A little humble pie in the eye.

I have something embarassing to admit to:

I reeeeeally want a fur vest.

There.  I've said it.

        Let me first defend myself  from all of you who are now judging me. (And to those of you who are like "Okay, Bitch.  I have one." I'm sorry, no offense.)  I was just like you.  I looked at fur vest wearing girls with my eyes narrowed and a face scrunched up like I was smelling fresh doo-doo.  After all, what is the purpose of a fluffy dead animal pelt on your back with no sleeves?  It's sort of like a sleeveless turtleneck; what purpose does it serve? Is your neck cold and your arms hot? I just didn't get it. (FYI, I still don't understand sleeveless turtlenecks, though admittedly, I rocked them until about 5 years back.)
        Then, while crusing through the Melrose Trading Post (a must if you've never been) on a cold and rainy Sunday with my bestie, I started trying on vintage fur coats.  I was like Goldylocks trying the porridge. In the first I was much too warm, the second I was too cold - and then I slipped my arms through a fur vest (more as a joke to get a laugh out of my bestie than anything).  And behold!  The perfect piece for a "not too hot, not too cold" feeling. I was snuggly and warm, yet didn't feel overwhelmed and sweaty from a huge coat.  After looking in the mirror, I liked it even more.
      Apparently, the girls I was laughing at were having the last laugh.  These things kick ass for SoCal winter weather.  I didn't buy said fur vest because I don't even have enough money to be breathing the air in LA these days, but plan on scooping one up ASAP.  So, try one out if you're a naysayer.  You just might fall in love.

One to drool over:

                                                         
One to actually buy so you can pay rent:

Tee-Tee Time

       Living in Los Angeles is absolutely amazing if for no other reason than the weather.  As a New Englander for the past 28 years of my life, I'm more than accustomed to the feeling that I'm being personally attacked by mother nature.  The bitch is bi-polar and needs to be heavily medicated.  In the past year alone, we endured blizzard levels of snow (there was so much snow last winter, they litereally ran out of places to put it, and just going out into the street near my apartment made me feel claustrophobic...not an exaggeration, hello S.A.D.), a devastating tornado, and a pre-Halloween blizzard. By the time the latter struck, I'd been living in LA for 4 months...nice try Ma Naych. 
       So, now that I don't have to dress like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man just to go to the gym, I'm enjoying dressing very lightly when I take my daily hike.  I discovered this ahhh-mazing way of making drapey tank tops that are great for throwing on pre-hike.  All you need are old oversized t-shirts and a pair of scissors. I used two of Leading Man's American Apparel tee's. In my defense, he'd given them to me because they were too small on him, but nonetheless, cue "Is that my t-shirt?!" as I stroll  in from a hike. I also love the loose fit.  I'm so over dressing like a vienna sausage when I work out. 

The tee-torial for your edu-ma-cation:
 

     Note: I don't use ribbon to tie the back.  I simply use the scrap fabric from the bottom of the t-shirt.                    

A point worth pondering...especially when one lives in LA.

Do we sometimes cut good lookers a little slack when they're behaving shamefully, and cut down those less beautiful when they're acting normally?

Friends 'til the end...

          I recently started (almost by accident) a collection of bracelets on my wrist.  The first one is a leather wrap bracelet from J. Crew that I never take off.  Then my Leading Man and I got matching bracelets while on a visit to Huntington Beach.  Then one of my besties came to visit me in LA, and we got matching bracelets.  For another besties birthday, I bought us matching bracelets at a quirky shop in Beverly Hills.  I realized I was starting to collect my loved ones around my wrist like I used to back in 6th grade.  Only this time, the bracelets are more meaningful, and slightly grown up.  I'm starting to really like the look of all of these bracelets piling up on my wrist.  After all, I am 3,000 miles away from most of my loved ones, and having a reminder of them right there doesn't hurt.  This past weekend, I had to toss the bracelet Leading Man and I bought in Huntington because when we were laying in bed he wrinkled his nose up, saying he smelled something terrible, realized it was my bracelet that stunk like the Jersey Turnpike, ripped the offending jewelry off of my wrist, and threw it across the room.  Apparently the material didn't respond well to being washed in the shower every day since I never took it off.  I plan on making some new freindship bracelets to give to my other loved ones, and styling them like the ones above.  I love how they're slightly more sophisticated than back in 6th grade.  So, buy some embroidery floss and some cute little beads, and get weaving! Oh, and take OFF the bracelets before you shower for the love of God, or else people will be wondering why you're suddenly the smelly kid.

10 Things

                                                                       


Ten things that keep Super Blonde from throwing a tantrum and stomping her feet:



1. The West Hollywood Farmers Market - it's held every Monday, all organic, and a five minute walk
    from our apartment.
2. A darling new necklace that possesses all of the qualities I like when it comes
    to jewelry:  antique, meaningful, and slightly androgynous.
3.  My first "winter" in SoCal. 
4.  Flowerbomb perfume by Viktor & Rolf. Find it here.
5.  Frozen yogurt with all the toppings. This is my favorite place by far.
6.  The Beverly Hills Public Library.
7. The buttery taste of avocado. I put it in everything.
8.  Street Art - it's everywhere in LA and my eyes are constantly entertained by spotting this entirely
     new (to me) art form. This guy is simply amazing; haunting and beautiful.
9.  Warm, drapey, oversized cashmere sweaters to keep the chill off at night. Loving this one.
10. Sunday Brunch. The organic granola with fresh fruit and yogurt can't be beat here.

The photo above is something done by my favorite street artist.  Go on a street art scavenger hunt and discover who she is!

What are your current loves?

Girrrrl, you got some reeeeeeal purrrrrdy hurrrrrr...

          Let's talk about hair, baby. Is yours curly, straight, or somewhere in the middle? Mine has been curly since I was a tiny little kick ass kid version of Super Blonde. Over the years it has changed, as hair tends to do, but it still retains some of its younger habits; though these days, I "enhance" (that's a nice way of saying I overwork the shit out of it) it with alternative methods.  I get a lot of questions from the ladies asking me how I get my hair to curl the way it does.  It is an art that has, admittedly, taken me years to perfect.  Don't hate. But, fabulous readers, I'm giving you my own secret to getting wave-y curls, guaranteed (much like a dive bar, a bottle of cheap tequila, and a juke box playing only Bon-Jovi) to bring the good times. Only this won't leave you with a hangover the size of Kim Kardashian's ass on a bicycle (now that's a hangover), and a lifetime full of regrets. 
           Unlike most curly headed bitches, I've always embraced and loved my God given hair, and now I don't feel quite like Super Blonde if I don't have a head full of curls. Mine has gone from natural ringlets to a slight wave over the years. While I dabbled briefly in college with straightening my hair, much like Natty Ice and wearing overpriced Abercrombie sweatpants to class, it wasn't really my bag. Yes, I was the asshole girl you hated who was decked out in heels and a mini-skirt at a 7:50am Psych101class. Yeah, Professor "Not Smart Enough to Open his own Practice, But Smart Enough to Educate a Bunch of Hungover Undergrads" must have loved psycho-analyzing that shit. But, I digress.
            I've wrestled with foam rollers (ouch), flattening irons (hated them), a multitude of "this always works" tricks (you want me to do what with that sock?), and curling irons of various sizes. While using a one-inch barreled curling iron, and wrapping chunks of hair around it (never use the clamp) worked really well, it was leaving my golden locks weaker than Lindsey Lohan's excuses in court.
           I thought I couldn't have healthy hair and perfect curls. Then, one day, in my daily blog induced trance, I came upon this little gem of a video. After playing around with my technique (and getting some strange looks from my very confused boyfriend), I perfected the heat free curl. My formally fried hair is thanking me profusely. So, watch it. Watch it again. Try it out a few times until you perfect it.  I promise you, it will change your whole entire life.  Well, not your whole entire life.  You'll still have to rescue yourself from any shitty situations you find yourself in, but at least your hair will look fun and carefree while you do it.

The products I use to get this style:

The bands.
The brush.
The finishing creme.