Last weekend this Culturista went back to college...seriously. It was Davis, CA's annual Picnic Day and let me tell you it was no small affair! We made our way to Davis quite early in the morning to partake in the festivities. The events I speak of can basically be better understood as going out at 10 AM. Not kidding. It was a grand reunion minus some medical mishaps. All in all it was a great time and everyone looked amazing.
Picnic Day Trend Report: BLACK AND WHITE
Leah: Tunic- Urban Outfitters, Lame leggings- American Apparel
Michelle: Tunic- Forever 21
Meli: Cute dress- not sure...
With a splash of color...
Unfortunately, I could not find any elongated pictures
Emily: the WHITE dress
Danielle: WHITE babydoll dress with button adornment. Forever 21
Stacey: Ed Hardy floral and butterfly tunic with hood
Friday, April 25, 2008
Davis Picnic Day 08- WORD TO YOUR MOTHER
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Amazing Caroline Trentini
This cracks me up---and you other fashionista's will agree: Caroline no more jumping in Vogue!! But then again, if Anna Wintour told me to jump I would too. ;)
Eat your heart out Pinkberry...it's all about BIG SPOON!
After months of hearing about the illustrious "Big Spoon" frozen yogurt joint I finally had the opportunity to experience the yogurtgasm everyone in the greater Sacramento area has been talking about. I had barely gotten off the plane in Sacramento and Big Spoon was destination #1. With over 75 toppings, big spoon is what you get if you merged the Big Chill yogurts and the candy bins at the supermarket together. The best part is, you get unlimited toppings and you pay by the weight of your yogurt which ends up being 1/3 of the price of Pinkberry. Now don't get me wrong...I am an x-treme PB fan...but my big spoon experience was phenomenal. I got a chocolate/vanilla swirl with raspberries, cookie dough, reese's pieces, and fat free fudge (HA!) While the toppings were a little more indulgent than Pinkberry, it only cost me $2.65. AMAZING. All in all it was everything I would have hoped for and more. Thanks Danielle!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Santee Alley Trip
Went to Santee Alley over the weekend-- for those of you not familiar-- it is in the fashion district of downtown LA. (Around Olympic and Maple st) Its a few square blocks of streets and an alley way that has loads and loads of cheap finds. There are shops one after the other selling the clothes I've seen in stores like forever 21, victoria's secret, and image, hats, knockoff bags and sunglasses, and shoes. And usually for much cheaper. If you want to take the trek down there I would advise you:
1. bring cash (since most vendors don't take credit card)
2. don't be afraid to bargain!!
3. be prepared to keep the items you bought (not many do returns or exchanges)
- on that note dress in layers to easily try things on in public, there aren't typically dressing rooms
4. get their as early as possible--preferably during the week.
5. use the restroom before you get there! I didn't see ONE while I was there
Here is a madras plaid shirt dress that I found in the alley for 17$ Unfortunately when I got home I did NOT like the way it looked on me--but some rolled up sleeves and a belt made it cute!
I finally found my gladiators!! They are from a little store off the alley for $20.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Mozza = marvolous
I was anxiously awaiting my meal at Osteria Mozza for 2 weeks, since that is how long in advance you need to make a reservation. But I am thrilled to say it was worth the wait. Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich unite their talents into this delicious gem of a restaurant.
The decor and ambiance is very simple and under stated, quite different than I would expect it to be. It was also quieter than I had heard - but lively and friendly at the same time. And the service is impeccable (almost too much so--we were asked the second we sat down what we wanted to drink)
After we got seated and settled in we were given an amuse bouche aka a little appetizer "compliments of the kitchen" which was a nice surprise-- it was a spiral of mozzarella rolled with sweet basil leaves, dried tomato and olives drizzled with olive oil. It was very flavorful and a nice start to the meal. But I have to say- I was a little overwhelmed by the wine list and the menu but the waiters are very informed and help you make your selections.
My boyfriend and I tried a few dishes one being a fabulous antipasto from the mozzarella bar (yes, they have a mozzarella bar!!): Ciliegine with iceberg, salame, pepperoncino & green olive tapanade. Basically I would like to sneak into the kitchen and steal this recipe-- so fresh and tasty we couldn't stop ourselves from enjoying the entire plate. Next we had Garganelli with ragú Bolognese (one of our favorites when we lived in Italy so of course we had to try it). Well, fresh pasta is always delicious to me and the bolognese ragu was just like Italy :) Although it was very filling, it was a smaller portion than I expected (compared to the Americanized Italian joints in LA). So lastly we shared the Grilled Beef Tagliata, rucola and Parmigiano with aceto balsamico-- which is a sliced steak marinated in an aged balsamic vinegar. Needless to say we left nothing on our plates :)
Although the restaurant is in the pricey range- it was well worth it. I've been to too many overrated, overpriced restaurants and I am happy to say this is NOT the case with Mozza. I hope it is around for a long time b/c i will probably want to go there for every special occasion. Happy Anniversary baby :)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I love my Lame Leggings!
I want to start by saying that Lame (LA-MAY) leggings are by no means l-a-m-e. I have had a crush on these for ages and I finally bit the bullet and got them. Word on the street is they rock. I chose the Vegas Legging in Night Fever Black. They also come in a variety of brighter colors...the purple and copper were two of my favorites. I was a bit timid at first thinking they were a little much but then I embraced my inner legging goddess and paraded around Hollywood sporting gear so sparkly they practically glow in the dark. At least, that's what Lady D said. I wore them with a dress and my gladiator heels, but a tunic or simple top with the leggings are a great option. I searched high and low and unfortunately they can only be found at American Apparel and are a bit pricey for leggings, ($42) but well worth it! Hopefully I've inspired some of you to be LAME.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Spring/Summer Silhouettes
Other contenders: shorts (high waisted or normal), short sleeve blouses (sheer), vests, mini dress
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
LA vs. War
After our night out at Goa, getting motivated to partake in culture vulture Sundays was a bit of a struggle but well worth it. The Firehouse downtown was hosting the weekend long event "LA vs. War" which was part of LA art week. This event hosted a melange of projects and art forms all in resistance to this 6 year long war we have been in. There were posters from the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, individual works, graffiti art, mixed media projects, and some really good djs! It gave a bunch of local LA artists the opportunity to showcase their projects.
The caliber of pieces varied; some seemed simple and the product of amateurs, while others were quite impressive and sent out quite strong messages.
Along with that there was also a graffiti contest going on and we were able to watch the artists in action.
This event attracted a rather diverse crowd, however the majority of people there were under 30 which I was thoroughly impressed by. Our generation has really stepped it up. Go us!
This was one of my favorite pieces...its title is "The Little Dictator." Clever clever!
And lastly we have the fashion forecast:
Bag- H&M
Houndstooth headband- Forever 21
Leggings- urban outfitters
Suede wedges- Marko (Israel)
To see more pics from LA vs. WAR you can click on the picture link below and check out the album!
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| LA vs. WAR |
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Goa
Went with the ladies to the club Goa in LA last night. Love this review from Metromix. Pretty much summed it up- well except we SOOO did not wait in line for 3 hours. But we did fight in line for a few mins-- They run a tight ship over there at Goa- so if you go be prepared to schmooze with the promoter and befriend the "sidewalk monitors" in order to get in the fastest. The club had an Indian vibe (Goa is a resort town in India) and the ambiance was a lot like a Euro club. And it was a fun night! Now here is our fav fashion moment of the night:
Here's Lady L with Ronny:
Friday, April 11, 2008
Wicked!
Lady Ash and I went and saw Wicked last night. It was a fabulous production- from the performances, the costume, to the sets and lighting. We really really loved it- the music and the voices were just incredible. Megan Hilty as Glinda and Caissie Levy as Elphaba were spectacular, so endearing with gorgeous voices ( I was blown away my Caissie). So if you haven't seen it yet- get your asses to the theater people.
our outfits to the show:
Coat- Guess
Shoes- Betsey Johnson
Leather Jacket- Image
Missoni-inspired dress- H&M
Shoes- XXI
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Culturistas Remember the Daze
Miss D and I had the opportunity to go to the premiere of "Remember the Daze" at the Egyptian Theatre which was sponsored by Nylon and 7 for All Mankind. The actual movie I would rather forget but the party at Central afterwards made up for it! While the characters/actors were enjoyable, if there had been any form of plot in the film those painful 2 hours in the theater would have been a bit more bearable. Once the movie finally ended we dashed out and headed across the street to the party. Open bar and a lot of interesting people made for quite the amusing night!
While they rolled out the red carpet we decided casual chic was the way to go.
Danielle is wearing an ethnic print dress from H&M which she blogged about here. Her faux leather jacket is from Image.
Downtown Artwalk
12 pm - 9 pm • Free Admission
Monday, April 7, 2008
Spring Shopping!
Had to do some clothing returns for my film which in turn took me to the mall. So I stopped over to Forever 21 and looked around. Found a couple realllly cute things.
Dress from Forever 21
Zac Posen's Spring 2008 collection
Sunday, April 6, 2008
An Artastical Walk
I went to the Brewery Art Walk today and it was AMAZING. Located in Lincoln Heights near Chinatown and Glendale, this part of LA is an untapped resource. I had no idea that this artist colony even existed and learned that it is the largest of its kind in the world. There were hundreds of people that came to this former beer brewery which was converted to artist lofts and galleries 20 years ago. We went on the "walk" and went from loft to loft checking out these artists works and where and how they create them. This piece portraying none other than the jewel of the public eye Ms. Britney Spears was made out of carpet. Such a cool use materials! Another artist I really liked was Raul Emanuel-Cuba, whose painting were reminiscent of Picasso and the Cubist movement.
Aside from checking out some really cool paintings and mixed media projects the people watching in itself was worth it. "Walk" is the theme of this post so lets just say it was all walks of life...artists, hipsters, families, punks, older folk etc. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and some of the people even had wine and snacks in their lofts for viewers. Have i mentioned that i now want to live in an artist loft community? Some of the lofts were huge and ikead-over with separate bedrooms allowing for more privacy.
All in all, I enjoyed the art, people, physical space, and wish it was not such a short-lived and infrequent event. Note to self...if i ever am in the position to purchase art, this is the way to do it. Apparently there is no mark up fee that is applicable to pieces at galleries, the artist receives all the profit, and its more affordable for the buyer. Thus...a twofer! For more info on art events in LA are check out www.artscenecal.com.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
please find me some plaid
I don't know what it is. Ugly is awesome. The grandma look---I kind of love it. Really high waisted jeans that prob make you look 10 pounds heavier, I covet. Those retro Ray -Bans- they freaking rock. Next on the list-- plaid. I've never really been into it. But now it's like I'm seeing it in a different light. But then again not every plaid shirt works. Trust me---I've been on the lookout. They're either the wrong fabric, the wrong cut, the wrong color. But I do love the one MK's been rocking:
Here's one that looks pretty cute--- I would probably buy it one size up to wear it a bit oversized like MK.
Cute plaid shirt from Urban
And my advice -- if you want to try some of these trends that aren't necessarily what you would normally wear? Just ROCK them. If you go out w/ confidence, a little personal flair and just overall attitude- you can do no wrong.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Shoppaholic
So the one bad thing about costume design is I end up shopping for myself almost as much as for my characters...One could argue it's a great thing too though right?? I got that really cute dress/hat from H&M today. It was like $7.50 for the hat and $20 for the dress. score.
Almost bought these beautiful nine west shoes online today when they didn't have them in my size at the store. Luckily Lady L stopped me, telling me to shop around first. Such a smart one, that lassy. So, alas, I'm still on the lookout for the perfect gladiator sandals.
I wanna Yelle!
So lady D has been blogging away while I have been stuck doing mindless activities at work. But I am finally posting! Sadly, my shopping has been quite limited...but my exploration of good muzik has not! I know I have been on the electro track for a while...but I just thought I would shoutout some good albums and people I've been listening to. I have quite a weakness for anything French and electro so its only natural that I would be drawn to a combination of the two. Yelle's album "Pop Up" is fresh and upbeat. I can't stop listening to it...either driving, at the gym, and prepartying. ITS GREAT. Some good tracks are "Mon Meilleur Ami," "Je Veux Te Voir," and "Ce Jeu." Two songs that i really enjoy that are not on the album are "Trop Bonne Pour Toi" and "Parle a ma main" featuring Fatal Bazooka. She is spunky, cute, and loves neon; therefore we love her.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
bohemian rhapsody
I'm seriously feeling Spring already---its been GORGEOUS out. It sprung on us so suddenly that the message hasn't quite got to my pale legs yet. But I ordered this: 
from Target---the Jovovitch/Hawk collection. I really love their vintagey bohemian vibe-- it seems so relaxed compared to such layered fall outfits, and I am ready for the change.
If anyone is lucky to still get their hands on some of the collection. I looove this blouse too! You can find some still at Target
Goodwill Hunting
Went shopping for some costumes, for the AFI film I'm working on this weekend, at Goodwill and Out of the Closet and didn't find anything- boo. But I did find some awesome stuff for myself and who says I can't multitask??
I dont know where I can possibly wear this jacket in Los Angeles- but it was 14 dollars at Goodwill and originally from Saks so I had to buy it. Its sooo heavy and I think that might be real fur? So for now it's sitting in the corner of my room on the dress form.
$10 at Goodwill :) I have high hopes for this hideous dress--- It's already much shorter and the sleeves are off. But I'm still working on it. Now it's more a 2000's rendition of the 1920's instead of a 1980's version of the 20's. sick. Will post the after pic soon :)
$3 from Out of the Closet. Cant wait to pretty this little 90's frock up too. Reminds me of something Chloe Sevigny would wear:
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