Tag Archives: los angeles

Giggly Delirium

July 12, 2009

brideworld

Photo taken at the Bride World Expo in Los Angeles

This weekend has been full of wedding planning adventures, food, beer, wine and of course, good friends. I am super tired and am planning to camp out in this Irvine Coffee Bean until 5:30pm this evening until I meet up with my coworker to see 311 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at 7pm. That was a long sentence. That’s what happens when I’m exhausted. It’s ok though. It was worth it.

Friday night our friend (and fellow bridesmaid) flew down from San Francisco and landed 40 minutes early! This never happens! Anyway, we picked her up and headed to the Yardhouse in Long Beach where we drank beers and caught up (even though I had seen SF friend two weeks ago). We had a great time, even though our waitress forgot about us for about half an hour (or longer). I was too delirious at that point to tell time. Everything was funny. Pretty much all weekend I could not stop laughing.

Saturday we headed over to the Bride World Expo at the LA Convention Center. Word on the street was that it is the “largest bridal expo in California.” We were not that impressed. We all agreed that it didn’t feel like 200 vendors were in attendance. We did get some free cake samples though. I like anything that’s free. The best cake sample was a yummy taro cake.

The rest of the weekend flew by crazy fast. Onto the new week!

As you are aware, I’m not at home today, so I don’t have my sewing machine handy, BUT I will be posting a super super quick project tomorrow inspired by this photo from The Sartorialist:

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Photo by The Sartorialist

Perhaps you can guess what the project will be? Eh? Eh? That will be coming at ya tomorrow evening. So get ready for it!

In other news, I have been dedicating a lot of time lately to modifying, building, and writing for TV Rots Your Mind Grapes.

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It’s our new baby. Marissa is the co-creator of this super fun project, and an excellent writer. We love TV, particularly good TV and like to write about it. You should check it out! We just started it this week; the blog will get juicier as it ripens. (Ha!) I crack myself up.

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“Heathcliff, don’t break my heart.”

June 10, 2009

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“Oh Cathy, I never broke your heart. You broke it! …You wandered off like a wanton, greedy child to break your heart and mine.“

Monday evening two friends and I headed North to the ultra gaudy Beverly Hills, home to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to see Wuthering Heights (Wyler, 1939) which is a part of the Academy’s current film series: Hollywood’s Greatest Year – The Best Picture Nominees of 1939.

The film started at 7:30pm and we got there around 7:15pm, so we had some time to check out the displays in the lobby.

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As you can probably tell, these pics were taken with my iPhone. I left my camera in the car. Doh! Oh well. Here, Kendra (probably the biggest Laurence Olivier fan under the age of 50) stands next to the french poster for Wuthering Heights.

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Here, Kendra gives her thumbs up next to a photo display for the film. She was excited! So was I! The costume sketches were great.

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Our $3 (with student ID) not only got us entry to see this wonderful film in the gorgeous theatre, but we also received this great program with fun behind the scenes information about Wuthering Heights.

We eventually found our way into the theater and it was PACKED! The screening began with a vintage Mickey Mouse cartoon which co-starred the always funny Pluto. Then an introduction was given by some guy who’s name I can’t remember. Next, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. came up to the stage to share with us the story of how his father (who produced this film) got a hold of this script by chance. One day he saw writer Ben Hecht moping around the studio and asked him what was wrong. Apparently his (and co-writer Charles MacArthur’s) adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s Wuthering Heights was not being well received by studio heads. They were saying that it was too morbid. So Mr. Goldwyn read the script, and luckily for us, he loved it! It was nice of Mr. Samuel Goldwyn Jr. to share that story with us. We also had the privelege of seeing a 40 second behind the scenes clip of the cast and crew on location in Thousand Oaks, California where they filmed the cliff scenes. Very neat.

I don’t think I have the words to adequately express how fabulous this film is. This is the first time I’ve sat through the entire film and paid full attention. I’ve seen it probably 5 or 6 times before this, but always half-watching while working on my laptop. The acting in this film is top notch. The same cinematographer who shot Citizen Kane also shot this film. The costumes evolved beautifully throughout the film and supplemented the storytelling. Olivier is really intense as Heathcliff… but when is he not intense? I thought David Niven as Edgar was absolutely dreamy. I told Kendra that I thought he was more attractive than Olivier in this film and she responded “FAIL.” Haha. Lastly, I thought Merle Oberon played Cathy well. Cathy was such a bitch!

I highly recommend this film, if you have not had the pleasure of seeing and experiencing it already. If you enjoy romantic dramas, I guarantee you will appreciate this film.

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Lighten up, it’s just fashion.

June 8, 2009

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope your weekend was fab. Mine was pretty eventful. Friday, I won tickets to see Erykah Badu at Club Nokia at LA Live and it was AMAZING.

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I wish my camera didn’t die, otherwise I’d have photo evidence of how even more beautiful Ms. Badu is in person. Not only is she a great singer and songwriter, but she’s a great performer as well. If she’s ever in your town, go see her! I’ve been a fan since high school, and OMG was it amazing to finally see her live. Thanks KUCI for the tix! She is most certainly an icon in the fashion world. Or at the very least, in my fashion world. She is constantly evolving, but always staying true to who she is. The outfits that she wore at her show were out there… but at the same time reflected her style really well. The first outfit she wore was a beautiful silk black asian inspired dress with a pink floral robe over it and a shiny silver outer-space/1920’s inspired cap. Like I said, it was OUT THERE, but it worked. Sometimes it pays to just have fun with your ensemble.

Alas! As it is Sunday, I have a nice little dress that I’ve spruced up to make it more modern and young. I didn’t really make much of a tutorial today, mostly a little photographic journey from beginning to end. So here we go:

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This little dress story begins with this copper and black hounds tooth number that I found at le thrift store. It is clearly a 1990s style jumper of sorts with a lot of potential. The fabric caught my eye, and I knew it would be an easy fix.

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I started by trying on the dress and taking in about 2″ from the top. In doing this, I was able to heighten the waistline without having to deconstruct anything. Score!

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So after sewing both straps, I cut the excess, ironed it down and top stitched it up to make it look schnazy.

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Next, I tried it on again just to make sure everything was going according to plan, and it was! I then pinched and pinned the sides all the way down to where the pockets began to fit properly. I sewed that up on both sides using a straight stitch.

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Once that was finished, I tried on the dress once again to figure out how short I wanted the dress to be. I ended up cutting it about 7 inches shorter. Luckily because of the geometric lines provided by the print of this fabric it was easy to measure and cut.

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Lastly, I ironed and pressed a hem around 3/4″ around the bottom and double stitched that baby up. Because the fabric is nice and sturdy and hounds tooth-y a machine stitched hem does not look bad.

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And there we have it! A pretty simple fixer upper, but I am really digging this dress. It’ll be nice for hot summer weather, and perfect for the winter worn with a nice pair of black tights and a black cardigan. Voila! Another successful Upcycle Sunday, if I do say so myself. (Raises the roof). Have a great week my lovelies.

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Like a liar at a witch trial, you look good for your age

June 4, 2009

“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.” - Andy Warhol

Now, now. I really do like LA. I love the energy, the history, and just the overall punk rock feeling mixed with the uber corporate. The best of both worlds really, but also an incredibly strange place. Very ugly beautiful, but the other way around, I guess. Beautiful ugly?

Enough of my rambling! There is a point to this entry, I promise.

It’s the beginning of June. The beginning of Summer. And when I think of summer, I think of travel and trips on the metrolink to LA, because I did a lot of that last year. Whether it was to visit friends who live there or to see shows, LA will always be associated with summer and good friends for me.

So! This summer there are a lot of cool exhibits and museums that I need to check out. You should too! Here are my top three that I need to see (like that rhyme?):

Classical Frieze: Eleanor Antin at LACMA

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Remember a long time ago when I went to see WACK at the Geffen Contemporary? And how I went on and on about how much I love Eleanor Antin? Well, to reiterate, I think the lady is pretty great. I want to see her newer work and how she has evolved as an artist and great thinker.

The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900 at the Hammer Museum

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The museum website describes this exhibit as the hidden art from this time; the seedy underbelly, if you will. Focusing mostly on works from France and Germany, these pieces present a darker side of the Impressionist era.  I’ve never been to the Hammer Museum. I remember last year they were showing Kara Walker’s work and I missed out! I will not miss this.

Craft and Folk Art Museum

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Their tagline explains “because a shrinking world requires an expanded mind.” YES! I agree, CaFAM! Their exhibit Celestial Ash looks neat. Their other current exhibit doesn’t sound all that exciting to me. I’m interested in seeing their permanent collection. I can’t believe this museum is right across the street from LACMA and I’ve never noticed it! I stumbled upon this site today. I’ll keep you posted when I visit. Admission is $5 for general public. Not too shabby!

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Topsy Turvy!

May 27, 2009

Man oh man. So many things to say in one post, I like to try to keep them focused on one or two topics, but not this time! This will be my circus/variety show-type post.

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First of all, remember a long time ago when I wrote about Burda Style? And how awesome I thought they were because they provided open source patterns? Well, yesterday I received an email from them, as I usually do since I am on their mailing list, and I see this lovely pattern:

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Unfortunately, you have to purchase it. Now, I’m all for paying for patterns. That’s fine. But when you advertise your company as “Open Source Sewing,” I feel that it is misleading to do so and charge for a pattern. The term “Open Source” derives from the free software movement, so the implications of this term are “FREE.” I mean, $3.50 is a bargain compared to some of the patterns out there for $18.95, but that is besides the point. I just feel a bit disappointed.

In other news, for all of you embroiderers out there, this fine lady (who’s blog is AMAZING, by the way) has uploaded a free embroidery pattern. And it’s super cute! I might actually try it myself… we’ll see what happens.

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Moving on. Last night I got home and while going through my junkmail I found an advertisement for THIS. I think god loves me this month. Either that or Elvis Crespo was reading my mind and knew that I have ALWAYS wanted to see him live. SUAVE!

This is seriously the cheesiest music video, probably of all time. You gotta love the costume changes. I like to call it “The many faces of Crespo.”

Lastly, I recently joined Indiepublic. So far I’m digging it. It’s a nice way to network with other independent crafters, artists and designers all over the world. And everyone is super friendly! I spent about an hour on their site the other day and became really inspired and excited about adding more items to my etsy shop. Good stuff.

Alright kiddies! That concludes my Topsy Turvy post. Don’t forget to check out KUCI Nights at the Yost Theater this Thursday! Only $8! It’s a bargain to experience some new music. I’ll also be HERE on Friday. Yay Lykke Li! I’ve never seen her live, nor have I been to the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. Should be fun. I’ll try to take blog-worthy pics for you beauties!

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