Greetings from Houston

As you may know, my parents moved to Houston about a year ago. It was a pretty big change as they knew very little people, but they are adjusting well and are loving it. It's great for me, since I have a small group of friends (see: DRU, Issa, Fifi) that I get to visit a few times a year.

This April brought me back to Houston thanks to an Austin-based work trip that I piggybacked off of. We visited a couple of murals, and I definitely couldn't leave without some crawfish! (My first time so I had to learn how to eat them)

I forgot to bring my camera (worst blogger ever), so here's some snaps I took with my phone. What DRU and I forgot to do were video AskPhivy questions...and technically, blog posts. LOL. Ah, one day we will remember that we actually are bloggers and he's a photographer, so I should use that to my advantage.

Kimono: Tilly's, American Apparel tank, Old Navy jeans, F21 mules

Billabong hoodie

For more selfies (if you can believe it) and real-time updates, follow me on snapchat: hoisinivy.

I'm reinspired to start taking more photos, so hopefully I'll be posting more and more of them. But not any less selfies. Never less selfies.

Questions? AskPhivy // IG 

#FBF: Suit Up

So because I've been MIA for...oh I don't even want to count the months/years, I figured this is a good opportunity to sprinkle in some fun times I've had that I haven't blogged about! Shortly after Ryan and I were married, we went to Vegas as part of a wedding gift from one of cousins / groomsmen, Anthony!

He surprised us with Justin Timberlake tickets and a free hotel stay! We decided to make it a group thing with Anthony and our other groomsmen, Arthur since it was his birthday that weekend. You guys practically know these boys by now, right?

We left Thanksgiving night.

That weekend we kept with the JT theme and decided to Suit Up! And I mean all of us, including me. Since I haven't worn an actual suit since my college graduation, I thought I would piecemeal it together with some high-waisted loose and tapered slacks, a white wifebeater (ha, my go-to) and a black blazer. But it was my LAMB shoes that I was excited about. These black and white pointy-toed heels are my new favorite heels. They make me cry when I wear them they hurt so bad, but damn, if they don't make the entire outfit, AMIRITE?

As always, before we go out, we decided to do a bit of a photoshoot. I got to channel my inner Gwen and would be lying to say it wasn't the most amazing time. I even pulled my hair back into two buns figuring with a blazer, keeping the hair out of my way would be best.

H&M pants, F21 blazer, Old Navy tank, LAMB heels

Saturday night, we didn't suit up, but I did want to dress up what I originally had brought with me so I figured instead of buying an entirely new outfit altogether, I would just dress up these plaid pants with a tuxedo blazer. This ended up being one of my favorite outfits I've put together last-minute...and it only cost me $30 at F21! Now you KNOW I had to keep with my Gwenabee status and keep my hair and makeup the same.

I swear, put us in front of a camera, and the only thing we're actually missing is...any musical talent.

F21 blazer, F21 black tee, Hot Topic plaid pants, Charles by Charles David booties

PS I just love this picture of me trying to take a selfie, Ryan being weird, and Arthur pouring alcohol. Very telling.

It may or may not become apparent that I don't dress typical "Vegas" style when I go to Vegas. And by that, I mean tight or revealing dresses...I think it's just not my style. I totally get why girls do it - I think I would if I liked it on myself - but for me, I would much rather dress "cool" than "sexy." And I'd rather have an amazing time at a club or bar than worry about if my dress is riding up or my boob is falling out or if a guy can see my chonies when I sit. So, for those girls out there who wonder if they have to wear a F21 or Bebe dress when they go to Vegas, I'm proof that you don't. I mean, you can, but you don't have to. Whatever makes you feel best.

The Persuasion

So you may be tired of seeing me with one of my besties, Sarah, but I am so excited that she decided to move from Chicago to LA! My week of persuasion worked wonders! As a hostess, I knew she was using this week in LA as a test-run to see if she'd like it...so of course I did everything possible to make sure LA was the BEST PLACE EVAR. And you know what? My scheme totally worked *evil laugh.*

If you have friends/family coming into LA, hopefully these activities give you some ideas!

We started off with gel manis and pedis at Lovely Nails in Culver City (super cheap for gel mani + regular pedi = $35!), waxing at Sassy Ladies Beauty Bar in Westchester, and she got spray-tanned for the first time at Glo Studio in Venice. Obviously I didn't need a spray tan - I've gotten pretty tanned this summer just from running outdoors. Later we went to Sonoma Wine Garden in the Santa Monica Place for dinner, then to The Other Room for a finishing glass of 10-year tawny port wine.

we found these rings at the beauty salon and thought they were too hilarious to not put on

huge glasses of port at sonoma wine garden

attempting to pose turns into awkward laughing

To avoid the longest post ever, read more after the break!

All Saints

Sarah bought this All Saints dress (which, by the way, I keep typing ALL STAINS) last year in Chicago and just didn't like how it looked on her...so she donated it to me to see if it I'd like it any better. It had all of  my favorite elements: Sequin! Low-cut! Black! Loose-fitting! The only drawback was that it was kind of long (and since I have short legs, it wasn't hitting me at the best angle). Though that may be the case, I still wore it because I wasn't feeling my typical black tank and black skirt combo. So a black dress was better? Yes. Shuttup.

Surprisingly, the dress never shifted (I think the sequin makes the dress super heavy so it sits in place) and my tatas never made an appearance! Good thing because ain't nothin' could go under this dress. We wore these outfits for our night of CLUBBIN' - we went to Pure in Caesars Palace where Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) performed. In true Vegas-fashion, I have no recollection of him there. Apparently it was a good show? *shrug*

steph: all saints dress, lamb heels / sarah: topshop top

And of course, an outtake of me messing around while Ryan tests out the lighting. My posing skills just get better and better!

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Weekend Update

This President's Day weekend I went to visit Ryan's sister, Jenny, who lives in Santa Rosa.  She also happens to be engaged and her fiance (who lives in Virginia) surprised her by visiting us!  (For the record, he knew I was in town before he bought his plane tickets, so it's not like I crashed his romantic plans).

We went to visit a few wineries, which turned into an impromptu engagement photoshoot for them.  I only had a simple point-and-shoot camera, so it's not like these were going to be PROFESSIONAL quality, but I'm pretty happy with quite a few (if I do say so myself):

Admittedly, I was like, "Heyyy, I want pictures too!" so her fiance was nice enough to take a few photos to prove that I too, was there (this is probably why I am not a professional photographer).  Some of my favorites:

This week I'm back to the Bay Area for a few days, then back home, then to Chicago.  That probably means more picture of me in a hotel room (NOT LIKE THAT...that'll cost you).

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The Bird's Nest

As you guys know, I'm a huge fan of Portlandia, though I haven't been up to date on their 2nd Season - I blame the fact that I don't have IFC and have to buy the season pass through Zune.  Last season, they did a spoof of Wieden + Kennedy, an well-known advertising agency with such a "creative" and free-for-all vibe that it's nearly impossible to go from one room to another without being bombarded by frisbees and exercise balls or find yourself on the wrong floor without taking the stairs or elevator.

Most advertising offices have a more "industrial" feel to them - think exposed ceilings and  pipes, and large floors with desks scattered about.  Not really your typical cubicle set-up.  Now, my offices in LA are different because we're so small that we all get our own office and because having simultaneous conference calls is nearly impossible, but when I visit the San Francisco offices, I get that TRUE "advertising agency" feel.

Here are some stalker photos I took around the office.  I mean, there's even a BIKE here.  I KNOW I'm in SF when people bike to work, lol.  WHERE ARE YOUR CARS?

Since being on a "wedding budget" (I don't know why I quoted that, it's like it's not real or something), I've been doing good about not buying unnecessary stuff...except when it's on a sale and I can't stand not to have it.  Obviously.  These Gap promotional codes can help save money, even when you aren't on a wedding budget!

Club Monaco sweater dress and belt, Hue tights, Coach oxfords

Steal of the month - I was admittedly looking for a birthday present for my friend at Bloomingdales when I saw these fabulous Coach oxfords on sale...for $160...then an ADDITIONAL 50% off. I mean, I had to buy them.  Isn't it like, against the law NOT to?  When Ryan caught me trying on these shoes, he immediately said "Oh I didn't realize that you and [friend] wear the same size shoe."  My response: "We don't."

I'm also wearing Revlon's Lip Butter after every person in the world either asked or raved about them.  I have slim pickins at my local Target but found one in Sugar Plum.  I actually really like it for everyday office wear.

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Just an Orange County Girl

A great inside joke that I have with my mentor (and director) was when she had just gotten back from a client meeting and our conversation went like this:

Her: I just got back from the ARM PIT of California.
Me: Where?
Her: Orange County.  THE WERST.
Me: Where in OC?
Her: Some God-forsaken city, called Tustin.  It was the werst!!  We literally went from the client meeting and took a tram to a place called the Irvine Spectrum and went to Dave n Busters.  I wanted to die.
Me: Uhh...lol.  I'm FROM Orange County.  Specifically, from Tustin.
Her: WAT?  I mean, no, Tustin is cool.  Yeah.

Haterz gonna hate...but I honestly couldn't stop laughing.  I love Orange County and luckily because of work, I'll be down here for the next few weeks!  My best friend lives in Tustin so I'm bunking with her to avoid the dreaded 50-mile trek back and forth.

zara blouse (cooler version found here)
lululemon leggings
jessica simpson slouched boots (similar version found here)
uniqlo linen blend cardigan (similar version found here)

 

I'm working on the top-bun hair style, since it always looks so demure; unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) my hair is so layered that it tends to have the "messy" bun look, versus a perfect ballerina bun.  I'll keep trying!