light monday.

there's something so beautiful about white.

simple, ethereal.

(weheartit, stay pretty die young, fashiontoast)

Currently listening to: Lykke Li - I Know Places (Live on the Moon)

crochet coachella dreams do come true

After a decidedly terrible half week, mostly spent in my Cookie Monster pajamas hoping that my body doesn’t continue to implode, I had a package come that made me momentarily forget my misery! Background: I’ve been searching for a crochet mini dress ever since I saw Kate Bosworth rock her Topshop one at Coachella last year.

It’s become an unhealthy obsession, and for those of you who know me, know that I can’t justify spending $150 dollars on a dress that my father would say looks like something I can make .. ANYWAYS, I had a fleeting spark of hope last weekend at Zara when I spotted a gorgeous khaki crochet mini, but it hung funny, only came in medium, and taunted me in the mirror when I tried to come up with a variety of ways that I could fix it. No dice. So, prompted by Forever 21’s promise to donate all online proceeds to relief efforts in Japan, I backtracked on my usual no online purchases rule and bought their crochet mini that I’ve been sneaking glances at for the past couple weeks.

It’s fucking p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Fits well, not too tight, not too short, not heavy in the least (which the Zara one was). Sorry the shot is on my Mac and not a full body or anything, it was a glasses, no makeup, hair unbrushed sick day, and I didn’t want to subject anyone to that.

More to come!

i can see you crystal clear

(via weheartit)

As always, I disappear, to reemerge again. I get sidetracked. And busy. And not busy. And in weird moods/phases, but I suppose that's just me.

Everything I'm going through at the moment is just interesting. That's the best way I can summarize it. Infuriatingly ambiguous, but that is simply the only way it can be stated. Perhaps a post later on will shed some light, but I'm not in the mood right now.

she's got electric boots a mohair suit you know i read it in a magazine

Absolutely obsessed with Olivia Lo's (I've Got A Lust for Life) NYE dress.

A couple things momma wants ...

Celine Spring 2011

navajo knit (Erin Wasson for Jalouse)

amazing geometric, gold cut necklaces. I wish I remembered where I found this.

All the while, I'd like to be posted in this Backyard Teepee from Reform School Rules. And, as I've never been camping, but am planning to quite soon .. I think it might need to be inside this puppy.

Your inner child just jumped for joy. Or mine might have, for you.

i know nothing ever keeps you safe for sure no one ever dug down so far we go

So, a fantastically lazy Friday night spent giving my parched hair an olive oil treatment and listening to Starfucker's 'Reptilians' album in the bathtub (props to the lovely Ali Jafari) led not only to pruney fingers and toes, but playing online dress up with the H&M website's Fashion Studio. How have I not known about this until .. now? Some sites have attempted to do the whole dress up Barbie deal, but this is the best, most realistic one I've come across so far. If only they allowed for options like tucking in items, or letting the girls pull from the men's clothing ... In due time. For now, I actually got to play with two items I recently purchased - a pair of grey trouser pants and a long grey skirt. In case you didn't know, I'm a neutral whore. I always tell myself I'll branch out of my white/black/grey/beige/tan tendencies, and grab a red pencil skirt, just so I feel adventurous, but I retreat back into my comfort color zone. Old habits die hard, I suppose. And, for the record, that damn red pencil skirt is hanging, unworn, tags still attached, in my closet.

On the left, I'm obsessed with the corset/lace top combo, especially with the pants. Obviously, not so 'work appropriate', as my mother is pushing me to purchase more in that category, unless you have an appreciative work environment .. :) Anywhooo, I usually don't go for the smaller cardi's, but as I'm attempting to branch out, I gave it a shot, and it ain't so bad. The booties downplay the femininity of the top, which I'm all for, since a raging pool of estrogen isn't necessarily my style.

Onto the right .. My new favorite thing is the long skirt. It's so chic and modern, and can be dressed up or down quite easily. The oversize, geometric sweater is form-fitting enough to accentuate the right parts, but billowy enough to be comfortably cute. I never really tapped into the whole bib necklace ordeal, but I'm a fan of this one since it looks a little haphazardly thrown together. Red pumps for a touch of color! See, I can break out of my comfort zone. Well, on an online Barbie, at the very least.

Speaking of necklaces though, I ALSO can't believe I just tapped into P.S. I Made This - Erica Domesek's DIY blog for jewelry, clothes, etc., often times using household items and crazy cheap craft store supplies to recreate the latest trendy pieces. I looooove a good DIY, so I'm definitely going to try and make the Rose Gold Necklace she featured for December.

I think a thick, black velvet ribbon, knotted up with some of the copper tubing would look good, hmm?

Anyways, lastly, I played with a little Ken doll on the H&M website too, of course. All I want to say is, I'll take two. One for me, and the other .. so I can steal that sweater.

In other news .. my beautiful, oh-so-smart best friend, Tiffani, is leaving me for med school. I'm so happy for her - moving onto the next chapter in her life and pursuing her dream. Yet, that also comes with the lovely downside of my father's commentary on 'what a good kid' Tiffani is, while shooting me, the journalism major, reproving looks for not being the exemplary Vietnamese daughter. Welllllp, you win some, you lose some.

A couple photos from our Wii party at Jason's, complete with booze, light-up hula hoops, danceoffs, and James' dumb watch that resembles a speedometer.

Oh, congrats on the new job, James :)

I like my friends.

let the christmas countdown begin

Big fan. Alber Elbaz’s collection for H&M is sophisticated, yet fun. Simple silhouettes with whimsical ruffles and gorgeous, upscale outerwear that can dress up a daytime look or accent evening wear. I might be a little bit obsessed with the sunnies, because they’re completely androgynous, and I have a tendency to browse through the men’s sections at stores a little too often … but they’re like updated, oversized Wayfarers !

Anyways, I think part of why I like this collection so much stems from the creepy/cool promotional video, and the ‘I want Lanvin, not flowers’ thought bubble coming from Natasha Poly. The second a guy can pick out CLOTHING I love, ding ding ding. Winner winner, chicken dinner. Don’t get me wrong, flowers are a nice gesture, but, I mean, they die after a couple days. It just always seemed like a waste of money to me …

Up top, some of my favorite pieces from the collection. Check out the video by clicking on the link below.

LANVIN FOR H&M. SEE THE FULL COLLECTION AT HM.COM

Anyone else feel like H&M has been stepping up their game recently?

there's no dollar sign on a piece of mind, this i've come to know

I don’t think your inner child ever dies. It may be suffocated at times, but it tends to always find its way back, at least I’ve found. Maybe that’s what nostalgia really is.

Anyways, whenever my life gets too claustrophobic, or I need to just clear my head (which I’ve needed to do a lot quite recently …), I find that the best remedy is an old friend. What’s even BETTER is when that old friend not only humors me and my childlike whims, but is an inner child advocate themselves.

So, how was my day spent? With Nathan Eliot, of course. A bike ride around the neighborhood and lake, traipsing (my new favorite, overused word) around in the ‘forest’ of our community, going on tree swings, climbing into abandoned, decrepit tree houses, and sword fighting with branches. It’s okay to be jealous. It’s actually completely understandable.

Keep good friends close. They keep you sane.

on the faith of ruddy sons, and the double barreled guns, you better hurry, rabbit, run, run, run.

finally !

It feels like summer. Never mind the scalding temperatures and profuse sweating you may be encountering. Embrace it. Or, at least I'm going to embrace it for the next couple weeks before I head off to Australia where it's winter ... slightly depressing.

Went to the pool today to put some color on my pasty body since my skin was compared to that of a white girl's last night. Splendid. I mean, I'm not one for looking charred, but I also don't want to be Casper, which is exactly what I feel like I keep ending up as, according to the last, oh, 50 facebook pictures tagged of me. Let's hope I get a nice in between of medium-rare, but not as to incur the wrath of my Viet grandmother who chastises me for getting even half a shade darker. According to her, it makes me look like a worker. And no one will want to marry me. Thanks for the confidence, Grandma, you're swell.

Someone tell me why Jeffrey Campbell is a genius?

via fashionsquad

I accept any and all donations.

i'm ridin' on hell's hot flames comin' up from below

So I might have been coerced into an alcohol-soaked Newport 4th of July.
...actually, I was a part of it.

It's about 4pm. My brothas from otha mothas, Nathan Eliot Kemp & Eric Chuckleberry Slim, now Yo Huckleberry, Lake are just sitting around shooting the shit about Eric moving away in TWO days to Portland and how we were entirely sober and sun-deprived on one of our favorite holidays. Fuck it, we're going to Newport.

Embracing cirrhosis & melanoma, one day at a time.

he was white once.

prints&stripes.

check out them baby bluez.

leaving his mark.

tostitos&four locos with strangers turns into ...

indoor water fights with strangers.

team surplus. always.

Two friends I've known forever. Two friends I'll keep forever. You two are alright.

listening to:

up from below - EDWARD SHARPE&THE ZEROS

pepper the earth put your foot in the dirt where the willows all weep all the angels and snakes inherit the earth

I may or may not have christened Wednesday lunches to be wine&cheese picnics at work. Yes, Sabel, next one will be sangria spritzers and fried chicken, per request. If this godforsaken weather would clear up, we might be able to have another. Side note, did anyone else get lightning followed by a random downpour at their house? So random, but it was hilarious watching my little Wisconsion farmgirl of a mother crouched on the porch excitedly, waiting for a hailstorm to ensue.

Anyways, here are a few shots:

i'm jealous of his eyelashes.

Linda and the always amazingly dressed, Steph Chau.

Rawr. Courtesy of Jean Liu.

Drained.

If you ask me, one of the best decisions I ever made during college was joining the Bookstore. Weird, I know, and it may sound insignificant, but these people are some of the best I ever met at school, and were some of the best for me, personally. So many different people thrown together - a spectrum of personalities, ethnicities, interests, and extracurriculars - but in the end we all somehow fit. It's family.