Monthly Archive for March, 2010

Photograph Your Life

Published on March 31, 2010 in Craft Project, Home Decor and Personal. 0 Comments

Just a couple of photos from our last trip East.  Photoshopped a bit and lying in wait for printing and framing.  Though I might need more wall space…

I love the idea of using one’s own photos and memories from travels to decorate living spaces.  Most of our art pieces in the apartment have been personally photographed or created by us.  That was mostly out of necessity and not being able to afford other kinds of art.  But, I do like the idea of personalizing the home. I’ll post more photos of our DIY art in the future!

Morphed: Vintage Poly Mini

Published on March 30, 2010 in Ensemble and Morphed. 0 Comments Tags: .

I wish I had taken a photo of what this dress looked like when I first bought it. I found it on a rack at my local thrift shop for less than $5 and loved the shape of it. Amazingly, it was perfectly fitted to me – even the length and positioning of all of the darts were ideal. This obviously leads me to believe it was previously owned by a short, little old lady.  Unfortunately, the sleeves were tapered almost to my wrists and the hem ended at my calf.  Huge shoulder pads also pumped up the silhouette to linebacker proportions.

But with a quick seam-ripping, off came the shoulder pads and I took up the hem and sleeves. And voila! The perfect little vintage mini dress.

I usually never wear black and red together due to an irrational and unfounded distain for the pairing because it reminds me of a rival high school’s colors. But, I think the natural brown of the belt and shoes help to balance it all out.

dress – thrifted and morphed
belt – vintage
tights – banana republic
pumps – c line from modcloth
necklace – thrifted
earrings – Forever21
bracelet – vintage

Morphed: Woven Gold Earrings

Published on March 29, 2010 in Jewelry and Morphed. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I saw these interesting earrings at a thrift store, but they were on posts and kind of awkwardly large if you think about it. For a quick fix, I cut off the posts (one easy crimp with my handy wire cutter) and filed the sharp points down with a nail file. Then, I attached new ear wires. Fin. Or local style in Hawaii: PAU!

Now, they are perfect drop earrings.

Another simple idea for earrings is to use fun buttons. I bought these at a sewing store for less than $2 and hooked them onto ear hooks with a lever-back.

I wore the woven gold earrings over the weekend with a thrifted skirt I’ve been dying to show-off.  The only problem with the skirt is that I preferred to wear it inside out because the pattern on the interior was much more colorful and flattering than the exterior flesh-colored material.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to switch out the zipper.  So in a genius move, I just threw on a large, leather, cross-body satchel hoping it would cover my entire back side.  It pretty much worked, but I did have one person notice the unsightly inside-out zipper: my Aunt – a former textile graphic designer, amazing seamstress and all around craftiest person in my family… I should have known!

skirt – thrifted
tank – Banana Republic
earrings – thrifted and morphed
purple ballet flats – Esprit
leather satchel – Banana Republic
shades – vintage

Yay APPLE!

Published on March 28, 2010 in Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

Sunday is Laundry Day and as such, I am in the process of washing and drying everything in the hamper and on the ground of the apartment. That’s about 4 loads. I don’t actually take the time to check all the pockets on days like this, I just want to get through all the piles of dirty clothes. So, imagine my surprise when I found this in the dryer after the last load:

Seriously, this little bugger went through the wash and then a high temp dry 4 TIMES! And THEY STILL WORK! Just a little tangled up, but totally usable nonetheless. Ahhh, Apple you make beautiful, superior products. Go you!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Published on March 28, 2010 in Ensemble and Personal. 0 Comments Tags: .

The hubby and I decided to go for a little bike ride through the neighborhood to take advantage of the sunny day and family fair held at a beach-park not too far away.  We stopped to take some photos at the beginning of the ride, which was a good thing because by the end I was extremely sweaty and had fingers covered in delectable hulihuli (rotisserie) chicken – which was eaten right out of the plate with my hands.  Ahh… I love being a barbarian.

Embroidered cutout tank – Forever21
Shorts – cutoff old jeans
Belt – Vintage
Watch Necklace – Vintage
Sunglasses – Vintage
Mary Janes – Anne Klein sport
Bike – Bianchi San Jose