Mexicana Mama

About a month ago my family celebrated my mamasita’s birthday fiesta in Mexico! Despite the chilly overcast weather, we spent five wonderful days enjoying each other and all the splendors that Ensenada has to offer. We collected buckets of sand dollars on the beach, ate fresh tacos at our favorite stand, and drank enough cerveza to sink a ship. We took a few trips into town to do some shopping at a great local art shop where we found an abundance of talavera plates, tin crosses, and dia de los muertos shrines. We drove to La Bufadora to get the best churros in the world, and  of course to see the blow hole.  It was an amazing vacation filled with love and tequila and plenty of legal fireworks! <3

dresses fit for a princess

This past weekend the New York City Bridal Market took place, and once again I was ecstatic to be a part of the best line in the whole show.  The Ivy & Aster Fall 2011 collection is an extension of their previous line, still dreamy and whimsical and oh so pretty! The flattering styles paired with gorgeous draping, and not to mention the must-have accessories, make these soft dresses into dreams come true. The eye-catching booth was inspired by The Princess and the Pea, a tribute to Kate Middleton and her upcoming royal wedding to the dashing Prince William. Which dress should Kate wear when she marries her Prince Charming?

How fabulous do those dresses look paired with a leather jacket? I love the whole elegance-meets-Brit punk vibe! I wish I could get married all over again so that I could wear one of these darling creations!  Please check out the Ivy & Aster website and click around to all of the links…from the about story to the blog diary, it is a little slice of heaven in the web world (plus you’ll see my little face pop up from time to time). And if you want to see more of these gorgeous gowns, check out the Sweet Little Photographs post. Did I mention how much I LOVE these dresses?? :)

xoxo

here comes the sun…please?

Everyone has been making posts like “summer is here!” and “break out the tank tops!”…but here in New York, spring hasn’t even peeked his little head out yet!  While all of you west coasters are complaining about the 90* heat (oh boohoo for you), I’m over here hugging my radiator while wrapped up in three blankets just to get warm!  Aye chihuahua.  I can’t think about summer yet!  With dreary skies and wind-chapped skin…all I can do is close my eyes and dream about spring.

1. Chunky pink and gold necklace by Forever 21
2.  Delicious Rose Macarons with Raspberry Filling
3.  Silky Seams Tank by Madewell
4.  Apricot Knitted Cape Cardi by TopShop
5.  Skinny Cargos by Banana Republic
6.  Perfect Spring Sakura
7.  Sevigne Washed Leather Wedges by J Crew

peep show

I have been working on a very sexy easter project and I am so excited to share it with you all.  Cue sexalicious music: bow chikka bow wow!

The red lace onesie…the star pasties…the bare bunny…it’s all so seductive!  Oh and did I mention that this lovely piece of art is for sale in my etsy shop?  Oh baby…you know you want these marshmallow minxes hanging on your wall at your easter celebration.  It certainly would be a conversation piece ;)

UPDATE!!! This item has been sold (wow that was fast!), but I would be very happy to make more of these slutty bunnies for anyone who asks!!!

the root of the problem

Today I got my hair done…after not going to the beauty parlor for ten weeks!  Yes, you heard me.  Ten freaking weeks!  This coming from the girl who was so blonde that I had to run to the salon every three weeks because the roots were so extreme.  I’m a more natural blonde now, and although I miss being the platinum pinup, I sure do love saving all that money at the salon…and the color is quite purdy as well :)

I was there to get my normal root touch up, but I was contemplating something else.   Everywhere I go I’ve been seeing this trend called ombre, which means “gradiant” in French, and it’s when the root of the hair is dark then it gradually gets lighter to the end of the strands.  It’s been around for a while, but I’m really seeing it a lot lately…even one of the stylists at the salon was rocking it!  Personally, I love this trend, I think it looks so bohemian in a kind of “I don’t give a shit, I’m just living my life” way.  And it could let me grow my hair out for ten weeks or more and be able to back up my laziness with “oh no this root look is totally intentional!”

What do you think?  Does it just look like these girls need to get their booties to the salon pronto?  Or are you digging the look?

Drew Barrymore rocking an extreme ombre…from dark dark roots to light blonde tips

a beautiful, more natural, take on it

Erin Wasson showing that curls look just as good…if not better ;)

Rachel Bilson looking glamorous with soft ombre waves

Emily Blunt showing how brunettes do the trend

Ellen Pompeo showing off her ombre bangs

another one of Drew…how could I resist this one?  the giggle, the ring, the braid…LOVE HER!

Cameron Diaz showing a more subtle take on the trend

the drifter and the gyspy

In a fort under the stars played a lone ukulele.

dress: h&m…hat: urbs…boots: f21

back in the city

Hello, darlings!  I’m back from my wonderful two week vacation in sunny rainy california, and it certainly was quite unexpected.  From an emergency visit to the hospital (don’t worry, just a really bad heartburn attack), to a few more unexpected hospital visits (to make sure it actually was, just in fact, heartburn), and a slight flood rushing through the house (thankfully just the carpet and furniture were damaged), I really didn’t have the relaxing trip that I planned.  But it was also full of family fun and wonderful reunions with a few friends that really warmed my heart when the sun wasn’t able to.

But now I’m back in the city and while it’s much colder than LA was, the sun is shining and I’m back with my husby so I couldn’t be happier!  I also have a new outlook on life and with that I’m determined to have a new outlook on fashion.   I’m taking more risks and having more fun and dressing the way I want to.  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially in the winter (it’s not spring until jackets are unnecessary!!), so yesterday I put on a fun printed skirt and my new boots from the sweetest boy in the entire universe and strutted my stuff through SoHo.  Boom baby!

skirt: casual closet (thrifted by mamasita)…top: akualani…tights: buffalo exchange…bra: forever 21…belt: flea market…necklace: forever 21…boots: urban outfitters (gifted by the husby) <3

(close enough :P )

free as a bird migrating south for the winter

Today has been my second day of freedom…my second day of glancing at the clock around two and panicking because I haven’t been getting ready for work, only to joyfully realize that I don’t have to go anywhere!  So wonderful!  I have spent these past two days with my dearest darling, shopping, watching romantic movies, and packing.  Tomorrow I leave for home in California, followed by a five day vacation with my family in Mexico!  Ole!  Then I’m staying in LA for another week to make sure I get to see as many friends as possible.  I am so excited for this trip, my family has been going to the same wonderful place in Mexico since before the dawn of time, and growing up in California I have such an affinity for Mexican culture…and by culture I mean food.  And I can’t wait to do some shopping and bring home some turquoise jewels!  I know I promised that I would be more diligent with my blogging once my nanny job ended, but I hope you will allow me this two week break to really unwind and collect my thoughts so that I’m fresh and ready to take over the blogosphere :)  Thanks for all of your support love bugs!

new treats in the etsy shop!

I have been busy busy busy gearing up for my life as a self-employed entrepreneur!  I have been stitching my booty off and here are some of my finished products.  I’m working on more Gangstah Hankies and they’ll be in the etsy shop soon, but these six are there now so hurry hurry and get your hands on them before they’re gone!!!

Get some!

find your passion

Don’t you think it’s strange that when you graduate high school you’re supposed to know what you want to do with your life?  Here you are, at 17 or 18 years old, leaving home for the first time, out of your comfort zone, and you have to pick a major that will determine your career path.  And then you’re expected to finish college in 4 years and launch yourself off onto that chosen path.  I started college at 17 with a major in Journalism.  By the middle sophomore year I realized that I didn’t want to do that at all and instead chose Liberal Studies to become an elementary school teacher.  Then by the beginning of my senior year, I realized that I didn’t really want to do that either, but I had put four years into college and I couldn’t switch majors now and ruin my four year plan just to take more classes and not graduate on time!!!  Man did I have my priorities all mixed up!  Looking back, I really wish that I had changed majors.  I would have loved to take more classes and actually explore areas that interested me to see if anything really grabbed a hold of my heart.  Instead I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in something that made me say, “well maybe one day I can fall back on that and become a teacher…if nothing else happens first”.  So that’s why I went to college for four years?  To have something to fall back on?  What did I plan to do in the mean time?

Throughout my life, I’ve always been somewhat of an entrepreneur.  It started way back at my first lemonade stand at the beach, selling lemony sweetness for 10 cents a pop.  But it got more serious in high school when I would sell jewelry that my mom and I made to the girls in my class.  In college I started my own jewelry business and sold a good amount of baubles online.  Then my love for vintage clothing became trendy and I was able to set up an online shop to share the wealth of my own closet.  This resulted in Sugar Darling Vintage.  Add to that my incessant need to stitch and craft, and you have my etsy shop.  I guess what I’ve realized about myself is that no matter what I wanted to do, I would find a way to start it up and make it work….even if it was just for a little while.  Some ventures have succeeded, while some have faded away, but I’ve always initiated and executed my ideas until I’ve realized whether they make me happy or not!

My true passion was realized almost two years ago, when Tim and I met with our photographers for the wedding.  We left that meeting and looked at each other and said “why aren’t we doing this!?”.  Tim has had a similar journey trying to find his passion, but he figured his out long before I found mine!  He was lucky enough to graduate with his Bachelor’s degree in photography and continue on to get his Master’s in the same subject.  He knew he wanted a career in taking pictures, but he wasn’t sure what exactly his path would be.  So then we got married and moved to New York with big dreams, but we still had this little bud of an idea that had been planted in our minds about becoming wedding photographers.  We decided to dive into it head first, so we created Sweet Little Photographs and set up our website.  We had very little to start with, but we soon created amazing contacts and began booking jobs.  When we got home from shooting our very first wedding, I was so overwhelmed with this feeling of fulfillment.  I realized that we were doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing, and it felt so ridiculously good!  Never in my life had I ever felt so sure of something, and so extremely passionate about continuing with it.  For me, the number one fan of romance and love, this job is so intensely gratifying on every level.  I get to witness a celebration of love between two people and capture the sweet and intimate moments on the happiest day of their lives, and I get to do it side by side with the love of my life.

Between Sweet Little Photographs and Sugar Darling Vintage, I feel very fortunate to be living my life in way that makes me happy.  Starting in March, I’ll be leaving my nanny job and I’ll finally be able to devote all of my time and energy into making these two business ventures extremely successful.  The foundations have been laid, now I just need to put myself out there and network and build relationships with other people in the industry.  In regards to SDV, I fully intend to blog more (the infrequency of posts makes me so darn mad at myself!), stitch more, put more inventory up in the shop, take more pictures, put together really amazing outfits to share, and show tons of great inspiration from other bloggers!  I’d love some feedback on what you’d like to see as well!  This blog would be pointless without all of you amazing darlings reading my ramblings…so I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

And if anyone out there is feeling like you don’t know what on earth you are supposed to be doing right now, do EVERYTHING!  Take as many chances and risks and just find something that absolutely blows your mind.  I know it seems scary sometimes, but you never know what could happen if you don’t try!  All my love <3