What were you doing at 8.30 this morning? Me, I was sneaking out to one of the few Gapkids in my area that had the Stella McCartney spring capsule. Remember the Fall collection that had me bananas over the band jacket? Well, I was going to be more prepared this time around, so when the store confirmed last night that they’d open at 9am today, I thought I’d get to Old Town Pasadena early enough in case there was a crowd.
There wasn’t. So I went and filled the gas tank, drove back to Old Town to park, and even had 15 minutes left to spare. Hence, I went and filled my own tank:
The weather had turned from sunny 80s yesterday to overcast 60s this morning, and by the time I got to the front door by 8:58, it was misting. I hope my cold won’t come back! Open, open, open.
I’m the first and only customer in the store. Yipeee. The best part about this is that the sales staff is super helpful when you are the only person there! I already had a mental list from checking the online store earlier this morning, so it was stress-free shopping. Unfortunately this store didn’t get the entire collection. The crochet items are WAY cute but everything seems to be cut on the smaller side this time around.
I was feeling brazen this time around so there was no walk of shame to the kids’ dressing room….
Too bad most things are running way too short or tight. So these are the only things that made the final cut for me–BTW all of these items are in size XXL.
I’d prefer to find that poncho in blue as I’m not sure I want to look like a pumpkin. This store will email me when more stuff arrives…oh Stella, why won’t you release a collection for us adults?!
Tags: GapKids, Old Town Pasadena, Stella McCartney
One of my guilty pleasures besides the Bellini…
is watching reality TV. There’s no better way for me to unwind than to watch someone else’s train wreck of a life. So whether it’s The Real Housewives of OC/NY/etc. or High Society or Project Runway, I’ll tivo it so I can speedwatch it during my downtime. The fast forward button is great not only to bypass commercials but also to zap the boring bits.
Before you question my sanity, I should say that my favorite shows are The Amazing Race, Survivor, and So You Think You Can Dance. The competitor in me thinks I could kick butt on The Amazing Race, but for sure you couldn’t pay me enough to be on any of these other shows (well, maybe I could survive two weeks of Project Runway or Design Star!). I could never understand the obsession with the Warholian 15 minutes of fame. Isn’t privacy much more valuable than any amount of notoriety?
Because once your mug is all over TV and the tabloids, you couldn’t just go out to dinner or the store on a whim and be left alone to do your business in peace. I once ran into Rihanna at the Chanel boutique in Beverly Hills and saw the look on her face after the paparazzi and fans had made it to the front door. Perhaps someone inside the boutique had tipped them off (pas moi!), but there they were and she was the prize shot they were all hunting. And she knew it. Hers was the same expression you’d see on the face of a gazelle being circled by hungry lions somewhere on the Serengeti plains.
Anyway, are you waiting to see how I’m going to tie all of this together with the photos in today’s blog entry?
These delicious pics are courtesy of Table 10, one of several restaurants from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse who’s had a few reality (well, cooking) shows under his belt. It’s always fun to try out these TV-friendly chefs’ food after seeing their shows. For example, dining at Les Halles was a tad bit more exciting after having followed Tony Bourdain all over the world through his show No Reservations.
It’s great to be able to grab a nice meal with your friends in peace and quiet…to just go through your life without it plastered all over the world without your permission.
So for now, in our media-frenzied culture filled with TMI (and TMZ), I don’t think fame is worth it. Anonymity is a commodity, and I’ve got hours of reality programming on my tivo to prove that.
Tags: Bellini, Emeril Lagasse, No Reservations, Table 10, Tony Bourdain
I finally got around to watching the movie Julie and Julia that my friends highly recommended to me as it’s about a blogger who has this love affair with cooking, Julia Child, and writing. About 30 minutes into the movie, I began to understand why they had clamored for me to see it. Substitute cooking and Julia Child with fashion/travel and Coco Chanel and voilà, that’s more or less me.
In the movie the protagonist challenges herself to blogging about one year of cooking all 524 of Julia Child’s recipes. I’d started something similar at the Purse Forum a couple of years ago with the ODJ (Outfit Du Jour) Challenge–some of the results are evidenced in my ODJ link at this blog–where I wanted to see if I could wear one Chanel item with every outfit each day without repeating the item from the day before. I’ve lost count of how many days I reached on this challenge, but let’s just say the idea was just as madcap. And ultimately, as in the movie, the challenge took on a life of its own. Strangers cheered me on and a few even schooled me. Then some became friends, a few I’ve had the pleasure to meet and others I’ve gotten to know better online than the people I see every day.
No, I did not get a book deal like in the movie for my efforts, but I did get to meet people from all over the world who share my obsession with Coco couture and/or visiting the world at large. Who else but you would enjoy seeing pictures of my bags as much as I do!
Anyway, what got me to writing all this today is that I was thinking about a new series called Fifty Ways To Wear Your Lover (I must say FWTWYL is nowhere as catchy as FIMTSO though) because of two things. I’d just caught an old rerun of the SATC episode in which Carrie Bradshaw said hello lover to a pair of shoes and then I heard that song Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover at my doctor’s office. And it occurred to me that I should see if I could feature fifty ways to wear the classic black flap. How’s that for an homage to one of the world’s most iconic fashion items!
So until I get back to blogging from the road, I’ll be juggling a couple of series around here to keep things interesting. For you non-fashionistas, I promise to also talk about food and events as they unfold.
Tags: Carrie Bradshaw, Coco Chanel, FIMTSO, FWTWYL, Julia Child, Julie and Julia, ODJ
The piggies have landed! There are actually 4 designs, and the black/white one is my favorite from the online pictures. However, I was only able to score these guys, but now that I have them next to my watering can and potters, I think these pigs were meant to be!
And as I’m a glutton for all things Liberty (oink), I also have to ‘fess up to getting these for my kitchen…
and this top for the days I want to dress like a 9-year-old or just want to match the porcelain bowls…
It looks like the shopping ban isn’t going very well. But in my defense, that top from the little girls department was only $9.99 so that shouldn’t really count at all. That’s like a couple of runs to Starbucks for you non-shopaholics. Who’s with me on this rationalization!
Tags: Liberty
Hang on everyone! I’m having some technical difficulties but I promise plenty of eye candy in the next entry.
BTW, after ten Target visits (I’m nothing but persistent) I finally found the elusive Liberty piggy bank 
.
