Oh Heyy, Pinterest ;)

So…… This is embarrassing BUT yesterday I sort of, like, “officially” joined Pinterest.  I know.   Please, please don’t stop reading from here on out because I’ve seemingly lost all blogger street cred.  I think I was afraid of Pinterest and how much time one can spend on there... and as I’ve come to find out since my inauguration, for good reason.  I may be developing carpel tunnel in my right index finger from scrolling, but regardless, the site can back up the hype!  Damn guurl… So, I’m going to break all blogger rules and post some pics from my new Pinterest account (I know, how tacky!) and in the future, maybe I’ll get it together to do it the other way around and pin pictures from my blog posts to my Pinterest boards like all the big girl bloggers do (ya, maybe don’t hold your breath for that). 

So, for everyone that’s, OMG, already over Pinterest, don’t hate me, and for the small few that have been living under a rock with me, you’re welcome.  Here are some of my favorite home finds from my first late night browsing sesh:

How shocking that I like this? Not.  I was similarly inspired by Palm Springs decor with my Palm Springs Barstools (please excuse the "link juice" I'm trying to SEOqueeze here). 

Kelly Wearstler makes the cut: ALL DAY, ERR'DAY.

Is this real? Or is this just fantasy?   If you can't tell what this is, it is a TRAP DOOR TO A SECRET SLIDE!  Far out!

What IS it about canopies?  This room was designed by Mary McDonald, who has a design aesthetic I just adore, so it figures that I'm giddy about this room.  I love how she knows how to get right next to the line of over-styling but never crosses it.

Will you feast your eyes upon that ceiling? Yowzer! An often overlooked detail that makes the space in this case! 

And last from my severely edited picture pull... 

Would you ever be sad if you lived here?  I don't think it would be possible.  This house seems to emit drops of sunshine. 

And I'll leave you with that.. Hope the sun is shining wherever you are in the world today! 

A Wynn in Vegas

This past weekend a few of my friends and I went to Vegas to surprise our friend who is moving away to go to grad school.  His girlfriend, who organized the whole thing (and did an excellent job, I might add) had convinced him they were going on a romantic getaway and just as he was getting excited about that idea, we surprised him with other plans.  It was awesome!  We actually stayed at the Encore (which is part of Wynn resorts, but that didn't make for as "punny" a title for this post :).  The rooms, the resort, all of it, was pretty spectacular.  I felt very fancy just walking around.  Check out some professional pics of the Encore. 

Here is what I wore out to da club:

            You can buy it here (it's cheap!)

Totally not "Vegas" ... which is exactly why I wore it.  I like to march to the beat of my own drum, HAAY!   It was from Forever 21 but I got it hemmed to fit the standard Vegas dress length specifications (aka: short). I wore massive silver hoops, my go-to Nixon watch, and super high black pumps.

The main event of the weekend, however, was the pool party on Saturday at the Encore Beach Club. My friend is a total baller and got us a table, which made me feel like a Very. Important. Person. The bathing suit you wear to the pool party is extremely crucial because everyone has an unspoken agreement to "bring it" and you don't want to end up feeling like Frumpelstiltskin. I was debating between these two bathing suits:

V i X Paula Hermanny Leblon Bikini (couldn't find it for sale online anymore)

Victoria Secret (buy it here)

And ultimately chose the second one... which was a mistake... because every 1 in 5 girls there were also wearing it (it was from Victoria Secret so, I guess, duh). But whatevs, I think I rocked it the best. #gottahaveswagger

Also, my friend had these custom temporary tattoos made of the "guest of honor's" face!  Have you ever heard of anything so rad?! (People got pretty creative with their body placement of them).

I didn't do any gambling because the minimums were SCARY, as was the general feeling that everyone at the betting tables knew what they were doing. But we did eat at this buffet the following morning, that's literally called, The Buffet (in the Wynn) and it was a true marvel. Look at the dessert ROOM! It was basically my lifetime dream realized.

... And that's all of the story you get to hear, because the rest of it, stays in Vegas (sorry folks, that's the rule...).

*I do, however, want to make special mention about Spirit Airlines because I don't know what other forum to rant about them on. THEY ARE THE WORST! Unbeknownst to us, there was a $50 carry-on bag fee EACH WAY ($100 fee at the gate if you think you can pull the wool over their eyes about the size of your personal item - ahem, small purse) that was not included in our barely competitive ticket price. The seats don't recline, they have little to no leg room, they charge you for water (forget about complimentary sodas) and the turbulence on the flight was nothing short of traumatic/nauseating. Ok, I think I've said all I need to say. Happy Monday!

Birthday Shout Out

It's my beautiful mom's birthday today and I want to take a minute to pay homage to this special lady! 

My mom was the original interior designer in our family and it's because of her impeccable taste that I developed such an affinity for craft! Here's just a peak at her downtown loft, which I will show you more of someday, (when you’re older ;). It's in the beautiful Eastern Columbia Building, where Johnny Depp also has loft.

Y'all, the woman is truly incredible. She is the franchise owner of the company Ladies Who Launch in Los Angeles, which helps women to launch or grow their own businesses. She recently began a coaching/mentoring business to further help women in business, called the Entrepreneurial Voice, which has a very motivational blog of its own. And she is a budding new artist and damn good at it too! Check out her art website and some of my favorite pieces:

Shameless plug? Yep. But it's my mom and she deserves it! Her best quality though is that among all of this, she makes being an amazing mother, wife and friend her priority! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the woman who knows how to wear all of her jewelry at once and pull it off! Love you mom!

*I do recognize that this blog is developing a bit of a birthday theme but I think it's safe to say this is the end of the birthday posts for a while, so hang in there!

Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo

Last week, I cleverly weaseled my way into tickets to see the Alabama Shakes tonight!  To say I am stoked, would be an understatement.  I freaking love this awkward band with their soulful hipstery southern rock and roll/honky tonk sound and I know that they are one of those bands that seeing in them in concert is going to be even better than hearing a recording (how often is that not the case though, really?).  To be perfectly honest, when I first heard them, the lead voice seemed a bit androgynous and so I looked it up.  This is their lead singer:

This chick, Brittany Howard, is a TOTAL BAD ASS.  I mean, she kills it!

My music taste is pretty specific, however (I tend to only dabble in songs recorded after 1992) and my knowledge of what's "hot" or popular is fairly surface-deep, so... I actually have no pulse on how well known this band is, but I'm guessing most of you have at least heard the song "Hold On."

One complaint I wish to formally file on this blog is that my favorite Alabama Shakes song, "Always Alright" cannot be purchased on iTunes as a single song. I Shazamed it in the movie theater during the credits for "Silver Linings Playbook" (a fave movie of mine) but was unable to purchase it.  Maybe you can have a listen and then we can bombard the authority for this with angry emails so I don't have to go to YouTube on my phone every time I want to listen to it.

Here's to hoping they play it at the concert tonight!

This band is so cool. They are from Alabama (I bet you didn't guess that). The lead singer-guitarist Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell attended the same high school and have been performing together ever since. Although they had been working on original material when they first started as a full band, they performed cover songs by Led Zeppelin, James Brown, Otis Redding, AC/DC (it's no wonder why I like them) to fill a "one show only" 45-minute set, under the name The Shakes. The band later added Alabama to their name to differentiate themselves from other bands called The Shakes. I don't know why I love hearing the stories behind the evolution of band names. I can just imagine that conversation in the back of the recording studio or their manager's office and one of the band members is just super hard to convince to change the name and then FINALLY he gives in and they go on to make it big (haha, maybe that didn't happen at all but I like to think it did).

Oh and here are some pictures from the races yesterday! I had a TOTAL BLAST!

I am on the end on the left. Do you like the hat and dress I wore?  My hat made quite the statement but was hitting everyone in the face and even knocked someone's drink out of their hand!  Oops!

Unluckily, all of my bets resulted in losses, but the track and the horses were gorgeous!  Del Mar Opening Day = Two Thumbs Up!

HAPPY THURSDAY EVERYONE! 

Trains, Planes, and... actually, just Trains

I'm taking the train down to San Diego today from LA and am reminded of how much I dig this mode of transport.   This train route, in particular, is also pretty amazing because the train runs along the California coastline for a large part of the trip so you get a premium view of the ocean while you're NOT waiting in anger-inducing traffic.

Pacific Surfliner

 In many ways, trains seem to be from a forgotten era in these parts but there are actually a surprising number of really awesome train rides.  Just thinking about trains makes me want to act like a proper lady, don a full length dress complete with a corset, a posh hat, gloves and speak with an accent.  There's something that feels so fancy, rich and progressive about them.  And have you watched all seasons of The Bachelor like I have?  The producers love to throw a train date in there every few seasons.  Here are a few I found worth mentioning:

The Napa Wine Tasting Train

Has a full restaurant that you dine at while riding through vineyards and sipping wine.  Um, yes please! 

Napa Wine Train

Swiss Alps Glacier Express

Crosses 291 bridges while touring the beauty of le Switzerland.

Glacier Express

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Yep, simply obsessed with the exterior color scheme of this private, luxury train from London to Venice. 

Orient Express

Darjeeling Toy Train

From New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, this cartoonish looking train runs straight through the authentic lifestyle and culture of West Bengal. Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited was loosely based on the Toy Train.

Toy Train

Palace on Wheels

Debatably aptly named, this train starts from Delhi, India and ends up in the royal state of Rajasthan.

The trip also offers an elephant welcome in Jaipur, a camel safari and an afternoon at the Taj Mahal.  My hunch is, these gimmicks might end up feeling a bit touristy but at least they sound exotic!

The Pride of Africa

The Rovos Rail travels through South Africa, Namibia, and Tanzania. The Victorian style sleepers are complete with bathtubs and the luxurious dining car even requires a jacket and tie for the gentlemen and a cocktail dress for the ladies. You will no doubt feel like Karen Dinesen in Out of Africa on this bad boy!

Rovos Rail

Hogwarts Express

If you weren't already aware, the Hogwarts Express does not exist, sadly, but it would unquestionably be the coolest train experience of them all if it did!  (Although I don't know about that whole "running into the wall to get to the platform" thing).   #nerdalert
*See: "Harry Potter," if you're confused by this

Hogwarts Express