pretty little basterd

What is it about French women? They're just so effortlessly cool and chic...and they have such good hair.

I've been smitten with Mélanie Laurent ever since I first laid eyes on her in Inglourious Basterds. I haven't had a girl crush this huge since Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise (another French girl - coincidence?). If you haven't seen Inglourious Basterds yet...well, why haven't you? Laurent glows in every single frame (even when she's covered in blood), but the first shot of her in that red dress at the beginning of the final act is the real "wow" moment. Tarantino has featured some badass female characters in his films, but Laurent's Shoshanna may very well be the most badass of them all. Inglourious Basterds is out on DVD today, so go out and rent it if you haven't seen it already.

an education in fashion

The elegant Carey Mulligan as Jenny in An Education. I saw this film last month. It's based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and written by one of my favorite authors, Nick Hornby. The costumes are so gorgeous and really help to visually illustrate Jenny's transformation from a schoolgirl to a young woman. The rest of the cast is great as well. I particularly loved Olivia Williams as Jenny's stern but caring teacher.

french navy

One of my favorite bands, Camera Obscura, released a fantastic album back in April and I feel like a big dummy for just becoming aware of it now. Chalk it up to being really preoccupied, I guess. I'm definitely not as updated on bands & artists as I used to be, but thanks to a friend, I've belatedly discovered this absolute gem of a song (and video). Enjoy!

halloween

Happy Halloween weekend! This year I'm dressing up as a panda, my favorite animal.

pumpkin cupcakes

One of my favorite things about the Fall season is the abundance of pumpkin-themed desserts. Last week, my boyfriend and I baked up a big batch of pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They were so good! Even my boyfriend, who hates pumpkin and doesn't have much a sweet tooth, couldn't resist them. He said they're the best cupcakes he's ever had! We sprinkled chopped walnuts on top, which gave them the perfect amount of crunch. I'm already planning on making them again.

Get the recipe at Patent and the Pantry.

tonight

Going to the midnight screening at the Cinerama Dome. I can't wait!

zombies & pie

This weekend I watched Zombieland. I loved it. It managed to be clever, crude, funny, and kind of touching, all at the same time. I hope I start seeing Jesse Eisenberg in more movies after the success of this one. I've been a fan ever since I saw him in The Squid and the Whale. The boyfriend and I decided to watch Drag Me To Hell when we got home, which turned our Friday movie night into a really good, scary/funny double feature. I love Sam Raimi.

On Saturday, we went to an early evening screening of Paranormal Activity at Arclight Hollywood. Half the people at our screening were scared out of their minds; the other half were bored out of their minds. I belonged to the former half of that group. That movie thoroughly scared the bejeezus out of me, but I could see how some people might be bored. I think it all depends on how much patience you have and what kind of movies you find scary. Some people like those balls-out horror films, where the scares and gore come early and often. Some people like films with a bunch of creepy moments that hint at the big payoff at the end. Those are the kinds of horror films that I like, and that's the kind of film that Paranormal Activity is.

After the movie, we went to the Farmers Market and had dinner at Du-par's. I ordered the chicken pot pie because I don't recall ever eating it before (I'm Filipino-Chinese, so I missed out on a lot of American dishes growing up). The pot pie was flaky, piping hot and delicious. For dessert, I had to try a piece of their famous pie (yeah, more pie). I decided on blueberry cream cheese with a graham cracker crust. Holy crap, it was good. I didn't take any pictures of my food, as I'm usually apt to do, because I devoured it way too quickly. But there will be more photo ops - I still need to try the rest of their pies!

Ah, food and movies. My two favorite things. It was a good weekend.

Dress from Forever 21. Cardigan from H&M. Scarf from a thift store. Coach bag. Chinese Laundry boots.

shop update

Pretty new dresses up in the shop.

an elusive outfit post

First outfit post in a billion years, I know. I didn't really wear anything too great this summer. It was way too hot and I was way too busy to put any effort into dressing. I prefer Fall and Winter clothing much more.

This skirt just arrived in the mail, my first eBay purchase in a long time. I love the print. I bought three different items of clothing last week and they all have similar "folksy" prints and embroidery. It was completely unintentional. Honestly, I've been feeling a bit burnt out on fashion lately. The internet creates so much sensory overload that it sometimes makes it hard to figure out what I like and don't like. I guess it's good to know that I can always count on my subconscious to steer me along.

American Apparel mustard dress from eBay. Forever 21 skirt from eBay. Ivory cardigan from Old Navy. Faux leather woven belt from H&M. Black tights from Target. Me Too patent t-strap heels from DSW (I later decided that these were too dressy for day and changed into flats).

let the wild rumpus start!

My best friend made these cupcakes, and they're kind of a big deal.

After being featured on several blogs, including Cupcakes Take the Cake and boingboing, her cupcakes made it onto the illustrious Huffington Post last week. Her Moishe- and Max-cakes are featured in a slideshow alongside other movie-themed cupcakes here. I'm so happy that my talented friend is getting the recognition she deserves. And I can vouch for the fact that all her creations taste just as good as they look!

fireworks

Disneyland knows how to do them right.

strawberry fields

I went to Serendipity 3 in Vegas and ate this. I think I'm still recovering.

orla kiely clearance

For those of you who missed out on the Orla Kiely for Target collection while it was in stores, a select few pieces are still available on Target.com, and most of it is now on clearance for up to 50% off! I just placed an order for the trio of pear canisters and the flower serving tray (which I will be using as a food tray for my cats. Yes, I am vaguely ashamed about this). If you've had your eye on any of these pieces, now is the perfect time to buy.

Last week, I took a break from the craziness of moving to attend my cousin's wedding in Seattle, and today I'm heading to Las Vegas to celebrate my best friend's birthday. This has been an incredibly busy summer, but I'm definitely not complaining.

summer reading

al & diane

Hello! So sorry for the long absence. I'm currently in the process of moving to a new city. Busy, busy, busy. I'll be back as soon as I can.

kittens!

So, the kittens have pretty much taken over. I don't really mind. The little one has had a few name changes since the last time I posted about him. Right now it's a toss-up between Charlie (as in Bucket) and Nibbler (as in Leela's pet from Futurama). Nibbler is a very appropriate name, since this little dude loves chewing on anything and everything, both edible and non. I was eating a bowl of cereal the other day and he literally tried to climb into the bowl while it was in my hands. The only thing is, I've always given actual names to my pets, not pet names. So that's why I'm leaning toward Charlie. Maybe Nibbler can be his alias, in case he decides he wants to join the mob or be a paid assassin when he grows up.

Anyway, I've been sick for the past week. Being sick + 90-degree weather = not cool. Not cool at all. But I'm on my way to recovery. Hopefully this bug will be gone by tomorrow.

I'll be adding some things to the shop in the next few days. A pair of boots are already up. I know that the shop's been pretty bare lately. A lot has been going on since summer started (the new kitten, lots of family activities, and an impending move - just to name a few). There might be some new and exciting changes coming up soon, but I'll post about it when the time comes.

two weeks

My favorite song at the moment is "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear. The music video is a little bit funny, a little bit creepy, and strangely mesmerizing. Kind of like watching a ventriloquist's dummy.

And here's the same song, impeccably edited with footage from the 1956 short film Le ballon rouge. I love this one so much.



See both videos in HD here and here.

seattle

Last month, I went to Seattle to celebrate my grandmother's 89th birthday. It was such a fun, relaxing trip. The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

I arrived on Friday and had a couple of days to enjoy the city before heading to my relatives' house in Port Orchard for the big birthday celebration. My cousin and her fiance escorted my other cousin and I all around Seattle and took us to some amazing eateries, including The Crab Pot (so epic that it was featured on the show Man v. Food) and Molly Moon's ice cream shop (monster-sized scoops and the most delicious homemade waffle cones, ever). We visited Gas Works Park, went to Pike Place Market to buy a bouquet of flowers for our grandmother, rode to the top of the Space Needle, and did some shopping inbetween. All I bought was food (sprinkles and flavored honey) - big surprise.

I'll be going back in August for my cousin's wedding. Can't wait!

great gatsby!

I just wanted to share a few photos from an event at New York's Governors Island, taken by Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist. These have been up on The Sartorialist for about a week, so some of you might have already seen them, but hopefully you won't mind seeing them again. Personally, I can't get enough of these photos. Everything about them is vibrant, sun-drenched, and perfect. This is vintage inspiration at its best.

checking in

Apologies for my extended absence from the blog. The reasons for the hiatus are as follows: a Memorial Day weekend trip to Seattle, working on final projects for Spring semester, and my very recent acquisition of this little guy:

His (tentative) name is Tobias, and his meow is ridiculously loud.

I expect things to settle down as soon as my summer officially begins in about two weeks. I'll try to post photos from my Seattle trip this week. It's such a beautiful city.

four eyes

More photos of James Dean for your viewing pleasure.

Have a lovely weekend!