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!

A Much Needed Recap

I know I've been MIA for awhile now, mostly because my smugmug account (aka sistah's account) was not allowing me upload pics, so everything was just sitting on my hard drive. What's the point of blogging without pictures?

So I'm back from the O-H-10, which was amazing. The weather couldn't be "better" (relatively speaking) - I had a white Christmas, but the snow quickly melted when it hit 50-something degrees, making it hard to go sledding, but easier to go shopping. PRIORITIES PEOPLE.

This post will be some highlights of photos to quickly recap the holidays...and I'll be back to fashuns / outings / makeup postings quickly hereafter.

On Christmas Eve, it's Rye Bread's family tradition to spend it at his parents' house:

banana republic dress, hermes bracelet (my christmas gift!)

my "growing" family

rye bread: united colors of benetton sweater, club monaco slacks / ezio: mickey mouse sweater

rye bread's cousins

Cut to my red-eye from LAX to Ohio

my ohio-based family
martin + osa button-down, citizen jeans

christine: express shirt, american rag jeans
red lips for my nieces

I decided to stay in Ohio for NYE, as I haven't seen my family in quite awhile. So I was scrambling after Christmas trying to find an outfit to wear.

h&m lace top, f21 skirt, chinese laundry heels, hermes braceletmom: "we're late! what are you doing?"
me: "taking pictures"
mom: "why?!"
me: "for my blog"
mom: "okay i want a picture too"
my dad taking a shot
my cousins & mom having fun on the dance flo'
my turn to dance with my mom

I spent the entire week between Christmas & New Year's with my family & we went to the zoo, the mall (a lot), and ice skating. It's good to be back in LA, but I already miss my family!

How were your holidays spent? Any good presents? Because, let's be honest, that's all I care about. New Year's Resolutions? Do you guys even believe in those anymore?

OH! I just got nike+, so find & add me as a friend if you guys want to start running challenges, username: hoisinivy (of course).

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker

Tonight, Tonight

Rye Bread is a HUGE fan of musicals.

Me? Not so much.

But maybe that's because he grew up with them (and two older sisters) and like the closest I've come is the high school musicals my school (horribly) performed. So it's kinda a big divide between us because he's such a huge fan & I just don't have the experience or knowledge around them. I mean, when I watch them, I like them, but do I go "OH MAN I HAVE TO SEE THIS MUSICAL?" No. That makes him sads... and makes me think I'm barking up the wrong tree.

We saw West Side Story at the Pantages Theater & like I said, when I actually watch musicals, I thoroughly enjoy them - this was no exception! Loved the choreography & I didn't realize how many songs I actually knew. West Side Story has completely infiltrated everyday pop culture without me realizing the references.

So I bought this dress like over a year ago & I never wore it because it I CANNOT BREATHE. But I braved it. Also...why no one dresses up for the theatre anymore?

banana republic dress

questions? ask here! / twitter tracker

New Friends

No seriously. I consider them friends. Premature? Perhaps. Do I care? NO! As one of the lesser (read: un) popular girls in high school, I love that I consider my readers & fellow bloggers my friends. Like if I ran into one of you guys down the street, please say hi, but do expect an awkward hug. Perhaps even a little pelvic thrust.

On a whim, Issa & DRU!!! from WeWearThings visited LA & we took this opportunity to finally* meet. Melanie of WreckedStellar & Becs of StyleWithBenefits were at the Holi-Pop-up event at Space15Twenty, so we it was just one big blogger meet & greet!

*apparently my digitally-close relationship with Issa, Erica & Tramanh has made people believe we've been friends for awhile...i have yet to correct this theory...lol.

Btw, I promise to do a makeup / outfit post...I just realized my past few posts have been a visual diary, which...I mean, gets boring, even to me. I got a few great steals from PMN, so I'll be showcasing those soon!

becs, jeannie, melanie, issa, dru!!, me

this guy came up to us & told us he worked in radio. i was not surprised.

i have a new girl crush on issa!

a twin sandwich! love these girls! they got amazing feather extensions done by a local vendor; i'm sad i didn't do it. maybe next week!

A key question I got when I told my friends (and Rye Bread) that I was going to meet with these girls was "Are you going to dress up?" After going back & forth for awhile, I opted for my new fave jacket & jeans...a good compromise, no? But you better believe I did my hair & make-up! We also talked about bloggers we did & didn't like. Well, they did before I came...I wonder why it got so awkwardly quiet when I showed up...lol, jk.

Here's to new friends! (Raises my coffee mug)

questions? ask here / twitter tracker

San Francisco Treat!

This is the LAST travel post...until I travel again, lol.

Since we were up in Santa Rosa, we of course had to go to "the city," aka: SF. Why so foggy! We lucked out with the weather though because it's normally really cold & windy there, but it was a pleasant low 70's, so a light jacket and a casual scarf was all I needed to keep me nice & toasty. You know, even though I was complaining about how foggy it was, foggy days = best pictures. For some reason, the lighting is much better & no one is squinting.`

me with ryan's cousin, louie (from singapore) & his sister, jenny

chasing a pigeon...hmm...you can't see the pigeon, but i promise it was there!

Don't forget to enter my first giveaway!

Also, if you ask a question on Formspring for an extra entry, please don't forget to add your name to the question - no need to register & make a profile, just go "Steph, why do you smell like poop? Fr: Christine"

questions? ask here!

Where Everything Comes Together: Santa Rosa

I didn't make this title up, I went to Santa Rosa's official site because I wasn't sure what to name this post, and this is what they wrote:

Just 55 miles north of San Francisco, you'll find a vibrant city overflowing with all you love about California. Welcome to Santa Rosa, where everything comes together.

And while I may disagree that it has EVERYTHING I love about California (e.g. a downtown area, skyscrapers, PEOPLE), it did have everything I love about NorCal: wine country, preserved nature, quaint towns, and random museums!
Rye Bread & I visited his sister & cousins in SR for a long weekend, also visiting San Francisco (which will be an upcoming post). On our previous visit over a year ago, we went wine-tasting which was a lot of fun; this time Rye Bread & I were left on our own, and we visited the Charles Schulz Museum!

Don't forget to enter into my first giveaway!

questions? ask here!

Instant Getaway: Santa Barbara

Here's my disclaimer: the next few posts will either make you think you've visited a travel blog or a commercial for California vacations. But the reason why I've been lacking on fashion / beauty posts is because over the past few weekends, I've been to various parts of California & couldn't wait to share my experience you with you all!

On the way back from Solvang, we made another stop to Santa Barbara. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone! I've never been to either & both places were on my "must see" list. There are two very different cities with very diverse cultures.

While Solvang is a small & quaint town, perfect for a bed & breakfast, just over an hour south, Santa Barbara is definitely an upscale beachtown. Sailboats, surfers, bikers & skaters meld together for a perfectly relaxing Sunday afternoon.

getting lost & accidentally driving through UCSB. can't complain, campus made me jealous

street art, surprisingly expensive! those were about $200 - $400

santa barbara pier

sailboats & surfers take advantage of the summer afternoon
that's a huge bike!

banana republic jean jacket, united colors of benneton sweater, bp leggings, f21 scarf, jcrew sandals
yes, all 10 of my toenails are polished; it's just the lighting that made it look like i was missing one!

And while I wouldn't necessarily stay the night in Solvang, SB is definitely a place to spend a night or two...perhaps at Bacara?...hint hint.

The picture below is dedicated to my sister, who I knew would enjoy laughing at it. Her comment? "You're like a cupcake with a little flag on your head."

questions? ask here!