Post Ranch Inn

If I had somehow won the lottery last week and it's massive jackpot I had many plans - start a charity, travel around the world, pay off our mortgage, etc, but the first thing I was planning on was a trip to this magical hotel.

I have eaten at the magical Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, CA but I have never stayed at this hotel. It sure looks amazing though. Someday Post Ranch Inn. I am coming for ya.

My Little Ham

When I was in Chicago we took my son to a well known Chicago photographer. Marc Hauser actually took pictures of me and my siblings when we were little. My Mom saw a groupon coupon for him recently and quickly snatched it up so we could take pictures of Hank. I wasn't quite sure how Hank would do. It's strange to be placed in front of a big camera and lots of lights but wow, he did great. In fact the folks who worked there remarked that usually kids freak out, but that Hank was quite the ham. Here are some of the best pics:

I think he might even be smizing in some of these. Tyra would be impressed.

Summer Movies

This all used to be concrete

It has been so cold in Los Angeles this past week. There is nothing I hate more than hearing my family and friends tell me it's warmer in Chicago. I know I should be happy for them, and I sort of am, but also I am not. A day or two of cold, brisk weather is fun here because it's so novel, but I am ready for warm weather to return. In order to get through this cold spell I am dreaming of warm weather gatherings in our backyard. When we purchased our home our big project was tackling the backyard which had one of the ugliest screened in porches I have ever seen and a concrete yard. I still don't know why anyone would want a concrete yard. We demoed the concrete, planted flowers, trees and even a little vegetable box. And we had a good friend build us a beautiful porch that we are currently trying to grow wisteria and bougainvillea on.

When we looked at the house (getting our house was no small task) we would dream about what our finished yard would look like. I would picture Hank romping around outside but I would also dream of watching outdoor movies all summer long. I have always loved this idea of gathering your friends and family in your back yard, throwing down some blankets and watching a movie under the stars. I still haven't gotten a projector but I hope we do this once it warms up here and I can report about it here. Here are some of my inspiration photos for this (I found most of them on Pinterest).  

This one is from Domestic Reflections

Dreaming of.....Jason Wu for Target

I am not one for waiting in line and all of the frenzy that generally surrounds big designers doing capsule collections for stores like Target, H&M, etc. I didn't buy any of the Missoni stuff at Target or any of the Versace stuff at H&M. To be honest sometimes this stuff up close looks like what it is, cheap. I am sorry if that offends anyone. The two exceptions I have made were the Kate Moss collection for TopShop and the Liberty of London stuff at Target. I actually made my mom buy two Liberty little girl dresses in Chicago because they were sold out here when I was pregnant (of course I ended up having a boy so I gave them to my niece). But have you seen the Jason Wu stuff for Target? It's really lovely, especially the bags. Here are three cute looks.

Dreaming Of.....

drinks with umbrellas in them, toes in the sand, and a tropical getaway. Since having Hank we haven't really done much travel besides visiting our families and little weekend getaways to either Palm Springs and Santa Barbara. I know we are lucky to have had those moments but sometimes you need at least a week somewhere tropical to recharge. Instead we bought our dream house this past year so I guess I can't really complain. But I can dream about such places and maybe a new swimsuit as well. Hopefully we will be at a warm, tropical locale soon. I can hear the steel drums now. 

The above photo was taken on our honeymoon. That is where we actually stayed for part of it. I still can't really believe it either. This is on the island of Mauritius off the coast of Madagascar. It's basically as far away from Los Angeles as you can get. 


 Here are the swimsuits I might bring along on this glorious vacation. You might notice that I only really choose one piece suits. That's what I like in general and what I feel most comfortable in. 

J Crew

Chloe 

3.1 Philip Lim

Diane Von Furstenberg

I Need a "Boyfriend"....

No, not a real one. I have a husband who is wonderful! But I do love a "boyfriend shirt", a "boyfriend button down", a "boyfriend sweater." I have even seen of late a "boyfriend dress" which is weird because let's be honest how often does one borrow a dress from their boyfriend? If you are maybe you should either be worried or think that it's awesome that your man can rock a frock? Who knows.

Of course I ought to simply wear things that belong to my husband to achieve that "boyfriend" look for free,  but that would be too easy. Instead I like to fall head over heels for things that are marketed as being "boyfriend" in cut. Here are a couple good recent examples. I think Steven Alan may be the king of all things boyfriend so I had to include two of his.

J Crew

Lanston

Madwell 

Steven Alan

Milly 

Steven Alan 

Dreaming of ....

a winter cape. Stylish friends have been rocking thrifted capes for years. I have to say I never thought I could rock one of these until spotting so many cute versions. Here are some lovely versions

top row: 1. pendleton   2.zara  second row: 3. gryphon  third row: 4. see by chloe  5. lanvin bottom row: 6 bird by juicy couture .