Shame Hangover

Did that get your attention?  I sincerely hope so because even if you don't know exactly what that is, I'm sure you're conjuring up some kind of idea in your head and you're glad you finally have a word for it.  Amirite?  Well, even more relieving than that should be the news that I now have a cure for it!  "A cure for hangovers, you say?  Isn't that just an old wives tale, Keeley."  Well, frankly, yes and no.  Just like a Gatorade/Pedialyte can help that post-drinking punishment most of the time if applied correctly (ie: consumed immediately upon waking up), so can what I'm about to share with you, for a shame hangover.  So, to make up for last week when I dropped the Keep.com bomb on you all, I’ve decided to post about something today that I will preface with a “you’re welcome.” 

This topic basically addresses the tenets I'm trying to incorporate into my life philosophy and help guide the way I'm approaching my life right now (and weirdly everything that has happened to me today seems to be testing that... but that's neither here nor there).  I was SUPER overwhelmed to write this post because I wasn’t sure how I could possibly give these two incredible videos the justice they deserved… but then I realized I don’t have to.  The videos themselves do themselves justice (yes, that makes sense...?!).  So here’s what I’m going to do:  I’m going to give you just enough information about them to make you want to watch them and then I’m going to let the videos do their job.  Cuz it's their job, dammit!   

The videos are by the same woman, Brene Brown, who is a therapist/researcher/storyteller according to her... but according to me, she is pure genius.  And I love her.  Both videos are from the TED talks (can I get a "hell yeah" for the TED Talks just real quick before we move on? Thanks.)  

The first video is from her first year doing "TED" and the second is from the following year when she earned herself an TT encore.  They don't ask just anyone to come back twice!

If this talk of hangover cures hasn't piqued your interest enough to warrant your earnest viewing, I want to give you just a taste of what these VIRAL VIDEOS are all about in the form of a question: 

Does being vulnerable make you weak? (Spoiler alert: the answer is NO.  I just wanted to make sure you knew that even if you don't watch the video).

Most serious of seriouslys though, do yourself a favor and watch them.  Now.  I mean do you really want to procrastinate on being happy?  

(Full disclosure:  They are about 20 min long each.  But she is funny and brilliant and you won't be sorry).   

Lean into the discomfort, y'all! 

Picnic Swag-ger

So remember, oh, way back here, when I promised y'all that I would post about some picnic stuff that was actually applicable to you all and not just a confession of my strange habits?  Well that day has finally come.  Last night was the final night of my beloved Sunday night concert/picnic series on the beach and I was oh-so-inspired by all of the fabby picnic bling that the good people of Hermosa Beach brought to the proverbial "table."  So I've compiled a little "round up" of what you need to hold a proper and classy picnic:

Steady Stick Table and Wine Holders | Bamboo Wood Veneer Disposable Plates & Utensils | Dot Napkins | Spicy Orange Striped Rollup Blanket | Say Cheese Plate and Knife Set | Roll Up Checker Set | Wood Picnic Basket | Red + White Swizzle Straws | 4 Layer Meal Containers | Solar-Powered Jar Lanterns

Have at it peeps!

And my "Top 6" picnic food ideas, in no particular order (I am of the opinion that a colorful feast is the best kind of feast):

• Deviled Eggs
• Cherries
• Hummus/Pita Chips (preferably "Stacy's Pita Chips")
• Mini Petits Toast, Mascarpone Cheese, Raspberry Jam
• "Snapea Crisps"  
• Macarons that look like these:

If you live in the Los Angeles area, these can and SHOULD be purchased at Bottega Louie in downtown LA.

Delicious, beautiful and most importantly, not messy for a picnic!

And what did you all think of my abode?  I'm going to interpret from the radio silence that you loved it! :P

Hope you all had nice weekends.  I certainly did!  

Where The Lion(ess) Sleeps

I think one of my favorite posts among the multitude of interior design blogs I read voraciously is when I see the home of the blogger.  It’s kind of an important moment too, right, because you get to see what the blogger’s true style is and if they have any chops.. but also WRONG.  Wrong because I feel like rarely do these bloggers have the financial resources or life circumstances to completely bust out a space that captures their capabilities, or at least that’s the case in my case.  If you haven’t guessed at what I’m leading up to, it’s this:  I’m going to show you some pics of my crib that I “decorated.”

I’m only showing you the living/dining room area of my crib because the rest has not been designed it just is..  I’ve been hesitating to show you all because it’s not “finished” and truth be told, it’s not ever going to be “finished”.. for several reasons:

1. I am a renter

2. I live with roommates (male roommates who could care less – function over form tends to rule the roost over here)

3. I don’t care enough (I’m a bit of a hermit weirdo roommate and spend most of my time in my room)

4. The budget for this space is DRIED UP, ya’ll. 

But I needed a topic to post about today and I decided to try and remember my goal when I started this blog… Remember about the perfectionism problem I struggle with, that I told you about here.  Well, I’m not going to let perfect be the enemy of good.  And trust me, I know…This place is FAR from perfect.. At least my idea of perfect.

So please, consider my disclaimers about budget and rental space limitations before you go getting all judgy on my space.  Do we have a deal? Cool.

Ok here she is:

(And yes, I did Instagram these photos to enhance their attractiveness… remember that promise about not judging? :).

I tried really hard to resist the temptation of telling you what I know is wrong with each area but in the end I had to cave.  Please forgive me, it’s just my personality.. I KNOW the bar table needs WAY more items on it.. And I know the area above the fireplace is way out of proportion (They elephant head looked way bigger online when I ordered it). And the dining area… I do not need to be told.  So with that out of the way, let me explain some stuff.  (Also, sidenote: the picture has been hung since this photo was snapped, if that makes you feel any better). 

I think it kind of turned out like a Wes Anderson meets safari, which I love.  That description actually does describe my style pretty accurately. I bought/obtained all of the furniture while my previous roommates (plural because they were a married couple) who have since moved out :( still had their furnishings in this space.  And then I moved to Africa before they vacated.  So I had my amazing sister orchestrate the moving in of everything and obsessively went to the internet café in town every day to see if she had sent a photo of it yet.  She did good.  (Which is no surprise because she is a bonafide interior designer… check her out here).

Most of the pieces have a story.  The cowhide rug I found on the ground one day in college.  I was walking to class and walked past this house where the tenants had been evicted.. And all their stuff was strewn across the lawn.  The “vultures” had been picking through the good stuff for days and it looked as though only cardboard and trash remained.  But on my 10th time walking past I noticed a little brown poking out from what looked to be a piece of gray cardboard, so I turned it over and it was this rug!  Totally skipped class that day to haul this bad boy back to my abode.  That should tell you where my priorities lie.

Any Gossip Girl fans recognize the picture above the sofa?  Oh yea, Chuck’s bedroom.  Righteous!  The print is called “Scout” (click here to see why I have love for that name) and it is by Richard Phillips. It’s actually a cropped print because the actual one was too x-rated/pedophilic for my tastes.  And I have decided to let that disclaimer serve as a warning for what this link will take you to.  So if you're feeling daring, click here to see the uncropped print. 

WOAH is right!  Now erase that image from your minds.  It’s just feels wrong.

The chairs… Looked like this before I had them recovered.

Yucky!  BUT they are famous-ish.  They were part of a Storage Wars scenario and the couple that sold them to me bid heavily on the locker because of these unique beauties.. And then sold them to me for a song.  ($25 each! Yes, you read that right, $25 each!).  I am quite the savvy Craigslist shopper J. 

The sofa was my sister’s, which she gifted to me in exchange for me moving her out of her old place while she had to work.  Quite a generous gift but also not because that sh*t was a bitch, ya’ll.  Moving BLOWS.  But really though, I’m very thankful J. 

I do have pillows that I am having made that will go on the sofa.

They have this pattern:

Yeah that's right, don't even TRY to rip that image off :)

There are 2 of them.  And they match.  They are white and have green trim around them made out of the same fabric as what the chairs are covered in.  And they’re pretty sizeable because that sofa is a beast if you can’t tell from the pic.  Great for guests to sleep on though :)  Hint, hint.  I also etched this design onto the old fashioned glasses that are on my bar cart/table.

I went for a campaign style feel.  It matched my fascination with Africa and safaris and also has a masculine feel too it which I felt was important due to the gender of my roomies and to tone down that girly picture.  It kinda has a slight cigar lounge feel to it as well, don’t you think?

What I really wanted/do still want but am not holding my breath for was a TV cabinet similar to this:

But a cabinet, for storing TV stuffs.  Probably not going to happen but wouldn’t it look presh!

And finally, this was what I really WANTED the dining area to feel like.. 

via West Elm

Maybe I can help that concept grow if I buy the rug from my post yesterday?

So... Thoughts?  Advice? Admonishments?  Straight-up rebukings?

Actually slash that, enjoy your damn weekends!  It’s Friday, what are you doing reading?

No Longer Keeping "Keep" A Secret

I want to preface this post with an advance apology.  What I’m about to share with you is likely to lead you down a path towards shopaholism and being close to that point myself, I know just how dark that place can be.  But I. Can’t. Stop.  If you’re smart, you’ll read this post for the purposes of being in the know about new trends but not actually join this addictive rabbithole of bliss/hell.  An “earmuffs” version of reading, if you will.  And with that PSA, I will now share with you the brainchild of the pinning format that was only a matter of time… Brace yourselves. 

Keep.com is what happens when Pinterest and Amazon have a baby.. Or several babies, because Keep is the youngest and most mischievous of their offspring.  Curated shopping with endless possibilities is a recipe for my worst nightmare and I suspect most of yours too..  It’s just like Pinterest in the sense that you can follow people/they can follow you, you can post to various self-created boards, blah blah, the only difference is, there is a little link in the top right-hand corner that says “Buy” and when you click it, you can actually buy that item that  you think is just the cat’s pajamas... You can just buy it, just like that!  I may be late to the game on this.. But I really don’t think I am, because there’s just no way that everyone is keeping their keep addiction under wraps.  They issued the following warning in their welcome email:

“Caution: Keep can be seriously addictive!”

 Which I, at first, first found to be annoying and a little pompous but then I realized they might not have been joking.. And they shouldn’t have been. 

Let me show you some items I am THIS close to pulling the trigger on… Literally my right index finger was twitching with every “Keep” I made.. And the computer/mouse combo was a modern day Ouija Board leading me towards that “Buy” button:

Color Block Bikini

Olivia von Halle Pajamas

Ciate Colourfoil

Kate Spade Watch

Free People Radical Black and White Striped Tunic

Wood Grain Design Paint Roller

Need Supply Studio Tote

Canvas Leather Hooded Jacket

Momeni Baja Navy Rug

Leather and Chain Wrap Watch

Soneva Gili by Six Senses in the Maldives

If you possess masochistic tendencies and are not going to heed this warning, you should at least “follow me” on Keep.com where I like to “keep it classy.” :)

And just remember, it's Thursday, which is one day before Friday.. So keep on keepin' on! 

Sour Beer: Beer For A Sourpuss

I come from a land of beer brewing.. One of America's brewing meccas, in fact... Colorado.  Home to craft and large scale breweries alike, including Coors, New Belgium and according to the Wikipedia page, 137 others, 4 of which are the among the top-50 brewing companies in the nation.  Denver, Colorado has been coined the "Napa Valley of Beer" and a little place called Aspen was referred to as "a place where the beer flows like wine" in the movie Dumb and Dumber.  Now that should tell you something...

Sadly, however, I usually only drink crap beers because my "pocketbook" thanks me and my underdeveloped palate doesn't know the difference... That is until now..

Just where exactly did Pabst win that blue ribbon?

Make way for: SOUR BEER.  My cousin introduced me to the stuff when she and her bf gave me a bottle as a bday gift and told me to trust her.  Initially wary, I knew it was legit when my brewer/beer connoisseur friend gave it an impressed nod of approval.  Ya'll, it's the bomb diggity! 

The beer is very "crafted" and takes a while to age but the biggest challenge brewers face with it, is convincing people to drink it because of its name.  Or people that aren't educated to the soured style.  Apparently, vendors of this "crafty" ale are often called up by customers who want to let them know that a bottle of barrel-aged beer they purchased had gone bad because it tasted sour... WRONG!  That's how it's supposed to taste, you silly g̶o̶o̶s̶e̶s̶ geese! 

No one ever complains about the taste itself though because it is just oh-so tasty! The "gueuze" sour ale style has a taste very similar to champagne or fresh lemonade.  So for those with champagne tastes on a beer budget, you are now in luck! 

I kind of like that it has this misleading name though because it almost makes it like a secret treat.  Only those in the know get to experience the reward of the flavor. Wink, wink, now you're in on the secret. You're welcome.

The "reward of the flavor" is not without risk, however.  For brewers, experimenting with sour beer is RISKY BUSINESS!  Brewers often wait as long as three YEARS to see whether the cloudy liquids resting in oak ripen into shades of gold or raspberry and develop the ideal tart, tangy flavors, or become undrinkable, ravaged by aggressive yeasts ("aggressive yeasts" - sounds frightening).  It can be an expensive gamble of which many brewers only take on for the sheer challenge of it.  Oh the novelty!

Here are some favorites among sour beer lovers, that I narrowed down based on whether I thought their label was pretty.  Don't hate me for my method of choosing alcohol :)

Gose - Westbrook Brewing Co.

Sofie - Goose Island Beer Co.

Oude Gueuze Tilquin.. Ya.. Good luck telling the person at the store you want that one..

Allagash Confluence Ale

Apparently this beer is very sour.  You have been warned.

Excelsior White Gold

If you're looking for some food pairing ideas, click here for a full guide on which foods to pair with these tangy brews: 

And if you're really feeling fancy, sour beer fruit sorbets are reportedly quite divine.  See the recipe here: 

Aight. Peace out, puckerfishies!