goodbye & hello!

I don't know about you, but 2011 was a hard year. I was challenged in every way possible (financially, spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally) and my true friends rose above the bs and came to my side. Thank God for friends, accountability, and hope. I don't think I would have made it to the today with such high spirits if it wasn't for good people. But the year wasn't all bad, 2011 was filled with some good times so let's cut to pictures!

 I crossed off working in NYC from my To Do List. Picture is from The Met and Jacque Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie which is the best thing I ever ate!

Had an all expense paid work trip to Chicago. It was a great summer! Started off as hell but ended it with a bang!

 Many trips to Disneyland with the Sister.

And a very special trip to Bishop to see the trees with my mom.

My main lesson for 2011 was to have hope and to cling on to what is good. The year ended with a slew of movies watched but the last one for 2011 was The Adventures of Tin Tin and boy did that movie speak to me. Captain Haddock says something to Tin Tin towards the end of the film that stuck with me (may be a spoiler... so skip this section if you plan on watching it).

Captain Haddock 

I thought you were an optimist.  

Tintin

You were wrong, weren't you? I'm a realist.  

Captain Haddock 

Ah, it's just another name for a quitter.  

Tintin 

You can call me what you like. Don't you get it? We failed.  

Captain Haddock 

Failed. There are plenty of others willing to call you a failure. A fool. A loser. A hopeless souse. Don't you ever say it of yourself. You send out the wrong signal, that is what people pick up. Don't you understand? You care about something, you fight for it. You hit a wall, you push through it. There's something you need to know about failure, Tintin. 

You can never let it defeat you. 

So here's to you 2012! I will never let failure defeat me!  

Happy New Year everyone!

excuse me while I look at cuties.

I'm not the biggest fan of animals. I think the wild needs to stay out in the wild. I see movies like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and I think, "really?! you're bringing a wild creature into your home and you're not expecting it to go crazy?" So when I see pictures of animals and I say AWWWW... You know I'm looking at something special.

link

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Hope you're all having an 

ADORABLE holiday!

Allow me to reintroduce myself.

My name is Grace

G to the R-Ace. 

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Thank you for letting me have my little Jay-Z moment.

I don't think I ever did an introduction to who I am and how I came to be at this blog. 

Welcome to the many sides of ME!

I am from Los Angeles (born and raised) and my parents are from Korea.

I went to school at USC for Cinema-Television or we're now called Cinematic Arts (oh-so fancy title for the unemployable). 

I studied classic art (painting, drawing, pastels) for 12 years. I was planning on going to art school, had my portfolio all made, but as soon as I got accepted into USC film I pursued my movie making passions.

I currently work freelance as a casting assistant and I still love production. 

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Now for the real making of Grace and the Grace note.

I am in love with fashion and food (preferably sweet foods) if you can't tell by my blog and I have really love-hate relationship with food.

I'm told I dress like a mix between a 6 year old and a 60 year old. Being that I studied art my entire life, I like small details that make me stand out. I don't like to be the center of attention but I do want a little bit of my personality to come out in what I wear.

I'm very easily distracted by shiny, colorful, and soft.

I truly believe in finding beauty in every moment and in every place. I think this world is so bombarded by what is ugly and what is mean-spirited, that we are blind to the greatness right in front of us.

I'm constantly distracted by my own hopes and dreams that I often forget to live in the now. I'm constantly looking ahead, and I don't realize that I just stepped in poop. I want to focus on what's happening now in front of me.

I cannot believe we are in the last week of 2011!

Merry Christmas!

What's Christmas without some Friends?!

Merry Christmas & Happy holidays everyone! 

pick me up.

Yes I do eat my snacks with chopsticks. These cheesy snacks (which are gluten free and fat free) get all over my fingers. They crumble with a fork and are too big for a spoon. Is this an ultimate asian moment?

I bought these fur cuffs and LOVE them. They go with every single outfit I own and are so cozy/comfortable/soft/beautiful/wonderful. Do you like my Millenium Falcon ring? Major nerd alert!

They also look good on my feet! These fur cuffs are the most versatile thing I own.

Camilla Skovgaard + 70% sale = greatest temptation. However, I am strong and resisted. But I might find myself back here after Christmas bragging about my great find if they're still in stores.. Aren't they sinful? They are a lot more comfortable than they look. The platform decreases the pain of the stiletto. The ridges on the platform decreases the chances of slipping. All in all, the perfect high heel shoe.

Friday are you here yet? 

Christmas are you here?

Bright Lights.

I like pops of color in my life. I think I'm a rather boring person. I don't say this insultingly but it's a fact. I don't like big crowds and I don't like spending my weekends out and about. I would rather go to brunch, movies, shopping, and spend my day out and my nights in. I think that's true of how I dress as well. I like to wear lots of grays, navys, blacks but then I'll throw in a a burst of color, sparkle, or glamour (sometimes all three).

Kokon to Zai. I want this ring in my life. It's so bright, pretty, and can totally knock someone out. I don't own too many pinks (I think I own one pink top) and I don't own any neon. I'm drawn to this ring and I keep holding my finger to the screen while pretending that I own this lovely piece of weaponry. Can you imagine shaking some big-time executive's hand with this on your finger? It's tough, pink, and on sale.

 

I love the contrast of the electric blue suede to the graph black lines from Giles & Brother. The blue suede is actually woven into the cuff and that makes it so much more awesome. I don't wear cuffs because I don't like the way they fit into my arm but I think these are wicked enough to make me forget about my wrist insecurities. 

I think I'm late to the Giles & Brother party but I love this bangle from them. It's so simple but I love how the black lacquer contrasts with the gold. This paired with the dynamic blue cuff would make me so very happy.

And because I can't just inject fun into my accessories I got this crazy hoodie

I bought this hoodie at forever21 a couple months ago and I love it. I don't own hoodies but this one made me smile. It reminds me of this rainbow dduk that I used to eat as a kid. It makes me feel soft and squishy (in a good way) and it reminds me of a time when boys were icky and had to be beat up... pronto!

winter princess.

I like to imagine that I'm a lot fancier than I am. I wish I had more opportunities to dress up especially in the winter. However, when I have an event to go to, I end up wishing I was watching movies in bed with my boyfriend Vanilla Bean Haagen Dazs. But these images from Zuhair Murad's 2010 collection makes me dream of a fancy winter ball where I'll get whisked away by someone who is not a tub of ice cream.

getting cozy with it.

I spent the past weekend catching up on my sleep. I woke up when I was hungry and then I would go right back to sleep. I don't think I slept this much since I was born. I'm not really into sleeping but I think I was beyond exhausted (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) so it feels good to get rest.

I'm probably going to spend the rest of the day reading, trying to get some work done, and dreaming of more cozy days.

Cozy sweater from Leroy and Perry.. and it's on sale!

Shoes I bought last year with end of season clearance sales that I can finally wear now!

Hope you all had a restful and cozy weekend!

breathe. rewind. breathe. fastforward.

This week was a big week in entertainment.. meaning my life.

Howard Stern is joining America's Got Talent and we're moving to NY? (here)

Sofia Coppola is filming the Marni for H&M commercial and print campaign (here)

The Golden Globes noms were announced and they were weird.

Tuck Everlasting, my absolute favorite book growing up, is being made into a musical (here). Much mush excitement!

There's a lot of confusion and uncertainty that's going on in my head right now. I feel like I'm at the brink of something great but I'm too afraid to take that leap of faith. I'm one of those people who loves to be in control and it's really hard giving that up. I try to adopt a type of hippie attitude and I try to be very come-what-may. But I can't do that. I'm the person who has to have a 5-10-15-20 year plan. You would think that I would have learned by now that I know nothing! So far, none of my plans worked out but I think life is pretty fantastic right now.

I've been thinking a lot this week. Meaning, I've been eating lots of chocolate this week...

 Reese's Dark is probably the best thing ever. So good & delicious. I got everyone in the office hooked. 

 I've been on the hunt for a great faux fur vest. I thought I would look silly wearing one in Sunny CA but it's cozy, comfy, and oh so very soft. I got it from a company that takes clothes from stylists that were used on shoots for resells them for a much more discounted price.

To sock or not to sock?

I love Star Wars, I love Tommy Ton, and I love this. Enjoy!

via (jak&Jil)

Winter Specials

I'm not a fan of cold weather. My lips actually turn blue if I'm in the cold for too long so give me some sun and warmth any day of the year. But there are certain things that I absolutely adore about winter. So instead of fretting about the weather and complaining about the cold, I'm writing some reminders of how wonderful the cold weather actually is.

♥ Snuggling under a cozy knit blanket with a cup of cocoa and a good movie. 

♥ Finally making my way through my "summer reading."

♥ Layering clothes! Finally those dresses are appropriate for the office with pair of tights and a cardigan.

♥ Wrapping myself in scarves and cuffs!

♥ Breaking out the cozy sweaters.

♥ Sneaking a warm cup of coffee and a blanket into the movie theater and watching all of the Oscar contenders battle it out. 

♥ The thing I love the most is slowly sipping my coffee while warming my hands against the cup. 

(image source 1, 2)

Yes, I think I'm ready! 

What are some of your favorite things about the cold weather?

Christmas Spirit.

 I love the holidays and when I get bored at work I tend to google random things and I googled selling Christmas which led to an article from Chicago Tribune about Christmas Ads during the Great Depression. This all led me to google Christmas Advertisements and I had a great giggle over some of them and wanted to share my favorites. While these aren't new ads, I thought they were fun and clever.

The Tide one is my favorite.

A New Day, A New Week.

Last week was one of the most stressful, anxiety-ridden, nail biting weeks of my life. I was being thrown obstacles from every direction possible and when I was ready to throw my hands in the air and scream "I Give Up!" something else would happen. The good thing was that I didn't really have time to sit and stew. I wasn't given the time to think about my problems and wallow, which I'm really thankful for. I'm also thankful for you! Thanks for all of the encouragement and the love and the "you can do its!" I need to play some catch up on my google reader ASAP! So, it's a start of a new day and a new week and I will take it. There was some good that happened this week so lets focus on that (you'll notice the good has to do with shoes or food...)

 This cafe near me that sells over-priced candies was my life saver this week. Yes, I did spend too much money on sweets this week but I needed it!

 My glitter flats finally came in the mail! I love my sparkly shoes. Whenever I feel down and would look down, I would see sparkle sparkle and start kicking my feet in the air and felt better. I definitely recommend everyone getting a pair.

Who doesn't love red cowboy boots.

These shoes were way too small but I squeezed my foot in anyways. I didn't bite the bullet on any shoe purchases. I remained faithful to my rule!

The most beautiful woman, my mom. This woman knows how to put a smile on my face no matter what. She also knows how to make me want to pull my hair out and want to punch the wall in. But I love her and she is remarkable.

can I run away?

Sometimes I want to run away from my problems. I want to escape reality. I want to hide from bills, responsibility, work, family.

But at the end of the day..

I don't know.

I'll look at pictures of pretty thing, close my eyes, escape for a moment, and then face reality.

via here

via Elizabeth Soule

Porcelain Coyote Skull via here

Hoping and Praying for better days

while watching Modern Family.

wishes and kisses!

I love this time of the year because everything is so sparkly, pretty, warm, and fuzzy and the movies are amazing! Christmas is full of wishes, singing, kisses, and love spread around. My sister told me that at her school, they don't have a Christmas Show. They have a Holiday Show and they barely sing any Christmas songs. I love my horrible sing-a-long times to Jingle Bells and my amazingly bad rendition of Oh Holy Night. 

Because Christmas is a time of wishes and kisses, I will share my unrealistic Christmas wish list. The one that you send to Santa Claus! 

Spun Scarves Ombre Infinity Scarf

Sequin shorts from Chan Luu

Lace up boots by Miu Miu

from Kurt Geiger

Bow Bridge Kennedy from Kate Spade

I actually thought this bag was not cute at first but the more I look at it.. the more I love it.

Another great thing about December is...

Oscar season! There's a mad rush of really good movies heading into theaters (or are in theaters now). Curbing personal shopping is a must so that I can hit the theaters and watch my long list of movies that never seem to diminish. I've only been watching kid friendly movies (Arthur Christmas and The Muppets) but I'm most excited to see The Artist and Hugo!

Because I shared some wishes, I'll share some kisses!

Have a very happy Tuesday!