I’m Coming Home
Dear Mr. WordPress.com,
I want to preface this by making it clear that you’ve been good to me. Really good. With that said, it’s time that I move on and in with my .com. Please understand… it wasn’t you.
It was me.
Best,
Mel
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To my stellar readers,
Come on over and visit me at http://www.wreckedstellar.com. It’s a work-in-progress- just like any new relationship! Please update your blogrolls, RSS readers, and bookmarks with my new address. WordPress.com was a beautiful first house, but now I’m loving being in my own home.
Love,
Mel
Break 2011
So it’s New Year’s.
Time for new reflections.
Or old ones revisited.
It’s about that time to make those new resolutions.
Or resound to stay more resolute on the old ones.
It’s this cycle.
I won’t say it’s vicious because it’s just how life is.
And life certainly isn’t vicious.
But it really is a cycle.
Or a recycle.
Really.
Wants, wills, shoulds, needs, coulds.
Woulds.
I would have done more this year, and then a bunch of ifs.
I’m an offender.
The worst kind.
I said I’m going to do this.
“Going” sounded more active so it was going to actually happen, right?
No.
I slacked.
Well, not on life.
But I slacked on some wants.
So the other wants could surge a little.
I don’t regret the slacking.
That’s life.
And it’s a cycle.
Of embracing
who I am.
Happy New Cycle to you.
No…
Happy Break the Cyle to you.
And me.
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One of Those Good Days: Holi Pop-up
A few weekends ago, I had one of those good days- the ones that please your heart. It was at the Holi Pop-up event at Space 15 Twenty where I was surrounded by old and new friends, rad vintage, charming jewelry, and a genuine holiday spirit.
Suzy of Rossmore LA
Hand made with Suzy’s talent and love.
Nikki of Vintique LA is rocking the brown and black pairing.
Mapache earrings comprised of vintage materials.
I bought that fur necklace from Haus of Price.
Hand made turbans.
My sister, Bec, of Style with Benefits and me.
Confection Jewels. See a detail shot from my Simply Stylist post.
Freddie Rojas of Rojas showing off the goods.
Birds of a Feather vintage.
I was thrilled to learn that long time blog friend/slumber party attendee, Issa of We Wear Things, was going to be in LA for the weekend. Issa is super sweet and even gave me an adorable vintage blouse from her shop, Pretty Much New! I know that if she wasn’t living in Texas we’d have uber fun shopping dates!
Bec, Jeannie, me, Issa, Dru, and Steph of Hoison Ivy.
ChicNheadz feather hair extensions. Everyone was wearing them at the event.
I got brown ones inserted at the top of my head and under my hair at the bottom.
Bec got red feathers.
I finally met Steph that day!
My friend, Renee.
Suzy did an amazing job organizing the event. She’s such a lovely, endearing soul!
Photos by Bec of Style with Benefits
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Bloggers are Ballers: Two Point Oh! LA Snow Ball
Last Christmas day around 4am, I was on the phone with a Saks Fifth Avenue customer service representative requesting the availability of a Nicole Miller chocolate brown confection. I had seen it amongst the holiday sale items on Christmas Eve, dropped it into my online cart, and passed out- waking up to the reality of it being sold out. Fortunately, the nice gentleman tracked one down for me and it lived on the back of my closet door for a whole year. And when I say back of my closet door- I mean- haven’t-really-looked-at-you in-the-face-in-a-year since the back of my door faces one side of my walk in closet since we have an open door policy in there. It wasn’t until the mention of a winter ball that the dress mentioned her name in my mind and took a field trip to the tailor to get her into shape. A few Saturday nights ago I broke her out of door-flower mode and attended the inaugural Two Point Oh! LA Snow Ball in the Penthouse Ballroom within Downtown Los Angeles’ Pacific Electronic Lofts. It was a fun night of seeing friends while playing in the sectioned DIY and Beauty lounges- and all for a fabulous cause- ticket and raffle proceeds of $1,000 were donated to the Downtown Women’s Center.
My sister, Bec, of Style with Benefits, Neekoh of LiveLoveLA, Alicia of Inny Vinny, and me.
Catching up with Marie of The Curvy Fashionista and Heather of LA Fashion Snob.
The Beauty Lounge- organized by Bren of So Much Pretty. We got to take beauty gift bags home!
With Kristen of Vainglorious, who ran the DIY Lounge.
Attempting to DIY a bracelet.
The DIY Lounge.
Amy of HM Sound System and the jewelry/clothing line CaVoi was the resident DJ.
With Karen of Fashion Groupie and stylist Justin Barco.
Dorota, author of Sex, Life, and Hannah, Chandra, Bec, me, and Hillary of Cake Not Coke.
Chatting with Alicia.
It was so wonderful to meet Crystal of Watermoolen!
Thank you to the sponsors:
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A Happy Holiday, Courtesy of Mondette and LA Vintage Exchange
Rainfall connects the puddles of people into one. We talk about the woes of it or the joys of running around in it. And for many Los Angelenos, we tend to run away from it. So it’s only the dare-to-wet-it-up times where we cozy up to the rain and go to a rad destination other than our shelters. Said rad destination for many this rainy weekend was the Mondette and LA Vintage Exchange Holiday Spree at Space 15 Twenty. This past Saturday, my sister, Bec, and I shopped the made-with-love/carefully-cared-for goods offered by LA artisans and designers. From vintage and new clothing to one-of-a-kind jewels, there were plenty of stylish gifts to be bought- all at the affordable price of $50 and under.
We received custom tote bags, personally stamped by Mondette. My bag now has my West Hollywood neighborhood represented, along with cute red sailboat stamps. The nautical theme seemed appropriate for the rain.
I’m always excited to see LA Vintage Exchange’s select pieces. In fact, I wore an LA Vintage Exchange jumpsuit the other night.
With the super-sweet Courtney, owner of LA Vintage Exchange.
Weltenbuerger vintage- a new favorite seller.
Bryan Weltenbuerger.
As soon as I saw this burnt golden goodness, I knew I had to have it. I can’t wait to pair it with denim cut offs and boots.
Weltenbuerger t-shirt and bag. The bag carried my vintage shirt home.
Jewelry designer, Jenny Dayco. Her impressive press book is filled with young Hollywood wearing her pieces. Bec bought an xoxo necklace from her.
Snuggly black fleece-lined tights and scarves from Marlowe + Wren.
Pretty lingerie to go underneath.
Stand-out earrings from Aero & Co.
Sharp jewelry from Gabriela Artigas.
Comfortable rain gear: Lux blazer via Urban Outfitters, Zara sweater, Urban Renewal sweater shorts via Urban Outfitters, Bebe leggings, and Steve Madden boots. The previous weekend, I bought four of these sweater shorts in different prints and Bec bought three.
So bummed I hadn’t snatched up Bec’s Urban Renewal sweater first.
Fabulous people surrounded by holiday love. ‘Tis a happy holiday indeed!
*The majority of photos are by Bec of Style with Benefits
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Jersey Hard
Vintage men’s t-shirt via the Rose Bowl Flea Market, American Apparel skirt, Bebe heels, my mom’s pearl necklace and bracelet
Do I think I’m sometimes ugly, mean, and nasty? In the mild sense- sure. But that’s due to one-off situational circumstances rather than internal perceptions. Or external perceptions. I can’t control how others react to me. But I can control how I react to others. And by the good graces of my parents, I’m not an unprovoked lasher-outer. Or even a provoked super lasher-outer.
By that fact alone, I couldn’t find an instance to share with you when I had to get nasty. Like real nasty. I thought long and hard on my way to work today- all 50 minutes hard- about times when people got all mean on me. And not one instance surfaced. I thought about my female-dominated experiences in cheerleading, dance classes, and gymnastics to competitive arenas during my basketball, softball, and track and field days to my highly-charged work environments in the entertainment and advertising industries. Zero.
It’s a good thing here.
I’m mellow. Generally speaking. Or, at least I try to be. The aggressive or rather passive aggressive reactions of others fall by the waist-side when you realize you’re living. Life is not about those moments that move people negatively. They are about the moments that move us in the opposite direction.
So why the need for the mild ugly, mean, and nasty me to even surface? I’m no door mat. I’ll call you out if you step on me the wrong way. After all, I’m from Jersey and we don’t take the dirty. We are the dirty. In the positive-negative, best way possible.
And I’m proud of it.
[Insert smiley face.]
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Sin Saturday
I met Jill around this time five years ago. I made a reference to the film studio, Dream Works, and Jill asked if that was a pajama company. We’ve been friends ever since my initial laugh (at her). Saturday evening I headed over to Hangar Gallery at the Santa Monica Studios to support Jill in her first art exhibition endeavor. Jill’s passion for art shows through in the seven pieces below- all mixed media- all $700 per sin.
Gluttony and Wrath
Greed
Sloth
Pride
Lust
Envy
So proud of you, Jill!
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The Man in the Moon
Linea Dome men’s shirt borrowed from my ex boyfriend, LOVE YAYA jeans via Shopbop, Jeffrey Campbell oxford shoes via Free People
If my pseudo boyfriend and I were ever backpacking in Europe, we could potentially work off of one knapsack of clothes. I could borrow his shirts every other day he’s not wearing them- an intimate experience without the physicality.
And while I’m all about the dressing up in fanciful frocks and being twirled around under the midnight moon, I’m likewise all about the casual solace found in an oversized men’s shirt- which works in a twirling moment just the same.
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See other ways I’ve worn men’s shirts:
-As a dress here,
-As an open blouse here
– Worn off one shoulder by buttoning on a diagonal here
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Simply Stylist
I had seen a lot of Hong Kong this fall. But in turn, I didn’t see any of LA Fashion Week. Timing is everything. Or nothing since there is some master plan that tilts the universe one way over the other. I just happened to be tilted toward Hong Kong at that time. One of the happenings that I [physically] missed and [sadly] missed was the Simply Stylist event. I had attended the Fall 2010 Simply Stylist event the previous LA Fashion Week and had an incredibly classy time. Said classiness is displayed below.
Kelsi of Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Jen of Jennifer Margolin, and me
This Paul & Joe dress is the quintessential piece that could be passed down to my [future] daughter, then to my daughter’s daughter, and so forth. It’s timeless. It’s memorable. It’s a showcase piece.
Paul & Joe knows how to make statement pieces, exemplified by this belt.
I wanted to buy this Plastic Island jacket right off the PR rack.
Sometimes trench coats can go wrong. This one by Plastic Island is so right.
Sassy leather bustier pieces by Walter.
A McGinn dress that represents sophistication with a demure touch.
Hobo International showed a fun, vibrant palette and showed how generous they are. I left with a beautiful turquoise clutch.
The best part about Confection Jewels is that they are one-of-a-kind pieces.
The warm staff from Bliss Spa were on hand to give complimentary hair cuts, blow-outs, oxygen blasts, massages, and Minx nail beautifications. Laurie of Laurie B. Style was getting her hair done in this photo. I felt super relaxed after my oxygen blast, massage, and nail pampering.
Eclectic prints from Minx Nails.
I opted for the gold and black criss-cross pattern. On both of my middle fingers.
That day was so gorgeous. I just remember walking outside in the middle of the afternoon underneath the smiling sun and saying to myself (and perhaps aloud), “Life is good.”
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And remember to stop by Space 15 Twenty on Sunday! My sister, Bec of Style with Benefits, and I are co-hosting the Holi Pop Up shopping/lifestyle event from 11am – 4pm!
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Co-hosting the Holi Pop-Up Shopping Event at Space 15 Twenty
Because of the super rad and simultaneously lovely Suzy- of Rossmore fame- my sister, Bec, and I are joining forces with the cool kids of LA to co-host a holiday shopping event. The holiday shopping event of the season of cheer. Bec and I will be at Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood on Sunday, December 5th, from 11am-4pm, providing gift recommendations to all. We’d love to see you there!
Wrecked Stellar 