finally attack the pontiac that had been delivered to our front yard last friday. i'm not kidding; a box literally the size of a small sedan was set in the middle of our front yard. they couldn't deliver it to our doorstep, because there wasn't enough room.
our backyard patio furniture had arrived. and part of the deal of me buying said furniture was that i'd make the purchase sans white glove delivery service, and extra fee.
big mistake!
although my afternoon view wasn't bad, and we had several stomach cramping giggle fits {one involving a 2 minute hostage situation with a 20' umbrella and me inside}; i still would have paid the extra money for assembly.
'cilla supervised.
and then became bored.
tada! a glimpse of one chair and a side table.
as you can see in the back, it looks like i'm sitting kandahar. we have a long way to go: gravel, foliage, trees covering our neighbors beautiful wall. but for now we have a lovely seating arrangement.
it was definitely weekend happy.
homegirl
monday happy to you m'loves!
southern california had its first warm weekend in what felt like a decade.
the neighborhood bustled with the ringing bells of beach cruisers, the clinking of margarita tumblers, impromptu front porch, procescco parties, and the ever present, smoky, sweet aroma of a bbq, permeating our open doors from friday afternoon to sunday night.
glory! glory! awww-chew!!
yes, despite all the warmth and splendor around me i was sidelined with my first major cold of the season.
out. man-down. this was a knockout. friday night i slept a total of 16 hours only to wake up saturday morning exhausted and feeling hungover.
hunkiest and i laid very low, had to cancel dates, stayed in, and rented fabulous movies.
we diary'd our weekend happy en photographie:
hoodrats.
milkbraids for sick girls who hate washing their hair.
{and for flirting with hunky boys}
our back porch kept me busy and domestic.
i tended mr. basil and sassy lady rose,
and then attempted a taming of sally thyme and rosemary green.
all are welcome out back.
the toes got a fresh coat of pink.
we breakfasted on croissants and café au lait in honor of the french open.
for once, i saw the writing on the streets wall.
in hindsight despite the chills, headache, and runny nose......it was a perfect weekend.
tru blue baby i love.....
"truman"
beloved boy
march 6 2000-may 24 2011
where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. i miss you like hell. ~edna st. vincent millay