Break time!

I have too much fun in my office when I'm by myself.

The eagle necklace is probably one of my favorites. 

It's made of some sort of shell and has a pearlescent glow.

Free People sale = dirt cheap = very happy Grace.

The earrings are Betsey Johnson and have little hearts dangling at the bottom.

Also bought on crazy sale at Nordstrom Rack.

re-Wind it Up.

This past week was filled with excitement and wonder. I watched Cirque du Soleil: Iris at the fabulous Kodak Theater. I am a major movie geek. So much so that I studied film and television in college so you can kind of say that I am a movie nerd and this show was every film nerd's dream. The show looked at filmmaking in this weird and eccentric way that only could have existed in someone's imagination. I love watching the cirque shows because I feel like I'm stepping inside of someone's mind and taking a peek into their world. The only thing we were allowed to take a picture of was the ticket...

Everything about this show was intentional. The show was staged at the Kodak Theater, the home of the Academy Awards, and the music was by Danny Elfman who is a music/film legend.

Found some pictures online to share the experience with y'all.

Identical twin aerialists 

images via here

The show is stationed in Los Angeles and this is a MUST for anyone visiting SoCal.

Also some other pictures from the past week.

cherry almond pop tart from Olive & Thyme

brunch at Eveleigh.

 goofing around at Eveleigh.

 studying the menu. Making decisions when it comes to food is very difficult.

I combined my child's necklace (made from toy blocks) with a strand of pearls to youth-up a mature look.

One last word of advice before we all go into another Monday.

Life is short so eat dessert first!

Books are fun Fun FUN!

I saw an article earlier this week about a book sculptor in Edinburgh. The sculptor remained/remains anonymous and wanted to leave presents for the staff, attendees, and general public. These were my favorite ones. 

The Magnified piece states, "When I go I want it bright, I want to catch whatever is there in full sight"

Reptar goes peek-a-boo!

Tag reads, "For @natlibscot - A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas...(& against their exit)

This one is my absolute favorite. So beautiful. 

This one states, "For @scotstorycenter - A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story...

And the artist's parting note:

My first thought was WOW! So beautiful!  And that quickly became..what about the books?! she ruined books! 

Still, nothing takes away from the beauty that this artist produced. 

To see the full story (which is amazing) and see her other pieces (also amazing), go here

the winds are a-coming

Right after I posted about the warm winter we've been having, the Santa Ana winds roll through! The streets are a mess, I'm being carried across the street, trees are everywhere, doors/windows rattle shake, and schools have been shut down.

Yes, we are dramatic about wind. But these winds are coming in at about 80mph and they only happen once a year. This calls for absolutely no skirts, and only infinity scarves, hair in pony tails, and boots Boots BOOTS!

Gots to keep those legs warm!

playing with my scarf during work.. (my hand looks like a beast!) My photos always come from taking a break in the office. 

I never understood the point of infinity scarves until last night. Yesterday night I was running around Hollywood with a scarf that was wrapped around my neck twice. That thing still flew off! Thankfully a kind stranger caught it and handed it back to me. And now... I get it! Infinity scarves are not just cute but totally functional. This scarf didn't fly off at any point today.

The past two weeks, my shopping has been out of control so I'm cracking down. NO PERSONAL PURCHASES UNTIL 2012. Let's see how long this lasts.. It doesn't hurt to look though does it?

Love this Flip Tote from Rag & Bone via here

Jonathan, Oh Jonathan.

Winter is very weird this year. One day it's raining/flooding and the next day it is hot and sunny. I never know what to wear but these looks by Jonathan Simkhai are so inspiring and amazering!

The wool skirt, thick leather tee, and cuter than cute oxfords make a great warm winter outfit.

I love this wrap dress. It's chic, sexy, and oh so classy.

My inner old man is in love with this look. The sweater, the pants, the buttoned shirt!

Who doesn't want this sweater? 

via Jonathan Simkhai

nostalgia.

This past weekend was the USC vs UCLA Football game and I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. I'm not the biggest football follower but it played a huge part in my college life. I went to every single USC vs UCLA game while I was in school and I went to almost every home game in my four years. I miss the camaraderie and the love that is shared between all people wearing cardinal red and gold. Some of my most fun memories of college were going to games, walking down Trousdale, kicking the post, waiting in lines. I remember my first game was vs. Ohio and we were sitting 10th row at the 50 yard line. It was the first time I saw people willingly get thrown in the air 20+ times and it was the first time I sang the fight song with thousands of other students/alumni/fans.

The last couple posts were about individuality and beauty and so I'm posting pictures of myself from my college years. I'm really bad at taking pictures so putting up dorky college pictures is a big step. I get really awkward so I end up pulling a face or pulling a weird pose at the last minute. If you have any tips on how to be still for a photo please let me know! 

 Junior year with the roommates and our friend who dressed up as Iron Man for every game. (I'm the one in the gray being twitchy) Yes, we think we are cool.

it's amazing.

Let's start the week on a good and happy foot with a start-of-the-work-week inspiration post!

I have to constantly remind myself to wake up! There is beauty all around me.. I just have to look for IT.

I'm not the biggest Kanye fan in the world. I'm actually annoyed with him most of the time but that's because I really enjoyed/respected his earlier work and I'm confused with who he is now. But boy do I love these pictures of Mr. West taken by Tommy Ton of Jak and Jil at the MoMa Garden Party earlier this year. 

I think this just shows I'm a bigger Mr. Ton fan than a Mr. West fan.

A magical pathway of books that I would want to follow any day:

 via here

Beautiful hydrangea cupcakes that look too amazing to eat:

DIY found here by Glorious Treats.

In my last post, I talked about embracing our own individual quirks and I loved this article on Miranda Kerr from New York Magazine. I think Miranda Kerr is one of the most beautiful and stylish women out there in the celebrity world but she is still a woman and deals with her own insecurities and self doubt. In the article, Ms. Kerr says, 

"I just remember, like, the first time I met Adriana[Lima], she was so beautiful. I was like, ‘Why would they want me? I mean, look at her. She’s incredible.’ And then I met Heidi and Gisele and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ "

...

“I can’t feel bad about being who I am, just like the girl next to me can’t feel bad about being who she is,” she says. “Because a rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose.”
Later, backstage at the show, she repeats the sentiment like a mantra. “I want to encourage women to embrace their own uniqueness. Because just like a rose is beautiful, so is a sunflower, so is a peony. I mean, all flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too.”

Anyone else crushing on Ms. Kerr?

I'll end this post on a very simple note.

You are Beautiful.

to be and to love.

I don't think it's a secret that I love clothes, style, shoes, fashion, happiness and I love getting inspiration from others. I can spend hours on different fashion blogs and collect my hodgepodge of favorite images. But I think the most important thing to keep in mind is to keep it personal. 

Embrace who you are and love your style.

That random note isn't completely random. I have a friend who I don't understand. She takes on what I believe and all of my favorite things and adopts them as her own. She has become me and I miss her.

This drives me batty because I think she's awesome all on her own.

Why can't people see that their individuality is what makes them beautiful?

Be yourself and love yourself!

I'm a major dork and proud of it! Therefore, I will share a picture with all of you of myself wearing no make-up and waiting at the airport for my flight.

and now I will share a picture of some style inspiration.

Love this look. It's such the perfect fall outfit (aka SoCal Winter). via stylesight

Happy Black Friday!

The tradition this time of the year has always been:

eat Thanksgiving early (around 2PM) 

sleep around 10

wake up at 3

hit the mall at 4

shop shop shop

eat breakfast

watch a movie.

This year, my poopie sister broke tradition. She and her husband went up to NorCal to spend Turkey day with his family. Yes, I wanted to be that selfish! Thus she left me without a shopping partner. Luckily, I did all of my Christmas shopping early this year so I didn't have to go. As you may or may not have guesses, I am really frugal but I have a major shopping problem. And a bargain-hunter/shopaholic cannot sleep during the ultimate shopping morning of the year.

So I dragged my butt out of bed, dragged my mother out of bed, and went off to the mall.

 This was the crazy line for h&m. I was across the street but still could not capture the entire line. Store opened at 6AM and this was taken at 4:30AM. The line wrapped around Americana and into the parking lot. Yeah, I was not prepared to wait in that line.. so I didn't.

The massacre at the Macy's boot department. Luckily I bought my beauty boots online the day before.

Oh yes, another theoutnet.com steal. Boots were originally $495 and I paid a whopping $180! I cannot wait for these badboys to come in the mail.

Got this coat from Macys. $235 for $80

Damage also includes:

-a sweater from anthropologie at 80% off

-scarf from AE at 40% off

But it's not over yet! 

My heart is swooning for two more items..

Black or Gray? What do you think?

and this Hooded Gillet from Asos..

My tiredness is coming out in spades now. I think I should sleep before I make anymore rash decisions!

Happy Black Friday Y'All!

hello winter! hello bruises!

I am a klutz. I am one of those people who will trip and fall while standing still. While I love the rainy weather and the gray skies, I hate all of the moisture in the air and on the ground. I welcome winter this 2011 with a big fall on my behind after running around in boots that clearly weren't made for rainy days.

Living in LA, I never had a real need for rain boots. In my whole entire life, I only owned one pair. Knowing how clumsy I am, I think I need to invest in a better pair. 

I love these from Moov Boot but I really love these...

They're kind of rugged no? I think I may have a shoe problem. No wait... I know I have a shoe problem.

Any other suggestions out there? Thinking cute, affordable, and slip resistant!