devotion.

black knit shawl - thrifted // shear black tunic - freepeople //  heart rosary - thrifted

At a loss of words to write right now hunnies.   Just got a chance to log on and only to realize i am most certainly overdue for a post or a few in reality.  What can i say I am overworked...excited but salon life is keeping me so so busy.  Just switched over to a new salon with recommendations from my girl kristina.  It is absolutely fantastic.  Downtown in the Pearl District...in the old industrial warehouses that have since been turned into "the" it spot.  happy hours. boutiques. art galleries. apartments. 5 star wine and dines.  the work.  and the salon i am at work at... a huge loft style studio in the third floor of a most gorgeous brick building with a yummy barista down stairs.  Perfect for those busy mornings i am slidng through the door of the salon just in the nic of time.  Couldn't be a better fit for me.  More on all of this later... for now a brief "new additions to my closet post"

btw: did you see the embroidery detailing on the back of my shear tunic.  its quite stuning.  The feel of this piece screams rock chic while embracing a delicate feminimity.  loving loving loving.  wear it to bed and out on the town... makes the outfit.

love this shot : so simple (wanted to show off my favorite piece of this collection)

grace potter and the nocturnals.

 i cannot belive that this friday the 28th of january... i have the unfortunate mishap of missing out on seeing this babe and her band in concert at the wonderballroom.  I am devastated.  This band had become one of my ultimate go to albums of this year.  It is absolutely bluesy sexy full of american grit. That belt ot the lyrics with out a care type vocals.  Kinda a throwback to Janis Joplin.  Raw.  Real sound.

The band looks like they have an absolute blast together.. rockin hard.  Mad performing skills.   And they seem totally authentic.  As though every time you see them together you are getting a legit sneak peek into a day in the life of a rad crew.  People you just crave to be friends with.   They are like that styling hipster crowd that you know must throw the most kickin parties and really love the heck out of eachother.  And they look super fab while doing it!  (Kinda remindin me of my friends/band JUST PEOPLE.. portland rocker.  i will do a post on them later i promise)

Grace!  This girl blows me away.  She is a total fashionista... 100% blog worthy i mean come on look at her.  That hair... it's forever changing from raven to blonde to this signature strawberry color.  Always the full fringe...and oh so long. Sexy sexy sexy.  And those mini dresses especially the sequin ones.  Man she has legs that just go on forever.

If i don;t score tickets for this concert... i may be in tears for over the weekend.

Check these videos for some major inspiration:

i got what i deserve.

Some nights out are just fully unexpected and amazing!  Let me rephrase that: Unforgetable.

Oh ladies how i love thee.  Random phone call last minute last thursday to see what i was up to... led to a night out at Sassy's for a birthday party extraordinaire.  Thank you thank you for this invite.  Beautiful people. Beautiful dancing. Sexiness.  Full on Portland vibe going on there and i loved it.  Tattoos.  Beanies.  White hot shoes.  Black leggings.  Everyone i met in town from Arizona absolutely rocked as well.  Not to mention my favorite new chick of them all... oh Natalie Das.  (pictured above)  pro skater / producer / photographer this girl is IT.  Incredible!

3:30 am rolled around all too soon...which meant a ride back to the west side for more fun back at Alysha's apartment.  Thankfully cuz this night..we just didn't want it to end.  Random trips to the vending machine. Elevator pictures.  And the three of us cuddled in lysh's bed for the night.  Complete.  What a ride.

if i could have a cat this would be him.

.... he looks like a miniature leopard.  I am in love.  and i am not even a cat person...not in the slightest.  Too bad my apartment doesn't allow pets.  This little guy could have made me a convert or at the very least a happy little girl.  Is it wrong to want a pet because his fur is so 'fashionable'?

lita lita lita lita lita.

[shinyplastichag.blogspot]

i did it!  ordered my taupe suede lita's.  Jeffrey Campbell i heart you!  These baby's are so hard to come by and so when i found them in stock at Lori's Shoes (and in my size) i had to buy buy buy.  Immediately.  There was no time to waste.  Seriously...though ask me a few months ago and it may have been a different story as i didn't quite have my mind made up on this trend when i first saw the shoes popping up on some of my ever so cherished fashion blogs.  bleachblack. somethingnavy. fashiontoast.

[ fashionsquad // fashiontoast // pinkwasteland // wildfox ]

Now... i come to realize the reason for my confusion turned obsession.  These shoes are probably one of the hardest trends to pull off.  Second only to the skin tight low rise cigarette jean.  Case and point... ONLY purchase to wear if you were blessed with long skinny victoria's secret model gams.  Unfortunately the silhouette of this shoe has a way of accentuating flaws.  The chunky two inch sole for some reason makes short legs appear shortened and hitting at just above ankle somehow widens an ankle that wasn't built like a toothpick.  Now don't take my word for it... but I think this was the reason for my folly.  I do everything i can to avoid desexifying my legs. (short skirts. mini dresses. knickerbockers. skinny jeans. sky high heels)  And i mistake this treacherous would be a $160 mistake.  Not affordable on a recessionista budget.

The more I see these shoes i am obsessed...and it is  growing.  These shoes especially in the taupe suede are an absolute must have addition to my closet.  This shoe will take me from winter to summer back to fall again.  Cozy neutral cold weather boot can easily become a lightweight nude limb lengthening ankle boot paired with short shorts and a flowy silk top.  These shoes can't get here soon enough.  The anticipation is killing me!

when the fog burns off.

Wow... how lucky am i.  It's these little lucious moments of beauty when i am reminded of the true magnificance of the world i live in.  Able to appreciate this breathtaking organic world as god created it and see it contrasting and yet cohesively melded with the modern luxuries of life that we have built.

I couldn't help but be astounded and taken aback by the sight i saw as i drove over the burnside bridge this morning.  The view out my car window of the city waking for a brand new day.  Alive within but from a distance looking so still and mellow as the fog began to burn away.  This city took my breath away.  It took me to a whole new place...a place i had never experienced before.  I felt like i could be in stolckolm or chicago, anywhere really... but this place just didnt quite feel like home, like portland.  Cozy....yes it looked so very cozy.  Exciting..beautiful..a breath of fresh air.  This looked like a perfect place to be.  And it was my city.. but seen through a new set of eyes.  And now i am ready for a brand new day.. and soon the start of a brand new year.  Amazing things are gonna happen...after the sunrise

a bare tree in love with the winter.

[my little sister gracie at her birthday brunch - cosmopolitangem.blogspot.com]

This morning.   The morning after my little sister's 21st birthday outing.  She had to have been severely hung over.  But somehow at 21 the body bounces back in a way that at 25 i can only dream of.  Wow... i could never imagine how much a difference four years makes.  It's crazy really.  We all pretty much rolled out of bed and prepped ourselves to go in about fifteen minutes.  And look how bloody gorgeous gracie is.  Her hair in the soft tousled waves she has so excellently perfected.  Her make up flawless as ever.  Donning her signature black blazer (nordstroms) and her brand new gaudy pearl ring (3monkeys), a birthday present from momma. Sexy way to start her new year.  

The birthday girl's boss is spectacular.  She hosted this most delicious brunch in the pearl district at gracie's favorite breakfast cafe.  Let me just say how blown away i was with Via Delizia.  The restaurant is an italian street corner.  When i say it is... i mean it looks like a fuckin street corner but inside to protect you from the portlnad rain.  There is a small cafe/gelato cart... brick walls inside that place you on the "outdoors" and there is even a full sized tree smack dab in the center of the shop.  It is delightful.  The meaning of the name says it all via delizia (street of delight) they really nailed it with the ambiance.  The waitstaff was charming. The boy serving us was not only easy on the eyes but the most friendly happy helpful waiter i have had in quite sometime.  He made us feel right at home in this little piece of italy.  And the food... oh the food... i thing the deliciousness will speak for itself when you see what was on our break fast menu.  Take a look.  And if you are ever lucky enough to visit portland you really should make it a point to visit this pearl district street corner.  yum.

minted in 1989.

Happy 21st to my little sista.  After work i picked up my momma and drove to north portland for a little family birthday celebration at a swank little happy hour spot (one of my favorites) Mint is a fabulous option for happy hours all night long wednesday day nights.  Plenty of scrumptious bites... not to mention the most delectable sweet puried fruit drink concotions.  Specilty of the bartender ad owner.  Her drinks are so fab she even has her very own book Hip Sips.  It outlines some of te best drinks from local portland hotspots as well as giving a step by step guide to mixing up your very own elaborate mint drinks yourself at home.  Quite the treat.

After mint we headed to gracie's favorite spot, 50 Plates, for appetizers and drinks and present opening!  And as that place seemed to be a bit of a bust with a snooty server and pretentious wait staff... along came my parents with the saving grace of the night.  A trip back to the candlelight room.  (A definite sketchy lecherous party spot.  Not a place you want to end up alone as a young twentysomething chick.  This place is swarming with would be east coast hustlers who have no place to fit in but this local dive joint.  Surprisingly...this isn't me dissing the place completely.  It actually is quite the time. Get ready for a night you wont forget.  Decked with a live, and practically unsurpassed jazz band with the grit and swagger to make anyone get up and dance, and the company to keep people watching and chatting at its max.  It's never a dull moment at the candlelight) So sorry the birthday girl had to jet early... but that by no means meant the party had to stop.  We definitely kept things swinging til the band shut down.  What a great wednesday night!

Biggest drag of the night.  I colored my hair a few days prior to this night and while at work decided i'd need to dye my bang/hairline extensions to match the rest of my head.  Unfortunately things didn't go as planned and the hair turned out pastel green and then endured a bleached out chemical haircut which sent my extensions to the garbage can.  Can we say tears for days.... so sad.  I am afraid i probably won't have my bangs back for new years either.  What a devastating moment to be me.  Finally find something that works to make my hair and me feel all pretty again... and then i have to go and fry the heck out of the bangs.  So... cheers to night one minus my sexy hair.. hopefully i can bring sexy back real soon.  Night lovers.

lusted.

i remember when i first stumbled upon this series of photos.  My hair was a shade away from being the white hot platinum i craved and i was hanging onto every last strand of length left of my cringy dingy locks. Not a single hairdresser dared take me where i wanted to go..scared of the possibility that their mistake could be the reason i'd end up with a bleach fried chemical haircut.  Was the color i invisioned impossible on my light brunette/dirty blonde mane?  

Then i found it... this.  This is Hannah Glasby photographed by Darren McDonald.  I fell in love with the photography.  fell in love with the vibe. the pure carefree nature of the girl in the pictures.  Her tousled white hair.  She lacked the long silky tresses most models were wearing, the repunzel hair that seemed to eminate sexy.  Hair that made those cursed with thin short hair dissatified and envious.  But hannah and something about the way darren captured her this day, proved beyond expectation, that an innocent boyish edge had infact a place all it's own.  A place only those daring enough would be able to go.  This new found sexiness is one i craved. begged to belong to.  I wanted to be the chick in this shoot.  beautiful. graceful. soft. elegant. wildly unabashed. with a brazen confidence that no one could take.

i want and lust and have just been reminded of the me i was after. the me i am after. striving to be a women of dignity, strength and to expose the raw beauty that comes from self acceptance and authenticity.

[coldam.com]

switching up my mistletoe for moss this year.

I've seen this photo making it's rounds on fashion blogs internationally this december.  Kate Moss could be more of an object of envy then the role she portrays in this photo.  Glamorous model.. exhausted after a late night 2:00am lingerie editorial shoot.  Ready to call it a night and pack it up.  She wraps herself in her oversized fur and throws on her boots.  Only to colapse onto the nightstand purse into tow longing for a few last drags off her cigarette.  The photographer takes one last flash.  This one will remind him of the rare night he spent shooting one of the worlds most revered models of our time.   A legend.  He breaths a sigh of relieve and a smile smirks up on the sides of his lips.  Complete.

Now i ask you how is it miss moss has the ability to look ever so careless and beautifully raw even in this simple shot.  She has the grace of a parisian runway model and the edge of only some off duty LA rocker chick.  Yet she's so chic.  And yes.. in this picture i too wanna embody her.  And so an idea:

This... this picture above... it the inspiration for my christmas card this year.  Kate moss couldn't look more wintery.  The vibe is perfect... i now have the perfect insert for my single girl living in the city holiday card.  (Heck.  I don't have a model family.. or an euro-chic fiance.. or even a fluffy little disheveled yorky to cuddle up next to.  So this year it's gotta be just me and my fur coat in my sexy little apartment.)  

Choosing the one shot to make it into my christmas card this year was the tough part.  Such a challenge.  But here it is...the one frame i feel captures the essence of my year and who i have become.  Careless.  Edgy. Beautiful. Effortless. Chic.  Exactly comfortable embracing the me i want to be.  And i love it.  I hope you all do too.